Couple of nice ones, but....

[Fish Chris]

I hooked up with one right between these that was very 30'ish, and after a 200 ft run, it simply came unbuttoned :-(

That's okay. I'm just glad to see the bigger females finally coming in :-) Whooo Hooo ! The thing is, you can catch the 5 to 10 lb males all day long (especially if you troll for them) and you might catch 100 of them in 5, or 10, or 20 trips.... but the odds of you getting a big female, in the middle of all those little males are slim to none. On the other hand, when you start catching 18 to 25 lb females, it's only a matter of time until you stick a big one !

I really feel that if I can keep catching one or more good females each trip now, for the next several weeks, that my odds of sticking a 40 plus will be pretty darn good !

Anyway, this was the first good one today. It went 21.2 lbs:

And this was the second one, which went 21.4 lbs. Both of these photos were somewhat backlit, but I thought this one came out pretty nice, in spite of this....

I'll be more careful with the shots of my 40 ;-)

Can't wait to get back out there tomorrow ! .... and the next day too :-)

Peace,

Fish

[LakeAnnaBasser]

Nice fish

[jerbs]

CRAZY!!!! nice job dude! I can't wait for one of those...a 40lb will do too ;D

I caught my PB striper the other day too, only 10lbs though

Keep sticken'm dude and you'll find your trophy 8-)

Here's my puny fish ;D

[T-rig]

Nice fish, congrats! 8-)

[Fish Chris]

that is one FAT Striper you have there ! That has to be a landlocked one, huh ? Ours are ocean run, and every once in a great while you might catch one which has a fat belly from really pigging out..... but not really from the build up of straight up fat. It just seems like it's such a work out getting here. But thats okay.... I'll just have to get one that weighs 40 lbs, because its 44" long :-) .....or 50 lbs, because its 48" ! But wait a minute... not trying to be greedy. The 40 plus would be fine today :-)

Peace,

Fish

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Great Fish FC!!  Soon, they will come  I'm sure you know this but just in case, the big girls are ALWAYS below the males.  Underneath them.  Any way to fish deeper?

Jerbs- That's one fine 10lbr right there.  

Great Cali stripers guys!!!

[Fish Chris]

Hey LBH, it's funny you should mention this....

Actually, I'm fishing in a huge mud flat bay, which averages 3 to 8 feet deep, depending on the tide. And since I caught these fish yesterday on the second half of the outgoing, they were probably in no more than 5 feet !

I think if I really wanted to eliminate the "pesky little 10 to 20 lb'ers ;-)" and just shoot for nothing but a really big one, I'd just use an 18" to 20" Split Tail, or Squaw fish. Speaking of which, I have a buddy who probably hadn't caught 5 Stripers over 10 lbs at the time. So he goes out with a guide, who rigs him up with a 20" Squaw fish. {the guide preferred 16"s, but they were having a tough time catching bait} So my buddy is sitting there thinking, "Their ain't no freaking way something is going to eat this huge thing whole"....... And then his line starts peeling...... and he catches a 44", 40 lb'er ! That dog ! :-)

Big Stripers, big baits ! The thing is though, I have heard of huge, 40 plus Stripers being caught on 8" Split Tails too. The only thing is, then you have to wade through a bunch of the little 8 to 20 lb'ers to get to the big one :-) I guess if I had caught so many 20 lb'ers in my life already, that it didn't mean anything, I'd probably get hardcore with a giant bait..... But I still kind of enjoy catching a 20 lb Bass.... even if it has Stripes :-)

Peace,

Fish

PS, BTW, today I'm also going to throw a few swimbaits and big surface plugs at em' too :-) I figure in only 5 feet of water, they won't be too far away from my lure. So now if only I can get them to eat it :-) Whoo Hoo ! I'm stoked !

[slomoe]

Congrats FC those are some fine fish. Good luck today too, we always enjoy your reports.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Howdy early riser

Big baits, big fish....... but not always the case.  When we wire line for cows, (50+ feet down), we are pulling 9'r rigs with 6" shad body baits (paddle tails)

I think it's more about being where they are than what you offer.  

Sidenote- my biggest Bluefin (est. 1120 lbs) came on a 5 inch whiting.  I had never bothered even keeping anything under 10" while jigging bait,...THAT changed reeeeeal quick!!

Go get 'em today buddy, we'll be waiting for the next report  

ps- I'll be back in Cali (CAST convention, then up to Roberts) this Feb.  What is the striper bite like around that time?

[Fish Chris]

Striper bite for these parts in Feb....

Well, let me put it this way, they haven't moved back out towards the bay yet, but with the cold water, it can be sporadic. Some tough days. Some better days. And when your really lucky, a wide open day, here and there.

Peace,

Fish

PS, When you said > I think it's more about being where they are than what you offer. < I couldn't agree more ! If your in the middle of a bunch of hungry Stripers, odds are, your going to get a few. If your not in the middle of them, your not catching squat ! :-)

[Guest avid]

WAYTAGODUDE

I always get this tingly sort of anticipation when I see one of your posts.

I really like that you don't tip off what breed of monster you will showing us in the subject line.

Adds to the suspense and the fun.

Question:  It seems to me that stripers aren't considered as glamourous a catch inland as they are in the ocean.

I could be wrong of course because I base this on nothing other than what I seem to have picked up over the years.

But in the Atlantic, the average fisherman views stripers as the holy grail.

WHAZZUPWIDDAT?

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

I hear that Avid!  Around here, bluefish are to a striper fisherman what pickerel are to a bass fisherman.  NOT IN MY BOOK!!

I'd rather catch 5 lb blues all day than 10 lb stripers.  (based strictly on fight,...NOT taste.  Stripers are delicious)

FC- not all rules apply ALWAYS of course,lol.  THIS ONE was caught by accident fishing schoolies.  Not 30, closer to 20 but a blast on a 6.5 ft med freshwater rod,lol.

[jerbs]

thanks LBH.

FC,

That fish probably wasn't caught too far from yours. : CA DELTA BABY!!! so....we're looking for the same trophy fish ;D

We do fish some of the same waters, well if you still venture out to the southbay area. I even got a few pictures on your site.

I've always wondered why you don't throw plugs for stripers. Baitfishing isn't as fun as throwing out your arm from throwing 9" plugs all day I haven't thrown too many big plugs for stripers, as I can't put down that rattle-trap, but I will be doing so soon.

Good luck out there buddy! Stick a biggie 8-)

[Big_Bass_Rock]

Awesome fish, and good luck on the 40 pounder.

I wish I knew how to fish for stripers, the biggest ones I've caught were about 10" long and caught on accident  :

[kiss my bass]

You know both of those fish would be my new PB! But for Fish Chris that is just another day on the water!  8-)

You Da Man buddy! Nice Fish! I don't even want to think about what your gonna do this spring on the largemouths!!! :'(

Kiss my Bass

[fourbizz]

Josh, GO FISHING! Dr's orders!

Nice stripers Chris!

[Fish Chris]

Geeez ! Where did my big girls go ??? I know what the problem was.... I went out thinking, "How could I possibly miss" ? Overconfidence kills me every time ! Actually, I thought I was going to get the big skunk, but in the last hour, some smaller males moved in, and I stuck two 8's, and a 6 lb'er. Better than a sharp stick in the eye, but not what I'm after.

Oh well.

Back after the Sturgies today... at least for the first 6 hours (in coming tide) then I might run back over and give those Striped ones a shot for the last 2 hours before dark.

Will post a report and pics, if anything interesting comes up.

Peace,

Fish

PS, I bet if I hadn't found that spot on Monday, I'd have caught those same 21 lb'ers on Tuesday instead. Basically, I feel like I caught the biters using that area, and so they vacated the premesis. Give it a few days, and those fish "might" come back, but more likely, a few "new fish" might move in..... So I can stick those next week :-)

[roadwarrior]

Nice fish.

I hope you get your 40+ soon.

p.s. Avid,

Below the dams on the Tennessee River, striper fishing is pretty strong. We don't have hundreds of striper fishermen, but most of those that target the fish, fish for striper exclusively. Here in the Mid South, both the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers hold HUGE stripers. In Arkansas, Ouachita, Beaver and Norfork Lakes are all noted for their striper populations.

[SneakySnook]

Congrats! That's a nice looking stripper.

[kiss my bass]

Yes sir DR JAY!  ;D

ITS ON IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS!!!!!!!!!!  8-)

Kiss my bass

[island bassin]

:o Congrats!!