Welcome to the Dark Side - Silverwood Lake Striped Bass Hunt....):}+{:(....

[The Fishing Queen]

Welcome to the Dark Side - Silverwood Lake Striped Bass Hunt....):}+{:(....

6/20, I was invited to go fishing by a friend of mine. We had an arrangement to meet with two other fishing friends of his at Silverwood Lake around 6:30 am. As always, I got positive support from my spouse and he made plans for my kids daily summer activities, so that I could get away without any worries.

I drove to my mountain home around 2pm the day before fishing. I had nice relaxed afternoon - went Tenkara fly fishing at LG for two hours on my way up and caught 2 rainbow trout on a kebari fly, 16-18 crappies and bluegills on a brown nymph. I got to the house and tied some flies on the shady deck in my backyard; played Guzheng for a while and read for the rest of the night.....

http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p561/TheFishingQueen/5F4DA051-EFEB-44DD-9BFF-2AAEF9A6CC34-461-00000065A23E9A6A_zps3e6bdd4f.jpg

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6/21, got a morning wakeup call from Scott at 5:30. I rushed to get ready and went into the garage. I chose two pink spinning rods that were spooled with 6 pound line, my bait fishing tackle bag and headed out the door. I got to the lake about 6:30, stopped at the store and bought a bag of anchovies and I was ready to go. Met with the rest of group - Tim, Dan and Jose around 6:45, set up the gear with bait and waited for the action.

http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p561/TheFishingQueen/83492C9B-9517-4BAE-B8F9-A5AE8826B998-461-0000006752BFADDA_zps049704f9.jpg

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No one had caught anything until 7:30. Tim caught a couple small stripers; Jose also had one dink as well. I waited for my turn and caught my very first striper around 8 o'clock. The striper was small - it was only about 11 inches long. The stripers were biting on the bait very carefully. Their bites were gentle but fast - they stole the anchovies soon after the bait hit the bottom of the lake. Sometimes, I didn't even have a chance to put down the rod; I’d just hold the rod, tighten the line and wait for the bites to start, then quickly set the hook as soon as I felt the nibbles.

http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p561/TheFishingQueen/4BED2C31-0A43-47CB-8C41-32C05451E8DA-461-000000676BE2DDBE_zps8f17dfe4.jpg

http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p561/TheFishingQueen/9B2AAE88-528E-49EE-8316-C7604264D248-461-000000677B26F436_zps7583ecca.jpg

Tim and Jose were in sweet spots and they were doing really well with good catches. Most of the stripers that they caught were small sized fish. Tim had caught 2 nice stripers - a 3 pound and a 4 pound fish. Jose was in second place and he had one striper about 3 pounds. I was the third, I had a few small ones between 10-16 inches.

http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p561/TheFishingQueen/7BDADE6D-D76D-4315-82D4-15A2ECEED063-461-000000677301F806_zps144aaf28.jpg

http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p561/TheFishingQueen/F7C9C230-5243-4DA0-A329-2CDD2DB6F6CC-461-0000006780CE0889_zps04b36957.jpg

Around 10:20, I felt a gentle bite and I immediately set the hook and felt the fish was on. The fish took off with the hook and my reel was screaming as I reeled the fish in. I knew my drag was a little loose for the weight of this fish. I was fighting with it and pulling it in, but I had it in my control. Each time it got closer, the beast kept running and taking more line from my reel. Jose came to help and he tried to tighten the drag, but he accidentally loosened it up by turning the knob the wrong way. We heard the line go :"zzzzzzzzz....." The beast ran away fast with more line. I started to panic and tightened my drag with my right hand and kept reeling. I could hear my heart beat with excitement. Finally, after 5 more mins of fight, the large striper was about 5 feet away from us. Jose had net in his hands to help net the fish. As he put the net into the water, the striper suddenly jumped, turned its body and took off again. This time we all heard the sound of the line snap and saw a splash in the water. The beast broke off the line and I lost the battle. I knew what the cause of the loss was. I set the drag too tight as I was hurrying to fix the loose drag. What a bummer! Jose and I estimated the fish at about 10 pounds. I was very close to winning the catch of the day.

http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p561/TheFishingQueen/7F4D9C6C-D62A-4D6A-ADBA-1175B01D075E-461-0000006797D44546_zps35261f27.jpg

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The action slowed down around 12:30. Jose caught a total of 16 stripers, Tim had 13 fish. I had 9. Dan was the only one who got skunked - he was fishing between the two guys and he only had two bites all morning, but no fish. The three guys packed up and left the lake before 2pm.... I stayed and fished for a little longer, and caught 4 more fish till 3:10. The total of my catch: 13 stripers + 1 that got away. Kept 4 fish and released the ones that were lip hooked without any harms.

http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p561/TheFishingQueen/4187E5E8-D8CA-4450-B91E-B1AA9803433E-461-0000006793603923_zpsd511f48e.jpg

http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p561/TheFishingQueen/0B30680C-1213-4562-BF67-3D0A98AF36D3-461-00000067A2B145A2_zps538b5b99.jpg

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It was exciting for me to be back on the "dark side" - bait fishing, especially since it was my first time fishing for stripers. I was disappointed about losing the beast, but I had positive attitude toward the whole situation. I knew my friend really tried to help and he just made a simple mistake. I should know better to check the drag and make sure it wasn't too loose or tight. With all the excitement and a good battle with the fish, the error taught me a lesson, and that's what life is about - live, learn and improve! I was glad that my friend invited me and took me to his fishing hole and shared his favorite spot with me. I had fun plus a great experience of striper fishing. I'm sure this won't be my last time fishing for stripers. I got good appetite for hunting the beast and I'll return to the dark side more often to satisfy my desire for catching 'the one that got away".....

http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p561/TheFishingQueen/028ec2c79b06a3b5e98de1d50cd41d22_zpseeae098f.jpg

[trail blazer]

love your reports,,,congrats on catching your 1st stripers,,,,,,,

[fishermanx14]

congrats! got my first stripers about 2 weeks ago and now im addicted!!
They make the best fish tacos

[TroutOnly]

WELCOME TO THE DARKSIDE,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,t/o,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[CCfisherman]

Nice looking, look like you had a fun day out there.

[The Fishing Queen]

love your reports,,,congrats on catching your 1st stripers,,,,,,,

Thank you trail blazer! Read some striper reports from you guys, it made me want to try striper fishing too. You are the pro, I'm the newbie just getting into the striper fishing world....




congrats! got my first stripers about 2 weeks ago and now im addicted!!
They make the best fish tacos

It got me addicted too because of how hard they fought. I underestimated their power and I had the drag set for lake trout.

[The Fishing Queen]

WELCOME TO THE DARKSIDE,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,t/o,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Thanks t/o! It felt good to be back on the dark side. The last time I had such excitement was some large catfish that I caught at the lake....lol..






Nice looking, look like you had a fun day out there.

Oh yes. I was lucky that the striper action was pretty good and I had a blast! :)

[Wingnut]

Congrats on your 1st of many Linesides. :Wink:
Excellent reporting as always. :Thumbs Up:

[seal]

Cool new blood fishing for Silverwood stripey that I'm sure will be able to help control the population. Welcome to the darkside!

[fishinone]

Nice report. Congratulations on catcHing your first striper.

Big striper teach hard lessons. They keep teaching every time you get one on. T/O and Cory got a lesson at Striperfest and they're old hands.

Good luck next time. I know you'll get them.

[fishmounter]

Hey great report and pics! Stripers are very powerful fish, especially when they get up into the 10 pound range. Keep at it, you'll get your big striper back.
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m121/fishmounter/striped_bass_repro-1.jpg (http://s103.photobucket.com/user/fishmounter/media/striped_bass_repro-1.jpg.html)

[The Fishing Queen]

Congrats on your 1st of many Linesides. :Wink:
Excellent reporting as always. :Thumbs Up:



Thank you Arthur! I appreciate the positive feedback on the report, and for the encouragement on my first striper fishing. :)







Cool new blood fishing for Silverwood stripey that I'm sure will be able to help control the population. *Welcome to the darkside!



Thanks seal! I have a question - when you fish for striper, do you use bait or Lures or flies? And what kind of fly do you recommend for catching stripers?

[The Fishing Queen]

Nice report. *Congratulations on catcHing your first striper.

Big striper teach hard lessons. They keep teaching every time you get one on. *T/O and Cory got a lesson at Striperfest and they're old hands.

Good luck next *time. I know you'll get them.


Fishinone, thank you! Your kind words are comforting for my loss. There are more things that I need to learn about striper fishing. It's my first striper experience, but won't be the last, I'll get them someday.







Hey great report and pics! *Stripers are very powerful fish, especially when they get up into the 10 pound range. *Keep at it, you'll get your big striper back.
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m121/fishmounter/striped_bass_repro-1.jpg (http://s103.photobucket.com/user/fishmounter/media/striped_bass_repro-1.jpg.html)


Thanks fishmounter! That pink rod has served me well with some nice catches in the past. But I didn't expect to hook a 10 pounder my first time striper fishing and I underestimated its power. Now it makes me wonder if my 6 pound line is good enough to handle a 10 pound striper, or if I need to upgrade it to much stronger and thicker line.

The striped bass mount looks great.

[seal]

I have had very good success when they are active (early and late) on schoolies with both clouser and wooly bugger patterns. The buggers I like in all black and large, these will work for LMB's as well but I prefer stripping the buggers from a tube as opposed to the clousers which I use when wet wading from shore. The school sized fish will come close to shore in the evening or morning and that's when you will have most success fishing from shore.

As far as lures I've mentioned it before but one of the more fun bites that has been very consistent recently is a bubble and fry combo, same setup as a fly and bubble but I use a tiny fluke or Lakefork fry imitation in a shad or silverside type pattern. They have been slamming that setup for a couple months now and when I get tired of tossing the bigger swimbaits and want to fill up the freezer with fillet's this is kind of a no brainer. Bite is normally about 1.5 hrs. before dark or early morning but with the lake opening after sunup now the best bite is over before the lake opens thus nighttime is my preferred fishing period also if overcast the bite can turn on much ealier. So many lures will work but the fry is small right now so that's why I think the bubble setup is so effective on the smaller schoolies (some bigger ones are possible but usually stripers hang in like sizes, it's safer that way!) and since the baits are so small the bubble allows you to get it out there to them and also suspends the bait in their feeding zone.

I rarely if ever use bait so no advice on that one and if you want to target bigger stripers with lures that's a whole different story. The setup I mentioned you will only need 6lbs. test type setup with like a 6.5 ft. rod, so light bass gear or even a trout rod would work, more fun that way.

Just wait when they start chasing the schools of shad up shallow (boil season!) or are attacking the LMB fry shallow, will start in a month or so, my favorite time of the year. I just keep it simple and toss super spooks, you will be hooked as soon as those stripers start batting the bait up in the air, too much fun! All that bite takes is a decent bass rod with not too stiff of a tip 6.5 to 7.5' rod and 6-10 lbs. test, this bite will usually have bigger models than you will see right now anywhere from 2-8lbs. is the norm..

PM for more "detailed" info..

[michaelk]

Wow what fun!!!! Nice report and photos. Thanks everyone for some great tutorials. Sorry you lost your fish, at least it wasn't zing pow and gone, you got to fight it!!! The heart pumping life and death battle being fought by the fish, and our battle to conquer said fish is what it is all about! Great report and posts by everyone.

Michael

[The Fishing Queen]

Wow what fun!!!! *Nice report and photos. *Thanks everyone for some great tutorials. *Sorry you lost your fish, at least it wasn't zing pow and gone, you got to fight it!!! *The heart pumping life and death battle being fought by the fish, and our battle to conquer said fish is what it is all about! *Great report and posts by everyone.

Michael


Michael, thank for the comfort! That was a great feeling to have a big fish on and fight with it for awhile. Striped bass are different than catfish or trout. They fight harder than any other fish that I've caught in the past and it bought a feisty taste to me as well....lol...





I have had very good success when they are active (early and late) on schoolies with both clouser and wooly bugger patterns. *The buggers I like in all black and large, these will work for LMB's as well but I prefer stripping the buggers from a tube as opposed to the clousers which I use when wet wading from shore. *The school sized fish will come close to shore in the evening or morning and that's when you will have most success fishing from shore.

As far as lures I've mentioned it before but one of the more fun bites that has been very consistent recently is a bubble and fry combo, same setup as a fly and bubble but I use a tiny fluke or Lakefork fry imitation in a shad or silverside type pattern. *They have been slamming that setup for a couple months now and when I get tired of tossing the bigger swimbaits and want to fill up the freezer with fillet's this is kind of a no brainer. *Bite is normally about 1.5 hrs. before dark or early morning but with the lake opening after sunup now the best bite is over before the lake opens thus nighttime is my preferred fishing period also if overcast the bite can turn on much ealier. *So many lures will work but the fry is small right now so that's why I think the bubble setup is so effective on the smaller schoolies (some bigger ones are possible but usually stripers hang in like sizes, it's safer that way!) and since the baits are so small the bubble allows you to get it out there to them and also suspends the bait in their feeding zone.

I rarely if ever use bait so no advice on that one and if you want to target bigger stripers with lures that's a whole different story. *The setup I mentioned you will only need 6lbs. test type setup with like a 6.5 ft. rod, so light bass gear or even a trout rod would work, more fun that way.

Just wait when they start chasing the schools of shad up shallow (boil season!) or are attacking the LMB fry shallow, will start in a month or so, my favorite time of the year. *I just keep it simple and toss super spooks, you will be hooked as soon as those stripers start batting the bait up in the air, too much fun! *All that bite takes is a decent bass rod with not too stiff of a tip 6.5 to 7.5' rod and 6-10 lbs. test, this bite will usually have bigger models than you will see right now anywhere from 2-8lbs. is the norm..

PM for more "detailed" info..


Seal, thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. Since I am new to striper fishing, the info and fishing tips that you gave me are going to be the great help in the future. I know that you have been hitting Silverwood Lake on a regular basis, you probably know this lake better than others and have this place dialed in. I value your opinion and I appreciate you sharing your knowledge and your experience with me here!

[striperboy]

catching stripers is fun good job

[The Fishing Queen]

catching stripers is fun good job

Thanks striperboy!

[ghetto fisherman]

nice post welcome to the wood...:Smile:

[The Fishing Queen]

nice post welcome to the wood...:Smile:

Thanks you! :Cool:

[flytyingreloader]

Yes, ma'am--the Jailbird Bass will take you to school at every opportunity. Working on stripers of size is like flying helicopters--both endeavors only allow one mistake. I had a sizable striper (or perhaps a Los Angeles-class submarine) hand me my a-- at East Highline Canal a couple years back. That fish whupped my butt in depth--breadth--and detail. Mr. Stripey doesn't get to double-digits size by being slow--stupid--or weak.

[The Fishing Queen]

Yes, ma'am--the Jailbird Bass will take you to school at every opportunity. *Working on stripers of size is like flying helicopters--both endeavors only allow one mistake. *I had a sizable striper (or perhaps a Los Angeles-class submarine) hand me my a-- at East Highline Canal a couple years back. *That fish whupped my butt in depth--breadth--and detail. *Mr. Stripey doesn't get to double-digits size by being slow--stupid--or weak.

I'm totally agree with you. I enjoyed to fight with that big stripper and know how that feels when you hook a big fish. It will take you for a run and the excitement makes your heart rate go up...lol..