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Striper Carnage Video Hi Speed Only

Tourists from all over the world come to Maine in the fall. The leaves are beautiful and the colors are amazing. They drive around slowly looking for that perfect scene. I do the same thing. Except, I am not looking for the pretty trees. I am looking for total carnage on the shorelines. In the fall, the air temps cool and all of the bait whispers amongst themselves, "Oh man, its getting cold. Let's get out of here!" So, all the baitfish gather together in massive schools and begin to exit the harbors. The jouney, for them, starts out just fine but it quickly takes a turn for the worst. As they begin to move as a single entity out to the open waters they are greeted by starving and ruthless predators. Striped Bass, Blue Fish and Tuna rip through these bait slicks and tear up everything in sight. To me, it is the most adrenaline pumping form of sight fishing imaginable. Finding the

bait and find the bait that has fish on it is the trick. Once you do that, it becomes a matter of speed. In other words, it does not really matter what you throw for a fly. All that matters is getting yourself, in any way possible, as close as possible to the fish. For me, this usually involves running over sand dunes, down beaches, over rocks, scaling ledges, slipping on sea weed and wading into the crashing surf. Typically, I do not come out unscathed. I am guaranteed a few cuts, bruises, broken rods and lost gear. All of it is worth it. I can always go to the ledges or quietly roam the flats in search of solo cruising fish. Don't get me wrong, that is fun. But, what I really enjoy are the blitzes. Sometimes, it is not easy finding the blitzes. You gotta be willing to drive around alot and read the ocean waters. Sometimes, if the surf is big, it can be difficult to distinguish a good blitz from the ocean chop. Sometimes, you may be looking out and the bait and fish are behind you in the little coves and sometimes the blitzes are happening just below the surface. You gotta be willing to look in the marshes, off the ledges, on the open beaches, off the inlets and in the harbors. The fish and the bait move constantly and a spot that was hot yesterday could die tomorrow or be good for a week. Anyway, Sunday night I found the bait and the fish. I looked out from a high vantage point and saw it. Tons of Stripers and Bluefish pushing huge pods of bait right into the shoreline. I ran down the road and scaled a slippery ledge and made it to the waters edge just in time. The fish were hammering everything in sight. I stripped off my line. Threw one double haul. The fly landed in the middle of the boiling water. I stripped one time and a nice sized Striped Bass hammered my white Lefty's Deceiver. So, if you visit Maine in the fall. I recommend taking your wife or girlfriend on a nice scenic ride and admiring all the foliage. Then drop her off at the hotel, get back in your car and go looking for the carnage.

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