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Striper Video

Last week, I had the best saltwater Striper fly fishing trips of my life. Any salt water fly fisherman on the east coast knows that big bait means big fish. I got a call from my friend Mike of Connecticut Fishing Charters. Mike said, "Dude, get down here the Herring are in and big fish are on them." I needed no more convincing, big fish and lots of them was good enough for me. So, I hopped in the car and made a dash to Connecticut. I had not seen Mike since our amazing Bluefin Tuna trip last year, so I showed up at his house and we shot the breeze while getting our gear and flies ready for an evening fly fishing session. Mike and I are very much alike when it comes to fly fishing. We like to find the fish, the bigger fish and we get amped up when we do. So, Mike brought me out to his honey hole and we started to drift in 3 feet of water. We immediately started hooking up with a bunch of small schoolies and I thought to myself, "Great, I drove all the way down from Maine for some rats on the flats. I could have stayed home and done this." We do get big fish in Maine, but typically Connecticut and Rhode Island and Massachusetts get the runs of bigger fish before we do. So, I was hoping to catch a run of bigger fish; not the pesty schoolies that are already invading my home waters. That's when Mike said, "Ok, the tide is starting to move let's put on some bigger flies." So, he gave me a giant EP type Herring pattern. It weighed a ton and had a giant hook. I thought to myself, "Now, I'm interested." I made a few casts and Mike told me to strip the fly back fast and try to get as much action out of the fly as possible. So, that's what I did and that's when I saw a 35-40 inch Striper follow my fly to the boat. Then, Mike was hooked up to a good fish. Then, we had doubles. It was amazing. We

were catching fish one after the other all in the 30-40 inch range until the sun went down. Some of the fish were so powerful and ripped off tons of line and backing. We went out in the morning and the fishing was good, but not as good as the night before. I drove back to Maine a satisfied fisherman. It's not every day that bigger stripers can be caught one after the other like that. But, when the Herring are in and the tides and moon and weather is right; it can be magical. Thanks, Mike, for a great trip and inviting me along. It is always a pleasure to fly fish with someone who is as passionate about finding fish as I am.