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Striper Explosion Video

I have a confession. All my life I’ve lived to paddle, fish, and explore rivers and streams in the States and abroad, and I never thought anything could draw me away from this passion. Until a recent phone call drew me away from my typical summer fly fishing haunts a put me face to face with the most explosive fly fishing my eyes have seen. Just off a two week trip to Finland I spent the next two days on the phone non stop catching up on business and closing on a home and blah, blah, blah, when the call came in from Jeremy. ”Dude, you gotta get down here now!” The tone of his voice was different then our typical casual “how’s the fishing been” conversations, and I knew it was time to roll. Within an hour I was bombing down I-95 with his last words echoing in my head…”it’s blowing up!” I’ve heard the phrase “blowing up” before, and have even used it a time or myself, but nothing I was envisioning in my head could prepare me for the events I would soon witness. Dawn came and Jeremy put the hammer down as we came around the break wall and into the morning chop, I quickly wore my coffee but had no need for it any longer as I was wide awake, and surrounded by clear blue seas. Moments into the day we saw our first pod of fish the size of a semi truck on top, eating krill. I was blown away…this is it I thought as I fired a cast and hooked into a nice striper. Then things really got interesting as Jeremy pointed towards a reef and said “get ready bro” As we drew closer to the reef my jaw dropped. Before me was an enormous school of fish on top the size of two

football fields end to end. I stood on deck and got ready to cast, legs shaking from the anticipation. “Not yet” Jeremy said “let’s get one clean shot” He positioned the boat perfectly as the school turned and was heading right at us. “Go!” I fired my clouser into the pod and by the time I got control of my line it was tight. A ten minute battle ensued and I brought my first ever Bluefish to hand. I must have got lucky landing him as I didn’t have a wire leader. What a fight. It really takes teamwork to be successful and by days end I was amazed at how efficient we’d become and timing the shots and making them count. Jeremy definitely knows these waters well and how to position the boat in these tricky currents which was a huge part of the day’s success. I was constantly reminded of the treacherous nature of these waters as we passed a few shipwrecked boats. The daylight grew dim as we made our way back towards harbor as I gazed toward the setting sun with a satisfied grin. ”It isn’t over yet!” I heard Jeremy howl as we motored towards a jagged shoal covered with a dark grey mass of fish chowing down on krill. “Get ready to cast!” The boat swung wide as I feverishly stripped line from the reel “There moving left” he said “Get ready!” The boat slowed, the pod turned, face to face now. “Go!” I threw long again and went tight immediately. The fish I’d hooked slapped its tail and sent the entire school into a panic! The water literally blew up before my eyes, my jaw dropped as I reeled in the last fish of an unforgettable day fly fishing.