Striper Season Begins (May 2018)

Last summer, I fell in love with striper fishing thanks to a good buddy in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, and an open invitation to prime waters.  We kayak-fished sluggos in the spring, and live-lined bunker by boat as the summer wore on.  As this spring's Potomac shad run wrapped up in late April, my fishy thoughts once again drifted to stripers.

My goal was to catch my first striper on a flyrod.  And who better to give me a chance at it than Mr. Anywaterwilldo,  who has become my informal guide to saltwater flyfishing. Check out his excellent fishing blog here: anywaterwilldo.com

We set out on a beautiful Sunday for the boat, a sleek Parker sized perfectly for the Chesapeake Bay.

 Our striper chariot for the day

After fueling up near Solomons, we headed across the Bay to the Honga River,  in search of wind-protected water.  Along the way, we stopped at a rock pile, and began casting homemade clousers toward the break, stripping back quickly.  On my second cast, I hooked into my first striper, an 18-inch beauty.

My first striper on the fly, from the rocks behind me

After catching three more schoolies, we cruised into the Honga, and began fishing the flats and banks.  Through the quiet, clear water, we watched aggressive schoolies smack our plastic lures and clousers.  Woops and fist-pounds followed each fish, and we lost count after 20.

As the day began melting into early evening, we casted into a small creek feeding into the Honga.  Matt's line quivered...something heavy began taking line.  "It's a ray...I know it's a ray" was Matt's initial, somewhat-disappointed call.  Schools of rays were around throughout the day, and snagging one apparently wasn't rare.  Soon, though, the telltale head-shake of a large striper rattled Matt's rod.  After a good fight, he landed the fish of the day.

 Casting into a small creek, a large striper in wait

Fish of the day

Dock-bound an hour later, we stopped to cast poppers as the sun set.  Despite some aggressive strikes, we came up empty handed.  A reminder of what an epic day we'd just lived...stripers don't always come easily.

Still giddy, we decided to celebrate with an outrageously large order of Taco Bell. 

Matt and I decide to Live Mas...last time for awhile