Fishing For Striped Bass
Catching a striped bass can sometimes be so surprising that you might think you are fighting with a shark. The spirited fight that these fish are capable of is what entices so many anglers to fish specifically for striped bass.
This species has slowly been introduced from coast to coast into several reservoirs. Both hybrid and pure striped bass can be located in freshwater lakes and streams all over America. Many of these fish have been crossed with other species of bass such as the white bass. You will often find them in the many bays, lagoons, estuaries and fisheries in the United States making them a sought after fish for many surf anglers.
Striped bass are well known for being large, powerful fighters regardless of whether you are catching them in fresh or saltwater. Because of this, you will definitely not be wanting to fish with light fishing gear when dealing with these monsters. When considering a fly rod, you should aim to use a weight of at least 8 to 10. If you are bass fishing in saltwater areas, you may want to go even stronger with a weight between 10 and 12. This of course depends on how large the fish in that area are known to be as well as what kind of conditions you will be fishing in. The stronger your fishing rod is, the more control you will have once you are engaged in a fight with a striper.
Another thing you will want to think about having if you are fishing in saltwater is a bigger fly reel as well as a disk drag system. All in all, it is typically a wise idea to have a tippet and fly line that have the ability to slice through the strong currents and reach the significant depths that striped bass tend to hold at.
When it comes to choosing out your flies in still water, you will certainly want to resort to the standard larger bass patterns such as leeches, the deer hair popper, the baitfish fry, crawdads, damselflies and dragons. If you are planning on some inshore fishing, you will want to use the same kind of patterns that you would choose for saltwater fishing. These are lures such as shrimp, worms, crab, sculpin and anchovies. The absolute best way you can place your fly is by getting to the same level that the fish are at. As soon as you determine the correct strike zone, stay in that same zone as you are about to have a fishing experience of a lifetime.