Two years of grinding and multiple gut wrenching g lost fish, it was incredible to finally beach one. I think my mistake was gravitating so hard towards clousers- quite literally the only fly I threw for two seasons. I saw a picture of the contents of a striper stomach and noticed a bunch of baby weakfish. Tied up a weakfish pattern deceiver and hooked up the next time I went out.
To top it off, I’m nearly 100% sure I met Jon Bellion in the parking lot. Lmao
Great fish, great story. Congrats!
Congrats dude!
Nice! I’m hoping to get out and do the same after the holidays. The big ones are in my local waters right now
What state are you in?! Just had my first season at them in New England this summer and struck out from shore. It's tough.
New York. This pic was from a few weeks ago. About midway through November. They are an incredibly tough fish to figure out from the surf, let alone with fly gear.
They’re a lot easier on the fly if you can get them in the rivers IME
I could imagine. They’re a little more concentrated and you know which way they’re facing at all times. Lmao. We have some small estuarine creeks near me that are said to have them but it seems like it’s mostly the bays and the surf.
Yeah I’m in western CT and a lot of guys crush them on the fly especially early season, I mostly spin fish for them but I have a cheap max catch rod I’ve brought out a couple times and have done fairly well. Although around me we don’t have true “surf” so there is some good structure off the beaches where guys also do well on the fly. I’m sure it’s a different game over there.
Dude the sound is sick. I barely fish on the north shore of Long Island but the few times I’ve gone out there it’s been beautiful. The surf is a pain in the ass with the fly rod. Slightly “wrong” conditions for a spin fisherman are “looks like I’m not going fishing today” conditions for a fly caster. The waves and current suck. Having access to all that calm coastline full of stripers is sick.
Nice catch!
Hell yeah 🤙 congrats!
Congrats that's a nice fish! I'm still trying to get my first on the fly but it's been a bad year in the north east!
Must feel good! What line did you use?
Rio outbound short 10wt intermediate!
Thank you, going too try this. Happy holidays ✨
Nice! They’ve long left my home waters… after Christmas I’ll really be pining for summer
You and me both. I got a small skiff that I’m looking into taking out on the flats and sight fishing for these guys with the 7wt. Probably going to be a disaster. A fun disaster though 😂
Congrats! Where are you located? What size line?
Thanks! NY, 10wt intermediate!
Awesome! I’m in Central MA and hoping to start fishing from shore for striper soon. My older neighbor recently gave me a 9’ 8wt that he used to use for salt water before he stopped fishing. Looking forward to using it.
Pretty reels in salty sand will always make me wince. Great fish!
Luckily it’s well sealed! Didn’t matter in the moment. Needed the picture- I put way too much time into this fish haha
Nice dude!! Great work!!
Throw more flatwings. Most successful fly for me from the surf.
I gotta get better at tying those. Such a cool fly.
STRIP SET
I lost the first few due to trout set syndrome. Lmao. Going tarpon fishing in PR in a month, I’ll keep this comment in the back of my head when i get hit.
Haha. Yeah I have to mentally prepare myself for saltwater fishes and I still screw up the set sometimes.
Tight lines in Rico!
I bumped into my guide I’m going to be meeting up with in PR on a south Florida trip earlier this year and drove him all over the place for peas and snakeheads. He’s gonna put everything he’s got into getting me on some big ones. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Wicked! It’s on my “some day” list!
Get out there and do it!! Puts any trout to shame.
It will happen, but involves some logistics being in northern Canada
Love it! Stripers in the surf (anywhere for that matter) maybe the apex of game fish. So fun. I’d love to see a pic of your weak fish deceiver.
Can’t post it here! I’ll dm you🤙🏻
https://imgur.com/a/YJcxEEz
Never mind figured it out!!
What a great memory! But who is Jon Bellion?
Thanks! He’s a musician I’ve been listening to for a long time. He mostly writes for other artists like Eminem and Justin Bieber but has also released a bunch of his own music which (ignoring his most recent album) is amazing. He lives pretty close to me.
On the way off the beach that night I was talking to a dude that looked oddly familiar about my first fly bass. Kinda dark so I didn’t realize who this was. I get home and I notice Jon bellion posted on his backup instagram that he was at the exact same spot I was at, wearing the same gear that dude in the parking lot was wearing.
That’s awesome, thanks for sharing. I’ll have to look him up.
It would be wild if you two became fishing buddy’s. 🤞🏼
from skunk to slam+celeb parking lot theory. thats a full day flex. frame the fly its officially your new lucky hat
Thing I miss most about moving from Maine to the middle of the country. Good work!