My name is Evan, E-V-A-N, and I love striped bass, there I said it. My pursuit of a double digit large mouth out of my kayak is an elegant, respectable affair. But, striped bass are just plain fun and addictive. Most fishermen who pursue the green fish, large mouth and spotted bass, sort of look down on striped bass. It is viewed as "an unwanted bycatch" by professional anglers. They signify an amazing battle that lead the angler to believe they had some sort of record bass or a tournament winning big fish that would mean a large cardboard check. Either that, or it is seen in the same light as catching a catfish. It can be fun, but it is a sport for live bait, trolling, cut bait, saltwater equipment, not the sport of kings. Not the drop shot, 6 pound florocarbon line, elegant pursuit of green bass that can lead to big cardboard checks or pictures of small fish held out so far from the body that it makes a 2 pounder look like someone carrying one of those giant, plush, bass pillows you get from the silly section at Bass Pro Shop. I love to catch green bass, don't get me wrong hers, but there is something primal, something wild about the raw power of the striped bass. For those who have never caught one, you really won't get it. The striped bass hits harder than any fish swimming in my home waters. Their strikes are so violent, so brutal that it literally startles the day dreaming angler when the rod handle slips in your hand. Your not really going to have your rod jerked out of your hand, but it gives you that sensation. These fish hit so hard they almost always rip some drag upon the strike, even from my Calcutta 400. The strike of a striped bass on an artificial lure is somewhat akin to Ray Lewis meeting Betty White at the line of scrimmage on a run blitz, you get the picture. Freight train collision, like you set your hook into a brick wall kind of collision. They are eating, swimming machines bent on destroying anything in their path. They are athletes, who work out 24/7 chasing down other fast fish in strong current and killing them. What do they eat? Trout, shad, herring, largemouth bass, shoal bass, crappie, bream, crayfish, small helpless mammals. Hold on to your infant tight! These fish are cold blooded. Sounds like a 1950s public awareness campaign. My point is that these are apex predators who deserve respect and should be treated like a true opponent. Bring that low profile bass reel with 10 pounds of drag and prepare to be humbled. I took my neighbor out this summer and his "heavy gear" was a 7 foot medium BPS action rod, Shimano 200 low profile reel, and 10 pound floro line. He got stomped, humiliated, and generally disrespected by the striped bass.
I love to pursue striped bass with swimbaits. I am not above using cut bait in the dead of summer when the artificial bite is non existent. However, slowly working a swimbait past a laydown, gently feathering the reel handle to keep the bait in the strike zone, only to have it absolutely destroyed by a charging striper, is my favorite technique. This Summer of 2011 was my first here in Georgia, and during a tough job hunt I didn't get to fish much until after I secured a position. In August I was "enlightened" that our lovely Hooch is filled with striped bass. Say what? I cut my teeth tossing live gizzard shad and 3 ounce weights into dam tailraces for stripe, so chasing them from a kayak would be a whole new ballgame. I caught the tail end of prime-time striped bass fishing, but I still managed to boat a whole bunch of these fish. Each fight was remarkable and memorable. Getting drug into a laydown and about spilled, being towed downriver about 200 yards, and a 10 pounder going airborne to intercept a stroked siwmbait into a complete 360 were some hilights. Athletes indeed. This Spring of 2012 will be the Spring of Stripes, because you better believe that I will be tossing big swimbaits at passing stripers. 5" pearl paddletail swimbaits on bass jig heads and chrome-blue jerkbaits were my go to lures for last year. I am going to step up my offering this year in my new big-bait phase. I am going to try a modified A-rig as well as some 8" trout immitations to try to get into that 20-30 pound class fish that eluded me this pas Summer.
I love to pursue striped bass with swimbaits. I am not above using cut bait in the dead of summer when the artificial bite is non existent. However, slowly working a swimbait past a laydown, gently feathering the reel handle to keep the bait in the strike zone, only to have it absolutely destroyed by a charging striper, is my favorite technique. This Summer of 2011 was my first here in Georgia, and during a tough job hunt I didn't get to fish much until after I secured a position. In August I was "enlightened" that our lovely Hooch is filled with striped bass. Say what? I cut my teeth tossing live gizzard shad and 3 ounce weights into dam tailraces for stripe, so chasing them from a kayak would be a whole new ballgame. I caught the tail end of prime-time striped bass fishing, but I still managed to boat a whole bunch of these fish. Each fight was remarkable and memorable. Getting drug into a laydown and about spilled, being towed downriver about 200 yards, and a 10 pounder going airborne to intercept a stroked siwmbait into a complete 360 were some hilights. Athletes indeed. This Spring of 2012 will be the Spring of Stripes, because you better believe that I will be tossing big swimbaits at passing stripers. 5" pearl paddletail swimbaits on bass jig heads and chrome-blue jerkbaits were my go to lures for last year. I am going to step up my offering this year in my new big-bait phase. I am going to try a modified A-rig as well as some 8" trout immitations to try to get into that 20-30 pound class fish that eluded me this pas Summer.
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