Swimmin' It For Stripers

Scenario: Overcast, evening swimbait run

Technique: Swimbaits-Bull Shad 6" in Rainbow Trout

After my last two trips ended with disaster, I decided to buck the trend, right my ship and get some serious swimbaiting done.  I guess I shouldn't have used the term "right my ship" because that is exactly what I ended up doing at the end of the day.  Fishing was pretty slow today.  Swimbaiting is usually a very methodical affair, intermixed with  a few sprinklings of intense, heart stopping, pulse pounding action.  My first fish of the day was surely voted "Most Likely To Over Achieve" in his graduating class.  This just shows you the drawing power of the swimbait.  Later on, a nice 3-4 pound class shoal bass followed my lure back to the boat on four consecutive retrieves and bull rushed the bait, only to cleanly miss it.  That frustration was cleanly wiped away when a beast of striped bass crushed my waking retrieve and went airborne, pounding the water to froth.  My new swimbait stick proved its measure by easily subduing the beast.  Intoducing the newest member of the Dobyns swimbait stick fanclub!  Upon regaining my composure, I stalled in between two shoals and hooked, then subsequently lost, a pig shoalie that had to go 3 pounds.  Undaunted, I launched a cast into the next shoal water and got pounded by 6-8 pound class striper.  This is where it gets a little dicey.  After C.P.Ring the stripe, I step off a rock and into a deep hole.  For some reason, I carelessly hopped into my boat in strong cross current and, quick as lightning, it rolled.  Fortunately, everything was tied down except my rod, which tangled in my paddle leash.   Quickly I righted my ship, took stock of everything, and bombed a cast into the next shoals.  Except, somewhere deep in my spool, the line tangled and snapped; sending about 75 yards of line and my favorite, mojo'ed, broken in, beat up bait.  Not only that, but two of my guide inserts had busted out when I rolled the boat.  Frazzled, dismayed, I rolled downriver to my partner and announced my retirement for the day.  Some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed, but at least I am catching fish.