July stripers

Got a late start on the striper season this year due mostly to family commitments but since late June and right through July I've been fishing as much as possible.  I made about a dozen trips out to the salt both from the boat and shore.  This July has been some of the best mid summer fishing I've ever had.  The numbers of fish weren't the same as past years but the consistency of the fishing, quality of the fish and the different fishing opportunities that presented itself have been amazing.  In all those trips I only got shut out once and that was on the shortest trip which consisted of a quick couple of hours before work.

I've had a chance to fish with a few new people.  James from Big Pike Flies visited all the way from Iowa to give striper fishing a try.  We worked hard for them but he ended up catching the big striper of the day 2 days in a row.  I also got to fish with a new friend of mine Travis who is becoming a pretty hard core chaser of stripers on the fly.

Lots of bait around this year especially sandeels.  It seems like they have brought the fish into the shallow flats after them.  Crabs continue to be effective also.  Sight fishing on the flats has been very good.  The size of the fish combined with how shallow they have been going and the bright sun have made for a lot of fun.  I've had many schools of fish and large singles swim right up to me this summer.  Sometimes all I need to do is get a fly out to them and they'll eat and other times they don't seem as interested and need a more precise presentation.

The more I get out the more in touch with what is going on I get and the success and enjoyment increases.  Here are a just a few pics from this season.

 

 Solid striper taken first outing of the year on a foggy morning.

Blackbird fools another one in the dark.

Ridiculous day of 30"+ fish.

Grocery pollock gets chewed on by this 32 incher.

John releasing another one.

Flats release

James hooked up again.

Big striper flies is more like it.

Another one sent back.

Working the rocks.

Travis with an early morning flats fish.

Sand eels on the flats.

Chased these little guys in the surf one beautiful, sunny morning while they chased around scattered schools of sandeels.

Had to work hard for this one which I could see swim up and eat a crab.