Just one bite today - but it was a winner

[J.A. Veil]

I catch lots of stripers while trolling light lures in shallow water from my kayak. But I rarely catch any really large ones. Today I decided to try again before the striper season closes on Saturday. I trolled three rods and had just one bite over 4.5 hours (10 miles of trolling). But that one bite made it all worthwhile. The huge 45" striper hit a 4" Buzztail shad on a 3/16-oz jighead fished on a 6'6" medium spinning rod, 3000 series reel, 10-lb braid, and 20-lb fluoro leader. This was the smallest lure and lightest rod I had in the spread.

Buzztail.jpg

This striper is my personal best by 4" and was particularly rewarding because I caught it on my own and not on a guide's boat.

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[bignose]

I'm looking at that tiny lure hanging out of that monster's mouth....wondering how the hook didn't straighten.....

and the scene from "Jaw's". "We're gonna need a bigger boat!"

[Mark]

Holy cow John.

I don't know what's more impressive.

Your fish or you hanging in there for 4.5 hours of trolling with one bite.

[dsaavedra]

Congratulations on the huge trophy fish John. Catching fish like that from a kayak... it doesn't get much better.

[paxmule]

That's a beautiful fish

[J.A. Veil]

Thanks guys. I had not planned on fishing for stripers today and had the van loaded for targeting smaller fish. But I got some intel last night from another Snaggedline member about a shot at some larger fish. The tip paid off, giving me a marvelous memory.

Regarding Stu's comment, once the fish realized it was hooked it took off and pulled me around a bit. Continuing in the Jaws theme, remember how they shot that big shark with harpoons attached to barrels that the shark had to drag around. I think my heavy body and the kayak acted like a barrel. The resistance was not as much as a boat, but still helped to tire the fish out.

Mark - I had reached my farthest point away from the launch after two hours and had just turned to head back toward the launch when the big fish hit. Even if I had been tired before that, the adrenaline rush pumped me up. Plus for most of the return trip, I had the wind and waves at my back, making for an easy paddle.

[ski357]

Amazing fish! Thanks for sharing.

[DanMarino]

Hog alert! That's a thick and long one John! Very cool to see that caught locally. When I'm fishing and catch a good fish, I usually call it quits for the day because I know the chances of catching something else as big is slim. Awesome that the wind and waves were on your back on the paddle home.

[gliebig]

Super catch! That had to be a rush. Congrats.

[UnkleRob2020]

John!!! That is a beautiful trophy fish...i am so happy for you...I don't know if I have the persitence to fish over 4.5 hours with only one bite...good job, you earned it

[Shoobs]

Beautiful fish! What a trophy on light tackle. Thanks for the pictures. And you are not going to need a bigger boat.

[Slobber Bob]

Rewarded indeed! Nice catch!

[Redfish12]

That's awesome! Congrats on the cow John!

[J.A. Veil]

I returned to the same area yesterday to try one more time. I trolled for nearly 4 hours and covered 9 miles in an 11' paddle kayak. I had just one bite -- a fat 28" striper. After landing the fish, my thought processes over the first 30 seconds were interesting, and surprised me. My initial reaction was “Thank You” as I had avoided the skunk. The second reaction was that this was not very exciting, at least compared to the 45” fish from Monday. My third reaction was to put this into context. My largest striper caught in 2022 was 28”. My largest in 2020 was 30”. In both of those cases, I had only one fish at that length. In 2021, 2019, 2018, and 2017, I caught no fish as long as 28”. In reality, my "ho-hum catch" yesterday was a pretty darn nice fish. It is quite probable that I will not get one this large for the rest of the year. But this points out the importance of context. The fish had quite a few sea lice on it.

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[WeCallEmRockfish]

Congrats, John!