Fly Fishing for Stripers on Lake Lanier with Henry Cowan

Started by SteveL, February 26, 2021, 10:58:07 PM

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SteveL

I don't know where the threadfin fry spend their days, but they really don't seem to be a major target of feeding.  The typical threadfin is likely fairly young due to the massive winter kills from the cold.   With bluebacks you notice more of a range in size.

In the video he references the small "young of the year" threadfins about 2" long.  The vast majority of the threadfins are 1.5 to 2" long in big bait balls, which is why I don't really see a need to go smaller than that.   This is also the size you see floating after schools of stripers or spotted bass feed on topwater.


jurelometer

#16
Quote from: SteveL on February 28, 2021, 12:21:40 PM
I don't know where the threadfin fry spend their days, but they really don't seem to be a major target of feeding.  The typical threadfin is likely fairly young due to the massive winter kills from the cold.   With bluebacks you notice more of a range in size.

In the video he references the small "young of the year" threadfins about 2" long.  The vast majority of the threadfins are 1.5 to 2" long in big bait balls, which is why I don't really see a need to go smaller than that.   This is also the size you see floating after schools of stripers or spotted bass feed on topwater.


Sorry, I must of misunderstood the post you made before this one.  I thought that you were saying that the baits were all larger, implying that only large flies were needed. I am also of the opinion that it is possible to do well almost anywhere with a few sizes of clousers.

Snot flies are an open water thing.  Ocean, and maybe big deep lakes.  Yes, snot flies probably will not do much for you for stripers in a relatively shallow lake.  The fry will spread out in the weeds and will not be be targeted.  In open water this is not an option and the food source for the fry is drifting plankton, so they school up tight and are available by the mouthful to larger predators.   I was pointing this out to illustrate  that even for a larger baitfish species, a small pattern may be needed, as the predators will key on size at different points in the life cycle.

-J

wfjord

My home fishing grounds are at a roughly similar latitude as Lanier and have the same basic bait fish here -- bluebacks, threadfin & gizzard shad, several species of shiners, including blacktail (spot-tail).  Pods of bait fish fry stay around the cover of the edges or up in coves during their smallest stages and will venture to more open water as they grow; preditor fish also drive them further out into the open.

River fishing during the annual springtime striper run up river from another lake further to the southeast is a different approach with a fly rod and the opportunity for larger fish is greater than in the lake. Plus the river is obviously more limited in width, with more precise traffic routes of larger fish as they move up stream (beneficial for fishermen who focus on that sort of thing).  In regards to fly gear, I've been well into the backing with river stripers on various occasions --and I can't recall that happening in the lakes.  In the lake, larger fish generally seem to stay deeper than the surface-feeding fish in the 5 -8 pound range I'm usually sight-casting to. That's why the serious bait fishermen & guides are usually out in deeper water with electronics, looking for and fishing the comfort zones of bigger fish.  But I much more enjoy throwing plugs or streamers than soaking baits.

In regards to top feeding stripers, I've heard it said that the smarter, larger fish are more aware of the position of a boat and will stay further out on the periphery of the more actively feeding smaller fish.

SteveL

Quote from: wfjord on March 02, 2021, 06:52:53 PM
My home fishing grounds are mostly at a roughly similar lattitude as Lanier and have the same basic bait fish here -- bluebacks, threadfin & gizzard shad, several species of shiners, including blacktail (spottail).  Pods of baitfish fry stay around the cover of the edges or up in coves during their smallest stages and will venture to more open water as they grow; preditor fish also drive them further out into the open.

River fishing during the annual springtime striper run up river from another lake further to the southeast is a different approach with a fly rod and the opportunity for larger fish is greater than in the lake. Plus the river is obviously more limited in width, with more precise traffic routes of larger fish as they move up stream (beneficial for fishermen who focus on that sort of thing).  In regards to fly gear, I've been well into the backing with river stripers on various occasions --and I can't recall that happening in the lakes.  In the lake, larger fish generally seem to stay deeper than the surface-feeding fish in the 5 -8 pound range I'm usually sight-casting to. That's why the serious bait fishermen & guides are usually out in deeper water with electronics, looking for and fishing the comfort zones of bigger fish.  But I much more enjoy throwing plugs or streamers than soaking baits.

That is the case with schools topwater feeding at Lanier.  Smaller fish are tearing up the surface, while lazier heavier fish might be directly below feeding on the dead or stunned threadfins sinking below the topwater bite.  Sometimes a spoon or a jighead tipped with dead threadfins cast into the middle of the feeding (even after it stops) will find larger fish lurking and waiting for bait to sink.

Even bait fishermen look forward to the stripers running up the rivers, and they will troll larger gizzard shad and trout looking for trophy sized fish. 

jurelometer

Quote from: SteveL on March 02, 2021, 07:12:34 PM
Quote from: wfjord on March 02, 2021, 06:52:53 PM
My home fishing grounds are mostly at a roughly similar lattitude as Lanier and have the same basic bait fish here -- bluebacks, threadfin & gizzard shad, several species of shiners, including blacktail (spottail).  Pods of baitfish fry stay around the cover of the edges or up in coves during their smallest stages and will venture to more open water as they grow; preditor fish also drive them further out into the open.

River fishing during the annual springtime striper run up river from another lake further to the southeast is a different approach with a fly rod and the opportunity for larger fish is greater than in the lake. Plus the river is obviously more limited in width, with more precise traffic routes of larger fish as they move up stream (beneficial for fishermen who focus on that sort of thing).  In regards to fly gear, I've been well into the backing with river stripers on various occasions --and I can't recall that happening in the lakes.  In the lake, larger fish generally seem to stay deeper than the surface-feeding fish in the 5 -8 pound range I'm usually sight-casting to. That's why the serious bait fishermen & guides are usually out in deeper water with electronics, looking for and fishing the comfort zones of bigger fish.  But I much more enjoy throwing plugs or streamers than soaking baits.

That is the case with schools topwater feeding at Lanier.  Smaller fish are tearing up the surface, while lazier heavier fish might be directly below feeding on the dead or stunned threadfins sinking below the topwater bite.  Sometimes a spoon or a jighead tipped with dead threadfins cast into the middle of the feeding (even after it stops) will find larger fish lurking and waiting for bait to sink.

Even bait fishermen look forward to the stripers running up the rivers, and they will troll larger gizzard shad and trout looking for trophy sized fish. 

Top of the pecking  order gets the spot under the bait school.  True for all kinds of species.  With a fly, it can be difficult to get past the little guys.  One trick is casting as far as you can past the boil.  This gives  the fly  a bit more time to get some depth before being discovered. 

Learned this the hard way:  Always work the edges.  Never cast through the middle of a bait school or boil, and try some dead drifts or long pauses on the retrieve.  It is the stragglers that get eaten. 

-J

SteveL

Quote from: jurelometer on March 02, 2021, 09:10:17 PM

Top of the pecking  order gets the spot under the bait school.  True for all kinds of species.  With a fly, it can be difficult to get past the little guys.  One trick is casting as far as you can past the boil.  This gives  the fly  a bit more time to get some depth before being discovered. 

Learned this the hard way:  Always work the edges.  Never cast through the middle of a bait school or boil, and try some dead drifts or long pauses on the retrieve.  It is the stragglers that get eaten. 

-J

Another option is to use a weighted bait (live or dead) under a slip float at 20-30 foot depth, cast past the top water action, then slowly reel through it pulling to let the bait rise and fall.  They are very sensitive to the size of bait they are feeding on.