Consarnit! Them Fish are Bitin'!

Bill Butts and I spent an afternoon chasing temperates.  Conditions were favorable and the fish cooperative as a front was approaching and the day's temperature reached 80+ degrees.  We were throwing 6 to 8 weight rods and either RIO Outbound or RIO Sink Tip lines in the 250 grain window.  The fish were scattered throughout the system with us catching fishing in depths from 3' up to 12'.  

Three stripers in the boat with this 7# eating a Shuttlecock on the fall.    

The hybrids were very active on Sz 1 to 1/0 chartreuse clousers, Sz 6 Rodney Bait, and a Sz 1/0 Shuttlecock.

I learned / relearned the importance of eyes on a fly.....After catching our biggest striper, an eye fell off the Shuttlecock.  We didn't catch anything for a few minutes, so, I switched to a new fly with both eyes intact.  First cast caught another striper.  Coincidence maybe.  Maybe not. 

  

And, an aspect of the hybrids in relation to the Shuttlecock (or any bigger fly I presume).  The scenario we had fishing a 5' deep run that dropped to an 8' deep hole.  After the Shuttlecock would swing through the run, I'ld allow the fly to sink trying to hit the dropoff.  A very slow strip retrieve would sometimes elicit, what felt like, a whack of the tail or body of the hybrid to the fly.  It wasn't an eat but an attempt of the fish to stun the bait.  If I didn't attempt to set the hook and instead just left the fly (or maybe allow a little line out of the rod tip), the fish would come back and eat it.  Pretty fun action and I think an effective technique when the fishing pressure is high and other boats in the vicinity are throwing Alabama Rigs over your head. 

-Jim