Striped Bass on Spey?

[herl]

Originally Posted by Davala

I fish for Stripers in the Tidal Potomac River right in and around D.C. (the other Washington). Those that have visited the Nation's Capital know this is a BIG river. We get Schoolie Stripers most of the year, but Spring and Fall bring the larger fish. Since the size of the fish, or whether they will be there at all is a variable, I try to choose my tackle based on non-variables. In this case, the river is always big, the flies I cast are generally big and/or weighted, and I am always casting some sort of sinking tip or sinking line. Therefore, I opt for a larger rod, and my preference is a 14' 9 weight. I also have 13' 7 weight, and I have used a 11' 7 weight switch rod, but I always come back to the 14' 9 weight because it lets me fish this big river with less effort. There really is no wrong answer, but if the flies are heavy, the river is big, and you have a shot at a decent fish in heavy/tidal current, then I think a 6 weight is a little light. That said, I always tell people to fish with what you have, and when you find its limitiations you will know better what you need.

-Dan

Good to see you here Dan! As a newbie to the Potomac fishery I will be carefully considering your advise above as I gear up for the striper run in the coming months.. Right now I am planning on using my 13' ~7wt with a full sinking scandi head with an aggressive front taper (possibly tipped with some T-14) to throw large, but sparse baitfish patterns. It was my main steelhead rod back in the PNW, but may end up being to light for the flies I'll be using here.. I also have the TFO 2-hand conversion for the 8wt TiCrX. It is increadibly beefy and will probably take 600+ grains to spey cast, but might be a good plan B. Now I just need to know when, and where and how (and how deep) to find these fish.. - more discussion to follow on the google group I'm sure.
Eric