My days of living in a monogamous relationship with striped bass ended long ago, when I rediscovered freshwater bass fishing. I used to be a certified striper snob and thought of all other potential target species as either ‘boring’ or ‘not worth my time because they were about the size the plugs I was throwing!’ I have since come to realize that the benefits of learning the nuances of different species and styles of fishing leads to new discoveries and crossover techniques that can be applied to other fisheries. (And, a particularly welcome side effect is that I’m certain I have become a better striped bass fisherman as a result.)
One of the hard parts though, happens when peak periods for two species overlap. Last year my friend and Fisherman author Rowan Lytle introduced me to the exciting world of sight fishing for carp with artificial lures. Carp fishing has intrigued me for many years, but I hadn’t ever dipped my toe into the fishery. When Rowan described an interesting summer fishery, (detailed in his article in our June issue entitled “Mulberry Madness”) I found myself in a near manic state as I tried to imagine how I would approach this phenomenon. If you haven’t read the article, basically ripe mulberries fall off of overhanging trees and the carp become hyper-focused on the sound of the berries plopping into the water and will rush to be the first to inspect anything that splashes down nearby.
Rowan, pretty much, only fishes with a fly rod and he’s as dangerous with that thing as anyone you’ll find. He described the flies he uses for this fishery and we talked about commercially available baits that might work. I couldn’t go there with a box full of maybes and have him whaling away on the carp while I watched in embarrassment. I also knew that I absolutely would not resort to ‘livelining’ a mulberry. So I set my mind to creating a berry ‘plug’ that looked like the real thing and I felt then that I would be ok with striking out with my best berry mimic. My first creations were pretty crude, but I did hook up twice, both fish broke off! Rowan had three or four that day and I became obsessed.
The things I love about this fishery, over and above the fact that I created a unique lure that works, is how visual it is and how challenging it is. You’re never making a blind cast, you’re seeing every fish and you’re having to make a precise presentation; if you land too far away, they won’t move for it, if you land too close to them, they will freak out and disappear. On top of that, the carp often lose sight of the berry right as they make their final approach, and nose it, forcing you to be perfect when setting the hook. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that it took me a few trips to land a fish and to nail the timing on setting the hook. Sight fishing is foreign to a nighttime plug slinger!
But the time is again upon us and striper fishing is also red hot. Sure, I’d love to find ways to do both every day, but being an adult with a job, family and house means I can’t. So I’m forced to borrow time from one to give to the other. Honestly, it’s a good problem to have.
This experience has also opened up pathways to new fisheries that I now find myself excited to explore. The one that stands out beyond all others is sight fishing for striped bass. Yes, I have done it. But it’s always been an opportunity that presented itself in the moment, not something I went out with intention of doing, but that’s about to change.
There is so much to learn in fishing that one couldn’t possibly master it all in a lifetime. Each one of us has a species or an angling discipline that we associate with who we are, it’s right up among the other things that define us to the people we meet. Think about it, how long does it take you to tell someone you fish when you’re making small talk at a dinner party? I’m usually there in three or four sentences. But by branching out into other species, we gain a rounder understanding of that niche that defines us. The things I’ve learned about tide and current from fishing for tautog, for example, has opened up a whole new highway of understanding that I have been able to apply to surfcasting. And I know that when I’m out sight-casting for stripers, my experience feeding fake berries to carp is going to serve me well. Imagine that!
