hello,
I am heading out to lake Havasu this weekend and I would like to try for stripers with my flyrod for the first time and really appreciate some pointers in how to dept: what line? flies, and etc.?
I have a couple of trout set ups (floating, immediate, sink lines in 6 wts) as well as 8 & 10 wts with shooting heads that are set up for surf fishing.
Which one of these set ups will work the best?
Thank you

Howard

Howard:
Here's the deal. Both your trout outfits and the 8-weight would come in handy. Unless you find schools of striper on top chasing shad, you will be using sinking lines. Ofen you need to get down 15- 20 feet. The 8-weight can be handy if the wind is blowing, which it often does.
There is a legal trick you can use to get deeper fish up and that is to anchor up-current of a point that holds a school of stripers (a depth finder is very handy for this kind of fishing) and chum with bits of cut up anchovy until the stripers start coming up to eat, then feed 'em a fly.
I would suggest some streamers or Woollly Buggers in white with some flash in them or similar white or greyish flies. You can also take some small pencil poppers in case you find fish actively working the surface
Also, don't forget that Havasu is quickly becoming one of the best smallmouth bass fisheries in the west. There are chunk smallmouth all over the place
Bring what you intend to fish with, because I don't believe Havasu City has any kind of fly shop, even now.

Rick Bean

Rick,
thank you for the tip. I do have a fish finder (I probably have to get a new battery since I haven't used it years)
I am going to check into a flyshop here in Vegas and see what selection of white striper flies they have, if any.
I was hoping the stripers will hit clousers and some of salmon flies I have as long as the color scheme is not too far off and they are the right size.
What do you think would be the best fly size?

Howard

I would try a size 1.0 or a size 2 Sheep minnow in something like a TMC 911 hook in a 2-x-long.
Just ask the dealler for a Clowser in a white, size 1.0 or #2 ,
and see if he has any minnow flys.
See if he has any floating minnows looks the same but has a Deer hair head.
works great if the are hitting top water.

_________________
Steve Clark
Web Master
Deep Creek Fly Fishers Club
www.deepcreekflyfishers.org