I did it... My Personal Best Stripers

[TheWhizzle]

[center]Willow Beach

10-30-09


I talked the wife and kid into heading out for a trip today.


We hit the water at noon...
Not my ideal fishin time, but hey, I'll take it.


After a short paddle, we find ourselves at a nice beach for a stretch.

I hear a splash and look up. 20 yards out, I see a big striper busting the surface on a trout.

I grab my rod and make a monster cast out to deep water.
3 pumps, and I get NAILED.

That fish hit so hard, I didn't even have to set the hook.

He runs for a big log-jam, and I put on the pressure.
I horse him away from the snag, and drag him up on the sand.

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We take a few snapshots, and off she goes...
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Now I'm stoked.

My lure is trashed now. its missing its tail, and the head is splitting open.
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Re-tie? Naw, I'll throw it anyway.


I make another long cast out into deep water and start a real erratic retrieve.

About half-way in, I hook into a tree trunk...

Wait, it's moving!

I guess stripers like to eat trout that are missing their tail.



This fish is big.

Holy crap... This fish is real big!

I narrowly dodge another thick wood snag, and eventually pull this beast onto the shore.

The pictures say it all....
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She was a little grossed out about having to pose with the fish. The speaks for itself.

A few more pictures, and this one went back to where it came from.

Off the water by 2:30pm.

Couldn't have been any better.







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[Pondking]

Hey nice stripers [cool] good report and great pics. I'm surprised you landed two of those bad boys good job. Now i'm all excited and want to head out there with a storm bait thanks for sharing.
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[teapot_fisher]

Hi, Nice Catch!! Would you mind telling me where you landed the beast? Is that the Nevada side or Arizona side? How far was it from the Marina? I haven't been to Willow beach for over a decade, it is surprising how it has changed. My friend and I were out there looking for some good fishing last week, unfortunately, we were there for 3 hrs without a single bite. We were using lure and bait(anchovies) with no luck at all. It was a pretty disappointing trip. It was pretty shaky there especially where you are on a boat and there are absolutely no cell phone signal in the area. Maybe I'll try again one of these days! Cheers!!
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[Sil240sxrwd]

HAHA!! wow congrats man!.. I know you have been talking for a long ass time about hooking into one of those big stripers and you get 2 in one trip!!! Unbelievable!! This report made my day.
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[Vlad702]

try smokin it on alder wood for 30 min...

I heard Willow Beach will be upgraded $20mil by the end of 2010...
here is news link: [url "http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/feb/01/lake-meads-willow-beach-get-20-million-upgrade/"]http://www.lasvegassun.com/...-20-million-upgrade/[/url]
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[TheWhizzle]

I was pretty close to the marina- maybe within a mile. Im not sure, but I think it was the AZ side.
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[stripercraze]

Great Job!!!

Willow is a great place to fish or just relax. Even better when the fish are hungry.

Stripercraze
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[reellittlephish]

Congratulations, John!
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[BigE]

[cool]Nice going Whizzle!! Its good to see some larger stripers for a change. I fished willow about three weeks ago for nada. I need to get a kayak when funds allow so I can paddle upstream for some of that action. Were you able to weigh those guys or measure them? The last looked in the teens. When I hooked into a large striper some years ago it too felt like I stuck a stump until it moved. Way to go!!
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[myersT]

Must be those new Costa Del Mars you are wearing. Nice catch and great family outing.
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[TheWhizzle]

Haha... It for sure was the sunglasses. They were blessed by Aaron Martens good luck! []
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[montananinnv]

nice work sir, was your daughter scared of that thing? it was a beast
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[albinotrout]

Very Nice!!! She will love it in time and will remember this day years to come. Congrats on the nice stripers.
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[BaySport]

My vote for "Fishing Report of the Year". Everyone deserves a day like that at least once in their lifetime.

I've been down to Willow this fall for nada. Below is a picture of my friend Chuck as we take a break at Boy Scout Canyon. My son lets me use his inflatable when I go down to the river. I may be heading there this weekend. [] Thanks for sharing.
BaySport

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[Jimboslice]

HAHA Nice!
Way to go Whizzle!!

Damn nice, I was out there that day trout fishing. Some days I don't even bring my striper pole and lure out of the car. I'm gonna have to bust it out this week though. I'll be out there this friday also.

Congrats again man.
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[TheWhizzle]

I went out there with my new trout setup that day.
I almost left my big pole at home cause I just ordered a new ultra-light Pfleuger reel and I wanted to bring some trout home for the freezer. It wasn't until I saw a big striper slamming the surface that i grabbed the big guns.

Its a sweet trout combo, but I wont be using it much.

After all that excitement, I went to Bass Pro and got a new striper rig.

It's a big ol' Ugly Stick Tiger with a Penn Jigmaster spooled with 30lb Big Game.

Its the best value for the money around. Just under $100.







The Tiger is a 7 foot one piece. Its pretty sweet.

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[lvrider]

Very nice. You deserved it. So you caught that standing on shore?
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[TheWhizzle]

Yup, both fish came from a 20 yard stretch of beach.
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[Jimboslice]

Nice setups, they are both similar to what I am using atm. I have the lightest model of the Pflueger Presidnet for trout.


and the Shimano Cardiff 401a for stripers.


They are both great reels.

Ill be out there this friday morning, maybe I'll see someone.
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[TheWhizzle]

I went out yesterday (thurs) from about 3 til 6 pm for nada.

Talked to a couple dudes at the ramp that were going out in search of striper-zilla. They were pretty cool- gave me a $25 swimbait for no reason.

Those guys work at the hatchery there, and live in the area.

What a sweet gig, to work at the hatchery, and just grab your boat when your shift is up and start fishing...

Thats the life.
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