Got My Biggest Freshwater Fish 5/6/2011

[AndyS]

I told my wife this morning I was going to fish for striped bass in the Raritan River. I told her that the stripers come up the river to spawn in the spring. She said, if you catch a striper that is spawning are you going to kill it ?, I said, nah, I’ll just let it go.
Headed over to the river in South Bound Brook this morning with very high hopes of getting my first freshwater striper. I felt like the moon and stars were properly aligned so I thought my chances were going to be good. The river level was dropping from recent rains and the water had a tea color to it.
I got to the falls around 8am and there are these two older gents who love to fish for shad, the one guy said he had 4 this morning, they throw darts, and only in the morning, I guess they are retired.
I did a few throws below the falls and started working my way down river. Fished some of the steady moving water for a while then made my way down to the pipe. I fished the fast water below the pipe and got smacked real hard on my plug. This striper smacked it twice before I hooked him, then it was..GAME ON !! With my 7’ Kunan one piece rod and my Diawa 2600 SS filled with 12 lb. Berkley Trilene it took me every bit of fifteen minutes to land the 36” fat striper. My phone was ringing in my wader pocket when I was fighting the fish and I couldn’t answer it, but somehow I just knew it was Maddhatterr.
I got the beauty to the bank and I was shaking , got the hooks out of the stripers mouth and sent him on his way. I’ve caught some nice bass on the beach in the fall, but I use heavier tackle when I fish the beach, this was the way to go, what a great fight.
Checked my phone and sure enough, it was Maddhatterr that had called. I told him the story and he was very happy for me. I fished a while longer and moved back up to the falls. The two older gents were still fishing for shad and I watched each of them hook up. The shad are HUGE, real drag smokers !!
Did a few more throws around the falls and that was it. I was walking back to my car and another angler and his girl were coming down the foot bridge going to the canal. I asked them if the were going to fish the river, the guy said HECK NO, I’m fishing the canal, I want to get that 3 foot long catfish that snapped my line last week !
I have to thank Bill ( I think that’s his name ) for making the video and putting it out there. I see him from time to time and he is just a wealth of information when it comes to fishing the Raritan.
If you like a real challenge I invite you over to the Raritan River. Try to park in designated areas, don’t throw trash all over the place, respect others fishing around you, and practice CPR ( catch, photograph, and release) No camera today as usual, I think bringing the camera is the kiss of death. ( you know what a 36” striper looks like ) This fishery should hold up through the month of May, after that I think the stripers turn tail and beat it back to the ocean.
As always if you need more info, just send a PM. Lure today was just a plain black and silver bomber, about 7” long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol2tPGW_hwE