The early morning air felt and smelled “fishy” as I navigated my skiff through a narrow tule channel flooding into a tiny, shallow lake. Just a few days before the full moon, it was a typical Indian Summer morning in late September, where 50-degree mornings gave way to afternoons in the mid-80s. My electric motor helped us approach in stealth mode toward the huge V-wakes and tails we could see pushing 30 yards in front of us. Silence is not only appreciated, it is necessary when a wolf pack of trophy stripers is feeding in skinny water.
My two anglers simultaneously launched 6-inch Rattle Clouser flies from both ends of the boat. As soon as the flies hit the surface...