STRIPERS!

Nick Mallencore and a 41-pound striper!

"Are you interested in a stripper adventure in Tennessee?" was the text I received from a good friend about seven weeks ago. I was shocked at first, then I laughed! I showed the message to several other friends before I asked Doug if he knew what he had sent! Not to worry, no jokes about teeth or smell! 

Six weeks later, I had just cleaned the area around the dryer and pulled it away from the wall. The tool box in one hand and dryer belt in the other, I was ready to tackle the job. I just backed the second screw out of the dryer when my phone rang. It was my old buddy Doug. "The stripers are running in Tennessee! Ready to go?" Doug seemed rather excited. "Uh," looking at my mess, "When are we leaving?" Doug's reply was typical of us retired folk, "How does 7:00 PM sound?" I got the nod from my gracious wife. Thanks to the time zone change, at 1:30 AM we pulled into a motel for a nap!

We were on the boat by 9:00 AM. Nick was the owner who extended the invitation. What a great guy! You can imagine my surprise when I stepped onto a boat with no gas motor! That's right, no motor. His motor was in the shop for repairs, but that was not enough to deter him. Nick is a diehard fisherman! He had a boat that was set up perfectly for fishing. He did the restoration and modifications himself. The electric trolling motor pulled us across Cordell Hull Lake to the target area quite well. Along the way, Nick pointed out huge blips on the fish finder. "These could be stripers, big catfish or even sturgeon." I was amazed to be on a body of water that had the potential to produce such a large catch! 

We trolled for hours back and forth in the target area. Nick had three stripers on at once there the day before. We were trolling mostly husky jerks using planer boards and dipsy divers. The techniques are identical to what we use when trolling for walleyes on Lake Erie. Nick spent the time telling us about his knowledge of stripers, which was quite fascinating. We followed up the encyclopedia lesson by sharing fishing stories. Nick had a hearty lunch packed, and the fish left our lunch time undisturbed.

Without warning, lunchtime came to an abrupt halt. One of the large trolling poles was bent nearly in half! The reel sang in excitement as the fishing line peeled off with a "zing." I reached for the pole as Nick yelled, "Let him take line! It's a big one. You won't be able to turn him!" The drag was perfectly set. With rod tip up high, the large pole took the force of the fish. Before it became too much to handle, the drag would release line. My job was easy, hold on. Nick turned the boat back in the general direction of the fish. "Tighten the line slowly." He instructed. The line started to slacken. Being an experienced fisherman, I knew the fish was running at the boat. I reeled as fast as I could to keep up. "No, No! What are you doing?" Nick asked. "He's rushing the boat!" I responded. "Oh no! Don't lose him." Nick's comment was as more of a wish than a command. The line tightened, and the fight was back in play! Fifteen minutes later the fish tired, and I was slowly reeling him up to the watercraft. Nick stood poised with the net, trying desperately to catch a glimpse of the big fish. I couldn't help but notice that the net looked large enough to hold an average person.  For a moment, I saw a flash of a huge dark tail in the water. At a glance, magnified by the water, it appeared that I had hooked a whale! "What IS that?!" I begged. The puzzled looks on the faces of my two partners were all the answer I needed. Finally, "Moby Dick" came to the surface! "What in the world?!" I had to ask. Nick had tried and failed three times before he netted the fish. Once in the net, I dropped the rod and grabbed for the net. Together we pulled him over the gunwale. "It's a paddlefish!" Doug exclaimed. "Wow! I have never seen one anywhere near that big!" Nick was astonished. I had never seen one at all.

Author and 38-pound paddlefish

It was finally time for pictures! I also caught a yellow bass that day. I had never seen one of those either! It was a day for firsts. Although I did not land a "striper" that day, I did have an exciting experience. We decided to cast crank baits for white bass late in the day. On my second cast, something hit my plug and snapped the line so fast there wasn't time for the drag to release line! Nick asked how it hit. I said, "Well...it was as if I was going down the freeway. Then I cast my line and snagged a Chevy truck going the opposite direction!" He assured me that I donated the deep diving sexy shad crank bait to a "big striper."

Nick shared some meat from his 41-pound fish. We all took "striper" home to eat.

What a great trip! Nick Mallencore is taking classes this summer to obtain his charter captain's license. I highly recommend Nick as a guide. Nick's motor is back on his boat, and the stripers are in trouble!