Stripping for Stripers

Ready for a day with a "Pole Dancer"

Stripers. Picture a spring morning on the beautiful Beaver Lake. It's 5:45 a.m., and there is just enough light to see the breaking of water as you ride to your destination in the hopes that the busts will continue. There’s anticipation and a caffeine high that makes the 15-minute boat ride seem never-ending. Stripers can do this to a fly-fisherman. Stripers do this to us. They are a powerful fish that almost demand to be caught with Ugly Sticks and huge baitcasters, the kind that would make ole’ Johnny Morris proud. We, on the other hand, take a different approach. We want to feel every muscle of the fish on the end of our dainty 8-weights. Back to the build up…the sun has just ascended to light up the water around our cove. We are rigged up and the “morning rituals” have been completed, giving me the confidence that it is going to be a lucky day. The only sounds heard for the next hour and a half are striper busts, the harmonious casts of two eight-weight rods, and the cheerful laughs of two fishermen on the water living up the moments before they head into work where the only thing accomplished will be the planning of tomorrow morning's trip. So what fly is going to lead the way to our striper fantasy?? None other than the appropriately named “Pole Dancer.”

The Pole dancer is best explained by its creater Charlie Bisharats.  Watch Ole Charlie discuss his fly and how it works here.

The pole dancer is easy to cast if you have the right gear: a strong 8-weight, a reel that can withstand the ripping of your 8-weight floating line, and a sound double haul. Once the fly has hit the water (water that has just been kissed by a striper), you want to strip the line using short, quick pulls. The fly will do the rest; it will move similar to that of the zara spook lure. The head of the “dancer” will pop on the water, and it will move gracefully back and forth, almost putting you into a trance. It seems to also put the stripers into a trance, which is obviously the goal of the fly. 

      

Next time you are on the water looking to join the few and elite fly-fisherman who are engulfed in the striper dream, make sure that you have a few “Pole-Dancers” in your fly box. These flies can be purchased online through Leland Outfitters, or if you are a native of NW Arkansas, the guys @ McLellan’s Fly Shop in Fayetteville will hook you up with all the flies you need. Not to mention they carry all the sick gear that Ferg will be talking about on his "Gear Reviews" page. We have spent many of dollars at the joint, well-spent dollars I might add.

Catching stripers with a Pole Dancer. No need to say more.

Blessed Waters,

Chad