Richy Laughery "Monster 50lb 4oz Striper" TBT Story. Wanna read how he did it?

Hey Guys, My name is Richy Laughery and I am one of the kayak fishing gurus over here Southern Missouri. I have a great TBT (Throw Back Thursday) story I would love to share with the readers of theBBZ.com. last year there was an incredible striper bite at the headwaters of Bull Shoals that only accrues when the dam releases waters. After checking the US Corps of Engineers app on my phone I grabbed my kayak and rushed down to the lake only to find out a fleet of 12 bass boats surrounded the outlet area of the powerhouse, they must have the same app.

  I decided to take matters in my own hand and set out on foot to work key areas behind a break wall that had key factors to put the odds in my favor. I factored in current flow, slack line areas and yes an uphill approach.

  After I reached the spot I had notice another angler was there and was hooked up with a large fish. I quickly looked at the water conditions and tied on a 8" BBZ-1 fast sinking bait, why? With the speed of the current and the angle I was going to approach my spot I felt the fast sink would work the strike zone perfectly and the floating model I had would drift over the prime area to fast.

  I paused for a moment to observed the other angler fighting the fish and within a few minutes his fish was gone. I quickly stepped up and made sure my first cast of the day was perfect!. It was a 45 degrees upstream cast into the current above the area I thought I would get bit. I reeled just fast enough to keep up with the lure as I directed it into the slack water area and not to my surprise as it hit the edge of the slack water it came to a sudden stop! I set the hook and I felt a lot of weight at the end of the line and my heart almost stopped beating. During this battle I was assisted by another angler who had offered me the bow of his boat and we worked this fish for over 15 minutes. Once the fish tired out, the anglers son and I pulled the fish aboard and secured it with a large stringer. I grabbed my hand scale and hung the fish from it and watched the numbers tally to 50 pounds and 4 ounces. 

 I lazily made a few more casts in the same general area for another 15 minutes until the water was shut off. During that time I just kept looking at this massive striper that I had just caught and kept thinking, is there some truth to the first cast catch curse and boy I am sure glad my first cast was a good one.

  Thanks for reading about my epic day on the water, have you ever had a day like this?

-Richy Laughery-

Hey Guys, My name is Richy Laughery and I am one of the kayak fishing gurus over here Southern Missouri. I have a great TBT (Throw Back Thursday) story I would love to share with the readers of theBBZ.com.