Greetings from Capt. Dave & BAYMEN!

On board today, Dave Mulcahy and his wife, Keri, for light tackle striped bass. Dave has been fishing with me for several seasons but this was Keri’s first time on board.

At first light, we found a nice school of fish hugging bottom in 24 fow. We were rigged with topwater poppers, so I quickly rigged out with Baymen Jigs and we dropped them down on the bass. WHAM! Two fish for our troubles. Several more ” taps” for no more takers.

The tide bottomed out and we ran for a spot I call “T-Time” in Plymouth. To our surprise it was dead. Not a single fish in that spot. We left there and went to another spot in Plymouth and that too, was void of bass. We did see some fish a ways away up on the flats in VERY skinny water. So shallow, the backs of the fish were sticking out of the water. There was no way to get to them.

Next, we ran out of Plymouth and found some more fish up on the flats in skinny water. We bottomed out and backed out and drove right into some more fish coming in with the tide – Hickory Shad! A lot of them. What a surprise. We switched out tackle again to a tiny 3″ rubber shad and that did the trick. We landed several before moving on. They are a lot of fun to catch and release on LT or fly.

Back in Duxbury and Kingston, we found some nice schools of striped bass coming into the bay on the rising tide. All topwater fish feeding on a bait ball of very small, skinny minnows that were dark olive and silver. The bass were very, very selective and we went through the tackle to try and get them to take. Some of them did and Keri landed a dinner fish on a Baymen Jig – a fat 30″ inch fish. Dave also hooked up. At one point, both Dave and Keri hooked into some real screamers ripping line off the drag. Both fish no doubt in my mind were over slots. But both fish threw the hooks and we never got a look at them.

The August heat was brutal and we finally called it a great morning on a flat-calm bay. Just gorgeous out there with a few seals in the mix. No sign of sharks today. A good thing. Total catch and release was 10 fish, 1 keeper that went home with Dave & Keri. A lovely morning on the water.

Back at it. Stay Posted:

Capt. David Bitters, BAYMEN, baymenlife.com 31 Years Guiding The Bay. Still In Love.

Soli Deo Gloria!

*BOOKING 2026 SEASON – FLY FISHING AND LIGHT TACKLE STRIPED BASS ON THE MASSACHUSETTS COAST*