On board yesterday, I had repeat client, Billy Tedeschi, for light tackle and live bait striped bass fishing.

At first light, it was fairly calm with a stunning sunrise. We decided to run offshore and jig for macks. On our way, the East Winds kicked up and we had small rollers and chop. We used sonar to try and mark macks. We then trolled a large grid pattern of the area from 45 feet out to 90 feet without a single hit or a mark. No macks off Gurnet today!

Back inside the bay, we rigged topwater tackle with Gagg’s Grabbers and Heddon Super Spooks. Fish were few but we found them in a couple of overlooked spots around the bay. The fun part was, these fish were holding in 2-3 feet of water, VERY tight to shore! We got some hits in a foot of water. We had a lot of what I call “East Winders” fish that won’t feed in an east wind, but follow the lure and tail slap it anyway out of instinct. It is fun fishing and every so often a hungry fish does slam the lure and you hook up. In a West or South wind, we never have “East Winder” fish. Just one of my many observations in 21 years of guiding on Dux/Ply/King bay.

At one point, we ran all the way to the mouth of the eel river and drove up it a short distance. No fish. We checked a few other spots and no fish. So, we ran back to where we were hooking up earlier and got back into some more top-water hook-ups and “East Winders.” We ended the morning with 13 fish landed and released and 1 keepah that went home in the cooler. Not a bad morning on the water in my least favorite wind: “East is least” on our bay, but if you keep at it and switch things up, you can still have a great morning.

Tight Lines & Stay Posted!

Sincerely,

Capt. Dave
www.baymenlife.com