On board today, I had Col. Richard “The Machine” Comstock (Ret.) for fly only striped bass.

At first light, a stiff East breeze: birds, bait and bass in very shallow waters. All the fish were small but a great challenge on fly gear. We changed up patterns and techniques and settled on a small, white bucktail tied by Mike Rice of muddogsaltwaterflies. The technique was an immediate, fast strip after landing the the fly on top of a rolling fish. There was tons of bait to compete with so your presentation had to be on the mark. The topwater lasted for about an hour and then the fish were gone. Where? My guess out of the bay and onward in the southern migration.

Next up, we checked on several spots around the bay, tight to shore and structure. Almost no fish anywhere. We did pick up two bass, however. Next, we ran the bay and found a small school of fish, birds and bait in very shallow waters. The waves and east wind made setting drifts difficult, but we managed to land a few more fish. The highlight was watching a 36″ inch bass chasing a hooked 16″ inch bass and trying to steal the fly out if it’s mouth. The big fish swam cheek to cheek with the schoolie right by the boat. It was cool to see and watch.

We finally decided to fish some calmer waters and tucked in behind Clark’s Island for a while. Not a single bump or hook-up around the Island but a nice break from the East chop.

We ended the morning with 13 striped bass to 22 1/2″ inches landed and released on the fly. A fun morning in non-stop east wind and chop. On our way back to dock NOAA posted a Gale Warning.

Back at it. Stay Posted:

Capt. Dave
BAYMEN
www.baymenlife.com

*Note – my photo software is not work and I cannot post any of my pics as usual. Please see today’s photos on the Baymen Charters FB page.