14 Fish
On board today, Mr. Dick Bowman, for his birthday charter! Dick and I have been fishing together for many years.
At first light, high tides and choppy SW breeze that stayed with us for the morning. We made a beeline for a piece of water I have not fished this season across the bay. We passed one school of fish under Lesser Terns. Other than that, no other birds or topwater was seen anywhere on the bay today.
Upon arrival at spot #1, we found a school of striped bass on a worm hatch. They were sipping like trout and were just as selective. They were also spooky in the shallow waters of 4-7 fow. We worked them for a while and landed six fish before moving on. We picked up one more fish as we existed the area.
Next up, we fished a piece of water in Plymouth with no hits. No sign of topwater anywhere so we ran up into Duxbury. Bingo! We found a handful of fish on structure that were there two days ago. We set several drifts with the SW pushing us against the dropping tide and hooked up. Fat, healthy schoolies. We worked several more spots in the area without hits and moved on.
Next, we fished a tried and true ripilne ( you know the one!) without a bump. That was a surprise but it was still early in the falling tide. From there we fished a favorite guzzle of mine with no fish found.
As the morning drew to a close, we headed for another favorite spot and had two hits but no hook-ups. Then the final thought of the morning was to work the oyster grants. Fish were there! We set a nice, long couple of drifts and hooked up on several more fish in 5 fow. The oyster grants create structure and baitfish sometimes will hold around the grants and striped bass cruise through looking for the bait.
Total catch and release today was 14 fish on fly and light tackle.
I should mention a most enjoyable spontaneous break Dick and I took during the charter. We just sat and drifted and talked for maybe 30 minutes. Dick is a United States Marine and extremely knowledgeable on the history of war. I sat and listened and learned of the workings of historical wars in Europe and the Pacific. Thank you for your service, Dick. Home of the brave land of the free.
Back at it. Stay Posted:
Capt. David Bitters, BAYMEN, www.baymenlife.com