On board today, I had the pleasure of guiding Marylou O’Connell for LT striped bass. Today was extra special, as it is Marylou’s Birthday week and she loves to fish!

At first light, flat calm seas and a light North wind. Water temps inside the bay were a staggering 78-80 degrees! Needless to say, the fishing was tanked but we worked hard for what we could find. We fished Duxbury and Plymouth waters in many of my spots. Very few fish in the bay and what is here is small stuff.

The tide was dropping, so we fished several dropping tide spots and picked up a few fish at about half my spots. Lots of hits and spits in some places due to small fish. We landed1-1.5 year old fish and our biggest fish taped at 22″ inches. There was a smattering of pogies in the bay, but not many and they were not schooled up. No fish were on the ones we found.

We made the best of the slow bite and worked the bay hard with rubber crank baits. Marylou fished hard non-stop all morning and it was impressive. When I wished her a happy birthday at the end of the trip, she told me it was her 83rd! I was stunned! Happy Birthday, Marylou! Wishing you a wonderful week. You are an amazing fisherman!

Total catch and release today: 15 fish from 12″-22″ inches on light tackle.

Capt. David Bitters, BAYMEN, baymenlife.com