Greetings from BAYMEN & Capt. Dave, and welcome to the 2024 Striped Bass Season! It is underway…

Today at first light, I took out my TDB Duck Boat – loaded with fly rods and Baymen Universal fly patterns, in search of Spring Striped Bass. Found them! I left the dock at 5:15am and by 5:30am I was hooked up on my first fish of the morning.

A tightly balled school of bass were working under birds on VERY tiny baitfish. The bass were busting topwater and they were shoulder to shoulder along the edge of a flat on the last hour of dropping tide. I was in maybe 4 fow most of the time and was watching the bottom as the tide was zipping out on a minus – 1.4 low.

The fish were very, very selective and did not want to leave the bait or take anything else. But with a variety of techniques and a lot of patience and tea cup casting, I started to hook up. The first few were big schoolies 24″-25″ inches and fat and healthy. I was hitting fish on the head all morning and I would feel them mouth my fly and then spit it out before I could set the hook.

After working the topwater I decided to do a cast and count in about 10 fow. I was thinking there had to be fish underneath the topwater fish and to my delight they were. I threw an olive/yellow clouser tied for me by Mike Rice. Twenty second count and I started a fast strip… WHAM! I felt like I hooked a cement block! My fly rod doubled over and line started to rip off the reel and I was SURE I had a keeper on the fly. Ten minutes later and after a very, very strong fight, I was shocked to see a 25″ incher come up off the bottom – hooked in the top of back! He must of swiped at the fly, missed it, and then I hooked him in the back. Boy, what a fight.

Next up, I switched over to my Baymen Universal fly pattern that I tied up without eyes. I like these patterns because they “breath” almost like a flat wing. I use a lot of peacock hurl over the back dressing for added movement when I stop the fly in the water. I cast out, snaked a ton of slack, and let the line sink down deep for 30 seconds… Then, a slow strip, pause… Striped, pause… Strip, pause…WHAM!!! Oh my gosh – another  cement block! But this one felt like a solid jaw hook and like a much bigger fish. “KEEPER!” was my first thought. The fish doubled over my fly rod and took drag like crazy. I tightened down my drag three times as the fish ran into my backing, then thought better of it and backed the drag off a bit. This fish felt like a good one! A great tug of war for 15 minutes on my BVK 8 wt and a 15 pound tippet. I put the screws to this fish and I thought my fly rod was going to break. After a lot of pumping and maintaining that delicate balance of moving the fish without breaking him off, I had him by the TDB Duck Boat. I lipped him and brought him on board and taped and weigh: 34+” inches, 15 pounds – on my 8 wt and a Baymen Universal fly! A wonderful fish. I took a quick picture, put him back in the water and held his tail, until he gave a big tail slap, and took off like a shot. A solid morning to start the season.

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