Greetings from Capt. Dave & BAYMEN!

On board today, regular, Baymen Dick Bowman who has been fishing with me for years. Dick and I fish together about ten trips a season and he always insists that I fish along with him. What a treat to be able to wet a line alongside him on his charters.

At first light, a half-tide rising, overcast, bay was a sheet of glass. Not a ripple. Water temps 67 at the harbor and 62 out in the bay.

Found fish right out of the gate as the sun began to rise. Only trouble was they were in 6″-12″ of water and there was a lot of oyster gear between us. So, I decided to move onward.

Next stop of the morning we found fish with birds working overhead on a small ripline. Dick’s first cast of the morning – FISH ON! We moved up and down a deep trough and there were fish all over it.

Next, we headed for the middle of the bay to see what we could see. Found a handful of bass with a handful of birds in deep waters, 34 feet or better. Got a few but they were running and gunning and it was hard to guess where they would pop up next – usually 100-300 yards distant. We played that game for a while and moved again.

Next stop of the morning, birds working a flock of cormorant (don’t get fooled). We made a few casts anyway without a hit. We tried a few more spots and decided to keep on going to our next spot a mile away.

Back where we started and those fish were long gone, as were the birds. But about 1/4 quarter of a mile away, some fresh fish in from the migration came to the surface in a big blitz for about 60 seconds. We got right on them and began to hook up! Some VERY hard fighting fish peeling drags. Even 26″ and 27″ inch fish giving us great action and fights to the boat on fly and LT. These fish would go down and then pop back up at five minute intervals. I marked the school on sonar and we estimated there were 200+ fish in this school. Fall Run fish stopping into our bay on their way south to the Chesapeake. 

We finally called it a great morning and headed for harbor. We passed another small school of fish and hit the brakes for a few casts. We chased them around for a short time and then wrapped up the morning.

Total catch and release today was 20 striped bass, 2 keepers on fly and light tackle. No sign of blues, no seals, and no sharks. Bait and birds were fairly scarce. No massive fall blitz action but it is getting better and better each week. Today was just plain fun on a flat-calm bay with a great U.S. Marine!

Back at it. Stay Posted: September is just up the road.

Capt. David Bitters, BAYMEN, baymenlife.com 31 Years Guiding The Bay and Dog Tired (jk) :o)

BOOKING 2024 & 2025 SEASONS. FLY FISHING & LIGHT TACKLE STRIPED BASS ON THE MASSACHUSETTS COAST. BOOK EARLY – DATES GO QUICKLY, OFTEN A YEAR IN ADVANCE OR MORE.