24 Fish on Fly & LT
Greetings from Baymen Guide Service, Inc!
Boat was down yesterday for service. Back on the bay this morning with repeat clients, Ryan Ross, and his five year-old son, for fly fishing and light tackle striped bass.
At first light, a gentle SW wind and lots of bass working micro baits on topwater. VERY spooky fish, pushing away from the approaching boat at 75 yards away! Setting long drifts up wind was also a challenge as the fish were moving so fast over the flat, by the time your drift went over them they were already one hundred yards away in another direction. So, we landed a few and then decided to go find some new fish that were not on micro baits and not as spooky of the boat.
Next stop of the morning – BINGO! We found a bunch of fish in 3-4 fow up on the flats feeding on large baits and they could care less about the boat. We were able to set numerous drifts in the middle of these fish and we hooked up a lot. We started with a Baymen Universal fly pattern and then switched up to a white clouser. Later, we switched up to a sinking line on the 9′ 9wt clouser rod with a “Big Baymen” fly pattern in white and chartreuse. All three fly patterns got slammed by fish at certain times in certain spots. But the fish were finicky today and I believe that is because of the massive amounts of new baits that came into the bay last night on the tide. We finally left this school of bass as the tide was running out and the fish began to move out as well.
Third spot of the morning has been a little gold mine this season. It is an overlooked spot that really looks like no fish should be there. Just dead water. But it’s not. It has produced bass all season long for us, including many keepers. The lesson: Fish every small piece of water on the bay at all tides and learn when the bass will be passing through! You will be amazed at what you learn – and keep a good journal to look back on in future seasons. I have over SIXY spots on the bay now and after 30 seasons. I still forget about some of them until I go back and re-read my notes of where/when/what tide/what time of year/what bait/what water temp/what wind. You NEED a journal that reminds you of all that information…
Our last spot of the morning has had only a few fish in it over the past week. Last week, it had bass to 14 pounds in 4 fow! Today, it had several sub-legal bass and we landed a couple. The South winds kicked up and caused the boat drifts to be difficult. But we got it done, spooked a few, landed a few, and Ryan placed his fly on the X and we got our last fish of the morning over a weed bed along a cut. I should add that his 5 year old son was tired out from landing striped bass on light tackle rubber crankbaits all morning and did an amazing job out there with his Dad!
Total catch and release today was 24 striped bass. A great day for this father and son making great memories fishing together on the bay!
Back at it. STAY POSTED. I have forty-something charters left before my season comes to an end in October. I would love to have the pleasure of guiding you and putting you on the fish! I am booked up solid for the remainder of this season and I am about 70% booked for 2023 and 30% booked for 2024. Book early – Dates go quickly.
Tight Lines!
Capt. David Bitters, BAYMEN. www.baymenlife.com 30 Years Guiding The Bay. Fly Fishing & Light Tackle Striped Bass On The Massachusetts Coast. Shallow water is my specialty.