Greetings from BAYMEN & Capt. Dave!

Baymen Report For Friday 10/7/2022

On board today, Gary Condon and Greg Powers for light tackle striped bass. This crew has been fishing with me for many years and is always a lot of fun to have on board. Gary always spoils me with hot coffee at the dock and a full lunch on board towards the end of the trip. I go out fit and trim and come back waddling in a food coma LOL… Would not have it any other way! :o)

At first light, a golden glow sunrise and light SW wind. Tide was half incoming. We found several schools of bass scattered around the bay under birds. Also quite a few boats chasing them as it is Columbus Day weekend. The last hurrah for many anglers and boaters before calling it a great season and hauling their boats. We did our best to find our own fish and had to drive away from several groups to go search for them. It paid off.

We got into schools of bass that were holding well on peanut bunker. They were in full migratory mode and running back and forth over a several hundred yard area, and at times up to half-mile loops! But we stayed with them for many hours and bounced back and forth.

Everyone was chippy today, including the Captain, all going on very little sleep and fired up to fish! The catch and release numbers began climb and bass were working bait on the surface. Spooks, rubber cranks baits were the top lures. At one point, I marked six BIG bass on the bottom in 16 fow along the flats. We added a Baymen Jig to get down to them and also did the cast and count (bails open) with the rubber cranks baits. We hooked up but the smaller fish beat the BIG fish to the tackle as is common in mixed size fish. We went back to try for a second drift and those BIG fish had already moved on! No holding fish on structure in the Fall Run – all the fish are on the move.

After landing many fish, one that looked to be a small keeper that was released, we stopped for lunch in a lovely cove littered with PRIVATE BEACH signs. One thing the towns in SE Massachusetts love is signage. Lots and lots of signs everywhere warning/telling people what they can and can’t do. Up north where I guide in the Off-Season, there are no signs. Zero. Just wide open vast lands and waters. It is a breath of fresh air. I hope it stays that way forever. SE MA should clean up our environment and remove their signs ;o) 

After a full lunch of subs with all the fixings, chips, chocolate chip cookies and spring water, we began to work the bay on the dropping tide. The bass blitz had quieted down and almost stopped. Where do the big schools of fish go as the morning goes on? We searched on sonar and marked nothing from one end of the bay to the other. But we don’t give up easily and cut across the bay and fished several more spots and finally called it a great October morning on the water. The fall colors being a lovely added bonus.

Total catch and release today 29 Striped Bass, all on light tackle. Fat, hard fighting fall bass! Rubber Crankbaits, topwater Spooks, and Baymen Jigs. Three of my staple lures that let us fish all levels of the water column.

FINAL WORD: A very hardy congratulations to Gary Condon and his lovely Bride, Shari, who tied the knot this week! Wishing you lifelong joy, happiness and lots of fishing in the Condon household!

Back at it. STAY POSTED. 

Capt. David Bitters, BAYMEN, www.baymenlife.com Fly Fishing & Light Tackle Striped Bass On The Massachusetts Coast. 30 Years Guiding The Bay. Now Booking 2023-2024-2025 Seasons. Don’t wait. Dates go quickly.