On board today, regulars Chris & Molly DeVillers for light tackle striped bass. This couple have been fishing with me for many years.

At first light, choppy NNE seas and wind and sunny skies. High tide dropping and water temps 66-58 degrees. Air temps were cool. We headed for spot #1 of the morning that has been producing pretty good the past few days. We found a handful of fish but with the NNE wind, the drifts were all wrong. We moved down bay and picked up a few more fish on structure. Not a lot of fish in the area and two of my spots were void of bass.

I decided to try to find some water out of the wind and headed to a spot that offers decent fishing and protection from the wind. We made one cast, I looked into the distance and could not believe what I saw in the chop: breaking fish! I had everyone reel up and we zipped over and got into topwater bass right away. The sonar lit up as well and there was some good schools of bait and bass hugging the bottom.

The drifts were good in the NNE and as the morning went on, the bay laid down and winds became light and northerly. Perfect for what we were doing with light tackle.

We were catching and releasing a lot of fish when I heard Molly yell, “I got a good one!” WHZZZZZZZZZZZ…. The big fish peeled out line and the drag was singing my favorite song. The bass dove to the bottom and Molly fought it perfectly and pumped it back to the surface with light tackle. When we all got a glimpse, I went for the net. Molly got the big fish to the surface and I attempted to net it. Too big!!! I then slid the hoop of the net under the fish to stabilizer it and handed the net to Chris. He held it steady while I gripped the fish’s jaw with my two hands and hauled it over the gunwale. Forty-One Inches!!! We took some quick pictures and then released the big fish. It gave a mighty tail slap and swam off.

We continued to fish around the bay and found a few fish in each of my spots. Nothing big, but lots of fun on LT. Early in the morning, we landed a lot of fish 26″ inches to 27 3/4″ inches. We were hoping for a keeper dinner fish. We ended the morning with a total catch and release of 45 striped bass today, all on light tackle, all on structure, with a handful of topwater fish. An absolutely wonderful June morning on the bay with two great fishermen.

Back at it. Stay Posted:

Capt. David Bitters, BAYMEN, www.baymenlife.com 29 Years Guiding The Bay

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