47 Fish
On board today, I had regulars Gary Condon of Affordable Closet Systems, and Greg Powers, for light tackle striped bass. Gary & company have been fishing with me for 15 years or more.
At first light, NW winds 15 knots and seas 2 feet. Choppy going. But we found a school of bass right out of the gate and picked up our first six fish on the morning. On to the next school of fish and we added a few more fish. The schools were fast moving, breaking up and getting back together frequently. But they were hitting our rubber crank baits non-stop when fished with the proper techniques: cast n count and Baymen Bounce.
We moved on to a third school of bass and set many drifts. We hooked up on every single drift and with the winds kicked up to 20 knots and seas 2-3 feet, we fished very long, fast drifts – even after the bass were gone. We still found fish near the bottom, over weed beds and right up on the flats in 5 fow and less.
After fighting the winds for several hours, we ducked in behind some wind breaks and set up drifts that were slower and easier to fish. We found no birds or topwater action, but the bass were on the bottom and we coaxed them into hitting our our LT tackle on every drift. We were joined by a flock of cormorants and Greg and a cormorant got tangled up in the line. We brought this lovely bird to the boat, untangled it and took it’s photo and then watched it fly off and join the other cormorants in top shape.
We ran back into the wind and seas, and things had actually settled down to about 12-14 knots and the white caps were gone. So we visited some channels that wind through the flats and found even more fish on the bottom. It was then that we checked the time and were shocked to learn we had been fishing non-stop for close to five hours! Time flies when you are having fun. We immediately took a break for lunch and enjoyed subs with all the fixings (each in our own individual bags to comply with Covid regs), chips, ice tea, brownies and chocolate! We ate good as it Gary’s tradition on all Baymen Charters since he began fishing with me years ago.
Total catch and release today was 47 striped bass on light tackle. Small and medium fish to 27″ inches as had been the norm in our bay this season and in many if not most bays up and down our coast. A wonderful morning fishing our beautiful bay for striped bass!
Back at it as the Fall Run continues to pick up. Stay Posted:
Capt. David Bitters, BAYMEN, www.baymenlife.com Covid-19 protocol observed on all Baymen Charters & guide services
***********27 YEARS GUDING ON THE BAY. NOW BOOKING 2021 & 2022 SHALLOW WATER STRIPED BASS ON THE MASSACHUSETTS COAST. FLY FISHING OR LIGHT TACKLE. BOOK EARLY, DATES GO QUICKLY**********