57 Fish
On board this morning, I had repeat clients Chris Barry, John Vance, and Andy for light tackle striped bass.
At first light, a dead low incoming tide, water temps 65 at the dock, and a light WSW wind. NOAA was calling for a stiff SW this am but my prayers were answered and the winds stayed low until after my charter. And lots of striped bass were inside the bay!
First recon of the morning and it looked very quiet once again. And it was quiet in most parts of Duxbury, Kingston, and Plymouth Bay. We worked our way up a narrow guzzle trying to catch up to a small school of bass, but they ran up onto flats so shallow, that even I couldn’t get to them! So, we backed out and moved on.
Next stop, lots and lots of striped bass over some new flats with birds working overhead. We were bumping ground trying to get to them, but once we arrived, we slid into some deep cuts through the flats and it was game on. As the tied continued to rise, we were able to move around the flats with the fish. More and more fish showed up and we had a blast targeting topwater bass going by the boat. We had many double and triple hook-ups.
Next, we ran about a mile and found more topwater bass along Browns Bank No secret, as there were at least a dozen boats chasing birds, bass and bait around the bank. Browns is always a good spot in the fall run to have a look around. No sign of Charlie today. We boated a lot of bass and then moved on.
Third spot of the morning was a recon spot and there was a small school of bass moving through a cut. We pulled into them and hooked up on a few more fish. From there, we ran up into Duxbury and tried some tidal spots that typically hold bass but no fish were moving through. They were all on the bait balls. Find the bait and you will find the fish because that is where they all are in the fall run!
Total catch and release today was 57 striped bass including 1 blue, all on light tackle. Top lures continue to be be rubber crank baits using the Baymen Bounce technique. It was just a lovely fall morning on the bay with a great crew.
Tight Lines!
Capt. David Bitters, F/V BAYMEN, www.baymenlife.com Instagram @baymencharters