Greetings and Happy Summer from Capt. Dave & BAYMEN!

A lot going on in Baymen World (!!!) that I will share with any of my clients and friends on the water, or shoot me a text, or better – let’s grab a coffee (Decaf).

THE FISH

Striped Bass season has been up and down for the most part. BIG bass early. Really big bass and that was so nice to see and hear and see everyone’s posts. Then it slowed up and very few shorts and under slots inside our three bays. Even some dead days and fish were not to be found. Today (June 26, 2026) a handful of topwater fish scattered around the bay at first light, then nothing.

If you have followed some of my early season reports, you know my thoughts: the striped bass populations coming out of the Chesapeake, Delaware, and Hudson Rivers (where ALL of our striped bass come from in Plymouth/Duxbury/Kingston bays) have been in a slow, steady decline for years due to poor management (overfishing commercially and recreationally). This is the constant up and down theme in the 33 years I have been guiding on the bay, and the 50 years I have been fishing the spring, summer and fall run striped bass in our three bays. My fishing logs state that I am at 93,000 striped bass caught and released on my boat with clients, over the past 33 seasons.

There was word coming from various sources that management would be making some changes all for the better, but then the management voted “status quo” for the 2026 season. So, maybe if the stocks start to approach bottom (year class fish) management will then take action to rebuild the stocks. That is the history of striped bass management on the Atlantic coast in a nutshell. It will be a pretty big regulatory change when it does happen. Stay posted as this is an ongoing story.

OTHER NEWS

I will be back on the bay in mid/late August and will be going full-steam ahead into the Fall Run with my existing clients. I am sending all my current overflow (and there is a lot!) to Capt. Brian Kelly who runs charters out of Plymouth and on the Cape. Shoot me an E-MAIL if you want to fish and I will cc Capt. Brian into our conversation. Like all top guides, he is booked up way in advance, but dates do open up during the seasons from time to time. Capt. Brian does not work for me. He runs his own charter business. But he fishes good or better than I do so I confidently  recommend him to all my clients.

That is your BAYMEN Fishing Report update for today, June 26, 2026. Stay posted as I gear up to get back on the bay mid-August for the Fall Run!

Sincerely,

Capt. Dave, BAYMEN, baymenlife.com 33 Years Guiding The Bay. Still In Love.

SOLI DEO GLORIA!!!