Greetings from Capt. Dave & BAYMEN Guide Service, Inc!

On board today, regular, Baymen Dick “TK” Bowman for light tackle striped bass.

At first light, a dead-calm bay and overcast with light mist. Water temps 66 degrees. Half-tide rising. We found fish right away today under birds. About 1/3 of the fish we have been seeing since last week, but still a lot of fish to work on topwater and sub-surface.

The bass were still very spooky today but nothing like we have been experiencing. They held better and we were able to set up drifts and have them come right through the boat over and over again. When they did spook, we sat tight and kept fishing but went from topwater to a cast and count and got our flies and LT right down on the bottom to solo fish. This seemed to increase our hook-ups. We worked these fish and other schools around the bay for several hours before finally moving on.

At one point, we spotted a bass up against the shore, behind a long hump of marsh grass, working bait in a little cut. It was very cool to see. We let the boat drift up onto the hump and then cast over it into the cut to try and get the fish. We had a couple looks but no hook-ups. Still, it was very cool to see and more like trying to sneak up on a trout in a river. Fun stuff!

Onward across the bay in search of more fish. We checked everywhere and topwater was nearly non-existent after the first three hours of daylight. We also checked a spot tight to shore where we found a ton of ultra selective fish yesterday, but those fish were long gone today.

Back into Duxbury, we had four feet of water and decided to run up into a cove I have not fished this year. We went to almost the end of it and then saw 11 fish break water by a dock. We set up a drift…WHAM! BIG FISH hit the fly, came to the surface, gave us a great look, and then shook it’s head violently and threw the hook! What a fish! We estimated that striped bass to be around 36″ inches. Note to self: pre-set all drags and test them before putting a fly on a fish. If that drag was preset, we would of landed that fish. That striped bass gets bigger and bigger the more I think about it. Big, huge head and long, wide body. Wow… 4 fow!

We worked a few more deep channel spots around the bay with one bump and no more hook-ups, so we called it a lovely morning on the water and headed back to the dock. Total catch and release today was 31 striped bass. Also 1 26″ inch bluefish on the fly. It must of been lost! About half of the striped bass were taken on an 8wt TFO Axiom II fly rod rigged with my Baymen Universal Fly pattern. The other half of the fish were taken on rubber crank baits. Our first fish of the morning was landed on a Hogy topwater popper.

That’s the word for today. Looks like steady rains for tomorrow. 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. Book Early – Dates Go Very Quickly.