I had a late cancellation today so Gail and I got out just as the sun was rising. The fish had moved a bit from where they had been but not to far. We got a call and came across several large schools of hungry bass. We picked them off with flies and Albie Snax. All of a sudden the bass were gone and the albies had taken their place. They wanted the little stuff and we had some. Pretty good morning out there.
This morning Bob and Dennis came out for a weekend adventure. Right after we left the dock we stopped and put a few bass in the boat to remove any skunk possibility. Headed out to the promised land to find bigger bass crushing baitfish. We picked up a 15 and 18 lb fish right away. Might have been the same ones from last week. We caught a few more bass before they left and were replaced by albies. Caught some of them and when they finally left we did too. On the way in we finished up with another Albie and a lone bluefish. It was a pretty steady bite all day. I have about two and a half weeks left for this season so if you are waiting. Don’t.
Wednesday morning brought Damian, Langston and Big Al down from Massachusetts in search of an adventure. We found fish at the first stop and didn’t have to move more than a half mile for the next six hours. We started with bass up to 18 lbs and then they were followed by blues up to 12 lbs. When the tide changed the albies showed up. We had singles doubles and a couple of triple hook ups. Basically they wore my ass out. Lots of laughs on the boat. The fish are here and if the weather co operates it’s going to be a good fall.
Today Michael and Lynn met me at the dock before the sun came up. We headed out and got a hot tip before we arrived at our first stop. We pulled in to find lots of birds and bass having breakfast. To start we got broken off and bit off before we put one in the boat. Michael managed a few and the goal was to get Lynn her first bass on a fly rod. Our next sto had lots of bass chowing down on bay anchovies. Lynn fooled one and the fight was on. After a bit she brought it to the net and it was mission accomplished. Lots of casts to some really fussy fish today.
After pulling the boat and putting it back in we decided on a play day. We got up fairly early today and headed out. Found bass at the first stop and caught a bunch. Moved to look for Albies and there were more boats than fish. Found more bass with some medium blues. Called it a good day and headed home.
This morning Dr. Jeff took the dangerous drive up aRt. 95 to fish his home waters. We left the dock with overcast skies and no wind. The first stop was empty of fish so we moved on into some rain showers. They provided a couple rainbows that was the highlight of the day so far. The next stop brought us an Atlantic mackerel. Still not much showing. After running out of patience we moved west. We found a few pods of albies that didn’t want to stay and play. The fog dropped on us quickly and thickly so we did some reverse surf casting along the beach. That brought us a couple bass and a porgy. We kept moving and broke out of the fog and continued our search. We found a few more pods of albies that were more skittish than the first ones. We finished the day with a small bluefish and that gave us a grand slam. Arrived at the dock to blue sky and heat. Left there to run into a monsoon just before arriving home.
This morning Jim came over for a short solo trip. When I arrived at my dock I couldn’t see my boat in its slip. Good times especially since I was picking up Jim at Watch Hill harbor. I made it there on time thanks to GPS and radar. We headed out with about 100 yards of visibility. That was doable. We found some fish that were playing hard to catch. A little while later I received my lucky phone call. Those who have fished with me know the power of the call. On Jim’s next cast the line went tight and after a few good runs our first bonito of the season was in the boat. A couple more casts brought our first chub mackerel in the boat. Because of time constraints we had to call it a day.
We got some good info today when we left the dock at the crack of 10:00 AM. Took a ride and found several pods of albies on the feed. They usually run around a lot when they first show up but they don’t always want to eat a fly. However these guys were hungry and happy to take a fly. We had all that we wanted and with 90 degree temperatures and no wind it was a challenge. We held out till 1:00 and left them biting. Yes I know that her fish was bigger.
Monday Gail and I decided to go until we couldn’t. The water was flat when we headed out. We had a report of hard tails way to the east. On the way we encountered an acre or two of hungry bass with only one other boat close. Most of these fish were six to eight pounders. I did manage an 18 pound fish on an inch long fly. After a bit we decided to keep moving. We made an uneventful trip to Pt. Judith. We hung out there for awhile and saw one bonito taken by a guy blind casting. We gave up and headed West. The bass were still there so we picked up a few more and called it a day. Jack was out today and the fish had moved. Someone must have left the gate open.
We headed out 5his morning to see how much damage the swells from the hurricane had done along the oceanfront. The bonito had started to show up before the storm. We got half way down the beach before we gave up. Lots of mud around and they don’t like mud. Most likely it will be a few days before it cleans up. We left there in search of clean water and came across several schools of nice sized bass. I think these were the guys that have been on the reefs lately. They were hitting flies like they were starving. A good day on the briney.
Capt. Sandy Noyes has lived and fished in the Southeastern part of Connecticut for his entire life. … [More...]
