Another Calm Day...Not

Must be nice having a job as a weatherman when its OK to be wrong 90% of the time. 10-15 turned into 20-25 with 3-5 footers rolling across the bay. My friend from the "burg" (CD) came down to try his luck today, but we couldn't find any decent fish. The spots that have been holding mid-upper 20ers didn't produce anything. Even after some serious searching we never found anything over 15" or so. The good news was there were plenty of 15' fish (30"ers in a few years) working pod after pod of small bait. As everyone says, smaller birds equals smaller fish and that held true today.

Harkers Test Run

Well, I'm almost certain I will be fishing in 25+ knots next week at Harkers Island so I figured I would give it a test run today. It was blowing in a big way, but the fish were biting equally as hard. I searched around to find some nicer fish because at first I found acres of 15-18" fish but nothing bigger. After a few stops I consistently found mid 20"ers. Nothing bigger than 25-26" but two hours worth of non-stop catching.

Bait, Birds and Current but Few Fish

The conditions looked perfect...overcast skies, a little wind, plenty of bait and birds working. The only thing missing were the fish. We did catch a few nice fish and several more got away, but I thought we would have caught a lot more. I guess the birds were just working the bait tonight. When the tide started to roll we found some great current pushing bait but still couldn't find much of a bite. Oh well, sometimes it just doesn't come together as planned. It was still a fun night to be on the water with some friends (thanks for the invite). I'm sure the full moon has had some effect on the recent bite, so maybe next week will be another great week?

Fun Night...thanks for the invite

Got an invite from a friend and his son tonight. It was blowing a steady 20 knots from the NW and it didn't look pretty, but we decided to give it a go anyway. I guess when your fishing on a 29' Pursuit (which is a sweet boat) it's not a big deal like it would have been in my little Parker. We only had about an hour or so, but it didn't take us long to find some very nice fish including several that were pushing 30" (which his son caught). It turned out to be a nice night as the wind died off and the full moon came into view over the horizon. My friends (thanks again for the invites) came through this week since my boat is still in the shop.

Fast Little Buggers

Had an opportunity to get out with R&R (thanks again for the invite) for a quick session tonight. We found the fish but they were moving so quickly that it was tough to get a cast away before they were gone. We did manage one nice fish, mid 20", but that was it. Right around dusk we found what looked to be some decent fish working schools of bunker, but we didn't catch any before it got dark. The same pattern has been holding true the last two weeks. Big birds flying high on bigger fish that are on the move quick. Hopefully my boat will be done any day now and I can get back out chasing them around this weekend. This evening had a beautiful sunset as a consolation prize.

Not all was Lost

Luckily I got a call from my buddy R&R about the possibility of a late afternoon trip which sounded great to me. With my boat in the shop I was thankful for the invite. We searched around a bit and quickly found a big flock of birds in the same general area I had them on Friday. As we approached they seemed to be acting the same way they were the other day. Flying high and moving fast from pod to pod. Unfortunately, almost as quickly as we found them they vanished into thin air. We didn't even get a shot at them before they were gone for the night. As a result of trying our best to track them down, we did manage to uncover a great new fishing spot that looked really good. We picked up a few small fish, but darkness came quick. So I guess not all was lost tonight as we uncovered another good spot that should produce some quality fish in the future.

Hide & Seek

With a consistent 25 knots today I found myself trying to hide from the wind and seeking serious shelter. I didn't think I would have much success, but boy was I wrong. I managed to find them as hungry as ever. It was game on from the minute I found them to the minute I left. I don't think I caught any fish that were smaller than 22-23" today with the largest topping out at close to 31". Most were in the upper 20" range. It was a bit tricky at times staying on them, but after about 30 minutes they were everywhere so it didn't matter which way I drifted. I'm hoping Tri-State will fix my steering problems ASAP so I can get out there a few times next week.

Solid Pullage

Even though it was blowing pretty good and raining, the radar showed signs of it tapering off a bit so I went for it. At first I couldn't find any decent fish, but that quickly changed. I had several fish give me a good show of jumps, big splashes and serious pullage. It's funny how the bite can turn on (and off) like a light switch which is exactly what it did tonight. I had at least a dozen fish in the mid to upper 20" class. It was plenty of fun and I was the only boat on the water...just the way I like it.

Big Girls Tonight

I squeaked out an hour tonight after I got home from work and it was worth every minute. My son joined me and must have brought some good luck with him tonight. With only having about an hour or so, I decided to try a different tactic in hopes of finding some bigger fish (for his sake). I had a gut feeling where they might be hiding so we tried a new spot. We didn't catch too many, but the ones we did catch were very nice. Most were in the mid 30" range and gave my son a good tug on his light weight spinning outfit. I tried to throw my fly rod, but it got too crazy helping him get lines untangled and reeling in the fish. The good news is there are some nice fish around, finally!!

Bunker Galore

Went back to the same spot I found them last night, but there wasn't much happening. I caught one nice blue fish and a few stripers, but nothing like last night. What I did find were large schools of peanut bunker. That's a good sign, bigger bait = bigger fish. I know there have been reports of even larger bunker in the bay, up to 10". Time to adjust my fly patterns in response to the bigger bait around lately.

Change of Plans Pays Off

Decided to fish late this afternoon so I changed plans and stayed a bit closer to home. I wanted to check out some shallow water spots that looked good, but the water was very dirty and it wasn't very productive. I did catch some small fish, but nothing over 15". As I was making my way home I saw a couple big splashes that caught my attention so I slowly cruised over to check it out. For the next two hours I had 18-23" fish that were hungry and pulled really good for their size. I love catching decent fish in the shallows and watching your line zip through the water as the fish takes off. It looks like the 2nd phase of the fall pattern is starting to take shape.

Slow Night

Got an invite from my buddy AC and we headed out for a few hours. We found several pods of breaking fish, but they were all small fish. Oh well, you can't find them on every trip. Looks like we should have a great weekend, so maybe I'll be lucky enough to get out again before it's time to head back to work.