Web Site Now Up!!!!

I've been working on starting a web site similar to this blog, but it will have a lot more options to manage. It's up and working, so please visit me for reports and more at:

www.chesapeakeflyangler.com

Coming Soon

I was convinced by a friend to actually start a web site, so I guess I'll give it a try. It's not up yet, but should be ready in a week or so. I'll post a link when it's ready. It's been busy at work lately, but I'll try my luck this weekend. Here is the logo for the site...Chesapeake Fly Angler.com.

Fishing the River

With the main stem of the bay still looking like mud with a lot of debris, the only game around for me is fishing the river. I didn't find any big fish, but did find a lot of perch and small bluefish and stripers. I was just glad to be back on the water. Who knows how long before it clears, but it might take awhile. I did find some clean water and some great grass beds. It's amazing the difference in water color just a short distance from the main stem.

Dirty Breaking Fish

Got out tonight with R&R in hopes of finally getting back on good fish. We did find plenty of breaking fish, but (once again) they were small. I think I caught more blue fish then stripers tonight. It didn't seem like the dirty water had much effect on them? We did manage to find the clean water "line" and hit some shallow spots, but it only resulted in the same grade of fish. I guess I can't complain because I didn't think we would catch anything and never see clean water. After an hour or so, out of nowhere the wind kicked up to maybe 15 or so. Next time out will be my day...I hope!!

Distinct Line

Decided to get out tonight and see if I could find anything happening. Well, as soon as I left my inlet I found massive debris fields all over the place. I almost turned around, but couldn't see much floating further out so I moved ahead. It took awhile, but I finally found some clean water. There was a very distinct line between the brown and clear water. As a matter of fact, it created a bit of a rip current. Almost immediately I found fish in the clean water but they were small (both blues and stripers). Looked like some guys were catching a few SMacs, but I wasn't in the mood to chase them. I decided to check out some shallow water spots instead. I found fish, but the biggest was only 18' or so. Not every place held fish tonight, but many of them with moving water had plenty of smaller fish. Just when it looked like it might turn on I had to leave so I could navigate the debris field on the way home. It was fun to get back on the water, but I haven't managed to land any nice ones lately. Looks like that might be it for awhile because I would image the dirty water will continue to push further south and that will make it too far to run.

Slow Morning

Fit in a quick morning outing in between Labor Day family activities today. It was slow going. Found several pods of dinks, but nothing much at all. The blue fish have really made their way up the bay, but most are between 1-3 Lbers. High pressure?.... Just tough morning bite?...or maybe I'm just off my game this week? Who knows, but a friend (a local guide) of mine had a similar morning so I'll blame it on the conditions and not my lack of fishing skills. September was great last year for me, so I'll be back looking soon.

Just a Second Too Slow

I thought for sure I found what I was looking for tonight. Big bait, birds swooping down on an occasional pod of breaking fish and good current. That was how I found them several weeks ago (I was fishing in same location) and they were a really nice school of fish. Who knows, maybe they were there tonight but I couldn't keep up with them. Instead, I was picking off 15-18" fish for most of the night. The last several times out, I've been landing some decent blues but no rockfish over 20". The water looked a bit more stained tonight, but still no debris from the storm.

Post-Irene

Ran out tonight with R&R to chase down some Mac-Daddys!!! We found plenty of fish (under birds), but couldn't find anything of size. We did land some really nice blue fish, but only a few. I was surprised how clear the water was tonight and the debris from the storm hasn't made it down to the mid-bay yet (another few days and it will be a mess). We decided to leave the little fish to find some big ones, but it never happened. We were definitely in the right spot, big schools of bunker everywhere. We weren't the only ones who thought there was a ton of bait around. We had our first pelican sighting of the year (actually two of them). With all the bunker around " Location X", it's just a matter of time before the current is right and they show up again.

Pre-Irene Skunk

After I pulled my boat I caught a ride with my buddy R&R for an evening session. Well, it was like glass tonight and it was a beautiful evening to be on the water... it definitely was the calm before the storm. It was also a calm fishing trip... nothing. We didn't see much activity at all. At times it looked like something might happen, but it never did. We did see (two different times) an enormous turtle (we think). It seemed to come up to gulp air? I don't know what they eat, but we saw them around some big schools of bunker and the head had to be at least a foot in diameter. Tonight was my first skunk in a long time. I guess that's what happens when you have a bad luck charm on board..just kidding R&R.

Great Sunset

Managed to get out for a quick trip just before dark. I decided to go for the "gold" and not mess around with several flocks of birds I ran across. I cruised to the same spot I found the 30" school, but no luck...they weren't around. I did catch a bunch of 18-20" fish, but not the kind of pullage I was looking for tonight. The best thing about the night was the great sunset.

JACKPOT: 30 " Fish Tonight

Well, after a lousy morning of nothing but dinks I had to give it a go again tonight. I was disappointed at first to find nothing but dinks again. I almost called it a night, but thought about trying something different. Oh yea, sweet revenge!!! There really wasn't much bird activity other than two birds that would circle around and occasionally "flutter" their wings. That was enough to convince me to investigate further. I waited to see what would develop, but nothing ever really did.... at least that is what most people would have thought. But after a few casts, I had a sweet 30" fish that ate my popper and took me waaay into my backing. It was a bit too windy for my floating line, so I switched to a sinking line with a bunker pattern. JACKPOT...30"ers started coming over the gunnel one after the other. Wow, what a way to end a day that started so bad. They were in about 20' of water and feasting on bunker...as I've said before...bigger bait equals bigger fish!!!

Plenty of Wind and Fish

Couldn't decide if 20 Knots was worth the beating I knew I would take or not. After dealing with too many boats lately, I took my chances. It didn't take long to find birds and fish, they were working pretty hard tonight. The trick was finding a better grade of fish. Funny thing was they were super picky tonight. I have two flies which are my go to choices, one for peanut bunker and the other for anchovies/silversides. I still had my peanut bunker pattern on from my last trip and they didn't want any parts of it...at all. As soon as I switched, it was fish on and on and.... It wasn't a matter of catching fish, but taking the time to search for bigger ones. It was tough to get my fly down deeper with the wind, so I decided to chase birds. I watched the pods (many of them) busting bait until I thought I found some better size fish. I wasn't always right, but I did find some really nice fish and managed to stay with them for about an hour or so. With only a few other boats out in the general vicinity, I was able to fish alone for most of the night. They really were all over tonight from the channel edges all the way to the shore line.

Don't be in a Hurry

I was determined not to fish by any other boats tonight and that's exactly what I did. It was slow going until I realized my game plan was wrong. It always pays to stop every once in awhile to just look around. It was one of those nights that you could see for miles, determine if there was any bait around and check out some new rip currents. If I hadn't stopped, I would have never realized that I was surrounded by massive pods of "rain bait". Not ideal (Peanut Bunker would have been better), but I didn't have much time so I just waited to see what might develop. I couldn't have written the script any better. In about 10 minutes the fish started attacking the bait balls and I had fish all around my boat. I could tell I had a bait ball using my boat as cover because I could see the fish smacking my hull from all sides. I managed a few 20"ers, but most were around 15". I thought for sure I would be able to find some bigger fish, but I couldn't get my fly down deep enough before a smaller fish bit it. Oh well, at least I had them all to myself. It's funny how people see a bunch of boats and go racing toward them like they are missing something. I spoke to a friend that said he was having a tough bite and was fishing around the "fleet". Knowing that, I found it interesting how many boats (I watched them through my binoculars) went racing off to join the action or lack thereof. I'm as guilty as anyone for falling for that trap, but I'm slowly realizing it's a lot more fun to find your own fish...especially ones that are biting!!!

Maybe Windy is Better

I finally convinced my son to come along to go fishing tonight. After having some really good days, I knew my luck had to run out. Well, it didn't in a way and it certainly did in another. After my captain navigated to the fishing grounds, the plans were simple. Get into breaking fish and have him catch anything that moved. Talk about a zoo...so many boats on the fish it was insane. A local "guide..I say that loosely", as usual, continued to plow right into the middle of the fish, others had their motors running, some had music blaring and still other people just cut right in front of you. So, I did find some fish but it only took a nano-second before someone pushed them down. I guess having 15 knots isn't so bad because at least it keeps people off of the water. We did managed some dinks, but I was very disappointed he didn't get into the fish I've had the last several weeks.

Storm Chasing

I was on the fence about going out tonight because of the forecast. They were calling for "smoke" on the water..now that's some serious wind (gusts as hight as 60 knots). As the storms started to pass, I made a decision to chase them across the bay. At first there were only dinks around and it looked like all the boats were bunched together trying to dodge the storms. Eventually I found an opening on the radar so I went for it. Bingo...I landed an a serious flock of birds/fish right away. But they were all in the 12-15"class, so I quickly moved on. It wasn't "on fire" by any means, but I did find a nice pod of fish holding on a ledge so I made repeated drifts over them for about 45 minutes. As a result, I managed to land about a dozen or so nice fish in the low to mid-20" range. Not quite the size of last week but not bad either (especially for the summer). They were stacked up in 25' of water and feeding on Peanut Bunker. The pics didn't come out so good tonight.

Hunting Fish

Tonight I had a trip planed with some friends who I owed a trip to from last year. Wow, the pressure was on to catch fish. I don't know how professional guides can do it everyday under pressure. Overall, it was the toughest night of fishing I had in two weeks, but we did find some big boys!!!! We had to do some serious searching to find fish that stayed put for more than a second. My buddy said this is like hunting for fish and he was spot on. But, when we did...Oh boy...it was non-stop action. We lost some of the biggest fish of the night. I don't know but they had to be close to 40". The key tonight was paying close attention to the conditions...bait, wind and boats. The wind definitely had a negative effect on the fish tonight, pushing the bait apart. I could see (in the distance) boats that looked all grouped together and we stayed clear of them. I'm a believer that if you can find fish by yourself the odds go up that they might be big ones. These boys were some of the biggest of the week!!!!

Fatty

It looked ominous with black clouds and misty rain, but I didn't see anything noteworthy on the radar so I ventured out tonight. At first the wind laid down and I thought it was going to be great, but then the wind picked up and never let up. There were pods of breaking fish almost everywhere I looked, but after studying them splashing around the surface (and catching a few 20"ers) I realized they were not the big ones I was after. I guess I'm getting greedy after finding upper 20-30" fish recently. It wasn't quite as good as last night and the fish were a bit smaller...mostly low to mid 20"ers...but great fishing by my standards. Yep, I fooled them with a Crease Fly again tonight. They pushed bait (anchovies)up against a steep drop off (closer to shore then you would think) and didn't let them go!!!! These fish were "fat" from gorging themselves all night on bait...and I mean FAT!!!

Big Fish Topwater Bite

I finally had a night with no wind and it made for some spectacular sights. At first the current wasn't moving much so it was slow other than a few pods of snapper blues. As the current started so did the action. At first I could only find small fish, so I decided to check a spot that held some good fish a few weeks ago. No boats, no birds....just BIG fish and my fly rod!!! I had a steady pick at them for an hour or so and they were ALL quality fish. Without a doubt big bait = big fish...tonight proved that theory (they were on 5-7" bunker, in 20' of water). It was amazing watching them chase/hit bait into the air all night long. They were in the upper 20" range and a few might have pushed 30". Finding these big fish is not easy but well worth the effort when you do, especially when you can watch them smash top water flies.

Ambush Points

Headed out into 25 knots against my best judgement, but I figured it would eventually die off (it did a bit). It was a great night other than the wind. At first most fish I caught were in the mid-upper teens, but then things quickly changed. Once I found the nicer fish (most were 25-28"), I stayed with them for the entire night. I had two fish that had to be close to 30" but I lost one at the boat and the other was covered with sores so I didn't get any pics. I was reviewing my plotter (recent waypoints that have held good fish) and it became clear that the bigger fish seemed to be at "ambush points". Not every mark, but logical places where the bay "bottle necked" into a smaller area were the baitfish could be pushed or up against drop offs. Tonight was no different, but the bigger fish were in water only 15' deep. I saw a few other boats chasing birds (and dinks), but no one came close to me tonight simply because there were only a few birds around.

I didn't want to keep the fish out of the water too long tonight so I tried to get as much of this fish in the frame as I could...it's tough when they were 25+"!!!

Wasting Time

Tonight I thought it was going to be another great night. But, you guess it...WIND and a tough bite to boot!! I quickly found some birds and caught some fish including a few decent ones, but they were on the move so I decided to do the same. I looked at a few places and wasted too much time in the process. I should have gone directly to where I found them last night because they were still there (nice ones). By the time I (and some friends..nice seeing you guys out there) started to fish the spot it died off a bit. Within 30 minutes they were pretty much gone. I don't know if this weather has anything to do with it, but I continue to find some nasty looking fish (mid-20"ers mostly).

Lesson Learned: Go where you know they have been recently.

Crazy Bait

After taking the kids tubing this evening (and looking for birds..a win.win), I took off for a quick trip. Almost every place I looked I found fish, not too big but a lot. Birds were working hard tonight. Didn't manage anything over 22-24", but did find a "sweet spot". I discovered a school of bunker (I know because they were jumping all over the place) that filled my screen for a 15 minute drift...crazy!!! Unfortunately I only found a few fish, but it's just a matter of time before the bigger fish find them and I'll be ready if they do!!

Easy Pickings

Went out tonight and (once again) had to deal with 15+ knots of wind. Oh well, I decided it was worth it last week so why not give it a try. I started off at a different spot and found some really good marks that produced fish up to about 24". Not every one, but enough so I stayed on them for about an hour (no birds, they were in 20 feet of water close to deeper water). The only issue was many had red sores on them which isn't a good sign. I then decide to make a run and look for something different. Well, they say to follow the birds and that is exactly what I did. When I finally found the flock it was massive, easily 1/4 mile wide worth of birds. I think it was the largest flock I've ever seen on the bay. Of course that meant easy picking with the fish. Not many over 20" but many in the 18" range.

Show of White Water

Ran out for an early morning session to find the bigger fish I've had lately. Did manage to find a lot of breaking fish that put on quite a show of white water, but they were all small. I managed a few that were in the 18-20", but most went 15" or so. Sounds like the better fish finally showed up after I left...just missed it by a few hours!!!

Two Hours of Non-Stop Catching!!!!!

It's hard to believe but I think the fishing was even hotter than the temperature today. We (went with R&R) absolutely CRUSHED them today. It was so good it's tough to describe. Imagine a few breakers here and there, but fish stacked from top to bottom for over two hours. In those two hours we might have made five casts that didn't result in a 20+" fish. Not quite as big as last night but many (and I mean many) 24-26"ers. The best part...we had them all to ourselves!!!

Was it worth it......

....I think it was!!!! How bad could 15-20 be anyway, since it was only the 100th time this year with too much wind. It didn't take long for me to find a few birds and a boat load of fish. The birds didn't hang around long, but the fish did in a big way and they weren't dinks either. Most were in the upper 20" class and a few defiantly were pushing 30". What a great way to cool down on such a hot day. Working channel edges and steep drop offs is the best game in town right now. I also saw a disturbing sight. A Coast Guard helicopter was lowering a basket to a Coast Guard boat? I hope they were just practicing, but there were some big swells
out there tonight.

Too many kids

Usually I can at least find some fish in the mid-teens, but not tonight. Everything was less than 10". I went for about an hour straight and had a fish on just about every cast. I just couldn't find any teenagers or mid-20"ers. I did find some serious bait balls tonight and even managed to catch one. The western shore just isn't producing as many nice fish for me so far this year.

The Big One Actually Did Get Away

What a great night!!! I received an invite from a friend and his son to give it a try tonight. It was a beautiful night to be out. We were marking some really nice fish and plenty of bait, but the tide just wasn't moving much so it was slow at first. Then things started to pick up as the tide turned. We managed to find our first true "blitz" of the year...what a wonderful sight seeing breaking fish and birds crashing bait!!! We picked up some legal (just barely) fish, but most were on the small side. If you can believe it, we had several mid-upper 20"ers that managed to get off..I'm not lying..it really did happen..the big ones got away tonight. In the mix we found a nice blue fish which was a first for the year (I actually didn't catch it). It's always fun catching fish especially when there are kids involved in the action. The summer pattern is finally taking shape.

Martha's Vineyard...15-20 Lb Bass

Just got back from a few days on the Vineyard and it was quite an experience. It wasn't the first time I fished up there (thanks again PM), but I fished in a different way this trip. First I tried some local salt ponds and wasn't expecting much, but was I wrong. I managed several nice mid 20"ers and lost one that had to be at least 30". It was really cool fishing in only 2-3 feet of water. Next I was off to sight fish on the flats. It was just like fishing in Florida or the Caribbean, in gin clear water but over white sandy bottom. The only issue I had was my less than accurate casting ability, especially when I was trying to place my fly right in front of the fish while it was blowing 20 knots. I did manage some good casts and had some nice fish (the biggest one I broke off..only using 10 Lb leader Vs 20 that I'm used to here at home). We then found some serious bluefish in the 15-18 Lb range. Talk about a pull on the line. Unfortunately, we weren't prepared and we were still using our 10 Lb leader so you know the result (a few lost flies). Finally, we found some nice bass (15-20 Lb class) busting sand eels. To top it all off, I filled up on a 3.5 Lb lobster that came right off the boat. What a fantastic trip!! To say it's a fishing mecca would be an understatement...definitely put it on your "bucket list".

I finally found good fish!!

Even though I've had some beautiful evenings on the water, it's been tough fishing. This morning I had a great bite for a solid two hours. The fish were a bit spread out, but I did managed to drift over some really good sized schools. As a result, I caught many 20-25" fish (at least 25-30 keepers...biggest was about 26"). Earlier in the morning they were in about 30 feet of water, but moved into about 25 feet of water later on in the morning.

Too Late

Went out yesterday with my buddy R&R for a mid-week bite, but our trip was cut short by the storms in the surrounding area. Even thought the radar showed that the storm was on top of us, we really never got much rain. With a few lighting strikes close by it was worth heading to a "watering hole" until things past through. Unfortunately, by the time we got back on the water it was too late. The good news was we did find some fish busting bait in shallow water which was a good sign of things to come.

Down Deep

Went out this afternoon in hopes of fishing decent fish. I actually did find them, but they were deep, between 25-30' and hugging the bottom which made it tough to get my fly down to them. There were a few trollers picking up fish, but it was kinda slow for them from what I could see. There was more bait toward the main stem of the bay and on the western shore tonight. I did pick up a few few dinks at sunset, but not much happening at all.

Miami: Trip 2

Well, I had another "business" trip the last few days in South Beach and managed to get some fishing in while I was down there. Day 1 was only a half day so we stayed close by and hit several flats (same flats I fished last week for the most part). I had a good day catching a dozen bonefish (used a crab pattern) and had several more break me off on the bottom. The conditions were much better this week and my ability to see the fish also improved a bunch. The second day was a tarpon day. We set up along the outer bank and waited for the fish to move. And boy did they. We saw singles, doubles and two schools that had over 50 fish, in all I saw well over a 100 fish. If you have never fished for tarpon, you have no idea the excitement you get seeing a 6 foot long submarine coming your way...it's way cool. I never landed one, but managed to hook up on three (used a worm fly). The show they put on is unbelievable. The guide said two were between 100-125 lbs and one was close to 150. One jumped several times and swam right at us (I couldn't keep up) and the other ones just came un-bottoned. After all day on the water I went back to the hotel and prepared for my night trip which started at 10:30 and ended at 5:00am. We started off using top water for snook and I had several blow ups, but they didn't connect. Since the tide wasn't running enough we went looking for tarpon under the lights. This was both an amazing sight and very frustrating. We saw another 100+ fish, mostly in the 60-90 lb range. They would just swim back and forth along the shadow line slurping shrimp (only 20 feet from us). We were both casting shrimp after shrimp, but not one even looked at the bait. I even hit one on his nose, but got no reaction. So, I'm still waiting to land my first tarpon, but this trip I saw so many (not all in casting range) and have a much better feel for what it takes to get one to bite. My next trip will be the one!!

Miami: Trip 1

I recently returned from my first of two "business" trips to Miami. I managed to fish a few days this go around with mixed results. The first two days brought 20+ knots of wind and a tide that was working against us. To say the least, it was tough fishing in a flats boat and resulted in no fish. I managed to cast to several Bones and saw a few Tarpon but it just didn't happen. Day three was a different story. We found several Bones and Permits on the flats in the am, but with a friend who came along it made casting to the fish a bit challenging. They were super spooky and tough to see with a bit of chop (at least for me). I did manage one bone (around 7 lbs) and saw several Tarpon migrating north but we couldn't get any of them to bite. We then made our way into Biscayne Bay and had plenty of Jacks, Groupers, Snappers and even a few sharks. The highlight was a 140-150lb Tarpon my buddy caught which took about two hours to land. It was an amazing site and certainly the biggest inshore fish I've seen caught. The trip was a good start to getting a Florida Grand Slam (Tarpon, Bone Fish and Permit). I saw some crazy stuff down there including a 35' foot boat (loaded with kids) get detached from a Ford Explorer (way undersized vehicle for the boat) go rolling down the ramp at 15 MPH and slam into the water then the dock. Our guess was they were using a smaller ball then the trailer required, lucky no one was hurt. Can't wait to try it again next week!!!