July 2003 Daily Fishing Reports

The last day of the month saw John Smith and Dick Lee from northern Virginia joining me down the islands for an eel slinging expedition. As has been the case far too often this season, bluefish really did a job on our snakes, but after John got things started with a mid-20 inch bass, Dick put the hook in a 10 pound bluefish that really impressed him with its strength. We had a lot of cigar eels thanks to the choppers, with Dick expertly feeding Mr. Wiggly back and bringing a couple more impressive blues to the boat. John caught another bass, but there still wasn't anything in the cooler for dinner. Quick's Hole finally produced a fish close to 36 inches for Dick before we ran out of eels and headed back to Woods Hole. Birds were working heavily on Middle Ledge, and while both Dick and John managed to hook up on plastics and plugs, the current was running too hard for comfort and we called it a day. John told me on the way back to Green Pond about a charter they had last season in North Carolina where they trolled in a 35 footer for Spanish mackerel. They caught plenty of fish, but as both he and Dick agreed, it was more like reeling fish in than fishing. It always makes this captain feel good when folks tell you how much they appreciate what we do on the Katie G., casting flies, plugs, or eels and getting everybody involved. And I certainly don't intend to change a thing.

Today I had back-to-back family trips scheduled and I couldn't have asked for better anglers to work with. The morning session saw Dave Sutherland and his oldest son, Dave, Jr., join me for bass and bluefish action. We started out around west bar and Dave, Jr., scored first with some feisty bluefish, managing to save his Sluggo in the process. Eventually, his dad scored with a bass on the fly rod, and as the action slowed, we headed for the flats and guzzles to the east. Sure enough, there was an immense amount of bait in the form of four to six inch sand eels and both Dave and Dave, Jr. scored a couple of stripers each. As is often the case, the fish weren't as active on the incoming tide, with occasional pops here and there, but there was enough action to keep things interesting. As for the father-son contest, let's just say that dad is looking forward to getting even using his feathers and fur next year. In the afternoon, Joe and Tracy Ritzo were joined by their kids, Jamie and Nick, for an attempt at improving on our trip last season when we flailed Nantucket Sound without even a decent bluefish to show for our efforts. Well, Nick got things started with his first striper, followed soon enough by Jamie who did a great job casting and hooked up all on her own. Tracy soon showed why Joe said she has all the luck in fishing, but the big fish of the day came courtesy of dad. After agreeing it was just 28 inches, the debate was whether to let it go or not. Ultimately, the catch-and-release crew prevailed. Without a doubt, the Ritzo's are a fishing family par excellence.

My second day of fishing with Jim Gould down Chatham way started out with a bit of a surprise in the form of some pretty consistent rain. Fortunately, fish don't mind getting wet and as we hit the cut between North and South Monomoy and headed east, there were birds and bass in good numbers willing to take the fly. We used smaller flies to imitate the smaller sand eels in the area and found Cortland's new 555 Quick Descent line in the 350 grain version to be just the trick. All you had to do is watch the birds and sure enough there would be bass soon crashing on the surface. Once things slowed down inside, we went back out to the 40 foot depth line we were working the day before and found the pink/white giant Clousers I had tied the night before to imitate Bubblegum Sluggos worked just fine. On average, the fish seemed larger today and fought extra hard. And, oh yes, the rain did end and it was another beautiful bluebird day at Monomoy.

I really enjoyed today's trip with Jim Gould from Leominster who has a wealth of fishing stories, many of them humorous. I don't think I have ever fished with someone who enjoys being on the water so much. A check of the 60 foot line produced nothing, except for some whale sightings that made my day. As much as I love the Elizabeths, there is something about the variety of sea life that you see to the east that makes Chatham seem like a different world. Jim worked hard with a SciAngler Mastery Type IV Striper Line, but it wasn't until we went to the LC-13 special that he began to hook up. Best fish of the day was around 30 inches with a big belly and all of the bass fought hard and deep in the cold water. Although the action wasn't nonstop by any imagination, the hits occurred often enough to keep us on our toes. It was interesting to note all of the boats in the area doing so many things, from trolling and jigging to tossing Sluggos (Bubble Gum is definitely the color around these parts)to fly fishing. I did witness one angry conversation when a witless troller cruised right on top of a boat with a couple of light tackle folks and they let him have it before racing away. Overall, it was pretty civilized out there and it was neat to watch as the bass came up on top as the current slacked and they became awfully fussy when it came to the fly.

With trips early next week around Monomoy, I invited John Waring to join me for an early morning expedition to the east. There was a little swell coming out of the Monomoy cut, but what I noticed the most was how cold it was. The surface water temperature was around 49 degrees and I was shivering in just a T-shirt. We saw very little in the way of action, with John finally managing a bass after switching to a jig and I hooked up with a striper once I switched to an LC-13 head. Of course, I managed to take care of the long distance release. We poked around the flats and up in the Bathtub, where John raised some bluefish with a popper, but all in all it was a very disheartening trip fishing wise. But then again, hanging with the seals around the flats is always a fun thing to do.

The first prolonged stretch of heavy winds from the SW kept me off the water from Tuesday to Thursday, and Friday didn't seem such a good idea with the weather still unsettled. Got some time to tie some flies and catch up on some rest for next week.

Every year I donate a trip to be auctioned off as part of the Mashpee High School Post Prom Committee fundraiser, and for the second year in a row Marcia King was the high bidder. Of course, that meant the return of her husband Rich King and his two fishing pals, Don Cook and John Lynch. I came to find out during the trip that Don and John gave Rich a fair amount of grief over the winter about his failure to catch a bass during last year's trip. Well, this season the fish gods helped Rich exact some revenge. John got things going with a sublegal bass and we had plenty of small bluefish chop up our eels before Rich added a third eel to the mix on a 12 pound test outfit and soon after landed a 40+ inch striper. I was sure there would be other bass in the stretch of rocks we were fishing, but other than small blues, it was no go. So it was off to another spot that I knew should produce at that stage of the tide, and sure enough Don hooked and landed a fish just over 30 inches. But it was Rich who would end the day with another virtuoso performance with the light rod as he hooked another big bass that took some serious line and got itself around a rock. Not panicking, Rich worked with me as I moved the boat in tight and flushed the bass out and put the Katie G. in between it and the rock. A few minutes later, Rich had another fine close to 40 incher that surely meant that while all of them would be eating bass tonight, come this winter I know two guys who will be munching on a little crow.

After my morning success with Jeff Howard, I hoped for the same with Tim Martin and Angie Durrett who hail from Alabama and were looking for some saltwater fly fishing experience. Both Tim and Angie have some freshwater fly angling background and I hoped the wind would hold off for the afternoon, but no such luck. We tried inside Waquoit with no results and then bounced our way to Popponesset. A few small blues showed themselves on the flats, but they were scattered and very tough to target. Finally, on the way back to Green Pond, there were birds working the entrance to Waquoit. Unfortunately, outgoing water and stiff southwest breezes made for some very rough water. I have to give both Tim and Angie credit for hanging on and managing to cast, but what they faced were the absolute worst of fly fishing conditions. Still, they put a positive spin on the trip and were truly two of the nicest people I have ever fished with. I can only hope they make it back up here so I can offer them a much better shot at some stripers and blues.

Cuttyhunk was the sight of my latest fishing adventure with Jeff Howard and it was good to be back on the water after a few days off, some due to weather and some due to my need for a rest. Jeff has one of those easy going personalities that makes fishing an absolute joy; from his casting to his appreciation of his surroundings, Jeff is all about taking time to truly experience the wonder of the natural world. We also managed a few nice fish today, with Jeff's chartreuse/white Deceiver on a fast sink line accounting for the day's catch. The largest of the day was 27 1/2 inches and gave a good accounting of itself in the coolish water around Cuttyhunk. And I even managed avoiding putting a hook in my elbow, meaning Jeff could spend more time fishing and no time having to pull a fly from my arm!

Today's visit to Barnstable produced non-stop action for Roger Cook and his son Jason. On the incoming we worked west and used small jig heads and Arkansas shiner colored Sluggos and the stripers wouldn't leave them alone. Clearly, the big fish were hanging below, but the largest we managed were in the mid-20 inch range, but they were plenty feisty on light tackle. As the current approached high slack, it was time to hit the flats and there were sand eels and bass galore. When the tide turned, the fish came up on top and smashed flashy olive/white Clousers. The largest fish of the day was on the fly rod and was estimated at 30 inches, with Jason doing the honors. One of the most interesting parts of the day was watching gannets dive bomb bait off of west bar, as well as the cry of a loon. Made it feel a bit more like fall than mid-summer. It turns out Roger and I graduated from Burlington High two years apart and it was fun to share memories of favorite teachers and those we weren't especially fond of. Overall, the wind kept things comfortable on the water and the bass were more than a little bit cooperative . . . and we didn't catch even one bluefish. Go figure.

It had been a couple of years since I last fished with Dave Martinez, but today I got the chance again along with his wife Denise and son Robert. Robert had been part of our first trip together when he managed a nice albie as his first saltwater fish, and when I pulled up to the dock I was amazed to see how much Robert had grown and was happy to meet Denise. It became pretty clear that Denise is a good angler as she caught the first fish of the day, a big bluefish that was perfectly hooked in the corner of the mouth. After losing a number of snakes to smaller choppers, we moved on and Robert made a striper connection on a 32 inch bass that showed much more strength than its size. This was Dave's birthday and he eventually broke out his fly rod, giving a number of flies a good workout but with no success despite some follows. After the turn of the tide, Denise hooked up with another fish in the same class as Robert's and she offered that Dave would now try and catch a larger fish. Well, Robert was good enough to turn over his eeling rod to his dad and just a cast or two later Dave was onto a really nice 40+ bass that we had to back down on to move it out of the rocks. We concluded the trip with lunch in Cuttyhunk and then a perfect ride back to Green Pond, beating any rain that threatened as the skies turned cloudy. But today was a sunny day, both literally for most of the trip and metaphorically with good spirits, good company, and good fishing.

After being blown out last Friday and Saturday, I was finally able to get on the water with Jon Kolb and his brother-in-law Mike Dalrymple, although I was disappointed I didn't get to fish with Jon's son, Sam, who had to fly back to California on Sunday. It was a foggy day on the water and while I'm confident I can get where I want in the soup, I worry about other yahoos out there. At least it was a weekday, meaning less boat traffic; weekends in the summer are something I try to avoid. After yesterday, I had high hopes for this trip, but things were pretty tough. Mike lost plenty of eels to bluefish before connecting with a nice islands heavyweight. On the other hand, Jon worked as hard as he could with the fly rod, but we couldn't coax any bass responses despite using numerous patterns that have been good to me in the past along the Elizabeths.

Carl and John Lindeborg are lucky; they're a father-son team that not only enjoys fishing, but it's clear they enjoy being together and giving each other a hard time. Last season, Carl was the master of the eel, but this time John ruled, starting with the first fish of the day amongst a group of finning bass that were waking on the surface. But that 36 incher was only the beginning as John followed that up with a 30 1/2 pounder and then hooked with a fish that he said "Doesn't seem too big" and ultimately turned out to weigh 26 1/2 pounds. Considering his previous best was 34 inches, it was a good day for this Boston Red Sox fan. Who knows? Maybe his luck will rub off on the Beantown Boys. Carl also managed some nice legal fish on Mr. Wiggly, but today was definitely one for the younger generation.

For the first time this year, wind kept us off the water this Fourth of July weekend, both the Mother Nature kind on Friday and Saturday and that provided by yours truly as I agreed to give a talk at Kingman Marine on Sunday. Only one gentleman showed up at the talk (perhaps everybody else was well aware of what they would be getting into if they had attended!), but I thoroughly enjoyed talking with him and Peter Moon, who is the Boat Pro at Kingman and helps folks learn about their boats and how to operate them. Frankly, it was a real energy boost to talk about fishing and a reminder of why I love it so much.

It had been almost a year since I last fished with my good friend Jim Lowe, but today we managed to get together to introduce Jim Wittorff to saltwater fly fishing. Even though strong winds pushed off the water well before I would have liked, the introduction was a success as Jim followed up a nice schoolie with a 30+ inch fish that took the dust off a Fin-nor reel that hadn't seen action in quite a while. From what Jim L. tells me, Jim W. now has the bug really bad!

Normally, I don't do any trolling on the Katie G., but today was part two of a trip with Gary and Alex Grosart who have been looking for bass for a while and expressed interest in this deadly technique. Jim Young from Eastman's was good enough to lend me a pair of his tubing rods and some tubes and we hit the end of the incoming and beginning of the outgoing with great results. Small wine colored tubes accounted for eight fish between 30 and 40 inches in about three hours as well as some of the largest bluefish I have seen in a while. Both Gary and Alex were very good at letting the fish eat the tubes rather than try to set the hook at the first bump and the results spoke for themselves.