Bass on Flies and Plugs tonight.

[CapeMayRay]

Was out tonight with a one person fly charter. Left the dock at 6:00 p.m. It was very warm in Cape May today. As we left the dock there was a slight cool breeze off the ocean. We headed to a shallow spot on the flats in the back bay. With the hot sun we started fishing in 2 foot of water that was 74 degrees and very muddy. Worked it for a half hour with out a strike using chart/yellow deceiver. Decided to try a flat closer to the inlet that might have clear water cooler water.

Came on the flats there and found 57 degree water that was much clearer coming on to the flats. Worked it towards the back of the flats finding progressively warmer water, but no strikes, bait or swirls. In the meantime the fog started to roll in. Before the sun set, charter changed over to a popping fly as the fog got thicker and thicker and it kept getting colder and colder. Charter had to change from shorts to long pants I put on my sweatshirt and foul weather gear.

Missed the first 4 fish on Popping fly. One really slammed it. One hit as it was just still in the water as he was looking at his watch and the other two other hit as he set his hook on the splash, without feeling the weight of the fish.

Finaly after dark and with the fog super thick he hooked into a nice healthy 26 inch bass.

About 5 casts later he got another bass 22 inch bass. Now it was dark and you couldn't see more than a short distance. We still had another hour left to go on the trip, but he was cold and wet from the fog and wanted to call it a night.

We were way back on the flats close to high tide in 3 foot of water and getting ready to leave when speeding up to us we see a boat coming. I am thinking it must be someone else who knows the area well.

Turns out to be this big 26 foot boat. He saw our lights and thought we were in the inter coastal waterway. He asked where he was and said he was trying to get back to Wildwood. Never saw a boat that big back there before. He was lucky it was near high tide. I told him where he was and that there was a lot of shallow water and a couple of semi-submerged islands. Told him if wanted to follow me I would get him out to the inland water way as I had a gps chart plotter. Don't think he trusted me and headed off across the flats and a shallow section. Hope he made it without busting up a prop or running aground.

Fog was very thick. As we came back under the $1.00 bridge we saw the Atlantic Star coming back with a trail of boats tucked behind like ducks following her back thru the inland water way.

The air temperature was down to 58 degrees when we hit the dock and in the high 80's when we left. Who would of guess there would of been that much of a temperature change.

[CapeMayRay]

Had a tough trip tonight. Got a chance to get out for a personal trip with a friend. We got some fish, but the whole night was kind of a downer. Got to the marina. They had a live band at the Tiki Bar and had to park 200 yards away from the boat. Wind was blowing pretty strong out of the Southeast and we wanted to work the beachfront with the dead low tide. Dredge was working the inlet when we got there and the water was ugly looking. Worked the beachfront and only got some herring on small jiggies, which I kept to salt down for bait. Pete lost two flies on structure and one to a nice blue that bit him off. It was very difficult to fish with the boat bobbing in the heavy chop with the electric motor prop going in and out of the water.

When the tide got high enough we headed to the back and found dirty warm water and the wind had picked up even more making fly fishing more difficult. We worked our way around the back and got a some blues, one small striper. We had a couple of bass hits and a number of blue misses. Saw very little bait and signs of life. Whole night seemed to be more work than fun due to the wind.

[WAHOONBOX]

VERY COOL THREAD WITH GREAT ACTION PICS! THANKS TO ALL....I LOVE THAT BIG ASS STREAMER CLASS FLY...THE WHITE ONE

[CapeMayRay]

Had a fun charter tonight. Husband and wife. Was the husbands birthday and she wanted to surprise him with a fly fishing trip so he could catch his first saltwater fish on the flyrod.

Left the dock at 4:00 p.m. and with high water just going out we went back on the flats to see what we could find. Husband was a freshwater trout fisherman and the new heavier wt rods were a little difficult to cast at first, but by the end of the trip he was casting pretty well. Wind wasn't helping much as it there was a stiff breeze blowing at a bad angle for casting where I wanted to fish.

First hour was a little difficult as his wife had never cast a spin rod. I had to teach her on the job. She was picking it up pretty fast and was the first to miss a couple of fish on a popping plug. We then moved to a point with 3 foot of water where her husband hooked up with his first striper.


His birthday had been made and he was a happy fisherman. He missed a couple and we came across a spot where bass were whacking nice size spearing up against a sodbank and we could see them just blasting the bait. I was able to anchor the boat. Then drift the boat back into a position, with the help of the electric motor. Here he could get a decent casting angle considering the wind wanted to blow us into where they were feeding. He got 4 more stripers to 23 1/2 inches with a number of misses and his wife got her first striper, a nice 24 incher on a swimming crystal minnow. The spearing were so thick he twice hooked one with the fly. (from the picture it looks like we matched the hatch) It wasn't as easy as it sounded as the fish were so focused on the bait at the top grass of the sodbank. There was only a 2 to 3 foot area from the bank where the fish would feed. The boat didn't seem to bother them as we were about 25 feet from where they were feeding in 3 to 4 feet of water.




When the feeding frenzy ended we move to another area off a point where his wife hooked her second bass and he missed another on the fly. The evening ended with a nice sunset and everyone had a great night.

Wind died away to nothing just as we hit the dock and the gnats started coming out. Used a chart/yellow deceiver all night on floating line. We tied the fly directly to the line as I didn't want to inflict him with my bad metalic loop knot habit.