I’m way late on the draw here, but there’s still a lot of September left. Ken Abrames’ September Night is by far my favorite finger mullet fly, and you can tie it longer as the mullet get bigger and fatter. I have received confirmed, reliable reports that at least one RI salt pond is loaded with mullet, and that school bass have been harassing (if not enjoying) them. Here’s a good link with tying instruction from yours truly so you too can tie the September Night.
I recently fished 6 nights on Block Island, and this once vibrant shore fishery continues to struggle. I checked my records and found one night in 2018 when I landed 12 stripers; this year I managed 10 stripers in 6 nights with 2 skunkings, which ain’t exactly lighting it up. Once again, the key to success was finding a pattern and hammering away. I spent the first two nights trying to find a pattern, which meant bouncing around the Island, fishing different marks at different tide stages. I had a good moon in terms of darkness, but the tide heights were crappy, which didn’t help. Once I found bass, I returned to that mark at a similar tide stage the next night, although I still had to put in my time to get a couple fish. We left early this year because the fishing was lousy and we had a rain day we could fill with packing. Here’s to better days and a return to glory for this sacred fishing ground.
I get a lot of questions about Block Island this time of year. As always, I’m happy to answer them (unless you want to know my secret spots, which I won’t even tell my mother). For general information, here’s a piece I wrote several years ago. It still stands up today. It’s called “Block Island Stripers From The Shore.”
As I suspected, writing the book is has become a major time sink. Not that I’m necessarily complaining — I really enjoy writing about fly fishing — but I’d rather be doing it than writing about it.
So, the fishing has suffered a bit, and my mid-to-late spring grass shrimp outings are a perfect case study. Normally by this time of year I’ve been out multiple times. Last night was my first, and I may not get out for it again until next year. I picked a meh night for it. The swarm was probably a 3 out of 10, and there wasn’t much on it. I fished my usual three-fly team (last night’s lineup: Grass Shrimp Solution top dropper, Orange Ruthless clam worm middle dropper, Micro Gurgler on point). I fished a modified swing and dangle. I had to work over the course of 90 minutes to hook one shad and two bass, and those fish came in a bite window of 30 minutes. But I was happy to be there, the cigar was swell, and I felt like I spent part of an evening with a dear old friend.
It’s no secret that striped bass love to eat river herring. So it should come as no surprise to anyone that rivers that once attracted prodigious numbers of river herring are seeing fewer stripers as well. I could tell about places I used to fish where an — ahem — average night was 5-6 bass, many of them 10 pounds or better. (And sometimes, much, much better.) Those days are long gone, mostly because so are the river herring.
Here’s where you come in. Please send an email to the New England Fishery Management Council and tell them you value river herring populations, and support enhancing river herring and shad avoidance and catch reduction in the Atlantic herring fishery. Your email is due by 8am, Tuesday April 30, but why wait? Bang out that email now, and make your voice heard! You can find all the details in the infographic below.
Anyone can luck into a big fish. Way back when, when I was just starting out, I wanted no part of that. I wanted to be able to consistently catch big stripers.
If you want to catch big bass — and make it repeatable — you don’t need a casting lesson. You don’t need to be able to reach 90 feet. You don’t need the latest in intermediate line technology. You don’t need a huge monstrosity that looks more like a plug than a fly.
You need to study. And ask questions. Why would there be a big striped bass where I’m fishing? Is there current, cover, and food? Is it pre-spawn? Is it migration time? Is the bait spawning (and therefore gathering in large numbers)? Is it dark, so the fish feels comfortable coming in close? What’s the barometer doing? Which way is the wind blowing? What’s the tide, and how is it moving? These are all part of the equation.
Then, you need the right fly. Something that looks like the bait, or what the bait should be at this time and place. Does the fly look alive and like something good to eat, even when at rest?
Don’t forget presentation. You need to learn that, too. Big fish are lazy, and frequently unwilling to chase. How can you present the fly in a way that makes it easy for the striper to eat?
Last but not least, you need to put in your time. There is no substitute for time on the water. You can do all of the above, check all the boxes, and still blank. (Ask me how I know.) Nevermind, I’ll just tell you. Last year, I fished the mark I fished last week six times and had only two tiny bass nibbles and no bass to hand for my efforts. But every year is different, and this is what I found on a greased line swing with an 11″ Bombardier flatwing in March of 2024:
New year, new kind of class at the Fly Fishing Show in Edison, NJ. Rather than a tying class, it’s now the closest thing we can get to an actual lesson in the salt! I’m really excited about the change, and everyone who attended my class in Marlborough gave it rave reviews. So, instead of spending a few hours on a salt marsh or estuary, we’ll gather in a cozy meeting room and learn all about tying and fishing presentation flies for striped bass. If you’ve ever wanted to fish with me, but have been unable to do so, this will be a great opportunity to get some quality instruction.
Jeff took this class at Edison last year. Here’s what he’s been doing since then! Photo by Jeff Carson.
What are presentation flies? They’re flies that rely on specific materials — mostly natural — specific construction — mostly sparse — and specific presentations — to create the illusion of life. Presentation flies are highly impressionistic. They look alive and like something good to eat, even when at rest. Most of all, you don’t need to strip them in, ad nauseum, to get stripers to eat them. In this class, I’ll talk about materials and construction and, if the group wants, demo at least one pattern.
So, how and where do you fish such patterns? We’ll cover that, too. I’ll show you how to build a saltwater team of three flies; we’ll discuss different bait and feeding scenarios; we’ll talk about the different kinds of water where presentation flies shine; and of course, we’ll dive into presentation — you know, that thing you do when you’re not treating your fly rod like a glorified spinning rod.
You must pre-register for this class. You can do that here.
If you have not done so already, please take ten minutes and send an email to the ASMFC regarding Addendum II.
Here’s the ASGA’s (the good guys) official positions on Addendum II. You want to mirror these, but don’t cut-and-paste everything or it looks like a form letter/email, which the ASMFC will disregard.
Email your letter to: comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Striped Bass Draft Addendum II). you’ll know your email was received because ASMFC will send you an acknowledgement.
I know you’re busy, but it really only takes 10 minutes and we need your voice to be heard. I thank you. The stripers thank you. ASGA thanks you.
As I mentioned last week, I’m doing things a little differently this year with my classes at The Fly Fishing Show in Marlborough. Rather than leading a striper fly tying-centric class, I’ve decided to turn it into the closest thing we can get to an actual lesson in the salt! I’m really excited about the change, and I think everyone attending the class will get a lot more out of it. So, instead of spending a few hours on a salt marsh or estuary, we’ll gather in a cozy meeting room and learn all about tying and fishing presentation flies for striped bass. If you’ve ever wanted to fish with me, but have been unable to do so, this will be a great opportunity to get some quality instruction.
What are presentation flies? They are flies that rely on specific materials — mostly natural — and specific construction — mostly sparse — to create the illusion of life. Presentation flies are highly impressionistic. They look alive and like something good to eat, even when at rest. Most of all, you don’t need to strip them in, ad nauseum, to get stripers to eat them. In this class, I’ll talk about materials and construction and will demo at least one pattern.
So, how and where do you fish such patterns? I’m glad you asked, because that’s the next part of the class. I’ll show you how to build a saltwater team of three flies; we’ll discuss different bait and feeding scenarios; we’ll talk about the different kinds of water where presentation flies shine; and of course, we’ll dive into presentation — you know, that thing you do when you’re not treating your fly rod like a glorified spinning rod.
If you want to catch more striped bass, and do it in ways that are under-appreciated and under-utilized, but powerfully effective, this class is for you.
You must sign up for this class in advance. You can only do that on the Fly Fishing Show website, here.
It’s time once again to make our voices heard for the conservation and preservation of striped bass. There are two ways you can help.
Go to the Connecticut public hearing this Thursday, Nov. 30. CT DEEP has now scheduled an additional in-person hearing on Draft Addendum 2 on Thursday November 30, 2023, from 6:00 – 8:00 PM in Milford, CT. The hearing will be held at the Connecticut Audubon Society Coastal Center at Milford Point, 1 Milford Point Road, Milford, CT 06460. The November 30th hearing in Milford will provide identical information as that presented at the November 16th hearing in Old Lyme and is intended to provide an additional opportunity for the public to comment on Draft Addendum 2.
Send email comments to ASMFC by December 23: Public comment will be accepted until 11:59 PM (EST) on December 22, 2023 and should be sent to comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Striped Bass Draft Addendum II).
What to say. The draft is a ponderous document. No need to wade through it! Here are the American Saltwater Guides Association’s positions: 3.1.1 Ocean Recreational Options: Option B—1-fish at 28-31″ with 2022 seasons (all modes); 3.1.2 Chesapeake Bay Recreational Options: Option B1—1 fish at 19-23” across all CBAY jurisdictions with the same 2022 seasons; 3.2.1 Commercial Quota Reduction Options: Option B with a 14.5% reduction to both the Ocean and Chesapeake Bay Quotas; 3.3 Response to Stock Assessment: Option B—Board Action.
To get more in-depth information on the ASGA’s positions, click here.
currentseams.com 