A hellish work schedule and other responsibilities have kept me from chasing the bass with stripes. This has depressed me no end. Jonesing to say the least, and especially wanting to get into some more tactical presentation fishing for stripers.
So when Ed Simpson told me he fished some small water the other night, and that the bass were being picky, holding in current and crashing on grass shrimp, I arranged to meet him and Jon A for a little night exploratory mission.
The color was fading and the stars were just asserting themselves when we met at the mouth of a tidal estuary on the Sound. Jon had been fishing with no love, but we gave it 20 minutes and ended up with the same. We heard a couple pops! but they, of course, were on the other side of the estuary. The tide had just turned, and we decided to move upstream.
Fished the outflow of an inner pond where the tide was roaring through. A very fishy spot with sod banks and evil fly sucking mud. Long casts were needed to get out in the current. Again no love, but an occasional audible pop. Then Jon says, "Yup!" (Jon-speak for hookup) and he landed a fine schoolie on a shrimp pattern.
It was black black last night, and my night vision isn't that great, so I couldn't really see what my line was doing. I thought I had hooked a weed, because the tap was more of a tick with pressure, and I threw a mend to try to free the weed. Then I had another tick with pressure, which was my first bass of the evening sucking the clam worm into his mouth (I fished last night with a floating line and a 3-small fly dropper rig: Olive GP, Orange Ruthless, Ray's flatwing). I set the hook, and he was on. Another schoolie.
After a bit we decided the mojo wasn't there, and it was time to venture elsewhere. On the walk out, we passed some truly skinny water that was flat as a mill pond, save for the rise rings formed by popping stripers as they held in the current and fed. I just had to give this a shot. Jon and Ed stayed up on the path while I climbed over a boulder and approached the sod/mud bank like I would a Class 1 WTMA. Slowly. Very. Slowly. The bass were holding in a soft current about 20 feet from the shore. Pop! Slash! Pow! They were feeding just like trout. Out came the line, out went the cast.
Nothing.
And again. Nothing.
This happened a few more times, and I began to worry that I was going to put them down, that I had the wrong flies, or a bad presentation. I decided my best course was to high stick nymph the flies through the strike zone. One drift. Nothing.
Next drift. There he is! I could tell this fish was better than the first one, and since it was dark I couldn't see why, until I landed not one, but two 18" stripers, one on the clam worm, the other on the Ray's flatwing.
But, on to the main event (spoiler: we caught nothing, but it was great!). We went even further upstream into a tidal marsh. Dozens of stripers were holding in the current, slaughtering 1" grass shrimp as they drifted past. Pop! Boil! Bang! Everywhere. And three anglers who might as well have been waving broomsticks and clotheslines with grappling hooks (Jon was high hook with one tap). In fairness, this spot was a triple black diamond for being able to cast and present, as we were backed by tall marsh grass and surrounded by fly-eating trees, and the bass were holding in an unapproachable area (yes, your humble Moderator foolishly tried to approach them and I spooked them good).
We ended the night watching the fish feed, and observing the bait in the water: translucent 1" grass shrimp, tiny silversides and much bigger, fatter silversides ready to spawn.
I love the new moon. :-)
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