The Bass Bite Is On!

Well first off I apologize about the delay in the fishing reports. I had some engine issues with the boat about two weeks back which have been smoothed out now and I have been flat out busy and just tired so there ya go! With that being said the busy part of things has been great and so has the fishing. The weather was not great last week with heavy swells and big winds so I was able to get a few things done around the house and at the Saltwater Edge. The rest of August is all booked and I have a few days toward the end of the month open but thats it so things are looking good for August.


Today was another trip with Dave Gale and his son Evan. Evan is a plug fisherman so he's got the upper hand when it comes to distance and presentation to the bigger bass. We had ideal conditions for hunting big bass this morning with a fair amount of fog, overcast, and not much boat traffic. The tide was perfect in our first spot and on Evans third cast with a big wooden spook he goes tight to his first bass of the 2008 season which weighed in at 18lbs! Not a bad start kid! We picked through the rocks and found many more fish just milling looking to eat anything that swam by. After awhile we decided to move around some more and try to find the big girls. A few spots this past week have been holding some monster fish and I've found that the first hour or so before the tide rips really hard has been best in these spots. Well we worked and worked and finally after a few good drifts we found the bigger fish. Now Dave is on the bow and Evan is working from the back using the spinning tackle. Dave has been fishing his 7 wt fly rod most of the morning as we really didn't find any huge fish early just some smaller ones so why not use the 7wt when you can. Well, when this pack of fish decided to rush up to the boat Dave's small 7wt was not a good weapon of choice but he casted anyway. A fish I'm guessing is about 45" comes up and slowly inhales his small E-Z Body baitfish pattern and he's off to the races. Meanwhile, Evan is reeling in another nice fish which he also hooked from that school of fish. After a few minutes of battling and some amazing rod work by Dave using his tiny 7wt he manages to turn this big girl around and starts gaining some backing and fly line. We now get a good look at her and we know she's big but how big. Dave slides the fish boatside and we put the 60lb Boga on her and Wham! 38lbs of pure 7wt fly eating pleasure pulls down on the Boga! Another great day of fishing for Dave and his son Evan.




Yesterday I had Tony Amado. Tony is from New York and most of his fishing is done for Largemouth Bass, Salmon or Atlantic's so when its time to hit the salt for Striped Bass he can't wait. We decided to get an early start due to the forecast of bright sun and no wind. I figured the tide would be better later in the morning so we putted around in the rocks catching smaller fish and having a great time. Most of this style of fishing is cast, cast move. I'm convinced if the fish are in the area they will let you know if not move. We did just that for most of the morning just moving around trying different patterns at different depths and caught tons of bass and a few small bluefish. When the tide was finally right for hunting for the big bass we moved in and did the first drift in a very good spot. After a few cast with little to show I was thinking that the fish finally moved on. No sooner did I say "Think its slow in here today" a really nice fish follows the fly to the boat and tries to eat but Tony runs out of room to move the fly and no go. The next cast he goes long and after a few strips he gets tight to a nice fish in the 20lb class and he's all smiles! We had a few really good drifts with mixed results but we did manage a few serious critters on fly gear from many of the the rocks that morning. Nice work Tony.

The Dentist Goes Large Again!

Well it has been another spectacular week of fishing here in Buzzards Bay as well as along Newport. Once again I had Dave Gale and his good friend Mark yesterday for a few good hours of fishing. I guess before I start with the update I should just explain why the importance of having a good trip with Dave is critical. Dave started booking trips years ago and the funny thing was every time his trips would come up the weather was usually as foul as could be, hence the last name "Gale", or the fishing was just not good. Last year we started to break the weather curse and got better windows without 4 ft seas or 20 knots of wind and got tight to some better fish. Well, Dave and I had one morning last year around this time that was unreal as far as quality and numbers of bass go. On one drift Dave make a well placed long cast into a boulder field that had been holding good numbers of giant bass for about 3 weeks. Well this day these fish were all charged up and they wanted to eat big poppers in the worst way. A fish I'm guessing would have went well over 40lbs, emerges from the pack and consumes his popper right at the boat. He does an amazing job of setting up and clearing the fly line while still maintaining solid pressure on a huge bass which is key. Dave knows my style of fishing and that's this "lock em up". I fish a very tight drag all the time and I rely on my rigging and rod angle and pressure to know when and how to pull on a bigger critter. I figure land the fish sooner then later and I do it with all species of fish I pursue and its worked well and not so well but I will continue to operate this way regardless. Well, Dave to has started to like this style of fishing and this particular morning has a very snug drag which is great to see for both him and the fish on the end. Well even with that being said the fish just runs a straight path for the largest rocks within 20 miles and cuts off the fly line with about 40 yards of backing with it. Dave and I just sit in amazement while we try to figure out how we might find a flyline in my gear bag or a tern might fly by and drop a brand new Airflo intermediate in the boat while passing to get him fishing again. No such luck but what an experience for him to witness it go down. But we also wanted to to try and save a fish a few weeks of towing hardware around which must have sucked.

Well Dave fishes a few days a month to say the least and the following week he invites a good friend and accomplished fly caster to get out with him. We do in fact have great conditions again and the fish are happy and his buddy ends up landing a 30+lb fish on an 8wt. Now Dave is convinced he is jinxed and has sunk into what many anglers refer to as the "rut". No way to live really and I think I might have to get Dave some medical attention at this point. Well this season things have come full circle for Dave and he is not only casting when it counts but can see and understand when and how to manipulate a fly for larger fish and its paid off. I'm excited to say he's finally on the upside of that "rut" and has learned and become on of the better guys for this style fishing.

Well the fishing continues to be as good as it gets early in the mornings. We did have some swell on along the south facing shorelines for most of the week but the water quality changed almost over night for yesterdays fishing which was great to see finally. Dave and Mark had solid fishing from about 5am until 9am when things really slowed down. Most of the action for the guys tossing big plugs like Tattoo Sea Pups or needlefish have done great. The key is this you need to cast far from the boat. Big bass don't like boats hooked or not hooked. They are very aware of whats happening in the water much like if you live near a highway your used to hearing it where as your family comes to stay and can't sleep the whole time do to the noise. Its ambient and I feel the fish are the same way at least the bigger guys in water under 15ft deep. Great week this week overall and I hope the swells move along quick as I know commercial season open tomorrow and well have plenty of boats to compete with for the next few weeks until that slaughter is over. Well for all who have trips this coming week I look forward to seeing you and like I mentioned in the last update I do have some solid dates open during the next few weeks as well as into August so get your plans together now and lets catch some fish!

Day Off Finally For Catching Up!

Well its been awesome but biz is cranking right along and the phone and email continues to be nuts with people wanting to get out in the worst way which is a good thing for me. Today I think not many people are out unless they are out in a tug boat due to the heavy 20-30 knots of SW wind. This leaves me a few minutes to get caught up on phone calls and emails as well as try to give all of you a heads up on the bite. I must say as far as the bass fishing goes its been nothing short of awesome. Many days when you can find that cooler water your in for a treat if willing to put up with big lures and big flies. Many full day trips all last week yielded fish in the mid teens to 35lbs which is what you expect to see this time of year. I was lucky enough to have Greg and his two sons on Monday morning. We stayed close but found plenty of smaller bass and a huge school of hungry bluefish. Max smashed one that tipped the Boga Grip out at 8lbs which is a very nice Bluefish on light tackle. Nice Work Guys!

Yesterday I had Randy and his dad Loyd from Michigan. These guys are regular pros with spinning tackle. I decided to trailer down to NPT for to get out on some of the reefs and rocks piles that are traditionally great this time of year and man did I make a good call. One Randy's first cast he goes tight to a 20lb fish and his dads not far behind. We had fish most of the morning in various spots that could not turn away from the surface lures producing great fishing action all morning. As the sun got higher the fish started to shy out some but the action overall was fantastic. I think these two will be back next summer for another trip. Overall not a bad week so far I'm just a bit concerned about the wind and swell that Bertha might throw at us later this week and toward the start of next week. If your looking to fish I have a few openings next week and toward the end of the month for all the peeps looking to give Mr Charlie Tuna a good run!

July 4th Weekend Was Not All Bad!

I had Tom and Ray aboard today for an full day of fishing. The day started out slow as the tide was just not moving well but before long we went tight to a few small bass in the rocks along the northern side of the Elizabeth Islands. Even with it being the last day of the July 4th weekend I figured the water would have been loaded with boats but for the first few hours it was not. Well, that all changed about 9am when the tide started to really get moving and a ton of boats just moved in. With the increase in boat traffic and motor noise the fish seemed very spooky today but we still managed a few nicer fish in the mid teen class. For the most part a great day of fishing and I look forward to having Tom and Ray again very soon.