Plenty Stripers - Plenty Topwater Action

What a beautiful day to be on the Chesapeake Bay. The water was flat and the sun was under the clouds all morning.  The striped bass were active while on structure and under working birds.

The Sonar Was Lit Up All Morning

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Bill Hensley was catching stripers on topwater for the first 2 hours this morning on a crease, 4" gold and white fly. The stripers, on top, were somewhat small, from 12" to 16".  They were still a lot of fun to catch when using a fly rod.

Bill Hensley

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We moved to fish under the working birds where if the fly could get down deep, the fish were somewhat larger in size than on topwater. Bill had to use 250 grain sinking fly line with a Half and Half, 5", in chartreuse and dark green with red eyes. The majority of stripers were caught on a 12 count.

Thanks Bill for joining me and have a safe trip back to Texas. I'm sure you'll now start use sinking line on the red fish down your way.

Fly Fishing on the Chesapeake Bay For Striped Bass - They're Starting to Show Up

Fly Fishing on the Chesapeake Bay has been a rather unpredictable this year. I've been fishing, except when there was ice on the Bay.   Until last Sunday locating striped bass while fly fishing on the Chesapeake Bay has been difficult. It now appears that the schooled stripers are starting to show up at the locations tas hey do each year in the Upper and Middle Chesapeake Bay.

This past Saturday, 05/16/15, I was joined by 2 father and son teams who were fly and light tackle fishing for striped bass.

Chris Johnson, Mark & Jeff Whitting, Don Johnson

Staying out of the south wind allowed everyone to fish at the same time. The mouth of the Severn River gave us some protection on the western shore.  Catching was possible, but difficult, due to the limited number of past productive locations that had been fishable.

Sunday turned out to be a productive trip for fly fishers from England. They were in DC for a conference and wanted to take a trip on the Chesapeake Bay and catch a striped bass. It would be the 1st for both of them.  George broke the skunk on his second cast by landing a nice 19" striper.

George's 1st Striped Bass

By the end of their trip they had caught a few doubles, and a good number of stripers.

Alistair Makin & George Webster - English Fly Fishers

There have been some good reports of nice stripers just south of Chesapeake Beach. They should be on the move to around the Bay Bridge and above....lets hope.

Catching Flounder on the Atlantic Ocean

My good friend and fishing buddy, Doug Schopman, invited me to his summer home just outside of Bethany Beach, DE, to fish the Indian River Inlet and the Atlantic Ocean. I arrived on Wednesday at 3pm and by 4pm we were catching stripers and bluefish inside the Inlet. The blues ran from 3 to 6 pounds and put up an excellent fight on light spinning tackle. Both species were hitting 2 oz. metal jigging spoons, Bass Assassin 4” Curly Shad in Opening Night and ZMan 6” Sented Jerk ShadZ in pearl white.

The following day we went out on the Atlantic Ocean heading northeast toward Site 11. We were rigged for flounder with plenty of bullhead minnows and cut bluefish belly. If you need to know about bait, what type of species to fish for, where the bite is hot, etc. go to Hook’Em & Cook’Em in Bethany Beach, DE. The management and sales personnel are helpful, knowledgeable, and will head you in the right direction. We caught most of our fish at Site 10 a little closer to the Inlet.

I Caught the Largest Flounder

(Bethany Beach Bridge in Background)

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The Rig

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This past Monday I enjoyed doing a mixed guided trip. Live Lining with light tackle in the morning and fly or light tackle fishing after lunch or when all keepers are caught. Mitch and Terry caught stripers to 24” before lunch and 36 stripers ‘on the fly’ after lunch.

Fishing Tip: Don't put your boat in storage or your rods away after Labor Day. Normally the fishing gets better in the months of Sep, Oct, Nov, and Dec.

Best of Buddies Enjoying the Chesapeake Bay

The father and son fly fishing team, Bruce and Curt Johnson, joined me on 07/14 and 07/15, to fly fish the Chesapeake Bay.

Curt and Bruce Johnson

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The weather was nice at 7:00am as we pulled away from the dock at Sandy Point State Park heading east to search for striped bass that wanted to be caught on a fly. Catching was non-existent in the Upper Bay until 9:30am, so we decided to head south of the Bay Bridge.

The only feedback from the 2 sonar units aboard, after checking ledges, underwater mounds, rock piles, deep holes, etc., were small and large baitfish, and a few scattered gamefish, probable stripers. We ate lunch early so we could be back at the Bay Bridge well before the maximum ebb tide of 1.33 mph.

Curt Enjoying the Fight

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After only catching 10 stripers on the first day and at the beginning of the second day everyone had a positive attitude.  This, along with the ability to change location, flies, techniques, and other variables, is a must if you plan to catch fish. Everything came together on the second day when a lot of stripers were caught making fly fishing the Chesapeake Bay a real pleasure for all.

A Sight for Sore Eyes (especially the captains)

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Most Productive Technique: Short Striping Sinking Line (with sinking line)-Cast the fly out and count it down to the desired depth. If the line gets tight during the countdown, get additional line in the water. To accomplish this put the rod tip just above the water and figure 8 the tip to let more line out. This allows the fly to sink where it hits the water. Start stripping the line in 1-foot increments, swiftly, back toward the boat.

Most Productive Fly: Sinking Clouser, 3", #2 ss Hook, Tan & White, Gold Eyes

Fly Fishing Equipment: Orvis, 9', 9w, 4 pc. Helios Rod - Mirage Reel Size V, Hydros, 350 Grain, Depth Charge Sinking Line (using a 9w allow you to use large flies and the flies get down faster).

Fishing Tip: This is an excellent time to set up your sonar units for maximum use. Then you don't have to waste time fishing over fishless waters anymore. There should be some guidance in your owners manual to make this possible. If you need help having your GPS/Sonar/Plotter unit set up for maximum use please contact me.

Susquehanna Flats Striped Bass Fishing Season Almost Here

Starting on March 1st until May the 3rd, each year the largest striped bass visit the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay just outside Havre de Grace, MD, in a stretch of water known as the Susquehanna Flats.  

This is an ideal location to fly or light tackle fish in waters as shallow as 1 foot.  Catching stripers on top water starts when the water temperature reaches 55 degrees, around the middle of April.  This is the time of year where you will have an opportunity to catch that once in a lifetime striped bass. 

If you are new to fishing the flats, make sure to run down the west side shipping channel, and once you go around the south side of R"2", it will be safe to cross over to the east side channel. 

If you're used to drifting over the flats (done best during a high tide), look for deep ditches that run parallel and in the same direction as the Susquehanna River.  Shad and herring move in these ditched during their spawning season and the striped bass use these ditches as ambush locations.  A very productive fly to use here is a large Half & Half with a red head, and a chartreuse and white body.  Fish it on sinking fly line witha 4' leader.  If you light tackle fishing, try a 6" Gulp Alive Swimming Mullett on a 1/2 or 3/4 ounce jighead. 

This is a catch and release fishery.

Open Dates to Fly Fish or Light Tackle Fish the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT)

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I hope you have time in your schedule to fish the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in early December 2012.  The largest striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay are available during this time of year, giving you the opportunity to catch that 'once in a lifetime' striped bass on fly or light tackle equipment.



Everything is provided: fly and light tackle equipment, flies, lures, licenses, lunch, and casting lessons, if needed.  I will share with you the most productive techniques used to catch striped bass.

You and your guests will be aboard a catamaran, especially designed for fly and light tackle fishing.  It is 22' long by 8' 6" wide, and will provide you with a smooth, dry ride throughout your trip.

Dates Available - Dec 3rd through Dec 8th

Trip Rate - 1 to 3 Anglers / Full Day Trips Only $600.00 (Total Cost)

To Book a Trip - Call 443-690-3164

All arrangements/hotel reservations, will be taken care of by Capt. Tom Hughes.  Your room will be ready when you arrive at Sunset Beach Resort Hotel, in Cape Charles, VA.