Fly Fishing on the Chesapeake Bay - Fall Run Just Starting

Steve Wells and I met at Sandy Point State Park on 09/12/18. He has been using the light tackle equipment with lures to catch striped bass and other species, mainly on the Chesapeake Bay, and wanted to learn how to fly fish the salt.

He needed a casting lesson, which was part of the trip, so we moved away from the docks, but  stayed in Mezick Pond. I rigged up a 9w saltwater series Orvis Helios Rod, teamed with a Mirage Large Arbor Reel that was spooled with floating line. During the casting lesson there was no fly attached to the leader. Once Steve understood the method and could cast around 30 foot of line, we stopped the lesson and headed for the fish.

It didn't take long before Steve caught his first ever striped bass on a fly.

Click on Picture to Enlarge

There were plenty blow-ups and watching Steve catch striped bass on topwater was exciting.

The Most Productive Topwater Fly:  Blados Crease Fly in Gold with 1/0 hook.
The Most Productive Technique: Popping the Fly – Cast the fly out as far as possible. Move the rod tip down in sink with the line on your final forward cast. Start stripping immediately, in one to two foot increments, swiftly, when the fly hits the water.  Do this until the fly is taken or back at the boat.

After lunch the ebb current was ripping out and we moved over water 45 foot deep. Steve had no trouble casting 350 grain  sinking line. A 3 inch Clouser Minnow was attached at the end of a 4 foot leader of 20# test.
NOTE: Keep the leader short approximately 4 feet so the fly is in line with the sinking line.

Click on Picture to Enlarge

Steve was a swift learner and should have plenty of productive trips when fly fishing on the Chesapeake Bay in the future. 63 percent of the stripers and bluefish were caught on sinking fly line. 

Saltwater Sports Fishing 2 Part Lecture Series

Saltwater Sport Fishing - 2 Part Lecture Series
by Capt. Tom Hughes

Cut Years off Your Learning Curve
Learn How the Captain Puts Together Successful Fishing Trips Time After Time

Total Cost $59.00 for Both Saturdays

Saturday April 9, 2016	Saturday April 16, 2016
1pm to 4pm	1pm to 4pm
1) Introduction	8) Rods / Reels / Lines / Knots - LT & Fly Fishing
2) Understanding Weather & Water Conditions	9) Productive Lures / Flies / Techniques with 6 videos showing you how to work these techniques
3) Identifying Productive Fishing Locations	10) When & Where to Use Specific Techniques
4) Think Current NOT Tide	11) How to Approach & Fish Around Working Birds
5) Fish Smarter NOT Harder	12) How to Drift Over Fish Again & Again
6) Water Safety	13) Setting Up Your GPS/Sonar/Plotter
7) Live Lining for Rockfish - the Secrets	14) Learn about CHIRP Sonar-DownVu-SideVu*
*New for 2016

Held At
CCBC Essex Campus, 7201 Rossville Blvd., Essex, MD (Map)
Admin Bldg., Room 106 (Campus Map)
Register: Call 443-840-4700 - Sign Up for CRN# 79083
Don't Miss Any of the Class - Register NOW

A Pamphlet of over 100 pages is available on Apr 9, 2016 to those who attend-ONLY. Cost TBA.
Any Questions Please Call or Text Capt. Tom Hughes - 443-690-3164

The Summer Pattern Has Finally Set In

There are now plenty of striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay that can be taken on a fly.  The summer pattern has set in and an occasional blitz is scene making it possible to catch a few on top.

There are also some large cow nose stingrays that can really give you a battle on a 9 weight.  You have to site fish them casting a 3” sinking clouser fly.  Make sure the fly is a few feet in front of the ray before you start striping.  Use sinking fly line for the best hook up ratio.

Educational Video-Light Tackle Fishing for Striped Bass with a Suspended Jerkbait

Click on Above Picture to View a Short Video
Explaining Who to do this Technique

NEXT MONTH

Click on the Above Picture to See the Agenda

Striped Bass Summer Pattern Has Set In

I enjoyed a fishing trip on the Chesapeake Bay with a good fishing buddy, Bill.  We motored southeast out of Mill Creek on the western shore.  The 1st structure we went over was a ledge breaking swiftly south of Bloody Point.  With no baitfish or gamefish showing up on the sonar we kept on moving south.  As we cruised slowly over another ledge in 36 feet of water, we sighted a quick blurb on the sonar.  The boat was put in reverse and a soft plastic lure was cast out, where the first 18-inch or larger striped bass for the day was boated.

Our next stop was at the mouth of a river where it entered the Bay.  The current was outgoing and moving swiftly at this location.  Baitfish and a variety of crustaceans were available for the striped bass and other gamefish to eat.  Once we hit 40 feet of water the motor was slowed down to 1,000 revolutions as we moved north looking for fish.  It didn’t take long for us to find them.  

Bill with a Nice Striper

The sonar unit lit up in 36 feet of water with large stripers in the high 20, low 30-inch range.  At one time the sonar bottomed out at 23 feet.  This meant that the school of stripers was from 23 to 36 feet deep, an anglers dream!  Bill and I kept on catching until the current slowed down and the fish moved.

Striped Bass In Summer Pattern

For those of you who’s Susquehanna Flats Trip was cancelled, please feel free to now book a replacement trip.

Also available are trips where I can do all manual adjustments needed to your GPS/Sonar/Plotter unit.  

Set Up by Capt. Tom Hughes

This will allow you to identify gamefish from baitfish, drift over active schools more than once, and stop you from fishing dead water.

Warm Weather Fishing on the Way

I can sum up guiding on the Susquehanna Flats this year in two words... "very disappointing". Unfortunately after the first week of April the location became a fish-less pit.  I contacted my clients and asked them to reschedule their trips until the stripers show up in the Upper or Middle Chesapeake Bay, and they were kind enough to understand.

Recently I had the pleasure of guiding Scott and Jason Tucker on the Chesapeake Bay.  Scott wanted to break in his new 28 foot Boston Whaler that was equipped with a top of the line Garmin C3010 GPS/Sonar/Plotter unit.   We pulled out of the South River and headed southeast.  After fishing hard, both brothers were rewarded by catching some nice striped bass.

Jason Landed a Couple this Size

Click on Photo to Enlarge

The majority of stripers were caught when the current was moving the swiftest at that location on an outgoing tide.  The water stayed flat all day making it easy to move around the Middle Chesapeake Bay. 

Fishing Tip: When planning a fishing trip, always have different structures, locations, and water depths marked on a chart to fish.  If one is not productive, do not waste too much time before cranking up and moving to the next.  It could make your trip a productive one.

Note: Tuesday evening, 5/21/13, I will be giving a PowerPoint presentation, entitled 'Catching Rockfish in the Upper and Middle Chesapeake Bay'.  It will be from 7:30pm until 8:30pm for MSSA, Essex Chapter.  It's free to the public and will be held at the Commodore, 1909 Old Eastern Ave., Essex, MD 21221 (Map).  Come early and enjoy a roast beef dinner at a reasonable cost.

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.

Enjoying the Action on a Late January Day

We headed to the water around 12pm and fished with light spinning tackle until just before dark.  It was a sunny and warm January day so fishing for striped bass took precedence over my HD list.

The air temperature was in the 60's and the water temperature was around 38.6 degrees with no chop on the water.  There was plenty of bait around, and the stripers were caught in waters from 45' to 55'.

Bill and I had doubles on the first 3 drifts, and the catching was on.  All the fish we caught and released were fat and  healthy.  We took our time when bringing the fish up from deep water.  5" scented soft plastic baits rigged on 1 ounce jigheads were the most productive lures throughout the trip.  I fished a scented 8" plastic eel, for about an hour, without any luck.

I Know.......

Got One.....

When to Fish the Location.....

Nice Fish Bill....

Thanks Doug for joining us later and to Billy Mellendick for the enjoyable fishing trip.

Fishing Tip:  If the air temperature becomes warm during a colder month - and you go fishing - dress for the water temperature.  It was nice outside yesterday but much cooler when moving across the water that was 38 degrees.

A Good Day (of catching) on the Chesapeake Bay

In this video you will see one of the most productive light tackle technique use in catching striped bass and other saltwater species.