Barn Island, Napatree, Sandy Point Report 6-15-07
Hey all,
What a great day in the salt. My brother in law and I were up by 3:00am and launched by 4:45am. Caught the incoming tide. Paddled out to Napatree and fished the mussle bar first. Will hooked up with 2 fish and landed 1. We then paddled back to Sandy Point and fished the flats and the deep edge that is on one side of the area. Stripers all over! Perfect. Low wind, high sun! Was great. Had some good casts to some fish. Will and I both hooked up sight fishing but lost both. I really don't believe all of these fish were feeding. Several times I put the fly in front and then stripped with refusal after refusal. Tried several patterns with no success. I noticed most of them were just cruising. Fished the drop off where the flat and deeper water meet. I ended up hooking up with 10 and landed 7 total and Will ended up hooking up with 8 total and landed 6. Some dinks but most fish were 19-22 inch range. I was excited because I did get one to eat my crab pattern. Always great to catch fish on something different. Now is a great time for crabs and shrimp by the way. Millions of sand eels around and birds working on them. I loved sightfishing today because it is not an opportunity that you get often. I was able to work on my skills which was great because sight fishing is a different beast entirely. Spooked several fish but it is impossible to not spook fish when walking a beach or flat where the water is crystal clear and only inches deep. I find that by looking further ahead on the flat, you can see fish on the flat, they have not seen you yet. See where they are going, anticipate their path, then cast. Wait until they are close, and strip. This is a common method on any flat. It's great because you see the fish before he/she sees you, you dropped the fly in place, and your luring the fish to eat. Not a new method but you can read about it a million times but until you do it, it's about putting it all together. I messed up a few times, made a few great casts. Again, I also believe these fish were really not that hungry. But overall, skills did improve a great deal and I learned a lot. Mickey Finn, Chart/White, Olive/White clousers and crab patterns did the trick. Used the 7wt all day which was nice. That is my favorite flats/shallow water rod. What a way to break in the weekend. I will be hitting the salt next week after work so stay tuned for more reports!
Salty ;D
Re: Barn Island, Napatree, Sandy Point Report 6-15-07
Sounds amazing way to go
Mike
