TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT
Hey…  We all have out spots right?  Some secret, some not so secret, but generally we stick to them.  Unfortunately, most of us are very pressed for time.  If you’re not, then you are either obscenely rich or unemployed and on some kind of fixed income.  Let’s face it, fishing, particularly from a boat, is an expensive past-time and you need to work a lot to support it.  You could say that I know that better than anyone else as I’m burning the candle at both ends for 8-months a year holding three different income producing jobs just so I can be out on the water as much as humanly possible.  I’m not complaining…  It’s just part of the deal.  It supports a habit that I was never able to shake nor did I ever want to.

The point is that we all embrace that time we get on the water.  And, hey, we want to catch fish during that time right?  So, we’re prone to go to those same spots we know produce time after time.  It’s even worse for the guides as they have a client or two on board who pay a lot of money for the chance to catch fish.  Yeah, some may say, it’s just nice to be out on the water, but don’t let them fool you.  They, like any other red-blooded angler, want to catch fish.  So, these guides want to go to those spots that they know produce as there’s a tremendous amount of pressure on the guide to do so.  But back to the point, it’s hard to stray from what we know and try new spots.  The end result of this is angry crowed conditions at those hot-spots like Breezy Point, Sandy Hook, Montauk etc.  And, it’s a real bummer because every year the crowds seem to get worse and worse, and subsequently, the etiquette get’s worse.

The thing is, there are a lot of fish in a lot of different places, and we all just need to take the time and put in the effort to find them.  These fish may not be busting and under birds as they tend to do at some of the well known hot-spots, but they can be found back in the marsh areas and they can be found in super skinny creeks.  They can be found in white sand flats that rarely get fished.  Sure, these fish are going to be spooky and more difficult, but to me, that makes it all the more fun.  Don’t expect to get the size and numbers that you would on a good day in Montauk or Breezy or wherever the crowds tend to follow the birds, but do expect to enjoy yourselves more.

So, try and use your imagination.  Find those areas that look fishy, even though you never see anyone fishing there.  Trust your gut…  Even if you don’t catch fish there on the first shot, look listen and try to feel the place out.  Notice what the tides are doing, try and see what the bait is.  Think about what conditions would make that place better.  Then, form a plan of attack and go back to those spots when you think they may fish better and work them hard.  You may come up empty handed, but on the other hand you just might score.  And, when you do, you can claim that spot as your own, and it is because you earned it.  Brag to your friends about it, but keep it a secret.

Sick of chasing bluefish with the rest of the yahoos out at Breezy Point, I found just such a spot in the back of the bay a couple of days ago.  It wasn’t easy, but we were rewarded with some giant acrobatic bluefish that were fining in just a few feet of murky water.  Man was that fun!  There were even a few bass in there!  Sure I strike out all the time trying those subtle “it-looks-fishy” places, but I always try and re-try them, because under certain conditions they are bound to work.

Like I said… Trust your gut…  Stray from the crowds and try something different this weekend.  It just may pay off!

Fishing Reports
Speaking generally, it does seem that the summer doldrums are beginning to set it.  Of course, there always seems to be someone, somewhere who’s catching fish.  Yet, the general sentiment is that we’re in that “transition period” after the spring/early summer and before the pelagic show.  All I’ve got to say is “THANK GOD FOR BLUEFISH!”  If it wasn’t for these big bruisers, I’d take the darn boat out of the water during the summer doldrums.  This week was definitely dominated by bluefish.  Not just in my neck of the woods but from Southern Jersey up to Montauk.  North of that, folks are still catching good numbers of bass, but it has become an early morning or night event.  The bluefin thing is kind of dead at this point.  Folks are still seeing them off of Mass, and Maine but I haven’t heard of any being caught in a couple of weeks.  That should change once we get into August though.  And, as some readers know, August can mean all sorts of pelagic fairly close to shore.  Keeping my fingers crossed for that.

New Jersey Fishing Reports
Nothing official from Jersey this week, but from what I hear there is still as bass bite on those bunker from central New Jersey North, but it wasn’t near what it was the prior week.  Mostly blues right now and lots of brown sharks.  Inside, it’s just too darn warm for good fishing.  There have been some fish caught at night though.  Offshore there hasn’t been much going on with the mid-shore humps.  Just about all of the bluewater action has been way out at the canyon edge, and that’s a hike.

New York Fishing Reports
I’ve had some great action offshore…  Unfortunately it aint with the tuna.  Some very, and I mean very big bluefish on some of the structure.  They are eating flies and plugs, well, jumping, tail-walking etc…, and hey, it’s better than nothing!  Even caught a few bass on the structure as well.  Earlier in the week we found some schoolie bass on poppers in Jamaica Bay and some big blues mixed in.  All-in-all, not a bad week for a “transition period.”  I’m expecting to see bonito any day now…

From the North Shore, Capt. Robin Calitri from Long Island Fly Fishing checks in with this report:
Blues, Bass and beautiful nights in July make for wonderful fishing on the North Shore.  Sluggoes are still working but swim baits and clousers in olive or green work well also.  Huntington  Harbor and Bay are full of bunker of all sizes.  There are bay anchovies in Lloyds and tons of sand eels off the loading platform.  Joel Weiss, Dana Thompson and Don Voegel had a great night with blues and bass on Tuesday.  Don took high hook with some blues on spin and then a couple of nice schoolie bass on the fly.  Brendan Cuccinello hosted Neil De Stephano,  Nuzio Prado and cousin Joey to some great fluking to 7 pounds east of Port Jeff and some  great night time bassing to 27 inches on swim baits around Port Jefferson. 

From out East, Salty Flyrodder Joel Filner checks in with this report:
The end of the world is here. Fished early Saturday morning with the ocean just howling, some wind, and no real bait in the water. Went back to the Peconic bay and was uncomfortable but no fish. Again the wind but not troublesome just difficult to figure out where the fish would be holding. Nothing. Sunday morning stayed in bed, listening to the wind but watching the sun come up and the moon in at least a 3/4 phase, looking forward to the Monday session with David Blinken to get back into the groove and hopefully see a fish or two. Monday the forecast was for thunderstorms and a small craft warning.  The ocean on Sunday was like a Victory at Sea movie, but we were going to stay in the Gardiners bay area where the swells would not really affect us. We went fully equipped with wet gear, 8 fly rods, new lines to test and the promise of a reasonable day. Lightening is not our friend but went out at 8 am under the sunshine and clouds out of the southwest in filling the sky. We fished all day under relatively good conditions, with the wind doing a 360 degree movement through out the day. No true uncastable gusts, manageable water, but dirty, with sea grass, murk, and in some parts a rolling breaker out of the ocean on the shores of Gardiners Island. We fished all day with two drops of rain, no wind to speak of and covered 3//4 of a gas tank in looking for fish. Two hookups all day two bumps and a very tough day on the skunk. The first one in 4 years in my local area on a boat.
Two days of aches and pains to show for the day. We fished two different 8 weights, a 9, a 10, a 450 grain sinking line, a new Airflo ridgeline. a Rio Multi-tip line, three Wulff lines, a Monic floating, big flies little flies, gurglers, poppers, crease flies, chartreuse deceivers, a squid adaptation, a mikkelson epoxy, a bunker fly, a peanut bunker fly, a tan crab fly, and finally a blinken secret fly.

Connecticut Fishing Reports
Capt. Sandy Noyes from Rumrunner Guide Service checks in this week with this Eastern Connecticut report.  Check it out:
This week the fishing has slowed a bit. There are still some bass to be taken but you have to work harder and have more patience to get them to eat. Peter came down  from Upstate New York and brought Steve along. We managed to catch fish on both tides but the ebb was better. The fish were showing sporadically so we just stayed put and ended up with a successful day with flies and sluggos. The daytime bite is still there as long as the tide is running and bringing the bait to the fish. Blue fish continue to show in better numbers.

Capt Dan Wood from Connecticut Woods and Water Guide Service checks in from the Waterford area:
Hot ,Hot ,Hot ! Here we are in the second week of July and the fishing is still really good. We are still enjoying  the tail end of the Squid run that seems to never want to end. Some days are better than others but over all it’s been a great ride so far. Most af the Bass have been from the 26“ to 34” range with a few real beauties thrown in. Finally more blues have started to show in the mix. After not catching them for a while you forget just how tuff these fish are. Wow ! The blues are in the 7 to 9 lb. range for the most part with some being smaller and some larger. Most all of the action for the bass and blues has been on top water so it’s been a blast. We have been lucky for the most part with a big stretch of good weather. Fog has slown us down on some days but I think that will be behind us now as water temps are heating up.  The rest of the month I expect to see more numbers of big blues showing and good numbers of stripers taking up residency on the reefs and rock piles.

Massachusetts Fishing Reports
Capt. Dave Rimmer checks in with a report from the Newburyport area.  Check it out:
July is living up to its billing as a transition month for saltwater fishing in our local waters. Striped bass are starting to get finicky and more nocturnal, and bluefish have made an appearance. Specifically, striped bass fishing is better in the rocks of Cape Ann and less good in the estuaries where the water is often topping off at 70 degrees. Those reliable early season surface feeds are sporadic now in the estuaries and rivers, but this is not to say the bass are gone. They are not. They are just not feeding as much during the day. Eel and chunk bait fisherman are stilling catching plenty of stripers in the warmer estuaries and rivers, but mostly at night. Recent charters I have run on the Merrimack River have been producing mostly schoolie-sized bass feeding on sand eels. The rocks of Cape Ann, where the water is cooler, are producing some nice stripers and the rock-hoppers are reporting some excellent night catches as well. Bluefish has been best a bit away from shore off Gloucester and Rockport, with the best action coming to those trolling deep with lures. But fly fishermen are getting into blues too. July is also when I start to concentrate more on sight fishing for stripers along some of our beautiful beaches. Stripers show up well over a light colored sandy bottom, and they are very catchable on small patterns fished slowly across the sand, bonefish style, although often in waters 4-6 feet deep. It is very fun and challenging. So keep your eyes peeled and a few weighted, small flies handy for the next few months. Finally, early school bluefin tuna reports have slowed and an eager crowd of anglers is anxiously awaiting their appearance closer to shore than the 12 mile away Stellwagen Bank. So also keep you favorite tuna stick nearby from here on out.

Capt. Terry Nugent from Riptide Charters checks in with an offshore report.  Check it out:
When the canyon weather window opens you need to JUMP through before it closes. Take a day off, call in sick, miss that meeting, whatever it takes because the season is short and the number of shots you can take are limited.

On Wednesday I was looking to go sharking with 2 buddies. One had boat issues that kept hiim OTW WAY longer than he had planed so he was out. Logistics kept Me and the other buddy from making the trip with just two of us. So as I’m sitting around Ruge rolls in from a work trip from the West Coast. He is tired and jet lagged. we were discussing his trip and somehow one of use said, “Man there is just NO wind!” Ruge asked “Ya wanna go fishing?” I reply, “It’s kinda late to get started, it’s after lunch, but it’s EARLY if we want to run to the canyons!” Ruge:”We could leave NOW and overnight” Me:”Maybe a nap first then we’ll go!” And so the plan was set. In the time it took you to read this we had a canyon run in place. The restof the planning takes longer, get ice, prep ballyhoo, gas the boat, etc. So we got to work!

At midnight we were launching at Falmouth. By 0030 we were clearing the jetties and by 0315 we were lines in at Block canyon. The ride out was a sweet as it gets! Itwas FAC, nearly a full moon with enough light on the water you’d have thought I had headlights!

Rather than chunk till grey light we set out a 5 rod spread and night trolled for the hour before grey light. Once we could see the spread we set out a full 8 rod spread and comenced skirting the Hi Fliers on the edge. Within a few minutes we had a 20 and a 15# mahi in the boat. We were hoping for yellowfin so we pushed off the fliers at the edge and moved into deeper water. It took about 45 minutes for us to find what we were looking for a small temp break on the West wall of the canyon. The next thing we know the 70 is SCREAMING, 200 yards of mono is gone and we are 200 yards in to the spectra backing. Ruge gets to work and puts a beating on the fish. In short order I stick a gaff into a SWEET 90# yellowfin. Bled and iced in the box!

We are in the area and now we are just trying to dial things in. There was a small fleet of boats to the west of us, but we tried to stay clear of the masses. We marks some birdsw on the radar and aimed for them rather than compete in the fleet. Once we got to the birds all hell broke loose. FISH ON! DOUBLE, TRIPLE, QUAD!!!!! One fish pulls off and Ruge and I clear the rest of the spread and get to work on the other three. We are both in harnesses so we can let go of the rods without loosing them. I’m diving and running the throttles as needed. My fish comes in first, Ruge leaders and I gaff. Then the process repeats in reverse for his fish. He takes the third and we are 3 for 3 on the fish that stayed tight these are all in the 40#-50# range. The lines are re-set and we are back trolling while Ruge works on the fish and hoses down the boat.

I see the mother load of Shearwaters a few miles away and head for them. Ruge readies the boat for what we know is coming. Gaffs are stratigicly placed, gloves are put on and we ease into the birds and what now is a mass of breaking fish and spraying bait! The wholes spread gets crushed! These are not the smaller fish. These are all 70-90#ers and Every rod in the spread goes off! Before we can even start to process whats happening, lines are crossing, some fish pull off, one line breaks from rubbing on another rod as the fish makes a lateral run accross the boat! It is total chaos! Ruge and I try to calmly work through the carnage. He clears the lines that are broken or the fish have pulled off. I begin a crash course in macrame and try to undo three lines that are wound together like a bimini twist ALL WITH FISH STILL ATTACHED! Ruge gets things clear, I get the lines untangled and we get to work. We land all three of these fish, lost a ballyhoo rig and broke a hook bait off a Green Machine bar. It wasnt the prettiest work, but when your running a short crew on a bite this we did the best we could.

The word on the radio os the bite was slowing down. We stayed off the fleet and pushed a bit deeper. Although the bite slowed for us too it stayed a steady pick as long as we avoided the crowds. We had singles and doubles of fish from 20# to 90# through the day.

Around 1500 the bite went off AGAIN! More big schools of the larger yellowfin on top busting. We stayed the course and kept to ourselves and out of the fleet. We did our best and although the big tuna gave as good as they got we managed to land some with only moderate gear damage.

At one point I was setting up for a pass on some birds when the biat began to spray, then some 20# YFT began to spray, then 100′ from the bow of my boat an est. 250-300# Blue Marlin went airbore chasing the 20# YFT. The Marlin came completely out of the water in a greyhounding fashion. At its highest point there was 3′ between its belly and the water. I screamed MARLIN MARLIN MARLIN!!!!! It hung the the air like Michael Jordan then landed with a huge spash. While the big blue girl didn’t want anything in our spread it certainly made my day giving us an increadible show!

After a few more tuna we decided to call it a day. We stowed everything gave the boat a quick rinse and headed for Falmouth. Final tally for the day aound 20 YFT landed. The were in three distince classes. There were some sub legal 20#ers, 40-50#ers and then the gear crushing 70-90#ers. Also 2 nice gaffer mahi 15# and 20#. The lures of choice Green Monsta’s. The chugger chains with GM’s, my home made bars (or whats left of them) were the hot setup. Ballyhoo got eaten but the GM’s were the lures that got crushed every time. The water was 1000-1600′ deep and a cobalt blue super clear 80-82.5 degrees. It was hotter than we had planed to fish, but you take what they give you and this was where thefish were eating. One boat reported 83.5 degrees not to far from us. Although every position ins the spread got eaten the larger fish and most ofthe fish ate the bars right off the transom. The closer the bars the bigger the fish. We ran them right on top of my big kahuna teasers, the tuna would have had to swim up through the teasers to get to the bars, but they didn’t seem to mind.

Overall just an awesome day offshore. With a 3 hour ride out and a 3 hour ride home we were able to get 14 hours on site. I only wish we had one more body on the boat. Ruge and I managed the bite pretty well and kept gear loss to a minimum (although half the teaser lines on my bars are missing) A third guy would have netted us a bunch more fish with less chaos and a faster turn around time getting things back out. Rather than running 11-13 rods we rely on getting the fish in fast and the gear redeployed even faster so we get more shots at the fish than we would with a dozen rod setup. I’m still learning this whole canyon thing, but after 4 trips this season, the comfort level is rising rapidly and so is the fish count!

Wow!  On that note, I’m gonna sign off.  See ya on the water…

Capt. John McMurray
Lateral Line Northeast Fishing Correspondent

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