Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Maine Saltwater fishing and reports
Maine Striper Fishing:
One of the few areas that held fish in the summers of 2007 and 2008 was Casco Bay. Like all of Maine, Casco Bay was loaded with big bait. The difference was we had fish to cast to as well. In 2008 you could count on two hands the number of fish that came to the boat under 20 inches, the story was learning how to feed bigger fish that were using the warmer flats to digest after having an all-night feed on adult menhaden. A stealthy approach and longer leaders became as important as the tide and lower sun angles.
I'm not going to talk about flies as these are the bread and butter and some secrets must be kept by the guy on the poling platform. Myself and Capt. John Ford spent hours working out some patterns that we feel changed our season!! As the bait anglers sent us photos of their big fish we where able to respond with 35-40 inch fly-caught photos of our anglers. I'm not going to kid you, it was work to find fish that would eat on a daily basis, but they were there, not too often showing themselves unless you found them first.
October: Cape Cod Sand Flats
After working hard all summer on well-fed fish in Maine, it sure was fun to have some easy fishing on Cape Cod. Getting down there at a perfect time for the sand-flats to turn on, good tides and nice weather made for a few 40-plus fish days in real skinny water. A light skiff or a sub 18 with a jack plate and a good poler is the only way to fish the sand of Pleasant Bay when tides are right for sight fishing. If you have not experienced this fishery it's a must. Feel free to give me a call anytime for more info on fishing Cape Cod 207-671-4330.
Maine Striper fishing reports May -June 2008
Large bait is moving into the rivers of Casco Bay, the Presumpscot,Royal, Cousins and New Meadows all have large bait runs of river herring and alewives. These big bait bring some big stripers, big flies and sink tips fished in the river channels over structure are the norm. If you are like many of the flats anglers I fish and would rather watch paint dry then fish a 375 gr sink tip all day. The estuaries and flats of Casco Bay come alive with smaller bait and active striper feeds, much early then most other area's on Maine's coast. With flats that are measured in miles warming the water, and moving the Bass onto them and out of the rivers in search of the Tidewater Silversides, Juvie Herring and large Grass shrimp hatch all add to the early season attractions of lower Casco Bay.
As we move deeper into June a New or full moon brings the worm hatches of Casco Bay. These hatches or worm swarms bring good size happy stripers onto the flats, and there here to eat! The right tide and sun angle this can be some of the most exciting shallow water fishing there is on the striper coast. Remember to check out my web blog for other reports and to give some feed back on the fishing your finding. www.mainestriperfishing.blogspot.com
Mid Summer (overview)
Plying the shallows on a sunny day is another game entirely. This is as close as you’ll get to bonefishing north of Biscayne Bay and a big bruiser-cruiser can be just as tough to fool as any double-digit downtown Islamorada bone. These fish are stalking the flats in search of crabs, baby flounders and sand shrimp and the ‘ole white and chartreuse Clouser Minnow approach usually doesn’t cut it. A stealthy approach, a long lead with a drab, nondescript fly “It could be a delicious crab or flounder or shrimp” pattern and the ability to read and feed the fish will result in a tight line. This isn’t a numbers game, and for my anglers this could be the pinnacle of the striper fishing experience, with every fish caught sight-casting worth ten taken on the blind.
Fall (overview)
There resaons why Saltwater Sportsman Magazine 2005-2007 has called Casco Bay the best bet for action packed striper fishing in the month of September. As the dog days of summer slide into autumn, striper fishing north of Cape Cod usually means three things: baby bunker blitzes, sight-casting the skinny or hunting for Momma with flies the size of your average Maine brook trout. Come mid-August it’s common to see large schools of stripers (and blues, and occasional bluefin tuna) pinning nervous mossy-brown balls of immature menhaden against the shoreline or up to the top offshore, wedged by a crowd of cormorants. Wildly wheeling terns and gulls add to the carnage to the point where the whole scene is so dense it’s more likely you’ll hook a bird than a bass. Small (two to four inch) wide-bodied streamers, as well as surface offerings Making September fishing in Maine one of the truly must do for the traveling saltwater fly angler
Well After a strange, but I would call it a fun Striper season in Maine, It time to start looking forward to Spring fishing in the FL Keys early season Striper fishing on Cape Cod,and Summer on Maine’s Casco Bay, But meanwhile We have Tradeshows, Flytying classes and a Movie premiere .to keep you going until the next cast.
So first thing first Happy holidays and hope you all have a safe and enjoyable holiday season Enjoy your friends and family, and I know in the back of your mind your hoping for a new rod.
If you live in a place to cold to try rods at your local shop check out all the latest greatest at the following
Fly Fishing trade shows.
For the fly tyers out there I’ll be doing a Class on Shallow striper flies at the Eldridge fly shop in Cape Nedick on Feb 28 a few days before I leave for the keys so you may have to help keep me on tract and not wondering off tying tarpon and permit flies. HAHa Also take a look at the line up at Eldrige Fly Shop there is great tyers and anglers tying down there once again this year and any class that fit’s your angling style would be worth the trip.
January 9, 10, 11
Denver Merchandise Mart
Marlborough, MA
January 16, 17, 18
Royal Plaza
Somerset, NJ
January 23, 24, 25
Garden State Convention Center
Charlotte, NC
January 30, 31
Charlotte Merchandise Mart
Bellevue, WA
February 6, 7,8
Meydenbauer Center
Portland, OR
February 14, 15
Oregon Convention Center
Pasadena, CA
February 21, 22
The Pasadena Center
Pleasanton, CA
February 27, 28, March 1
Alameda County Fairgrounds
Reading the fish
In the shallows reading the fishes behavior and adjusting your presention accordingly is a must.. only way to work this one out. Is lots of time on the flats.
Watch how the fish reacts to your presention
Flies
Rods and line
Set ups
Casco Bay
Casco Bay is located in the south of the State of Maine and has a watershed area of 1589
sq km (985 sq mi) and an estuarine area of 369 sq km (229 sq mi, which provides an
watershed/estuarine area ratio of 4.3 (Platt 1998). Roman et al. (2000) give this ratio as
seven (7), which is low compared to other State of Maine systems such as Penobscott
Bay (26) and Passamaquoddy Bay (20) to the north. The watershed encompasses the
metropolitan areas of Portland, Yarmouth, and Brunswick and the major tributaries of
Casco Bay are the Presumpscot and Fore Rivers. The streams and tributari
Feel free to call or email with any questions:
Capt Eric Wallace
207-671-4330
booktrips@coastalflyangler.com
Posted by fish and ski at 5:29 PM
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