October
21, 2000 When the stripers know when it's time to go,
they do so in a hurry. We
finished our striper trips back on Columbus Day
weekend. One day was
outstanding and the next was a bust.
We did some cod fishing in Boston this week. There were a lot of small cod
around the B Bouy, but few keepers. There were lots and lots of mackerel.
We moved to some wrecks and caught lots of small cod on bait. Switching to
jigs, we caught much bigger fish. However, we also lost a bunch of tackle on
hangups.
It's time to store tackle, clean the boat, and make
plans for a winter season
of skiing. If you venture to Sunday River in Maine,
where I'll be working as
a ski pro, be sure to say hello.
Thanks to all my clients and sponsers for helping to make this season the
best yet for Draggin' Fly Charters. I have already begun several articles for
On the Water and The Fisherman. I will also be at the winter boat show and
fly fishing shows. Stop by and see what's in the works for next year.
Tight lines.
Capt. Bill Smith October
5, 2000
Last week's cold evenings dropped water temperatures
very quickly. Fall has
certainly arrived! While some of the Boston Harbor
charter fleet have begun
to target cod, Draggin' Fly continues to score on
bass.
Best action has been in the inner Harbor, although
we did fish off the North
Channel with some success. Look for fish along
the Long Island Channel,
Sculpin Ledge, and Deer Island. You'll need to adjust
fishing techniques by
fishing baits slower. Although surface baits continue
to catch fish,
switching to jigs and weighted flies have produced best on
recent trips. Best
lures have been Fin-S Fish rigged on 1/2 oz. jig heads.
A Kansaas Shiner,
Rainbow, and Smelt have been the colors of choice.
Half'N Half tied on 2/0 to 3/0 hooks fished on teeny or Depth Charge
weighted
lines have outfished other patterns. Colors of choice have been
olive/white
and chartreuse/white. Be sure to allow the fly to get down and
work it back
to the surface with powerful strips.
Larry
Kelver and his brother Jeff caught bass up to 32 inches in the Fore
River
and Quincy Bay during their afternoon trip. The bass pushed bait right
up
onto Peddocks and had it trapped there for well over an hour. Saturday,
Steve
Keller and his dad, Ron, also got in on the surface action. The biggest
fish
came in 10-12 feet of water off Hangman's.
Doug Colwell celebrated
his birthday with his father and brother-in-law,
fishing Quincy, Hingham,
Hull, and Winthrop. There was an early morning bite
with explosive surface
action. However, the fish were more selective than in
recent days. The crew
worked harder to catch fewer fish.
Tight lines,
Capt.
Bill Smith September 21, 2000
Another great week in the Harbor! There were fewer bluefish but
stripers
seemed to be everywhere. What blues we caught were mixed right in
with the
bass, so be prepared for some cut offs if you do not use wire. Increasing
size of shocker leader will add some insurance.
There has been an
excellent morning bite inside Quincy and Hingham Bays. Then action has moved out.
The approach channels continue to hold fish. Bass are also mixed with blues from
Nantasket to Black Rocks.
Last Thursday, Steve Kirby found excellent
action for bass in Hingham Bay
during a late afternoon trip. White sliders
outfished even poppers. These
flies are tied by Bob Pink with extra long
saddle feathers and just enough
glimmer to collect sunlight.
Saturday,
J.T. Rusnock and his friend Joe found the early bite to be red hot.
Again,
the white slider was the fly of choice.Joe fished Bass Assassin Shads
on
light tackle. Albino was the best producing color.
Not much changed on Sunday.
Chuck Mayhew found plenty morning action off George's and at the Brewsters. After
the tide turned and began to come in,
bass and blues pushed peanut bunker
right onto Nantasket Beach.
Tuesday, Dan Dougherty brought along Eric
Erston, who was an experienced
fresh water fisherman but new to the salt.
Action was great mid-afternoon in
Hingham. Although the bass were small (20-24
inches) they were numerous.
After the tide changed, we moved out and jumped
one school after another from West Gut to the Bridge. Before the rain forced a
quick end to the trip, lots
of bass up to 31 inches and small blues were
caught and released on white
sliders and jerk baits.
September 14, 2000 Lots of bluefish moved in and around
Boston at the end of last week. Early morning action for bass continues to be
strong and there's now a good bite at sunset. The Harbor and surrounding waters
are loaded with bait from peanut bunker (immature pogies) to silversides. There
has been a lot of surface action most days.
Soft jerk baits and poppers
work best with the bass. Once the blues show up, it's time to put away the plastic
baits and tie on a short wire leader. Poppers and metals will get their attention.
Both bass and blues are hitting sliders and fly rod poppers. Half 'N Half s and
clousers continue to be favorite flies.
Thursday, Rich Lucas entertained
his father and brothers who traveled from Florida to experience the "Boston
Bite". They weren't disappointed, catching a bunch of bass and a few blues.
Action was off Green Island and the Brewsters.
Saturday, Kevin Hokanson
entertained colleagues by catching some nice bass early and big blues on the falling
tide. Much of the action was south of Harding's Ledge, with the biggest fish coming
from around Minot's. Sunday was a different story. The northeast blew, which kicked
up a big sea. This wind usually blows the bait into the Harbor with the fish right
behind. But not this day. Charter Dave Gale and friend worked hard to catch a
few bass and blues.
Things turned around on Monday and Tuesday fishing
was back to normal. Draggin' Fly has switched to fishing the afternoon tides during
the week. Dan Shea entertained well knowing outdoor writer, Ed Novack on Wednesday.
Both left with sore arms, having been fishing from 3:30 to sunset. Hingham and
Quincy were the hot spots. September 7, 2000 Can
it get any better? Lots of feeding fish. Hours of surface action. And cooperating
weather. It all adds up to great fishing. Large schools of bass are spread throughout
the harbor with blues mixed in. Much of this past week's action has been in the
Outer Islands and harbor approaches. Large flocks of seagulls and huge concentrations
of cormorants will help find fish.
This week, best lures continue to
be soft plastic jerk baits. Try fishing these on ½ ounce jig heads to get below
the schoolies. Also work outside edges of schools to find bigger fish.
Fly fishermen are doing well on poppers and sliders. Be sure to keep these pushing
water and fish them right to the leader. Have an extra rod and a large Half 'N
Half to fish below school fish.
Dan Kane got into a big surface bite
last Thursday. This was Dan's first experience in the Harbor and he left truely
impressed. Action was nonstop from first light until high slack.
Draggin'
Fly took the weekend off, the first time since May. Reports confirmed a continued
bite, but fog limited access. Early in the week, Rick Lucas entertained his father
and brothers from Florida. Again, surface action was non-stop for almost 3 hours.
Some big fish were hooked and lost. The Lucas clan left with great memories of
Boston's outstanding fishing area. Week of August 30, 2000
Friday, Jim Fitzpatrick’s charter found more difficult fishing, but managed
to catch bass up to 29 inches. Paul Ponichera and guests had tired arms- lots
of surface action with bass up to 31 inches in the Anchorage.
Sunday,
flyrodders Dave Gail and Jeff Parsons found plenty of top water action on Hospital
Shoal and Long Island. White sliders were especially deadly. Paul Miles found
similar action on Monday.
Tuesday, Jay Malloy entertained associates
by putting them into some nice bass within minutes of their pick-up at Rowes Wharf.
Bill Tedeschi and his guests from Florida experienced the best of the season.
It seemed like the entire inner Harbor wasw alive weith fish. Action was
non-stop.
Week of August 21, 2000
An early fall? The weather sure feels it and the Harbor has come
alive with
bass and a strong push of blues. Bass are mostly large school-sized
fish but
each day we have had action with good sized fish. Blues are in the
4-6 pound
range but there's a lot of them!
Early morning, white sliders
work best for fly fishing and a quick switch to
poppers when the fish surface
is working well. Also on some trips, we have
used large Half 'N Halfs on
teeny lines to get down to bigger fish. Jerk
baits and poppers are working
well for light tackle anglers.
Thursday, Gerry Scane, visiting from Minneapolis
got into some nice bass up
to 28 inches- not bad for a walleye angler. Saturday,
Paul Ponechera and
friends were into big bass on light tackle. The surface
bite lasted for over
two hours.
On Sinday, Mike Moyer brought along daughter,
Sam and they managed to score
on some nice bass and blues in spite of the
strong northwest winds. The wind
didn't lie down on Monday's trip, but Jay
Malloy and associates also got in
on the bite.
Finally on Tuesday the
wind laid down and the fish made their move. It was
the last trip of the
season for Damon Reed and John Kiley. Action was
non-stop from first light
until slack water. The catch was mostly bass, but
with enough blues to keep
things interesting.
Wednesday, there was not as much surface action as the
day before, but there
was enough action to please Paul Ryan and Gerry Feeley.
Action was more
spread out in the Inner Harbor and there were no blues. The
best part of this
day was a 32 inch bass taken in the Brewsters. Several
others pushed the 30
inch mark.
Be sure to book your fall trips early.
Capt. Bill Smith
Week of August 14, 2000
Mother
Nature unleashed her fury this past week. Draggin, Fly fought the
wind, the
rain, and the fog. But we managed to catch fish. Surface action was
sporadic.
Since there was little sun to warm the water, fish moved with the
tides.
Bob Marle found breaking fish in Dorchester and just outside the river on our
return at slack high. His son caught the biggest fish of the day, a 32 inch
bass on a Bass Assassin.
Friday' charter, Rick Mosca also found much
action at first light, but that
was the end of surface action. We needed
to fish structure to catch fish
during the rest of this trip. We did encounter
the biggest school of blues of
the year.
Weekend charter, Les Rusick,
fought strong northeast winds to battle bass up
to keeper size. The wind
broke up the fish and played havoc with the drift.
Although we managed to
catch fish, it was a tough day.
After the sea settled and the weather cleared
(almost), fish were back on
top. Tuesday, Jay Malloy and guests were picked
up in Boston and were into
fish within minutes. The surface action lasted
for a couple of hours. And
blues were mixed in.
Before severe thunder
storms aborted Wednesday's trip, Ernie Milani was able
to show his grandson,
Tom how to use jigs to catch bass. And Tom learned
quickly, catching some
nice bass on Fin-S Fish rigged on a 1/2 oz. jig head.
Captain Bill Smith
Book now for prime fall dates! Week
of August 9, 2000
Fishing was tougher this week. Surface action
was much more sporadic than the
previous week. Most trips had some chances
for surface fighting but to catch
fish we worked deeper structure, which
paid off. Fish were also bigger this
week. There were rumors of bluefish
but we caught none, nor did any of the
other Harbor charter captains.
Large Half'N Halfs in sizes 2/0 and 3/0 got the attention of deep holding
fish. Naturals, especially olive and white flies, work best early mornings
and in the overcast periods. Once the sun poked through, better action came
on bright flies, with chartreuse and white working the best.
FinFish
fished on leadhead jigs and small bucktail jigs worked well on light
tackle.
We have also had some good luck drifting seaworms on Niantic
Spinners. Sluggos
and Bass Assassins get the nod when bass are in shallow
water.
This
past weekend Jay Hoffman found the fishing to his liking, catching lots
of
stripers up to 32 inches. On Sunday, Brain Shura found tougher fishing but
caught bass up to 30 inches. On Monday Alan Sharaf brought along his fishing
buddies, son Kyle and Tom Hennegan. Tom's first fish was a healthy keeper
caught on a Bass Assassin. Alan also released a legal bass.
On Tuesday, John
Kiley found more surface action. John fished a Half'N Half
below breaking
fish at Western Way to catch some nice bass. Wednesday's trip
was a business
outing arranged by Jay Malloy to entertain his law associates.
All caught
bass up to 32 inches and left happy.
Captain Bill Smith
Draggin'
Fly Charters Week
of August 2, 2000 Despite this week’s
wet weather, the Harbor fishing had really turned on. The easterly winds continue
to blow more bait into the inner harbor. August has begun with a bang as many
fresh fish follow the bait. These fish are loaded with sea lice indicating that
they have been holding offshore in the deeper, colder water. There
has been a lot of surface action for the past week. Bass Assassins, sluggos, and
poppers are getting quick attention. Fly fishermen do well with sliders, poppers,
and Half ‘N Halfs. Fish on board Draggin’ Fly ranged from school sized
to a bragging sized striper. Bluefish have been scarce.
Friday, the Tedeschi brothers put a hurting on the bass. Action was nonstop,
and all on the surface on Saturday. Bob Sutherland of New York was into fish within
minutes of being picked up at Rowe’s Wharf and again action continued throughout
the tide. Even the Anchorage was wild; something that we have not seen this year.
Monday through Wednesday charters battled the weather
and the fish. Rain was the norm and so was fast surface action. Repeat charter
Dan Shea caught a bunch of stripers up to 31 inches. On Tuesday, Bob Swain and
Jim had to work harder than the previous two days, but they got some nice fish.
Wednesday, repeat charter Damon Reed hosted John Kiley who traveled from
out of state, delaying the trip to after the tide change. We didn’t launch
until 9:00 AM (latest start of the
season) but we were into fish immediately. Captain
Bill Smith Week of July 17, 2000 Fishing
in Boston Harbor has improved dramatically over the past few days.
There's
more bait, fish, and even birds! Fly fishermen and light tackle
enthusiasts
are having a great time with fish up to 40 inches this week.
Bass had bait
right up on the surface in the Fore River most mornings.
Flies of choice
have been white sliders when the fish are crashing bait and
large Half 'N
Halfs when they hold deeper. Fin-S fish and Bass Assassin Shads
work well
on spinning tackle. This past weekend offered great fishing
opportunities for charters. On
Friday, Ron Keller's party had a lot of surface
action for most of the
morning. Saturday, Paul Lindsay and his sons of Newton
worked hard but caught lots of school bass.
Sunday, Brian
Schura of Norfolk found slower fishing, but fish were larger.
Monday saw
a return to early morning surface action for J.T. Rosnock of
Milton. Midweek
there was outstanding surface action. On Tuesday, Jack
Sheppard and his son
got into the action with both flies and soft jerk
baits. And fish were large.
Dan Shea of New Hampshire battled strong winds
and big hungry bass on Wednesday. Week
of July 10, 2000 Even during the invasion of
the Tall Ships, Draggin' Fly was catching bass. Fish have been showing up in Dorchester
in the early morning. Bigger fish have been caught in deeper water.
Jay Hoffman fished Friday and caught some nice bass on white Bass
Assassins in very shallow water on the backside of Thompson's Island. On Saturday,
Bob Marley of Douglas, Ma. found fish in front of Long Island light. Quarantine
Rocks produced a big fish at low water. Paul Callinan brought along his twelve
year old son, who outfished his old man. This was the first trip in recent days
which produced some good fish up inside the Fore River. Jacknife Ledge and Raccoon
Island were best in early morning.
Mike Bertrand and Jim
Kisse of Medford caught loof bass up to 30 inches on light tackle. Much of the
action was along Spectacle Island. Once the wind came up strong from the southwest
the fish scattered. Fish had bait onto the surface in Dorchester after the tide
turned. Large half 'n halfs and olive Fin-s Fish were the ticket. Gerry Feeley
of Marshfield was a happy angler, landing fish to 31 inches. |
