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Captain's
Wrap Up There were some good signs this fall. The number of herring fry that hatched in the protected estuaries of Boston Harbor was exceptionally strong. There were also massive schools of mature pogies that attracted trophy bass and monstrous bluefish from late summer throughout the fall. Again this year fly rodders, Damon Reed of Vermont and John Kieley of New Hampshire contracted with Captain Bill to fish every other week as they have done for the past 9 years. Fishing during every part of the 2008 season, Damon and John had the unique experience to see the many different faces of Boston Harbor. John and Damon will be the first to admit that the fishing this past year was not always easy. But whether they were stalking bass in skinny water during the early morning hours of July or chasing fish along the rock ledges of the Inner Triangle, it was a season to remember even for these harbor veterans. The spring began much like the last few years-the wind blew and the rain came, putting a damper on the early season. As the weather improved later in May, the Harbor fishing broke wide open. A solid return of herring provided Draggin' Fly anglers plenty of opportunities to target jumbo fish on light tackle and fly rods. Much like the past two seasons, the large schools of blues that Harbor fishermen have counted on for years in the Outer Harbor and along the off-shore ledges during early June were not there. Throughout the season, bluefish were certainly not as numerous as they were just a few years back. Yet, the ones that were boated were bigger than those usually encountered in Boston. It was common to catch jumbo choppers over 3 feet during the season and the biggest was 39 inches caught in September. Although the spring bluefish run was a big bust, bass continue to move into Harbor's bays and rivers throughout June attracted to the massive schools of herring that were making their way to their spawning grounds in the Harbor's rivers. Then, the invasion of mackerel began. There were more tinker mackerel available than during any recent season, and they hung in there right into July. Throughout the spring, there were the usual massive schools of juvenile bass, but the bait also attracted schools of jumbo bass. While anglers in Northern New England were complaining about a lack of bait and fish, Draggin' Fly's light tackle anglers and fly fishers had good luck in terms of numbers and size of fish throughout June into July. Much of our efforts after the herring spawned and the mackerel moved North was spent stalking big bass in the shallow waters of the Inner Harbor. Again this season, the success of the Draggin' Fly during this time was very noticeable among the fleet. Captain Bill believes that the success of his clients during this part of the season was directly related to their commitment to be on the water before dawn, long before other anglers, and sticking with the strategy of hunting the shallows. July provided challenging angling experiences for Draggin' Fly's clients who enjoy hunting skinny water and casting to fish with light tackle and flies. On many trips, anglers jumped big fish and had opportunities to cast to trophy bass in very shallow water. Big bass in the shallows are very leery and easily spooked. At times, these fish can also be difficult to hook. It took skillful, accurate casting and a lot of patience. Several anglers caught some very large bass during the month. By late July, schools of mature pogies began to return to several bays in the Inner Harbor, attacking large fleets of boats on a daily basis. August began as July ended shallow water hunting! Since the peanut bunker was not available and there were plenty of juvenile herring on the North Shore, the Draggin' Fly began to fish the eel grass flats along the rocky shorelines. Bass on these grass flats were more difficult to pick out especially in low light conditions that the Skipper liked to fish. However, clients who stalked the flats during the early dawn hours were often rewarded with explosive action. While many boats continue to troll the deep water, Captain Bill stuck with his strategy of fishing the shallows for selective bass throughout early August. As
pogies became even more plentiful in mid- August, schools of huge bass that had
been feasting on sand eels on Stellwagen Bank began to move into the Inner Harbor.
The bass were bigger and more bluefish were in the mix. It's no secret that Captain
Bill pioneered the use of soft plastic jerk baits on bass and has been using these
lures with great success for almost two decades. He believes soft baits allow
anglers to best target color, size, and action of available bait. However, this
year the fish were so keyed into live bait that they proved nearly impossible
to catch on artificial lures. Captain's
Report
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| Captain's
Report October 4, 2008 Captain Bill has some concerns about the fishing in the Harbor that he will address in a future story. This season we have not seen the huge schools of peanut bunker that have invaded the Harbor in recent years. While many chunk fishermen claim that peanuts only attract school fish, Captain Bill respectfully disagree with them. Over the past several seasons, Draggin' Fly clients have caught many trophy fish using artificial among schools of peanuts. Peanut bunker is relatively new phenomenon. For years people believed that pogies spawned at sea and returned as adults. Today's research shows that the eggs hatch in protected coastal estuaries, mature, and then move out to sea. If there were peanuts during the hay days of pogies, Captain Bill for one does not remember them, at least not in the numbers they have shown in the last four years. What we are witnessing with all these adult pogies is good for the immediate season, but we could be in trouble in future years. The good sign is the number of herring fry available this fall.
Saturday was supposed to be a busy day with two trips on the schedule. On board were Draggin' Fly regular Kevin Callahan of Scituate and Frank Sannella yes the same Frank from earlier in the week. The forecast was for a light southwest wind, but even as Captain Bill pushed off before dawn there was a strong breeze from the northwest. The skipper knew that they missed the call on the weather because there was no way that the wind could possibly swing around to the SW. As the sun came up, the wind continued to build so the crew knew that they would have to make the best of the hand that they were dealt. Drifts were very fast and in the 2-3 foot seas it was nearly impossible to target fish. However, both Frank and Kevin managed to catch a few fish. The biggest bass was just bovver 36 inches and blues pushed 12 pounds. Captain Bill was forced to cancel the second trip. Sunday
dawned as a much different day. Although it was overcast, there was little wind
and the seas were flat. Fly fishers, Wayne Perry of Middleboro and Charlie Fortier
of East Bridgewater invited a mutual friend, Captain Larry Cook to join them.
Captain Larry is presently working in the marine salvage industry in the South
but ran a charter boat for many years in Boston. Captain Bill had prepared the
crew for the difficult fishing conditions that they would face with the long rod.
This season is quite different than past years. The lack of peanut bunker has
proven challenging to fly fishers. The fish are really keyed into pogies and for
the past several trips, the fish have not been eating much other than natural
bait. Failing to do anything fly fishing even after searching the North Shore
(which has been historically productive during the fall season), Captain Bill
convinced Wayne and Captain Larry to move over to the dark side and try pogy fishing.
While most charters use heavy conventional tackle to troll pogies in deep water,
the Skipper uses 15 pound spinning tackle to drift rigged baits in shallow water.
After catching a bunch of pogies, the Draggin' Fly headed to Governor's
Flats. While Charlie, who caught bunch of big fish earlier in the season on the
long rod continue to fish several of his ties, Captain Larry and Wayne worked
the rigged baits. Wayne landed the first trophy bass, a 40 inch bass while drifting
bait in the shallow water. Before the tide slackened, several big bass and bluefish
were taken on the rigged baits. Most of these fish were released. Charlie gets
an A+ for effort, but
he will return with Wayne in the spring to seek revenge! |
| Captain's
Report September 21, 2008 The fishing looked like it was going to break open last week. We had the real first blast of peanut bunker inshore right after Hannah. The fishing was outstanding. Then we lost the peanuts. There is more herring fry than ever, but the fish are not on this bait. Off of West Gut and along the approach channels to Boston, it truly rains bait, but for the most part, the only things working these bait pods have wings. Pogies are thick as ever throughout the inner Harbor. Some days there is have an early morning surface bite but it does not last long. I added bait runner spinning outfits to cast pogies.
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| Captain's
Report September 14, 2008 The Draggin' Fly was back on the water after Hannah moved across the water over this past weekend. Earlier in the week, there was some surface action in Quincy Bay as bass got on herring fry that has been moving out through the surrounding rivers. There continues to be some bluefish blitzes in both Quincy and Dorchester Bay where the pogies are stacked up in huge schools. The peanut bunker is still among the missing. Monday afternoon, Dave O'Neil of South Boston and Bob Steward of Winchester were casting in among schools of bluefish off Spectacle Island. When the fish were on the surface, small poppers and MirrOlure twitch baits got quick attention. Most of the bluefish were in the 5-8 pound range, but Bob released a real chopper that pushed 14 pounds, a great fight on light tackle. As the fish began to drive pogies along Sculpin Ledge, Captain Bill had Dave and Bob switch to swimming jigs. While not as productive as when the fish were crashing surface lures, there was enough action to keep the crew interest until it was time to look for bass. The hunt did not take long as some nice stripers were taken working the rocks around the Quarantines. The biggest was just shy of 36 inches. On the way back to dock, the crew jumped some school bass in Hingham Bay. Mid-week
Duffy Ross of Hingham and Mike Twing of Weymouth were aboard for a light tackle
trip. The plan was to fish the way to Boston to pick up the third crew member,
Erik Olsen in South Boston. Just outside of Hull Gut the crew found a school of
bass working the herring fry that was dropping out of the Gut. Mike was the first
to hook up on a Bass Assassin and Duffy also got quick attention. For the next
half hour, the crew took turns catching bass working soft jerk baits into crashing
fish. Mike hooked a big bass only to have the hook pull at the boat. Duffy reminded
Captain Bill that Erik was waiting in Boston so they had to leave to make the
downtown pick-up. Since there was only one other boat working this school of fish,
the Skipper hated to leave these fish. After Eric was picked-up
a little
late, the Draggin' Fly headed back to the Gut. But this bite died at slack
water. Some more fish were found along Rainsford Island. While this bite was not
as good as the earlier action, several bass were caught and released. As the wind
built, Captain Bill decided to head to Boston and look for bluefish. Just off
of Castle Island, the first school of blues was located, and Mike hit a nice fish
on a jerk bait. Several more crashed lures, but most missed the hook. As crew
made the turn at the fish pier, the bluefish had the pogies pinned close to pier.
Even the Inner Harbor is loading up with bait! |
Captain's
Report Again
this week, there was almost no surface action in the Harbor except for a few quick
bluefish blitzes in Quincy and Dorchester Bay. And it certainly is not for a lack
of bait! The rivers and bays are loaded with herring and silversides. At times
the water seems to be raining as bait pours through the water. There are even
more pogies than past weeks. However, the fish have not found the herring and
even the pogies are often undisturbed. As reported last week, the only thing missing
is the peanut bunker. It seems as if conditions are ready for Harbor fishing to
explode. Friday,
David Deitz invited his son Matt and Joe Paduda of Connecticut to join him for
a morning of fishing. David usually fishes the fly rod and over the last decade
of fishing with Captain Bill has had some memorable catches including a 30 pound
bass on a 7 weight rod. Matt caught the largest fish landed on the Draggin'
Fly two seasons ago, a fish of 50 pounds that inhaled a soft jerk bait worked
on 12 pound tackle in very shallow water. And Joe fishes his own boat throughout
Long Island Sound so today Captain Bill had a very experienced crew aboard. Heading
out through West Gut, big flocks of birds were activity working, diving and crashing
the water
however they were working over huge schools of herring fry. Only
one fish was raised. Not wanting to waste time, the Captain pushed off to hunt
the shallows. This too proved futile. In Wollaston, the crew saw several big bass
that were pushing pogies. Although each angler had follows on big bass, none were
hooked. The airport flats were also void of fish so the crew decided to head North.
There are usually big schools of peanut bunker from Revere to Nahant, which attract
both bass and blues to this area in late August. But only one fish was raised
so it was time to head back to Wollaston where bluefish had taken over from bass.
Joe finally hooked a nice fish that measure a little over 34 inches. It was a
very long day for Captain Bill and the crew. |
Captain's
Report Draggin'
Fly regular, JT Rosnock of Milton and his teenage son Jack met Captain Bill before
dawn on Monday. Fishing the last few hours of the drop in Quincy produced
some large bluefish and a mixed size of bass. JT normally fly fishes, but today
he had to settle for light spinning tackle. His fly rod broke in the predawn hours,
and since JT fishes his own tackle, Captain Bill did not have a backup rod onboard
the boat. This was not the only equipment failure; a bail arm also broke on a
nice fish. The best bite came just before slack water when big bass and jumbo
blues pushed peanut bunker along the channel into shallow water. It was here that
Jack hooked a very large bass on a Bass Assassin. Immediately, the fish charged
away from the boat trying to get to some the nearby rocks to escape. Jack stopped
the fish for a short time, but then the fish got another head of steam and reached
the safety of the rocks. The mixture of bluefish kept the Skipper busy rerigging
the soft baits for much of the morning. And there were also several encounters
with herring gulls who seemed to love the soft lures which JT and Jack twitched
across the surface as much as the fish. The schools of fish broke up at the change
of the tide. The crew decided to check the Inner Triangle. In Lower Middle, they
found some bluefish working bait. These fish moved very quickly and were difficult
to stay on so Captain Bill moved back to the shallow water. But by now the wind
had picked up making sight fishing impossible. JT managed to hook a bluefish on
a soft jerk bait before calling it a day.
|
Captain's
Report For
more than a week, there has been almost no surface action in the Harbor. However,
guests fishing with the Draggin' Fly have had opportunities to stalk fish in shallow
water. The success of our anglers during this time is directly related to getting
out early before the crowds and targeting areas holding bait. It's getting to
be that time of year and everyone is anxiously awaiting the arrival of peanut
bunker. The rain forced the cancellation of Monday and Tuesday's trips. Monday was a fly fishing trip and the east wind was the deciding factor. Tuesday was the annual trip for a family from Connecticut, which was also washed out. On Wednesday, fly fisher, Damon Reed traveled from Vermont to meet Captain Bill at dawn who had spent the off days tying some new patterns. Damon was anxious to try them. There was still some residual wind, but Damon could handle it. As the boat cleared the no wake zone of the Back River, terns were working bait and a few bass were attacking the bait. Damon cast a 4 inch Mushmouth into the mix with no success. The size of his fly was a perfect match to the herring fry that was balled up outside the mouth of the river. Captain Bill also failed to get any attention with his soft jerk bait. A search of Quincy Bay produced only three school bass. The Inner Triangle usually produces on the incoming tide this time of year so the Draggin' Fly headed inside. However, today this area was as dry as a desert. On the Deer Island Flats, another schoolie was caught and released. At the top of the tide, some bass finally came up off of Spectacle Island, but they proved hard to stay on. Again, only one small bass was hooked. After the turn, the Draggin'Fly headed back into the shallows to hunt fish. There was plenty of bait but no fish. Damon had great fishing during his last outing just a week ago, but today was a different chapter in his Harbor fishing. Damon will take the next few weeks off to attend to business, but he has four more trips scheduled in September and early October. Thursday, David Deitz of Sharon and his son Andrew of Boston were aboard for a morning of fly fishing. The crew tried all the shallow water in Quincy Bay but did not raise a fish. As a matter of fact only one fish was jumped. A searched of the Inner Triangle found nothing. A decision was made to move north to search the eel grass flats that had produced well last week on the dropping tide. Today, David and Andrew would be fishing the incoming tide. David landed the fish bass of the morning on a large Gurgler and Andrew also released a small bass on the same drift. Moving into the skinny water, a number of bass were caught and released. David switched to a Beast master and Andrew stayed with Captain Bill's thin version of a Mushmouth. Most of the action was in 2-4 feet of water. On the way back to dock, the crew once again made a stop at the Inner Triangle. The area was loaded with bait herring of the year. At times, it looked like it with raining as the bait moved across the water but undisturbed. Captain Bill's sonar showed that the fish were holding very deep in over 40 feet of water, too deep even for these seasoned anglers. David will return in two weeks seeking revenge. Draggin' Fly regulars, Frank Sannella and Kevin Callahan of Scituate were aboard for a light tackle trip on Friday. Today's plan was to push off before dawn and explore a nearby rock ledge. Just as the morning sky started to pinken up, Kevin hooked the first fish of the morning that put a major strain on his 12 pound spinning rod as it ran off 50 yards of line but the fish managed to pull the hook. As Kevin fought his fish, Frank also hooked up. This fish fought on the surface, but even in the dim light the crew could see that this bass had length and girth. When Frank got the bass boat side, he made the decision to release the fish. The crew estimated that this bass was close to 30 pounds. On the next drift, Kevin hooked up with another fish, but this fish did not fight on the surface. When Kevin managed to get the fish to the surface, it took to the air and the crew knew that this was the first of several bluefish. As the sun came up and the boat traffic increased, the fish moved out to deep water and shut off. The crew threw jigs but got no takers. It was time to change tactics and the Draggin' Fly headed to the Inner Triangle. The fish were there, but again were holding in very deep water. At the airport flats, the fish suddenly erupted and several were taken on Bass Assassins. Frank and Kevin finished the day back in Quincy Bay where Kevin hooked another hot fish that fought all over the surface either it was a big bass that broke the line or a jumble blue that bite through the line. Sunday's push off with Draggin' Fly regular, Jack O'Brien's crew from New Hampshire was a late one due to the minus tide of today's full moon. Joining Jack on this trip was his son Trevor, and fly rodder, Alex Doyle. After failing to get any attention on the rocks and flats in Quincy Bay, Captain Bill moved to the Deer Island Flats to fish the incoming water. The Draggin' Fly had some quick action here on the previous trip. On the first cast, Trevor hooked a big bass on a soft jerk bait that wouldn't stop. Captain Bill had to use the motor to keep on this fish. Once line was regained, Trevor managed to work his 41 inch bass to the boat and after a quick picture, the fish was released back into the water. Captain Bill encourages his clients to release big fish, as they are females and strong breeders. Jack was the next to land a bass on his jerk bait. Alex also hooked several fish on an olive Mushmouth in the shallow water. As the fish moved out to deeper water, the crew switched to Vivif jigs and Alex cast a Half 'N Half. Trevor landed a 30 inch bass which he released. Just before slack water, bluefish erupted on the surface along Spectacle Island. The bite did not last long, but several choppers in the 6-8 pound range were taken on white poppers. Alex used Captain Bill's Softex popper to catch his fish. |
| Captain's
Report August 10, 2008 For many anglers, July and early August can be the most challenging time of the year for fishing. Draggin' Fly clients have been doing well stalking linesiders in shallow water, especially in the early hours of the morning. But these fish keep Captain Bill thinking. There has also been very few bluefish in local waters this year. Last week, the fishing was completely different than can be normally expected for this time of year. Last week brought "amazing" numbers of fish, while sight casting on both light and fly tackle. For much of the week, clients were able to cast to hundreds of bass and an occasional bluefish. Then over last weekend these schools of fish just disappeared. So it is back to hunting the shallows. Monday, Frank Yalowchuk of Weymouth, an old friend of the Draggin' Fly met Captain Bill just before dawn. There was already a strong NW wind when the crew pushed off of dock, which would make sight casting in shallow water difficult. Today, Captain Bill would fish along side of Frank. In Quincy Bay, Frank managed to bring up a few fish but none found the hook. The next stop along Long Island looked more promising as birds were hovering over the water. Bass soon began to push bait to the surface. Working Bass Assassins Frank and the Captain hooked several bass in the 24-26 inch range. A switch to swimming jigs got the attention of some bigger bass. The biggest was 32 inches that Frank released. These fish cooperated until low tide. At slack water, Captain Bill headed to Deer Island Flats. The fish were more scattered there, but Frank and Captain Bill caught a few. At the next stop by Castle Island, the crew found similar conditions. The fish would drive bait to the surface for a minute or two, and then disappear only to reappear several hundred yards away. Back in Quincy Bay, more cooperative fish were located, but none were any larger than the earlier fish. Tuesday,
Chris Sharpe of Hingham invited his dad, Gary and brother-in-law, Lloyd Potter
to join him for an early morning light tackle trip. Gary has a house on Spinnaker
Island in Hull and is very knowledgeable about the history of the Harbor. Gary's
stories entertained the Skipper throughout the morning. It was drizzling when
the Draggin' Fly pushed off, but Captain Bill had his half mile of visibility
that he requires in order to go. It was raining heavily in Quincy Bay so Captain
Bill changed plans. The crew headed to Boston to look for fish and avoid the rain.
There was not much surface action in the Inner Triangle. The fish were not schooling
on bait as they had in the past week and were difficult to stay on. Once the rain
cleared, the Draggin' Fly moved back into Quincy Bay, and the crew was
on bass for the rest of the morning. Most of the bass were in the 24-28 inch range.
The fish were holding in 12 feet of water, just off the rocks. The biggest was
a 30 inch bass released by Chris.
Saturday's charter was rescheduled to make some needed repairs. Friends all jumped in to get the cracked trailer stanchion welded and a frozen caliber replaced. All the work was accomplished with NASCAR precision, and the Draggin' Fly is ready for 14 days of charters in a row. Zach
Silbert of West Roxbury invited friends, Patrick Winn of Methuen and Michael Masdronardi
of Saugus to share a light tackle trip on Sunday. The crew started by hunting
in Hingham. Yesterday, there had been fish up on the flats by World's End for
much of the morning. Today there were a lot of schools of silversides, but only
two bass were jumped. In Quincy Bay, the crew found some bass. It was here that
Patrick landed his first ever striper. Zach and Michael also caught and released
some school-sized bass. At slack high, Captain Bill headed to the airport. There
were lots of birds sitting on the water, a sure indication that something happened
before the Draggin' Fly arrived. The crew cast Bass Assassins in the shallow
water along the airport and Patrick landed another bass. Zach, an experienced
kayak fisher, makes tubes and was eager to try them from a boat. Moving out to
a little deeper water, the crew put out the Z-tube and almost immediately Zach
was tight to a bass. This happened on every troll and Zach's tube with an interesting
wire keel out fished Captain Bill's tube 3 to 1. With the tide now dropping it
was time to head north to try and locate fish on the eel grass flats that had
been good on previous trips. The water was calm and the tide was pulling. However,
this morning the bass were not there. Patrick caught his first bluefish on a soft
jerk bait fished over the grass. The crew finished the trip trolling Z-tubes and
worms in Quincy Bay, catching several more bass before the end of the trip. Zach,
Michael and Patrick enjoyed their introduction to Boston Harbor fishing
Zach
also has a number of new kayak locations to work. |
| Captain's
Report August 3, 2008 Sight-casting to fish in shallow water is Captain Bill's favorite way to fish. Over the last few weeks, guests aboard the Draggin' Fly had some good opportunities to sight-cast for stripers in several shallow water bays in and near Boston Harbor. When the wind is down, sandy-bottom bays and eel grass flats have been producing some great opportunities to sight bass cruising the shallows. And many of these fish have not been schoolies some very impressive bass have been jumped. At times, stripers on the flats can be very challenging. These fish can get very finicky and selective. The Skipper prefers to start a trip fishing moving water just at pre-dawn. Slowly working the across the shallow water casting soft jerk baits or using surface flies on floating lines have been the most consistent way to fool big bass. Patience and skillful casting can be especially important when stalking big bass in shallow water. Monday, Vinnie Freudenberger and his teenage son Harrison were aboard for a light tackle trip. Today
the weather was far better than predicted, but there was also a little more wind
than expected. Instead of exploring the flats, the crew decided to head to the
area that had been holding bait and fish for the past several days. Hunting the
Inner Triangle, the crew found fish working bait inside the Harbor with large
schools spread out across the Triangle. Again this morning these fish were feasting
on herring. Just as the light was coming up, the first fish of the day was caught
by Harry. This scene would be played out throughout the morning with this blitz
lasted for hours. All action was on soft jerk baits. When the fish were crashing
bait, the lure was worked across the surface much like a popper but with more
built-in lifelike action. When the bait broke up, the crew worked the lures slowly
with a side to side action. These techniques worked all morning for Vinnie and
Harry, who kept the Captain busy releasing bass and re-rigging lures. Unlike many
charter skippers, Captain Bill does not count every fish that his anglers catch
and release. But today's trip was BIG in numbers of fish. Captain Bill even managed
to video tape some of the action in between his other duties. The largest bass
caught by Vinnie and Harrison were almost 3 feet long. The crew decided to end
the day hunting the shallows. The wind had laid down somewhat, but there was a
good chop on the water. Though tired from the early wakeup call and the action
of an all morning bite, Harry hooked one bass that managed to throw the hook and
brought up two very big bass that jumped at his Bass Assassin but missed the hook.
Meanwhile, Dad had a shot at a big bass that also missed the hook and landed a
6 pound bluefish. This is a trip that Vinnie and Harrison will long remember.
Vinnie will be out another week, but Harrison will miss this one as he will be
Mexico on vacation. Tuesday, Captain Bill managed to sneak out for a few hours of fishing with expert fly fisher, Jack Taylor of Cambridge. The game plan was to try the shallows before dawn and then head to the Inner Triangle where there had been some excellent action for the past several days. The first stop in the shallow waters of Quincy produced small bass for Jack who was casting one of Captain Bill's new Soft Tex poppers. Moving into even skinnier water, Jack's fly got quick attention when he hooked a fish on the first drift. At first, this fish didn't reacted like a big fish, but it soon took Jack deep into his backing. Jack hung on as the fish worked its way across a shallow water bar. When this bass was final brought boat side, the hook pulled, but not before both Jack and Captain Bill could see a slab of a cow bass. Failing to entice any more fish, Captain Bill headed to Inner Triangle to join the growing fleet of boats attracted to the area by a sky filled with birds. At Sculpin Ledge, Jack caught and released numerous bass on Captain Bill's poppers. As the tide began to pull, the fish got even more active. Jack landed several bass over 30 inches before having to attend to pressing business back on shore. This veteran fly fisher said that he had fished numerous fall striper blitzes but never one in the heat of the summer. But no one is as surprised as Captain Bill who in all his days of guiding in the Harbor and on the Cape has never seen what is happening in Boston now on a daily basis!! Anticipation was high on Wednesday, as Damon Read and his guest, Jeff Lynn met Captain Bill for a fly rod trip. Damon and Jeff had left Warren, Vermont at 12:30AM to make z predawn departure with Captain Bill. Damon fishes aboard the Draggin' Fly every other week, something he has done for over a dozen years, and has caught many trophy bass on fly rods. However, this was Jeff's first attempt at stalking stripers with the long rod. It did take long for both fly fishers to connect with some nice bass. Damon was using a Soft Tex popper on the surface, and Jeff was catching his on a large Mushmouth. At first, the fish moved quickly around the Inner Triangle and were difficult to stay on. Then it was pure mayhem, as bass attacked herring along the Deer Island rip. This blitz lasted for hours with the fish moving from the rip into the Anchorage. While some big bass were mixed in, most of the fish were in the 24-26 inch range. Damon who had switched over to a Mushmouth released a 30 inch bass taken on an 8 weight rod. The bass even bit through slack water. But it was time to explore new waters and search for bigger bass. The last drift of the day produced the biggest bass of the trip for Jeff, a 34 inch bass. That was a great ending to a memorable morning and Captain Bill captured much of the action on video. Thursday, Captain Bill ventured south to fish his old haunts around the North River. Bob Maynard, a regular aboard the Draggin' Fly had recently purchased a house on Trounts Island at the mouth of the New Inlet and wanted to learn more of fishing the waters around his new paradise. It brought back memories of the days of aluminum boats, night tides, and eels. Travel up river under the Union Street Bridge to Rocky Reach, Bob and Captain Bill then began a long drift down stream working the shore line with plastic jerk baits. At Cole Creek, the water was just pushing in but no fish could be found. Trolling tubes and worms along the Spit produce a few short strikes. Bob and the Skipper also worked the rocks around Fourth and Third Cliffs. Although fishing was very slow, Bob learned some areas to fish in the River and how to fish it. It was a full boat on Friday, as Paul Leonard and his son, Steve were joined by Kevin Toomey and his son, Chris. The crew is from Abington, and the boys attend Saint Bridget School where they Know Captain Bill in his other role as Mr. Smith. This morning there was a minus tide at dawn and since the fish have been coming up on the incoming tide, there was no need for an early start. For the past two days, the fog has been building after dawn each day...cool water against warm air. Today, there was some fog as the crew pushed off of dock, but there was 3/4 of mile visibility until the Draggin' Fly got out of the Back River then it closed in. The Draggin' Fly has a full array of electronics including Furuno GPS and a Garmin chart plotter, which enable Captain Bill to navigate the waters in limited visibility, but there is just too much boat traffic to venture into the shipping lanes. The game plan for the morning was changed and Captain Bill headed to the protected waters of Quincy Bay. The crew fished every rock pile and mussel bed in a two mile stretch but managed to jump only two fish. There were schools of juvenile herring and pogies throughout this area...but no fish were on them. As quickly as the fog closed in, it lifted and by 9 AM the crew was casting to breaking fish at the Deer Island rip. Paul was the first to hook up and Kevin was next. Today's bite was not as strong as previous days, but there were enough fish to keep all anglers happy. Steve and Chris cast Bass Assassins from the bow while their dads worked the stern. Several times two anglers were hooked up once and one time there was triple. At the top of the tide, Captain Bill headed back to Quincy Bay to hunt the shallow water for bigger fish. Chris hooked a nice one that ran hard against the drag, but somehow the hook pulled. Another big bass jumped on the soft jerk baits that the crew was working along a gravel bar, but the hook never found the mark. Steve hooked himself a small blue that took to the air several times before he got it close enough so that the skipper could grab it. This was the last fish of the day. Based on the projected marine forecast, Sunday's trip was scrubbed. The guests were traveling from Connecticut so a decision had to be made the night before. With heavy rain and the possibility of thunderstorms in the forecast, Captain Bill rescheduled the trip for later in September. The Skipper also decided to get up at his regular time start time, 3:00Am, and if the weather looked decent, he would sneak out for a little reconnaissance. In the morning, a quick check of the radar confirmed that there were no storms in the area. The Draggin' Fly pushed off well before dawn for this scouting mission. There was far less fog than previous days, but it was thick enough not to allow a scouting mission to the North Shore. Again this morning, Captain Bill fished all of his spots in Quincy without any success. The bait was there, but the fish were not! It seems like a matter of time until the fish get on the bait. However, Captain Bill did locate a new pocket of fish in Hull. The biggest fish was a fat 38 inch bass that fell victim to a soft plastic jerk bait. |
| Captain's
Report July 27, 2008 More large bass are working their way into the inner-harbor bays producing explosive top-water action. Many of these bass are covered with sea lice, indicative that these fish have just moved in from deeper offshore water. There have been some surface blitzes in this week. There are plenty of schools of bait, herring, pogies (menhaden) and silversides, throughout the Harbor which will continue to attract bass. Very few bluefish have been caught, but this should change with an easterly blow. Recent trips have targeted bass in shallow waters with excellent results. On most trips, anglers have jumped fish in excess of three feet which have been attacking both lures and flies. Monday, JT Rosnock of Milton and Rich Torelli of Newton were aboard. Both anglers are comfortable casting the long rod as well as using light tackle. Today the weather was much better than predicted. It was very overcast but there was little wind. Sight casting looked to be in the cards as the Draggin' Fly headed out before dawn. Some nice bass were jumped in the shallow water in Quincy, but most refused to eat. And those that struck missed the hook. Out of frustration, Captain Bill headed to the grass flats on the North Shore. JT finally connected with a decent bass on a Mushmouth fly worked in 3 feet of water. Meanwhile, Rich worked soft jerk baits that the bass rushed but did not eat. With more water, it was time to head back to Quincy to see if the fish would be more cooperative. And yes, the fish proved to be more cooperative. Both JT and Rich caught and released several bass with the biggest about 30 inches. Rich also landed a bluefish that attacked his Bass Assassin. JT will return in a few weeks to do battle again. Mike Moyer of Hanover was aboard for a light tackle trip on Tuesday. Mike works in the movie industry. This work kept him traveling and had interfered with striper fishing for the past several years. With the Hollywood strike, Mike has time to pursue one of his favorite past times. It did not take much work for Captain Bill to convince Mike that sleep is for the young and old. The Draggin' Fly pushed off dock before dawn. After a short run, Mike and the Skipper were casting soft jerk baits in skinny water. It was not long before a big bass was brought up on a Bass Assassin that had been soaking all night in Berkley Gulp Alive. The fish missed the hook as did several others. Again today, these fish were hard to hook but a few were landed, up to legal sized. The best blast of fish came at the end of the tide in 4 feet of water. Mike and Bill used the slack tide to explore deeper water and found pods of decent bass. After the tide change, some nice bass where found on the outer edge of Captain Bill's favorite gravel bar. The biggest Mike landed was a 34 inch bass which was released after a quick photo. David Deitz, an expert fly fisher from Sharon who fishes with Captain Bill several times a year, was aboard on Wednesday. A little over a week ago, David fished with the Skipper and could not get the bass to take a fly. However, David is also smart enough to know when to make a switch and caught several big bass on spinning tackle. David and Captain Bill brought a bunch of new fish patterns to try on this trip. Again this week, Captain Bill started the trip hunting big fish in the shallow waters of Quincy Bay. It didn't take very long to locate a few fish. The bass were hanging out in 10 feet of water adjacent to the flats. At first, it seemed that this day might be a replay of the previous trip, with bass following the fly and refusing to eat. Just when David was contemplating changing flies, his Gurgler was inhaled by a large bass that ran him deep into the backing. Now, David had to make a change as this fly was destroyed in the ensuing battle. However, the Beastmaster that David tied on got the attention of several fish once they moved onto the flat. Captain Bill used a Bass Assassin to hook his fish. Several very large bass charged the lure as it was jerked across the skinny water, but most of the time, smaller bass (24-30 inches) got to it first. As quickly as the bass moved into 3-4 feet of water, they moved out. David and Captain Bill caught a few more bass after the bass moved into the deeper water including one monster that exploded on the lure near the boat. This fish headed right to some nearby rocks, and there was nothing that could be done to stop the run on such light tackle. Captain Bill just hoped that the bass would turn before the rocks. As this scene played out, David and a nearby charter boat watched as over ¾ of the line disappeared, before it finally parted. With the weather deteriorating, it was time to head back to dock. On Thursday, Captain Bill organized the boats for the Skadden's annual Office Tournament. Every year, this downtown law firm completes its summer intern program with a little Boston Harbor fishing event. This year the trip had to be postponed until early August due to rain, wind, and thick fog not the ingredients for a fun day on the water. Friday's client canceled at the last minute, and Captain Bill did not have time to rebook. Instead, Captain Roger Brousseau, skipper of Midnight IV jumped on board to try his hand at light tackle fishing. Roger is also a close friend of the Skipper and has fished Boston Harbor for over 30 years. Pushing off of dock before dawn, the Draggin' Fly headed to the shallows to hunt the jumbo fish that Captain Bill had been on for the past week. Today, the fish were not in the shallow water. After an hour of casting along the bars and mussel beds, only two fish were raised so it was time to check other areas. On the way to the Outer Harbor Captain Bill found a school of nice bass working bait at the edge of Nantasket Roads. It was not long before a big bass was brought up on soft plastic jerk bait that had been soaking all night in Berkley Gulp Alive. This fish missed the hook, but the Bass Assassins that Captain Roger and the Skipper worked among the fish were attacked on every cast. The biggest fish that was landed was 31 inches, which fought like a 30 pound fish. Once the fish went done, the anglers worked swimming jigs to stay on the bite. Looking for more top water action, the Draggin' Fly continued to head outside. An even a larger school of bass was working bait by Ram's Head. These fish were all bright; probably pushed in with yesterday's weather. They were big and hungry. Roger and Captain Bill who rarely have the opportunity to fish together during the season had a fun morning.
|
| Captain's
Report July 20, 2008 As predicted in last week's report resident bass have begun to take residence in the Harbor and are providing some things exciting shallow water fishing. There were enough big fish available to keep everyone on their toes this week. At times, these big bass were very fussy but this week' guests caught some quality fish. Stacy and Joe Monroe of Michigan were aboard on Monday for a light tackle trip. The Monroes are avid fresh water fishers and had done their research about fishing in Boston. They wanted to end their visit to Boston with salt water fishing; Stacy was the first to score catching a small bass in 4 feet of water off of Governor's Flats. The next stop in Quincy was more productive with Stacy and Joe each landed their legal sized bass. Several big bass were brought up on Bass Assassins worked slowly on the surface, but these fish evaded the hook. At slack water, Captain Bill decided to explore the approach channels at the airport. And it was Joe's turn to shine. Joe caught and released several bass with the biggest measuring just over 3 foot. And Captain Bill was able to drop off the Monroes downtown in time for them to check out of their hotel and make their flight home with great memories of their first encounters with Boston Harbor bass. Tuesday
was a schedule maintenance day for the Draggin' Fly. Damon Reed of Vermont
the inventor of the Fleece Fly was aboard on Thursday, Friday, Bernie Hamill of Quincy, an experienced fly fisher from Quincy met Captain Bill for a dawn trip. The first stop in Quincy Bay failed to produce much a few fish were jumped but none showed any interest in what was being offered. However, the Bay was loaded with herring fry so Captain Bill told Bernie that they would return at the top of the tide. The next part of this trip was both exciting and frustrating as some large bass were jumped, but today for the most part, they would only follow Bernie's fly. While Bernie worked a number of different patterns, Captain Bill worked Bass Assassins. Occasionally, a fish would explode on the fly and lure. But Bernie and the Captain could not hook up on the big bass. A few small bass were landed. Captain Bill and Bernie made the run North to Lynn and Nahant. Still not finding the fish they were looking for knew a change was needed. With time running short, it was time to give the shallows for one last short. Back in Quincy, the bass were working the skinny water, and Bernie had some niece opportunities to see and cast to big bass. These fish were very hard to get to take a fly but a few were tricked into eating. There were even a few bluefish in the mix. Bernie caught enough bass on his 8 wt. fly rod to rebook a trip in August. Saturday, Brian Shura of Norfolk joined Captain Bill for his second trip of the season. Brian has been fishing with Captain Bill since his high school days and this trip was very special. Brian's wife, Kim purchased the trip as Brain's first Father's Day gift. The proud parents gave birth to a new fisherman in April, who will soon become the next generation of Draggin'Fly clients. Today would prove to be a different chapter in Draggin' Fly's fishing adventures. After some days of easy fishing, Brian had to work hard to catch his fish. Some nice bass were jumped at dawn in very skinny water in Quincy. The biggest Brian landed on a soft jerk bait measured 32 inches but several bigger ones were sighted. The bad news was as soon as the light came up these fish were gone. After the dawn bite, Captain Bill found a small pod of school bass off of Moon Head. At slack water the Draggin' Fly headed to the airport where Friday's charter had a blast casting to big fish. This is also where the 40 pound bass was caught on Thursday...BUT there were no fish. A decision was made to head up to the grass flats north of the city and the bass were there. At least until to the wind picked. At the top of the tide, Captain Bill headed back into Quincy to look for the bass that yesterday' charter had found. Today the fish were not there, but Captain Bill found them on another bar just down tide form where they were yesterday. The wind was cranked so Brain did not see the fish until they exploded on his lure. Even in the wind Brain caught several up to legal size.
|
| Captain's
Report July 13, 2008 As July winds on, resident bass have begun to settle in here in the Harbor and things are shaping up for some exciting shallow water fishing. There are enough big fish available to keep everyone on their toes. At times, these big bass can be quite fussy and patience and skillful casting is important. Captain Bill was back on the water after a sort vacation on Monday. Onboard was Draggin' Fly regular, Jay Hoffman of Marshfield who was playing host to Rodney Clark of Mattapoisett and Jim Spinnale of Duxbury. The crew kept their fingers crossed that the wind would not come up. Just after dawn, a school of bass was encountered working herring along Sculpin Ledge. There was a lot of top water action on soft jerk baits for almost an hour. At times all three anglers were hooked up at the same time. This school was a mixture of schoolies and medium size fish. The next stop at the east end of Long Island was equally as good. A large school of bass had bait pinned tight to the shore. The interesting part was that there was not another boat in sight at both areas. At slack water it was time to search for bigger fish. Rod was the first to hook up on a big bass only to have the hook pull. Jay put the first keeper in the boat. Then Rodney landed a fat 32 inch bass. Jim hit a very hot fish that tore line off as it fought across the surface in search of freedom. This fish stretched the tape to almost 36 inches and weighed about 20 pounds. When the wind came up it was time to head back to dock. Tuesday, Adrian Jackson of Lexington invited friends, Barry and Peter to join him for a light tackle trip. It was an early morning pickup downtown, and on the way, Captain Bill found a small pod of bass off Castle Island. Captain Bill only had a few minutes before he had to be Boston to pick up the crew but that is all he needed. On his first cast, a 30 inch fish attacked the Bass Assassin as it hit the water. By the time, the crew was settled on board, these fish were gone. The crew search throughout the Inner Triangle and found lots of bait but no bass. Moving back into Quincy Bay, some scattered pods of bass were moving around Moon Head and Hang Man's Island. They were difficult to stay on so the crew did best swimming jigs through the water column. A few more bas were taken at the shallow water on a mussel bed including Barry's 29 inch bass, which was released before it was time to head off shore. At Broad Sound, a school of bass had bass chasing herring and a few fish feel victim to soft jerk baits. Once these fish broke up, Captain Bill moved into the shallow water of Revere and found big bass. Adrian was the first to big up a massive fish in 4 feet of water that crashed on his jerk bait and Barry and Peter had several other attacks. The fish won all these battles. After these big fish headed to deep water, smaller bass became more cooperative. At slack water, the crew headed back inside and finished the day fishing catching several more bass at the airport. Strong winds forced the cancellation of Wednesday's fly fishing trip.
It
had been only two days since Frank Farraye of Medfield and David Deitz of Sharon
had fished the skinny water with Captain Bill. But conditions can surely change
in just a few days. Also aboard on Sunday were David's son, Andrew and
Mike Madeira of Scituate. Captain Bill explained the wind was going to build all
morning. The wind would make sight fishing impossible and limit fly opportunities
for David and Andrew. The crew still wanted to give it a try. Even at this early
hour the shallow water in Quincy Bay, where Captain Bill has been hunting big
bass all week was already chopped up. David and Andrew brought up big fish on
the first drift but the fish avoided the hook. A few more bass also swirled on
the lures which had to be worked much faster than the skipper likes in order to
keep them from getting sucked under by the waves. In the deeper water along Moon
Head a small school of bass was working bait, but these proved as difficult to
catch as fish in the skinny water. The only option available was trolling. Even
this produced only a few fish. However, Mike caught a fat 32 inch bass and Andrew's
fish measured just over 34 inches. With the wind continuing to build, it was time
to head back to dock. The ride back to the Back River in the 20-25 mph wind was
quite bumpy but relatively dry. Frank will return on this coming Sunday seeking
revenge. |
| Captain's
Report July 5, 2008 Sunday's trip with the Bryant family of Worchester was scrubbed when the fog failed to lift. The Bryants will be back later in the month to do battle with Boston Harbor bass and by that time there should also be more blues in the mix.
Tuesday,
Draggin' Fly regular Frank Sannella of Scituate arranged to meet before
dawn to fish his way across the Harbor to pick up some guests in Boston. Stopping
to search the Inner Triangle, Frank and Captain Bill found some cooperative bass
just off of Spectacle Island and caught some nice fish before it was time to make
the Boston connection. Joining Frank were visiting anglers Ken Richmond and Keith
Delmarco and John Reimann. By the time, the second part of the crew was picked
up in Boston and the Draggin' Fly got back to Inner Triangle, the fish
were gone. Today, there were far fewer fish than the previous day. And the ones
that the crew found were much more difficult to stay on. However, all managed
to catch fish on Sculpin Ledge and during a quick bite at the Deer Island rip.
Captain George found similar conditions in the outer islands where the bite also
fizzled quickly. Fishing the finger channels at the airport proved to be more
successful Keith was the first to score on a big bass when he caught and released
a 40 inch bass. Ken was next releasing another legal size bass. John had his chance
put the hook pulled on the fishes initial run. At slack tide, the crew headed
to Quincy Bay. There they found scattered schools around the bay rather than chase
the fish. Captain Bill decided to search the shallows where the crew found plenty
of fish. Ken was the first to score on a big bass that exploded on a Bass Assassin
close to the boat. As Ken's fish dumped line off the 450 Penn, Keith hooked another
bass. Ken's measured 36 inches and Keith's was a bit shorter. Several other fish
were taken on soft jerk baits before an approaching storm caused a hasty retreat.
|
Captain's Report June 29, 2008
Genie and Stan Jennings of Maine traveled south to try their hand at Boston's legendary bass fishing on Monday. At the first stop in Quincy, a number of fish were brought up but missed the hook. A fellow charter skipper called to tell about a surface bite going on in Dorchester Bay. The crew found scattered pods of bass working schools of bait. Genie was the first to score on soft jerk bait, and then Stan got a bass to hit a snake fly. After a few more fish, it was time to check the flats before the tide flattened. Stan hit a nice bass on his fly rod. Meanwhile Genie was bringing up several fish on her Bass Assassin. Many of these fish were sighted as they cruise the shallows. Genie hit a monster bass that tore line off the Penn 450 making it seem like Captain Bill would need to chase it down. However, Genie was able to turn the bass that used its oversized tail to splash water all over the surface. Then, the hook pulled and the battle was over. Within minutes, Stan was tight to another big bass. This fish also charged across the surface, and again the hook just pulled. On slack low tide, the fish that the crew had been sighting seemed to disappear. However, Genie hooked another hot fish in 4 feet of water, and this one was boated. It stretched the tape to over 32 inches. On the incoming, the action continued. The catch was bass in the 24-26 inch range and a six pound bluefish was also landed. Today there was no wind, but the crew had an early day because of the rain coming at them from Boston. Seasonal
clients Damon Reed of Vermont and John Kieley of New Hampshire travel through
the night to meet Captain Bill before dawn on Tuesday. Again the weather
held. There was no rain and the wind was down. It was another flat day providing
a good opportunity to hunt the shallows. The first stop on a mussel bed on the
back side of Thompson's Island was very productive. John was fishing a Mush Fly
on a special fly rod. A close friend had past away after battling cancer had left
a new 7 weight fly rod in John's care. It didn't take long for John to land and
release his first fish on this outfit. Before the morning was over, John would
land many others including a beautiful 34 inch bass which was photographed and
released.
Meanwhile,
Damon was experimenting with several of his own flies including an improvement
on his famous Fleece Fly. The Draggin' Fly headed to the Sugar Bowl but
found plenty of small fish on fry herring along Western Way. Captain Bill was
able to stay on these fish and another school of bass in the Sugar Bowl for an
hour and a half. Then the crew headed back to Quincy Bay and found another large
school at the Bridge. Captain Bill found several big bass in the shallows including
a 39 inch bass that Damon caught and released. When the wind kicked up on the
tide change, it was time to head to dock.
Wednesday, Guy and Paxton Nichols North Chelmsford of were aboard for their annual light tackle trip. Conditions had changed quickly as a cold front sat over the Harbor. The area had had numerous large thunderstorms pass through the previous night. Unfortunately, this also brought strong northwest winds. The crew worked the same areas that held large numbers of fish the day before but found nothing. Finally, the fish came up enough at the Sugar Bowl for Guy and Pax to catch several before the school broke up. A short time later, the bass once came up in good numbers by Hang Man's Island. However with all the boat traffic, they were difficult to stay on. Pax and Guy used Bass Assassins to land some large school fish. There was just too much wind to sight fish on the shallows so the decision was made to search the Inner Triangle. The crew found fish yo-yoing tight to Deer Island but nearly impossible to catch. Pax managed to land one and got his Bass Assassin chopped in half by a bluefish. Tired of battling the wind, the crew decided to try a little trolling and caught plenty of bass just shy of legal size. Fly
fishers Bob Foley and Karl Jacobson of Boston met Captain Bill before dawn on
Thursday. The wind had backed and turned to the south. Today, the fish
were once again active working juvenile herring along Western Way. Bob cast a
herring imitation and Karl used a Mush Fly to tame several small bass. Then Karl
and Bob got into a decent bite in the Anchorage. The fish were larger but moved
quickly. There was still too much wind to work the shallows effectively. Drifts
were very fast so the crew decided to fish the mouth of the Neponsett River and
found some scattered pods of fish. They were also difficult to stay on. At mid-tide,
the crew searched the channel by the airport and found some bigger bass. Bob was
the first to score on a nice 30 inch bass and his next was 33 inches. After the
customary photo, the fish were released to fight again. Karl's fish were smaller
but he was not complaining. Before the day was done, Karl had caught and released
his big bass a fat 34 incher at hat was loaded with sea lice. It is nice to see
that more fresh fish are moving in.
Friday,
Peter Gallagher of Norwell was joined by Joe Grabmeier of Hopkinton and Ron Murphy
of Duxbury for an early morning light tackle trip. Pushing off at dawn, the crew
headed straight to Inner Triangle and found a big school of bass just off of Spectacle
Island. On their first cast, Peter and Joe both hooked up on surface jerk baits.
As Captain Bill unhooked Peter's bass, Joe indicated that his fish was big. Joe
skillfully worked his fish to the boat so that the skipper could grab a fat 32
inch bass. This fish was loaded with sea lice, a strong indication that there
was a new rush of fresh fish. As the crew admired Joe's bass, more fish irrupted
around the boat and the crew got busy again. Ron soon was tight to a nice bass
on a 10 pound rod. These bass decimated a large school of drop back herring and
then disappeared. It was time to search the flats for fish. On Deer Island Flats,
the crew caught a few schoolies. Moving back inside of Quincy Bay, the crew found
several bass in the skinny water. These fish were very finicky
they would
follow the lures and refuse to eat. Joe was the first to hook up on a 27 inch
bass and then it was Ron's turn. It was another bass just shy of legal size. Peter
hit a hot fish that ran line off against the drag. This fish was a very fat 35
inch bass. It seemed that the crew had the fish dialed in and then the fish got
lock jaw. The crew brought up fish on most casts that would follow the Bass Assassins
and refuse to eat. Oh well, that is fishing!! |
Captain's
Report It
had been exactly a week since Frank Farraye of Medfield had been out with Captain
Bill. Joining Frank was Paul Fuller of Walpole. This was Paul's first experience
fishing salt water. Dr. Frank has mastered the technique of working soft jerk
baits. The trick of fishing this reactionary bait is using the wrist to snap the
rod tip so the lure twitches along the surface. Frank will often raise more fish
than any other anglers working the same pod of fish. Within minutes of clearing
the no wake zone, Frank and Paul were casting to breaking bass. It didn't take
long for both anglers to hook up. Action was fast and furious when the bass had
the tinker mackerel balled up on the surface. The biggest fish was a very fat
41 inch bass. This bite lasted on and off for almost 2 hours. Before the rain
forced a quick retreat back to dock, Frank and Paul found more bass in the Inner
Triangle.
Tuesday, Dan Shea, a long time friend and tackle rep, brought along Bill Carney of New Hampshire for his annual fly fishing adventure. Although the predicted rain never materialized, there was a strong west wind that made it difficult for these veteran fly rodders to work the long rod. The areas which had been so productive just hours before failed to hold any fish and the mackerel had also disappeared. In the Inner Triangle, the crew found scattered pockets of bass. But these fish proved to be difficult to get on. Captain Bill decided it would be best to work the shallower water. Again, the crew found small pods of bass working herring. Both Dan and Bill managed a few fish on Half' N Halfs worked along the bottom. The last stop in the shallows of Quincy Bay was not very productive. The wind made sight casting impossible. Only two fish were raised drifting over the rocks. It would appear that the fish ate all day yesterday in front of the front. Draggin'
Fly regular, David Deitz of Sharon invited Will Gaines who was in Boston from
Texas for business to share his trip on Wednesday. David has been fishing
with Captain Bill for over 10 years and charters the Draggin' Fly several
times a year. Will fished with the skipper a few years back and had a frustrating
trip. Both David and Will brought up some big bass, but most managed to avoid
the hook. Again this morning, the wind was blowing hard and the crew would have
to fight the wind all morning. Some bass were working bait in the Inner Triangle.
David cast a fly into this stiff wind, and Will worked a Bass Assassin among the
white caps. Both hit a few schoolies before the tide let go. At the airport, there
was less wind and both Dave got into better bass. At low water, the crew searched
the channel edge and found some bigger bass. Will was the first to score on a
nice 34 inch bass. David's fish were smaller but on his light fly rod he had a
blast. Before the day was done, Will had caught and released his trophy bass that
weighed in at over 35 pounds and stretched the tape to a little over 43 inches.
Will had the chance to experience Boston Harbor's legendary fishing, which David
has been telling him about for years.
The wind finally laid down on Thursday. Frank Sannella and Kevin Callahan of Scituate met Captain Bill before dawn. This was Frank's third trip of the season and Kevin's second. The crew discussed the options of heading to Dorchester to look for the schools of bass that had been there the previous day or hunting the shallows for big bass. Of course, the answer was to fish the skinny water. On the first drift, Frank brought up a monster bass that somehow managed to avoid the hook. This happen a few more times, although the fish were smaller. The next stop at a mussel bed was more productive. Both Kevin and Frank landed some nice bass up to 29 inches working soft baits right over the mussel bed. At slack low water, it was time to explore the airport flats. It didn't take long to find more fish and these were bigger. The crew landed several fish up to 36 inches before the fish moved off into deeper water. With the sun brightly over head, the crew tried several other shallow water areas. Just when they were ready to head back to dock, Kevin hit a nice bluefish. Then the crew began to see bass. These fish were very finicky and proved difficult to hook. The fish would follow the lures almost to the boat before finally turning away in refusal. And these fish ranged from schoolies to heart stopping monsters. Kevin and Frank managed to hook a few fish before the tide let up. It was a very exhausting, but on the way back to dock, Kevin said that this trip was the most fun he has had chasing fish. Friday, Phil O'Cone of Hingham and Curt Dukeshire of Cohasset were aboard for a light tackle trip instructional trip. Phil and Curt share a 22 foot boat that they keep across the river at Hewett's Cove and were looking for ways to expand their repertoire. The first stop in Quincy produced a nice bass for Curt which measured just shy of 29 inches. A few more fish were brought up on Bass Assassins, but the fish never took the baits. At Lower Middle, the crew had a short bite before the tide went slack. Captain Bill trolled the channels at the airport waiting for the tide to turn. Both Phil and Curt caught several bass, the largest just shy of legal size. With the sun out, it was time to hunt the shallows. On the way, the crew ran into a small pod of bass. Curt and Phil caught some on soft plastic jerk baits before deciding to continue the hunt. Today, there fewer bass on the flats, but the crew saw some big fish before the wind came up. These fish were even finickier than those of the previous day, and Curt hook the only fish. It was a very productive morning. Brian
Shura of Norfolk invited his friends Eric Johnson and Rich to share a light tackle
trip on Saturday. Brian has been fishing with Captain Bill since he was
in high school. This year Brian became a father and he can not wait to get his
new son on the Draggin' Fly. On Brian's second cast got the attention of a nice
30 inch bass. The crew raised a few more bass on jerk baits, but all the fish
avoided the hook. Pushing on to the Deer Island flats to catch the end of the
out going tide, Brian scored again on his Bass Assassin. At slack tide, the crew
found some bass suspended in the channel. Switching to shad body lures, the crew
caught and released several bass while waiting for enough water to get back on
the flats. It was another day when it seemed that the faster schoolies always
managed to get to the lure first. Some big bass had moved into the skinny water
on the incoming tide. At first, the fish would just follow the soft baits and
turn away at boat side. With more tide, the fish got more aggressive. Eric, a
tournament bass angler, seemed to have the action down and brought up fish on
almost every cast. Rich missed a very large bass which left a big hole in the
water when it missed his lure. As the wind picked, it became impossible to sight
the fish. Before calling it a day, Rich managed to hook a 10 pound bluefish that
went to the air several times in an effort to throw the hook. It was another good
day with plenty of action for all. |
Captain's
Report
Sunday,
Frank Farraye of Medfield invited Mike O'Brien of Hingham to join him. Within
minutes of leaving the no wake zone of the Back River Frank and Mike were casting
to breaking fish in Hingham. While Frank used a Bass Assassin to catch his fish,
Mike used swimming jigs worked just below the surface. This bite lasted almost
an hour. The next stop by Moon Head was not as productive because the fish were
moving quickly on herring. Here the best tactic was working jigs. After talking
with a few people in Lower Middle who said that it was a real zoo there with boats
running and gunning, Captain Bill convinced the crew to try the shallows. In Quincy,
just down from where Captain Bill had fished the incoming tide on Saturday, the
crew found a bunch of big bass. Once again, they were not easy to hook, but Frank
and Mike managed to take 6 over 30 inches including a 36 and a 38 inch fish. Frank
found that if he worked his lure really slow with a side-to-side action the fish
became more interested. Several others missed the hook. It was really exciting
fishing as all the fish came on Bass Assassins worked in shallow water. At slack
water, the crew found similar conditions at Bass Rock. Frank caught a 44 inch
that weighed 35 pounds. It was big, fat, and loaded with lice. Once the wind came
up, we lost them and headed in. |
| Captain's
Report May 23, 2008 Weather forced the inaugural trip of the 2008 season to be cancelled on Saturday, May 17th. Sunday, Draggin' Fly regulars, Frank Sannella and Kevin Callahan of Scituate were aboard. The wind was still blowing from the NW. For this reason it was a difficult start to the day and a slow pick on jigs. The crew decided to see if the wind would let go later in the morning. After the tide changed, the wind finally laid down and the fish became a little more active. Most action was on bucktail jigs and Captain Bill's shad jigs along the channel edges. Frank and Kevin found the trick was to cast up-tide and allow the jigs to get down in the water column. The fish often hit the lures as they were worked slowly back to the surface. Tuesday's full moon brought in more bait and more fish. The water temperatures are still chilly, in low 50s so the bass are still sulking in deeper water. Jack Simpson of South Boston and his 12 year old son Buddy met Captain Bill after the tide change. It didn't take long for Buddy to hang his first ever bass. The crew fished the incoming water at the Anchorage and caught several bass up to 30 inches on swimming jigs. On the higher water the action most of the action was on the airport flats. The crew did manage a few fish in Hingham Harbor on the way back to dock. Captain Bill will not fish from May 24th-June 3. He will be in Mexico attending the wedding of his son. Of course, there will be a few days set aside to chase yellow fin tuna on his fly rod. Puerto Vallarta is known for its tuna fishing. |
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