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Boston Metropolitan FishWire

Boston Metropolitan Region May 24, 2002
FishWire Coordinator:	Mark Cahill
Navigation Aids:	Local Reports Boston Harbor South Shore Lower Bay North Shore See other Regions Cape Cod & the Islands Florida: Atlantic Coast Florida: Gulf Coast Florida: Miami Metro & the Keys Maine & N.H. Mid-Atlantic Region New York & Northern New Jersey Southern New England Texas: Gulf Coast

Maximize Your Effectiveness on the Water

Let's face facts: if you're married, have children and employed, you
probably aren't getting to spend three or more days on the water a week.
The pressures of real life weigh heavily, so we've got to grab everyday on
the water we can.

If you're not on the water several days a week, it is that much more
important that you not lose the border line days, when the wind is blosing a
little more than you're comfortable with. Here are a few tips to help make
you a better caster and help you make more of your precious time in the
brine.

Work on your casting - If you can't make it to the shore, consider taking
your rod to a local pond or park for an hour twice a week. While there,
concentrate on throwing the tightest loops you can.

Practice for accuracy - Yes, throwing a booming long cast is an important
skill. So is being able to hit a two foot wide circle anywhere within your
casting range.

Double Hauling is crucial - Even if you throw the most beautiful, tight
loops, you're not maximizing your distance if you aren't able to do an
effective double haul. Basically, by pulling sharply on the line as the rod
loads on both forward and back casts, you increase the line speed. Read and
know the works of Lefty Kreh, Mel Krieger, etc. on fly casting.

Learn from the Experts - There is no finer way to improve your casting than
to spend a day on the water with an expert. Any of the Reel-Time guides can
help you. Tell them when you book your charter that you'd like help working on your cast. Remind them when you hit the water. Many guides will withold
criticism, unless they've been asked, so make sure they know you want to
learn.

I've seen too many people that put their fly rods down when the wind tops 12
knots. By practicing the art, you will increase your confidence, which will
in turn allow you to fish more marginal days and to catch more fish.
Golfers go to the driving range, fly fishermen need to go to the casting
range!

Don't forget to send me your own reports, and until next week...

Tight Lines!

Mark Cahill

---

Boston Metropolitan Regions

Boston Harbor

Captain Wayne Freiden of Reel-Dream Charters reports:

Sunday, May 19, 2002: I had the pleasure of taking out Dana Ono and his
friend Wayne Marasco today on what would be one of the coldest May
mornings I can remember! The fish cooperated at first light and for a
few hours into the going tide. The bass were mainly on the small side up
to about 24" on the fly. A gray/lavendar half and half worked well when
fished deep.The wind picked up around 9:00 am and it was slim pickin's
afterwards. The bulk of the activity occured in the main channel off
Castle I. At one point there must have been @ 35 small craft in the
general vacinity, but all anglers and captains were respectful of one
another's space.

Monday, May 20, 2002: The weather has been unstable and the wind today
shifted to the southeast making for tough late afternoon fishing. Andrew
Cornell of PA and friend Evelyn from Falmouth, England enjoyed an
afternoon of fly fishing the Harbor. We got out a few hours prior to
high tide but nothing much was happening in Boston. A quick run to
Hingham Bay found terns working small baitfish (silversides) in the Fore
River area. Evelyn caught his first striped bass and both anglers
managed to land a couple schoolies before the tide slacked. We heeaded
back to Boston but again the fishing was very slow. At dusk, the terns
in Boston got their act together and marked a school of bass on small
bait at Governor's Island flats. Both Andrew and Evelyn agreed they had
a "splended" afternoon on the water. As a guide, I work hard to put my
sports onto fish and always feel somewhat badly when the fishing is
slow. However, one of the best days I ever had on the water occurred
this past winter in Florida on another guides boat. Even though I only
caught one very small jack, the time I spent with my brother and nephew
was priceless.This weekend promises warner temps. and a great incoming
tide so the fishing ought to improve significantly. It's a minus tide,
so boaters beware...

Until next week, we'll see you out there...

Book Your Next Fishing Adventure Early...

Upcoming Events for 2002:

CCA-MA, South Shore Chapter One Fly-One Lure Tournament & Barbecue
Date: TBA

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Capt. Wayne Frieden
Reel Dream Charters
reeldream2@attbi.com
Scituate, MA
781-545-6263

South Shore

Captian John Bunar of Skippy III Charters offers up more good news about the South Shore:

Still alot of small fish showing all over the bay. Best advice I can give
is take a ride through the middle of the bay looking - they'll be harrassing
baitfish somewhere on your early morning route. Most of the fish showing
in the morning are in the 16-24 inch range with some a little bigger and
some a little smaller. Nothing special for flies as run of the mill
clousers and half and halfs will not get passed by.

My bait fishing trips of the past week all saw fish over 20lbs caught.
Still easy as pie to jig up macks off the Gurnet. I have seen no signs of
them even thinking about thinning out. Bass are starting to hold on
structure outside the bay but best action is still up inside on the channel
edges. Live lining the macks is a gurarantee. Bluebacks are dropping
from the Jones River so the mouth of the Kingston Channel will be solid for
the next week or so.

Biggest fish caught by a customer this week was a 27lber caught by Ron Adams
of Whitman. With a little good fortune, the boat should see the first
Duxbury Bay 30lber of the season this week.

North Shore

Captain Randy Sigler of Sigler Guide Service reports:

Well, the fishing is in full swing in the Marblehead area. The bass have
been around for several weeks, with very consistent action on the fly rod.
The biggest problem has been the weather. As is typical for this time of
year, we've had our share of cold and wind.

Casting to the rocks became active much earlier this year. We have already
taken a number of legal sized fish, including a couple of 32 inchers.

As an added surprise, we have been hooking mackerel pretty regularly. They
are in in good numbers and provide a fun distraction.

The guys that run the big mackerel trap have been catching lots of BIG shad,
but so far we have not hooked any.

From here on out, the fishing should be steady and fine. For more
information, or to book a trip, call or email Randy Sigler. www.striper.com
or 1-888-FLY-LINE (359-5463)

P.S. Hey Mark, Great to hear from you. I hope you've had a great wionter and
that all is well. Give a ring if you ever make it up this way.

All the best.

Randy

Captain John Pirie of Online Fishing Charters reports:

First Report from On-Line Fishing Charters:

There are lots of fish in the nearshore waters. Salem Sound has been
alive at times. Birds and bait. However, recently, the fish seem to
have spread out along the rocky shoreline and are found working in the
whitewater cllose to structure. Beachfronts seem to be holding a lot of
fish, likely because the water is often warmer there. The rivers are
also fishing well. Lots of good fish in the Danvers river and the Essex
and Annisquam.

There seems to be a lot of bait around and the fishing
thus far in the season has been excellent. This is probably one of the
best springs in recent memory. Get out there soon and catch-em-up.
Email us if you are interested in setting up any trips. We are mostly
booked for June but have some evening spots open and a couple of mid week
days.

The shark season has some openings and the fall striper and tuna
season has several prime dates open. You can contact us at 978.468.1314
or email to jpirie@olfc.com.

Captain Charles Crue of Channel Edge Charters is glad to see the weahter change after the rains and snow of last week:

Merrimack River Report #5 May 23, 2002

Last Thursday and Friday I fished from shore while my boat was in for repair. The fishing was good off of the north end of Plum Island. I stayed with fly fishing while most other fishermen were using bait or casting jigs. The outgoing tides produced well. Bait fishermen using sand worms or clams scored well with many stripers that were just shy of keeper length. Personally, I caught and released a dozen schoolies using my 9 wt with a heavy sinking line and olive/white clouser. One hard fighting striper was about my favorite fly rod size, about 25-inches. Such fish give a great battle, especially when they are in the current of an outgoing tide.

Boat fishermen were doing well with flies from the #11 buoy down towards the party boat dock at Plum Island. The winds were strong from the west so the drifts were pretty rapid.

The "go to" jig (white ) has been less effective for surfcasters recently. Some are switching to silver spoons or other lures to get more action.

I had a reliable report of some keeper size fish around Joppa flats and some good fishing near the marinas in Newburyport on the slack tides.

Sunday evening a veteran surfcaster registered a 19.9 pound striper at Surfland Bait and Tackle on Plum Island. He caught that striper and another, almost as big among, on a metal lure, in the midst of a bunch of bait fisherman off the ocean beach.

Monday the north end of Plum Island was quiet except for a few bait fishermen who scored with clams and worms. One fellow hauled in a 29-inch keeper and headed for home with it ( I would rather have seen him release it).

On the "sweet water" side, my grandson caught a very large pickerel, or pike, in a local pond. He is six years old and brought the beauty in himself with only some admonition and advice by his grand dad. I will post a photo after I get the film developed.

There have been some huge stripers caught in Haverhill just below the I-495 bridge. The report I had said that they only hit herring.

On the morning of Wednesday may 22, I put my boat back in the water after repairs from the storm on May 13. Just after I launched a guy in a Mass Electric ( or whatever it is now) drove over to tell me he saw lots of birds and fish across from the boat ramp. I went over and, sure enough, stripers were smashing small bait. I had only about twenty minutes to fish because I had arranged to meet a client at the marina to sell him some flies. During that brief time I caught and released eleven stripers. They were small schoolies but fought aggressively. It was fun!

This morning stripers were banging small bait in the mooring area of the American Yacht Club. There were a dozen boats and a couple canoes into some good striper action with diving terns showing where to catch fish. One fellow in a canoe landed a minimum keeper but most fish were small. There were some decent sized stripers on Joppa Flats. I caught and released a 27-inch fish.