View Full Version : Am I the only flyrodder that can't find fish?
sparselytied
06-11-2003, 08:06 PM
After reading some of these threads, I figure I must be the worlds worst striped bass fly fisherman... I've been on the water(from shore) for about 12 hours this year with only one 15" twinkie to show for my efforts. --124-3
Sagebrush
06-11-2003, 08:51 PM
I'd imagine your average or better. There is definitely a positive bias towards posting.
My view is we are least two weeks behind. The bait is very spotty. Mainly because a spot I like to watch always had fish and huge numbers. Secret spot #5. So far I have seen nary a fish there.
Secondly, the wind blows in a different direction every other day. When the wind is right and the weather is cooperating people have great days.
Hopefully soon this unbalanced weather situation will stabilize.
I like to cover a lot of spots when I fish I have been a little too impatient, spoiled perhaps, with most of them.
I will say more fish are moving into the flats and the shallow crossovers. To me it means they are doing a little more than just passing through.
Last weekend wasn't bad despite the weather.
:cool:
riptide
06-11-2003, 09:05 PM
Originally posted by sparselytied
After reading some of these threads, I figure I must be the worlds worst striped bass fly fisherman... I've been on the water(from shore) for about 12 hours this year with only one 15" twinkie to show for my efforts. --124-3
Your not alone. We are not fishing the normal spots this year, nor are we using all of the same lures/flies. This year has been a challenge. I've got a few friends that I have fished with when my boat was down and I've learned some new stuff that I've applied. Also, you are limited by being shore bound. If you read my report from a few days back, we covered close to 150 miles in search of the spot that finally held good fish. We saved the day, but we ran from Cuttyhunk to Wasque to Hyannis to do it. When you find the fish it's nonstop action, and most of the time we've been lucky enough to get some big fish as well. But when you cant find them it's DEAD. There seems to be no middle ground. Where are you fishing? If your coming to the Cape, shoot me an email I have a few spots that may work for you from shore.
Rocktrout
06-11-2003, 09:29 PM
Sparse,
You aren't alone....I have put in 100+ hours (wading the coast/in the yak) in the last few weeks and have one bass to show......finally getting some bluefish down here in NJ, but things in CT are still behind schedule. Word is the Hudson fish are finally moving out.....I sure hope so. Plenty of guys seem to be getting big fish down here (NJ), but nothing on flies yet.........
Cheers,
Adam
AT Grimaldi
06-12-2003, 07:56 AM
I strongly doubt your alone.
I have had a great year and caught my largest Bass ever so far, but I say this to encourage you only. Here's what I have been doing.......
1. I bought a great Loomis surf spinning rod and aren't in the least bit afraid to use it when the wind is blowing beyond my casting abiity,particularly at night.
2. I have halved then halved again my retreive speeds. I seek only to keep contact,very close contact, with my fly and let the current give it all the action.
3. I went to www.jackgartside.com and bought some of his tied flies. They were a bit more than had I tied them myself, but they are tied well and I am fishing and not tying. I say his flies, because he uses a ton of marabou and other breathing materials which give the fly action on it's own without my need to add action with the rod tip. I move the rod tip. I put an S in the line. I am now out of direct contact with that fly and may miss a strike and loose the change to set the hook. I am convinced this has happened to me 100s of times and I never knew it.
4. I hired a shore guide and told him I wanted to learn more than catch fish. I used a guide on Nantucket out of Bill Fisher's Tackle, but there are many fine ones around Boston. You can even hire Jack Gartside himself to help. Why did I pay for someone's help when I used to teach casting lessons years ago for Orvis? Because I needed the help. Period. I did whatever they said to do right down to changing my leader system etc.
5. I started keeping a journal with day, sunlight, current, tide, moon, flies/lures used,fish, drew a picture of the area with current sand bars etc.
6. I am ardently reading the forums on RT and fish only those locations where tons of fish have been reported. Fortunately for me, I know Plum Island very well.
7. I guess in closing, I have redoubled my efforts and really tried to examine my flychoice, retreive speed and meathod, learned when to fold and go spinning and put in a ton of hours with my headlamp on.
It sounds like you are putting in the time, I just thought I would mention what I have done. That being said, I am sure to go on a prolific dry spell now. :rolleyes:
Originally posted by sparselytied
After reading some of these threads, I figure I must be the worlds worst striped bass fly fisherman...
I suppose I can be really rude and answer yes, but I won't.
I think the most important thing you can do to catch fish has nothing to do with the actual act of fishing. It's what you do before you go. I spend a lot of time studying the weather, tides, reports, and my experience before I decide where and when to go fishing. There has been many a day with perfect conditions when I haven't gone based on what I mentioned above.
So do a bit of studying and don't hesitate to make a few calls be for planning a trip or even just a few hours.
Ray
More time on the water = more fish.
New fly fisher
06-12-2003, 09:20 AM
I suspect you are not the worst. But even if you are---who cares---just being on or near the water beats working any day.
true very true....my first year suck big donkey nutts then after i had done a lot of research i got on the water my second year and i caught more fish then i have ever caught before....
so go to a shop listen up and ask questions on what to do...
you be suprised who will help you out and maybe you'll even find someone to take you...hey my best friend now is the guy i met in a fly shop who i decided to take out fishing....he still is a ****ty fisherman but hey he's a great friend...so give it a shot you'd be shocked...
jon h
oh ya and don't let jerks like un-named people discourage you...cuz i ain't caught much this year either...
jon h
PeterG
06-12-2003, 10:31 AM
Just remember that old saying we all go by:
"A bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work"
:D :D
dollarshort
06-12-2003, 10:41 AM
Dont feel too bad about it. I spend pleanty of time on the water and things are slow. Good things come to those who wait.
There is an old saying: Even a blind squirrel will eventually find a nut.
Just kidding about that one. Just jeep putting your time in and your luck will change. You actually have done better than I have in the past week.--124-3
that is more true than you know my friend...hahahahhahaha:D
dollarshort
06-12-2003, 10:58 AM
Another old saying an Old Timer once said to me :
" The sun even shines on a dogs a$$ every now and again "
That one cracks me up. Ahhhh what you learn from the elderly.:-%
mdrew9
06-12-2003, 11:10 AM
oh man, I can't say I haven't caught alot because I do. My gf calls me obsessed with fishing, I call it passionate. But I do have to admit I have gotten lucky with timming. I talk to the shops everyday. I talk to other fisherman about what they have been doing. And I read this forum religiously since I joined. I have probably read 90 % of the threads that have been posted since I joined. There doesn't seem to be a lot of bass around, the largest caught in the mv rod and gun tourny was I believe a 28"er. But my secret spot_01 is loaded for some reason, with uber ogre fish. All that I can't catch just look at them as they eat bait fish. But everyone has tough days, look at my first time out when everynoe was catching something except me, and I posted i can't fish.
Mike
dollarshort
06-12-2003, 11:17 AM
We may be dating the same woman. My girlfriend thinks I'm obsessed / weird. Claims my fishing is a problem to the relationship. I tell her given the choice of the relationship or fishing I'd take the fishing.
My Reasoning:
#1 Once you got them hooked and play around with them for a while you can let them go and they are not offended.
#2 No need to take them for a fancy dinner..... if anything they wind up being dinner
#3 They dont seem to mind if you hook up with 3 or more of their friends.
#4 Last but not least they dont talk back!--123-3
MatthewP
06-12-2003, 12:11 PM
and if you get a keeper and it doesn't work out, there's always plenty of other fish in the sea.
my spring has been pretty slow, too, Sparsly. took a trip to the Vineyard last weekend (big bucks on ferry trip and beach pass), to go 10 hours without a bump. One keeper, one twinkie to show for the whole day (both in the last 1/2 hour of fishing).
mdrew9
06-12-2003, 12:43 PM
Wow, granted I haven't been out in a week or so but wow, where on the vineyard are you fishing where you can't catch anything for hours?
Mike
another lakeville obsessed fisherman or should i say passionate fisherman ya i was on the vineyard last weekend and got the big goose egg for the tourny....
jon h
vineyard haven cedar tree lobersterville squibnocket state beach the herring run south beach oak bluffs the draw bridge damn where else did i fish or should i say didn't fish....the only place i saw a fish was the jetty at vineyard haven but it was one little tiny fish....and saw some blues but other than that nothing....
MatthewP
06-12-2003, 12:54 PM
we were out on chappy, fishing the gut (or is it cut?). I met up with some friends who had been on the island for three or four days, and they had done well there the night before (which was Saturday). Sunday was pretty well shut down from the Cape Pogue lighthouse all the way up to the gut. Lot's of guys driving around looking for fish. The guys I was with did a little better than I did, but we had others in the group who got skunked. It was my first time out to the Vineyard, and naturally I was pumped to get out there. It was a bit of a let-down, but that's all part of the game.
I call myself passionate, but my other half definitely thinks I'm obsessed. We watch travel shows on t.v.. She'll say "oh, let's go there. It looks beautiful". My response: "I've heard the fishing sucks. But you have a good time". :D
dollarshort
06-12-2003, 01:04 PM
My woman works in corporate travel and she gets free airline tickets all the time. I'll be damned if she doesnt pick a place everytime that is landlocked or the nearest "fishn'n hole" is a 6 hour drive!
I say the same thing... send me a post card. My arguement is MY Vacation is so I can enjoy MYself. Not get dragged around to tourist traps and waste cash on trinkets. I mean c'mon.... let me think do I need a Snowglobe of Nashville for $50.00 or do I need a Tenny 300 line? Dugh thats a no brainer.
Soundking
06-12-2003, 01:10 PM
The best I can give of how to really learn fish, is to just put in the time, even in years like this there is a distinct pattern, and once that is found out, the fishing becomes very easy. For example, I spend almost every day this may trying to figure out the danvers river, and it took two weeks of three or four fish an outing before I figured them out, after that the 50 fish days became the norm. I honestly think that if you look for bait, current seams, propper structure, and say to your self "goddamnit, ima f'in learn how to nail fish in this spot or im gonna die trying" In my 15 years of fishing that is what I have done, and it has worked great for me. Hope this helps, and tight lines, you'll get em eventually man!
saltyflyguy
06-12-2003, 01:16 PM
Join the crowd. I fish Long Island waters and, except for that early push of bluefish, it has been DEAD around here. No bait!! I went to Jones Inlet (the western tip of Jones Beach) yesterday and there were no terns diving at all. This time last year it was hard to cast without snagging a bird. Who knows? Maybe there is not enough plankton in the water to attract the bait fish?
Hopefully thingswill sort themselves out.:confused:
mdrew9
06-12-2003, 01:22 PM
speaking of the plankton in the water, what does everyone feel about the neon lights in the water, I have some meant for fishing that I never tried out. They are supposed to attract plankton which then attracts the bait fish, then the big boys.
Head out to the middleground there is action out there on coming and going tides, small fish on the top but some big boys down a bit. Jumping minnow and top water other than that green parachutes on wire.
Mike
Yozuri-Man
06-12-2003, 02:36 PM
the lack or reduced # of bait has no dout accounted for spotty hit miss fishing. But there are plenty of fish around nonetheless. Locally, the herring runs CONTINUE to fish well, even as the water temps soar. Last year I wouldn't think about bass way up there in mid june, usually out front on the beaches. This year has everyone scratchin' their heads a little...:confused:
MKDeceiver
06-12-2003, 02:46 PM
I wouldn't worry about it. You've fished 12 hrs, that's it?
There's so many factors. I mean yeah, if people were around you hammering fish during those 12 hrs and you get nothing, it's one thing. But other than that, don't feel bad.
Also it depends on what your targeting. It's not how many rats you catch, but how many keepers...Pretty much anybody can go to an estuary and cover a small rip blindcasting and take 12-16inch fish all day...If your fishing big water or trying to sight fish in the terrible weather pattern this spring, you could easily get skunked....
Bassbuster
06-12-2003, 02:55 PM
JonH, Can you confirm if assawampset (sp?) has been open for fishing? I heard rumors that it was, if so I'm sure there are some 15++ pound largemouths in there waiting to be caught. Does that include I think there called Big & little Quitikit (again spelling prob a little off)?
Thanks
dondkim
06-12-2003, 03:05 PM
4am helps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I only fished once month ago this year, 2 hours before the sunrise and 2 hours early evening and I caught 41 fish (all stripers). My success rate improved dramatically 1,000% since I started fishing early morning few years ago. Please don't tell anyone about this time proven secret.:-% By the way I will be fishing at the Canal starting 4am tomorrow:-% :-% :-% :-%
Tight Lines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hydroTechNoCrat
06-12-2003, 03:23 PM
I was living in Wyoming and I stopped into a fishing tackle/post office/grocery store (the town had a population of 11) and I asked the old fellow about where to fish the North Platte.
Hey replied "the closer you get to the water the better the fishin".
So true.
The trick is to asorb the available information out there, and then apply that to experimenting with different spots or techniques.
If all else fails you can go to the fish market buy some fish and have the clerk toss it to you. That way you are sure to catch a fish!
DTB
bassbuster assawopsett isn't open however little and big quitatis are open to ONLY shore fishing my buddy went down there with large shiners and bagged a 14.9 pounder....
fish are massive from the years and years of herring there also has been massive pike been caught as well....if i were you i would give a shot....
later
jon h
Bassbuster
06-12-2003, 04:20 PM
I can remember making a mistake stopping at little quitatis one afternoon on the way back from a pond in Rochester. I didn't realize it was off limits back then, when the warden came by. He gave me a $ 50.00, he was very nice about it. I was a catch an release in fresh water, which I no longer really do anymore. Any ways I told him that was the best fifty I ever spent. It was unbelievable.
It was a hot afternoon from 11-1, I stopped counting after 60 fish, it was non stop, I couldn't go more than 2 casts w/out a fish, largemouths where 3-7 lbs, what I thought was pickeral, which were probably pike as you mentioned pushed 6 lbs, looked like tarpon shooting through the water to hit the lures. It was amazing catching, it didn't seem like fishing at all. It got to the point where I would try to make them miss and the would just keep coming back after the lure 7 or 8 times. I just may have to get that fresh water license after all. It would DEFINATELY be worth the trip.
OOOPSSss, did I just let out Secret SPot # 1 for fresh water?
Scratch what I just said there are only sun fish available at that spot.
as far as it goes for me i will share all my spots for one reason and one reason only....that is because 9 times out 10 the company of a fellow reel-timer is well worth it...
jon h
see you there some time and my name is jon hare and i drive a black nissan sentra ser spec v with a thule rack on top...
flyslinger
06-12-2003, 08:58 PM
i have spent many a night standing in waist deep water, surrounded by fish & gone home without so much as a hit!!!
my wife says i'm a f#$*ing retard to stay out til 3:00 am & not even catch 1 fish. if they are there & i know it, i'll keep trying. i fished almost every weekend my 1st full year flyfishing & probably caught 8-10 fish. experience will prevail!!
good luck & keep at it,
dan
lhonda
06-12-2003, 11:33 PM
A couple of good old rah-rah type, time-tested sayings above, including:
"There is an old saying: Even a blind squirrel will eventually find a nut" and another I hadn't heard about a dog's ass that got a grin. Here's another one I personally like:
Put 1000 monkeys at 1000 typewriters for 1000 years; one will write a Shakespeare play. The moral is pretty clear, and what you should get from it is essentially, don't fret; you're a better fisherman than a blind squirrel, a dog's ass and even an elderly chimp. :)
On a more serious note, even some of we knuckle-dragging simeons also known as baitdunkers/spinfishers are having a hard go of it. Hang in. Or on, as from a tree branch, as the case warrants ...Damn, sometimes I slay myself.
Leighton
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