Surface schoolies busting bait on the flats? April 19th? Huh?
I checked out the entrance to Cotuit bay at the beginning of the incoming, hoping to dredge up a fish or two on my new 9 wt.
As one would expect in April I was fishing the flowing water at the channel dropoff.
To my complete amazement, glass calm bay, a fish broke water down current from me. Then another; then 10, then 100.
For about an hour from 1:30-2:30 today there were honestly, no joke, because Steve Moore was there also, hundreds of surface slapping schoolies churning up the Cotuit flats just inside the usual spring spot.
Completely out of reach with a fly, they swirled within long spinning cast range a couple times. Each time I picked up a fresh, bright sea-lice covered schoolie; a couple times I got a double. I never hooked up blind casting, only when casting to the ro
ving pods of maniacal schoolies. If the fish came within reach, and I put a cast in theirvicinity, I hooked up.
They were spraying bait at times, bait that from a distance seemed like herring fry; small and deep bodied. Steve Moore and Steve Swainer came by towards the end in their Maritime skiff and gave me a lift closer to the action.
It was really bizarre to see schoolies acting like June on April 19th!