It’s getting down to the bitter end for saltwater action in Southern New England. We’re close to closing our log books on another season here, so this will be the last report of the season. Be sure to check the Reel-Time.com forums for information from the guys who are still on the water, and to share info on techniques and swap a few stories over the long winter nights.
A fine bonito - Capt. Ray Stachelek
Mother Nature is giving us signs that another fishing season is near an end. More and more sea ducks and elders filter in each day. The sounds of shotgun fire break the morning silence. There’s a wake of empty shot gun shells bobbing the surface. No gannet sightings of yet. We haven’t seen much big bait around this fall.
The weather has been a factor this fall. Lots of northerly wind makes for cold mornings. The seas and high wind produce difficult conditions to fly cast. The migration will continue for several more weeks. This time of year you pick your days. No sense taking a beating. Nothing worse than a cold spray of seawater in an open boat. Burr!!!
Black bottlenosed Dolphins off Old Harbor - Capt. Ray Stachelek
Cast a Fly will continue to fish the migration for at least the next several weeks. We will try to keep you posted whenever possible if the fishing remains good. We hope you found our reports helpful and informative. We try not to embellish any of our fishing reports. It does no good. It only bites you in the end. All are reports contain recent photos of our clients to verify such findings. We let you be the judge, not us. Our clients do enjoy reading about their fishing experiences weeks after their journey.We wish the loyal readership of Reel-Timers the very best of holidays ahead. Enjoy the festivities with family and friends. Cast a Fly Charters will be at all the fly shows this winter. Please look for us. Stop by, put your feet up, and relax for a spell…. You’re like family.
Tight threads… Keep your fingers busy this winter.
Capt. Ray Stachelek
A nice bluefish from Capt. Mike Duclos of Tiderunner Charters
Every now and then you see some neat interesting sites on the water. Late fall we came across a herd of about 100 black bottle nose dolphins off Old Harbor, Block Island. It was like going to the circus watching ’em jump around the boat and playing around with us. They really put on a show.
Dave Pollack probably caught the first bonito in Rhode Island waters this season. On a striper trip off Block Island, Dave nailed this beauty near the end of July fly fishing big water.
It’s always nice to remember a milestone. Joe Herbert has tried for several seasons to catch his first albacore on a fly. Conditions haven’t been that good till this season. Well he cashed in big time this season with several footballs. Even sweeter….. he tied and caught ’em with his own patterns. Now that’s a story to be told!
A very healthy striper from Capt. Mike Duclos of Tiderunner Charters
Watch Hill and Eastern LI Sound
Capt. Mike Duclos of Tiderunner Charter reports:
This was a season to remember. It started with Stripers at Watch Hill and hasn’t slowed down all year. The Stripers were plentiful, with more keeper sized fish caught than in the past few years, the largest a 29# beauty on light tackle by Adam Dorey. We had several Grand Slams during the late season and witnessed more Albies in our waters than I can remember. October’s winds were the cause of more cancellations than we have had in a long time. The flip side of that is that the days out produced record numbers of False Albacore into double digit weights. This past week fishing was slow along the Connecticut coast with water temps dropping and bait heading south; we found fish at the Sluiceway and Gardners, lots of Bluefish in the 8 to 10# size that smashed poppers on the surface and tore apart flies that dared to hook them, savage amusement at its best. Looking forward to the return of the big bass chasing herring at Montauk over the next few weeks. Those days are always a great way to end the season. My thanks to those who shared days on the water with me this season, I look forward to seeing you all in the future. Have a good and safe winter.
Capt Mike Duclos
Tiderunner Charters
I’ll be out there this weekend. I hope you can sneak out too.
Garth
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Mark N. Cahill has been writing and editing for Reel-Time.com since 1995. He started fishing in the mid-1960's and caught his first striper off World's End in Hingham in 1966. From there on in it was an obsession. He loves fishing for tuna, and fly fishing for striped bass. In a pinch, anything with fins will do...
Those are very nice. I love bonito, caching them and cooking them they are great in lots of Spanish recipes. see you out there.