Early Summer Fishing Action

Part of fishing for a long time is appreciating when a specific tactic works. For me topwater lures on spinning gear are about as exciting as fishing can get. Not as great as catching a fish on a fly and watching them take the fly but a very close and exciting second.

This week I had a few opportunities to see specific tactics work as I hoped. On a fly fishing trip for stripers we were striking out until the tide had filled of the very shallow coves that I like to fish. First a couple of fish flashed by the flies I had tied on for the clients. A change of one fly brought a fish to the net and a switch of fly for the second rod resulted in a quick hook up. Very rewarding as a guide to be able to see what was happening and make the adjustment that made my clients successful.

The next morning I had grandparents with a couple of their grandchildren and a low tide. No getting up into the back of the cove on this trip! I pulled up to the outside edge of a clam flat and made a demonstration cast with a surface popper and was hooked up immediately with a nice fish. They managed several others over the course of the morning all on the surface.

On my Friday morning freshwater bass fishing trip, I decided to see if the freshwater bass would react like the stripers had to a lure on the surface. One cast and clearly the answer was yes.

So here we are in the middle of June with more good fishing opportunities than I can take advantage of on any given day. I am feeling very fortunate!