SB BLUES

June 12, 2002 - To quote Captain Keith Lincoln of the Monomoy Island Ferry Service…"this is the best start to a fishing season I have seen in many years." We all concur.

This past weekend I had my first opportunity of the season to peruse a favorite flat on South Breach in Chatham and despite less than optimum conditions the fishing was memorable. With literally no visibility due to a steady diet of passing thunderstorms and a reseeding tide that would eventually limit my stay, my initial intention was merely to inspect the terrain that had been altered by the previous winter.

My arrival was received by immense groups of "tailing" bluefish in shin deep water the size of which I have never witness in 40 years of fly fishing. These fish were not of the ilk that display utmost selectivity as is the case when found under similar circumstances but came readily to the fly. By the time the tide played itself out, 9 choppers came to my hand, all in the 34-36" range and a sturdy 12 pounds. Rounded out the bag with 3 linesiders, 2 of which preceded the legal limit. Considering the fact that each individual required nearly 15 minutes to dispatch from hook-up to release, and the bass somewhat less, a fish was literally attached to the business end of my leader throughout the entire session.

In the event you have yet to do so we would encourage you to explore the possibilities the Chatham area offers. While it may involve two or three visits to get up to speed regarding your sight fishing skills, the rewards exceed anything you will encounter throughout your career as a fly fishing angler. If you need information on tides, shuttles, parking, directions or other particulars please feel free to contact Jim Bender @ 508.752.4004 or jbender@gis.net.

THE PENGUIN
Just received an enthusiastic call from Pete "The Penguin" Gray of West Yarmouth fame and he related some rather interesting news. Seems like the "flightless one" has grown back his wings and rode shotgun in a small aircraft in an attempt to do a little aerial recognizance in search of big fish along the Cape's south side. His enthusiasm bubbled as he recounted viewing acres of cruising, generously proportioned stripers just off the Hyannis breakwater. Pete recommends viewing http://coast.mit.edu/index.map for a more precise view of the area.

THE SHOESTRING
Mike Peluso of Oakham recently reported of the excellent outing he experienced while fishing out of his "Grand Laker". Mike toured the areas of Simons Narrows and Shoestring Bay in Maspee and took numerous stripers and blues in some exceptionally skinny water. Cotuit Bay was not quite as generous as he and a companion laborer for only a few fish.

UP NORTH
Len Renauld of Sterling and Charlie Peters of Worcester have been haunting the mouth of the Merrimack River. On successive outings the anglers actually became exhausted from tussling with 26-30" stripers and had to take a sabbatical from the action. We are receiving similar reports from wading anglers frequenting the Plum Island area as well. As you may have noticed saltwater angling is now in full swing. It essentially becomes a question of reliable weather patterns, which to date have been somewhat inconsistent. Once things settle down a bit and warmer weather prevails we would expect splendid fishing to be more predictable.

Good fishing and safe wading,

JB