BAY GOES BANANAS

June 12, 2003 - I just completed a rather long conversation with Brewster resident, John Amiro, and he echoed the sentiments of virtually every fly angler we've interviewed that has had the opportunity to fish Cape Cod Bay during the previous few days. Unbelievable! John is off to the finest start in his many years of canvassing the Bay with special attention focused on the outer reaches of Barnstable Harbor, Corporation Beach and the ever-popular Brewster Flats area.

Mainly boat fishing, Amiro has had is best success on larger fish while incorporating 325 grain lines and gummy sand eels, a popular new pattern that has been introduced by Umpqua Feather Merchants of Oregon. This is not the only positive response we've received concerning this exciting new imitation. Area resident, John Martello's claim that he was the only long- rodder able to entice linesiders while wading the Ogunquit, Maine shoreline only goes to solidify it's effectiveness. Martello beamed as his related the events of this past weekend, purchased a new 10 wt., grabbed another handful of gummies, and repeated his pilgrimage northward. Can't wait to get the results of his latest exploits.

O'NEIL GETS SCHOOLED, OR DID HE?
And so the fable goes. Cape angler, Dave Armstrong, was gracious in his invitation to life-long friend and NJ resident, Shawn O'Neil, to spend a weekend at his Cape Cod rental in Chatham. Shawn had never taken a striper on a fly rod and the month of June seemed like the perfect opportunity to cut his teeth on some Morris Island stripers. As the friendly taunting between the two young fishermen grew in magnitude, I had no clue as to the success of each angler. Had Armstrong displayed his prowess as a season veteran, or had O'Neil experienced a bit of beginners luck and taken his mentor to task. As the cliché goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words."
On a serious note, later that weekend Shawn hooked and landed a gorgeous 31" Nauset striper on a sand eel pattern. Armstrong can't deny this monumental achievement since I bore witness to the event. Suffice it to say we have yet another saltwater fly-fishing zealot among the ranks.

THE FLATS
Fishing for both species has been spectacular when the weather has cooperated. Both North Mononoy Island and South Beach have seen major pushes of fish with stripers averaging in the mid-20's and many bluefish exceeding 30". Larger linesiders are already displaying their mid-summer propensity to ignore flies and are certainly a challenge to even experienced flats rats. Water temperatures remain very cool considering we are now approaching mid-June and it is my hope that this will have a positive effect as we enter early summer.

Just a tip. We have entered a period when fly size should be a consideration when sight fishing. You will achieve more success with diminutive patterns in the 2-6 range than your more typical 1/0 and 2/0 searching patterns.

Good fishing and safe wading,
JB