PREVIEW 2009 April 7, 2009 - With the exception of a few mudders being taken in larger estuaries and rivers to the south, there's really nothing to report on the catching front. Prior to one of our seminars a week age, Ed Lombardo reported witnessing a rather significant "roll" in the vicinity of 2nd bridge on the Narrows River in Rhode Island. If that's not enough to get your blood boiling you must be a bait fisherman. The general consensus among many saltwater fly anglers was a distinct decline in striped bass population, particularly evident as we progressed into the meat of the season. But was this actually the case? While most of the doom-and-gloom originated from land-based and wading anglers, this was certainly not the case with boaters. One of the distinct advantages of fly shop ownership is the ability to solicit data from a large cross section of anglers, then drawing conclusions regarding the health of a specific fishery. It is our opinion that the "only fair" reports originating from most fly anglers throughout late spring and on into the summer season was simply due to lack of mobility and not due to diminishing striper population. In essence, the migration habits of the North Atlantic striped bass was certainly altered and we will speculate it was due to the lack of sufficient forage, specifically within the immediate coastline. We queried countless fly anglers with boat access and their success directly contrasted reports received from their land based brethren. I more than once feel victim to the comment "best striper year of my life." Fly Rod & Reel Magazine's conservation editor, Ted Williams, pitched the observation "what's happening on Montauk this fall is epic." So what can we expect for 2009? Let us use the cliché "only time will tell." Will striped bass resume more normal migration habits or once again revert to bluer water, we can only speculate. Then again, there's always bluefish. Good fishing
and safe wading, |
