Fly Fishing Forum banner

SBNext Tuesday

2K views 15 replies 6 participants last post by  jimS 
#1 ·
Planning on heading out to SB next Tuesday from the Lighthouse and up to/beyond Rip Ryder drop off. Fishing the surf the way up. Anyone planning on going Tues. Will wait on weather, esp. wind direction. Company will be appreciated.
Ron
PS: If anyone fishing this weekend finds the surf fishing dead, please write. It's too long a drive to just get arm exercise
:D
 
#2 ·
Tuesday at SB

Did SB (outside) from the Lighthouse to beyond Rip Ryder dropoff.
No bait, no birds (except for those sleeping on the beach), no fish caught or even sighted. Beach was totally dead, hard to believe that in 6 miles of walking, nothing was seen. Only saw one seal...of course he "walked" with me up the beach for about 2 miles before he even lost interest:hehe:
Hope for all of us that it was just a bad day and not that it's over or that the fish are going to avoid the outside on the way back to their southern winter condos.
I'd like to think that they were just glued to CNN to watch the results of the California election. Went Bayside (Sandwich area) on the way home...viewed the expanse of a couple of beaches....flat as glass and not a bird, nor action seen.
Wish better results to anyone going there this coming weekend!
Ron
 
#4 ·
Fished there this past weekend in the wind for the last trip of the year. Saw lots of birds on the ocean side and one good size blitz early in the am which did not last long. There are fish but not too many . You might want to rethink you plans unless someone else advises you otherwise. I was fishing the outgoing on a minus tide.
FishHawk
 
#5 ·
Outgoing on a minus tide, particularly on the start of the ebb, would be best fished where bunker (which is thick in the region) is being flushed from an area where they wandered on the flood. This includes many areas in the South Beach complex, Pleasant Bay inside Nauset Beach and Ministers, and the south side river mouths and bay inlets like Stage Harbor.

There is also a sand eel die-off phenomenon that may have passed but it puts very good bass (#15-20#) on the bottom (right smack on the sand ala big girl bar) in fast current requiring a certain presentation technique that reveals little as to it's effectiveness until you feel a dull heavy weight and that pull turns into a ripping drag sound and then you see backing. This is a recipe for BIG fall fish.

Silversides are still very thick on the North Shore so they'll be pushing down in shoals as well, escorted by bass and birds along shore past the waveline.

Bayside's a very good call this time of year... Bass Hole / Chase Garden Creek at the end of Chapin. I've fished it for many years and the place is dead as a doornail until the water starts to drain and all hell breaks loose for hours if the fish were there lying in waiting for the ebb. The blue hole can be chock full of bait and if that's the case there are stripers below them without fail even if they are not active they are there. I find that even with bunker around in that case a sand eel dropped deep into the shoreward edge of the hole produces fish after fish... the current pulls the fly deep into the glide at the lip of the hole but once the meelee begins go for the juvie pattern.

Inside SB the way to go is to find spots like J-bouy's rip area where fish can station and feed facing the outgoing current. Since August when the bunker came in I have hit big fish every time at that bar on the drop without fail, and other subtle trap zones have produced some phenomenal action. Last year I took several big fish in these traps long after Rip Ryder was done for the season, pushing into November. The bunker were 3-4" long by then and the fish were eating individuals making them suckers for the juvie fly.

The structures around the lighthouse are best fished, not to sound like a broken record, on the incoming tide about 1/3 tide and up. You do best when they are rushing in because they are more prone to eat but even toward full they are scrummin' around in the basin.

On the big beaches stripers will 'hole up' in good structure if the trend has been for bait to pass in large groups with consistency. Outgoing creates north-to-south current most spots along SB so look for tide compression against bars, humps, bowls, etc.

It could also be that shoals of fish were migrating left to right quietly under the waves, they tend to do nothing but swim when in that mode. A cast made in their path requires only a single strip to get tight, if in fact your fly is in their path. They will not move from the pack very far to take a fly.

I'll be scouting soon for what is probably my last guide trip of the season, and am confident I will not have to change my usual October routine due to lack of fish. SB is far from done, but the fishing is different. It has been since the start of the changeover in August. There are BIG fish to be had for the shore flyfisher, but they require a different approach than the summer fish.


Damn I need to get down there - winter's coming fast!
 
#6 ·
Guess I showed my inexperience re surf protocal:(
Arrived at the Lighthouse around 9 a.m. and "fished" till 2:30. High was around 11:00 a.m. So basically, I did everything wrong regarding being there at the right time! I obviously am in my flats mode, arriving at a time that allows for the most water.
Juro, I just printed your info response and will attempt to "follow the plan" the next time. If ever your looking for a surf newbie for company to the fall experience let me know. In the mean time I need to study and plan my next trip for the "right" time. Thanks for Chatper 6 "Fall Surf Success" (sub-title: This Ain't The Flats Paxton!!!!" )
Ron
 
#7 ·
Ron, I didn't intend any such implication, I was just spouting off since I can't practice what I preach. There is no reason why your timing did not produce, I just wanted to know what tides you were fishing when you saw nothing, and also to Fishhawk's report. Fishing is unreliable by nature but fun and a real kick when things work out, eh?

Why just the weekend before over on the north flats off South Monomoy your flats acumen would have been in vogue for sure. It was all about the flats over there. I saw fish immediately and landed a legal on my second cast and dropped another a few casts later in the backing. Flats behavior, although long turned off on South Beach, was still in full tilt on that structure across the way 2 weekends ago. It's probably the last stand in the refuge for that kind of behavior before things change completely. It was a real eye-opener and we should hit that each year after the other flats shut down.

Anyway, I am convinced there's no such thing as a sure thing in fishing, just possibilities. We're lucky to have such possibilities on our doorstep!
 
#9 ·
Juro....I was not offended at all. I was just poking fun at my surf ignorance. Your informational replies are always helpful and MOST welcomed. I've developed knowledge and with that, more confidence, on the flats....the surf is a new deal for me. Learned a lot re reading water from Jim S the other week and always willing to learn more. I must admit that I am totally addicted to this sport and even had fun just being out there yesterday despite my results. Next time out there, I may just station myself on the outgoing at J bouy bar :D and be in familiar surroundings. Of course, I will fish the last 3 hrs of the incoming at the Lighthouse and then pony up to J bouy.

John.....don't know if your notice re fishing Morris/Hardings next week was an offer or not to hook up, but if it was, just email me...I'm available almost anytime thanks to a supportive wife:D
Either way, I do plan on going next week and will most likely stay over and fish 2 days....I am not looking forward to Winter and staring out at the snow!
Ron:
 
#14 ·
Dave, we are not playing here... this is man's business and quite serious... this could be dangerious! If you feel up to it..then ... join in... but I must remind you of the dangers that can creep up on you, ...sink holes, large preditor fish, wild natives, lack of food and water, far from Larry's PX and the Super Stop and Shop, unpredicatable weather conditions, stinging star fish, Carniverious silversides, hords of giant bunker..... so ,it's your choice, but never, never, ask if you can play...:devil: ;)
 
#15 ·
Had to catch up on field testing today. Got one around 32", plus some schoolies. Missed a submarine on the flats, the only fish I saw and the only cast I made on the inside. Not a good test of the latest all-arounder, but the surf side was cake with the 325 grain QD and the single backcast. Massive bunker swarms on the lighthouse beach, some approaching 4" long now. I saw some big pogies flipping on the south side while scouting but did not fish around them. Shoals of birds on the Brewster flats would imply the presence of bait, didn't have time to fish that either. With big stuff still up on the north shore and Plymouth, both the bayside and outer beach should light up in the weeks to come. The water felt warm for this time of year. My guess is that the next 2-3 weeks will be in usual migration form, today the beach was relatively quiet but you could pop one now and then if you knew where to swim the fly.

Sorry about no notes or phone calls, last minute thing I drove almost as much as I fished. Would've gone to Magnolia but it's just about the same distance for me.
 
#16 ·
Wednesday/Thursday

John, I'll give you a call Tuesday night reference linking up with you and Ron. Ideal tides for fishing outgoing at Stage Harbor in early a.m.

I'll be on the bayside Tuesday in hopes of intercepting the migration from Plymouth and north.

Simms
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top