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Monomoy Island - Sight Fishing the Flats - CAPE COD Chatham, MA.

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Monomoy Island - Sight Fishing the Flats - CAPE COD Chatham, MA.
Part 3

Baitology:

Matching the Hatch: is just as important in the saltwater as in the freshwater. Look into the water. Size, shape, silhouette, profile, action, density, color are all
important features of bait and the flies we use to imitate. Natural colors are the best during July and August.

When I used to guide for trout, the first thing I would do before wetting my line would be to study the shoreline. Id let mother nature tell me what fly I should be
using. Id look at spider webs, underside of leaves, tops of rocks and sometimes underneath them. Fishing the flats is no different.

Next time your out; look on the shallow edges of the water. The bait you see is the fly you should try.

Ever thrown a fly that was so thin, small and sparsely dressed that it almost resembled a bare hook? If you’re on the flats in July and Aug. you should be.

You’ll notice small sand colored shrimp ½ in., chubs 1-4 in., 1-5 in. sand lances, silversides 1 ½ - 3 in., and crabs – dime to silver dollar size. Try to duplicate
coloration and profile w/ your fly selection.

I’ve been watching 10-20 lb. bass feeding on all the above. Study of bait fish and their imitations is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle when casting to
educated resident bass on the flats in July and Aug. in 1-3 feet of water at high noon. A great book to help you is called, Saltwater Naturals and Their Imitations.
Fishing the Cape has a large inventory of this book as well as others to help open up the incredible world of inshore Saltwater Fly-Fishing.

Natural fleeing reaction:

Matching the natural fleeing reaction of bait is an important ingredient to successfully fooling big stripers on the flats, and will usually mean the difference between
hooking up or not

Ever thought about the variety of ways different bait react when fleeing or escaping a predator? All the above-mentioned bait flee differently. Try stepping on a
shrimp or throw a pebble into a school of bait and watch the speed, pauses and darting movements they make as they swim away. Scare a crab and it will normally
borrow itself into the sand and stay still. This action should become a normal tactic when imitating different species of bait. The action you impart to the fly should
imitate the naturals exactly to be consistently successful.

Does the bait borrow itself into the sand for protection on the flats?

Sand lances — I use a Orvis Depth Charge fast sinking line w/ a weighted fly ( clouser) and drag it along the sandy bottom, using a 1 handed fast strip in 1 ½ ft.
strips. This imitates the natural’s fleeing movement as well as where it tries to hide. What I’m trying to do with the fly is drag it into the sand so it puffs up clouds of
sand. This technique helps when casting to big bass when.

1.They re not feeding aggressively
2.Casually scouting for food.
3.Not in a hurry to feed.

This leisurely approach to feeding normally occurs when there is no moving water, or when the tides are not running hard.

Look for chapter 4 next week.

--------------------------------------------------

Wish you were here:
The biggest problem with fishing at this time of the year is how hard these fish are fighting. The schoolies are hitting and fighting as hard as the keepers! It is almost
too
much work, to call this a sport! Ha.


Happy Hookin;

Randy Jones

*** Get it while it’s HOT. Daily “Virtual Fishing Reports” with “daily virtual photos”. Hot off the press! ***
 
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