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Horizon II gets a workout!!

2K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  kennebecfly 
#1 ·
Finally got the skunk off and put my new T&T Horizon II to the test. What an awesome rod!!! Handled the 30 knots gusts and 25 knot winds with ease couldn't have done this with my Winston.
Met Paxton on the popular UDL and everyone was hooking up.
The Clave should rock!!!:lildevl:
Every trip I take is a learning experience so here's what worked for me.
Used my dredger (400 Gain Airflo depth finder ) , let the fly sink and lifted it up off the bottom. Wacko fish on . Lost count of how many fish I got. Another thing is to make sure your hooks are sharp. Learned that from Jim Sims.
By the way the Tiemco's never had a problem catching fish . Razor sharp out of the box.
Ron was using an intermediate line and a ray's fly he also had multiple hookups. I'll let him fill you in on the details.
There's nothing like a pig out day to get you going. Will be thinking of this day in Aug . when catching one fish is an accomplishment.
FishHawk:smokin:
 
#4 ·
Yes....FishHawk was into them yesterday. We were both so bundled up for warmth and protection from the winds that despite fishing 40 ft from one another, we didn't recognize each other till I passed by to go to shore to allow some Dunkin Donut coffee that I drank on the drive down....to escape.
Re technique.....My spring confidence fly is still the Ray's fly but in all honesty, I really don't think that flies mattered.....some spin guys were tossing (and catching countless fish) on chartreous plastic baits with bright orange tails and gold flecks no less...can you imagine tying a fly up that looked like that and still be allowed to post on this site?:)
I did use an intermediate line.....casted out, counted to 15, 2 very short back to back strips..pause...repeat...almost all hits were on the pause. Many times there were short hitters.....I found that when that happened, strip hard and fast and bang. Bill on the other hand, sank to the bottom and used a steady retrieve bouncing on the bottom......so pick a recipe.....best bet IMO is to put the fly in the water, experiment and do what works for you that day. Yesterday's fish were very cooperative and forgiving unlike in August on the flats :hihi:
My guess is that the fish were stacked top to bottom yesterday, as at least a dozen times I saw them breaking the surface over about 6 to 8 ft of water.
Didn't see bait...other than our flies. FYI Juro....Surprisingly, the spring flowering shrubs at the Cape are behind those in Paxton (which is 600 ft in elevation above the airport in Worcester...it's highest elevation)..it's the 1st time in 5 years that I've seen the Cape behind here. My guess is that it will be 2 weeks of warmer weather to begin to see fish in the 20 range.
Lastly......this year for the heck of it, I'm calculating cost per fish vs cost per gas (roundtrip).....I'll leave the math out, but yesterday each fish cost 80 cents for my 290 mile round trip :hihi: My guess is that by late August, it will be cheaper to take my wife to Legal Seafoods for an evening dinner each week.
Tight lines all!!
Ron
 
#5 ·
Well my observations on the 'shrubbery' are that the plums are bloomed, the apples too - also the cultured cherry (like the 'weepers') are flowering BUT the big old cherry trees along my work commute (with the thick dark trunks and many seasons in them) are still not popped and so I maintain that the old timer's addage will hold true again, or come close enough for rock and roll.

Not sure why August is taking in the shorts so bad! The thickest shouldered rod-breaking badass bass of the year are coming into their own in August and the bunker arrive in the latter half. Sure late July and early August is tough but where you find the sand eel shoals you will find keeper city. I do best in the surf and alternate flats locations in August although the Monomoy challenge is the 'masters' game then and hard to resist. With the southway closure it's going to be harder than ever but I think some discovery is about to occur.

From then on these fish in peak health will terrorize bait through the end of the migration southward. So if you cost it out by the pound it might not be so bad :wink:

It wasn't until the dog days that we explored the Tip Rip, and my first excursion to the mecca was during the dog days - and I landed several keepers into the 40" class while leaving time to row back to the truck before 9am.

The original big girl days were dog days, and the group landed several into the 40" class in the same amount of time.

The channel is diverted to the south again this year, like the Big Girl year except now some of us will be throwing 600 grain type 8 heads 140 feet into the rip with foot long deep eels.

It's going to be a GREAT august IMHO
 
#6 ·
Twinkies galore....

Like Fishhawk and Paxton, fished early yesterday AM in Chatham- pulled into the lot in front of the light just after 5:30 AM, then hiked down to the first cut through the upper South Beach dunes to the top of the tub. Unloaded the Airflo intermediate line on my Atlantis and tied on a small herring fly. Into twinkies of 18-20" from practically first cast to last over a two hour period; lost count- at least 2O-25 fish brought to hand, with others self-releasing. Would have been even more but for the time untangling the line at times, and the time readjusting my cap to keep it from blowing off my head. Then took a hike over to the surf side to marvel at the structure the winter storms have created (see pics), and make a few casts. No fish caught on that side as yet, although there were sure alot of fishy looking spots with the outgoing tide. Big girls should be here by the time of the Clave!:biggrin:
Flydoc
 

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#7 ·
Reminds me of area #7 on Nauset a few years ago... sight fishing on the ocean side mid-day! Img #3 - you can see the bluff and North beach... any shots from the lighthouse lately? Just curious to see if the channel still runs along the south side.
 
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