Aside from using "caution", I would start with a 4-6" semi-transparent weighted eye sand eel patterns (see archives). If the large don't produce, go smaller. There are enough keepers grubbing sand eels with pink lips right now to persist with the big ones, I personally would stick with them through the whole ebb.
Get there early enough to maximize time before dusk. The channel will still be deep and fast, and you'll need to get the fly down to the sand to get their attention. Sometimes the fish are all over the place and none of this applies. As the current slows to slack, but before slack, you should have good fishing if they are in the channel. Look for fish to be in the trenches at slack.
Mike if you are heading down there tonight you'd better get going... don't even try to fish it on the incoming after dusk! Low is ~8:30 and the level is only -.4 (vs. -1.7 this morning, and -1.9 yesterday AM). My advice: don't try for the outer bar unless you have a kayak or something.
I am considering sneaking out there tomorrow AM... much better tide. Some days, evening is better than morning because of the warmth of the flats in the daylight. Once the summer really gets here the opposite is often true (cooler flats water at night).
Wish I lived there so I could experiment opposing am/pm tides over a sequence of days, months, years to draw some kind of conclusion on this.
Juro, I am going to bring my float tube just in case and if you are going to go out in the AM you might just see me if I can get my lazy butt out of bed. Hope to see you out there!
Forecast calls for a nor'easter - windy, chilly and heavy rain; highs in the mid-fifties with wind 15-25 mph and gusts exceeding 35 mph. Hands may not be able to hold a comfortable temperature without gloves due to the combination of wind and downpours, especially during off hours. Stormy nor'easter winds will make casting hard for mortals like me and may push the water against the shore in ways one might not expect.
Low tide ~9am with -1.4; that part's OK. Maybe the horrendous weather will push the plankton and bait into the shoreline and cause all kinds of carnage at our feet?
Many things to consider, but the biggest concern with inclement weather out on the flats is lightning. It doesn't help to be waving a graphite wand 3/4 mile from shore when you're the tallest thing standing in the water. This type of cold front is not likely to bring lightning so we're OK there.
It'll be a fleece and raingear kind of day; granny fingers and water trickling down the front of the shirt. Marshside's hash and eggs or french toast will be really good afterwards.
Good safety measure but I don't think you'll get anywhere with a float tube in those conditions if you try to get around in it. At least the wind will blow you inshore instead of out to sea.
Ideal thing to do is choose another day... but what the heck, I'll be there ~3 hours before the low if I can manage to sneak away. I'll be in the Paine's Lot and will hope to cross to the outer bar to put the wind off my casting shoulder. Green Toyota pickup, no guarantee I can make it but it's a pretty good possibility.
If you feel like the guy in the space program testing G-force tolerance when you feel the wind coming off the bay, you should run down rte 134 to the sound side to salvage your getting out of bed, mid-cape will offer a number of options. Or run east to Welfleet or Morris Island (walk around). My experience has been that a strong off-shore can put the bait out of reach and the fish go with it. Estuaries have still been holding fish, and it's been cold over the last 24 hours - so they would be good options if the southside shoreline is not producing.
No I didn't think it was worth fighting the nasty winds this morning. Yesterday eve was windy enough for me (10-15 gusting to 20). I fished the flats and made for the outer bar with little luck. I managed to catch a sand eel and I'm going to be altering my pattern to include a little bit of olive. It was about 6 inches in length and olive on top, silverish/white on the sides and bottom. I must get out there more often. It looks great!
Mike
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