06.22.17 It's okay to be home again.......

     I had to ask. "Baby, I know its pushing it but can I go fishing tomorrow morning?. Answer, "Sure".
Before I left for the Vineyard Joe Pheifer had gave me a crab fly to use. I remember seeing Bill Massey and Bill Hoblitzell using crab flies in the summer months and I never really gave it a shot with any heart. I always thought of them for sight fishing but not in the bigger surf.

   
This morning I filled up the truck with water and was down by 5 am. I came out firing throwing a nice white Hollow Fleye working the beach and rocks without a tap. I saw Richie who said "We have great water and tides all week, then you came home". He told me the fish have been reddened or bleeding under their jaw, a sign that they are rooting around for food.

Joe Pheiffer photo

     Not getting a tap and just as the tide turned I put on a Joe's Crab Fly and went to work. Cast, slow retrieve, bam. I landed three nice bass and had Andy in the area who took a few picks. One thing that's nice is fishing crab flies takes the quick casts and fast retrieves away and makes it nice and slow and slightly more technical. It made me feel okay to have be home from the Vineyard. 

     One thing is different about crab flies in the surf or trough, the bass hit it like a train, inhale it, and can take it deep. Make sure you have a pair of longer hemostats to safely remove the hooks, and crush the barbs otherwise you';; make them bleed as you try and jam your fist in their throat to remove your fly. 

     Truck update. Looks like a water pump, power steering pump, and the long belt that powers everything. Should be up and running tomorrow.

06.21.17 Day 6 MV......Had to limp home early and the fish that got away......

     So this morning I woke up with two things on my mind. Truck and fish. I headed to Edgartown to see how the truck and the temperature gauge would act. Halfway there it was leaning to hot and in addition to the half and half I went for I grabbed some antifreeze and some power steering fluid. On the way back to the house I decided that I would fish for a few hours and then leave a day, well two days, early. The guys are leaving Friday and had sunny skies today, and will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Bob Coffe and Fleye today was a crab fly he tied up for me.

      

   

     When I got down to the water I figured I wouldn't be acting long. The long walk to my spot had outgoing with a steady wind and gray clouds. I looked at best I could and only saw one fish swim over the bar from pond to the channel. But as I looked up I could see blue skies over Lobsterville. I thought that maybe I would have a small window, but by the time the sun would poke the water would be down. 

     I walked the edges making my way to the truck but then the clouds were gone. Raher than go back to where I was I walked along the pond and onto a great flat. I looked and walked and saw nothing. I turned around and was ready to call it quits. I started thinking about getting packed and what headache this truck could cause me.
     I was about 1500 feet from my truck looking in the water and black rocks, that didn't move, and then I saw the fish. It was coming at me. I had a sinking line on, because of the wind storm on the other side, and thought it would just spook. I laid out my cast, the fish came to the Joe Pheiffer crab, it paused, I couldn't actually see the eat, I lifted, felt the weight, it shook its head, and was gone. The fish that got away.

     So I decided since the sun was out that the other spot would be great. More honking wind and no water. As I walked to my truck I looked from the black top and even contemplated going back on that flat one more time. Did I leave fish to find fish? In the end I tipped my hat and was gone.

     I limped my way home. I left Aquinah at 1230 and arrived home at 1045. More antifreeze and stops than I could count. Bob filled me in on the day. Fish were caught. Guys got stuck in the mud and couldn't get out, and then others went to help and got stuck too. There was sight fishing to be had today in and out of the clouds and fog. I hope they have fun and do well tomorrow.
     In all their falling in the water and getting stuck they weren't able to get any pics of the nice fish Joe caught so Bob send me the below left photo. I said God Joe is getting to look a lot like Bob. Now mind you I was looking at the pic from the top deck of the ferry in the sun. Then he sent me the original of Bob taken about 10 years ago. They got me, it was good for a bit.
     It was another good trip even with tough conditions and a million tiny fish. Going to school at 50 really screws up a lot of things, and messing with this trip really pisses me off. Hopefully next year I won't have to deal with mandatory gynecological and prostate exams on Martha's Vineyard Day 6 2018.

   

06.20.17 Day 5 MV....Sun came, fish came, drama came.....

     Finally, at 3pm, the sun came out and the clouds went away. However the wind continues to honk making sight fishing difficult, but at least there's sun. Everyone was busy going in different directions today. We started the day with breakfast and Bob's "Coffee and a Fly". It's something he started a few 

trips back and today it was coffee black with a Beast Fleye. Captain Dick and I decided to team up I think he wore a tie-die shirt to match mine. We hit a spot that was easy access and held plenty of fish.

Dick is 79 and still throwing tight loops and putting the fly on a plate. Real fly-fishermen stay fly fisherman when they get slightly older. He adapts and overcomes even casting to fish while taking a break on his handy dandy chair. I love spending time and fishing with the good Captain. 

     We hit the nursery school during recess and got a bakers dozen until the tide had them on the move. Drama #1. As we were leaving and I was double checking my stuff I said to Dick, "I lost my phone". I started walking back and forth on the beach and then realize it must be in the drink. Luckily the tide was on the ebb so it made seeing the bottom a little easier. The place where I fished most was sandy but dotted with small rocks, that were black, like my phone. Don't you know I found it! And it still works. Don't know how many lives this iPhone has but thankfully it must have 9 lives. 

     We had a nice lunch before heading back home where I jumped in my truck and hit Dogfish. I spent some time blind casting before sitting back and relaxing and even dozing off for a bit. When I woke it was still the dead sea so I headed back to the house.......Drama #2. So I look at my dash and

the check gauge light is on and the temperature is pinned to hot. Not good. I have to be back for class at 430 on Thursday or I won't graduate till another year because of the way classes are scheduled. Dick and I checked it out and I filled up the radiator with water...maybe its a leak? It's gonna be a long ride back across the island and to New Jersey. If I can get to the mainland I might just dump it and rent a car.

     Since I didn't know what to do with the truck I asked Dick to drop me off at the pond. About 40 minutes in on my walk the sun popped out and the clouds left. Even thought the wind was still honking, and it was almost the top of the tide, I could still see fish, and even had a few shots at a few. I had two refusals and a bunch of targets, but with the way the sun was the window to see them was tight. Most times they snuck up on me and I couldn't get a good lead-them cast. I shared the beat with an absolute stick who managed one and put on a clinic of casting in tough wind while sight casting.

    The boys did well with Bob and Joe hitting two spots and getting the photo of the trip with Joe and a nice bass in blue-bird skies. Dick hit the beach and broke the ice while blind casting and Bob had a few so everyone is on the board. Around 6 I joined Gerry and Steve as they took the walk to some deeper water that has produced well for them this trip. They had the same class fish as we have been

getting and I fished a small Semper Fleye that got me five little guys. It started to pop as I got the call from Dick that the shuttle would be at the rendezvous point in 15 minutes. Joe topped off a great all around day with a nice late dinner. 

     Tomorrow is my day to get it done if I want to catch a decent fish while sight casting. I have to say my heads not 100% since I have the black cloud of my truck drama hanging over me. 

06.19.17 Day 4 MV...Stevie represents

    Today was the day for moving around and discovering new places. Was up at 530 and out the door. I hit the north side of the island exploring new water and new access to familiar water. I won't name names or spot burn as secrets up here are kept very tight to the vest. Even if you discover your own

new place, it already belongs to someone else. I snooped around Oak Bluffs, East Chop and Edgartown. The smaller fish are all around the island and it seems they prefer the moving inlet and channel water and the protection from bridge abutments and structure. I fished and drove around

 for hours sometimes leaving the well traveled road and taking shot down long dirt roads. I got a little help from a guy I just happen to meet near the water who wasn't fishing and from the guy behind the desk at Larry's. On my way home I stopped in and talked with the herring guys at Aquinnah. They are

tracking the river herring as it moves from Menemsha into Squibnocket Pond. I watched the video showing the previous 24 passage of life including herring, needlefish, bass and a pair of mating horshoecrabs. In the full run it must be a great place to catch big bass that are keyed in on the herring.

     We started the afternoon shift around 330 with Joe hitting Lobsterville, where he saw and flossed a few, me hitting my favorite spit, and Gerry and Steve hitting the deeper moving water. I decided to move around a bit after getting into the smaller fish yet again. The picture below shows what a 4 inch Steve Farrar bend baitfish looks like when a small bass sneaks up on it and takes a bite.

     Gerry and Steve gave me a call for a shuttle but then called to add some time to their session after Stevie represented with a nice 31" bass on the two-handed rod. They put up big numbers of small fish and this one is the first, and hopefully not the last, keeper of the trip. The nasty weather is traveling from west to east overnight so tomorrow is looking snotty. Might just have to give it a go.