Nice to be back up and early and out in the salt. Hit the beach around 5am on the outgoing tide and had perfect conditions. Nice swell, lots of white water and lots of current. Surely I thought the bass would be there. Made two casts and my fly got bit by this 24 inch fluke. Went back at it and worked my way up and down the groin before calling it a quick morning.
After getting home and preparing the fish for the freezer I wanted to see what the fish were on. This fish was caught off the groin but close to the trough and along the rip formed by the outgoing tide. Makes sense, to me, a big old fluke positioned under the current waiting for the crabs to be flushed out of the rocks or the trough out into deeper water. Might be time to drop some crab flies in the wash.
Like the Upper Delaware this has been a weird spring. Up there it's big water, then no water, big winds and then no winds, sporadic bugs and lots of bugs, no heads then too many heads. Down here its big bass miles out off the beach on bunker with not much in the surf. Seems like there's micro bass around when they are outside of the occasional schoolie to keeper size or one of the few blitzes that have happened on bunker.
Anglers are trying to figure out what's up. Lack of bait, lack of fish, beach replenishment?? It's definitely work when you get out there, but since when is fishing work, really?
