So that's what a blueback herring really looks like. I took a shot of a dead one a few years back that had got caught up in a dropping tide and was in the bushes along the river. This one was a fresh and feisty specimen snagged by a guy next to me on a retrieve. It shows me that my flies need lots of body, or the illusion of body, when I present my offerings. To me, that is a big bait to mimic with a fly.
It was yesterday I headed up river looking to find fish that are feeding in fly fishy water. When I went tight I thought I had a nice striper on by it was a distant-second cousin twice removed smallmouth bass. Feisty fish these are. I usually catch a nicer one early in the striped bass season. So now things are falling into pace.