This blog is discontinued.

I have started a new blog (Going to the water).  Please check it out.

Jamaica Bay

Since I guess the early season striper crowding the Little Neck Bay is over,
I have started fishing in Jamaica Bay.
I'll go to Breezy Point this coming weekend to see what's happening.

Little Neck Bay （Ⅵ）

My haiku:
Saturday strong north wind
Rough murky water
No fish, still fun

Last week I saw bunkers jumping in the Bay and I was not sure why.
So this week I tied some large 8-inch bunker imitation flies just in case stripers might be chasing them.
I could barely cast them out 25 yards in the side wind.
But when I casted them out in the same direction of the wind, these bulky flies could ride on the wind and go quite far away for their sizes.
 I hope I'll have a chance to catch some large fishes with these large flies.
 It will be very exciting.

Little Neck Bay （Ⅴ）

On Sunday I started fishing at my usual spot in Little Neck Bay at 5:30am.
High tide came at 6:30am.
No one was there yet.
The water surface was like the glass of a mirror.
This morning was so quiet that I wondered if I would catch any fish.

But it turned out to be wonderful.
After the peak of high tide, I started catching stripers
and continued catching them until around 9 o'clock.
It was unusual for me to catch basses up to half way of the low tide at this spot.

When I was leaving, I saw many fishes jumping in the middle of the Bay.

In the evening I came back to fish on the other side of the Bay and saw the ones jumping were bunkers.
My fly even snagged a 10-inch bunker.
I don't know why they were jumping.
Was a big striper chasing them?  It couldn't be.

I caught only two baby stripers this evening.

Little Neck Bay （Ⅳ）

I fished in the Bay again today.
As the high tide came at 2:00 pm,
I started fishing around 12:30 pm.
The wind was blowing from the mouth of the bay toward the back.
When I took my usual fishing spot at the back of the bay, it was swollen with water because the wind had pushed the water there.
A shower seemed to be coming at any moment.
I thought these were favorable conditions and gave hints of fish presence.
In addition, only a few fishermen were around and it was the most important condition for good fishing.
In a short time I caught a few stripers.
                                                                                   When the shower began, I had to leave because my
                                                                                    hands got very cold.                        

These flies work well, I think because these flies with most of their weights on their heads make twitching movement better.

Little Neck Bay （Ⅲ）

                                I finally got a striper today in Little Neck Bay.
                                The first one always means a lot to me after a long off season.

Little Neck Bay 2012 (Ⅱ)

                 I went to Little Neck Bay fishing early last Saturday morning.
                 When I got there, a plug fisherman had already taken the fishing spot where I had many  
                 good times before.
                 I fished a little away from him because I tried not to bother him with my long rod and line.
                 He caught 5~6 striped bass one after the other.

                 Fishes were in the Bay!!

                 But they were not on my side.  I got nothing.

                 The next day I woke up early again and  made sure I got that nice fishing spot no matte what.                                    
                 Guess what I saw when I got there; 7~8 fishermen had already crowded in that spot.
                 The fisherman of  yesterday probably told everyone, so they were here really early.
                 Unfortunately nothing happened to anybody.
                 Fishes were in the Bay, but they didn't come to the spot.
                 Well, maybe too many fishermen scared the fishes away.
                 Gradually everyone left and I was the only one who still kept trying.

Little Neck Bay 2012

                                                I have started my fishing season in Little Neck Bay today.
                                                 But fish seems not ready yet.

    

                                        I stopped by Jackson Hole Diner for lunch after fishing.
                                       The Diner's TV screen showed that NY Knicks lost again and it was the fifth in a row.
                                        That sounds like inshore fly fishing, doesn't it?

The 2012 Season Is Coming.

I am ready for the new season!

Montauk 2011

I fished at Montauk last Saturday.
It verifies to me that fishing around the Montauk point is not easy for fly fishers.
If someone recommend surf fly fishing there, I'd say he is not honest or doesn't know what he is talking about.
The chance of success there is slim and it requires a lot of luck.
Am I still going there?  Yes!

Sandy Hook 2011 (Ⅲ)

There was not much action in the Sandy Hook point last Saturday.
High tide came at noon.
I fished from around 11:00 o'clock to evening.

I felt the receding water from the bay was warm.
I guess many fishes have headed more to the north; I may too.

Sandy Hook 2011 (Ⅱ)

I went to Sandy Hook again last Saturday  and fished the receding tide from early morning till noon.
I tried Scientific Angler 750 grain fast sinking shooting head line for my 13-weight spey rod.
The line went well with the rod.  It becomes my fastest sinking system.
I fished like wet fly fishing in the tidal current to make the fly swing like other fly fishermen in Sandy Hook Point.
I caught one school bass.










In the evening, I came back to fish for two hours each before and after high tide at 6:00 pm.
I got a few hickory shads only.
Two plug fishermen who looked experienced, were fishing a little away from me and caught a large striper each.
It seemed to them catching the keepers was not unusual.
They looked happy, but not like crazily joyful I was.
I was fishing at the corner of Sandy Hook Point and casting to the north while they were fishing 50-yard away from the corner and casting to the east.
I liked to fish near their spot, but I couldn't because the wind came from the south and on my right.
As I am a right-sided caster, it would be difficult for me to cast far distance.

I need to practice the left side casting.
For a right-sided caster, it supposes to be easier to learn left side casting with the two-handed rod than to learn left hand casting by the right hander with the single-handed rod.
Regardless, the two-handed rod demands a lot of work, but I am sure using the two-handed rod in the surf makes the surf fly fishing more effective.

Hey man, I still have a long way to go!

Sandy Hook 2011

My saltwater fishing season started in Little Neck Bay., NY.  Sandy Hook, NJ was next.

I fished in Sandy Hook point two previous Saturdays.

I saw about 10 fly fishermen on the first Saturday.  It was unusual to see that many.
They didn't catch any fish, nor did I, except
one fly fisherman.
He caught one small striper and one large keeper.
He said to me, "30-foot deep here! Sink it!  Sink it!  Sink it!"
The way he fished was like nymph fishing.

After casting, he walked along the beach following his line drifted by the tidal current with his rod tip high up to sink the fly deep down.

To prepare the following Saturday's fishing, I made flies using lead wire to make them sink quickly.
I know Clouser minnow is a good deep sinker,
but it is not durable.  I don't prefer it anymore.

 

                             Last Saturday, high tide came at 11:30 am.

                             I caught several fishes from early afternoon to evening.

                             I think the heavy weighted flies helped a lot.
                             I tried that guy's method, but I had no success with his way.    

                             In this afternoon, sea birds were very busy too.

Shooting Spey Casting

The over head casting of fly fishing needs back space,
especially with two-handed rod casting.
But it is not always possible.
In Little Neck Bay where I fished this early spring, the back space is limited.

To tackle this problem, I have been practicing the shooting spey casting which is the variation of the perry poke casting.  The shooting spey casting requires special rods and lines and I have them.
The line can be shot quite far away easily.




My shooting spey casting has improved a bit.

Little Neck Bay 2011 ( Ⅱ )

I

It was an usual weekday evening at Crocheron Park in Little Neck Bay.

But for fishing,  it seemed the best day.
It was cloudy and the high tide came at sundown.

I got a keeper for the first time.

Little Neck Bay 2011

The swan couple is here this season as usual.

First Fishing, First Catch!
The stripers have already started migrating to the Long Island Sound.
Little Neck Bay is the first place to go for them.

My newly designed flies work well.