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?

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.

Little Neck Bay 2010 (Ⅲ)

This weekend in Little Neck Bay was great. I fished on Friday evening, Saturday morning and evening.

Friday evening was a fishing extravaganza. No fishermen were there when I started fishing at 6 o'clock. I caught a bass with either the first cast or second. More than 10 basses were caught one after the other, size range from 10 inches to 15 inches. The 10-inch one was the smallest bass I have ever caught.
I think these small basses like to group in a very tight circle and they swim and hunt together. So when I casted in an accurate direction and range, I could catch them one by one.

It might be the reason that last weekend the lure fishermen and I couldn't catch any fish but the fly fisherman in the boat and the bait fishermen could catch the fish.

I got a fat 16-inch bass on Saturday morning.

On Saturday evening the place where I always fish was crowded with at least 10 lure fishermen. There was no room for a spey rodder as he needs some space for safety. So I went farther to the back of the bay to fish. Anyway no one seemed to catch any fish.
That was a big contrast from the Friday evening. Even though the conditions: time, tide and weather, are similar to the day before, fish didn't come.

Little Neck Bay 2010 (Ⅱ)

I fished in the Little Neck Bay last Saturday and Sunday. The high tide came at around 1:45 pm and 2:30 pm respectively, so I started fishing after lunch both days.

Saturday was cloudy. I caught a small bass around 4 o'clock.

Sunday was cloudy too, but once in a while the sun came out.

On this breezy day, the water was rough. The wave stirred up the mud in the bay bottom and the water became cloudy.

I saw only bait fishermen caught small basses. We, the fly and lure fishermen caught nothing.

I thought maybe the cloudy water limited a fish's sight, so it had to rely on smell.

However, a fly fisherman on a boat caught a few basses and was not far away from where I stood.

Then I cannot come up with an explanation why I and other lure fishermen could not catch any fish. The reason cannot be cloudy water or distance.

The only explanation I have maybe there are still some hidden factors that I have not yet known.

Little Neck Bay 2010

The striper action has started in Little Neck Bay as early as the third week of March. I fished in the bay on March 26, my first outing, and saw a lure fisherman who was fishing next to me caught a keeper. Since then I have fished there five times already and caught a tiny one only. The new season begins with hope and frustration as usual.

My goals of this season are to achieve the overhead casting from my left side and the shooting spey casting more effectively.

Little Neck Bay 2

I have fished in Little Neck Bay ten times but have not gotten any fish. It seems this is the realty of salt water fishing - so much effort and no fish; or is it my bad luck?

Last Sunday was my last attempt. After I finished for the day and was about to leave the parking area of Crocheron Park, a guy asked me how my fishing was and checked out my fishing tackle. He commented in his broken English, "This rod, you, no good ???." I guess his meaning is that using only one rod is not an effective way to catch fish. I see many fishermen use two rods or more, bait and lure, at the same time to increase their chances.

When I fish side by side with them, sometimes I wander what they think about me or other fly fishermen. Everyone can see that fly fishermen have a big disadvantage. They cannot cast their lines as far as the bait/lure fishermen who probably roll their eyes and say, " What the hell are they doing?" I cannot help asking myself the same question.

I used to fish in the lake using a 8-weight rod, a shooting head and double haul casting for farther distance. But when I started salt water fishing, I realized the limitation of the single handed rod.

I could not reach the distance that I wanted.







Therefore I changed to spey rods. Now I use 10-weight, 15-foot spey rods. They allow me to cast longer distance with less effort. A spey rod is more powerful and useful than a single handed rod in surf fishing. I can have many different casting ways to suit different situations.

Using the spey rod, I feel more comfortable fishing among bait/lure fishermen. Hopefully there are no more rolling eyes.

Little Neck Bay

  I have fished for the last 4 days in a row from Thursday to Sunday in Little Neck Bay.  My friend told me striper action has started in the bay.

  I have never fished in this bay before.  It is quite close to my house, only 20 minutes by car.  It's unlike going to Breezy Point where I always fish and practice,  I have to pay tolls and the fishing permit!  

 

  The bay is pretty calm and not many boat activities which can create bothering wave to shore fishermen.  This lovely bay is like a small lake.  I even forget I am fishing in the salt water.

  Unfortunately I didn't catch any fish in these 4 days. I didn't notice anyone catch any fish for the first 3 days.  But I saw some people around me catch fish on Sunday. I didn't even get any bite of my fly.  So I think the problem was on my part. It might be the sinking head, which was easier to cast in the wind and I retrieved the line very fast otherwise the fly would sink to the bottom quickly.    I  thought striper preys swim away fast when they see their predators.  So it was OK to retrieve the line fast.

When it was almost time to leave on Sunday, I watched the lure fishermen.   They were reeling up their bunker imitations very slowly.  Maybe that is the way to fish here.  I will try the same way next time retrieving slowly the floating or intermediate line. 

  

 

  I always  learn something from lure fishermen because wherever or whenever I fish, I seldom see fly fishermen in the salt water.  

 

 Excuse me for mumbling again:  Flyfishing is the process, not just for the result.