# Last saltwater trip!



## Andrew S. (May 22, 2010)

I have been way too busy to wet a line at all since arriving in Ohio (though I have scouted a bit). And until now, too busy to even write up a report about my last trip in the salt before I departed the Nutmeg State (CT) for the Buckeye State. And even now, I'm too busy to write much, but here you go anyway...

July and August are fairly slow for shore-based anglers after saltwater fish in Connecticut. The water is simply too warm in Long Island Sound. Fish can be found, but it can be tough. For my farewell trip, we wanted better odds, so rather than fishing CT waters, we headed to Rhode Island. In fact, we headed to Block Island, an island about 13 miles off the coast of RI. It's expensive to stay in hotels on the island, and stripers are mostly nocturnal in the summer...and this means we just fish all night. 

So, we took a ferry to the island that evening, grabbed a bite to eat, and started fishing around 9:00 pm or so. First stop was an open beach, with some challenging but manageable surf. None of us had fished that beach before, it being my first trip to the island and my friends' first trip to that particular area. Things were slow for a while, then my friend Jon managed a small striper. A while later Bob hooked up with a nicer bass. Initially, this sort of thing gets me excited..."aha!! They're here". But when others are catching fish repeatedly, and I'm not, I go from excited to frustrated. Eventually, though, I felt a sharp tug and was fast to a fish. However, I could tell immediately it was not large, and indeed, it proved to be not even a striper but instead a porgy (also called scup). These are laterally-compressed, small fish, sort of bluegill in shape. Interesting, but not a striper.

Eventually, though, I got what I deserved and hooked into some nice bass. Two are pictured here. I managed one or two smaller ones at this beach, and all of the rest of my group did as well. We moved around throughout the night, and I managed to hook two more fish that inexplicably came unhooked, but I landed no more. I think in all, we managed from 4 or 5 up to 13 stripers each before dawn came and the fishing ended. Some bluefish showed at dawn as well, and Jon hooked but lost one (when it bit him off). By 6:30 am we were wet, tired, hungry, and I'd managed to end my saltwater fishing (for now) on a relatively high note.


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

And for now I can end my striped bass fishing on a relatively JEALOUS note. Nice fish!


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## Steelhead Fever (Dec 31, 2009)

Clayton said:


> And for now I can end my striped bass fishing on a relatively JEALOUS note. Nice fish!


lol I agree,nice job man that looks soo sweet!! congrats


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## Flyfish Dog (Nov 6, 2007)

Sweet report!


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## fallen513 (Jan 5, 2010)

Very nice Andrew...very nice.


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## 21938 (Feb 17, 2010)

Congrats Andrew, nice report, sounds like a ball. Did you need earlobe protection pitching heavy streamers at nite?


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## bigduck10 (Feb 15, 2009)

Nice. I have fly fished from a boat for Striper but never the surf. How long and how heavy of a rod do you use?


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## Andrew S. (May 22, 2010)

RR Pirate said:


> Congrats Andrew, nice report, sounds like a ball. Did you need earlobe protection pitching heavy streamers at nite?


I've been fishing at night for long enough that it's just second nature now. There are limits to the kinds of flies I will throw at night, but it has more to do with weight (e.g. very big heavy clousers), not size. We toss some 10 inch, 5/0 hook flies at night all the time. I do often flatten the barbs, though, so that if I did happen to hook myself, I'd be able to remove it. So far, though, this hasn't been necessary!


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## Andrew S. (May 22, 2010)

bigduck10 said:


> Nice. I have fly fished from a boat for Striper but never the surf. How long and how heavy of a rod do you use?


I tend to fish a 9 foot 10 weight for most of my surf fishing, although if the wind is down and/or I'm fishing with smaller flies, I'll go with an 8 or even a 6 weight. I usually just grab the 10 so I have the options to fish big flies if i want to, deal with any wind that comes up, etc. These modern fly rods are light enough that even small bass are still "enough" fun on a 10 weight. A 9 foot 9 weight is probably the most popular surf rod among my friends, but I just don't happen to have one in that size.

A lot of people think those big rods are too much work, but with big flies, it's actually more work to throw them on a rod that's too small.


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## bigduck10 (Feb 15, 2009)

Andrew,
That's what I have. 10 wgt TFO with a Prizm reel. Have spare spool so I have both floating line and spool with sinking line.
Heading back to the Chesapeake in the fall to chase them on the surface.
All the ones I have caught have been casting big Clausers (spelling) and Decievers. Buddy lives on the bay and knows it inside and out. 
I will have to give the surf a try.


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## striperrams (Aug 26, 2010)

Good post Andrew. I like to fish for stripers in the salt too. In the spring and fall I'll head out to Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard to fish. Most of the fishing is at night except sight fishing the flats on the Cape. I also get a charge out of sight fishing for blues. I attached a picture of a blue hooked a just a few feet of water on the Cape. I'll post some pictures of flies I tie for stripers...they work for smallmouth, white bass, largemouth and I'll bet wipers too. I've wondered if night fishing would be good for wipers in Ohio? If anyone has had any luck trying, let me know.


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## fallen513 (Jan 5, 2010)

Night fishing is great for the HSBs too. Topwater especially.


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## Flyfish Dog (Nov 6, 2007)

Good read! nothing like fishing for salt and big fish.


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## Andrew S. (May 22, 2010)

Friend of mine got a 20+ pounder two nights ago on a fly I tied and gave him (top fly of the two pictured below - it's 12 inches long). Luckily, I saved the other fly for myself!

Quite a story, too. They saw about 4 or 5 of these big fish holding in the shadow of a bridge, where an overhead street lamp cast the shadow. One friend tried for them for an hour and a half one night with no luck. Next night two other buddies went back, and my friend Jon tried for them for a while with no luck. Then Bob decided to give them a go, but put on the big fly first. Apparently on his third cast, with a nice drift, one of the big fish peeled off and took the fly. Jon said he was watching the entire thing from the bridge above, which was pretty cool. The fish went downstream (it's a bridge that goes over the outlet of a tidal salt pond), under the bridge, and got hung up on something. Eventually, Jon suggested Bob try giving the fish some slack (which can work, but is a scary thing to do!), he did, and that was the ticket. The fish headed for open water upstream, where he was able to land it. The fish was exhausted since the entire thing had taken 15 minutes (Jon actually timed it), so they didn't get any photos. They took a crude measurement and said the fish taped out to about 38 inches, but was the fattest striper, with the biggest head, that either of them had seen.


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## Flyfish Dog (Nov 6, 2007)

That had to be fun one to catch.


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