Joppa Flats Newburyport - June 26, 2008

Fished Joppa Flats late afternoon into the evening, from right before peak high tide to the start of the out-going tide. The flats at high tide were loaded w/ fish. We were on a boat and saw huge stripers rolling just under the surface and plenty breaking the surface. I had my fly and spinning rods w/ me and I threw everything at them (shrimp patterns, worms, striper crack, deceivers (all colors), sand eels, crabs, etc ... sluggos, yuzuri minnows and top-water plugs) w/ no results. It was very frustrating and it was completely unobvious what they were eating. We only saw a couple of hook-ups on other boats so nobody seemed to crack the code.

Martha's Vineyard - Thursday, June 19, 2008

I did my usual slog through Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven, hitting my favorite spots on State Beach, Lake Tashmoo and Vineyard Haven harbor. It was slow going for most of the evening, seeing no rises and very little bait, until my last (return) stop at the Little Bridge. As I went over the bridge to park, I distinctively heard the tell-tale splash of a fish hitting bait at the surface underneath me. It was late and I was running out of steam, but quickly managed to land two decent size fish (and missed another ... must have grabbed the tail of the fly). Both fish were caught w/ the infamous "striper crack" fly on intermediate line.

June 15, 2008 - Manchester

Went to black and white beach this morning early. It was dead low when I got there, but about to start the turn. 'Dead' is the operative word, though, as there was no surface action and only a small amount of visible bait. I was in the kayak and covered a good distant, all for naught.