S.K.S Adventures

This spring season has not been great, the bass are few and of little weight. Worst of all there's lots of bait, and still the bass do scant partake. Maybe it was the cold and rain, that gave May anglers so much pain, and gave The Bay a brownish stain, leaving us defeated, tired and slain. Or maybe it's the slowing rate, at which these bass do procreate, because they are kept at twenty-eight, before they are able to properly mate. But now, alas, it is mid-June, and soon we wi

Last night I had the pleasure of taking a young fly fisher on the water in search of his first striped bass on the fly. We started our outing around 7:30 pm at a tidal outflow where there had been a worm hatch the evening prior. Severe seaweed and a lack of worms thwarted our efforts so we packed up and moved to Bristol to see what could be found there. Arriving at our spot in Bristol, the two of us were welcomed by the twinkling of nervous silversides as well as the pops and

I was at one of my usual spots, the outflow of a tidal creek, right before sundown. There was about 45 minutes of daylight remaining and I wanted to see if any fish would be around on the dropping tide. At first glance things didn't look good: lots of weeds and no signs of surface activity. Nevertheless I tied on an Eel Punt fly and proceeded to swing it through the current. A few moments later I heard a soft splash. By the time I turned my head to the direction of the noise

Three words to describe last nights fishing: cold, wet, and slow. Fished last night in Bristol with marginal success. I was able to coax two schoolie bass out of the first spot, but my second spot produced nothing. There was a large school of silversides at the second spot, but no fish chasing them. From what I hear (and observe) the bait is around. I have heard reports of abundant silversides and menhaden, but anglers are still having to work hard for fish. The fish that are

On Monday my father needed some help moving some large furniture from the home in Rhode Island to a new condominium in central Connecticut. It was a bit of a schlep just to unload a few dressers and a TV stand only to turn around and head back to Rhode Island the next morning, but I used the return trip as an opportunity to fish my home. With the route calculated, I commenced my three part fishing adventure. The first stop on this excursion was the Salmon River. This river is

I'm not reinventing the wheel with this fly. It is simply a Ray's Fly, but the yellow bucktail is replaced by a mix of chartreuse and lime green bucktail. Everything else remains the same. This fly makes a great addition to a two-fly or three-fly set up. I often fish it alongside an original Ray's Fly as an attractor pattern that still resembles the size and silhouette of the naturals. It also makes a great fly when the fish aren't feeding on anything in particular, but are w

The Rhode Island state bird is the Rhode Island Red Hen. The Rhode Island state flower is the Common Blue Violet. If Rhode Island was to have a state fly it would be the Ray's Fly. Created by Ray Bondorew, the Ray's Fly is a generic pattern meant to imitate small, slender baitfish. It's tripartite pallet of olive, yellow, and white is a saltwater staple and my go-to when I don't exactly know what sort of food is in the water. Best of all, the Ray's Fly is an incredibly cheap

I love catching bass on the swing. So much so that I recently found myself stubbornly seeking to catch fish this way, even when it was not working. To catch fish on the swing they need to be feeding (pretty obviously) on the surface. They also need to be feeding on station near an area with a swift and definitive current, such as the outflow of a salt pond, estuary, or tidal river. I have a few spots that lend themselves to swinging flies, and by this time last year they were

On paper it seemed like a perfect night: three days before the full moon, the strongest currents of the outgoing tide were occurring just after sundown, and no rain or freezing winds. Then, after catching a decent striper on my first swing, I had all but decided it was going to be a special night. In fact, I was so enthusiastic that I guaranteed my fishing partner that she would catch at least one bass by the end of the night. As the striper gods would have it, my cockiness w

Last night I was re-imparted with an important fly fishing lesson: regularly check your flies. I started the night fishing a reliable early season spot. The air was cold, but the fish were around. I presented my tandem fly rig as I usually do and, as if on cue, I felt that tell-tale jump in the line. The fish was schoolie size, but a fun fight in current. I went to present the flies again. Nothing. I let out a little more line on the next cast, performed a few mends, and as m

Tonight's fishing was a testament to the power of one more cast. Despite the wind, rain, and frigid temperatures I started the evening at 6:30 pm hoping that the stormy weather would provide an opportunity to catch bass without burning the midnight oil. The first 45 minutes of fishing was brutal. In fact, it wasn't long until the wind and rain started turning my hands numb, forcing me to seek the warmth of the car heater. After a brief period of incubation, I went to Spot B

When the herring run through the East Bay the fishing can be magical, if you have flies that accurately mimic the size, silhouette, movement, and (to some extent) colors of a herring. Most flatwing patterns will do; especially all-black ones at night. Nevertheless part of the fun of tying your own flies is playing the "match-the-hatch" game. In other words, observing what the fish are eating, turning those observations into a fly, then fishing with it. The Midnight Herring is

Sadly, catch and release mortality is approximately 9%. That means for every ten fish you catch one fish dies. One fish that could have spawned; that could have been caught by someone else; that could have lived a good life. We can do better. Thankfully, the Fish Need Water Alliance (FNWA) agrees and has put out a list of six fish handling techniques to help anglers reduce their catch and release mortality rate. Not all of them apply to striped bass, but most do. Conservation

For those of you who receive the magazine in the mail, you have probably seen my article on page 22 titled "Bristol County, RI". If you are not a subscriber and would like to read the article you can purchase print or digital copies at matchthehatch.com. Or you can skip the magazine altogether and hit the water with yours truly. Either way, I'm lucky to have opportunities to share my home waters with others.

The Herring are leaving their spawning grounds in the East Bay and the striped bass have taken notice. Great fishing was had both nights on a big flatwings such as the Bombardier. Most of the fish caught toed the line between keeper and schoolie, with the majority of the fish falling in the 25" range. A herring run always brings out larger fish, but seeing this many keeper or near-keeper sized fish early in the season is quite encouraging. Hopefully it is a sign that this sea

Invented by Steve Culton, the Bombardier is a classic big fish fly. It's dark pallet lends itself to night time fishing and its tantalizing flawing energy begs you to fish it on a greased line swing with the occasional twitch. Like all flatwings, the Bombardier is yet another iteration of the tried-and-true template first made popular by Kenney Abrames. For more about tying large flatwings read Tom Keer's article The Art of the Flatwing. Recipe Hook: Mustad 3407, size 4/0

This fly was born out of a night of frustration in Bristol, Rhode Island. Bass were sipping silversides all around me and yet I could not get a fish to strike my pair of Ray's Flies. In response to this unsuccessful evening I developed the R.L.S Nocturne, a night-specific silverside pattern. The first step was to re-work the Ray's Fly's light color pallet to something darker. The white buck tail was replaced by olive buck tail with some yellow mixed in. To give the fly a bit

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On Tuesday, April 30, 2019 the Striped Bass Management Board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will consider a management response to the 2018 stock assessment that revealed the extent to which striped bass stocks on the Atlantic seaboard have and continue to decline. The history and politics of the decline in striped bass numbers is somewhat complex. The best place to read about what has happened to our fishery over the past 50 years is the American Saltwate

Don't get me wrong. Tapered fluorocarbon leaders have their time and place. However, for the most part, they are unnecessary. Striped Bass are not leader shy, especially not when they are feeding at night. It can be nice to support your local fly shop, but $6 a leader seems steep when a strand of monofilament will do. In most cases you can simply run a straight section of 15-30 lb. monofilament as a leader. No need for anything too long, a 6 foot section will do. I like to bu