Little Neck Bay（Ⅶ）bunker fly

Last week I fished the Bay intensively
- Thursday evening, Saturday morning and evening, and Sunday morning -
trying to catch a keeper, but I got only several schoolies.
I am a little bit tired of catching schoolies.
Well, maybe I will try my luck night fishing.

I met an acquaintance, who told me two weeks ago bunkers were in the Bay and he caught two keepers with his fly rod.

I think that was the day 3~4 lure fishermen near me caught large stripers one after the other, but I got none, not even one bite.   I assumed that my small silver- side flies didn't get the fish's attention. Since then I have been using bunker flies, regardless bunkers being in the Bay or not, for their larger profiles. I have caught more fish.

 I don't mean to say larger flies catch more fish, but they work for me so far.

Little Neck Bay ( Ⅵ ) The season is in full swing now.

I fished the east side of the Bay yesterday.
It was one of my most productive days as I caught seven schoolies ranging from 13-inch to 24-inch in 2 hours.

But today I fished the west side of the Bay.
I caught three schoolies in 3 hours.
I would say I was the luckiest among about 10 fishermen fishing around me, though I caught only three.

I give credits to my tackles for such good fortune.
The combination of my 5-inch bunker tied with SF flash blend and my 16-foot, 12-weight two-handed rod with 21-foot, 700 grains sinking shooting head line work extremely well.
I can deliver the fly over 30 yards away with only one swing of the rod  and retrieve the line in quick succession like lure fishermen do.

Now I hope I may catch a keeper in the remaining days of the early striper season of the Bay.

Little Neck Bay （Ⅴ）first striper

                                                  
 I finally caught four stripers in the Bay this morning.
I fished for three hours around the time of the high tide at 10:30 am.
I looked forward to the warm morning temperature which was in the 40's, for a good day of  fishing.
I said to myself I had to catch some fish today.
I felt relief when I did.    

   

  

          

Yesterday I fished in the Bay too.
It was chilly and windy. I got nothing, not even one bite.
Six or seven lure fishermen and I fished in the same vicinity.  Some hooked and landed the fish.
I saw their lures were much bigger than my silverside flies which I always use in the early spring as they are supposed to be abundant at this time in the Bay.

So today I changed to use the banker flies which have bigger profiles than the silversides.
I figured that the stripers wouldn't be picky at this time in the Bay as winter had just gone.
Bigger flies can let them to find my flies easier.

 The structure is behind me on the right side. 

On Wednesday I lost my shooting head line in the Bay.  After fishing in the morning yesterday, I went back in the afternoon with my wife during low tide and hoped to find my lost line when the bottom was exposed.
The bottom was muddy and the soft soil sucked our feet. Both fell down on the mud and had good laughs at ourselves.  What a mess we made, but I  found my shooting head line!!
As I was searching for my line, I got an inkling why a spot in the back of the Bay has more fish caught than somewhere else.  There is some kind of a structure sticking out at that spot. In general the bottom is flat, so I guess stripers prefer hiding in that spot to ambush their preys.

Little Neck Bay 2013（Ⅳ）all Sic guides rod

I fished the Bay yesterday afternoon for 3 hours and hooked one, but failed to land it.
Since started the season fishing the Bay for almost a month, I haven't caught any yet.
Maybe I won't start fishing so early next year.
Though I haven't got any fish, I don't think I waste any time as I need to practice the two-handed rod casting.
I need to practice often, especially the spey casting.
Here is a good point for the fan of the two-handed rod fishing.  Even you don't catch any fish, you can have an excuse for just casting practice.

During off season, I replaced all the guides of my 10-weight 15-foot two-handed rod with Sic guides.
I have used the rod couple of times. It performs well as expected.
I can cast the line farther than before. It becomes easier to cast the line with the shooting spey which I often use in the Bay because of  the limited back space.
One of  the reasons the shooting spey casting makes easier is that the rod's better casting ability allows me to use less power, thus prevent blown anchor.
  
I think if someone wants more casting distance, rather than spending a large sum of money on the latest high end rods, it is worthwhile to spend a little time and money to replace the rod guides to Sic or other ceramic guides as most makers' rods are equipped with the wire guides except stripping guide.