The Tight Lines Fishing Report is brought to you by Corey and Cam Gammill via Bill Fisher Tackle and Bill Fisher Outfitters. Visit their website, their shop at 127 Orange Street, or give them a call at (508) 228-2261.
Dear Fisherman and Friends,
Fish are here! Fish are Here! They are not thick yet, but getting thicker by the day and most importantly, they are here! Most anglers, including us(till yesterday!), have yet to catch a fish, but many have. Our dear friend Andy Boynton got to the Island on Sunday at noon, by 5 pm he’d caught 2 and lost one. Right place, right time, and … he’s a good angler. Why do I tell this story, even though we are not “loaded” with fish yet, they are around and you don’t need to be an expert to catch one, you just need to have your line in the water. In fact, most anglers on the island know Steve Tuna, and if he had caught the first fish, it wouldn’t have been a surprise, even better, his wife Beth caught the first fish. Again, fishing surprises us, go fish!
So in short, fish are here, but they are not thick… yet. We fully expect it to get “relatively” good this week with the good weather and the explosion of fish on the mainland. What’s fun though is there have been a few larger fish caught already. Usually early we get just the micros, but we have been blessed with mostly fish in the 20’s (this aligns with the conversations about weak and strong recruitment years). In fact the first recorded “Keeper” of the season was caught by Greg Chotnowski Sunday night. He landed a 28 inch fish from the Surf. Great work Greg! Cam followed this up with another 28” on Monday and other bigger fish were seen. And in a last minute update greg nailed a dozen fish this morning along the south shore using a bucktail. Thats Greg. He fishes hard and is unconventional. Backtailing has become a big tool on the island in the Fall for fisherman, but Greg just showed us it works this time of year.
So where should you start looking for fish? Obviously find the bait…we have heard of fish caught at Nobadeer, Cisco, Madaket and a few in the harbor. We have seen bait pushing up the east side and we have seen bait in the boat basin. Nothing overly concentrated yet! It is important to remember though that fish are here now to warm up, rest and feed. The south shore typically provides ample opportunity for food as the first ocean run bait will be pushed against the shoreline. Remember, one stretch of beach can hold fish as well as the next. Don’t get too caught up having “to go here,” these fish can be anywhere along the south shore, you just need to find a good hole, near a high spot, ie a spot fish can hide and ambush. And some scouting tells us the water looks GREAT along the south shore.
As for where to look in the harbor, there is not yet a ton of “ocean run” bait yet, so expect fish to look for food at fresh water inlets where food is not coming from the ocean but growing locally. If you see birds on the south shore or open water, look for fish as well.
What to fish with: This time of year, small rods, small baits. Fish are shallow now and you don’t need a 9’ surf rod. Focus on a 7’ rod and small twitch baits/soft baits if you like subsurface. If you want to see the action try a popper in still water or a jumping minnow if there is some chop.
A final note of optimism, we tried to send this note out over the weekend, but every moment we went to hit the send button some new change happened with fish caught in new areas….This is an AWESOME problem, so we are confident when this hits the interweb there will be more fish caught in new places, go be the one catching the fish!
Go wet a line, create a memory and get your blood pumping for what’s sure to be an awesome 2023 fishing season.
Sincerely,
Captain Corey Gammill: 203-962-8867
Captain Cam Gammill: 508-332-9149
Captain Mike Ruby: 508-221-7144
Captain Nat Reeder