I have dates available that include October 24, 25, 26, aand 27.  I have a house already booked and the closest airport is in New Bern, just about 45 minutes drive.  This is a world class fishery and nothing has gained popularity like the false albacore fishing at Harker’s.  Give it a try! 

This video is shared from fliesandfins and YouTube.

Nice blue fish caught in Eastern Bay

LOCATION:  Virginia Lower Bay and Maryland Middle Bay

SPECIES:  VA, Tarpon and Cobia         MD, Spanish Macs, Blues and Striped Bass.

UPDATE:  September 7, 2010

FISHING CONDITIONS:  the first week of September has brought in hurricanes, cooler days, lots of bait, and active fishing patterns.  Fish size range from the small to large, with the biggest fish caught near dark and over 30 inches long.   bass this week over 30 inches.  Many more blue fish and Spanish Macs are around during the day and as usual, the latest trips in the day are frequently rewarded with the best Striped Bass of the day.       

WATER TEMPERATURE: Mid Bay 85 Degrees, Lower Bay 78 Degrees, Near Coastal 78. 

MOST COMMON BAIT:  Silver sides, Bunker, Crabs, and other species.

“MUST HAVE” FLIES IN DESCENDING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE:   Mid bay Striped Bass and blues and Spanish Macs are eating small Clousers with flash easily.  These imitate silver-sides. 

 RECOMMENDED LEADER:  I am using standard 7 ½ foot or 9 foot tapered or non-tapered 20 to 30 for the Striped Bass and Blues.  Add a little wire for the blues and Spanish or expect to lose flies.  For Cobia use straight 80.

BEST FLY ROD AND REEL OUTFIT:  Blues, Spanish and Striped Bass I’m using 9wt with large arbor reels.  When prospecting for Cobia and Tarpon, 12 weight rods are the primary and the 10 weight the secondary.  Always use large arbor reels. 

IDEAL FLY LINE TYPES: Primary lines were full sink.  Floating lines for the breaking fish work great as well.  

BEST TECHNIQUES:  Mid bay is still a moveable feast.  Working birds is the best and only game in town for the blue fish.  Be ready to cast the moment you are on them because the blues will scatter at speed you can scarcely believe once the bait breaks up.  Unlike the striped bass, there are no straggler fish under the area that just moments before held hundreds of feeding blue fish. 

COMMENTS:  Strong winds are an element that we have to endure and need to work with.  Pulling out of the worse areas and moving to calmer waters was working yesterday with lots of fish along this edge.  The bait is pushed into shallower water and the predators follow right into the shallowest.  This is great fun with a fly rod.   

7-DAY OUTLOOK: Weather is the producing the biggest changes and our days will be cooler.  Pack a sweatshirt or light jacket to stay comfortable.  Fishing is undoubtedly getting better as fall moves in.                  

FISHING CONDITIONS:

WATER TEMPERATURE: Mid Bay 85 Degrees, Lower Bay 78 Degrees, Near Coastal 78. 

MOST COMMON BAIT:  Bunker, Crabs, Silver sides and other species.

“MUST HAVE” FLIES IN DESCENDING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE:   Mid bay Striped Bass and blues and Spanish Macs are eating small Clousers with flash easily.  These imitate silver-sides.  

RECOMMENDED LEADER:  Upper bay use standard 7 ½ foot or 9 foot tapered or non-tapered 20 to 30 for the Striped Bass.  Add a little wire for the blues and Spanish or expect to lose flies.  For Cobia use straight 80.

BEST FLY ROD AND REEL OUTFIT:  12 weight rods was the primary and the 10 weight was a secondary for prospecting for the Cobia.  Rods must have large arbor reels.  Blues, Spanish and Striped Bass I’m using 9wt with large arbor reels.

IDEAL FLY LINE TYPES: Primary lines were full sink.  Floating lines for the breaking fish work great as well.  

BEST TECHNIQUES:  Cobia are often lurking at floating channel markers in the lower bay.  I use both floating and sinking lines with large poppers or bait fish imitations.  When located several passes will usually get one on fly then the work out begins.  Pull away from the structure and get them out of the cable area under the marker.  Expect to have a long fight with these large fish.  For the Mid Bay breaking fish, just cast into the active areas and retrieve with a quick retrieve.  Always hopeful for Spanish these fish will get you into your backing in a flash!

COMMENTS:  I don’t know how long this activity might last but it is clearly the best of the season.

7-DAY OUTLOOK:  A cooling trend is offering relief from the summer’s heat and high flood tides are providing good current for these fish.

SPECIES:  VA, Tarpon                    MD, Blues and Striped Bass.

UPDATE:  August 9, 2010

FISHING CONDITIONS:  Normally hot days but most often the water and breezes keeps us cool.  VA is giving us a Tarpon surprise with many fish on the flats, yesterday brought one to the boat that went over 100 pounds.  MD is being consistent with nice Striped Bass (up to 28 inches) and Bluefish are showing up and some are real bruisers up to 22 inches.

FLY CAUGHT TARPON from Russ Wilkinson on Vimeo.

WATER TEMPERATURE: Mid Bay 85 Degrees, Lower Bay (Barrier Islands) 80 Degrees, Near Coastal 78. 

MOST COMMON BAIT:  Bunker, Crabs, and other species.

“MUST HAVE” FLIES IN DESCENDING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE: For Tarpon the hookup came with an olive Bunny Fly which I suspect was mistaken for a crab, there were many crabs in the water.  Mid bay Striped Bass and blues are eating silver sides imitations easily but bunker and larger bait is around and is being devoured by the blues.  Use a large imitation for this.

RECOMMENDED LEADER: 80 pound test, 7 ½ foot or 9 foot non-tapered for the Tarpon and 20 to 30 for the Striped Bass and Blues.

BEST FLY ROD AND REEL OUTFIT:  12 weight rods was the primary and the 10 weight was a secondary for prospecting.  Both had large arbor reels for Tarpon.  Blues and Striped Bass I’m using 9wt with large arbor reels.

IDEAL FLY LINE TYPES: Primary lines were intermediate with either clear sink tip or a full clear intermediate line.  I used full sink whenever the water depth got over 8 feet.  (I didn’t use it often.)  Stripers and blues are best on full sink line.

BEST TECHNIQUES:  Finding Tarpon spots can be tough but once located I was able to target locations using my trolling motor to get in close for a cast.  I would try ten casts per location and move on to other Tarpons and locations for the next.  Watch the depth and switch to sink lines if necessary to cover the water column.  Slow strip the crab pattern or moderate retrieve for a bait fish pattern.   For the Striped Bass and Blues, fast retrieves once the line gets down to the depth of the fish on the sonar.  Strip immediately if the fish are on top or water depth is shallow.

COMMENTS:  A large Tarpon like mine was exciting and I hope to put you on one, but it is a tough game.  I have been amazed at the number of fish above the 150 pound mark that I saw this trip.    

7-DAY OUTLOOK:  Tides and weather are good and with my new flats skiff I can get into the shallow areas that were just a high tide location when using my center console.  Maryland waters are fishing well at dusk but any time of day seems to be producing once the fish are located.          

SPECIES:  TARPON

UPDATE:  August 1, 2010

FISHING CONDITIONS:  Truly the best Tarpon fishing I have seen in years.  Despite the few turns in the weather nothing put these fish down.  The only real summer condition that concerns is the possibility of thunderstorms.   Keeping up with weather forecasts and radar images on my cell phone are a must!  Winds can throw up a chop on the water but nothing of consequence where we are fishing.  Strong or weak tidal flow didn’t seem to make much difference over the days I spent down there this past week.  We always found Tarpon.          

WATER TEMPERATURE: Mid Bay 85 Degrees, Lower Bay 80 Degrees, Near Coastal 78. 

MOST COMMON BAIT:  Bunker, Crabs, and other species.

“MUST HAVE” FLIES IN DESCENDING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE: Nothing worked so I can’t give you a play by play of the best working flies but we used several popular patterns including the Malzone Black Death, the same fly in Chartreuse and White as well as some half and half’s on the ten weight rod. 

RECOMMENDED LEADER: 80 pound test, 7 ½ foot or 9 foot non-tapered.

BEST FLY ROD AND REEL OUTFIT:  12 weight rod was the primary and the 10 weight was a secondary for prospecting.  Both had large arbor reels.

IDEAL FLY LINE TYPES: Primary lines were intermediate with either clear sink tip or a full clear intermediate line.  We didn’t try a full float or full sink but perhaps we should have.      

BEST TECHNIQUES:  Find the Tarpon first, on this we got lucky and discovered two hot locations.  Watch for rolling fish and attempt to place the fly in the fishes feeding/sight zone.  Strip slowly.  When fish are caught here this works.  Locating fish feeding and plentiful is the key to success.

COMMENTS:  Larger fish above the 150 pound mark got caught in the past week according to one source (on bait).  Truly this trip I saw more giants than I have ever seen in the Barrier Islands on previous trips.    

7-DAY OUTLOOK:  Tides will be changing to more outgoing this upcoming week.  Looking around the same ares for fast current coming off the flats from the new direction are key.  I have planned an early trip for this week hoping that that can make the difference.

SPECIES:  Striped Bass, Blue fish, Atlantic Croaker, Cow Nosed Ray (Raja Bonasus)

UPDATE:  August 1, 2010

FISHING CONDITIONS:  Fishing by its very nature is subject to changes based upon so many factors, but this week moved us around the what now routine.  Had great fish early one day in one location, they weren’t there later in the week.  Found the mother load of tiny fish in a location for several days in mid morning, they too moved on.  Not really expecting a mid day bite, found real quality fish on the incoming tide eating from very deep but in large schools and just when i thought it couldn’t change, the tide turned and every fish in miles appeared on the flats North of Poplar Island.  We caught so many fish so fast and had a ball doing it!  Fast retrieves are still a hit with the bigger fish.  Blue fish are still in the party in a big way and losing a few flys is normal.  Poppers are a smashing success, smashing is the only description for the fish that hit them.  Stripped fast the biggest fish of the day are on top water!    Smaller tributaries may fish well but why bother is the fish are in better numbers on a flat?  Lower Bay is still fishing slowly by comparison to mid bay and nothing beats the blitzes we keep having in the mid bay.        

WATER TEMPERATURE: Mid Bay 85 Degrees, Lower Bay (CBBT) 80 Degrees, Near Coastal 78. 

MOST COMMON BAIT:  Silversides, Spot, Bunker, Crabs, and Perch.

“MUST HAVE” FLIES IN DESCENDING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE: Smaller Clouser style minnows (1 ½ inch) in various dark and white colors are working at times better than half and half’s.  Having a little flash tied in seems critical as it matches the body of silversides.  When you find breaking fish, poppers or gurglers are working well on top water fish.  These work at dusk and dawn in shallow water too.

RECOMMENDED LEADER: 20 to 30 pound test, 7 ½ foot or 9 foot non-tapered.

BEST FLY ROD AND REEL OUTFIT:  9 weight with large arbor reel

IDEAL FLY LINE TYPES: Full sink line in the fastest sink rate for waters around 6 to 12 feet and full float in skinny or if you happen to see fish on the surface or when fishing at dawn and dusk.    

BEST TECHNIQUES:  This time of year looking for birds is the best game in town.  Birds help us locate the actively feeding schools of Striped Bass and we can quickly determine the preferred bait, the size and coloring so we can select the best fly or lure to use once the frenzy is over.  Fishing after the breaking fish is slow but effective if you drift in the same area or similar area where current is strong.  Incoming and outgoing tides are working but current speed is important. 

COMMENTS:  Larger fish (24 inches and up) are present in the schools and still caught regularly.  Keep a lookout when other fish area being pulled in and if another angler is on board they should be casting at your fly caught fish to pick up followers.  This can be a nice bait and switch method to find better fish. 

7-DAY OUTLOOK:  It’s warming up to be a great summer.  Weekday trips are better for fishing with less boat traffic and starting either early or late in the day and fishing for four hours in twilight conditions can be a very nice alternative to mid

SPECIES:  Striped Bass, Blue fish, Atlantic Croaker, Cow Nosed Ray (Raja Bonasus)

UPDATE:  July 20, 2010

FISHING CONDITIONS:  Very Good!  Start early or end late seems to be the best game in the Eastern Bay area.  Mid-

Dad still outfishes the kids!

day between the boat traffic and angler pressure the fishing just isn’t up to par.   Other areas are reporting better results and one trip to the lower middle bay revealed fish stacked up at one of my favorite locations.  Most of the action has been on small flys imitating Silversides and even flys that have been beaten up terribly are producing smashing results.  Blue fish are still in the party in a big way and losing a few flys is normal.  I’m still not ready to add wire and possibly spoil the great bite we are getting.  For the many people that love poppers as much as I do, they are getting reaction bites that are unbelievable.  Stripped fast the biggest fish of the day are on top water!    Smaller tributaries are fishing poorly.  Some trips are still plagued with slow fishing.     

WATER TEMPERATURE: Mid Bay 83 Degrees, Lower Bay (CBBT) 78 Degrees, Near Coastal 77. 

MOST COMMON BAIT:  Silversides, Spot, Bunker, Crabs, and Perch.

“MUST HAVE” FLIES IN DESCENDING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE: Smaller Clouser style minnows (1 ½ inch) in various dark and white colors are working at times better than half and half’s.  Having a little flash tied in seems critical as it matches the body of silversides.  When you find breaking fish, poppers or gurglers are working well on top water fish.  These work at dusk and dawn in shallow water too.

RECOMMENDED LEADER: 20 to 30 pound test, 7 ½ foot or 9 foot non-tapered.

BEST FLY ROD AND REEL OUTFIT:  9 weight with large arbor reel

IDEAL FLY LINE TYPES: Full sink line in the fastest sink rate for waters around 6 to 12 feet and full float in skinny or if you happen to see fish on the surface or when fishing at dawn and dusk.    

BEST TECHNIQUES:  This time of year looking for birds is the best game in town.  Birds help us locate the actively feeding schools of Striped Bass and we can quickly determine the preferred bait, the size and coloring so we can select the best fly or lure to use once the frenzy is over.  Sometimes you just find fish without birds.  Either way fishing  the breaking fish is great fun.  Incoming and outgoing tides are working but current speed is important. 

COMMENTS:  Larger fish (24 inches and up) are present in the schools and still caught regularly.  Keep a lookout when other fish area being pulled in and if another angler is on board they should be casting at your fly caught fish to pick up followers.  This can be a nice bait and switch method to find better fish. 

7-DAY OUTLOOK:  It’s warming up to be a great summer.  Weekday trips are better for fishing with less boat traffic and starting either early or late in the day and fishing for four hours in twilight conditions can be a very nice alternative to mid day sun.

SPECIES:  Striped Bass, Blue fish, Atlantic Croaker, Cow Nosed Ray (Raja Bonasus), Tarpon, Shark

UPDATE:  July 13, 2010

One of many caught that trip

FISHING CONDITIONS:  Very Good in Mid Bay!  Some trips are still plagued with slow fishing.  It seems to just turn off, and you can’t get the fish to bite.  But for most the action has been outstanding.  We are getting more blue fish every trip and many are good sized (18 inches).  Some trips have been almost overwhelming with the sheer number and quality of the fish being caught.  Last night we went well over 200 fish with many over 18 inches.  This is summer fishing at its best!   For the many people that love poppers as much as I do, they are getting reaction bites that are unbelievable.  Stripped fast the biggest fish of the day are on top water!     LOWER BAY, you better bring your own fish.  Weekends are super crowded in all the popular areas and no one is catching.  My trip for Tarpon and sharks netted a skunk although we saw one decent sized shark and four Tarpon.  Just couldn’t make the connection. 

WATER TEMPERATURE: Mid Bay 81 Degrees, Lower Bay (CBBT) 78 Degrees, Near Coastal 77. 

MOST COMMON BAIT:  Silversides, Spot, Bunker, Crabs, and Perch.

“MUST HAVE” FLIES IN DESCENDING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE: Large (four inch) half and half’s, blue and white is still working best although all white and chartreuse and all white are good choices as well.  Having a bunker style pattern is essential if you want to have a larger fish look at your offering.  Smaller Clouser style minnows (1 ½ inch) in various dark and white colors are working at times better than half and half’s.  Having a little flash tied in seems critical as it matches the body of silversides.  When you find breaking fish, poppers or gurglers are working well on top water fish.  These work at dusk and dawn in shallow water too.

RECOMMENDED LEADER: 20 to 30 pound test, 7 ½ foot or 9 foot non-tapered.

BEST FLY ROD AND REEL OUTFIT:  9 weight with large arbor reel

IDEAL FLY LINE TYPES: Full sink line in the fastest sink rate for waters around 6 to 12 feet and full float in skinny or if you happen to see fish on the surface or when fishing at dawn and dusk.    

BEST TECHNIQUES:  This time of year looking for birds is the best game in town.  Birds help us locate the actively feeding schools of Striped Bass and we can quickly determine the preferred bait, the size and coloring so we can select the best fly or lure to use once the frenzy is over.  Fishing after the breaking fish is slow but effective if you drift in the same area or similar area where current is strong.  Incoming and outgoing tides are working but current speed is important. 

COMMENTS:  Larger fish (24 inches and up) are present in the schools and getting to be a regular catch.  Keep a lookout when other fish area being pulled in and if another angler is on board they should be casting at your fly caught fish to pick up followers.  This can be a nice bait and switch method to find better fish. 

7-DAY OUTLOOK:  It’s warming up to be a great summer.  Weekday trips are better for fishing with less boat traffic and starting either early or late in the day and fishing for four hours in twilight conditions can be a very nice alternative to mid day sun.

SPECIES:  Striped Bass, Atlantic Croaker, Cow Nosed Ray (Raja Bonasus), (blues in middle bay around the Patuxent River)

UPDATE:  July 5, 2010

Caught this fish feeding on Spot

FISHING CONDITIONS:  Little has changed this week on the middle bay.  Still lots of schoolie size fish (under 18 inches) and larger fish hanging out without the excitement of top water and birds diving.  But what motivates you?  Some anglers just can’t stay interested if they don’t catch a fish every other cast or can’t see the fish breaking so we look for the bird bonanza for them.  Those are sometimes fleeting but what fun they can be!  Others can see the fish on sonar and work and work for the occasional bite by a really large, nice fish.  These fish can be found around structure, usually in shadow lines of the structure.  They are also in groups feeding on bait in the very bottom of the water column.  I always try to locate these fish in shallower water so the fly can be sunken all the way to these fish and retrieved along the bottom where these fish are feeding on spot and sometimes bunker.        

WATER TEMPERATURE: Mid Bay 79 Degrees, Lower Bay (CBBT) 78 Degrees, Near Coastal 77. 

MOST COMMON BAIT:  Bunker, Herring, perch, spot, and now silver sides.

“MUST HAVE” FLIES IN DESCENDING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE: Large (four inch) half and half’s, blue and white is still working best although all white and chartreuse and white

Bunker pattern fly

 are good choices as well.  Having a bunker style pattern is essential if you want to have a larger fish look at your offering.  Smaller Clouser style minnows (1 ½ inch) in various dark and white colors are working at times better than half and half’s.  Having a little flash tied in seems critical.  When you find breaking fish, poppers or gurglers are working well on top water fish.  These work at dusk and dawn in shallow water too.

RECOMMENDED LEADER: 20 to 30 pound test, 7 ½ foot or 9 foot non-tapered.

BEST FLY ROD AND REEL OUTFIT:  9 weight with large arbor reel

IDEAL FLY LINE TYPES: Full sink line in the fastest sink rate for waters around 6 to 12 feet and full float in skinny or if you happen to see fish on the surface or when fishing at dawn and dusk.    

BEST TECHNIQUES:  This time of year looking for birds is the best game in town.  Birds help us locate the actively feeding schools of Striped Bass and we can quickly determine the preferred bait, the size and coloring so we can select the best fly or lure to use once the frenzy is over.  Fishing after the breaking fish is slow but effective if you drift in the same area or similar area where current is strong.  Incoming and outgoing tides are working but current speed is important. 

COMMENTS:  Larger fish (24 inches and up) are present but difficult to catch.  Keep a lookout when other fish area being pulled in and if another angler is on board they should be casting at your fly caught fish to pick up followers.  This can be a nice bait and switch method to find better fish. 

7-DAY OUTLOOK:  It’s warming up to be a great summer.  Weekday trips are better for fishing with less boat traffic and starting either early or late in the day and fishing for four hours in twilight conditions can be a very nice alternative to mid day sun.

SPECIES:  Striped Bass, Atlantic Croaker, Cow Nosed Ray (Raja Bonasus), (no blues in upper bay yet)

UPDATE:  June 21, 2010

FISHING CONDITIONS:  Another week with hot and humid just reinforces that summer is here.  Finally we are seeing the birds over bait that is being chased to the surface by Striped Bass.  The first and best I’ve seen this season and this was fish in the near 18 inch slot.  Quick hook up’s and lots of hot action for over an hour at a favorite hot spot in the mid-bay.    

WATER TEMPERATURE: Mid Bay 76.5 Degrees, Lower Bay (CBBT) 75.7 Degrees, Near Coastal 76.1. 

MOST COMMON BAIT:  Bunker, Herring, perch, spot, and more.

“MUST HAVE” FLIES IN DESCENDING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE: Large (four inch) half and half’s, blue and white is still working best although all white and chartreuse and white are good choices as well.  Smaller Clouser style minnows (1 ½ inch) in various dark and white colors are working at times better than half and half’s.  Having a little flash tied in seems critical.  When you find breaking fish, poppers or gurglers are working well on top water fish.  These work at dusk and dawn in shallow water too.

RECOMMENDED LEADER: 20 to 30 pound test, 7 ½ foot or 9 foot non-tapered.

BEST FLY ROD AND REEL OUTFIT:  9 weight with large arbor reel

IDEAL FLY LINE TYPES: Full sink line in the fastest sink rate for waters around 6 to 12 feet and full float in skinny or if you happen to see fish on the surface or when fishing at dawn and dusk.    

BEST TECHNIQUES:  This time of year looking for birds is the best game in town.  Birds help us locate the actively feeding schools of Striped Bass and we can quickly determine the preferred bait, the size and coloring so we can select the best fly or lure to use once the frenzy is over.  Fishing after the breaking fish is slow but effective if you drift in the same area or similar area where current is strong.  Incoming and outgoing tides are working but current speed is important. 

COMMENTS:  Larger fish (24 inches and up) are present but difficult to catch.  Keep a lookout when other fish area being pulled in and if another angler is on board they should be casting at your fly caught fish to pick up followers.  This can be a nice bait and switch method to find better fish.  Lower Bay was disappointing on a trip this week with no signs of anything but bait.

7-DAY OUTLOOK:  It’s warming up to be a great summer.  Pick your interest (schoolies or larger residents) and plan a trip accordingly.  Weekend traffic on the water is high and weekdays are better for fishing if you can get out.  Late day trips for four hours ending near dark can be a very nice alternative on both weekends and weekdays.