05-30-2001, 12:50 AM
BOSTON HARBOR & SOUTH SHORE – Stripers 5/29/01<br><br>On Tuesday, Bill Mazello and friend from Worcester, MA fished Boston harbor on B-Fast’s BAY FLY.<br>Referred to us from Orvis Framingham, this was to be Bill’s first fly trip in the harbor. Based on this day, it won’t be his last! Capt. Tom found gulls working bait in Quincy Bay on the way to Boston’s inner-harbor. Rigged up with 400 grain Depth-Charge line spooled on the new Vortex large-arbor reels, the anglers fired-out 3/0 chartreuse Half & Halfs to the breaking bass. The presentations were immediately engulfed, testing the backbone of the 9 wgt.-Tridents and the client’s skill. Both bass, 31” and 29”, were keepers and the anglers personal best on the fly---Beginner’s luck—about as good as it gets! <br><br>Off to the inner-harbor, the group found the bass working bait on the outgoing tide in harbor reserve channel. The baitfish, herring (alewife) and 3-inch silversides, were being driven to the surface by the foraging bass below. Once again, the Half & Half attractor patterns worked well using only a short length of 20# fluorocarbon material on the fast-sinking line. Tom Keer, fishing on his fly boat the LIZA B, reported having better success using a sparsely dressed Ray’s Fly. After the surface activity slowed, Capt. Tom worked the rocky promontories on the edges of the inner-harbor islands. The bass were set-up on the ledges waiting for the current to sweep the bait by. The fly-rodders swept the patterns by these edges hooking bass on the outgoing drift of the tide. Bill set-up on a really good fish. On the first run, the bass took about 75 yards of backing before Capt. Tom could turn the boat and give chase. The large-arbor reel proved to be a great advantage in regaining the lost line. Unfortunately for Bill, the hook pulled on the 36” to 38” bass, right at the boat-- another lost Kodak moment.<br><br>Capt. Mike Bartlett<br>B-Fast Charters<br>www.bfastcharters.com<br><br><br> <br><br> <br><br><br><br>Capt. Mike Bartlett<br>B-Fast Charters<br>www.bfastcharters.com