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| Martha's Vineyard Fly Fishing Company |
| Early June 2007 After a six week trout fly fishing expedition to Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, I arrived on the Vineyard at the end of May. After launching the boat, the first order of business was to locate some fish before my first charter on June 3rd. I found fish in the usual locations but was unable to locate any of the large fish that were being reported. All of the biggies were being taken in deep water using scup as bait. I have tried using a large scup fly and a heavy sinking line but have never been able to get it down where the fish are. I can fish in water that is about twenty feet deep but not any deeper. The biggest fish we have caught have been on the sinking line in fifteen feet of water. June 11, 2007 I have a group of clients from the trout fishing state of Colorado. I am rotating two fishermen through the boat each day. Yesterday we had a great day numbers wise but did poorly on the size. We did hook and land one keeper on the middle ground early in the am before the wind kicked up. We then moved into the sheltered waters of the south side of the Elizabeth Islands. My half a chicken fly was the clear winner. It is a big chartreuse and white deceiver with saddle hackle feathers instead of schlappen. Our charter ended in Tarpaulin Cove with a double at the last point before returning to Lake Tashmoo. The ride across the sound was lumpy and a little wet but otherwise uneventful. June 12, 2007 Leaving Lake Tashmoo in a butt calm slick and returning with a 20 knot north-east. Not what I call fun. The morning started gang busters at the middle ground. The bass were busting squid when we arrived at the beginning of the flood. We lost three fish in a row to inexperience but the lesson was learned and we managed to land one nice blue but were unable to keep the bigger bass on the hook. There is a fine line between setting the hook and breaking off 15 pound tippet. Hopefully we will get some more chances before the week is out. The forecast looks terrible for the next couple of days. NE winds and increasing swells and nowhere to hide. June 15,2007 After the blow Great fishing at the middle ground rip on the incoming even though the wind was still breezing at 15. One fly fisherman in the stern and the other fly fisherman turned into the teaser. The teaser was the old standby jumping minnow and it really got them going. Eventually it got too rough so we headed to sheltered water in the Elizabeths. The sight fishing was OK but blind casting to the rocks produced a lot of smaller bass in the 20 inch range. Clousers and big deceivers were the ticket. June 18 and 19 Cuttyhunk I found small fish at Robinson's and a few larger fish on the flats in the Farm Pond cove. Not a lot of action but enough to keep everyone happy. Very nice settled weather and relatively light winds. June 20 and 21 Having a great caster and fisherman onboard makes a huge difference. So many fish landed that a count of them is not possible unless you had a counter. Seven keepers on the fly from the middle ground rips. Great sight fishing in Tarpaulin Cove and along the south side of Naushon. Rising fish just about everywhere we went. If you are palnning a charter trip try to get your casting arm in shape and work on your cast. Great distance is not necessary but accuracy to 45-50 feet is a must. Keep practicing but get an instructor for one lesson to try to eliminate any bad habits you may have picked up. June 25, 2007 Keepers in the rips in the early am before the wind kicked up and great fishing in the shallows on the south side of Naushon. Big chartreuse and white deceivers worked very well as did smaller white deceivers. July 1, 2007 My wife and I did a little sight casting in the coves of Lackey's Bay, after I finished my charter for the morning. The sight casting was good when the sun was out but it kept sneaking behind the cumulus buildups and we ended up doing a lot of blind casting. There were a lot of 24-26 inch fish around but we were unable to catch a keeper for the grill. The wind shifted about three and we ended up a Cedar Tree Neck on the Vineyard where there were keepers to be seen but not caught. I switched to a sinking line and a clouser and got a lot of fish off the bottom but none of any size. I have a trip in the morning but the wind is supposed to kick up tonight. So we will see how the fly rodding goes tomorrow. I will keep you posted. That's all folks. Thanks for reading Bucky Burrows |