Montauk, New York, is home to some of the most outrageous striped bass and false albacore fishing in the world. During September and October, “the Point” as locals refer to the area around the lighthouse, is ablaze with frothing schools of bass. blues and albies. From an anglers perspective, it is heaven, from a guides perspective it can be chaos.
I should know. I have been guiding the fall run for about nine years now and have seen the numbers of fishermen and guides swell to astronomical proportions. As the fishing gets better each year, the word spreads and more people are trailering in their boats and hiring guides, who flock here during the hight of the season.
There is a frame of mind that you have to have in order to enjoy a day on the water during the Montauk blitz. Leave the anger at the dock, expect to be fishing and then suddenly surrounded by other boats if the fish pop near your bow. Don’t be surprised when you are puttering to the next pod and a sluggo whizzes by your head form the boat next to you. or if your guide brings you too close in towards shore, you might be plucking a buck tail out of your scalp.
If you can get past the crowds and the circus like environment, and you hit the right day, there are few places that rival Montauk in the fall.
Here is the deal:

The best time to fish the Blitz is from MID SEPT to MID OCTOBER.
This is when you have the greatest chance to get a slam ( false albacore, striped bass and bluefish). The first part of Sept can be slow, really slow, and then one day, usually around the 8th it all starts to happen. Septembers weather is generally better then October. Mid to the end of October , the weather can start to get hairy, but the bass can be in thick, on the surface getting ready to travel south along the coast. The ablies have left by this time, so be sure to check with your guide on their availability and make sure you get there in the prime time if you are targeting false albacore.

The gear you need:
8-10 weight fly rod with floating lines for the albies, or intermediate for all species and then, or course, sinking for those who like to drift and dredge.
Medium spinning rods with 12+ pound test, with a 30+ pound shock, for the bass and blues. For albies, 20 pound test works fine.
Flies- small rain bait imitations, like a thin surf candy, or a local fly called the albie whore ( ho). clousers work fine as well.

When looking for a guide do your research, ask for references, there are more and more guides there, some are really good while others are just there to make money. The local guides know the area and can catch fish for you when times are tough. Ask questions like ” what happens when there are no fish showing at the point?”, a good guide will be able to rattle off a series of alternatives, and you should be able to read right through the B.S.

If you are not using a guide, check out fishing reports on www.reel-time.com
Many of their members fish out east in Montauk and give honest detailed reports.
Fishing Montauk can be easy when the fishing is rocking, but there are those days when it never turns on, so watch the weather, ( east wind sucks) the moon phases ( full moon sucks) and make sure that you select a guide that is worth their weight in gold!

Not everyone has hired a fishing guide and there  are those who annually spend thousands of dollars. Even the most experienced still , at times, find themselves unable to properly communicate with their guides and fishing buddies.
Lets start with communicating with the guide before you go fishing-

The moment you pick up the phone, or fire off an email to a fishing guide that you found off the web, or through a friends recommendation, you should know what to ask them and be prepared to answer honestly to personal fishing questions!
For starters, be CLEAR about what type of fishing you want to do, make sure that he or she understands your ability and your willingness to try other methods of fishing. This way there are no surprises at the dock when your guide shows up with only fly rods, because you never told them that you are a spin fishermen. When you fishing guide asks you how far you can cast, and how much experience you have had in this particular fishery, DO NOT embellish, it will only hurt your relationship for the day on the water, as your guide will, off the bat, be able to tell that you lied, and the day will start with bad blood. Let your guide know that you need help, and if you want suggestions to help you catch fish, cast farther, or simply make a softer presentation. Some people do not want advice, so if you are one of them, Tell your fishing guide that you prefer to give it a go on your own, as you came out to relax and not for a lecture.
Some guides have very strong personalities, so feel them out n the phone by asking a ton of questions. If they seemed to get annoyed on the phone, just thing of what I could be like on the water for 8 hours with them if you are missing fish after fish!
Ask your guide about the option of staying out on the water later then the regular hours. Discuss a price for this before hand, this will make it easier for everyone at the end of the day.
Be sure to ask what kind of gear your guide has o the boat, if any! If you are particular about what you fish with and cannot bring your own gear, make sure that you are familiar with the gear you might be borrowing on the boat. Some people have a difficult time using lines that are properly weighted to the rod, as most people, for years have been over lining fly rods. also be sure to check on the retrieve of the rods. Ask them if they change their lines often, as guides tend to abuse their equipment!
During your first conversation, ask about their cancellation policy, a well organized guide will email you their policy and have you sign off on it, as well as send a deposit. Ask if your deposit is refundable, and what are the conditions of getting a refund and cancellations!
Your guide should tell you what kind of boat they use ( if you are fishing from a boat). If you have health problems, research the brand and style and discuss this with your guide.
Find out who is supplying lunch. There in nothing worse then sitting down for a meal and finding that neither you or the fishing guide brought food!

Communicating with you fishing partner before the trip-

If you are bringing a buddy, client, or someone you meet on a fishing blog, be sure to settle on how you are going to share the bow, or if you are chartering a larger boat for trolling, who will fish first and for how long! This is more important for smaller boats where only one person can fish at a time. There are different ways to split of the time on the bow. One is shot for shot. If you make a cast to a fish and miss, then your buddy should have the next try, or if you are blind casting, time is usually the way to go, say 1/2 hour up, then rotate.
As long as you have communicated about this up front, then it eliminates someone from becoming a bow hog.
Decide on who is paying and how much, and who is going to leave the tip ( if you decide to tip).
Bring cash or a check, and do not ask the guide to wait after the trip as you run to the ATM as the guide is usually exhausted and wants to get home and eat and sleep! Nor should you say that you will send a check, that is just not acceptable.

On the boat.

A good guide will be walking you though all the moves as the day progresses. If not, ask what is going on with the tides, the moon, currents, and the bait fish, you are not only there to catch fish but to lean about how to read the water and the fishes habitats. If you have an understanding of what the fish are feeding on, then you have a better chance of imitating the bait fish with your lure or fly.
Ask your guide to cast a few times, maybe you will learn something, or perhaps you will learn that your guide can’t cast! Ask them to shoe you how to retrieve that line, or the lure. This is much clearer to understand then having someone explain it to you.
Ask to see your guide flies, it is kind of like looking into someone’s refrigerator, it will tell you a lot about your guide.

If your guide is being too critical of your fishing, simply ask them to stop. Nip it in the bud.
If your guide smokes and you don’t like it, again, ask them to stop.

Your fishing guide wants you to catch fish, so try to listen to what they are telling you to do. It is your best interest to not tell the guides what to do, unless they are completely hopeless, then it is fair game.

There are times when other boats or anglers around you might do something stupid. If this happens let your guide deal with it, as they have to be on the water everyday. try to refrain from screaming obscenities , putting your fishing guide in an uncomfortable situation, or if your guide is screaming at other boats and you are not comfortable, than ask him to stop.

For the most part, Fishing guides with a good reputation will live up to it. So the message here is to be clear and leave nothing to the imagination!

Amanda Switzer

Sun, light winds, no glare, or low lying white clouds on the horizon, along with the right tide and the right fly, oh yeah, don’t forget the fish!
These are all the variables in the equation for the perfect sight fishing experience.
It is not often that all the stars line up, so that is why sight fishing has to be the most frustrating and rewarding kind of fishing I know of.
I have come to the point in my fishing career, where I wont even go out unless at least three of the variables are there.I have poled many shorelines on a cloudy day telling my clients to cast towards the beach, then throw a few back casts out towards the troughs, “just cast as far as you can and strip the  line like you mean it.”
Blind fishing is not the ideal sight fishing trip, nor is poling on a foggy day, with very limited visibility, casting at fish 15 feet from the boat, but this happens more often then not, so fisherman beware and be prepared to cast all day long and maybe if the clouds clear, you’ll see what all the hype is about.
BUT, there are days when everything falls into place, when you wake up and the tree tops are not bent over, and the sky is lightening to a magnificent light blue. These are the days when you know that the only thing that can go wrong is that you miss the cast, or trout lift up your rod on the set, but short of that, these are the days that keep us coming back and give us determined sight fishermen hope.
Another truth about sight fishing is that you have to be able to cast fairly well, and be quick about it. These fish are moving and most of the time they are coming head on to the bow of the boat. A quick, long cast is the key to increasing your odds for a fish to eat your fly or lure.
As many people are transitioning over from fresh water fishing, it isn’t natural to use the line to strip set. so with after a few missed fish by lifting the rod tip and a few verbal attacks from the guide, most people gain a rapid muscle memory and start using the strip set to hook the fish.
Sight fishing also involves the help of everyone on the boat, all your senses need to be sharp and your reflexes quick. Many times the guide, or whoever is poling you around the flats, is looking out much farther then the angler on the bow, so the angler needs to be looking around their range of vision, and they shouldn’t hesitate in casting at something that even remotely looks like a fish. I once was playing target practice by throwing my fly at what I thought was a log, but after i hit it dead on, and hard, it slowly rose to the surface and swam away. That was the last time I made that mistake.
Sight fishing is not for everybody. It is not a numbers game. It is for people who really want a challenge and who are comfortable at the end of the day if they have not caught a fish. I tell people who call about charters that it is the most challenging, rewarding, and frustrating type of fishing you can do, but when it is on, it is ON.

I have been skunked many more times then I would like to admit. I have traveled around the world and have had the best and the worst of sight fishing, but I am grateful that I have one of the most productive flats fisheries right in my back yard in East Hampton, N.Y. So when the sun is blaring and the winds are light, you know where I’ll be.

Amanda

On Old Crushes and New Water -

There ought to be moments in life where everyone gets the chance to follow up on one of  those persistent wants or needs, when life offers up the chance to chase them. For years, I had seen shot after glossy shot of Cathy Beck holding what seemed to be too-large for the stream rainbows and browns pasted to the cover of one fly fishing rag or another (Have you ever wondered which one holds the camera and which focuses the lens in a Barry and Cathy Beck photo?  Who pushes the button?  And how do they . . . ah, never mind.)  These were sexy trout.  Whispers from those in the fly fishing industry who supposedly had the inside scoop tickled my inner-ear with the name of a Northeastern Pennsylvania stream—Fishing Creek.

I’d fished one of Pennsylvania’s Fishing Creeks many times: a limestone stream in the central part of the state that also held a decent population of large wild trout.  But I was told that this was an entirely separate watershed—an hour and a half further north and east from the stream I was familiar with.  It was in Columbia county.  It was a freestone stream.

The seed had been planted.

Every time I saw one of the Beck’s holding a pig Brown or Bow, my eyes raced to the caption.  Many times I found the name that I sought—Fishing Creek.  With each one of these photos, what had begun as an idle interest grew into the kind of lust only the mind of a truly deranged trout bum could foster.  But the stream lay too far away for a day trip.  And no one travels to Northeastern PA to fish Fishing Creek.  No one I knew anyway.  There are too many other well-known wild trout streams mentioned in books penned on Pennsylvanian fishing: in that corner of the state, rivers like the Lehigh, Delaware, and Lackawanna, not to mention streams like the Broadhead and Bushkill call visiting anglers each year.  So years went by and I buried that lust in that same place I bury all forbidden love.  Happily though, like any great love story, it doesn’t end here.

Just this past winter my wife informed me we’d be going to Bloomsburg in Northeastern Pennsylvania to attend a wedding.  Her cousin you see—her college roommate—was getting married.  The date?  April 25.  It was to be an evening wedding.  Not quite immediately, but certainly within the hour I was on the phone with her father—a man I have thoroughly infected with my particular disease.

Fishing?  Should there be any?

Do you think the girls will mind?

No.  Certainly not for a few hours?

I have just the place in mind.  It runs right through town.

Can you arrange a guide?

We’ll see.

I found a guy on the web named William Whitebread who has a business called Slate Drake Guide Services.  I immediately looked at the photo gallery.  Sexy fish.  We’d only be able to manage a half day.  We made the arrangements and I waited anxiously for the day to arrive.  With only a four to six hour window to fish, so many things could happen to blow this shot.  Bill told me that if anything did happen, given the state of things, he’d be glad to refund our deposit if we couldn’t fish.

The fateful day dawned clear and unseasonably warm for an April in Pennsylvania.  I couldn’t sleep the night before and was sitting in the hotel lobby sipping coffee and reading Robert Service poems as the windows refracted the days first rays of sun.  My father-in-law arrived soon after the sun and we sat quietly, each considering the day to come from our own perspectives: me anxious to find one of those glossy trout I’d wanted for so long and him disproportionately hopeful in the heightened way of a new anglers.

Our man arrived at the mutually agreed upon time and we followed his pickup as he led us through the narrow one way maze of a strange town.  My father-in-law drove and I examined all the stickers on the window of our guide’s truck cap.  A hodge podge that suggested no particular allegiance, but rather hinted at a lifestyle to those who can read such things.  Orvis.  St. Croix.  Ducks Unlimited.  Trout Unlimited.  Sage.  Rio.  It was promising.

Soon my eyes were drawn away by the sight of the stream—more of a small river.  Deep and wide in places and narrow and chocked—but still deep—in others, this looked like big trout water.  As we followed, I noticed many places along the stream that were filled with timber, sweepers deposited no doubt by the 2005 flood that ripped through the Northeastern U.S, places where trout could live and grow large unmolested by predators.

After assuring our guide that I would do well on my own and that he should focus his attention on my father-in-law, we waded across the top of a run and began to flail away.  Midges filled the air  over the fast water at the head of the run.  Bill put the old man right into the meatiest piece of the run, a piece of water whose surface spoke of the uneven, trout filled bottom it must have hid.  If there were fish anywhere in this run, they were positioned there, beneath the sheltering limbs of a sway-backed old sycamore along the far bank.

We both swung wet flies through this water and my partner missed a couple of fish but I couldn’t touch one on the swing.  Surely nymphs would find me a fish.  As I watched my indicator drift into the water my father-in-law had just fished through, I readied myself for a take.  It came, and I set hard.  For a brief moment I was connected to a heavy throbbing.  I don’t know if it was the years of pent up longing or the excitement of fishing a new river belying the fishes size to me or if it was a truly large fish.  It was gone too quick to say.  I hooked one more in the bottom of that run.  It too felt heavy.

The next spot yielded no fish, and our guide was anxious to find fish working the egg-laying Hedricksons that had positioned themselves over the stream, so we didn’t stay long.  But I’m certain this piece of water held fish: a fast, heavy run carving away at an old, undercut bank hanging over a good six to eight feet of water for a long stretch.  More big fish water.

I think both my father-in-law and myself were beginning to worry about our time constraints.   But I assured him that with the amount of bugs we’d seen in the air and the numerous caddis that were beginning to emerge, we’d find fish eating them somewhere.  I hoped.

As we scrambled down an embankment that overlooked a piece of water a few miles down stream of the one we’d just fished, our guide yelled up to us, They’re working!  Sure enough, when  we could see the creek through the trees, we saw five or six nice fish working dry flies in a long tailout.  I suggested that the guys work these fish while I moved down into the fast water below.

Not long after, I looked up and could see that the old man was into what appeared to be a good fish.  Still fishless myself, I watched as he worked the fish in.  Almost to the net, the fish surged again and he was right back where he started, so I flipped my nymphs out into the seam in front of me.  On the third drift I saw the flash of a big fish and set.  My rod stopped dead in its arc over my shoulder as the hook bit into something solid.  A moment later, I struggled with slack as a long, snakelike brown lept clear of the fast run in which he’d been hooked.  I looked upstream to see the old man still working his fish toward him.  My fish fought hard, and in that fast water tired himself quickly.  In the eddy where I’d been standing, he came easily to the net and I looked upstream to find my father-in-law holding what appeared to be a large, fat brown up for the camera.  Sexy fish!  I held mine up to show them, and Bill worked his way down with his camera to make sure any fish tales I told about the day would be accurate.

I caught a few more on nymphs before calling the day—all freshly stocked rainbows with the exception of one nice fifteen inch holdover bow.  As I worked my way back upstream toward the boys, I turned over a few rocks.  Each was covered with case caddis and a variety of mayflies.  I also noticed some watercress in spots, which hinted at the water quality.  Just why this stream was growing the large trout I’d seen for so many years and had finally seen first hand was abundantly clear.  Bugs, cover, and cold water—Fishing Creek had it all.

The wedding that night went off as most weddings do: lots of drink, dance, and song.  As I drove my wife and daughter back over the mountains of Central PA the following morning to our home near Pittsburgh, I though to myself just how lucky we had been to catch any fish in the short time we had to explore Fishing Creek, let alone a couple of browns that would be considered big fish anywhere in the country.

As for that longing I mentioned earlier for big trout and new water, think it’s gone?  Let me just say this: like that first tentative kiss young lovers share at the end of an evening, my first encounter with this place and its fish only left me wanting and dreaming of more.  I can still feel the heavy throb of that first hooked fish and my mind has put together an image of what it might have looked like.  It’s a full, glossy image of a a heavy-bodied brown, black-spotted and yellow-flanked, blue cheeked with an adipose like a ripe cherry.

I’ll be back.  Perhaps next spring when the water is up, and perhaps I’ll tow a drift boat.  Maybe we’ll throw sinking lines and streamers while we wait for the evening rise.  Next time, there’ll be no wedding to pull us away from the fish.  Next time, we’ll put a whole day in, maybe two.  Next time, we’ll do it right.  Next time.

Capt Paul Dixon

The best time to fish the Blitz is from MID SEPT to MID OCTOBER.
This is when you have the greatest chance to get a slam ( false albacore, striped bass and bluefish). The first part of Sept can be slow, really slow, and then one day, usually around the 8th it all starts to happen. Septembers weather is generally better then October. Mid to the end of October , the weather can start to get hairy, but the bass can be in thick, on the surface getting ready to travel south along the coast. The ablies have left by this time, so be sure to check with your guide on their availability and make sure you get there in the prime time if you are targeting false albacore.

The gear you need:
8-10 weight fly rod with floating lines for the albies, or intermediate for all species and then, or course, sinking for those who like to drift and dredge.
Medium spinning rods with 12+ pound test, with a 30+ pound shock, for the bass and blues. For albies, 20 pound test works fine.
Flies- small rain bait imitations, like a thin surf candy, or a local fly called the albie whore ( ho). clousers work fine as well.

When looking for a guide do your research, ask for references, there are more and more guides there, some are really good while others are just there to make money. The local guides know the area and can catch fish for you when times are tough. Ask questions like ” what happens when there are no fish showing at the point?”, a good guide will be able to rattle off a series of alternatives, and you should be able to read right through the B.S.

If you are not using a guide, check out fishing reports on www.reel-time.com
Many of their members fish out east in Montauk and give honest detailed reports.
Fishing Montauk can be easy when the fishing is rocking, but there are those days when it never turns on, so watch the weather, ( east wind sucks) the moon phases ( full moon sucks) and make sure that you select a guide that is worth their weight in gold!

Watching a trout rise to a fly may be one of the best sites to witness as a fly fisherman. Everyone dreams of those amazing days where the hatches never stop all day. One of those rivers where the chance of seeing this, is the Delaware River. Located in the Catskill Mountains on the border of New York and Pennsylvania the Delaware is the premier Fly Fishing river in the east. Hatches start in early April, but the end of April brings the Hendricksons and this hatch brings the river to life. I try every year to fish the river during this hatch and ever year the rewards are great. Depending on the temperature the hatches could start early, last all day and end with an amazing spinner fall.
The area can be a little over whelming for the beginner fly fisherman as there is a ton of water to fish. The main stem of the Delaware is made when the West branch and East branch that meet in Hancock, NY at the Junction pool.  Also the famous Beaverkill  River runs into the East Branch and all of these rivers have plenty of fish and the mayflies to bring them up. My first suggestion would be to check out the local fly shops in the area. Ask what’s going on and where you should fish. Second is to look in to hiring a guide for a day. If you plan a trip to fish here for a few days, there is no better way to learn a river then to fish with a guide. Especially the Main Stem because access can be tough if you are not familiar with the river. Also if the water level is up, fishing from a drift boat is almost a must.
A variety of trout flies is essential for fishing the Hendrickson hatch. The fish on this river can be picky. Emergers, duns and spinners are a must to have in your box. I prefer CDC emergers and parachute dry fly patterns.
Last year I drove to the river on a cold early may morning. The day was warming quickly and so were the fish. When I arrived at the river around 11 am at my favorite stretch (not to be named) the sight of trout taking emergers, quickly warmed me up and I was soon heading down to the water. The day was windy but the flies came in waves. They were off and on but when on you couldn’t have imagined just how many fish were in the river. At the end of the day we had several Brown and Rainbow Trout in the 13 to 17 inch range and one beautiful fish that was right around 20 inches.  All of these fish were caught on dry flies.
The Delaware River has some nice fish and I see every year people trying to use 3 or 4 weight rods. Many of these fish exceed 20 inches. Also remember that the water is big and the wind can be tough.  I recommend using a 5 wt. This makes casting in the wind a little easier and can give you the extra distance to reach some of the fish. It always seems the biggest fish are just out of reach. Also hooking a monster brown or rainbow on a 3 wt can take a long time to get in and can stress the fish. The main stem is not a stocked fishery so these fish are strong, but more importantly need to be released in good shape.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

When you travel all the way to Craig, Montana, you envision, rising trout sipping off drifting bugs along the rivers surface, but what you probably would not imagine is crouching behind a wild rose bush, trying to get your small clouser to drift by the mouth of a 20 pound CARP! You might even think, “why the hell am I fishing for carp, when I came here to catch big trout!”.  Well, I can tell you that I have had my reservation about carp fishing in the past. My husband used to guide in the great lakes for carp, has written articles and gave talks on the subject, and I used to tease him, telling him that they are nothing but swollen goldfish, and they have mouths that look like a woman’s reproductive organ, and that’s why he likes to fish for them! He took me carp fishing because he was sick of the tormenting. Let me tell you, it isn’t easy! those bastards are spooky and can sense you approaching a mile away.
After that experience I began to look at carp in a different light. In the right conditions, fishing for carp is a blast.
My buddy invited me to fish in montana for trout, he heard that there was a great hatch going on, so I jumped at the chance, being that I do very little fresh water fishing. We seemed to have just missed the big hatch, so our guide, Mike ward, took us to the Land of the Giants, which was great, but mainly we were fishing with sinking lines and that gets old after a while. We then decided to go to this place that Mike fishes where there are a ton of carp and, get this, its all SIGHT FISHING! Well, thats my gig, so we drove about an hour plus to this beautiful place where these critters are wallowing along the river bank.
It looked like it would be a no brainer, big stupid fish, just get the fly there and bam. That wasn’t the case. It took me about an hour before I could figure out the exact presentation to make to these guys. The movement of the river presents a challenge and the fish don’t exactly go out of their way to get the fly, so it is crucial that you get the fly to move a long a path that crosses right in front of the fishes mouth. The good news was that were so many fish that if you spooked one, you would have another just right up or down the river about 40 feet away. I never get sick of this kind of fishing and when you are looking for an added bonus to your trout trip, if you are ever fishing the Mo, be sure to ask your guide to take you sight fishing for carp. Its different, challenging and you’ll get to have a ton of fun!

Review fly fishing Gudie Mike Ward

Modest guides usually wont toot their own horns, so here we review for them. Keeping the advertisers out of the review sections, we aim to create a pure environment for fishermen and travelers to review the fishing guides, lodges and destinations they have fished with and at.

Here is a write up from www.fliesandfins.com

“The Angling Post: The anglingpost.com is owned and maintained by Amanda Switzer. We are not going to go into all the reasons why we feel she is authentic and qualified, as a long time, well known and respected fishing guide, to run and maintain a site that focuses on guide and lodging reviews. She is. A lifetime of fishing and many years in the fishing business with plenty of accomplishments. Dedicated to conservation. And, she operates out of Monatuk, NY. If any guide can understand, operate, and make it in a fiercely competitive market space like Montauk, NY, he/she can make it anywhere. Kind of like the saying for NY goes, “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.” Ultimately, the reason why we recommend this resource is because Amanda is as dedicated as we are to ensure an environment where content and advertising are clearly separated. And, Amanda will be working for you (the fisherman) to ensure a quality, authentic, and trusted theanglingpost.com experience.”

As fishermen who travel, as most of us do, having a place that offers us the inside look, is invaluable, especially in this economic market. I hope that this can one day become a resource that takes the guess work out of your next fishing trip.

Thanks a Million,

Amanda Switzer