Cape Cod's Chatham, Monomoy Island, Flats and Beyond
 Inshore Wade Saltwater
Fly/Spin Fishing Report's and Ramblings:

Wade Cape Cod - World Class Destination Flats Fishery -
May through August

Here on the Cape, we have miles and miles of light colored sand flats and crystal clear water that makes sight casting to 5-25 pound stripers the order of the day. This is probably the most exciting type of fly/spin fishing you will ever do. They're cruising the flats eating crabs, shrimp, silversides and sand lances, and just waiting for your perfectly cast fly or bait. Sometimes you need to burn up the water with a fast retrieve and at other times using a dead drift with the current is all that is needed. All methods will require distance, speed and accuracy in your casting. We have some of the finest destination flats fishing in the world right here on Cape Cod. Seeing 100s or more fish in a tide is the norm when sunny. Test your skills and let's work together to help you along the path to hooking up in paradise.

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Blending in and stalking our prey while wading the Flats.
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  5 fish, 2 O'Clock, 75 feet, moving left, throw it 50 feet, 12 O'Clock, leave it, leave it, ok now, strip it, faster, strip it, their on it, there on it...

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  He ate it! Ye-haa! :)
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The following fishing reports will consist of Inshore Saltwater (Fly/Spin) Fishing. It will include Tips, techniques, Habitat, Presentation, Baitology, Flies-Hooks, Moon Fazes, Flats, and even some highlights from year’s past fishing reports. Some of the material will come straight from my past experience as chief instructor of the Orvis 2 ½ day saltwater fly fishing schools. Additional material will come from first hand knowledge, gained from my many years of eating, breathing, living and loving the New England - Cape Cod Inshore Saltwater environment. So, sit back, relax and enjoy this Truly World Class Destination Fishery!
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Final - 7/18 Wade Saltwater Cape Cod Chatham Monomoy Island Fly/Spin Fishing Report, Pictures, Articles, Humor, Tips and much more:
It's been an interesting season to say the least. We have had and well continue to have slooooow, ok to amazing days. That's fishing :) Bluefish have invaded some of my stomping grounds along with the usual BIG Bass. Seeing a few schoolies here and there. With some of the 10lb. Blues around they are more scarce than normal. As the water warms I expect those bigger blues to leave and search out colder water. The Snapper Blues (3-5 pounders) will remain and offer us additional excitement. I expect many more schoolies to return and help fill in along with the ever present larger Bass. Expect some fresher Bass of all sizes around on these upcoming faster tides. This always brings in the freshies that are lots of fun because they do not have a phd in what is real or not. The faster tides also cause the fish to eat better. Strong currents are like a dinner bell to the fish. They also normally will not have the opportunity to study your fly, lure for realism (scent and sight) for any length of time due to these faster tides. In Aug. try to only fish these faster tides for more fish and easier. Expect VERY few fish on some of these slower tides in Aug. on the Island flats :)
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Thanks again, to all of you for your valuable internet fishing time, interest, continued support, referrals and business :)
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As always, we pray and hope for all of our service men and women's safe return home. We will leave you all a few fish in the Oceans and Rivers to catch and enjoy upon your safe return home :) I hope my fishing reports have helped you to forget about work, for just a lil :)
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I sincerely hope that what Ive been able to share with
you over these past many many years has helped you along
the road to becoming a better, more informed, safe,
knowledgeable and experienced angler.
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I hope to see you all on the flat's and up on the Salmon River in Pulaski, NY soon.
Next update - report will be from the Slam'n Salmon River.
You can continue to read some of my Saltwater report's, etc.. on
http://reel-time.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=3 and
http://www.reel-time.com/fishwire/capecod/eupdate.htm
Fishing you all a great, safe, summer season.
Randy :)
Now get back to work before the Boss catch's you :)
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August- Open dates 4-5, 8-17, 19-22. -(4-5 and 19-22 have the best tides and are recommended :)
That's it for my summer season. Thank You! :)
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Some special sight fished Bass off the Flats while Fly Fishing!
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Mail Bag:
Thanks, Randy. I figured you'd be booked up, but it was worth a shot.
I'll certainly keep you in mind for next year. I'm dying to get out there,
and don't want my first time to be a solo, non-return trip. <> Cheers.
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Super!
If you have not already, I always recommend to clients
- anglers to copy and print out my article on safety on
my fishing reports page - website. Read it every time
before hitting the island and have the necessary
equipment to keep you safe. :)
Randy
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I read through that recently and found it quite useful.
I am a fairly cautious angler, but especially so when I'm new to an area.

Thanks, Randy. Good fishin!

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This valuable Flats safety article is below.
It covers all Wade, Cape Cod Flats.
It could save your life, so please copy it and save to file.
Also, Please share it with your fishing friends.
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First Mate Matt, dad and myself out on my 16 foot heated driftboat, enjoying a Steelhead filled day during the Winter on the Salmon River in Pulaski, NY. 35 minutes drive North of Syracuse off the Interstate. Approx. 5-1/2 hour drive from the Boston area, approx. 4-1/2 hour's from N.Y. City. Steelhead average 8 to 12 lb's. We fish for them from Nov. all Winter into the first week of May approx. My personal favorite time to fish for them in order of preference, April - May, Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. and Nov. I have a BIG propane heater on the drift boat that I use during the Winter to help take the chill off. :) Works great!
We also (wade only) fish for (10-20 lb. average) King Salmon (Coho Salmon too) that run from Mid-Sept. until the end of Oct. Then we have Brown trout that average 3-5 pounds with some reaching into the teens during Nov.
Very reasonable flight's into Syracuse, car rentals, very inexpensive lodging, food and guide rates. :)
I supply everything but the chest waders.
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Anyone with any heart problems will not be allowed to fish for steelhead w/ me :) With there acrobatic nature, speeding bullet runs, they have been know to stop and or jump start a few hearts, including mine on an almost daily basis. :) Randy 
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Starting Mid-Sept. I start guiding for King Salmon. (Open guide dates: Sept. 15, Oct. 14, 21, 24, 29-31. Starting Nov. I guide for Steelhead all Winter into the first week of May normally. (Lot's of open dates mid-week with 2 anglers max.) Wade/Driftboat/Fly/Spin on the Salmon River in Pulaski, N.Y.
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Fishing Reports
Monomoy Island all 3 days:
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7/6
Taught my first two guest's how to fly cast over a 2 hour period without a fly on. They learned how to throw the fly 50-60 feet. With the fly on the lesson continued while we fished and they didnt hit any fish, unfortunately. I hit one while demonstrating.
The afternoon brought 2 new and experienced anglers out on the flats with me and it was hammer time. While wade, fly, blind casting they hit numerous fish after fish. All on Sand Lance streamer pattern's. White and Olive clouser, fast retrieve. Blues around also. Now, these guys could cast!
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7/7
Spin and fly, wade, father and son team. I fished some really nice spots. Lots of them had moving water over a hole with bait. Nothing all day. Actually, I had one hit and miss and Dad had a short strike. Boy, I hate days like today. I'm guessing some of those 10 pound blues had made a mess of things, as they often do.
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7/8
As soon as our ankles touched the flats water I saw a 15 lb. Bass in 10 inch's of water. Wow! Good start! A short while later as we re-approached the flats water in another section while wade sight fishing with a fly rod we saw another. And this was even with a terrible sun and a very small window.
Once the sun did come out we were able to see a good number of big'ns. Normally, in this spot, you will see 100's upon 100's of a fair number of schoolies, but not today (I think, once again, we had some of those 10 lb. Blues, making a reeeel mess of the place.) 99% of the Bass were ALL keeper's! We started patterning the fish and this patterning never stopped all day.
Holy cow! We saw many, cast at many, had many crashing bait on the surface on the flat's while sight fishing with fly rod, had many follows, saw a LOT of flashing fish (when they eat they turn sideways and flash) close up inspections, follows to inspect our morsel for realism in sight as well as smell, refusal's and caught - fooled one very smart Bass of 29 inch's! Super!
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You can see by the above report that the fishing on the island is just that, Fishing.
Good Luck everyone,
Randy
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This fish was taken at the high in 12 inch's of water, 1 foot off the dry sand to your right in photo! It was the smaller of the five. :) I was standing 30 feet back from the waters edge on the sand. (Believe it or not :)FYI -  3 other anglers were standing waist deep in the water 200 feet out in front of me fly casting to water void of anything swimming. Very normal, I used to do it too!
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7/9
While we had a presence of a few fish, they were to few and far between. Slooow day on the flats. I have the same two anglers (up here from Florida) tomorrow, so I'm going to take them to a different part of the island. Today I had them in the exact same area as 7/8. By reading that day's fishing report, you can see why I returned today. I couldn't be happier with 7/10's outing with the same guest's as yesterday. Enjoy! as they did :)
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7/10
We sight/fly/wade fished all day. We started off with a school of 100 Bass all Keeper's just sitting there not moving while they rested.  We hooked some up. :) Then it was keeper Bass in schools of 1,2, 20, 30, 50 for the next hour steady (approx. 300). But, no schoolies. Then we hit a lull and all we could find were those nice fighting 10 lb. Blues on the flats while sightfishing in 1,2's, 7-8's and 10's (approx. 40), but no schoolies. We had to force ourselves to put on the wire and play with these darn Bluefish in 1 foot of water. :)  Then as we moved along the flat looking over the edges, we finally found some schoolies in 1,2's and 3's, (approx. 30 of them in total.) They were off the main flat and seemed to be in hiding. Then as we progressed along the flats to another section all hell broke lose. School's of 3lb. to 10 lb. Blues in singles, doubles, 10's, 20's 30's, 40's all the way up to school's of 100. (Saw easily over 1,000 Blues in less than 2 hour's. AMAZING!!  :)
In total we sightfished while wading and useing fly rods to approx. 1,400 fish in a 5 hour time period. (Most of which came within easy casting range of a fly rod in less than a 2 hour period.) Almost steady fish all day with sometimes only seconds inbetween them. At times they surrounded us and Ray Charles could have sight fished to them. :)
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7/11
Started off slow on the flats. Saw a school of approx. 7 Bass in the first 1/2 hour. Then we left for greener pastures and again, found nothing for the next 1/2 hour. Left again for another flat and as soon as our ankles touched the edge it was fish, 12 O'Clock, moving right. Fish ON! As we fought this fish we saw more pass'n us by. As we proceeded to walk along this edge we saw more and more fish, had lots of opportunity, caught zip.
I always jokingly tell folks that if you want to improve your odds, then blindcast. You don't have to be fast or accurate, you just have to get it out there. If you want to TRY to catch fish, then sight cast. :)
As we approached the main flat for the day we began to see BIG Bass, more and then some more. Then, as expected, we began to see those schools of blues and more Blues. Amazing numbers. The Bass sighting's slooowed down so we switched to Blue fish rigging and proceeded to hook them up. Along with these BIG numbers of blues, we also began to see these keeper Bass again. Combination of very good numbers of both species consistently on the flats. If you can imagine seeing several pods of blues in schools of 20 to 100 ( in 1 foot of water) and also at the same time seeing 2-3 keeper bass all around you, then you have the picture! Turquoise water, almost matching the color of the sky and looking exactly like the Caribbean. The only difference is that you didnt have to spend $1,000's of dollar's for the experience. :) A good sized Bluefish will give you almost the same run - fight as a bonefish in my opinion. The only difference is about $1,000 per fish. :)
Another amazing day while sight fishing with a fly rod in these crystal clear waters LOADED with Bass and blues. Ended the day with another Blue attacking our lil Sand Lance fly pattern with another one of many spectacular speeding bullet runs ending at the rod while landing with the normal bite off. :)Darn, and that was my favorite fly. :) Amazing, simply amazing. I hope you all get a chance to experience this fishery.
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FYI - If booking me and your schedule is flexible and I'm not booked up. I'd like to try to get you out on the best weather day possible. Sight fishing with a good sun and light breeze. If not, then we will fish with whatever weather we have, as long as safe. :) This is a lil something I try to do when Im not booked everyday and your flexible.
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7/13
My one day off to go fishing with a freind
First flat of the morning had a school of 100 Fish in 1-1/2 feet of water just hang'n around that we sight cast too. Hooked a couple, in 2 cast's. They moved into another area that had a couple more schools hanging around. Played with these for awhile. Then off to another area flat complex and found some more here and there to cast at. We then moved to the honey hole. This hole has had approx. 1,000 to 500 fish in it lately. It was LOADED today. Every single cast replied with numerous Blues crashing our surface lures. We had a competition on who could retrieve it the fastest and make the most cast's without hooking up. We tied with each of us unable to keep the plugs away from them by our second cast. Incredible jump's, somersault's, speeding bullet runs. Ye-haa! My buddy tried fishing bait on the bottom and in 4 cast's caught 4 Bass. Blues on top and Bass underneath them. Tremendous amount of bait spraying. I even had fun taking the hook off :0 the lure and letting the blues hammer the plug time and time again. :) Wrist's and arms sore, no more challenge, tooo easy, left.
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7/15
Lot's of Bluefish. Had a blast! Had our slooow periods and our fast and furious times. Nice day out on the flats sight fishing.
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7/16
Slooow day while spin fishing, surprising so. We had to work for every slam'n bite. Incoming and drop the best.
Had some NICE Bluefish slam'n the top water lure's. Ye-haa!
Randy
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Sunday morning caught myself surfing the Saltwater Web sites, sipping coffee, day dreaming of surf, blue bird skies, crystal clear water over light colored sand flats, girls in bikinis - errrr, I mean, cruising blues and bass on the shallow flat's.
5 fish - 2 o'clock! , throw it 12 O'clock, 50 feet ! O.K. , let it sit there, dont move it, stay low, here they come, get ready, Now strip it, strip it faster, 2 fish just broke from the school, strip it - strip it, their nose is on it, there on it, keep stripping, their on it,

He ate it! The pictures above were actually a single 15 or above pound Bass in 12 inch's of water while wade fly fishing the flats. Saw it about 160 feet away. Head shot. Big'n, Cast 70, Adrenaline, leave it, don't move it, wait, Adrenaline, he flashed! Set it!

Ye-haa!! What a honk'a!!! Sometimes setting by sight is the answer.
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Invasion of the Bluefish, Flats, Wade, Fly, Chatham

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Invasion of the Bluefish, Flats, Wade, Fly, Chatham
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I'm having more trouble this year than any other year getting a steady pattern from day to day on these fish. I never know exactly what I will find from day to day which is different than years past. Fortunately, I know the water inside and out, so that helps. Most of my spots are pretty consistent, but not always.
In the last week and a half, those 10 lb. blues have been making a mess of things in the area's that I fish. The bigger Bass are always around as usual, but this last week the 20-26 inch Bass have been in hiding due to all of these Blues. Incredible tides also! Holes and Flats that normally hold 100 to 1,000 Schoolies per day are coming up almost blank. We then only have a lot of Keeper Bass and Blues to play with. It's always nice to have some schoolies to fill in. Presently, I am noticing a higher than normal invasion of Blues up to 10 lb.s.
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Today was a perfect example. We sight/fly/wade fished all day. We started off with a school of 100 Bass all Keeper's just sitting there not moving while they rested. We hooked some up. Then it was keeper Bass in schools of 1,2, 20, 30, 50 for the next hour steady (approx. 300). But, no schoolies. Then we hit a lull and all we could find were those nice fighting 10 lb. Blues on the flats while sightfishing in 1,2's, 7-8's and 10's (approx. 40), but no schoolies. We had to force ourselves to put on the wire and play with these darn Bluefish in 1 foot of water. Then as we moved along the flat looking over the edges, we finally found some schoolies in 1,2's and 3's, (approx. 30 of them in total.) They were off the main flat and seemed to be in hiding. Then as we progressed along the flats to another section all hell broke lose. School's of 3lb. to 10 lb. Blues in singles, doubles, 10's, 20's 30's, 40's all the way up to school's of 100. (Saw easily over 1,000 Blues in less than 2 hour's. AMAZING!!
In total we sightfished while wading and useing fly rods to approx. 1,400 fish in a 5 hour time period. (Most of which came within easy casting range of a fly rod in less than a 2 hour period.) Almost steady fish all day with sometimes only seconds inbetween them. At times they surrounded us and Ray Charles could have sight fished to them.
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The other day we had all Keeper Bass flashing, chasing bait on the shallow, almost white sand while wading with a fly rod sight fishing all day, but no schoolies.
You can see that Im not used to all of these Blues around in these numbers nor bigger size than usual for this time of the year, in my opinion.
And the effect it is having on the large number of schoolies that usually help to fill in the holes and flats.
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2 days ago we had some Keeper Bass around but not as many as the day before. Got skunked. No schoolies or Blues. Water seemed to be void of almost anything swimming. We did see a couple flash and 1 chasing some bait. But, that was all. Sloooow, terrible day on the flats and we had very good visibility! We had 2 days like this last week again. Never know! It seems to be feast or famine.
You can see by the above report that the fishing on the island is just that, Fishing.
Good Luck everyone,
Happy Hook'n,
Randy

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The below is my opinion. Coming from many years of study on an almost daily basis,  all season long, while wade, sight, blind, fly/spin fishing the Cape Cod area and beyond. I hope you find my reports and articles entertainingly informative and mildly educational from a fly/spin wade angler's perspective here on Cape Cod.
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The resident Bass are all here and things are shaping up nicely for Aug. Most folks are finding fish on all the flats around the Cape whether boat or wade. Providing you have the correct conditions.
They are clear blue skies with no white clouds on the horizon, or even slightly covering the sun and a 5-6 knot wind, hopefully, all by yourself. Obviously,  having an intimate understanding and knowledge of the flat (s) your on can make the difference between seeing no fish, a few fish or hundred's of fish.
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I enjoy many of the Wade flats on the Cape because a lot of them provide you with the ability to see'm at all stages of the tide,  fish moving in all directions, whether incoming or dropping. Looking East in the morning and or West in the afternoon. Some also give you the option of cheating the wind by crossing creeks, rivers (very dangerous! and not necessary to catch fish) or by simply repositioning yourself to hopefully be able to cast with or across the wind on either your forward or back cast.
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July and Aug. especially are month's to be very careful concerning the ever present chance of fog rolling in,  in seconds. Also, beware of these faster, higher tides we have. Never go into an area that you are not intimately familiar with. An incoming tide can be more dangerous than a dropping tide, but not always. Plan your return trip on the walk out. (FYI - Lot's of safety related tips (flats - near death experience recently) in an article below.
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The below flats sight stuff has all been written before, but its worth revisiting at this time of the year when the fish will be getting a phd in whats real or not and a stealthy correct presentation is crucial to your success.
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One of the simplest strategies while sight fishing is to stand still (let them come to you) lead your fish by 40-50 feet and place the fly as far away from yourself as possible. Determine its projected path by the contour of the sand that its in and the depth of water. Normally they will stay in that zone, unless spooked. Most anglers would never think of leading their fish by that much but you'll find that if you properly determine it's projected path, land the fly fast and accurately, that the rewards will out weight any short come'ns.
1. No noise made by the fly and line slapping the water that might spook the fish.
2. By casting at your fish at a greater distance away from yourself,  the chance of the fish seeing you is almost nell.
3. Should you accidently slap the water with your fly you are less apt to spook your fish. Even the water slapping the bottom of your basket can spook your fish.
4. Many many an angler kill their one chance before their fly even touch's the water. Do you unknowingly move your legs while casting? Lot's of anglers do it unconsciously. The only way to fix it is to have someone watch you. The fish sees and hears you and even if they do not spook, the odds of them eating is almost nell. Do you take longer than you should to get the fly on'm? By not perfecting your false casting the fish can easily get to close and see you or be in Nantucket by the time you fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnaaaaaaaaaaaallll
llllllllllllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyy get on'm. :) Might be time for a lil casting practice out on the front yard without a fly or fish to distract you? Do you remember to duck down when the fish gets within 40-50 feet? If not,  your killing your shots before you even make'm. Are you bending over while retrieving your fly when the fish is close? If not, your ...................
5. Almost anytime, anywhere in the world, any species of fish. You will increase the odds of hooking up when ever you can make it easier for the fish to feed. Meaning, present your fly by leading the fish far enough so your fly is at eye level (normally bottom) once the fish arrives to where your fly is at. (In July, if the fish has to rise to intercept your fly it can often be met with a refusal.) Then start your retrieve,  trying to imitate the "exact" fleeing reaction of the baitfish, or whatever you are duplicating with your fly.
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And finally - An old saying:
When walking a flat sight fishing, you are walking to fast. :) I prefer to stand still so their is no chance of the noise generated by yourself spooking the fish while walking. If walking, its more like a slooow crawl.
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Lot's of keepers around being their usual fussy selves. But catch able. Especially on these incredible tides. I'd call in sick to work if I were you.
Forecasting the Aug. fishing to be either slow, ok or amazing as all heck and or a combination of these :) (I can't be wrong with a fishing forecast like that! :)
Fly - Sand Lance pattern's have been doing the trick for my guest's and show's no sign of changing. Keeper bass have been munching on'm pretty good! Size is anywhere from a pencil to a tooth pick. White and olive are the primary colors. If your a tier you could add a lil pink or combine a couple of colors to give the middle a pearl ( or purple) color.
Some anglers are having a slow time of it,  while other's doing better. Which is very normal given everyone's different experience and ability levels.
That's fishing
Randy Jones
www.yankeeangler.com - Fishing Reports - Pic's and much more.
A proud Reel-Time Sponsor
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Nice almost low tide shot of some of our flats and very dangerous creeks - rivers that Ive been warning everyone about for many many years.
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Treasure is tight to a keep'a off the Bass River Jetty. Nice fish fighting form! :)
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When I talk about perfect sight fishing conditions and mother nature being kind to you, this is the type of stuff you can hopefully expect. Obviously, I've also had just the opposite of these days too, which Im sure some of you can relate to. :)
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We absolutely hammered the fish today. Bass and Blues. Blindcasting and sight fishing. We started off blindcasting and within a few cast's were tight. Then another and another. Boring :) (just kidding:) While sight fishing we first came across some singles, doubles and schools of 10-20 Bass (One school had no less than 150 Bass in it) with only an approx. 20-30 foot visual window due to being fogged in. Once the skies cleared we found a school of approx. 500 Bass, all having what I call a jacuzzi party. They had no place to go and just hung out with us in 2 feet of water or less (for an entire 2 hours) and allowed us to constantly - consistently hook them up while sight fishing. We stayed 80 feet away and used the wind at our back to help place the fly on the button. We used the edge of the flat to hide from them and had to duck down several times to help keep from being seen by them as they swam within 30 feet. Another fish ON! Then, we waded after them and or stood still and allowed them to come back to us time after time. After they finally left the flat they hung out in another location allowing us to see them easily and continue catching them. We saw over 800 fish today, with most of these being the 500 Bass that just hung around with us for a loooong time. Simply AMAZING. I hope you all get the chance sometime in your life to experience this endless, all you can eat, smorgasbord while wade sightfishing with the fly rod.
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Fun day today! My guest's played with a few fish (along with a good number of very nice opportunities) while we did a combo of blindcasting into some holes with lots of current. (Fish flashing - Eating, crashing BIG Silver sides on the surface) And also saw approx. 100 Bass while sight fishing in the morning and afternoon over a very short window of opportunity. Combination of shorts and keep's. Picked up a keeper Bass on the fly rod. Super! Took my guest into his backing and gave him a great fight all the way. Fish released for you to enjoy next time your out fishing :)
At one point today within approx. 20 minutes I counted about 60-70 fish that all swam by us within 10 to 50 feet. Sometimes we only had seconds between fish. Sometimes we had so many in front of us that we just cast into the middle of them. Unfortunately, the breeze was blowing straight into my guest's face, so it made it a lot more challenging to get the fly on'm.
FYI - The bait that I saw today was large Silversides (a nice deceiver imitated them nicely, VERY small shrimp and the normal Sand Lances - pencil sized.
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Had a slooow day on the flats while sight fishing. Only saw approx. 450 Bass all day. Most of these were all Migratory keepers. The rest were migratory Blues and resident Bass.
The morning started off unexpectedly reeel slow. The fish must have over slept. :) Around 11 we started to see them in small numbers. Then unexpectedly, at the BEST part of the tide where we normally see a crescendo of fish, it died. We left for greener pastures and found a few more. Still not enough to make me happy so we left for another flat. Before we even got there all hell broke lose. Would you believe that in the last 25 minutes of sight fishing today, that over 300 Bass (mostly keepers) came by us within fly casting range in schools of 20 to 50? WOW!
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Sight fished to approx. 750 Bass in 2 feet of water or less, the ENTIRE tide while wade w/fly. Ye-hha! Randy
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Same guest's for these two days. We had a blast fishing around Monomoy Island and picked up fish in every spot. The next day due to the wind we stayed inshore and played with Bass, Flounder and Shad useing the fly rods. Ye-haa!

Happy hook'n,
Randy
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(Photo by John Halnon)
When I die, I hope I end up on a flat with sunny skies, (You need the sun to be able to see them) a 5-6 knot wind (this is the preferred speed of wind we like when sight fishing for many reason's) and big Bass doing head stands. (tailing)
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John Knight and myself, hard at work. Trying to stay
out of the fish's window.
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Back in the good'ol ladder days :)
I think this was one of the pictures that appeared in "On The Water" magazine.
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Another Sighted Fly Fish while wading the Flats.
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My good freind Bill O'Mally caught this 40 inch Bass while useing his 15 foot spey rod, 10 feet off the dry sand in the surf off ANY outer Cape beach. He was sight fishing to 100's and 100's of migratory Bass and Blues during the migration at this time of the year. Pretty simple stuff if you hit it just right!
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Sighted Bass while Wade Fly Fishing the Flats. Congrats!!
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My good freind and Guide Joey K. caught this Big Bass while sight fishing on a flat in 2 feet of water with his fly rod.
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provided by New York State Licensed Fishing Guides)
2008 - Last 2 weeks of August - First 2 weeks of Sept.
School Agenda:
Seminar on Salmon Fishing
Fly tying Instruction
2 days Fly Fishing Instruction and guiding on the Salmon River
Orvis Fly Rod and Reels
Access Passes to Douglaston Salmon Run
Two Nights Lodging 
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Detailed Agenda:
Schools can be customized to your scheduled availability. 
(Mid-week or Weekends)
Arrive Friday Afternoon (Check In)
6PM. Friday Fly Tying Instruction and Salmon Seminar
Saturday (All day) Instruction and Guiding on the Salmon River
Saturday Night Fly Tying Instruction and Fishing stories Told
Sunday (All Day) Instruction and Guiding on the Salmon River
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Clinic Requirements:
New York State Fishing License (Available Upon Arrival)
Tuition for Clinic $400 per Participant
$100 Deposit Will Assure Your Reservation
Balance Paid Upon Arrival
Women, teenagers welcome
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New changes this year:
If mid-week is of interest to you, then it may be possible 
to set a special school up for 2-3 people.
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These dates you normally will only have 10-50 Salmon entering 
the lower river. Not many, but not many other anglers either. 
This is prime time if you do not like crowds and especially 
want to LEARN the lower river. My personally endorsed guide 
will normally fish the AM run and then start to move around and 
learn (fish) all the other places that all species of fish will 
stop and rest-hold while in transition. Prime dates to learn  
the lower river for a lifetime of future fishing pleasure on 
your own. Whether its Fall, Winter, Spring Steelhead or Fall Salmon 
you are after. 
Call (Endorsed Guide) Joey K. for questions 
and Bookings 908-419-0138
The only comprehensive fishing program available on the 
Salmon River, Pulaski, NY.
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(Photo John Halnon)
Nice picture of the reeeeel deal. Notice the clarity of the water, lightness of the sand, knee deep water. Pretty neat stuff!
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Intrested in some Slam'n Salmon River Fish?
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Much of the week was about learning, studying, becoming the 10% that catch's 90% of the fish consistently. Listening to the fish. When we listened, we were rewarded. :) I know we succeeded in many more ways than to simply catch a fish. It's this knowledge (fishing a number of different good spots - habitat, changing your rigging, changing your drift according to the spot) that builds confidence and allows you to consistently return to this river, without a guide. And catch more fish than you have ever dreamt of before and for the rest of your life. It's this knowledge that helps you to pick up fish all day long.
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We moved around a lot and hit fish in almost all spot's fished. Transitional and holding.
Holding produced better, 100%, more consistent. Transitional produced about 50-50. Send me an email if your intrested in acquiring the skill's necessary to proficiently and consistently with confidence catch these fish.


Wow, so silver. Now you know why we call them the silver bullet. This one is almost translucent and you can't buy a fresher looking fish on this river. :) Congrats!

We've been targeting Salmon lately due to the incredible numbers around. We have been picking up the occasional Steelie almost everyday, sometimes 2 or 3, different area's, while fishing for salmon. :)
The above picture was the last spot of the day. Planned on making just a few cast's on our way back to the parking lot. I knew this spot had remained unfished for the last hour before we got there. The odds were very good that at least a couple of fish had moved into it, as they often do. First cast, fish on, it's a steelie! Then another Chromer, then a couple Salmon in just 20 minutes or so. Out of the 4 fish, this was the only one landed. How sweet it is! Congrats on that beautiful Silver Bullet!
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Time for a commercial break ;)

Randy,
Every time I go fishing, the optimist in me says "This might be the day."  Athletes pray for days like this, hoping they play in "the zone." I think fishermen do too. Surely, this is what keeps many of us thrashing the water with a piece of string. I can count on one hand the number of days when this has happened. Two of them have been with you. The first was two years ago today, Oct. 8, when I hooked 40 or 50 fish, including a 35 lb male king that now sits above my fireplace as an reminder of that one remarkable day of fishing. The other was last Friday. Not only did I land a pair of nice Kings, I also caught my first Cohos, a beautiful male brown and three fall-run steelhead -- my first grand slam on the Salmon River. All told, I had maybe 20 hookups, while my buddy Myles had almost as many and landed cohos, a brown and several steelhead. It wasn't as if this was a great day on the river. I saw many long faces and shaking heads as other anglers came up empty, lost lead and flies to the river bottom and called it quits by midday. The credit for my experience is all yours. I know there are many fishermen who can work the Salmon River and catch plenty of fish, especially when a run is on. I can do it on my own sometimes. But putting it all together when the fishing is slow as you did is a testimony to your skill, knowledge and hard work. Looking forward to my next trip with you and the chance to yell "Fish On"!
Regards, Jim

The Silver Bullet, Chromer, Metal Head, are all names we use for the Steelhead we catch all Fall, Winter and Spring on the Salmon River in Pulaski, N.Y., 30 miles North of Syracuse. (Interested?)
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Randy, had another great fishing trip with you recently. Your knowledge, patience, and professional attitude gave us everything we had hoped for and more. We had a great time, and we are both still so impressed!  We learn something new every time we fish with you.  4 years and 7 trips....and you still have the same drive and desire we saw the first time you took us out!  You are a true professional, and you have customers for life.
Until the next fish bites, Garry
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1880 House B and B, Salmon - Steelhead Season Available Dates
Linda's B and B provide all the "extra's" that include breakfast, home made soup, free commercial ice machine, use of washer and dryers, wader area to hang your waders, fly tying table, cable tv in all the bedrooms, most have a private bath and wireless internet service. Incredible dinners are available from Nov. until the end of April.
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If you would like a personally recommended place to rest your head after a long day of fighting King Salmon, Browns or Steelhead on the Salmon River, Pulaski NY on a year round basis. Linda, who owns and run's The "Very Popular" 1880 House B and B still has some rooms available.
http://www.1880house.com
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The fine owners of the Sporting Gentleman are all stocked up and ready to supply you with all of your Steelhead, Trout, Bass, Tarpon, Bones, Etc.. needs.
If your in the neighborhood, please stop in and say HI to my good friend's at the "The Sporting Gentleman."
They will have all of your fishing supplies. Or, you can visit them by this link. :)

http://www.sportinggentleman.com/index.html
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Hello to all of the service men and women over sea's 
that enjoy my fishing reports. Fishing you all a safe 
return home!
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Thanks for stopping in and spending your valuable 
internet fishing time here. :) Thanks for your 
business, referrals and kind words.
Randy 

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Mustad Hooks, the brea--, err I mean, the BEST their is! :)
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The Author, Guide, Outfitter:
Randy Jones is a full-time professional fly/spin fishing guide with over 24 years of 
experience. He has represented the Orvis Corporation as a guide and chief instructor 
of their 2 1/2 day Saltwater Fly fishing schools. 

    During the summer, Randy can be found wade guiding the S.E. (and beyond) Cape Cod 
area's,  where sight casting on the flats to trophy Striped Bass is his specialty. 
During the Fall, Winter, and Spring Randy runs drift boat and wade trips on the world 
class Salmon River, Pulaski N.Y. for Steelhead, Coho, Browns, Atlantic's and Kings.

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July Wade Saltwater Cape Cod Chatham Monomoy Island Fly/Spin Fishing Report, Pictures, Articles, Humor, Tips and much more:
I hope you find my reports and articles entertainingly informative and mildly educational from a fly/spin wade angler's perspective here on Cape Cod.
Over view:
I've been fishing in a number of different habitat's from all around the entire Cape Cod area, depending on several factors or variables.
Just like my last overview, the fishing has been just that. Fishing! Everyday is different and you never know exactly what you will find. Whether we are blindcasting or sight fishing. Some days have been sloooow, some days have been ok but most of our days have been OUTSTANDING!  These fast tides that we are having now 7/4 have improved the fishing from last week in my opinion. Very normal.
Look for your flats fish to become much more spooky and fussy. Time for your stealth presentations, flies, etc... The balance of our resident population of migratory Bass will finish arriving this first week of July (Approx.)  Best time to catch a keeper before they get a phd in whats real or not. :)
Best places to fish here on the Cape will be places that have a cold water influence off the Ocean along with moving water over a hole, hump or some type of structure while wading. Find these things and I'll bet you will find some fish.
Normally, the only reason's the fish wont be in these locations is if they are threaten by predators, water is to warm or there is not enough food for them.
Good luck everyone and go get'm!
Happy Hook'n,
Randy
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Past Coupl'a Week's Daily Fishing Log:
Scheduled Days Off: 7/4-5
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7/3
Slower day than expected. Had a few of those 10 lb. Blues crash our 7 inch sluggo on the surface. Crash, bang, slam, water exploding all around our lure! Had some short strikes on our flies, lost another blue when it slammed our fly. Chewed our mono leader to shred's. Wind was honk'n but had a nice spot that we could throw it WITH the wind. Who say's you can't fly cast in a 30 knot wind. Easy as pie! Got blown off the flat by the chop as expected. Didnt see many with a 1 foot chop created by the wind. Left for greener pastures and was handed the big'ol zip. With all the fish around yesterday, figured this area would have been over flowing. We had a presence of fish, they were around, just not in the big numbers that I had hoped for. Hmm, I guess today I was a zero, instead of yesterday's hero. :)
I'm not making up any excuse's, but with those 10 pound blues around, they could have easily of scared ALL of the schoolie Bass that were here in BIG number's yesterday away. I've seen these blues act like parana and attack the Bass and rip them apart on the flats countless times, especially more so in the Spring. I wouldn't hang around either if those nasty good fighting blues were around. :)
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7/2
Holy Cow-a-Bunga! We absolutely hammered the fish today. Bass and Blues. Blindcasting and sight fishing. We started off blindcasting and within a few cast's were tight. Then another and another. Boring :) (just kidding:) While sight fishing we first came across some singles, doubles and schools of 10-20 Bass (One school had no less than 150 Bass in it) with only an approx. 20-30 foot visual window due to being fogged in. Once the skies cleared we found a school of approx. 500 Bass, all having what I call a jacuzzi party. They had no place to go and just hung out with us in 2 feet of water or less (for an entire 2 hours) and allowed us to constantly - consistently hook them up while sight fishing. We stayed 80 feet away and used the wind at our back to help place the fly on the button. We used the edge of the flat to hide from them and had to duck down several times to help keep from being seen by them as they swam within 30 feet. Another fish ON! Then, we waded after them and or stood still and allowed them to come back to us time after time. After they finally left the flat they hung out in another location allowing us to see them easily and continue catching them. We saw over 800 fish today, with most of these being the 500 Bass that just hung around with us for a loooong time. Simply AMAZING. I hope you all get the chance sometime in your life to experience this endless, all you can eat, smorgasbord while wade sightfishing with the fly rod.
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6/30 - 7/1
Same guest's for these two days. We had a blast fishing around Monomoy Island and picked up fish in every spot. The next day due to the wind we stayed inshore and played with Bass, Flounder and Shad useing the fly rods. Ye-haa!
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6/28-29
Scheduled days off. Pheeew!
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6/27
Fished several spots with the fly rods today and had success in 2 out of the 3 places. It was Hammer time! Picked up a good number of short's to legal size fish.
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6/26
Played with a bunch of Bass and Shad while blindcasting. We stayed inshore today due to high and gusty winds. Hardly a drop of wind and lot's of fun fish to play with! This was my second day with the same client as Wed. By mid-day today he was throwing a 3 foot loop, double hauling expertly and throwing 80 feet consistently like it was child's play. :) With a solid foundation (fairly easy to achieve with proper patent instruction) it's easy to take it to the next level.
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6/25
Fun day today! My guest's played with a few fish (along with a good number of very nice opportunities) while we did a combo of blindcasting into some holes with lots of current. (Fish flashing - Eating, crashing BIG Silver sides on the surface) And also saw approx. 100 Bass while sight fishing in the morning and afternoon over a very short window of opportunity. Combination of shorts and keep's. Picked up a keeper Bass on the fly rod. Super! Took my guest into his backing and gave him a great fight all the way. Fish released for you to enjoy next time your out fishing :)
At one point today within approx. 20 minutes I counted about 60-70 fish that all swam by us within 10 to 50 feet. Sometimes we only had seconds between fish. Sometimes we had so many in front of us that we just cast into the middle of them. Unfortunately, the breeze was blowing straight into my guest's face, so it made it a lot more challenging to get the fly on'm.
I helped everyone in the group work on their fly casting, presentation technique, as always. :) We covered it all from the most basic foundational things to the more advanced. All to help my guest's increase their opportunities to catch more fish for the rest of their lives. Great day with even greater guest's!
FYI - The bait that I saw today was large Silversides (a nice deceiver imitated them nicely, VERY small shrimp and the normal Sand Lances - pencil sized.
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6/24
We had a presence of bait, birds crashing bait and some fish ALL day. Played with a few, and learned a TON of new and exciting fishing info. (habitat, presentation and rigging) to help my guest return on his own and catch lot's of big'ns for the rest of his life. Ye-haa! Left for home early due to lighting storms all around us. Not safe!
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Mail Bag
Fussy Fish Frustrations
Hi Randy, I'm kind of new to fly fishing for stripers,
and am frustrated so far. Several days this spring I've
fished South Cape beach and Waquoit. Seen hundreds of
fish, but hooked up only a few times. On South Cape last
Saturday the fish were stacked tight against the shore
actively feeding, but they were REAL skittish. I must
have spooked 10 fish for every 1 that I got a cast to.
These fish were very picky, too. I threw everything at
them, several sand eel patterns, crabs, surf candy,
clouser's. Fast retrieves, slow retrieves, no retrieves.
Nothing worked. Obviously, I'm doing something wrong,
but I'm not sure what. Thanks, Brian
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Hi Brian, If its shallow you could of tried a clear
Int. line. Or if they were on the surface a floating line.
(line does not make a splash and spook fish like a weighted
line does.) Maybe wrong fly for the bait they were eating.
Maybe so much bait that they had a hard time finding your 1
fly in thousands of bait? Try something really
big next time so it stands out? Maybe leader to short and
they were seeing the fly line. Maybe leader was to heavy
pound test and they were seeing the heavy mono?
Maybe splashing line on surface and spooking them? Maybe
you were not lowering your upper body as they approached and
they saw you? Maybe there were a
number of other anglers around and the fish were spooked?
Maybe you were not leading the fish enough? Maybe they were
eating small shrimp or micro eels and
they were becoming very fussy? (whew) As you can see their
are variables to consider and some others I have not mentioned.
Don't be to hard on yourself, others including myself are
finding some very fussy fish also.
Once the tides pick up, they will eat your fly good! Try
finding an area that has moving water, that
always works best. Good Luck, Randy
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More Wade Flats Sightfishing Fly Tips:

I check my fly after every cast. Through thorough study of
Bass and retrieval tactics, I've seen fish look at my fly
with one eye, then the other, put their nose on it and
turn away. They won't give it a second glance if it is
fouled and/or doesn't look like the natural. I've even seen
bass spook off a fouled fly. Stripers have incredible eyesight
and smell so check your fly after every cast. You normally
are only going to get one good shot, so make it count.
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Keeping in mind these fish have a brain the size of a pea,
you would think they would be pretty easy to catch. But
remember we are in their environment. Sight fishing is similar
to hunting deer or turkey. The amount of noise generated
by you, other anglers or boats means one thing - NO FISH
on the flat or at least spooky fish who are less apt to eat.
Even the water lapping on the underside of your basket will
spook fish. Stand completely still or when walking move slowly.
Stay as far away from other anglers and boats that may not be
trying to blend in with the sites and sounds of the natural
saltwater environments as you are.
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For best visibility in the morning face west. From 10 a.m. to
2 p.m. face anywhere. Afternoon face East.
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When the wind is blowing 15 to 30 knots you can still see
them but its tough to cast a long leader into it. Find spots
where they'll travel by you so you can cast with
the wind. Allowing your leader to fully extend and put
more distance between fly and line.
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These BIG Bass are easiest to catch when they are feeding
actively. What initiates this? Most of the time its speed
of current moving the bait over, around or into structure.
The faster the current the more aggressively they will feed
and the easier they are to catch! During the course of a
day most flats will have fish on them, but
I try to only fish the ones that have moving water. This
equation works ninety percent of the time. Moving water +
structure = a compressed water flow.
Compressed (concentrated) water flow + bait = fish.
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Take some time and study current movement. Seek out moving
water on the flats and you will be rewarded.
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These fish generally travel the same route day after day
taking all the guess work out of it once you've put your
time into studying it. The routes they take can and will
change if there's a lack of food, too much boat or wade
activity, seals or water temperature change - too warm or
too cold.
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Search out areas that give you a height advantage. The
higher up you are the larger your visual cone will be,
allowing you to achieve many of the pieces of the puzzle.
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When I go fishing, I take all this and more into
consideration when deciding where to go. In my opinion,
sight fishing the flats is one of the most challenging and
rewarding types of fly fishing you will ever experience.
But to achieve proficiency you need to have a clear
understanding of the flats you fish. Then you'll soon be
realizing the best part of fly-fishing - FISH ON!!!!
Randy Jones
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Archives
Flats fishing 101:
Where are the fish's travel lane and what is one of the best way's to see'm?
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2 handed fly rod, few flies, 1 spool of tippet and a long walk to an area Ive only looked at from a boat. Lobster man pulling traps, few terns diving for bait against the crisp morning blue bird sky and a lone clammer digging for next months rent. (No girls in grass skirts surrounding me in this one-ha) The water was retreating off the flat as I the walked out to another part of the Island that few, if any anglers frequent. This was not a day about fishing, but more of a day to study and learn a new area on foot to hopefully include in my staple of spots. Trying to unlock the secrets of currents, depressions and channels that create a rod map for
fish on the incoming tide.
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On the walk out I passed by areas that Ive studied and
fished before and was thinking of a way to more easily
describe to someone where the routes, roads of the
fish are. To learn the routes where most fish travel is
actually incredibly simple. Instead of looking at it
low, which will also help. Simply look at where the
water meets the sand, bars, and beach at 4 hours before
the high. This is the route that most fish will take in
2-4 hours. Notice the bars, humps, which are not
covered? These areas will give you a height advantage to
better see them. In addition it will funnel most of the
fish by you. This is a key ingredient as being 20 feet off
can spell water void of fish, or more likely you will be
standing directly where they live and travel. Look for a
shallow channel (s) that have a small amount of
water in them, connecting to deeper water. As the tide
rise's they will use this area to search for food or
transition through it. Look for small shallow coves. These
coves are often left untouched as most anglers wade past
them with out a second glance. I have stood in ankle deep
water at the head of these coves and sight fished many a
fish while others were stationed well out beyond their
normal routes.
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I find that by this determination it simplifies the whole
process of how, where they will travel.
These are the same trails that rarely change through out
the course of the summer. There is a lot of water out there
that is empty of fish. Once these routes are learned,
then one of the keys to fishing the flats more consistently
is unlocked.
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Count Down Method:
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This method is one I always use when fishing deep or
fishing in the spring time. Here's why its so productive.
Alot of the time ,bait is on the bottom near structure(
Rocks, sand bars, eel grass, lobster traps) to blend in
and find protection. A major portion of predator fish are
also there to feed. So by getting your line down to the
bottom , you'll present your fly to the majority of fish.
The way to achieve this is to cast and count to 15. Cast
and count to 20. Continue to count longer and longer
until you pull back eel grass or you feel your fly being
pulled through the sand. Now Ill cast and count 5 sec.
LESS there by bringing my fly just above the bottom.
This technique will catch you 100 more fish then simply
casting into deep water and retrieving right away.
Having studied bass and watched them set-up around structure.
Ive noticed they'll wait to ambush the bait as it searches
for cover or is swept along in the current.
The times I've been able to see this, Ive cast my fly just
above the fish and stripped it towards the structure.
The bass have always taken it with pleasure!
Over the last 10 years I have used one line 97% of the time
when fishing deep or fast moving water. It handles itself
well in the wind and shoots from here to England (and back)
Its an Orvis 300 grain depth charge fly line.
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When F.F. Why do I get knots in my leader and how can
I straighten it?

Most wind knots (Normally they are actually bad casting
knots) are created by improper casting technique. 85%
of the time they are created by pushing the rod
forward on an even plan during the power stroke.
Visualize a paint brush on the end of your rod. You
are probably painting a flat ceiling. Now paint the
ceiling of an igloo and by george, you've got it!
The best way I normally straighten out my leader is
with the help of all the monster fish pulling on the
other end!
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Archives
Fish Tails: 1999 on the Flats
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While wading one day, we had large bass coming at us
from all directions for an hour steady. At one point,
we were totally surrounded with bass in one to three
feet of water. Martin asked me where he should cast
and my response was, anywhere. It just didn't matter.
These same fish continued to repeat this pattern all
summer long.
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Again, ideal conditions followed the next day. We
enjoyed watching schoolie bass chase bait onto the
beach in three inches of water. We knelt on the dry
sand forty feet away to keep a low profile. The fly
was cast ten feet into the water with fly line never
touching it. Two strips of the fly and Bill was hooking up.
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We also had fifty or so bass in all sizes stacked up in
front of us in a narrow channel feeding on the incoming
tide. It reminded me of guiding on the Salmon River in
New York for tackle busting twenty to thirty pound King
Salmon. Spoiled we were as we could see each fish and pick
out the one we wanted to present the fly to and catch.
When a smaller fish tried to grab it, we would pull it
away. What a hoot!
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We decided to play, so I put on a shrimp pattern I designed
and drifted it through the bunch on a floating line. We
waited until we saw the flash (they often turn sideways
when feeding, creating a silvery flash) then immediately
set the hook. We never felt the fish hit. Instead we just
set by sight! We both laughed and couldn't help feeling like
two little kids in a candy store.
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Archives

Wind and casting aid's while fly fishing tips:

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1. When fly fishing and the wind is blow'n hard on your casting arm:
All we do is turn around and cast on our back cast when the wind is honk'n on our casting arm. Whether in a boat, wade, blind or sight fishing. This casting technique should be practiced until you become proficient at it. It's as simple as spreading soft but'a on a warm muff'n. Before long you will throw it as far or close to it as you presently are on your forward cast. All your doing is letting it go on your back cast instead of your forward. Your arm makes the exact same motion going forward as it does back. The trick is to train your forearm to make that "power stroke" quick and fast (when going back) enough to load the rod and keep a tight loop while fly fishing and letting it go on your back cast.
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2. The "Double Haul" is another valuable casting aid I would try to learn over the summer if you enjoy fly fishing the saltwater. Once learned it's easy stuff. You can do it with your eyes closed and you'll catch more fish. It helps you in all aspect's of casting. With out getting to deeply into the D.H. I start my haul at the beginning of my power stroke, on both my forward and back. Or another way to say it is at the exact moment and time that you initiate your power stroke, haul 6-10 inch's (fast) on both the forward and back. There is a lot more to this casting aid, but that's another article all together.
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3. Next time your fly fishing, got the wind at your back, let the wind make the cast for you . I've taken folks through the Orvis Fly School who in NO wind could cast it 40-60 feet, then put them with a strong wind at there back. Helped teach them how to throw it UP into the sky. And let the wind take it out 80 feet. Amazing!
I swear many fly fishing anglers are amazed at the distance they can achieve once this sky writing technique is learned. Lefty Krey said something about stabbing-jabbing the sky with the tip of your rod during the power stroke. You accomplish 2 things.
A tight loop and the line always goes in the direction you excelerate and stop the rod tip. So with a quick stabbing motion upwards, you maintain a tight loop. Also you are throwing the line up, towards the heavens. Leaving it for the wind to take it along for a looooooong ride. It's fun to teach and watch the reaction of my guest's when they get it.
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4. Another tip would be to use a 2 handed fly rod or spey rod. These are longer fly rods that you use 2 hand's to cast that are normally 12 to 15 feet in length. The longer rod is what I personally use in any and all saltwater fly fishing. The longer rod has soooooo many advantages that someday I'll write an article on it.
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5. Obviously, tight loop's (3-4 feet) are your goal on both your forward and back cast for over all casting. Look at your back cast once in a while to make sure your loop's are tight. Many angler's only perfect their forward cast and sometimes forget about the importance of the back. The back cast set's up the forward and is more important. I used to practice a tight loop by standing on the grass, floating line so I could see it real good and make sure I have a strong wind at my back. With a strong wind at your back, you are forced to throw a tight loop on the back or it fall's apart and with the bright floating line it should make it easy to see. Your goal is to train your arm. Remember - The distance the rod tip travel's during the power stroke is solely responsible for the size of your loop. Nothing else. The shorter the distance the rod tip travels during the power stroke, the tighter the loop. With wind at your back, you will have to make this speed up and stop (power stroke), fast and with power to keep, maintain, consistently throw a tight loop into the wind on your back cast. And have the fly line completely straighten out into the wind. Perfecting this with a strong wind will only make you a stronger caster.
The above are all tip's, techniques, things that we all use while fly fishing the salt. Hope it helps a lil.
Randy Jones
http://www.yankeeangler.com )

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Con't. June Wade Saltwater Cape Cod Chatham Monomoy Island Fly/Spin and Beyond Fishing Report, Pictures, Articles, Humor, Tips and much more:
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Over view:
Both sloow and fast tides have their positive and negative effect's on your fishing. I like either tide for a number of these reason's. Either tide will provide you with opportunity, which is really all we want. Knowing how to interpret the tides and knowing what changes take place on either type of tide will help you on your way to, FISH ON!
Good luck everyone and go get'm!
Happy Hook'n,
Randy
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Mail Bag:

What kind of FFing strategies do you guys implement when stripers on the flats seem to be in lockjaw mode? Any particular go-to flies?
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All great suggestions. Without giving the farm away. :)
The very first thing I do at this time of year to determine my fly choice is.
1. Are these migratory fish? I determine this by one factor. If they are they want a a specific fly presented in a very specific manner, In my opinion. Most of these dont like to travel further than 20 feet or so from the safety of the pack and or their leaders to their summer grounds. A lil luck and well placement of fly usually does the trick but not always. Food is not always the most important issue when dealing with these guys.
2. Are these resident Bass? I determine this again by one factor. If they are resident's then the next determining factor on what fly I use is solely determined by the size of these residents. Smaller like one thing and larger prefer something entirely different.
That's the first step, in my opinion to start to determine your fly choice. After that then there are about 4-5 other things I would consider if they are being fussy. Presentation as in most any type of fishing scenario is normally always the most important.
I also always try to pattern these fish before whittling it down to one thing or another. I never know exactly what Ill see on any given day, meaning what will be the most abundant Bass present (at this time of year, Re-read #1 and #2) until Ive had a look see. Sometimes I use 1 fly but fish it in two entirely different presentational styles, depending on type of Bass, (Migratory, Resident, size, etc....)
Hope this helps a lil,
Randy
Last Week's Daily Fishing Log:
6/21-22
Couple of days off. Pheeew! My feet's are tired.
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6/20
Slooow day on the flats. Slowest day so far this season. This will change shortly as our tides improve! My todays guest got to see a few fish, stand around a lot waiting for them, they must have over slept. :) He had success hooking up! 
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6/19
Had a slooow day on the flats while sight fishing. Only saw approx. 450 Bass all day. Most of these were all Migratory keepers. The rest were migratory Blues and resident Bass.
The morning started off unexpectedly reeel slow. The fish must have over slept. :) Around 11 we started to see them in small numbers. Then unexpectedly, at the BEST part of the tide where we normally see a crescendo of fish, it died. We left for greener pastures and found a few more. Still not enough to make me happy so we left for another flat. Before we even got there all hell broke lose. Would you believe that in the last 25 minutes of sight fishing today, that over 300 Bass (mostly keepers) came by us within fly casting range in schools of 20 to 50? WOW!
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What's very funny about this report is the average angler would think seeing 450 fish wouldn't be considered a slooow day. The only reason I'd say slooow is it took awhile for them to show up, once they did they didnt last until the normal ending period - time for this flat. Also, once we started to see reeeel good numbers it was all at once with about 60 seconds or less in-between them.) We like to see them spread out evenly over the entire day. -
6/18
Ton's and tons of Baby Sand Lances. Incredible size of pods. Birds working feverishly. Lot's of fish underneath them out in 20-30 feet of water off hardings beach.
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Massive amounts of tooth pick sized Sand Lances covering the flats today. Slooow sight fishing, but we still had a blast trying our hand at seeing and then casting to a moving target. Schoolies, Blues and a number of keeper sized bass. Saw 1 school of over 100 Bass that looked to be all Keepers. Other school's in 10, 20, 30 along with the usual 1,2 and 3's. Good number of snapper blues that we donated a few flies too. :) Did a lil blindcasting with success also. Another fun and exciting day! Can't wait to do it all over again tomorrow.
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6/17
Very dangerous and frequent lightning Thunderstorms, hail, rain and very high gusting winds (40 knots) was our forecast for today as of last night. It always pays to have a lot of very good inshore spots that produce at their optimum at different stages of the tide that are out of any wind direction.
Wouldn't you know it, that the weatherman was 100% wrong again today? It was a beautiful day of light to medium winds with 100% sun ALL day! Ye-haa. Another Bonus day. We sight fished almost all day and were rewarded with a good number of opportunities. Short's to a nice number of resident 20 lb. Bass! Saw very very few migratory Bass. The largest school of migratories had approx. 100 Keeper sized bass in it.
As we approached a particular section of the flat, I explained to my client that sometimes the migratory Bass will just sit on the other side, off the edge. Just relaxing, taking a break, having a lil Jacuzzi party is what I call it. Wouldn't you know it. As we approached the edge I suddenly asked my guest to stop walking. 100 feet in front of us was one of those school's of approx. 100 Keeper sized Bass. Just hang'n around, not moving. I've had Bass sit in this location and others for hours on end. But, not today. My guest made one cast into the school, hooked up immediatly and then they all got spooked by his fly line slashing thru the school with his fish on it. This sent them on their way. Besides all of the other fish that we saw that was the most memorable part of the day for me. I love it when what you hope for materializes and I get to share this incredible world of sight fishing the flats while wading with a new fly/spin rod angler. Needless to say it was another amazing, memorable day in many of late. :)
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6/16
Today was what I call a bonus day. Forecast was for 100% clouds. We actually had a so-so sun and wind for a good part of the day which allowed us to sight fish to some nice, mostly resident bass. Picked up a few with a number of opportunities. Hit'm pretty good for awhile blindcasting once the sun went by-bye. Then we had to use different presentational strategies to get'm once we had to start working for'm. All and all another fun and exciting day!
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6/14-15
Days off to rest. Boy, my feets our sore. :)
My entire June is booked every M-F with my usual weekends off. My first 2 weeks in July are booked rock solid. My first opening's start around July 13 if intrested. :)
Thanks for stopping by, Randy
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6/13
Sight fished to approx. 750 Bass in 2 feet of water or less, the ENTIRE tide while wade w/fly. Enough said. Ye-hha! Randy

Guest testimonial for today:
Well, it has been on my mind for a while to try the Monomoy flats. It became impossible to resist after Maine got off to such a slow start this year. I decided to jump in with both feet by hiring Guide Randy Jones to show me the ropes. He was super good company, patient (as he had to be, given my casting ability) and oh, could he find fish. We estimated that in that in our one day of wading (just this past Thursday) we saw around 700 fish. If I were reading this, I wouldn't believe it, but I was there, and I saw most of them. Coming at us from all directions. In ones, twos, threes, schools of 30 and 50. Makes it kind of hard to focus on casting well with all of that activity. And these were not just schoolies. There were a lot of BIG fish, some swimming within a rods length of me before being spooked. I went out the next day by myself and saw a bit less than half as many fish, but then again, I didn't have Randy's expert eyes helping out and showing me all of the fish that I was missing. I can't wait to get back down there!
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6/12
With sunny sight fishing skies but high winds forecast there was not a wade flat on the Cape that would protect you from the negative effect's of this type of wind (from many many years of experience. :) We wisely stayed inshore and had a slooooow day. Still got to improve our fly casting which helps my guest to catch MORE fish for the rest of his fly fishing life - fresh or salt. Also exposed my guest to some of the BEST PROTECTED (from a strong N. - N.W. wind) fly fishing waters here on the Cape to fish upon any of his return trips here. Another great day of learn'n but a sloooow day of catch'n. :)
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6/11
As soon as we approached our first flats of the day while wading with fly rods, it was FISH, 50 feet, moving left, 40 fish. Then it was FISH, 60 feet, head shot, get it out there fast. Then, well, I wont bore you, same ol same hole for the next hour. Steady fish on the flats with in easy casting range with the fly rod in 2 feet of water. Moved to 2 different flats close by and it was 1 here 1 there, slow. Moved to another location close by and we started to get into'm! Did a lil walking to check out a coupl'a other holes and on the 3rd one we hit it. Fish on and on!
That was our day in a nut shell. Another one of many great days to be out on the flats sight fishing and forgetting about work!
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6/10
First 2 holes nothing. I bet the seal that was patrolling this area made the fish feel like bit'n. NOT! :) 3rd hole was like magic. Could see 30-40 keepers patrolling these waters and flashing. Caught one with a few short's. Beautiful day to be out sight fishing these crystal clear waters on an almost sugar colored flats bottom. Ye-haa!
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6/9
Sightfishing today. Saw one fish in a guzzler, saw another 6-7 at the low in a low tide spot, stood around for an hour and 1/2 nothing? And this is in one of the best low tide to incoming spots. Then, in the last 1/2 hour all hell broke lose, School of 40 migratories, another school of 30, 20, 10, 20, another 10, 1, 20, 1, etc.. Over 100 fish on the flats in a 1/2 hour! Wow!! Overall a very slow day.
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June Wade Saltwater Cape Cod Chatham Monomoy Island Fly/Spin and Beyond Fishing Report, Pictures, Articles, Humor, Tips and much more:
Coming this month. What you can expect. To a S.E. and Beyond beach near you. :)
Look for the balance of our resident Bass to finish arriving here during the first week of July. Look for those resident flats Bass to become more fussy as the month progress's. Be ready to re-rig up your fly/spin rods with fussy Bass stuff. Get ready for even bigger Bass. Make sure your knots are good. :) Look for the Blues to search out colder water off shore and further North shortly. Instead of seeing 1,000's of Migratory Bass in a tide on their travel Rt's, expect to see 100's of those resident Bass in a tide traveling their normal feeding - travel Rt's. Expect not as many fish around as during the migration. You can look forwards to bigger resident quality fish. You will normally but not always see lot's of bass on our faster tides and normally less on our slower tides. Fog will become your worst nightmare so be prepared. Now is the time to prepare for getting lost, turned around, trapped by the incoming tide, on these extremely large flat's, where is that compass, cell phone, GPS at. (Ton's of helpful life saving tips below) Expect more tourist's, old people and in general driver's going 20 miles an hour under the posted speed limit when your in a hurry to catch the first shuttle boat out at 8am. to hit those flats! :)
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Over view -
Over this last week we fly fished from Barnstable all the way up to P-Town and then back down and around the other side of the Cape to the Bass River. (And many spots in between.) All spot's were hold'n, some LOADED (A fish on almost every cast) and some you had to work for them(slooow.) All wading, during the day, Surface and Sub, blind and Sightfishing on flat's, surf, marsh, channels, Bays, etc...etc..w/all fly. (I dont discriminate, I do spin also.)
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The entire Cape Cod area inside and out are with Blues and Bass of all sizes in our Spring fishing locations. Bring your wire for the blues if fishing anytime soon.
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I have found the fishing this last week to be just that. Fishing :) Every place had fish, it was just a matter of how many Mother Nature was going to give us. Some days we had incredible number's of migratory fish all around us, while a couple of days Mother Nature gave us a lull or low numbers of Migratory fish. With Migratory fish you either are in a peak or a valley it seams (high numbers to low numbers - very normal)
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Easiest time of the year to catch a keeper while wading, Experience helps! Fish in all the normal Spring spots. Same ol same hole.
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Two days were reeeeel slow (still caught some fish), while the rest were epic, whether we were blindcasting or sight fishing. Those faster tides certainly helped. We have had some sight and blind casting days with the fly rods that were fish on almost every cast. We even saw some 20 lb. Bass in 12 inch's of water. Schools of 100 Bass in each school. Schools of schoolies to schools of all keepers (20-30) in a school. The sight fishing around the Cape has normally been amazing! But, we have also had our slow periods thrown in too, which is very normal. That's fishing. Things look to be getting better and better each day. More resident Bass showing up daily. Blues around also as an optional treat.
Top water flies and lures working great if you like your fish on the surface! We had a LOT of fish slurping bait on the surface in 2 feet of water or less recently. For fly fishing Im rigging with a 9 foot tapered leader down to a 12-14 lb. test tippet (leader).
Flies:
Ive been useing with great success whether sight or blind casting are a all white clouser, white and olive clouser or a white squid on the surface. Big white Deceivers to thin sparse white and olive sand lance imitations. If you have large schools of migratory fish around then a simple white and chartreuse clouser will do the trick. Larger Bass go with a more natural looking fly to match the dominant bait that is around in your area for this time of year.
Spin lures:
I like the white Mr. Twister tails on a jig head, sluggos - weighted and unweighted, storm lures, fin-s on a jig head and white 4-6 inch rubber squid on the surface. For Blues I like all the normal top water and subsurface ones. Im running Braid from 10 lb. test up to 20 lb. test, depending on the lures Im throwing, inshore.
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Dangerous Tides:
Please be extra careful with these exaggerated tides. Please remember to carry a whistle, GPS and a compass should the fog roll in fast and make seeing more than 10 feet away impossible. It is soooo easy to get turned totally around in a heavy fog (I have) on those flats. Thats why they call them a flat, there is normally no up or down to help you navigate your way back to safety. Please remember, their is only one right way back (and that will probably zig - zag) and about a thousand wrong ways to walk back to the safety of shallow water or dry sand when we have pea soup fog and the tide is coming in. I like to take a compass reading once Ive reached my fishing location. Even if the weather is bright and sunny and their is no forecast for fog. It can roll in heavy and fast. Be safe as always, they are not worth it.
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Sun, Wind Web Site:
Nice wind and sun% link (by the hour) for Nantucket Sound, S.E. Cape. Pretty accurate and one of many web sites I look at each morning before deciding my fishing game plan. Hope this helps ya!
http://www.iwindsurf.com/windandwher... 9&siteID=1667
http://www.iwindsurf.com/windandwher...orecast+Graphs
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Last Week's Daily Fishing Log:
6/7-8
My day's off. You can only turn your underwear inside out just so many times before you HAVE to do your laundry. :)
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6/6
Wow! Amazing? Super! The fishing today was nothing short of spectacular! As we sloooowly approached the hole this morning I asked my clients to walk slowly and to keep their eyes open. It was a dark drizzly morning and this means we might have fish on the surface. Sure enough, we had about 100 bass in 1-2 feet of water sipping, rolling, slurping Bait on the surface. We stayed 40 feet away from the waters edge so we would not spook these fish. We cast approx. 30 feet into the water at the boil's. Fish on! Ye-haa! Each of my guest's hooked up. My guest's got a lil overly excited and then started to blind cast into the water. This made waaaay to much noise and put the fish down fast. Darn! I explained to them that casting at these boil's was exactly like sight fishing. Dont cast until you see the boil and then only cast at the boil. They apologized and we all laughed! They said that they were very excited and kind'a forgot. Ha!
John wondered off by himself and continued sight casting to fish that were in 1 foot of water. (both of my guest's are very experienced sight fly) We stopped at a hole and it was a fish on almost every cast. Waaaay toooo easyyyyy. This kept up for over an hour. Next hole was the same way except the fish were bigger! We had big school's of Adult Sand Lances. (Hint:)That was our day in a nut shell. If you can make it to the Cape, I'd recommend coming.
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6/5
Decided to show my guest's some new water to return to and fish on their own. This was an area that you can use on a REEEEEEL strong S.W. wind when fly casting to get the wind at your back. Also another spot to fly fish on a very strong N.E - East wind in the Spring. We played with bass and shad. Slow fishing today. (See above Over view for the reason why it was slooow. :)
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6/4
Had to blindcast due to the lack of the sun to see'm. Fished a spot that HAD been producing like gang busters. Dead as a doorknob. Found a few fish later in the incoming tide, then they disappeared and the hole completely died. This location HAD been loaded with tons of fish, but not today.
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We were in the middle of a valley related to the numbers of migratory fish today. You'll see peaks and valleys in the numbers of migratory Bass that you have each day. The previous two days we had migratory fish galore all around us. Today those fish are in Boston. :) This early in the season you never know what you will find. Thousands of fish one day and 2-3 the next. Thats fishing!
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6/3
Found 3, 100 fish school's as soon as our feet touched the edge of the flat while sight fishing. Moved to another location and were rewarded with a fish on almost every cast. Around the high it slowed so we went to another productive flats area, slow, until we got closer to the normal hot spot. Sighted fish galore, mostly schools of all keepers in 10's to 30's. Probably a couple hundred in 1/2 hour of looking and fishing. O'what a day! :)
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6/2
Special Cape Flats loaded. Sightfishing wade, fly/spin. I rarely see these types of numbers of fish on the flats, and I do this daily. We had 1 day last year on a flat where myself and some of you saw around 3,000 Bass in 2 feet of water swim by us within casting range on a very popular flats area that many of you fish, nope not Monomoy. :) We were on top of one of those peaks I have been talking about. Mother Nature gave us the mother load. Normal for this time of year, also just the opposite is true, as you just read above. We had easily over 1,500 migratory Bass with a few blues and an ok number of resident Bass for this time of year. We had the normal residents swimming on their normal routes on the flats. The migratories were doing what we all like to see. They were all having a flats Jacuzzi party. Not in any hurry, not feeding all that much and just hanging around by the 100's.
We stayed 80 feet away from them and made our fly cast's from their. Any closer and they would leave. Those and others would filter by us, with many of them stopping to party with us. :) Some stayed with us for over 3 hours! It was fun to visually see them, cast, watch them chase down our flies with reckless abandonment and then watch them open their mouth and eat it. Visually seeing the run all the way to the finish was astounding. Don't get much better!
Normal flies and rigging for this time of year. Presentation was critical. If we didnt present it properly, no go. If we didnt have the correct fly, no go. If we didnt imitate the exact fleeing reaction of the bait we were trying to imitate, yup, you guessed it, no go. Put it all together with consistency and it was almost toooo easy. :)
All fish were in 12 inch's of water to 2-1/2 feet. We could see them easily at times over 100 yards away over these crystal clear water flats and almost sugar colored sand. They were schoolie - keeper sized up to 20 lb'rs.
Wow! Wish everyday was this easy. I guess thats why they call these the salad days.
I've seen thousands of fish on these flats and the next day Ive seen 2 or 3 total for the day this early in the season. You never know and thats why they call it fishing. :) I think even Ray Charles could have sight cast on these magical flats today and caught one. :)
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Nice school's of Keeper Bass and Blues migrating off ANY outer Cape Beach as we speak, also in the canal. Go get'm!
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5/31
Did a lil scouting today and found some more Bass and Shad.
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5/30
Sight fishing heaven! Slooow for the first couple of hours around the high - dropping. Then we moved and all heck broke loose. Residents, from schoolie size to a few 20lb'rs. Some in as lil as 12 inch's of water. Also saw some blues. Enjoyed the company of 4-5 schools of migratory Bass from 20 to 40 fish in each school. Also did some blind casting in a hole with current and for 1/2 hour straight my client caught a fish every 1-3 cast's. :)
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5/28/08
As most of you know: Both the bay and south side have been fishing well, except for the S.E. part of the Cape, for most, but not all. Ton's of football sized big bait pods in the S.E. as some of you know. I have never personally ever seen them in this quantity. Expect the Blues to raise heck in the S.E Cape waters any day now. Remember to bring your wire, its going to be CRAZY!! Also, as usual, expect less schoolies and MORE Keeper sized Bass. Quality verse quantity. Flats starting to look good. Slooow sight fishing on Friday, (VERY normal this early on these special flats) but still everyone (with experience) caught some, saw some and had a fabulous day with light winds and pure sun. YE-haa! As some of you know, in the last week or two, many of our inshore S.E. spots did not produce as we expected, even for a couple of us full-time wade fly/spin daytime guides. Migration still in full swing. More resident Bass arriving daily. Look for things to obviously improve on a daily basis!
Good Luck to you all,
Best Fish's,
Randy
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Best Fish's,
Randy

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From the Archives:

Advanced Angler Fly Wind knots, Advanced Loop Tip, Back Cast: 

If you always seem to be getting those wind knots. (Actually bad casting and this explanation, visualization is 95% of the time the reason for wind knots) Pretend to put a paint brush on the end of your fly rod. If you paint a flat ceiling (while casting and during the power stroke) then you generally - normally will always have a knot in your leader - tippet, that you put into it. (It normally has nothing to do with the wind) Now, paint the ceiling of an igloo during your power stroke and wha - la, no more knots.

I find that many advanced fly anglers get these knots due to us "pushing our rod forward on an even plane" during or at the very end of our power stroke. Or painting a flat ceiling at the end or during our power stroke to try to gain a lil extra distance.

Another way to phrase it is to push your thumb down at the tail end of your power stroke or cast. Another way is to drop your tip slightly at the end of the cast or power stroke.

I can intentionally put a knot into my leader on every single false and final cast by simply painting a flat ceiling. 4 false cast's, 4 knots. Now paint the ceiling of an igloo, no more knots, normally.

You do need to be careful about that ceiling. To much or to lil of an arc can cause other issues that we may discuss later down the road aways, should we feel the need. If any of you have a specific casting concern - question, feel free to post it here. Im sure lots of anglers will be more than happy to help you. Some of you reading this may have other solutions to knots in your leader. Ive heard that over powering your rod is one. Any others?
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Advanced Angler Loop Tip:
Did you know that the distance that your rod tip moves - travels during your power stroke is the only thing that determines the size of your loop? My goal is to always throw a 3-4 foot energy efficient loop. If your rod tip moves 3-4 feet during the power stroke then you will have a 3-4 foot (approx.) energy efficient loop. The tightness of your loop is what helps you with distance, cutting through or across the wind on your back or your forward cast, fewer false cast's, shooting more line, throwing bigger flies, heavier weighted flies, speed, accuracy, less energy expended by yourself allowing you to fish longer before your arm gets tired, etc....
(Of course, if you rock back and forth while fly casting, rotate at your wrist to much, shoulder, hook your rod tip, bounce your rod tip, etc... you can easily open your loop up to big)
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Advanced Angler Back cast:
Did you know that your back cast is the more important of the two cast's? I still glance at my back cast from time to time which helps me with timing and to study my loop size. Most advanced anglers throw a larger loop on their back then their forward. The reason why is simply because you normally can always easily see your forward. What I tell anglers is when looking at their back cast their is just one thing to remember. Don't rotate - turn your entire upper body. (This will cause an entirely new birds nest that we dont want to go into presently) Just move your head slightly to look at your back.
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If the above helps just one angler get a few more feet out their cast or helps to catch a fish, then Im very happy!
FYI - I dont discriminate, I also guide Spin anglers full-time, year round. :)
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Near death experience out on Monomoy yesterday! (by an experienced wade angler?) Dont let this be you. I see stuff like this happen several times each summer!
Is your life worth reading this? Making a copy of this and reading it each time before you go to the Island? Sharing it with friends? Ive compiled my own and other's post's from http://reel-time.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=3
of helpful tips that could save your life.
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If this can happen to someone who has experience out here, then what about those of you who are new or have a few years under your belt? I could sadly go on and on and on. I hope you ALL can learn something from this.
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The main mistake among MANY that this wade angler (not my client's) made yesterday was he waded blindly into an area he was not "intimately" familiar with on an "incoming" tide.
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Got trapped on all sides by the incoming strong current tide. I yelled, do you know where to cross? He said yes, and pointed to an area that was 12 feet deep at this stage of the tide. He tried to wade back across the channel (after I yelled at him and told him where the shallowest part of the channel was to cross and he might have to swim) and got up to his chest with water and current poring into and filling up his chest waders. Barely making it back to his almost isolated trapped casket. (I was the only one around who knew he was in deep trouble, talked him thru it, called for the rescue) Still trapped, panic stricken?, tide rising all around him. He did not have the shuttle boat's number pre- programed into his cell phone and did not know it to call for a rescue. His cell phone probably got soaked and was not working. He did not know where the high ground was to wait out the high tide or wait for rescue. He did NOT even know where he was at when asked twice by me so he could give proper directions to the rescue boat. (Maybe he was panic stricken?) Originally he had crossed a creek channel (did he even know this?) and did not know the proper spot to re-cross. He probably didnt even know he had crossed over a creek channel that was filling up fast on this oncoming tide. He did not know when he HAD to be back across this channel. As he tried to reach the high ground (after I yelled to him where it was at) he kept pushing hard against the current which kept getting deeper and deeper almost reaching his chest again. He may have been panic stricken at this point. I yelled "dont panic" you'll be ok. Walk to your right, its shallower. I called the shuttle service and they were there within 5 minutes to save his life. He said later that if he had too, he would have dumped all of his gear and swam to a certain beach. Only problem was with the current he never would have made the 1/4 mile swim to his beach. And may have died of a heart attack trying. He should have know to swim with the current to another beach, down current. He would of had to swim across the boat channel. Not safe. He may have gotten hypothermia being in the water that long and we all know what happens next.
I was very happy to have helped and very happy that it was me that was there watching his every move while I was working, even when he first crossed the channel when it was "safe", even before he realized he was in trouble. But VERY angry that all of this could have been soooooo easily avoided and that I almost watched someone who has the same love and passion for the sport as all of you and myself, almost die in front of my eyes.
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I'd like to thank "Outermost Harbor and Marine" - http://www.outermostharbor.com
They were there in 3-1/2 minuets. I couldn't believe how fast they got there to rescue him!
They provide a shuttle service to Monomoy Island, South Beach (2 stops on S.B.- across from Monomoy and all the way out to the South Way - (Bird watching, fishing and beach goo's) and Seal watching tours. They have 3 boats and run all day. Its open for the general public, on site parking, etc... I ride their shuttle boats almost daily.
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Another invaluable tip for your safety would be to go to Google Earth and look at this area. Print it out and take it with you. Any white sand you see would be the driest sand. This might be your high ground. Visually confirm this on your walk out. It would help you to get more familiar with the lay of the land and all of those dangerous creeks that fill in. Also, when you are there, most of the grass that is growing off the main island on the flats is normally some of your high spots where you could wait out the tide in most cases.Also, the whitest sand you see is normally the driest and can sometimes be your high spot.
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Another invaluable tip that has been mentioned numerous times on this and other sites is Cape Cod Bay. This area has 8 to 11 foot tides. Presently we are having exaggerated tides. (higher high's and lower lows) These are the tides that most wade anglers get into trouble with. If you are waist deep on Cape Cod Bay and you are 1/2 mile out on a flat (in some cases a 1/4 mile out), on an incoming tide, you CANT out run it. You WILL end up swimming. A lot of the time its the last 200 feet closest to the shore where there is a depression that gets ya. I know anglers that grew up here that are very experienced that have had to swim back from the Brewster flats.
Best Safe Fish's,
Randy
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Archives:
Flats 101- Safety first while wading or kayaking: This COULD save your life!

Here on Cape Cod, fog can become your worst nightmare when 1/8-2 miles out on a flat. Some of us have had close calls on the flats, so I would like to share some of the things I do to remain safe.

Number one rule is do not wonder into an area you are not familiar with. When I say familiar, I mean having an intimate understanding of all of the following.

2- Before I even walk out onto a flat I have already checked several weather related wind internet sites. I know direction and if its going to swing and at what time. As I walk out I pay attention to what direction I feel the wind on my face. This helps should I have to guess ta mate my return.

3- I know exactly in what stage in the tide I'm walking out and when it will change. I'm very familiar with tidal current direction at every phase of the tide for the flat I am on. Knowing current direction also helps with navigation when seeing land is not an option.

4- Over the years the sand becomes like a road map, every trough, sluice, creek, river, depression is memorized over and over each year. Even if you can not see 10 feet you will come across these things that will help you navigate your way back. I plan my return as Im walking out in the morning. Taking notice and studying everything Ive written here, should I need it.

5-Knowing exactly at what stage in the tide I can cross and (most importantly) re-cross (to safety) channels that surround the entire island. This knowledge is invaluable and requires your time and energy to figure each individual depression out. Crossing any channels out here is an advanced move and should not be taken lightly or done unitl you are intimately familiar with the area. By crossing, it allows me access to certain flats and a safe return. But, by no means do you have to cross any of these many depressions or channels to catch fish out here.

6-Taking in all audible clues as I walk out. (Cars, Fog horns, Bells, Motor boat engine noise coming from the main channel.)

7- I take a compass reading when I reach my destination. I carry a compass on my watchband for easy access. I carry a back-up.

8-Know the height of your tides. Worse case scenario is to seek higher ground and sit it out. Knowing were this area is at, is crucial.

9-A cell phone is invaluable should you happen to hurt yourself and walking back is not an option. Pre-program the shuttle boats number in it. Tell your buddies where its at in case something happens to you. Also the coast guard and harbor master's numbers.

10-Go with a friend or someone who knows the area as good as the inside of their pocket.

11- Know your moon fazes. There are certain tides in certain areas that will not allow you to out run them. No high ground to sit it out and the current is so swift you can not walk against it. Put yourself on the edge of a flat with a drop off and this current can at times run like a ragging river, as water drains off it. Someone lost their life a few year's ago under this same scenario.

12- An inflatable vest of some sort makes a lot of sense.

13- Look for the way water drains off the flat. If it drains to your right, then the high ground is to your left. If you can find the area where it drains off left and over to your right, you have just found you exit off the flat when faced with high water. Knowing this direct route will save you valuable time when faced with a fast incoming tide that you can not out run.

14- A good pair of polarized glasses are not only an invaluable tool for seeing fish but also for safety.

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Con't. from above

15 - GPS

Having to feel your way back in by following the edge of the flat with your feet is not an enjoyable feeling, especially when the tide has turned and the fog is overwhelming. This happened to me once (Nauset - Chatham Cut - Pleasant Bay) when I was much younger, STUPID and did not know the above. It well never happen again! I could have easily lost my life!! So be safe, be smart don't fool around with Mother Nature. She always has the winning hand.

In closing, Monomoy is not a play ground and someone could die. If you post a report on it, you should also be responsible enough to point out the obvious safety issues.
Randy Jones

(Photo John Halnon)

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Con't.
http://reel-time.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=3
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Ray, who is a moderator of this site adds a few of his own safety tips:
There is no question that safety is the biggest concern. Most flats are alluring. You "wander" around in knee deep water casting to fish, what fun.

What do most people do wrong?

1. Don't "know" the area in detail
2. Don't know the tide and how it acts
3. Don't carry basic safety gear like a compass and cell phone (please leave it off)
4. Don't USE their compass (their real good for telling just how lost you are)
5. This is a big one for me, they cross channels that may be 6 feet deep later that day!!!
6. Don't know about fog and how it can really get you crossed up
7. Don't carry enough water and food for a full day.

I have been fishing the NM flats for about 6 years. I do it about 30 times per year. Before each season I go out and wander around to see what changed over the winter.

If you ever find yourself in a place you feel the slightest bit unsure of, get out of there. It's just not worth it.
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Another angler adds;
Great topic. Not to digress or self indulge too much, but something to think about for people like me only fish there a handful of times each year.

I have fished this area for several years now and have hired Randy to show me how to fish the flats once or twice per season. With him I am in capable hands. Additionally, Ray has helped too with line advice, depth and speed (as a PM). Thanks for the help guys, and others on this board as well.
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The Author, Editor, Guide, Outfitter:
Randy Jones is a full-time professional fly/spin fishing guide with over 24 years of experience. He has represented the Orvis Corporation as a guide and chief instructor of their 2 1/2 day Saltwater Fly fishing schools.
    During the summer, Randy can be found wade guiding the S.E. (and beyond) Cape Cod area's,  where sight casting on the flats to trophy Striped Bass is his specialty. During the Fall, Winter, and Spring Randy runs drift boat and wade trips on the world class Salmon River, Pulaski N.Y. for Steelhead, Coho, Browns, Atlantic's and Kings.
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Thank you all for your words of encouragement, kind words and continued support. Ill continue to do my best in sharing what I've learned through, experience, experimentation, borrowed ideas and taught techniques.
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I sincerely hope that what little I've been able to share with you today on one of many many more post's to come this summer will help you along the path to more enjoyable, safe and knowledgeable fishing.
Randy Jones
http://www.yankeeangler.com - Fishing Reports, Pictures, Ramblings, Tips and Articles

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May
Welcome back everyone! Boy, time flies when your having fun. If you didnt hear we had one of the best Steelhead seasons since the early 90's on the Salmon River Pulaski, NY. I'd forecast another incredible season next year. If you want to give it a shot, lets plan a Steelhead or Salmon trip. Salmon 15 to 20 lb. average Sept. - Oct. Steelhead 8 to 12 lb. average Nov. - early May. Wade and Driftboat/Fly or spin. 25 years experience,  full-time. :)
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The micro's are here in all the normal Spring spot'