son. Silversides and peanut bunker showed up in good numbers in late August through September. The only baits lacking in quantity continue to be American eel and adult sea herring. These stocks are severely depressed due to commercial over harvesting. We had a strong run of bluefish last season. Most were 6-10 pounds with some larger ones mixed in. The fishing was very steady throughout most of July. Several days of slamming top water action made for a lot of hooting, hollering and torn up gear. Shark fishing was again below average. The sharks showed up in mid August and were gone by early September. This is an indication that the stock assessments are correct and the populations are depressed in our area and worldwide.
We should have a great year in 2005. There are some strong year classes coming up and all indications are there should be plenty of stripers to go around. I believe that the bluefish will be back in good numbers this coming season and if the trend carries through the average size will increase again. Maybe we'll see those 16-18 pounders in 2005! New for this season! Obsession Charters will be FFF Certified. I'll be taking classes in March and by the time the season starts I will have my Fly Fishing Federation fly casting instructor certification. This is just one more way to assure that your fishing experience will meet the highest expectations.
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2004 was a great year! Record numbers of charters for both June and July with August just slightly behind average. The number of fish caught per trip was up slightly with the average size dropping once again. We had lots of 24"- 36" fish boatside. But, the number of fish over 36" caught continues to decline. This trend in smaller fish will be the norm until fisheries managers make an honest effort to control the harvest of large breeder stripers to the south. But that's another story… The key to last year's good fishing was the great abundance of bait. Blueback herring alewives, juvenile sea herring, sand eel and mackerel cycled well throughout the fishing sea
2004's hot Lure
2004's Hot Fly
The Storm Wild Eye
The Wild Eye was an extremely effective lure last season. The lifelike appearance and action coupled with the ability to be fished like a bucktail jig makes it one of the most versatile lures in my tackle bag. The majority of the "biguns" caught last year were caught on the 5" Bunker color.
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My own "Sagadahoc Special" seemed to do the trick on about every trip out last season. It is a good pattern to use when small bait such as juvenile herring, silversides or sand eels are present. I tie it with no weight on a #2 or #4 hook. It fishes very well on an intermediate line in shallow water or on a 350 grain head in deeper water. Sorry no recipe available.
