Bring on the heat!! Even with the sweltering temperatures of late, there has been no let-up in the speckled trout bite! Given decent weather and a break from the wind, on most days we are catching 20 – 30 fat, healthy specks on a variety bucktail jigs, soft plastics and flies. Specialized Baits Li’l Jimy’s, Bass Assassin 4″ Sea Shads, Clouser Deep Minnows and Cactus Stripers are all gobbled-up like cotton candy at a carnival. I have seen stretches of good speck fishing in my 30 years of fishing Tangier Sound, but never have I experienced such a prolonged period in both size and numbers. The specks are averaging 17″ – 21″, and this past Monday, Dennis Dame boated a gorgeous five-pound, 25″ specimen on fly. With a little luck, look for this incredible fishing to continue right through October. On the flip-side, the fantastic flounder fishing that we had last summer has, so far, failed to materialize. That said, I haven’t been putting in a lot of time trying, for obvious reasons.. Bluefish to 20-inches are available if you want a hard-fighting gamefish to put a bend in your light spinning or fly rod and a few stripers are always around. I have less than a handful of dates remaining open in July, and August is fast becoming booked as well. Drop me an email or call if you would like to get in on some hot summer fishing. If a full day sounds a bit too long in this heat, the less-expensive six-hour trip is plenty of time to fish a tide, and we will be off the water before the oven cranks up!
Walk-on Notice
On the subject of guided trips, I am in need of one or two anglers to share the cost of one or two days fishing with another angler. The date(s) requested are July 26 or 27 and August 20, 21, 22 or 23. This will be a full day, 8-hour trip. Cost will be $150 or $225 per person, subject to total number of anglers. Specks, blues, rock and maybe even some flounder should be available. I look forward to seeing you on the water!!
Troy Scott with a beautiful speck
Sam Dame caught this 23″ beauty on fly
Dennis Dame and his 5-pound, 25″ speck on fly
Laura Wolf is all smiles with a gorgeous speck
Happy Father’s Day to dad Dave Wolf
Chris Wolf gets in on the action, as well
One more for Dad!
Barb Long had the hot hand early
Doug Curtis boated this healthy speck
Ron Long adds a nice rock
Doug with a nice rock of his own
Scott Evander with a big speck
Mike Long shows off a good spotted trout of his own
George Lenard of Specialized Bait fame shows the Li’l Jimy in action
Rob Allen cradles a fat speck
Rob fooled this nice striper on a Stillwater Smack-it!
A colorful speck for Trey Blackiston
Ginni Bowen with her 11 pound rockfish – nice catch Ginni!!
For the catch of the week, Trey pulled in this 32″ cobia! The fish was released.
Justin Matoska with a windy day speck
Justin’s friend Kenny with a speck of his own
Cam added this nice flounder after the wind finally won out
Josenhans Fly Fishing Blog 