S6, Ep 63: On the Salt: Shallow Water Strategies and Striped Bass Challenges

Marvin: Hey folks, it's Marvin Cash, the host of the Articulate Fly,

Marvin: and we're back with another On the Salt with Captain David Blinken. David, how are you?

David: I'm great, Marvin. How are you? How are you handling the beginning of summer?

Marvin: So, you know, it's actually been really kind of nice this week.

Marvin: So it's been, you know, low 80s, but it's creeping up and we're going to be

Marvin: in the mid 90s by the end of the week.

Marvin: So I'm I'm trying to, you know, sneak a few days outside and maybe get a trout

Marvin: day in before it gets super hot and I have to head to the ponds.

David: Oh, yeah. Well, we're looking at some warmer weather, but, you know,

David: being 90 miles out in the ocean here in the end of Long Island keeps things a little bit cooler.

Marvin: Yeah, I looked at your forecast. I was jealous, 60s and low 70s,

Marvin: and I imagine there's probably a nice breeze, too.

David: Yeah, well, I want to keep that nice breeze away. way so we it's a little easier

David: uh shallow water fishing but yes uh we've had uh yesterday was blown about 10

David: 15 all day today we had about uh five and that made made for some nice uh nice sight fishing yeah.

Marvin: And you know we were talking the last time uh we spoke that you know that the

Marvin: that the bass weren't in the bays because there wasn't any bait there and you're

Marvin: saying that that's still the case right.

David: Yeah i mean there were quite

David: a few bass in the ocean but there are always this time

David: of year that they're migrating you know out of the chesapeake or

David: the hudson and they're just on their way north um and

David: we always hope they turn the corner and come in the bays but there's really

David: not a lot of bait to speak of to to bring them

David: in here so they're just kind of staying out there and

David: you know in in past years even uh when

David: there wasn't a lot of bait we'd still have a lot of fish in shore but

David: um you know it's been the case the past

David: couple of years that's just been disappearing more and

David: more and of course it has a lot to do with the

David: the density of the striped bass population or the

David: lack thereof um so uh sadly it's it's not what it can be i mean you see a lot

David: of people posting pictures of fish uh online everywhere and a lot of that's

David: great marketing um but when you talk to the shallow water guides or those of

David: us who call it flats that's fishing.

David: It's been a difficult season, you know, up and down the coast, unfortunately.

David: And, you know, we're going to be doing a lot of work in the future to maybe

David: help shore this up before it gets too bad.

Marvin: Yeah. And so is there anything that can kind of happen on the weather front

Marvin: that can kind of push bait in?

Marvin: So like if you got, you know, wind that was blowing into the coast,

Marvin: would that kind of bring bait in?

Marvin: I mean, I'm not a very salty guy, so I don't know exactly how it works.

David: Well, no, not really. What we need is bait.

David: And whether it's a full moon or a new moon or if it's, you know,

David: northeast wind or something, you know, I'll see a little push of bait here and

David: there and then it just disappears. There's nothing that's sticking around.

David: You know, we used to have shoals of spearing and sand eels coming in this time

David: of year and they, they're just not there.

David: And the bass that I'm seeing are just kind of, you know, going around looking

David: for little crabs and shrimp, cause that's what is kind of local.

David: So, you know, that's really what, what it is.

David: And, and a lot of the fish that we

David: had years and years ago were really

David: resident fish they would spawn up in you know

David: various areas like three mile harbor in

David: the peconics and and and parts of montauk

David: but those those uh resident fish

David: were really um they were really caught out they were most of

David: them were netted out um because unfortunately new

David: york state still allows gill netting and uh and it's very damaging because you

David: know the mesh is set up to let certain fish go through um the smaller ones but

David: you know the ones that are what they call in the slot or even the bigger ones

David: they just get caught gillnets and and they purse they drown,

David: and um so it's it's a really bad thing um you know bycatch is probably just

David: as damaging as overfishing when it comes to um this fishery yeah.

Marvin: I know we've got gillnet problems down here in the carolinas is uh is your bluefish

Marvin: bite a little bit better maybe.

David: Well the bluefish bite was really strong in the beginning. And then they just

David: like suddenly vanished on, um, on the last moon.

David: Um, I mean, we were lucky enough. We got a few bluefish today,

David: some smaller ones, but, um, you know, in each year is a little different.

David: I mean, we had a lot of big fish. We, we had an unofficial world record fish about 10 days ago.

David: We had a 39 inch, uh, bluefish, uh, uh, in, in about two feet of water, which was really cool.

David: Um, and that measured 99 centimeters. because world records are done in centimeters.

David: And the last world record on a 20-pound tippet was, I think, 88 centimeters.

David: But, you know, we're not entering it or anything. We logged the fish,

David: and we logged it on Got One, of course.

David: And, you know, we released it.

David: And, you know, it didn't occur to us until hours later that we should have done

David: length and girth instead of just length and then sent in, you know,

David: for the fly line along with the leader.

David: But, you know, as things go, you know, it's bragging rights,

David: but it's not that important to to to register.

Marvin: Yeah, that's that that's that aha moment over margaritas and chips and salsa.

Marvin: You're like, damn, I wish we had taken a few more measurements, right?

David: Yeah, yeah. I mean, it just, it didn't occur to us until, I know,

David: like two hours later, it's like, wait a second, 39 inches, that's 99 centimeters.

David: Let's go on the IGFA website. And there it was at 88 centimeters.

David: And we're like, damn, we smashed that record by 10 centimeters.

Marvin: Yeah, maybe that's a feature you need to get folded into Got One so that you

Marvin: get an alert on your phone when you log the fish.

David: Oh, my gosh. I'll have to tell them about it. That's actually,

David: that's pretty brilliant.

Marvin: You know, don't miss out on a chance to be famous, right?

David: That's right. That's right. That's hysterical.

Marvin: So, you know, interesting question for you this time around, David.

Marvin: Had a listener write in on Instagram and wanted to know your tips for locating

Marvin: fish. And I know that's a super broad question.

David: Well, you know what? There's so many approaches. So, you know,

David: there's everything from blue water to shallow water and everything in between.

David: I'm going to specifically address shallow water.

David: Otherwise, we could go for hours. um so

David: the most important thing is time on the water and that time in the water allows

David: you to see the particular fishery you're fishing both at high tide and low tide

David: looking at the way water flows in on the incoming tide and looking at the way

David: the water flows out of the outgoing tide,

David: understanding the structure either rock out crop beams or little drop-offs in

David: the sand and troughs along shorelines, and stuff like that.

David: And then understanding the different baits during the different times of year.

David: And all these things add up to understanding your fishery and how to find fish.

David: How does that sound for a concise answer on shallow water?

Marvin: Yeah, it's super concise because I've watched people talk about it before,

Marvin: and I guess the fish come in on the tide. And so if you kind of find the exit,

Marvin: it's like, it's like basically being a toll booth guy, right?

Marvin: And finding the exits when the tides go out, that kind of helps you.

Marvin: And that I guess is maybe kind of the equivalent of structure for fishing for

Marvin: trout or something like that.

David: It is, and it's really, really important, like, to have moving water.

David: That's when the bigger fish find it easier to drop the little fish,

David: you know, against the tide.

David: When the tide's dead, like at the top of the tide or at the bottom of the tide,

David: very often, you know, the fish are just kind of, they swim off,

David: and they're not feeding in anything like that. And also, water temperature is really important.

David: To understand things like how to find fish.

David: Very often in the middle of the summer, when it's really warm,

David: the outgoing tide in the middle of the day can be warmer water.

David: But if you've got incoming tide in the middle of the day that's cooler,

David: more oxygenated water, it may actually fish better.

David: So throughout the summer in July and August, there's certain tides that just seem to fish better.

David: And to me, it's those incoming tides in the summer in the springtime and in

David: the fall i very often find the outgoing tides better because the water's already

David: cooled off and it's just flushing bait out of wherever that bait's hiding got.

Marvin: It and i guess too if you don't have kind of fancy electronics i would imagine

Marvin: google maps is probably a pretty helpful way to maybe find spots.

David: Yeah i would say so um i i definitely even i look at google maps all the time

David: because i don't use uh sonar because the water i'm fishing is very shallow.

David: And, you know, sometimes you're seeing stuff on Google Maps and you're like,

David: wow, I never saw that before.

David: A little trough or a deep hole somewhere in the middle of something.

David: Sometimes those holes are cold fish.

David: You know, they might be high in the water column, but they're still,

David: you know, around those, around and inside or above those holes.

David: So, you know, Google Maps can really open your eyes up.

David: And also Google Maps might give you an idea of maybe a place you've never gone

David: before. And you're like, why didn't I ever think about that?

Marvin: Yeah, very, very neat. And you know, folks, we love questions at the Articulate Fly.

Marvin: You can email me or DM me on social media. I always like to say we want to make David's life easier.

Marvin: And if we use your question, I will send you some Articulate Fly swag.

Marvin: And David and I, by the next time we speak to you guys, we will kind of have

Marvin: the drawing stuff figured out.

Marvin: And, you know, David, before I let you go, I guess, you know,

Marvin: we touched on it. you know, you want to kind of give the plug for ASGA and maybe

Marvin: talk about, you know, how to book you and upcoming trips and all that kind of good stuff?

David: Well, yes. I mean, it's, it's, you can go to my website, um,

David: either northflats.com or just davidblinken.com if you want to book me.

David: And, um, the easiest way to do it is actually just grab my phone number and call me.

David: Um, or you can certainly email me. Um, and, um, as far as ASGA goes,

David: you know, the American Saltwater Guides Association, we're really,

David: we really need to ramp up our fight to, you know, preserve fisheries.

David: And, you know, we're always looking for donations, a $5 donation is as good

David: as a $5,000 donation as far as we're concerned.

David: You know, money, money is money. And to protect these fisheries,

David: it's so vitally important.

David: And certainly what's going on with striped bass is indicative of the work that

David: we need to proceed on going forward.

Marvin: Yeah, and I would say, you know, not to be a fear monger, but I mean,

Marvin: I think we really are kind of at

Marvin: a tipping point with the striped bass population in the Atlantic, right?

David: Yeah, I really think we are. I mean, there's not a lot of little fish.

David: There's, you know, there's big fish. And, you know, you see a lot of people

David: showing pictures of these big

David: stripers and saying, well, this is the best striper fishing I've ever had.

David: But the problem is, is that there's not a lot of stuff in between.

David: And there was a well-known book, Cod, and I can't for the life of me remember the author's name.

David: But in the book Cod, they talk about how the inshore fishery started to drop

David: off dramatically before the collapse of the Canadian cod fishery.

David: Well, we're starting to experience that now with striped bass.

David: While the fish, the ocean-going stripers are there, and maybe not in the same

David: numbers, you know, you can still go in the ocean and catch them.

David: But the inshore fishery, like the flats, estuaries, and back bays,

David: really are hurting for fish.

David: And that's how a lot of us shallow water guides have been making our money for years.

David: And, you know, things are changing, unfortunately, in that regard,

David: and it is alarming. Yeah.

Marvin: And I will drop a link to ASGA in the show notes.

Marvin: And as I always say, folks, you owe it to yourself to get out there and catch a few.

Marvin: Tight lines, everybody. Tight lines, David.