Where there are birds....
False Albacore
East Coast USA
Chesapeake Bay and Long Island
I have wanted to fish for Striped Bass for a long time. Well that and Bluefish and False Albacore. The fishing I was hankering after occurs in saltwater along the east coast of North America. The fish are highly mobile, moving with the available bait fish and water temperature. So understanding where and when to fish is not easy.
Thank goodness then for the internet. I was working in the USA for 2 weeks and happy to create a potential excess baggage incident by packing rods, reels and flies into two already obese suitcases. I found guides and boats, sent off emails and hoped. In the end I managed to grab two week end days, one on Chesapeake Bay and the other a week later off Long Island. The fishing was terrific and I can recommend it.
The best part of the experience, apart from mucking about in boats for a day; is the searching for the fish. The classic way is to spot feeding birds. They are following the bait fish, which in turn are being chased by the big toothy predatory fishes. Once you have found the birds, then the boat must be manoeuvred into position and a cast shot out to the fish. Typically they are visible breaking the surface as they harry the baitfish. So this is exciting high adrenalin stuff. It is easy to become addicted, and I fear I may well have become so. Oh well bye bye bank balance !
Where there are birds....
False Albacore