By Guide Rick Buss:
Ah! Spring and a young worm’s fancy turns to love. Cinder worms, clam worms, sand worms or sea worms—no matter the species or local name for these worms, most of them seem to spawn and hatch in the early spring. Many times, I see gulls diving or sitting and think it was a mini-blitz on a small bait fi sh. I’ve now learned that most likely, I was watching either a worm spawn or a hatch. I also remember fishing the outflow in my home marsh very early in the spring and seeing many fish stacked up waiting for something.
With this in mind, I called my friend, Bill. I fish with him all year and planned an early scouting trip around the middle of March during a full moon cycle. We met at some urban mud flats we are familiar with from past trips. This time, we were on foot. We only carried a rod or two and a handful of small lures like plastic worm imitations and slim profiles with a small stand-up jighead and tiny shinys. The tide was dropping, so our thought was that anything washing off of the flats and dipping into deeper water would be seen if fish were there. Good thinking… right? The fish didn’t think so. We didn’t get one bump. It was either too early or too late or the water was too cold, who knows? I know I’ll be packing the rods and trying again every few days. In this case, the early worm may catch the fish. Not catching any fish this time around is okay as we were able to get out and cast into open water. We even planned what we will do next time.
Keep your eyes on the water anywhere the tide drains marshes, flats, creeks and rivers. This time of year, all kinds of striper food will be popping up. There are resident fish in all our rivers and they’re all waking up hungry. Get out. Look around. Those rivers are opening up. Dress correctly and get that yak wet! I know I’m going to.
For anyone, who may be interested in kayak fishing, check out: www.NewEnglandKayakFishing.com and Rick’s website.
All you ever wanted to know and more.
Guide Rick Buss, (617) 719-2036, www.belleislekayakadventures.com. Kayak specialist and fishing guide Rick Buss fishes, dives, and snorkels off his kayak. He runs his guide service out of Belle Isle in Winthrop, but can deliver kayaks to your location.