Maine Striper Fishing Report: Super Fly Charters

(baitwell full of live sardine chummers)

I have an unhealthy addiction...My Wife has threatened divorce, threatened to kick me out of the house...During the long fishing season, My duties as a husband & home owner are grossly neglected, this affliction contributes to sleep deprivation & I exhibit zombie like symptoms. I have sought medical help from the best doctors...I have gone to support group meetings, have even tried hypnosis and witch doctor remedies, yet my addiction perseveres...I'm addicted to chum...I love chum...That's right I said it...I love chumming...I love live chumming or chunking chum...I love creating a huge baitball beneath my boat with my magic potion...igniting blitz conditions with my chum creations is a beautiful thing...I love making fish bite even when they've already gorged themselves, forcing my will upon them!!!...I love chum...I love making chum...ok the last one was a stretch!!! It's a smelly, messy job but the rewards overcome the torturous job of making it. Many of my friends share this addiction...their families know what we're going through...we'd like to thank you for sticking with us during these tough times.
When it comes to chumming...You can plug your nose but please don't turn your nose up at it...It's a fun, productive way to catch loads of fish...
...Those that know us know that we go to great lengths to catch all of our own bait...we travel miles & miles out of our way to secure a healthy supply...catching our own bait means that our day begins well before sun-up...hours before we meet our clients at the dock...having a good supply of chum is paramount to making bait so it's only natural for us to grind our own chum. We have a big #32 grinder mounted to a cutting board on a gimbal that slips into one of our gunnel mount rod holders...we can process up to 5# a minute...first it's coarse ground like a smelly version of ground chuck then we pack it into quart and gallon sized freezer bags as well as in 5 gal buckets for offshore use...A chest freezer keeps everything freshly frozen and ready for use...Not only do we use ground chum...but we also brine and carefully freeze whole baits such a Herring, Mackerel, Smelt & Menhaden...These popsicles can be used whole or as chunk chum...or even as hook baits...Did I mention that I love chum!!! The ways that we use chum is almost endless...drifting the open ocean with a block of chum over the side can bring in all sorts of critters....the pungent scent trail draws in everything from bait to large pelagic predators...the first arrivals are usually herring & mackeral...we keep a rod rigged with a sabiki handy to catch these baits...by doing this we can continously supplement our chum line with fresh bloody chunks and stunned livies...and it's a fun way to pass the time...When using our frozen block chum...we can control the amount of chum dispersed by using different mesh sizes on our chum bags...we also make a slurry by taking a frozen block of chum and mixing it with menhaden oil & seawater in a 5 gallon bucket...this stinky bloody concoction is then ladled over the side of the boat in small doses.
In the tidal rivers and in the rips...broadcasting handfuls of chopped chunks around the boat stimulates the schools of Striped Bass & Bluefish...sometimes it takes a drift or three before the chum starts to work but it inevitably happens...Drift a hooked chunk or livie through the chumzone and your gonna get bit...like clockwork!!!
On the flats when we have fly or light tackle anglers aboard...we often use live chummers...thats right if we are in an area that we know is holding fish...we slowly start to disperse live herring or spike macks...one at a time at first and when the fish wake up...we pitch a handful of livies out...thats when the magic starts...The stripers key in on the stunned baits...all the angler needs to do is pitch the fly or lure in the general area that the bait was delivered and hold on tight we can often bring big stripers to within a rod length of the boat...Throwing a handful of stunned baits against a sod bank patrolled by hungry stripers is lethal...and all of this can happen in some incredibly shallow water...another shallow water trick is to bridle a hookless livie under a float, either a balloon or a styrofoam ball, and watch for the swirls as the gamefish tries to eat the tethered bait...this is usually a team effort...one angler on the teaser rod, one angler with the hook rod...a a fly angler casting topwater crease fly or an angler throwing a spook type bait near the float is going to be in for a thrill as the lit up Bass switches from the live teaser to the fly or lure...YUP I LOVE CHUM!!!

Maine' Premier Saltwater Fishing Guide Service
Super Fly Charters
Capt. George Harris
207-691-0745
Super Fly Charters Facebook Page
www.superfly-charters.com