The albacore season was one of the best I've seen in several years. Everything from 6 and 7lbers showing up early in the season to some monster 20lb albies coming through during October. Although I consider myself a skinny water fly fisherman first and foremost, there are few things that compare to rolling up on a school of albacore that are destroying a bait ball of anchovies. It's so intense that even the most level headed of fly fishermen can lose their cool and end up with fly line knots, loops around their feet, and clousers stuck in their shirt while the albies continue to bust 10 yards off the side of the boat. But as long as you keep your head on straight, and make that first cast count, you are usually rewarded with seeing your backing scream off your real at light speeds. Speckled trout are starting up nicely. We've had a few cold fronts, but for the most part we are still seeing warmer temps and the fish haven't kicked into full gear yet. Good numbers of trout are being caught if you know where to look, and it will just get better over the next 2 months. The increased size limits and mild winters have given us a better average size trout than we were seeing a few years ago. Fingers crossed for another mild winter this year.
Reds have continued to get better as the water has cooled and their hunger has grown. We are catching good numbers of slot size fish, but the little yearling reds are also moving into the marsh, which is a good sign for next years fishery. As I write this, the water is clearing up in the marsh and we are expecting some awesome sight fishing opportunities over the next few months.
