1 00:00:03,725 --> 00:00:06,705 Marvin: Hey folks, it's Marvin Cash, the host of the Articulate Fly. 2 00:00:06,805 --> 00:00:10,725 Marvin: We're back with another On the Salt with Captain David Blinken. David, how are you? 3 00:00:11,945 --> 00:00:13,865 David: I'm good, Marvin. How are you doing this week? 4 00:00:14,165 --> 00:00:16,885 Marvin: As always, just trying to stay out of trouble. And it's kind of funny, 5 00:00:16,945 --> 00:00:20,045 Marvin: you were lamenting the north-northeast wind, and I was saying that it made me 6 00:00:20,045 --> 00:00:24,065 Marvin: happy down here in the south because it was dropping the temperature and lowering the humidity. 7 00:00:25,165 --> 00:00:28,025 David: Well you know all the crowds have cleared out 8 00:00:28,025 --> 00:00:30,765 David: from uh the east end of long island now and i 9 00:00:30,765 --> 00:00:33,845 David: want to get some serious fishing in with some clients 10 00:00:33,845 --> 00:00:38,565 David: and of course the first thing that happens is we get a northeast wind so uh 11 00:00:38,565 --> 00:00:43,425 David: you know but we'll we'll uh you know this time of year it occasionally happens 12 00:00:43,425 --> 00:00:48,005 David: and it sort of turns around midday and comes south and then we can fish it just 13 00:00:48,005 --> 00:00:52,365 David: means you know delaying our start that's about it really yeah. 14 00:00:52,365 --> 00:00:55,985 Marvin: I got it and i think the the last time we spoke, you were hopeful that you'd 15 00:00:55,985 --> 00:00:57,905 Marvin: start seeing false albacore. Has that been the case? 16 00:00:59,265 --> 00:01:03,965 David: They've been spotty. They've been up in New England, the Jersey Shore, 17 00:01:04,425 --> 00:01:07,085 David: and in western Long Island. 18 00:01:08,325 --> 00:01:11,965 David: You hear reports of them here and there. 19 00:01:12,205 --> 00:01:19,605 David: I just got a report literally minutes before we got on air of albies over in Long Island, 20 00:01:20,225 --> 00:01:25,565 David: I should say Rhode Island, probably around around watch hill and uh uh they 21 00:01:25,565 --> 00:01:30,165 David: should if they're there they should be uh they should be in montauk and gardener's 22 00:01:30,165 --> 00:01:34,725 David: bay any second so i'm hoping when i get out there tomorrow i'm going to be greeted 23 00:01:34,725 --> 00:01:37,225 David: by a bunch of uh hardtails yeah. 24 00:01:37,225 --> 00:01:40,085 Marvin: There you go and so were you chasing stripers or blues today. 25 00:01:40,945 --> 00:01:43,865 David: So we were sight fishing for stripers today which was 26 00:01:43,865 --> 00:01:49,305 David: a lot of fun uh i'll uh i'll send along a photo later but uh you know we got 27 00:01:49,305 --> 00:01:55,085 David: a couple of nice bass and in the upper 20 inch range and uh then uh when uh 28 00:01:55,085 --> 00:01:59,845 David: that turned off we went and turned our sights on bluefish and had some fun with 29 00:01:59,845 --> 00:02:03,445 David: them as well so you know all in all it was a nice day yeah. 30 00:02:03,445 --> 00:02:06,765 Marvin: Well there you go we got a question for you from brenner and he was interested 31 00:02:06,765 --> 00:02:10,525 Marvin: in getting your thoughts on you know if you're going to fish at night in the 32 00:02:10,525 --> 00:02:12,605 Marvin: salt what can you do to improve your odds. 33 00:02:13,894 --> 00:02:17,474 David: Well, there's a number of things you can do to improve your odds, 34 00:02:17,594 --> 00:02:19,014 David: but I would tell you this. 35 00:02:19,374 --> 00:02:23,834 David: Before you start fishing a night spot, fish it in the day. 36 00:02:24,354 --> 00:02:27,854 David: And the reason why is you want to look at it both at high and low tide, 37 00:02:28,074 --> 00:02:32,894 David: get an idea of which way the water's moving and how it's moving through the 38 00:02:32,894 --> 00:02:34,554 David: area you're going to be fishing at night. 39 00:02:34,554 --> 00:02:40,174 David: The other important thing is, the other important reason why you're going to 40 00:02:40,174 --> 00:02:45,754 David: fish during the day is so that at night, after getting to know during the day, 41 00:02:45,754 --> 00:02:48,654 David: when you're walking around those spots, you don't fall into a hole. 42 00:02:49,234 --> 00:02:52,514 David: I mean, that's, you know, the worst possible thing ever. 43 00:02:52,994 --> 00:02:58,714 David: So, you know, improving your odds is getting to know the place and the tides, 44 00:02:58,714 --> 00:03:00,034 David: getting to know the topography. 45 00:03:01,094 --> 00:03:03,894 David: And then of course we can talk about 46 00:03:03,894 --> 00:03:07,754 David: fly selection and um i mean 47 00:03:07,754 --> 00:03:11,254 David: it's it's such a broad question um if 48 00:03:11,254 --> 00:03:17,094 David: you're using swimming flies um you know you can use uh a lot of people like 49 00:03:17,094 --> 00:03:23,534 David: black flies because it makes a nice profile at night i myself like to use white 50 00:03:23,534 --> 00:03:27,554 David: flies i've had a lot of luck using just straight white flies they really they 51 00:03:27,554 --> 00:03:30,454 David: kind of stand out especially especially if there's a little bit of light. 52 00:03:32,018 --> 00:03:39,398 David: Other things that are fun to use are things like gurglers or sliders or poppers. 53 00:03:39,538 --> 00:03:42,338 David: And, you know, they don't need to make a lot of noise. 54 00:03:42,518 --> 00:03:47,698 David: They just need to make maybe just a very subtle V-wake on the water. 55 00:03:47,838 --> 00:03:52,418 David: You're not really ripping it at night, but it's more of a nuanced kind of fishing. 56 00:03:52,978 --> 00:03:55,698 David: So these are some things to think about. 57 00:03:56,518 --> 00:04:00,238 David: Of course, being very familiar with your equipment. that 58 00:04:00,238 --> 00:04:03,218 David: is another important way to improve your 59 00:04:03,218 --> 00:04:06,938 David: chances understanding what a cast feels like and knowing 60 00:04:06,938 --> 00:04:10,758 David: how far you're throwing so um uh 61 00:04:10,758 --> 00:04:13,438 David: my night fishing line at the 62 00:04:13,438 --> 00:04:18,598 David: 60 foot mark has a little bump in it that i've done just by tying some thread 63 00:04:18,598 --> 00:04:24,598 David: and gluing it so i actually have an idea of how far i'm throwing to my target 64 00:04:24,598 --> 00:04:31,458 David: area so i have my little I have that little wrap of thread on the line at around my 60-foot mark. 65 00:04:31,838 --> 00:04:37,718 David: And, you know, if you're fishing smaller areas, you could have your little tie-it-on 66 00:04:37,718 --> 00:04:40,738 David: piece of thread at, let's say, your 40 or your 50-foot mark. 67 00:04:41,058 --> 00:04:45,638 David: Because at night, the last thing you want to do is turn on a light that can 68 00:04:45,638 --> 00:04:49,158 David: potentially scatter the fish and give them a warning. 69 00:04:49,298 --> 00:04:55,818 David: And if you are going to use a light, the best thing to do is have a red lens over your light. 70 00:04:55,818 --> 00:05:02,558 David: It won't be seen or perceived by the fish as easily as, let's say, 71 00:05:02,598 --> 00:05:05,418 David: a white, blue, or green, or even a yellow light. 72 00:05:05,638 --> 00:05:11,018 David: So I would say if you're going to have a headlamp or something, have a red lens over it. 73 00:05:11,098 --> 00:05:13,938 David: And, of course, try not to shine it on the water. 74 00:05:16,578 --> 00:05:21,338 David: And, of course, going back to the topography, you know... 75 00:05:23,432 --> 00:05:27,692 David: If you really know your topography well, let's say you're fishing the deeper 76 00:05:27,692 --> 00:05:31,612 David: spot in the nighttime, you might want an intermediate line. 77 00:05:31,952 --> 00:05:36,692 David: I tend to fish more floating lines because I feel like in the evenings, 78 00:05:36,752 --> 00:05:39,112 David: the fish are looking up at bait. 79 00:05:40,172 --> 00:05:45,192 David: Unless it's sand eels, which bury in the sand every night, right at dusk. 80 00:05:45,252 --> 00:05:49,892 David: And then when they're doing it, they tend to do it close to the low tide mark, 81 00:05:50,072 --> 00:05:53,892 David: close to shore at the low tide mark. If you're fishing in a Bay or an estuary, 82 00:05:54,072 --> 00:05:59,332 David: um, and in those situations, I'm definitely using a floating line, very slender flies. 83 00:05:59,552 --> 00:06:07,092 David: And I tend to fish, uh, you know, that particular situation is really great 84 00:06:07,092 --> 00:06:09,752 David: at twilight, like an hour before sunset to, 85 00:06:09,912 --> 00:06:15,252 David: you know, an hour after sunset, and then kind of have a dead period very often 86 00:06:15,252 --> 00:06:17,832 David: once it gets perfectly black. 87 00:06:19,052 --> 00:06:22,872 David: And then all of a sudden you'll notice an hour into the darkness, 88 00:06:23,112 --> 00:06:24,732 David: things start to pick up again. 89 00:06:25,352 --> 00:06:29,852 David: So, you know, just being aware of all these situations, being aware of the area 90 00:06:29,852 --> 00:06:34,632 David: you're fishing by scoping it out during the day, both at high and low tide and 91 00:06:34,632 --> 00:06:35,932 David: getting to know the currents. 92 00:06:36,472 --> 00:06:39,712 David: And then, you know, your fly selection and line selection, 93 00:06:39,932 --> 00:06:42,992 David: all these things, you know, culminate together to really 94 00:06:42,992 --> 00:06:46,392 David: give you a successful outing and one 95 00:06:46,392 --> 00:06:50,472 David: last thing especially if you're fishing the northeast is every 96 00:06:50,472 --> 00:06:54,112 David: fish you reel in is a bluefish um and 97 00:06:54,112 --> 00:06:57,072 David: i'm saying that more metaphorically because if you're 98 00:06:57,072 --> 00:07:00,252 David: going to lip a fish at night and uh you think 99 00:07:00,252 --> 00:07:03,872 David: you're just catching stripers um you could 100 00:07:03,872 --> 00:07:07,452 David: be in for a really um unfortunate surprise so 101 00:07:07,452 --> 00:07:10,312 David: really carefully look at each fish you bring in 102 00:07:10,312 --> 00:07:16,872 David: on the fly even if it's with 15 pound test you can land a bluefish um so really 103 00:07:16,872 --> 00:07:20,832 David: make sure you know what animal that is on the end of your line so you don't 104 00:07:20,832 --> 00:07:27,632 David: you know hurt yourself uh really badly um and that really kind of covers it 105 00:07:27,632 --> 00:07:29,872 David: in our short little form here yeah. 106 00:07:29,872 --> 00:07:34,352 Marvin: Any thoughts by the way on kind of moon phase or anything like that in your neck of the woods. 107 00:07:35,307 --> 00:07:38,587 David: Um you know moon 108 00:07:38,587 --> 00:07:42,607 David: phase is really interesting um i personally 109 00:07:42,607 --> 00:07:45,647 David: don't like fishing the full moon during the day 110 00:07:45,647 --> 00:07:48,487 David: i find it a day before the full to a day after 111 00:07:48,487 --> 00:07:53,547 David: the full is really bad but that being said when i'm night fishing under a full 112 00:07:53,547 --> 00:07:59,787 David: moon that very often is proven to be very good and uh just a really quick story 113 00:07:59,787 --> 00:08:05,047 David: um the summer my daughter was born i was in martha's Vineyard fishing under 114 00:08:05,047 --> 00:08:06,627 David: a full moon at Lobsterville Beach. 115 00:08:06,947 --> 00:08:11,427 David: And I was just out there flipping a seven weight, getting little schoolie stripers. 116 00:08:11,427 --> 00:08:17,247 David: And lo and behold, I caught the biggest striped bass of my life on a fly rod 117 00:08:17,247 --> 00:08:20,067 David: that evening under the full moon. 118 00:08:20,127 --> 00:08:22,387 David: It was about 47 inches long. 119 00:08:22,767 --> 00:08:26,907 David: And that was a pretty neat moment for me. 120 00:08:27,667 --> 00:08:31,367 David: So that's my full moon story. 121 00:08:32,007 --> 00:08:38,387 David: But during the day, full moons tend to be my least productive. 122 00:08:38,607 --> 00:08:42,027 David: But at night, full moons have been very generous. 123 00:08:42,987 --> 00:08:49,147 David: And new moons can be great as well. But I think the full moon will also allow 124 00:08:49,147 --> 00:08:54,687 David: you to see fish swirling and eating bait that hasn't buried into the sand for the evening, 125 00:08:55,327 --> 00:08:58,567 David: as long as you can get at the right angle and there's no clouds. 126 00:08:59,387 --> 00:09:02,767 Marvin: Yeah, got it. And you know, folks, we love questions on the Articulate Fly. 127 00:09:02,887 --> 00:09:06,247 Marvin: You can email them to us or DM us on social media, whatever is easiest for you. 128 00:09:06,487 --> 00:09:09,947 Marvin: And if we use your question, I will send you some Articulate Fly swag, 129 00:09:10,187 --> 00:09:12,967 Marvin: you know, a drawing for the Royal Wolf line of your choice. 130 00:09:13,607 --> 00:09:18,047 Marvin: And I guess, David, before I let you give everyone housekeeping details, 131 00:09:18,247 --> 00:09:22,307 Marvin: we should give a shout out to our friend Steve Ramirez because his last book 132 00:09:22,307 --> 00:09:26,047 Marvin: in the casting series, Casting Homeward, got released over Labor Day weekend. 133 00:09:26,867 --> 00:09:34,627 David: Yeah, it did. And I really strongly suggest everyone buy it because Steve doesn't 134 00:09:34,627 --> 00:09:35,687 David: just write about fishing. 135 00:09:35,787 --> 00:09:40,807 David: Steve writes really about the experience in his life and how things relate. 136 00:09:41,027 --> 00:09:50,547 David: It's such a fun way to read a book that isn't so hyper-focused on one particular thing. 137 00:09:50,547 --> 00:09:55,207 David: It's really, when you read Steve's books, you're actually seeing what Steve 138 00:09:55,207 --> 00:09:58,467 David: is saying instead of reading it. It's really, he writes beautifully. 139 00:09:58,847 --> 00:10:02,607 Marvin: Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, David, if someone wants to get on the bow of 140 00:10:02,607 --> 00:10:03,547 Marvin: your boat, what should they do? 141 00:10:04,787 --> 00:10:10,087 David: They can go to my website, davidblinken.com or northgladsguiding.com. 142 00:10:10,387 --> 00:10:14,247 David: And they can also email me at davidblinken at gmail. 143 00:10:14,647 --> 00:10:17,487 Marvin: Well, there you go. Well, folks, as I always say, you owe it to yourself to 144 00:10:17,487 --> 00:10:22,387 Marvin: get out there and catch a few. Tight lines, everybody. tight lines David tight lines Marvin.