1 00:00:03,665 --> 00:00:06,745 Marvin: Hey folks, it's Marvin Cash, the host of the Articulate Fly, 2 00:00:06,845 --> 00:00:10,545 Marvin: and we're back with another On the Salt with Captain David Blinken. David, how are you? 3 00:00:11,785 --> 00:00:17,025 David: I'm great. I'm great. It's been a fun couple weeks, and I got to tell you, 4 00:00:17,065 --> 00:00:19,705 David: our last podcast was a blast from Mexico. 5 00:00:20,085 --> 00:00:23,265 Marvin: Yeah, it's kind of an amazing thing. I was kind of thinking about that after 6 00:00:23,265 --> 00:00:29,445 Marvin: we recorded it, to think about from when I was a kid where you didn't call Mexico. 7 00:00:29,645 --> 00:00:32,905 Marvin: And like, you know, growing up, you do, you know, person to person phone calls 8 00:00:32,905 --> 00:00:34,425 Marvin: so that you wouldn't get charged for long distance. 9 00:00:34,485 --> 00:00:37,085 Marvin: And we literally were, you know, not only hearing each other, 10 00:00:37,145 --> 00:00:40,325 Marvin: but seeing each other, you know, two or three time zones away. 11 00:00:41,445 --> 00:00:45,365 David: I know, I know it was a lot of fun and, you know, to have me and Steve, 12 00:00:45,465 --> 00:00:49,265 David: you know, sitting, you know, opposite each other and the table working off one 13 00:00:49,265 --> 00:00:51,585 David: another was, was a whole lot of fun. 14 00:00:51,685 --> 00:00:55,005 Marvin: Yeah. I felt bad for him. I guess he caught COVID on the flight back, right? 15 00:00:56,725 --> 00:01:00,905 David: Yeah. It's funny. He, he called me up, um, one day and he said, 16 00:01:00,945 --> 00:01:04,085 David: yeah, I've been a little bit sniffly and, you know, under the weather. 17 00:01:04,385 --> 00:01:09,085 David: So the next day he calls me up and he's like, I just took a COVID test. 18 00:01:09,225 --> 00:01:11,685 David: I'm going to know shortly. And in the middle of the phone call, 19 00:01:11,725 --> 00:01:15,145 David: he's like, Oh, expletive. I've got COVID. 20 00:01:15,585 --> 00:01:20,765 David: I started laughing. I didn't realize he was doing it right there with me on the phone. 21 00:01:21,225 --> 00:01:24,645 David: Anyway, that was, that was, uh, but, uh, he's doing fine. Yeah. 22 00:01:25,005 --> 00:01:28,825 Marvin: And so, you know, the great thing, right, is you were back home for 72 hours 23 00:01:28,825 --> 00:01:32,345 Marvin: and you basically spent the last week and change up on Martha's Vineyard. 24 00:01:32,405 --> 00:01:34,965 Marvin: And from the pictures you shot me, it looks like you did a little bit of fishing. 25 00:01:35,985 --> 00:01:40,565 David: I did a little bit of fishing, you know, just can't help myself. 26 00:01:40,665 --> 00:01:46,545 David: So I trailered the skiff up there and we're, you know, I took some friends and 27 00:01:46,545 --> 00:01:49,585 David: their kids fishing off the skiff and we were jigging for black sea bass. 28 00:01:49,705 --> 00:01:55,145 David: But after I dropped them off, I ran over to one of my favorite flats out there 29 00:01:55,145 --> 00:01:59,965 David: whose name will remain anonymous. them as soon as somebody books me to fish them up there. 30 00:02:00,045 --> 00:02:06,605 David: And literally in the middle of the doldrums, everywhere else, I get to this one spot, 31 00:02:06,845 --> 00:02:13,665 David: I anchor up the battery, I stake it out, and I've got stripers from 25 to 40 32 00:02:13,665 --> 00:02:17,345 David: inches swimming by the boat for two hours. It was just the best. 33 00:02:18,765 --> 00:02:23,665 Marvin: That's pretty amazing. That's a pretty good combo after three good days of tarpon fishing. 34 00:02:24,925 --> 00:02:29,925 David: Oh, yeah. Yeah, the tarpon fishing was awesome. But I tell you, 35 00:02:29,945 --> 00:02:36,285 David: being able just to stake out and put in a half a water and just watch these 36 00:02:36,285 --> 00:02:38,565 David: big critters swimming by was so nice. 37 00:02:39,685 --> 00:02:42,045 David: It's always nice kind of being back in your home waters. 38 00:02:42,325 --> 00:02:45,725 Marvin: Yeah, absolutely. And speaking of home waters, coming back to Long Island, 39 00:02:45,845 --> 00:02:47,225 Marvin: what are you seeing out there? 40 00:02:48,963 --> 00:02:51,963 David: Well, you know, I'll get out there tomorrow, but, um, you know, 41 00:02:51,983 --> 00:02:56,063 David: we just had a big cold front go come through last night and it looks like we're 42 00:02:56,063 --> 00:02:58,943 David: going to have a pretty stiff Northwest wind for the next couple of days. 43 00:02:59,023 --> 00:03:04,503 David: But I can tell you, um, before I left and while I was gone, we had some bluefin 44 00:03:04,503 --> 00:03:07,863 David: tuna, uh, sliding around the South side. 45 00:03:07,963 --> 00:03:10,103 David: Um, you know, pretty close to shore. 46 00:03:10,243 --> 00:03:14,763 David: I know some people are going to only like eight, 10 miles out and jigging bigger ones app. 47 00:03:14,843 --> 00:03:17,403 David: And they said they were also catchable on stick baits and fly. 48 00:03:17,403 --> 00:03:23,043 David: And really what everyone's waiting for right now, everyone's kind of holding 49 00:03:23,043 --> 00:03:25,583 David: their breath, hoping the false albacore come in. 50 00:03:25,723 --> 00:03:32,103 David: And I got a feeling after the supermoon and then we have this cold front coming 51 00:03:32,103 --> 00:03:37,563 David: through, I'm willing to bet Friday, Saturday, or sometime next week, 52 00:03:37,623 --> 00:03:39,063 David: those false albacore are going to be here. 53 00:03:39,603 --> 00:03:42,323 David: That's usually what happens when we get a front like this. 54 00:03:42,323 --> 00:03:45,863 Marvin: Yeah, it's funny you say that because, you know, my social media feed kind of 55 00:03:45,863 --> 00:03:50,203 Marvin: being more kind of Mid-Atlantic oriented, all the guides are talking about like, 56 00:03:50,243 --> 00:03:52,603 Marvin: you know, clients that canceled and, you know, get your October, 57 00:03:52,743 --> 00:03:56,003 Marvin: November dates for false albacore off Harker's Island. 58 00:03:57,143 --> 00:03:59,903 David: Yeah, I mean, they're talking about it. 59 00:03:59,963 --> 00:04:05,803 David: There was, you know, a public speaking period that ended today for the preservation 60 00:04:05,803 --> 00:04:09,623 David: of false albacore that the ASGA sent out. 61 00:04:09,743 --> 00:04:13,063 David: And I'm sure you can still write in and do some other things. 62 00:04:13,183 --> 00:04:19,203 David: But, you know, we're really working hard now to help preserve the false albacore 63 00:04:19,203 --> 00:04:25,243 David: and, you know, protect them from not really overfishing, but from overharvesting. 64 00:04:26,003 --> 00:04:28,703 David: Uh, so hopefully, uh, hopefully, uh, 65 00:04:28,923 --> 00:04:34,743 David: uh, the, uh, you know, the, uh, the guides with the help of the guides association 66 00:04:34,743 --> 00:04:39,223 David: and, um, uh, and other people, they can be convincing for the, 67 00:04:39,243 --> 00:04:40,783 David: uh, for the, uh, mid Atlantic, 68 00:04:40,923 --> 00:04:44,723 David: uh, commission and, and get them on board with doing the right thing. 69 00:04:44,723 --> 00:04:48,483 David: They certainly didn't with stripers hopefully they will with false albacore because, 70 00:04:49,223 --> 00:04:53,843 David: the false albacore is considering the strength because the stripe s numbers 71 00:04:53,843 --> 00:04:58,263 David: have dropped so much they've really been what has saved us the past few years 72 00:04:58,263 --> 00:05:03,263 David: in the fall and if they're gone a lot of us are going to be out of business yeah. 73 00:05:03,263 --> 00:05:08,543 Marvin: Got it and got an interesting question for you too this time i had someone reach 74 00:05:08,543 --> 00:05:11,803 Marvin: out on instagram and wanted to know how do you fish a bunker pod. 75 00:05:13,781 --> 00:05:17,981 David: I mean that's such a wonderful question and there's so many different ways to do it, 76 00:05:18,581 --> 00:05:21,341 David: but let me go with the tried and true first of all 77 00:05:21,341 --> 00:05:24,301 David: you got to think about your fly selection first and foremost right 78 00:05:24,301 --> 00:05:27,501 David: and you could tie really big deceivers or 79 00:05:27,501 --> 00:05:30,321 David: really big you know you know bucktail flies 80 00:05:30,321 --> 00:05:33,121 David: you know flies that are between you know 81 00:05:33,121 --> 00:05:36,161 David: five and eight inches long a lot of people are now fishing the 82 00:05:36,161 --> 00:05:38,941 David: beast fly or the game changers you know really big 83 00:05:38,941 --> 00:05:43,881 David: ones so so you've got your fly selection um and 84 00:05:43,881 --> 00:05:46,881 David: then i tend to fish a much heavier leader in bunker pods 85 00:05:46,881 --> 00:05:49,621 David: um and very often with a shock tip 86 00:05:49,621 --> 00:05:52,521 David: because you never know if it's going to be bluefish or striper so 87 00:05:52,521 --> 00:05:55,681 David: i like to fish um a mono 88 00:05:55,681 --> 00:05:58,821 David: or or fluorocarbon shock tip of about 60 pound 89 00:05:58,821 --> 00:06:03,581 David: and then i'll have a couple of different rods rigged i'll have a floater an 90 00:06:03,581 --> 00:06:10,801 David: intermediate and a full sink um because you need to be able to fish different 91 00:06:10,801 --> 00:06:17,681 David: depths to reach the fish that are going to be eating the bunker or 92 00:06:18,081 --> 00:06:24,821 David: the artificial you're using so um very often i'll fish a beast fly or i'll tie 93 00:06:24,821 --> 00:06:29,441 David: one of these huge deceivers out of schlopp and that's you know could be six 94 00:06:29,441 --> 00:06:31,361 David: eight ten inches long and. 95 00:06:32,101 --> 00:06:34,981 David: If i'm fishing a 350 i'll usually cast it 96 00:06:34,981 --> 00:06:37,661 David: out or 450 i'll usually cast it out and try to get it under 97 00:06:37,661 --> 00:06:40,441 David: the bunker school and i'll strip it because 98 00:06:40,441 --> 00:06:43,361 David: very often the bluefish and the striped bass are under 99 00:06:43,361 --> 00:06:46,181 David: the bunker schools you know kind of hurting them and bullying 100 00:06:46,181 --> 00:06:49,061 David: them up and then they'll run up through them so if 101 00:06:49,061 --> 00:06:51,821 David: i can get under the bunker school it'll make it 102 00:06:51,821 --> 00:06:54,781 David: look like the you know one bunker's peeled away 103 00:06:54,781 --> 00:06:57,601 David: and that's usually a really great thing for the uh 104 00:06:57,601 --> 00:07:00,701 David: for the striped bass or the bluefish to whack before they 105 00:07:00,701 --> 00:07:04,461 David: you know push into the surface um with 106 00:07:04,461 --> 00:07:07,361 David: a floating line if they're up on top 107 00:07:07,361 --> 00:07:10,401 David: and they're just busting them and you'll sometimes see 108 00:07:10,401 --> 00:07:13,841 David: an opening in the bunker school where they'll clear 109 00:07:13,841 --> 00:07:18,061 David: out and you'll see those bigger fish in that opening you know kind of going 110 00:07:18,061 --> 00:07:23,021 David: around a circle chasing down things that that that floating line is really helpful 111 00:07:23,021 --> 00:07:26,841 David: because it'll make it look like an injured you know bunker that's flopping on 112 00:07:26,841 --> 00:07:31,681 David: top and you can just throw that there very often and they'll come up and whack it. 113 00:07:32,941 --> 00:07:36,921 David: And then with an intermediate line, you're just kind of trying to... 114 00:07:40,998 --> 00:07:43,758 David: You know get the medium you know the best of 115 00:07:43,758 --> 00:07:47,038 David: both worlds sometimes they'll be up on top sometimes those 116 00:07:47,038 --> 00:07:51,118 David: those fish will be kind of in the mid-depth uh so 117 00:07:51,118 --> 00:08:00,038 David: so you know your approach is important but a lot of fishing these bunker schools 118 00:08:00,038 --> 00:08:05,138 David: is also observation like if i see a bunker school get sprayed i'm not driving 119 00:08:05,138 --> 00:08:09,718 David: in on it right away i'm i'm gonna sort of hang back and 120 00:08:09,758 --> 00:08:14,958 David: watch and see the pattern of how the fish are feeding on, on the bunker, 121 00:08:15,078 --> 00:08:18,258 David: whether it's bluefish or stripers or tuna or whatever it is. 122 00:08:18,698 --> 00:08:21,898 David: So I can get an idea of how I want to fish it before I go in, 123 00:08:21,998 --> 00:08:27,258 David: because if I grab a floating line and they're up on, sorry, if I grab a sinking 124 00:08:27,258 --> 00:08:32,258 David: line and most of the feed is on top, I'm kind of like hurting myself and vice versa. 125 00:08:33,258 --> 00:08:36,878 David: So, um, you know, a big part of fishing is we all know is observation. 126 00:08:36,878 --> 00:08:39,658 David: Observation so you know have have those rods 127 00:08:39,658 --> 00:08:44,758 David: ready to go if if you know it's going to happen or you know or be rigging while 128 00:08:44,758 --> 00:08:49,738 David: you're watching if if it comes to that and and take a couple minutes to see 129 00:08:49,738 --> 00:08:57,058 David: what's going on and uh you know that should lead to a pretty successful uh um outcome hopefully yeah. 130 00:08:57,058 --> 00:08:59,858 Marvin: It's just like uh watching a big brown trout eat a dry fly. 131 00:09:00,778 --> 00:09:05,198 David: Yeah absolutely oh yeah and the other thing you're fishing these big fries and 132 00:09:05,198 --> 00:09:08,918 David: it's a bunker school I definitely would be using a 10 weight for sure. 133 00:09:09,498 --> 00:09:12,858 David: Just easier to throw the bigger stuff. I mean, you could use a 9, 134 00:09:12,978 --> 00:09:16,638 David: but if you're throwing a really big schloppenfly or a really big beastfly, 135 00:09:16,858 --> 00:09:20,298 David: it's always nicer to have a little extra oomph with the 10 weight. 136 00:09:20,398 --> 00:09:22,318 David: It just makes life a lot more enjoyable. 137 00:09:22,758 --> 00:09:28,338 Marvin: Yeah, that's giving me musky PTSD where I actually fish two-handed switch rods 138 00:09:28,338 --> 00:09:29,898 Marvin: because it just makes life so much easier. 139 00:09:30,558 --> 00:09:33,238 David: Year yeah i don't think i i go 140 00:09:33,238 --> 00:09:37,738 David: two-handed with bluefish out in the ocean or stripers but uh i can see how that 141 00:09:37,738 --> 00:09:42,498 David: would be nice but you know uh you know i guess with musky you guys are using 142 00:09:42,498 --> 00:09:46,538 David: beast flies or game changers too and and those are you know some of them are 143 00:09:46,538 --> 00:09:50,718 David: close to a foot long so it's it's nice to have that kind of leverage yeah. 144 00:09:50,718 --> 00:09:56,498 Marvin: I'll tell you actually the uh the longer butt where it really helps is actually the figure eight um. 145 00:09:56,498 --> 00:09:58,038 David: Oh yeah i. 146 00:09:58,038 --> 00:10:00,158 Marvin: Find that actually more fatiguing than the casting. 147 00:10:02,331 --> 00:10:07,791 David: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I try, anytime I'm using a 10 or above, I try to minimize 148 00:10:07,791 --> 00:10:09,211 David: the casting I'm doing anyway, 149 00:10:09,351 --> 00:10:14,131 David: whether it's, it's bluefish striped bass in a bunker school or whether it's 150 00:10:14,131 --> 00:10:18,811 David: tarpon feeding on mullet, you know, you really, you really want to be keyed 151 00:10:18,811 --> 00:10:23,611 David: in on your target and, and not just casting wildly, whatever you see, 152 00:10:23,691 --> 00:10:27,931 David: because the more you cast, the more fatigue you can get. 153 00:10:27,931 --> 00:10:32,151 David: And of course, adrenaline helps not, you know, keep you from fatigue, 154 00:10:32,311 --> 00:10:36,991 David: but, you know, you want to be ready for that one shot that's really going to 155 00:10:36,991 --> 00:10:39,451 David: help you capitalize and land a nice fish. 156 00:10:39,631 --> 00:10:44,431 David: So, again, you know, watching the water, watching the feeding pattern, 157 00:10:44,571 --> 00:10:48,851 David: so you don't have to be casting 40, 50 times in a certain time period with these 158 00:10:48,851 --> 00:10:54,011 David: bigger rods, you know, 10s or 11s or 12s. It's just, you know, it's not so fun. 159 00:10:54,011 --> 00:10:57,571 Marvin: Yeah, it's also a bummer to come back to the marina and ask for an orthopedic 160 00:10:57,571 --> 00:10:58,551 Marvin: surgeon referral, right? 161 00:11:00,131 --> 00:11:04,471 David: Yeah, shoulder surgeons, elbow surgeons. You know, you hear people talk about tennis elbow. 162 00:11:04,651 --> 00:11:10,771 David: I know so many anglers who their casting's a little adjustment and they've got casting at elbow. 163 00:11:11,611 --> 00:11:17,011 David: And I'm like, yeah, you got to maybe put the trunk of your body and your shoulder 164 00:11:17,011 --> 00:11:19,351 David: into it so you're not torquing your elbow so much. 165 00:11:19,951 --> 00:11:21,631 David: That's a whole different set of questions. 166 00:11:21,631 --> 00:11:27,151 Marvin: Yeah, that'll be next time. And you know, folks, we love questions on the Articulate Fly. 167 00:11:27,351 --> 00:11:31,411 Marvin: You can email me or DM me. As I always say, we want to make David's life easier. 168 00:11:31,871 --> 00:11:35,711 Marvin: And if we use your question, I will send you some Articulate Fly swag. 169 00:11:35,831 --> 00:11:38,851 Marvin: And then we're going to enter a drawing for a Royal Wolf line of your choice. 170 00:11:38,971 --> 00:11:46,311 Marvin: And I know you've heard David and I talk about how much we love Royal Wolf lines. 171 00:11:46,431 --> 00:11:49,331 Marvin: I don't fish the salt stuff, but I do love the Triangle Taper for trout. 172 00:11:50,765 --> 00:11:54,545 David: Yeah, I like it for saltwater. And what's really interesting, 173 00:11:54,745 --> 00:11:58,925 David: and people are learning this from fishing with me and when I talk to them, 174 00:11:58,965 --> 00:12:04,985 David: is the Royal Wolf Bermuda tapers that I use in saltwater have an incredible temperature range. 175 00:12:05,165 --> 00:12:09,025 David: I use them both tropical and I use them here in the temperate waters of the Northeast. 176 00:12:10,525 --> 00:12:16,425 David: Even into some of the coldest days, they just don't have that memory that other 177 00:12:16,425 --> 00:12:21,925 David: lines very often have where you have to deal with line getting really kinky or stiff, 178 00:12:22,165 --> 00:12:26,325 David: and it just doesn't go through the guides. The Royal Wolves are really forgiving that way. 179 00:12:26,465 --> 00:12:29,245 David: So, I mean, that's one of the primary reasons I love them. 180 00:12:29,525 --> 00:12:32,825 Marvin: Yeah, it's funny you say that because that's a big deal kind of down here for 181 00:12:32,825 --> 00:12:37,165 Marvin: smallmouth in the summertime because, I mean, you really do need a tropical line. 182 00:12:38,385 --> 00:12:39,125 David: Yeah, absolutely. 183 00:12:39,625 --> 00:12:43,285 Marvin: Yeah. Well, you know, David, before I let you hop and get back to the Yankees 184 00:12:43,285 --> 00:12:46,805 Marvin: game or watch a little bit more of the DNC, you want to let folks know kind 185 00:12:46,805 --> 00:12:49,105 Marvin: of, you know, where they can find you so they can book in fish with you? 186 00:12:50,425 --> 00:12:55,785 David: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, certainly, uh, you can go to my website to davidblanket.com, 187 00:12:56,205 --> 00:13:01,265 David: uh, or North flats guiding or, uh, and you can get my phone number right off 188 00:13:01,265 --> 00:13:03,265 David: there and feel free to give me a buzz. 189 00:13:03,465 --> 00:13:08,265 David: They can also find me on Instagram at David Blanket, uh, and Facebook. 190 00:13:08,705 --> 00:13:13,565 David: Um, and I'm, I'm all over there and, and I can also find me on, uh, on X. 191 00:13:14,245 --> 00:13:19,445 David: So, uh, uh, formerly known as Twitter. So, uh, and all under my own name. 192 00:13:19,465 --> 00:13:21,105 David: So that should make it easy. 193 00:13:21,225 --> 00:13:26,405 David: No, no, uh, no funny acronyms or phishing names. Uh, I try to keep it simple. 194 00:13:26,525 --> 00:13:29,845 Marvin: There you go. Well, listen, folks, as I always say, you owe it to yourself to 195 00:13:29,845 --> 00:13:33,885 Marvin: get out there and catch a few tight lines, everybody tight lines, David tight. 196 00:13:33,885 --> 00:13:35,105 David: Lines by Marvin.