Be sure and check out the video in High Definition by changing the quality setting button.

Your boat is drifting with the current through a fog covered rip line and you hear the high pitch squawking of terns just a few yards away.

Could they be working over a school of fish?

There they are!

Is it just one fish and a couple of birds?

No.  It’s going off!

Two terns wait for their opportunity to feed on the silversides that stripers are herding.

What are they feeding on?

Could it be squid?

It might be bay anchovies.

It’s spearing!

A tern makes a quick meal from a single spearing it snatched off the surface

Wait, there are some big bass mixed in with the schoolies.

Both a single tern and a single striper feast on silversides near the surface

I can see the bass opening their mouths and gulping down the bait.  It’s really starting to heat up now.

A striper clears the water as it gulps down a meal of silversides

Wow!  The stripers are coming right out of the water as they suck down a quick meal of spearing.  Awesome!

Just how much bait is down there?

Silversides or spearing packed together near the surface.

Another big fish just flew out of the water!   This is insane…I’ve got to get a cast out there.

A large striper feasts on a silverside it sucked off the surface

But, I’ve got a big pink, squid fly on…what the hell, no time to tie on a smaller fly.  Where are they?

Over there!  The birds are gathering.

The focus of attention is a school of silversides being harassed by stripers

Get the boat closer.

Common terns hoovering over schooling baitfish

I’m on!  He took the squid fly!

Sometimes you should't 'match the hatch' but instead go large

If you’ve ever experienced a similar occurrence, whether alone or with friends, you know the excitement of having a a mini-blitz all to yourself.  It’s amazing to watch the dramatic trials of life unfold right before your eyes; the almost irritable timber of the terns squawking, the sounds of tails slapping the water, fish crashing bait, birds diving, and bass flying out of the water…all  happening in your very own room, squared off by a curtain of fog.  And just as quickly as it erupted, it’s over.  Even if you can’t connect with a fish, the sights and sounds have to arouse your emotions and  leave you in awe.

The Race Rock Light stands sixty-eight and a half feet above the water

Thursday, July 12, 2012

I met up with Captain Wayne Wood at Barn Island, Stonington, CT

After transferring my equipment to the “4-ME”,  a 27′ Conch center console, we shoved off with high hopes for a productive day of filming, diving and fishing around Fishers Island and Race Rock.

Boat ramp at Barn Island, Stonington CT

The fog lifted revealing cyan blue skies and only the slightest ripple on the water.

Amazingly bright skies shine over the Pawcatuck River

Despite the fact that the Pawcatuck river was loaded with grass and algae we set our course for Fishers Island with hope of finding clear water for filming.

We reached the island only to find a huge bank of fog moving in our direction.

Fishers Island shrouded by a fog bank

Even worse was the fact that the water was fouled with weed, algae and sediment…it was filthy.

Dirty water conditions prevented a dive on the east side of Fishers

We plowed through the weeds and fog and when we arrived at the west end of the island the skies opened up and the water was somewhat clearer.  Along the way we drifted for fluke and picked up a couple of  scup and some short fluke.  Small bluefish feeding on tiny rain bait or juvenile sand eels kept the terns busy, but they were too small to bother with.

Race Rock Lighthouse

 For more information on the history of the light visit Lighthouse Friends

Fly fishing Race Rock Lighthouse

Little tunny are a blast on light tackle and this is one of the premiere locations to hunt for them.

A hunting party of false albacore travel in tight formation

Slack tide drew everyone to the rock like bees to honey: The Coast Guard attempted a landing while they glassed Gull Island at the end of the Race four miles away and a boatload of freedivers were back in the boat after drift diving the light looking to spear stripers.

Coast Guard and crew approach the lighthouse

Bait and birds were tight to the rocks and so was this fly fisherman who kept dropped  his fly  into the wash.

Casting a fly tight to Race Rock

The fish seemed to have lockjaw, but we’ll be back when the bonito and false albacore return in a couple of weeks.

]]> http://www.laptewproductions.com/videos/?feed=rss2&p=3825 0 http://www.laptewproductions.com/videos/?p=3792 http://www.laptewproductions.com/videos/?p=3792#comments Wed, 11 Jul 2012 10:43:16 +0000 mlapuser http://www.laptewproductions.com/videos/?p=3792 Free Seminar

Striped Bass Lurking in the Waves

Wednesday, July 25 at 6:30 p.m.

North Kingstown Free Library, 100 Boone St.

Underwater photographer and videographer Mike Laptew will present a high definition, multi-media presentation highlighting the saltwater game fish of Rhode Island, as well as techniques for catching them. Laptew has been diving the Ocean State for over 50 years and his unique, fish-eye perspective seminars have delighted audiences for over two decades. The show will feature breathtaking close-ups of striped bass, bluefish, tautog, fluke, false albacore, and many different species of bait fish. This is a presentation the whole family will enjoy.

Free, but space is limited. Please reserve your seat by contacting Tracy Kennedy at
(401) 874-6800 or e-mailing tkennedy@gso.uri.edu.

This lecture is part of the annual Community Lecture Series sponsored by Rhode Island Sea Grant, the URI Nutrition and Food Sciences Program, the URI College of the Environment and Life Sciences, and the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council. This lecture is also sponsored by the North Kingstown Free Library.

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