On this trip we headed out to East Hampton, N.Y., to fish with Capt. David Blinken of North Flats Guiding. Capt. David specializes in flyfishing and light tackle fishing for Striped Bass, Bluefish, False Albacore and Bonito. I had telephoned David and asked if he would be interested in being featured on our television show, ADVENTURES IN FISHING WITH CAPT. RAY KELLY, and he said he had always wanted to do something like that. I explained that we would feature his anglers and techniques for catching stripers.

I was looking forward to this trip as I wanted to learn more about flyfishing myself and I had heard about catching striped bass on the flats in Gardiner's Bay and East Hampton. I had heard it was like catching Bonefish in the Florida Keys.

Capt. David picked me up at the Springs General Store and we headed to the town ramp with his beautiful 19' Action Craft flats boat in tow. One of the anglers, Rusty Drumm followed by car and we met the other angler, David Yudelson at the ramp. It was a beautiful morning and I had a feeling it was going to be a great day.

After loading the fly rods and camera equipment on the boat, we headed for David's secret spot. Along the way we saw an osprey sitting on its nest, as well as numerous seagulls. We saw one angler fishing from shore who, we just knew, wished he was heading out with us. As soon as David reached his location, he climbed onto the platform and started polling. The added height gave him a big advantage in locating fish. It wasn't five minutes when he said "fish at 12 o'clock" and told Rusty to cast his rod and start stripping.

Flyfishing is different. As well as taking a great deal of practice, you have to be fast and listen to the captain when he gives you instructions. Indeed, polling the flats in Long Island is definitely a different way to fish. In fact, it is quite similar to hunting because you are sight fishing. When you see a striper, your heart starts to race and you hope you can make a good cast.

Rusty was an experienced fly angler. Although he missed that first fish. Capt. David quickly spotted a big school and told Rusty to cast at 2:00 o'clock and strip. Capt. David kept saying strip, strip, strip and then said to hold it as he saw the fish following the fly. All of a sudden, there was a boil on the surface, Rusty 'stuck the fish', as they say, and the battle was on!

The striper gave Rusty a good fight. As the battle raged, other striped bass followed and David Yudelson decided to try to hook into a double. You could see David was also very experienced and quickly cast his fly out to the fish as Capt. David guided him to the precise spot where the biggest of the school was located. On this first cast, David hooked up. I was amazed. Rusty landed the first striper and David landed the second (which was about 33 inches long) and both anglers posed with Capt. David for some photos. The Stripers were quickly released and swam away for other anglers to catch again. I knew this was going to make another terrific segment for the TV show.

The rest of the day was just about the same as those first hookups. The anglers caught one striped bass after another. They made it look so easy. After I felt I had enough footage, I decided to give it a try. I went up to the bow, and, after about ten to twelve practise casts (as I said, flyfishing needs practise), I could hear Capt. David guiding me to the fish. All I remember is - "Fish 10:00 o'clock, strip, strip, strip!" and I was hooked up. It was easy. I fought the fish for five minutes but lost it before it was safely in the boat -- 'quick release', as they say.

We concluded the filming by shooting a feeding school of striped bass breaking the surface. As soon as Rusty cast his fly, it was immediately hit by a nice striper that once again gave Rusty a nice fight. David and Rusty made it look so easy. I lost count on all the striped bass that were caught that day, but it must have been between fifteen and twenty. I guess I should also mention that some bluefish were mixed in and that they also give you a tremendous fight on a fly rod. I definitely learned a great deal and YOU can also.

The lures Capt. David suggested were small flies that imitated sand eels. One was chartreuse and the other was black. Both flies were hit continually throughout the day.

I would recommend getting yourself a nice fly rod and reel combination and giving it a try . ABLE Reels of California make a variety of reels and I would highly recommend them. You can also call Capt. David Blinken of North Flats Guiding at (212) 517-FISH or (516) 324-3241. Adventures In Sportfishing would be more than happy to arrange your trip or answer your questions, give us a call at (516) 929-6711.

And remember- "Let's get kids hooked on Fishing...NOT on drugs!"

Visit Capt. Ray at his website http://www.adventure-fishing.com or drop him a line at [email protected]