I saw a number of forked tails and some were 2 feet long it appeared.Their backs would come out of the water and their tails would follow, so I got a good look. I couldn't tell if there were bows, but I would imagine they were there too.
Those strikes that you seen were most likely rejections, because the fly did not match what they were feeding on. There is a saying in fly fishing circle “match the hatch”. Get some flies in a #18 or #20 size in an emergent or dry fly pattern and try it again. You will need a small tippet like a 6 or 7, great fun.
When I got close enough they hit an adams #18. They would actually whirl around when the fly dropped onto them and sip it. I just missed the hit. A little anxious I guess. I don't do much flyfishing and I know about matching the hatch. I was just unprepared, although I thought the Adams was the right size.
hey joe i was there on sat. fishing the channel with kissmybass..we got a couple bows nothing big though but still nice looking fish ..i beleive the fish you were casting to were white perch. seems they are next in line to hit the channel..