NUMENON |
PONDERING CORE ESSENCE
NUMENON |
The goals for the day included landing my 200th striper of 2023. It could have happened earlier in the day, but I'd pulled the hooks on a couple of bass while floating worms from the landing. (That was okay, I'd caught a few, too, including a fit and sassy 32-incher). Still a couple shy, and with only a single mack in the livewell, I was exploring some new-to-me water when a subtle seam-and-riplet off the southwest corner of Moshier Island caught my eye. On my first pass, my tired bait suddenly woke up. It got popped and pushed to the surface. After a few more splashes, the bass lost interest, and I reeled in a dead bait. But the bass had revealed themselves, and so I quickly set up in about 15 feet of water with Spot-Lock for a chunking session. I'd retained the fresh dead bait and still had a few small mackerel left over from the previous day. I minced a couple of frozen baits while saving choice tail sections for free-drifted baits. I started a light drizzle of chum bits while drifting my hooked chunk behind the boat. It took about 15 minutes for the first bass to show up; a fine 30-incher came aboard. And just a couple of drifts later, I wound down on No. 200! There was nothing otherwise grand about this fish, a typical-if-not-smallish striped bass of 23 inches. But it was from a new spot under difficult conditions and captured with a favored technique made possible by the addition of the electric motor for 2023. So maybe No. 200 wasn't grand, but it was special! While special, this "accomplishment" doesn't really matter, either. I try to appreciate every fish I touch; I've just been fortunate to be on the water quite a bit this year. The final numbers don't matter a bit, so long as I've enjoyed the journey. But once you start counting... it's tough to stop! So while I've caught more than 200 stripers in certain previous seasons, and I don't know where I'll end by mid-October, I can say that I've never accumulated so many bass this early in the season. Plus, I've got a choice "chunk" of the season left, so I am, at the very least, optimistic about where this excellent season can take me. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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The strike was sharp and sudden, but my line just went slack; there was no run. I cautiously wound down and came tight to a fish. Did I? Or had the bait pulled it's mouth? No, there it was again; seemingly just a small bass. But there was a sudden frenetic energy to the fight, even from this smallish fish. And my first sighting wasn't of the expected solitary bass, but rather a small school of bluefish. I quickly landed the fish and threw a top-water bait for a few casts, but there was no evidence that they had remained anywhere close. It's been over 15 years since I've landed a blue in Maine. This little guy was a welcomed addition to the day's catch, and I guess it's time to keep a popper rigged on a stout rod with a heavy leader. Will I come across them, again? Or will I have another 15-year wait? Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways |
Steve LachanceVia Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Michigan and now, back to New England! Archives
June 2024
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