NUMENON |
PONDERING CORE ESSENCE
NUMENON |
In my first post here for 2019, I mused and shared five goals for my 2019 Fishing Season. With both boats now put away for the winter, I guess I am in a position to evaluate how I fared in 2019. How about 0 for 5? Ouch! But, the details really aren't so bad... Legal-sized Striper in the New Boat One might think that a single striper out of 180 swung over the side of amybaby22 in 2019 would have measured 28 inches, but that just didn't happen. A few were close, but any striper over 25 inches or so was "big" for me this year. Population dynamics, weather, timing, small boat in protected water, choice of light tackle and lures; these all contributed to the lack of big stripers. But, I enjoyed awesome, fun fishing along the way, and I can't say that I recall encountering and losing any big stripers, so I've nothing to feel bad about. And, in all honesty, bigger fish were generally scarce this year; a "keeper" wasn't a sure thing for anybody on a given trip this year. Share a Fresh Fish Dinner with Uncle M This didn't exactly happen, but it could have. Some sea bass and scup were kept and cleaned in May, but they were still in cold storage when I left for Michigan. And I could have kept some tailor blues on my last trip, but I was staying in a House Divided. Only Uncle M had a taste for these, so I chose not to harvest any blues. I could have even joined him for lunch on my last full day on the Cape, but I was busy winterizing the skiff, so I deferred. I did hear the "Stuffies" and "Chowdah" were pretty good, though! Land a False Albacore In my limited opportunity, this just didn't happen. I never got touched by a tuna in 2019. I was a bit late for the best part of the season in my chosen waters, and the general consensus was that 2019 was no 2018 for funny fish; and 2018 was certainly not as good as 2017. The limited number of tuna I did find within range this year were not interested in my lures, as they seemed to be regionally interested in only the tiniest live baits. But, I'm certainly looking forward to 2020! Largest-Ever Striper When you don't catch a keeper, it's tough to get a personal best. I did, however, catch my largest-ever scup! And, I had a lot of good fishing and fun along the way. 6-Pound Black Bass This is the least likely goal to achieve, in my opinion, but it kind of did happen! Still, I won't give myself full credit, because A caught her 6.1-pound smallmouth while I was busy with a measly four-pounder. What a catch! And I might never scoop, with a single swipe, over 10 pounds of smallmouth into the net again! What do I have to say about this? Well, I already have my first 5 goals for the 2020 fishing season! I'm sure I'll add a couple or few, too, but these will already provide the motivation for next year. And, I won't say I failed in any way; I enjoyed the process in pursuit of these. That process is, ultimately, much more important than any particular outcome. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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From her inaugural splash under my ownership on May 17, through the end of her season on October 3, my little Maritime skiff proved to be a stable, reliable, fish-catching craft. It took the symmetry of the first and last days of the 2019 season for her to earn her name. Twenty-two stripers came aboard each of those days. My best friend's "number" is 22, and so it was natural that I've named this craft the amybaby22. She had quite a season. My records indicate a total of 180 stripers over her side in 16 days of use. There were dozens of other fish, too, including blues, mackerel, scup, sea bass and a single specimen each of flounder and Spanish Mackerel. She fishes well! Welcome aboard! 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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