NUMENON |
PONDERING CORE ESSENCE
NUMENON |
One of the motivations for my 2019 move to Massachusetts was to be closer to relatives and property in Maine. Well, the situations of 2020 have variously kept us away, but everything lined up (including negative COVID test results) for the last week of August. I was able to enjoy a week off work there with family, while amybaby22 was moored just off our landing on Casco Bay. We all enjoyed a fine week of visiting, relaxing and (speaking for myself) fishing! The fishing was tough! Wind, weather, weeds and the doldrums of August all conspired to slow the striper bite. But it was still rewarding, and I learned a lot while able to enjoy some moderate success, including one of the largest stripers I've ever taken in Maine. The excruciating fishing details are available at the September 3, 2020 post at www.numenonfunfishing.com/numenonfunfishing if of any interest, but all others can simply know that it was a badly needed, restorative week. This might be interesting - On just about subsequent days, I flicked my glasses into the bay (forever to be lost), punted my GoPro into the sea (to be recovered the next morning by my aquatic daughter), and lost my phone in the crawl space of our home. Each of these set-backs was overcome through preparedness, athleticism or resources, and so no real harm came from the (upsetting) events. Contemporaneously, A provided me with this story: www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/08/clumsy-quarantine-breaking-glass/615832/ So maybe my spatial awareness is lacking, or my mental state isn't exactly where it should be. Or maybe I was simply keeping track of, and using, too much stuff while sleep deprived. Still, 2020 has been a difficult one, and it was great to get away for this week! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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The venerable Acme Kastmaster has been just about my most productive lure for stripers from our landing on Casco Bay, Maine. In this quiet water, typical striper offerings like poppers, dog-walkers and swim-baits just don't seem to produce with any consistency. The Kastmaster has the additional benefit of being my favorite mackerel lure (and indeed, mackerel are my favorite striper bait), plus in my preferred 1/8-ounce version, this spoon mimics the tiny bait that is sometimes so prevalent here. Suffice it to say, if mackerel are thick, I've got a Kastmaster tied on. If mackerel are AWOL, I've still probably got a Kastmaster tied on in the hopes of simply lucking into one. And, if bait's an issue and the stripers just aren't biting, I will probably be throwing a Kastmaster, at least intermittently, and especially if swim-baits aren't producing. After six or more hours spread over two recent pre-dawn sessions, I'd certainly established that mackerel were absent. Moreover, sand-worms were producing just sporadic action after complete darkness lifted. Top-waters, swim-baits and epoxy jigs had yet to entice a strike. So, the Kastmaster got a good workout, and a chartreuse-over-silver version, while not exactly on fire, produced a slow pick of a half-dozen strikes, follows and stripers to 21 inches. On my preferred light tackle, each of these fish was fun, and throwing this lure about doubled my action! I was just about ready to give up on my second, soggy morning session when my spoon was intercepted right near the surface at the end of a long cast. When I set the hook, the surface erupted and a couple of pounds of fish flew through the air. Odd behavior for a striper; I assumed I'd hooked into a bluefish. When my "blue" exhibited some brown coloration, I though perhaps I had another Hickory Shad; but then I saw the spots. What the heck? A dozen feet away, I realized I had a Salmo. Even when this fish was in hand, I couldn't tell if it were Salmo trutta (Brown Trout) or Salmo salar (Atlantic Salmon). I still don't know for sure, although I'd lean towards Atlantic Salmon based on the conical head and x-shaped spots. Regardless, this was an unforeseen catch. I noticed no clipped fins, and so it could have been a wild fish; it could have been an escaped farm salmon, or it could have been a lost brown. I just know that I never expected to encounter such a fish from this spot; nor do I expect to catch another one, here. I handled her gently, and she swam away; off to who knows where. This is just another example of why I love fishing so much. You just never really know what might happen! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways I have been looking at the Gano Street boat ramp on the Seekonk River at the head of Narragansett Bay in Providence, Rhode Island for at least six or eight years. I've long wanted the opportunity to launch and explore here; while it is within a handful of miles from my childhood home, things have changed for the better in so many ways. I thought it would be an interesting trip to share with my girls. Well, Sunday June 28, 2020 was my last logical chance; I was retrieving my youngest from her college digs for the last time. I'd offered her a local "cruise"; if it didn't happen this day, it was not going to happen for a while! Despite the threat of future thunderstorms, we launched at about 10 AM and decided to head down-river to the Bay. Just below the I-195 bridge, I noticed some nervous water and snagged my first Narragansett Bay bunker from a thick school in quite a while. Ultimately, we headed up the Providence River as far as we dared and got a different perspective of the city. Returning, we encountered some more bait just below the hurricane barrier, and my sand eel bait got chopped in half by a bluefish. I couldn't entice any others to bite, and we concluded our short cruise in time to be the traffic and storms home. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Saturday, May 16, 2020 was a beautiful Spring Day. With access to amybaby22 confirmed, I loaded the truck with gear for every conceivable situation (boat and trailer maintenance, electronics and accessory installation, shore fishing, wade fishing, boat fishing, and even including some food and drink, to boot) and headed by myself to Cape Cod. I arrived just after 9 AM and re-acquainted myself with my simple skiff. It looked like she'd survived the winter well. When I'd put her away last October, I had considered installing LED trailer lights; but since I still had full functionality, I deferred at that time. But this was the first thing I checked upon arrival, and of course I had issues. In fact, I had no light functionality on the trailer at all. A quick perusal identified a broken wire and a ton of corrosion on the right side, so I started there. But after a few attempts to troubleshoot and restore the light, I'd still had no success. In fact, I started questioning whether my truck was delivering juice to the harness. I called my local Uncle to see if he could refer me to a trailer shop that might be open, but before I headed out, he swung over to see if his truck would light them up. It didn't, but talking through options with him and more careful use of my volt-meter confirmed that both of our trucks were delivering power to the trailer's wiring harness. I skipped the trailer store and went straight to West Marine to pick up the LED lights and wiring harness. I was surprised that West Marine was open (as were all bait and tackle stores I observed), but apparently marine and fishing support is essential on Cape Cod; for which I was glad on this day. In short order, trailer lights were upgraded and restored and I was able to proceed to other preparation issues. All was well, with the exception of a significant fuel leak at the hose-to-tank connection. Another trip to West Marine was in order, and while I could not find "Suzuki" branded replacement parts, with the boat in the parking lot, I was able to visually compare my options. After a quick and successful fix, I was off to White's Landing to launch her for the first time in 2020. What a cluster! I didn't even think about trying to launch here; I found the situation at Green Pond to be a bit better. By 3 PM or so, she was afloat; but I'd missed the tide, it was getting quite windy, and I was admittedly frazzled. I didn't even load any fishing gear aboard, settling instead for the comfort of a quick start to the engine and a trouble-free ride outside to Vineyard Sound and to Waquoit Outlet and back. She did run great, and it felt awesome to be back out on the water. It wasn't fishing; but it was still progress. I was still a bit fresh as I dropped off the boat and covered her; and the drive back through Boston proved to be pleasant and efficient, too. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Officially under home quarantine, I find there's an abundance of opportunity for screen time. I thought I'd put some of that time towards the interests of Citizen Science, and I have embarked upon my quest to become a Herring King. In October 2019, when I finally learned what my address in Massachusetts would be, one of the first things I noted about my new neighborhood was the proximity of the Mystic Lakes. As I sought information on the fishing opportunities they might offer, I quickly found a link to the Mystic River Watershed Association and their stewardship of the local anadromous herring run. While my initial thoughts were self-centered and focused on the potential for herring-hound stripers to be chasing bait nearly to my doorstep, as I poked around on their website, I became interested in their data and the possibility of participating in their herring quantification efforts. Below, you can see that the local run has generally increased in recent years. To me, the most interesting data reveals the timing of the run(s), and the importance of local weather, water temperature and (possibly) moon phase to the number of active fish over the course of the season. I have already optimistically fished below the dam separating Upper from Lower Mystic Lake a few times. Perhaps overly optimistically and prematurely, but surely there's a good chance that I will eventually run into some stripers (or perhaps some real bucketmouth bass) with an appetite for herring here. Regardless, I want to be there when it goes down! My last trip to the dam (chronicled at the April 26, 2020 entry at www.numenonfunfishing.com/numenonfunfishing) featured some cormorants in addition to the bald eagle(s) and the osprey I am used to seeing here. They all expected some fish to be around. The historical graphs above seem to indicate that the local run here has likely started, but really hasn't kicked in. Water temperatures still need to creep up just a tiny bit, we need some sustained sunshine, and I need to pay continued attention to moon phase. Let favorable conditions coincide during the few days preceding a full moon, and I suspect I might have a chance at some quality swim-bait or topwater action, close to home! Meanwhile, I am spending some time helping to estimate the herring runs for 2019 and 2020 at www.mysticherring.org/video#/ . I am confident in my ability to carefully observe and count, and I enjoy simply seeing the herrings swim by. After about 250 short videos and over 6,000 herrings counted, my time helped refine the estimated run for 2019 and the associated margin of error. Science! Double meanwhile, I became aware (via a comment on a recent On the Water magazine article) of a similar effort for Town Brook in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Their live camera is located at www.plymouth-ma.gov/marine-and-environmental-affairs/pages/fish-camera There have been plenty of live herring to observe so far in 2020 in this smaller, warmer watershed. I've lent time to their counting efforts, too, and I am curious how the magnitude of this run will compare to that documented on the Mystic. I never thought I'd ever aspire to be a Herring King. I also never thought I'd be quarantined during a pandemic. While these are indeed strange times, I guess this is just one way for me to make the most of them. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways I recently took a work-lunch walk on a brisk, sunny day to scout a potential Boston Harbor shore-fishing spot. It took me about 15 minutes to get from my desk to Fan Pier Park. This looks like it might have some potential to hold fish, but might not be too friendly to fishing efforts. My biggest issue was simply that the land is built too high above the harbor to make catching or landing. fish enjoyable. But it is a trendy and hip spot to watch the day or evening go by, so I am glad I found it, regardless. Just around the corner I found the Fan Pier Marina. This would be a super cool place to dock amybaby22 seasonally, but based on their web page (and the diminutive size of my skiff), I am quite certain that I am not exactly their targeted demographic. Still, I'll check it out later this season when the docks are in place and some of the resident boats are in the water. Hoofing it back to work, I walked beside the Moakley federal courthouse. Its exterior walls were decorated with engraved insets. These included The Constitution's Preamble, each of the amendments, and a variety of historical quotes. Although I was in a lather to get back to work, I stopped in my tracks when I noticed the JFK quote, below. At this moment, his words simply resonated with me. Having slowed down, I then couldn't help but notice that nearby insets spoke to me, too. The walk hadn't necessarily paid off in terms of future fishing potential, but it was still timely. It provided a small, but desperately needed moment of hope and recognition that the foundations of our democracy rest on the broad shoulders of Intellectual and well-meaning Giants. These foundations will not be toppled easily. And, I will return! To fish, to picnic, to view the harbor or simply relax; but also, to check out the rest of this building, and to reflect on my good fortune! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways I have generally been treated well by my experiences in New Hampshire. Starting with summer vacations as a kid and catching my first brookie and brown trout as I learned to fish; choosing my college destination largely based on a sense of place; tons of fish and memories from the Connecticut River and its tributaries; a couple of lunker smallmouths and the largest green bass I've ever hooked; hiking, floating and camping; to say nothing of meeting my best friend and getting married there. I'd recently enjoyed the day amiably touristing with A, visiting some old, familiar places but finding some new ones, too. But it was the apparently complete silence of the night on February 15, 2020 that reminded me why I've got the Granite of New Hampshire deep within me. It was a simple walk to relieve the dog; but the utter stillness of the setting grabbed me. This was a different place than Boston or Lansing or even Casco Bay, and I need such a place in my life. What a pleasure to have been reminded of this. What a gift to recognize (and to be able to act upon) this need. I'm pretty sure that my annual, non-resident fishing license will be an investment in my well-being. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways So, this just happened... I am now a "Bay Stater", having relocated work and home to the Boston, Massachusetts area. New job, new home, new fishing opportunities, and an entirely new routine! A and I arrived in Michigan for my graduate schooling, over 34 years ago. Neither of us expected to stay for so long, but Michigan was generally kind to us as we found our careers and raised our family. However, with both kids going to school in New England, some remaining family scattered across the northeast, a property in Maine and the shared sense that we'd been away from "home" long enough, A took a job in Northeast Massachusetts in September. I followed her as quickly as I could manage. I've got a week of work under my belt, the house is taking shape, and we've started a new stage of our lives. The boats are put away for the season, and the holidays are nearly upon us. This was a big change to execute, but we appear to have done so; now, we can relax a bit and enjoy our collective company while we reshape our daily lives. So far, everything has been welcoming and comfortable. Arlington reminds me quite a bit of my childhood home in Rhode Island, we've conveniently seen family, and I'm within 0.6 miles of striped bass habitat. I've got lots of daydreaming and research to conduct; I am looking forward to this! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways 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 A trip to Texas, a promotion at work, a little bit of fishing and some other new developments all made August 2019 pretty interesting (to me!) I'd never had cause to visit Texas before, but a conference for work took me there for the first week of August. It was hot enough that for a couple of multi-day stretches, I didn't leave the hotel! I had everything I needed there (lodging, choice of food venues and plenty of opportunities to simply watch people; the Mary Kay convention was going on!) When I did venture out, I found pleasant enough conditions. I enjoyed a great Tex-Mex dinner in downtown Dallas, and attended a fun Texas Rangers ballgame. The best part of this trip, though, was that A joined me. We were able to share it all, together, and in a pretty relaxed manner, too. Just before the trip, I was offered a promotion at work. That hasn't happened a whole lot. It's a position that I ably filled last year, and so it is familiar and a natural progression. But most satisfactorily, I enjoyed leading this small group of coworkers on our admittedly esoteric journey. I look forward to continued successes with this team! I've gotten to fish, but just a bit; deep-cranking largemouths has become my go-to summer game here in Michigan. There are plenty of smallies available, too, but I just haven't pulled together the time or energy to make the necessary drive to where they live. But, I love having my Duckett Ghost in hand, searching bottom and structure for just the right amount of contact to tell me that I am in the proper zone and to excite the bass that reside there. So, more local access to green bass has been totally acceptable to me during the summer heat. Finally, A just announced her retirement from her employer of over 30 years. Why not? There's a potentially better opportunity waiting for her in Massachusetts. She's leaving Michigan on August 30, so that should be in this update, right? For the purposes of symmetry, I will add that we embarked on our Michigan journey together on September 1, 1985. I'll simply round it off and say that we enjoyed a full 34 years, together, in Michigan. I'll be working on developing the right opportunity for myself before I join her. I don't want her hogging all the stripers and surfcasting adventures! Plus, my kids are there! There's a lot of upside to moving back "home" to New England. I just need to figure out how to approximate my current life here. I find that a bit daunting, to be honest. 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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