NUMENON |
PONDERING CORE ESSENCE
NUMENON |
The excruciating details of the fishing portion of the trip are available in NumenonFunFishing, above, and specifically at www.numenonfunfishing.com/numenonfunfishing . That's just a part of the value of the trip, though, as I spent lots of time with family (near and extended) and local friends. Unmarred by even a single problem, it was a great trip! Other than acknowledging my good fortune - I have sufficient means and am surrounded by supportive people - I cannot express what such shared time and experience mean to me. So'll just leave that up to a few of my favorite pictures of the trip. Enjoy! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
0 Comments
What a month! Well, at least for my fishing. Each and every trip produced fine fishing for the targeted quarry, whether it was trophy smallmouth bass on Lake St. Clair or the early-season stripers of Cape Cod. I caught fish in new water and with new techniques. I netted a 6-pound smallie for my best friend and another day's Big Bass earned me a cold beverage from another. I wore my hands and thumbs out with dozens of stripers in a few days. I scored bonus fishing days on the water with loved ones. I planned, adjusted, persevered and executed. I launched a new boat! I enjoyed (pretty much) every minute on the water. I am at least willing to consider the nomination of May 2019 as my Best Fishing Month, ever. In terms of consistency, quality of experience, big fish, action and fulfillment, I cannot recall a better 30-day stretch. I'll do my best to develop future nominees, but I will also recall this past month's efforts with gratification and satisfaction. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways I'd not gone 15 miles into the trip when a deer appeared at the edge of my headlight's illumination and we collided. After 34 years in Michigan, I'd finally claimed my deer. I had no chance to react, and I was lucky that it was a somewhat glancing blow that spun her off my left front fender and into my left passenger door. Not an auspicious start to this long-anticipated trip; but I pulled my old truck over to the side of the highway. She seemed to be drivable; the damage was mostly cosmetic. After a day-stop at Lake St. Clair for some more smallmouth bass with good friend BL, my destination was Falmouth, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. My new Maritime skiff awaited me there, and I suspected there were a number of stripers and sea bass available for my long weekend visit. The day's bass fishing on Lake St. Clair was good (feel free to check out the details at www.numenonfunfishing.com/numenonfunfishing/lsc_201905-guided-trip ), and the rest of my travels were trouble-free. By Friday evening, I had the skiff rigged and ready! While the persistent wind kept me inshore and limited my options, I found fish almost immediately; and I relied on this group of fish for most of my fishing action over the course of the next several days. These stripers were just about always willing to eat a jig/fluke combination, and sometimes even preferred a topwater popper. While this wasn't the grand, adventurous fishing for 30-pounders that I'd envisioned, it certainly was calm, peaceful and relaxing. And, I did get a taste of other places and other fisheries (Buzzards Bay bottom fishing, tracking down birds and bait in Vineyard Sound, and targeting the salt pond outlets) to spice things up over the course of my stay. Details are available under the NumenonFunFishing header, above. The Maritime Skiff 1480 proved seaworthy and stable. She exceeded my expectations. With 107 stripers over her gunnels for the trip, she earned her first striper decal. I expect I'll be able to festoon her with many more in the future. She's fishy, for sure! I was fortunate to have acquired this new boat and to have taken this trip. I was hosted very nicely by my Uncle M and his wife, N. We caught some fish and shared several fine meals. I got a bonus visit from my Boston daughter, K! I caught piles of fish with fine, well-matched tackle. Even with the ill-gotten beginning, this was a fine trip! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways So much has changed since my Rhode Island youth. To the point, striped bass returned! While they never truly or totally disappeared, they were simply not part of my world. If they existed to any fishable extent in Rhode Island's waters during the late 1970's or early 1980's, nobody talked about them; at least not anybody I knew. I was introduced to stripers in Casco Bay, Maine in August of 2000. I've been fortunate to fish for them just about every season this Century, and I've probably caught close to 2,000 of them. Ninety-seven percent of these have been caught within a few hundred yards of our "float" at the end of our communal landing. I'm fortunate to have had this access, and I'm fortunate to have encountered so many fish on my intermittent trips. I love fishing there, but I have to admit, I've been frustrated by lack of consistent access to other striper grounds within the bay. Sometimes the fish aren't present in front of me. Even if I'm on fish from the float, perhaps the stripers would be bigger elsewhere? Perhaps they'd be more likely to take a topwater lure? Perhaps I could sabiki some macks and live-line them for some real bruisers? And if I were to hook a cow, perhaps I could chase it down instead of simply watching line melt off my reel? With the recent acquisition of the Maritime 148, I've taken some steps to remedy this frustration. And while I purchased this boat with plans for a long-term future on Casco Bay, I'll be honest; the boat is on the Cape, and I'm currently day-dreaming about black sea bass! It's probably been more than 40 years, but I have caught black sea bass in the past. On very occasional summer-time head-boat half-day trips from southern Rhode Island or Martha's Vineyard in the mid-to-late 1970's, the quarry was scup and sea bass. I caught both on the heavy tackle provided. I have specific memories of the take and dogged pull of a single, outstandingly nice scup, and I remember a particularly bounteous day with my father out of Martha's Vineyard. While I remember having caught sea bass, I haven't retained the specifics of any particular fish. I recall them as having been black, ugly and small; really nothing beyond that, and I know that these memories do not do them justice. Apparently, this species has been aggressively expanding to the north. While I remember them as small, summer fish and a subordinate, incidental by-catch to scup, their numbers and average size around Rhode Island Sound and Buzzards Bay have exploded! Moreover, they are available for a longer part of the season, and advances in tackle and tactics have made them a more sporting quarry. In short, black sea bass are now a "thing" for the southern New England saltwater fisherman. The peak of their availability in Buzzards Bay likely coincides with my ability to pick my new boat up; let's say mid-May. The bigger stripers and bluefish might not have arrived by then, and so it only makes sense that I am dreaming of black sea bass. I was wrong about them being ugly, too. The males, especially, are decorated with beautifully iridescent blue highlights, and they all feature interesting fins and filaments. They are heavily scaled and will make a fantastic subject for some gyotaku! I understand they taste very good, and I suspect they can pull just fine, especially if my bait or jig is presented on light spinning gear. If my timing is right, their seasonal abundance will provide lots of action. If my timing is really on, then they will provide a fun, day-time break from pursuing shy, shallow-water stripers during low-light periods. So, much has changed since my Rhode Island youth! It's kind of cool to be reminded that change is not necessarily a bad thing! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways The Michigan autumn nights have been getting longer, and that has just given me more time to daydream. Perhaps I was still stinging from getting shut out by the tuna on Cape Cod, or perhaps I was just reminiscing about my season. I was innocently poking around On the Water's classified section, and I'm sure that led me down a worm-hole as I looked for a perfect, seasonal saltwater boat for my occasional trips to New England. And then, there it was: www.atlanticboats.com/inventory/skiff/2016-maritime-skiff-14-series/ I've long been a fan of Maritime boats. There are several in the harbor in front of my position on Casco Bay in Maine, and there's a particular one that frequently comes and goes from our dock. It's a simple, stable and understated craft. I've spent too much time on their web site located at www.maritimeboats.com . They are self-proclaimed "Boats you can depend on!" and I strongly identify with the various advantages they seem to offer (safety, efficiency, ease of maintenance and reliability.) There might very well be a 23-foot Patriot in my long-term future. But this particular little boat, so simply laid out, and in a spacious tiller version with flat flooring, could possibly fit into my immediate (2019) future! This boat was located only a few miles from where I'd been fishing for tuna, just weeks before. I dispatched my local, nautical uncle to take a peek at her, and now, with everything having checked out, I own her! I'll pick her up in May or so, when the fish have arrived for the spring in Massachusetts' Buzzards Bay and vicinity. I'm sure she'll see Casco Bay next summer, and I hope to return to Woods Hole for 2019's Albie Chase. After that, who knows? But what is her name? Sweet Bilge, MC Maritime, Rain Bait, Salty Pup and Bonah for Tunah are the current leading contenders. I've got all winter to think about it. Maybe I'll know for sure when I finally meet her. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways For well over a year, I had planned to take an autumn vacation in New England. Now free from the constraints of the public school calendar and having cleared my work schedule, I could claim a week or ten days in late September without negative effects. Of course, I planned on fishing; but the additional bonuses of seeing and sharing time with loved ones, experiencing favored spots with less competition and finding new spots all appealed. Then again, there was the chance to chase some of fall's "funny fish"; and maybe I'd win the beautiful boat at On the Water's Striperfest 2018! Whatever "plans" I had developed were still pretty ill-formed by the time A and I hit the road on the first day of autumn. Even A's participation was something of a late addition to the trip. There were specific, stated milestones (a couple of days at the Maine homestead, a ballgame in Boston on Tuesday, utilize Uncle M's generosity as host on The Cape for a few days of chasing albacore and be present when my Golden Ticket was pulled for the boat), but the details around these were still a bit fuzzy. Plus, in my mind, these same goals sounded more like "get to Portland on time to get bait and catch Saturday evening's tide, explore Plum Island and find some fish in the surf, recover and rest in Boston with K and A, incur and cure a case of Albie Fever and be present when my Golden Ticket is pulled for the boat!" As for the other logistics, I'd adopted Eisenhower's philosophy along the lines of "Planning is indispensable; but Plans are worthless." That is, I'd thought this all through and I had the gear and means to execute my plan; but I was more than willing to scrap the specifics and adjust along the way, as necessary. There is little in my life that I find more relaxing than my time in Falmouth, Maine. But when there, I am always burning the candle from both ends; I try to catch every dawn and dusk (and that means, in practice, every pre-dawn and post-dusk) since that's when the crepuscular striped bass are vulnerable. In June or July, that can be awfully wearing. I found it to be much more manageable during the shortened days of September. I even had a little time and energy to be mildly sociable, post-fishing, in the evenings! My biggest source of "stress" is often obtaining sufficient bait; but The Tackle Shop's 2018 relocation has reduced that, and they always have taken care of my local bait and tackle needs. And so our first stop upon arriving in Portland was The Tackle Shop. There, Dana reported that there were plenty of bass still available; but obtaining live mackerel might be difficult. I left the shop with some frozen mackerel and a couple of dozen sand-worms, as well as a Smack-it popper and reinforced confidence. Within a couple of hours, I proved to myself that the bass were still available; the fishing details are here at www.numenonfunfishing.com/numenonfunfishing/maine-2018-part-ii. I was fortunate to have arrived during a favorable tide schedule, and the fishing during our stay was decently good. Over the course of the couple of days, I landed 20 stripers. And while the stripers here are rarely large specimens, during 18-plus years of experience on the float, I have refined my tackle to the point that each and every bass I encounter can give a good account for itself, while still providing me the edge in landing them. Like good home cooking, I find this fishing to be familiar, satisfying and satiating. Yet somehow, I never seem to get enough! Now with 36 hours or so to enjoy before the scheduled First Pitch at Fenway, and having caught some fish in the familiar comfort of our New England "home", it was time to explore! A and I casually worked our way down to Newburyport, Massachusetts. The east wind was building and a Nor'easter was in the forecast. The next day's ballgame was certainly in doubt, but so was this day's fishing! Driving down the coast, I assumed it would simply be too rough to fish the east-facing surf of Plum Island. But "Metal Mike" at Surfland Bait and Tackle set me straight. I turned out to be productively happy in the surf (see www.numenonfunfishing.com/numenonfunfishing/massachusetts-north-shore-surf-fishing), while both A and I were super happy with our overnight cottage accommodations at The Blue hotel. While the next day was a fishless, rained-out mess, this was an awesome mini-vacation within our vacation. Who's one to argue with striped bass success, the company of your best friend, watching the Full Moon rise into clear skies over the Atlantic from a hot tub, and breakfast delivered to your doorstep? The Red Sox - Orioles game for September 25 was rained out. That was okay; it gave us more time to spend with our Boston Daughter, K. We enjoyed her company and hospitality and shared some local delicacies. I was momentarily conflicted; the game was rescheduled for the next afternoon. I could stay the extra half-day; but that would be at the cost of my timely arrival in Falmouth, Massachusetts. That lost time would threaten a full day of lost fishing; and my Cape Cod Albie Chase was one of the primary motivations for the trip itself. It turned out to be an easy group decision; I'd skip the game and proceed to The Cape while the girls would attend the game. A and I would somehow re-unite in time for Saturday's Striperfest 2018 festivities. I'll skip right to it; I did not catch a false albacore during my time on The Cape, despite being steered straight by Todd and Christian at Falmouth Bait and Tackle. The specifics are here: (www.numenonfunfishing.com/numenonfunfishing/cape-cod-albie-chase). Much of my available fishing time was very windy and/or rainy, and the locations and tactics were all new to me. Tides were crazily mixed with the full moon and crazy wind. The quarry is highly migratory and their presence is ephemeral. Odds were stacked against my fishing success. In the end, despite not landing my small tuna, I'm not sure I could have had more fun. Let's face it, in my "failure" to land a tunnie, I was outside for long periods of time in bracing conditions. I was fully engaged with the tasks immediately at hand. I witnessed seals, gulls, tuna, bass and blues foraging and at their wildest. I shared time with my interesting uncle; some of my passion might have even rubbed off on him. I befriended strangers on similar quests. I learned a lot. I accumulated a lot of information for current and future utilization. I enjoyed my gear. I didn't have a single, meaningful tackle failure. I had everything I really needed, including waders and top-quality rain gear. I caught drag-pulling fish on top-waters! I had some near misses and I even had my chance; my tuna was defeated and at my feet! I simply didn't hold it. This was no failure! Any one of these three areas offers a lifetime of fishing possibility. I'd tried to cram it all into a week; and I'd done pretty well doing so. The week had been filled with modest fishing success and a bunch of new experiences. These were all modest (striper on a Diawa SP Minnow; striper from heavy surf; bass and blues on Hogy epoxy jigs; repeated albacore refusals), but in the long run, they are all meaningful. I'd been legitimately in the game for the entire week; and all these learning moments, if remembered, would help me stay in the game on future trips. All of this had been executed without any real problems! Any of the things that could have gone wrong (car failure, gear failure, slips, trips and falls, minor viruses) simply did not; and for that I am grateful. Meanwhile, there were many tangible things that went right! My gear selection (and my ability to supplement this gear smartly, courtesy of local expertise) was spot on. I found the right shops to dispense pertinent advice. I had fish in front of me during every session. Heck, the food was good throughout the trip, and I even enjoyed all the driving. ![]() I was very pleased with the performance of this LL Bean Travel Series rod paired with my Shimano Stradic 4000 reel. Filled with 15-pound Spiderwire Stealth Braid, I could launch my Hogy epoxy jigs (here, shown supplemented with a few Crippled Herring, Deadly Dicks and surface tension lures) as far as anybody on the pier. Reaching the fish was NOT my problem! Finally; I did not win the boat at Striperfest! I am still, somehow, mildly surprised at this outcome (at least in my heart, if not fully in my brain.) I did win a beautiful pair of Costa sunglasses, and I left with a couple of new lures in my bag. It was a fun, unique experience, and I suspect that I shall return. And, I am somehow filled with hope that the family who did win the boat will enjoy it and use it wisely. The winning family had a young, teenaged boy; and I remember how my life was changed for the better when my father came home with a shiny new boat. If it works out half as well for that young boy as it has for me (40 years or more, later!), then he's going to be all right! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways The Bangor Daily News recently published an article about factors affecting the apparent resurgence of striped bass in Maine. I can't seem to find the article on-line at this time, but the overall gist was that the unified recreational catch-and-keep regulation (1 fish per day, over 28 inches) for East Coast stripers was protecting many of the fish summering in Maine. Combined with a recent local abundance of preferred bait (herring and pogies, to which I can attest), striped bass seem to be doing quite well at this time. This was made especially apparent in the article, as demonstrated by catches and fishing effort way up the rivers. These echoed a separate article I had read in the local paper during my recent trip, in which a business executive scored an early-July, keeper striper from the Penobscot River during his lunch hour in Old Town! The graph above, from www.maine.gov/dmr/recreational-fishing/landings/stripedbasslandings.html accompanied the BDN article. The map below pin-points Old Town. In my (limited and only local) experience, that Old Town striper was far away from home! But, I know that they historically belong there; and I'm glad to hear that such things are going on! And, especially so since stripers were absent from my Rhode Island childhood! They should have been part of it; but, they were literally absent. Fortunately, two other factors (not mentioned in the articles above) facilitated the striper's future resurgence. Long-term improvements in water quality enabled improved recruitment from Chesapeake Bay and the Hudson River; and restrictions on commercial fisheries enabled realistic numbers of fish to become available to recreational fishermen. Twenty years or so ago, I encountered my first striper and realized their seasonal presence at my feet. That story is at numenon.blogspot.com/2012/07/stripers.html Let's just say, striped bass have been a favorite target ever since. I'd like to think that their presence is normal and assured for the future. That these are not irrational thoughts is very Good News! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Once again, I was fortunate to have shared the week of July 4 with family in Maine. It was a beautiful week filled with good food, celebrations and fishing. My fishing approach here remains simple; throw spoons for mackerel and provide some bait options for striped bass. Most importantly, be there when the fish are! Secondarily, be persistent! I continue to be amazed at how many bass there must be; I will have a good number of chances while basically standing in a single spot; and this, a spot selected based on access, not necessarily on what the fish might demand. 2018 was no exception. There were many bass to be caught. Perhaps not as many as in previous years (it was super hot and water temperatures skyrocketed through the bass' preferred range), but still enough to keep me more than interested. Mackerel were completely absent (it got to a point where I no longer even threw a spoon), and the average bass was on the smaller side. But, I've accepted that I can't really control those factors; all I can do is capitalize on the chances that are available. Hopefully I do so while enjoying and appreciating the setting, scenery and wildlife. I could choose to chase these fish elsewhere during my stay; but our landing always seduces me into staying and settling in. A detailed log of the actual fishing can be found above under NumenonFunFishing, but with this post, I would simply like to celebrate the week. 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
Categories
All
|