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Date: June 26 through July 5, 2021 Body of Water: Casco Bay - Falmouth Foreside, Maine (and vicinity) Boat: amybaby22 Target: Striped Bass For this series of entries, please consider an approximated 12-hour Tide Clock, with each High Tide at 12 o'clock, and each Low Tide at 6 o'clock. This will divide each complete cycle into four quadrants, with mid-tides at 3 and 9 o'clock. Let's call Quadrant I the period from High Tide to mid-ebbing tide; Quadrant II from mid-ebbing tide to Low Tide; Quadrant III as predicted Low Tide to mid-flooding tide; and Quadrant IV from mid-flood to predicted High Tide. From past experience, I know that historically, the best fishing at my spot on the landing on Casco Bay is during the lower portions of the tide, i.e., in Quadrants II and III, with the very best action usually occurring about 1.5 hours before or after the predicted Low Tide. Quadrant IV is better than Quadrant I; but a worthwhile fish can happen at any time or tide, especially if bait (usually in the form of mackerel) is available for the fish. And, every spot fishes differently; so now, with amybaby22 to fish from, I can try to go find some fish under any set of prevailing conditions! Day 1 Saturday, June 26, 2021 Moon Phase: Full Moon plus two days; waning gibbous moon Tides: High Tide at about 1 PM Time: 1 PM - 4 PM Conditions: About 70 degrees; hazy clouds; stiff SSW breeze; water temperatures 59 - 60 degrees With the very strong high tide, I ran to Prince Point. The rocky and weedy structure provides some good cover for stripers, and I can often combine casting lures to the cover with simultaneously drifting bait over the adjacent, open water. Despite the middle-of-day conditions, I had an active session, with three bass and a couple of misses on sand-worms presented under a float (18, 20 and 22 inches) and a hard-fighting, fat 23-incher falling for a slowly-presented, 4-inch Al Gag swim bait (Clown/Wonder Bread). The best action was consistently in 11 feet of water around the most prominent structure on this point. The fishing was off to a good start, as I had already secured my 3-fish Striper Cup Limit for the week! Another bonus was the performance of my new, light Diawa bait-runner reel, which paired well with my 1995-vintage G. Loomis steelhead rod to provide a light but powerful combo that makes fish of all sizes fun. Day 2 Sunday, June 27, 2021 Moon Phase: Full Moon plus three days; waning gibbous moon Tides: Low Tide at 7:47 AM (mostly Quadrant II) Time: 4 AM - 7 AM (landing spot/shore) Conditions: About 70 degrees; hazy clouds; still to mild SSW breeze; water temperatures 60 - 61 degrees An early start and a favorable tide resulted in a productive and fun land-based session. All the action was on sand-worms presented under floats; cut mackerel chunks and heads, as well as casted lures, were universally ignored. The action started in the dark, with a 26-incher at 4:15 AM. Another 26 at 5:15 was followed quickly with a 24-incher. Three smallish bass (about 20 inches) provided a rush of action at about 6:15 AM (my predicted sweet spot in the tide). In addition, I missed a nice run on a worm and a single touch on the swim-bait. Surprisingly, these shore fish trumped my boat fish from the previous day for the Striper Cup. Fishing was off to a good start! Time: 10AM - 11:30 AM, middle of flood tide Conditions: Clear and bright, SSW wind about15 mph, 59 degree water with A to North side of Clapboard Island After a quick tour of the seals south of Clapboard Island, I trolled tube-and-worms with A along the north side of this island. Nothing happened, but this was a pleasant investment of time and effort, even if it was at the cost of any immediate success we might have enjoyed in more familiar waters. Tides: Low Tide at 7:57 PM (mostly Quadrant II) Time: 5 PM - 7 PM Conditions: About 70 degrees; hazy clouds; decreasing SSW breeze; water temperatures 60 +/- degrees After slowly trolling the perimeter of Prince Point with tube-and-worms and then more quickly/aggressively with a 5-jig Alabama Rig (all with no success), I moved over to the Northwest side of Clapboard Island, where I presented sand-worms under floats while casting rock and weed edges with the Al Gag swim-bait. The worm produced a very solid 26-incher, a smallish 20-incher and another run; but the swim-bait produced the fight of the night when a stubborn 25-inch bass inhaled the bait and provided all the fight I could want on my fine St. Croix Avid Inshore setup. Ten feet of water adjacent to weedy rocks produced all the evening's bites. Day 3 Monday, June 28, 2021 Moon Phase: Full Moon plus four days; waning gibbous moon Tides: High Tide at 2:12 AM; Low Tide at 8:40 AM Time: 4 - 7 AM Conditions: Uncharacteristically Hot and Hazy, SSW breeze less than 10 mph; water temperature about 63 Starting to lose the favorable morning tides for land-based fishing, I decided to Go Big from the landing in the dark and with Mac heads presented on the bottom; but plans don't always play out as expected. Instead, I caught a surprise mackerel on a sand-worm at about 4:45; and converted that mackerel into a 25-inch bass by 5 AM. Live-lining mackerel is a favored technique, but has not been reliable available in recent years; this was a promising development! I also landed a bonus, small bass on a sand-worm at about 5:40 AM; and so all my action occurred in Quadrant I. Tides: Low Tide at 8:40 AM Time: 11 AM - 1 PM Conditions: Brutally Hot and Hazy, SSW breeze less than 10 mph; water temperature about in Hussey Sound 54 +/- After a nature ride with my English nephew, with the ride featuring a pile of seals south of Clapboard Island, I hit mid-flood conditions on Hussey Sound to see if making bait (trolling a Sabiki for macs) was feasible or worthwhile. I simply focused on "busy" water in the moving currents. With no live well installed yet, I hurriedly ferried my first mackerel over to the closest rocky shoreline with some whitewash, which happened to be College Island. With only a single bait, I decided to try slow-trolling instead of casting. I was super-pleased when my bait was smashed on the north side of College Island; even if the bass was only 21 inches or so, it had revealed a new-to-me spot. I decided to try to score some mackerel closer to College Island and set up a trolling pass in a visible current rip in about 35 feet of water. This quickly produced four overly large mackerel. Still, one resulted in a spirited, if ineffective, strike in the same area. My next Sabiki drop produced a pair of perfectly-sized baits. I lingered in a rock-to-sand transition zone near my waypoint for the other two bites; I was marking a lot of fish in 14 feet. Soon enough, a solid 27-inch bass ate the bait, solidifying my opinion of this new area. I'd had success, and I also now had a pile of fresh mackerel for chunking. This had been a good session! Tides: High Tide at about 3 PM; Low Tide at about 8:52 PM Time: 7 PM - 8:45 PM Conditions: Hot (97!) and Hazy, SSW breeze less than 10 mph; water temperature about 61; Quadrant II Hoping to capitalize on a favorable tide window, I expected to simply fish from the landing's float. With a couple of neighbors relaxing on the float, I altered my plans and rowed my bait out to the moored skiff. Remaining on the ball, I drifted worms through much of the same water, but perched on my skiff instead of standing on the float. I scored a pair of light-biting 20+ inchers almost immediately (right on schedule; about 90 minutes before scheduled low tide), and then things slowed down. When the neighbors left, I took advantage of the quiet and slow conditions to re-locate to the float; this helped me avoid having to do so in the dark, and also provided a quick escape from the mosquitos, if need be. My only take from the float was a strong 25-incher that ate at just about 8 PM. My young nephew had brought good luck, and I introduced him to his first striped bass. Once again, Quadrant II in lower light conditions paid off with decent fishing! Day 4 Tuesday, June 29, 2021 Moon Phase: Full Moon plus five days; waning gibbous moon Tides: High Tide at 3:07 am AM, Low Tide at 9:33 AM Time: 4:15 AM - 9:15 AM Conditions: Hot, clear and still; water temps 61 - 65 degrees I knew this was not a good tide for the float, but I still gave it a quick shot in the dark (literally) for a half hour before getting the boat. This was a big fish gambit that didn't work. Nothing good happened and I was pleased to get away from the hellish mosquitos. I worked Clapboard's west end and Prince Point until 6 AM with poppers, flukes and worms, but with only a couple half-hearted follows on the popper. At 7 AM, I relocated to the east end of Clapboard on a rumor of mackerel. My bait well was not yet installed, and so despite making quick work on individual mackerel (trolled Sabikis), I inefficiently ferried individual baits inshore to slow troll. I landed just one bass from 4 quality bites in the sandy bay between Clapboard's east end and the offshore ledge. Bites came from 6 -11 feet of water (despite the bright sun), especially along the base of rock edges. The single bass I landed was a very fat 22 inches. These mackerel (50-55 feet of water and visibly balled up) promised easy convenience! Tides: High Tide at 3:54 PM Time: 4 PM - 7 PM Conditions: Hot, clear and still; water temps 65+ degrees Hoping to convert macs to bass, I totally struck out. My single mac swam for miles without being disturbed. I mixed in a few other swim-baits, tubes, etc. without any success. Day 5 Wednesday, June 30, 2021 Moon Phase: Full Moon plus 6 days; waning gibbous moon Tides: High Tide at 4:04 AM Time: 5 AM - 8 AM Conditions: Clear and still; simply hot; water temperatures 64 - 65 degrees I was able to make bait pretty easily, by targeting visible surface pogies with mackerel beneath. I ran pogies for a bit, but I think these are simply too big for most of the bass present. Neither the roaming schools nor my baits attracted any attention. Moving to Clapboard's east end (becoming a personal favorite, with nearby bait and having produced quality bites from 6 to 30 feet of water), I had four legitimate runs, but just one hookup. This 26-inch striper was accompanied by multiple friends as I fought it to the boat. There was also a lot of seal activity, especially around the mackerel in 60 feet of water. This was my only fishing effort of the day. Chores and a line of late afternoon thunderstorms kept me off the water. At least the storms offered a potential break in the weather pattern. Day 6 Thursday, July 1, 2021 Moon Phase: Waning Quarter Moon Tides: High Tide at 4.29 AM Time: 7:30 AM - 10:30 AM Conditions: Overcast; 75 degrees; calm; water temperatures about 62 degrees With a horrible tide for the float, I slept in and then set off in search of mackerel, which I fished near Clapboard Island (east end). I landed a fine 27+ incher; and when I returned with M after a Seal Tour, she immediately scored a twin! Day 7 Friday, July 2, 2021 No fishing! Just some more important chores! But the weather had broken, and a dismal, prolonged cool rain settled in. I expected that the bass would be fine with this. Day 8 Saturday, July 3, 2021 Moon Phase: New Moon minus 6 days: waning crescent moon Tides: Low Tide at about 1 PM Time: 10 AM - 1 PM Conditions: Gray; 60 degrees; east wind 10+ mph and sporadic drizzle; water temperature 59 - 60 degrees I finally installed the live well and then made quick work with the macs just east of Clapboard in 50+ feet of water. I collected 10 in about 15 minutes. With the abundance of bait, I stayed local and deployed two baits at a time (one long and one short; about 60 and 30 feet off the rod tip, respectively). My first pass produced a hard-pulling 22-incher from deep water (24 feet) off Clapboard's eastern tip. The next half hour (mid-flood) produced lots of action, but I converted none of the strikes into landed bass. In fact, I abandoned this area after losing two nice bass to seals. After things quieted down, a mismatch in available bait size contributed to some additional misses. My haul for such a wild session was disappointing, but this was still fun! Tides: High Tide at about 7:25 PM Time: 5:30 PM - 7:30PM Conditions: Gray; 60 degrees; continued east wind 10+ mph and sporadic drizzle; water temperature 58 - 60 degrees Macs surprisingly came in singles instead of bunches off Clapboard Ledge, and I collected only six in about a half hour of effort. I missed a solid take near the east end of Clapboard (another buried hook!) and perhaps stayed here for too long. Or not, because when I relocated to Clapboard's south side, I bump-trolled all the way to the western ledge with nothing to say for my effort. Weeds and wind reduced my efficiency, and I was both surprised and disappointed by this skunk. Day 9 Sunday, July 4, 2021 Another day lost to weather and chores. No attempted fishing for me, this day. Day 10 Monday, July 5, 2021 Moon Phase: New Moon minus four days; waning crescent moon Tides: High Tide at 8:50 AM Time: 6 AM - 12:15 PM Conditions: Clear and bright; 50 - 70 degrees; southerly wind about 10 mph; water temperatures from 56 degrees (College Island) to 60 (landing) I "slept in" until 5 AM, ate breakfast, hit the road and was fishing by 6 AM. Seas were calm but no mackerel showed themselves, and so I started trolling a Sabiki off Clapboard's eastern end. I immediately picked off a large single, but then had to hunt and peck until I found a concentration just south of the east end point in about 60 feet of water. Here, the pace picked up nicely (I was actually jigging now, as opposed to trolling, based on the obvious concentration of fish), and by 7 AM I was outward bound to Hussey Sound's College Island with 14 or so mackerel in the well. Slow-/bump-trolling the macs for control, but drifting when I could, I circumnavifished College Island without a bump. The western edge of Long Island looked good, beckoned, and ate some more of my time without a bite. With no action (even in my new sweet spot!), I crossed Hussey to a Diamond Island sandy cove guarded on each side by prominent rock points. Almost instantly, a mac was attacked in 20 feet of water, but the hook turned into the bait. Still, this caused me to turn back after I'd trolled along a rock ledge and pass through again. In almost the same spot and just before predicted high, a 23-inch bass confidently took my bait; I'd avoided the skunk, and convinced myself that I really did need just one bass a day to keep things interesting. But I wasn't done; from here I crossed over to Cow Island, and on my second pass by the island's southwestern point (featuring a couple of prominent boulders), in quick succession I missed a fish and then landed a fine, 26-inch striper. These fish were also in 18 or 20 feet of water (or more), which seemed to establish the pattern for the day. After expanding my search radius further along the convenient rocky shores, but with time dwindling and nothing additional to show for my efforts, I ran to Clapboard's west end and set up a drift along the exposed ledge islands. It took a while, but ultimately I found a group of bass off an exposed rock point. I only landed one additional fish (25 inches), but enjoyed a half dozen or so additional strikes. Some of these were prolonged, drawn-out dramas involving nervous baits, chases, and misses, but some were simply sudden, explosive surface strikes. A variety of turned/buried hooks, plucks, picks and such kept me busy for an hour. This all seemed to happening in 18 - 24 feet of water, and in a fairly confined area. ... and beyond! On June 30, we closed on our new home in Yarmouth. On July 2, we moved in! So this was a vacation, but one with a purpose! And while I was inefficient in my catching, I have a lot of time in front of me! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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