|
Date: August 27, 2022 Body of Water: Casco Bay - Falmouth, Maine Moon Phase: New Moon Boat: amybaby22 and shore fishing (PM) With: Alone (AM), with A (PM) Target: Striped Bass Time: 8:30 AM - 1 PM and 4:30 PM - 6:15 PM Conditions: Low tides at 6:00 AM and 6:03 PM. Starting cloudy, but clearing by late morning; NE wind in AM, switching to SW for PM. About 60 -75 degrees. Water temperatures 61 - 64 degrees (+/-) in Hussey Sound and about 70 degrees (+/-) at float in PM. The plan was simple. Make quick bait, liveline a few macks, and save the rest for an evening session off the float with A. This was easier said than done; macks were scarce again. I'd headed starlight for Hussey, thinking the flood tide would have the mackerel active. If they were active, I couldn't find them. After an hour or so of trying every obvious current seam and historically productive area, I finically decided to take advantage of the gray skies and the couple of baits I had. I'd noticed some considerable white water against some rocks guarding a small cove on Peaks Island. I headed over there, and it looked like it offered everything a bass would need. I deployed a lively mack, and soon there-after, right in an eddy adjacent to a foam line extending from these rocks, I was treated to an active surface chase. After multiple detonations, the bass finally grabbed my mack. It was a good fish that revealed the potential for this new-to-me spot. I netted another "keeper" (released, of course) at 29 inches. I'd exhausted my bait here, but I was fortunate to finally find a pod of active macks. These were just down-current of the submerged ledge extending off the west end of College Island. It only took a few strings of 3 to 6 baits per string to fill the well with mackerel ranging in size from small/candy to magnum. It was now bright and clear, and passes along Crow, Cow and Clapboard Islands enticed no bites. I hauled my bait back to the dock for use later in the day, and went home for some rest. A and I returned to the landing float for the best part of Quadrant II. Our bait was waiting for us, and I quickly deployed a live mackerel beneath a float, just like the good old days! Almost immediately, the mackerel was attacked and harassed, although never eaten. I changed this tired, stunned and medium-large bait out for a new, smaller lively mack, and we enjoyed almost constant action for the next 75 minutes or so. We ended up going 6 for 7 legitimate runs, with fish sequentially diminishing in size. Starting at 30 inches, but then diminishing to perhaps 20 inches, the catch included solid fish at 29, 27 and 25 inches as well as the pair of youngsters. Strangely enough, at 5:30 and approaching slack, I predicted "Big Fish Time" and switched. to larger macks; only to have these pounced on by the smaller fish. Oh well, I can't always be right! What do I have to say about this? Most of my Maine striper experience has been boatless, shore-fishing from this same landing float. The pinnacle of my local sport has always been live-lining a mackerel here. I used to routinely "make bait" right from the float and deploy them one at a time. Those mackerel seem to have vanished, but my new twist of bringing the bait and live-well to the float for a relaxed session was a good call. I fought several of the fish with a deli sandwich or beer in hand, A was good company, and the quality of the fishing did not suffer. This will become a more frequent tool from my bag of tricks. To juxtapose this with quickly identifying the conditions for a verified, productive new spot makes for a pretty complete and satisfying day! Finally, here's a Fun Fact: "Crow" Island is reportedly named after the cormorant, formerly known as the Sea Crow. At least, according to a tour ferry that passed by as I fished here. I'll accept this as fact, as cormorants are usually present here and a quick Google Search does "verify" that "sea crows" refer to cormorants, at least in part. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
0 Comments
DUSK Date: August 25, 2022 Body of Water: Casco Bay - Falmouth, Maine Moon Phase: Waning Crescent Moon; New minus two days Boat: None, shore fishing from landing float With: Alone Target: Striped Bass Time: 6:15 PM - 7:30 PM Conditions: Low tide at 4:47 PM. Gentle, clear and about 75 degrees. Water was green and 72 degrees (+/-). I arrived a bit too late for the best part of the tide after a pleasant dinner with A, but it was such a beautiful weeknight that anything I caught would simply be a bonus. The flood tide of Quadrant III was a bit more advanced than I prefer for this location, but my first sandworm got eaten almost immediately. Although I missed that fish, I had a fairly steady bite until about 7 PM. I went 3 for about 6 legitimate hits, landing bass of 21, 21, and 22 inches. Everything came on sand-worms with the exception of a single run (that I flubbed) on an old blood-worm. Having documented a full Striper Cup limit of three photographed fish, I decided to save my energy (and worms) for the morning. DAWN Date: August 26, 2022 Body of Water: Casco Bay - Falmouth, Maine Moon Phase: Waning Crescent Moon; New minus one day Boat: None, shore fishing from landing float With: Alone Target: Striped Bass Time: 4:50 AM - 5:50 AM Conditions: Low tide at 5:26 AM. Strange ENE wind about 10 mph; cloudy with 0% chance of precipitation forecast, but heavy rain starting at 5:35. About 60 degrees. My trusty Thill Splash Brite float winked out as it was pulled beneath the water's surface almost immediately, but I missed the light bite. I re-baited with another sand-worm as quickly as able and missed a couple more before I finally connected. Such a tentative bite from a solid 26-incher! The fast action continued until just about slack low tide, with the most frenetic action right around 5:15 AM. I know, because I could hear Amtrak's Downeaster pulling into, and leaving, the Portland depot while I hooked, landed and released a pair of young twins in the high teens. It was still too dark for photos, but lightening enough to reveal thick clouds upwind. Sure enough, these quickly devolved into a drenching downpour by 5:40. By 5:50, I was smart enough to realize I'd enjoyed the best part of the morning, and went home to take A to breakfast. What do I have to say about this? This was just simple fishing. I didn't necessarily fish well and nothing grand happened, but it sure was nice to be able to take some time during the work week and pull some drag! And with the entire weekend before me, there was no real pressure on myself to produce; I just took what came my way. Just one of the perks of our new home... Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: August 21, 2022 Body of Water: Casco Bay - Falmouth, Maine Moon Phase: Waning Crescent Moon; New Moon minus six days Boat: amybaby22 With: A Target: Striped Bass Time: 7:15 AM - 12:15 PM Conditions: High tide at 7:35 AM; falling tide throughout the session. Clear; inconsequential wind and 65 - 75 degrees. Water was green; water temperatures 61 - 65 degrees (+/-). We headed directly to Hussey Sound in search of bait. Perhaps a seal tipped us off, or perhaps we were lucky, but we set up directly over a school of macks in the deep water up-current of the ledge extending from College Island. Despite the lack of flow, we soon had 15 or more live baits in the well. This was the quickest and easiest bait session of the season, and a welcomed development. By 8 AM, I was deploying the first live bait of the day. I chose to do so north of College Island. I picked up the deep grass edge near the island's eastern extent, moving slowly with the current. It wasn't long before the frisky mackerel was taken, hard. I hooked up, and this fish fought with determination, and deep. Unfortunately, my leader chafed through under considerable pressure. Our auspicious start was dampened, but there wasn't much to do except cut back the leader, tie on a new hook, and try again. I repositioned the boat, re-baited and went through the same water. I'd come across the saddle and into deeper water to the south when a bass violently took my mackerel from the surface. This fish felt smaller, but still came in at a respectable 27 inches. Things were looking better! When the next pass went untouched, we decided to relocate. I hoped to go to Cow Island, but a boat occupied my prime spot, and so I deflected course to nearby Crow Island. I was okay with this because I like the deep water and current seams that surround Crow. The only negative here can be boat traffic, but we were still early enough in the morning that I wasn't too concerned about that. Our first pass was along Crow's south and west shores. My mackerel went untouched until we got to the north shore. Here, it was attacked repeatedly before a fish finally executed an eat-and-run. The bait pulled when I came tight, but I immediately returned to free-spool, and I was lucky to get slammed! This fish turned with confidence, and I was soon tight to a big fish. After a long fight over deep water, A finally slid the net under a rotund 36-incher. This fish had come from the same area/spot as last week's 32- and 34-inchers. This is a spot worth remembering. It offers everything a bass could want; a rocky point, a shallow feeding shelf, easy access to deep water and current. I shall return! With a change in current conditions, I relocated to the south in order to work the eastern shoreline. This too offers multiple rock points and nooks and crannies. We were fortunate to find a bunch of active bass tucked into an inside turn and the adjacent depths. Our return to the juicy spot along the north shore had been delayed, but for good reason. We landed several bass to 29 inches, missed a couple, and even A scored a 24. When we finally got to the juicy spot, above, it did not disappoint. My large mackerel was easily and violently engulfed by a bass, right from the surface. This fish fought long and deep, too, and A did a nice job of netting my second "lunker" of the day; at 34 inches, I am willing to say this is the largest "secondary big striper" aboard amybaby22. This good spot had just gotten better. We finally relocated to my favorite stretch of Cow Island shoreline. The tide was in the lower half of ebb, and this is a "high-tide" spot for me. My first pass went untouched, but I marked a few fish on my second pass. One of these rose on cue and plucked my large bait from the hook, right off the surface and with barely a dimple. I explored Cow Island Ledge on our way home. What better way to explore than with a lively mackerel in tow? I didn't raise anything, but this mid-bay structure offered the topography, rocks and current that I look for. I'll continue to return after all these years of driving around this feature. Even Clapboard's south/western extends and associated reef did not produce an action or opportunity. By 1 PM we were back at the dock, and I enjoyed my first salt-water swim of 2022. It had been good day! What do I have to say about this? I'd taken the previous day off from fishing, simply to recover from the week. That had been the right call; an extra dose of sleep and some attention to other matters put me in the right frame of mind for this day's efforts. Conditions were perfect for A, and we kept plenty busy during the entire morning. Water temperatures have moderated, and bait seems to be collecting in the expected areas. There appear to be plenty of bass around the rocky ledges, and with multiple encounters with keeper-plus bass each trip... the rest of the season looks pretty solid! I'll have to spend some more time around Cow Island Ledge, as this rocky and current-swept area in the middle of Casco Bay looks intriguing. Even if I've motored past it repeatedly for years. Note to self; Cow Island produces on the dropping tide! Bluefish have reportedly arrived in the area. I recently got a whiff of a single, small blue in the Kennebeck River and a gator (this day) at Portland Head Light. A did a good job with the camera for the day, and I was able to submit my 99-inch limit (29, 34 and 36 inches) to The Striper Cup. This is a Personal Best weekly total for me, and the pictures were solid, too. Maybe this is my week to win?!? Thanks for joining me, A! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: August 14, 2022 Body of Water: Casco Bay - Falmouth, Maine Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous Moon; Full plus two days Boat: amybaby22 With: Niece L, her twins, A Target: Striped Bass Time: 10 AM - 3 PM Conditions: High tide at 1:40 PM. Super clear; mild SW wind, 70 - 75 degrees. Water was green; water temperatures 59 - 65 degrees (+/-). Perfect conditions greeted us at the dock at 10 AM. I welcomed my niece, L, and her twin daughters aboard and we set off in search of seals, porpoises and mackerel. We encountered a seal within the anchorage, and a couple of surprise porpoises just outside. We were off to a good start! The "seal rocks" behind Clapboard were barren as we passed, and so we continued to Hussey Sound. My timing was right, and we arrived to find good current and a nice rip off the west end of College Island. Our first drift over the submerged ledge yielded twin pollock for each twin. Success! We had something in the live-well to admire. After another drift (nada), we switched to trolling a single Sabiki, with the other rig ready to deploy once we hooked up. This worked like a charm, and we put a good number of mackerel into the well in pretty short order. Only two were "regular" sized, the rest were spike/finger macks. They were all equally fun and welcome aboard. We kept an eye out for seals (one seen?) and ferry wakes. With the action slowing, we took a tour over to the green bell buoy and watched that in action from up close. We debated what to do next. Both girls wanted to see a bigger bass, but it was a split decision on using the mackerel as bait. We decided to toss a fluke around the rocks of Crow Island. After all, Bass Love Them! It says so right on the package! Here, we watched the active osprey nest, but didn't raise any bass. The Portland Fire Department boat tossed a bit of wake over our bow, but that barely hampered the girls' spirit. We decided we would try one mackerel for bass, and so we went to the west end of Clapboard Island. I tended the single bait, and told the girls that "something good was going to happen, soon" based on the nervous and frantic actions of my bait. Sure enough, a surface chase ensued, but after at least four top-water crashes without engulfing this large bait, the bass gave up and ghosted us. Oh well, we'd gotten a lot of the fun out of that fish, anyway, and it was now time to return to the dock. It had been a good trip, and we were all happily satisfied. After goodbyes, and a quick sandwich and hydration, A and I decided to take advantage of the loaded live-well and returned to the west end of Clapboard. The wind and current were now opposed, and boat control was difficult, but this also allowed us to linger in productive areas for longer periods. Our largest mack was taken quickly and confidently; A finally netted a spunky, 29-incher for me. After missing another take (the last good-sized mack was swiped off the hook by the violent hit), I scored an additional pair of mid-20-inch bass on the smaller, spike mackerel. I like using these smaller baits because of the increased certainty of a hook-up. Note to self, though, all the hits came on a clean live-line. Our similar baits deployed below a float were ignored. All the action came from deeper water, too, away from the rocks and first break. We were back at the dock by 3 PM or so. I'd provided two nice trips in a single day. I was happy and satisfied, although admittedly, bushed! What do I have to say about this? L and A are both awesome mothers and pleasant company, and it was my pleasure to have all aboard. I enjoyed the enthusiasm and sparks of deep interest from the twins, and I do hope the outdoors become a real part of their background and experience. This was fun, but it will be more fun to watch them and their interests grow over the years. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: August 13, 2022 Body of Water: Casco Bay - Falmouth, Maine Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous Moon; Full Sturgeon Moon (plus one day) Boat: shore fishing from float and then amybaby22 With: Alone Target: Striped Bass Time: 4:45 AM - 1 PM Conditions: Low tide at 6:35 AM. Mostly cloudy; NNE wind in excess of 10 mph but decreasing after 9 AM to calm; about and 60 - 70 degrees. Water was green and water temperatures ranged from 60 - 64 degrees (+/-). It was still dark when I finally made it to the float after a detoured journey from Yarmouth. Somebody's day was off to an early but poor start. Too bad, too, because my float got pulled down on my first drift, and I landed another worm-eating 22-incher. Not too long thereafter, and still well before sunrise, my float dunked again, and I got tight to a much better fish. This turned out to be a hard-fighting and spirited 27-incher. Even though I missed a couple of other fish, my morning was going well. By 6 AM I was in amybaby22, where I started the day's boat-fishing with a tube-and-worm pass along the Falmouth shoreline. I lost a couple of worms to missed bites, but still thought I could find better elsewhere, so I took off for Broad Cove. In my experience, Broad Cove seems to be either hot or cold, and this was another chilling encounter. I raised nothing with my tube-and-worm. An agitated, diving flock of terns got me excited, and I went into shallow water to get in on any action, but it's possible that the terns were simply harassing a flock of black ducks. My Albie Snax revealed nothing and I saw no further evidence of fish or bait when the birds wandered off. I switched to trolling the Sabiki for mackerel between Sturdivant and Basket Islands. I only got one while confirming to myself that the dearth of mackerel within my stretch of bay continued. However, I was happy enough to deploy my single bait off the eastern end of Clapboard Island. Moving to the south and with the wind, I had worked almost to the very southeast corner of the island before my bait woke up. This large mack was easily taken by a strong fish. I was surprised this fighter taped out at only 29 inches based on how hard it fought! Since it was now so calm, I decided to go to Hussey Sound in search of macks. After a bit of jockeying and hunting/pecking, I finally found a school of biting macks over the shallow ledge off College Island. After a few strings of doubles and triples, I had enough bait for the rest of the morning, although I had some concerns about how large some of these mackerel were! These were my first triples of the season, and so this was perhaps sign of better times with respect to "making bait". The northerly wind and calm seas lured me to Vaill Island. I'd not yet taken a fish from this favorite spot this year! I'd drifted most of the southern face of the island (which I really do prefer to fish at higher tidal stages) when an active surface chase developed. Finally, the mack got popped right against the face of a boulder and I was tight. I was fairly surprised to see that a 23-or-so-inch fish had taken such a large bait. I wanted bigger and so I visited Crow Island. I reasoned that the incoming tide flowing over the various rock points could produce some action. I had an immediate run in the deep water off the island's southern face, but the bait got dropped. I'd worked to the northwest portion of the island before my bait got antsy again. A solid "thunk" indicated a solid fish, and after a couple of pretty serious runs, I was able to net a beautiful 32-incher. Not bad for the middle of the day! That fish left me at 99 stripers landed for the season. It didn't take long for No. 100 to present itself in this same water. A modest, low-20s fish got commemorated as 2022's 100th Striper for me. Of course I had to try my favorite stretch of Cow Island, but I found no signs of fish here, so I decided to end my day at the western end of Clapboard Island and the adjacent rocky reef complex. It was just about slack high tide when I arrived. My first drift did not produce, but I circled back over a historically juicy waypoint, and suddenly, it was fish on! Big fish do eat at slack tide; this 34-incher is my second-largest of the season. This fish did not fight as hard as the 29 earlier in the day, but I am not complaining. Nor will I complain about the inglorious nature of No. 100, bookended so beautifully by 32 and 34-inch stripers. What do I have to say about this? This was (unexpectedly) one of the better days in the boat this season, and in certain, ways, ever (for me). Just based on the cold, hard facts; three "keeper" stripers totaling 95 inches is a record day (again, for me with my boat). But in addition, I was able to accomplish all of the day's goals. I improved my Striper Cup submittal options for the week at least four times over, and I finally got to No. 100. To get a pair of "big" fish along the way (32 and 34 inches), especially during the middle of such a pleasant day, made this truly memorable. Why do such days happen? Maybe I was just able to take advantage of the improved mackerel situation. Maybe I wasn't burned out by intense heat and sun. Maybe I was fishing "relaxed" because I'd already secured a nice Striper Cup limit of photos from shore-caught fish. Or, perhaps, I'm making some better decisions and positioning myself in more of the right spots, more frequently. It helps to execute, too, and I did take advantage of just about all of my real opportunities. Regardless, I needed such a day, and I do appreciate the opportunity to participate! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: August 11, 2022 Body of Water: Casco Bay - Falmouth, Maine Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous Moon; Full minus one day Boat: None, shore fishing from landing float With: Alone Target: Striped Bass Time: 5 PM - 7:30 PM Conditions: Low tide at 4:56 PM. Overcast; SSW wind in excess of 10 mph and about 65 degrees. Water temperature 71 degrees (+/-). After a break in a brutal stretch of hot weather, and with Full "Sturgeon Moon" Tides, I hit the float for a relaxed, weeknight session. I hoped the fishing would have benefited from the positive conditions. And it had; I enjoyed an active session from the landing float, going 7 for 9 on smaller stripers measuring up to 24 inches. I fished entirely within Quadrant III, and this tide had been marked on my calendar long ago. The details have become fuzzy, but all fish ate fresh blood-worms suspended under floats, and the most active time was one-to-two hours after low tide. This was simply a fun, relaxing weeknight endeavor, and it was necessary during a bit of a hellish work week. It was also nice to see some smaller fish to represent future potential. I don't really have much else to add. I am simply fortunate to have managed my circumstances such that I have the ability to easily and casually fish for striped bass. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: July 31, 2022 Body of Water: Casco Bay - Falmouth, Maine Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent Moon; New Moon plus three days Boat: amybaby22 With: Alone Target: Striped Bass Time: 1:30 PM - 3 PM Conditions: High tide at 1:55 PM. Super clear and bright; southerly wind in excess of 15 mph and 85 degrees. Water was green; water temperatures 62 - 70 degrees (+/-) depending upon location. Just for something completely different, and as a means to cope with the lack of large bait, I decided to hit rock and kelp edges during high tide with the fly rod. Let's just say this might not have been my best choice. As I arrived at the float, the afternoon sea breeze commenced. Ultimately, it was this wind and not the lack of fish that took me off the water after just 90 minutes of effort. I focused on the flooded kelp edges off both ends of Clapboard and my inside turn on Sturdivant. Boat control and maintaining sea legs took almost all my effort. I just didn't have much left for fishing! This was simply a quiet, inglorious ending to July. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: July 30, 2022 Body of Water: Casco Bay - Falmouth, Maine Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent Moon; New Moon plus two days Boat: Shore fishing at first and then amybaby22 With: Alone Target: Striped Bass Time: 4:45 AM - 11:45 AM Conditions: Low tide at 7:15 AM. Cloudy at first but then dry and clear; about 65 - 85 degrees. Water was green; water temperatures 65 degrees (+/-) at float; 70 degrees in Broad Cove; and about 60 degrees in Hussey Sound. The tide appeared favorable for a short session from the float while I awaited navigational light. I'd be solidly within Quadrant III. Overcast conditions helped my confidence, too. I simply floated blood-worms beneath a float. I connected on my first hit a little before 5 AM, and it was a beautiful 29-incher. The mild stench of the previous evening was washed away. As I slid into Quadrant III's prime time, I was mildly surprised by how slow and "dead" things were. I started thinking about the boat and slowly prepared to switch tactics. But I left a bait working in the water during all the prep, and sure enough, at about 5:40 AM, my float slid under for the second time of the morning. After another nice fight, I landed and photographed another beautiful striper at 27 inches. With my Striper Cup limit of three stripers for the week now photographed and secured, the rest of the day was about exploration and coping with the lack of mackerel. In fact, my first stop was predicated on the absence of macks; I went to Broad Cove to look for pogies. Water temps here were 70, and no pogies were visible and my tube-and-worm went untouched. With slack low behind me, I relocated my search for bass or bait to Sturdivant Island. Here, I threw swim-baits, a popper and an Albie Snax over my favorite haunts without raising a single fish. With the flood tide starting and high skies, I shipped off to Hussey Sound. Here, at least, water temperatures were more favorable for macks and bass at about 60 degrees. I managed only a single mackerel off the end of College Island. I decided to swim this bait in some new water, so I went to Ferry Point on Long Island, near where it meets with Onset Island. I liked the rocky structure and deep water, and the incoming tide was pushing against these structural elements. It looked bassy to me. A bass revealed a new-to-me location, but after some harassment and a few missed pops, it disappeared. I followed through with the same lures to no avail. Fortunately, my bait was still alive, and so after casting the College Island saddle (there was a nice rip forming) with no luck, I relocated to the tip of the reef between College Island and Ferry Point. Here, an eddy current was forming a noticeable rip flowing in the opposite direction. It sure looked fishy to me, and while not totally "new" water, it deserved more of my attention. My first drift with the worn mackerel was quickly and confidently thunked and I was hooked up at about 10 AM! Just then, A called, and so I FaceTimed the battle, which concluded with the landing of a bright 25-incher. Any day with multiple stripers, the smallest of which is 25 inches, is pretty decent. I was able to score just another, single mackerel off College, and I transported this snack to Cow Island. Nothing happened there, and so I visited nearby Crow. I nearly circumnavigated this small island, and the bait got hit at least five times. Each of the first four events ended with the chasing bass losing interest without committing to eating. The final included three solid pick-ups, each resulting in a pulled bait. When I retrieved it, the circle hook was turned and deeply impaled in the now-dead bait. With each active location duly noted, I knew I would be returning here, hopefully with a fuller live well. The current, steep edges and deep water havens here should make this a solid producer in the future. It was now brutally hot, bright and clear. The wind was picking up, and I called it a day. What do I have to say about this? The bite is slow, but the fish are worthwhile. My notes indicate consecutive skunks at the end of July last year, so that's not too surprising, and the word is that fin-fish bait is scarce everywhere, inshore, so I am not alone in my struggles. I think I'll be smart and take a Bus Man's Holiday next trip, change things up and focus on high-tide fly fishing along obvious edges with small baits, just to see what happens. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: July 29, 2022 Body of Water: Casco Bay - Falmouth, Maine Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent Moon; New Moon plus one day Boat: None, shore fishing from landing float With: Alone Target: Striped Bass Time: 5 PM - 7:45 PM Conditions: Low tide at 6:30 PM. Clear; westerly wind in excess of 15 mph and about 85 degrees. Water was green; water temperature 68 degrees (+/-). After another long work week, a simple session with a couple of beers sounded appealing. A was otherwise engaged, and so I hit the landing float, alone. I had to deal with a fair amount of boat traffic from Friday merry-makers, but it was still peaceful. The fishing was relatively slow. I simply drifted suspended blood-worms. I went one-for-several chances, landing a smallish 20-incher (which I flubbed at my feet before I could get a picture), and getting rubbed off on a much nicer fish that ran to the right and inshore. Barnacles on the dock wore through my leader before I could appropriately reposition myself during the fight. I missed a couple of light bites, too. All the action occurred between approximately 6:20 and 7:05 PM, basically from slack low and into Quadrant IV. What do I have to say about this? I think I should have done a little better with my execution, and the session left a bit of a sour taste. I expect perfection, and I know that's neither realistic nor healthy. With a pretty open weekend, I hope to put this behind me. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: July 25, 2022 Body of Water: Casco Bay - Falmouth, Maine Moon Phase: Waning Crescent Moon; New minus three days Boat: None, shorefishing from landing float With: Dr. C Target: Striped Bass Time: 4:30 AM - 7:45 AM Conditions: Low tide at 3:50 AM; Mostly Quadrant III but spilling into Quadrant IV; Overcast and local showers, SW wind with gusts in excess of 15 mph and about 70 degrees. Water temperature about 66 degrees (+/-). After a couple of (energy-) draining days in the boat, and given a forecast including wind and rain, we elected to keep it simple and float blood-worms from the landing for our last fishing session. We got up early and presented our baits in the pre-dawn darkness, and it didn't take long for Dr. C's lighted float to wiggle and then wink out. We missed that fish, but shortly thereafter he connected with a sub-20's fish. When he landed a larger schoolie shortly thereafter (and it was still before sunrise!), the morning was complete. And we still had time and fish in front of us. I like "Quadrant III", the first half of the flood tide, from my perch on the float. It served us well this day, and we landed six stripers to almost 26 inches by 6:20 AM. Dr. C was doing most of the catching, I caught only a single 20-incher. I flubbed another at my feet, but Dr. C fished almost flawlessly and landed everything he connected with. At 6:50 AM, Quadrant III was over, we hadn't had a bite in a half hour, and work was beginning to intrude my thoughts. I suggested calling it a day, but we decided to give it 15 more minutes before we made the final call. I didn't have much confidence (my catch rate here in the higher half of the tidal cycle is low), but fishing is better than work, and one never really knows what might happen. We were discussing these things when his float went down at 7:05 or so. He missed the strike, but in attempting to regain slack he had rapidly moved the float and worm a few feet. The water exploded as a large and aggressive bass crushed the worm. He was instantly tight, and this obviously nice fish challenged the tackle as it sought the line of moorings. Ultimately, Dr. C landed his second "keepah" of the trip, a beautifully solid 30-incher! Of course, this fish kept us here for another half hour or so, and nothing else happened. Still, it had been a great morning! What do I have to say about this? I knew this tide had potential for a good session, and I had penciled it into my calendar a while ago. But one still doesn't know what might happen at a given time. The big fish in Quadrant IV was a gift of sorts, and its capture does support something I think I know; big fish eat when they want, and opportunities just present themselves. Most of my bigger stripers have not happened at prime time (which, in the main, really is prime), but rather on their own schedule. So, it's always best to be confident and to be prepared for the best, and to choose to fish as opposed to not fish. Finally, this time with Dr. C was unexpectedly important to me. We picked up our friendship seamlessly, as if consecutive interruptions of 13 years or more don't matter. We enjoy each other's company! Moreover, our shared time from graduate school prepared us for separate paths. I sometimes struggle with how little I've done with my scientific training, but my time with Dr. C let me realize that he appreciates me for who I am and what I've done with my time. I often downplay the "silly" things that take up my time (this entire fishing craft, for one), but this weekend helped me realize that I can and do help (in small ways) people to actualize their hope and fulfill their dreamlets. Surely, that's worth something!?! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways |
Steve LachanceRI --> NH --> MI-->MA-->ME Archives
June 2024
Categories
All
|
Proudly powered by Weebly