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Date: July 9, 2022 Body of Water: Casco Bay - Falmouth, Maine Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous Moon Boat: amybaby22 With: A and then Alone Target: Striped Bass Time: 5:45 AM - 8:30 AM and then 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM Conditions: High tide at 7:15 AM. Super clear; easterly wind in about 10 mph (swinging to the south and strengthening in the early afternoon) and 60 - 75 degrees. Water was green and stained; water temperatures 60-62 (AM) and 64 degrees (+/-) PM. A joined me at dawn for a very pleasant session of tube-and-worming. The current at the float was going the "wrong" way, i.e., to the west, and so I abandoned the familiar Falmouth shoreline and picked up the ledge off Princes Point. Trolling with the current and hanging between 10 and 17 feet of water, we worked our way past The Brothers with only a couple of nibbles and no real bites in over an hour of effort. We switched to chasing mackerel off Clapboard Island, and once again, I found only a single specimen! I presented this bait around the rocks and ledges of Clapboard and raised no interest. Things are slow! After a wonderful breakfast and seeing some relatives off for their return to Great Britain, I returned to the water with a different plan. I decided to visit Broad Cove with the falling tide and tube-and-worm. I noticed some surface activity from "happy" bunker as I approached the gut to Broad Cove, and so I set up further "out" than usual in about 15 feet of water. Once I was set up, I realized how thick the pogies were and quickly set up a snagging hook on a heavy spinner rig. I abandoned the tube-and-worm and quickly had five pogie baits in the live-well. I offered a large, bone-colored walking bait on a dozen or so casts in this area, but was not surprised by the lack of response in the clear and bright conditions. These pogies were relaxed; there was no real indication that any bass were harassing them. I moved to the southwest portion of Sturdivant Island, where I found another dense ball of bunker. I like this corner especially because the inside turn is guarded by rocks, and the wind and current were pushing into this area. I drifted and bump-trolled with a lively pogie. Right in my high-confidence spot, this bait suddenly got solidly "thunked". After a nice run-and-feed, I tightened up, only to have the bait pull from the bass' mouth. The hook had turned and buried itself into the side of the bait's face. I re-baited and drifted/trolled through this area again in both directions, but nobody else seemed interested. Still, heartened by my first legitimate take on a pogie in Maine, I returned to the north/east portion of Clapboard, near where I'd scored the 36-incher the previous week. Here, a smaller bass took interest in my large live bait, and repeatedly chased, bumped and popped the bunker. It appeared that the bait was simply too large for this fish. But suddenly, the bait was catapulted into the air by an aggressive surface crash. The bait lay still, stunned, and I awaited this new bass to circle and take. It did; but when I attempted to tighten up, once again the hook was buried into the now-dead bait. I tried the other end of Clapboard with no action before returning to my mooring. Here, I caught the last part of Quadrant III, so I decided to chunk right from the mooring. I gave this a half hour or more, without success, before returning to the dock. What do I have to say about this? Almost! While I've successfully deployed live bunker in Rhode Island, this was the first time I'd generated any interest in them here in Maine. The adult bunker here always seem happy and relaxed; I never see them being attacked by bass. These are large baits for the bass typically present, and so I've not used them too often here in Maine. But I do know there are some big bass available, and with mackerel proving to be so inconsistent, perhaps this is a good alternative approach. Plus, I have convinced myself that each of the "takes" I had this trip was a better-than-average fish. I can put in some time for them if I know they might play! I just need to get some bigger circle hooks for when I am using these pound-plus baits. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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