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Date: August 6, 2023 Body of Water: Casco Bay - Maine Boat: amybaby22 With: Alone Target: Striped Bass Time: 9:30 AM - 1:45 PM Moon Phase: Full moon plus five days; waning gibbous moon Tide: Low tide at 9:22 AM Conditions: Clear, light southerly wind, about 70 - 80 degrees. Water temperatures 58 -62 degrees (+/-). I launched into the teeth of another slack low tide, going straight to Hussey Sound. I checked the deep water near the last red marker; finding nothing, I quickly headed offshore to Red Marker No. 2. The targeted bottom marks were within 10 feet or so of the can, but in the slack conditions and light wind, I could hover and drift over the marks without the electric motor. Forty-five minutes of effort gave me a solid dozen pollock and a couple of mackerel. A number of cunner joined the party, too, but these were released on the spot. I returned to Peaks Island, but tried a new stretch of shoreline. The ocean swell created a fair amount of wash along the southern face. I decided to try this bold ocean stretch for the first time. I found no biters! But I was, admittedly, cautiously staying away from any hazards in this new area, and my mackerel wisely insisted on swimming to the outside, deeper water, consistently avoiding the rocks and whitewater. By 11:45 or so, I moved and was setting up along the more familiar water along the eastern shoreline; there had been fish there yesterday, after all. After another swim without any action, I reeled my bait in and tossed it right along the rocks in a wave-swept spot. It didn't take long; my mackerel was taken with confidence, and I landed the first bass of the day, a surprisingly strong 26-incher. It was a slight upgrade for the Striper Cup, too; every inch counts, every week! My next mackerel swam for only a minute before getting "popped" off the hook. Still, another bass had revealed itself along the rocks, and so quickly after such a slow start. Now, I turned to the pollock as bait. But with proximity to the rocks being so obviously important, I less slow-trolled these as opposed to tossing them into potential areas, as defined by rock structure and/or wave action. In short, I went through my dozen pollocks pretty quickly. I lost a few to weedy rocks and torn flesh on the cast, but the majority got eaten! Hooking up was another story; I did best with shoulder-hooked baits, but still had many pulled hooks. I may have to resort to larger hooks to accommodate these "thicker" baits. I landed three additional bass, with two in the low-20s, and another "keeper" at 30 inches. All were pulled from adjacent to rocky edges, and most were contacted in a veritable washing machine of sloshing whitewater between rock points. The final count of "four" landed bass did not represent the potential catch or action that I experienced between Noon and 1:30 or so (advancing mid-flood). What do I have to say about this? It's good to know I have a reliable, backup bait stop, and I may be refining how to use the pollock as effective baits. Next time, I'll be sure to try some bigger hooks. It's August, and the fishing is tougher... but the weekend still yielded an unexpected blue, a solid Striper Cup entry with three "keepers" from 28 to 31 inches, and a bunch of other chances. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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