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Date: September 24, 2021 Body of Water: New Meadows River, West Bath, Maine Moon Phase: Full Moon plus four days; waning gibbous moon Tides: Low Tide at 7:51 AM; High Tide at 1:57 PM Boat: amybaby22 With: Alone Target: Striped Bass Time: 9:30 AM - 3:00 PM Conditions: Generally overcast; about 75 degrees F; unusually persistent and brisk southerly wind > 15 mph; water temperatures about 64 +/- in bay, 68 +/- in the river I picked up the skiff from Bamforth Marine and launched her at Sawyer Park. I was going to try a new port and some new water; the New Meadows River and environs. A new acquaintance has caught some very nice stripers out of this launch, and I was looking forward to the challenge of some new-to-me water. The ramp worked fine, even at the low tidal stage. I had miles in front of me, without any specific, local knowledge. I stopped to make some unsuccessful casts over some active rain bait, but continued downriver. I was hoping to see some bird, bait, or bass activity; none was evident. And so I continued downriver, now looking for some deeper, mackerel-holding water. The river opens up around Bragdon Island/Bragdon Rock, and it's here that I encountered the first water over 40 feet deep. I also saw a gull dive on bait and come up with a herring or small mackerel. The wind was also churning the open water, and I really didn't want to continue much further into the open; and so I started to troll my Sabiki with the incoming tide and wind along Bragdon Island's eastern edge. In fairly short order, I had a dozen baits in the well. Most came as singles from 45 - 60 feet of water, and jigging with about 25 - 30 feet of line out was most productive (once I had made first contact by trolling). I relocated to the lee of the Three Islands area. The promise of a variety of depths, a few charted rocks, some flying birds and plenty of water to check drew me in. It didn't take me long to find what I was looking for; some current, some structure and cover, and some serious marks on the finder! A 50-yard stretch (and that's being generous) provided plenty of action, especially on my first couple of passes. I ran through my available mackerel in about 90 minutes; each one got eaten, crashed, plucked or harassed to death. Each of the five stripers I caught was between 24 and 26 inches, in good shape and hardy. In addition to these five, many others entertained me with their chases, top-water smashes and drawn-out pursuits. A few of the macs were outsized, and a couple of hooks turned, so the catching wasn't quite as good as the fishing; but that was okay! When my last mackerel turned into a series of top-water misses, I decided to augment my bait supply (for later; even if for ice-fishing for pike). I returned to Bragdon and added a half dozen to the body count in short order. I headed upriver to end the day. I decided to slow-troll the No Wake zone with a tube and worm. I got all the way to the ramp without a bump, but at least I'd covered some additional new water. I was off the water a little past 3 PM and the skiff was in the new garage (for the first time, ever) by 4 PM. It had been a good day! What do I have to say about this? It was nice to be re-united with the skiff; her problems were simply a frozen thermostat, and she ran great, all day. She's back to her trusty self and maybe there's a few weeks of striper fishing left to 2021! What a way to spend a weekday! This productive exploration was well worth the investment of some time off. The landscape looked like the Canadian Shield to me, and I could have been pike, walleye or smallmouth fishing. With ospreys, eagles and a seal (way upriver) around, it was only a matter of time before I found some fish of my own. And they were my own; I didn't see another sport fisherman all day! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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