|
Date: May 27, 2023 Body of Water: Casco Bay - Falmouth and Cumberland, Maine Moon Phase: First Quarter Moon (waxing) Boat: amybaby22 With: Alone Target: Striped Bass Time: 6:30 AM - 1 PM Tide: High at 5:17 AM, Low at 11:41 AM Conditions: Clear and bright with light NW winds <10 mph; 45 - 70 degrees. Water temperatures generally 52 - 54 degrees (+/-), but a degree or so warmer in Broad Cove (55 degrees +/-). Summer arrived with Memorial Day Weekend; the perfect weather didn't seem conducive to fast striper action. Plus, the tides were "off" for my local Falmouth base of operations, and so I slept in a little bit and skipped the shore fishing before running the skiff to the mouth of the Presumpscot River with the beginning of the ebb. I ran under the Route 1 bridge and into the bay. I picked up the edge of the adjacent flats and started a slow, downstream drift, fan-casting a small swim-bait and scanning all directions for any indication of fish. Some gulls were making a commotion upstream; this turned out to be a group of seals riding the current from the river and into Casco Bay. Obviously, they'd expected to find some fish! As did the few boats that joined me (with most pressing further upstream); but most left before I did, looking for something better. Next, a tube-and-worm slow-trolled with the current went untouched for a couple of passes (although I did mark some bait and bottom-hugging fish). I left the river and went to nearby Pomroy Rock. A couple of hours into the ebb, this area had lots of current and seams to hide bass, and it looked really good; but a thorough search with swim-baits found nothing. I repeated that result (mixing in the tube-and-worm, too) at Halfway Rock, The Brothers and Prince Point and Ledge. It just wasn't happening! Approaching 10 AM, the tide was right, even if the conditions were brutal for fishing suspended worms off the Falmouth shoreline. Recalling DV's daytime beast from last year, I decided to give it a shot, if only to kill some time before running to Broad Cove at the change of tide. Spot-locked off a dock a bit west of "home", my first drift with a suspended worm resulted in a solid pull-down and connection. Somehow, the 3/0 circle hook pulled mid-way through the fight, and I remained fishless for the day. Another 45 minutes of effort yielded nothing, and so with slack low at hand, I ran to Broad Cove. I ran as far up the gut as I dared before setting out my tube-and-worm. A long pass along the gut's edge produced nothing! I pulled my line and pondered my next move; another pass, or home for a shower and nap? Fortunately, I noticed some terns off in the distance, up on the three-foot flat beyond the gut's end. They seemed to diving, and were certainly worth checking out. As I slowly approached, I could tell they were, indeed, diving, and there were intermittent surface splashes from fish, too. It wasn't exactly a blitz, but there was at least a congregation of active fish within casting range! They turned out to be selective! I couldn't see what they were eating, but they universally ignored Albie Snax, a dog-walker, and a small 3-inch swim-bait. This reminded me of my experience on Duxbury Harbor, and so I tried a frantic "Bayman Bounce" retrieve with the small NLBN swimmer; and it worked! After six hours of effort, I'd finally connected with and landed a striper for the day. This 23-incher was worth the effort, and there was some gratification in re-purposing experiences to find a new, local solution. When I looked up from releasing this fish, the birds and bass were gone. A few more casts went untouched, and so I reverted to simply watching. Soon enough, the activity reconstituted itself a quarter mile away over about four feet of water. Here, I made quick work on three more bass (23, 25 and 30 inches) before they dispersed again. This had been pretty good fishing in clear, shallow water on a bright day, and I'll look for this pattern to repeat itself again! What do I have to say about this? Stripers are easy to work for, because if something's not producing, you simply have to change. Whether it's location or presentation, the fish have to tell you when you've done something correct. More importantly, you have to listen when you're not. A lot of effort went into this day's modest catch, but I think the experience will ultimately outweigh that simple metric. I crossed paths with a reputable, local fly guide several times over the course of the day, and so my strategies seem valid. He was working every bit as hard as I was, and we ended on the same group of fish! We'd both independently found the same solution for the day's puzzle. I'll be back on this pattern (soon?) to try my hand on these fish with the long wand. I'm a little baffled at the difficulty of the current fishing, but things will certainly settle down into more familiar patterns. In the meantime, I'll keep working and learning. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Steve LachanceRI --> NH --> MI-->MA-->ME Archives
June 2024
Categories
All
|
Proudly powered by Weebly