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Date: August 1, 2021 Body of Water: Casco Bay, Falmouth, Maine Moon Phase: New Moon minus seven days; waning quarter moon Tides: High Tide at 6:14 AM; Low Tide at 12:13 PM Boat: amybaby22 With: Alone Target: Striped Bass Time: 7 AM - 2:15 PM Conditions: Variously clear to hazy clouds; about 65 - 75 degrees F, but with increasing southerly winds; water temperatures 60 - 62 Knowing the float conditions would not be tidally favorable, and needing to sleep, my only plan was to skip the early, land-based fishing and to arrive on my boat when I was good and ready. Usually, I have a more specific plan than that. Fortunately, my planning experience is always with me, even when I don't have a fully formulated plan for the day. Conditions were bright, still and lifeless as I motored out of the anchorage. After a quick, unsuccessful troll through my usual haunts around Clapboard Island in search of mackerel, I ran toward Hussey Sound to look. A seal and a surface dimple indicated a hint at a chance to find some, but that quick effort was also fruitless. I continued my run to the north face of Cow Island. Here, the current was flowing pretty nicely along the shoreline in an eastward direction. I casted the shoreline, first with a popper, and then with a mackerel-imitating Rapala X-Rap. I rounded the eastern point of Cow without a sign of a fish, so I ran to College Island. I was going to do more of the same, if only to have any fish simply reveal themselves, but when I noticed a tiny rip forming with the outgoing tide at the island's eastern end, I decided that such a feature would certainly hold fish on Cape Cod! I picked up my light swim-bait setup and connected with a 22-inch striper on my first cast! Whew, I was finally off the skunk, even if this smallish bass might have been a humble, dribbling single. I was back in the game! Unfortunately, the current had swept me through the rip and holding water behind it. It took a few casts and a repositioning from the opposite side to connect with my next fish; this fat 25-incher fought awesomely well on my light tackle and in the current. Plus, this fish probably revealed the hidden juice on this new-to-me feature. This spot wasn't part of my plan, but will certainly inform future planning sessions. After a few more fruitless drifts, a search for other mini-rips, and some casting with a jig-rigged Hogy, I decided to look for some mackerel just off College Island with the dropping tide. In about half an hour, I had nine or ten in the live well. I took off for Vaill Island. Based on my limited bait supply, I again chose to slow-troll my mackerel in lieu of casting to the shoreline rocks. Weeds were abundant and the water here was super clear; my first pass revealed nothing. I extended my second pass to the northwestern portion of the island, and my mackerel was ambushed right in the shadow of a boulder. A nice 25-incher completed my Striper Cup fulfillment requirements. I loitered here perhaps too long, fishing a nearly complete circuit of the island without another touch. Now at just about slack low tide, I decided to check out a new-to-me stretch of shoreline along the southern face of Cow Island. I figured the precipitous drop into deep water, combined with the increasing wind-driven wave action pounding into the island could make for some decent opportunities. I was right! As I approached, I marked a pile of active, mid-water fish over modestly deep water. Nearer to shore, these marks were closer to bottom; but I called my first strike here based on what I saw, and was especially pleased to learn that it was a legal "keeper" at a fraction over 28 inches long. This was a nice introductory fish for my new spot! It was, of course, carefully released. Several subsequent drifts through here revealed other fish and several takes and top-water explosions. Unfortunately, I didn't hook up on any. Still marking bottom-oriented fish, I even gave up on the mackerel and switched to a tube-and-worm for a single pass, without success. Now at Cow's southeastern tip, I switched back to my last two mackerel. Both were eaten, almost simultaneously just off the northeastern corner of the island. The hook turned into one bait, but the other connected with another 25-inch bass. I was out of fin-fish bait, but not wanting to leave these obviously active fish, I turned to the tube again; but once again, for naught. What do I have to say about this? I have adopted General Eisenhower's wisdom with respect to plans, planning, and their relative value. While a specific plan can always prove to be worthless, worthy only of abandonment, the process of planning is indispensable and is the foundation for any success. A day such as this illustrates the idea; changes in gear were based on utilizing my collected experience and abandoning courses of action that weren't working. Of course, I think I need to get better at recognizing when to pull the trigger on a change in plan, and I need to more efficiently recognize new opportunities. But I think I'm doing okay in my inaugural season "at home" in Maine. My radius of experience isn't expanding as rapidly as I had planned, but I am adjusting as I go and making the most of situations (new and old!) as they present themselves. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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