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Date: July 16, 2022 Body of Water: Casco Bay - Falmouth, Maine Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous Moon; Full Moon plus two days Boat: Landing and then amybaby22 With: Alone Target: Striped Bass Time: 4:30 AM - 1 PM Conditions: Low tide at 7:45 AM. Generally overcast; calm to mild SW wind and 55 - 70 degrees F. Water was green; water temperatures 55 degrees (+/-) in Hussey Sound and 61 degrees (+/-) along Falmouth shoreline. I arrived at the float with the tide higher than I prefer, only to find the current moving in the "wrong" direction, a new mooring and two lobster pots having been installed within my fishing radius, and my nearly-dead blood-worms to have been partially vulcanized with dehydration. But since it was still too dark to go out in the boat, I threaded one on and suspended it beneath a lighted float. On my third drift, as I was calculating how long I should stay under such unpromising conditions, my float jiggled and then winked out in the darkness. I wound tight and connected with a heavy fish. It fought doggedly but unspectacularly, and my estimate upon first sight was a solid 26 inches. I was way off, though, because she was, in fact, a solid 31-incher. While she did pull hard for the bottom the entire way, she never got her motor going and pulled only minor drag. Still, I was more than pleased with this start to my day. I connected with another on my very next drift, and this fish exploded and took off! I had images of a 35+ inch fish the entire fight, which featured some hot runs and impressive surface swirls. I was more-than-surprised when I got my first glimpse of this fish; she was smaller than expected; but at 29 inches, another solid "keeper" and a very respectable fish for me, any day. And with two beautiful fish before sunrise, this was a good day! When the sun finally peaked over the offshore cloud bank and nothing else had happened, I decided to switch my efforts to amybaby22. By 5:40 AM, I was underway, with the goal of securing some local mackerel for the live-well. I trolled one up almost immediately off Clapboard Ledge, but it took almost another hour for me to get two more by the Basket Island "channel", and one of these was too large for comfortably targeting stripers. I deployed my first bait near the inside turn on Sturdivant Island's SW ledge as predicted low approached. I had a solid take-and-run at 7 AM in about 13 feet of water, but the hook turned, the bait pulled, and I reeled in nothing but a dead mackerel. I hooked my other proper-sized mack and set it out for the rest of my drift/troll. This bait revealed multiple bass, but none of them committed to eating the bait. More of the same happed at the SW end of Basket Island, too. The bass were either too small or too satiated to eat. After gassing up at Handy's, I ran to Hussey Sound. I thought the mackerel might be active with cooler water and the developing incoming tide. But I was wrong! Despite trolling several different areas, I didn't get as much as a touch. I decided to deploy my well-used bait around College Island. The flood tide rushing over the shallow saddle joining College to Long Island created a small "rip" and I searched it with both a fluke and a swim-bait as I drifted through. No luck (it would have been automatic on Cape Cod, in my opinion), but I continued my drift with the current. I re-deployed my tired mack in the deeper (10-15 feet) water, and almost immediately drew the attention of a bass. Unfortunately, after a few swings-and-misses, the bass suddenly popped the bait off the hook. I threw some more casts with a swim-bait and the fluke in this area before resorting to my jumbo mack. This guy was active! He immediately got pushed to the surface, where I was able to enjoy a drawn-out, visible pursuit. Finally, he was taken off the surface with some confidence, and after a short run, I came tight to another nice fish. This third "keeper" of the morning taped out at 30 inches and filled my Striper Cup limit for the week. I stayed for another 2.5 hours, trying to get something good to happen. I tried Shimano Butterfly jigs to no avail. I covered lots of ground for only a single, mega-mack. This bait was harassed to death by Vaill Island, but proved too large for any local bass. I tried flukes and poppers in the wash along Vaill's rugged shoreline, but that was too hairy for me, this day. And I tried to make more macks in all the usual places, all to no avail. What do I have to say about this? The calm and cloudy morning were welcome. It's been quite a while since I've not been beaten by sun and wind. My third and last bass of the day was my 1500th documented striper! It took me about 20 years... hopefully the next 1500 won't take as long! I guess the day's (season's) story is simply quality over quantity. I've never caught three "keeper" bass (>28 inches) in a single session, until this day. While it could be due to weather, bait or randomness, I am still a little concerned about the current striper stock and future seasons. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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