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Date: April 18, 2021 Body of Water: Waquoit Bay - Falmouth, Massachusetts Moon Phase: New Moon plus 6 days; waxing crescent Tides: Low Tide at about 10:30 AM; rising throughout Boat: amybaby22 With: Alone Target: Striped Bass Time: 11:15 AM - 3:30 PM Conditions: About 52 - 55 degrees; mixed sun and clouds; northerly winds swinging to a stiff southwest breeze; water was clear and 48 - 52 degrees F I endured this self-imposed skunk in order to try to find my earliest-ever saltwater striper. At the opportunity cost of Ashumet Pond trout, I chose to fish the salt for the first time this year. I thought I was likely too early in my Cape Cod waters of choice, but I also thought there was at least a chance that I'd surprise and prove myself wrong. At the Childs River boat ramp, I was pleased to find 52-degree water. I've heard that 50 degrees is some sort of magic mark for striper activity. While the ocean waters outside the bay were clearly colder (and likely a barrier to the arrival of migrating stripers), perhaps any resident holdovers would be awakened and on the prowl for a good meal. I motored downriver to my favored starting point. My timing was off with respect to tide; I arrived just after slack low, and any incoming water would likely cool off the water here. Still, it maintained a 50-degree surface temperature. Unfortunately, my graph showed that my fishing hole was vacant; and my small swim-bait and Crippled Herring spoons remained untouched. Other than jellyfish, this area was seemingly devoid of life. My next stop was at the top of Waquoit, near the Waquoit Bay Yacht Club and along Caleb Pond's outlet. Here, a sand shelf drops into locally deep water. Water temperatures here were slightly below 50 degrees. Some idle birds (cormorants and gulls) indicated that bait was a possibility, but I saw no sign of such. Ospreys were locally abundant too, but more interested in territories and building nests than fishing. I ran down Waquoit and up Great River. After a few casts along favored sod banks, I entered and explored Jehu Pond. The "deep" water here was my next -best guess as to where stripers could over-winter. Jehu, too, was devoid of fish activity. An extraordinary abundance of ospreys were setting up their homes, though, so I expect that fish will soon arrive. And, while I didn't do too well with stripers inside Jehu last fall, I certainly observed a lot of bait there. Next I returned to my starting spot, if only to keep it honest; still no sign of fish. Before calling it quits, I decided to catch the last of the strong incoming tide at the small outlet at Menauhant. The water here was cooler (48 degrees) and too filled with mung to effectively fish. I scouted instead with my sonar. While I marked no fish of interest, I found some water of surprising depth; this might hold better fish than I've given credit in the past. I thought about pushing as far up Childs River as possible to find the warmest possible water and to continue my quest for a holdover; but by this time, I was pretty cold, myself. I knew I had the next day to explore, too; I called it quits, thereby securing my first Falmouth Skunk with amybaby22, ever. It was bound to happen, especially as I push the boundaries of my experience. What do I have to say about this? You don't really know what you don't know; until you know it! And while I still don't fully know the holdover potential here, I've started to flesh out my understanding. At least I know I am not missing out on something easy and productive! The opportunity cost was relatively small, and I'm glad I invested my day in this endeavor. Plus, I'd not a single real problem for the day! Finally, as I type this, it's an unseasonably warm 75 degrees outside and the wind is howling out of the southwest. Westerlies look to continue all week; maybe the stripers will sail with the wind up the coast and find my estuarine haunts before my next trip! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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