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Date: April 20, 2020 Body of Water: Mystic River and Walden Pond Moon Phase: New Moon minus two days Boat: None, Shore fishing with waders With: Alone Target: Stripers and Stocked Trout Time: 9 AM - 2 PM Conditions: Generally overcast; 45 - 50 degrees F, with light winds from the north and east. High Tide for Boston Harbor was predicted at about 10:30 AM. The water remains very clear. Patriots' Day was a noted marker on my mental calendar throughout my recent move and the past winter. I was going to take advantage of this unique holiday and enjoy Spring! The boats would be ready, the stripers would be arriving, it would be warm and calm, and the Sox would win their morning game at Fenway. Oh well, not this year. Instead, I decided to take a break from trout and check out the local herring conditions on the Mystic River. The gray skies, cool temperatures and morning start all worked against me, and of course, there were no signs of active fish at either the Amelia Earhart Dam or at the base of the dam between Upper and Lower Mystic Lakes. A dozen or so mostly idle cormorants, the resident eagle and at least one osprey were all indications that herring were not out of bounds; and so, stripers were a possibility. Still, swim-baits, slow jerk-baits and grubs elicited no action at all. After such a slow start, casting for trout seemed more appealing and so I relocated to Walden Pond. This time, I waded to a prominent point on the north side, where I could reach deeper water with my casts. But, in over two hours of effort with an expanding array of lures and Powerbait, I did not raise a single fish. What do I have to say about this? Patriots' Day must also be the unofficial start of the local boating season, as I observed a half dozen craft at Walden, having not seen a single one in previous visits. Their fishing seemed slow, too, but one boat passing by indicated two strikes and a single rainbow. His fish had hit a Rapala off a down-rigger, 20 feet down over deep water. The only insect life I noted was a sparse hatch of small midges. Sporadic rises, mostly over deep water, indicated some feeding action. Perhaps imitating these is the key to unlocking these fish, but fly-fishing from Walden's shoreline is out of the question. I'll keep thinking about this, undoubtedly. Still, when uncrowded, Walden does present itself well, and it is a peaceful, scenic place to try for a beautiful fish. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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