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Date: September 3, 2023 Body of Water: Casco Bay - Maine Boat: amybaby22 With: A Target: Striped Bass Time: 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM Moon Phase: New plus five days; waning gibbous moon Tide: Low tide at 8:03 AM Conditions: Totally clear, very light to negligible wind, about 60 - 75 degrees. Water temperatures 58 - 62 degrees F (+/-), and the water is markedly clearing with shorter days. A joined me after a late start to the morning. With chores complete and the full day ahead of us, we looked forward to a pleasant session. We started our search for mackerel off Clapboard's east end, and within a couple of minutes, I had a double coming into the boat. I delayed reeling them in to allow A some time to deploy a Sabiki, just in case there were followers. That delay and a clumsy flub allowed both to escape the well, there were no followers, and after another 15 fruitless minutes, we were off to Hussey Sound. The flood tide was roaring in, and I found no bait in my primary corridor along College Island. I was lucky to land a single mack well down-current of the island. I decided to deploy the bait on College's northern, rocky shoreline, and worked my way along the steep edge of Long Island. Maybe it was a mismatch in size between the bass and the bait, perhaps it was the super-charged activity of the scared bait, or perhaps it was just an unathletic bass, but it took multiple swipes before the bait was finally engulfed. As the bass moved away, I wound tight, and the bait pulled free. The hook had turned and buried into the mack's side. It was still alive, though, and so I repositioned the hook and casted it back with a high arc to where I thought the bass might be. The splashing entry caught the bass' attention, and soon I was hooked up, again! One bait, two bites, and one 26-inch bass. At least the skunked was avoided! We crossed the sound to the red marker and looked for bait there. Again, I was fortunate to find a single bait. The flood continued, but the tide was not high enough for Cow Island, so I chose to visit Crow Island. I had fished almost all the way around the island without a touch. I was loitering in a protected eddy between rocky points at High Noon when my bait was positively slammed without warning. But once again, I reeled in just a bait with a buried hook. I tossed it back quickly and it raced toward the bottom in about 15 feet of water, but it was quickly intercepted. This was clearly a big fish, and it fought extremely stubbornly and deep. I never glimpsed the fish until it finally rolled boat side, exhausted, and passively slid into the net. At 35 inches, it's my largest to date on my medium-power Avid rod, but just another very nice fish from Crow. Two baits, four bites, two bass! With an empty livewell and now K on the phone, we puttered our way back to the landing. I'd secured my Striper Cup Limit for the week, we'd both had enough sun, and there was plenty ahead of us for the day. What do I have to say about this? I was very fortunate to complete two Hail Mary's on the same trip. But I have learned that it's always worth flipping a bait out quickly to a missed fish, if only because sometimes good things happen! The lack of reliable inshore bait had me thinking about the next day's effort. An offshore trip to Red Marker No. 2 and perhaps an early start to try a popper both seemed like good ideas. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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