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Date: June 20, 2022 Body of Water: Casco Bay - Falmouth, Maine Moon Phase: Waning Quarter Moon Boat: amybaby22 With: Alone Target: Striped Bass Time: 9 AM - 3 PM Conditions: Low tide at 10:55 AM. Super clear; NNE wind in excess of 15 mph and 55 - 65 degrees. Water was green and becoming more stained; water temperatures 55 degrees (+/-). A slow start to the mackerel fishing between Sturdivant and Basket Islands, combined with the very strong NNE wind, meant that my first bass attempt was on the protected south side of Basket Island. I'd not yet fished here, despite its proximity to the landing. While I was seeking mackerel, I was noticing the rugged shoreline and various hazards extending into the water. I figured I'd try swimming a mack on the lee side, where I'd have the best bait control. I'd gone the length of the island without any action, but the mackerel sure seemed nervous. As I approached the west end, I maneuvered the boat as close to some boulders as I felt I could and slid through the water. Sure enough, I saw the rod telegraph the hit on the trailing bait. My mini-slump was over. I admired and released the cleanly-hooked 24-incher. It's always a pleasure to find stripers in new spots! Duly noted; this happened one hour before scheduled low tide. I left to find more bait. I expanded my search radius but still hit the lee shore of Sturdivant with only a pair of mackerel. I commenced my search about half-way down the south side of the island and worked to the west; I'd fished the other half of this shoreline the previous day. As I approached some boulders in an inside turn, my mack was cracked on top and the bass ran with it. When the hook pulled, I could still feel the weight of the bait and so dropped it in place. Sure enough, it got picked up again, only for the hook to pull again! I retrieved my bait and saw a nice bass following it. I quickly re-hooked the dead bait through the jaw and nostril (the hook had buried into the mack's side when the bass originally hit) and retrieved it like a jerk bait. Once again, the bass was interested, but did not trigger. I followed up with a pencil popper and then circled through with the other livie a couple of times with no further reaction. So I relocated a few hundred yards up the shore and deployed the tube-and-worm. As I was leaving the boulder field on my first pass in about 14 feet of water, the tube got crushed. A very hard-fighting striper of 26 inches came aboard. I don't know if this were the same fish, but it was the right approximate size of the bass I'd sighted and sure had the right attitude! Duly noted; this was about one hour into the flood. I circled through again with nothing to show for it (except a lost tube). So I was back to making macks again. Expanding my range further, I put three more in the well in about 15 minutes. I figured that should be sufficient for me to end the day. I decided to stay close at first and continued my exploration of Sturdivant's shoreline and the adjacent Sturdivant Ledge. Nothing happened here, and I noted a colony of seals on the rocks at the end of the ledge. Perhaps their presence explained the apparent lack of bass around here. I relocated to the eastern end of Clapboard and surprisingly, struck out. I was off to the western end. This was very exposed to the wind, but I was able to establish a controlled drift in about 12 feet of water. In another boulder-filled corner, I had an extended chase, grab, and drop. Despite swimming my remaining macks extensively in this area and beyond, that was my last action of the day. What do I have to say about this? The fishing wasn't great, but it was a beautiful (albeit windy) day! I ground my way to some mild success, and I now have two new spots that I hope to turn into two new productive areas. It will take some some to develop their potential, but who knows what I will find along the way? At the very least, I know they are fishable during periods of strong, northerly winds. Each bite I experienced was on a presentation directly adjacent to a prominent boulder. Perhaps I'd do better casting macks to these targets, as opposed to slow-trolling them with the boat, but I certainly don't have enough bait (yet) to do so. And perhaps when more fish filter in, their competitive nature will get more of them committed to making mistakes. It was a long day and a lot of effort for just two stripers, but it was still a really good one, in my judgment. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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