The Landing

Date:  7-2-15

Body of Water:  Casco Bay, Maine

Boat:  None, floating dock

With:  Alone

Target:  Striped Bass

Time: 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Conditions: Quick scouting trip upon arrival; unfavorable climbing tide

Southern New England has been producing some monster cow strikers to at least 65 pounds, and the July full moon is noted for producing the largest bass of the season.  Now, not too many truly big bass make it to Maine, but virtually any of them are big enough for me.  My stay in Maine would be short; I'd fish simply from my access spot and either catch fish or not.  All indications were that I likely would.

Once again, this was a Food Chain Effort.   I'd start with casting a simple Kastmaster spoon.  I was at the mercy of the bait's presence; and while I got skunked this evening, I was somewhat buoyed by the presence of a hunting harbor seal nearby; his presence meant there must be bait-fish (most likely mackerel!) in the bay.

***

Date:  7-3-15

Body of Water:  Casco Bay, Maine

Boat:  None, floating dock

With:  Alone

Target:  Striped Bass

Time:  4:15 AM - 8 AM

Conditions:  Clear and bright; full moon all night; 61 - 63 F water; and possibly the perfect tide for this spot.  

I still had no bait after the previous night's skunk, so I really had no choice but to continue slinging the Kastmaster.  About 10 minutes in to the session, I felt the familiar thunk (tink?) of a mackerel.  This was a good development, but to my surprise and helplessness, a pack of stripers appeared at my feet and chased down my mack.  I free-lined it and felt the heavy take of the striper; I gave it a short leash and then closed the bait and came tight.  After a brief, uncontrolled tussle, the mackerel slipped from the striper's gullet (the hooks on the Kastmaster, already in the mackerel's face, are pretty darned small after all), and the fish went free.  But at least I now had some bait (a fresh mackerel head) that I could soak while I tried to get some more mackerel.  

As mentioned above, this might have been the best tide situation for this spot.  I seem to do best on stripers at the lower half of tides here; and I think the best fishing for bass often corresponds to 3/4 down the falling tide or 1/4 up the rising tide.  With the low tide about 1.5 hours after sunrise, this perfect tide corresponded to the low light levels conducive to bass fishing here.  And the water was notably clear, so I think fishing was currently improved during low light periods.  The stripers were certainly aggressive early on!  I encountered several packs at my feet, and multiple fish followed each hooked fish in to the float.

True to form, this turned out to be the most productive session of the trip.  It progressed with a steady stream of mackerel and bass possibilities.  Many of the mackerel were just a bit too big for the bass at hand and so got harassed to death as opposed to eaten; but whether as a livie or a chunk, each mackerel produced some sort of bass encounter.  I ended this session 3 for 5, with two on heads (the two biggest fish landed during the trip at 30-31 inches or so) and the one that I spoon-fed (virtually Figure-8'ed) at my feet.  I'm not counting all the other encounters (follows, unsuccessful surface hits on live macks, etc.) from this session, just the actual chances for a hook-up.

The first striper of this portion of the trip ate a spoon-hooked mackerel at my feet and provided an awesome fight on light bait-making tackle.  Before 5 AM!

This was the best fish of the morning.  It fell to a mackerel head freelined to the bottom.  Heads seem to produce bigger fish, on average, than chunks.

Another fine heading-eating striper from this first morning session.

***

This was a long holiday weekend, and so there was a lot going on.  I fished during mid-day when others weren't using the water and nothing else was scheduled.  Mackerel fishing was decent during these higher tides, but the bass were noncommittal during these periods.  Quite often a live mackerel would get chased, but not eaten, and quite often the mackerel were just too large for live-lining.  But here my niece's daughter, W, gives me a hand with collecting mid-day bait.  She enjoyed seeing the fish, and I enjoyed spending this time with her.

***

Date:  7-3-15

Body of Water:  Casco Bay, Maine

Boat:  None, floating dock

With:  Alone

Target:  Striped Bass

Time:  5 PM - 8:15 PM

Conditions:  Clear and bright; 67 - 69 F water; splitting the bottom half of the tide and so seemingly favorable.  

Here the specifics are going to start getting fuzzy, but I recall that I was 1 for 2 this evening.  Both hits came on floated sand worms that I had purchased from The Tackle Shop on India Street in Portland.  The proprietor still recognizes me and K, and still recalls his effort to get us a dipping net for peanut bunker (probably 13 or 15 years ago.)  Strangely enough, these were the only hits on worms ll trip; this was definitely the warmest water encountered.

Heads, chunks and even livies were ignored.  It's good to present them a variety and to be flexible with these fish.

***

Date:  7-4-15

Body of Water:  Casco Bay, Maine

Boat:  None, floating dock

With:  Alone

Target:  Striped Bass

Time: 4:15 AM - 8 AM

Conditions:  Less clear and bright; 63 - 65 F water; bottom half of the falling tide

Conditions were fishy and the action started quickly, but inexplicably faded.  I was 2 for 3, on a free-lined body chunk and on a livie under a float.  I did, however, have a follow on the spoon, and I saw two extremely large (way over 40 inches, each, and certainly the biggest fish I've ever seen in Maine) purposefully swim by the dock, nose-to-tail.  These fish were on the move and showed no interest in feeding.

I casually fished more later in the day, but again only mackerel came to hand.

***

Date:  7-5-15

Body of Water:  Casco Bay, Maine

Boat:  None, floating dock

With:  Alone

Target:  Striped Bass

Time: 4:30 AM -7AM

Conditions:  Cloudy and gray with a little fog and a little breeze; 62 - 63 F water; middle portion of the falling tide

I almost didn't go fishing this morning because I knew I was losing my tide, and I had a lot of work to do before starting our trip to New York and then home the following day.  Sleep would have been wise.  But you never know what might happen, and this would be my last chance (most likely) for the season, and so of course I went.  

I converted a small, live mackerel into a bass almost right away, so this was the proper decision.  But the event of the day took place a bit later when a freight train of a bass confidently took a live mack.  I came tight and fought a very nice bass for several minutes.  I was using my heaviest set-up with 30-lb braid and I was pressuring this fish as much as I dared to keep it away from moorings and such.  While I never completely saw the fish, it came to the surface and displaced impressive amounts of water with each swipe of the tail.  Unfortunately, some combination of pressure and duration wore out my leader; and another Big One got away.

Not a great way to end, but not a bad one, either.  I ended this portion of the trip with 7 bass from about 23 to 31 inches or so; saw a bunch of others, and of course, enjoyed my encounter with the final, big one.  This gave me a total of 10 for the year; not really impressive, but more than I've taken in the last couple/few years combined; not because of anything other than lack of time and access to these fish.  (I do live in Michigan, after all.)

A few random shots, in no particular order:

What do I have to say about this?

Throughout, fishing was pretty good; but it was never flat out awesome.  This was a small sample size, so it could be worthless for conclusions; but it could also be my little indication that striper stocks are indeed down.  But the fish I caught were all beautiful and hard pulling; and most were covered in sea lice; they were newcomers from the ocean into the bay.  I'm pleased to have had the chance to fish for them.

There was no clear pattern, other than the bass preferred live mackerel of a certain size.  Each of these was devoured.  Success among my other offerings (heads, chunks and worms) was about equal.

Standing in the same place, hoping and waiting for the fish to arrive can be frustrating, and I'd certainly love to have a boat available.  I thought it might be Arracuda this year; but with our short stays and tight schedules, it just didn't make sense.  On the other hand, there's a certain simplicity in accepting my land-bound condition and simply doing the best with what I'm given; The Landing has taught me that.  I probably should be fishing at night, but that's too disruptive to my schedule.  Instead, for now I'll do everything else I can to maximize my chances and the probability of executing them successfully.  Even the failures here are beautiful and fun.

I am fortunate to have access to a bountiful, ever-changing spot.  I am always amazed that there are stripers in my neck of the Atlantic Ocean.  I am further amazed that we occasionally find each other.

Reciprocation

Date:  7-1-2015

Body of Water:  Narragansett Bay, Bristol RI

Boat:  None, shore

With:  Alone, but with non-fishing A as company

Target:  Striped Bass

Time:  10 AM to Noon

Conditions:  Pretty high tide but falling; full moon; tough to reach any deeper water

A and I had a day and a half or so of unscheduled time in New England between events for the kids, and we positioned ourselves near Westport, Massachusetts.  This is right on the Rhode Island/Massachusetts line, on the South Shore, but still west of Cape Cod.  Martha's Vineyard is visible on the horizon, and while this wasn't a fishing vacation, there was a possibility of some big stripers or blues being in the vicinity.

As I researched salt water licensing requirements, I learned that RI and MA have a reciprocation agreement; they honor each other's salt water licenses.  Rhode Island's was $5 less expensive, so I soon purchased my first RI alt water license; and I was good to go, just about anywhere we were likely to go.

I remembered fishing off-shore from Bristol's Colt State Park during my last Rhode Island fishing trip, and there were some reports of bunker and bass in Narragansett Bay, and so that was our first visit.  I thought I'd found a couple of likely spots (a salt pond was draining with the falling tide; I had current and bait on my side), but ultimately (I think) the water proved to be just too shallow for mid-day summer bassing.  I had fun casting great distances, though; 12-pound Suffix NanoBraid and a 2-ounce spoon or plug are a good combination for distance; I was often casting into my backing.  

I tried several location here and off the point behind the pier, but nothing happened.  I was simply practicing for some other location.

A salt pond drains into the bay at Colt State Park in Bristol, RI.

I thought this obvious seam would hold fish.  It held a lot of small rain bait, but I never saw a sign of any predatory fish.  The fishing pier in the background produced a couple of porgies and lots of crabs on bait for others, but there was no sign of any predators.

Date:  7-1-2015

Body of Water:  Atlantic Ocean Surf, Westport, Ma

Boat:  None, shore

With:  Alone, but with non-fishing A as company

Target:  Striped Bass

Time:  Evening, dusk into dark

Conditions:  Pretty high tide; full moon; windy but protected

The previous evening, A and I had discovered the beaches of Westport, including Gooseberry Island.  A short causeway at the end of State Rt. 88 leads to a parking lot on this island; and the beaches and headland provide access to some surfcasting.  Most of the folks I witnessed fishing were soaking bait on the bottom in a casual manner, but I thought the surf and rocks, as well as the prominence of this island to the south, into the open ocean, could provide some serious fishing opportunities.  On the way back to the hotel, we found Westport Bait And Tackle, and so I started my fishing this evening with a stop here.  I wanted to make sure I wasn't way out of order; that in fact, this was a viable fishing plan.  I also confirmed that a top-water plug would be a good option, and so I picked up a Gibb's Pencil Popper and an Atom Bottle Popper to supplement my various swim baits, spoons and jigs.  In the end, I threw nothing but these new baits, and I developed a serious preference for the Gibb's lure; it was easy to walk the dog, vary the cadence land amount of spit it threw; and it got crashed a few times, too.  The Atom lure just seemed a bit too aggressive for this water (which proved to be pretty shallow, even at this peak tide.) 

Within 20 minutes or so of casting, I thought I saw a feeding fish hit the surface; and soon thereafter a fish attacked, but missed the Pencil Popper.  A bit later a fish crashed on the Atom Popper but also missed the hooks.  As darkness approached, I saw a few more fish break the surface, too.  These events all maintained my confidence, but it was still something of a surprise when a fish casually slurped the Gibb's off the surface.  I swung and set the hook; my rod bowed heavily and the drag slipped as the fish ran.  After a couple of moments of dogged fighting, the fish suddenly came off.  I couldn't believe it!  I thought I'd missed my chance!  It was just about time to leave, but A let me cast my way back to the car, and I was fortunate to score a small striper on my last cast.

I've got to admit it; I've caught hundreds of stripers in the last 15 years or so, but this was my first from Massachusetts; my first from the surf; and my first on a top-water.  What this fish lacked in size, it made up for in symbolic importance and satisfaction.

Full moon, high tide, a decent surf, an occasional feeding fish sighted and a submerged rock field; I had some confidence.

Finally, a striper (albeit a small one) on a top-water plug!  Last cast of the evening!

Date:  7-2-2015

Body of Water:  Atlantic Ocean Surf, Westport, Ma

Boat:  None, shore

With:  Alone

Target:  Striped Bass

Time:  Pre-dawn into early AM; (4:30 to 6:30 AM)

Conditions:  Pretty low tide; full moon

After such a pleasant trip, who wouldn't go back for more?  Somebody who knew the nature of this spot.  I was first in the parking lot the next morning, but I soon noticed that this beach was a different world at low tide.  As good as the previous evening was, this morning was frustrating and poor.  Mung and attached weeds in the ever-shallower water made working a lure virtually impossible, there were no signs of any fish, and for good measure I snapped off and lost my Gibb's lure.  I was back at the hotel in plenty of time to clean up for the day's scheduled events.

July 2 sunrise from Gooseberry Island.  Too bad it was low tide.

What do I have to say about this?

This area showed itself nicely and I am embarrassed to admit how truly local my upbringing was.  This wasn't because of closed-minded parents but rather because that's just the way things were at that time, at that place.  We had pretty much everything we needed within 10 miles or less; so why venture beyond?  I've been aware of this attitude through school and my professional/family life now in the Midwest; but apparently I am still ignorant as to the depths of the effects of my local youth.

I missed out on a lot!  I truly enjoyed the area and this time with A, and we look forward to poking around a bit in our future.  

There is so much that I didn't know, and never thought about asking about or looking for.  For instance, the Gibb's lure was produced on Hatch Street in my hometown of Cumberland, RI.  I went by the corner of Hatch and High Streets several times on any given normal day, but I never knew they were there.  Again, stripers were virtually absent from the bay during my youth, and totally absent from my life.  So why should I have known?  But I know I missed out.

So I'm glad to have moved to another region and to have experienced so much outside of New England.  I'm glad to have raised my family here in Michigan.  I'm glad we all will have the opportunities to research and choose our future options.  I'm glad to have time to reflect and make active choices with my life.

Keep at it; living and learning.  These couple of days provided a lot of opportunity for both endeavors.

East Bay II

Date:  7-18-15

Body of Water:  East Traverse Bay

Boat:  Numenon

With:  A and Ollie

Target: SMB

Time: 7 AM - 1:30 PM with a break for a mid-morning storm

Conditions:  Generally beautiful; warm and mild; but with a surprise storm that rolled through at about 9 AM.  Wind increased there-after as skies cleared; water was clear and about 68 F; SMB are suspected to be post-spawn

A actually woke up early, and we were packed and on the road by 4 AM. It was predicted to be the hottest day of the summer (so far), and I actually started to get concerned about fog over the coolish waters of the bay as we progressed north.  But we arrived with no concerns, and we were quickly set up on the break outside an area where I'd encountered spawning bass during my previous trip.

Another beautiful morning!

What better way to find smallies than with a jerk-bait and a topwater?  The Yozuri Prop bait drew the first hit after about 15 minutes of working the break.  Since my Shadow Rap had been ignored I threw a 3-inch Power Grub into the mix and immediately hooked up in 19 feet; I broke the ice with a small keeper bass.  That proved to be it here, so we moved north; again to target breaks outside known spawning areas.

The largest bass of the day showed itself from 20 or more feet of water as it attacked the Yozuri.  I waited for the weight...but it missed! I love throwing this bait, but it wasn't putting anything in the boat; so I was soon drop-shotting.  By this time, skies were clouding up and A was monitoring a line of thunderstorms approaching the area.  Just as I caught the largest bass of the day (Uncle Josh Pork Worm on the drop-shot in about 24 feet of water; but only about a 2-pounder), the clouds seemed to accelerate towards us.  

I am getting used to drop-shotting!

Moments later we were heading back to the ramp.  Ollie is seeking safety on my lap.

We packed up and raced to the ramp; we pulled the boat just in time for the rain and wind to hit.  We weathered the storm in comfort; we had food, drink, and a roof over our heads.  Ollie was doing great, and it looked to be a quick-moving storm, so we just waited it out.

Ninety minutes or so later we were back on the water.  At first we stayed close to the ramp.  By now we were both drop-shotting.  We had some bites, but not the bites we were looking for.  With the weather now clearly behind us, we went back across the bay to the eastern break.

We quickly caught a few fish from 24 to 37 feet deep.  But, I stubbornly worked areas from 20 to 30 feet deep that looked good on the graph; these didn't pay off.  With our time winding down, I finally returned to our "spot" and caught a couple more while expanding our range into deeper water.  The last bass was from 50 feet deep; new territory for me.

What do I have to say about this?

This was another long day, but all went well.  (Numenon did surprisingly sputter a bit at first, but worked fine once the fuel was really flowing.)  This was only my second time on this water, under very different conditions, and while the fishing wasn't fantastic, it was pretty satisfying.  The last few fish from 37 to 50 feet deep were the deepest smallies I've ever successfully targeted.  The trip has given me quite a bit more confidence in drop-shotting, as well as for tackling new, big water.  

As I review my logs, I realize that the water was only about a degree warmer than my previous trip.  I didn't even consider looking for spawning fish; the boat was never shallower than 10 feet or so (and then, only momentarily!)  I totally concentrated on the main break and beyond.   Perhaps the bass were still spawning; I may have missed out on an opportunity for A to have fished visually.  Oops! 

But A will love this even more under other conditions, and Ollie tolerated everything very well.  I love smallies and the setting.  We will all be back!

Traverse Bay at Last

Date:  6-28-15

Body of Water:  East Traverse Bay

Boat:  Numenon

With:  Alone

Target: SMB

Time:  7:30 AM to 1:30 PM

Conditions:  Nice!  Clear, bright and calm, with water temperatures from 65 To 67 F. Bass were everywhere with respect to the spawn.

A friend of mine sent some pictures of some fine smallies he'd caught earlier in the week.  With his intel, a bit of encouragement through facebook advertising, and having done my homework on Lake Leelanau earlier in the month, I finally did it.  That is to say, I launched the boat on Michigan's Traverse Bay in pursuit of smallmouth bass.  

While the fishing wasn't quite as good as I'd experienced on Lake St. Clair or Lake Leelanau earlier in the season, it was still a very nice experience.  Once again I can only shake my head that it has taken me this long to finally tackle some of these fisheries.

Upon arrival at the ramp, I was greeted with this very good sign!  I follow this guide on facebook, and he fishes a variety of waters in Northern Michigan in search of the best bite.  He could have been many other places this day, but he was here!

Numenon finally sits in the beautiful waters of Traverse Bay.  This is the ramp on Old Mission Peninsula on the west side of East Bay.  The best water for this day was directly across the bay.

The specific information I had indicated sight fishing for spawners; and I even had a pretty precise starting point.  This panned out okay for me, but the fishing just got better as I explored to the north.  This is big water, and I expect if one isn't happy with the current situation here one can move and find bass in a condition more to one's liking.  I got more precise with my presentations and more confident as the day progressed; and the bass seemed to be getting bigger.  

And I should note, that while most fish succumbed to an Uncle Josh Pork Worm presented drop-shot style, I caught the biggest bass on a smokey 3" Power Grub.  This produced big bass either slowly retrieved on blind casts through likely areas, or dropped directly into beds and "left dead" for a while, until the resident bass picked it up.  My bass fell from areas between 3 and 10 feet deep, although the bigger ones were definitely on the deeper side, and I bet even bigger bass were spawning deeper.  The clear waters of the bay would certainly support this.

Miles and miles of such water; I caught most of my bass sight-fishing in the clear, green shallows, but I found a pile of bass along this break into the deep blue water.

Each of these is a different fish, I promise!  No giants were encountered, but these are all respectable fish; and there were many other smaller, un-photographed fish, too.

I actually left the bass to explore the western shore of the bay before my time ran out.  I have to admit, the extensive flats on the bay's east side seemed to hold many more (obvious) bass.  

What do I have to say about this?

It was a long day trip, but what a day!  It provided a nice contrast of new and old; I'm learning sight fishing and the use of drop shot techniques, and I'd never used Uncle Josh's Pork Worms before.  But the good old Power Grub on a light jig head (variations of which I've been fishing with for 40 years or more) produced the biggest and finickiest fish.

This is clearly a beautiful setting; much more so than Lake St. Clair.  It's a scooch closer to home, too, so I'll have to spend more time here in the future.

Admittedly, I've got lots to learn.  Being able to see the bass certainly boosts one confidence, and now that I know some good spawning areas, I'll have  a lot of confidence visiting these areas in the colder, pre-spawn conditions of earlier spring.  I'm intimidated by the deeper water, but I bet I can call some up with top waters and/or jerk baits; and I can only get better and more confident with drop-shotting and Carolina rigging.

Tough Time

Date: 7-11-15

Body of Water:  Reeds Lake

Boat:  Numenon

With: A (partial)

Target: LMB

Time: 5:30 AM - 11 AM

Conditions: Generally overcast and mild; mild southerly winds; water temps 75 - 76 F; murky

It was "Back to Reality" as I launched Numenon on Reeds Lake on my first trip, post-vacation.  Conditions started super-still and I appeared to be first out on the lake.  As I neared my first underwater hump, a lightless bass-boat scurried  to my spot.  I shared the water with them, and I even took a 15-inch bass on a slow-rolled spinnerbait along the hump's deep weed-edge on my first cast; but not much else, good, happened for the rest of the trip.

Nothing bad happened either; but the water seemed "off", I seemed "off" and out-of-practice; and I never really got it going.  I did catch a deep-water pike (smallish keeper) on a drop-shotted Uncle Josh Pork Worm; and I momentarily hooked an apparently large bass on a bulging spinnerbait over the weedy top of another hump; but a pattern never really developed.  As it got hotter, and more and more skiers came out, it was easy to pull the plug and head home.

What do I have to say about this?

I am ever-aware of Regression to the Mean; not all trips can be relatively great; in the end, all will average out.  Oh well.  Nothing bad happened, A brought me some iced coffee, and she seemed to enjoy jigging over the side of the boat and watching her grub swim.  There's nothing wrong with sharing time like that!  Finally, Reeds Lake is blessedly close!  I need an easy trip every so often.  All these factors help mitigate a trip where the fishing is less-than-average.

Baker's Perfection

Date:  6-24-15

Body of Water: Baker Lake

Boat:  Arracuda

With: K and A

Target: LMB

Time: 6 - 9 PM

Conditions: Overcast, calm and quiet.  Water and Air in the mid-70s

I finally got Arracuda prepared for the season, and so we went to Baker Lake on a beautiful, calm summer weeknight.  We both arrived and left a bit early for the best bass fishing, but this was really about sharing the evening together, not the quality of the fishing.  A Zoom Fluke around the thick weed edges did much better than anything else (usually Senkos rule here), and while we caught 10 or more bass, probably only three were legal-sized or better.  So the fishing wasn't great, but the company was!

A public West Michigan lake with no boat traffic!

Zoom Flukes caught just about everything this evening.

First non-tiny bass of the evening.

Fishing with K and A on a calm summer's evening; "Perfection".

What do I have to say about this?

K is off to grad school and it was a pleasure to share the evening with her.  As an added bonus, we got off the lake before the mosquitoes got bad.  Unfortunately, we were too early for the firefly show on the drive home.  Everything was put away by 10 PM and I was fresh at my desk the next day.  Arracuda makes certain things easier; and my girls make all things better.  It really was a perfect evening.