Teeth like razor blades and glowing eyes!

What an interesting weekend...I saw every possible extreme of conditions due to Hurricane Katia that was churning off the east coast.  One morning the water was as smooth as I've ever seen it, the next day there were the largest waves I'd ever seen at that particular area.  The fishing was just as different too!

The morning with the glassy water brought a ton of fish, I managed to land Scup and Bluefish.  In addition to the water being calm it was also clear and fairly free of sea weed.  I saw tons of little minnows and hundreds of little jelly fish (they looked like moon jellyfish to me, but I'm no expert.)  It was only my second encounter with blue fish...My first one ended up with a lost lure, this time I also lost another lure, but at least landed two snapper blues of about 13 or 14 inches.  The lure I lost was a diamond jig that I had hooked directly to the snap on my braid.  It was a great fight and I suspect that the fish was in the 5 to 8 pound range and a corresponding 20 to 25 inches.  Too bad I wasn't using a wire leader or I might have landed the biggest fish of my short fishing career!  It was a great fight though and I was glad for the experience, but maybe not for the trip to the B&T to buy a replacement lure.

Trips to the local B&T are always fun...but also always expensive.  I don't really mind giving this particular B&T my money though as they have always been kind and helpful.  This time they managed to sell me a replacement diamond jig, a handmade 6 inch 1 3/4oz pencil popper, and a two pack of mackerel.  They also gave me some great location info that I will have to remember for next time.  Sometimes it pays to pay!

The next morning couldn't have been more different as there was a 20 to 30 mph wind and huge waves made conditions awful.  Every time I would bend down to cut some mackerel a "rogue" wave would make sure that I ended up wet.  This was the first time that waves had regularly topped this particular jetty.  Once I had set up I commenced casting only to find that if I didn't snap the bail closed as soon as the sinker hit the water I would end up spooling an extra thirty or forty yards of line out in a wide arc between the tip of my rod and the water.  The wind was also so strong that I found it nearly impossible to distinguish the bites from the wind and waves.  I'd cast about ten times when I was approached by another fisherman...odd for this early in the morning and when none of the other jetties were occupied...Oh well, it turned out to be a nice babushka (head scarf and all) offering me fresh squid if I would give her any Scup that I didn't want.  We made polite small talk over the roar of wind and waves but I decided to leave her to it.  I bid her good luck and wished that I could remember how to pronounce that famous Russian toast "Za uspiekh nashevo beznadioshnovo diela" (to the success of our hopeless task.)  Of course I wasn't sure if she was Russian or not, she was certainly Eastern European but I couldn't be sure much beyond that, I just thought that it was a perfect sentiment for the conditions.

That ended my fishing for the weekend as the day didn't improve and my motivation to endure the crappy conditions was non existent.  I hope to make it out one afternoon this week, but we'll see, real life calls and there is much to do around the house.  I just hope I don't miss the fall run entirely.

Fall run???

I am looking forward to this coming weekend as I will make it back to my favorite jetty to see what I can snag.  I'm really looking forward to bringing home dinner as we will have friends with us.  Not that I'm looking to show off or anything, but I feel like I'm really getting the hang of things and more specifically my equipment.  I'm also excited to use a new rod and reel that I got; it's an Abu Garcia level-wind on a 6 foot stand-up rod.  An odd combo by some accounts, but perfect for me.  I'm planning to use it for pier and eventually boat fishing.  It will be my first "conventional" reel experience.  I'm also hoping that the lighter weight and shorter length will work better for the significant other.  I may also have a fishing buddy if our friend wants to hit the surf with me.  It would be nice to "teach" a little as I've always found the best way to truly learn and retain something it to teach it.

There will also be some new hooks on my line this time out.  Despite the relative jump in price I sprung for some cutting point hooks by Owner.  I have a feeling that my self sharpened "cheap" hooks aren't doing the job as I have significantly more bites than hookups.  I'll also be trying some thin wire hooks as teasers in hopes that I can bring more fish to shore, even if to only use them for bait.

Well, expect a full report upon my return.  Here's hoping for good luck and tight lines!

Mackerel shortage??? No shortage of Scup though!

I finally managed to make it back down to the water to do some fishing this weekend.  A long string of little things, better known as real life, conspired to keep me from the beach for longer than I’d hoped.  I will say that my break from the jetty probably came at a perfect time as I’ve heard nothing but sob stories from fellow anglers who have been repeatedly skunked in the late summer fishing slowdown.  I’m really looking forward to the fall run and maybe even hooking a nice cow striper! 

After being told by one bait shop that frozen mackerel were impossible to come by due to the “Europeans buying them all up…’cause no one would want to pay $12 a mackerel,” I was able to find a two pack at my favorite tackle shop for a mere $5.  All the more reason for a fisherman to create a good relationship with one tackle shop…I’ve never had anything but great service from Falmouth Bait and Tackle in East Falmouth MA.  Check them out if you are in the area!

I fished one night with little success, although the significant other managed to land a crab that liked the taste of the frozen herring I bought from the first bait shop…That was a first, but she was very excited to have something on her hook!  The next morning I finished up the rest of the herring with scarcely a bite.  Herring isn’t something that I’ve seen around the area so I suspect that the fish didn’t know what to make of the foreign food being waived in their face.

That afternoon I spent fishing a tidal pond that almost landed me a nice Cusk.  I saw it make one pass at my lure and thought it was a great big eel, but on the next pass, without a bite I may add, I was able to see it entire body and identify it as a Cusk.  Too bad I couldn’t land it as I’ve heard they taste great!

The evening came and I, armed with my mackerel, headed down to the water.  I took up position on “my jetty” to fish the outgoing tide and within three casts had a scup on!  Boy do they fight hard for their size.  To the amazement of the fellow on the next jetty I pulled up another about five casts later.  I would pull up a third before the light and my bait ran out.  I think I need to find some sharper hooks as I’ve tried sharpening my own but still seem to miss fish.  I’ve also tried both circle and offset J hooks to mixed results.  If anybody has any suggestions I’d love to hear them. 

I’ve had a lot of luck with making my own rigs though; I tried two different types of Hi-Lo rigs and caught fish on both, although I still haven’t really landed anything worth eating I’m going to keep plugging away.  I’ve had people suggest that I should try other areas and while I might at some point, my goal is really to catch whatever I can from the specific beach.  I know that will sound  backwards to most fishermen as it is the reason that fishermen use boats…to go to where the fish are; but I am enjoying fishing and don’t as of yet get discouraged at not catching. 

Well, I had some success and hope to have more soon!

Better Fisherman?

“Just a few more casts” I thought to myself as I ripped off another 90 yard cast with four ounces of lead and a nice chunk of mackerel.  It was now 9:20 and too dark to see much of anything.  I could still make out the individual rocks of the jetty so I knew I’d be ok to get back to the beach but there was one thing I hadn’t considered…what if I caught something???  Well, just as the thought crossed my mind I felt three sharp strikes and set the hook with a rather aggressive pull of the rod.  The next thing I know I’ve got something, the drag clicked as a few yards of braid spun off the reel.  I knew it was small because it wasn’t much of a fight but at least I had caught something.  I spun on a bit more drag now that I was confident that what I had caught wasn’t going to snap my rod or line and began to reel.  Once I got it to the jetty I knew I was in trouble; I couldn’t see what I had caught.  I could see a slight outline and knew that it was skinny and long; I guesses about 14 inches and half a pound.  I made the decision that it was time to pack it in so I dropped my catch into the cooler and unclipped the leader…I’d deal with it when I got home.  I figured if I was lucky I’d probably caught an eel or something else I could use for bait. 

I gathered my stuff, packed it into the car, and headed home.  When I got there I carried my stuff up to the porch and decided to examine my catch.  As soon as I opened the cooler I was taken aback, what I thought was an eel or bait was actually a shark!  I had caught a smooth dogfish or a mud shark as they are also known.  It turns out that they are one of the most prevalent shark species in the near shore waters where I fish and as they are opportunistic feeders had taken a liking to my cut mackerel.  It also explains the bait I had pulled back with just skin and bones left since they don’t have sharp teeth to cut the skin.  They do have teeth but they are for crushing shell fish rather than for cutting as other sharks do.  I quickly looked up the regulations and found that it was permissible to take and relaxed for a few pictures.  I had broken my streak.  Turns out that all it took was bait.  I had picked up some frozen mackerel and some surf clams to try as I really wanted to catch fish for a change.  The mackerel worked on the first cast, I started fishing two poles but couldn’t keep up with the bites!  After catching the dogfish it made more sense as I’m quite sure there were a ton of small fish working the outgoing current and that’s why I hadn’t hooked up on more of them.  I was fishing 6/O circle hooks and had half a mackerel taken from me before my first hook-up.  I guess I should add some smaller hooks to my tackle box…you never know.

The next morning I headed back down to the beach armed with my now unfrozen clams and the rest of the mackerel to try my luck when I could see what I was doing.  I had a similar experience with bites coming on most of my casts.  This time I was better prepared and set the hook better.  All said and done I had landed a keeper fluke!  It was fifteen inches long and a little over a pound.  I broke out the filet knife and went to work but it turned out to be just practice as there wasn’t much meat on him and no one was interested in two bites…I will mention that the only reason that I brought this guy home is because he was gut hooked; I am fishing primarily for sport, unless I get a keeper striper that is, and plan to release whenever possible.  I couldn’t believe the size of the mouth on that alien looking fish, he had swallowed the entire 6/O hook with a one and a half inch diameter hunk of mackerel on it!  I was shocked when I pulled him up with only the fluorocarbon coming out of his mouth.  I did my best to open his toothy mouth with my pliers and inspect the damage, but it was clearly deep down inside and he was certainly not going back.

Overall I had my most successful weekend of fishing ever for the cost of a few frozen mackerel, which I may add is generally less than what I spend on one lure…I also managed not to lose a single piece of gear which was nice.  I might just be tipping the scales back in my favor!  You may be wondering about the clams, well that didn’t work well at all.  I didn’t get a single bite on a clam at all.  I bought a quart, the smallest quantity you can buy, and was assured by the B&T man that he had caught a keeper striper on a clam earlier that morning.  I didn’t have the same luck; in fact all I attracted with clams were birds.  I think I’ll skip straight to the mackerel.  It seemed to be a favorite of just about everything in the spot where I was and truly, how can you beat universal bait?  I’m just waiting for the fall when the stripers really turn on!  I’ll be ready for them, I hope.

Here we go again

So here I am sitting at my desk after a lunch of Mexican and margaritas contemplating my next trip to the jetty.  I will be heading out right after work for four days of heat, food, drink, and fishing.  I’m extremely hopeful that I’ll actually catch something edible this time…after all, that it my goal.  I acquired some new swivels, snaps, and even some Yo-Zuri fluorocarbon leader.  I’m hoping that a few of my bites might turn into hook ups if they don’t see the line.  I have been using SpiderWire InvisiBraid but have found that it seems to not be quite invisible but actually white or even opaque.  I will give it to SpiderWire that the line is translucent and casts incredibly well but is far from invisible…to my eyes at least.  So I will be on the beach/jetty wearing out my arm in a matter of hours.  Wish me luck.  I may even try bait if I don’t see any action.  Who knows, maybe I’ll even try a new location.  A full report will follow my trip, hopefully I don’t lose any more tackle to fish or stupidity.

Seconds to minutes and minutes to hours

I didn't get a chance to go fishing this weekend due to real life's perpetual interruptions but I did find the time to sort through all my tackle and make a few new rigs. One of the things I enjoy about fishing is the "tinker-ability."  I have always gravitated towards hobbies and pastimes that have a component of tinkering and why should fishing be any different.  I spent some well deserved time on the couch messing with knots, sharpening hooks, and  retying terminal tackle.  By the time Thursday afternoon hits I'll be beach bound and loaded for bass.  Wish me luck as I try to break my 0 for 8 streak.

How do I get there from here?

So, I've been back at work and away from the beach for almost a week now...Plenty of time to think and Google.  I'm not sure what to do next to try and catch something.  I am contemplating buying some bait and using one rod for bait while I continue to plug away with my other rod.  I've still got to go buy some snaps and re-spool from my last adventure but I can't help but think that maybe I need to try a different time of day; maybe evening into night rather than false-dawn to daybreak.  I've had some suggest that I try other spots and while I understand why they would say that I am quite attached to the area I've been fishing in and am committed to catching fish in that area.  Foolish, maybe, futile, maybe...That is the challenge that I am attempting though so we will see what I can manage.  For now there is a trip to the bait and tackle shop in my future.