Star Gazing and Casting Practice

Finally started my season this past weekend.  I spent a few hours on the beach and came up empty, but wasn't at all unhappy about it.  My new gear worked gread and I was glad to have the opportunity to try it out.  I  ended up with a Tsunami graphite rod of the 10 foot variety and a Quantum Cabo to go with it.  It casts so mich better than my Ugly Stick but may not be quite as good with a sinker and bait.  I was also trying out a few new pieces of kit to go along with my new stick.  I had purchased a pair of neoprene Glacier Gloves and a Helly/Hansen Roan Anorak with neoprene cuffs to keep out the cold and wet.  These coupled with my waders made for a toasty bad fisherman...In fact I was actually hot at one point despite a 10kt wind in my face and temps in the 40s.  I also had the fortune to come across a nice set of aluminum pliers to hang from my new Simms wading belt.  A very professional looking setup if I do say so myself...Now I just have to live up to the appearance.

I tossed about half my plugs before breaking off a bucktail due to nothing more that my own stupidity.  Resigned to a night of beautiful stars I decided that casting practice was far more purposeful than continuing to work an empty water column.  I wound up, not unlike the "pros" I had seen in a few YouTube videos, and attempted to hit Martha's Vineyard with a 2 ounce bucktail only to be greeted by a resounding"crrraaaccck" as my 30lb Cajun Braid parted ways with what was left on my reel; I had completely forgotten to open the bail.  The saving grace was that it took forever to hear the splash of my now liberated lure so it is entirely possible that I set a new personal best casting distance record.  It wasn't particularly cold, but it was far too cold to take off my Glacier Glove and try to re-tie.  So all in all I ended up spending my time star gazing and practicing my casting.  I don't really even think I had a single bite although there was one that felt like a nibble but could have been something in the water like seaweed or structure.  Another trip is already planned for two weeks from now and I'm really hoping that there might actually be something in the water then.  In the mean time I'm going to retie some knots and make sure I'm ready when the next opportunity arises.

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.

Heartbreak

Daybreak on "my" jetty again and I am having no luck as usual.  I've brought both rods this time and it's a good thing because I end up with a rather serious wind knot, my first, in the first hour of fishing.  I decide not to mess with it and switch to the other.  I have a few nibbles, but nothing significant.  I decide that I'm just going to work on my casting technique and distance because I recently witnessed a feeding frenzy about fifteen yards beyond my previous best cast.

I put on a diamond jig and start trying to slow down my motion, focusing on the mechanics of the cast rather than pure power.  I find that my releases are somewhat inconsistent and that is hurting my distance.  Sometimes my lure takes off for the stratosphere like a rocket and in turn lands short because I've waster so much for the energy on altitude rather than longitude.  I play around with a few different way of holding the line as well as the drop from the tip and figure out my sweet spot.  I must have looked like I knew what I was doing to all but an experienced fisherman since I drew a bit of a crowd.  Joggers often stop by where I like to fish as there is a porta-poty for their early morning pit-stop.  I decide to switch lures and reach for my favorite casting lure, the Gags Bluefish Bomb.  This lure casts farther than anything I've ever used; it's aerodynamic, heavy and doesn't have a lot hanging off of it.  I wind up and throw my weight into it...next thing I know my rod feel strange and I realize that the lure has liberated itself from my line.  DAMN.  The good news was that I easily reached the distance that the feeding frenzy was.  So feeling satisfied with my cast, but heartbroken at the loss of my lure coupled with my previous wind knot I decided to call it a day.  That ends yet another unsuccessful day of fishing.

Third Time...not a charm

Another trip to the tackle shop had resulted in three new lures, a package of Lunker City Fin_S_Fish soft baits, and a spray bottle of Gulp Herring scent.  I was armed to the hilt and ready to hit the shore.  I marched out to a new jetty, one with significantly more current and hopefully larger fish, and set up shop as daylight began to break.  I decided that my “old faithful” swim shad would have the honors of the first cast.  Cast, retrieve, cast, retrieve, stop for a boat to come by, cast, retrieve, pull clumps of sea weed off, cast, and retrieve.  My new spot wasn’t as good as I had hoped since I had to hold my cast and then deal with churned up water as each boat came through so I decided to move on. 

I made my way back to my original beach and jetty only to find someone in “my” spot…I took up residence on another jetty a little way further up the beach and resumed the Sisyphean task that fishing can be…cast, retrieve…  An hour of casting and lure changes had only resulted in one curiosity bite (or it could have been a pity bite as some fish sat there watching me and thought, ‘I’ll give him a nibble just to keep his spirits up’) and a sore wrist.  I had changed lures about every twenty or so casts but even that didn’t seem to help, nor did the foul smelling herring spray.

With one final growl of my stomach I decide to pack it in for the day having had no luck at all.  As I was walking back to the car I had a passerby ask the ubiquitous question that all fishermen are asked “did you catch anything?”  “Nope, not today” I responded which was followed by “better luck next time.”  I sure hope so.  I realize that fishing is not called catching for a reason and that fishing is about more than the fish themselves…It’s a relaxing, peaceful way to enjoy the sea shore that occasionally results in excitement, exhilaration, and sometimes even dinner!  Better luck next time is right.