August is not prime fishing time on the Cape. The mighty Bluefish are generally plentiful but even they have gone on vacation. The striped bass are the main attraction but they are much further up-Cape and not very active this time of year.
So I have been planning, pondering, casting, changine flies, reading fishing literature and learning a lot about saltwater flyfishing.
My tally at this point is two small Bluefish landed, two bluefish hooked (not landed) and possibly the biggest fish I've ever hooked (got away).
Temperatures were soaring when we got here but things have cooled off. The first morning, my friend Mark and I went out early in the morning on his boat. We found seagulls diving after baitfish, and we cast into that madness but I failed to land anything. Mark threw a lure out on a spinrod and landed a nice smallish bluefish. the school was thin so we headed up-Cape to Waquoit where I hooked a small bluefish and had a couple of nice takes but no fish landed.
The next day, I decided to head out on my own along the rocky shore of Nobska Lighthouse point on Martha's Vineyard Sound. Within three casts I had a small bluefish landed. I used a sinking tip with a small pink clouser. A half hour later I had a larger bluefish almost to hand after casting 60-70 feet offshore toward a large rock. The fish threw the hook just at the last minute, which is fine.
Then, nothing.
I returned several times at high tide, low tide, night and day. Nothing.
Well, not nothing. I have gotten a lot of cuts and bruises. Fishing the rocky coast with its barnacle-laden rocks means that I am scampering and scraping my way from foothold to foothold. My body is covered at the moment with cuts and antibacterial lotion.
Today, temperatures were gorgeous at about 75. My brother-in-law, Rob, took us out south of Woods Hole on his boat. Water temperature were warm and the winds were mild. We fished a hole that reminded me of a swift western Washington river current and I saw baitfish working. But still nothing. Nevertheless, this area looked and felt fishy.
I left the hole and walked over to a rocky point that turned into a shallow sandy beach about 50 feet offshore.
After hundreds of fruitless casts this week, I noticed seagulls starting to pay attention to my general area. Suddenly I heard rapid splashes all around me, and then I saw a small bluefish fly past me at eye-level, clearly trying to outswim (and out-leap) a predadtor. I whirled to my right, cast in the direction of the pursuer and wham, one of the hardest takes I've ever experienced. My 7 weight Sage rod bent deeply and felt the weight and fight of a ferocious fish. I assume it was a bluefish but it is possible it was a striped bass in that shallow sandy area. After a brief fight the line snapped and the fish was gone.
Rather than fight, I should have let the fish peel off line but I didn't.
I pumped my fist and turned to a couple on the beach watching me.
"The one that got away!"
I was fishing the outgoing afternoon tide. As soon as I returned home, I switched out my 24 pound test line for 60 pound test line. My brother-in-law says bluefish are not leader-shy so I am gearing up for the biggest fish for my remaining days.
As mentioned, I am reading about fishing as well. Thomas McGuane's The Longest Silence (A Life in Fishing) is enjoyable reading and really funny. At the moment I would put McGuane and John Gierach at the top of fishing lit elite.
I also have been very impressed with On The Water (the Anger's Guide). This magazine is well-written and very practical. I would like to see it extend from East Coast to West Coast coverage.
No comments:
Post a Comment