SamRiley
05-28-2002, 08:02 AM
Fished the Barnstable, Brewster and Monomoy flats at dawn over the weekend.
Saturday... should have checked with NOAA before I left the house. Very gusty but I gave it a go. After maybe a dozen fast drifts and half that many fish I packed it in... terns were working but even they were having a tough morning.
Sunday, no birds, no fish but plenty of wind.
Monday I hit the jackpot. Just enough wind for a slow drift but not enough the disturb the surface all that much. Stripers making waves of their own chasing sand eels in water too shallow to paddle after them in. Fish up to 26" in the deeper channels and a half hour stationary bird and Bass blitz... a perfect morning. Then it got even better. As the fog rolled in, I found myself floating around at slack tide in a world where the water and sky were one. If it wasn't for all of the finning Stripers I couldn't have told the difference between the two :) This morning I had brought a faster sinking line specifically for working the deeper channels. Unfortunately, it was very apparent to the Stripers as it descended towards them. On several casts, just before the line hit the water, a dozen or so fish fins would turn into 30-40 separate and simultaneous eruptions as the Stripers got spooked. It was only with a very delicate casts to the edge to the schools that I was able to avoid spooking them and hook up.
Had to pack it in early and so I fired up the GPS, plotted a course and walked through the fog, right to my car. In the past, I would have to ballpark my course with a compass... usually resulting in a loooong trip back. Boy technology is great when it works :)
Saturday... should have checked with NOAA before I left the house. Very gusty but I gave it a go. After maybe a dozen fast drifts and half that many fish I packed it in... terns were working but even they were having a tough morning.
Sunday, no birds, no fish but plenty of wind.
Monday I hit the jackpot. Just enough wind for a slow drift but not enough the disturb the surface all that much. Stripers making waves of their own chasing sand eels in water too shallow to paddle after them in. Fish up to 26" in the deeper channels and a half hour stationary bird and Bass blitz... a perfect morning. Then it got even better. As the fog rolled in, I found myself floating around at slack tide in a world where the water and sky were one. If it wasn't for all of the finning Stripers I couldn't have told the difference between the two :) This morning I had brought a faster sinking line specifically for working the deeper channels. Unfortunately, it was very apparent to the Stripers as it descended towards them. On several casts, just before the line hit the water, a dozen or so fish fins would turn into 30-40 separate and simultaneous eruptions as the Stripers got spooked. It was only with a very delicate casts to the edge to the schools that I was able to avoid spooking them and hook up.
Had to pack it in early and so I fired up the GPS, plotted a course and walked through the fog, right to my car. In the past, I would have to ballpark my course with a compass... usually resulting in a loooong trip back. Boy technology is great when it works :)