Tuna
06-07-2004, 08:34 AM
Waded NH Friday morning, but saw only a few bass and no bait at all. Gave it only a little over an hour and then headed to a new flat I found recently.
What a difference.
There were combinations of different pods of bait all over the flat - sand eels and what appeared to be spearing. Not giant swarms, but some big ones and a fair number of them.
Saw my first fish close a minute after getting into the water to wade. Turned the fish, but no hit. The start of a trend for the day.
A minute later a smaller (24) fish up close - this one hit about 2 feet from me, I just love the up close and personal feel of a bass hitting close when you are in the water.
A few minutes later another fish of the same size, this one moving along with a very big bass. The big bass kept following the one I hooked. I tried to get a cast to it after releasing the smaller one, but no go.
Then about an hour of turning fish, some 30 plus inches, but no hits. Tide was dead high and the bass were still cruising but very picky. Went through 4 flies before deciding to stick with one and focus on presentation.
Kept seeing bass as I waded back to the boat and as the tide started working out, the bass seemed a bit more purposeful and I got another around 24 inches.
Timing wise, I should have waded when I drifted and vice versa, but heh.
I drifted the same flat, outside of where I could see wading, and saw even more fish. Got another 24 incher from a pod of 4 bass. Then got refusals by a number of good fish. Hooked my first keeper of the day and got a long run into backing before it got off.
The wind had picked up and between wind and tide my boat was drifting too fast. But I was seeing a lot of bass, and continued to turn a number.
Losing the last bass of the day, and the only keeper, was a bit of a downer, as was being refused so many times. However, I loved the day for its chances and for those 4 nice bass that let me catch them. It was also nice to finally see meaningful bait on a flat.
Saturday looked like a no sun day, so I went out for the 3 mile harbor morning bite without sun tan lotion. The sun kept creaping out. The bite was decent, and I got more than twice my Friday catch rate in a few hours. I thought I saw bad clouds coming, so I pulled out when the bite died about 10 am (right after you left if you are reading this Jeff). It was fun, but nothing like getting lots of visual refusals Friday and a few bites.
I noticed around noon pure sun, so I probably could have gotten some sight casting chances had I stayed out but chalk this one up to paying too much attention to NOAA and the local forecast.
What a difference.
There were combinations of different pods of bait all over the flat - sand eels and what appeared to be spearing. Not giant swarms, but some big ones and a fair number of them.
Saw my first fish close a minute after getting into the water to wade. Turned the fish, but no hit. The start of a trend for the day.
A minute later a smaller (24) fish up close - this one hit about 2 feet from me, I just love the up close and personal feel of a bass hitting close when you are in the water.
A few minutes later another fish of the same size, this one moving along with a very big bass. The big bass kept following the one I hooked. I tried to get a cast to it after releasing the smaller one, but no go.
Then about an hour of turning fish, some 30 plus inches, but no hits. Tide was dead high and the bass were still cruising but very picky. Went through 4 flies before deciding to stick with one and focus on presentation.
Kept seeing bass as I waded back to the boat and as the tide started working out, the bass seemed a bit more purposeful and I got another around 24 inches.
Timing wise, I should have waded when I drifted and vice versa, but heh.
I drifted the same flat, outside of where I could see wading, and saw even more fish. Got another 24 incher from a pod of 4 bass. Then got refusals by a number of good fish. Hooked my first keeper of the day and got a long run into backing before it got off.
The wind had picked up and between wind and tide my boat was drifting too fast. But I was seeing a lot of bass, and continued to turn a number.
Losing the last bass of the day, and the only keeper, was a bit of a downer, as was being refused so many times. However, I loved the day for its chances and for those 4 nice bass that let me catch them. It was also nice to finally see meaningful bait on a flat.
Saturday looked like a no sun day, so I went out for the 3 mile harbor morning bite without sun tan lotion. The sun kept creaping out. The bite was decent, and I got more than twice my Friday catch rate in a few hours. I thought I saw bad clouds coming, so I pulled out when the bite died about 10 am (right after you left if you are reading this Jeff). It was fun, but nothing like getting lots of visual refusals Friday and a few bites.
I noticed around noon pure sun, so I probably could have gotten some sight casting chances had I stayed out but chalk this one up to paying too much attention to NOAA and the local forecast.