riptide
09-25-2007, 09:30 PM
Today the streak died. We did not go gently into that goodnight. My guys (and I) went 0 for.....I can't even say it, 0 for 9. It was like we were tossing hookless poppers today.
We launched out of Plymouth at 0800 and ran east. I was headed towards yesterdays spot when we found life around RP. We chased some birds for a bit in the sloppy water when Nat from First Light Anglers called and said it was pretty sweet near him. It was a 20 miles run in 3-4's but in no time we were on scene. Just as Nat had said it was loaded with life. The pattern was identical to what we had yesterday, small groups of birds over moderate size groups of fish. One shot deals. Set up, cast hit or miss they were down and gone foreever. But with pods of fish every few hundred yards who cared.
It took a while for the guys to get bit, a few swirls but no takers. Then after a tide turn the fish, wind and seas all picked up. The guys did the same things but now they were getting bit.
After several explosions on lures that would double the rod over and then instantly be gone, one of the guys got tigth and the fish ran off 30 yards before pulling the hook. I figured things were looking up. A short time later another hookup but this time an unseen wind knot in the braid caught the bail roller and SNAP! No fish! We were now like 0 for 6. I watched as one of the guys on the bow got a loop in the line while a pile of fish was breaking all around us. I grabbed a spare rod and made a cast in to the fish and went to hand off the rod when BLAM! I got hit, instantly the fish was gone. I watched the fish pile on the lure and eat it but he never got stuck! :confused:
THis happened 7 times plus the pulled hook and the break off, hence 0 for 9.--124-3
Finally it was late inthe day and we headed for home in the building SW wind and sloppy seas. The new boat made a potential nasty run a nice 40 minute comute. Dry and fast as usual. Final tally, I'll say it agin 0 for 9. The lure of choice today. The exact same Polish sandeels we used the day before. The rods, reel and lures were identical. The hooks were razor sharp. All the lures had a pair of trebles on them and you had to be amazed that a fish could get near them let alone crush one and never feel the hooks.
Overall, a very frustraiting day for all. My guys did a good job of getting the lures into the fish. I worked my butt off to make sure we had the right setup. But we just couldn't put it together to seal the deal. We had shots from 1000 till 1530. The pods were never more than a minute or two apart. We had an easy 100+ shots at fish today. I began to interogate the crew looking for a banana or something to explain what the heck was going on. IT was just misfortune I guess.
With the forecast for the next few days being snotty I think I'll be on dry ground till Friday at the earliest. I could use a day or two for maintenace and rest. PLus my lawn is out of control and in need of mowing. Today we were not the windshield, we were clearly the bug!
We launched out of Plymouth at 0800 and ran east. I was headed towards yesterdays spot when we found life around RP. We chased some birds for a bit in the sloppy water when Nat from First Light Anglers called and said it was pretty sweet near him. It was a 20 miles run in 3-4's but in no time we were on scene. Just as Nat had said it was loaded with life. The pattern was identical to what we had yesterday, small groups of birds over moderate size groups of fish. One shot deals. Set up, cast hit or miss they were down and gone foreever. But with pods of fish every few hundred yards who cared.
It took a while for the guys to get bit, a few swirls but no takers. Then after a tide turn the fish, wind and seas all picked up. The guys did the same things but now they were getting bit.
After several explosions on lures that would double the rod over and then instantly be gone, one of the guys got tigth and the fish ran off 30 yards before pulling the hook. I figured things were looking up. A short time later another hookup but this time an unseen wind knot in the braid caught the bail roller and SNAP! No fish! We were now like 0 for 6. I watched as one of the guys on the bow got a loop in the line while a pile of fish was breaking all around us. I grabbed a spare rod and made a cast in to the fish and went to hand off the rod when BLAM! I got hit, instantly the fish was gone. I watched the fish pile on the lure and eat it but he never got stuck! :confused:
THis happened 7 times plus the pulled hook and the break off, hence 0 for 9.--124-3
Finally it was late inthe day and we headed for home in the building SW wind and sloppy seas. The new boat made a potential nasty run a nice 40 minute comute. Dry and fast as usual. Final tally, I'll say it agin 0 for 9. The lure of choice today. The exact same Polish sandeels we used the day before. The rods, reel and lures were identical. The hooks were razor sharp. All the lures had a pair of trebles on them and you had to be amazed that a fish could get near them let alone crush one and never feel the hooks.
Overall, a very frustraiting day for all. My guys did a good job of getting the lures into the fish. I worked my butt off to make sure we had the right setup. But we just couldn't put it together to seal the deal. We had shots from 1000 till 1530. The pods were never more than a minute or two apart. We had an easy 100+ shots at fish today. I began to interogate the crew looking for a banana or something to explain what the heck was going on. IT was just misfortune I guess.
With the forecast for the next few days being snotty I think I'll be on dry ground till Friday at the earliest. I could use a day or two for maintenace and rest. PLus my lawn is out of control and in need of mowing. Today we were not the windshield, we were clearly the bug!