Not that kind you Dirtbags, but one with a more piscatorial slant!!!
Didn't get out early yesterday AM because of the tidal situation, and the rest of the morning was full of Monday errands, which I wanted to get done before the forecasted deluge of Biblical proportions. When I got home just after noon, there was no rain, zero wind, and nothing to do around the house, so I said "Screw it, I'll go fishing in the backyard waters until the rain starts!", grabbed the boat keys and hopped on the boat.
Faced with a late flood September tide, there was only one place to go based on history even though it was midday. History proved to be reliable as the instant I turned off the motor in "the" spot, I noticed a ripple on the water that looked to be a striper finning. Tossed the popper near the disturbance, popped it twice, and BAM, a violent surface explosion erupted, but no hookup, dang! Popped the lure 2 more times and again a surface explosion, but this time a connection with a nice, but very upset striped bass. The battle didn't last too long as the fish came off the hook, but before I could say, "F**K!! First cast curse???", the second cast was solidly into a 26" fish which was landed. Tossed a few more casts with no takers which isn't unusual for this small, secluded cove as the fish travel around in packs, so I decided it was probably time to move.
As I walked over to the helm with the intention of going deeper into the cove, there was a sudden surface feeding frenzy in the other direction, at a very "iffy" spot for my boat. "WTF it's high tide with no wind so I can crawl in and still get out with no problems" and slowly made my way to the action, which per usual in 2023, disappeared as quickly as it started. First cast in the general direction got a hit with no hookup, which had me excited, but the next few casts were fruitless. Decided to cast from the other side of the boat and was rewarded with a violent strike and hookup from what I knew was a better fish. Was a little surprised, and disappointed, when I netted a 27" fish; I was looking forward to some sashimi for dinner, but WTH it was fun.
Had one more spot to try, the deeper cove spot that I skipped because of the blitz. At this spot, the cove is less than 30 yds across, so I motored to the middle and casted towards the very end of the cove. After 3 pops, the popper was inhaled by a 25" striper that was boated and released. I continued casting, but the rain began and I figured it was time to head home after a very successful 60 minutes of "Backyard Fishing".
Didn't get out early yesterday AM because of the tidal situation, and the rest of the morning was full of Monday errands, which I wanted to get done before the forecasted deluge of Biblical proportions. When I got home just after noon, there was no rain, zero wind, and nothing to do around the house, so I said "Screw it, I'll go fishing in the backyard waters until the rain starts!", grabbed the boat keys and hopped on the boat.
Faced with a late flood September tide, there was only one place to go based on history even though it was midday. History proved to be reliable as the instant I turned off the motor in "the" spot, I noticed a ripple on the water that looked to be a striper finning. Tossed the popper near the disturbance, popped it twice, and BAM, a violent surface explosion erupted, but no hookup, dang! Popped the lure 2 more times and again a surface explosion, but this time a connection with a nice, but very upset striped bass. The battle didn't last too long as the fish came off the hook, but before I could say, "F**K!! First cast curse???", the second cast was solidly into a 26" fish which was landed. Tossed a few more casts with no takers which isn't unusual for this small, secluded cove as the fish travel around in packs, so I decided it was probably time to move.
As I walked over to the helm with the intention of going deeper into the cove, there was a sudden surface feeding frenzy in the other direction, at a very "iffy" spot for my boat. "WTF it's high tide with no wind so I can crawl in and still get out with no problems" and slowly made my way to the action, which per usual in 2023, disappeared as quickly as it started. First cast in the general direction got a hit with no hookup, which had me excited, but the next few casts were fruitless. Decided to cast from the other side of the boat and was rewarded with a violent strike and hookup from what I knew was a better fish. Was a little surprised, and disappointed, when I netted a 27" fish; I was looking forward to some sashimi for dinner, but WTH it was fun.
Had one more spot to try, the deeper cove spot that I skipped because of the blitz. At this spot, the cove is less than 30 yds across, so I motored to the middle and casted towards the very end of the cove. After 3 pops, the popper was inhaled by a 25" striper that was boated and released. I continued casting, but the rain began and I figured it was time to head home after a very successful 60 minutes of "Backyard Fishing".
