BassyiusMaximus
08-07-2006, 10:41 AM
Here we go again. Won't you all take a boat-ride with me?, Bassyius Maximus? The ride might be long but if you'd like, you can come along. Ready?, here we go.
I got to leave work at around 1:30pm on Friday, traffic was light but it still took me about 2 hours to go the 75 miles south by car/truck. The boat still had a bit less than 1/2 a tank, about 30-35 gallons of a 70 gallon tank, at roughly 4-6 mpg that the new OptiMax gets, I was good for 120 miles at minimum, plenty for the 30-60 mile round tripper we might make tonight. Batteries are good, the 4-blade prop I put on two weeks ago is still brand new and the spare is tucked away along with the socket and ratchet and coat hangar to pull the lock/tab washer, and a possible future brother in law who works at Logan Ariport gave me a new flare gun-smoke signal set to update the 2002 Orion set I have, making me compliant until 2009 and I had redundant lighting, bulbs, VHF, and blah, blah, blah, I had it all on the boat since night missions could be tricky and I can't rely on anyone but myself, so I stay prepared. Of course, from all I read, I've heard that fishermen are some of the most prepared and organized people around. I can't be messing around digging for things in the dark and not know where things are if and when I need them. So my lures are here, all the boat stuff is exactly were I always keep it, all the hooks and leaders are tied and stored on a pool noodle, a fantastic tip I read from somewhere, and all the lines on the reels are fresh and nick-free, like most fellow fishermen, preparation is truly key.
My buddy gets down and we go to the local B&T. While waiting for the guys to get us some nice eels, I hear some ask if they are "so and so", meaning that the person in the shop is a big-name in the fishing game and I recognize the names from reading the forums and the rags like OTW and The Fisherman however I keep to myself and don't look. I can tell a salty guy and the guys were salty, still, it was an honor just to be near them nonetheless even though I couldn't get myself to look, I know I just don't like really looking at men but respect the names for they will know more than I ever will in my lifetime, I'm just a newbie who happens to catch fish, or a want to be Internet Hero who catches nothing but likes to type, either way, entertainment is entertainment, whether mine or others.
I need some replacement trebles and find that the Gamakatsu's are almost $9 for 5 but I choke down and know that I need them and that the black nickel finish on the hooks will last longer than the hooks that are on and which came with the lures I have now so it is worth it. I get a couple of deep diving lures, 6-13 feet for the possible Bonito trolling I might be doing in the next month or so, and a couple of deadly #^&#^&#^&#^&s in 1oz and 2oz for casting since when it comes down to it the D/D's work with everything and I can chuck a metal in any direction and not have to concern myself with the wind or boat positioning. We get our 14+1 eels, 2-2 liter bottles of ice on the bottom, plastic coated rabbit wire cage in the cooler and more cubes on top to keep the slimy ones chilled and ready and the burlap I saved from a bush, wet and kept on top of the eelies.
The water in the bay leading to the ocean is smooth and there is almost no breeze, out on the sea the water is still calm, just rippled with some swell here and there, but nothing like the 2-4's I've had to plow out in every other time this season, 'thank goodness' and 'finally' I think. Tonight is smooth and I run to one spot 4-5 miles where the blues/bonito might just before sunset but the tide is slack and there is no action to be found, a quick troll and nada. We run to another honey-spot while the sun is a hot pink, going down over the land in the distance. I get to the spot and the drift is very different from what I've been used to all spring and summer. On the 4th cast I'm on but it is a bluefish on a hard plastic swimmer. My buddy, Fisher-X, like Racer-X on Speed Racer, is all topwater, his true-love. I switch to an eel and get one other bluefish while Fisher-X is 0-0 on the lures. This night he has sworn to topwater, that is until I catch many fish on the eels. It is around 10pm and I figure the water is too warm in our section of bay and decide to run for the next new spot where the promise of cooler water and a good flow should change things a bit. The water is still calm as can be so running the 12+ miles on top of the 12 I've already run is not a problem. The moon is up and casting shadows and all the stars are out along with visibility being around 10-15 miles this night and no fog and just a very light haze. I get us on a new-to-me spot but am too far from shore to get any hits so on the second pass I get us closer and on my first cast I'm tight to a fish, it makes 2-3 searing runs which makes me believe it is a bluefish but the fish is free and my eel comes back mangled, mangled but wiggling so I get it back in the drink and immediately, another great hit, this time it is one looooonnnnnnggggg run and I believe it is a bass. I can't gain any line on the fish so I believe it is sideways in the current as it ran upcurrent from the boat, a strong fish to run upcurrent at the speed it did, just like most big fish I've been able to fight, it had that hyper-drive where the fish will run for a distance then all of a sudden switch into high gear and really tail it, like a Bonito does the whole time it fights, the speed is twice as fast as a bluefish and bass. I just began gaining line after about 10 minutes of the fish running, and had about 2 minutes worth of gain when the line went slack. I got my line in and I believe the knot slipped through the hook's eye, major bummer for me since I believed I was on a good fish and then my knot let go. The set ups I used most of the night were a Boca 40pts spinning reel, both spooled up with 16lb Ande Tournament and one on a Boca M/H and the other a Medium. I favor the Medium for the lighter, more supple rod and like the bend the rod gives and it is still more than enough for me to turn any fish I might encounter. Fisher-X likes his M/H and feels the stiffer rod helps his topwater chugging. Oh well, not to dwell since on the drift we had gone through this zone where all we could hear and see were fish tailing and splashing about in the water all around the boat. I've seen and been in blitzes in the daytime, ones just after sunrise and sunset and in the middle of the day. I have read about people hearing fish slurping and slapping and crashing at night but had never heard or seen it myself, but we were right in the middle of it, drifting for about 100-150 yards worth of the action. I finally got to experience it, the nighttime blitz. It was more than a blitz however, it was a prolonged 3 1/2 hour feeding frenzy and the fish were probably at it well before we even got to the spot at 11pm at night. All the fishes bellies were full of silversides, sand eels and baby bunker and herring along with small squid. The bait must have been in the area, there is no doubt about that, not to mention that the nighttime had everything out in force. All is right about fishing at night.
Fisher-X cast his topwater Tsunami hardbody, Black floating popper with red gills, a neat new lure, the shape of which I haven't seen before, and in the moonlight, we could see the lure getting hammered and played with by the fish until that one big boil would take the lure down and I could see the tip of his M/H rod get taken down and watch him rear back and set the hook. I put out a black plastic swimmer and no luck. I switched to a bigger bodied popper with a very wide/round front and tapered toward the back and was on too. The fish were in the water and we were into it. The green jelly and luminescence was in the water again and we could see and track the fish from the glows in the water. He got his fish in and back in the juice and cast out and was promptly on again. Overall, the ratio of hookups based on the poppers was 6:1 in favor of Fisher-X's popper. When the lure would come in with no fish, we could see the green jet-trails of the fish, zooming off in every direction, it was like the "Friday Night Lights" story I had written about 2 weeks ago.
Either I am bad at working a topwater or his lure was what they wanted. I was not worried. After we had drifted clear of the maelstrom, I moved us back up and we anchored right in the the thick of the fish, they were still splashing all around the boat. We took our time, put on some music as it did not bother the fish and for the next 3 1/2 hours, were on fish after fish, like nothing I've ever been a part of. Mostly because the ocean had laid down and was so calm so I could run to this spot and it was night and there was only 1 other boat in the area. One or two other boats came and fished. They arrived at 1am-2am and stayed after we left at around 4am.
I set up an eel with an egg sinker and let it down in the starboard rodholder and in the port rodholder I deadsticked an eel only, no weight. To make a long story short, the fish were seemingly lined up behind the boat like Red Sox fans waiting for tickets to a playoff series with the Yankees. Sometimes both rods would go off at the same time and at other times one would go off before the other. Fisher-X was busy at the bow and wanted nothing to do with fishing the eels so I manned the stern with two rods out on bait. We were in heaven. I would sit down on the cooler seat and just take my time, no more pressure to catch fish, it was just time to revel in feeling the fish on the end of the line fighting, knowning that there was another fish on the other rod waiting to be brought in too, I'm now officially spoiled. Then onto the next rod after I set the weighted eel back in the juice where it would get picked up and Fisher-X on his fish, for the first time in my life I got to feel what it must be like for a commercial guy, those people who go out with not numbers of eels but in pounds of them, not that I'm that good, just that fish after fish was pretty fun and being at the right place at the right time.
Once I was out of eels, I took strips of the bluefish and put them out behind the boat as I had done with the eels and by golly, I got the same results as with the eels. Just a long 5-7 inch flag of bluefish meat with a nice long fluttering tail and the fish were loving it, much like fluke fishing. I tried chunks, pieces of fish head, tails, I tried every part of the fish and they all caught fish. I guess when they are hungry they are hungry and fresh bluefish works for them. I even cast out a piece I had carved out in the rough shape of a fish and reeled it in like a swimming fish and caught them that way, everything worked this night. I might never see another night like this, but then again, they might always be here it is just that I never tried this spot.
At around 3-3:30am, the tide began to go slack and there were a few large sand sharks in the mix, 40+inch fish whose fight is very similar to the bass. For the most part, these fish would get hooked right in the corner of their mouth so just getting the fish boatside, I'd slip my finger in the curve of the hook and it would just pop out of the mouth to let the fish swim away. I'm not one to kill a creature just because they are a nuicance, they are still just as fun to catch to me. So at 4am we ran 18 miles back home in smooth as smooth can be water. The moon had gone down some time ago and the skies were just starting to brighten.
I was junk for the rest of the weeknd and Saturday's seas, while still not rough, were 2-3 ft, I was still too tired to go out again Saturday night. We went out late in the afternoon for a scup/black seabass trip and got a bunch of each for dinner, I 'm looking forward to getting back to the area to fish again next weekend or Friday night.
I have pictures but they are in my buddies digicam. I do need to get one but am waiting to get the Olympus SW, shockproof and waterproof but at $350+, I'm waiting. So pics to follow. Bassyius Maximus out.
I got to leave work at around 1:30pm on Friday, traffic was light but it still took me about 2 hours to go the 75 miles south by car/truck. The boat still had a bit less than 1/2 a tank, about 30-35 gallons of a 70 gallon tank, at roughly 4-6 mpg that the new OptiMax gets, I was good for 120 miles at minimum, plenty for the 30-60 mile round tripper we might make tonight. Batteries are good, the 4-blade prop I put on two weeks ago is still brand new and the spare is tucked away along with the socket and ratchet and coat hangar to pull the lock/tab washer, and a possible future brother in law who works at Logan Ariport gave me a new flare gun-smoke signal set to update the 2002 Orion set I have, making me compliant until 2009 and I had redundant lighting, bulbs, VHF, and blah, blah, blah, I had it all on the boat since night missions could be tricky and I can't rely on anyone but myself, so I stay prepared. Of course, from all I read, I've heard that fishermen are some of the most prepared and organized people around. I can't be messing around digging for things in the dark and not know where things are if and when I need them. So my lures are here, all the boat stuff is exactly were I always keep it, all the hooks and leaders are tied and stored on a pool noodle, a fantastic tip I read from somewhere, and all the lines on the reels are fresh and nick-free, like most fellow fishermen, preparation is truly key.
My buddy gets down and we go to the local B&T. While waiting for the guys to get us some nice eels, I hear some ask if they are "so and so", meaning that the person in the shop is a big-name in the fishing game and I recognize the names from reading the forums and the rags like OTW and The Fisherman however I keep to myself and don't look. I can tell a salty guy and the guys were salty, still, it was an honor just to be near them nonetheless even though I couldn't get myself to look, I know I just don't like really looking at men but respect the names for they will know more than I ever will in my lifetime, I'm just a newbie who happens to catch fish, or a want to be Internet Hero who catches nothing but likes to type, either way, entertainment is entertainment, whether mine or others.
I need some replacement trebles and find that the Gamakatsu's are almost $9 for 5 but I choke down and know that I need them and that the black nickel finish on the hooks will last longer than the hooks that are on and which came with the lures I have now so it is worth it. I get a couple of deep diving lures, 6-13 feet for the possible Bonito trolling I might be doing in the next month or so, and a couple of deadly #^&#^&#^&#^&s in 1oz and 2oz for casting since when it comes down to it the D/D's work with everything and I can chuck a metal in any direction and not have to concern myself with the wind or boat positioning. We get our 14+1 eels, 2-2 liter bottles of ice on the bottom, plastic coated rabbit wire cage in the cooler and more cubes on top to keep the slimy ones chilled and ready and the burlap I saved from a bush, wet and kept on top of the eelies.
The water in the bay leading to the ocean is smooth and there is almost no breeze, out on the sea the water is still calm, just rippled with some swell here and there, but nothing like the 2-4's I've had to plow out in every other time this season, 'thank goodness' and 'finally' I think. Tonight is smooth and I run to one spot 4-5 miles where the blues/bonito might just before sunset but the tide is slack and there is no action to be found, a quick troll and nada. We run to another honey-spot while the sun is a hot pink, going down over the land in the distance. I get to the spot and the drift is very different from what I've been used to all spring and summer. On the 4th cast I'm on but it is a bluefish on a hard plastic swimmer. My buddy, Fisher-X, like Racer-X on Speed Racer, is all topwater, his true-love. I switch to an eel and get one other bluefish while Fisher-X is 0-0 on the lures. This night he has sworn to topwater, that is until I catch many fish on the eels. It is around 10pm and I figure the water is too warm in our section of bay and decide to run for the next new spot where the promise of cooler water and a good flow should change things a bit. The water is still calm as can be so running the 12+ miles on top of the 12 I've already run is not a problem. The moon is up and casting shadows and all the stars are out along with visibility being around 10-15 miles this night and no fog and just a very light haze. I get us on a new-to-me spot but am too far from shore to get any hits so on the second pass I get us closer and on my first cast I'm tight to a fish, it makes 2-3 searing runs which makes me believe it is a bluefish but the fish is free and my eel comes back mangled, mangled but wiggling so I get it back in the drink and immediately, another great hit, this time it is one looooonnnnnnggggg run and I believe it is a bass. I can't gain any line on the fish so I believe it is sideways in the current as it ran upcurrent from the boat, a strong fish to run upcurrent at the speed it did, just like most big fish I've been able to fight, it had that hyper-drive where the fish will run for a distance then all of a sudden switch into high gear and really tail it, like a Bonito does the whole time it fights, the speed is twice as fast as a bluefish and bass. I just began gaining line after about 10 minutes of the fish running, and had about 2 minutes worth of gain when the line went slack. I got my line in and I believe the knot slipped through the hook's eye, major bummer for me since I believed I was on a good fish and then my knot let go. The set ups I used most of the night were a Boca 40pts spinning reel, both spooled up with 16lb Ande Tournament and one on a Boca M/H and the other a Medium. I favor the Medium for the lighter, more supple rod and like the bend the rod gives and it is still more than enough for me to turn any fish I might encounter. Fisher-X likes his M/H and feels the stiffer rod helps his topwater chugging. Oh well, not to dwell since on the drift we had gone through this zone where all we could hear and see were fish tailing and splashing about in the water all around the boat. I've seen and been in blitzes in the daytime, ones just after sunrise and sunset and in the middle of the day. I have read about people hearing fish slurping and slapping and crashing at night but had never heard or seen it myself, but we were right in the middle of it, drifting for about 100-150 yards worth of the action. I finally got to experience it, the nighttime blitz. It was more than a blitz however, it was a prolonged 3 1/2 hour feeding frenzy and the fish were probably at it well before we even got to the spot at 11pm at night. All the fishes bellies were full of silversides, sand eels and baby bunker and herring along with small squid. The bait must have been in the area, there is no doubt about that, not to mention that the nighttime had everything out in force. All is right about fishing at night.
Fisher-X cast his topwater Tsunami hardbody, Black floating popper with red gills, a neat new lure, the shape of which I haven't seen before, and in the moonlight, we could see the lure getting hammered and played with by the fish until that one big boil would take the lure down and I could see the tip of his M/H rod get taken down and watch him rear back and set the hook. I put out a black plastic swimmer and no luck. I switched to a bigger bodied popper with a very wide/round front and tapered toward the back and was on too. The fish were in the water and we were into it. The green jelly and luminescence was in the water again and we could see and track the fish from the glows in the water. He got his fish in and back in the juice and cast out and was promptly on again. Overall, the ratio of hookups based on the poppers was 6:1 in favor of Fisher-X's popper. When the lure would come in with no fish, we could see the green jet-trails of the fish, zooming off in every direction, it was like the "Friday Night Lights" story I had written about 2 weeks ago.
Either I am bad at working a topwater or his lure was what they wanted. I was not worried. After we had drifted clear of the maelstrom, I moved us back up and we anchored right in the the thick of the fish, they were still splashing all around the boat. We took our time, put on some music as it did not bother the fish and for the next 3 1/2 hours, were on fish after fish, like nothing I've ever been a part of. Mostly because the ocean had laid down and was so calm so I could run to this spot and it was night and there was only 1 other boat in the area. One or two other boats came and fished. They arrived at 1am-2am and stayed after we left at around 4am.
I set up an eel with an egg sinker and let it down in the starboard rodholder and in the port rodholder I deadsticked an eel only, no weight. To make a long story short, the fish were seemingly lined up behind the boat like Red Sox fans waiting for tickets to a playoff series with the Yankees. Sometimes both rods would go off at the same time and at other times one would go off before the other. Fisher-X was busy at the bow and wanted nothing to do with fishing the eels so I manned the stern with two rods out on bait. We were in heaven. I would sit down on the cooler seat and just take my time, no more pressure to catch fish, it was just time to revel in feeling the fish on the end of the line fighting, knowning that there was another fish on the other rod waiting to be brought in too, I'm now officially spoiled. Then onto the next rod after I set the weighted eel back in the juice where it would get picked up and Fisher-X on his fish, for the first time in my life I got to feel what it must be like for a commercial guy, those people who go out with not numbers of eels but in pounds of them, not that I'm that good, just that fish after fish was pretty fun and being at the right place at the right time.
Once I was out of eels, I took strips of the bluefish and put them out behind the boat as I had done with the eels and by golly, I got the same results as with the eels. Just a long 5-7 inch flag of bluefish meat with a nice long fluttering tail and the fish were loving it, much like fluke fishing. I tried chunks, pieces of fish head, tails, I tried every part of the fish and they all caught fish. I guess when they are hungry they are hungry and fresh bluefish works for them. I even cast out a piece I had carved out in the rough shape of a fish and reeled it in like a swimming fish and caught them that way, everything worked this night. I might never see another night like this, but then again, they might always be here it is just that I never tried this spot.
At around 3-3:30am, the tide began to go slack and there were a few large sand sharks in the mix, 40+inch fish whose fight is very similar to the bass. For the most part, these fish would get hooked right in the corner of their mouth so just getting the fish boatside, I'd slip my finger in the curve of the hook and it would just pop out of the mouth to let the fish swim away. I'm not one to kill a creature just because they are a nuicance, they are still just as fun to catch to me. So at 4am we ran 18 miles back home in smooth as smooth can be water. The moon had gone down some time ago and the skies were just starting to brighten.
I was junk for the rest of the weeknd and Saturday's seas, while still not rough, were 2-3 ft, I was still too tired to go out again Saturday night. We went out late in the afternoon for a scup/black seabass trip and got a bunch of each for dinner, I 'm looking forward to getting back to the area to fish again next weekend or Friday night.
I have pictures but they are in my buddies digicam. I do need to get one but am waiting to get the Olympus SW, shockproof and waterproof but at $350+, I'm waiting. So pics to follow. Bassyius Maximus out.