I was with my wife at Quonny this summer and watched in amazement at what must have been a Googan convention.
It started with this dude – he has obviously discovered a way to double his chance of catching fish. Later, he worked his way over to his buddy, who was at the edge of a drop off next to a channel marker. The tide was running pretty good and he started casting his rig (a dead eel, hooked through the center of the belly, on a dropper rig with a 2 ounce pyramid sinker…sweet!) just behind the buoy. Within two casts he had managed to snag the chain to the buoy and he started to yell, “I got one! I got one!” He fought that “chain-fish” for about 5 minutes before he realized what had happened.
Finally, I watched a procession of macho skin divers walk past us. They were young teens on a mission. They had a look of grim determination on their faces as they paraded down the shoreline, each equipped with a different type of pole spear; one was a pitchfork style head; another was armed with a Hawaiian paralyzer head; a giant harpoon head; and even a tiny straight tip. These kids were on a mission – what it was, I had no idea. First of all, you’re not allowed to dive in the pond at that time of year – not even for clams! What did they expect to shoot: sharks, killer whales, barracuda, oysters, or mussels? I guess any Sunday afternoon in August you can expect the circus to come to town.
A very capable surf fisherman I know shared this experience with me.
It was a cold and windy February afternoon and I was going a little cabin crazy. I jumped in the car and headed for Narragansett Beach to at least get a little salt air in my face. I pulled up to the small breakwater near the Coast Guard House and this guy is casting off the wall and retrieving like crazy. I shut the car off and just watched. This guy was fishing with a vengeance! I had to get out of the car and ask him what the hell he was after. I approached him and asked, “Hey, what are you fishing for?” He replied, “I’m after bluefish. This is a great spot for them! I KILLED them here last August!”