I had to go out and fish last night. I knew where there would be a lee from all the wind, big seas, and where I could get the boat in and fish the calmer waters that I know always exist somewhere near some islands. I had a feeling that the fish would be stacked up waiting out the heavy seas. I know that the season, while peaking now, will soon be over, so I left work, geared up, got bait, trailered up, splashed down and did some rare-forme, weeknight fishing.
We spent the early evening drifting in some very fishy-looking water. The kind that has some rip in it along with some, what looks like boiling water or upwellings, I had my eel(s) on sliding eggs. My unusually heavy egg/weight, and I say unusually heavy because I don't normally use an egg anywhere near as heavy as I had used last night, would hit bottom, I'd let out another 20-40 feet of line, flip my bail and just keep the tension on the line so I can feel the potential pick-up.
It was twilight, almost darkness really, and hip-hop-hooray!, Nice Bass last night.
I had some hooked by the top of the inside of the mouth, you know, that skin that is in there, then the leader will run out of the mouth and which makes me worry that sometime the teeth might abrade the leader and cut me off but most times doesn't? Most all the fish were hooked either in the bottom jaw or top jaw and none were gut-hooked. The Gamakatsu Octopus hooks, not circles, in a 5/0-6/0 have been doing it for me for the past few years, along with the 25-30 lb floro, mostly Seaguar and in the past Calcutta, but I can't tell the difference between any of the floro's. I also don't have a hook sharpener as the hooks I use have been doing the job despite catching fish after fish with each and every hook. Add to this those expensive, but worth it and necessary Penn B/B solid-ring swivels to keep the eels running true, complete the rig. Again, with one of the bluefish we caught earlier, and the fact that I have a lot of people who like bluefish, can you believe that it sells for $5.99 a lb at Super Stop and Shoplift?, I gut and ice the bluefish to keep it nice, and I now rub all the blood and guts all over my reel and rod and lines to get that scent on everything to mask whatever human/synthetic smells that might exist on my hands, just another variable that I have been expermenting with and so far has been paying off in dividends.
It is the derby however, I'm not a part of any derby or contest or tournament, I might never be for whatever reason, but the fish are in the water and willing. Must be the time of the year. We took our limit as one can see from the fish on the deck, all cleaned out and ready for icing. It is late in the season and these are some of the only bass I've kept all year, so it is time to stock up for the long winter and make friends and family happy with some not-commercial-caught-fish. IT IS KEEPER TIME!
I am totally beat right now, (awwwww, poor baby, caught so many fish and now he's tired,right?) from spending the time OTW last night, then driving 100 miles to go home and getting up for work, however, it is the life of an addicted fisherman, no doubt about it. As always, ENJOY!
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