The "Take"

[DZ]

The “Take”

It’s now Friday and my last night on island. With a three day weekend in progress there was sure to be more casters to contend with. The more popular island haunts would be crowded at dusk. My dilemma – where to go? I figured that “closer might be better” and would try a location nearby for some solitude. My hunch was correct as buggies full of hungry casters rambled by me on the way to the south end while I geared up at the pull-off on Spring Street.
It was now 30 minutes before dark as I surveyed the water from the bluff. A moderate easterly breeze of 10 knots helped the flooding tide push some white water into the parallel line of rocks some 30 yards off the beach creating near perfect conditions. I would also have the spot all to myself as not one other caster was here.
Once on the cobble I started casting my way north while constantly changing from needles to redfins on every perch. Nothing was doing all the way past the pipes. Full darkness had now set in as I started to work my way back. Halfway to the chute it happened – “the take”. Ten turns into my retrieve a bass “took” the Block Island Green pattern Super Strike Needlefish. Not an ordinary strike but a solid take where the strike and run happen at the same instant. I felt resistance and the very next moment line was peeling off my VS 300 as if it were attached to a freight train. I don’t experience these special “takes” very often – especially with the heavy gear I use - so I knew this fish could be special. Line continued to leave my reel in short fast skipping bursts, a sure sign my balky drag was dirty, wet, or both. In a matter of 30 seconds the fish was over the offshore reefs and my mono went limp - cut off like a like a knife through butter. That was all the time it took for my emotions to go from high elation to the low feeling of dejection that every surfcaster feels when dropping a special fish. I cursed myself out loud for not cleaning my drag before this nightly session. 35 years of experience and I should have known better. “Takes” such as these are so rare nowadays – and to blow a chance at this one really hurt.
Not even stopping to re-tie I immediately went right back to my buggy where I completely took apart and cleaned my drag. I was back on the same rock in 15 minutes and managed to take some bass into the high teens.
I would soon move to “Thumper’s Rock” but I was still stinging from my earlier disappointment. I decided to clip on a Hab’s Needlefish in honor of John Haberek who had passed on just 5 weeks earlier. My first cast with it provided a plump 25 pound bass that inhaled his yellow plug. The thought of John smiling from heaven above as I released this fish helped ease my earlier disappointment - thank you John Haberek.

PS: The “take” or strike of a surfcasters offering is probably the most exciting part of surfcasting. I know it’s my favorite. “Take’s” vary from explosive to subtle depending on conditions. I plan to write more about them in a future magazine article.

DZ