High incoming/Low outgoing question.

[Striper_Haven_03]

Originally Posted by redlite

Every time I think I got it figured it, the fish don't cooperate.

I hear you there Mike.

Mother nature has a way of throwing curve balls at you when you think you know what bait/tide/moon is best for a certain location. If I know there are very large fish around in a certain spot I will fish that spot exclusively and fish all tides cycles while I am confident the fish are there. My pb 46#er I caught earlier this year came that way. A spot I normally fish on the last 3 hours of the ebb was producing big fish so we fished it at the opposite end on the flood on a hunch. If I had followed my log-book I would have slept in that morning. One things for sure, you need to be out there to catch em'.

[numbskull]

Here is a lesson I learned today.

Had the day off. Too windy to boat fish today, too rough or wrong tides for a predawn effort at the usual shore spot. Couldn't bring myself to drive to Sandwich and go scouting. Depressing, so I started cleaning the cellar. By 11am I couldn't stand it so I took the dog for a walk. Took a rod and a few plugs.

Horrible conditions. Slack high, screaming SW wind, dense rain, mid day, no bait.

First cast I catch the largest bluefish I've caught in years.....maybe 16 lbs. Then 4-5 small bass. Hey, this looks good all of a sudden. So I plug a mile of rocky shore with loads of structure.....nothing. Get to a sand swimming beach.....boom....another blue probably 14+lbs (picture).

Now I am happy, the tide is ebbing, nearby are a couple of jetties one which fishes well on the ebb. I walk to them and carefully fish them the way I know best....nothing but a few misses (probably decent blues again). So out of boredom I throw a cast cross wind and skitter the pencil past a rock pile between the jetties where in 40 years I have never raised a fish and usually ignore. KABOOM!!! One of the largest striped bass I have ever seen jumped that plug and rolled all over it. Got a great look at it. More likely 50 than 40 lbs. I missed it, then missed a 30lb fish following it, and then hooked a 3lb fish in the aftermath, which was retrieved and unhooked faster than any 3 lb fish in history......all to no avail. Chance blown.

I go to really great extents to put myself in prime striped bass spots at prime times. Yet one of the best fish I am ever likely to have a shot at, shows up at 1 in the afternoon on a dark day with too much wind, dead water, and in a spot I considered garbage, at a time I wouldn't ever choose to fish seriously.

Live and learn, and remember, you don't learn unless you step beyond what you know.

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by numbskull

I throw a cast cross wind and skitter the pencil past a rock pile between the jetties where in 40 years I have never raised a fish and usually ignore. KABOOM!!! One of the largest striped bass I have ever seen jumped that plug and rolled all over it. Got a great look at it. More likely 50 than 40 lbs. I missed it, then missed a 30lb fish following it, and then hooked a 3lb fish in the aftermath, which was retrieved and unhooked faster than any 3 lb fish in history......all to no avail. Chance blown.

Great story, George, and sorry to hear you missed the fish. That would have been a real great way to finish up the season and perhaps add another plug you don't need to your arsenal....







































...next time take the effing hook bonnets off!!!!