JimC
05-10-2006, 09:02 AM
.... and I figure I might as well get up since I made the effort to rig those rods last night. I was sitting there in the living room lamenting that I must have forgotten how hard it was to get a fly rod set up when Ann says, "Do you want me to get your glasses? I bet its hard to tie a knot in that skinny clear line at arms length." 30 seconds latter everything got much easier. Who knew?
4:45 it was still very dark. The thermometer read 40 something. I really didn't need any higher degree of precision than that. Seemed like a good time to make lunches for the Chase clan and get a jump on breakfast for everyone before they get up..Rattle bang mix splash...Done, 5:05, still pretty dark and the thermometer must have been broken because it hadn't budged since I first looked at it. Oh well I'm up so I might as well go out.
Keeping true to my 2006 resolution that less is more when it comes to fishing I made for the door with a half full tackle bag and only two rods. (This ultralight exit was made possible by the fact I managed to put on every piece of warm waterproof clothing I owned). I waddled down to the dinghy, dragged it to the water's edge and set off. The sun was coming up and the breeze wasn't too bad in the Basin so I figured I'd be okay if I didn't frostbite any exposed skin or fall in. I racked up the gear and fired up the electronics while the engine warmed up. "Hmmm, 2,386 ft" Since the tide was only about a third of the way in I guessed the fishfinder was on the fritz again. No worries, the tide is rising. "I can't get stuck anywhere. Well not for long anyhow."
Buoyed by recent reports of fish in the Mouth I headed for the bar at the Point. Good place to stretch the 400 gr and work out the winter's kinks. Well kink it did. My plan was to get the line stretched by a cooperative 24"er on maybe the first or second short cast. By the fourth fruitless cast I was looking for a hapless seal that might be within range to help stretch my uncooperative line but alas none ventured near. You'd think that those perfect arbor sized loops laying so neatly on the deck couldn't possibly be a problem...Think again...
After 5 minutes or so it was getting considerably easier to pick the loops out of the line. Thanks to my science background and keenly tuned sense of observation I recognized that the reason for my increased knot-untangling prowess was the east wind. Seems that while I was fussing with the line it had freshened a bit and was now blowing the line horizontally out of the boat forming a great loop in the air that would have endangered any clam chucker on the Point (were there any foolish enough to be out in this gale at 6:10 am).
Decided to take a piece of Bob Dylan's advice and "seek shelter from the storm" so I cleared the last tangle, fired up the engine and headed up to the more protected water upriver near Carr/Ram Islands. Sliding through Newburyport Harbor I looked down to notice the fishfinder again "2,224 ft" Nice to know I've got plenty of water."
Slid into the cut below Ram Island and set up a drift with the flooding tide along the marsh bank. The water was pretty murky but fairly warm at 59.5 degrees. I tamed the line to the extent I could get off 60 feet without cussing the line every other cast. I have fished this cut hundreds of times but I guess I never really knew how deep that pocket was, 1,865 ft. I don't know why I worry about hitting things up there. No joy at that locale other than a remarkable collection of wading birds: Great Blue Heron, Egrets, and Killdeer along with a couple assorted ducksseeking cover from the NE "breeze".
I moved up to the next cut completely amped based on my success so far this morning. Set up off the rocky point at Carr Island and executed a perfect pirouette drift. You know the kind where you set up to fish out the starboard side and the boat spins on around its central axis so fast there is no way you can make two consecutive casts on the same side of the boat unless your objective is to cover all the water in the river at the same time. Sadly, I'm just not that good. I move up in the cut a bit to work the undercut bank and the backside of Carr. Whoa, "7.6 ft". Better be careful pretty boney in there for me this morning. What's this? I must be hung up. Fishfinder says 1,978 ft. Wow, I'm really getting down with this line. No wait its moving, actually swimming away from me. Could it be? Yes it is the first little striped fellow of the year. I grabbed the leader and reached down for the hook. Flip, off he goes. I never wanted to actually touch him anyway! I would have had to do that first of the year ceremonial kiss or something equally tacky and un-hygenic. Two casts latter,whamo. Here we go again. This time the fish was closer to 12" rather than the first 13" monster so it was considerably easier for me to subdue the beast thanks to my 10 wt and bring it to hand for a quick release. Nice, I'm off the snide, for me the 2006 season has begun. No looking back from here. Its off the races. Just as soon as I freakin' thaw out.
4:45 it was still very dark. The thermometer read 40 something. I really didn't need any higher degree of precision than that. Seemed like a good time to make lunches for the Chase clan and get a jump on breakfast for everyone before they get up..Rattle bang mix splash...Done, 5:05, still pretty dark and the thermometer must have been broken because it hadn't budged since I first looked at it. Oh well I'm up so I might as well go out.
Keeping true to my 2006 resolution that less is more when it comes to fishing I made for the door with a half full tackle bag and only two rods. (This ultralight exit was made possible by the fact I managed to put on every piece of warm waterproof clothing I owned). I waddled down to the dinghy, dragged it to the water's edge and set off. The sun was coming up and the breeze wasn't too bad in the Basin so I figured I'd be okay if I didn't frostbite any exposed skin or fall in. I racked up the gear and fired up the electronics while the engine warmed up. "Hmmm, 2,386 ft" Since the tide was only about a third of the way in I guessed the fishfinder was on the fritz again. No worries, the tide is rising. "I can't get stuck anywhere. Well not for long anyhow."
Buoyed by recent reports of fish in the Mouth I headed for the bar at the Point. Good place to stretch the 400 gr and work out the winter's kinks. Well kink it did. My plan was to get the line stretched by a cooperative 24"er on maybe the first or second short cast. By the fourth fruitless cast I was looking for a hapless seal that might be within range to help stretch my uncooperative line but alas none ventured near. You'd think that those perfect arbor sized loops laying so neatly on the deck couldn't possibly be a problem...Think again...
After 5 minutes or so it was getting considerably easier to pick the loops out of the line. Thanks to my science background and keenly tuned sense of observation I recognized that the reason for my increased knot-untangling prowess was the east wind. Seems that while I was fussing with the line it had freshened a bit and was now blowing the line horizontally out of the boat forming a great loop in the air that would have endangered any clam chucker on the Point (were there any foolish enough to be out in this gale at 6:10 am).
Decided to take a piece of Bob Dylan's advice and "seek shelter from the storm" so I cleared the last tangle, fired up the engine and headed up to the more protected water upriver near Carr/Ram Islands. Sliding through Newburyport Harbor I looked down to notice the fishfinder again "2,224 ft" Nice to know I've got plenty of water."
Slid into the cut below Ram Island and set up a drift with the flooding tide along the marsh bank. The water was pretty murky but fairly warm at 59.5 degrees. I tamed the line to the extent I could get off 60 feet without cussing the line every other cast. I have fished this cut hundreds of times but I guess I never really knew how deep that pocket was, 1,865 ft. I don't know why I worry about hitting things up there. No joy at that locale other than a remarkable collection of wading birds: Great Blue Heron, Egrets, and Killdeer along with a couple assorted ducksseeking cover from the NE "breeze".
I moved up to the next cut completely amped based on my success so far this morning. Set up off the rocky point at Carr Island and executed a perfect pirouette drift. You know the kind where you set up to fish out the starboard side and the boat spins on around its central axis so fast there is no way you can make two consecutive casts on the same side of the boat unless your objective is to cover all the water in the river at the same time. Sadly, I'm just not that good. I move up in the cut a bit to work the undercut bank and the backside of Carr. Whoa, "7.6 ft". Better be careful pretty boney in there for me this morning. What's this? I must be hung up. Fishfinder says 1,978 ft. Wow, I'm really getting down with this line. No wait its moving, actually swimming away from me. Could it be? Yes it is the first little striped fellow of the year. I grabbed the leader and reached down for the hook. Flip, off he goes. I never wanted to actually touch him anyway! I would have had to do that first of the year ceremonial kiss or something equally tacky and un-hygenic. Two casts latter,whamo. Here we go again. This time the fish was closer to 12" rather than the first 13" monster so it was considerably easier for me to subdue the beast thanks to my 10 wt and bring it to hand for a quick release. Nice, I'm off the snide, for me the 2006 season has begun. No looking back from here. Its off the races. Just as soon as I freakin' thaw out.