Sunday morning started off good, real good. While I waited for a buddy to come down to the water from the lot, I decided to make few casts in the dark at Kings. Like Vito always say (and I happily oblige) “fish the corners”. On about fifth cast my bucktail was engulfed. My elbow immediately went into Hi-Pain-Alert as I struggled to pump the fish. Every pump of the rod felt like getting stabbed with thousand knives in the elbow. But it was a “good” pain. Fish on the end of the line pain. When I see the fish in the wash, I said “I don’t want to lose this one”. I slide it on the sand and take few shots. Twenty six pound on my Boga and I am having an awesome day and it have not even started yet!!
I told you, I don’t need much to have a good day. 🙂
About the half an hour later the rest of my crew showed up and we walked into Caswells where we found brown and weedy water. The guys on the lead rocks at Kings were bailing fish but they were mostly rats although many had a “keeper” on a stringer. I guess when you spend all that money on wetsuit ,fancy reels and other equipment its prerequisite to have something on a stringer?..lol… Just busting some of my boys on those rocks, to each its own. There I was in waders and flimsy $60 Grunden plastic top looking like a Googan #1. Hey, I don’t feel like getting wet. I have massive shrinking problem when wet…ala George Costanza!
Later that day I decided that today was not going to be a camera/SJ/video day. No, today was going to be “Z goes fishing for a change day”. The wind was wicked, the waters was froth and I left my plug bag in the truck.
Hmm, now you are a saying, this guy is nuts leaving all his plugs in the truck, but au contraire mon ami. All I needed was a bucktail pouch on my belt, some pork rind, pliers and Boga. That is. Plugs were going to be useless in that kind of wind. So I walked into a south side sandy cove at 11 AM and from second cast for about two hour caught fish on just about every third cast or so. All alone throwing an ounce and a half bucktail until I was joined by what looked like father and two teenage sons. One son put me to school by nailing ten bass on ten consecutive casts, while I stood on sand ten feet away. It sucks when it happens but it does. To all of us sooner or later. These fish were good size too, very few micro bass and plenty hi-teen size and bigger. Around 2 pm, unable to lift my elbow which by now felt like it swelled to the size of a beach ball, I went into town to get a bite to eat. The fisher were still there.
That cove (and all places I fished that day) looked like a wash machine. Hard northeast winds at 20 mph plus higher gusts turned green water into white. The whole cove was blanked in frothy waves, the kind of water where you just knew bass had to be in it. And they were
As I checked my messages I chuckled at the one from a friend, who said that he had enough of not catching fish, that winds made it impossible to cast, and that he is on the way home. It was UNFISHABLE he said! I could amuse you with how to cast in these type of winds, where in the wave sequence to place your bucktail, how important is your line pound test, how to modify pork rind and all that but that would take another book. Your best bet is to contact Bill Wetzel to show you this, live and in-person.
After engulfing 7/11 sandwich and refilling my thermos yet again, I was walking back into the south side. Hey, I was here, might as well keep fishing. My elbow was throbbing, my thumb was all chewed up, but I felt so alive looking at that water. To be honest, ALL the water looked like it should have held bass. But it didn’t and that was very puzzling. Yeah, few people did better than others but considering no rain and fairly clean water the whole weekend, there should have been fish on north side with that blow, under the light, in turtle cove, Browns, you name it .They were there but few and far between.
Anyway , as I walked and cast and walked and cast I came across a dude in a wetsuit who fished on the corner of the cove. He was hooking up on EVERY SINGLE CAST. Not every other or third, every cast! It was cool to watch him. The guys in the cove were picking a fish here and there but mostly wishfully casting tins, trying to reach the water he was in, but to no avail. I got on the rock about 30 yards behind and slightly to west (remember, I am in leaky waders and cheap top that leaks like a sieve) and fired up a cast. I nailed a fish on a first cast but then watched the wetsuiter get a dozen while I went without a touch. There was rock close to where he was but the water was HUGE. If I could get there in between sets I might be ok on it but if I get caught in a swell..oh boy
F@#%^ it!
I made a mad dash over the thigh high water in between sets and almost managed to get to the rock before a wave lifted me and pushed me back ten yards. But I kind of managed to stay upright and dry. Then another mad dash to the rock and in less than ten seconds I was hooked up. Yup, being on the “right” rock means all the difference sometimes. No more than ten minutes later the fellow rod breaks about two feet off the tip, as he is landing the fish. I thought he would jump off the rock, but he re-rigs with what is now an eight foot rod and continues to clobber fish after fish. He must have landed 20 fish with a broken rod! It was awesome to watch.
(note in this picture full rod)
(Note in this picture a broken rod)
He got off after about an hour and a buddy of mine got on, and he continued to hammer fish after fish till dark.
I decided I had enough by then. There was a story left out of my biggest fish that took me for a ride before a jack ass on the beach decided to cast his tin across my line and break me off. It’s not important. Any fish I don’t “see” with my eyes I don’t get stressed over it. But when I see her, then I want to touch her and see her swim away.
Anyway, I got some sleep in the lot, got up at 4 am and made another walk into the south side. By now the northeast winds have abated down and water although still crazier than normal, has started to lay down. I spent some time with a camera, watched Farragut boys land about twenty of so fish and split by eight AM. Just fyi, because I know many of you guys are wondering where this super secret “spot “is. That Sunday I fished Caswells, Driftwood, Stone House, Kings, Rat Hole, Browns, Sewer, Counuts, Warhol, Amsterdam, Frisbees, Ditch Plans, Hoffman’s and Cavett’s. Yup, few coves short of every spot from Camp Hero to Ditch Plains. Like Vito says, do the walk and sooner or later..you’ll find some fish. Beats hanging in the lot, that is for sure.
The bite was dying down fast and by next day I got these kind of depressing emails from friends in Montauk
” I had one bump last night and I swear it wasn’t because I hit the rock !”
“Six of us started at Shag and fished around to Hither Hills. Not a single bump”
Yup, there is nothing wrong with the fisheries. One good day makes up for all those fishless nights in Jones beach since June 15th
NOT!
With conditions we had, Northeast wind sustained at 20 and gusting to 35 we should have had fish on north side, south side and anywhere in between. That is what we used to have, but I guess those days are now just memory
The next day I went to Jones Inlet with some rigged eels with Silver Fox or as my wife calls him “You Other Wife”. I threw a rigged eel under prefect conditions on perfect tide in October and never got a touch. Neither did he throwing plugs.
Back to what we are used to in Jones Inlet..a lot of nothing. Still looking for the first bass of the fall in “my spots” but I am open to visit your spots
really 🙂
And now a public service announcement. No, not really. Just letting you know about the big expansion project at White Water Outfitters, the Official VS Warranty Center in NY
White Water Outfitters is now located on 288 East Montauk Hwy in Hampton Bays, New York. They are the Official Warranty Center for Van Staal in New York. Their reel expert Bert also repairs reels from Penn, Avet, Shimano, Daiwa, Alutecnos and many other manufacturers. They also have a premier rod building shop. Captain Steve Petras, specializes in creating unique rods to meet your needs for surfcasting, in-shore, off-shore, and fly fishing. They even just moved into a new 11,000 square foot shop 2 weeks ago. Place is HUGE! If you are in the area come in and say hello!
White Water Outfitters YouTube Video Courtesy of “The Fisherman Magazine”
[youtube]http://youtu.be/hvoP7Z0xY8c[/youtube]
