We spent the night in the Sedges probably for the last time this Spring. Not only will the flies and the mosquitos keep us away, but the Park Ranger and tourists will as well. Also, the season for big fish is coming to a close.
It was supposed to rain all night, but the rain held off 'til the morning. We really didn't have much luck at night. We arrived around midnight and fished until just before sunrise with just one big blue on a live eel. We slept. I was hoping to sleep in, and was looking forward to it because i figured the rain would mask the usual sounds that would wake me, like the infernal racket of the birds. But the sun rose, and the birds squawked, and I rolled out of my tent. I cast around for about an hour before Steve emerged. I had nothing to show for my efforts. It was shaping up to be a disappointing day. As we travelled back up Snake ditch I saw some bass follow my lure, recast, and hooked up with a short. I tagged it. As the day progressed we managed to catch many short bass, a fluke and a few blue fish. THe fishing was slow, but steady for me, and sporadic and then awesome for Steve. But the tale to be told is not really about the fish that we caught, but about the one that got away.....
A kayak is a ship. Only it's a very small ship. And like a ship, everything has it's place. If just one little thing is different, it's a recipe for disaster. Let me get to the point. I lost my favorite reel on this trip.
I have been extremely diligent about leashing it to my boat for over a year now. And recently I have become a little lax in that department. There are many lessons to be learned from what happened to me the other day. (And that's just who we are.) The type of people who only learn from experience. We try to glean information from the old salts. From those who have "been there" but in reality we are the type who can only learn from experience. But do we truly ever learn?
So it's not some great story, a larger than normal (as the day had been going) fish attached itself to my hook, and thus my line, and thus my rod and yanked it out of my hand. And into the water. And away it swam, with my wonderful, favorite setup! (It's always your favorite gear that you lose, because that's what you're using most) And I screamed, but no one heard. Not even the closest person (Steve) heard my screams. I wanted to jump in, and truly considered it for a moment, but with my pfd a dive would be impossible. Was it a giant? Was it my great Whale? We will never know. I won't even postulate on that one. All I know is that I had my rod in my hand and as I wasn't expecting a large fish, it yanked it right out of my hand. Which leads to another lesson. Always be prepared to catch a big fish.
What are we doing out there? The record al McReynolds fish was caught on a small lure. The new record I believe was caught on an eel. It's spring and we have lures equally as big. There are large fish moving through our waters. That's why we're there. So even though I had been catching 20" fish all day, I should have been prepared mentally and with my gear to catch a giant fish. I wasn't. When I grabbed my rod, in my mind there was going to be another 2 lb fish, but alas.........
So, it's not the greatest loss. it's not a Van Staal or anything too fancy. Some guys fish with super expensive gear and don't leash it. That's their problem. I had a simple Avet with an Ugly stick tiger lite. For me it was the best, and I will replace the reel. And I will continue to leash it, always...
But there is still another story besides this tragedy to be told. Another tragedy in a way. The heralding in of the summer. It's sad to have to think this way, but the spring is essentially over. Some Signs of change are Steve's 21"fluke he caught in Snake Ditch, and the bass are getting smaller, and the bluefish angrier. Barring anything spectacular happening in the next week, my chances of bigger fish for the spring are over.
The wind has really been the biggest factor this spring. We've had a blow from the south for two months. That and the rough surf have made it difficult to surf launch to say the least. We've done it three times and not had any luck. I did, however, get a puffer and a sea robin
on the tube-n-worm (the small weird fish are in the ocean?). Kind of funny. So, if there are reports of bunker I may try to go out and beat my PB (personal best), but otherwise I probably won't be targeting large bass until october. Time to switch gears and target doormats (large fluke). As much as we hate it, the obsessed fisherman needs his white whale. There are guys that go out to catch fluke and have 20 shorts to one keeper, while KGB Steve and I rarely if ever have caught shorts and only catch 18" and over fish. I will miss the serenity of the sedges in the early Spring, but soon it will be cold again, and dark, and raining (or snowing), and that's when I'll be searching for a real fish...Until then I have a bigger puffer and a bigger Sea robin to catch.......
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