An Early Birthday Present From MFCC Member Jay Walpole

This is a guest post from MFCC member Brian Dongelewic. Brian joined MFCC way back in 2013 and has become one of our top forum posters, and most active members. I appreciate all you do Brian and keep it up!

So there I was last week, just beginning to cast at the canal behind the Ice Rink (Cape side) around 8 am. I had moved there from a spot further East where I threw offerings for maybe 45 minutes before I decided to move (didn't bring my bike ).

I was mid-way through a slow retrieve when I heard my cell phone ringing. I don't usually pick up when I'm fishing, because when I'm fishing, I'm fishing. Anyway a few minutes later I checked my voice mail and was pleased to hear a message from fellow MFCC member Jay Walpole.

I called Jay to learn that he was inviting me to join him and another friend of his, Don, a Cape Cod Salties member, for a trip out on his boat. Although I have lived here on Cape Cod for 4 years, I have yet to get out on the big water to fish.

More...

I quickly picked up my gear and headed back to my car to make the trip to meet Jay and Don. Jay asked me to meet him at the Court House, since there is very limited parking at this specific marina. I learned that this was indeed an understatement!

It wasn't long before Jay was expertly un-docking his boat and we headed out. The day was gorgeous...nope, it was spectacular. The water was like glass. You couldn't ask for a nicer day.

On the way out, Jay connected with one of his buddy's who had fresh live bait and he was offering to share some with Jay. Pretty good move. We didn't go out that far..didn't have to. There was a small fleet of boats working the area dead ahead. 

It looked like there were some fish to be caught. Don hooked up almost immediately with a decent sized schoolie. Jay told me to "watch Don and do what Don does."

Jay was right. Don most definitely knows how to fish. I think Don caught the next one too, and then Jay hooked up. This went back and forth for a bit, while I was comfortably just enjoying the moment.

After awhile Jay took us out a little deeper in the water to jig up some fresh bait. 

Once we had enough bait, Jay took us to fish along a nice trench (with sonar it's great to see what's beneath the water's surface). Jay showed me the sonar so that I could see the water temp, the depth, and the fish. I liked that a lot-keep in mind I do all my fishing from shore.

As before, Don was the first to hook up with another schoolie. Then Jay did. It wasn't too long after that the winds started picking up-right on schedule according to Jay.

We started to head in when Jay began marking a lot of bass near another drop-off. We stopped there for a little while and were just about to call it quits when my rod took a good hit. It felt like a keeper for sure...maybe 35-37inches?

The fish kept taking lots of line with dozens of excellent head shakes. I had no doubt that this fish was going to be our first keeper of the day.

I finally brought it in next to the boat and Don used the net to bring it in. It felt pretty heavy to me, but we could all plainly see that the fish wasn't as long as I hoped it would be. I put the bass on the deck and measured it....26 inches...man!

Nevertheless the fish was very fat and it fought great. We took a quick picture and I swam him for a bit next to the boat before he took off. My first boat fish.

Just excellent-what a day!

Much thanks again to Jay and Don for sharing their time and boat with me. These are two great guys who "get it" when it comes to fishing. My birthday is June 27th and I can't imagine a better gift than this.

Thank you and tight lines!​