Billy Mitchell
It was a silent morning and the harbor was very quiet. I started the outboard of the Mal de Mer, and I was off the mooring before sunrise.
I made my way between other moorings and seagulls perched on the roofs of lobster boats, towards the dock where my Dad was waiting.
I picked my Dad up at what was formerly the flotilla in Plymouth Harbor, but is now the skiff dock, due to this year's endless construction projects.
The flotilla was overcrowded with skiffs, so I had to nose the boat into a small opening so I didn’t crush my lower units. Surprisingly I did no damage to any boats or the dock.
More...
After a short trip through the harbor, we throttled up past the Plymouth breakwater and out into the silent overcast of dawn. We arrived at Gurnet Point as the sun began peeking through the cloud cover.
We dropped a few sabikis into the gray water and we immediately hooked into several small tinker mackerel or 'bass candy' as we like to call them. After loading up with eight or ten more feisty macks, we made our way into the bay to look for signs of life.
The tide was coming in, and with the new moon, the water was really moving and a nice rip had set up where the channel moves past Bug Light. The foghorn blared incessantly from the top of the lighthouse.
I had my Dad slow the boat so I could make an exploratory cast into the rip. I pitched my lucky Bill Hurley sand eel into the torrent and let it sink on a slack line before I reeled up the slack.
Tap, tap, hook set and “I’m on!”
Shortly after I let out a big, “Oh no...”
“Spit the hook?” my Dad asked.
“No, I hooked a fish on my first cast” I groaned. “Bad luck - we’re cursed.”
What a perfect trip. Thank you Billy. Hope the new ramp is finished soon.
It was! Me too, but I’m not hearing good things about how construction going. Looks like a possible August finish date now.
So jealous sounds like an unbelievable outing. Something a striped bass fisherman could only dream of most of the time.
Nice Billy. I can also relate to having an iced coffee after a successful fishing trip. I swear they taste better after catching a bunch of fish!
Nothing better than an iced coffee after a long morning of good fishing! It’s so true.
Great report! Blue has also been a hot color for me this year ( second only to white). I know the sharpies don’t put as much stock in color as in relative shade (light or dark), but I haven’t had such success with blue (whether a guppy, swim shad, stick shadd, deadly dick) in previous years. I’m guess it’s a herring thing.
Thanks Jim. I think that’s exactly it. Lots of herring around this year in places where there normally aren’t. It’s a good sign. And the bass just seem to act differently when the herring are around–that is to say they go absolutely nuts!
Great report !
Billy, Well done! Right in my back yard as I have my boat in the rack at Brewer Marine. I enjoyed your pictures and commentary as I am still off line with a bad back. All these fishing stories are killing me, but glad to see all the action.
Thanks Ron! Hope you feel better soon and will be able to get out there!