Friday
Well sometimes it's best to just suck up your pride and throw in the towel. Problem was that none of us were willing to quit Friday night, and we got absolutely drenched to the bone because of it.
To make a very long, wet, and dry as a desert night story a heck of a lot shorter, we just plain didn't catch anything.
I give Bob, Pat, and Sean Cassidy a lot of credit for sticking it out. Don't worry fellas I'll make it up to you guys later this summer. Let me know when you want to go.
Saturday
With clear skies, light winds, and no rain in the forecast, I had a lot more confidence coming into Saturday night. I had a powerhouse crew from Taunton-Randy, John and Brian. All three were experienced Capt. John bottom fishermen, and were looking for some corker Cape Cod Bay striped bass.
Right off the bat we began marking bait and the tubes went in the water. A few hours later we still hadn't hooked up, and I'm starting to think that we may have a repeat of Friday night. Dreading the rare and infamous "back-to-back skunk" I got us on the move and headed east.
Finally, after a lot of searching, we marked a small pile of bass and dropped the lines back. A half an hour later and the clicker started going off on John's starboard side rod. Thank god, I quietly said to myself.!
A few minutes later and we had a nice, fat, 32 pounder flopping on the deck of the Miss Loretta. It was John's first ever striped bass-what a start! It took me over a decade of trying before I beat the 30 pound mark. John broke into the 30 pound club after just a couple hours!
With tubes back in the water and a sense of renewed energy we trolled onward. An hour later and the clicker started clicking again.
This time it was Randy's turn, and he battled what would turn into his largest striper of his life-a healthy, sea lice covered 22 pounder. Nice fish!
Unfortunately Brian left the party empty handed, however he'll be sure to have the lucky stick next time.
All in all, still a very slow trip, but a heck of a lot more productive than the night prior.
The fishing in the Bay will only get better from here forward. A year ago this coming week produced two 15 plus keeper striper trips, with the largest topping the scales at just under 40 pounds. Can't wait to see what tomorrow night brings to the table.
Catch 'em up!
Ryan
