Holdover Stripers and a Hook in My Hand

I went fishing on the evening of December 11th from shore for the first time in a couple weeks.  I figured some nice days of warmer weather would have any stripers fired up and I could almost sense fish in the air.

This spot is “sacred” to Robbie Sturtevant and I, as it seems to produce holdover bass year after year.  And after dozens upon dozens of trips there, I have never seen another angler.

I got to my spot after a 20 minute hike into some of the marshlands of the eastern portion of Cape Cod, fully equipped for a night of fishing, or so I thought…

I took a couple of casts with no expectations, but soon felt a couple of tiny hits on my rod.  I assumed the lure was scraping along the mucky bottom, but my lure kept coming back clean.

I also play these lures painfully slow, often creating a wake on the surface.  They dive to 3-6 feet when retrieved at max speed, but it is a floating plug that I play like a topwater. 

After another 15 or 20 casts I got a massive blowup about 5 feet from shore and she ran with it.  This was the first shore bass I had caught on my new Lamiglas Black ultralight rod paired with my Shimano Nasci 3k.

I was using super light tackle so it was a blast. I got the fish to shore and the striper was all fired up, thrashing like teen size bass tend to do.  

When I went to get the hook out she slid between my palm and threw a brand new VMC hook into my finger!

I had just changed to hardened VMCs after getting bent-out on stock hooks one too many times.  I knew this was going to be challenging and I tried to remain calm but the fish wasn't getting the vibe.