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Gone Fishin'
Rubber baits come in all shapes and colors
August 25, 2005
By Nelson Sigelman
Patti Dean sent in this photograph of a striped bass she and Richard Coutinho found floating in the water while fishing off Middle Ground two weeks ago. "The striper was trying to have a dinner of black bass and his eyes were much bigger than anything else!" she wrote. |
Sometimes, fishing columnists must operate by the same code of secrecy that applies to organizations like the Mafia, the CIA, and the Coca-Cola Company. As a result I cannot report on all I have witnessed.
But I can skirt the fishing code and tell some of what I saw. The consequences of doing so are not as dire as crossing the CIA or revealing the hidden location of millions of unsold bottles of “New Coke.”
My plan last Thursday afternoon was to go to the Ag Fair later that evening with my wife, Norma. The heat and high humidity that had afflicted us most of the summer had drained away any interest I might have had in shore fishing until I received a telephone call from a friend.
Striped bass were feeding on krill, small shrimp-like creatures, right along the shore well before sunset. He was heading to the location and did I want to go and check it out.
Bass can be very difficult to interest in a lure of fly when the fish are feeding on krill. I do not know if that has something to do with the millions of miniscule bait in the water or the method by which bass feed on the krill.
My wife was very understanding. “Go fishing,” she said when I broached the idea of a change in plans.
The sun was still more than hour from the horizon when we crested a dune that led to the beach and our fishing destination. A pronounced rippling of the water was evidence of schools of bass, some out of casting range, feeding along the shore.
I had brought along a nine-weight fly rod, not an unreasonable choice for big bass. I also had my newly acquired 8.6-foot St. Croix light-spinning rod with a Shimano Spheros reel loaded with 12-pound-test line.
I had stumbled upon the outfit, which was on sale, while I was waiting for my wife and daughter in a large mall we stopped in during a return trip to pick up my daughter at summer camp in Connecticut.
I am very resourceful in finding a need for new equipment.
I explained to my wife that it would be foolish to pass up such a bargain and said the combination would be the perfect outfit for casting light lures to small schoolie bass or bonito, as though that was a necessity, like a new hot water heater.
“Sure honey,” had been her response.
I tied on a Rebel Jumpin’ Minnow and cast it to an area of nervous water. The lure, a top-water plug that is generally irresistible to bass, was ignored.
My friends had already hooked up casting Sluggos, a variety of the soft plastic lures that are growing in popularity as fishermen discover their effectiveness. I had tied on the Jumpin’ Minnow to take advantage of its one-ounce weight in order to gain some distance.
I switched to a five-inch Sluggo. Distance did not matter because bass were breaking within a few feet of shore. I soon caught a schoolie bass about 24 inches in length.
The sun set beneath the horizon casting a reddish glow in the sky. A bright moon, just about full, began to rise. It was an evening to savor.
My friend, an experienced and resourceful Island fisherman, was hooking larger fish. He recommended I tie on a larger Sluggo, which I did.
I tied on a 7.5-inch white Sluggo, which was about at the top of the lure weight limit for my spinning outfit. A fish quickly clobbered the Sluggo and made me question the wisdom of using a light rod.
Bringing in a decent-size fish on light tackle requires patience. I kept the rod tip up and let the drag do its work and tire the fish. A mistake beginners often make is to reel even as a fish is pulling line.
I worked the fish down the beach, maintaining steady pressure. The tricky part was taking advantage of the waves to bring the fish up onto the beach. Again, it requires some degree of patience. Most big fish are lost close to shore when fishermen get overanxious and try to force the issue.
I landed the fish, a striped bass about 34 inches in length weighing about 15 pounds.
The point of telling this tale is to illustrate the effectiveness of Sluggos and similar types of rubber lures. I have had great luck casting a five-inch version fitted out with a very light cone-shaped lead weight weighing a fraction of an ounce, just to help add a little distance.
I tie on a barrel swivel to my line, attach a length of 30-pound-test leader material that I thread through the weight and tie it to a hook. A slow retrieve appears to be irresistible even when the fish are finicky.
Fishermen might want to experiment with the larger sizes. Rubber baits will never replace eels, but they do offer an alternative for folks who do not like to handle squirmy, slimy baits.
The range of plastic baits on the market today is staggering in its variety. The marketing folks must be working overtime to come up with new names.
I recently received a media kit from the Culprit folks that included a catalog listing fresh and saltwater products. The company produces a lure originally designed for fresh water bass fishermen that would probably be equally effective in the salt.
The “Original Culprit Worm” comes in 70 different color shades. They include grape shad, blue shad, chartreuse shad, chili pepper-chartreuse tail, copper frog, and watermelon red flake core. Who would have thought largemouth bass were so discriminating?
The company’s new “Gulf Chub,” designed for saltwater fishermen, can be had in colors described as electric chicken, space guppy, Texas avocado, and something called Calcasieu brew, probably named after something the guy who coined it drank one night in Mexico.
On Monday evening I returned to the same location. The fish were gone.
Bonito blast off
Bonito have begun to show up in some numbers around the Island. Over the weekend several large pods were off the Oak Bluffs steamship terminal but were tough to hook, according to one fisherman.
The fisherman also reported that for the most part everyone was minding his or her manners. Which means only a few boats were running and gunning every time a pod of fish came to the surface.
The appearance of bonito in greater numbers coincides with the “Bonito Blast,” a fishing tournament in which fishermen catch fish and have fun doing it, sponsored by Edgartown Marine Outfitters in Edgartown on the harbor.
The tournament runs Saturday and Sunday and features a $500 top prize. The cost to enter is $35 and a portion of the entry fee will benefit the Big Brother, Big Sisters program.
Even non-fishermen might want to consider joining this contest. Bob Blanchard, Edgartown Marine Outfitters owner, knows how to put on a major feed. He said the barbecue, which begins at 5 pm Sunday on the dock at the end of Morse Street, will feature ribs, chicken, tuna, corn, “and all kinds of good stuff.”
Weigh-in is from 12 to 5 pm Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call the shop at 508-939-9282.
Not worth it
I received an e-mail from Glenn Mello of Falmouth commenting on last week’s column in which I described the harrowing account of two fishermen after the boat they were fishing in capsized on Sunday, August 14.
Glenn wrote that he and some friends were fishing off Naushon that same Sunday evening with friends in a 20-foot boat when they received a call from someone alerting them that a nasty line of thunderstorms and high winds were “tearing down route 495.”
Glenn wrote, “The weather radio was turned up and the eels went over the side ‘just to be sure we get home’ and it was over for the evening. We got back to Falmouth Harbor in half an hour with a following sea. Of course, the winds and lightning never materialized, but it was not really disappointing. Actually, it felt right. I’ve been fortunate to be invited several times to fish with these friends and gotten them to release the big fish, use circle hooks, and always wear a PFD or SOSpenders. It’s gotten to be fun fishing because we want to be safe out there.
“I read a chilling account from Charley Soares in ‘On the Water’ a few issues back. It happened off Westport I believe, and he lost his best friend that trip to a rogue wave. It just ain’t worth it.”
He is absolutely correct.
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