Gone Fishin' : Fishing season begins not a day too soon
As I recall the conversation, it took place sometime in March. My wife wanted to know when the fish arrived.
I am not sure what prompted the discussion. I might have turned the television set to the Military Channel (where the Nazis were losing again) or to the Outdoor Channel (where a guy with a southern accent was shooting a deer, or a turkey, or a warthog) or simply announced that I was going to make apple crisp at 9 pm at night.
Dale Morgan of Oak Bluffs tries his luck at Big Bridge at dawn yesterday. Photo by Ralph Stewart
"Honey," she said, standing in the living room with just a hint of exasperation. "When does fishing start?"
I said probably around late April or early May. "That's not soon enough," she said.
Norma had not developed a sudden interest in the sport or the species. What she really wanted to know was when she could count on a distraction that would get me outdoors and out of her way.
I suppose it is the Vineyard version of cabin fever. I get antsy between the end of hunting season and the start of fishing season and think up projects I would normally never want to do.
The fish - a striped bass to be exact - arrived for me Friday night. They arrived several weeks earlier for a number of enthusiastic Island fishermen who are more ambitious than I am about prospecting for the first bass of the season.
I had been hearing about bass along the south shore and at Big Bridge for a week or two. A suggestion from Tom Robinson that we go fishing Friday evening moved me to prepare a fly rod and spinning rod.
My favorite eight-weight fly rod was still rigged with the big white squid fly I had last cast sometime in the fall. A bonito jig was still affixed to the light St. Croix spinning rod I favor for small bass. I never did catch a bonito last season.
I reassured myself that both reels still turned. I tied a new leader to my fly line and told myself I would get around to spooling new line onto my spinning reel. The zippers on my fishing vest had not fared as well as the reels over the winter and were frozen in place
A long soak in warm, soapy water was not persuasive so I brought out the heavy artillery - WD-40 and pliers. That did the trick.
Tom and I went to a cove on Sengekontacket Pond, the body of water shared by Oak Bluffs and Edgartown connected to Nantucket Sound by two channels spanned by bridges and known locally for obvious reasons as Little Bridge and Big Bridge.
When we arrived, Justin Prabanic was casting a fly nonstop without any success. I figured the fact that he is young and had caught fish the evening before, but mostly that he is young, accounted for his efforts.
The Prabanics - a family of more brothers, sisters, cousins and uncles than many professional football teams - have a fishing ethic forged in the steel towns of Pennsylvania. Justin, an expert fly fisherman, had returned for another summer of fishing and working and guiding at Coop's.
Phil Cronin of West Tisbury was contemplating the scene while enjoying a cigar. The reported fish were nowhere to be seen, and he was considering a change of location.
Dick Pytko of Edgartown was casting a Sluggo. His friend was casting a lure. Neither was having any luck.
I was happy to be standing in the water listening to the sounds of nearby nesting geese. The fog rolled in as it does this time of year, obscuring the far shore.
It is not a compliment to say that someone is lost in a fog. But being enveloped by fog while fishing can instill a sense of serenity, unless you are in a boat looking for Naushon and hear the ferry's whistle, sounding just at that moment rather impatient. That happened to Tom and me once, and it instilled a sense of panic.
Tom and I decided to try our luck elsewhere. We passed several other folks heading in as we headed out. Rick Harvey and Joan Parseneze of Edgartown had the optimism of new arrivals. Soon-to-be-married Wilson Kerr of Vineyard Haven was in equally good spirits.
One of the pleasant parts of a new fishing season is running into people I have not seen much, or at all. It provides an opportunity to catch up on news. It is usually just enough to be outside with a rod in hand for people to be in a good mood, fish or no fish. Those attitudes usually change by Derby time.
Tom and I next checked Bend-in-the-Road Beach, Little Bridge and finally settled on the beach next to the Oak Bluffs Steamship Terminal. I stepped between some rocks in my waders and firmly lodged my foot. I mean I could not budge it.
Tom enjoyed my predicament. I thought of those movies where the tide comes in and the victim slowly gurgles out of sight. I pulled my foot out of the wader shoe and finally managed to free myself.
I cast a soft green-colored plastic lure. A striped bass stopped my retrieve in a splash.
It was not a big fish, perhaps 50 inches long..., well, maybe more like 20 inches. But it was the first striped bass of a new fishing season, and welcome back.
Season starts strong
The fishing season appears to have gotten off to a great start. The first big bluefish hit Wasque last week and stripers are showing up in most of the Islands' well-known fishing spots.
Fishermen are catching keepers, bass over 28 inches in length, with some regularity. Tom reported with some glee that while I was working he caught a 32-inch bass Monday evening in Vineyard Haven.
The 18th annual Martha's Vineyard Rod and Gun Club Fly Rod Striped Bass Catch and Release Tournament is scheduled for Saturday, May 30. The date is a bit earlier than past years but organizers wanted to avoid the bright light of a full moon, which tends to move bass off the beach.
Fishermen fish in teams and all catch tallies are strictly a matter of personal honesty. Everyone who fishes the tournament and is present at the awards ceremony has an opportunity to win a very nice prize. All entry forms go into a box and are pulled at random.
The entry fee is $35. Money raised by the tournament helps support a variety of youth programs. Rules are available at here.
