From: bsmith@osf.org (Bruce Smith)
Subject: A bad day fishing...
Originator: bsmith@serverx.osf.org
Organization: Open Software Foundation
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 19:10:08 GMT

Took an MH day last Friday and drove down to Cape Cod, MA for a day of fishing.
I stopped at the Cape Cod Canal, an area that formerly held flounder, tautog,
pollock, an occasional sea bass, and of course, cod. Bluefish blitzes were once
common -- it was at the canal, in fact, that I caught my first large blue,
a 28", ~12-lb. chopper. Quickly changing our bottom-fishing rigs for lures,
my brother and I cast into the breaking fish. In seconds, we both had fish on.
Randy's fish came in just ahead of mine, so he had our net in hand attempting
to scoop it up. He had to be careful, since the jetty is slippery and the 
currents strong. As he maneuvered to capture the blue, my fish came in. Since
Randy had the net, I was left to haul in my fish as best I could.

The tired fish was right next to the jetty, almost on a rock. I tried to lift
it up, but my line gave way! Throwing caution to the wind, I scrambled down
the wet rocks, grabbed the fish behind its gillrakers, and hoping that my 
fingers would be safe from those nasty teeth, climbed back up the jetty, fish
in hand.

For years, the Canal provided a source for some of my most memorable
fishing adventures. The last few years, though, have seen a sharp decline in
fishing there, although I think stripers are still taken, and maybe some blues.
Hoping for flounder or bluefish, I made the Canal my first stop for the day.
Bait and lures proved equally ineffective, and I wasn't seeing any fish coming
in from the other people fishing. One guy eventually caught a small striper.
It seemed a far cry from the days when I always caught *something* there, so
I left for my next destination, Salt Pond, near the Cape Cod National Seashore.

Salt Pond is just what its name sounds like -- a salty, tidal body of water
that appeared a perfect spot for some October flounder. The flounder proved
elusive or missing, though, the wind was strong, and I paddled my aluminum
canoe around the pond in vain. I paddled against the wind up a channel leading
out to Salt Pond Bay, where I found two other folks in a small boat.

"Caught any flounder?" one of them asked. 
I admitted I hadn't, and asked if they had.
"Nope. Didja try out in the middle of the pond? How about along the edge?"
I confessed I'd tried everything.
"Funny, there were plenty of flounder here in the spring [flounder can be
caught inshore in the spring and fall]. People were gettin' 'em right along
the edge of the pond. Big fish, too."

Six months too  late, I paddled back to the landing, stopping a few times on
the way, hoping for just one fat flatfish, one slippery sole. Alas, my
grand catch in Salt Pond turned out to be a single green crab. Although I 
spend much time crabbing in the warmer months, one crab -- especially a green
crab -- is not cause for much rejoicing, even in October. I went in and
put the canoe on top of my truck, wishing for better luck at Crystal Lake,
my final and freshwater destination. On the way there I stopped for some fried
clams, which turned out to be uncharacteristically rubbery. 

I'd bought some nightcrawlers earlier in the day; now I'd stop at the bait
store for the necessary shiners to tempt Crystal Lake's trout and bass. 
The lake is 36 acres of clear, clean water. Every fish I've taken from it
has been superb when cooked. Just the week before, I'd caught an eatin'-size
largemouth bass there, maybe 2.5 pounds or so. The fish surprised me, since
until this year I'd caught mainly trout and smallmouths from Crystal Lake.
Back in June, though, I'd caught another, larger largemouth, my first in this
lake.

Finishing the chewy clams, I headed into town towards the bait store for my
minnows. I got there to find it closed! "Open, Back at ..." proclaimed
the sign on the door. Looked like no minnows for me. I would have to fish
nightcrawlers and lures. I got to the landing at the lake, where I found
the people from the bait shop -- fishing!

"Now I see why I couldn't get any shiners," I told them. They seemed mildly
amused by this. When I mentioned the presence of largemouth bass to one of 
them, she said, "Oh, the fishermen did that." Looks like the lake's been 
unofficially stocked with largemouths. I put my canoe into the windy lake,
and, not forgetting my anchor, as I'd done at Salt Pond, paddled out to fish.

The weather had gotten cloudy and quite cool, much different from its sunny
beginnings. Midget largemouth after midget largemouth hit my nightcrawlers,
while nothing hit my lure. I paddled off to the other end of the lake, where
I finally, in the middle of catching tiny bass and small sunfish, hooked a
reasonable 14" brown trout. This stocked fish turned out to be my catch of the
day, and like most of the fish from this lake, was excellent table fare when
I got around to broiling it on Monday. Not my most successful day, but still
better than being you-know-where!

Bruce Smith

Newsgroups: rec.outdoors.fishing