Met bigcat at the causeway Sat AM. Down at the shuttle, Ron, Dave P, and a boatload of anxious anglers were already at the 'bus stop'. John Morin confirmed his attendance on the Rip Trip next saturday and buzzed out on the first bus with Keith at the helm.
Bigcat and I went to the ocean, seeing the massive hordes of birds working the surf. They were 300 yards off shore and the waves were insane, wind hard in our faces. We walked back to the J-K bouy flats. Couple schoolies. Weather was getting funky, the sky was much darker than the water and the wind was howling.
Worked back to the narrows between the outer sandbar and the south beach shore, more schoolies. Just as the vibe was getting stronger, Tom of Rip Ryder flagged us off the beach due to the impending risk of lightning.
Fishingus interruptus!
John and I decided to take advantage of his Race Pt 4x4 sticker. Called Captn Bruce on the way... he was out in that Hitchcock movie with a full charter, a few keepers up to 40" on light gear and fighting off shorts, sand eels everywhere and bass under them. Sometimes it sucks being on shore!
Arrive at Race. Beach / fishing crowd to the inlet at Hatches. Tide just pushing over the bar, looking like it might get good in a couple of hours. Wind 30 mph in the face. One schoolie caught by a bait guy, otherwise dead.
To the backside. Bait all over, birds working - no fish. Over a hundred yards of bait rods lining the camping area, no bent rods. Besides the fishing, absolutely beautiful afternoon on the backside of Race Point. Finished up at Chatham light, bait and birds everywhere, sand eels up to 8-9 inches long but no fish caught by anyone... eelers, chunkers, lure guys... even us fly guys!
World class sunset though. Gotta appreciate the little things.
Sunday -
Met Nick, his freind, Bigcat, Roop, John Morin, and NO Al D (something about wine... or was it whine? <font size="1"> just kidding buddy!</font><!--1-->) It looked like we were going to have some fun. Same as the night before... beautiful conditions, bait everywhere, birds, gorgeous place - no fish.
After a while, those who could stay all day headed for Rip Ryder, big cat and I headed for Morris Island. With only an hour or two to spare, we worked down toward the Stage outlet. I went back to the head of the spit where I did so well last Sat PM, full of bait. Strip, strip bang! Missed it. Several casts later, thunk! 24" schoolie... just a schoolie but if you ever want to appreciate a fish, just go that many hours without a hit in between! I was like a little kid. Saved my no-skunk record a little bit longer.
Bigcat was feeling the pull of responsibility so I kept pushing out to the outlet. The bar to North Monomoy was coming out so I waded out, almost able to reach the first channel. Some schoolies started to bust and I landed a small schoolie. I wanted to wait for the bar to clear but no time left in my day either. The eel guy behind me landed a nice fish and carried it home. 9:30 am, time to head back. I decided to wade to the spot where he caught the fish to check it out on my way out. No way! A series of very deep wave pockets in the sand create a classic hump formation over a hundred yards. No wonder that big fish was sitting there. I had to wade back to cross. Saved the discovery for next time.
Got back to the in-laws cookout early and ran the grill. No burned meat and plenty of brownie points with the better half. Back to the grind, now sitting here on my lunch break thinking "how soon can I get back out to Monomoy?"
SATURDAY! Rip Trip here we come.