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We survived the Hardcore Clave! Day One

2K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  Eddie 
#1 ·
And it was brutal! Friday morning we were attacked mercilessly by starving albies and all we had to ward them off were thin graphite rods. Luckily the men [and boy] were equal to the task and we prevailed. It's a good thing we did too, it's a scary thing to see so many aggressive albies and so few fishermen. It would have been down right lonely out there if not for the few fishermen with Iron Will and Endless Fortitude who sacrificed their comfort to join the fray.

A colorful lot we were too.
Slinger announced his arrival by asking "What's so hardcore about this?" as he hooked another albie. I couldn't figure out why he was using that huge bobber on his flyline until I realized he was using the albie to try and tow a lobster pot out of his way.

Sean was an albie catching machine who hooked too many and consequently suffered equipment failure. You have to understand that he hasn't been flyfishing for very long so he didn't know enough to let his reel cool off between fish. I'm sure he learned a valuable lesson.

Nine year old Matthew was not impressed by the old men winching in their little albies on those big heavy flyrods so he broke out the light spin rod and and demonstrated how sporting a big albie can be on 10 lb test. Having demonstrated the proper technique, he went back to the more exciting activity of searching the rocks for the numerous flies lost by careless fishermen.

And of course Your's Truely. My specialty was weaving many intricate and complicated knots into my leader by waving it back and forth over my head. Once and awhile I was interupted by a desperate albie which couldn't find any other fly to hit.

It wasn't easy to overcome the 5 knot puffs of wind and the six inch ripples on the water made presentation a challange but we survived. Also, I think it was raining a little too.

Later in the day we were joined by the esteemed Lefty who displayed remarkable calm under the pressure of an intense fluke blitz. It isn't easy to keep a clear head when those flatfish are going airborne! Lesser men have been known to fall apart and act strangely, even misplacing their gear under such excitment.

Later that evening our little group was enhanced by the addition of the Esteys. These fine gentlemen are always welcome in my camp [and not just for their culinary talents!]. Wisely anticipating the disappearence of the tunoids with the approaching weather, they brought their own. One of my fondest memories of my first clave is the Esteys' peach cobbler. Years from now when I remember this clave, the grilled tuna steaks will figure promenently.

So ended the first day of the First Annual Hardcore Clave. Speaking for myself, as well as Matthew, there is no question we made the right choice in coming down. I suspect the others would agree. I'll leave it to the others to fill in the rest of the story.
 
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#2 ·
...Great Report!!!...

Mike...
Couldn't have happened to a more deserving bunch of HardCores!
No casualtiez...No police reportz...Lotza' fish...Most excellent!
 
#5 ·
Well we didn't see much of anything in the way of fish but the clave was great all the same. Spending a sunny day on the breachway talking fishing with my dad and other clavers while continually predicting that SOMETHING has to start chasing this immense pod of bait in front of us. The camp dinner was fantastic, as is usual for this crew, and not just for the food but the company as well.

Sunday we trooped north to fish for BFT, ran about a 50 mile loop with two spotted tuna. Monday we extended the weekend due to a favorable forcast. The forcast was seriously off but we made a similar 50 mile loop with no tuna, a good soaking from the 1-3 foot waves that seemed suspiciously like 2-4 and occasionally 3-6. The highlight of the day was having a very large pod of dolphin/porpoise play near our boat.

Thanks to all for another great clave experience!
 
#6 ·
Very tired claver!

Well,
I just got back from a day on the water with Mike Mayo and his buddy Al. What a fantastic end to an already great weekend. Here are the highlights.

1. Friday - West Wall hooked up with 5 Albies landed the first 3. I was no match for the last 2 with a Bauer M4 with no drag. Sorry Eddie the Tibor is fine and landed 5 albies today. Also had one blue and a fluke (is this a valid slam?)

2. Saturday - Tough day with the wind and surf. No fish. I did enjoy the company of my fellow clavers at dinner. Great stories and fine food. Many thanks to Papa-G for the Filet Mignon.

3. Sunday - A few fish showing at the West Wall in the a.m. but very few hookups. Hit Weekapaug in the afternoon. Things were very slow early but really heated up right at the high. Landed one Albie.

4. Monday - The morning was very frustrating as the fish were keyed in on juvenile crabs. Managed to hook one after Mike offered me his magic fly. We left the picky fish around mid morning and found some more finicky critters. Later we found the motherload and had non-stop action. All told landed five albies on the day. Mike and Al were great hosts. I think we had at least two doubles.

Could not have drawn up the weekend any better.

Hope to see everyone again before the season ends.

Many thanks again to Mike and the rest of the clavers for the great weekend.

Sean
 
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