The Fish Were Scattered Today

I had hoped it would be a day in which I could get a frog bite going, so I could practice my hooksetting skills with this bait, but it wasn't to be. I fished a long stretch of shoreline in West Neck first thing this morning without arousing any interest whatsoever.

I subsequently started alternating between a spinnerbait and a crankbait. Collectively, they accounted for one white perch and five bass, including this 1-13, which was my best fish of the day. I also had a 1-1, 1-2, and a 1-4, as well as one dink.

What fish I did manage to catch all seemed to still be relating to wood, but only a select few pieces. More of my fish came off smaller stuff, except for the big fish of the day, which was tucked between a couple of good-sized cypress knees. He really nailed my spinnerbait and then dove into all the gnarly crap, but I just held a tight tension, and he eventually came out of the mess on his own.

Only talked to a couple other bass fishermen on the water today, in the person of my friend, Joe, and his brother, who is visiting from out of state. They had run south this morning and stopped on their way in to let me know they had caught about as many as I had. They indicated the wind had chased them from their spot down south.

Along about 1 o'clock, my friend and outboard mechanic, Wayne, called and asked if I wanted to bring my boat by his place this afternoon to get a job done we had talked about. And given the slow day I was having, I didn't hesitate to wrap things up at 2 o'clock and head in. Don't know when I'll get out again. In large measure, it'll depend on what this tropical storm does and the water level.

A Lot of Things Come With Curves...

But this light pole from the stern of Skip's boat isn't supposed to be one of them.

If my recollection serves me correctly, Skip told me this problem is the result of backing up without realizing some limbs were hanging low. He says it still works as is but plans to straighten it in the near future, unless he instead decides to mount a stern light atop his outboard cover.

New Bunks in Place Now

As noted a few blog posts ago, Jim learned that his old bunks were waterlogged and just about ready to dump his Skeeter in the road.

He wasted no time engaging the help of his son to fix him some new ones and, with the assistance of his brother, installed the bunks today. Now he'll be able to make his September trip to Lake Gaston with peace of mind. Incidentally, my friend, I apologize for using this photo of your old F-150 pickup, but I don't have any yet of your new one.