It had been about 10 days since I last hit the water, so I couldn't wait to get to West Neck Marina this morning, prep the boat, and launch for a day of fun fishing. I had expected high water, so I was anything but disappointed when I turned into the parking lot, looked down toward the ramp, and saw the water already lapping over the front lip of the concrete. I momentarily thought about leaving my boat in the shed but needed a "fix" too badly to pass up the opportunity.
I figured the fish would be scattered, with the water so high, and it didn't take very long to verify that fact. Instead of running to Albright's as I usually do in this situation, I stayed in West Neck, so I'd be close in case I got a phone call and had to get home in a hurry. My wife had some surgery a week ago today, and this was the first time I had been away from the house for any length of time at all since that event.
I began my day by running up to the mouth of West Neck and fishing my way back with the wind, and with it blowing so hard, the trip turned out to be a lot quicker than I had anticipated. I just kept going when I got to the West Neck Bridge and didn't stop until I had gotten to the first duck blind on the lefthand side. In that distance, I only managed to boat three bass, one small striper, and one bluegill. The biggest bass was only 1-1, but all three were keepers. I also had two bass come unbuttoned alongside the boat--both of them keepers, too. All the fish hit a variety of crankbaits. The only other hit came on a plastic worm. The fish took it in a stand of cypress trees and moved a good distance with it in his mouth before I set the hook, but all I got for my effort was a hook buried in some wood.
This dismal showing had me a tad down in the mouth before I got home and had a chance to check my email. There I found a note from my friend Charlie Bruggemann, telling me he only had gotten a total of three fish today in Oakum Creek: one bass, one yellow perch, and one pickerel. His bass, however, was a nice 3-0. "If it wasn't for that fish, the day wouldn't have been worth getting up at 5 o'clock," said Charlie.
Another angler launched right behind me this morning in a Nitro, and when we met up a little later, he brought up the subject of my blog and paid me some kind compliments. He explained that he follows it all the time. Unfortunately, I neglected to get the fella's name, but I'll recognize the boat when I see it again and plan to educate myself then. Or better yet, if he'll email me upon seeing this note, I'll gladly offer an apology for "my bad" this morning. Here's my email address: kenneth34@cox.net. I look forward to hearing from you.
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