October 2003 Daily Fishing Reports

It seems that every time Jeff Howard and I tried to get together this October, the weather didn't cooperate or something worked its way into my schedule. Well, despite ice on the Katie G. at 7 AM, we would not be deterred and it turned out to be a great day. Once again, the east end of the Canal was filled with bass that inhaled our flies with abandon. There weren't many big'uns among the pods we worked, but it sure felt good to be hooked up. As the east tide slacked, we poked around the Sandwich creeks and even went well up into Old Harbor. There was tons of bait in the latter, but there were no bass seen or heard. We were sure that once things went to the drop, the fish would show, but no luck. At times, the birds in the area would get all fired up, but I was shocked that we weren't able to dredge up a schoolie or two. Overall, though, when you can fish in shirt sleeves in late October and smile as you release schoolie after schoolie, life certainly is a beautiful thing.

A late morning start had John Waring and I miss most of the action, but we did catch the end of all the bird and bass action at the east end of the Big Ditch. As things slowed, we drifted off of Scussett Beach and John put the fly rod away and began to bounce a bucktail jig deep and was rewarded with a 30 inch fish that was destined for dinner. Letting the fly work deep before stripping also produced some nice fish that gave yours truly a workout on the seven weight, which performed great with the 250 grain Cortland 555 Quick Descent line I rigged up the night before. Despite the wind, any time you can catch fish this late in the season, you appreciate it because of the memories that will get you through a long, cold winter.

I messed on the date of my trip with Mike Issner, which should have been Monday the 13th. With the success we had in mind, I got together with John Waring in hopes of getting him hooked up with an albie or two. It was very cold, with ice on the boat once again, but we found bass feeding on peanut bunker along Washburn's Island soon after leaving Green Pond. With no funny fish showing, it was off to the Heights, Nobska, and even into the Hole. There were no signs of albies, but we did find plenty of bass in the gut by Penzance. But after a few bass for John, I decided to go albie hunting again. Once again, there was nothing showing from Nobska to Green Pond, but when we hit Waquoit, there were some small pods. In fact, we had one stay up in top right next to the boat, but Murphy's Law attacked John's fly line. Fortunately, we had noticed a blip or two as we approached Green Pond, and John connected with a bluefish that didn't cut through his mono leader and went home for dinner.

What a blast today was as I finally got to fish with Mike Issner, a true bonito and albie crazy. We headed out of Green Pond and were into pods of fish off Falmouth Heights to Woods Hole, even though there was ice on the boat. Mike managed a bass and a blue early on, but despite some fantastic shots at some albies, neither of us hooked up. When Mike even managed a monster scup, I knew that the potential was there for something really special. As the morning came to an end and we headed back to Green Pond, we came across a good push of albies that were feeding much more aggressively, and sure enough I hooked up with a Maria Jig, while Mike was soon fast to his own little tuna. At one point, we had the fish pushed up against a jetty in four feet of water and we both watched as a rocket picked up my tiny white Deceiver, but I whiffed on the hook-up. Mike managed one more little tunny before calling it a trip and we celebrated what was a great time for both of us.

Wind and rain throughout the period kept me off the water, cursing fate and lamenting that I didn't get the opportunity to fish with a good group of folks over these several days. Fortunately, at least one was able to rebook and hopes for a later day remain high.

Some days, the fishing just falls into place and that certainly was the case for Tom and Ed Colford. These fishing brothers had experienced a good of fishing around the Sandwich creeks yesterday, with some big bass and blues willing to take pencil poppers. As a captain, when you hear that folks have had success (especially on your recomendation), then you are glad, but you also hope against hope that today's action will be as good, if not better. Well, that wasn't an issue as Ed started things off with several nice fish up to the mid-30 inch range, while Tom got into the action with his own run of big bass, ending in a 45 inch, 35+ pound cow. The funny thing was that Tom's big fish came on one of my rods after his custom wrapped fiberglass stick snapped on a cast. I can only imagine what it would have been like trying to handline that big fish in. Overall, in terms of consistently large bass, this might have been the best day so far this season, with one stretch producing drift after drift. Kudos to Tom and Ed for releasing all of their fish, with photos and memories enough for both of them . . . until next season, that is.

After weather and scheduling problems on my part, I finally got together for another trip with Jane Rost and Mary Krasveski. These ladies really enjoy fishing and the banter on the boat is something I really look forward to. Things were a little slow on the bass front, which was surprising to me since there was plenty of bait around and there had been good action last week. Fortunately, we found some big bluefish in a little rip off Mashnee Island and Jane and Mary took turns catching them on soft plastics. You would see a brief boil and then nothing, but Sluggos on jig heads turned the fish on. Jane also caught a very nice bass and overall I was very impressed with how both Jane and Mary fought some hard running fish on eight pound tackle with only twelve pound flourocarbon leaders. The day was glorious with little wind and plenty of sunshine and one I'll remember well this winter.

It seemed that Ron Sweeten and I had been communicating for ages about our fall trip, but today it became a reality. The plan was to pitch eels down the islands, and they certainly was a memorable one. Ron is one of the finest people I have ever fished with, a guy who really appreciates the quiet and serenity of angling. Basically, our trip was like working up a ladder. Ron didn't catch a ton of fish, but he started with a nice 32 inch bass, moved up to the mid-30 inch class, and then came up with the fish we were looking for - a 42 inch striper. Overall, this was simply a great day to be on the water.