The morning’s trip began much the same as last weeks, with the exception of the fact we now had an outgoing tide as opposed to incoming. My buddy Jeff and I launched from Avery Point a bit before 5:00am, with the intent of starting the day between Wicopessette and Sugar Reef. Storms Thursday night had dumped another 4” of rain in the region, and the water remained stained the color of coffee. The wind was 5-10knots out of the SW, and seas were calm. Given my last trip, I anticipated tough fishing, and was not disappointed. This time of year is all about stripers and light tackle fishing. I’m not that interested in the livelining , and running an 18’ skiff, not in a position to drift the rips looking for fish holding deep. We were soon sitting on Sugar Reef with a growing number of boats, marking a few fish but not getting any hits. One or two boats picked up schoolies in the 45 minutes or so we hung around. Running back inside the reefs towards Fisher’s, I noticed a school breaking the surface and we pulled up for a few casts. My sudden stop drew the attention of a couple of additional boats who were soon motoring in our direction. The glimmer of hope didn’t yield any results, and over the next few hours we worked Fisher’s Island Sound to Race Point, and over to Bartlet’s. A repeat of last week, with the exception that I wasn’t even marking any bait balls above Bartlett’s. We headed back east and give Watch Hill a last look on the incoming tide, which was about as productive as when we left. In a final Hail Mary we decided to try back in the salt marshes around Stonington, some of Jeff’s yak haunts. With an electric motor and push pole, I can fish some skinny water. The HM paid off, as we finally found fish that wanted to play. While not fifty pounders, these schoolies were ready to smash some topwater poppers. For the last hour to hour and a half we threw Gibbs Poppers and picked up an number of fish. While none landed were keepers, it definitely salvaged the day!
Jeff can only stretch his arms so far. Maybe if I had a macro lens.
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