The plan on Friday was to get some sleep from say 9pm to 2 am and then leave to catch the 0950 reservation for the ferry. But who can really get a good sleep hours before you leave for a fishing trip? So I decided to just go, pull over and sleep if I needed, and then catch the ferry on schedule. I put on
the Grateful Dead channel on Sirius and caught the entire Nassau Coliseum show from 1973. That kept me up and focused for over three hours. A few conversations with my wife and before you knew it
I was crossing the Borne Bridge over the Cape Cod Canal. When I rolled into Woods Hole at 445 am I was tired. There was no one there so I set my alarm and closed my eyes. The rumble of a truck woke me up so pulled up to the guard shack. I looked over to the lady and saw the sign, "NO STANDBY TODAY". I gave her my name and she reminded me that I had a 0950 reservation and that "You might be a little bit long", referring to the SS Archer hanging off the back. She also told me there was no
standby. "I just want to fish", I said. "Okay, stand that thing up on the tailgate and get into lane 2". I was going to make the first ferry out. While I waited I punched up the Mass.gov website and got my saltwater license. I know many people
aren't favor of licenses, regulations and rules, but if the money truly went to research, enforcement, and fish related things I would have no problem paying ten bucks back in New Jersey. But I will say, I don't trust the New Jersey government. Where is the proof of the monies and their allocation from the lottery, gambling, tobacco, alcohol, and the big one now marijuana dispensaries. With all thyat money New Jersey could be paying us to live in the Garden State. But anyway. So I soon as I hit Vineyard Haven I
had my mind set on one place...Menemsha. I bypassed an obvious outgoing tide on Sedgekontacket Pond and hit State Road going west. In a minute I was rolling in and ready to get fishing. The forecasted
wind wasn't there. There was a slight NW wind, no one around, blue skies, and a rising hight bright sun with a high tide a little after 9 am. Are you kidding me! Two bikers came and said hello and one said, "Boy you look happy". I answered, "You have no idea". I went on to tell him about my love of this placed he said to me, "I wish I was that passionate about something". We talked about the parking and I told him I'd have to park at Lobsterville and walk down to avoid a ticket. He told me, "Don't worry
it, you're good. I'll call the police Chief." And so that was that. There was a little shimmy in the water from the wind but soon after I got my SS Archer legs right I was standing and seeing bass. The tide was up, like up, so between a lot of water and the shimmy it wasn't easy to pick them up until the last second. I stuck with the crab fly refusing to blind cast. It's like just wanting to dry fly fish. I beached
my vessel and got my feet wet. That is what I came for. I took a long walk and found some cover from the increasing wind, which had shifted to a west wind. I forgot how many horseshoe crabs call this
place their love shack. Needless to say if you've ever sight fished, especially when there's ripply water, these will fool you for a bit, or maybe longer. At one point I followed and casted to one moving away and along the beach for about 200 feet. It must have had it's turbo on because it looked like a fish.
I remember years ago when they dredged the above channel. There was a steep drop-off and I remember Steve and Gerry always doing well dredging it and catching. Now, while there is still deeper water, the sides are sloping and make for a great place for bass to cruise looking for a meal.
In all I saw 30 or so fish. I had two look, refuse, come back, and leaves. I had another perfect patrolling bass that I was about to lead and I spit the bit and got my 10 foot leader all kinds of wrapped around the rod which took me 20 minutes to straighten out. There was a few more couldas but not today. When I came around the corner Mother Nature got angry. The wind was WSW and blowing.
By then I was good. I saw some stuff, had the boat out, realized I needed to find my long leader sight fishing groove, and was ready for a nap. So I got in the boat and started pedaling. Now let me say this, I'm no Lance Armstrong, I'm wearing waders, I'm not all that and a bag of chips fitness wise. I pedaled for about 10 minutes before I realized I hadn't gone anywhere, literally. So I jumped out into crystal
clear water, which I thought was about three feet, and proceeded to go up to my nipples and flood my waders. You that split second of unexpected panic that is perfect for a TikTok video, that was me. I think my amygdala went back to the time I swamped in the Navesink. So I walked her along the shore ALL the way back to the parking lot. I decided top take a walk in sloshy waders to the other flat that was protected a tad more from the wind but no one was home.
It takes a bit of time loading everything back into the truck, and although a little beat up, I thought that maybe Dogfish Bar may be protected from the wind. What I learned about a WSW wind, driving back to Vineyard Haven, is that that wind affects every drop of water on the island. But I went and
took a look....forget it. It was mung along the shore and whitecaps out a touch. I did walk the bar looking but the horseshoe crabs, mung, and waves, had me fooled believing the shadows were bass.
By three o'clock I was really beat so decided to drive and check into my home for a week at the Harbor Landing Condominiums. It's perfect for me although I could see where someone booking at
this "resort" might be a little disappointed. After checking in the guy at the desk showed me my room and said, "Oh, let me get you a TV", I laid down at 4 pm for a cat nap and woke up at 530 am. I guess
I needed it. When I woke my first move was to look outside at the trees. They were hardly moving but I take that with a grain of salt. It's supposed to be windy all week but how windy is the question. The place has a community kitchen and that's where I set up to get onto the computer and write this post.
Luckily for me there's a Cumberland Farms next door that sells a King sized coffee for $2.29 which is better than a boushie coffee place selling a 16 ounce coffee for $4.50. After getting a cup of Joe and
saying hello to the down-on-their-luck guys sitting on the wall between the two places I sat down and edited and wrote. Rather than run out to fish I'm gonna take a nice shower, shave, and put on some clean clothes and start the day like a gentleman.
Being away for a week alone? It has its pros and cons. Pros is you don't have to worry about anyone else's schedule or ideas. Cons is you don't have to worry about anyone else's schedule or ideas. Sometimes other people have a better plan. And there's not one to talk to but myself, which I guess can be a bit lonely, or maybe it's just healthy. We'll see what day 2 brings today.
And as far as bringing a non-fishing spouse along for a fishing trip? That's always a tough call, and really dam near impossible. The above made me laugh, but it's true.