White Plugs can jump- Sat - Sakonett -Yak

[RRabiner]

Feeling my wheaties -with a good weather forecast - I launched the yak to do the Sakonett rocks thing-

My schedule was screwed up by some errands - so I was not on the water until about the crack of 10 AM - and at that hour I figured I was just going to get some exercise - because what self respecting bass was going to be easting in the bright sun.

Rounded the jetty to find FAC seas - and a light breeze out of the SW - with a forecast of 10 + out of the NE and 1 - 2 ft - NOAA at its best -

Mind you I didn’t mind the flatter conditions -but I had dressed for the forecast - in my drysuit - ( I know - call me a pussy - but at my age - if I dump the thing - it takes me a long time to get it sorted out - and for me to get out of the water )

Paddled out to the first set of rocks - and I am rewarded by a healthy and fat 28 incher - ok - so maybe there was one fish that didn’t get the message that it was late morning-

As I paddled further out - my attention was caught by the fact that the swell was increasing dramatically, and as I got further out - areas that I frequently paddle around were all white water

In fact the passage between the western island and the lighthouse had rollers in it - so I worked out front between the eastern islands - and set up in the wash basically where I had been fishing with my Dad the other day.

Like clockwork - you throw the spook into the wash - bam - you are rewarded with a strike

Now mind you there were good 6 ft swells out there - occasionally breaking - dumping me with water - - so the dry suit was an added bonus - ( PS my yak is set up with two air bags of extra floatation - additional buoyancy behind the seat - I am prepared with a spare paddle - a sea anchor - a pump and a cockpit dodger -) and with a lot of time in the yak - I am fairly comfortable in the rougher stuff


Being forced away from the rocks - either by a wave or sensible proximity to a rock - you frequently would loose sight of your plug - as it was two wave sets away - especially when you were in the valleys

Better positioning - casting across / parallel to the waves - in the wash - or getting to a point of a rock - or outcropping of rocks - made it a bit better for plug control - but the fish seemed to have been congregated into areas that required a more frontal assault

Paddling back out off the rocks - and timing your casts at the same time as crest of the swell added at least 30 ft more distance - and the rush in - cast - paddle out - with an open bail - then retrieve worked even better

From about 11 AM on -until about 415 - I was in solid bass heaven - every other - every third cast was a fish

The fish were so turned on that they would frequently blast the jumping minnow straight out of the water - with them following suit(the little ones going completely airborne - the bigger ones just absolutely crashing the plug and making a huge hole in the water on the take

The twitch return of the spook - if missed on the first shot - would be followed by a second, third and fourth shot at the plug -( with sometimes two fish fighting for a plug ) until finally the fish " won" the game - and took the plug

Watching them hit the plug so hard - knocking it into the air - and them seeing them follow up with another strike on it - was worth the proce of admission

The Bass were not yak shy - and would take the plug right at the tip of the boat. Nor were they picky about plug vs. fly - as thy would take a PB imitation quickly - however I will admit that I didn’t work the fly rod that long - due to the PIA factor in the surf.

The more sudsy the area - the greater the concentration of fish that were holding there - and obviously the closer to the rocks / the bigger the swell - the bigger fish

Frequently fishing between the breaks - you had to have one eye forward - and one eye at the waves behind you - as the noise of the surf - quite frankly could scare the be Jesus out of you.

In one of those bigger sets - I hooked on to a big fish - at the wrong time - as it tried to pull me across a set - and as I tried to horse it - and me out of there with the paddle - the combo of the wave - the energized " beat feet" paddling - and the fish - resulted in a rod that just exploded.

Got myself situated outside the swell zone - and hand lined a very pissed off fish to the yak - and then was forced to fish with a lighter rod for the remainder of the day

Final tally for the day - countless fish from 11 until 4 - from 24 - 36 inches - one or two good surfs across a bar, being towed by a fish - a blown up rod - my drysuit stinking of fish - and totally mangled " striper thumb
"


Returned to the scene of the crime today with the powerboat - in the hopes that I could throw some larger plugs into the wash - and dredge up one of the larger fish that I know are in there - but two hours of continual work yielded only one small bass that I lost at the boat

[RRabiner]

taken by a friend

[Dave]

Nice pic! Love the explosive surf and white water. Glad to hear of your hook up ratio, makes it worth the effort.

[RRabiner]

another shot

[Frightnight]

Well, My question is who is take those pictures of you out there? You were not taking them yourself. Well, like that story almost as good as the one from the other day when I think you said you caught one on every other cast, and double hook ups, tally I think was 40 fish? One 40 pounded and SEVERAL 30 pounders? Now Saturday caught an un-countable amount? And you were there today in your boat? Well, I went to SWE on Saturday, got another hand full of lures, white minnow, I think a Danny plug, and A white needle plug. Then I too went to Stonehedge today, (Sunday), from about 11:00 a.m., until about 4:30 p.m. Fishing around East Rock, and West, around the lighthouse, everywhere possible. Threw almost every plug, including all the new ones. Even tried bait fishing while plugging. Plugged the surf, all aroung every rock, all around the lighthouse. I am sure I am not the fisherman you are by any means, but if they were all but jumping into your boat eveytime you seem to go there, even during the day, I would assume even a novice like me could at least get a bite? The guy I took with me is not a novice, and has fished for years, and he too was skunked. Oh, I did hook into a crappy blue on my way out of there, on a trawl, with a deep swimmer, that was dark blue and black. I would have taken some pictures also, but my experience was pretty uneventfull. Hey, heres a crazy idea. Next time your there, and catch like 40 bass, could you put them in one big pile and take a picture of that instead and post it. That would be awesome. Obviously the bass are so thick there you can walk over them, but I can't catch any, but if you could show me all yours would be cool. Thanks

[Frightnight]

This is my friend holding the Bass. He is the star of his own show. "Fishing With Alkeda"

[Frightnight]

sorry tried to attach a picture. I guess I fish as good as I work my computor.

[RRabiner]

I fished Saturday in the Yak - and did very well

On Sunday I fished from the boat - and basically got skunked

Same place

Same lure

Same presentation

So what was the difference ?

Differnent weather pattern - different sea pattern - or simply that the fish that were there on Saturday moved off to a different location

I have no idea - but I sure as heck wasn't catching any

If btw you were suggesting that the tallies were higher than they were - trust me they weren't - when i have a good day - it is a good day - and i will report it just as it was -

There have been plenty of days where i couldnt buy a fish

And as to the aspect of stacking the fish that I catch like cordwood - I have yet to keep a single bass -they are a valueable resource- and deserve to be treated as such

Everything I do is catch and release

[crazygoof]

Great report, loved the pics! I'm pea-green!

[RRabiner]

And the photo was taken by another guy in a Yak - a bunch of guys came down from the North Shore of Boston -who I used to fish with - and I happened to run into them out there - " Slappy" took the picture -

They were only there for a few hours - and they all caught fish too - and some of the guys - like " Lefty" caught alot bigger than mine