Mother's Day

Sunday, May 13, 2007

The thing about Mother’s Day is that it doesn’t often mix well with fishing for most of us. My mother-in-law is in town too, so this would not be the best day to head out on the water. But it also happens to be my birthday, so I figured I was on equal ground and managed to get out for a little while. I slept late and almost abandoned the idea of fishing. But when, lying in bed, hearing no wind and seeing overcast skies, I figured it still wasn’t too late for catching the morning bite. I grabbed our new little dog, Oliver, and out we went.

Basically the mid-bay was full of fish and it was FAC, like a silver mirror. About four or five loose schools were up and down and as many boats were following them around. I chose one school without boats and began. These guys were not biting, similar to the way Friday began. I tried everything, including the fly, but nothing. I reckoned that it was almost slack high and we just needed the tide to turn for the fish to turn on. And I reckon that this was the case because thirty minutes later the fish got hungry. The other boats began to converge in my little area so I took off to find a new school. I found them closer to Cordage channel and began to hook them on rubber shads and on the flyrod. The fish were smallish with a few big ones mixed in. I could see the big ones finning and swirling, and on one occasion I managed to cast right to one which measured 27”. But for the most part these guys averaged 18 to 20” in length. I am not complaining.

The dog, after taking his morning constitutional right in the middle of the boat, began to take interest in the fish and the birds. He peered over the deck and patiently watched the action. When I landed fish, he calmly watched me unhook and release. He seemed to be having fun, but what do I know about these things?

Everything was great until some jackass in a Lund arrived and decided to follow my each and every drift. This is the same guy who last year had aggravated me by following me right into skinny water and spooked away the fish I was onto. The entire bay was full of fish and here he has to park right next to me. I stared at him with an expression of “WTF?” and after a minute or so he seemed to understand my position on the matter.

But this was far from tainting my morning on the water. I found another school on the way in and had some fun for another fifteen minutes then quit for the day. The sun was coming out and Ollie and I were getting hungry. The tide changed and the wind was picking up from the north – they’d probably start getting more aggressive, but I was done. Time for Mother’s Day.