Part-time hunter
Ten Pointer
I posted last week when I had a pretty successful fishing experience on Mercer's pier. It was a bit chilly at sunup that day but jeans and a hoodie sufficed to keep me warm enough. Yesterday I thought I'd try my luck again and the local weather said it was going to be in the high 40s in the a.m.
So I wore a lined hoodie and hit the pier before sunrise, which I didn't get a pic of because of the clouds. Well, you guys know how things can change from day to day, even hour to hour sometimes when it concerns the ocean. In the first place the water was so muddy you couldn't see your plug when it was just inches below the surface. Secondly, the wind was howling out of the Northeast with gusts near 25 mph. I caught one small blue about a half hour after setting up with my gotcha plug and nothing else for the next hour or so. And I didn't see many others doing much better. So I decided to bottom fish with cut pinfish and I caught a bigger blue just a few minutes after switching. And that was it. As I looked around I saw most of the regulars were packing up and heading home. I toughed it out for another hour fishing off the south side so I could turn my back to the wind, with no success. I finally gave up and went to the house for a pot of hot coffee and a second breakfast. I actually turned the heater on in the truck on the way home for the first time since last winter! Last night my nose started running and I was sneezing my self silly. So now I'm on cold meds for a few days and unless the temperature is above 60 and the wind is out of anywhere besides north I think my fishing season is over. Call me a wuss if you want to but I get enough fishing in during decent weather that I can really enjoy without suffering and my freezer stays full. Anyway, I admire any hardcore folks that bundle up and go but as Cap'n Frank says, we're dedicated but not desperate.
So I wore a lined hoodie and hit the pier before sunrise, which I didn't get a pic of because of the clouds. Well, you guys know how things can change from day to day, even hour to hour sometimes when it concerns the ocean. In the first place the water was so muddy you couldn't see your plug when it was just inches below the surface. Secondly, the wind was howling out of the Northeast with gusts near 25 mph. I caught one small blue about a half hour after setting up with my gotcha plug and nothing else for the next hour or so. And I didn't see many others doing much better. So I decided to bottom fish with cut pinfish and I caught a bigger blue just a few minutes after switching. And that was it. As I looked around I saw most of the regulars were packing up and heading home. I toughed it out for another hour fishing off the south side so I could turn my back to the wind, with no success. I finally gave up and went to the house for a pot of hot coffee and a second breakfast. I actually turned the heater on in the truck on the way home for the first time since last winter! Last night my nose started running and I was sneezing my self silly. So now I'm on cold meds for a few days and unless the temperature is above 60 and the wind is out of anywhere besides north I think my fishing season is over. Call me a wuss if you want to but I get enough fishing in during decent weather that I can really enjoy without suffering and my freezer stays full. Anyway, I admire any hardcore folks that bundle up and go but as Cap'n Frank says, we're dedicated but not desperate.