Pats and Parker's

I am up and can't get to sleep because the Patriots just ruined one of the best football seasons of all time. I am amazed that in this day of free agency that a team was able to do what they did. I think it will be a long time before I see a team go 18-1. It just sucks that the one game they lost is in the Super Bowl.

Anyway, with Parker's Boat Yard fresh on my mind I might as well tell my best fishing memories from this spot. Two years ago I got word from Kevin Clymer that the fish were really blitzing down in the harbor. It was in late October or early November and the forecast for the next day looked great. I was on kid duty so I took the Whaler and the kids and put it in at the town landing at Parker's. Went out around Bassett's island and there was nothing. Got back and loaded up the boat and the kids were off playing with the Clymer kids and I went to get them, but they were too busy looking at this very large bluefish that someone caught. I asked the guy where he caught it and I was shocked to hear that he caught it right where he was standing. He said he snagged a pogie and the bluefish hit it. I had not seen or heard of snagging pogies since I was in middle school. I had only seen the peanut bunker sized menhaden over the past few years. I looked over and saw some really nervous water. I did not even have a weighted treble hook with me so I put on a nice sized bucktail jig and casted away. Word traveled fast and some of the other people started fishing and someone else was able to snag a menhaden and he began livelining him. The menhaden was easily bigger than some of the blues I had caught in West Falmouth Harbor earlier in the season. After a few casts I hooked up and I had a really nice fish, he came up and I was psyched to see that it was a striper, but unfortunately when he came up he spit the hook. A few more casts and I hooked up again and this time I got up on the dock. 36 inch bass.

In the fall of this year I attempted to repeat the great luck that I had had last fall and I was able to catch 10 pound blues off of the docks for two weeks straight. To top it off, I think I may have lst a nice striper on the last day I could go too. I cast toward a mooring buoy and my Hogy landed right next to it. I took a couple quick reels and then let the lure sink a little. Once I started to crank again I got a hit, but I missed the fish. When I reeled in I was happy to see that the Hogy was still intact and without teeth marks. I cast back and replayed the same exact events complete with the missed strike. Third time was the charm and I set the hook firm and I had him good. Unfortunately, my fickle drag decided now would be a good time to stop working. Why am I soooooo cheap!!!! I actually did a good job of coaxing the fish in on a 6 foot rod, but as I brought him in he was moving under a sailboat docked right beside me. He went under the sailboat and as I started to pull him from under it my leader snapped. This was only the second fish I had snap off all season. I never did get a chance to see it. Could have been another big bluefish, but why did I not have the teeth marks on the previous two strikes? Most of the stripers I had been seeing there were of the schoolie size. Lesson learned, I have gone online and since replaced both of my spinning reels.

This year I am looking forward to fishing Parker's in the spring when the Herring start to run. I think I will take advantage of my new waders and check it out.