All in all it was fun but definitely the roughest I have ever been on with my boat. Fish ate great though!
Great work Mike. I took the more adventurous route....The weather reports were spot OFF. I got to the LI sound at about 4:30am to a strong on shore wind. The launch is in a protected harbor so I knew once I got out to the open water it was only going to be worse. The waves and chop made it a little sketchy to be out at night in a kayak so I was very careful in the dark. Once the sun started to come up I finally started getting some hits. I think i missed a couple of striper bites but then my eels started coming back chopped in half from blues so they may have been the culprit at first. I moved away from the blues to a spot that is a constant producer. I quickly came tight to a decent striper that started pulling drag. I fought the seas and the fish for short battle but the fish was hooked pretty deeply. I got the hook out, revived the fish for a bit and let him go, only to see it go belly up a minute later.I wanted to give the fish another chance at survival or at least not to go to waste. That was a mistake to say the least. The fish was pushed up against some rocks at this point so getting to it was kind of difficult. I got the fish in my hand and was holding it in the water to revive it and next think I know the waves are pushing me up over more rocks. Next wave pushes me up and on top of a rock. My hull got stuck and I went tipping into the water. I lost a few material items (glasses, eel cooler, knife and a handful of lures). The fish ended up dying so i threw it into my kayak and pedaled back to the launch. I was soaking wet, had a couple bumps and bruises, but I got my first keeper of the year and some table fare for the evening.Long story short. A fish is not worth it. I should have just let the birds have it. The birds and bait were everywhere when I was leaving so I'm sure I missed out on a shot at hardtails. Live and learn.
So you chummed 'em?
Nice report Mike. Trigger fish are cool and for me at least are significant in that they usually show when the water is warmest.
Spot on Jon. One reason the hard tail action is on fire right now. Although we had a great outing, I wanted a bone for sushi. Fail.
Like I said in my text, glad you are ok. I assume you had a life jacket on.
I grew up in the hills other side of the state from the cape. I have never gone out on my own in the salt but I have the utmost respect for those that do.
Maybe you can catch this next:Fisherman catches strange, 'dinosaur-like' creature | Fox Newshttps://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/fisherman-catches-dinosaur-creature