7/30/2010 Hemingway's

[longislandtomd]

10:26 p.m. Is it last minute? Yes. But Im going out before work tomorrow. Should be at 'theway around 4 something. See you there. If not, I will post a report.

[Redfish12]

How'd it go?

[longislandtomd]

Before I go out, whether it is on a boat, on the kayak or from shore, I usually have some sort of plan. In fact, I have a routine. I pack the car, rig the rods, check the weather forecast, check the tides, check the moon, pick a location, think about bait, load the kayak, strap down the kayak, recheck the straps on the kayak. Set alarm clock. Go to sleep.

Everyone knows exactly what I mean. When you don’t follow your routine you make it all the way to Delaware and forget your seat. Wait. What?

Today, because I was hell bent on fishing I did about half of those things. The fishing trip in timeline format.

Thursday:

7:30pm: Out for drinks and dinner with the wife, I decide I “deserve” a fishing trip.

9:30: Begin packing.

10:15: Complete packing and check the tides. High tide at 8:14, not bad.

10:30: Check the website for Anglers. Yes the website says they open at 5:00 a.m, but I could have sworn they were open earlier last time. Im sure that my 3:50 a.m. arrival for bloodworms wont be a problem. This is the beginning of my faulty logic.

11:00: Set alarm for 3:00. Lazily glance at the marine forecast and notice that it is a bit breezy. No worries, the wind will fall out. And I “deserve” this trip. Faulty logic continues.

Friday

3:00 a.m.: Alarm goes off

3:05 a.m.: I actually get up

3:14: Leave the house

3:55: Arrive at Anglers. I am, in fact, the only person at Anglers. I get out of the car and check the sign on the door to confirm that, yes, they open at 5:00 a.m. They definitely are not open yet. At this point, I get the feeling that my plan to fish for small spot and then liveline at the pilings isn’t working out like I thought.

3:56: While outside I think to myself, “damn. It is kind of windy out here.” I brush it off. Faulty. Logic.

4:15: Sitting at Dunkin Donuts, drinking coffee, without bloodworms, Im feeling like an idiot.

4:45: Return to Anglers which is now open. I am the first customer. Buy bloodworms and think, damn, it sure is sorta breezy out here. I am certain however, that within the next 45 minutes I will have the first keeper rockfish of the day.

5:10: Hit the water. As I peddle out I think “It is calm along this little jetty.” As I approach the bridge, I am slightly concerned about the waves. And wind. And gusts of wind. I keep peddling and think, “damn, was that a whitecap I saw.” Yes. Yes it was. Okay, well when I make it around this corner, it will be fine im sure.

5:20: It isn’t fine. It is blowing entirely too damn hard out here. This sucks. I turn around.

5:25: I get back to shore and think. Ah ha! The wind is laying down! No pain no gain, im going back out. This is going to be a flat day after all. (Faulty, faulty logic). I peddle back out to the bridge only to confirm what we all know. It is breezy as all hell. And too breezy to be out here by myself. In the quasi darkness. Tail between legs. I head back in to Hemingways.

6:00 a.m: Pissed about the fact that my trip to the bay bridge was ruined by my lack of preparation, I launch at Jonas Greene.

Ill save you the rest of the timeline. Jonas Green was what it always is. I caught 2 dozen white perch in under an hour. If you want white perch, bring a dozen bloodworms and you can have a fish fry for half of Annapolis. Problem is I wanted small spot. I caught two small spot eventually and figured I would try to liveline the pilings of the 450 bridge. I did. And got nothing for my efforts.

Go home. Kayak off. Shower. Breakfast. At work by 10:15 a.m.

This trip was decidedly poor. And frankly, I have no one to blame but myself.

Im still going Sunday morning and damned if it wont be a much better trip.

[jffoley]

Great blow by blow! Felt like I was there with with. Sorry you encountered some frustration but you did the smart thing to get off the bay due to the wind. On the bright side every time out is a learning experience. It'll make you better the next time...

P.S. I think Sam might have a word with you!

[Redfish12]

Tom- Sounds like one of my trips! Seems I'm always forgetting something or using faulty logic.

Fish when you can right?

We're heading out there tomorrow morning and hoping it won't be so windy!

[longislandtomd]

Its always something...

As a sidenote, and I should probably start an "introduce yourself" thread, my name is misleading.

so its LongIsland To Maryland (longislandtomd). I can see why you would think my name is Tom.

But its not. Its Jason. I look fwd. to fishing with everyone!

[Redfish12]

Ah... well nice to meet you Jason! I'm Michael... and my name is terrible - redfish 12 = my first kayak...

[surfdog]

hey i blame my wife for that seat thing! if you need bws at 3am the 7-11 on the otherside of 50 at the service rd has them at least as good as stranglers. little wp work as well as spot for livelining and always have plan B ready to implement when murphys law steps in

[crawdad]

One morning I was headed to SPSP all motivated got up early 20 min. into the drive look to my back seat no seat or PDF.20min back to house and 20 min.to where I realized I was missing stuff.Your not alone on memory loss.

[jet]

i must admit, i really enjoyed your report!! really was a play by play that i lived through since i wasnt able to go out. lol...i'm still smiling

how long did you liveline the bridge pillings with a spot?

usually, if a pillon has stripers, they will hit instantly...spot is rockfish crack. BUT, i have been at pillings where i have sat there determined, for over 45 minutes, swearing i know there is a rockfish there, to finally actually getting one to bite...maybe one finally showed up?

the gas station near hemmingways has bloodworms btw.