Wash, rinse.. repeat... Wax on, wax off... and ya just don't know...

[rob-kayak]

Wash, rinse.. repeat... Wax on, wax off... and ya just don't know...

Since everybody is hunkered down with the storm this week...
I figured I'd post a report...

You may have read my report from Monday last week...
"Dem Birds...."

The weather reports had changed for Wednesday (late Tuesday night)... and at about 3am I decided to make a repeat dash of Monday's trip.

Got to the launch about 7am... and darn't it... I had in my haste not put my four ham sandwiches in my trip cooler.
Luckily in my breakfast cooler I had one ham sandwich, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and a bannana.

I didn't eat the peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the road... and thank goodness, because I was so bummed at launch to realize I had forgotten my other sandwiches for the paddle.

Normally... I need to eat, continually through the day....
I did have four sodas, plenty of water, and an energy boost thingy.... But I sure wanted my ham sandwiches.

Launched at 8am... plans to paddle the 3 miles to the "spot"...
about 3/4 mile out... in about 30 feet of water... well...
Dem Birds be goin' crazy.... there were pockets of fish exploding everywhere....

Oh... goodness gracious.. me.... with so many Authors writing books and reading these forums...
I must step back and correct myself...
And refrain from writing "pockets of fish"....

We all really know... "Pockets of Fish" is primarily meant to explain when your child sneaks into the cubboard when you are not looking, and fills their Cargo Pants Pockets with those little Golden Fish Shaped Crackers......
and you are left with following the "Hansel and Gretel" breadcrumb trail to find them munching on the little delights.

So... schools of fish were exploding everywhere.. and the birds and I were following the "Hansel and Grettel" breadcrumb trail.
IE: Chasing Birds.

A good size charter boat came in the area... and we did the same. My boat is about $600... the charter about $250,000.
We both had a good time.... the Charter boat pulled in a very surprise catch when we were about 200 yards apart.

The Chater boat was very cool with me... respect and all that....

I wasn't catching any keeper size... maybe if I had stayed and worked my lures to deeper depths... I would have.
I was in 30feet of water..

I am just a knucklehead... The birds are smarter than me... and certainly a boat Captain with a $250,000 boat is certainly more knowledgeable about fishing than I.

So I moved off and paddled another two miles to the place from last Monday.

I kept looking over my shoulder on the paddle over.. and the Charter boat was still working the area.
Sonar was not exciting on the paddle over... and no bird action.

I got back to the area from last Monday.... and only one spot with few birds.....
30feet to 50feet of water.... where it was exploding last Monday.

Well.... certainly I've caught a bunch of fish without bird action..... just getting spoiled lately.
Sort of an early "Rock-T-Ober" symptom.....
I worked 50ft to 20ft... catching here and there.... nothing special.

It's about 11am... low tide is about 12am.... I am working different depths... working channels...

And one bird flys by.. then another and another and another and another....

And now it's chasing schools of breaking fish..... but this time it's not in 30ft to 50ft of water.....
It's 20ft to 3ft of water very close to shore.... crazy man... crazy.

The paddle back was long.... waves were small, wind not bad against me...
But I guess not having those ham sandwiches took a tole on me.
Just had one soda and a bunch of water for 7 hours... saved the peanut butter sandwich for an emergency, but it sure was darn good back at the car.

Well... I came home with two keepers in the low 20's and one 13inch blue.
Made Ceviche with the blue this time.
Certainly over 30 fish for the day and my first Needlefish.. that guy was cool looking !

Made a bunch of smoked bluefish dip on Woodyaks recommendation from Monday's trip. Yummmie !

Thought I'd do a post.... as the storm has everybody hunkered down.... and who know's what will be happening in the next week or so.....

Some of you know I'm an ol' surfer dude....
Yesterday..... I watched the movie "Endless Summer Two" from legendary Bruce Brown. A remake of the original.... lots of fun.

So to add to my usual.... "GET out and Explore".... a quote from Bruce Brown....

"If you are willing to take a leap of faith....
Get off your butt....
Who knows many great things are waiting for you out there."
Bruce Brown.

[EMSer]

Glad you got out and found is fish. Bluefish ceviche sounds great!!

[J.A. Veil]

You mentioned having a banana in your cooler. Did you bring the banana with you on the water? Many fisherman enjoy the superstition about not bringing bananas onto boats. I personally avoid bringing bananas with me on kayaks or boats -- I wait until I am at home to enjoy them.

In any case, you found plenty of fish to catch.

[rob-kayak]

You crack me up John :-) .....

Nawww... no bannanas on the boat... I did hear that superstition once... hadn't thought about it 'till your comment.
It's just part of my trip regiment. Bannana before I get to the highway... and ham sandwich.. on the highway.
My "go cooler" next to me in the car.
My trip cooler with ice blocks for fish... didn't get furbished with my day food.
I like to stick to a consistent breakfast plan.... nothing worse than a bad tummie on the water.
I guess it's an ol' fart thingy these days... fast food places just don't cut it.

But bannanas are a super food for after physical exsertion, has something to do with the potassium depletion in your muscles.

As of yet... having a bannana in the tummie has not proved to be bad luck while on the water.
I make my own wheat bread, except when it is super hot in the summer (hate heating the house with the oven).
And freeze the extra loaves for when I need them.
So my sandwiches have an extra carbo boost because the bread is very dense and a couple of slices are a meal in themselves.

I only drank one soda on the water... which I often use for the sugar boost and caffeine.
Must have put my lack of sandwiches in the back of my mind... cause I usually get crazy hunger pains on the water.

Hope your Wachapreake trip had some success with the weather

[Jman]

I didn't think anyone on the mainland knew about the banana folklore. I grew up in Hawaii and that was stressed all the time! We wouldn't even go out if we touched a banana in the morning, let alone ate a banana. Glad you found some fish by the way!

[Big Mike]

Banana right up there with black cats and broken mirrors in folklore with no merit other than fun ribbing. None of them have stopped me from catching fish, although I carry a lucky rabbits foot to ward off bad omens.

[WOOD YAK]

My dad and I went on a charter years ago out of OC when the captain found out we brought bananas he was seriously pissed. Literally made us throw them overboard. We thought it was a joke at first. We still laugh about it.


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[Mark]

One of my most productive days on the water followed a grab and quick downing of a banana from a convenience store on the way to the water in Tampa. I was with Mr. Veil, by the way, and he warned me about bananas as I munched away on mine in the front seat of the rental car.

Although it didn't impede my success that day, I've heeded his advice since.

[J.A. Veil]

Years ago I booked a charter out of Hatteras Inlet. We were 20-30 miles offshore and birds were diving on bait all around us, but we were not getting bites. The captain called out from the bridge "Does anyone have a banana"? I thought he was hungry and handed him a banana from our lunch supplies. He threw the banana as far out as he could (and I'm sure he uttered a few choice words). Within five minutes we hooked up with plenty of fish.

That is a true story. The results may be coincidental. But I enjoy playing along with the superstition. I will not eat a banana or even a banana muffin before heading out on the water.

I have heard several theories about why bananas are considered bad luck. One is that in the old sailing ship days, bananas were harvested in central America in huge bunches and placed in the hold of a ship. Sometimes these bunches harbored large spiders that frightened the crew. A second version is that crew members would eat bananas and throw the peels outside. Sometimes they landed on the deck, where an unobservant officer could slip and fall or go overboard. Regardless of the true origin of the superstition, it continues on today in the minds of many people who venture on the water.

[RavensDfense]

Call me a lunatic all you want, but when I walk into a Royal Farms or Wawa before I launch in the morning, I try my hardest to not even look at the damn bananas. Lol. However, when Hemingway and I caught our bull reds in the spring, Gary was munching down on a banana right before we launch. He even rubbed the peel on my PFD because he knows how much I hate those things when fishing. It didn't seem to matter because we caught some nice fish; which I think goes to show it's all in what you believe....similar to having confidence in a bait or lure.

[Goody]

You guys crack me up. I eat bananas all the time down in FL when fishing and have no problems catching any fish. I usually eat one before going and take one in the cooler to eat while fishing. LOL. We make our own luck.

[baitball]

As I understand it, the superstition of bananas being bad luck on board ships started hundreds of years ago by mariners of the day. Stored as one of many provisions onboard sailing vessels along with other perishable foodstuffs for long voyages, crews really appreciated fresh fruit as part of an otherwise boring diet of fish and salted meat. Unbeknownst to maritime chefs and quartermasters at the time, however, there is an unfortunate side-effect of bananas - as they ripen they produce an invisible ethylene gas that causes all other fruits to spoil as well. This phenomena was only amplified in the tight confines of these ships' holds.
Eventually crews, through a process of elimination, identified bananas as the culprits behind the "bad luck" that had befallen their vessel and prohibited the fruit being brought on board.
I like to think that the modern-day propagation of this superstition is a tip of the hat to those mariners/fishermen that have come before us.

[Mark]

I think Manny nailed the origin of the legend. That's a very plausible explanation.

For what it's worth, florists typically do not keep fruit in their flower lockers because gases emitted from fruits will prematurely wilt their flowers.