11/21/2025
Every year it’s a gamble.. do I spend a few extra bucks and get that late season slip over or do I just fill these live wells up with antifreeze, fog my motor and put her on the hard? Heck, grocery prices and your kids soccer games are enough to keep up with! You may even be trying to sell your boat since it’s not being used as much as you’d like.
But… you look at the wind reports, and you see a window where maybe, JUST MAYBE it won’t blow 50mph all day. You call up a friend and he’s got the day off so you go for it. Fill the boat up with fuel and take a ride. And at first, you’re cursing yourself. Damn. Maybe we missed it… maybe the fall run is already come and gone. You start making your way back from where the reports were heavy and then… you see it.
BIRDS. They’re working, and they’re working hard.
Pull up close, but not too close! Looks like a large school of fish breaking the top, aggressive, chasing shiny bait. You switch over to that OOOOOLLEEE “DEADLY DICK!” It’s a lure you could probably hammer out yourself in an emergency. Don’t look like much, but a slow retrieve and a little glimmer in the water and…
…
WHAM! Rod bends. Reels screaming as a migrating COW takes the bait. First fish, a well over. 2nd, the same. Your heart is pumping. You and your buddies are LAUGHING LIKE MAD! A few ph***ic jokes get thrown around and the fish just keep coming. Not a single one you can keep, but you snag a quick photo and take the striped beauty over to the side of the boat and begin to help her swim off.
We all want a meal. It’s nice to take home a fish and eat it. But it’s also a magical moment to apologize to a fish for kicking its ass as you slowly nurse it back to health with some gill current. You look these animals in the eyes and wonder about IT while IT may be wondering about you! And then, a huge tail slap and the fish swims away. It’s a moment, and when done right helps keep to population going and growing. Based on what .urbano here had to say about an EPIC day of fishing yesterday, there’s still some fish around.