What We Do When We Get a Babysitter

Today Mimi and Papa came up from Falmouth to babysit and Gayle and I hit the water. After the grandparents showed up at 10:00am we found the Macs by Spruce Point. We trolled over them and jigged back until we had more than we needed.Bundled up and packing bait we headed upriver. We were soon stopped by the Coast Guard for a safety check. Rafted up with their Zodiak, the Coasties went through our gear and paperwork. Twenty minutes later we were on our way and 20 minutes after that we stopped in Bath for some lunch.After a cheese steak and meatball parm we got back on the river. Cloudy skies and northeast winds made for a dreary day. When we made it to the hot spot there were several other boats there already including my friend George Harris. Yesterday George won the Kennebec River Pro Am Fly Fishing Tournament. George's presence alone means fish. Gayle and I both caught several Striped Bass up to 30"and Gayle took several cool shots with my cell.
Sure hope these fish stay around. I have the fishing bug hard right now. Cannot catch enough. The weather is getting colder and I know my fishing days are numbered.

Uneventful, frigid, and beautiful ride home. Cut up a fish and back in time for the in-laws to go play golf if they want to brave the cold too.

September

I am ignorant. One spot in the Kennebec River has made me stupid. Maybe all that is a little harsh but its been about a month since I have become a weekend fisherman and during all that time, every single weekend day, I have fished the same spot. As a result, I really do not know first hand if there are fish anywhere else. The problem is, that from the reports I hear, and the lack of fish that I see, I am stuck in this one spot.

The good thing is we have caught a ton of fish every weekend. Most of the fish have been above the slot as they have been all year. We have not gotten fish out of the mid-30s but my pal George Harris boated this beauty in the same spot one super fishy morning.

Anyone following me on Facebook will know that many of these weekend fish have been wrestled away from seals. To be honest, I think the same two or three seals just hang out in the same spot. One is small and black and the other is big and kind of speckled. Anyway, that is probably crazy talk but taking your fish back from the seal is serious. Today, we relentlessly circled over the seal until he released the Striper he stole. We aggressively scooped the fish into the net, just ahead of the marauding seal and landed it safely inside the boat. Today's 34" survivor was then released somewhere downstream. Later, a serious Kennebec River fisherman came alongside and said,"You have the worst luck with seals this year." Dang.


The spikes have grown into Tinkers but they can be had right in the harbor. There is also a ton of tiny herring there too but harder to catch those little buggers. No point in trying anyway since the Macs are small and plentiful.

My boy Colin Yentsch caught his 18th and maybe more BFT today too. He was anchored up within sight of land down off the coast of southern Maine. He went down Saturday night after dinner. He needs to get into the spot at night to get bait under his lights. He can't fish at night, however, for the BFTs because the bluefish are so thick down there.

That's all for now. I guess the next big question is will there be something worth posting about in October?