A nor’easter blew through over the weekend, leaving local shorelines bruised and battered. I really don’t like October storms, it’s not that I worry that they will bring an abrupt end to the fall run, it’s just that they restart the game and it takes time and effort to get back into the groove. While the water out front cleaned up, thanks to persistent northwest winds, I fished a few days in freshwater and then, I got that saltwater twinge.
I called my friend Ben, we hadn’t fished together in a while and I wanted to catch up. Ben also happens to be my youngest friend. At 22 years old, we are so far apart in life, but strangely, we seem to be close in ‘mental age’ he’s more mature than most guys his age and, I suppose that means I’m more immature that most guys my age…I guess I have to wear that. I may have written this in a past installment, but I like to say when I fish with younger surfcasters, that I trade my experience for their enthusiasm. And I think that’s a fair trade.
We headed out a few days before the October new moon, with a brisk wind coming from the northeast, it was the first surf trip since the spring where I didn’t wear a wetsuit and I know Ben was very happy that we were in waders. We set up on the windward side of a rocky point and began the process of figuring out the bite. The wind was cold and the water was flat, but with occasional sets of 2-foot swells. There were fish in the spot, but they were small, most of them not even touching 24 inches. After I was satisfied that there were no larger fish in the area, I suggested we move, but I didn’t know exactly where I wanted to go.
My mind rolled back to a mid-November night 20 years ago, when I pulled a mid-30-pound bass from a nearby rocky point. Then the memories came flooding back of other fish caught at that spot. Try as I might, I couldn’t recall the last time I’d thrown a cast there. It’s funny how spots can fade from the roster over time, only to be called in to close out a tight game. And after a 20 minute walk over varied terrain, we arrived… and like flashbacks in a movie, my old footsteps seemed to illuminate themselves leading to snapshot memories, while I looked down into the low tide rocks and placed each fish on an overlaid map in the darkness.
Curiously, I made my first cast from a spot where I’d never stood, perhaps channeling my younger, inexperienced self. But it only took one cast before I felt a magnetic urge to go to where I caught that nice fish 20 Novembers ago. I made way over, trying to remember which rock I stood on, I found one with a shallow ‘step’ behind it; perfect for lugging my tired, 45-year old body onto. Before I took the first cast, I looked to my immediate right, and saw the indelible memory framed by the same huge hunks of ledge… I was there.
Standing, casting, monitoring the waves that seemed to appear from nowhere, I collected fragments of memories, while I swam a BigWater Silent Partner through the rocky surf. Ben was off to my left, but in my column of concentration, I was effectively alone. And just like that, old information downloaded into my mind, I was picturing the structure and swimming that eel through the minefield, keeping it close to the bottom. Then, impact! A solid fish took the bait, and made a short but angry run. I got the fish all the way to my rock and turned on my light, only to see the lure fling skyward as the 20-pounder shook free of the hook. Suddenly, I wasn’t cold anymore, I wasn’t tired or distracted. Twenty, maybe 30 casts later, I felt another fish attack the plastic eel. This one stayed buttoned, but I knew it wasn’t bigger than the last. A portly 35-incher glided into the beam of my light, which I swiftly released without lifting her from the water.
That was it for the tide. But as Ben and I reconvened, I could hear the excitement in his voice, “This is a spot I’d like to come back to, soon,” he said with a smile I could hear through the dark. Ben has had an incredible season this year, and didn’t land a fish from this almost-forgotten point. But, in spite of his young age, he knows what he’s looking at and could see the same potential I was reliving on this night. And we will be back soon.
