Holliday's World Famous Fishing Thread - 2023 Version

[oldslowandugly]

about 3:15 in the aft

I'm a big fan of late day/sunset fishing. Mostly because I can't get up early anymore. But I find that a hour or so before sunset is almost as good as dawn. Plus, it transitions into night fishing, which is big in summertime here.

April 15 Striped Bass opens. I usually take the Grandkids to Little Neck Bay. It is shallow and if you catch an all day incoming tide with a sunny sky- it warms up nicely by afternoon. Those few degrees of warmth convince the Bass to come in and feed. I use big Flounder hooks and sandworms for bait. You can also get some fat North Shore Flounder that way. The water has been cold so I hope the weather warms up some.

 

[The New Holliday]

Fucking weather.

....<EOM>

 

[oldslowandugly]

Fucking weather.

....<EOM>

I need to bottom paint the Whaler. The weather has been against that for weeks. I switched to the new water based bottom paint. I like it better than the solvent based stuff. But it is less forgiving of cold weather. I was really trying to get in the water early this year. Oh well......

 

[oldslowandugly]

So I got it up off the trailer. Years ago I welded up some nice hull supports out of stop sign poles. I get them under the hull and mount the ends on cement blocks. Now I can slowly lift the boat off the trailer with a jack. Then I roll the trailer out from under the hull and it is suspended on the cement blocks for painting the bottom. Funny thing. All the people who can't wait to go out fishing, are nowhere to be found at bottom painting time. No visits, no calls. Hmmmmm. This is last year, I pray the weather clears up next week. This needs to get done.

 

[The New Holliday]

So I got it up off the trailer. Years ago I welded up some nice hull supports out of stop sign poles. I get them under the hull and mount the ends on cement blocks. Now I can slowly lift the boat off the trailer with a jack. Then I roll the trailer out from under the hull and it is suspended on the cement blocks for painting the bottom. Funny thing. All the people who can't wait to go out fishing, are nowhere to be found at bottom painting time. No visits, no calls. Hmmmmm. This is last year, I pray the weather clears up next week. This needs to get done.

You got to go full Tom Sawyer and charge them for the fun of doing that.

 

[oldslowandugly]

I have a better plan. The ones that say 'Call me when it's in the water', get ghosted. No calls. And if they do call, I am always too busy. My kids and grandkids are always willing to help out. They get to go. They can outfish just about everyone anyway. When I used to take 'friends' out, and they learned nothing, that is when I realized all they wanted was a boat ride. What I will do is send them pictures of the big fish we catch. Just to rub it in.

April 15- Striped Bass opening day!

 

[oldslowandugly]

Hey Holliday. Ever hear of the 'whacky rig' worm? My cousin from western PA claims it is worth using. He was at some Racoon Lake where nothing was hitting. He tried a plastic work rigged that way and nailed two fat smallies. I asked why he did not use a regular rigged worm as a control. Otherwise I am not surprised a worm got hits when lures did not. Spring Stripers are suckers for worms as they are rooting on the bottom, not chasing lures. I would need to see both rigs fished side by side to be sure one was actually better than the other. I often will cast a big 2oz spoon while my partner casts a 2oz diamond jig. Whichever gets the first hit, we switch to that.

This 'whacky rig' looks like a 5 year old or a woman hooked a worm. It is what I was always taught NOT to do with a worm. I guess if the tactic is to toss it near cover and let it just sink, OK, but where else would it work? I don't get it.