Ridge Runners and River Rats on the Road

Last weekend found the RRRR crew in Southern Maine sniffing the salty sea air.  As the pungent brine smell hits my olfactory glands I instantly flash back to the last three times I have been either on the ocean or it's shoreline in my pursuit for a finned creature that calls that high salinity environment it's home.  The Striped Bass, Striper or Rockfish are all names that this elusive (at least to me) fish bear.  The striper has always appealed to me and those three excursions previous were my attempts to put my hands on one.  Every person I have talked to has a slightly different approach on putting a hook into one.  After hours of researching on the internet, I decided that any method you can dream up is someone's "secret" method.  This trip, I had an extra trick up my sleeve.  That was local knowledge!  Heather has family that lives in Old Orchard Beach and Saco.  I mentioned my quest for stripers to three of her uncles, Roger, Rick and Joe, and before I knew it plans were made and bait was bought!  We were headed out the next morning!  The location that was decided upon was Gougan's Rocks (not sure on the spelling) right on Old Orchard Beach.  A few of the fellow beach dwellers raised an eyebrow as we walked by with a varied assortment of surf rods, but we were not to be diverted on our quest.  I quickly learned how to sew on a whole mackerel and set a slide sinker, and then it was wade as far into the pounding surf as you could and use the length of the surf roads to cast the bait away from the shore.  The waiting game then commenced as we slid the rods into custom built PVC pipes made to stand firm in the sand.  It was different than  I am used to as each wave gave the illusion of a bite which made me jumpy in the beginning.  Then we noticed the birds feeding and Clinton explained to us that it was a good sign, because they are usually feeding above feeding fish.  Sure enough as the birds worked over us the rod bent deeply and pulled free of the rod holder.  I dove for the rod and as my knuckles tightened around the grips, I could feel the unmistakeable head shake of a fish.  My first observation was that this fish was strong, and was not interested in coming to see me!  As I fought the fish, I was getting some good coaching tips, the main one was to use the waves to help.  I would gain ground as a wave would roll in, and lose ground as it receded, but I was gaining more than I was losing.  Before I knew it,  I could see the dorsal fin breaking the surface of a wave, I was gaining on it!  After a careful, very fun tug-of-war, the beautiful striped fish was laying on the sand.  A quick measure showed it was 34" and therefore would have to go back as in Maine only fish between 20-26" or over 40"can be kept.  We quickly unhooked it, held it up for a couple of pictures and then I waded out into the waves and held it under water for only a few seconds before it sprang to life.  I had caught a striper and a nice one at that!  My goal was achieved!  Thanks to all who had a hand in helping make my wish a reality!    The picture is below.

Drake also had his first Cabela's visit and he was thoroughly impressed!

Stay tuned as there is lots more going on, I spent today on the water and have lots of pictures and video yet to come.  Check back soon!

Gear Review - Loop Rope

This winter I was fortunate enough to have been selected for a gear review opportunity on the Outdoor Blogger Network.  They had teamed up with the company LoopRope to give away a few of their products for trial of their unique cargo management tool.  It is essentially a bungee cord of the highest caliber with a lot of thought put into its design and build.  The loops are at uniform intervals allowing it to be adjustable to any cargo load not to mention the fact that the loops themselves allow for cargo management.  The demo video on their website shows multiple potentials for this product, but after carrying it for several months myself I have found many uses for it in the outdoor world.  On our ice fishing trips, it was an important asset to steady the mountain of gear we had loaded into our tote sleds.  When you are 3 hours deep into the woods, you don’t want to chance losing something by not having it tied down.  It is a great restraint for transporting a grill, not to mention holding shed antlers onto a snowmobile.   The shape of an antler can be anything but uniform and keeping them in place with traditional cords can pose problems.  All in all it has proven to not only be handy, but very durable.  The machined clips that it comes with are of top quality and with the locking tab prevent those feared slips where who knows what might get hit with the unleashed elastic.  The aesthetic appeal is also nice as it is a nice bright color which allows you at a glance to confirm its position.  It has proven itself for months now for me, and the only bad thing I can find about it is that I don’t have another one to go with it!  That might have to change soon! 

Bassin' on High Water

Quick update with much more to follow.  We went out and fished the St. John this weekend even though it was swollen way past it's normal levels, to try our hand at catching a few fish.  It was a bit of a challenge to find the fish with the water so high, but we managed to catch a few including a nice four pound smallmouth.  We captured lots of video footage which I will get compiled and posted real soon!  If anyone ventures out in the near future, use caution as the river is high.  Until then a little proof that we caught something.