I grew up in GLoucester on Cape Ann, MA. At an early age, my step-father introduced me to surf fishing for Striped Bass which was about the only sport fish we had in the area. Cape Ann is a very rocky promontory with a few sandy or pebble beaches. The best fishing for Stripers is the area where rocks meet sand and the goal of every surf fisherman was to catch a 50 lb. bass, and still is. Most years there were one or two landed.
I spent all my free time fishing the rocky shores and over time, found a unique spot at the edge of one of the larger sandy beaches. It was a cave in the rocks that was only accessable to us at low tide, but fish could swim into it at any tide.
Over the course of one summer I fished that spot many times and took some nice fish in the 30# and 40# range. I just new that 50 pounder was around there. I would cast my bait out into the sand and work it in toward the caves mouth.
One night I hooked a huge fish. After a number of runs, I got it into the mouth of the cave and it lay on its' side against a ledge about six feet below my perch on the upper ledge.
With flashlight in my mouth and rod in one hand, I worked my way down the shear face of the cliff till I could get a toe-hold on the ledge below. The waves were pretty high that night and they would roll into the cave causing a hollow boom, every time they hit and washing my huge bass into and out of the cave. Fortunately, mr. striper was pretty well exhausted.
Once I got both feet on the narrow ledge, my problem was how to reach the big fish that was now at my feet. I gradually slid down the shear cliff till I was now sitting where my feet had been on the 3" ledge. The waves swept my huge Bass of a lifetime into the cave and, as it came out I worked up the nerve to reach over to grab it by the gill plates. It came alive then and its' struggle for freedom pulled me off the cliff and into the cold, cold water and down into the cave, where ...............................
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and drowned.............
THE FIFTY POUND STRIPED BASS
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- Seasoned Fisher
- Posts: 218
- Joined: Thu Sep 20, 2007 2:36 pm
- Location: Melbourne
THE FIFTY POUND STRIPED BASS
Bill
Beach & Bay Inspector
Beach & Bay Inspector