Bucktail Bass -or- Hair Jig Payoff II

It took me over 30 years to catch my first striper, and it took almost another 20 for me to score one on the greatest, simplest and most versatile striper lure of all time; the humble, yet productive, bucktail.

4:30 AM EDT and all is well!

Of course, I just threw one for the first time while targeting stripers, and it really only took a few dozen casts for me to get bit.  I wish I could say this personally momentous event took place on one of the hair jigs I had crafted over the winter; but instead, I have to admit that I was throwing a nicely tied custom jig from The Tackle Shop in Portland, Maine.

This particular bass will forever remain etched in my memory for the cool, visual strike it provided.  I am accustomed to watching for my lure in the water during the retrieve, and soon after my slowly swimming jig came into view in the low morning light, this bass flashed up from the bottom and annihilated the bait.  She was probably within a rod's length when we connected, and I got to watch the entire strike and fight sequence unfold.  This healthy 26-incher was a perfect match for my gear in hand, too, and it was a pleasure to catch such a fish on a beautiful Maine morning!

5 AM and all is even better!

She might have thought it was a peanut bunker, or perhaps a finger-sized mackerel.  She hit hard, right at my feet.  All of the weekend's bass were thick and adorned with sea lice.

So, I somewhat successfully deployed a "new-to-me-in-this-place" tactic in a truly peaceful setting.  I had carefully selected, quality gear *** in hand, and I even caught a few other fish on this morning.  Some were larger, but none were quite as interesting or as satisfying as this particular bass.  What else could one ask for from a given morning, a long weekend road trip, or a winter spent daydreaming of (and preparing for) such things?


*** One of the pleasures (and potential frustrations) of fishing this spot is matching my tackle to the available bass.  While they have probably averaged about 24 or 25 inches (probably about six pounds) over the years, on any given day, the bites can come from micro-schoolies weighing in at a pound, or from unstoppable freight trains of unconfirmed size.  Moreover, my available tackle in Maine has always been a little limited and make-shift.  But with my increased saltwater fishing interests and participation over the last few years, I have purchased some high-quality saltwater reels and a couple of travel rods.  This day's set-up: the newest version of Shimano's Stradic 4000, spooled with 30-pound Momoi Diamond Braid; a heavy action, 7-foot Cabela's Fish Eagle 50 rod; 25-pound Seagar fluorocarbon leader;  and the 3/8-ounce sparse bucktail tipped with a 3-inch Lunker City shad body.  This was a fine delivery system that just felt good, at least to me!