Convergence '20: The Usual Players

Though the spotted salamander migration has been well over by mid May each year there is still amphibian mass migration in progress most rainy nights. Because the same rainy nights are regularly the best herring nights, I end up taking a long time to get to the river because I'm risking life and limb to save frogs crossing the road. On some nights the carnage is unbearable, with a sickly smell emanating from stretches of road were hundreds of frogs have been smashed. One night I had thrown up and was in tears from the mass killings I'd had to bear witness to on the way to the river. Dead bullfrogs, green frogs, pickerel frogs, American and Fowler's toads, grey tree frogs, and ribbon snakes were everywhere and it was just too much. I badly needed a reprieve but this was not the night.

I fished four hours without a take. There were fish around, but I was inexplicably drawing a blank. Then, shortly before dawn, I made a very simple switch and caught two bass. The second jumped repeatedly upon being hooked and ran with an abnormal amount of pep, and I wasn't even sure it was a striper. But the rising sun killed the bite and I left irritated that I had been missing something very simple for hours and could have had more and bigger fish.

Taking into consideration what had changed my success the previous night, I returned the next night expecting better results. What I got instead were more of the usual players, schoolie size fish just big enough to fish a herring in their mouths. 

The reality is, though the 2015 year class of fish, 24-26 inchers, is currently the most abundant class of fish in the herring runs, there was a time when 30-36 inch bass were the herring run mainstays. We just don't have many of those size fish in our fishery anymore and, unfortunately, because of the current regulations, that isn't likely to change soon. So unfortunately my herring run fishing lives or dies with these small bass, which is a difficult pill to swallow.
Until next time,

Fish for the love of fish.

Fish for the love of places fish live.

Fish for you.

And stay safe and healthy.

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