We woke to a fresh Nor'easter and 90% cloud cover. After yesterday I knew that anything from here on out would be a bonus. Before we even rounded the western tip of the island the wind started plastering the fly bridge screens with heavy spray as we headed into the 3-foot wind-driven chop. We joined a few early boats who had all hooked up in multiples but instead of trolling lines we were searching for birds to lead us to the bait balls. It was slow going. There were two small pods of sails, bait and birds, but on slow days they become hot spots for a lot of the boats in a very small area. From miles away you can see these "armadas" circling a bait ball like a scene from Waterworld, waiting for their turn to drag lines through the strike zone. If certain boats are around there is no way for a diver to get in the water with out ending up like a frog in a blender.
This morning the birds were few and far between, so the possiblity of a "private" bait ball was non-existent. Late in the morning we decided to pull lines and try for some jump shots. We dropped three sails early with lackluster strikes--more sniffing than eating. Then by midday it went dead. We could see "shoppers" kicking tires between the baits but not interested in eating. All the while we marked massive fields of bait on the sounder as shallow as 20 feet. Today was a classic case of "shoulda' been here yesterday". I'm very pleased we were. I did get a few pix of "Rebel", a Ritchie Howell Carolina Custom on the run past us. They certainly build some beautiful boats in North Carolina, that flare and tumblehome make me homesick. More tomorrow.
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