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There was no sun to be seen in the morning,
only the increasing light in a grey dawn and
an overcast and light rainy morning. On the
shore line, with a backdrop of Woods Hole Light,
were two fishermen casting flies into the dark
waters searching for Stripers. There were no
noises, no traffic and no other signs of life
with the exception on a solitary jogger and
birds starting to move in the early light. There
was a wind coming across their shoulders from the
south. A steady 10 - 15 knots with gusts to 25.
Not an ideal situation by any means.
We had placed ourselves there, because anywhere
else would be fighting the wind and here at least
we could work with the wind. We, with only a word
or two, agreed to space ourselves and slowly work
down the beach. The rhythm was set and we slowly
moved at the unstated but mutually agreed on pace
towards the other end. We were working well together,
no egos involved, both willing to give or take as
it made sense. A shared enjoyment of doing something
that we both loved to do.
This pleasure was more as we had only met 12 hours
before and shared a most amazing dinner with Josko
and his family. This meal was not for a king, as
there is no king good enough for this meal. We had
tuna sushi with a brochette followed by farm fresh
corn and grilled tuna for the main course. Not just
tuna, but fresh tuna, caught the day before. Not
just one kind, but Yellow Fin, Blue Fin and Albacore.
It was quite the taste treat. Cooking and fishing
have a few things in common. Presentation and detail,
and this meal had both, to the point of warmed milk
for our coffee. The portions were large, equal in
size to the warmth and hospitality of Josko and his
family. Dessert and coffee, with talk about the fishing
earlier in the day that Josko and Dave had done before
I arrived, but that is a story better told by them.
There was also talk of tuna, sharks, striper, trout,
politics, the cape (Cape Cod), schools and education
from elementary to college. Talk about fly tying and
fishermen known to all. Talk about FAOL and other
boards, people on those boards and why we all love
to fish. We talked about catch and release. All of
us kept fish sometimes, but there was a respect for
those fish and those that we returned to their waters.
We fished along the beach, moving with the wind,
looking for a strike. I got the first hook up,
and landed a "schoolie." Then Dave got one and
then I, another. There were a few that got away,
but they were just long distance releases. We did
that stretch twice, then tried to find another
location. As we moved on, the wind got stronger
and was more in our face. Today was not a day
for easy casting. We fished until it was time
to meet Josko for breakfast. We were going to
get together and see if it made any sense to
go off shore for tuna or shark. With the high
winds, small craft warnings and the rain, we
decided to have breakfast and relieve Josko of
any promises to take us out on his boat.
In to Woods Hole we went, with the requisite
tourists, summer residents, researchers and
locals. Parking was doable, but it made me
glad that I did not have to deal with this
every day. Over coffee and croissants we talked
some more and then Josko, in his generous way
said, "I know a few places we could get to with
my skiff. The rain is letting up so let's get
suited up and give it a try." Off to his house,
into waders and rain jackets and then to the
skiff.
Out we puttered, outside the harbor and over to
a few good locations. Josko would put us a few
feet off a rip and tell us where to cast, "there
is a boulder 10 feet down and then the water drops
to 20 feet immediately after that." It was as
though he knew every boulder and every rip, every
drop off and every change in that area. No, he
probably did know every one of those places, for
he was accurate in everything I could see. Dave
got a few hits and short hook ups, probably with
Blues as the leaders were frayed from battle.
While we were sitting in the skiff there was an
Osprey sitting on top of a channel marker, only
a few yards away from us. It was sitting there in
all its majesty with legs extending beyond its
feathers and strong wings ready to take to flight
at any moment. We saw a Cormorant come up from a
dive and then the Osprey with talons extended leap
from its perch and try to snatch the Cormorant. The
Cormorant must have seen this as well because it
went back down in the water as fast as it had
popped up, having the Osprey miss its dinner by
a mere fraction of a second.
As we started to head back in, Josko, in his
understated fashion said, let's go take the
boat out. I know a few other places to try. So
off we go to his boat. A beautiful 26'center
console boat set for fishing. The boat was
exactly what you would expect from Josko. Clean,
well organized, well equipped, redundancy where
you would want it. The engine purred. I was a
mechanic for 20 years and if that engine was
anything less than perfect I would have heard.
It purred. Off we went, and fished, with Josko
as guide, the difference being that he probably
forgot more than most guides will ever know. Dave
and I took turns casting to towards shore. We did
not catch anything else that day, but the fishing
was great, the company better.
I fish to relax and to get closer to nature.
The smell of the salt air, the roll of the
waves, the birds diving for fish, rain in my
face all create the moments that I remember.
Friends add to that, bringing laughter and
insight to what I see. This visit to the Cape
and to Josko's home waters was one to remember
and I certainly will. I learned more about
fishing and have gotten to know one friend
better and made a new one as well. It doesn't
get any better than that. ~ Jed
About Dave:
Dave Micus lives in Ipswich, Massachusetts. He is an
avid striped bass fly fisherman, writer and instructor.
He writes a fly fishing column for the Port City Planet
newspaper of Newburyport, MA (home of Plum Island and Joppa Flats)
and teaches a fly fishing course at Boston University.
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