Man Attempts to Impress 7 Year-Old Daughter But ...

I took my daughter out tonight to check the pots and maybe hook a fish or two. I had spent weeks telling her that the fish were guaranteed and due to some nice, big fish recently brought home, she had high expectations. But she also wanted lobster...with melted butter.

It was kind of a creepy night on the water. It got dark faster than usual and some rain drops fell now and then. The water was glass when we embarked but ended up in a little chop from the SW when we finally headed in with our lights on.

But the story is this: small bass were all around the mid-sections of Duxbury Bay. They were very, very finicky but jumping all around the boat. "Why don't you just catch one, Dad?" "Er, well, I'm trying..."

But we managed to hook three small stripers (largest about 18 inches long) and then a nice surprise, a huge hickory shad. The largest I've ever seen. I was overjoyed and told her, "These make great bait!" But the young girl couldn't stand to see that beautiful fish die. She threw it back. But just hooking him made my day.

The lobster pots were empty, except for the resident spiders and hermits.

We motored in, under the black/orange sky. The same colors as my pot markings.