With my back healed, I took myself off the disabled list to fish this weekend. (I already gave dad his present for Father’s Day, and he prefers to relax rather than go out or have a big celebration.)
Yesterday, at Jack’s, I stocked up on supplies such as two-ounce sinkers, fish finders, snap swivels, and bait-holding hooks. I also picked up three fresh bunker and six frozen herring. Once again, I ventured up to Dobbs Ferry.
The dock was deserted.
I had three lines in the water by 1:50 PM, about two-and-a-half hours before high tide. It was hot, sunny, and windy. But conditions weren’t unbearable as they were almost a month ago.
The day was often frustrating. I caught only one catfish, which measured about 15 inches.
I had a few other bites, but the fish managed to avoid getting hooked. Once again, the bait kept slipping off the hooks. What was I doing wrong? I was using the bait-holding hooks. Maybe I should use slightly larger ones next time. My line got caught frequently, and I lost a lot of supplies.
The only eventful part of the day was seeing a deer. There are deer in the area. I spotted him near the garage in the unpaved parking lot. I followed him, bringing my digital camera. But he got away. Later, I managed to spot him on a nearby beach, and I took his picture from a distance.
Around 7:30, with the tide going out, I gradually packed it in. But I managed to hook something, probably another catfish. As I was reeling it in, the line broke.
Catfish are typically bottom-feeders. I’ve been keeping all three lines on the bottom with two-ounce sinkers. Since I’m using three lines, I should experiment with keeping at least one line near the surface, maybe with a bobber, and see what happens. Maybe I could try a lure next time as well. There are other types of fish in the Hudson besides catfish, perch, and striped bass.
Of course, a major disadvantage is that I don’t have a boat and can’t troll for fish or cast into deeper areas of the river.
Still, I learned a couple of things this weekend. I’ll do some research during the week and see what else I can learn about fishing the Hudson River from shore.
There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them.
