Yesterday, I went up to Hudson Park in New Rochelle. I fished there for the first time less than three weeks ago and didn't catch anything.
I bought two fresh bunker and a dozen sandworms from Hudson Park Bait and Tackle. I asked the nice lady there for some advice. She said that fishing worms off the bottom would attract crabs.
I started fishing around High Noon. It was cool and very overcast. The forecast called for rain. The tide was going out. At first, I used only two rods because there were some people fishing near me. I used bunker on one line and a sandworm on the other.
In my first hour, I didn't get any bites. It soon began to rain really hard. I retreated into the car and waited for the downpour to pass. (The same thing happened last time as well.) Eventually it stopped, and I got out. The rain came back a short time later, so I went back into the car.
I seriously thought about cutting the day short and going home. But I decided to stay. It stopped raining, and I could finally fish.
At one point, in frustration and despair, I asked God to let me catch at least one fish.
He answered.
Around 2 PM or so, the fish started biting. The first thing I caught was a striped bass with a piece of bunker. It was about a foot long. I didn't get a chance to measure it. I impressed a couple of kids fishing near me with lures. I threw it back.
I kept losing the worms. I would check the line, and the bait was gone completely. It must have been the crabs just like the lady said. So I switched to bunker. The people next to me eventually left, so I got to use my third rod.
I caught four more fish. They were each about a foot long. I don't know exactly what they were. They were green with a yellow band around their eyes. I didn't get a chance to photograph them. They might have been perch, but they were longer than the ones I've usually caught in the Hudson River and the Potomac.
All five fish put up a fight. When I was reeling them in, I thought they were much larger. At one point, I lost a fish when the hook broke off the line.
I fished in the parking lot. There's about a 10-foot drop to the water. I had to pull all five fish up into the air to get them out of the water. I'm concerned that if I hook something really big, the line could snap.I used 17-pound test. A few weeks ago, I wondered whether it was too heavy. I guess not.
Around 3:30 or so, I called it a day. I just ran out of bait.
I made a couple of mistakes. I couldn't measure my catch because I left the tape measure in my car. I also should have photographed the four mystery fish. But I was in a rush to get the hooks out of the fish's mouths and get them back into the water quickly.
It was a great afternoon for which I am thankful to God. I'll definitely try Hudson Park more often now that I know there are lots of fish waiting to be caught.
