Today, I went fishing for the first time in 2007. The weather, personal issues, work, and a family emergency (that was favorably resolved) delayed the start of my fishing season.
I went up to Hudson Park in New Rochelle. Around 2 PM, I was napping, and I came close to canceling the trip. But I really needed to start fishing. I got a large coffee at the gas station to wake me up.
I picked up two bunker at Hudson Park Bait & Tackle. The gentleman told me they didn't have "fresh" bunker. I forget the exact term he used. I was grateful it wasn't frozen.
I started fishing around 3:15 PM, not too long after low tide. It was sunny and a little windy. A couple of times, the wind blew my fishing rods over.
I had no action the first couple of hours. I attributed it to low tide and the wind. As the tide came in, I start getting a couple of bites. The gentleman at the bait shop told me that "evening fishing" was excellent.
At one point, I prayed to St. Peter, the patron saint of fishermen, to allow me to catch at least one fish. He delivered. Perhaps around 5:30 PM, I finally had a big bite. It nearly pulled my rod in the water. As I was reeling it in, it was clear that it was a big fish. I managed to pull it up into the parking lot. I'm lucky my line didn't snap.
I caught a striped bass. It measured 17 inches. It's the largest one I've caught since 2004, when I caught a 22-inch one out of the Hudson River in Dobbs Ferry. I threw it back.
I had a few more bites, but didn't catch anything else. I left at 8:15 PM.
For me, just catching one relatively big fish always makes a fishing trip a success.
