JakeF
06-17-2009, 06:52 PM
Gotta love it. There's nothing like strapping on the Korkers and heading out along a deserted stretch of boulder strewn coastline in search of what we love, the landing of a healthy cow of a bass. This type of fishing is not for the "cast, stick-it-in-a-sand spike, relax in a chair" type. This is combat fishing, and it will test your cajones to the max.
As the tide drops, revealing the wicked structure that was hidden beneath the surface of the salty wash, your mind's eye can picture exactly what may happen when the tide returns to cover it back up. Holes between the boulders where a bass might lie in wait, alleys that a bass might use to get from hole to hole, formations that will deflect and redirect the tidal current to form eddies which will confuse bait fish caught in it's flow and set the table for a bass on the feed. Without really thinking about it, you capture all of this in your mind, like a photograph, to which you can refer when it is all once again hidden from view. You instinctively pick out rocks above the high tide mark which you can use to triangulate your cast to target where you know your quarry will be waiting. The depth of each hole compared to the high tide mark, and the known sink rate of each plug in your bag, is logged in your subconscious, and in your mind you’re already reaching into your plug bag for the perfect weapon.
Next, your mind turns to the nautical chart you studied before leaving the parking lot. What lies submerged beyond the low tide line? Ahhh,,, there’s a rock you saw on the chart,,, and you remember that 65 yards beyond that rock was a drop off from 6ft to 18ft, probably beyond casting distance at high tide, but perfectly reachable now. Your Korkers do their job as you carefully pick your way through the slime and seaweed covered rocks, out to your chosen perch and you reach in your plug bag for a jig weighted to match the conditions of the surf. Your cast finds it’s mark and you count the seconds until the familiar tick of the jig head striking rock. Yes! You calculated your cast distance perfectly and it found the deeper water just beyond the drop off. You lift the jig from the bottom, then let it settle back down and feel it begin to roll in the current, ticking and bouncing along the rocks. Suddenly, your line goes slack and you can no longer feel the bottom. Instinctively, you lift the rod tip quickly and the sharply honed hook finds its mark in the jaw of a bass that is swimming straight toward you. You quickly reel to keep the slack out of the line, then brace yourself as the bass turns and starts a blistering run perpendicular to the shore. Your drag has been set perfectly with a spring scale, and you let the bass run, then apply the backbone of your rod to turn her head. Your well maintained gear functions perfectly and you know just how much pressure to apply to steer the bass around a rock that would be sure to cut you off and bring her to hand. A quick release is followed by a shower of water from her tail as she makes her departure. THIS is fishing!! THIS is what you live for!
The tide is coming in and you must make your way back from your current perch before you get stranded. As the structure fills with water, and the holes you noted become submerged, your tactics change to match the new conditions. Conditions that you foresaw and for which you are now prepared. The hunt continues anew until time dictates that you must once again make the trek back to your ‘other’ life.
This is Korker land, the world of the Rock Hopper. This is Combat fishing!
As the tide drops, revealing the wicked structure that was hidden beneath the surface of the salty wash, your mind's eye can picture exactly what may happen when the tide returns to cover it back up. Holes between the boulders where a bass might lie in wait, alleys that a bass might use to get from hole to hole, formations that will deflect and redirect the tidal current to form eddies which will confuse bait fish caught in it's flow and set the table for a bass on the feed. Without really thinking about it, you capture all of this in your mind, like a photograph, to which you can refer when it is all once again hidden from view. You instinctively pick out rocks above the high tide mark which you can use to triangulate your cast to target where you know your quarry will be waiting. The depth of each hole compared to the high tide mark, and the known sink rate of each plug in your bag, is logged in your subconscious, and in your mind you’re already reaching into your plug bag for the perfect weapon.
Next, your mind turns to the nautical chart you studied before leaving the parking lot. What lies submerged beyond the low tide line? Ahhh,,, there’s a rock you saw on the chart,,, and you remember that 65 yards beyond that rock was a drop off from 6ft to 18ft, probably beyond casting distance at high tide, but perfectly reachable now. Your Korkers do their job as you carefully pick your way through the slime and seaweed covered rocks, out to your chosen perch and you reach in your plug bag for a jig weighted to match the conditions of the surf. Your cast finds it’s mark and you count the seconds until the familiar tick of the jig head striking rock. Yes! You calculated your cast distance perfectly and it found the deeper water just beyond the drop off. You lift the jig from the bottom, then let it settle back down and feel it begin to roll in the current, ticking and bouncing along the rocks. Suddenly, your line goes slack and you can no longer feel the bottom. Instinctively, you lift the rod tip quickly and the sharply honed hook finds its mark in the jaw of a bass that is swimming straight toward you. You quickly reel to keep the slack out of the line, then brace yourself as the bass turns and starts a blistering run perpendicular to the shore. Your drag has been set perfectly with a spring scale, and you let the bass run, then apply the backbone of your rod to turn her head. Your well maintained gear functions perfectly and you know just how much pressure to apply to steer the bass around a rock that would be sure to cut you off and bring her to hand. A quick release is followed by a shower of water from her tail as she makes her departure. THIS is fishing!! THIS is what you live for!
The tide is coming in and you must make your way back from your current perch before you get stranded. As the structure fills with water, and the holes you noted become submerged, your tactics change to match the new conditions. Conditions that you foresaw and for which you are now prepared. The hunt continues anew until time dictates that you must once again make the trek back to your ‘other’ life.
This is Korker land, the world of the Rock Hopper. This is Combat fishing!