Back in the day when men rowed double ended dories in pursuit of whales, the man in the bow would harpoon the prey. Once the iron was driven into the whale the whale would reel off several fathoms of rope. The tag end of rope was tied to the dorey. When the line ran out the whalers in the dorey were in for a Nantucket Sleigh Ride.This summer I have been building a cottage on an island in Casco Bay, Maine. The construction of this dream home has adversely effected my fishing time. Well, this past weekend I layed down the hammer long enough to walk to the waters edge. There I found the cove in front of the cottage boiling with stripers in the 25-30 inch class.. I grabbed the only fly rod I had with me, an Orvis T3 5weight and my kayak. As I launched the kayak I had fish busting not more then 15 feet away. My first cast resulted in a hook up with a fiesty striper that gave me a “Nantucket Sleigh Ride” around the cove. After my playing landing and releasing the fish, I was left wishing I had brought a suitable fly rod. Over the next hour I managed to hook another 1/2 dozen fish. I am sure I could have caught and released several more had I been equipped with a rod that would have allowed me to bring the fish to hand more quickly.As the construction chores beckoned me back to shore I had a couple of thoughts….. wouldn’t it have been great to have had Jeremy video recording the wake from the kayak as these fish towed me around the cove, and what must it have it been like to throw a broadhead harpoon tip into a creature that was measured in 100’s if not 1000’s of pounds and then hang on for a Nantucket Sleigh Ride. As the salt season comes to a close in Maine, I am glad I had this one opportunity to sleigh ride.
pat — great writing! those stripers really can pull a fisherman in kayak with ease and .. often, a pretty good distance too! if this was the year for “building the cottage” .. i think this sley ride adventure was just a peak into the future .. imagine next year, when the house is completely done and all you gotta do is wake up and look out your window to get a fishing report … so, you sacrificed a summer of fly fishing for a summer of “building” .. but next summer will be awesome! i expect many tuna and striper reports coming from you next season .. now, if we could hook a bluefin in the kayak .. that would REEALLy be a sleigh ride .. probably more than we would like … we’ll use our center consoles for that … great read .. good to see you got a chance to catch a couple good ones!
hey pat, as jeremy said fantastic writing! I’m glad that you got your house finished though. From what i saw of it….it seems as though next year will be your year. Wake up in the morning, grab some coffee, look out the window and bang! there they are. I think i know how you’ll be spending most of the summer!
Pat, Glad you got to take a break from swinging the Estwing. I enjoyed that read, that is a great part of the world you guys are tucked into up there.
whippa, how are ya. i hope to get out your way in early november for some brown and steelie fishing. been a tough summer with the build going on. will have to have you out to maine to spend a weekend at my island retreat. right on the water with some of Maine’s best salt fishing.
doing well thanks. Glad you finished the retreat, must have been a huge project to undertake. I would love to come up and spend a weekend in the bay! Looking forward to hitting some steel with ya! Keep me posted.
Pat,
Schoolies on a 5wt must have givin you quite a ride! Fish well earned after a summer of hard work. I remember catching carp as a kid and having them pull my canoe all over the river. Good clean fun.
Next year enjoy the fishing in your backyard and leave the hammer hanging…
cool story