THE ULTIMATE ANGLING BUCKET LIST

Out from Rudee Inlet we fished on the drift, so short droppers above the lead did the business. It wasn't
exactly reefy ground. More a mix of all sorts including patches of heavier stuff.
Hang-ups were not that common place, and when pressure was applied, whatever bit of the rig was
snagged up would usually pull free. I’m not sure whether it was weed, boulders or what exactly was
causing these hang-ups as nothing ever came up on the hooks except for fish, which did so by the bucket
full.
This was a venue where double hits were the rule rather than the exception. Black bass were the main
culprits starting at a couple of inches in length right through to a couple of pounds. But these were not
the only fish. Quite a few flounders were also caught.
This doesn't sound very exciting, but other than being flat, American flounders bear no resemblance to
their name sakes on this side of the pond. Instead, they are more like small halibut, with huge mouths
crammed full of sharp pointed teeth.
I suspect they are related to turbot and brill as their eyes are located on the same side of the mouth. They
also fight well and are very good to eat as I was to find out one evening in a restaurant.
When there are lots of anglers tightly packed onto a
party boat, it can be hard work keeping clear of other
people less familiar than perhaps you would like with
fish and tackle handling. This particular boat however
had a long narrow pointed walk-way protruding out
from the bow which Dave Devine and I made a bee-line
for.
This allowed us to drop down from either side
depending on the direction the boat was set up to drift.
And with nobody behind us, or for that matter within
several yards, we didn't suffer a single tangle all day.
The crew on the deck organised a two dollar sweep. It
wasn't compulsory, though judging by the stamp put on
the back of the hands of those who paid, most people
were in it.
Numbers onboard these boats can vary between a mere
handful on quiet season midweek days, to maybe forty
and more when word gets about that the fish are in. So
the sweep money can be worth picking up.
Dawn Williams, brace of Croakers
Who gets it though is very much a lottery, in that while
most Brits would wipe the floor with the yanks in terms
of numbers of fish caught, picking out the single biggest fish of the day in situations like this
unfortunately is beyond individual control.
I thought I had it for much of the trip with a nice flounder picked up on a long thin mackerel strip cut
to resemble a sandeel, but unfortunately at the weigh in, I was pipped by a whisker with a black bass.
The inlet itself is quite a sizeable affair with plenty of surface area for boats and moorings, all of which
is accessed via quite a short narrow channel lined with big boulders which look to have been put there
deliberately, as they follow the contour of a protective sea wall, behind which is a walkway used by the
locals for fishing.
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