Duxbury Bay, 9/6

[Guest guest]

Not that I want word getting around that I might be interested in fishing, however, after seeing the enthusiasm that stripers illicited in a couple of my fellow kayakers, I feel that a trip report is in order.

Saturday, 9/6, seven kayakers (should have been nine, but Fabian's excitement was too much for some who wanted to "watch" the kayak surfing) left Powder Point Bridge for Brown's Bank in Duxbury. The weather was perfect with temperatures barely into the 70s, lots of warming sunshine, and barely the hint of wind. The trip through Duxbury Bay was uneventful as we paddled with the tide and there was virtually no boat traffic outside of the marked channels.

We paddled to Bug Light, a drab, squat lighthouse rising right up out of the water in the middle of the harbor. Then some in the group ventured into the Cowyard in a fruitless attempt to find some eddies or standing waves. Turning around, the group headed out of the harbor towards Brown's Bank, where a dozen or so small motor boats could be seen anchored at it's closest shore.

As we approached the boats, Adam (of course) spotted a couple of people who where just starting to clean a large striper right at the edge of the bar. He paddled in between the boats to take a closer look. The proud fisherman prounounced it to be 40 inches long, and then asked Adam where he got his [Greenland] paddle.

After this exchange the group continued on around the Bank towards less populated sand. The South side of the bank had small waves spilling forever through the shallow water. Out past the end of the bar, larger surf (perhaps 2 feet) could be seen. Paddlers new to "surf" followed instructions well and learned to brace on the waves. Within a minute or two they were having so much fun that they turned around to surf the waves back from where we came. There were a couple of capsizes (and one recovery with a "hand" roll off of the sandy bottom), but I think that everyone was the better for the experience. The pod continued around to the ocean side of the bar where we landed. Blankets and towels were spread on the sand, and we sat for lunch which was followed by kite flying and frisbee throwing.

A couple of hours later, after the tide had fallen and then risen back up to the same height it was when we arrived, we left for the put-in. A few members of the pod took a quick trip out into the bigger surf that turned into a longer trip when two capsized. The water was chest deep at the break line, but I had to bring my boat into deeper, calmer water in order to

perform a re-entry.

The group reformed at the other end of the bank, and we crossed back to Bug Light where there is a substantial eddy on the incoming tide. Paddling back across the middle of the Bay, our fearless leader was observed looking down into the water to either side of his kayak like a cat watching for bugs and rodents in the grass. Adam and another kayaker with fishing tendencies broke off from the group in hopes of finding something to cast at. The rest of us plugged on towards the put-in. When we were perhaps a quarter mile from the Bridge, the other kayaker radioed that the fish where feeding right in front of him. I looked back and saw that the two boats now were separated by a couple hundred yards. There was no response to the hail which was repeated.

The rest of the group landed and started packing up our cars. 5 minutes or so later the sixth kayaker landed. When Adam paddled up a couple of minutes later he was informed about the feeding and told to keep his *$@# radio on next time. The two fishermen looked back across the Bay and saw that the terns were still circling and picking off bait fish at the surface. While the six of us emptied our boats, Adam continued to watch the terns wistfully, telling us he was just assuring himself that this signalled the beginning of the fall fishing season. Eventually, he got out of his boat and packed up the car while making plans with the other fisherman to return to Duxbury very soon to catch some fish.