On paper it seemed like a perfect night: three days before the full moon, the strongest currents of the outgoing tide were occurring just after sundown, and no rain or freezing winds. Then, after catching a decent striper on my first swing, I had all but decided it was going to be a special night. In fact, I was so enthusiastic that I guaranteed my fishing partner that she would catch at least one bass by the end of the night.
As the striper gods would have it, my cockiness was met with a moratorium on fish willing to take a fly. We spent the rest of the night swinging, dead drifting, and strip retrieving flies through multiple spots, all to no avail. Luckily my "client" for the evening was my lovely mother, Nancy, who was able to forgive me toying with her expectations. Nevertheless, she certainly walked away from the experience a better saltwater angler. Once the water warms and the bay "comes to life" look for her to be a fish catching machine. In the meantime I will be careful to avoid the guide's curse: guarantees of fish in hand.
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