Sea Lice

After a brief break from the water, a friend and I found some fish during the low incoming tide last night. Derrick was first up with a gator bluefish that tipped the scale to an impressive 13-pounds. The next taker was a welcomed striped bass on my line; not huge, but certainly the species we were after. The bass was covered in sea lice--a sure sign of its fresh arrival from the Atlantic Ocean. Sea lice are marine parasites that hitch rides on host fish for an easy meal ticket. This poor bass also had a rusty hook embedded into one eye. We figured removing the hook would only do more damage, so we let it be for the rusting process to run its course. I wish I could say more stripers cooperated last night, but the last hook-up of the night came shortly after and was another heavy bluefish.  If nothing else, the lice-covered bass was a positive sign that new fish are arriving in our area. Hopefully they stick around for a while because friends and I are going on a road trip to Cape Cod this weekend. We'll be sight-fishing the flats by day, traversing the Canal by night and sleeping in sweltering tents somewhere in between. Hopefully I have some good stories to share upon our return.