The Pipe, 12-17-13

[Amish Ed]

Launched at about 6:15 from the ramp and headed right for the Pipe. It was a gorgeous sunrise to paddle into. No wind inside the harbor, not much just outside, lots out on the Pipe. Water was 59.3º and very clear outside. Slight uphill current.

The strong offshore made for lots of paddling and some funky drifts over the Pipe. For the first hour it kept shifting direction just enough be a royal pain. I'd setup on the downhill side, the wind would blow me downhill. I'd setup on the uphill side, the wind would blow me uphill. Hard to hit the Pipe when you aren't over it. I was fishing a 1.5oz head and rarely finding the Pipe for the first hour or so. The 5 times I hit the Pipe I was slammed and missed it, got broken off by a nice one, plus got 3 nice sized calicoes. About 7:30 Landwhale and the Iceman arrived and the wind settled into a steady direction. Setup downhill, get blown uphill. About 8:45 the wind slowly started to back off and by around 9:30 it was dead calm.

Only threw the 4" and 3" Flurry today. Fire Avocado was getting bit every cast until I lost my only one. Knew I should've restocked the box. Took a while to find another color they wanted, but eventually ended up with Minnow Magic getting bit a lot. Hot Sauce used for flavor of course.

I had to head in earlier than I wanted (around 11). I finished with 5 legals (biggest about 3.5lbs) and 6 shorts. Not a great haul, but better than a sharp stick in the eye. If it was an average day for this year it was definitely not as good as 2yrs ago, but better than last year.

Good hanging with Steve as always and good to see Andy too.

[alanw]

Sounds like a nice day out there Ed. I think I accidentally found "the pipe" about 5 or 6 weeks ago when I paddled out to some lobster buoys all lined up offshore. I ended up catching a lot of spunky bait out there and a few nice bites as well. I don't have GPS to find it again, but I got the general area and know what to look for on the FF now. I'm looking forward to fishing the area again after the holidays.

[Amish Ed]

I was definitely nice out there. I have a new (to me) FF and the Pipe wasn't on it. Had a heck of a time pinpointing it at first. The FF settings were all goofy and the bottom reading kept jumping 5-10'. Got it figured out though. If you ever want to fish it on a Monday or Tuesday let me know.

[alanw]

I'll probably have a hard time pinpointing it again once the lobster buoys are gone. Maybe I could make up my own marker buoy for temporary use while I'm out there to judge my drift and just have a visual? I should just probably buy a FF/GPS and be done with it, although those buoys sure made things easy.

Anyways I wish I could fish Mon/Tue but I'm a M-F working man so weekday fishing is going to have to wait a few decades

[MrM]

Originally Posted by alanw

I'll probably have a hard time pinpointing it again once the lobster buoys are gone. Maybe I could make up my own marker buoy for temporary use while I'm out there to judge my drift and just have a visual? I should just probably buy a FF/GPS and be done with it, although those buoys sure made things easy.

Anyways I wish I could fish Mon/Tue but I'm a M-F working man so weekday fishing is going to have to wait a few decades

What kind of phone do you have? If you have an iPhone, Navionics might serve you pretty well. It's only $10 or so, has a great deal of information and lots of uses. Not sure if they make it for Android/Windows Phone or not.

[blitzburgh]

Thanks for the report Ed

[kobra]

Nice day Ed. When the stars aren't in alignment, the pipe can be tough to fish. Glad it settled down for you.

[Amish Ed]

Thanks guys. Can't wait to hit it again. After last year, yesterday was great.

[CheapPelican]

Originally Posted by alanw

... Maybe I could make up my own marker buoy for temporary use while I'm out there to judge my drift and just have a visual?...

That's a good idea. Even if you do have a FF/GPS, Looking down at your screen can get old after circling back a bunch of times over a rock pile. Having a couple of markers to line up your next drift with would make it alot easier especially if your fishing with someone without a FF.

[Amish Ed]

Originally Posted by CheapPelican

That's a good idea. Even if you do have a FF/GPS, Looking down at your screen can get old after circling back a bunch of times over a rock pile. Having a couple of markers to line up your next drift with would make it alot easier especially if your fishing with someone without a FF.

I've thought about doing the same thing. When the traps aren't there it definitely gets old looking at the FF all the time.