From Dusk 'till Dark, Upper Mystic, 8-8-09
I dropped the Kayak in upper Mystic around 6 pm this evening. The water was very low. I first hit the western shoreline throwing everything I could think of into lilly pads but couldn't buy a bite. Lots of other fishing boats out and I didn't see anyone else catching anything either. Finally made my way up to one of my lucky spots by the Winchester boat club and picked up a decent (maybe 13") bass on a Skippyfish swim bait. It was around 7:45 at this point, nearing sunset, so I paddled back near my car. I threw some senkos, crankbaits, more skippyfish and even a jitterbug and still couldn't get a bite. Until it started to get dark.
I was about to call it a night and pull out the kayak (I launched at the point on a hill along Mystic Valley Parkway) when I noticed that all along the gravel shorline there were baitfish jumping all over the place, and I saw a few larger disturbances in the water that looked like bass. I grabbed a Swim 'n Image which looked to me kind of like the little fish that were jumping and landed a 15-incher on the first cast. Over the next 45 minutes I caught 4 more good sized bass (12-16", 16 being the best of the day), all right up against the shoreline in 6" to 1-foot of water. I didn't plan to stay out that late and into darkness, but that's when they picked up.
A note to shore fisherman: Now is a great time to fish that area (see the map below) from shore, since the water is so low, there is superb access. I suspect tomorrow night, being similar weather, might be as active as tonight, so someone looking to try out their topwater skills from shore might want to check it out. Cast parallel to the shore, as they were coming in really close to feed on these little baitfish.
No pics, as my cell phone has no flash and the pic-worthy fish were all caught at low light levels.