Lit Up!

Striper Fishing has Lit the F*@^ Up!

The striper fishing was lit up, both literally and figuratively last night and tonight. After a 3:00pm put in on the start of an outgoing tide in Niantic yesterday, fishing went from slow to good. I'm pretty limited in where and in what conditions can fish my little skiff. Had a few blue blitzes and 4 short stripers on the outflow from 3:30-4:30. Working up Two-Tree, Bartlett's, Harkness and back to Black Point was completely unproductive. With storms approaching, I decided to head back into Niantic Bay and hit a few spots I like. Trolling T&W I had a strike within a 100 yrds, and thus began 2 hours of catching 25"-27" stripers with one monster that ripped the road out of the holder (ESPN worthy highlight catch on my part) and spooled my light trolling rig almost twice before breaking off. Couldn't sleep until 2:00am thinking about the hardest hit and run I have experienced in a while. Tonight we decided to cheat Mother Nature again, and left Stonington at about 4:00 just as high tide was peaking. Fishing with Jack Balint from The Fish Connection in Preston, whom I fish with several times a year and always have a great time. Jack specializes in light tackle and fly fishing, so we were working with GLoomis Pro-Green rods, light Stradic and Penn reels, 12lb.test and 7" pink and amber sluggos. Plan was poke around from the east of Fisher's until the tide picked back up, but 5 minutes out of Stonington we were on the fish. Right off the bat I was into a fish in the mid-30's (inches) and it kept going from there. Even as the tide went slack, the fish kept biting. You could see stripers on squid and ink blotches as the squid sought to escape. It was easy to follow the sluggos and see the fish moving in for the big surface strikes. It was a race to see how much fishing we could get in with the massive storm bearing down on us. Completely lost count of the fish landed in the 2 hours before a mad dash back to the barn. Most were in the mid-30's. Can't imagine (well, I can) what a few more hours at that pace would have been like.

Take a Kid Fishing (at your own risk)

Stopped by my local pond to wet a line. Caught a few nice little bass. Little League was going on nearby, and tons of kids were running around. A boy from my daughter's 2nd grade class and his friends came up. "Can I fish, can I fish, can I fish?" Who's going to tell a kid he can't fish? I have him pick up my light rod with a small lure, and he casts out a few times. I turn to cast my line and WHAM! I reach down and find the lure hanging from my face. The kid was 25ft. away and probably couldn't hit me again in 100 casts. He's is about to cry, saying he's sorry over and over. I assure him that I know it was an accident and that it's OK. This is where it gets comical. I can't see the hook and forgot my pliers. I have to walk past all of the kids and dads by the baseball diamond with a lure dangling from my face. They politely offer to help, but there isn't anything they can do. I decide I'll stop by the rescue squad across the pond. Surely they have small pliers or forceps. I am informed that they are not allowed to remove anything, but only after 3-4 guys come out for a look. I understand that some jackass may try to sue and thus the policy. They do offer to take me to the ER, but I don't think this merits a ride in an ambulance. I drive home with my rather unique piercing hanging from below my nose. Forceps and a quick pop takes remedies what turned out to be a rather humerous situation.

Hanover

After a few slow weeks of picking off of beds, Hanover is starting to heat up a bit. John, Tom and I went out Sunday, where Tom was the lone fish catcher with a small bass and a catfish. Went back out today and had three decent bass on (lost 2) in about 45 minutes using a Lunker City Salad Spoon on top. Two guys were also working the Hanover Ave. side in a boat. Looking forward to the LIS turning on!

Memorial Day Report - Niantic

Wow. The start of this season has been as cold (literally and figuratively) as last season was smokin' hot. After a trip to the UK, and a busy lacrosse season, I was looking forward to getting the striper season off to the start I had last year in which my first trip landed 2 dozen keepers in a bit over 2 hrs. Missed the early run on the River. Two weeks of rain led to two brief an unproductive trips out of Haddam. Today I decided to try out the salt H20, hearing good reports from Stonington. Not used to fishing Stonington in a small boat in fog at night, I opted for Niantic. Fog was thick and I had to rely on GPS to cross the bay and the mouth of Jordan's Cove. Marked lots of bait in Niantic Bay, and fished up to Harkness by 7:00 am without a bite. Decided to throw in the towel and fish the reactor outflow. I typically feel like I'm fishing in the children's pond when I reach this point. As I made my way back to Millstone, the fog was giving way to dark clouds. After a quick check of my radar (Yes, my 14 ft. boat has radar and a GPS chartplotter - an iPhone), I decided to head for the barn. As I was feet from the dock, the heavens opened up. I ended a short morning with a wet skunking. My hope is that I'm getting the bad juju out of the way before heading down to the Carolinas in a few weeks.

The "Gemma Rose" Project

Two season's ago, after months of "to own" or not "to own" a new boat (and all the monthly costs associated), I compromised and bought the "Gemma Rose", a 14 ft. aluminum that I could throw in lakes, rivers and near the shore in the summer. I would no longer be landlocked, nor tied to the payments of a large boat, leaving me free to travel and charter in different locations. Originally outfitted with an old Merc 18hp and some oars, I've made a few modifications, turning the Gemma Rose into a true redneck fishing platform. Below, you can see the transformation from the bare-bones version, to the additions of the forward casting platform and storage, to the final vid of the necked out Gemma Rose. I dare you to find a 14ft. aluminum solo fishing machine with more crap!

9 bass in a bit over an hour. All 1-3 lb. range. Lost the only bigger fish (probably 4-5 female) that I had been stalking after catching the male and harrassing until she hit. Water was murky in my local hole, so I was fishing a black buzz bait with red metallic fleck. Got hit on the first cast, and it kept up for 45 minutes until every fish within a few hundred square yards had seen my bait presentation.

9 bass in a bit over an hour. All 1-3 lb. range. Lost the only bigger fish (probably 4-5 female) that I had been stalking after catching the male and harrassing until she hit. Water was murky in my local hole, so I was fishing a black buzz bait with red metallic fleck. Got hit on the first cast, and it kept up for 45 minutes until every fish within a few hundred square yards had seen my bait presentation.[img]http://i29.servimg.com/u/f29/13/09/62/88/5-10-110.jpg[/img]
(3 lb. From Monday Night)
[img]http://i29.servimg.com/u/f29/13/09/62/88/5-11-110.jpg[/img]
Typical of today's fish.

QRiver 5-6-11

Got a quick stop in this afternoon before I had to run out. About 8 trout (6 rainbows, 2 brookies) in a bit over an hour. All on a Rapala minnow, though I did float a lot of nymphs. Took a bath as well. WEAR YOU WADING BELTS! Managed to get soaked and enough water down the waders to get cold after a while, but not too big a deal. Check out the vid. I will admit to adding footage of a snake from just a few days before with Meatloaf. I never cut in old fish footage, but the snake was kinda cool, and the report is legit.

The Local Report - Hanover 4/8/11

Local bass are bitin'. I've had success on shallow ponds with swim baits, jigs and smaller spoons. Don't be afraid to cover water with a swimbait, as I've found the fish consistently hitting moving presentations. If you're not getting the hook-ups, slow down and go to a more deliberate presentation like the jig and creature baits.

Tinker Tavern, "Steelie" Dan and Salmon River Steelhead Fishing with Scott Glazier and Don Kingsley

Back from another trip up to Pulaski, NY for the “spring” steelhead run. The outlook was grim Wednesday with snow and freezing rain predicted for Friday and Saturday. Nothing says lockjaw like a cold front moving through. However, given my scheduling, it was this past weekend or wait ‘til fall. “Steelie” Dan, Jeff and I drove up in the rain and slushy snow Friday after work, arriving at Tinker Tavern Lodge around midnight. I’d booked with Scott Glazier (TTL) and Don Kingsley (Tight Lines Guide Service) again this spring. Look for Scott on an upcoming episode of On The Water this month. Saturday morning proved to be a far cry from freezing and rainy, with the temps eventually reaching 50, and mostly sunny. Before we could fish, basics like forking over $$$ to the State of New York had to be taken care of, and Jeff and I purchased new noodle rods. I paired a 10’6” Courtland rod with my Cabo 20 spinning reel for a comfortable outfit. Need to support the local economy! The plan was to do a little walk in scouting after lunch, but this was hampered by the fact I have a really bad ankle right now. By the afternoon, following what had been a cold morning, the fish had all seen their share of presentations and we only saw one fish landed in the heavily fished areas I was able to hobble to. Fingers were crossed to the weather gods for Sunday’s drift trip. Sunday continued to follow the improving weather of Saturday, with more sun and temps again rising into the low 50’s by mid afternoon. With a second day of good weather, our fishing improved as well. Scott and Don got us to a productive hole ahead of the masses, and we managed to land our first steelie, a smaller male, right off the bat. The hits kept coming at a slow but steady pace, and before long Dan ended his drought from the last trip with a fat fish (see pic). Jeff learned that “we weren’t in Kansas anymore,” fighting a few nice fish, only to have them eventually pop. I proceeded to lose the big hen in our hole, and then we made the tough decision to move from a place that was producing (and promising more as the temp rose) to see and fish more of the river. The highlight of the trip was Dan’s (now forever known as Steelie Dan) big steelie that put on an aerial show and then went on a 70 yard down river, reel spooling run. We had a bit more action before days end, and had a blast for the weekend. TTL provides comfortable, inexpensive accommodation near the fishing, and Scott and Don are great guides. I recommend both highly. Anyway, check out the pics and video!