Thursday, December 27, 2012

Big Day For Bunker

Big Day For Bunker

Thanks to all those I know who let their voices be heard through Keep America Fishing and helped push this important series of regulations through!  No bunker = no sportfishing in the NE!  Hopefully, this will allow stocks to replenish, and we will see the effect across the board. 

Connecticut and Rhode Island Fishing Report 12-27-12

Connecticut and Rhode Island Fishing Report 12-27-12

Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine Fishing Report 12-27-2012

Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine Fishing Report 12-27-2012

Monday, December 17, 2012

New Sneak Peek Video

Take a look at the video collection I put together for the soon to launch RNA website. I look back at several clips from previous reports and outings with friends and some of the top captains and guides on the east coast. TONS of new stuff will be coming out in 2013, as I will be putting to the test and reviewing some new gear (even before it hits the shelves). I'll again be fishing throughout the north east and reporting to you.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

The Best Sport Fishing Boats of All Time | Salt Water Sportsman

The Best Sport Fishing Boats of All Time | Salt Water Sportsman
Fun posting, with one big omission! What about the original sportfishing boats? In 1937 Capt. Ernal Foster built the Albatross, and with it launched sportfishing in the OBX. You can still fish aboard the Albatrosses I, II, and III today.
THE ALBATROSS FLEET

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

An Embarrassing Display...

Orvis Clearwater 8-weight 10' Fly Rod- Fishing (Google Affiliate Ad)Well, I went up to Altmar to fish steelies on the Salmon River with my brother Doug and friend and guide Scott Glazier. I love the December fishing, as the crowds subside and there are nice steelhead in the upper river. It’s not a fast and furious bite like the spring run, and fish are transitioning into winter patterns, but the chances for both large fish as well as incoming fresh fish abound. Water was finally up as the power company increased the flow from below 250-300cfs to about 750+cfs Friday evening. Two weeks ago we were bumping ass down the river, now we had some water. Of course, these fish are sensitive to change, which can challenge anglers not out fishing the river almost daily. Scott is excellent, and put us on a number of good fish Saturday. If you are only used to the salmon runs, or the spring steelhead runs, this may not be the type of fishing you are accustomed to. Rarely are you going to hook dozens of fish, so you have to make hookups count. I went O’fer seven (0-7), in an embarrassing display of how to lose fish. Now, Scott describes my brother’s fishing skills as “unique,” which is a polite way to say he doesn’t fish regularly and often does most everything wrong. However, last Saturday he landed his first two fish, including one really nice steelie, while I dumped fish after fish.

Doug with a nice steelhead.


What I love about steelhead fishing are the battles, and the fact that the odds are often stacked against you. Many anglers would consider the light line class, small hooks and flies almost absurd for tackling aggressive fish that can run up into the double digits. I don't care how good you are, you will lose a lot of fish even when you do everything "right." Compound these factors with mistakes, and say bye-bye to your trophy steelhead. If I could find a way to screw up Saturday, I did. Lost the first when after struggling to turn it back upstream, it shot straight towards and past me before I could recover enough line. Hit the end of the slack and GONE. Lost number two, a nice fresh looking chromer, in a submerged limb.

Picture from an earlier trip with a nice, fresh, right off the Lake chrome steelhead, or chromer.
Number three went the same way. Number four I was screwing around with the tangle I had in my working line loop when Mr. Fish hit. I was completely unprepared, unable to get tight on the fish, and goodbye number four. Bye this time, I was getting pretty annoyed with myself. Snagged the bottom again with my fly or weight (this happens fairly often). Between the rocks, trees and lost gear, there is a lot to get hung upon. Unable to work it lose, I resort to thumbing the reel and backing up to pop the line instead of my rod tip. Line pops free. As I start to reel in, WHAM. Fish on, fish off. Bent hook, likely from freeing the snag. Let's see, that was number five. A few leaps expose six to be a real nice, big, fresh chromer right off the Lake. It leaps, turns and heads down stream. After a patient battle, I'm able to slowly start working her back towards me. This is slow going, not wanting to rush the process. I finally get the fish out of the current and only feet away. I'm backing slowly towards a pocket of slow water to land her in. Glancing over my shoulder, I realize my brother is standing there filming with no idea my fish is headed straight for his legs. I yell at him to watch out, he proceeds to lurch out of the way, the fish freaks out and leaps in the air and now is downstream facing me, and the hook pulls. My brothers response? "The line never touched me. How many fish is that?" Number seven? Who the hell knows. Did everything right and the fish got off. O'fer seven. I have yet to see my brother's video. Should have him walking over my fish. I'll post it when he does. Had time to fish Sunday morning before driving back to CT. Didn't break my neck to get out, as crowds were sparse and the fishing hadn't been picking up until and hour or so after dawn. I wanted to redeem myself after Saturday's outing. I made a vow to Scott that I wasn't leaving until I had a fish. I think everyone on the river was in the Schoolhouse, so I started a bit lower. After an hour with no bites, I moved even further to the pocket I had hooked most of the fish in Saturday. I began to notice that the flow was decreasing, and two more hours later, still not a single hit. Made one last stop at a location I have never not gotten a hit in, and still drew a blank. By now, you could see a six to eight inch water line on the rocks. It was looking like a tidal river. The flow at the dam had been cut way back. Decided to call it a day, and was faced with a drive back to CT without having landed a single fish. Looks like I'm going to have to head back up during the holidays!

Monday, December 3, 2012

Great Open Water Fishing in December!

Whoooooooooooo!!! A December pike that mauled a 10" live bait.

Yes, I realize that the weather is starting to bite, and most guys and gals have put away their open water gear, winterized boats, and are awaiting the first fishable ice. I have to tell you, if the ice isn't here, you're may be missing some great fishing. Holdover stripers have been moving into the Housie and Thames Rivers, both small enough and accessible from shore or boat to make locating and catching ridiculous numbers of schoolies, with an occasional keeper, a distinct possibility. I'm talking about 20, 30, 40 fish in an afternoon if you find those schools and park on top of them.

Local CTFishTalk member CD with a fat Housie striper!


Local ponds and lakes hold bass that are still looking to forage as they transition into the long New England winter. Crappie and yellow perch fishing is about as good as you can get, I'm talking true pan sized fish. Of course, my local favorites since making the move north to CT, are the northern pike which are moving into the coves off the CT River, devouring anything in their paths. This time of year, these apex predators can be approaching four feet long with some serious girth to boot. You never know, on any given December day, you might even catch all of these while fishing the CT River. Instead of bemoaning the lack of ice, bundle up, grab a rod, and take advantage of the great local action this month.


John with a true pan sized December crappie.


A bit of cooking spray can help the rod tips.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Important! Don't Let Washington Bickering Stop the Sportsmens Act!

Partisan bickering is holding up the bi-partisan Sportsmens Act of 2012. Speak up now, or more land and waters will be closed for good, restrictions will be put in place, and we, outdoor enthusiasts who contribute over $90 BILLION $$$ to the economy AND the environment, will be left on the sidelines. I rarely mix fishing forums and politics, but here I have to speak out. Please go to Keep America Fishing and Act now. Keep American Fishing - Save the Sportsmens Act Both CT Senators have voted to move the bill forward, so send correspondence to Sen. Mitch McConnel, Republican minority leader at. If more people don't act, we may as well trade in our rods for binoculars, because we will all be reduced to bird and whale watching!

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

An Important Effort to Preserve Menhaden

Check it out and let your voices be heard! www.menhadendefenders.org

Veteran's Day on the Salmon River, NY

Made it up for a one day trip Sunday! Weather was fantastic, which brought everyone out to take advantage of that last chance before the cold. It was ridiculous. Saw tons of walk-ins in places you rarely see many, even during the crazy salmon runs. Fished up top in Altmar with Scott and my brother.

Scott Glazier, owner/guide of Tinker Tavern Lodge and Guide Service

With flows around 250cfs and about a million people, the steelies were there but really turned off. After a slow start below the schoolhouse, Doug hooked and landed his first and only fish.

Doug needs to work on his fish posing, but at t 320lbs., it's hard to make a fish look big.

The fish were stacked in a tight location, with one guy on a float rig able to take advantage. We were in an ideal position to run a center pin down this seam, but it would have screwed everyone on the opposite bank. I stuck to flies and rubber eggs all day. The good thing about drifting is that nobody walks in to the side we were fishing, and we worked pretty well with the guys across from us to stay out of each other's way. Hookups were just about non-existent, so we decided to jump ahead of the other drift boats, moving well down from town. It was literally elbow to elbow down through the trussel.

(photo from last year).

There is one line for drift boats to take, and once you commit, you're in. Some guy hooked a fish between the center truss and the right bank after we'd started in. Not sure why, but he tried to submerge his rod tip and line rather than using his 11 ft. rod to elevate the side so we might have had a chance of going under. Needless to say, he lost his fish. We could still hear him a half mile down the river. Word to the wise. No point in casting once a boat is approaching that line of white water. It's not going to stop. We got ahead of the other boats to a location that is inaccesible to walk-ins, and set up shop for the rest of the afternoon. The bite was still tough, and I only had five shots, landing one. However, that was 3-4 more than anyone else in the area. Doug never hooked another fish, but he was fishing with spinning gear which really limits the volume of casts and thus the percentages of getting a hookup. I had all of my hits in about a 5 sq. ft. strike zone. Even losing those fish is a pretty awesome experience. I had a few take 50 yard runs on me in seconds before flipping a few times and giving me the f you. The only thing I've fished that is as angry as these things would be tarpon. Think of an albie run with a sailfish tendency to go airborn. It's a blast. Cant wait to get back up in a few more weeks, onnce some snow has hit the ground, and the temperature dropped to chase away the crowds.

Hooked up again!

Notice the line slack. This is the "Oh, sh*t" momement that typically comes with fishing steelies. :D It takes a lot of these to produce one of the pics below.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Awesome catch and post in OTW.

http://www.onthewater.com/fishing/rhode-island-surfcaster-catches-58-pound-november-striper/

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Bluefin Blues

For those few who fish for a living, or have careers and family lives that give them frequent opportunities to pursue big fish, another day blue water fishing is no big deal. For the rest of us, limited by jobs, family commitments, financial obligations that don't involve chasing fish, so on and so forth, those opportunities come few and far between, so we hope to make them count. At this point in my life, I get to fish offshore when the planets align. I know I'm spending money that should be spent on a myriad of other needs, and am grateful that the worst I get from my wife is a somewhat reproachful look as I inform her of my planned endeavor. Recently, I've come to accept that I might also suffer a bout of seasickness (this has been affecting me more and more).

Our sport is called fishing, and that doesn't always guarantee catching. Despite my understanding of the nature of the pursuit and the chances of this trip actually being "The One," I can't help but get excited by the possibilities each and every time out. Thus I eagerly awaited my shot this fall to tackle some big bluefin on stand-up spinning gear. I fished bluefin for the first time two years ago, on a day where I landed 69" and 72" fish standing with heavier conventional gear. It was a blast, so when my buddy Mark asked me if I wanted to go lighter with spinning outfits, speed jigging and popping, I had to say yes. We were going to fish with Capt. Jack Sprengel of East Coast Charters, an angler recognized as one of the best at this type of fishing in the North East. We would go on a day of his choosing to optimize our chances of landing what some consider to be the apex sport fish.

After a long wait, Mark finally got the call from Jack, and we met up at 3:45am to put us on the water well before dawn out of Green Harbor Mass. Just a few days prior, Jack had put his guys on 8 fish, and conditions our day were almost identical. To up the odds, we were fishing in a pack, with one of Jack's mates running his smaller Contender and 2 other boats. Mr. Ron Z was out, and we were set to send his RonZ jigs down to hook some big tuna.

We ran across from Green Harbor to the east side of P-Town. Dawn broke to settling seas and birds in every direction. We began jogging, scanning the waters and sonar for signs of bluefin. We marked a pair on the bottom and let loose with metal butterfly jigs and RonZ soft plastics. No hits. Not to worry, the conditions looked promising. Several minke whales broke around us, and I saw a tuna erupt a few hundred yards off our starboard. I felt exhilarated and....queasy. You've got to be (expletive) me! The last few years I've been having occasional bouts of seasickness. Not good when fishing is your #1 hobby. Despite the calming seas, it appears this is going to be one of those days. I warn the guys that I'm going down, but let them know I'll be vertical the moment we mark fish.

The next several hours were spent slowly motoring down the Cape with no sign of bluefin. I was curled up in the bow on a cushion, half dozing and listening to the hum of the twin outboards. I could hear the conversations in the boat and over the radio, all focused on where these fish had gone, and couldn't really bring myself to get up. Eventually a call comes across that our scout boat, off on their own, has hooked into a bluefin. The rpm's pick up and soon were making a hard run to their location. This kicks in some adrenalin, and I'm back on my feet. We get to their location and begin marking bait. Turns are diving and we are working jigs. Problem is, we're not marking fish. They were there, and now gone.

As we near the end of the tide, conversations over the radio turn to heading towards home. We decide to continue working west of Truro with our ears open for reports on the way in. We hit another location with lots of bait and birds, but still no marks. We fish the last of a slack tide and begin our run back across to Green harbor. Needless to say, I'm pretty disappointed. As a top notch captain, Jack was feeling it as well. Ten hours out with no fish, and seasickness to boot! The plain fact is, that's fishing, especially for a target like bluefin these days. As far as we could tell, Jack's mate running the Contender boated the only fish out there, a 44 incher. We covered 100 miles of water. The fish just weren't there.

So, I spent a lot of money, caught no fish, and spent a good portion of the day feeling too crappy to fully enjoy the time out with the guys on the boat. I could end this with, "That's fishing " However, Jack having promised us a shot and being the captain he is, will be taking us back out to have a go at that light tackle bluefin. Now I've got a reason to get all excited again! That's fishing.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Sobering Article

Most anybody stumbling across my site has probably read something about declining fish stocks. For those of us in CT, the following article is pretty sobering. Migratory Fish in Trouble chronicles some of the recent declines in the CT River watershed. It's worth a read.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

My Favorite Time of Year!

Well folks, I've been sitting around waiting for something really exciting or for some great fishing before posting, but it just hasn't happened. Don't get me wrong, the fishing has been really good, both on the LIS and the freshwater with some nice bass and early pike thrown in. I've had friends that have had season high trips for everything from bass to albies, stripers and tog, in the last few weeks. Problem is, my schedule and luck have both left me wanting. Fishing is always great, but catching consistently does involve fishing in the same manner. Spending time on the water is critical to understanding bite patterns, which change constantly. You can't expect to go out once every week or so and always rack 'em up. The best of days on paper can still produce a tough bite, and that has been my story throughout September. I followed up my last albie post with another trip that week, this time with Jack and my brother Doug. It was a tough day, following a previous evening that had been lit up. We worked HARD for a few stripers, an albie and some blues. Several boats ended up getting shut out fishing from Plum Gut all the way east of Watch Hill. Just one of those mornings. I rebounded a bit the following week on one of the Blackhawk night trips (as I write this, they are heading out on one of the three October trips...), scoring numerous bass including 3 bill pool winner $$$. A weekend later, and I'm again working to pick of a few largemouths while hoping for pike. All things considered, I still got to fish in September, just in-between all the other stuff like job, family, etc. The great thing about fishing is that the next trip and possible fish of a lifetime looms just over the horizon : )
PS - If anyone found a fishgrip attached to a bowfin floating in the old outflow, that would be mine! (Pictured just before droping the fish and grip in the drink!)

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

September Means Albies

Rosh Hashanah means one thing for me, a day off from teaching at Cheshire HS for some beautiful fall fishing. With Meriden schools still in session, I was kid free and my biggest concern was where to fish. Fortunately, Jack had called Friday with a cancellation, and wanted to know if I was interested in going out to chase some albies. I met up with Jack (Balint - The Fish Connection) and Mark at 5:45a.m. in Stonington, just as the sun was peeking over the horizon and the tide was beginning to really flow out past Watch Hill Point. The air was crisp and clear. We couldn't have dialed up a better fall day. It wasn't to long before we saw some singles and small groups of the distinctly green albies with their tuna tails breaking the surface. They were still pretty scattered, but Mark hooked up early and that screaming drag to me is as Puccini to an opera fan. Drifting back through the rip as Mark worked on his fish, we could see a large school really busting from our previous location. As soon as we could we motored back up, and I got a cast right into the school yielding my first albie of the season. At this point, I was thinking "game on," that this was going to be one of those days where we just crush them. Not to be. This was the last big blitz we saw, though schools roamed from Watch Hill east along the SoCo. I was tossing an unweighted white Zoom fluke, that just didn't seem to have the allure or casting distance of the soft plastic mark was throwing. I hate to admit that I can't recall the brand now, but will get in touch with him for that. I went on to have 2 more hits without a hookset the rest of the day, seeming to always be 10-20 yards out of range when a school popped up. Mark did better though, landing three more and losing two. There were certainly other options, as the striper fishing has really been good, but there were enough albies to keep us in the chase. Though not the non-stop action I had hoped for, it was still a great day on the water with two outstanding fishermen. I can't wait to get back out Friday with my "little" brother.

Heading out of Stonington at dawn.
Mark and Jack
Little green rocket

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Albies????

Just a quick update from Labor Day Weekend. Sunday brought beautiful weather and good tides. I was looking forward to a day on the water. Loads of blues from 4-10lb. range to snappers on my fly rod. Went from Race Point at dawn, to East Point on Fishers, Stonington and down to Two-Tree and Millstone looking (hoping) for albies. I had 2 rods rigged and ready all day; one with a deadly dick and another with an unweighted pearl Zoom Fluke. No luck anywhere. :( It's only a matter of time.

On a completely unrelated note.... I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new fishing partner, Gus! He is coming to us from Southern Jewel Animal Rescue/Last Chance Highway. You may have seen this organization on Animal Planet. Sam, the kids and I can't wait for his arrival Saturday. If you've ever thought about adopting a dog, please check out their website.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Bye, Bye Summer

Well, summer is just about over, and I'm back to my day job, teaching high school kids. That doesn't mean the fishing is done! The last few weeks have been spent getting those jobs done around the house that I put off due to fishing, getting ready for classes, and occasionally running out to catch a few fish in the sound. With an abundance of smaller blues available right off of Race Point, I've been having a blast with the fly rod. I've been keeping an eye out for those V tails and green flashes, Zoom Flukes at the ready, for those albies. Maybe this weekend. Also eagerly awaiting a call from Capt. Jack Sprengel of East Coast Charters, telling me it's time to go gunning for some bluefin on standup spinning gear. As always, I'll be fishing in September with Capt. Jack Balint, so the fall run is just approaching! Hoping to put up some pretty impressive posts over the next month or so. Check back! Just a quick little look at the snapper blues that have inundated the LIS. These little guys are just as aggressive as their larger siblings, and make for great light tackle or kids fishing. When I say light, I mean take that ultra-light trout rig out there and really have some fun.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Fishin' with Capt. Jack and our newb Bill

Went out with Jack Balint from The Fish Connection, Dave and Bill this morning. Was hoping to see some bonito, and ready for lots of blues on light tackle. Fishing was about as smoking as it gets this time of year. Started out in the Watch Hill area picking up some blues early as the flood was starting, but not much, so we moved to the Race around Valiant Rock. Lots of blues (as you could imagine), including a few big choppers. The bluefish action was steady until late in the flood, when we began seeing large numbers of good sized bass mixing in on top, right in the edge of the rip. Blues were faster to just about everything, but Bill pulled one nice keeper and we had a few shorts. There were some big tails and dorsals rising up chasing the squid that were flooding through. Water was really clear and you could see stripers cruising through and slurping up squid, ink clouds all over the place. As soon as the tide went, so did the squid, etc. Four straight hours of catching blues on light gear, with a bonus of some top water stripers in August, makes for a good day. Jack decided to swing back east of Fishers before calling it a day, just to take a looksy. The ebb tide was already starting to move, and we noted small schools of bait coming out of the water. Bill flipped out and immediately had a blue on. I spotted a school of stripers that was holding an area and just waiting for the bait schools to wash down. It was easy to tell they were holding to their structure as one large fish had a pink plug buried in it's back, and kept flashing past us every 5 minutes. I landed a nice 20+ pounder and a ton of shorts. You could again see some big fish mixed in with the schoolies. It was tough to call it a day, but as it was I was two hours late getting home to our sitter. Thanks to Jack, Bill and Dave. Helluva fun day out. Dave took a bunch of pics and some video that I will get up later and post on my blog. I was too busy catching fish!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Lazy Summer Days

Hot weather and typical August fishing have made me kind of lazy, thus the lack of recent updates. I just posted a story about high water temps in the LIS causing the Millstone reactor to shut down (See below). I'm not surprised. It's caused a lot of fishing to slow down as well. I took the kids out in Branford Harbor and around to Killim's Point last week and had a mid-day skunking on the porgies! The Niantic area has been much better for porgies, small bass and fluke to keep them busy. On a positive note, Blaine Anderson has posted some nice Facebook pics of bonito caught in the Fisher's Island area. I'll be headed out that way Friday morning. Hope they're still around!

Dropped by my local slime pit (Hanover Pond) the last week in-between thunderstorms. This pond is right down the river from me, so I drop by pretty often to throw in a line. It's good early season for bass as it is shallow, and by summer is full of slime. Still decent for throwing frogs, which is what I was doing as a storm rolled in. Only had about 20 minutes to work the west bank (heavily fished all season). After a few dozen casts of my green pumpkin frog with nothing, a bolt of lightning announced the end of the evening. I threw out my last Hail Mary cast and saw a boil and wake about six feet away and heading towards it. Gave it a twitch and my line was heading sideways. Set the hook and hauled in a nice fat bass with about 5lbs. of slime as well.


Bass and Slime

Yesterday I went out with my buddy John on a quick trip to fish Black Pond in Meriden/Middlefield. Set off a bit after noon, so wasn't expecting much this time of year. Wasn't a bad afternoon, as we hooked a few decent bass and some little guys, all dragging frogs across lilly pads. Secret is to wear camo that matches the fish so you can sneak up on them :) Sure beats mowing the lawn!

All in all, still some decent fishing to be had, despite the low water levels and high temperatures.

Nice fish on a Zoom Watermellon/Red Fleck Frog

Warm Seawater Forces Millstone Plant Shutdown

Warm Seawater Forces Millstone Plant Shutdown

Thursday, July 19, 2012

It's Not Just Fishin': OBX Report

I had a great, albeit quick, family vacation to my absolute favorite fishing destination, the Outer Banks. A week flew by in the blink of an eye. This is where I learned about the world of saltwater fishing from my Dad and Opa, on summer vacations fishing from the beach and piers, to my first boating excursion about the Miss Oregon Inlet, and later running our 22' center console in the sound and inshore. My 'yak fishing last week consisted of poking around the flats and grass beds looking for trout and flounder and yielded mostly voracious little spot and croaker. As a kid, I probably caught a thousand of these on the numerous piers, some still going strong and others long since blown away by the fall hurricanes. While not the sportfish I typically target, they are the gateway for kids to a lifetime of fishing fun, and catching them was kind of nostalgic.


In between the time on the beach with the kids, dinners out and other family activities, fishing was limited. I managed to get out on the Rodanthe Pier for a bit with my brother, enjoy some beers and cigars, and even caught some tailor blues. Eight years ago we scattered my Dad's ashes from the stern of the Hog Wild just a half mile off that same pier. The most excitement that afternoon was a large jack crevalle caught by one of the guys live lining from the end of the pier. I never even broke out the surf fishing gear as most evenings brought us thunderstorms, and this time of year yields little action.

My kids like to fish, but right now their attention spans don't last more than half an hour, so the spot and ever present blue crabs on the sound keep them happy. I can't wait for the time when I can take them on a trip like the ones I took with my dad. We stayed in old places like the Tanorama Motel, right next to the Avalon Pier, The Drifting Sands, and other places long since bulldozed to make room for more McMansions. My wife saw the Tanorama right before its demise, and needless to say, was not impressed. However, with cheap efficiencies right next to a place that served hot breakfasts and provided fresh bait before the sun came up, it was a fisherman's favorite.

Few people driving past these old motels, most in a pretty dilapidated state, appreciate their link to a very different OBX. You won't find Taylor Cottage, one of the original 20 or so, where I stayed as a kid in the 70's. There was no by-pass. Hatteras was truly an isolated village. Last year I fished with Ernie Foster, owner of The Albatross Fleet, the first charter fishing boats on the OBX. Ernie's dad Ernal was the first to figure out that people would pay for him to take them deep sea fishing. The entire fleet is decades older than I am, and the boats have smooth lines and an art deco look of the era they represent. I fished in the same chair as Al Flueger. The office of the Albatross fleet has pictures of my Godmother, Betts Walker, a seven year old Ernie, and one of her record marlins.


The OBX has always been a special place for me and my family. As a kid I learned to love the ocean and fishing, as teenager I spent most of my summers at our place in Duck, chasing girls and running our center console out of Oregon Inlet, and today I'm taking my own kids back down. So I didn't get a ton of fishing done, but I hope I built a lot of great memories for my kids, and that they fall in love with the OBX the way I have.



Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Headed to the OBX this Weekend!

Next post will be after 7/14 when I return. Hope to get some fishing in during the family vacation!

Sunday, July 1, 2012

7/1 Report - Fisher's Island

Up and out early today! Not so much because I expected to catch the night bite, but because it's Sunday to start the 4th of July holiday week. Normally the ramps are empty at 3:30am, but today there were 4-5 boats. The plan was to fish the ebb tide on the north side of Fisher's, hopefully for more of the nice keeper sized stripers I had landed last week. In addition to the stripers, blues had moved in resulting in cut off Hogy's and chewed up sandworms. Still, managed to land a couple keepers and several schoolies.

Monday, June 25, 2012

6-24 Report. Fishing Tube & Worm

Real nice morning fishing the north side of Fisher's Island. Some small boat/yak tube and worm how to. Paid for the nice fishing on the way back to Niantic, having to run a little boat on an incoming tide pushing against a steady breeze. Got a bit wet, but it was worth it!

Saturday, June 23, 2012

6-20-2012

Got out yesterday. No more east wind It's swung 'round to SSW. Started at towards Harkness well before dawn and fished the last hour or so of outgoing tide. Nothing but some taylor blues. Had planned to try fishing further west than I normal go, and started working around Black Point as the incomming tide picked up. Was immediately catching schoolies on tube and worm with one keeper, and the day was looking promising. Checked my tide station app on my phone and noticed 2 missed calls from my wife. Turns out my daughter was sick on her last day of school, and my wife needed to be in Fairfield for work. So, by 7:30 I was headed back to the dock. My buddy fished from his yak in Stonington Tuesday, and came back with a couple of keepers. The change in wind has made a difference!

6-17-2012

Went out of Niantic to fish the early incoming tide. Pretty big swells pushing in on the steady NE wind we've had. They were starting to pound on Two Tree and Black Point once the tide started coming in. Couldn't drag my eels or tube and worm through the boulder fields. Night + rollers + rocks + little bitty boat = nice insurance payout for Sam (if they find me!). Nothing but blues. Decided to call in quits pretty early. Was heading in as most weekend warriors were just showing up at the ramp.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Daiwa Demo Day on the Blackhawk

Went out on the Blackhawk with CT Outfitters and Daiwa for a demo day. Left the dock at 4pm and fished between Valiant Rock down towards Race Point. Absolutely crushed them! Lots of big keeper bass coming over the rails with most guys limiting, and some big chopper blues as well. Fished the trip with no real tangles. Had the entire line of Daiwa saltwater gear to play with. Thanks to Capt. Greg, Gary, Steve, Matt and the rest of the Blackhawk and CT Outfitters crew for an awesome evening on the water!  Check out thw photos (me TOP on the rail, and the pool winner Tommy) from Capt. Blaine Anderson and CT Outfitteres HERE


Saturday, May 26, 2012

Inshore bite is starting!

Fish are starting to work in closer to shore.  Went out of Niantic last night at 6:30, fished 'til 10:00, landing a few schoolies and blues on tube and worm and Zoom Flukes.  It was foggy, so I stayed in Niantic Bay and Jordan's Cove.  I had hoped to fish further east, but with larger boats heading out through Two Tree channel, I decided to stay out of the way.   Didn't need to get run over or swamped at night in the fog.  There were a lot of tailor blues at the top of Niantic Bay, and I was having fun catching them on a light setup.  Pulled the boat out, slept in my truck 'til 3:30, and went back out at 4:00 a.m.  With favorable tides and no wind, I had hoped to fish inside of Bartlett's and Two Tree Island this morning, but once again, fog made that a risky call.  The water was calm, and I have GPS, but you just can't account for other idiots.  Instead, I ran up to Black Point, where I landed the nice striper below.  The bait is in, and the fish have to be settling in to Bartlett's, Two Tree, Harkness and up in the Stonington area.  Can't wait to fish again Monday and Wednesday!



Sunday, May 20, 2012

The Race is On


Went out this morning on the Blackhawk, hoping to pick up some stripers in the Race, as my little Gemma Rose can't venture out that far.  The last few trips they had limited out by mid-morning.  Weather was beautiful, too good for an early spring day with lots of guys itching to get out.   Before we left, Capt. Greg warned us that the fish were in, but holding in relatively small areas, and once large numbers of boats got on top of them, the bite was done.  We had the entire flood tide, and were on fish pretty quickly about 1/4-1/2 mile away from the 3 dozen closest boats.  We weren't slamming them, but several keepers were coming over the rail per drift.  I had a decent fish that ended up being the pool winner.  However, after half a dozen drifts, every boat within sight was motoring towards us.  As predicted, that was about it for the decent fishing.  By about 8:30-9:00am, we were surrounded by dozens of boats.  We moved, picked up a few more fish, and drew another crowd.  It wasn't as busy as it gets at the height of summer, but the blues are in thick by then and less bothered by the number of boats.  If you have a boat, the fishing is really good right now weekdays early am or late in the afternoon to evening.  I have a coworker who has been catching steady keepers on the north side of Fisher's Island.  I plan to start fishing there soon.  From here on out, I try to fish weekdays and nights. 
Probably won't get out again 'til after Memorial Day, as it is by far the worst weekend of the year to be on the water. 

Monday, May 7, 2012

CT River Honoring Veteran's Striper Tourny

CT River Honoring Veteran's Striper Tourny - What a day!  I can't remember when I've fished so hard for such little return.  It was definitely a day of fishing as opposed to catching.  I went back and forth over whether to fish out of Wethersfield or down at the mouth of the river.  I ultimately decided to head south, despite all of the nice fish Slinger and Lung have been posting from the Hartford area.  While the southern part of the river has been more miss than hit, I was hoping that a few really big linesiders would be lurking along Great Island.  Conditions were nice, overcast with the largest full moon of the year hidden behind the clouds as I launched just before 4:40am from Salmon Cove.  I ran south, prospecting at a few places where I'd had success in the past, but had no luck.  Picked up my first schoolies around the RR bridge by the DEP headquarters.  There was a ton of bait in the mouth.  At various times I had bunker and herring breaking all around me, but despite throwing just about everything I had (artificials only, no live baits allowed), didn't find any stripers.  I covered Great Island, the mouth, across to South Cove (We couldn't fish past the breakwall) and back up to the bridges with swim baits, soft plastics, tube and Gulp worms, etc.  The guys out fishing live baits weren't doing any better.  I finally got fed up and called it quits a bit after noon.  My "big fish" was only 24-25", though the leading catch at that time was just 31".   I guess the place to be was actually out in the LIS, where guys were hammering stripers all weekend.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Spring Steelhead in Altmar, NY





Made it up to Altmar, NY to fish the tail end of the steelie run. As usual, I stayed up at the Tinker Tavern Lodge and fished with Scott Glazier. I put my money (literally) on Scott as the best guide on the upper Salmon River. I had a great 5 days of fishing, landing numerous steelhead and a few smaller Atlantic Salmon. Got the skunk out the way early my first late afternoon with a decent sized female, not the most beautiful of fish, but a steelhead none the less. Poked around a bit more and picked up another fish, losing a few along the way. The next day (THR) was a drift trip with Scott. It was one of those days that was actually embarrassing to talk about with the number of people up here who fish all day and never catch a fish. Have to give most of the credit to Scott, who would put us in places where we were on fish and people 30-40 yards away caught squat. Once I'd pull half a dozen fish and completely worked the section we'd move on. Guys would be stumbling to get on the played out spot and still be catching squat. I went back later that evening after the stompers moved out and caught the fish that had settled back in. Would have been there longer, but my TFO rod broke with a fish on (only 4lb. tippit). Not sure what that was about. Managed to land the fish with 2/3 of a rod. While not landing any trophies (I lost some big fish), the action was steady and that's what I'd hoped for. Nothing like listening to line getting stripped off your reel. Helluva day! Friday I was back on my own, and decided to do a bit of exploring lower down the river. Walked a mile or so up from Sportsman's Pool to some islands with nice gravel banks and managed a few fish. Went down to 2a and did a lot of walking, but in the wrong direction. Saturday was another drift day with weather moving in. The location we had started at Thursday had been hammered pretty good, so with only 2 hits and one landed in an hour, we moved down to a place mostly overlooked by people. We hooked some nice steelies and a pair of Atlantic Salmon (those things can burn some line out!). This hole held some monsters, and I had caught a large male there the evening before and lost a really big, fresh run fish. No monsters, but good fish. The rain soon arrived, and as the temperature dropped, the bite really slowed. I lost one more Atlantic Salmon, before we finally headed for the ramp and to trade the cold and wet for a nice, warm bar. All and all, a great trip!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Back for 2012


With the ridiculous winter, the season never really ended.  I been out at least weekly since the new year, and done pretty well on bass, pickerel, perch and crappy.  Spent a lot of time on the CT and Mattabesset Rivers.  The stripers are starting to show, though I have yet to catch any.  I'm looking for the first migratory fish that really signal the start of the season for me.  Next week, I'll me heading back up to Tinker Tavern Lodge in Altmar, NY., hoping to catch some steelies.  Planning on dragging my boat up as well to check our Lake Oneida.  I should be updating reports weekly from here on out, so check back often! 


Wednesday, January 4, 2012

New Years Eve with RNA

Quick post from today final trip of the year! Fish on all day! Drinks all this evening! Happy New Year!