Light tackle striper fishing with Plum Island Swimbaits.

I like to show what I'm fishing with, so here's a peak. Aside from the Plum Island soft plastics, I'm fishing a 7'6" MH St. Croix Tidemaster spinning rod with a Penn 460 Slammer reel.

Another One Slips Away

I'm always trying to work my fishing obsession around my full time Dad and job duties, so if I can kill two birds with one stone on the way to ballet lessons, I will. I needed a new #AFTCO roller tip top, so I decided to run by one of the better tackle shops in the state that happens to be about 15 minutes away from the studio. It's not my go to, as I'm never headed in that direction to fish, but over the years I'd purchased a few rods, terminal tackle and the like. The shop was a staple in the local fishing community, the owner not only stocking a range of quality products, but also supporting the growth of the sport and contributing to the community in countless ways. I was surprised to pull up and find the door locked, the shop empty and a sign on the door saying it would not be reopening. I've watched a number of local shops close their doors over the years, but I never thought this one was on the way out.

Two weeks prior I had driven up as there was a "40% Off Everything-Spring Cleanout" sale. I felt great having scored some deals on gear prior to heading to Florida. I'd have loaded up on a lot more had I not just bought a plane ticket, rented a boat and charged a bunch of other crap to my card. Now I just felt crappy.

I went home and checked online as word was just starting to spread across several fishing forums. Everyone expressed shock, lamented its loss, and wondered where they were going to get their bait from. Lots of questions were flying around. Now, I don't know the details of the store's closing, though the owner said he was exploring possibilities including someone else taking over. I sure the Cabelas built 15 minutes away a few years back and the Bass Pro opening in the state this year didn't help. Big Box Marts, Amazon and other online outlets make every retail business ultra competitive.

I can't sit here and bash people for buying from Cabelas, Bass Pro or Amazon without being a complete hypocrite. I get points for my Cabelas credit card which I never let go to waste, and have and Amazon Prime account. However, I rarely purchase fishing or shooting gear from Cabelas unless it's with points, on closeout, or isn't carried locally, and spend far more in independent tackle shops than in any large chain. Still, every dollar spent locally has far more of an impact than one spent in a large chain store. For a local tackle shop, a small drop (or increase) in revenue can be the difference in keeping the doors open or closing them for good. Is a $5-$10 difference a really big deal to you? Perhaps it is at the time, but then again maybe not. I believe we should all spend a little more time considering just where and on what we spend our money. Support your local retailers and manufacturers. Buy American when you can. Keep in mind that Cabelas or Bass Pro aren't going to hand out their CEOs private numbers and open that extra hour early for you when you really need bait.   

The irony is, I drove that additional 15 minutes to Cabelas to be told by a sales associate that they didn't carry roller guides, but they did have rods with roller guides that I could buy. Thanks for the help.      

Let's all try to Shop a little more Local, Buy a little more American!

Fisher's Island Report 6/1/2013

 

The Long Island Sound is quickly filling with bass and blues, with fish close to 60lbs. being taken this past week.  Drifting 3-way rigs with bunker has been the way to go.  While I like to get out and do this every once and a while, it's typically at night and looking for monster bass.  I much prefer light tackle and fly fishing from my skiff, targeting top water bites and fish on the smaller rips and reefs.  I simply can't safely venture out onto the big rips when the tide gets moving, and find it more fun to catch a bunch of 20-30 pound bass on 12-20lb. line setups or my 8wt.  Fisher's Island and its surroundings are usually my go-to spots.  

Saturday morning I overslept, waking at 4:09 a.m., about the time I had planned to arrive at the launch to catch both the start of the outgoing tide and predawn.  By the time I gassed up, stopped at Dunkin Donuts and got on the water it was after 6 a.m.   I decided to bypass the Clumps and make straight for the reefs around Watch Hill.  The wind was finally cooperating, and the run out was smooth.  I arrived to find more than a dozen boats on Sugar, including Jack Balint and Steve Burnett, both with charter trips.  As I mentioned in the past, Jack has been my go to captain when chartering in the LIS, and I'll be headed across to Montauk again with him this fall. 

The tide was flowing nicely, but the fish that you often see breaking on the surface were nowhere to be seen.  I marked a few bait balls, but fishing this reef solo in the Gemma Rose II is tough as I can't let her drift stern first back into the rip.  It's nice when I've got someone aboard so we can take turns casting and holding the boat in position.  I wasn't there long when both Jack and Steve took off west.  This was a clear indication that nothing was going on around here or Watch Hill, as neither would be leaving fish with customers on board. 

I decided against continuing the battle with the current, and started west along the north side of Fisher's.  Last year from mid-May to late July, this area produced solid action along the many reefs and rocky shores, particularly on the ebb.  On this day, the water was filthy and I got nothin' at any of the stops I made until a short fish at North Point.  I worked back along the south side with the same results.  (The fluke fleet was out in force, anchored south of the island.)  By the time I'd circumnavigated Fisher's, Jack and Steve were back on Sugar, and then east to Watch Hill.  I managed another short bass off of Catumb Rocks as the ebb tide was finally giving way. 

I wasn't ready to head in, as despite the slow fishing, it was a really nice day on the water.  Just for the hell of it, I decided to run over to Bartlett's.  By this time, the tide was completely slack, and there were only a few boats anchored fishing scup.  It was time to head back to Avery Point and call it a day.  On the way back, I landed my best catch of the afternoon!  My favorite Bud-n-Mary's (Islamorada, FL) cap blew off.  I motored back around, and as I don't carry a landing net, I leaned over the bow to grab it as I idled forward.  I had my hands on it, but then lost it under the boat.  The prop wash sent it down and I figured it was lost.  I cut my engine and let the Gemma Rose drift with the current.  Sure enough, after a couple of minutes it came up not 20 ft. from the boat.     

 

Conditions:

6/1/13

Mostly Sunny

Wind SW 5-10knots

Seas less than 1 ft.

Outgoing tide

Water Temp 58-59 degrees, dirty

 

Gear Used:

12-20 lb. spinning gear setups

7" Hogy's in amber, pink and white

White Zoom Super Flukes w. Kalin jig heads

247 Squid-Zee in amber

 

      

Bait, bait everywhere, and nary a striper to see. (5/19/13 on the Lower Connecticut River)

Bait, bait everywhere, and nary a striper to see.  I decided to move down river this weekend, despite the stripers still hanging north of Middletown.  This was my first trip to the mouth of the CT River, as I had heard that action was pretty decent around Great Island the last week or so.  After yesterday afternoon's trip cut short (20 min. total) by a problem with the Lowrance, I was back on the water at 5am this morning.  The tide was coming in until about 7:30, and it was dead calm.  I'll never get tired of a sunrise over the water. 

 

I started throwing pearl Sluggos and some swim baits, and had a few swirls and swipes, but no hooksets.  Close to and hour and a half of work did not produce a fish, nor did I see any pulled in by anyone else in the area. I decided to motor north and see what I could find.  A few swirls above the 95 bridge, but I just couldn't get a fish to bite. 

 

Just below Hamburg Cove, the water exploded with herring.  I was marking a school so thick It looked like the bottom was at 10 feet in 30+ feet of water.  Surely, bass had to be beneath.  I dropped  soft plastics through the school, bouncing them of fish as they descended.  I fished swimbaits at every level and sluggos on top.  Nada.  Nothing.  I wasn't marking any big fish either.  Same story with two or three other boats that had been working the school for a while.  Livelining may have been the trick, but also illegal with river run herring. 

   

 

Time running short, I ran back to the mouth where the earlier action repeated itself.  Swirls, but no takers.  I'm sure I could have ground out a fish or two, but I had to be in early.  This was my first, and hopefully last, skunk of the season.

 

Schoolies and Hypothermia

That's about all I had to show for my night out on the CT River Saturday and early Sunday. The game plan was straight forward. Fish the outgoing tide from Hartford down to Haddam, catch a few hours of sleep in the truck, and then get back out before dawn to fish Haddam down towards the mouth. I put in around 5:30 pm and worked up with the incoming tide through Middletown. The banks were lined with folks building fires and getting set for a night of soaking worms. I caught a few small schoolies near the powerplant, but wasn't seeing much action, so I continued north. While the banks were dotted most of the way up, not too many boats until north of the Rocky Hill launch. Pretty soon I came across half a dozen anchored up and fishing the bends. I saw a few hook-ups, including one decent keeper, but I just don't like to sit still. I wanted more action, and was willing to poke around more. Just south of the Rt. 3 Glastonbury bridge, things started to improve. Bait was popping all over the surface, and I was marking schools below. A couple of soft plastics on Kalin lead heads yielded a few quick schoolies. Now, I wouldn't normally leave biting fish, but this was also a scouting trip, so I decided to push on up to Hartford. I must admit, I rarely fish up here, and the move was a mistake because I went as far north as the rail bridge without finding another hot spot. I also noted the temperature was rapidly dropping. At this point, let me give a shout out to the folks at weather.com, because once again, you were so far from right. I was expecting a low still in the 40's, and it was already getting down there by ten or so. I was not relishing a night run all the way back down to Haddam, as it is impossible to hunker down behind the windscreen and still see anything other than the reflection of gauges. In the winter I wear a mask and goggles, which were of course at home. At this point, I just wanted off the water. I had to switch fuel tanks around the Pratt dock, meaning I didn't really have enough to fish in the a.m. without refueling. By the time I reached Salmon Cove, I was miserable. I pulled the boat, threw stuff in the truck, and crawled into my weekend fishing season accommodations (the bed with a shell). I'd left my damn sleeping bag in the garage! I chose the air mattress and stadium blanket over the drivers seat and heat. I managed a few hours of shut-eye. I did a walk around before pulling out of the lot, noticing that ice had formed on my decks. My entire body shaking from cold convinced me to turn north on Rt. 9 and a nice warm bed instead of south to the Baldwin Bridge launch. The temperature on the bank at the intersection of Rt. 154 and Rt. 82 in Haddam read 32 degrees as I drove past at 4 a.m.. Could we PLEASE just have some warmer weather?


A beautiful sunset south of Wethersfield, CT. This is when I should have called it quits.

CT River Fishing Easter Weekend

Beautiful weather brought out a decent number of anglers on the CT River this weekend, and I was one making my first and somewhat belated trip. I posted a bit about my screw up with the Gemma Rose II 's electronics, but not much on the fishing. With water temps pushing up towards the mid 40s and ice long gone, many fish have on the pre-spawn feedbag. I was hoping to nab a pike or two, but given the late start and need to be off the water by mid-afternoon, I wasn't holding my breath. I like to target pike in those magic hours of dawn or dusk. Seeing as this was the maiden voyage of the GRII, priority number one was just getting a few fish over the rail, and fat slab crappie and pre-spawn yellow perch were a plenty in the Haddam area coves. Had a couple of aggressive pickerel whack some Sebile swimmers as well. I didn't really mess with bass as I was looking for pike, but several boats had hooked into bass in the laydowns.

I'll need to make some minor adjustments here and there on the boat before heading out next weekend, where I have to make the fishing count as I'll be overseas for the start of the herring runs! As far as the Triumph Skiff goes, it would be difficult to give much of an evaluation based on yesterday, but I can say that I'm happy it didn't have gel coat (see pic). With no docking facilities, I just tied it up to the concrete ramp. A few scratches. Who cares!

Sweet Dreams

Dreaming she was sold in Florida....