Explore A Slice of Fishing Heaven On Jamaica Bay - On The Water

Explore A Slice of Fishing Heaven On Jamaica Bay - On The Water: In the shadow of skyscrapers sits the artificial estuary known as Jamaica Bay

First Ice Fishing Outing of 2017

SO I finally got out on the ice today, though not until later in the afternoon. I decided to run up to the NW corner, where I knew most everything had at least 6-8" of ice. Since I know Tyler and Bantam were busy, I decided to check out Dog Pond. The air temps were still in the low teens and I sat through a few snow squalls, but it was worth it for the last 'Golden Hour" before sunset. None of the fish were big, and I didn't get a single flag, but I was jigging one crappie after another with some perch and the odd bluegill thrown in. The chartreuse Clam jig with a Maki Plastic was the way to go. Looks like we're going to have a warm up this mid-week, but it shouldn't be too bad if it gets back down by the weekend. I only need to make it through a few weekends of this until I'm down in FL :) 
#icefishingCT #CTFishing #Makiplastics #Clam

Great Video - -Between the Lines

This is not only a great video, but proves that there is another generation of striper anglers who understand the need to protect this magnificent fish. This gets an A in my class any and every day. Well done! #lonelyospreyproductions #betweenthelines #stripers#longislandsound #stripersforever

https://vimeo.com/lopfilms/betweenthelines

2016 Slideshow

Here's a look back a the year.

Send some pics!

If you're viewing my blog (or Facebook), send in some fish pics. I'd especially love to see some from the viewers outside the US!!

https://www.facebook.com/TheRedneckangler/

A Great Read - Hatteras Blues: A Story from the Edge of America by Tom Carlson

The days are getting shorter, the weather snottier, and opportunities to get out and fish the salt water are quickly dwindling. Before too long, the New England winter will be descending, and I will begin a protracted battle with cabin fever and a longing to head back south. Occasionally, I may sneak in a trip, but more than likely I'll be holed up, hoping for an early spring. It's a great time to get in a few books, and I love a good story centered around the sea. Several years ago I picked up Hatteras Blues: A Story from the Edge of America by Tom Carlson. It's the story of a place I love, where my own family connections run back generations.  It's the story of the birth of sportfishing in the Outer Banks, as a local Ernal Foster decided their might just be something in taking folks out to fish charters. My Aunt Betts was the first woman to land a marlin fishing out of the OBX aboard the Albatross with Capt. Ernal in the early 50s. The book chronicles the history of what was a tiny, isolated village and its people, tied to the sea, and it's evolution into one of the sport fishing capitals of North America. Hatteras Blues is a nautical history of perseverance in the face of war, natural disasters and changing times, the struggle of a traditional way of life dependent on the seas against times that seek to bulldoze the past and replace it with McMansions. Tom Carlson has written a page turner that follows the Foster family through all of this. I loved this book and it instilled in me a need to get back down to the OBX and take a trip with Capt. Ernie, now himself in his 70s, to capture a bit of a bygone era of fishing, which is a whole other story!  If you're going to be holed up for a spell this winter, give Hatteras Blues: A Story from the Edge of America a read.  I think you'll enjoy it.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BOOK STORES!!!

https://www.duckscottage.com/book/9780807871225

http://albatrossfleet.com/home.html

Product Review – Plum Island Swim Baits

The fishing industry seems awash in soft plastic products from both major manufacturers and smaller start-up companies.  Everyone claims to have something special. I think the guys from Plum Island Swim Baits really do.  Let me preface this by saying that I fish a TON of soft plastics in both fresh and salt water. I live less than a mile from Lunker City, who’s Sluggos have been a staple for years.  I have literally bins full of soft plastics from dozens of manufactures. Some stuff is great and will always be in my bag or on my boat, others not so much so.  So why have I fished Plum Island almost exclusively this season?

I picked up a few packs of Plum Island River Eels 7.5”, Flukushima OGs and Flukishima Mondos this spring after seeing a few online posts about this local company that was making some great soft plastics. With every soft plastic, the balancing act comes between a bait with great action and durability. The stuff with the best action is typically really soft and tears up pretty quickly.  Super durable often equals too stiff and a lot less action.  Plum Island seems to have hit the nail right on the head. Their baits have great action in the water, feel super soft, and are tough as nails, often holding up to a day of striper fishing or numerous bluefish strikes.  Did I mention that they are scent impregnated as well? These things are not your rock hard GULP baits!      

It turns out that one of the guys behind Plum Island, Gabe Ravizza, lives ten minutes away from me, and invited me over to check out some of the stuff they’ve been working on.  We talked fishing for awhile, and I left with a goody-bag of soft plastics, including a bunch of new designs and color combinations.  Among my favorites were some of the albie baits that were absolutely slaughtered the last few weeks. I’m sure you’ll be seeing some more of these next fall.  I had the chance to get out on the water with Gabe this past week, and try out even more styles and color combinations on fall run stripers and blues.

The list of shops carrying Plum Island Swim Baits is expanding , though Gabe emphasized their commitment to maintaining the quality of the baits over the growing shop demands for expansion.  Want a custom color combination? They can probably do that for you as well. Check out Plum Island Swim Baits.  You won’t be disappointed.

http://plumislandbaits.com/

Tight Lines, and Remember - BUY LOCAL/BUY AMERICAN

RNA

Gabe with a big blue. 

Product Review - Fishin' Magician's Skid Stik Lures

Take a look at the Fishin' Magician's Skid Stik lure as I fish it for stripers in the mouth of the Connecticut River.

Crazy Albie Days and Avoiding the Run and Gun Club.

Jeff with a nice fish on a Hogy Epoxy Jig

The fall run is now well underway in New England waters, from bluefin off Cape Cod to the inshore craziness as fish tear into the abundant bait in preparation for the runs south or winter holdovers. Leading off this fantastic fall fishery are the albies and bonito that arrive along the southern coasts chasing bay anchovies, silverside, squid and more. Guys up here wait all season for what is typically a pretty short albie run, hoping to catch these little speedsters on light tackle or the fly. As soon as the first few reports trickle in, the craziness erupts. If you're really lucky and can get out after them during the beginning of the run on a weekday, chances are good of racking up double digit tallies on fish that are looking to hit just about anything. Such was my buddy's luck on a two dozen plus day in a kayak. Unfortunately for me, the run usually coincides with my return to the classroom, relegating me to the role of weekend warrior with most of the rest of the world. By the end of the first weekend or two, those fish have been run over by about a thousand boats and seen every type of lure and fly presentation. They can get pretty damned picky.

The most popular spots are busier than ever as soon as the first pictures start appearing online, something of which we're all guilty. Places like (OK - Spotburn Alert!) Watch Hill, RI might see three to four dozen boats of all sizes intermingled with kayakers all vying for those green speedsters, and anyone who's fished them is familiar with the Run and Gun Club.  Fish pop up, and boats come gunning from all directions. Fish go down. Fish pop up a quarter mile away. Repeat the process. Few fish are actually hooked. Tempers flare. Even if you don't want to play, you get sucked in. I arrived at Watch Hill past Saturday with boats stretched from the point to the outer reef. I just wanted to get through and push further east, away from other boats. Dropping down to idle speed I find some open water to pass through. Another boat comes across my bow and I disengage my motor and let him pass. I bump back into gear and as I do so, the albies briefly pop up in front of me and then disappear. I've now got the guy who just cut across cussing me out for putting down the fish. Part of me wanted to tell him to go f&*k himself, while the other part knew he was pretty much an idiot wasting his time and not worth the effort.

RNA with a fish that fell to an Albie Snax

As I mentioned in a previous article, my biggest rule for fishing these fish is to STAY AWAY from other boats.  If a school starts blitzing 300 yards away and boats are heading in that direction, don't waste your time. Find some open water on the edges, kill your engine and wait. Chances are pretty good the fish will resurface nearby because the bait and the chasing albies will be moving to a  place away from all of the surface commotion. Look for the one or two birds circling way away from the gaggle of boats. If you figure it out, you'll never have to chase the albies. If you've got lots of fish and boats but the fish just aren't biting, break away from the pack. In doing so this past weekend, we were able to fish some blitzes completely on our own with fish much more willing to hit our presentations.   

So here are my best tips for "chasing" albies:

·        Don't chase, observe the patterns and let them come to you.

·        Maneuver slowly. Avoid the temptation to gun it forward. Chances are you're just going to put the fish down.

·        Kill you motor as you near the blitz, and don't sit around with your motor idling either.

·        Stay away from other boats by hanging on the outskirts or striking out on your own.

Gear I like to use:

M/MH inshore spinning rods like the St. Croix Tidemaster 7'6"

20/30lb. superbraid w/ 15lb. flouro leaders.

8wt flyrods

Hogy Epoxy Jigs

Deadly Dicks

Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows

Albi Snax

Plum Island Swimbaits (http://plumislandbaits.com/)

Any flies that mimic bay anchovies, silversides, peanut bunker etc.

As always, Tight Lines,

The RedneckAngler

Albies (or not) and Tropical Storm Hermine

SO I got a few goods report that the albies were in off the West Wall. Naturally, with Tropical Storm Hermine bearing down, I had to go see for myself. I put the word out that I wanted to go fish in a storm, and my buddy Jim decided to join me on his first surf fishing excursion. I told him that the whole idea was a crap shoot, with 10-13' seas forecast for the Block Island Sound.

We arrived around 8:30 a.m, a few hours before the predicted high tide, and while the surf itself was as predicted, the water beyond was fairly smooth. Winds were maybe pushing 20-25kt. We fished for about 45 minutes with no luck and no visual signs of fish. The day's excitement came as three individuals decided to head in, having to cross the low section that was beginning to wash over. As they tried to run across the wet rocks to avoid waves and to stay dry (incredibly stupid), they were caught unprepared by the first of a large set sweeping the jetty. All three disappeared, with one surfacing 20' off the rocks in the water. As they scrambled and swam back to the rocks, attempting to retrieve gear, they were swept by a second wave and all ended up off the jetty. From our location, all we could do was watch and hope they could swim. They managed to get back to the rocks and across the section, minus all of their rods, coolers, buckets, jackets and more that was drifting out to sea. Jim and I decided that waiting too much longer, risking getting caught with another 1-1/2 hour of incoming, wasn't worth it, so we also headed in. Crossing the section with Korkers and a little common sense was much easier.

We checked out some surfing, the Charlestown breachway, and had lunch at Jim's Dock https://www.facebook.com/Jims-Dock-125058440878262/?fref=ts, before giving it another shot on the outgoing tide. While the surf dropped, the wind picked up to 45-50mph gusts. A few albies were breaking past the fish traps, but the point was still getting buried by large waves. We threw in the towel.

Good fishing or not, I love just experiencing the raw power of the ocean in a big storm. Whether or not this blows in those albies, or sends them shooting right past us, has yet to be seen. Here's hoping for the latter!

First shot - break in the jetties were the three guys would later be swept off.
#2 Surfing off Green Hill
#3 Charlestown beachway