Saturday, March 31, 2012

A Look back at March

March is going out like a lion. Its thirty four degrees and the precipitation can only be discribed as slush falling form the sky. I had planned on trout fishing today. I thought better of it knowing that even the trout will not be happy witht the sudden drop in water temperature. They will be in no mood to chase lures. So I write...

Without question I have fished more this March than I ever have. I have turned into a year round fisherman and fish almost every day. A couple years ago, March would be the month I would start fishing, picking the nice days along with everyone else. This year I fished whether rain or cold. It didn't matter, if I had time I was out in it. I caught fish on fifteen different days. Along with the usual March skunkings, I probably got out over twenty times. I can say that this was my best March ever, but I can also say I've had some of my best days ever regardless of the month in the last thirty days.

Carp-

March is inconsistant for fishing. Fish do not like sudden drops in temperature or cold winter storms ( like today). However if you can get out during a period of consecutive days of steady weather, fishing will be good. Well... this month we had the mother of all warm streaks. For about a weeek the daytime highs were over 65, including a few days in the eighties. Because of this, I had my best day ever in terms of numbers. On March 24, I caught 12 carp. Also this month I caught my largest carp ever being twenty three pounds on March 17. For the month I caught 29 carp. This is the far cry from the eighty five my friend Dave caught but, not bad for someone that also trout fishes and works full time.

Trout-



Because of the warm weather and mild winter stocking trucks got out early. I caught my first trout on March 9. This is 22 days earlier than my first last year ( exactly one year ago today).  I caught 40 trout this month.  I had five days where I caught five or more. My best day was my first. I caught nine on March 9. Also I caught more browns in one day six ( March 28), than I had in my life.  I also caught what I term a quality trout ( any trout over 16 inches). I caught a 16 inch rainbow at Hoxie on my fly rod.

Pickerel- I only fished once for anything other than trout or carp. I went bass/ pickerel fishing for about two hours. I caught 10 pickerel. It was a lot of fun.

The reason I had so much success was two fold. First the weather was incredible. Yet I caught most fish on the more typical March days. I caught the twenty three pounder when it was in the fifties, the same is true of my eighteen pounder, my 12 carp day and nine trout day. I did good during the eighty degree weather but just as well when it was fifty five.

More importantly than the weather, I fished a lot. I have no chance of catching anything sitting at home watching tv. I was out almost every day. I can't stand being home when I could be landing a big one, and this month I landed some big ones. This was a March to remember!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Bad Weather Trout


 Jeff and I wernt trout fishing today. It was rainy most of the day. We hoped the crappy weather would keep the fair weather fishermen away. We also secretely hoped that the rain would stop and we could fish in cloudy conditions.  Both worked for us. No one was at either pond we fished and the weather cleared up and we didn't fish in the rain.

We tried Hoxie, but fish weren't exactly destroying our lures. I didn't get any and Jeff hooked up on two rainbows. We went to another pond. When we got there, the water was glass calm. We saw a few trout rising as we walked from the parking area. I made about three casts and hooked into a brown trout. Then I caught two more in about three more casts. 

Jeff got in on the fun and caught some browns also.  Between us we landed twelve trout. All but one were browns. I caught one brookie also



Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The Fishing Gods are Smiling on Me Right Now


My 17 pounder from Sunday
I have carp fishing the last three days after work. If you read the below post you saw that I caught 12 carp on Saturday. That is by far the best day I have ever had carp fishing. In the last two days, I have gotten another eight. I am positive, I have never caught 20 carp in three days before.  I caught 5 yesterday and three more today.

Catching any carp today was probably more of a surprise to me than catching 12 on Saturday. Today it was very cold and windy. The wind was blowing out of the north at 25 mph. Today's temperature was almost25 degrees colder than Saturday and at least 10 degrees colder than yesterday. The wind chill must have been in the thirties. Today was the type of day that  experienced carp guys do not fish. It is usually a waste of time. With the water temperature dropping because of the cold air, the carp should have been very tight lipped. yet, I caught three, had a couple more short runs and had multiple bumps. In short, it was pretty good.

I have only caught three good sized ones in the past week though. My 23 pounder from last week, I got a 17-18 pounder yesterday and a 14 pounder Saturday. I am obsessed with catching a twenty five pounder. So I have been fishing every chance I get. I may not have gotten the big one yet, but all the time on the bank is paying off.

I went trout fishing on Friday with Jeff. As I reported I only caught 8 the whole day of fishing. It was one of those weird days when the trout were fussy everywhere we went. I was in bed thinking the other night about the tough trout fishing. I realized I caught eight but only saw seven more caught by everyone else fishing combined. There were a lot of people at Hoxie and a couple at Lout. So I really can't complain.

So I'm saying the fishing gods are on my side right now. I hope it continues and wish I knew what prayers to say to these fishing gods, because I am having the time of my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Twelve Carp Today!! Best Carp Day Ever!!!


Before today, my best day carp fishing was 7. I caught those seven at the Blackstone Canal my first year carp fishing, which was in 2003. Since then the average day would be between one and three. Today, I went straight from work to one of my favorite ponds. I baited up and waited about twenty minutes for my first hit. From there the fishing was amazing. I was getting one hit after another for about an hour. It was so fast, I did not have time to text my friend Dave until I pulled my rods out of the water.

At one point, I had one fish being landed while my other alarm would sound. Another time I casted my corn. I tried to throw some corn and before I could take three steps into the water to throw it, I had a fish on.

After the first seven fish, it slowed down. I caught my last five over about two hours. Still thats considered hot fishing in the carp world. Dave showed up toward dusk. Things had slowed down by then, still we caught six between us in 2 hours.  I ended up catching twelve total. My biggest was only fourteen pounds. I didn't get any monsters today. Who's complaining, with action that hot I had a blast. It was a crazy day!!!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Not as good as it Sounds


Cold, hard, facts from today fishing down the Cape for trout

I caught 8 trout today
Two of them were brookies
I caught one trout over 16 inches
I caught trout from 4 different ponds, three of them I had never caught a trout before

The Reality...

I picked Jeff up at 5:30 this morning to go trout fishing. Our plan was to hit a bunch of Upper Cape lake. I wanted to go to Nickerson, but my car is being fixed Friday so I couldn't stay over night.  We were at out first pond, Grews Pond in Falmouth, before 7 am. It was cold and damp. I caught two trout there, but only after putting in the kayak. We couldn't get any from shore.

We then went to Mares Pond also in Falmouth. We were disappointed by the public access so we skipped this one.

Next we went to Hoxie Pond in Sandwich. This pond was loaded with trout. We saw 50-60 swim by us, sometimes at out feet. They were picky. I caught 2, including the big one. Jeff caught two bass. I also caught a bass and 2 sunfish on the fly rod. We threw everything we had at the trout, they were just not in the mood to hit. Every other fishermen has having the same problem.

After out frustration at Hoxie, we went to a sub shop for lunch. After lunch we went  to Little. There was so many people we left. We drove the three miles to Lout. There I caught three trout including my first brookie. This is the best spot I found during the day. One guy had a decent rainbow and a brown on a stringer. I saw 2 other guys catch four 'bows on shiners.  We fished here a little while until moving on to Fearings.

We fished  Fearings hard for 2 1/2 hours. The only fish to show for it was one lone brookie. Of all the places I fish, I can usually count on Fearings to come through, today it did not.

We left Fearings and quickly went to Mary's Pond in Rochester. We fished about 20 minutes and headed home. I dropped Jeff off at his house then fished Falls Pond for 30 minutes. I caught one small bass. I finally pulled into my yard about 6:45.

So if you look at the stats, I had a good day. Jeff had a tough day. However if you add that I was gone 13 hours and fished maybe 9, it wasn't that good today. Thats why they call it fishing

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Ecosystem is Screwed Up

Okay its obviously been extremely warm. I'm not going to lie,  I have been enjoying it.  There have been strange things that I have never seen before. In terms of nature these are crazy things. Here are some examples.

Adult menhaden stayed in the Providence River all winter. They survived the extremely mild winter.

Young menhaden ( peanut bunker) were snagged by Dave and Jeff a couple weeks ago. We never see them until at earliest mid August

I actually wet waded while trout fishing the last two days. I was up to my knees. The water was warmer than when I fished in New Hampshire on Memorial Day last year.  Dave checked the temperature in the shallows    64 degrees !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got bit by a mosquito last night.

My forsythia bush is blooming

My mid spring daffodils are going to be blooming by tomorrow

I saw a bat on Tuesday night  ( March 19)

I saw a dandelion  on March 10

Insect are hatching every where. Ponds are covered with hatches

Dave had a bee flying around his head almost two weeks ago

I'm not sure what all this means. I do think if we get a real cold snap it could spell disaster for a lot of species that think its late spring. Lets hope mosquitos are on that list!!!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Get out and enjoy it

I tried my luck night time fishing last night. It was the first time I fished at night this year for something other than stripers. I got invited to fish with a friend of mine who was going out anyway. I accepted. We fished from 6-8:20. We didn't get a hit. You know what, we didn't really plan on it. Its still March and the fish will hit during the warmest part of the day. Fishing last night was just an experiment and hope.

It was 80 degrees yesterday and its going to be that temperature all week. I would rather be out in this amazing weather not catching fish than sitting in the house watching tv. After the sun went down, it cooled off a bit. It still felt like a June night. I was wearing my waders and only a t-shirt and my arms were not cold.  Catching fish or not, I'm not staying home when I can be outside enjoying this!!!

Sunday, March 18, 2012

"I don't know how the bass fishing is, but the pickerel are biting!!!"


After carp fishing and lunch yesterday, I wanted to go to Fearings in Myles Standish State Park. It was nice out and I didn't want to waste my afternoon doing nothing. I also did not want to waste the gas. I would not have gotten there until about 4:15. That would have only given me about 2 1/2 hours until sunset. I couldn't justify 2 hours of driving for two and a half hours fishing. 

I got in the car actually planning to go. As I was driving towards the highway I decided it wasn't a good idea. Then I thought " what the hell, I may as well try bass fishing" I came back home and packed some tackle in a stowaway box and left. The kayak was already on the roof of the car. I went to Turnpike Lake. Turnpike is right up Route 1 about 10 minutes from my house. It is to weedy fo fish or boat by early May so any fishing ther has to be done early in the year. It is also a great pond for small pickerel and some bass. Pickerel are definately the dominant gamefish though.

One of the pickerel I caught.  It was a nice way to spend the afternoon
I went armed with only a few lures. I ended up using only one. I used an unweighted plastic worm rigged texas style. I fished it like a minnow. I twitched the rod tip to make it dart. I would let it fall. I got a whole bunch of hits. I ended up catching 10 pickerel. No bass at all. The biggest pickerel was about 15-16 inches. The most amazing thing of all was I did not get caught off once. AND never had to change my worm. I caught all 10 plus five other hits on the same worm!

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Personal Best- The Write Up

When I got home after carp fishing earlier, I was pretty excited about my 23 pounder. I could not wait to see the pictures and do a blog post. However it was still nice out and wanted to do some more fishing. The carp had completely shut off, so I came home for lunch and wrote the quick note about the carp and went off again. So here are the details of the fish...

I arrived at the fishing spot about 9:15. Even when I went to bed I was still waffling over fishing for trout down the Cape today or carp.I knew I would wake up before dawn, if I wanted to go for trout. I wanted an early start and be fishing before 7 am if I fished for trout. That way I would have a couple hours before the lakes got busy. Sure enough I woke at 4:30 and again at 5:45. I was awake enough to get out of bed.  I lied there thinking about my options. Then I made up my mind. I was going to carp fish. Lately I have been itching to catch a monster carp. I'd rather do that than catch a bunch of 14 inch trout. Sometimes the reverse is true, and I'd rather catch a bunch of fish instead of wait for a carp to hopefully come around. I know to catch a big carp, I have to put in my time. I figured time well spent would be waiting for a big carp to come along.

So anyway, I baited up two spots. I baited up where I was going to fish and where Dave had fished the day before. I didn't know if Dave was going skiing or fishing, but if he decided to fish his spot would be ready.

About 30 minutes into fishing I got a run. I set the hook but missed it. "Gosh darn it, dang it to heck" came out of my mouth, or something like that. I casted out again. I was using pesciviva, a sweet corn mildly flavored with pineapple, but with a tough skin so it stays on the hair rig. I waited a few more minutes and my rod started banging. Banging is a carp term for what worm fishermen would call a nibble. The difference is sometimes the carp is not banging your corn and hook, he is hitting the method ball.The rod bounced a couple times then the line peeled off. I set the hook and fought the fish. I was using pretty heavy gear ( 8 foot rods and 17 pound line) I did not take to long to get it in. Maybe 3 minutes. I netted it and brought it to shore.

I weighed it in the net ( my scale was zeroed  to account for the net weight).  Just over 23 pounds. Then I tried to get a picture. Let me tell you, its tough to take a picture of a big carp with a 10 second camera delay. They are slimy and like to squirm. While I was trying to get a picture, a guy fishing near the road yelled to me that Dave had pulled up. I put the carp back in the net and the net in the water and ran up to Dave asking for his help taking the picture. He grabbed his gear quickly and we jogged down to the water. Dave took 3 really good pictures of the fish.  I picked it up carried into the water about knee deep and let it go. It did not need any reviving. It swam away quickly. Tough fish.

I caught 3 others after that. None of them over 5 pounds. Dave caught his 100th carp of the year on my rod while I was at the car. It was a beautiful 14 pounder.

One last thing, If you want to know where I caught it, I can't tell you so don't ask.

New Personal Best Carp today!!!!

I caught my largest carp today. My personal best is an unweighed estimated 23 pounder. Today I caught one that was weighed at slightly over 23 ( but less than 24). More details later

Friday, March 16, 2012

Thats why its called " March Fishing"

It has been as painfully obvious to me as it has you that I haven't wrote anything in a week.  Believe it or not with all this nice weather I haven't had much to write about. As was the case for me last year, this week has been about being a day late. I am talking about the weather. While I was working Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday the temperature was into the high 60's. I have today and Saturday off this week. So when I got out of work Thursday, that was like a Friday night to normal folks. Thursday's high 41. Today, Friday- high 45. Saturday 55.

While I am at work Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday next week the predicted highs will be 65 ,69, 70 and 70. My days off kind of landed in a cold front sandwiched between almost perfect weather. I'll stop complaining now. You have the same problem also working while you would rather be playing.

Anyway... I have been out almost every day since my last blog post after work. I have exactly one trout to show for my effort ( actually I don't have the trout, I let it go).  Dave has been catching carp most everyday. Unfortunately, they have all been hitting about noon, while I am at work. Even he can't get a hit after 1 pm. I have been carp fishing later in the day at the same spots not even getting a bump.

I've tried for trout also. I've hit Falls Pond and Whitings. Both have been stocked. Also I know quite a few trout were stocked in the fall, and most are still in the ponds. I've hit both ponds for 45 minutes a night ( then go to the other). I caught one trout at Falls. Thats it.

Today, being my day off, I planned on fishing all day. I got to the place Dave has been catching carp. He was already there along with our friend Paul. Paul got a little one before I got there. Paul and I caught nothing for three hours, while Dave managed a couple small ones.

I had planned on driving to Plymouth after that to catch some trout. I changed my mind when I got home to pick up my fly rod. I couldn't justify the gas, getting there so late in the afternoon. I do regret this decision because I went to Whitings and Falls again without luck.... So I write.

Tomorow morning I plan on either carp fishing in the morning or going to Plymouth to fish for trout all day.  I'm not going to try to do both. Hopefully, I will have more positive stories to report.

Next week, the warm weather is supposed to last until at least Thursday. I have Thursday and Friday off. I think I will go camping Wednesday night and Thursday night and trout fish Cape Cod kettle ponds for two and a half days straight

Friday, March 9, 2012

Trout by the numbers

First trout of the year

0                The number of trout I've caught this year before today
0-4             I had four hits yet had not hooked a trout
5:30 am     The time I got up to go trout fishing in Plymouth today
6:50 am     The time I arrived at Little Pond
41               Temperature in degrees when I got to Plymouth
10:15 am    The time I left Little Pond without even a hit


10 minutes  The amount of time it takes to get from Little Pond to Lout Pond
2                  The amount of hits I had while at Lout Pond.
0                  number of fish caught from those two hits
90                Number of minutes at Lout with nothing to show for it

12:00 pm     The time I arrived at Fearings Pond my last hope for a trout today.
9                  The number of fish I caught at Fearings, all rainbows
3                   The number of trout I hooked but jumped and popped the hook ( still a lot of fun!!)
1/8                 ounce, the size of the blue chrome Kastmaster I caught all the trout on.
Largest trout of the day
0                    Number of fish I had caught on that color before today
14                 inches, the length of the largest rainbow today
1:40 pm        Time I had to leave to pick Jeff up to go to saltwater fishing show


I'm nothing if not a persistent S.O.B.  Five hours without a fish. Next hour and a half, Nine. Go figure

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Get ready for spring- now

The first week of March is over. There is almost no snow anywhere south of the Mass Pike. Temps are rising. Daylight savings time is upon us. What I'm saying is spring is here, or right around the corner. It is time to get ready if you haven't already.

I have recently realized that my love of fishing isn't just a hobby. It is an obsession. Fishing is all I think about. While I'm washing windows at work, I'm usually planning my evening. I try to figure out if I'll have enough time to trout fish or carp fish. If stripers might be in. It goes further than that, when I know I'm not fishing, I usually plan on doing some fly tying or tackle maintenance. Something to keep me busy. I recognize not everyone is this nuts, but there are thousands of people that really enjoy fishing as a hobby and consider it a love. This post is a reminder to them that its not to early to get ready for spring.

Last spring I wrote a long post as a reminder for spring. You might want to click on it for some more ideas. http://www.southernnewenglandoutdoors.blogspot.com/2011/03/spring-is-here.html

I'll go over some of that stuff, but not all of it. I don't type that fast. I've got some other stuff to add also.
You want new line on your reel when a trout this
size comes your way

The most important two things you can do as a fisherperson before you actually fish are get your license and change the line on your reels.  Many states are going to electronic license buying. This is awesome because now I don't have to go to Apple Valley to buy my RI license. It saves time. So far I've bought my MA freshwater, Saltwater permit, and RI freshwater licenses. I will need a NH license and if we go to Acadia National Park this summer I will need a Maine week long license.

As for changing my line, I don't particularly enjoy doing it. So I do it all at once. I have 10 reels that I use most often  ( 2 small carp, 2 carp reels for big fish in rivers, 2 trout reels,3 schoolie reels and a surf reel). I also have about six that get occasional use ( mostly bass reels, my spare surf reel, and 2 trout reels I only use for backpacking because the rods are 2 piece). I do the first ten all at once just to get it over with. Whether you have 20 reels or two reels, you don't want a big fish to break you off because you have on old line. It is worth the investment. Do it!

You also might want to go through your box, reorganize it and figure out what you need to buy for the upcoming season. I wrote about the big Bass Pro Sale that's still going on. Although I spent way to much money, there are some great deals.

 You may make your own flies or leaders. This is a reminder that if you haven't time is running short. Some things that I did over the winter to keep myself busy are

1. Made plenty of deceivers for striper fishing.
2. Made shrimp fly teasers. Also for striper fishing when they are grubbing on the bottom.
3. Made some bucktail jigs. 1 ounce and 1 1/2 ounce.
4. Made plenty of carp leaders with the knotless knot.
5. Made florocarbon leaders for powerbait (24 inches)and casting bubble/ fly ( six feet)
6.Organized all my boxes, wrote a list of what I needed to buy.
7. Painted some egg sinkers brown to make them look natural carp fishing
8. Changed line on 10 reels I use the most ( still have to do the rest)
9. Scouted some access points in Warwick, RI
10. Online research for fishing spots
11. Made striper leaders with the teasers I made ( shrimp fly and daytime ( white/ olive)
 and night time deceivers ( black)
12. Ordered new gear.
13. Put VMC hooks on all my striper plugs.

I'd rather be ready to fish on a nice early spring day than
be doing the stuff I could have done during the winter.
Obviously, not all fishermen would do so much prepping for the new season. No one would need to do the exact things. There are a  lot of trout guys that make there own flies.  Guys with boats need to get them ready. That's a lot more time consuming then making ten shrimp flies.

Today was gorgeous out. Tomorrow is supposed to be even nicer. Since I was all prepared with new line on my pole and my fishing license already bought, I got to go carp fishing after work today.  My friend Dave P. and I landed a total of 10 carp. Sure beats sitting at home!!!

Monday, March 5, 2012

Stop calling carp trash fish!!!

 I have learned a long time ago that you can't change peoples minds when it comes to politics or religion. I hope this post will change the minds of some of you about carp. Carp have a reputation of being a trash fish. Many people do not like them and have formed a hatred towards them. Many fishermen from bass fishermen and trout guys despise carp. They feel carp muddy the water that other fish live in. They feel carp eat the eggs of other fish. I hope to clear up some of the negative things people say about carp.

First off they say carp are an invasive species. It is true that they were brought here from Europe. They were put in ponds and rivers by people. They are not natural to the environment of southern New England. All of these things are true. I do not dispute them. Also brown trout are from Europe. Largemouth and smallmouth bass are also not native to southern New England.  Rainbow trout are from the west coast. None of those fish were here when the Pilgrims landed.  Brown trout were introduced to America from Europe in 1884. Carp have been in America since the mid 1800's. To call carp a non native fish is true, but you would  have to put those other gamefish in the same category.  They have been here for 150 years, they will be here for a 150 more. Time to get over it.

Before I go any further, I want to state that I am happy that carp are in the lakes and rivers they are in but I do not want to see them spread into every water way in America. Why? Because each lake has a natural balance.  Any time a new species is added, it does upset the balance. It doesn't matter if its carp or small baitfish things change. I love catching carp, but they do not belong in every water shed any more than alewives, smelt or lake trout.

People say that carp eat bass eggs. To be honest I suspect bass eggs may be part of a carps diet.  They are bottom feeders, and eggs are laid on the bottom. You know who else lives on the bottom, catfish and suckers. Both have been in lakes since the ice age. Both are in just about every water body in New England.  I do not know what percentage of carp would have bass eggs in there stomach during a bass spawn however I'd bet my savings account  its far less than the number one predator of bass eggs...The number one predator of bass eggs and baby bass are sunfish.  That's right sunfish. However sunfish are eaten by bass, so people think its just the natural order of things. Truthfully bass prefer minnow to sunfish because they have soft spines. Also most minnow eat microscopic things like plankton and plant matter. A pond would be much better off having bass and minnow such as golden shiners without having sunfish.

Carp dirty up the water... I've heard this forever, maybe its true in some places. I haven't seen it. Lake Tiogue is full of carp. The water is very clean. You can see very far down. Every other place that have carp that I know of, look like any other place that doesn't have carp. The Blackstone and Merrimack Rivers run dirty during big storms and snow melt, yet during normal flow they run plenty clear enough for smallmouth bass  (Merrimack )and trout ( Blackstone) to find food.  If they dirty up the water you have to prove it to me.

Carp can live in polluted water. This is true. They are very tough fish. They can live in extremely cold water, extremely warm water muddy water, clear water and polluted water. I think this may be where they got the bad rap. Because they can live in gross polluted mud holes ( like what we had before environmental regulations) at the turn of the century, they were considered a junk fish.

As I was saying before about non native fish, sometimes gamefish can ruin another fishery. Although carp are considered bad by some anglers consider this:

Lake trout were introduced into Yellowstone Lake. Yellowstone Lake was world famous for having a great fishery of cutthroat trout.  The lake trout are decimating the population of cutthroat. Although lakers are prized in many lakes, they are more than a nuisance in Yellowstone. It is so bad that any angler that catches a lake trout is required to kill it immediately.

Our precious smallmouth bass has had a negative effect on trout populations in Maine.  When smallmouth get into trout waters they almost always out compete the trout and take over the water.

Yellow perch are a valuable baitfish in Massachusetts, but up north they to can devastate a trout water. They will out compete the small trout for food and when they get bigger, they eat the small trout.

Northern pike and muskys are considered invasive by Maine Dept of Fish and Game. Pike love to eat trout.  Pike are spreading in Maine very much jeopardizing the trout and smallmouth lakes in the central part of the state.

Point I am making here is carp are non native. Many of our so called glamour fish can and do cause problems when they get into watersheds they do not belong in. I do not want to see carp in Wachusetts Reservoir or Cape Cod kettle ponds, but I don't think they would do any more damage than other fish.
Many carp ponds are in urban areas. They give city fishermen something to fish for in lakes to polluted for anything else except catfish. That's not to say there aren't any pretty rural ponds without carp.  They give people another option to fish for.

Now that I have defended carp by throwing other fish under the bus, let me say some positive things about them. What other freshwater fish can you catch that averages over 10 pounds. The only other fish in New England that even approaches that standard is pike/ musky. Leaving out muskys since they only live near the Canadian border in Maine and the Lake Champlain area of Vermont ( tiger muskies are a stocked sterile hybrid so they don't count) that leaves only pike. I guarantee if you fish every day  in the best pike lakes of New England and I fish every day in the best carp lakes I will catch many more trophies over the course of the year. Big carp are very common and fun to catch.

The most popular fish in New England is probably striped bass. They are my favorite fish. I would fish for them every day if it were not for the long drive. Yet I can tell you for sure that a ten pound or twenty pound carp will easily outfight a striper of the same weight. Carp may not jump when hooked, but they fight extremely hard. A typical fight of a fifteen pound carp last several minutes and that is while using twenty pound line.  If you have never caught one, I beg you to catch one before you call one a trash fish again. You will be surprised at there strength.

So to finish up, carp are here to stay, you may as well get used to it. They are a tough fish that can survive in places where glamour fish wouldn't last 15 minutes. They do not belong in many waters they are not in. You may as well enjoy them in the waters they are established in.  They are a large tough fish that put up one hell of a fight. Those of you that are "to good "to waste your time fishing for them, I tell you this, carp fishing is much more difficult than bass or trout. Its not even close. Carp are much more skittish and nervous than bass or trout. When you hook one though or hear line pouring off your reel there is nothing like it.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

March Carp- Check

Got out this morning for an hour and a half carp fishing. I went to a little spot that produces well when the water is still cold. I caught some carp there a week ago with Dave P. Today I went by myself. I didn't have much time so I didn't try to make plans. I got to the spot and casted out my corn on one rod. While I was baiting up my second rod my alarm went off. I put down the second rod and set the hook. I had a carp. It was not big but it hit within two minutes of the bait hitting the water. It was a little common about three pounds.

I released it and casted out the poles. I had another run about five minutes later. I missed it. I thought that it could be a very memorable day. Those were the only two hits I had in  the 90 minutes I was there. It was well worth the effort. 

As you may know, I'm trying to catch a carp every month of the year. After catching one in Janaury and February, it really shouldn't be difficult to get one again until December. Even though carp are pretty difficult to catch and seem to go through fussy streaks, rarely do you go more than an outing or two without getting one when the weather is warm.  Even still I'm glad to get my March carp out of the way early in case I go trout fishing a lot.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Two different approaches to trout stocking

I fish Rhode Island and Massachusetts a lot for freshwater fish. I mostly fish Rhode Island when I fish in the surf.  I fish for trout equally in both states. I have four  trout ponds within 15 minutes of my home. Two are in North Attleboro. The other two in Lincoln and Cumberland. The two in MA are right up the street, however the one in Lincoln, RI is fly fishing only.  The point is I spend a lot of time fishing for trout in both states.

Rhode Island  has an opening day ( the second Saturday in April). From the last day in February until April 14, all ponds stocked with trout are closed. Even if you want to fish for sunfish in a trout pond you can not until opening day. The point of having an opening day is to generate interest and anticipation for the event. Some 20,000 anglers fish RI waters opening day. This gives a boost in revenue to bait and tackle shops that weekend.

Massachusetts, on the other hand, has no  closed season.  You can fish any lake or river all year long. Of course you still have to follow size and bag limits. Some streams are catch and release or fly fishing only. However, for the most part general rules apply and you can fish anywhere in March as you can in July.

Last year after a very cold and snowy winter the stocking trucks started rolling the week of March 21 in Massachusetts. That means I had a full three and a half weeks of fishing for trout in Mass before I could even look at one across the border. I didn't actually catch a trout until March 31, but the point is for anyone that wanted to get out of the house and break there spell of cabin fever could.

This year after the nicest winter that I can remember Mass Wildlife has announced it will be stocking next week. So by the weekend of March 10 I along with any one else with a license will be able to go fish for trout. I applaud the division for doing this. I can't wait to get out and try my luck. I love catching stripers, but there have been precious few ( read none) the last couple weeks.  The next week is going to be mostly in the fifties for a high temperature. I have this weekend off but next week I have Thurs and Friday off. If the weather is going to be warm those days, I might take the trip to Fearings Pond.

I wish Rhode Island would abandon the opening day idea. At the very least it would be nice if they moved opening day into March. Trout are colds water fish. Waiting until mid April wastes an entire month when trout would be active in comfortably cool/ cold water. During warm springs trout fishing is over by mid May. Rhode Island has very few places that are cool enough with enough dissolved oxygen to support trout over the summer. If they made opening day March 15, that would give trout  guys 2 months to fish for them before they get uncomfortable and start to die.

Unfortunately, Rhode Island will never abandon opening day and there is an even less chance of moving it back. Having opening day in mid April guarentees, a fairly warm weekend. Even a cold wet weekend will have temps in the high forties. A mid March opening day could be snowy and below freezing. Bait shops would fight against it. Most guys are not going to fish in thirty five degree temps.
So the trout stay at the hatchery or in ponds not allowed to be fished.

This trout was caught last year in Massachusetts ten days
before the season even opens in Rhode Island
In the meantime, I have fresh fish coming to Massachusetts ponds this week. So it begins...