Garden in the Woods

Yesterday I went fishing twice. I went late morning and again at 6:30-9. Both times I went fishless. The only good news was the company was good at night and I wasn't the only one to get skunked ( so I felt better about myself, misery loves company). Time after time, I have gone fishing the day after a storm when a cold front has moved in over night. The next day, the sky is bluebird blue and the wind whipping from the northwest. Chances of catching fish under these conditions are slim. Still, I go, figuring its better then staying home.
Waking up this morning and looking out my window the conditions were about the same. Maybe the wind was a little calmer, but the sky was a bright blue without a cloud in it. I thought instead of going fishing I'd try something different.

I went to Garden in the Woods in Framingham,MA . The property is owned by the New England Wildflower Society. I checked out directions online along with price ( $8 for adults) and hours. There is a tour, led by a volunteer at 10 am on weekdays ( 2pm on weekends), so I timed my arrival for about 9:50. I know almost nothing about wildflowers and plants so I thought it would be best to learn something from someone who knows about plants instead of taking a couple pictures of the pretty purple flower.
When I pulled into the parking lot I saw a couple of school groups in front of the Visitor Center, so my first thought was " This (bad word ending in ing ) sucks. I made the trip up, so I was kind of stuck. Happily, the school kids were on there own tours with there own leaders. The place was big enough, that we hardly came across them. I was on a tour with only four other people.
I guess the word " tour" fits, it is just a walk around the gardens with someone that knows more then myself. There are 15 acres of " cultivated wild gardens". This means all these plants didn't magically grow in this yard. They are planted there, you could kind of call it a zoo for plants. There are many species of plants native to New England along with displays of western plants ( including prickly pear) and invasive species. There are several gardens that all have there own theme, such as woodland garden, lily pond, meadow and other habitat displays. The tour took a little over an hour, then I walked around on my own taking more pictures.
The tour leader today was a volunteer. She was very knowledgeable about plants. Apparently she had to take a training class to become a tour guide. There are so many plants there is no way she could have known all of them, unless she had a PhD in botany. I did ask a couple questions that she was not able to answer, because I am a nerd like that, so I stopped asking really hard questions.
I did learn about some of the woodland species that I see on walks in the woods. There were about five species that I have seen and photographed before and didn't know the name, but now thanks to my $8 admission fee I am a smarter outdoorsman. I was happy to find out the names of species I've seen in the woods such as marsh marigold, trillium and columbines.
There are so many species of plants it would be impossible to digest all the plant names and information thrown at me there. Also and more importantly, only some of the plants are in bloom right now. Some of the summer flowering plants have barely popped out of the soil. I plan on going back again in another month or so to see others blooming . Hopefully I can get some more pictures and learn the names of some summer plants.

Post Script: This is how I hope most of my posts are. I want to write about daytrips and fishing trips that I go on. Its more fun then writing a list. Obviously I enjoyed this daytrip and do plan on going back. If I go to a place that I don't enjoy, I will tell you that also. Since I am paying admission to a place like Garden in the Woods, I will write how I feel about my experience, whether good or bad. If you are interested in going to Garden in the Woods it should be easy to Google. The website has all the info you would need.

P.S.S If someone would like to pay me to endorse their company, I can be bought.

Just kidding ( kinda)

May Fishing

May is absolutely my favorite month of the year. The only other month that comes close is September. In my opinion May is the best month to fish and be outdoors. Spring has definately sprung when May 1st comes around. This year because of the week in April that was in the high seventies and low eighties, I think things are a little ahead of schedule. It is awesome to see green leaves again.
Freshwater fishing is unbelievable in May. The reason is water temperature. For the most part the water temp in May is still cool enough for coldwater gamefish ( trout and salmon) and warm enough for warmwater species ( bass, carp, catfish among others). I wish water temps could stay in the 60's all year.
I usually catch more trout the first two weeks of May then I do the rest of the spring combined. This year I hope to hit Long Pond in Plymouth and troll the top layer of water for salmon. I have such a long " want to do list"so who knows. Its a long ride so weather conditions would have to be perfect for me to take the trip. My ideal conditions for salmon fishing would be overcast and little wind so I can control my canoe. Temperature is unimportant but as long as I'm wishing, I'll take 65 degrees.
As for largemouth bass, May is the perfect month to catch them. First off the weeds haven't gotten to bad in the shallower ponds. All types of lures will work for bass depending if they are in pre spawn, or post spawn. I never target spawning bass. At least for the beginning of May you can still use a spinnerbait without the worry of catching weeds on every cast. I love using topwater lures and will start fishing them in the am. When the topwater bite slows down I switch to a spinnerbait until the sun gets higher in the sky, the go a little deeper by dropping a rubber worm near cover or crankbaits.
Other then bass which will protect there nest during spawning other species may become difficult to catch for a week when they are spawning. Carp and catfish don't feed much while courting a mate(s). It is easy to avoid going fishless for a week just by fishing more then one lake or river. Not all places will get to the " perfect temp at exactly the same time. On really big lakes some fish can be in a pre spawn pattern in one part of the lake and already be finished on another. On some smaller lakes there may be more shade, underwater springs, cool feeder streams are just be deeper to keep the water temp a little lower then the lake down the street.
My favorite thing about May is that saltwater temperatures will be over 50 degrees. Fifty is the magic number when it comes to striper fishing. Stripers have been around for a couple weeks now (as of writing this it is April 29) and some of the better spring hotspots have been producing, such as the West Wall and upper Narragansett Bay. I think that with the arrival of May ( and the predicted Eighty degree temps this weekend) the whole area is going to explode with hungry fish. Fish will spread out and be caught in all there spring locations and not just the early spots.
I concentrate on schoolies more in May then any other time of the year. I have a blast going out and catching 15-20 fish a night. Once June hits, I target keepers and my catch totals drop as the size of the fish rises. To catch spring schoolies I use a 7 foot rod fitted with a light saltwater reel with 12-14 pound line. I have caught fish up to 32 inches with this setup. As for what to use thats simple too. I use a shad body type of lure. I pack a couple 4 inch albino zoom flukes, three and four inch wildeyes and 4 inch black back shad bodies with 1/4 and 3/8 ounce jigheads. My entire amount of gear fits into a sandwich baggie. I also take along pliers, a flashlight and measuring tape. Thats it. Keep it simple stupid method works well for me.
I would like to mention that you may here experts say that the big fish don't arrive until later in the spring towards the end of May early June. Do not believe them. I caught my very first 20 pounder ever on May 4 ( don't remember the year) on the same day I saw a guy catch a striper that went over 35 pounds. The key to finding big keepers is big bait. Target herring runs and if menhaden come in and you have a boat follow them. Also don't forget to invite me along ( Ray and Cheryl).
Okay, a couple of hotspots. The Cape Cod Canal at the herring run is obvious for big fish. It is now illegal to use herring for bait. Many guys are using 9 inch wildeyes in the gold color. I like using the herring colored mambo minnow. It is what I was using when I caught my first 20# fish.Fish the tide going west to east ( warmer water) As for schoolies, I have done quite well at Colt State Park fishing the outgoing tide at the outlet of the salt pond. I have caught blues,stripers and hickory shad on three consecutive casts a couple times. You will know if there are fish around fairly quickly.
I was going to write about birding in May also but this post ended up being longer then expected.

I will write about that subject soon.

All Things Carp, All Things Striper

As I mentioned before my favorite species of fish to chase are carp and striped bass. I will be giving updates and fishing reports for both species. I will tell you where I caught them unless its at a location I have been shown and sworn to secrecy. Most places I fish are large areas with public access or little spots you would never suspect hold fish. Guess which spots I have given my oath to keep secret.
One thing I will not do is get to much into the " how to " aspect of fishing for carp and stripers. Here is why: My friend Dave Pickering has a blog about both carp and stripers. Dave is the absolute best fisherman I know. He has caught over 50,000 stripers ( he keeps a detailed logbook) and catches five times the amount of carp as I do in a year. He fishes just about every morning AND every evening. Dave is an outdoor writer that has written for many magazines. He taught me most of what I know about carp, and helps me out all the time about stripers. Dave's blogs are very informative.
It would do me no good to try to explain all the do's and don't of fishing for those two species when Dave's blog ( along with video) does such a good job. This may sound like an infomercial for Dave's blog, but no one gets anything for writting a blog. If you go to Dave's site and read up on how to tie a hair rig, its not like a dollar shows up in his bank account. Where as my passion is the outdoors,with fishing a top priority, Dave's is absolutely fishing, and I will not attempt to compete with his knowledge of stripers or carp. The links to his sites are below my profile on the leftside of the page.

Concord, MA

My goal in writing blogs is to tell stories about daytrips and write about things I've seen, caught, or learned about. I would rather not have every post a list like why stripers are my favorite fish. Unfortunately, if I am going to write about all the fun things to do in Concord or tell you about all the sites, there really isn't any other way to tell you other then another list.

Concord is a great town. There is so much to see and do there. You could spend a long weekend there and not see everything. I have tried to hit all the historic sites, lakes, and refuges through the years. I think I only have two left that I've never been too. With the exception of the Wayside and fishing Whites Pond, I think I've gone to everytthing at least once.

If after reading this blog, you decide to go to Concord, you will have to do a little research on your own. I will tell you the things I enjoy and the ones I didn't but I am not going to bore you with directions to 7 different locations. Also, some of the places have fees.

Minuteman National Historic Park- Right off of Route 95 on route 2A is the visitor center for Battle Road. Start your historic journey here. There is agreat introductory movie. You can pick up a map of the park and ask all your questions at the info desk. After the shots were fired at the Old North Bridge the British had to run back back to Boston ( 15 miles) as fast as they could because the minutemen were shooting them every chance they got. The road through Concord is known as "Battle Road" It traces some of path back to Boston. On the road or some important places for the history buff to stop, such as where Paul Revere was captured on the night of his historic site. I think the best way to explore the road ( about 5 miles one way) is by bike. It is a dirt path that is off the street. You can stop at all the sites and get back to the visitor center in less then 3 hours.

Old North Bridge- No daytrip to Concord is complete without a stop at the bridge. It is not on Battle Road, but on the other side of Concord Center. I am in awe of what actually happened there,no matter how many times I 've been. Farmers standing up to the most powerful army in the world.

Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge- This refuge is awesome. There is a trail that goes through two manmade ponds. The ponds water is manipulated throughout the year to provide food for migrating birds. It is a pretty refuge along the banks of the Concord River. If you are looking for a nice walk, this would be a good place to go, and bring the binoculars.

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery- Concord was known as home of the authors. In the 1800's Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa Mat Alcott were neighbors. They are all buried on what is known as Authors Hill in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. I doubt there is another place in America ( with the exception of Arlington ) that has so many great minds buried so close together. Also buried there is May Alcott, Louisa's sister, who was a briliant painter and Daniel Chester French the sculptur of the statue of Abe Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial. You will have to spend a little time finding his grave, but that is half the fun.

Walden Pond- Thoreau lived here for a year. A replica of his cabin is on the grounds. Shockingly, this is where he is writting about in his novel titled "Walden". There is a $5 parking fee year round which I think is a little annoying. The lake is heavily stocked with trout, so chances of catching a couple are really high.

Orchard House- The home of Louisa May Alcott, author of "Little Women". I think its $9 to take the tour. As soon as you walk into the first room you forget all about the money. The tour guide was so informative and the house itself, is so cool.

Concord Museum- Home of one of the lanterns hung in the Old North Church ( One if by land, two if by sea). Really a great little museum. I don't remember what the admission fee was.

As I mentioned before, I have yet to go to The Wayside which was the home of the authors and I haven't fished at Whites Pond. The pond is known for having large brown trout. The Wayside opens in late May and I will go this year. I'm not sure I will take the drive to Whites since I still want to get to Wachusetts Reservoir at least once. If you count the attractions in nearby Lexington such as Lexington Green, Buckman Tavern, Museum of our National Heritage and DeCordova Museum, the area has limitless possibilities.

My Love of Striped Bass

I feel I should get this out of my system early in my blogging efforts. I must confess my undying love for striped bass. As you can see by the title of my blog, I have a lot of respect for the noble Morone Saxatilis. I truly believe they are the perfect gamefish. All the qualities that a fisherman looks for in a "perfect gamefish" I believe stripers have. Much like a gold medal decathalete, the striper may not be number one in all catagories but is near the top and excels in everything that it does. Let us begin our tour.

1. Stripers are safe to handle. When fishing for stripers you do not have to worry about it biting your hand off. Unlike some sought after species,notably sharks and bluefish, I can safely put my thumb in a stripers mouth with no danger of loosing it ( hooks are another matter). There teeth is like sandpaper and will only scratch skin off. After catching a few stripers your thumb will be slightly chewed up from the little teeth. This is important the day following a fishing trip because you can show your coworkers your successful thumb! Also unlike marlins and swordfish you don't need to worry about being cut to pieces by a sword.

2. Stripers are accessable. From both shore and boat stripers can be caught. I am a shore fisherman and only sometimes envy boaters when the prey they are feeding on live in open water ( menhaden). Boat guys can fish reefs but just as often they will troll close to the shoreline. Also many places to fish for stripers are only a few steps from the parking lot ( some of us are dumb enough to walk a mile over soft sand to fish not so accessable places but thats another story)

3. Stripers are fairly large. Okay, they are not tuna. That being said How many fish from shore do you have a reasonably good chance of catching over 20 pounds whenever you fish for them. There are only a couple freshwater species that get to this weight. From shore in New England, stripers are " the fish" to go after from shore.

4. Stripers are delicious. I let go most of my catch, but I will keep an occasional keeper. I have a rule that I won't keep any if I still have some in my freezer. The only time I break this rule is the fall when I want to bag a couple meals for the winter. Striper meat is flaky and white. It can be grilled and baked, and probably cooked 100 hundred other ways, but I'm satisfied with grilling and baking. I will not compare striper to fluke. Fluke truly is a gift to Man's tastebuds straight from the pitchfork of Poseidon. Still striper is a fine meal that I always look forward too.

5. Stripers are a fairly difficult to catch but not impossible. Unlike Muskys ( the fish of a thousand casts) and unlike sunfish ( can be caught on every cast) stripers are the perfect quarry.

Most any angler who puts in time and effort will be successful at catching stripers. It is not unusual to catch 15 schoolies an evening in the spring, or three keepers at night from Jamestown in early summer. They are still wary enough where you may get skunked a couple nights in a row and you will question your skills. There are also those days when you pull up to the beach and stripers are blitzing all of over the place and you can't miss.

6. Stripers can be caught in a variety of ways. Since stripers feed throughout the water column and feed on a large variety of food items they can be caught in many different ways. Depending on time of year and what the local prey species are, stipers can be caught bottom fishing or splashing a popper on top and everything in between. You can catch them using live bait, cut bait and lures with equal success.

7. Striper fishing is best at night. Stripers feel safer feeding close to shore under the cover of darkness. This may sound like a negative, and to some it may be. I love fishing at night. There is no better time to fish then summer nights, the temp is cooler then under the hot sun, and the water is warm. Many people are afraid to fish at night, usually I have an entire beach or point to myself. I have never understood this fear, but it works out great for me.

There you have it, seven reasons that make stripers the perfect gamefish. For me striper fishing can be an addiction. There have been weeks where I'd plan on going once or twice that week and I'd end up going five nights in a row. I am sure I will think of more reasons why I love stripers and will come back to edit the post. Until then, tight lines

Treasures Close to Home

Living in North Attleboro, MA I am lucky to live very close to three interstate highways. Both Routes 95 and 295 are just minutes from my driveway. Route 495 is about 10 minutes away depending on how many red light I hit. It is very easy for me to get to my favorite far away destinations. I drive down to Narragansett and Jamestown to fish the surf regularly. If I want to bird at Plum Island or Charlestown Breachway I just jump on the highway. Those trips do require at least a half day and some planning. Most of us don't have the time to make a 125 mile round trip everyday to often.
That is why I am dedicating my first blog to my hometown treasures (these may not be in "my hometown" but are very close distance from home). No matter where we live we all have places within a few minutes drive that can be real special to us. I think sometimes we take these places for granted because they are so accessible. The truth is we shouldn't take them for granted but instead we should enjoy the fact they are in our backyard. I can go trout fishing .5 miles from my house at Falls Pond. There are plenty of other areas I want to and do fish, but its not like I'm going to get to Peters Pond in Sandwich everyday, but I can fish Falls Pond anytime I want. If I have a half hour after coaching little league, I can go. If I need to kill an hour before I pick my son up at track, I can go.When I was a kid, I'd get up at 5:30 am to fish for 45 minutes before school during May. Here is a short list of my hometown treasures
Caratunk Wildlife Refuge, Seekonk MA
If I want to take a walk or go birding and have a limited amount of time I go to Caratunk. The wildlife refuge while being in Massachusetts is part of Rhode Island Audubon Society. It is a great place with a variety of landscapes. When leaving the parking lot you walk through a vast meadow. There are bluebirds and tree swallows nesting in the boxes in the spring. This is also my favorite place to see woodcocks. Past the field (if you went left from the parking lot) is a pond, where the turtle picture above was taken. The bushes and trees around the pond are loaded with bird life. Yesterday (April 15) I saw yellow rump warblers around the pond. Along with the pond and fields there are trails through the woods and swamp. There is a brook that you cross on bridges a couple times through the refuge. Besides it being a great place to see woodland and field birds, I have seen deer, turkeys,coyotes and muskrats there.The manager of Caratunk is Mike Tucker. He is a person I consider to be an expert naturalist. Mike is an expert birder and seems to know the answer to all my questions I have about plants, butterflies and anything else on the refuge. I bombard him with questions every chance I get.
Norton Reservoir, MA
Seventeen Minutes from home is the little cartop boat ramp for Norton Reservoir. This lake is absolutely loaded with fish. There are some big bass in the lake. I caught my first five pounder here when I was younger. The main reason to fish the lake is for numbers of panfish. It is a GREAT place to bring a kid in a canoe ( assuming its not to windy ). Using a 1/16 jighead and a 1 1/2 inch shad body its easy to catch 30 fish in a couple hours. Most of the fish are going to be stunted white perch, but you can expect to catch yellow perch, crappie, bass, sunfish, and a pickrel or two. I can't reccomend a better place to take a young kid fishing if you have a canoe or rowboat.
Cumberland and Lioncoln, RI carp fishing areas
In a small area of a couple square miles there are a bunch of places to go carp fishing. In a drive of about five minute a fisherman can check out Scotts Pond, Little Scotts Pond, the Blackstone Canal, Blackstone River and Lincoln Woods. There is no excuse for me to not go carp fishing if my " favorite spot " is taken. Theres always another place to fish
There are other places close to home that I spend a lot of time at. Ponds include Turnpike Lake, Lake Mirimichi, and Hopping Hill Reservoir. Other birding areas include Stony Brook and Moose Hill, I will talk about both in a later post.
The whole point of this blog is not only to show you my close destinations but to remind you of yours. If you live in Boston, maybe you should take a walk by the Charles River or Mt. Auburn Cemetery. If you live in Warwick, Goddard State Park has great fishing for schoolie stripers in May. Get out and enjoy it.