All kidding aside, I love catching white perch. This was my first saltwater one this year. Saltwater perch get big. Sometimes two pounds and fifteeen inches. This one was a solid 12 inches. Only yesterday I found out they are a member of the temperate bass family and related to stripers.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Providence "P" Hat trick
Jeff and I did some New Years Eve fishing tonight in Providence looking for the elusive striper. We did not find any. Jeff snagged a couple of pogies. I caught three species that start with the letter "p". First I caught a large white Perch, then I snagged two Pogies. Lastly I came across a very common species in Providence, although they are usually on the side of the road. This one was swimming slowly upcurrent when I hooked it. It was a Plastic bag. There you have it, three species all starting with "P". Perch, Pogy and Plastic Bag.
All kidding aside, I love catching white perch. This was my first saltwater one this year. Saltwater perch get big. Sometimes two pounds and fifteeen inches. This one was a solid 12 inches. Only yesterday I found out they are a member of the temperate bass family and related to stripers.
All kidding aside, I love catching white perch. This was my first saltwater one this year. Saltwater perch get big. Sometimes two pounds and fifteeen inches. This one was a solid 12 inches. Only yesterday I found out they are a member of the temperate bass family and related to stripers.
Friday, December 30, 2011
I think this is the craziest thing I've ever done fishing...
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| Dave ( front) and Clay ( if Dave's in front I assume you know where Clay is) trying desperately for a carp |
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| Clay, Dave, myself, Todd all smiles before our trip |
We met at a boat ramp below a power plant in Bow, NH.
We met just after 8 am. This meant I had to get out of my perfectly warm bed to drive an hour and a half to paddle upstream on deadly cold water in thirty degree temps at 5:30 AM!!! I hope this is telling you that I knew it was absolutely nuts to go!!! Besides myself, Clay and Dave, we met Todd. Todd also has his own blog www.nhundiscoveredtrout.blogspot.com. His blog is about fishing remote trout ponds with two of his sons. I had never met him before. Since I am very interested in remote trout ponds, as usual I asked a million questions. Luckily, Todd is a firefighter so it was nice to know someone knew CPR if we fell out of the canoe and there was an emergency.
I had tried to tell these guys that our chances of catching a carp in late December were slim. Also there was no way to prebait the area since it was so far from all of our homes and a ten minute paddle upstream. However Clay is such a ridiculous optimist, I got excited about the warm water and in my mind I our chances improved exponentially
I was pleasantly surprised that the thirty degree temps did not feel bad at all. There wasn't any wind so I only needed the sweatpants I was wearing and didn't have to sissy up and rip out my ski pants I brought with me. Remember I was fishing with New Hampshire guys. These dudes don't wear gloves after putting there hand in a hole when ice fishing. I had to look tough for I was representing all the Massholes south of the border. Like I said though, either I am toughening up to the cold myself, or it really wasn't that bad. The only thing that got cold was my left foot. I spilled coffee on my sneaker while paddling upstream. That felt nice at first until the cold set in. Because I packed everything except the kitchen sink, I had toe warmers with me, so I put them on and my coffee soaked foot got toasty warm.
After a 10 minute paddle we came to a small cove that is fed by a warm water discharge from the powerplant. As we were finding a place to anchor up, Todd saw a carp. I saw the bubble trail. That was great news, carp were in the area. We baited up, I showed Clay how to use a hair rig and method mix. Within minutes Dave got a smallmouth on a lure while Clay and myself carp fished. Todd fly-fished. Dave's smallmouth was the only fish we caught in FOUR HOURS. The only other fish we saw was a sunfish near shore.
After four hours of this nonsense we went below a dam in Hookset and tried the oxygenated water there. In an hour our results were the same. The only thing I can say is time went by quickly. There were a lot of laughs. It was the first time I met Dave and Todd. I reminded Clay and Dave I would love to go up to the white perch spawn and fish for rock bass next spring.After nearly seven hours of fishing and paddling, we packed up, did the ceremonial hand shake, and went in separate directions to our homes with the heater on high in all our vehicles.
I wish we could have caught a carp, so they could have added it to the quest. Since we only needed to catch one between us, it was disappointing not to hook up with one.So I tried to look at it this way, it was a bad day fishing but if you looked at it as just hanging out with friends for a few hours, it was a good time.
After Clay puts up a web album I will steal some pictures and add them to the blog. Also, check back often the next few days, I am doing my end of the year review in three parts.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Awesome Striper Fishing Tonight
I went to my favorite striper wintering hotspot tonight. Its the same place I've gone a couple times this year. Up to tonight I caught a total of one striper and one hickory shad that came off at my feet ( and I snagged two menhaden).
That finally changed tonight. I landed eight stripers in a couple hour period. I was using my trout rod. I caught all my stripers on a 1/8 ounce jighead. I was using a 2" white grub and a 2" shad body. Needless to say landing each striper was an adventure on the small freshwater rod. My biggest striper was only about 22 inches, so my little rod could handle them.
Dave and Jeff were among the guys I fished with. Dave caught the largest striper of the night, about 25 inches. Jeff hooked the largest fish of the night. Unfortunately, it came unhooked. They both caught multiple fish. It was a good night for all of us.
There were eight or nine guys fishing tonight. I saw a total of 19 fish caught, including my eight. There were a lot of fish around. I hope it continues.
That finally changed tonight. I landed eight stripers in a couple hour period. I was using my trout rod. I caught all my stripers on a 1/8 ounce jighead. I was using a 2" white grub and a 2" shad body. Needless to say landing each striper was an adventure on the small freshwater rod. My biggest striper was only about 22 inches, so my little rod could handle them.
Dave and Jeff were among the guys I fished with. Dave caught the largest striper of the night, about 25 inches. Jeff hooked the largest fish of the night. Unfortunately, it came unhooked. They both caught multiple fish. It was a good night for all of us.
There were eight or nine guys fishing tonight. I saw a total of 19 fish caught, including my eight. There were a lot of fish around. I hope it continues.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Product Review- Kastmaster
I have talked to a lot of fishermen who say they have never caught a fish on a spoon. A lot of guys have them in there tackle box weather saltwater or fresh but rarely use them. I thought for this reason, I would do a product review of the Kastmaster spoon. Being close to Christmas, it would probably make more sense to do a review on a big item like a sleeping bag, fishing rod, or kayak. However, a spoon makes a nice stocking stuffer right?
Let me first start off by saying a few things. First, I don't use spoons in saltwater unless absolutely necessary ( read: 50 mph wind in my face and I can't cast anything else). Secondly, I use Kastmasters exclusively when using a spoon in freshwater. Therefore, I can not tell you if a Hopkins smoothie or a Little Cleo is as good, better or worse. I feel that a Kastmaster works well for me. If trout are hitting spoons, I assume they will hit my Kastmaster, if they don't I switch to a different color or different lure all together.
Okay, lets start... The Kastmaster is a spoon made by the Acme Lure Company ( based in Providence, RI). They range in size from 1/12oz.- 4 ounces. Prices range from about $2.50 to over $7.00. Smetimes they cost more than that in some tackle shops.They come in a wide variety of colors. I use three sizes. I use the 1/8 oz.for trout, the 1/4 oz for salmon and 3/4 oz. for lake trout. Of those three sizes I use the 1/8 oz almost exclusively. I only use the bigger sizes when I am at Wachusetts or trying for broodstock salmon ( we all know how that went). I use the 1/8 oz. trout fishing quite a bit. Of the 224 trout that I caught this year I caught 55 on Kastmasters. All were on the 1/8 size. I am sure the smaller 1/12 ounce would catch as many trout, but I like the castability of the 1/8. It casts a long way even into a strong wind in your face.
As for colors, I try to keep my selection real simple. I don't see the point of having twenty colors. There are two reasons for this. If I have a favorite color, then I'm going to put it on my line when I want to use a spoon, leaving the other colors to rust. Also if I have 20 options, I'll be spending more time deciding what to use instead of fishing. I firmly believe in ( KISS) Keep It Simple Stupid. For color selection I have these colors. Silver, Gold, Silver/blue and perch. I almost always start with gold. Its my go to color. I use it on sunny and cloudy days. If it doesn't work, I'll usually switch to a different lure and if I switch back to a Kastmaster I use the silver. I have never caught any on the silver/blue one, but I rarely fish it. As for the perch, I just bought it. I do think it would work well on holdover trout that are used to eating baitfish. I expect good things from that color.
I do find they work best when it is either windy or there is a little chop on the water. Thats not to say you won't catch fish with them under calm conditions, but when its calm I usually use other options. Without question, if there is a wind in your face, put on a spoon and cover some water. As for a retrieve, I usually use a constant steady one. Not to fast, just a normal comfortable speed. Of course if that doesn't work, try different speeds, I usually go slower before I go faster. I've caught many trout barely reeling along the bottom.
As for salmon, I have heard that salmon are attracted to orange so I have a silver/ florescent orange spoon in 1/4 ounce. The most popular color for Wachusett lakers is 3/4 ounce silver/blue.
To show you how effective a spoon can be, I can give you two examples. On September 17 I went up to New Hampshire. The weather was freezing. There was snow on the mountains. When I got there the wind was cold, wet and right in your face. The only thing I could cast into the wind was a spoon. I put on the gold 1/8 ounce and started cating. I got a hit on the first cast. I caught a brookie on the next cast. In the next hour, I caught 20, also had hits on almost every cast. I could have caught more, but it was so cold and I wasn't prepared for the weather.
The other example was around Columbus day. I was fishing Fearings Pond. Unlike my last paragraph, the weather was nice. I started walking the shoreline looking for schooling trout. I found a huge school. I landed rainbow after rainbow on the spoon. I caught 18 within minutes. I was getting bored so I switched to my fly rod.
I hope this product review is helpful. I know many anglers do not like using spoons. That's okay, but if you do give them a chance, make it a fair chance. You won't catch many trout if you only give it a cast or two. Like any other lure or technique it will catch fish in the right conditions. If you have any questions or comments, let me know.
Let me first start off by saying a few things. First, I don't use spoons in saltwater unless absolutely necessary ( read: 50 mph wind in my face and I can't cast anything else). Secondly, I use Kastmasters exclusively when using a spoon in freshwater. Therefore, I can not tell you if a Hopkins smoothie or a Little Cleo is as good, better or worse. I feel that a Kastmaster works well for me. If trout are hitting spoons, I assume they will hit my Kastmaster, if they don't I switch to a different color or different lure all together.Okay, lets start... The Kastmaster is a spoon made by the Acme Lure Company ( based in Providence, RI). They range in size from 1/12oz.- 4 ounces. Prices range from about $2.50 to over $7.00. Smetimes they cost more than that in some tackle shops.They come in a wide variety of colors. I use three sizes. I use the 1/8 oz.for trout, the 1/4 oz for salmon and 3/4 oz. for lake trout. Of those three sizes I use the 1/8 oz almost exclusively. I only use the bigger sizes when I am at Wachusetts or trying for broodstock salmon ( we all know how that went). I use the 1/8 oz. trout fishing quite a bit. Of the 224 trout that I caught this year I caught 55 on Kastmasters. All were on the 1/8 size. I am sure the smaller 1/12 ounce would catch as many trout, but I like the castability of the 1/8. It casts a long way even into a strong wind in your face.
As for colors, I try to keep my selection real simple. I don't see the point of having twenty colors. There are two reasons for this. If I have a favorite color, then I'm going to put it on my line when I want to use a spoon, leaving the other colors to rust. Also if I have 20 options, I'll be spending more time deciding what to use instead of fishing. I firmly believe in ( KISS) Keep It Simple Stupid. For color selection I have these colors. Silver, Gold, Silver/blue and perch. I almost always start with gold. Its my go to color. I use it on sunny and cloudy days. If it doesn't work, I'll usually switch to a different lure and if I switch back to a Kastmaster I use the silver. I have never caught any on the silver/blue one, but I rarely fish it. As for the perch, I just bought it. I do think it would work well on holdover trout that are used to eating baitfish. I expect good things from that color.
I do find they work best when it is either windy or there is a little chop on the water. Thats not to say you won't catch fish with them under calm conditions, but when its calm I usually use other options. Without question, if there is a wind in your face, put on a spoon and cover some water. As for a retrieve, I usually use a constant steady one. Not to fast, just a normal comfortable speed. Of course if that doesn't work, try different speeds, I usually go slower before I go faster. I've caught many trout barely reeling along the bottom.
As for salmon, I have heard that salmon are attracted to orange so I have a silver/ florescent orange spoon in 1/4 ounce. The most popular color for Wachusett lakers is 3/4 ounce silver/blue.
To show you how effective a spoon can be, I can give you two examples. On September 17 I went up to New Hampshire. The weather was freezing. There was snow on the mountains. When I got there the wind was cold, wet and right in your face. The only thing I could cast into the wind was a spoon. I put on the gold 1/8 ounce and started cating. I got a hit on the first cast. I caught a brookie on the next cast. In the next hour, I caught 20, also had hits on almost every cast. I could have caught more, but it was so cold and I wasn't prepared for the weather.
The other example was around Columbus day. I was fishing Fearings Pond. Unlike my last paragraph, the weather was nice. I started walking the shoreline looking for schooling trout. I found a huge school. I landed rainbow after rainbow on the spoon. I caught 18 within minutes. I was getting bored so I switched to my fly rod.
I hope this product review is helpful. I know many anglers do not like using spoons. That's okay, but if you do give them a chance, make it a fair chance. You won't catch many trout if you only give it a cast or two. Like any other lure or technique it will catch fish in the right conditions. If you have any questions or comments, let me know.
Monday, December 19, 2011
After Christmas Shopping Fishing...
After doing some way to late in the season Christmas shopping, I did some spur of the moment fishing tonight. I was driving through Providence and decided to give some winter time stripers a shot. I've gone a couple of times so far this winter without any luck.
I tried a couple of different spots. At the first I snagged a menhaden on a zoom fluke. It was unintentional, but I assumed some stripers would be under them. I fished the area for a while. I bumped into a few more menhaden but didn't get any stripers to hit.
I went up into the city and fished there for a while. I caught a small schoolie striper. It was not big but it was my first winter striper this year. I hoped it would be in a school, but no such luck.
I then went back to my first spot. It had a few guys fishing it including two that I know. I saw a hickory shad and menhaden get caught. Then a minute after that I hooked a hickory, only to have it come off a few feet from shore. The next cast I snagged another menhaden. Its cool how all these fish are schooling up together. I have no interest in snagging menhaden, but hooking into one and then a different species the next cast was kind of cool. I bet there are some white perch and maybe even a bluefish in the upper bay also.
So I am glad I had a fun night. I caught a couple of fish.In a weird oddity, I caught a menhaden in December before I caught a striper. I would have loved to get into a school of hickorys. Those little guys are so much fun.
I tried a couple of different spots. At the first I snagged a menhaden on a zoom fluke. It was unintentional, but I assumed some stripers would be under them. I fished the area for a while. I bumped into a few more menhaden but didn't get any stripers to hit.
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| This poor menhaden that I accidently snagged tonight has taken a beating |
I then went back to my first spot. It had a few guys fishing it including two that I know. I saw a hickory shad and menhaden get caught. Then a minute after that I hooked a hickory, only to have it come off a few feet from shore. The next cast I snagged another menhaden. Its cool how all these fish are schooling up together. I have no interest in snagging menhaden, but hooking into one and then a different species the next cast was kind of cool. I bet there are some white perch and maybe even a bluefish in the upper bay also.
So I am glad I had a fun night. I caught a couple of fish.In a weird oddity, I caught a menhaden in December before I caught a striper. I would have loved to get into a school of hickorys. Those little guys are so much fun.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Clay, is this a mummy?
In what is definitely my first post ever directed directly at another blog, I have a question for you, Clay.
As the person I know that knows the most about small fish I ask what is this? I assume it is a banded killfish or mummy. I was at Little Pond in Plymouth, MA yesterday. There were a bunch of these little guys dead on one shoreline, maybe a dozen. This one was about 2 1/4 inches long, the biggest about 4 inches. I saw one swimming in the lake, but he was the only live one I saw.
Mass Wildlife has pond maps online. The map of Little Pond does not say any fish species of small size except golden shiners, but the last time the pond was sampled was many years ago. Obviously they could have been introduced at any time. Or these could be bait from a previous fisherman with only the one remaining.
I do know that banded killfish and mummies look a lot a like, if you think it is one of those but can't tell any more than that, I will try Mass Wildlife. I do not think they are any form of dace or chubs, but hey, that's why I am asking you
As the person I know that knows the most about small fish I ask what is this? I assume it is a banded killfish or mummy. I was at Little Pond in Plymouth, MA yesterday. There were a bunch of these little guys dead on one shoreline, maybe a dozen. This one was about 2 1/4 inches long, the biggest about 4 inches. I saw one swimming in the lake, but he was the only live one I saw. Mass Wildlife has pond maps online. The map of Little Pond does not say any fish species of small size except golden shiners, but the last time the pond was sampled was many years ago. Obviously they could have been introduced at any time. Or these could be bait from a previous fisherman with only the one remaining.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Little Pond Search for Salmon ( kind of)
As you know, I have been really wanting a shot at broodstock salmon this winter. If you read the post below, obviously,I have very little chance of catching one. Yesterday I got information ( from Jeff) that the salmon were stocked this week in Little Pond, Plymouth.That said, we didn't know what day ( maybe even tomorrow), but we did hear that only six would be stocked. SIX!!! Even in a lake called Little Pond, finding one of six salmon in a forty acre pond is tough. Factor in that if someone caught one and kept it, our chances drop 17%.
Then again, what is 17% of almost zero. We decided to go down to Little today despite the fact in our hearts we knew we were not going to catch a salmom. We left at 6:30 this morning. I left my map book at home, so it took a little while to find it. I have only fished Little once, on Easter. www.southernnewenglandoutdoors.blogspot.com/2011/04/trout-trifecta.html So my memory of the directions were a little fuzzy. It took a little over an hour to get there. I bought shiners the night before and planned on floating them under a bobber in case a salmon was hungry.
No luck for salmon. We did not see any. I did hear one guy say he caught one two days ago ( this meant they were stocked and also my chances of catching one were down at least 17%!). We did get a couple of trout. I caught a brown trout and Jeff a brookie. I also picked up a small bass. The state only stocks rainbows in the fall. That means the two trout we caught were holdovers from at least this spring. They were very healthy looking fish. Jeff's brookie was in its spawning colors. I did not get any pictures. It was rainy and drizzly. I didn't want to take the camera out of the car in that weather. I assure you, the trout were caught. If they were a fish story or a figment of my imagination, I would have caught the gorgous brookie in spawning colors.
So to sum up, we knew we were not catching any salmon, so it wasn't a disappointment. We fished for 4 hours and only caught three fish total. Yet, I caught only my third ( or fourth I have to look in my reports) brown trout of the year. Jeff caught his first brook trout this year, actually his first in a long time. I caught a trout at a lake I had never caught a fish before. Lastly, as best I can remember, the two fish I caught today, may be the first freshwater fish I have ever caught in December. It was 50 degrees, 10 days before Christmas and I caught a fish... so I'm good
Then again, what is 17% of almost zero. We decided to go down to Little today despite the fact in our hearts we knew we were not going to catch a salmom. We left at 6:30 this morning. I left my map book at home, so it took a little while to find it. I have only fished Little once, on Easter. www.southernnewenglandoutdoors.blogspot.com/2011/04/trout-trifecta.html So my memory of the directions were a little fuzzy. It took a little over an hour to get there. I bought shiners the night before and planned on floating them under a bobber in case a salmon was hungry.
No luck for salmon. We did not see any. I did hear one guy say he caught one two days ago ( this meant they were stocked and also my chances of catching one were down at least 17%!). We did get a couple of trout. I caught a brown trout and Jeff a brookie. I also picked up a small bass. The state only stocks rainbows in the fall. That means the two trout we caught were holdovers from at least this spring. They were very healthy looking fish. Jeff's brookie was in its spawning colors. I did not get any pictures. It was rainy and drizzly. I didn't want to take the camera out of the car in that weather. I assure you, the trout were caught. If they were a fish story or a figment of my imagination, I would have caught the gorgous brookie in spawning colors.
So to sum up, we knew we were not catching any salmon, so it wasn't a disappointment. We fished for 4 hours and only caught three fish total. Yet, I caught only my third ( or fourth I have to look in my reports) brown trout of the year. Jeff caught his first brook trout this year, actually his first in a long time. I caught a trout at a lake I had never caught a fish before. Lastly, as best I can remember, the two fish I caught today, may be the first freshwater fish I have ever caught in December. It was 50 degrees, 10 days before Christmas and I caught a fish... so I'm good
Monday, December 12, 2011
Broodstock Bad News
In December, the state of Massachusetts stocks broodstock salmon in lakes throughout the state. These are " retired" fish. They have been spawned out for eggs for Atlantic Salmon restoration. Each year the state stocks whatever number that is available to them. There is no set number ( as opposed to trout, which are grown specifically for stocking ) of salmon. The state makes it clear that these fish are a bonus and there is no guarantee that they will even be available.
Unfortunately this is a bad year. Because of T.S. Irene the hatchery in Vermont lost many of the broodstock salmon. Massachusetts did not get any this year from them. Last year 1740 salmon were stocked in the lakes throughout Mass. This year that number will be 300. Each district will receive 60 fish. I do not know how many lakes will be stocked. Last year five lakes were stocked in my district ( southeast). If the same number are stocked this year that means only 12 salmon will be put in each lake. This is disappointing for me. The closest stocked lake is about 1 hour away. It hardly seems worth the drive with so little chance of success.
I was hoping that I could fish for broodstock salmon until ice in. Now I'm going to give it a shot once. I hope I catch one but even if I do, I will probably only go the one time. I think they will either be fished out quickly or spaced so far apart that it will be like finding a specific needle in a pile of needles. A far smarter decision would be to go to the seafood store up the street and buy a couple of salmon steaks. That may just happen.
Unfortunately this is a bad year. Because of T.S. Irene the hatchery in Vermont lost many of the broodstock salmon. Massachusetts did not get any this year from them. Last year 1740 salmon were stocked in the lakes throughout Mass. This year that number will be 300. Each district will receive 60 fish. I do not know how many lakes will be stocked. Last year five lakes were stocked in my district ( southeast). If the same number are stocked this year that means only 12 salmon will be put in each lake. This is disappointing for me. The closest stocked lake is about 1 hour away. It hardly seems worth the drive with so little chance of success.
I was hoping that I could fish for broodstock salmon until ice in. Now I'm going to give it a shot once. I hope I catch one but even if I do, I will probably only go the one time. I think they will either be fished out quickly or spaced so far apart that it will be like finding a specific needle in a pile of needles. A far smarter decision would be to go to the seafood store up the street and buy a couple of salmon steaks. That may just happen.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Not much fishing going on here...
I don't know if it is worth your time to read blogs about nothing. I have nothing to report, but I haven't wrote anything in a week. So here I go trying to fill two paragraphs with nothing.
I went trout fishing a few days ago at Whitings Pond. I only went for about a half hour after work before picking DJ up from track. There is a very short window from when I get out of work until dark this time of year. I didn't get anything.
Monday I went carp fishing straight from work at a reservoir in East Providence. It was very warm out and the next day was supposed to be rainy. I hoped to pick up my first ever December carp. I did not. It was so nice out I would have fished until well after dark, but I had to pick up DJ. My friend Dave ended up fishing the same spot as me, later that night. He also had no luck so I felt better about my strikeout. I do think I am going to try to catch a December carp again this month. It would be a cool goal.
Unfortunately, salmon won't be placed in Cape ponds for at least another week. I had hoped to fish for them last weekend and this weekend coming, but it would have been fruitless.
So thats about it, sometime before I go salmon fishing I will give you guys my first ever product review.
I went trout fishing a few days ago at Whitings Pond. I only went for about a half hour after work before picking DJ up from track. There is a very short window from when I get out of work until dark this time of year. I didn't get anything.
Monday I went carp fishing straight from work at a reservoir in East Providence. It was very warm out and the next day was supposed to be rainy. I hoped to pick up my first ever December carp. I did not. It was so nice out I would have fished until well after dark, but I had to pick up DJ. My friend Dave ended up fishing the same spot as me, later that night. He also had no luck so I felt better about my strikeout. I do think I am going to try to catch a December carp again this month. It would be a cool goal.
Unfortunately, salmon won't be placed in Cape ponds for at least another week. I had hoped to fish for them last weekend and this weekend coming, but it would have been fruitless.
So thats about it, sometime before I go salmon fishing I will give you guys my first ever product review.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Websites- Its Christmas Time
Now that Thanksgiving has passed and we are in December, it is time to listen to Christmas carols. I hate my radio when I hear Christmas carols November 10th and just listen to my cd player.It is time to be in the Christmas ( or Holiday if you are not Christian. I respect your religion if you respect mine, but in my house it is a Christmas tree ) spirit. So I thought I'd write down the places I buy my fishing gear. Today seems as a good a day as any to write this post. I have it off from work. It is windy and the ocean is dirty so I can't saltwater fish. The salmon have not been stocked yet and trout fishing was not good last week. Although I could carp fish, it is 38 degrees and sunny with a 20 mph wind coming from the north. North winds seem to shut down carp fishing in the lake I fish, so I write.
As you know I actively fish for stripers, carp, trout and blues. This year I have gone back to basics fishing for largemouth bass this summer. Also I have tried to catch some new species this year such as lake trout ( successful), false albacore and landlocked salmon ( both unsuccessful). As you can imagine, to fish for all those species you need a lot of gear. You can't fish for stripers with the same gear you would use for trout.
Unfortunately, you can not buy gear for all those species in one catch all tackle shop. To get the best prices and selection you have to shop around. I am not a fan of shopping. My wardrobe is always in need for new clothes. I believe in the line in Kris Kristofferson's song "Sunday Morning Coming Down" - and found my cleanest dirty shirt. Ok its not that bad, but in all shopping for clothes sucks.
That said, there is nothing more exciting then knowing I have a package of fishing gear in transit from a website. So without further adue, here are the stores and sites I buy from. Maybe it will help you with your Christmas list from St. Nick.
K-1 Baits www.k-1baits.com K-1 sells a lot of carp bait. I only buy flavors from them. One bottle of a flavor will last a couple years. I have scopex, fruity pineapple and tutti-fruity. I use these to flavor corn. They also sell boilies. I need to give them a try.
Wackerbaits www.wackerbaits.com I bought quite a bit of gear from them. I bought my bite alarms and banksticks from them. Also my baiting needle, Carpmax size six hooks, and other gear. They have all prices of gear from cheap crap to out of my price range. There is plenty of mid priced good quality gear.They also sell Pesciva corn. My friend Dave is nailing fish left and right with this stuff. I will have a couple tubs of it next year.
Fishwest www.fishwest.net is a fly fishing shop in Utah. They sell pretty much anything you would need for fly fishing. I actually only buy one thing from them, Tiemco 2457 hooks in size 6 and 8. These are actually nymph hooks, but a lot of us use them for carp fishing. They are light but work real well for pond carp. They are $5.95 per 25. This is a hell of a lot cheaper than the $6 for 10 of the above Carpmax hooks. I use the Tiemco hooks in ponds and the Carpmax only in big rivers with big fish and current. FREE SHIPPING no matter how small the order.
Anglers Dream Fly Shop www.anglersdream.net This is where I buy all my freshwater flies. They sell a lot of fly gear but for flies the prices can't be beat. I usually place a couple orders a year. The customer service is outstanding. I have my flies within a couple days.They send a hand written thank you note and usually a free fly. I suspect at prices as low as 52 cents the flies are not made in the USA. I can attest to the quality though. I caught 18 fish on one hares ear ( 10 trout and 8 sunfish). It still looked brand new before I casted it into a tree this spring. I will say some of the nymphs do not sink well. So I use unweighted nymphs near the surface during a hatch and beadheads when I want to get deeper. Shipping is only $ 2.88
Cabelas www.cabelas.com Obviously Cabelas is a huge outdoor chain. You could buy almost anything you could want from them. I place one annual order with them a year. I live near Bass Pro Shops so I only order things from Cabelas that BPS doesn't carry or is cheaper at Cabelas.
I only use steel sinkers for weights one ounce and under. It is a personal choice not to use lead in these smaller sizes. Besides lead is illegal at Wachusetts and New Hampshire ( it kills loons) so I figure I may as well use non lead everywhere. Ultra Steel is about the cheapest brand. BPS carries it, but Cabelas is about 30% cheaper and I get more per bag. I also buy my clear casting bubbles from them. I bought a Cabelas brand reel from them last year and so far I love it. Sometimes their sales are cheaper than Bass Pro, so I keep an eye out for sales of stuff I use in quantity like sinkers.
Bass Pro Shops www.basspro.com I live near BPS in Foxboro. Largemouth bass fishermen can find anything they need at BPS. They also have a great selection of fly fishing and saltwater tackle. Not everything I need is at Bass Pro. I find flies expensive compared to Anglers Dream. Cabelas does have random things ( like Ultra Steel Sinkers) that Bass Pro doesn't.
All that said, I ask for Bass Pro gift cards for Christmas, there is always something there I want. Right now I'm hoping for enough gift cards to buy the float tube with fins and pump.I make my own saltwater flies, BPS has the material I need, it is slightly higher priced than some websites, but I don't have to pay for shipping if I drive the 15 minutes to pick it up myself.
Walmart www.walmart.com Do not overlook Wallyworld when buying tackle. They do not usually sell high end rods and reels. They do sell the same lures and jigheads as everywhere else. I buy my hooks, Powerbait, jigheads and the occasional lure from Walmart. You can't beat the prices.
Liquor Store- Skyy Pineapple vodka for flavoring corn
Tackle Shops- They are definitely way more expensive than Bass Pro or Walmart. They do usually have good infomation. I will obviously buy bait from them, but I may stop in for a package of hooks or some other low cost item just to ask a few questions on whats biting.
There you have it. Its a pretty extensive list, but if you are a multiple species angler you limit your options only going to the tackle shop or Walmart.
As you know I actively fish for stripers, carp, trout and blues. This year I have gone back to basics fishing for largemouth bass this summer. Also I have tried to catch some new species this year such as lake trout ( successful), false albacore and landlocked salmon ( both unsuccessful). As you can imagine, to fish for all those species you need a lot of gear. You can't fish for stripers with the same gear you would use for trout.
Unfortunately, you can not buy gear for all those species in one catch all tackle shop. To get the best prices and selection you have to shop around. I am not a fan of shopping. My wardrobe is always in need for new clothes. I believe in the line in Kris Kristofferson's song "Sunday Morning Coming Down" - and found my cleanest dirty shirt. Ok its not that bad, but in all shopping for clothes sucks.
That said, there is nothing more exciting then knowing I have a package of fishing gear in transit from a website. So without further adue, here are the stores and sites I buy from. Maybe it will help you with your Christmas list from St. Nick.
K-1 Baits www.k-1baits.com K-1 sells a lot of carp bait. I only buy flavors from them. One bottle of a flavor will last a couple years. I have scopex, fruity pineapple and tutti-fruity. I use these to flavor corn. They also sell boilies. I need to give them a try.
Wackerbaits www.wackerbaits.com I bought quite a bit of gear from them. I bought my bite alarms and banksticks from them. Also my baiting needle, Carpmax size six hooks, and other gear. They have all prices of gear from cheap crap to out of my price range. There is plenty of mid priced good quality gear.They also sell Pesciva corn. My friend Dave is nailing fish left and right with this stuff. I will have a couple tubs of it next year.
Fishwest www.fishwest.net is a fly fishing shop in Utah. They sell pretty much anything you would need for fly fishing. I actually only buy one thing from them, Tiemco 2457 hooks in size 6 and 8. These are actually nymph hooks, but a lot of us use them for carp fishing. They are light but work real well for pond carp. They are $5.95 per 25. This is a hell of a lot cheaper than the $6 for 10 of the above Carpmax hooks. I use the Tiemco hooks in ponds and the Carpmax only in big rivers with big fish and current. FREE SHIPPING no matter how small the order.
Anglers Dream Fly Shop www.anglersdream.net This is where I buy all my freshwater flies. They sell a lot of fly gear but for flies the prices can't be beat. I usually place a couple orders a year. The customer service is outstanding. I have my flies within a couple days.They send a hand written thank you note and usually a free fly. I suspect at prices as low as 52 cents the flies are not made in the USA. I can attest to the quality though. I caught 18 fish on one hares ear ( 10 trout and 8 sunfish). It still looked brand new before I casted it into a tree this spring. I will say some of the nymphs do not sink well. So I use unweighted nymphs near the surface during a hatch and beadheads when I want to get deeper. Shipping is only $ 2.88
Cabelas www.cabelas.com Obviously Cabelas is a huge outdoor chain. You could buy almost anything you could want from them. I place one annual order with them a year. I live near Bass Pro Shops so I only order things from Cabelas that BPS doesn't carry or is cheaper at Cabelas.
I only use steel sinkers for weights one ounce and under. It is a personal choice not to use lead in these smaller sizes. Besides lead is illegal at Wachusetts and New Hampshire ( it kills loons) so I figure I may as well use non lead everywhere. Ultra Steel is about the cheapest brand. BPS carries it, but Cabelas is about 30% cheaper and I get more per bag. I also buy my clear casting bubbles from them. I bought a Cabelas brand reel from them last year and so far I love it. Sometimes their sales are cheaper than Bass Pro, so I keep an eye out for sales of stuff I use in quantity like sinkers.
Bass Pro Shops www.basspro.com I live near BPS in Foxboro. Largemouth bass fishermen can find anything they need at BPS. They also have a great selection of fly fishing and saltwater tackle. Not everything I need is at Bass Pro. I find flies expensive compared to Anglers Dream. Cabelas does have random things ( like Ultra Steel Sinkers) that Bass Pro doesn't.
All that said, I ask for Bass Pro gift cards for Christmas, there is always something there I want. Right now I'm hoping for enough gift cards to buy the float tube with fins and pump.I make my own saltwater flies, BPS has the material I need, it is slightly higher priced than some websites, but I don't have to pay for shipping if I drive the 15 minutes to pick it up myself.
Walmart www.walmart.com Do not overlook Wallyworld when buying tackle. They do not usually sell high end rods and reels. They do sell the same lures and jigheads as everywhere else. I buy my hooks, Powerbait, jigheads and the occasional lure from Walmart. You can't beat the prices.
Liquor Store- Skyy Pineapple vodka for flavoring corn
Tackle Shops- They are definitely way more expensive than Bass Pro or Walmart. They do usually have good infomation. I will obviously buy bait from them, but I may stop in for a package of hooks or some other low cost item just to ask a few questions on whats biting.
There you have it. Its a pretty extensive list, but if you are a multiple species angler you limit your options only going to the tackle shop or Walmart.
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