A couple more pictures from Friday

JANUARY 27, 2012

Superlatives do not begin to describe how phenominal yeasterday was. If a picture is worth a thousand words, well here are seven thousand words to describe my day. I will explain it all below the pictures

Paul's first ever January carp.

Friday was my day off. The predicted temperature was supposed to be 55 degrees and rainy. I decided to give carp fishing a try. I went to the place I caught my January carp a week before. When I got there it was rainy, cold and damp. However, I was warmed by the fact my friend Dave and another member of our carp group were their fishing. Paul is a great guy, I hadn't seen him since the fall. I set up my baits near theirs and backed my truck right up to Paul's so I could talk to them. We all stayed fairly dry because we sat under our liftgates.

Paul caught the first carp. It was his first ever January carp. He caught it on doughballs... Interesting. We caught a couple more fish. We each had a couple more runs. Considering this was January 27, the temp was actually 41 degrees and it was raining, six hits in a couple hours was awesome.

I, however dressed like it was going to be 55 degrees. I wore one pair of sweatpants that got soaked through when I landed my second fish. Fishing was great but after four hours hypothermia was setting in and I was shivering all over. I left while Dave stayed a little while longer. I went home took a 20 minute hot shower, warmed up and planned on watching movies all night.

Then... I got the bug to go striper fishing. I tried to talk myself out of it. It was still raining, it was cold. The tide was terrible ( low) and fishing was much better early in the week. Then as I was going back and forth DJ said this " Dad, if you don't go Mr. Pickering is going to call you and tell you big keepers are everywhere" So I went.

I went alone. It was rainy when I left, I didn't want to put anyone else through the hell I was about to experience. I wasn't sure if Dave would be fishing, he after all spent five hours fishing in the cold earlier in the day. When I got to the spot, Dave had already been fishing for an hour. He hadn't even gotten a bump. Wonderful! Actually, that is what I expected, I really didn't plan on catching much. One fish would have been great. We fished together for over 90 minutes without a fish. We would piggy back each other. We would fish a spot, then I'd move ahead of him for a couple minutes, then he would move ahead of me, until we found fish. Finally, after almost two hours we each caght a small one.

We fished another half hour without any more hits. We figured a school of small ones went through and that was it. We were about to leave and working our way to our cars, and bang! We started getting into fish. For the first two hours one fish each. For the next hour it was hot and heavy.  These were not little fish either. All week we were catching fish about 22-23 inches. All the fish combined were averaging 26-27. That's a decent schoolie. Dave had at least three that were very close to keeper size that were within an inch of 28 inches.

While we were into these fish, Dave hoked a decent one. Three seconds later so did I. We had doubles of nice fish at the same time. Dave took at least five minutes to land his. I was using my trout rod ( still hoping to land a keeper on six pound test). I knew I had on a decent fish. After about 10 minutes, I finally saw it. It was absolutely a keeper and not a skinny little 28 incher.  This fish had shoulders. After another 10 minutes, with Dave's help with the net, I landed it. It was a hefty 30-31 inch long fish. Dave's fish was also a keeper ( I call them keepers, but we let them all go). We had to get a picture of that ( see below). That was the highlight, but after we let these fish go we still caught a few more nice fish. What a night!!! 

Best night striper fishing in two years



Its clear the reason I had such a great night fishing was because I was wearing my Catch-M- ALL hat

 Tonight I went fishing in upper Narragansett Bay. I had the best night striper fishing I have had in a couple years. I caught 12 stripers. I fished about 2 1/2 hours. I caught all of the fish on four inch zoom flukes on 1/4 ounce jigs. None of the fish were huge. I'd say the biggest I landed was about 23 inches. Most were in the low 20 inch range. I was fishing with my friend Dave, he also landed about 12 fish. A couple other guys were fishing, I saw them catch a few fish. I think at least 30 fish were caught tonight.

  I was using my freshwater trout rod. In current, using a six foot trout rod with 6 pound line every fish was a challenge. I want to catch a keeper striper on the little rod. Its just a personal goal of mine. Its quite a challenge to catch a decent striper on it. The reel is good and it has a smooth drag. The main problem I have is getting a nick in the line. If I get even the tiniest nick  then hook a striper, the six pound test snaps like a twig. I had three fish break me off tonight. I'm sure two of them were not that big. The other felt like a decent fish, but I don't think it was a keeper. It's kind of tough using such light tackle. To be honest I'd like to switch to my schoolie rod after  I catch a keeper on the trout rod. However, I think the light line helps me get more hits than some of the other guys. It seems that some nights the stripers are spooked by the heavier line. So I haven't decided if my trout rod has become my new winter schoolie rod.

I hope to get back fishing again in a couple days. With fishing this hot, its going to be tough not going. It goes without saying ( although I'm saying it) that this was the first time I wore my Catch-M-All hat while fishing and caught 12 fish, I will be wearing it next time and the time after that. Why mess with a good thing!!  http://www.catchthemallnh.blogspot.com/2011/11/support-catch-m-all-store.html

Going into Hermit Mode...maybe

Usually, I stop consistently fishing for the winter around mid November. I still hit the Providence River a couple of times after that. I will fish the river until I have a couple of skunkings and then give up for a month or two. Typically I don't do much of anything during the months of mid November until mid March. Last year, with all the snow and cold, I really became a hermit. Even writing my blog, I kind of went on hiatus until March.  For the most part my free time in the winter consists of going to the movies, catching up on Netflix, and getting gear ready for the following year. I use the time to recharge my batteries and relax. I normally enjoy my movie time until mid February. At that point I go to the fishing expo in Worcester. That's when I get a bad case of cabin fever. Its at that point I am ready for spring to hurry up and arrive.

This year, if you have been reading, I have been out a lot. I fished more this December than all other Decembers of my 37 years. I went trout fishing with Jeff at Little Pond. I fished the Providence River a few times sometimes doing well, sometimes striking out. I went carp fishing in New Hampshire with Dave, Clay and Todd. I even caught a couple carp with Dave a few days ago.

The last two days have brought 15 degree temperatures and snow to North Attleboro, MA. It has been a pleasant winter so far. This was the first real snow we've had since the freak storm in October. I had this weekend off from work. For the first time all year, I did not have any desire or plans to go fishing. Instead I went to the movies. Saturday while it was snowing DJ and I braved 40 mph speed on Route 295 and made our way to Cinema World. We went to two movies. We saw Underworld ( kicked ass) and Red Tails ( also awesome!). After we got home DJ went to his girlfriends house. I caught up on tv shows on hulu ( mostly Saturday Night Live from this season and I watched a Man vs. Wild).

I guess what I am saying is that I think I'm going into Hermit mode two months behind my normal schedule. I would normally be watching two movies a night on Netflix by December 1. This year I was fishing December first. I am not sure if I need a couple months of boredom to " recharge my batteries" I do know I am going to the fishing expo February 10. Thats only three weeks away. I am sure I will be itching for trout to be stocked, stripers to arrive and New Hampshire trails to be mud free after the expo.

Even closer in time, this week is going to be warm. Monday is going to be 46 degrees. By Tuesday the place I caught the carp will be ice free because there is a river bed running right near shore. It will be fishable all week and daytime highs will be in the 40's. I think I would rather go carp fishing for a couple hours than sit home and watch movies. So I don't know, maybe I'm not the winter hermit I used to be. I'll probably give carp and stripers a try this week.

Product Review Number 2- Dry Bags

Today's product review isn't a review of a brand. It is a review of a useful item that I recently discovered. Drybags are a very useful thing to have around if you camp, hike or fish. As the name suggests a dry bag is a piece of equipment that keeps your gear dry. They are completely waterproof so you do not have to worry about a three hundred dollar camera accidentally getting wet while it is in it.  Somehow in all my years outdoors, I had never heard of one until my trip out west in the summer of 2010. I assume they have been around for many years. Also, considering Bass Pro Shops is my church I can't believe I had never seen one.

A hike through Zion Narrows guarantees you and your gear will get wet

During my vacation, we took a hike in to Zion Canyon in Zion National Park. The "hike" is really a walk through the river. In very few places can you walk along the shoreline because of the steepness of the canyon walls. In most places you can walk in the shallows. There is a enough deep holes where swimming is your only option. You can't see into the water because of all the silt so it is a guarantee that you will trip and fall. What I am saying is getting wet is a 100%  possibility. This was also a dream hike for us. I wanted to remember it and get pictures. We rented studded water boots a walking stick and a dry bag. In the dry bag we stuffed the camera, lunch and a sweatshirt. It kept everything dry. I was so impressed I vowed to buy one for the 2011 season.

I bought one at Bass Pro Shops this spring. I have to say I already got my money's worth out of it. I use it all the time. Most of the time I keep my camera in it. It is a great thing to have. I fish a sand bar in Narragansett Bay all the time. Sometimes waves from barges going into Providence will go right over your head even on a glass calm day. I never used to bring my camera out there for fear of wrecking it. The fishing can be great out there, its tough to catch some really nice fish and not get a picture. Now I don't have that problem.

I put the camera and my phone in the dry bag when I'm fishing from my kayak and canoe. When its in the bag, I don't have to worry about water dripping down the paddle on it. I also have piece of mind that I won't loose it/ruin it if I flip over.  It is also great to have when it is raining or the chance of rain is high. I'd never bring my camera fishing or hiking with me in a rainstorm before. Now that I have the bag, I take the camera out for a quick pic then put it away.

I am sure there are many good brands of dry bags. Mine is a Bass Pro Shops one that was on clearance. This particular one is no longer for sale. That's why this is a " product review" and not a "brand review".  They range in size from just big enough for a wallet and car keys to at least 55 liters. Those big ones would be great for storing camping gear ( tent, food, sleeping bag, dry clothes) on a canoe trip down a river. I do intend on buying one soon. Mine is a ten liter. My camera gets dwarfed in one that size. However, that leaves me plenty of room for a sweatshirt sweatpants and lunch if I want to add them.

As for price, obviously the bigger the bag the more you will pay. The smaller ones like mine are about $15-20. The bigger ones depending on brand will run you $25-50. I have noticed the Bas Pro and Cabelas brands are cheaper than other brands. My Bass Pro one has taken a beating and still works great. I would recommend you get the heavy duty bags. Although I've never tried them, I wouldn't use the " lightweight" ones. It seems to risky to me to trust an expensive camera or phone to lightweight material that is more easily punctured.

In case your wondering  how they work it is simple. You put your stuff in the bag. Then you fold the top three times tightly. You then clip the two sides together so they opening is tucked under the folds. You don't have to worry about a seal opening like a ziplock or water to seep in if you tie a bag closed.

There you have it, thats review number two. I have to say the bag has already paid for itself. Maybe everyone who is reading this already owns one. Maybe I'm just an idiot for not knowing about them until two years ago. Either way, having I'm glad I bought one this spring. Just having the camera safe from the elements has made it worth it.

The bag can be a little bulky but I would never have gotten this picture without it.

My first January carp!!!

Last night I got a call from my friend Dave who invited me to go carp fishing with him today. I cheerfully excepted. I've said before, time goes by much faster in the cold when you have someone to talk too. I  got up a little late today, but made it to our predetermined destination for the predetermined time of 10 AM.

When I got there Dave said that he wasn't sure if we'd get any. I explained I was there just for fun. Any actual fish caught would be a HUGE BONUS. Catching any warm water fish in January is a crap shoot. I sure as hell wouldn't feel disappointed if I didn't get any. Besides I was fishing with a " professional" so I know going in that he is much more likely to catch the fish if only one is caught.  We baited up. We were both using sweet corn fished behind a method ball wrapped around the sinker.

We waited and waited and waited for only about 40 minutes ( tricked ya, didn't I ) before I got the first run. In real cold water carp along with most fish get sluggish.  They are usually slower and instead of a series of runs, its usually a series of taps.  Not this fish. It took off like a bullet. After I set the hook it actually jumped out of the water. I rarely if ever saw that from a carp, nevermind on January 13! I have to say the carp put quite a show on, between the screaming run, the jump then another roll on the surface, both Dave and I were impressed. The fish was somewhere around 9-10 pounds. I let it go after a couple pictures.

A few mintues later I hooked another fish. Dave grabbed the net again. Just as he was saying that I "had the hot hand" his rod took off. We couldn't believe it DOUBLES!!! I landed my fish quickly and took it out of the net and left the hook in. I ran over with the net and landed Dave's fish. Both were about the exact same size. Maybe 8 pounds. We both had smiles. Nothing better than two fish on at the same time. I unhooked my fish, Dave got a picture. He unhooked his carp and I took a picture for him. Like he said if you told anyone about today who knows about carp fishing " they would never believe it."

After that, the fish settled down. Dave landed a sucker. I've been wanting to catch a sucker for a year so I'm going to have to fish that spot again. We left at 1 PM. Three carp for this time of year is excellent. Also considering how feisty they were  made it that much more fun. What a day!

Carpe Carp

My boys from Catch- them-All wrote an article in "The Wire" a newspaper out of Portsmouth, NH about our wild carp chase a couple weeks ago. Its a fun read. It was all the elements of a Shakespearean tragedy. Great characters ( Dave, Clay, and Todd). The protagonist ( me- okay I'm not a protagonist, but I was the " expert carp guy expected to bring luck to our quest). It also has a good deal of humor.Sadly it was tragic, because after about 25 hours of combined fishing, all the carp remained safely in the Merrimack River.

Check it out- Clay and Dave are good writers and they are always funny.

 www.wirenh.com/outside-mainmenu-14/31-outside-general/5447-carpe-carp.html

Dear Mr. Bluefish,

I am writing this letter to you beacause I respect you and feel you deserve fair warning about my intentions. We have known each other for about 11 years now. I first met you at South Cape Beach. Since then I have had respect for you and based on your hard fighting ability, you for me. Although it is true that I have kept a few of you, for the most part I have let go most of your brothers and sisters. I along with most fishermen find you to be oily, my son however prefers you to striped bass on his dinner plate, you should take that up with him.

I confess there have been times when I try to avoid you like when I am using eels or plastic shads. There have been times when I sought you out and looked forward to your company. Usually that was when the peanut bunker were in the bay.  I thank you for not visiting when I was casting eels in Narragansett and I thank you for letting me meet so many of your family during a blitz at Kings Beach, Newport a few years ago.

For the most part we have gotten along very well. I have not killed many of you and in return you have avoided many of my eels. I only kept two of your relatives all year, both on the same day. The first was because I wanted to try smoked bluefish so I kept a big one in October. About an hour later Jeff caught one that inhaled a big plug deep into its gills. The next day I smoked them.

That is where the problem will start between us. I have never liked eating you, so when I hook you I am more than happy to let you go. You fight so valiantly anyway, it only seems fair. The problem is you are ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS smoked. I dehydrated you in the oven, using liquid smoke, brown sugar, and spices. It was one of the finest things I have ever eaten. I would eat a couple pieces a day after work as a treat. After lunch all I could think about was the fish in my refridgerator.

 As you know I do not enjoy killing fish. I feel bad about it. I fish for the pleasure of catching fish. I will keep some trout, and the occasional striper or fluke that swallow the hook. When I keep fish its to eat fish, I get no pleasure out of the killing. I do it as quickly as possible so there is little suffering.

 You were so delicious I ask you not to tempt me. I give you fair warning and ask you not to bite my bait or lure. If I catch one small harbor blue, you are probably safe. I'm not going to use 3 hours worth of propane in my oven to smoke one small fish. However, if I catch a big one or start catching three, four or five of you, I do not think I will be able to fight the urge. Smoked bluefish is one of the best things I have ever eaten. Although I will get no pleasure out of killing you, I will get tons of pleasure eating you.

So there you have it my friend. I fear our relationship is going to take a turn for the bloody. Try to avoid me as best you can. I used to be Dr. Jekyl to you but please consider me Mr. Hyde from now on.
Good luck, I hope your enjoying your winter in southern waters. Remember when you come back up the Rhode Island coast, be careful.

Good Luck and Godspeed to you

Sincerely,

Nick Pacelli

Goals for 2012

Last year I only set three goals for myself. As you saw they were:
1. Catch 50 trout
2. Only keep one striper
3. Do not use eels for bait.

I will probably stick to the last two again this year. I can't guarantee I won't use any eels or only keep one striper, but I will be conservation minded and keep both to a minimum. As for catching 50 trout, that was much easier than I thought it would be. I caught 224 last year. I am not going to try to reach 250 or any other number this year. Whatever happens happens. I enjoy trout fishing, but I do not want to give up a good striper tide just to pad stats.

So over the last few days I came up with some goals this year. As I was writing them down they kept coming to me. It was nice having only three last year, but since I branched out and attempted to catch many species this year, I have more goals for the future. At the end of the year I will come back and revisit them and see if I was successful  or if I fail

Here they are in no particular order:

1. Catch a twenty pound carp ( the biggest I caught this year was 17 pounds)

2. Camp at Shawme Crowell ( campground down the Cape open all year )in the spring and trout fish all weekend

3. Fish Ethan and /or Shoal ponds for remote wild trout experience.

4. Fish Nickerson State Park

5. Go to Acadia National Park for vacation in June

6. Wachusetts Reservoir
                Fish for lakers in April
                Fish for smallmouth and rock bass in May
                Do not fish Wachusetts in the fall when I could be striper fishing

7. Go to New Hampshire as often as possible

8. Try to fund my fishing habit through magazine articles, selling old stuff, anything other than my work pay check.

9. Try again for false albacore in late summer.

10. Catch a carp on a fly.

End of the Year Review Part 3 Daytrips, Wildlife, Movies, and New Hampshire, Miscellaneous Roled into one

I spent most of the year fishing. I did very little actual bird watching or wildlife viewing.  I did manage to do some daytrips. Many of those were all day fishing adventures. I will not write about them here since they were taken care of in the last two posts. Looking back on this year, I have to say it was one of the most fun of my life. Not the best, but there were no deaths in my family. There were no disasters, I got my job back, and all in all no stresses in my life other than day to day worries we all have.

I did not go on any actual vacations this year. I was never away from home more than 2 nights at a time. I hope next year to go on a real vacation. I did make it to New Hampshire for five overnight trips. I have to say I had an absolute blast up there. My heart actually starts beating faster and I get so excited when I know I'm going to NH the next day.Without further adue, here is my year in a nutshell...

Wildlife:
Believe it or not I did not go bird watching once all year. Every chance I had, I chose fishing instead.  The only " life animal " I saw were fish. I did not see any new birds, mammals, or reptiles. The fish were the some of the same ones I caught new ( tiger trout, lake trout, rock bass). I also saw a wild salmon in a river. So I guess I saw 4 life animals, but only fish.

I keep track of how many deer, moose, eagles, bear and turkeys I see every year. Its fun to compare year to year. Here are my totals form this year and last ( only from New England for 2010 not western vacation).

Species       2011     2010
Deer             12         8
Moose          3           1
Eagle            1            0
Turkey          38         5
Bear               0           0 (None in New England)

I saw way more than 38 turkeys this year. I probably saw more than 100. However, I saw birds in the same areas many times. They were most likely from the same flocks. I didn't count them more than once. I probably saw turkeys almost once a week. I saw the eagle at Wachusetts Reservoir. The moose in New Hampshire. Surprisingly I only saw 8 deer with all the driving I did.

Daytrips:
I did 28 daytrips this year. Some of them were all day fishing trips. Again I won't waste your time with these. I do consider concerts and baseball games as daytrips. However, I didn't go to any concerts this year. I only went to two baseball games. Both were to watch Chris Pickering pitch in the Cape Cod Baseball League. I write about these daytrips to give you ideas, or if you have any questions about directions, admission or what to do let me know.

Laurie and I went to Castle Island in Boston. It was a rainy day but what a pretty place that juts into Boston Harbor. Laurie, DJ and myself went to Stars on Ice.  June 30/ July 1 We took Amber on her first ever camping trip at George Washington State Forest. The next day DJ and I went kayaking in salt water and saw sea turtles. Also in July, we went to Franklin Park Zoo.  I went blue crabbing about 5 times. It was fun getting muddy and wet.  Sept 3 we went to Crescent Park Carousel. Lastly, on Wednesday for Amber's Christmas present we went to Disney on Ice.

I went to 35 movies.
The best movies of the year were:  
50/50,   Dolphin Tale, Harry Potter, Crazy Stupid Love
Funniest movie was Bridesmaids, second funniest was The Change Up,
Best comic book movie  was Thor

New Hampshire:

I will spare you all the details about my New Hampshire trips. I already wrote about them, so this will be a quick summary. I went five times. The first was Memorial Day weekend, the last in September.
I caught 84 brookies and 1 rainbow trout.  I did catch some wild trout.
We hiked two mountains, Jackson and Cannon. We also did a hike to Arethusa Falls.  I saw three moose. One highlight was seeing tons of lady slippers. We even saw a couple white ones. I love NH and plan on making many trips next year.

End of the Year Review Part 2 All Fish not trout

In the last post I reviewed my trout fishing this year. In this post my goal is to review all other fish without making it as long as  War and Piece.

Fishing:
At the end of last year I set three goals for myself.

1. I would only eat one striper. I wouldn't keep any more no matter how big.
2. I would not use eels for bait.
3. I wanted to catch 50 trout.

How did I do:
1. I only kept one striper. It was 31 inches. Delicious but I let all the other keepers go to fight another day.
2. I used two eels. There was one night I was alone in Narragansett and I wanted to catch a keeper. I bought two eels. I did catch a keeper. So I failed but considering in the old days I bought 6 each outing, two for the year is pretty good.
3. I caught 224 trout.

I caught four species of fish this year I had never caught
Lake Trout
Rock Bass
Brown Trout
Tiger Trout

I ended up catching 27 species of fish. I am reasonably sure that I caught more species than I ever had.

Brown Trout, Brook Trout, Tiger Trout, Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout
Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Rock Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Pumpkinseed
Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead, White Catfish, Carp, Eel
Yellow Perch, White Perch, Pickerel, Golden Shiner
Stripers, Bluefish, Fluke, Scup, Menhaden, Silversides, Sea Robin

( I snagged the menhaden and scooped up the silversides with my hand- there were millions)

As  usual there are fish I could have caught but  for one reason or another did not. I only ran into hickory shad once. I hooked one but it came off at my feet. I love catching them, wish I did this year. I could have gone American shad fishing but never went to the Indianhead River. Saltwater fishing I could have caught skates, tatoug and possible dogfish if I used bait on the bottom. I wanted to catch a sucker but they never hit my line. I fished in a lot of places that have them. I tried once for a red breasted sunfish in NH but couldn't find any. Lastly I never caught any chubs while trout fishing in NH.

Without question, the hardest fish to catch was the lake trout. I put it in this post instead of the trout post. Although a trout, its not like the stocked hatchery fish. Lake trout are wild and methods for catching them are a lot different than for stockies. I never had to work so hard in my life to catch a first of a species.

This year was different for me than most years that I fish a lot. I usually only fish for stripers and carp. This year obviously I put in a ton of time trout fishing. Also though I took a lot of time from stripers and carp fishing for other species. DJ and I went at least six times fishing for small fish like sunfish and perch and three times catfishing

I went to Wachusetts Reservoir at least five times looking for salmon, lake trout, rock bass and smallmouth. I did terrible there, but I did catch all but the salmon. It took a lot of work, but I landed a lake trout. I knew going up that catching fish from shore would be difficult in a 4000 acre lake. I used each time as a learning experience. Even though I came home frustrated more times than not I never lost my resolve to catch fish form there.

Carp-
Last year I had a terrible year fishing for a carp. I was not only a jinx to myself but also to everyone else I was with. Luckily, that ended this year. As long as I stayed away from Hopping Hill I usually caught a couple. I did not catch any giants, my big fish was 17 pounds ( actually two that size). One of them was a mirror carp beating my previous personal best by almost four pounds.  All in all, it was a decent year. If I don't count all the wasted trips to Hopping Hill and pretend they didn't happen, I would say this year deserves a B for a grade.

Stripers- " You should have been here yesterday" That was the story of my fall. I only caught a couple of keepers but I only targeted them a few times. During the spring I got blanked very few times, however I never ran into big numbers. I think my best night was five.

The best thing about my striper season was I learned a lot of new spots. You would think that after fishing for so many years I would have fished everywhere I was going to fish. Not so... I learned more spots this year than every year since my first one surfcasting. Some spots were obvious. I never fished the West Wall for albies until this year ( still haven't caught one). Dave showed me a spring high tide spot in downtown Providence and a November high tide spot in Narragansett. Jeff showed me a spot to put in my kayak in Pawtucket only 15 minutes from home. DJ and I kayaked the Palmer River in July, if ever there was a fishy looking piece of water to try next year, that is it.
Striper grade C-

Everything not stripers, carp or trout summarized.

To make this quick- When I was not fishing for the above three fish and not at Wachusett I had a lot of fun. DJ and I caught tons of perch, bass, pickerel and crappie from the canoe the five or so times we  went freshwater fishing. When I went white catfishing I caught them. We fished the Charles River one night, we had nonstop action for yellow bullheads and eels. In saltwater I caught scup and fluke the two times I tried for them.  Although I only bass fished a couple times, catfished three times, scup fished twice and panfished five times I did great each time. Thats a total of about 12 fishing trips. Gotta give an A grade for those outings.

Report Card
Trout                 A+
Carp                  B
Stripers             C-
All other fish     A
Lastly, When it came to fishing this year I spent way more time fishing with other people than I normally do. I enjoy fishing alone, I don't get bored and sometimes I prefer the freedom for making decisions for myself ( should I stay, go to another spot, keep fishing in the rain, etc...). I won't pretend that I didn't enjoy the company this year.

DJ went fishing with me about 10 times this year. He is not much of a fan of fishing but he likes fly fishing and fishing for panfish. He had a good year. He caught a couple stripers on the fly rod. The first saltwater fish on a fly rod for either of us. Luckily my friend Dave had his camera He also kicked my ass every time we went out in the canoe for perch and crappie. DJ and I also went catfishing together three times. The most memorable was fishing in the pouring rain. It did not start raining until we got to the lake. Then the sky opened up. We caught some cats but I'm not sure it was worth it.

Jeff H. and I became close friends. We fished together almost every time I went to the ocean.  We each caught our first lake trout on the same day. We both fished in a lightning storm because we could not walk away from two pound scup on every cast. I was with him when he caught his first ever carp. We suffered through some very bad striper fishing this summer. Worse we suffered from the " you should have been here yesterday" syndrome all fall. Luckily we had some great nights fishing. We fished for huge scup one night also landing a fluke and a bluefish.  We also caught our largest blues ever the same day. There were some gorilla blues at an inlet we were fishing and we caught some monsters


I also made friends up in New Hampshire, with Clay and Dave. I fished with Clay once in June. He, along with his best friend Dave run a blog in NH called www.catchthemallnh.blogspot.com  They are trying to catch and eat every fish species in NH. I have to admit I was inspired to see how many fish species I could catch this year because of them. Since Clay and I fished together we have kept in touch ever since. He has the same passion as me, wanting to learn everything he can about a fish not just catch it. December 30 I fished again with Clay and met Dave and another guy named Todd. We unsuccessfully carp fished but had a few laughs.

I fished with Dave Pickering more this year than I normally do. He was fishing a lake right near where I work a lot so we made plans to fish a few times. As usual I owe him for a lot of fish I've caught. Although I have drastically cut down on the emails full of questions he did show me a few spots I'd never fished. We also saved me a lot of gas. I called him a few mornings to find out if the ocean was fishable. He saved me at least three or four wasted trips. We have been friends for many years. It goes without saying, I have caught many fish because of what I have learned from him.



My thanks to all of you

Trout Fishing 2011 End of the year Review

 Each year on the blog I do an end of the year review. Although technically we have started the New Year, I wrote them out about December 26, however with the NH carp fishing and the Providence hat trick, I wanted to wait until I wasn't doing anything fun before I posted them. I will do the review in three posts, trout, all other fishing, and lastly daytrips and animal watching. This year while trying to figure out a format I realized I spent so much time trout fishing. Since I have how/ when/where  in list form I think trout should get their own post.
Like I've said before each year seems to end up having its own theme www.southernnewenglandoutdoors.blogspot.com/2010/12/themes.html
Whether it be baseball, bird watching or saltwater fishing, it seems each year is special for their own memories. I think it goes without saying this year had two themes. Trout fishing and going to New Hampshire were my main focuses this year.

I was keeping a log of all my fishing trips this year on the computer. I never missed writing how I did. When my computer crashed over the summer, they had to clear my hard drive. I lost all that info. The only fish I know exactly how many I caught are trout because I was keeping track on the blog.

By April 30 of this year, I spent more time trout fishing than I had in all my previous years combined. I ended up with a total of 224 trout. Last year I caught a few during the spring, I didn't count but probably 35 or so. Then out west we trout fished five different days. We had one crazy day where we caught 30 a piece in about two hours. This year I trout fished into June in MA/RI. Then when the weather got warm I went to New Hampshire five times ( more on that in next post). I enjoy doing breakdowns of when/where/ how I caught my trout. It is fun for me to look back and see patterns.

224 trout

Rainbows                                          131
Browns                                                  4
Brookies                                                1
Tigers                                                    4
New Hampshire Brookies                   84

Ways they were caught

Fly Rod                        78
Casting Bubbly/Fly      21
Spoon                           55
Roostertail                    15
Worms                          13
Shiner                             2
Powerbait                      37
Sha Body/Jighead            1

Number of places caught

Mass/ Rhode Island lakes          6
New Hampshire Lakes              6
New Hampshire Rivers             2

Most I caught in a day:

Caught 20 in one hour at Echo Lake
Caught 19 one day at Fearings Pond

Lake I caught the most

Falls Pond 45

Without question my favorite way to catch a trout is fly fishing. My least favorite way is using powerbait. Its boring and trout usually swallow the hook. Many times I cut my line sacrificing the hook instead of the fish.  As you can also see using a spoon is very effective.

Interestingly I caught 8 trout this fall that were holdovers that survived the summer. I know we had a seasonably cool summer but trout may be tougher than I give them credit for.

I did not get out to the wild trout lakes. I did however catch some wild trout. I caught a couple of really small trout in Profile Lake. They do successfully spawn in the little brook. I also caught some fishing with Clay in June. Most wild trout are small but thier color and beauty make up for the small size.

I had a streak of catching a trout on 31 consecutive outings. I caught 5 fish that I would consider trophy trout. Two that were at least three pounds,the other three were over 16 inches. If I could grade the trout fishing I experienced this year, I would give it an A+