End of the Year Review Part 1 Goals Reached/ Goals not reached

It is the time of the year again where we all look back at the year that passed by much too quickly and look ahead to the New Year and wonder what it has in store for us. For me, writing this post is one of my favorite things to write. It is my way to remember highs and lows from my year. That said, I am a pretty positive person, so I quickly wash away bad memories and look back on the good ones fondly. Maybe more than I should, I look back as much as look forward. That is why I keep a journal, take a lot of pictures and write some boring posts on this blog.

All that said, looking back is part of who I am. I enjoy checking to see if I achieved my goals and reliving old adventures through writing. So part one of my end of the year review just like last year will be a recap of my goals I set for myself last year and if I reached them. Below is the original list I wrote last year around January 1, 2013

1 Go to the Museum of Fine Arts.

2. Catch a tatoug. I don’t think I have ever caught one. I am pretty sure I fished for them once when I was 5 years old. I think about giving it a try but never do.

3. Fish Beach Pond for walleye at least once.

4. Fish for bowfin. Apparently a couple places in Massachusetts have them. I’d like to give them a try.

5. Go to New Hampshire as often as I can (reoccurring goal)

6. Catch 50 winter stripers (Dec 1-March 1). If I reach this goal try catch 50 from Jan1-March 1.

7. Hike to and fish Ethan Pond for wild trout.

8. Continue to help fund my fishing habit by writing fishing articles. (Reoccurring goal)

9. Try for lakers at Wachusetts Reservoir in April. Stay away from Wachusetts in the fall. (Fish for stripers in the fall) (Reoccurring goal)

10. Try to do tons of trout fishing in March and April so I can concentrate on stripers, smallmouth, and carp in May.

11. Either go surfing or paddle boarding at least once.

12. Catch a 40 inch striper.

13. Sleep outside once during the winter. Shawme Crowell Campground is open year round.

Here is how I did. I reached 10 of the 13 Goals. As you will see below, I didn't sleep outside, surf, or

 

1.      I did go to the MFA on February 20. I love that place, there are just so many cool things to see.

2.      I did catch one tatoug about 12-14 inches at Fort Whetherill. I have no idea how it found my bait with all the cunner around.

3.      I tried for walleye at Beach Pond but was unsuccessful in my bid to catch one.

4.      Fish for bowfin- I not only fished for them but actually caught one. This is one of my favorite memories this year. I wonder how many people in MA caught a bowfin. I bet it’s less than a handful.

5.       I went to New Hampshire 5 times. This seems to be about the average number of times I can go in a year.

6.      Catch 50 Wintertime stripers from Dec 2012-March 1 2013. If I reach 50, try to get 50 in the first two months of 2013.  I caught about 100 in those three months. In January I caught 61 and Feb I caught 9. I would have caught a lot more in Dec 2012, but I was laid up with an injury for the first two weeks while guys were catching 10-30 a night. Still I achieved both goals so I am very satisfied.

7.      Hike to Ethan Pond for wild trout. I finally made it to Ethan Pond. The bad news was the wind was howling at 30+ mph so casting a fly rod was near impossible. Nice hike, I will be back again.

8.      Fund my fishing habit by writing articles. I wrote quite a few articles for “The Fisherman”. I enjoy writing the money is just icing on the cake.

9.       I only went to Wachusetts a couple times this year. I never catch much of anything but the place draws me like a moth to a flame. I always think “what if” or “next time”. I always see eagles or loons.

10.  Try to do a lot of trout fishing in the early spring. Although it didn't feel like I went trout fishing a lot, I went the exact same number of times as last year. Early spring was far colder this year than in 2012, so I caught less trout. The point of fishing for trout early in the year was so I could carp fish more in the later spring. In that case this goal was a success. I didn't do much smallie fishing this spring but that was due to success with carp as opposed to fishing for trout.

11.  Either go surfing or paddle boarding. Nope I looked into rental for paddle boards. It was way more than I was willing to spend. I also wasn’t willing to spend $400-600 to buy one with a perfectly good kayak at home.



Released without a measurement
Around 40 inches

12.  Catch a 40 inch striper- I caught one really big striper this fall. I didn’t measure it; it could have been 40 inches or just shy. Either way I’m calling this one a win for a couple reasons. I caught a 40 inch striper a few years ago I had weighed that went 22 pounds. The fish I caught this year was closer to 30 pounds. So it was bigger by at least 6-8 pounds if not longer. Also it is the largest striper I have ever let swim away, a fact for which I am very proud.

13.  Sleep outside during the winter- It didn’t happen, no excuses.

End of the Year Review Part 2- Fishing

Obviously when I write a review of my year, fishing is its own topic. I had a decent year fishing but to

be completely honest it was not as good as 2012. I caught some big fish, but I did not catch as many fish of most species as I did last year.
I actually kept track of the number of days I fished this year. This is the first year I have done that.  I went on 165 different days. To be honest I thought two hundred would have been more like it. The two months that I fished the least were February and June. I only went six times each of those two months. February was awful for stripers so I didn’t go much to save gas money. June, I am sure is surprising. When I got home from Niagara Falls I sat home after work for almost two weeks doing next to nothing.

I caught 27 species of fish this year.

Largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, black crappie, bluegill, red breasted sunfish, pumpkinseed sunfish, carp, golden shiner, common shiner, fallfish, brown bullhead, yellow bullhead, white catfish, brown trout, brook trout, rainbow trout, pickerel, white sucker, yellow perch, white perch, bowfin, striped bass, bluefish, cunner, hickory shad, scup, tatoug

red breasted sunfish

I caught three species I had never caught before; bowfin and red breasted sunfish, tautog

Notable species that I did not catch that I have caught other years include eel, fluke, sea robin, tiger trout, landlocked salmon, lake trout, false albacore, I did not snag a menhaden which is legal.

Species that I specifically targeted but did not catch are northern pike, eel, walleye, golden trout, alligator gar (Florida)

Around September 1 I noticed I had caught 24species of fish. I then put in an honest effort to catch 30. Unfortunately it was too little too late. I have never caught thirty in the same year. I caught a golden shiner at a pond near Wachusett but couldn’t get a laker or salmon. I went out for eels twice, both times catching a ton of bullheads, but not an eel. False Albacore did not show up near shore so I lost out on them. I did get a white perch to get species #26.  Then I caught some hickory shad for #27. In Florida I thought catching a shellcracker would be easy, but I did not come across them. I did not hook the gar that ripped the head of my shiner off.

Here is a rundown of the fish I target a lot.

Carp-

I had a great year fishing for carp. I caught a personal best mirror and a personal best common. Both were 26 pounds. Besides that I caught numerous fish over 15 pounds and a decent amount of

twenty pounders. I had a couple nights of catching a whole bunch of small carp in the early fall. The only negative was the streak of five skunkings in a row during the hot spell in July. It would be impossible to ever grade carp fishing an A+ because there are just so many slow days. All things considered two personal bests and May was so good I blew off stripers, I would give carp fishing for the year an A

Ice Fishing

2013 was the first year I went ice fishing in twenty years. I immediately fell in love with it. I jigged a few times early in the year and twice during December. I can't give a grade on how I di since I am still pretty raw. I caught one large largemouth. Since I was targeting panfish the bass was a nice surprise. I caught a lot of panfish during a couple of hot sessions. I absolutely love ice fishing.

Stripers

I really did blow off some striper evenings this spring to go carp fishing. Consequently, I did not catch as many stripers as I could have. During the summer I don’t waste my time fishing for them because there are better options. This fall was not very good overall, yet when I went fishing for them, they were usually around. More luck than anything, but none the less, I did catch fish making my hour drive to Narragansett worth it. I missed the first two weeks of November since I was in Florida. I did catch a fish around 40 inches, not a monster but a quality fish.   

B-

Trout

I know this is a pattern but I carp fished a lot during the spring on days I could have been trout

fishing.  I caught 119 trout. I caught them in 23 outings. That averages out to 5.4/trip. Last year I also went trout fishing 22 times. I caught 221 fish for an average of ten fish. So basically, I found twice as many fish an outing last year. This would seem to be like a terrible drop off. One day in New Hampshire last year I caught 53 trout in one day then another 27 the next. So if I take away those two days, the numbers are similar. March was also much colder and snowier than last year, so the fish were active earlier in the spring in 2012. Still I didn’t have too many great days this year. I had two days that I caught twenty fish, those were my high days.

B-

  Bass

I fished a lot for both largemouth and smallmouth this year. During the early spring I fished a lot in my kayak. During the late summer I walked the shoreline of a reservoir many evenings. I had some good nights and some bad nights. The biggest bass I caught was a smallmouth in New Hampshire about 18 inches.  Bass fishing was more of an afterthought, just something to do close to home.

C

Besides the carp fishing, fishing was only okay. I didn’t seem to have as many great days as last year. I think part of that is my fault. If I go fishing six times in the same week, but its two nights each carp, trout, and striper fishing then I can’t really get into a rhythm. If I striper fished six days in a row in May it would be easier to get a pulse on where the big numbers are.  Fishing for multiple species is part of who I am though.

As for the ocean, I think the big storms last fall brought huge numbers of stripers into Narragansett Bay. I caught over 200 in November alone. This year I didn’t come anywhere that number.

On a note that has nothing to do with me, bluefish were non existant this year. I only caught one in all the times I fished the ocean. I know two guys that fished over 100 times in the surf and between the two of them they caught less than FIVE all year. I don’t know what is going on with them but they were nowhere to be found.

Normally I keep track of deer, eagles, moose, bear and turkeys I see each year. I did not keep a formal count this year. I do know I saw well over 100 turkeys. Far fewer deer than normal, maybe 5-7. Laurie saw a bear. I saw an eagle in New Hampshire and a couple at Wachusett.

Winter Opinion Pieces are back!!! Carp fishermen are spoiled by Size

Carp are one of the few species of fish in New England that an angler has a good chance of catching 

This little 2 1/2 pound carp was a worthy adversary on light
tackle. So much so it deserved its picture taken before
being released

a trophy almost every time out if they fish the right spots. If you think about other species of gamefish chances of catching a big one on any given day are fairly slim. I think many people would agree a large bass is five pounds and a true trophy, over seven. How many does an average fishermen get of those a year. Maybe a couple five pounders and a career best of seven or eight pounds. Pike fishermen in southern New England will ice fish all winter for a couple fish over ten pounds. Trout fishermen chasing stockies will catch very few trout over 18 inches. Stripers over 20 pounds are certainly out there, but from shore, you really have to put time in to get one.

Carp on the other hand can grow to large sizes.  Another advantage to carp is in most ponds they are all almost the same size. Some lakes they will all be 4-8 pounds, other lakes they can be between 18-22 pounds. In those lakes it is rare to catch one under 15 pounds. Where are the small ones? Beats me. Very few carp lakes seem to have all sizes from juvenile to trophy.  Most places seem to have a very small size range. Unlike largemouth bass where you might have to catch 100 fish to get a six pounder, with carp it’s a matter of fishing locations that have carp of large average size. To catch a fifteen pound carp, you simply have to know what you’re doing and fish a lake that has fifteen pounders. Chances are, most carp you catch will be that size without wading through 14 inchers.

What is considered a trophy is a matter of opinion. Some guys think they elusive thirty pound barrier is the holy grail. Some guys think 25 is a big fish. Some think twenty is a trophy.  Rhode Island DEM considers a 15 pounder a big fish. Whatever your standard, an argument could be made for each. I’m sure largemouth bass fishermen new to the carp world would be thrilled with the ten to fifteen pound fish.  

Here in lies how quickly carp fishermen can be spoiled by size. Most guys new to the sport want to graduate up quickly to monster proportions. They think now that they caught a quality 18 pound fish, they need a twenty then a twenty five and up. I am one hundred percent for catching big fish. I love catching big ones as much as the next person, but if your whole goal is to break your personal best every time out or to hit the next multiple of five, then your trivializing the smaller fish. If you reel in an eighteen pounder and say “it’s only an eighteen pounder” then you’re in the wrong sport Haas.  It bothers me when guys are disappointed because it’s not the next trophy.

There does seem to be a common link for fishermen that take size for granted. That link is they are usually very good fishermen for other species. Guys that are used to catching big fish of other species like stripers or largemouth or even tuna want that monster right away. On the other hand if you take a kid carp fishing and they catch a ten pound carp they don’t say ‘now I need a fifteen pounder” they are more likely to say “I want to catch another one! That was awesome!”

Most dedicated adult carp fishermen care as much about catching carp as they do the size. I've sat next to my friend Paul in January with no hope of catching anything over ten pounds. I've sat with Dave in February reeling in six pounders saying they were a good fish for that water body. Its not just the winter that little ones are targeted. I've had fifteen fish nights in July, the biggest might have been pushing four pounds. I was not alone, other carp guys were enjoying the action as well.

The enjoyment should be in the fishing and hopefully catching. Getting a PB should just be a bonus when it happens.  There are plenty of places I carp fish where I have no chance of catching one over ten pounds. I have just as much fun fishing those locations. Mirror carp from the Blackstone River system are amazing fighters. They can compete with the most spirited bluefish or smallmouth bass. Catching a five pounder in the spring with high water spilling into the trees is a real challenge. They are truly amazing. In the places that have these fish an eight pound carp would be a real eye opener.

There’s a place up in Massachusetts that fishes really well during even the hottest summers. The carp are very small. A good one is four pounds. Yet they are plentiful and again, very spirited fighters. They will give every ounce of energy. I love fishing for them on warm July nights. Sure I’m not going to get a twenty, but I might catch twenty fish.

All I’m saying, is if carp fishing is going to be a hobby of yours, then you should do it for the right reason. The main reason should be simply to catch carp. What if you get that thirty pound fish your second time out? I can tell you, you might not ever catch another one. Only a handful of guys in Rhode Island and Massachusetts have caught one. Are you going to quit fishing because you reached your goal? You might as well because if the only reason to go carp fishing was to catch a monster, you succeeded, move on and take up surfing.

My personal definition of a quality size carp is fifteen pounds. I consider anything over 25 to be a trophy/monster. For the record, I have caught two carp that were twenty six pounds. I’ve never had one land on twenty five pounds. I’ve caught a few that weighed twenty four. Below that, many in the eighteen to twenty three range. I’m still looking for the thirty pounder. If I don’t get it and even if I do, the next time catch a decent fishI will never say the phrase “Oh, it’s just a seventeen pounder”

Icing

I went out to test the ice today. I wasn’t sure if I was going to find it to be safe. To be honest if I didn’t at one pond I probably wouldn’t have gone anywhere else. I’m cautious when it comes to ice, so if it wouldn’t have been safe, I would have called it a day. I got a late start (about 3 pm) and went to Falls Pond because it is right near my house. I drilled a hole so close to the shoreline that my auger was in the mud, I told you I’m cautious. So I went out into about 3 feet of water and tried again. The ice was about 4 inches. I went out little further and drilled holes in a straight line until I was about 60 feet from the shore and in about 8-10 feet of water. The ice was uniform at all my holes.

I started jigging in my deepest holes. At first I didn’t catch anything. I took a picture of a hole with my rod above it, just to prove I was on the ice. I decided to drill a couple more holes about 10 past my last hole. I let them rest for five minutes then started jigging. I didn’t get any hits for three minutes then all of the sudden my rod started to bend. I set the hook and reeled up a crappie. I was ecstatic that I actually caught something. I must have had the biggest, goofiest grin of my life.

I let it go and caught two other crappie and a small bass from that hole. The fish stopped biting so I started fishing my other holes. On my next hole I started catching one sunfish after another. I don’t have any clue how many but as fast as the spoon hit the bottom and I cranked it up a foot, I had a fish. My only regret is that I didn’t get out sooner. I fished until dark and the fish were still hitting. I ended up with 4 species of fish.

I was jigging a 1/8 ounce gold Kastmaster spoon tipped with waxworms. I was using a short homemade jigging rod with a small reel. I was using six pound line. The weather was about 40 degrees, I did not need a coat just my sweatshirt. I am not sure if the ice will be safe for long. There is a warming trend in this weekend and temps Sunday might reach 60 degrees. Tonight it’s only going to drop down to freezing. I’ m going to check the ice Friday morning but if it’s slushy, I will not be going out.

 

I apologize for not posting much this month.I have been writing a lot but not posting. I am working on a couple big writing projects for the blog. I'm working on my end of the year review and a three post piece about the White Mountains. they will be coming shortly.

...Any Fish in December is a Good Fish

One of my favorite phrases is “any fish in (insert the months of December, January, or February) is a good fish”. During those three months fish can be caught of course, but it is certainly more difficult. I’ve had thirty striper nights in January and caught carp sitting in a snow bank in the shortest month. Still, fishing is not consistent, and each fish caught is definitely not taken for granted.  For every great day or night in the winter, there can be five or six blanks in a row.

I had the last two days off from work. I couldn’t have dialed up more perfect December weather for fishing. Thursday was cloudy and misty. The high temp was around fifty degrees. The water was much colder than that, so the warmer air should have gotten the fish active. Friday was even better. It stayed warm all night Thursday night/Friday morning. Friday was again in the fifties. It rained on and off all night Thursday and showered all day Friday. The warm rain obviously warmed the water a few degrees. All of this warm weather should have gotten the fish active. I have seen fish get active many times when the temperature rises just a few degrees.

Thursday I went carp fishing from 10 am until 3:30. I went with one of my friends. We tried to different venues and hit multiple spots in each water body. Four rods out, not one hit.

Friday, I mixed things up and tried for some wintertime brown trout. I fished a few hours. I used shiners on one rod and lures on the other. Two rods, no hits, see a pattern.

At this point I fished 7 hours on my days off with not so much as a hit. I considered not going striper fishing Friday night. I knew traffic would be awful. Then I remembered it was going to be biting ass cold Saturday, so I didn’t want to waste the warm rainy night. So I sucked it up and went fully expecting to get blanked. Luckily, the fish were there. In two hours I ended up with six schoolies. I caught them on Zoom flukes. None were all that big but… any fish in December is a good fish!

Buying a fishing rod and reel

I originally posted this last year in August. Of all my posts this one has gotten the most positive reviews and seems to help people the most.  Since it is the Holiday Season, I thought I'd move it to make it easier to find. I hope this helps with gift giving


Every now and then I get asked for advice from friends new to fishing. Usually the first thing asked of me is to tell them what is a " good cheap pole". I always respond by asking how much do they want to spend. Usually the answer is " not much in case I don't like it or use it much."  I then know that I am in for a long talk instead of some quick advice.  For the most part this  post is about freshwater gear. There are some things you need to know before buying a rod reel combo. These things are consistent no matter who the manufacturer is.
1. Almost all manufacturers make gear that ranges from cheap crap to top of the line gear. Just because you heard that a brand has a good name, does not mean your going to get much use out of a $14 reel.

2. You get what you pay for. Again a fourteen dollar reel is not made to last. Many guys will tell you to get the best  you can afford. This is true to a point. Some manufacturers make $300-400 freshwater reels. Are they any better or last longer than a hundred dollar reel? I'm not so sure.

Rods

When buying a rod the cheapest rods are made of fiberglass. They are very bendable. For the most part the rod will bend a lot from a heavy sinker as opposed to just the tip from a graphite rod.

Next is a composite rod. Composite rods are made from a combination of fiberglass and graphite. In theory it has the strength and sensitivity of graphite with the flexibility of fiberglass

Most expensive are graphite rods. Graphite rods are more sensitive than either of the above. They are much lighter and stronger. Because they are lighter they are thinner also cutting down on weight. Not all graphite rods are equal. There are different degrees of graphite. Some are known as IM6, IM7, IM8. IM8 being the most expensive. Other times you will read thing like 35 million modules of graphite. The higher the number the more expensive. I believe that some of the cheaper rods in this category are very close to as good as the expensive rods but at 1/3 the price. More on that later.

Other factors in rod cost are: the handle. More expensive rods are made of cork. It is light and sensitive. The cheapest are made of foam. I personally like the foam feel. Many nice saltwater rods are still made with foam handles.

Another price point are the guides your line goes through. The more guides the more expensive the rod. You want a rod with at least as many guides as the length. This keeps the line flowing on the cast and so the cast will be longer. Also of course there are different quality guides. The more expensive the rod, the better quality guides ( in theory)

Reels
I enjoy buying rods more than reels. I don't know why since a cheap rod will certainly outlast a cheap reel. With reels you really do get what you pay for. Every spring when I was a kid my mom would buy me a Shimano reel from Bennys. It would always be under twenty dollars. The following spring when I would take it out of the shed it would be crap and I would get the lecture about taking care of my gear.

Truth is if you buy a cheap reel expect to only get one season out of it. If you buy a mid priced reel and take care of it, you can have it for years. Without getting to technical reels go up in price depending on how many ball bearings are in it. The more ball bearings the smoother the reel ( as long as these are good quality bearings).  Obviously a good drag is important and I would never buy a reel without a rock solid anti- reverse. Anti reverse means that when you stop reeling you can't reel backwards at all. If your reel will turn backwards, you can miss fish on the hookset, and it is bad for your reel.

Kids Gear

Do not waste your money on push button poles for your kids. Most are made out of very cheap material. The reel is sure to tangle on the inside. Besides, if your kid likes fishing they are going to graduate up to spinning gear anyway. I know you don't want to hear this, but its better to get kids better quality gear from the start. DJ used my combos since day one. Also if you have quality gear it will last longer because it is stronger and can better take the abuse from a kid than cheap Spongebob poles.

Actual Useful Advice

Disclaimer: I am not getting any money for recommending any manufacturers so these opinions are my own.

So it comes back to the question how much should I spend on a combo. My answer is the least I would spend is $60. In my opinion the mid range rods and reels START at thirty dollars each for freshwater gear. For that price you should be able to get a decent rod that will last for years and a reel that should last two to four seasons.

I'd say the best thirty dollar rod is the Berkley lightning rod and the Bass Pro graphite series. They are both 100% graphite and made with decent guides. I own a couple of both. The Bass Pro Rod is one of my carp rods so I know they are strong.

For a reel at this price I would probably also go with a Bass Pro reel also. Get one that matches the rod. If you buy a rod rated for 4-12 pound line, get a reel that made for 4-8 pound line. I would highly recommend you spend a little more and get a Shimano Sedona( $49-54). I have had two for years. They will never let you down if you take care of it.

I have some of this lower but still good quality gear, I have some mid priced gear and have had some really nice equipment For my money here is what I love the most for each fish I catch along with price. You will be surprised that most of my gear is not to expensive

the rod in the picture is a 6 foot medium light
Shimano Clarus with a Sedona 1500 reel. Cost total about $110
Its a great combo that fought this 31 inch striper on
six pound line

Trout/ Panfish and Bass fishing in open water ( not around lily pads and weeds)

Shimano Clarus- 6 foot medium light $ 60/ Reel Shimano Sedona ($49-54) I use this rod ALL the time. The rod and reels are both over five years old. I even used this outfit to catch a 31 inch striper last winter

Largemouth Bass-

Spinning  6 1/2 foot Bass Pro Tourney Special ( on sale at $29 last winter) normally $49, that was a great deal/  Reel Quantum Energy ( $60)( discontinued) with 8 pound line They stopped making this reel but I have had it over 10 years. It looks terrible all beat up from years in the bottom of a canoe, but it is a workhorse.

Baitcasting: If your new to fishing then your not going to use a baitcast combo. However if you want to buy one mine is a 6 1/2 foot Bass Pro Extreme rod ( $69 when on sale) and  aBass Pro Extreme reel ( also $69 when on sale)

Carp
Smaller fish average under 15 pounds

7 foot heavy freshwater spinning rod ( such as Bass Pro Graphite Series ( $24 when on sale) or Shimano Covergence ( about$40)  I don't need to worry about sensitivity with these rods so I use cheaper but still good quality graphite.            Daiwa Regal Plus reels ( $54) love these reels only had them 2 years no complaints so far

Bigger Carp    8 foot saltwater rods/   Shimano Baitrunner reels ( discontinued 100 dollars) These reels are great but they were discontinued by Shimano and upgraded to $180 rees. Out of my price range. When these finally break ( they are 10 years old)  I will buy the bigger size Daiwa Regal.

Saltwater:

I will try to keep this short. Most people when they get into fishing they start with freshwater. They start using worms or shiners under a bobber so I devoted most of the post to them.  Saltwater comes with its own hazard and of course that is SALT. Unless you know you will never get your gear wet do not use freshwater equipment in the surf. Even then wash it off with freshwater when done.

You really need to buy quality saltwater gear from the start. No way will you be able to get away with a $60 combo that will last more than one year.  The cheapest but decent quality surf  rod I know of is the Bass Pro Powerstick at $49. I have had one for two years and it is developing rust spots on the guides. To get one that will last for years you probably need  to spend near 100 for a surf rod.

For schoolie rods you have more selection. Schoolie rods run 7-8 feet. I have a couple of both sizes. You get much better casting range on an 8 footer.  For my seven footer I have Shimano Claus and for eight footer I have the Bass Pro Powerstick both with Shimano Spheros 4000 reels.

For reels I highly recomend Shimano Spheros( $79 on up depending on size). They come in all sizes from small schoolies to big heavy surf rods. I have three.   I have had them for years, no problems. My friend Jeff has a Penn Battle. He bought it this spring so durability is still in question, but so far he loves it. He gives it rave reviews.

My goto rod more and more is a ST Croix 8 foot surf rod ($179) paired with a reel to match the size. I have  a Cabelas Salt Striker Reel on it and 30 pound braid. The reel was only $54. It has a couple rust spots after only two years. I bought it because it is very light. My intention was to get three years out of it. I don't think that will be a problem, but I won't count on it making a decade.

 I use this outfit as my surf rod and anytime I need long casts even if I know I'm only getting big schoolies. It is super sensitive and extremely light. As I get older its a lot harder to throw my 10 foot surf rod with a big reel for five hours. This combo does not have that issue.

As you can see I am a huge fan of Shimano and Bass Pro gear. I do not believe in " brand loyalty". I have nothing against using any other brand. However, I have had such good luck with the Clarus rods, and Spheros and Sedona reels, I see no reason to switch when I need new ones.

So there you have it, a very condensed version on tips of buying a rod/reel combo. Any questions or comments feel free to comment below. I will try to respond quickly.

Things I am thankful for 2013

Last year I wrote a post about things I was thankful for in the outdoors. I am still thankful for all of those things. I am lucky enough to chase stripers, carp, and smallmouth whenever I want after work. I feel honored when I have a view of the White Mountains from a summit. So instead of rehashing the things I wrote last year. I thought I’d look back on some of my favorite outdoor memories from this year. Isn’t that what Thanksgiving is about. Being grateful for what you have and cherishing the memories with others.

1.      I still have to start with stripers. I’m thankful for the big striper that I caught in Narragansett in October. I’m almost as thankful that someone was there to take pictures of it.

2.      I am thankful for all the big carp that hit my corn during the spring including two personal bests. This was my best year in terms of the number of big carp I caught.

3.      I am thankful for the night DJ outfished me in Narragansett 19-5. I didn’t care that he caught more fish, I was just happy we had so much fun.

4.      I am thankful I reconnected with my cousin Mark. I had fun the two times I visited him in Maine and really enjoyed going to Florida with him and his wife Dotty.

5.      I am thankful for the alligator that blocked my trail while hiking in Florida. Sitting near such an awesome animal was unbelievable. That was probably my favorite thing to happen to me all year.

6.      I am thankful for the loons and bald eagles I saw at Wachusetts Reservoir.

7.      I am thankful for the two moose I saw in New Hampshire

8.      I am thankful for the two times Laurie came to New Hampshire. We always seem to do a lot of things. I get to fish. She eats fudge. We usually have really good luck seeing animals. We eat pizza. We hike out to waterfalls and ponds. She is usually up for anything.

9.      I will always be thankful for my friendship with DP. I have learned so much from him. Besides all the knowledge he has shared, I have fun just fishing with him. He talk about family, politics and have a bunch of laughs. We take pictures for each other when one of us catches a memorable fish. I do not have many true friends but Dave and Laurie are certainly among them

10.  I am thankful for my 2004 Santa Fe. This may sound odd, but I have put 200000 miles on it and I know her best days are behind her. I’ve had to put some money into it, but it has been reliable and always gotten me home. Of those 200000 miles many of those were driving to and from fishing, New Hampshire, or other road trips. It has seen western national parks and been to the Outer Banks, NC. It’s the first vehicle I have owned that I loved driving.

11.  I wrote this last year but it holds true. I am thankful for mountain lakes, summits, and waterfalls. I am awed at the site of them all.

12.  I am and always will be grateful to live in the greatest country in the world!!!

                            Happy Thanksgiving!

Breaking the Ice on Wintertime Stripers

Okay, there was no ice. I meant that the wintertime striper fishery has started. With most of the southbound stripers gone, the best game in town is the wintertime fishery. All along the east coat, there are places stripers winter over. The most famous of these is the Thames River in Connecticut. I am lucky enough to have stripers wintering over in Upper Narragansett Bay.

I've checked this fishery out a few times since mid-October. Last year, these fish were around all fall into the winter. This year, I blanked every time up until early this week. I am happy the fish are back. I caught three on Wednesday and seven tonight. I've been arriving late, and lucky to catch the fish as most have been caught just after dark. Some of the regulars have been averaging ten to fifteen fish a night all week. Lesson learned, I will be arriving earlier.

Welcome back my striped friends!!!

Florida

My cousin Mark and his big bass

Admittedly, a vacation to northern Florida has absolutely nothing to do with southern New England. I try to keep this blog about places that can be reached within a day’s drive of Boston. I went to Florida with my cousin and stayed at his house for a week. Because Florida is very far from MA I will not write extensively about it like I do fishing Narragansett and hiking in New Hampshire. I had a great time. I did a lot of fishing and one big day of hiking/biking. I plan on writing one quick paragraph about how the fish in Florida kicked my butt and a separate blog post about a state park near Gainesville. The park’s name is Paynes Prairie and it is a diamond in the rough.

I do plan on putting a few pictures of the trip below. My cousins do not have an email address but they do have a computer. This way they can see the pictures I took before I send them some by snail mail.

Fishing-

Dotty celebrating her big bass

Basically we fished four days in Florida. We were just south of Gainesville and two hours north of Orlando. We fished four days. Each day we put in a minimum of five hours but three of the days were more like eight or nine. We spent a lot of time using shiners. I had a few goals going into the trip. I knew there was no chance of reaching all of them, but any that I reached would really make my day. They were in no particular order

Catch a bowfin

Catch an alligator gar

Catch a monster bass (anything over 5 pounds)

Catch a red ear sunfish also known as a shellcracker

Catch a bass on any lure, just to say I caught a bass in FL on something other than bait.

Mark and Dotty with Dotty's five poundern

As I said the fish kicked my ass. The only goal I reached was catching a couple bass on plastic worms. I didn’t hook any big bass or mudfish. I had two gar hit my shiner. The first ran with it but the hook was not in its mouth. The other bit the shiner off leaving just the head on the hook. I didn’t catch any shellcrackers. I was told they are deep this time of year. I caught a few large pickerel. Five of which I would consider “quality” fish. Even though the actually catching was disappointing, I had a lot of fun. My cousin Mark and his wife Dotty did quite well. They both caught a five pound bass on shiners. Mark also caught a couple other bass around three pounds. We fished a river and two lakes in northern FL and took a trip to East Lake Toho in Kissimmee. The majority of big fish were caught in East Lake as were my two missed gar.

On the trip I saw seven gators. The air temp was a little chilly for gators. Many are not active this time of the year and hide in the mud. More on gators in the Paynes Prairie post.

A Day at Paynes Prairie

Paynes Prairie State Preserve is a 21000 acre natural area in northern Florida. It is just south of

Gainesville. It is roughly 45 minutes north of the Silver Springs tourist attraction.  The preserve has many different natural habitats so in turn; there is quite the variety of animal life. The environment ranges from pine forest to open swamp. There is a huge variety of birds. From wading birds to songbirds and birds of prey it is a birders dream. It also has some animals not normally associated with Florida. There is a bison (buffalo) herd on the prairie. Four herds of wild horses for a total of 36 individuals. 



Bobcat

My cousin Mark dropped me off before 8 am with my bike. I paid my admission and rode my bike to the Visitor Center. The VC didn’t open until 9 am. There is a fifty foot observation tower behind it. From the top I immediately saw the bison herd to my 2 o’clock. I got down from the tower and rode my bike on the Cones Dike Trail in the direction of the bison. I couldn’t see them from the trail.

After two miles of bike riding I decided to walk. I locked my bike to a tree. Almost immediately I spotted a bobcat. It was the first bobcat I ever saw.  On the trail I saw two gators. Both were in mudholes with bushes and reeds between the gators and me.  I really couldn’t get any pictures. Further along I came across four river otters playing on the trail. As I got closer they gracefully slid into the water. I turned around at the end of trail.

On my way back to my bike, I was thinking about how lucky I was. I already saw 2 deer (on bike ride to visitor center), bobcat, 2 gators, and four otters along with hundreds if not thousands of warblers.  At the last turn just before my bike, a huge gator was out of the water sunning itself. It was at least 10 feet if not twelve. Unfortunately for me, it was blocking the trail between me and my bike. I thought for a minute and came up with three options. Sit and wait it out, try to get around the gator by skirting the far side of the trail. The third option was to wait a few minutes and if the gator didn’t leave, try to get by it. Since I had no plans on being eaten, I chose option number one and waited it out.

I sat about twenty five feet from the gator. I took a ton of pictures. I would try to get pics of it from different angles from my side of the trail. Truthfully, I marveled at being so close to such an incredible apex predator. I just lived in the moment and soaked it in. After about 45 minutes it finally moved back into the water.

I got back to my bike and peddled the two miles back to the trailhead.  On the way back I spooked another gator that was sunning. It took off into the water before I got close to it. This one was a little more pedestrian, going about seven feet. After I got back to the trailhead I went inside the visitor center. I talked to the two rangers for a few minutes. I showed them the picture of the bobcat. They told me about a trail that was to far for me to get too (25 minute ride by car).

Turkey Vultures

Then I went to Lake Wauberg. I hiked the Lake Trail and then the Chacala Trail. After I got done with those two trails it was getting close to the time I was to be picked up. On my way out of the park, I saw a flock of wild turkeys right at the admission gate. It was a good way to end a great day.

If you go…

Paynes Prairie is in northern Florida near the town of Micanopy. It is easily reached from I-75.  It costs six dollars for a car. It cost me $2 on my bike. There is a campground for both tents and RVs. The campground cost $18 plus tax. The preserve does have poisonous snakes. I did not see snakes of any kind, but they would be more active during warmer weather. Obviously, there are alligators. The trail the ranger told me about was the LaChua Trail. You have to leave the main entrance and drive north on Route 441. It is 25 minute drive to reach.  The ranger told me horses are regularly seen from that trail. One ranger told me he hears Feral pigs in that area all the time. Grab a map at the entrance for all trails including the ones on the north side

Florida Pictures

I'm putting these pictures on this post so my cousins who have a computer but not an email or Facebook can see them. As I previously said, I acknowledge Florida has nothing to do with New England. No hate comments please

Schooled!

 

I went fishing with DJ last night in Narragansett.  It was the first time he has gone saltwater fishing with me this year. We tried a couple spots before dark. We saw some fish way out before dark. We were frustrated by seeing fish that we could not reach.

We set up in current just after dark. After the tide turned outgoing fish started hitting. I was using a swimmer while he used a Cocahoe on a jig.  I caught the first fish, then DJ took over. I ended up catching five stripers. They were all schoolies, the biggest was just under keeper size. DJ put on a show and ended up catching 19 fish. Luckily for me it was freezing out so I heard him complain about cold hands instead of trash talking.

DJ isn’t much of a fishermen, but every time he goes he always has good luck. I’m glad he came fishing with me. Even though he kicked my but 19-5, it was still a really fun night.

 

I will be in Florida for the next two weeks with my cousins. So I will not be writing in that time. We will be staying at his house in northern Florida and I don’t think I will even have cell phone reception never mind Internet access.

A Great Night in an Inconsistent Fall



My big fish for the night

If you were one of those to find stripers every time you looked for them this fall consider yourself very lucky. If you were one of those to seem to be in the wrong place/wrong time this fall take solace in that you were not alone. The only thing I can say about striper fishing this fall is that it has been consistently inconsistent from shore. There have been great days mixed in with a week of nothing.

On Friday, I found fish big time. I got down to Narragansett late because of traffic on Route 95. I got to Pt. Judith right at sunset. I managed one schoolies. Apparently, huge numbers of fish were gorging themselves a mile to my north on one inch bay anchovies. They were very picky and casting into a school the size of a football field usually meant reeling in nothing more often than a fish.

After I left PJ, I tried a place with moving water. At first I couldn’t catch anything while my friend was killing schoolies on a black deceiver. Finally I hooked into a good fish on a Daiwa minnow. After at least a ten minute battle, I lipped a fish that easily went 25 pounds. This was my biggest fish of the year to date. Then I went back to catching nothing while those around me kept catching.

I decided to experiment. First I tried a shad on a jighead…Nothing. Then I tried a Cocahoe. That did the trick. I started landing fish on every third cast. I didn’t get any more giants or even keepers, but got over 20 fish to just under keeper size. I guess they were keying on the small bait in the current. The Cocahoe certainly worked on them.

I did not go back down Saturday because I was watching game three of the World Series, but I am curious if the fish will still be around of not. This year, I wouldn’t be surprised either way.