Switching species paid off

One of the few trout I caught, about a 14 inch brookie

On Wednesday I went down the Cape trout fishing again. I look forward to these day trips very much. I could never justify spending all the money in gas to fish a couple hours after work. However, a day fishing as long as I want can be completely justified.

I was gone about eight hours. It is an hour ride each way. Between moving from pond to pond was another 90 minutes travelling. So realisticly, I fished about 4 1/2 hours. I didn't exactly kill em. I caught seven trout in that time. I did get three species, a brown, two brookies and the rest rainbows. The water was still cold and even though I convinced a few to chase my lure, I had to work hard for them. I would have been much better off going yesterday or today since I'm sure the bright sun warmed the water a bit.

My only saving grace was that tackle shops were reporting poor catches from several customers. As long as the weather stays warm, I will probably make another trip next week. If the temperature drops back into the forties during the day with nights below freezing, I'll fish closer to home.

This cold spring, fishing has been slow for trout and absolutely abismal for carp. Winter stripers have moved on and are not anywhere to found. I thought I'd try some bass fishing. The last two days were near sixty. It seemed like a nice oppurtunity to get out in the kayak. I have been scouting lakes that I had never fished. This paticular lake is right along Route 1. I thought there wasn't any access because of the highway and roadside vegitation but with a little scouting I found a parking spot and a place to drop the kayak.

The lake is extremely weedy and unfishable by mid spring. I was pretty sure it was extrtemely shallow. This also meant the lake would warm up quickly. I also knew that "bass fishing" probably meant pickerel fishing with some bass mixed in. Fine with me, I just wanted to catch fish. My go to lure in shallow weedy lakes is an unweighted plastic worm Texas rigged. I use the straight tail 6 inch Zoom worm in "Natural Blue" color. I fish it just under or at the surface.

Both days I started fishing at 5 pm after dropping DJ off at work.I did well the first hour and a half until the temperature started to drop. Fishing really turned off both nights as the sun was going behind the hill. Later in the spring at sunset I'm sure the fishing will really turn on. Now, the fish are extremly sensitive to the slightest drop in temperature and shut off.

I caught five pickerel and a bass last night. The bass was a healthy 2 1/2 pounder. Tonight I landed about 8 pickerel, no bass. I did notice the fish tonight were much more active. I saw wakes of fish coming after the worm from fifteen feet away. Besides the eight I caught, I had many more hits. I lost the largest pickerel I have ever seen right at the canoe. It was huge. I suppose the sunny sixty degree day woke them up some.

My go to bait in weedy lakes. Fish it like a jerkbait

Correction

In a post I had about ice fishing (Ice Fishing this Friday- from Feb 24) I incorrectly stated we were using 1/2 ounce Kastmasters tipped with mealworms and waxworms. The size Kastmasters we were jigging were 1/8 ounce. There is a huge size difference between those to spoon weights. I wanted to clear this up in case anyone decides to buy spoons for either the end of the season this year (up north) or for next year.

Slow Day

Fearings Pond, March 22,  2:45 pm

I decided to go trout fishing in Plymouth today. We had a slight snow event last night in North Attleboro. It snowed slightly, but it did not accumulate. I hoped that in Plymouth things would be the same. The only accumulation was supposed to be north and west ( Plymouth is east) I knew fishing would be slow because of the cold night and possible snow. I chose to go anyway just to do something.

Slow does not even describe how bad fishing was today. I fished from 9:00- 3:45. I tried six ponds. At all but one I put in at least an hour. Unfortunately, it snowed in Plymouth. When I got to my first pond, there was about three inches of new snow on the ground. I am sure the snow cooled off the water to near freezing.

I tried every lure I had and even tried Powerbait at two ponds. I landed one rainbow about 14 inches. Every pond I went to I talked to other fishermen. Only one fisherman caught any fish today (Fearings Pond, Powerbait, 2 small rainbows). I caught my one fish at Fearings about 3 pm, also on Powerbait.

Ponds I tried- Russell-Sawmill, Little, Lout, Long, Big Sandy, Fearings

Really looking forward to a warming trend.

Spring Was Here

When I found out that trout were stocked in Massachusetts ponds last week, I realized the stocking is my unofficial beginning of spring. This March has been consistently cold. We’ve had only a couple days that have topped fifty degrees. Since the weather has been so cold, bass and carp fishing has been slow to get going.

So last Saturday morning, I took off for the Cape. I fished a couple ponds. The water was a little cold so the trout were not in a chasing mood. That said, I stuck with lures even though I would have had more success with Powerbait.  I ended up catching a total of five trout. All of them were caught on small Roostertails. I caught them on two different colors, yellow coachdog and white.  It was not hot and heavy but I’ll take it.

At the second pond six guys were fishing (three men and three teens). Between them, they had at least six or eight poles out. All were set up with Powerbait. I saw about eight trout caught by these guys. There was no doubt Powerbait was a much better choice in the cold water.   

I chose not to use it. I had no desire to keep any trout. Trout caught on Powerbait have a tendency to swallow the hook. Also I’d rather cast and move then sit in one spot. So I probably came home catching less trout I could have potentially caught.
 
Then, just as I thought we had finally turned the corner and spring was here, Boom! We get another snowstorm on Tuesday. Here is to warmer days ahead.

For a list of Massachusetts ponds that have been stocked go to Mass wildlife www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw Click on the “Stocking Info” on the right side of the page.

Spot Burning

Spot Burning

*** This may be the last of my winter opinion pieces. The ice is off the ponds and spring is here. So hopefully, I will have new fishing adventures to share along with tips on how to catch them in the next few weeks or so.  Maybe some of you thought  these pieces were boring and skipped right over them. Maybe, you agreed or disagreed with my points of views. Either way, hopefully these opinion pieces gave you something to think about for a few minutes during a long cold winter.

This is one of the more controversial subjects I’d like to put my two cents in. Spot burning for those of you that don’t know is when someone posts online (or any public forum, I guess) where the fish are biting. Some guys are super sensitive to the point of obsessed about spot burning. There are entire fishing forums where if someone mentions a spot the whole thread is erased.

I have seen threads on forums where guys will say they will be on vacation in Narragansett next month and ask advice on spots they should try. If some poor fellow helps this soon to be vacationer out they will chastised and humiliated on the forum.

Really? This is more than a little extreme. Here are my views. One, if someone takes me to a hole and we catch fish or even if we don’t, the spot stays between us for eternity. I would never give up their spot.

If I run into a huge blitz, I will post about it that night but not the exact spot. Narragansett has a lot of shoreline. If I am catching fish in late September at the ocean, you can bet I’m in ‘Gansett. Still I’m not going to tell you exactly where they were. The point of my blog (I hope) is get people wanting to go out and fish, be outdoors etc… Yet I’m not going to hold your hand and tell you exactly where I caught them.

Why? For one I don’t know you. I’m big into catch and release. I will keep the occasional fish but it’s pretty rare. The person reading this could be into keeping every illegal undersized striper they catch. I am not going to help them out. 

When I caught that nice bass ice fishing, I was fishing a pond that was shown to me. Besides that, this pond wasn’t much bigger than a house. It may have been less than an acre. It could easily be fished out by a guy with a dozen shiners in the spring. Even if all the fish were legally caught, keeping any trophy bass out of that puddle would be devastating to the fishery.

So when do I think it’s okay for spots to be burned? I have no problem telling someone about large public access areas. During the spring on a dropping tide Conimicut Point can be great. The sandbar is a mile long and there is plenty of room for a hundred guys. If I had a great night, I might even mention the spot in a post the next day. 

I also think it is okay to give advice. Breachways are great place to catch big stripers on a dropping tide. Everyone knows it, but if you’re just starting out, this is extremely useful info. So helping someone out with general info like that is fine. Charlestown Beachway is a terrific spot. That said some nights no fish might be around. On the other hand, if someone catches a forty, I am positive that guy is not going to tell. There’s only room for a couple guys, so he will keep that secret until the fishing has cooled down.

Here is my opinion about other fishermen. If someone else is willing to burn their spot, I feel that is there personal choice. If “Billy Bob” catches fish at Point Judith or at some little tiny honey hole a mile away, I feel it is his choice whether to tell people or not. Just because you and I might not, doesn’t mean we should judge Billy Bob if he does. Maybe Billy Bob is a bragger, maybe he had the best night of his life and he is so excited he needed to tell someone. Maybe, he just wants to be a nice guy and wants others to have the same success. If he gives up a spot it is his choice, not mine or yours.

I really have seen guys get ridiculed on public forums for talking about spots. I’ve seen comments from the moderator threatening to kick that person off the forum. I think this is going way overboard. I understand spot burning can lead to crowding. It can help lazy fishermen that don’t put in their time to catch fish others have worked to find. Still, threats and public ridicule are extreme. If someone confided in me where they caught fish, I wouldn’t tell anyone. But if I catch the fish, it should be completely my choice if I let the world know or not.

 

Just Dumb

Today is March first, so in the state of Rhode Island any water that is stocked with trout is off limits until Opening Day, April 13. The state closes the trout lakes so people will get excited about Opening Day. It is a "time honored tradition" for many anglers to be out at 6 am the second Saturday in April. The "logic" is two fold. Opening Day gives a spring boost to tackle shops. I don't know if the bait shops benefit from the holiday of Opening  Day, or if having a year long season would make them more money. The state believes Opening Day gives them the boost.The shops make some money selling gear and licenses, and bait. Also, the ponds can be stocked without the disturbance of anglers getting in the way.

Boo. That's what I say. I think the negatives of Opening day outweigh the good.  Massachusetts does not have a closed season. All lakes are open to fishing all year. In Rhode Island fishing is still allowed in lakes not stocked with trout. But the lakes stocked with trout are completely off limits.

You could say " Stop your whining and fish the other ponds." This would be a fair point, but many of the trout ponds are some of the best lakes in the state for other species. Lake Tiogue in Coventry is an excellent carp lake. The average size fish is about 18 pounds. It also happens to be the best catfish lake in the state...Closed.

Olney Pond in Lincoln Woods is most likely the busiest lake in Rhode Island on nice weekend days. There are hundreds of picnic tables, a ball field, boat ramp, walking trails, and more. It is also a very good carp lake. Bass fishing is good enough that tournaments are held on it every year Yet it can not be fished until April 13...Closed

There are other popular fishing and recreational destinations closed to fishing because of this bogus Opening day. The Blackstone River and Wallum Lake are a couple more...Closed

I'm sure my friends in New Hampshire would point out that they have an Opening Day. This brings me to my next point. NH is cool enough where trout fishing is good spring through fall. Rhode Island trout season is over by the first week of June. Most places will not carry over trout. They WILL die before the summer is over. By starting the season so late, trout fishermen are missing out on six weeks of fishing while the water is comfortable for the fish. There are some nice trout in Olney Pond from the fall stocking that are off limits until April 13. Its a shame no one can catch these fish for a while.

So of course I have some suggestions on how to fix this. First off I know Rhode Island will never drop Opening Day. They do believe in its tradition and that it gives a boost to bait shops. So my ideas work within that one rule.

1. Move Opening Day to the last weekend of March. This will give fishermen up to two more weeks of fishing during the short spring trout season.

2. Make the trout lakes catch and release during the "closed fishing season"  No trout can be kept March 1 until Opening Day.

3. If they won't do that state wide how about a few water bodies in the state be catch and release for trout from March 1 until Opening Day. This could be expanded further to Nov 1 until Opening Day. If fishermen had some well stocked catch and release ponds to fish all winter and spring where they could catch good numbers of trout (and know it won't get fished out), this would definitely boost local economies all winter long. With or without ice a few catch and release stocked lakes with some breeders would draw fishermen in all but the worst weather.

4. Have catch and release fishing from March 1 until one week before Opening Day then close the season for a week. This would give stockers time to stock without interference. Trout that were still there from the fall stocking would still be there. Lastly, there still would be a waiting period to build anticipation.

 Rhode Island would never do any of this. They have "general laws" for the whole state. NH and Maine have different laws for different water bodies. This way the water body is managed the best way possible. Rhode Island government does not feel their citizens are smart enough to understand different rules for different lakes so they keep them the same state wide. All the while, half the lakes in the state are off limits until April f-ing  13th!