My first spring day

My first open water fish of the year

For the first time this year I fished as though it was actually spring. Although ice had been off most of the ponds for a few days I could not bring myself to go fishing. We have had some cold days and to be honest I just didn’t want to put up with that shit any more.

   As I have said before I consider the first day of spring to be when trout are stocked. Some years this can be the first week of March. More likely trucks start rolling out to lakes and ponds the second week of the month. Since winter is just now loosening its noose on southern New England the trucks finally got out this week on Cape Cod ponds.

   I learned of the news Thursday night but was not sure which lakes had been stocked. I went to the Mass Wildlife website at 8:30 this morning. Most of the ponds in Plymouth got their initial stocking this week. When I saw this I was invigorated. Within 20 minutes I packed my waders, rods, and gear. I made a couple sandwiches and packed a lunch. I got gas and took the eastward journey down I-495.

   I did not have a lot of time because my afternoon had been planned for two months. I was going to the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association show (RISAA) with a kid whose mother I work with. So I only had time to fish Fearings Pond. I love Fearings; it may be my favorite trout water in the state. I knew that fishing would be slow because of the frigid water temperatures, but that did not temper my enthusiasm. Sure enough, some of the shaded vernal pools were still locked in with ice. There was also snow on the ground thanks to a Wednesday storm that pummeled the outer Cape.

   There were two groups fishing when I arrived. They were spaced a few hundred yards apart. I set up shop in the middle. I tried the usual assortment of trout lures. I knew the chances of cold sulking trout chasing a lure were slim, but casting and reeling kept me busy. I worked the whole shoreline between the two groups, careful to keep a respectable distance. I had one bump. One group caught absolutely nothing. The other group (two older guys) kept getting bangs on Powerbait. I know when the weather is this cold Powerbait can not be beat, but I HATE using it. These guys ended up catching three trout each.

After a couple unfruitful hours I set one rod up with Powerbait. I still didn’t get anything. Finally the older guys left. I set up one rod with Powerbait and the other I kept casting lures where they were. I hooked one rainbow on Powerbait about 12 inches long. I got a quick picture and released it.

   To be honest even though fishing wasn’t very good I could have stayed all day. I forced myself to leave for the RISAA show. I still left an hour later than I planned and ended up missing the seminar I most wanted to see.

   I picked up my friend’s son (Ronnie) at 4 pm, thanks to the delightful Providence traffic. He only lives five minutes from the Rhode Island Convention Center. If you are into saltwater fishing this is by far the best show of the year. Ninety percent of the booths are actually fishing related. There isn’t all that other crap (doors, kitchen appliances) that you find at some of the other shows. Also there are so many experts at this show. If you know anything about saltwater fishing, this place is a who’s who of terrific fishermen. On Friday I had a long conversation with Toby Lapinski who is the editor of The Fisherman Magazine. I bought a book from Dennis Zambrotta, who probably knows more about Block Island stripers than any other human being alive today.

   There are terrific seminars. We sat in on one; it was about fishing around Newport. I learned a lot about spots and how to fish them. I could have kicked myself for not bringing a piece of notebook paper and a pen. Everywhere I looked there was another expert. Steve McKenna was at the Quaker Lane booth. DJ Mueller was doing his usually excellent seminars. Seriously, this show is a great place to go to quickly shorten the learning curve.

   Of course the bulk of the show is taken up by vendors. There are many people selling tackle, rods, and reels. The only thing I bought was Dennis Zambrotta’s book. Ronnie spent six dollars on some soft plastics. About 8 pm called it a day and I brought Ronnie home.

   So all in all I had a great day. I caught my first open water fish of the year. I had some terrific conversations at the show. I learned a lot at the seminar. The forecast is looking more spring like the next ten days. There are more days with a predicted high in the fifties than there are in the forties. Spring although not super warm is finally here!