A Little Bit of Everything Thursday

   I have been planning on hitting a bunch of close spots Thursday for a few days.  Since I spent this past week fishing for carp, I wanted to mix it up. The weather conditions were basically the worst I could imagine. A cold front came through, bringing with it thirty mile an hour northwest winds and a bluebird sky. None the less, I had Thursday off and wasn’t going to waste it. I also figured if I tried multiple spots for multiple species, something would be biting.

   I left the house about 6:30 am. My first goal was to try East Providence for stripers. I knew full well that there wasn’t any there, but if I caught just one, it would be a big accomplishment. Before I went to the brine, I baited up a spot at Roger Williams Park with corn. Prebaiting is always a good idea if you can do it when it comes to carp fishing.

   I hit the salt about 7:20. I fished for about an hour hitting multiple spots on my bike. I did not catch anything, but I did not expect to either. What I did expect was a howling NW wind. That did not disappoint. The strong wind made the 45 degree air temperature feel more like freezing.

 From there I moved on to Roger Williams. I gave myself until 11 to catch fish. If I didn’t have any luck I’d simply move on to Destination C. About 10:30 a guy named Jack Sprengel showed up. I met Jack one other time while carp fishing. Jack is a saltwater guide who fishes and catches multiple species. We started talking about everything from carp to peacock bass. My self- imposed deadline came and went. Sometime around 11:20 one of my alarms went off.    I reeled in a decent carp. It went about 19 pounds, easily my largest this year. Jack got a couple pictures before I let it go. It would be the only hit either of us would get. I left about 1 pm.

After a quick errand and lunch I was back at it around 2:30. For my next challenge, I had been told about a small stream that had been known to harbor wild brook trout in northern Rhode Island about ten years ago. I checked to see if the fish were still there. The stream is easily small enough to spit across. That didn’t bother me, I was just hoping that with ten years of droughts and floods, cold winters and hot summers these little native brookies could survive.

   To my astonishment after less than two minutes I had my first wild brookie. It was of course very small, maybe five inches. When it comes to native wild trout, size is irrelevant. They are little treasures. I did not want to intrude so I only caught a couple more and moved on. These little fish were held in one deep pool (about three feet) in a creek that is only four inches deep in most spots. I did not want to fish the place out so I only caught a couple more. I’m sure there existence in that one little pool is a hard life. Therefore out of respect for those beautiful little fish alone. I will be happy they are there and not bother them. I will probably try to catch one in the fall just so I can get a picture in spawning colors. Until then I’m glad those treasures are so close to home.

Destination D was to fish the Blackstone River for carp. I could only fish until 6 pm because Laurie was coming over. After my wild trout expedition, this only gave me ninety minutes. I didn’t get any carp, but I did have one run. My friend Dave showed up as I was leaving. He caught two carp and a couple hornpout.

All in all, considering the horrible weather, I thought today was a pretty good day. Although I only caught one carp it was a big one. I can’t say enough about the trout. I’m glad I caught them. As for the stripers, I knew I was wasting my time.