The First Saturday is May is Christmas to Me, but it didn't start like Christmas Morning

 The day of the year that I most anticipate and lose sleep the night before because of excitement is the first Saturday in May. The reason- Golden Trout. Rhode Island stocks these unbelievably beautiful fish for their free fishing weekend. Between 4000-6000 are generally stocked in five or six ponds across the state. I make sure that my day off coincides with this date.  Last year, I got up very early and caught thirteen goldens before the crowds made it too uncomfortable to fish. I was gone by 8:30.

This year, I had a dilemma. The bird club that I joined had a walk at Swan Point Cemetery at 7 am-noon.  Swan Point in May is the best place to see migrating birds in the state of Rhode Island. Alone, I would choose the trout over the birds. However, the walk was led by a true expert. There were many others who are also experts. If conditions were right, being surrounded by these guys, I could have seen tens of new species for the year. What to do?

I decided to do both. My plan was to find out which lake was closest to Providence to be stocked. I would get up at 4 am. Drive to said lake, fish until roughly 6:20. Then drive to Swan Point for the walk. After fishing on Friday night, I spent an hour preparing so when I woke up, I could brush my teeth and leave. I made lunch, got my trout rod set up, got my saltwater gear organized in case I went later in the day. I got a bucket, cleaned my car, and most importantly SET MY ALARM.

The closest pond that was stocked was Silver Spring Lake in North Kingston (about 30 minute drive to Swan Point) I'm not  a fan of that lake. It is always extremely crowded and there isn't much room to spread out. I wanted to be there by 5:10. This would give me 70-80 minutes of fishing. Also, arriving that early, should mean I'd beat the crowds.

So I was PISSED when I woke up at 5:15! I do not know if my alarm went off and I didn't hear it, or if it didn't. I did have it set for AM. I jumped out of bed, brushed my teeth and got in my car. I got to Silver Spring Lake at 6 AM. At that point, all the open shoreline was taken. I squeezed in as best I could, but it was uncomfortably crowded. I couldn't look for fish. The best I could do was cast directly in front of me. As you can imagine, I was furious with myself. I stuck it out until 6:30. I saw a couple fish caught, but I never got a hit. Basically, I thought I ruined the day I look forward to all year.

Since Silver Spring was so crowded (it was even worse at 6:30, at least five new cars pulled up in that half hour) and since I had little chance of catching anything, I left for the bird walk. I arrived at 7 am. Dan Bedard was the leader. This guy knows everything. He could hear birds from great distances. He knows all trees,flowers, mammals, etc. I have never seen anyone so knowledgeable about nature.

Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate. We have had northeast winds for a week. Migrating birds like a tail wind. That would be from the south in the spring. So most of the birds that should be here by now are still south of us waiting for the winds to change. I did see one lifebird, a Blue Headed Vireo. It was the only new bird for my year list. Honestly, for this time of year, I was hoping for at least ten. So the walk, no fault of anyone but Mother Nature, was very disappointing. I saw some very nice local birds including a couple hawks, a bald eagle, and some Yellow Rumped Warblers, but like I said, few migrants. By far, the highlight of the day was a coyote. Since it started to rain, the walk which was scheduled until noon was over by 10:15.

On a personal note. I needed this day off to do these "fun things". In doing so, I traded my Saturday in the middle of the month. This means I have to work three consecutive weekends. So, trust me, not catching any trout or seeing many new birds was awful for me to digest!

On top of the trout, the birds and the Kentucky Derby, another big event was going on today. The RI Carp Anglers Group was hosting a big tournament called the Yankee Challenge. I chose not to enter it because of the trout and walk. However, my plan was to drive over (it was held in Woonsocket) after my walk ended at noon. I was going to be spectator and also, eat my lunch while watching others fish. Since the walk ended so early, I headed to the Blackstone River to watch. Conditions were no better for the 18 participants. The temp hovered around fifty degrees. There was a sight breeze mixed with mist in the air. It felt much colder. I watched for 45 minutes. I was freezing. I figured if I was going to be cold, I may as well fish.

Things look up

I left Woonsocket to chase the Golden Trout one more time. I went to Peck Pond on the Connecticut border. My hope was it wouldn't be very crowded. My optimistic theory was that the people that got there at an ungodly hour (like I did at Silver Spring) would have caught their trout and left. I also hoped the crappy weather would keep others away. When I got to Peck Pond, I was happy to see only about 7 cars in the lot. When I got to the water, there were about 10-12 guys fishing. There is a lot of open shoreline for this small lake. There was plenty of elbow room for each angler.

I knew that the morning would be a bloodbath. Even if the state stocked a thousand fish, by 1 pm, there would barely be a couple hundred. These remaining fish would be spooked from sinkers, lures, and Powerbait being dropped on their heads for the last eight hours. I knew I would not be catching thirteen. If I could hook a couple fish, then the day would be worth it.

The thing about Golden Trout is, if they are near the surface, you can see them because they are basically swimming lemons. They are so bright. As I was approaching the water, I could see a small school (Sidenote- last year the "school" was a giant ball of hundreds of fish at dawn). The school I saw today had about a dozen fish. Anyway, they were within casting distance of my bubble/ fly combo. On my third cast I caught one about 14 inches. On my next cast, a smaller one about 11. In my first five minutes, I caught two trout. I was happy.

Then nothing for the next hour and a half. Along the whole shoreline, I saw two or three fish caught in that period. After a few guys left, I moved to another spot. I blindcasted but picked up two more in the next hour and had a couple more on. The third one I caught was seventeen inches. During the last hour fishing picked up. At anyone one time while I was there I'd say there were a dozen guys. Someone would leave, and another group would show up. One guy caught five on the fly rod during this time peiod, and I saw another eight or so caught besides mine.  I left after 2 1/2 hours.

After a very slow start to my day, it ended up pretty good. I did get a lifebird. I saw an eagle, coyote, and two baby Great Horned Owls. I caught four of the most beautiful fish in freshwater. All in all, it was a memorable day.

Author's Note- You can not photograph at Swan Point without a permit. I could not take my camera on the walk. Even if the trees would have been dripping with colorful bids, I wouldn't have any pictures to post. So  you will have to settle for two shots of gorgeous Golden Trout