Getting my fish fix One way AND another (Mystic Aquarium and some Fishing)

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I haven't done much lately. With it getting dark so early, I really can't go fishing after work during the daylight hours. For the last few weeks, most of my days off have come on miserable weather days and the ocean has been dirty. This week my boss asked me to start working six days some weeks (which I'll gladly take the overtime since Christmas is coming). All I have really been doing is running and lifting weights. This may be healthy, but has not exactly been a barrel of fun.

So I really didn't want to waste my one day off this week. The problem was, the weather was going to be crappy again. It poured all day Thursday with high winds. I was pretty sure the water was going to be dirty. Friday the wind was going to be blowing stronger. Using my day off to go fishing was a gamble. So I decided to do something I wanted to for a long time first. I went to the aquarium.

Nemo?

I have wanted to go to Mystic Aquarium for a couple of years now. The last time I went DJ was a little kid. We had gone in February and it was freezing cold. The temperature may have been nice for the Arctic living Beluga Whales, but not so for humans. 

So I made my way down to Mystic which is just over an hour from my house. I pulled into the lot at 10 am. I actually thought ahead of time what time of year to go to avoid crowds. It made sense to go on a weekday to avoid crowds. It also made sense to go during the beginning of the school year. I'm sure the place is packed in the summer, school vacations and weekends. However, I assume it is also loaded with kids on school field trips in the spring. So to avoid those field trips, I thought it prudent to go early in the school year. This worked out to a T. There was barely anyone there during my three hour stay. 

If you are interested in going, all the info is on this link http://www.mysticaquarium.org/

The price for an adult is $35. For a kid the range is $25-29 depending on age. I think the admission is outrageous for a family of four. I told myself, since I went alone, it was worth the money since a trip to New Hampshire would cost more.

In the front  a trainer and vet are working with a Beluga. In
the back (standing in water) is a whale encounter which cost
$179 a person

As stated above, I spent three hours at the aquarium. There are outdoor exhibits of marine mammals. There are harbor seals, stellar sea lions (the male is 900 pounds), and white Beluga Whales. While I was there, a trainer came out and did a short talk with the Belugas. She had the female do a few behaviors. While that was going on, in the background was a whale encounter. This is where a person puts on a pair of waders and gets waste deep in the water with a Beluga and a trainer. You get to interact with the whale. The interaction lasts about an hour. I thought this would be very cool... until I
found out it costs $179. Then I no longer was jealous that I didn't touch a beluga whale. The whales seemed to be enjoying the patrons. They can be viewed underwater. The whales were coming right up to the glass and interacting with the people looking at them.

One thing I did get to touch were sting rays. There is a ray touch tank. For an additional three dollars, you can feed the rays out of your hand. The three dollars will buy you a total of three smelt. Needless to say, feeding the rays was fun, but paying three dollars extra for only three fish wasn't worth it especially since you can touch them for free.

Yes, I took pictures of angelfish

There is a main building that has fish exhibits. There is a central tank that has tropical fish. There are also smaller specimen tanks. There is a tank with a few sharks and African Rift Lake tank among others. The building is kind of small, you can see everything in less than a half hour.

Since I was alone and paid thirty five dollars, I took my time. I looked at all the exhibits multiple times. I am a fisherman and like fish so I didn't get bored. I suspect the average customer spends half the amount of time there. I do think that prices are very high for what you see. If I were a family of four, I would never spend $140 to go there. I could spend a week in New Hampshire on that. As a single person that likes fish, I thought it was worth it.

900 pound Stellar Sea Lion pouting because
the female barked at him

...Later that Day

After I left the aquarium, I went fishing. I tried Weekapaug Breachway. The wind was howling and
the waves were huge. The water was sandy. I did give the spot a solid half hour. I tried fishing in the current and casting parallel to the beach. Nothing.

I knew fishing anywhere "out front" would be an exercise in frustration. So my next spot was in current where the water enters the ocean. The rushing water neutralized the big waves. I didn't exactly kill them. I caught one schoolie and one blue. The bluefish was huge. Maybe my biggest of the year. I am awful at guessing the size of blues ( I always underestimate) but  I'm sure it was at least twelve pounds!

After I caught the blue, the current slowed as the tide rose and I never got another hit.

All in all, I had a fun day. I was glad to do a fun daytrip. I wanted to go to Mystic Aquarium for some time. I was equally happy to catch my biggest blue of the year. The conditions were so bad, any fish was a bonus.