May Day!

This Towhee is so excited that it is
May, he can't stop singing

I look forward to it for eleven months of the year. May. It is by far my favorite month. Everything is awesome in May. If you enjoy the outdoors anywhere in Southern New England, chances are anything you like to do peaks this month. I love being outside in May so much, I make sure not to buy tickets to plays, concerts or sporting events (other than a possible Paw Sox game on a night Laurie will be over anyway).

For me, I have too many hobbies and sometimes I feel like they are all pulling me into opposite directions. So I have tried to cut back and do my favorite few things. Those, of course, are striper fishing and birding. Striper fishing is great for schoolies at the beginning of the month, By the middle of the month big stripers will be all over Rhode Island.

As for birding, no month is like May. All of the birds are in their bright breeding plumage. This is the month for migration. When birds come back north, this is the month when the majority come through. A trip to the right places (like Swan Point or Plum Island will lead to a rainbow of colors in the woods.

My plan, for the most part, is to fish for stripers most nights after work. I plan on spending most of my days off birding. Of course I enjoy carp and trout fishing. They are both great in May also. They do take a back seat to stripers. I will still try to get out a couple times during the month to fish for them. And I still have not used my kayak to fish for tautog. I had planned on doing that in April so there is a chance I will have to "waste" a day off from birding if the seas are flat.

So if you like being outdoors, my advice is to do your favorite hobbies. The grass can wait. The gardening can be done after work instead of on a day off. Too many fish are biting, too many birds are flying, and too many hikes are waiting for you to sit inside!!!


Quick Fishing Report

I have been out striper fishing every chance I can. The only thing I can say about the fishing-amazing. It has been off the hook! Schoolie stripers seem to be absolutely everywhere. I have yet to get skunked and my worst evening was 5 fish. If you want action, I highly recommend putting a small jig on your line with either bucktail, cocahoe, or Zoom flukes and your almost guaranteed to drop it on a migrating striper. It has been that good!