Boothbay Harbor, ME

 

Pemaquid Island Lighthouse

   When I was a kid our family would take a yearly vacation about an hour away from Acadia National Park. We would spend two weeks on a nine mile lake called Toddy Pond. To get there we had the option of driving to Bangor and heading south to Ellsworth or to take coastal Route 1. My parents being who they were, took Rt 1 most of the time. 

   One of those times we made a quick side trip to Boothbay Harbor. It was brief, I don't even remember getting out of the car. I do remember all the boats in the harbor an the beautiful coastline scenery. I always wanted to go back.

   I had my chance last weekend. Laurie drove up while I lied in the back seat with a blanket and pillow to keep my back as pain free as possible. We left at 7 am and got there around 11:30 am because of the stops we made.

   Boothbay is definitely a tourist town for people with money. There are a ton of nice restaurants where meals start at thirty dollars. There are a couple of ice cream shops, a smoothie shop, and at least three places that sell fudge. The downtown area was much smaller than I expected. If you didn't stop you could walk from one end to the other in ten minutes. Even giving time to window shop and look at the harbor and a few menus, it took less than half n hour.  

I spent much of the boat trip looking for
Black Gullimot. Here is one in winter colors.

   The only attraction that we did was a boat ride. The company was called Cap'n Fish. They offer boat trips from whale watches to short harbor cruises. We took what is called the Pemaquid  Point and John's Bay Cruise. It started at 1 pm and took two and a half hours. The cost was $35.Pemiquid Point is a lighthouse. One of three along the way.

   The boat goes out to some islands looking for seals first. On the way we saw a bald eagle perched on a bare rock. We saw a few seals and happily for me, a few Black Guilemot. From there we headed to Pemaquid Point. Then we travel inside John's Bay. Named by the egotistical Captain John Smith for himself.

   I have to say, Cap'n Fish trip was top notch. The captain who was also the narrator was great. He gave us a ton of information but he didn't talk when there was no reason to. I can't speak for the other boat trips such as the whale watch or puffin trips, but the Pemaquid Point trip deserves a five star review. 

   All in all, the highlight of Boothbay Harbor was the boat trip. The small tourist town was what you expect with shops and restaurants. It was a nice overnight trip, but I wouldn't know what to do if I had to spend a third day. However, if you like narrated boat trips and lobster in every restaurant, Boothbay is worth a quick overnight trip.  All photos below are from the boat trip

Western Grebe

   Today I got my first lifer in six months. My friend Mike Tucker, whom lives in Woods Hole, posted a picture last night of a Western Grebe that he saw at John's Pond in Mashpee. It was a continuing bird and had been in this pond for a while, and before that it was in another pond in December. 

   I decided to go look for it today. Luckily it was not hard to find. It was lounging off of the town beach at John's Pond Park. It didn't dive much. It was mostly just swimming back and fourth casually in between naps. From the beach I had a great view of it with the sun behind me in both my binoculars and spotting scope. The photos were only okay as it was far out for my camera. I cropped a couple photos to give you an idea of what it looks like. 

  For anyone interested in seeing it, it seems to like the north end of the pond which is where the park and beach is. A scope would be needed if it were in the middle of the pond. If you GPS the location, make sure you write John's Pond Park. If you just type in John's Pond it will send you down some private roads on the south side of the pond.

Wood Frogs save the day

 Since today was going to be a nice day, Sunday funday was going to be outside. I came up with a plan to look for wildlife at multiple locations. Most of the morning was an exercise in futility however. The morning started off with a dip on Great Horned Owls in Providence. Then we jumped over to Brickyard Farm in Barrington. The goal was to  see Black Crowned Night Herons that had been reported. Up to twenty were there this week but we did not see any of them today. We did see some Great Blue Herons and Ospreys. 

   From Barrington we drove back up to Lime Rock Preserve in Lincoln. This is a very good spot to see Wood Frogs a short walk from the parking lot. Knowing the ground around the vernal pool would be wet, we each brought a beach towel to sit on. We walked up to the pool and found a spot to sit at. We heard a few Wood Frogs but only a couple were in view and under thick brush at that. I got a photo of a couple of them but nothing I'd even keep in my archives.

   From Lincoln we went up to my hometown of North Attleboro in the hopes of seeing the Spring Peepers I saw last year. However, they were not active at midday. I knew seeing them so early was a longshot. We did hear more Wood Frogs but based on where they were calling, we didn't have a chance in hell of seeing them. Things looked a little brighter at lunchtime. We stopped at Rico's sub shop for lunch. We had the best subs that we'd had in a long time. I got an Italian and Laurie got a chicken cutlet with mayo, lettuce, pickles, and onions. Not that I have eaten many subs since I was diagnosed (maybe two others) but it was the best sub I've had in years.

 

Frogs making frogs

  From Rico's we drove to Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary in Sharon. The one goal was to see Wood Frogs. These vernal pools are usually full of them so we had high hopes. Before we climbed the hill the pools were behind we could hear the chatter of an uncountable number of frogs. We walked down to the water with our trusty towels and sat. We didn't have to wait, there were a dozen frogs within spitting distance. Unlike most vernal pools, the frogs in this pool showed no fear. At any point, I had at least two frogs too close for my camera to focus on ( my camera needs eleven feet to focus and we sat three feet from the water). I still had multiple frogs within shooting distance.

   There were enough frogs very close that I could choose which one(s) I wanted to photograph based on the light. The sun was going in and out of the clouds so I played with my settings multiple times in the thirty minutes we were there. Before today, I had plenty of nice photos of Wood Frogs, but I have to admit, I was having a lot of fun taking pictures of them and just enjoying their antics. We walked back to the car more than satisfied with our amphibian experience.

   Since it was only 3 pm and so nice out we drove to Attleboro Springs Wildlife Sanctuary which is behind La Salette Shrine in Attleboro. We didn't have a target species we just didn't want to go home. We did find more Wood Frogs and some songbirds where a person left bird seed. Then we walked around the pond at La Salette. In the pond we saw big Goldfish, shiners, sunfish, and a catfish that I do not think is a bullhead. It was a good day. Plenty more photos below  

I am always happier to see the frogs than them me

White Breasted Nuthatch (photo upgrade)

Catfish

Outdoor Laws I would Change if I Ruled the World

 I've been thinking a lot about Rhode Island Opening Day and how archaic it is. It got me thinking about what laws and rules I'd change to fishing and hunting laws. So lets begin

Striped Bass- Stripers would immediately be considered a gamefish. All stripers  would be protected until they can breed twice. So the size limit would be 32 inches. However, when you buy your license, you get tags for five stripers a year. Yes, the most you can keep is five stripers. If you catch it and  decide to keep it, you tag it immediately. Only licensed fisherman can keep a striper. Meaning five year old kids do not walk away with a fish unless their parents buy them a fishing license.

   I'd consider building a huge hatchery on one of the large Chesapeake Rivers to rear stripers to fingerling size. I'd pump water in from the river and feed the young bass natural food. I'd release them at five to six inches and shoot for one million/year. If only ten percent make it to spawning age, over ten years, that adds a million breeders to the population. 

Bluefish- two fish a day minimum size 18 inches. No more killing Snapper Blues

Fluke- whatever size the ASMFC chooses for size limit, it will be the same for Recreational Anglers as Commercial. No longer can commercial vessels keep 14 inch fluke while rec guys can't keep fluke under 18 inches. What is good for one is good for the other. Also, I'll be outlawing trawling

Carp-  No longer would carp be treated as a trash fish. In RI Mirror Carp would be advertised to get fishermen to come to the state to spend money. I don't see any reason to keep a carp but I guess some people eat them So one fish slot either under twenty inches or over 30

Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass- Bass are worth more alive than dead since billions of dollars are spent on them across the country. No one needs to eat a twelve inch bass. You want to keep a bass- minimum size 18 inches one fish. That way you get to keep a trophy. If all the eighteen inch bass are kept and ponds are full of 16-18 inch bass, I can live with that. In lakes that end up having too many runt sized bass, the bag limit and size can be adjusted on a case by case basis.

Panfish-Many species of panfish have no limits or limits of 50. That is crazy. No matter how many sunfish or crappie are in a pond, no one needs that many. Limit 10/day.

Pickerel and Northern Pike- Pickerel 1 fish/day 18 inches   Pike two fish/ YEAR 30 inches. Create trophy fisheries

Sea Run White Perch- Study rivers to assess the population then decide if taking them is sustainable. In rivers that a fishery is sustainable 6 fish/day 

Menhaden will be protected from commercial fisheries. Snagging for bait is allowed. 

I would invest in  the machines that take weeds out of the freshwater lakes and use it on choked up ponds so they will be fishable year.

Mammals-

Wolves, Grizzlies, Lynx, Bobcats, Mountain Lion will be protected. Only if life is in danger can a grizzly or mountain lion be killed. Enough of the nonsense that predator numbers need to be controlled. Have you ever seen a place overrun with bobcats? Trophy hunting is disgusting

Ranchers will be compensated for loses due to predation. Wolves and Mountain Lions can only be killed if they habitually kill livestock ,and only by those licensed by ME to do so.

Coyotes- I understand people hunt coyotes. However many states allow coyote hunting year round. For now on coyotes will have a season and bag limit. No coyote hunting while parents are rearing pups. Obviously, in different states the season will be different based on climate. Create bag limits that are sustainable.

Everything that can be done to restore a REAL population of Red Wolves at Alligator River must be done. Look for other suitable places for reintroduction. If this means eliminating Eastern Coyotes from the area first, that will be allowed

Game animals such as Mule Deer, White tailed Deer, Elk, Bighorn Sheep, Black Bear (not a fan of bear hunting, but they are considered game) will be managed in a way that keeps their numbers as close to the highest sustainable the landscape can hold. More money spent on population surveys.

Moose can be hunted if the population is strong. When the population is low such as now, hunting will be prohibited until population rebounds.

States that historically had Woodland Caribou will be required to restore a population in suitable habitat. Maine is one of those states

The sport of trapping will no longer exist except in certain situations (see Bobwhite)

Reptiles and Amphibians-

Snakes will be protected on public land including state land Rattlesnake hunting will be a thing of the past

Reptiles and Amphibians considered endangered will get assistance in the form of protecting eggs in cages, the protection of eggs and tadpoles in vernal pools. More studies to find endangered populations and ways to protect them. Creating a  national wildlife refuge to protect the land/water is not enough. Proactively there are ways to help them out. In the case of endangered turtles, frogs and toads, every possible attempt to create new populations in other ponds and vernal pools should be tried.

Birds- 

Woodcock and Doves can no longer be hunted. There is not enough meat to make them worth while. You want to kill a small bird, kill a starling or a thousand.

Sandhill Cranes can no longer be hunted

All states will come up with a plan to eradicate Mute Swans. Seems like a good time to start a hunting season.

Massachusetts and Rhode Island will try to reintroduce Bobwhite and Eastern Meadowlark. This will probably mean trapping small egg stealing predators such as skunks and racoons. Though I am not a fan of choosing one species over another, I choose the rare species over the abundant one. This would also help native Woodcocks also

Ducks-

I know duck hunting has a long tradition. I also know most wildlife refuges were created with money from duck hunters. The money from duck stamps is used for conservation. However duck (and sea duck) numbers are at an all time low. First there needs to be real population data. Secondly, there needs to be a plan to figure out how many ducks hunter can kill. I am not outlawing duck hunting, but the bag limit needs to be based on real science. 

Geese- States can do as they will with non-migratory Canada Geese to allow duck hunters  liberal bag limits.

Snow Geese populations have exploded in the Arctic. Liberal bag limits for hunters. This will also help Arctic Nesting shorebirds

Trout- Though trout are a fish, I'm giving them their own category. I am only going to regulate MA, RI, and NH for the most part. Those are the states I know the most about trout.

First- Powerbait will be banned. Almost all trout that eat Powerbait will die. Trout are attracted to the smell and swallow it to the gut. 

RI- Trout limit is currently five, cut it to three year round. To keep a trout, an angler must catch it themselves. They must be able to cast the rod and reel in the fish. This goes for all ages. No longer can a guy with a two year old and a three year old keep a limit for three people. Unless the child can fish for themselves the trout must be released. Exception for disabled people

Though I think Opening Day is a tradition past it's prime and should be abolished I know many people enjoy this "holiday". Opening Day will move up to the first Sat in April. However, those ponds that are stocked with trout will be closed to the taking of fish from March 1- Opening Day. However, they will be open to catch and release with artificial lures only. No bait allowed during the closed period.

MA, RI, NH will identify the waters that have native trout. Stocking these waters will stop immediately. Create more catch and release areas where wild trout exist or stocked trout holdover with enough food supply. 

MA, RI-Trout Unlimited and any volunteers will attempt to make the streams more beneficial to wild trout creating undercut banks, planting cover, cleaning up river bed, etc... These waters will be designated wild trout waters and catch and release only.  RI- identify a trout pond that has cool enough water for trout through June and make it another fly fishing only pond. Restock fly fishing only ponds in the fall.

NH- currently has two ponds designated as wild trout waters. I know of at least three other ponds I've caught wild non-stocked trout. The state will identify all wild trout waters and stop any stocking immediately. In places where wild trout could breed and prosper but do not have trout, the state will ask Maine if they can get some from the Rapid River. The Rapid River brook trout strain grow much larger than most brookies. They can and do reach four pounds commonly. The goal is to attempt to start a trophy wild trout river/pond/ river system that would have large catch and release only trout. As mentioned, these fish must be put in a system without wild trout to begin with. One to keep the strain pure. Secondly, so as not to wipe out a genetic strain already exists in the river.

 

Trout at Lout

  Today I went fishing at Lout Pond in {Plymouth. After not catching any fish my first four outings this year I was pleasantly optimistic that I would get off the schneid. I knew that the pond was recently stocked with browns. Last week I went to Lout and it was one of the places I struck out.

   Luckily, today was the day to break the streak. When I got to the pond I was lucky to get the spot I wanted. No one was in the water, but other guys were pulling up as I was putting my waders on. I started out using my casting bubble and a fly (pheasant tail). I was wearing polarized sunglasses and as I was reeling in the fly I could see brown trout follow it but not take it. This happened on multiple casts. Sometimes as many as three trout would follow it and turn away at the last minute. As this was happening I kept changing up my retrieve. It didn't take long for a trout to get interested. I hooked a decent brown about thirteen inches. Since I had such bad luck so far this year, I was nervous I wouldn't land it. Luckily, it was easy and no drama ensued. 

   Within the next hour I landed six trout on the bubble/pheasant tail. Other guys had showed up and they saw me catch these fish. None of them had a hit. I wanted to get my fly rod out of the car but was afraid I'd lose my spot. So I kept fishing. Finally they gave up and left. I ran to my car as best I could in waders and ran back. I was so excited to possibly catch a fish on my new rod I was shaking. I've fished long enough that I no longer get nervous, but today I did. My first cast I tangled the fly around my rod. Second cast went into a tree and I had to break off. As I was retying, I settled down and finally put the fly in the water. Ten minutes later I hooked a brown. As I was reeling in the excess line, I let it go limp and the trout came off so I never landed it. Another stupid mistake because I couldn't control my emotions. Lesson learned. It was the only trout I hooked in a half hour with the long rod.

 

  I went back to my spinning rod and the float and fly seemed to fizzle out. So I put on a 1/8 Kastmaster and started catching again. I caught four more trout and ended the day with ten. Almost all of the brown trout were over fourteen inches. I was very impressed with them. I only saw one other trout caught the whole time I was there. I'd say at least eight to ten guys gave the pond a go. In my younger days, I'd probably get a little cocky being the guy that was catching all the fish. However, the last week has humbled me (and the last eight months in general). I was just glad to be catching fish.

   I will add this, every trout fisherman should have a float and fly as part of there arsenal. By far it is better than spoons, spinners, and small swimmers.
I've caught more fish on the float and fly than any other lure using a spinning reel.  It also has the advantage of casting further than all of those other lures.   

All trout were released in good shape ready to fight again.

Worcester Art Museum

   

Chain Mail Shirt

    On Sunday Laurie, her sister Christie, and myself took a trip to the Worcester Art Museum. I had never been there, and had actually never heard of it until last week. Once I found out about it I knew I would go. Consequently. I didn't attempt to research it so I wouldn't know what to expect.  The museum is very easy to get to. It is less than a mile from I-290. GPS puts you right into the parking lot. There is parking in the lot, another lot across the street, and there is on street parking. The cost an adult $18. We went on a Sunday and the museum was not very crowded. It opens at 10 am and we got there at 10:30. There were only a couple people around. When we left a little after noon, the lot across the street was filling up but it was never what I would consider crowded. 

   

Roman Gladiator Helmet

   Upon paying our admission we took a floor map. There are four floors of exhibits. Most of the exhibits are on the lower two floors. The fourth floor has modern and Contemporary Art. We spent all of five minutes on that floor. The lower floors have art from Ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt. There is art from the middle Ages through the nineteenth century. The museum is not very big. Each period or location only has one or two rooms dedicated to that form of art. Though not huge, the museum still took us an hour and a half to walk through.

   We did see some pretty cool stuff. There was a helmet that had been worn by Greek Hoplites. It had holes in both sides indicating the wearer of the helmet probably died in battle due to a sword going through the helmet. There was also a helmet worn by a Gladiator. Gladiator helmets are very rare in North America. Even in Europe, only the largest most prestigious museums have Gladiator helmets. I was in awe.

Hoplite Helmet
Notice the hole in it

   In a room dedicated to Ancient Romans were busts of three of the most famous (and infamous) Emperors: Nero, Caligula, and the great Marcus Aurelius. In another room there was a sculpture by Rodin.

   One of the greatest collections were from the Medieval period. Much of it donated from John Higgins. Higgins has a museum in Worcester called the Higgins Armory. It is probably the largest museum dedicated to knights weapons and armor in the United States and possibly the world. I went to that museum about twenty years ago. But I digress, this museum had weapons from the times of knights and castles. There was a fine chain mail shirt on display. There were axes, swords, and other weapons. It was all quite impressive.  There was even a knight's armor that was a rental. Yes, a rental. Since not all knights had the money to pay for a suit of armor they could rent one for jousting. The armor even had straps to make it adjustable for different size knights.

Portrait of George Washington
by Gil Stuart

    There were paintings from the Dark Ages, up to Gilbert Stuart. The American section had a large room dedicated to portraits of prominent citizens painted by Stuart and Copley.  There was art dedicated to religion. As you'd expect there were plenty of Madonna and Child paintings. All in all, the paintings were very impressive.

   As I said, the museum wasn't huge, but it was well worth it. There was something impressive in every room. I loved seeing the Gladiator and Hoplite helmets. But there were also 6000 year old Egyptian artifacts, a Bierstadt painting, a Georgia O'Keeffe, and many more. I am very happy I went, and it was worth the money for sure. Going to the museum has a nice distraction that I can't catch a trout to save my life.

https://www.worcesterart.org/  

Marcus Aurelius

Caligula

Nero

Statue of Mayan civilization
I am not sure if I've seen Mayan
art before.

FU NPS

Wild Horse living at Assateague Island, MD

   If you've read enough of my posts you know I've been to a few national parks. I love public lands especially the parks. I've fallen in love with every national park I've been to whether it be Acadia in Maine or my dream park as a child: Yellowstone. As you would expect, I have great respect for the National Park System and the Department of the Interior. I envy park rangers that get to go to work every morning at some of the most beautiful places in the world.

   While talking to rangers is enjoyable and amazing scenery has been ingrained in my memory, what I most enjoy seeing are the animals. There really is nothing like being stuck in a bear jam. When a bear is near the road in Yellowstone, you can bet traffic is backed up. likewise, I've been stuck in the middle of the road more than once because a herd of bison were crossing at their own pace.

   I have been so lucky to have seen so many big animals from Grizzlies, wolves, and elk to mule deer and alligators all in national parks. While I may not get as excited about a porcupine as I would a grizz, seeing one in Acadia National Park was still the highlight of the trip.

  One species I have yet to see out west are wild horses. Technically, I did see wild horses At Assateague Island in Maryland. The horses are wild. They have to deal with summer heat, winter cold, and biting insects. I purposely went to Assateague to see the horses. I loved seeing them and got great pictures as they  fed in the campground. However, I did not cross wild horses off of my bucket lisy.

  I still want to see wild horses roaming freely in the west. While it was cool to see the horses on the beach (they actually will swim in the ocean) I want to see mustangs on the prairie or herds roaming the sage brush.  

Which leads me to my gripe and the title of this post. While I normally support the National Park Service (NPS, I'm guessing you can figure out what the FU stands for in the title) I am devastated by one of their new mandates.

   Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota has a herd of wild horses. They were there when the park was created. The park service did not put them there. The herd lives in the southern part of the South Unit of the park fairly close to Interstate I-94. In 1970 the horses were designated under the title of "part of the historical setting". 

Recently, as in over the winter of 2022-23, the park changed the designation of the horses from part of the historical setting to "Livestock". Because of this, they want to remove ALL wild horses from Theodore Roosevelt NP. On average, before this change, the park wanted to keep the size of the herd at about fifty animals. However, since horses don't have any predators, that number has skyrocketed to over 200. 

   I fully understand there are too many horses on the landscape and some should be removed. Usually the normal way to remove them is to see if any Indian Reservations want them. After that, they can be sold at action. There have been ways to try to control the population such as contraceptives to the mares. Controls like this have worked with limited success.

   As I said, it saddens me that the Park Service wants to get rid of the entire herd. They say that native plants will benefit from the horse removal. Well, the horses have been there a hundred years, I think the grass has adjusted. I also believe that they are part of our national heritage, and specifically to North Dakota's heritage.

   Over the winter the park introduced three different plans ranging from giving contraceptives to ALL the mares and have the population slowly die out to a more radical approach of rounding up ALL the horses within two years. 

   This breaks my heart. I had planned on going to Theodore Roosevelt NP this summer. The plan was to go to Custer State Park and Wind Cave then take the six hour drive to Theo. I want to see the landscape and the park does have Bison and Bighorn Sheep but I am really only going there to see the horses. Custer has a ton of wildlife as do the Badlands and Wind Cave, but none of those places have wild horses. Theodore Roosevelt is the closest western place in the US to see wild horses, and they are taking that away.

   The people that are fighting to keep the horses say the horses draw visitors to the park. The park service disagrees saying enough people go to see the bison and sheep. I can tell you from a personal point of view, the park service is wrong. The only reason for me to drive to Theo is to see the horses. The horses will still be there this summer but I do not want to give my money to a park that is actively trying to remove them so I may not be going after all. 

   Pretty much the  only people that want t get rid of the horses are the National Park Service. The governor, the state legislature, and all the local businesses want to keep the horses. The governor can request the park keep the horses but he doesn't have jurisdiction. Though the park is in North Dakota, the park is run by the Dept of the Interior, so the Feds have the final say. During public hearings they made it clear they do not want the horses despite public outcry to keep them.

    The final decision has not been made yet but things look bleak. I can only hope that the park gives in to the will of the people and allows a small herd to represent the past to live in the park. There is no doubt that Theodore Rooosevelt himself would have wanted horses to live in a park named after him. Unless a decision is made that allows wild horses to roam freely in the park the Park System can go F themselves!

  

Wild Horses living on a sanctuary in South Dakota
They had been captured, abused, and lucky
enough to make it back to this sanctuary

On the Schneid

    My morning started with my friend Tiffany tagging me on Facebook with the photo to the left. To be funny I wrote back that I don't need to pretend to catch big fish. I also sent photos of two stripers in the thirty pound range to prove my point...Bad Karma

   After I ate breakfast I went trout fishing at a recently stocked pond in Seekonk. There were two guys fishing near the dam. I've fished this pond multiple times and this is the area the trout usually hang out because of the current. I didn't intrude on them and fished off to the right. I was close enough to hear they were getting hits on their lures but the fish weren't taking them.

   Eventually, one of the guys moved closer to his buddy, so I moved within casting distance of the current. Soon enough one of the guys hooked a brook trout, then another. The other guy hooked a really good size brookie roughly fifteen inches. This went on for a little over an hour. At this point they started talking to me so I fished close enough to chat with them. All three of us were casting in the same spot and they were catching trout and I was not. I got three hits, but nothing to show for it. They  ended up with seven trout. I got the proverbial skunk.

   Today was the third time I've gone trout fishing in the last week. I've yet to catch a fish. The first time I went, last Tuesday, there were about six guys fishing and no one caught a fish. Its's easier to take a blank when everyone else is too. Either the fish aren't biting or more likely the fish aren't in front of you. Today, that was not the case, it would have been humiliating if it weren't so funny. I've been on the other side of the equation where I've had fish right in front of me and I was the only one catching. Today, that role was reversed. I may as well have watched a fishing show without a rod in my hand, because either way I watched fish being caught while I had a goose egg to show.

   On my ride home I could hear Chris Berman (from ESPN Sunday Night Primetime doing highlights) talking about teams on losing streaks being "on the schneid" Usually it would be the Jets or Colts on a five game losing streak being on the schneid. So for better or worse, my fishing season is starting off like the Jets with Zach Wilson! 

Black Headed Gulls

 Just a quick post about a bird I saw yesterday. 

   Before I went to the Ocean State Bird Club event "Birds and Beer" last night at Whalers I did some quick birding. It was brutally windy and (surprise) I was wearing shorts. I stopped at Scarborough Beach in Narragansett to see if any of the four reported Black Headed Gulls were around. I saw three of them. Two of them were molted and had their full black head. The other one still had some feathers that needed to grow in. Black Headed Gulls though rare in the United States are a regular winter visitor at Scarborough Beach because they are attracted to sewer treatment plants. There is one such plant next to the south end of the beach by the Sheep's pen.

Robbins Museum of Archeology and Ethnology

This arrowhead may be the oldest
manmade thing I have ever seen. 
The oldest thing I can remember 
seeing before this is a vessel from 
Mesopotamia from 5000 BC 

    On Saturday Laurie and went to a place I had only found out about on Friday. It is an archeology museum in Middleboro, MA. I was just trying to find something to do on Saturday when I stumbled upon this small museum. It is just a short distance off of I-495 in Middleboro. I told Laurie about it on Saturday morning and she was game. Since I'd never heard of this museum and it was in Middleboro and not in Boston, Providence, or Worcester, I didn't have high expectations.

   The museum was easy to find following along with my GPS. Parking was also easy because there was a lot directly across the street. The admission was five dollars. When we walked into the main door, we were greeted by a very nice cashier and also an extremely enthusiastic docent.  Though the walk through the museum is self-guided, the docent went into the first room with us and explained a bunch  of stuff about artifacts. The docent, a retired teacher, was happy to tell us about some of the stone tools in cases. It didn't take us long to realize that this woman was going to teach us a lot more than if we just walked around ourselves.

   The museum is full of artifacts from Native Americans that lived in southeastern MA from right after the Ice Age up until settlers wiped them out. There are only three or four rooms so it wouldn't take too long to see everything. However, we were pleasantly intrigued and interested in the stuff we were seeing. There were plenty of arrowheads, axes, and spears on display. There was also Native American pottery from stone to clay. There were interesting things such as stones to weigh down cast nets and clam shells used as utensils. There is a model of a Native settlement that was found in MA. The settlement was excavated and the model is to scale of what it would have looked like.

   The docent came back to one of the rooms and found us. She asked us if we minded her "annoying" us, to which I told her she can annoy us all she wants. We were really enjoying her talking to us. It is one thing to see an ax but quite another to have her tell you it isn't just an ax. She pointed to a dark spot on the stone that was discolored. The discoloration was tree sap. A Native during King Philips War poured sap on the stone, lit it on fire, and threw it into a house as the original Molotov Cocktail. If she wouldn't have been in the room, we would have had no idea that particular ax was used to light up a settler's home during the bloodiest war ( by percentage of the population) in American history.

   The coolest thing in the museum is a Mastodon tusk  found by a fisherman in Mt Hope Bay. I have to say, the museum, though small is really interesting. 

Come on, I had to take a photo of this guys 
name, especially after the title of my last post.

   However, what I think the coolest thing about the museum is that real archeologists are in the museum. We talked to one archeologist for thirty plus minutes. He knew so much and had been on multiple digs. Somehow we got talking about Vikings, which turned out to be his area of expertise. We talked about sites in Greenland, Iceland, and Newfoundland. We ( I asked questions and he answered them) discussed Eric the Red and Leif Ericson. He showed pictures on his phone of sites he had been to in those countries. I could have talked (listened) to him for hours. We did find out from him that the museum holds talks the first Friday of each month. It is pretty special to have a one on one conversation with someone with so much knowledge.

Mastodon Tusk

   If you get a chance I highly recommend you visit it. It is well worth five dollars. It is only open on Saturdays from 10-2.  You would probably only need an hour to see everything. If you have any questions, why not talk to the archeologist that are there? It is pretty rare to talk to someone that studied these things all of their life. They've been to the digs and understand how native people truly lived.

https://www.massarchaeology.org/

This is the ax used as a Molotov Cocktail

A dug out canoe

Does Size Matter (when it comes to fishing rods)

 

One of my trout rods. 
6 foot ML Shimano Clarus 
Shimano Sedona Reel
6 pound Trilene  XL
 

         The following is a true story.

   I was at Bass Pro Shops in Foxboro for the Grand Opening. Before they let customers in, Bob Kraft and Bass Pro founder Johnny Morris gave speeches as did Tom Brady. Multiple Bass Pros such as Jimmy Houston and Roland Martin were there to sign autographs. There were also lesser know fishing pros there. 

   One of the pros was there the whole following week, though I can not remember his name. I decided I was in the market for a new rod to catch largemouth bass. There were two different rods I liked so I decided to ask this pro for advice between the two. Both of the rods were seven foot medium heavy rods of different brands, one was slightly cheaper than the other. 

   I walked up to the pro after rehearsing my questions in my head so as not to studder. I have a tendency to studder when words in my head move faster than my mouth. I asked my questions and he answered them. The pro was about the same size as me. We looked each other in the eyes straight across from each other. After he answered my questions, he got a little closer and said " You and I aren't the tallest guys in the world. Are you sure you'd be comfortable with a seven foot rod?

  Okay, I'm going to start a whole new paragraph before I tell you what I said. I own a lot of rods for a lot of different types of fishing. My two carp rods are really eight foot surf rods made to catch stripers. My actual striper rod at the time was a ten foot Fenwick matched  with a Shimano Spheros 12000 reel. The reel weighs 28 ounces. After casting that set up for an hour you know you've worked out. I already owned multiple six foot-six inch and seven foot freshwater rods. So yeah, I said "I'll be just fine casting a seven foot rod".

   That memory still makes me laugh. Up until that moment, I'd never thought about the size of a fishing pole versus the size of me. I needed a big rod for big fish, and smaller rods for little fish (like trout), and medium rods for medium fish like largemouth bass, schoolies, and pickerel. Where fish live matters too. You need a stronger rod for largemouth bass so you can pull them out of weeds than you do for smallmouth bass which live in much more open water. I can get away with a much lighter rod fishing from my kayak in a salt pond for striped bass than I can at Point Judith from shore. In the salt pond, a thirty five inch striper can pull me around until it gets tired, where as that same fish at Point Judith is going to rub the line against rocks and use the waves to its advantage.

   I was reminded of the above story when I was at the Springfield Sportsmen Show with my friend Dave Pickering. He did a seminar about carp. After the seminar Dave was asked what size rods he uses to catch trophy carp. He told them he uses twelve foot rods specifically made for carp. This is true, I've seen him use those rods dozens of times. As I've said above, my carp rods are eight foot saltwater rods. The reason Dave uses the twelve footers is because he can get leverage on a big fish. They also cast a method ball and sinker more than half way across a football field. 

  I use my eight footers simply because they work for me and I see no reason to buy specialty carp rods. Now, I have to admit, my biggest carp is just over twenty eight pounds, while Dave has caught multiple fish over forty pounds and scores over thirty. However, I am quite confident that if I hook into a huge carp, if I lose it, it won't be because my rod is too short. Both of us use twenty pound test Big Game line, so the chance of the line breaking is the same for both of us. Which really isn't much of a chance anyway if the drag is set where it should be on the reel. 

   On the other end of the fishing spectrum, some guys love fishing with ultra-light rods for trout. Many guys use 4'6" rods and five foot rods that are ultra light. They like the feeling of a fish bending the rod. I use heavier rods. My trout rods are six foot medium light action. They are a foot and a half taller than what some guys use and two actions heavier than ultra-light.

    My medium-light action rods can cast a country mile further than those little rods. They can cast heavier lures much easier also. Another benefit is I can reel in a fourteen inch trout much quicker. The ultra- light guys consider it sporting to catch the fish on lighter line and a lighter rod. However, I think its more more sporting to get the fish in quicker instead of fighting to exhaustion if you are going to release it. My favorite method to catch trout with spinning gear is with a casting bubble and fly. The bubble when filled with water weighs quite a bit. My medium light rods can cast it a very long distance. You would have a tough time casting a bubble/fly with a small ultra light. Sure you could do it, but it wouldn't be a lot of fun.

   When it comes to rods, it is about preference within reason. You wouldn't want to fish for bluegills with a big surf rod. It wouldn't be any fun catching nine inch fish on it. Conversely, you wouldn't want your every day rod to catch stripers and bluefish to be fitted with four pound breaking strengths line. So does size matter? Well you really don't want it too small, and you probably don't want it too big. What you are looking for is a rod that is the right fit for your needs. Sound about right?

    

Photo Upgrade #1 for 2023. Hopefully one of many

 

Cackling Goose

 I had a fairly good day planned for this afternoon. I had to run an errand and go to Boost Mobile in Woonsocket because my phone was acting up. After that I was going to the Foxboro YMCA for a swim. Once done with my swim, I was going to Bass Pro Shops to get the one lure I actually need, Yellow Coachdog Roostertails. 

   As I was getting back in my car with a phone that now works in Woonsocket I got a rare bird alert. A Cackling Goose was at a ballfield in Ryan Park in North Kingstown. I've seen Cackling Geese before and I've gotten photos of them. None of the photos are very good. My best was at a pond in Middletown where these geese were pretty far away. I figured geese in a Little League field should be much closer.

  Woonsocket to North Kingstown seems like a long distance, but once I got on Rt 99, GPS told me that it was only a 24 minute drive. I may have gone over the speed limit, but so was everyone else on Route 295 and Rt  4.

   

   Once I got to the ballfields, there weren't many geese to sort through to find it. Cackling geese look like Canada Geese. The only difference is they are much smaller and their bill is much shorter and pointy. Sometimes the back is silvery, but the color pattern is the same as Canada Geese. They can be a tough ID. The wind was brutal despite the temperature being in the high forties. 

   I found what I thought was the Cackling so I called over to the other guy with binoculars that "I think I have it". The other guy was a birder I'm friends with named Chris Veale. He thought he had it too, and we had the same bird. The Cackling made the ID and photos very easy. Most of the time it was the goose closest to us in the flock. A few other birders showed up including another friend Allison O'Conner. We watched the goose for about 15 minutes. The majority of the flock left to swim in the pond across the street. We decided we weren't going to get any better photos. All we would have done was make the geese swim away from us ruining it for birders that showed up after we left. 

   

You can see how much smaller than the 
Canada Geese

While I was heading home, I got another alert that a Snow Goose was at a field in Lincoln. That bird was right on my ride home, so I figured why the hell not. When I pulled over, the Snow Goose was right next to the road. However, there was so much brush between the road and field, I couldn't get a photo from my car. As expected, the geese walked away from the road when I got out. It got a few photos from an opening in the brush. The geese moved fifty or sixty feet from me and started feeding again.  I left them alone despite Snow Goose probably being my favorite waterfowl.

 

Snow Goose

 I was three miles from DJ's mom's house so I called her up to see if I could go over and play with her three dogs. When I got there, I was surprised with a Christmas present. It was a nice sweatshirt. I was touched, and really appreciated the gesture and love the sweatshirt!

  So needless to say, swimming will have to wait until tomorrow and the Roostertails are still at Bass Pro.  It was well worth the delay. I had a great afternoon