Congradulations DJ!!!

On Monday night DJ and I went striper fishing in Providence. We tried a place I had never fished before based on a tip from my friend Dave. On Sunday night I went fishing at one spot while Dave fished another. I ended up with two big schoolies while Dave caught 12 schoolies with much less effort. Since DJ isn't in love with fishing like I am, I took him to the place that had the best chance to catch some fish.

It was a short walk from the parking lot to the water. After we put on our waders we walked down. DJ tok both a spinning rod and his new saltwater fly rod from Christmas. The plan was to practice with the fly rod until he got bored or tired. If the fish were to far out or not hitting the fly, he could switch over to the spinning rod and catch fish.

By the time we got into the water, Dave had already caught a couple small ones and had a couple more hits. I started casting and within a minute or two landed my first schoolie of the night. The problem was all Dave's fish and mine were being hooked way out at the end of the cast way past fly rod range. Luckily about 10 minutes into fishing I hooked a fish in close to shore. As I was reeling it in DJ got a strike too. He set the hook and the battle began. As both Dave and myself were a little in disbelief that DJ hooked a fish so close to shore we both stopped fishing to watch. Never catching a saltwater fish before on a fly rod, DJ didn't know how to play it and actually asked out loud " What do I do?". We told him to play the fish until it tired some. It wasn't a giant so he got it in pretty quick. It ended up being about 20 inches long ( just a guess). Luckily, luckily, luckily Dave had a camera on him and took a picture of DJ fighting the fish and one holding it. Then DJ let it go

Two other guys showed up so there was 5 of us in a very small area fishing The fish continued to hit for about the next 45 minutes. Dave caught about 5 . I caught 3 and had five other hits I couldn't hook. Of the two new guys, one caught a keeper and as far as I know the other guy just had bad luck and just got one. As for DJ he caught one more small schoolie and had three other hits. Considering he was the only one of the five of us using a fly rod and we could out cast him by three hundred percent, he more than held his own with four VERY EXPERIENCED striper fishermen.

So I am sure I will be reminded often that he caught a striper on a fly rod before I did. He only beat me by 21 years. Also many thanks to Dave for having the camera on him.

Good job DJ !!

Hodgepodge- and Happenings Right Now

Although there is not a lot to write about during the winter unless you are a skier or ice fisherman, I thought I'd mention a few things that have come to my attention.

Right now Bass Pro Shops is having there biggest sale of the year. If you have gotten their circular, you may have seen some great deals. I went today. It was extremely busy as it will be during all weekends throughout the sale. I bought about 15 items mostly lures and fishing line. Other than the Smarties and Sprite ( a great combination if you are looking for a belly ache) everything I bought was on sale.
One of the best deals right now is the Tourney Series Rods. They are normally $50 but are on sale right now for $30. I love these rods, unfortunately, I can't make up a good enough excuse to justify buying another one.
Also for my money the Powerstick surf rod in the 8 foot size is as good a schoolie rod out there. Right now it is $49.99 but is usually over $ 60. I love mine, so unless I want a " back up" I don't have any reason to buy another.
If you go, be warned fisherman wait all winter for this event. WEEKENDS WILL BE CROWDED. I also suggest taking the time to look over the circular so you can remember to get everything you want in one trip.


The Rhode Island DEM stocked 3000-4000 trout in some of there lakes in the last couple weeks. This seems like a great idea. However Rhode Island closes the fishing season from March 1- April 9 so they can have an opening day. Other than a couple guys who may have caught a few ice fishing, none of these fish have been caught. Lets hope these trout survive the next few weeks and will be in the lakes on opening day.

The Springfield Sportsmen Show is being held this weekend. I looked over the seminar schedule and other than Dave Pickering's seminars, there really isn't any I would go to. I went to Dave's seminars at the Worcester Show. There is a slide of me in his powerpoint presentation fishing the Providence River in winter a few years back. I was fishing Point Street Bridge. The odd thing is, I was wearing shorts. More proof I really am an idiot.

Speaking of fishing for wintering stripers, I went down to Providence last week during the warm up. It was about 35 degrees that night ( no I wasn't in shorts) however it was warm enough to fish without gloves. I parked in front of Hemmingways and fished on both sides of the river. It was high tide on a warmish night after a warm day, fishing should have been good. After 2 hours of serious fishing I left without one hit. In years past on a night that warm, there would have been 10 guys out. This night I was all alone. More proof that guys have given up this year on what used to be a unique and productive fishery.

I am hoping to start spring fishing by the end of the week. I am rooting for the somewhat warmer temps to break up the ice. Looking back at past fishing logs, I have had my canoe in the water some years in late February, and caught my biggest trout ever ( from a canoe with no ice on the ponds) in March. The last few years I have been spending March in Providence. This year I will be going back to targeting bass and carp and later in the month trout.

This year I will be putting more pictures of fish I catch on the blog. Not for bragging purposes, anyone can catch quality fish if they put in there time. The reason is because I hope to give more fishing reports this year and if I have pictures of fish caught the reports will be more credible.

If going saltwater fishing this year, don't forget you need a saltwater permit. For MA residents it is $10. Not sure about RI. The good news is the permits are reciprocal meaning Mass and Rhode Island will honor each others, so you can get one permit to fish both states.

Stripers in Providence

Two out of the last three nights I went striper fishing in a protected cove in Providence. I was fishing in my canoe. There were a ton of fish around but they were very picky. Fish were slurping bait right on the surface. Unlike the times when they blast bait and cause huge splashes these fish were gently feeding on the surface.
Thursday I got three fish all 26 inches. I tried everything in my saltwater tackle box. I could not figure out what they were keying on.

Last night I was determined to catch more then three. Long story short I had to work hard too catch fish again. I caught 7 but the good news was I figured out something they would hit. In the last 1/2 hour I caught 4 fish, plus had numorous other hits. I tried every type of soft plastic I had. I could get random hits but nothing consistant. They finally started hitting a small bomber plug. It was only 3 1/2 inches and since it was so small I had to keep very little pressure on the fish so the hooks wouldn't straighten.

My big fish of the night was 33 inches. It took a solid 10 minutes of it pulling me all over the cove to get it in. It was a fun night.