Castle Island

Today my good buddy Laurie and I went to South Boston to visit Castle Island. Castle Island is a park that juts out into Boston Harbor. There are views in all directions. I had never been there before. We knew it was going to rain, but we took the chance we would leave before it started.

We arrived around noon. After we parked we walked along the paths. This is not hiking. Just a nice place to take a walk. There is a well protected beach. I am sure the beach is very crowded on nicer weather days than today. You can watch the planes coming in landing at Logan Airport. To the west is Boston's skyline. To the east, the islands in Boston Harbor. To the north, Logan and to the south, the JFK Library. Also some large yachts and dinner cruise ships come in and out of the harbor. There is plenty to see

The whole area looks find of fishy to me. I would like to try my luck. There are two outlets of a huge salt pond going into the ocean. The water was cranking there today as the tide was dropping. There is also a fish pier. A couple guys were fishing bottom.

In the center of the park is Fort Independence. There have been forts at Castle Island since 1634. The one at the island now resembles Fort Adams in Newport a little to me. Starting Memorial day, you can take tours of the fort.

There are picnic areas as well as a pretty cheap fast food shop. The place had burgers, hot dogs, lobster bisque, fries and a large assortment of quick food. The prices were pretty good.

Laurie and I definitely plan on going back during nicer weather. We already have out picnic planned out. Chicken Salad, chips and root beer under a tree is our plan. I am sure Castle Island is mobbed with people during busy summer weekends. I'm not a huge fan of crowds, but I can definitely understand why people go there. Its a really nice place to spend an afternoon.

Questions and Comments Welcome

The blog is a little over one year old now. It is finally catching on. In the last 3 months I had as many visitors all the months before it. I don't know how many people would have came to my site if I did not take off the summer from writing. The reason people write in a blog is because they have something to say. Whether it be a fishing/ outdoors site, political, or the challenge of making every recipe in a cookbook, we want it read. If I didn't want what I wrote read, I'd have a diary or a journal ( although I don't know of any 36 year old men with diaries ). The point is, its fun to share thoughts and experiences.

So what I am saying is... now that more people are checking out my blog, if you have any questions or comments do not be afraid to leave them. If you have any questions about fishing, daytrip ideas, campgrounds or birding chances are I have either been there, done that, or researched it. I will gladly take any comments. I am fine with criticism. Let me know what you like and what you don't. If you like any outdoor movies or hate them, let me know. I love the show River Monsters, you might think its the dumbest show on Animal Planet.

If you want me to write about a technique or a place I may have daytriped 5 years ago, let me know. I've done just about every free or close to free thing in Southern New England. I can give plenty of advice on where to hike in New Hampshire. Where the easiest mountains are and the farthest away waterfalls. My friends at Catch-m-All asked me to write about the casting bubble/ fly method to catch trout. Its a good feeling to know your helping out other outdoorsmen. I was glad to write it. I am looking forward to seeing how they cook a carp when they catch it, I wouldn't eat it unless there was money on the table... yuck

Lastly, feel free to let me know what you've done or seen. If you saw a moose or caught a big fish let me know. I want to hear bird reports, fishing reports and hikes. People actually fishing are much more reliable and believable than tackle shops. If you catch 20 stripers one night, don't consider it bragging to tell me. I want to hear about success and even failure. If you catch a fish at a secret spot, just tell me the town or even state. If you want people to know where they are hitting, all the better. You will probably get a shout out from me either way.

The point I am making is interaction is fun. Feedback is a good thing for both of us. The reader and writer can both get someting out of an exchange of information

50th Trout of 2011

I caught my 50th trout of the year at Falls Pond early this morning. My goal for the entire year was 50. I had never spent enough time trout fishing to even come close to that number ( in New England). Starting the year I was not sure if 50 was a realistic goal. Because I spend so much time carp fishing and chasing fish with stripes, I didn't know if I'd come close.

I know theres a bunch of guys that have caught double that number already. I am not jealous of them at all. On days that I went trout fishing, I usually stopped after I caught 3 or 4 to go carp fishing. Many days I'd limit out in 90 minutes then try my luck at Hopping Hill carp fishing. Also if I was catching them on Powerbait I'd usually put the rod away and fish with lures. I wasn't going to have trout swallow the hook just to pad my stats.

Here are some breakdowns:

50 trout- 46 rainbows, 3 browns, 1 brookie

Number of days where I caught at least one trout- 16

Number of different lakes I caught trout -4 ( three of them within 15 minutes of my house)

Lake I caught the most- Falls Pond 30 ( was there any doubt? )

Day I caught the most- May 8 ( 12- 6 in the morning, 6 fly fishing in the evening )

Ways they were caught

Roostertail 6

Powerbait 20

Spoon 1

Unknown ( didn't write it down) 2

Casting bubble/ fly 12

Fly fishing with fly rod 9 (all in the last three evenings)

So whats next for trout fishing for me ? Well, I reached my goal of fifty. I still enjoy fishing for trout. The journey to fifty was a lot more fun than reaching 50. I have had so much fun fly fishing the last couple of nights, I will probably put the spinning rod away for the year. I will fly fish during insect hatches. I'm not keeping any more trout to eat. Letting fish go is a lot easier on a fly rod then Powerbait. The dilemma for the next ten evenings or so is, the tide will be great the next couple weeks for my favorite striper hotspots. With as well stocked as this fly fishing only pond is, I could easily catch over five trout every evening from my kayak. Tough call.

I hope to get up to New Hampshire a couple times this summer to fly fish for brookies. There are two lakes that have wild trout. I would love to catch some of them. There also some back country lakes that are ariel stocked with fingerlings ( baby trout ) that grow in the lake. I hope to fish some of them. If I blow off striper fishing the next couple weeks ( unlikely) and have good fishing in the White Mountains, I have an outside shot at 100. But if I only catch a few more trout this year and a whole lot more stripers, I will still be one happy fisherman !!

A Day of Firsts

Sometimes you have days when there are a bunch of firsts. First fish, first species, first fish caught with a new method. Sometimes its not a day of firsts, sometimes one fish can be the first of many things. I know this isn't making any sense yet, but bare with me.

I'll give you an example. Last year DJ caught a trout in Beartooth Lake in Montana. That one fish was his first wild trout. His first fish on a fly rod. His first fish on a dry fly. His first fish caught from a mountain lake. Lastly, it was his first cutbow ( a cross between a rainbow and a cutthroat trout). Maybe these "records" don't mean much. To a 14 year old boy, catching that one fish ten minutes before dark was something that he talked about the rest of the night. He was particularly proud of it being the first trout on the fly rod. I had never caught a trout on the fly rod so he was quite happy to beat me by 21 years. For the record I had to wait one more day.

Today was like that for me. Nothing as significant as a kid getting his first trout on the fly rod. None the less a fun and productive fishing day.As you can see from the post that is below this one, I caught my first stripers on the year today. I didn't catch them on any special tackle. Just a 3/8 oz. jighead and a zoom fluke. The three stripers are also significant for me in another way. They are the first stripers I have ever caught during mid day. I always fish for stripers in the evening and well after dark. I used to fish from 2 am until dawn when I was a baker. When I first started striper fishing I'd be at the Cape Cod Canal at first light and fish the herring run. Once I stayed until 9 am. I hooked a big striper right before I left. It was a bright day. Still the bass were at the run for one reason- TO EAT HERRING.

Never in my wildest dreams, have I ever thought about fishing for stripers in the middle of the afternoon. Since I struck out carp fishing and was 3 miles away, I thought I'd make a few casts. Low and behold, I caught three stripers in four feet of water.

Tonight after playing taxi driver for my son, I went fishing for trout at a pond I had never fished before. It is a fly fishing only pond in Rhode Island. Even though I'm having a fun year for trout, I had yet to catch one on the long rod. I've only had the chance to use it a couple of times. Falls Pond really isn't a good place to fly fish from shore. All the fish I've caught with flies are with the casting bubble.I got to the lake about 6:20 giving me about 1 1/2 hours before dark. I caught a crap load of sunfish. I could have caught tons more. There was one spot on the lake I caught 6 sunfish in about 2 minutes. I had to move from that spot. I ended up landing one rainbow about 13 inches long.

The significance of the fish for me was huge. First it was my first fly rod trout of the year. Also it was my first fly rod trout ever in New England. Remember I caught my first last summer out west, well after the 2010 spring trout season. Today's rainbow was also my largest fish caught on a fly rod to date. I do expect that record to be destroyed within the next two weeks when I catch my first striper on my saltwater fly rod.

So I had a bunch of firsts today. I know most of these "records" don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world ( Casablanca quote paraphrased ). I know most of you reading this could care less what today's fish signifies. I'm not writing this to brag about one 13 inch rainbow or three stripers under 22 inches. I am writing it for myself. Catching a trout on a fly for me is an accomplishment I am proud of. These are goals I set for myself. I could care less if I ever get married. I could care less how many friends I have. I sure as hell could care less about going clubbing, but for whatever reason, the gods made me want to catch a trout on a fly rod and catch a striper in the middle of the day

First Stripers of the Year are MONSTAHS !!!

I have friends that have been catching stripers for a couple of weeks now. One of my best friends has caught over 100 fish already. I on the other hand, have not been able to pry myself away from trout. The way I see it, the trout fishing will only be good until about May 20 depending on weather the next couple weeks. On the other hand striper fishing should only get better and be good until at least July. Also while guys were out catching one or two schoolies at the end of April, I was catching the same number of trout, if not more with the expense of driving my car 1/2 mile from my house. Do not get me wrong, I would much rather catch stripers than any other fish on the planet. I just want to know I have a great chance of catching some, to give up my carp and trout time

Now that the bay and ocean have warmed up, there are a lot more schoolies around. Catching multiple fish is more common and skunkings much less common. So... I started striper fishing. I know, better late than never. I went down to Providence and caught three stripers in my first 5 casts. I made the mistake of thinking the spot I was fishing was stacked up with fish. After my 3rd fish, I didn't even get another hit. I tried two other places in Providence but no more luck.

I was very happy my striper season started. Clearly the three I caught were not monsters, but they pulled my line none the less.Starting next Tuesday, the tide will be right for the next couple of weeks at my favorite spots to fish in the evenings, I can't wait!

Pineapple Vodka Flavored Corn is a Hot Bait Right Now

The carp I have been catching lately have all been caught on Pineapple flavored vodka. I always set up one pole with sweet corn ( until the water warms a little more then I will use field corn). On the other rod I use a flavor. I start with whatever I caught my last fish on. If I don't get any hits on the flavored corn, after about 45 minutes I will switch to another flavor. I use the sweet corn on the other hook as a" control group " I will switch from the sweet corn to a flavor only after I've had two hits or more on my flavored corn.
Lately, the pineapple vodka corn has worked so well, I haven't switched from it, and I end up using it on both rods. Pineapple Vodka is what I caught my carp at the fish in on. The last time I went fishing, I caught 4 carp in a little over two hours. Every hit was on pineapple vodka.

It is extremely easy to make your own. Open a can of corn and pick out the biggest kernels. Put the big kernels in a waterproof container. Get yourself a nip of vodka and dump it into the container. Put the cover on and shake. Its that simple. I have been heating the corn in the microwave until it gets hot then dumping in the vodka, I think this helps the corn absorb the vodka. I'm not sure, but I have been catching fish either way.

I am sure many of you are wondering if I'm drinking the vodka also and chuckling to yourselves. I bought a 750 mL bottle. It smells amazing. I did make ONE drink with it. Its good but as a carp bait- its to damn expensive to waste it on myself!

Hope this helps anyone looking to catch a carp.

Rhode Island Fish In Yesterday

Saturday was the Rhode Island Carp Anglers Semi Annual Fish- In. A fish- in is almost the exact opposite of a fishing tournament. It is an uncompetitive social get together for the members. While at the fish-in everyone shares information, tips and believe it or not hotspots. We all root for each other and since there is so much catching up and exchange of info, catching fish almost becomes secondary. Although I am a Mass resident, I am a member of the Rhode Island CAG. I have been friends with some of the Rhode Island guys for years. It is a great group of guys and we all get along real well.

I spent a lot of time yesterday talking with a beginner named Jason. He had never caught a carp. He will though, he had already spent a lot of time doing his own research and asked the right questions. Anything that I couldn't answer we found out the answer from one of the other experienced guys. Although I tried to help him as much as I could, I asked him as many questions as he asked me. Jason is an expert fishing for Steelhead on the Salmon River in New York and does a lot of fly fishing on Connecticut Rivers. Like I said, its a great exchange of info.

The fish did not really co-operate. Between all of us we got a couple of fish in. Both were over ten pounds. Once a fish is hooked everyone comes over to watch the fight. Once the fish is landed, the small digital cameras come out of pockets. Everyone lines up to get a picture to remember the day. After a couple pics and congratulations the fish is let go. We fished until well after dark. The guys that live the farthest away usually bail out first. Even when your one of the guys that go fishless, you still look forward to the next one. Fish- ins are a lot of fun.

If you want to see pictures go to http://www.ricarpfishing.blogspot.com/