Home of the Blues

Notice the front hooks were taken off of this popper

I don't know where Johnny Cash was drinking his heartache away when he wrote "Home of the Blues" I assume it was in Tennessee somewhere. However, I went to a cove in Narragansett Bay that is home to some really big blues right now. While I was out on Eric's boat, Dave was on his brother's boat. While we were catching trophy sea bass, they were catching monster bluefish
http://ristripedbass.blogspot.com/2017/06/mother-of-all-bluefish-landed-on-wild.html

Since I wasn't sure the weather would hold out today, I didn't try to do anything I would consider exotic. ( I want to try for walleye again and fish for pike in Connecticut). Even though I didn't know what the weather was going to do I also didn't want to do anything boring. So I decided to paddle my kayak to the spot Dave caught the big blues.

From my put in, it was a solid 20 minute paddle to my fishing spot. The wind was light out of the northwest which was in my face, but the water was very calm. I paddled into the cove and I started to see fish whirl as I scared them with my 'yak. I knew I was in the right place before I made a cast. Three splashes of my popper onto the first cast I hooked my first bluefish. It took me for a Nantucket Sleigh Ride. I let it tire out some before I brought it to my kayak for a a release.

After my third blue, I realized life would be a lot easier if I took the front trebles off of my popper. This way the fish could only be hooked by the trebles in the back.

   I had fish blowing up on my popper. Sometimes the same fish would hit it three or four times until it was hooked. While I was fishing I saw multiple fish splash. I could hear plenty more behind me. Something that was very interesting was I could see multiple bluefish sunning themselves on the surface. I saw tail fins right above the surface (like shark fins). It was really neat. At one point I was surrounded by bluefish. I could see them in every direction and no matter where I casted I was going to get a hit. Yes, even just cruising on the surface, they were still aggressive. Multiple times I sight fished for them, casting ahead of them and leading my lure in front of them. I had one fish make a V wake like a pickerel does from ten feet away from my popper before crushing it.

Today was one of the best days  ever from my kayak. I landed about 15 blues between 8-15 pounds. I had countless others blow up on my popper. I never went more than five cast without at least a hit and miss. What made it even cooler was being so close to all of those trophy fish just swimming around in the sunlight then coming alive to explode on my lure. Today was incredible.

Buzzards Bay

My friend Eric Meyer invites me out on his boat multiple times a year. I very much appriciate the offer to go on a good friend's boat, but usually I have plans and decline the offer. Sometimes I have plans weeks in advance (such as a Newburyport overnight camping trip) Other times, Laurie and I made plans to go to New Hampshire. On the other hand, you really can't plan a boat trip until you know the weather, which really only gives about 48 hours notice. By then, I've had my next day's off planned for a week.  Eric and I have talked about this, but make no mistake, I am very grateful you keep inviting me, (see what I did there, when you read this Eric, you will know I am talking to you)

However, we do make plans to go the end of May or early June. This is a perfect time for me. It is after my bird migration trips (that were rained out this year!!!!) and before my trips to New Hampshire. We planned this trip weeks ago (weather dependent of course) and I did not try to schedule anything else.  So yesterday, we set out on a picture perfect day on Buzzards Bay.

We fished the entire day from 7 am until 5 pm. I loved the fact we did not have to rush. The tide was low about 2 pm, and Eric's boat is a deep hull. Because of this we had to wait until the tide rose again at the dock. This was absolutely perfect. We had the whole day to fish.

We tried multiple spots through the bay. We found fish everywhere. We didn't find the huge school of sea bass, so the fishing wasn't hot and heavy. We found fish scattered throughout. Sometimes we would go ten minutes without a hit then we would both hook up, then go another couple minutes without a fish. As I said multiple times, it was fishing and not just catching.

I'd estimate we caught about 45 fish a piece. Here is the amazing part, just about every fish was above keeper size. The size limit in Massachusetts is 15 inches. I doubt we caught five fish under that size!. Usually with sea bass half the fish are under that size and half over. Most of those fish  from 13-16 inches with a few big ones and a few in the 9-12 inch range. Not today, I'd say average size was close to 17 inches! Eric got the biggest one at about 21 inches and I landed two, just around 20.

Eric and I have different fishing philosophies. He likes to tip his jigs with bait, while I would rather not. So it is interesting to see how the fish react to the two different styles. Because we tried to trick the fish in different ways, fishing was an experiment.

Early in the day the tide was barely moving. I could use my light 1/2 ounce and 3/4 ounce bucktail jigs. I don't know if it mattered, but the fish were nailing them. Even with Eric's squid, I was far and away catching more fish, This surprised me, because his jigs had smell while mine didn't. He was still catching some fish, but the smaller jigs were catching way more fish.

As the day went on the wind picked up. The current was stronger and my half ounce jigs were useless, and my 3/4 ounce jig was barely effective. Eric had some big jigheads and I used one with a curly tail grub or a Zoom fluke. The tide turned (pun) and the roles were reversed.   Although I was still catching a few fish, Eric was reeling them up one after another. His double jig rig was really staying down near the bottom and proved to be very effective. Earlier, if we went over a few fish, it seemed like I was hooking up before we drifted past the school. In the afternoon, it was the exact opposite. Eric would get the hit, while I waited for the next big pod.

I don't know if the stronger current spread the scent of squid more and that is why the fish hit his. Maybe since I couldn't use my bucktails the fish were not as interested in the single curly tail. I don't really know. It didn't matter in the end, although we didn't keep count, I think we caught damn near the same number of fish. As Eric said, fishing can be streaky. Maybe the size jig didn't matter, maybe the squid didn't matter. Maybe the fishing gods just balanced everything out? We were both catching enough fish during our "slow time" that it didn't really matter anyway.

I was also experimenting with color. While the water was still slow, I was trying multi colored bucktails that I made up. I tried a bucktail with pink/orange/ lime green. I caught a lot of fish on it, but I do think the white bucktail worked slightly better when the fish were spread out and less aggressive.

We ended up catching five species. Besides the large seabass, I got a large scup. We caught a few sea robins, and some small fluke. The biggest surprise was a good size blue that I caught fishing the bottom with the jig. I knew I had a big fish, but I was surprised when I saw a bluefish come out of the water. I'd estimate, it went around eight pounds.

So, all in all, it was a great day. We have had days where we caught twice as many sea bass in half the time on the water. However, I will take quality over quantity any day. When half of the sea bass are around 17 inches, that makes for a really fun day.

Hooked this big scup using a brightly colored jig

The sea bass seemed to like the bright colored bucktail,
but I do think the white worked better on spread  out
less aggressive fish

One of the sea bass puked up this baby scup

A wall hanger of a picture if I do say so myself

My first sea robin of the year

Jumpin Minnow strikes again

By far the best topwater lure for stripers these days is the Jumpin Minnow made by Rebel. If you don't any, you are missing out. It has great walk the dog action that stripers and blues love. I use it all the time. Tonight my loyalty was rewarded with a 20 pound striper along with a bunch of smaller ones.

Useful Products this Spring

This spring has been wet! Because of all the rain, I have complained so much about it screwing up my plans, I have become intolerable even to myself. However, if there has been one good thing about this spring, fishing has been very good. I'm still going out almost every evening after work. I did a couple of after dark sessions this week also.I landed a few schoolies but no keepers.

I thought since I have little to report, I'd review a few products that I have used this spring. Disclaimer- I do not get any endorsment money from any of these companies. I am not on anyone's "Pro Staff". These are my opinions, and mine alone.

Colombia Rainpants

I spent a lot of money at REI last year on Christmas presents for my hiking son. If you are a member (one time sign up fee of $20) you get a dividend each year based on how much you spent the year before. Along with the free money came along a coupon for one item 20% off. I didn't know what to buy since I really didn't need anything. I decided on a good pair of rain pants. Since I had over $30 in my account and I used the coupon, I got them for a song.

The Columbia Rain Pants I bought are $50 at retail price. They do not have any pockets. Columbia does make a pair with pockets at the next price level. I specifically bought the pair without pockets, not because they were cheaper, but so I wouldn't have to worry about the pocket zipper leaking. I would never put my phone or small camera in my rain pants pockets anyway. I would prefer to put them in the next layer down in my shorts or sweatpants.

Last week I fished for two days in the rain. The rainpants performed flawlessly. I never felt wet at all. I sat on a wet chair with rain running down my raincoat onto it and the pants. I never had a drop seep through. I wore muck boots and pulled my rainpants over the top of my boots. There was plenty of room for them. If anything, there is too much. On the bottom of the pant leg there is velcro to tighten the pants. The velcro fit a little loose and my pants dragged against the ground. I have since added another sticky piece of velcro a few inches further. Problem Solved.

Just a word of caution- If you wear sneakers with these rainpants or any other pair your feet will get soaked. All that rain running down your pants leg has to go somewhere, and that somewhere is in your shoes.

So after a few soakings, I'd give the pants five stars. They did not feel sticky at all and they kept the moisture out. If I would have paid the fifty dollars, I would not have been disappointed at all.  I can't say how durable they are yet, but they seem tough, so I think they will be around for a few years.

Waterproof Boots

As I said above, if I wear rainpants, then I can't wear sneakers. So I have been wearing my Bone Dry waterproof boots made by Bass Pro. There are many brands of high waterproof boots. The most famous with the best reputation is Muck Boots. I own these Bone Dry boots. I paid about $60. They are comfortable and as of yet, not let me down. However, I have a friend that bought two pair that leaked right away.

I have owned these boots for a couple of years now without a problem. That said, this is the first year I have worn them a lot.  My suggestion isn't necessarily to buy the Bass Pro Shops brand boot, it is to buy some waterproof boots if you are an outdoors person. They come in extremely handy fishing in the rain with my rain pants over them. However, they also make walking through the mud a breeze and puddles no longer block the way to back woods ponds.

I am glad I found my pair in the shed since I sort of forgot about them. With all the rain we are having, they won't be going back in my shed any time soon.

Best Deal I've seen on a Reel

Right now Bass Pro Shops has the Shimano Sedona reel on sale for $39.97. This reel usually lists for seventy dollars! Needless to say, I am floored by the price. I bought the Sedona 4000 for one of my seven foot rods. I also plan on buying the 2500 for my six foot trout rod.

A few years back Shimano changed the Sedona to the Sedona FE. This is the newer version of the same reel. Tackle companies do this so we will "upgrade" our gear. I can only hope the new FE has the same quality as the plain old Sedona.

I own 3 of the old style Shimano Sedonas. I have two of the 1500 model (which I think is now the size of the 2000). I also own a 2500 model. I actually found this reel while fishing one day. It was attached to a discarded broken fishing rod. I brought it home and cleaned it up. It has been my most used reel for trout fishing over the past two years.

Besides the one that I found, I can honestly say that my other two (the 1500's) are almost fifteen years old. I have had them since my 21 year old son was a little kid. They are absolute workhorse reels. They can take a beating. They have been dropped in the canoe and the ground hundreds of times. There is barely any paint left on the sides from the abuse they have taken. But you know what? They worked like brand new for over a decade.

Just recently, one of them has started to give me trouble. The bail does not go down completely after the cast. Unless I consciously remember to push it all the way down, it stays up about 1/8 inch. This is causing line twist and tangles. Remember, this just started happening, so for 13 years this was not a problem.

Although I call my Shimano Sedona 1500 my trout reel, I have used it for many types of fishing. I match it with a six foot medium light rod (Shimano Clarus) with six pound line. Besides my surf rod, it is the combo I use the most.  I bring it to the ocean when hickory shad and white perch are around. I use it a lot for panfish in ponds. This is the set up I use when I fish for American Shad in the Merrimack River. Most surprisingly, I was using this reel in Providence one winter and landed a 31 inch striper on it. So if you are wondering how a little reel will hold up to a big fish, that is the answer. The fish was peeling off drag back and forth for fifteen minutes. That was about six years ago!

This picture is on the upper right hand corner of the blog. My fish
was caught on a Shimano Sedona 1500 with six pound line.
Will the newer model perform as will? For $39 it is worth
finding out!!!

Because of the weakened bail spring and the unbelievable price, I decided to buy a new reel for my trout rod. Obviously, I can not say how well the new reel performs. However, if it only last half as long as its predecessor I will get 7-8 years out a forty dollar reel, that to me my friends, is a deal!

Today's Photo

I went carp fishing again today. I didn't go nearly as far from home as yesterday. Fishing was decent early in the day.  I landed three fish before noon. The biggest by far was this 28 pounder. This is my second largest carp ever. Not a bad consolation prize since my camping weekend was cancelled.

No Camping Trip, No Problem

This fish wasn't that long, but it was extremely fat

There is no question that I had really looked forward to going camping for two and a half days in Newburyport. Unfortunately, I had to cancel my plans because of the lousy two days of rain. I was really bummed out by Tuesday because the weather forecast was so ominous. I could have still gone but I would have been very limited to what I could have done.

So I came up with Plan B. I asked my friend Dave if he wanted to go carp fishing in one of the more exotic locations in New England. It was a two hour drive and I offered to drive. He said yes (when we fish together he drives more often than me because of his roof rack holds rods). I had a little bump in the road because I had difficulty getting my out of state fishing license online. I ended up buying it at the bait shop near the fishin' hole. Between the online snafu and the tackle shop, I probably wasted an hour. Luckily for us, fishing this spot should have been better later as opposed to early.

By no means was our day wasted. Between us we caught ten fish. The biggest carp was 22 pounds. We both had a fish on that "was the big one that got away". This spot is known for some huge carp.

 Dave also caught a channel catfish. I wanted one very badly and was the main reason I paid $55 for a non-resident license. I used one rod exclusively for catfish. I alternated between liver and hot dogs but that rod never got a hit. Next time I am going to bring cut up fish chunks None the less it was nice to fish an area with big fish. The place we fished has known carp over thirty five pounds. Who knows how big the fish was I lost? Maybe fifteen pounds, maybe a monster.

Today was absolutely making the best of my day. Going carp fishing  on this body of water was on my 2017 bucket list. If I would have made the plans to go carp fishing I would have really been looking forward to it. Since it was rainy all day and camping was not an option, there really was no place I would rather have been.

Taking a night off from fishing/ Bad luck with this weather birding

One of the highlights of my week was this decent
keeper

In the first twenty one days of May, I have been out every night except a rainy Sunday that Laurie was over. For the most part it has been stripers, stripers, stripers. I've gone carp fishing twice and trout fishing once. The striper fishing has been very good. I have gotten a couple of keepers. I learned a new spot where I caught a very decent fish thanks to a new friend. If you haven't been out striper fishing yet, what are you waiting for? The fishing is very good.

I did take tonight off from fishing because I had a lot of stuff I needed to get done. I have a surf column article that I wanted to finish for The Fisherman Magazine, I bought some plants for the garden,  and paid a couple of bills. I'm still delivering donuts two nights a week for what looks to be the next month. I hope to use the extra money to pay for all of my New Hampshire weekends this year. Since the only real expense is gas (and pizza when I go with Laurie) that could actually happen.

I'll be back out tomorrow night. I accomplished everything on  my to do list today except plant my garden, which I consider fun anyway.

Bad Luck on My Days Off

I clearly love striper fishing and as you just read I do it almost every night. However, there is so much to do in May that I really try to do as much as I can on my days off from work (do you see a whine coming?). Last week I went to Newburyport birding for a day. This week I had planned on going up there from Wednesday after work until Friday evening. The weather looks like it is not going to cooperate. Thursday might be a total wash.

Although I can't control the weather and doesn't do any good to complain, these rainy days during this month just destroy my chances of seeing a lot of birds. I really need nice weather to fall on my eight days off during May. I got rained out my first weekend ( I went trout fishing in the morning and Wachusett in a downpour in the afternoon). I have seen far less species this year than last. I had no desire to beat my personal best record, but I would like to be in the ballpark. The rainy days falling  on my days off are really hurting that.

I'm sure I'll find something to do on Thursday but I was really looking forward to my camping trip. I planned on birding Wed evening, both Thurs and Fri morning. I was going shad fish around noon time in the Merrimack. In the afternoon Thursday I planned a big hike at Ipswich River. On my way home Friday I was going to Oxbow NWR which is a place I really enjoy. As you can see, I had a lot planned.

Maybe the weather forecast might change but if not it looks like more fishing for me.