Swan Point and Keeper Stripers. What a day!

Black and White Warbler

As usual this time of year, I did not go home after work today. Instead, as soon as I was free I went outside. My first destination was Swan Point Cemetery in Providence. Swan Point is probably the best place in the whole state to see spring migrants. I beat the Providence traffic and got there at 3:15. I stayed until almost 6 pm.

Birding is much better in the morning than in the afternoon. So I accept, I wan't see a lot compared to others who have the morning off from work, retired, or unemployed. I'd still rather be outside. I saw two new birds for the year, black and white warbler and ruby crowned kinglet. I also saw a new RI species palm warbler. I'd seen a bunch in MA the last week or so, but today I got to see some in RI. With these new additions my RI list stands at 113 and my total list 125. Only 19 more species to go to break my previous record.

Palm Warbler

It was a nice day at Swan Point. The three hours flew by. Besides my new birds, I saw some other nice birds that I just enjoy watching. The highlights were chipping sparrows, red tailed hawks, and a belted kingfisher.


At 6 pm I left to go fishing. I planned to bird Swan Point in the afternoon then take the thirty minute drive  to fish for stripers in the bay.

I did not catch many stripers today. I landed five and had two others fall off at my feet. However, today was certainly quality over quantity. I not only landed two keeper stripers today, but one of the ones that fell off was also a keeper. Except for one smallish one (about 18 inches) everything I hooked today was between 24-30 inches. My largest keeper was 30 inches. I measured it before releasing it. There was another guy fishing. I think he caught at least as many as me, but it looked as though he had much smaller fish in front of him.

The wind was blowing southwest and the tide was rising (low tide was about 6:30). The wind was very strong in my face. My lures of choice today were a wooden egg in front of a 3/8 jighead and a four inch zoom fluke. At sunset I switched the fluke for an unweighted Slug-go behind the wooden egg. I had multiple hits on the Slug-go. I landed a couple of the bigger schoolies and the biggest keeper on it. The fish were really keyed on it. Once I put it on, I had many swirls and follows besides the fish I actually hooked. In terms on size, today was my best day fishing so far this spring.

To make things even better, tides will be good all week. Spring migration is in full swing for birds. Air temperature will be in the sixties. What could be better than this time of year?

My first fish of the night.
Twenty six inches

I've been Compensating for something

That's right, if you read the title, I'm man enough to admit, I've been lacking. I was lying in bed the other night thinking about the spring so far. It occurred to me that this spring hasn't been very memorable. I tried to think about why. Have I been spending too much time birding instead of fishing?  Was it just because the weather felt like it was"on the edge of spring" up until the last week? Maybe, because I've only had a couple really good days fishing, I felt lacking.

My next conclusion was that I've done a lot of hikes. I've gone on hikes in MA and RI when I would normally be fishing. I enjoy hiking during colder weather more than fishing for one reason, you stay warm. That's why I explore a lot of places in the winter. However, I've done a lot of hikes in the last few weeks. Normally, I would never give up a day spring fishing to walk in the woods around here. I lied in bed trying to figure it out. 

As anyone who reads this knows, I try to have as much fun as I can. Just because I try, does not mean I am always successful. Driving to Newport to chase a little blue heron and not find it can be a frustrating experience. Same goes for a day going to the Cape or Plymouth and not catching any trout. So I lied there trying to figure out what I was doing wrong.

Then it hit me, I've been compensating this spring. That's right, Something was lacking in my manhood. I'm not proud of it, and it is embarrassing to write about. However, this is a blog that I try to be honest in.  I just knew something was missing.

So I fixed the problem. How you ask? I bought the ROOF RACKS I've been lacking.. All spring I've been compensating for the fact I could not put my kayak on my car. I had my Santa Fe for ten years, it had roof racks. I had my kayak on the roof from mid-March until June. This spring I couldn't use my kayak, so I went for a lot of walks. When I realized what was missing from my life, I sucked it up and bought the roof racks. I paid eight dollars for three day shipping. 

The racks came in on Friday night and I installed them on my car. After work on Saturday, I put my kayak on my car and went to the nearby fly-fishing only pond. In less than two hours I caught seven rainbows. Had three others on, an had another dozen hits. 

That was what I had missing in my life. Now I have the same freedom I had with my Santa Fe. I can use my kayak again. I can go trout fishing from it. I can bring it to largemouth and smallmouth lakes. I even use it in protected bays to catch my favorite gamefish (not including albies), stripers. Time to make some more fishing memories.

Oh, did you think I was compensating for something else?

Much better

Fishing Drought Over!

My sea-run white perch that I caught today

I have never seen an April where so many fisherman are having a hard time catching fish. I know multiple guys that specialize in carp that have been blanked three, four, even five times in a row. These are guys that know how to catch big ones and lots of them.

I've had my poorest spring trout fishing in years. I only had one good day so far, there is time for that to change, but it has been frustrating.

On the other hand, schoolie stripers are around in force. Until today, I have only fished for them once. I caught a couple, but the day before, guys were getting twenty. I know they have been consistently caught in multiple locations.

I decided to chase those stripers today. I went to a backwater spot where there was good current. I ended up catching thirteen fish. Many were tiny, but I had a few decent size ones. At this time of year, most of the stripers are on the small side.  My biggest fish was twenty four or twenty five inches. I was very pleased to catch it. I caught the first half of my fish on a three inch Zoom Fluke mounted on a 3/8 oz. jighead. The rest were caught on a white grub mounted on a jighead. The fish seemed just as aggressive towards both lures. They did not have any use for a 3" Cocahoe however.

Besides my biggest schoolie, my other highlight was a sea run white perch. I caught it on the Zoom Fluke. It wasn't a monster, probably 10-11 inches. I have caught very few sea-run perch, so for me, it was a pleasant surprise.

Sad to say, but tonight's action was the best I have had so far this year for any species. Let's hope it is the start of a hot streak.

Great Swamp

On Sunday, Laurie and I took a nice walk around Great Swamp. The temperature was sixty five degrees. On Saturday, I called Laurie up with some ideas on things to do. She chose Great Swamp. Rome Point was on that list, since she did not choose it, I went there Saturday afternoon. We did the four mile loop around the pond.

We didn't see much at Great Swamp. Very few birds were around and the foliage is still not growing much on the trees. We did see many of the nesting osprey. We also saw a snapping turtle on the earthen dam

Wide pathway along the water

Stepstone Falls, Aracadia Management Area

Yesterday I went for a hike in Arcadia Management Area in Exeter, RI. I hadn't done well fishing or birding lately, so I decided to take an afternoon to just walk. I had been wanting to go to Stepstone Falls since the winter. I tried to go there in March, but the road was closed.  Normally I wouldn't go for a hike during the fishing/birding season. Since I didn't get a chance to see the waterfall in the winter and I needed a break from my drought, I figured, what the hell.

Stepstone Falls is the only real waterfall in Rhode Island (dams don't count). It is in the town of Exeter. I chose to do a hike to the falls from Austin Farm Road. To reach Austin Farm Rd. travel from Rt. 3 to Route 165. Take a right on Frosty Hollow Road. Take it till the end. Take a left onto Austin Farm Road. Follow this dirt road 2.2 miles. You will cross a river on a one lane bridge. This is the trailhead. There is parking for a few cars If you do won't want to hike, the falls can be accessed from Falls River Road.

I started my hike from Austin Farm Road. The trail to the falls is called the Ben Utter Trail.  For much of the way the trail follows the Falls River which is part of the Wood River. This river is a trout water. The trail and the watercourse are beautiful. It is only a little over a mile to the falls. If you want a play by play of the actual trail so you won't get lost follow this link.  http://www.hikenewengland.com/StepstoneFallsRI070907.html

It only took me about a half hour to get to Stepstone Falls. I brought my supper with me and ate it on a small ledge near the falls. The waterfall drops a total of about ten feet in a series of steps. The largest step is four feet. This of course is nothing compared to New Hampshire waterfalls, but they have the advantage of falling down mountains.

My only complaint is that at the top of the falls is a parking lot. It didn't bother me that I hiked to a waterfall that was at a parking lot. It bothered me more that others didn't. A waterfall that pretty should be in the woods and not near a road. The roar of cars and trucks did take a little away from what should be a quiet peaceful scene. Still the waterfall was really nice. The walk to it was really nice. I especially enjoyed eating supper right next to the falls. All in all, it was a great way to spend the afternoon.

For the record, my friend Dave went striper fishing and caught over thirty stripers including a keeper. Still...no regrets

Walks this week

Cedars line this trail on the way to
Rome Point

When I did my post yesterday I realized I hadn't done a post in a week. That doesn't mean I didn't do
anything all week. To the contrary, I have been very active. I did get down to the West Wall and caught my first stripers of the year. I also tried the fly pond earlier in the week.

However, what I have been doing is walking trails a lot. Some places are old stand bys. I hiked at Trustom Pond the day after I went to the West Wall. As I posted yesterday, I went to Daniel Webster after trout fishing. I won't bore you with those hikes again. I did go to a couple other places also.

If there is one thing I've realized, although the number of places to explore may not be infinite, there are more places than time to explore them. I'd say in 2016 alone, I've probably explored over five places I had previously never been too.. Besides state parks, Audubon sanctuaries, and wild life refuges there are many other town owned or public welcome properties. Many towns have land trusts that preserve large tracts of land (such as Pardon Gray in Tiverton). The Trustees of the Reservation and The Nature Conservancy also have a lot of public accessible public land. Many of these places only need to be visited once. There are plenty of hikes that I'm glad I did, but never need to do do again. That's okay, as I was walking these properties, it was all new at the time.

Why write about places I hiked? First off, many people use the woods for many purposes. Some people enjoy hiking and getting fresh air. I obviously like to go birding. Some people need a place to walk their dog. Fisherman might be looking for a hidden pond or creek off the beaten path. So I write about places I've visited in case you live near them and didn't know of their existence. Maybe you will read about a spot and it perks your interest-

Cumberland Monastery-

 On Thursday I picked up my buddy Amber. We went for a walk at the Cumberland Monastery easily reached off of I-295 on Route 114. This place is huge. There are many criss-crossing unmarked trails. I knew we had a lot of time so I told Amber we had a pretty good chance of getting lost. We set off on a trail I knew, but started taking other unmarked trails to the point we could not retrace our steps. No worries, as I said, I expected this. I have been to the Monastery four or five times, and I still managed to get on trails I had never been on. We were lost in the woods for close to an hour. When I say "lost" I mean, I didn't know what trail would get me back to the parking lot. I do not mean, make shelter and pray you are found. After a while, we came to a trail I recognized. All in all we walked at least five miles. If you want a huge place to hike and don't mind unmarked trails and consider getting lost an adventure this might be the place for you

Ballard Park, Newport, RI

Vernal Pool in front, grove of aspen
on left, cliff in back

This morning I went chasing a rare bird in Newport. I didn't find it but did come across this place. Its only a few acres. The trails are not well marked. There is a map at the trailheads unlike the Monastery. The place is so small that, you can't get lost. It is bordered on two sides by road, one by a marsh. The forth side is residential. However for being so small it was really cool. There are a couple of fifty foot cliffs. I climbed one of them. It was steep enough to need my hands to pull myself up.There is also a small grove of Quaking Aspen. Some points on the trail are muddy but not awful. This park is near Breton Point and the Cliff Walk. I would not make a special trip to go there because of its small size. If you're in the area, it is well worth forty five minutes of your time.

Rome Point, Wickford, RI

Rome Point is locally famous. It is the best place in Rhode Island to see seals in the winter from shore. At low tide about 200 yards from shore seals haul out on rocks. Even on a ten degree day, the parking lot can be half full of brave souls. Rome Point is officially called John Chafee Nature Preserve. Like the other two places above the trails are not marked. There is a map at the trailhead.  The area is a giant peninsular. Heading away from the car you are going east. Back towards the car is west. Most any trail north or south, or east will end up at the water. It is a fairly long walk to the point. There are many interconnecting trails, so you can take a different one on the way back. Today,

The sprawl of Quonset Point past Bissel Cove
at Rome Point

I was surprised to not see any seals. Maybe the water is warm enough for them to head north. Usually they stick around past April vacation. It was extremely windy so I could not really enjoy the warmish temperature. This is still a nice place to visit, but of the
places I went,  the most crowded.

Gilbert Stuart Birthplace-

This is one of the more famous places to see river herring in Rhode Island. It is not really a walk but I stopped there today. Based on how many people enjoy seeing the herring run in the Cape Cod Canal, I thought I'd share this. Right at the parking area for the Gilbert Stuart Birthplace is a river. Thirty feet from my car the river was full of herring. In places the river is only eight inches deep so it is easy to watch the herring make their way up river.

Herring in the river

So there you have it. Throw in my hikes at Daniel Webster and Trustom and I had a very active week. I will tell you freely that Daniel Webster and Trustom are places I love. The above places are not as fun for me. However, the monastery is only ten minutes from my house. Rome Point is a good place to see seals and birds. If your inclined, the fishing can be pretty good at Bissel Cove.  So I'm glad I explored these spots. None of them standing alone is probably worth a blog post, but hopefully someone reading this will want to take a walk sometime.

I may have gotten a little excited about seeing herring and left
my trunk and door open in my rush

Fishing Report- Bad Fishing Today, but it's about to change

Some pictures from
Daniel Webster since I have no pictures
of fish today!

I went trout fishing this morning. Because of the cold nights, I went after the weather warmed up a bit. I left the house about 8 am. I tried three different lakes from Seekonk, MA to Plymouth. I can't believe it, but I never even got a hit. Even more surprisingly, I never saw a trout rise to the surface. Normally I have theories on why I'm catching a lot of fish and why I'm not. Maybe my theories are wrong, but to become a better fisherman, it makes sense to try to think like a fish.  

 Today, I can not tell you why I wasn't catching. All three ponds I fished were stocked this week. I blamed my first two strikeouts on the cold night. By the time I got to Plymouth it was 11 am. That should have been plenty of time for the water to warm up a few degrees. Of course it is possible I never put my lure in front of any trout. Maybe the fish were on the other side of the pond. This is possible, but since I never saw a fish rise, just as easily, they might have been in front of me but not active.

At 12:30 I gave up. Instead of fishing I went for a walk at Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary. I walked every trail. I saw a few good birds including at least two kestrels, maybe more. I also saw some bluebirds, phoebe, and a hairy woodpecker. All in all it was a nice afternoon. I stayed at DW for a couple hours. By the time I got back to my car it was well past three. I considered going fishing again. Then I realized it was a Friday and the weather was nice, people would certainly be at the trout ponds. So I went home and went for a run instead.

Even though fishing today was unexplainably bad, there is no reason to worry. We are coming upon the best time of the entire year. No matter how cold a winter or how late the spring the time period between April 20- May 25 is a great time to be outside. In the next few days we are going to have a warm up with temps between 60-70 degrees. Once this happens, there will be no turning back on spring.

I went striper fishing earlier in the week and I caught five very small schoolies. Since the weather has been consistent, I'm sure that more schoolies are slowly making there way north. However, by this time next week stripers will be all over southern New England from Connecticut to southern MA beaches. This will in large part be due to a warm southwest wind.  By the end of April there is no doubt that some small keepers will be in the mix.

As for the trout, that fishing will also get better. The warmer temperatures will get them active. It is true that trout are a cold water fish. They do like water temps to be in the 50-60 range. Water temps in the lower forties will make them lethargic. More importantly, the warming water will get the bug life going. Once bugs are on the surface, fly fishing will improve dramatically.

Carp, of course will be in pre-spawn mode. This little warm spell should absolutely put them on the feed. For the millions of people that fish for largemouth bass the same is true. Fish will be moving into pre-spawn patterns this week and out of early spring ice out patterns.

This really is the best time of year. Everything that swims (and flies, if you're a birder) is active. I can assure you that I do not take this blessing lightly. I am out every single day during this period. My friend Laurie comes over Thursdays. I can't go to the ocean, however, I'll still try to sneak in a couple hours of fly fishing before she gets out of work.