# Fishing 2016



## JimG. (Jun 4, 2016)

Put some good effort into trout fishing this spring, pretty much from opening day on April 1 until last week. The cool weather that helped keep skiing alive was a disaster for fishing trout streams. The cold and many times windy weather made for sluggish trout action and difficult casting. Always fun to hike the fishing spots though.

My season really begins when we start getting out on the NYC reservoirs. The season does not officially begin until the third Saturday in June, but we start Memorial Day weekend to get the late spawning period action. After a fine Friday afternoon of bass fishing last week we went out yesterday and in addition to more good bass action I landed the trout I was looking for earlier this spring:





A lake trout caught on the deep water edge of a weed bed on a plastic worm of all things! Nice 8 pounder.


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## bigbog (Jun 4, 2016)

Isn't that something JimG.  Congrats...goes to prove that _you never know what fish are gonna do_...


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## deadheadskier (Jun 4, 2016)

Nice fish!


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## JimG. (Jun 4, 2016)

A nice smallmouth and a nice largemouth bass:










Both from last Friday.


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## xwhaler (Jun 4, 2016)

Paging Tin into this thread.....


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## steamboat1 (Jun 4, 2016)

Today on the boat, not me. This was just a baby, maybe 15lbs. we had another today 31lbs. Quite a few other bass & all the blues you could want. All within a stones throw of our inlet. Gotta love NYC.


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## bigbog (Jun 5, 2016)

That's a nice striper....it's still early up here, and I think the population up here is going thru another one of those downturns that happens every so often:???:, according to the saltwater fly guys.
Haven't seen many on the maine website...


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## steamboat1 (Jun 5, 2016)

bigbog said:


> That's a nice striper....it's still early up here, and I think the population up here is going thru another one of those downturns that happens every so often:???:, according to the saltwater fly guys.
> Haven't seen many on the maine website...


The fly & surf guys are always crying that the sky is falling. I wouldn't pay them much mind. A fisherman I talk to who lives in ME. told me the bass started showing up there about a week ago. Down here bass & blue fishing has been very good for well over a month now. I love how the ski & fish seasons just flow into eachother.


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## JimG. (Jun 5, 2016)

Also spent time salt water fishing after reports of good striper and blue fishing:




Good striper fishing we caught more 15-20 pound fish than usual and my buddy Chris landed this 45-50 pounder. Blues hitting well too.

I don't do any salt water fly fishing and really limit it to early in the fresh water season in April and early May. I'm still learning how to be good at it and I've also noticed a lot of type A personalities out on fly water.


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## steamboat1 (Jun 5, 2016)

JimG you saltwater fish LI Sound correct? I've heard bass fishing has been good there too. Haven't heard as much about blues that way though. We've been fishing right outside our inlet (Rockaway) & inside Jamaica Bay too. Haven't had to go far to find fish yet this year. Bluefishing has been outstanding everyday with mostly medium to large size fish. Some days there are a lot of bass in the mix other days not. We mostly diamond jig fish on our boat. The smaller charter & private boats that live line bunker or chunk have been catching bass more consistently. The season has been very good so far, I hope it lasts.

edit: I've never done much freshwater fishing myself.


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## JimG. (Jun 5, 2016)

steamboat1 said:


> JimG you saltwater fish LI Sound correct? I've heard bass fishing has been good there too. Haven't heard as much about blues that way though. We've been fishing right outside our inlet (Rockaway) & inside Jamaica Bay too. Haven't had to go far to find fish yet this year. Bluefishing has been outstanding everyday with mostly medium to large size fish. Some days there are a lot of bass in the mix other days not. We mostly diamond jig fish on our boat. The smaller charter & private boats that live line bunker or chunk have been catching bass more consistently. The season has been very good so far, I hope it lasts.
> 
> edit: I've never done much freshwater fishing myself.



My friend has a boat at New Rochelle; when we go out with him we stay in the sound proper. The striper fishing has been very good the two days I've been out. And although you normally have to travel further east to get bigger blues this time of year up to 18 pounders have been hitting as well.

We also get out from Sheepshead Bay and we enjoy chartering Block Island striper or shark hunting trips from Montauk. Nothing beats the controlled chaos of an offshore shark hunt.

I get out for salt water action 4-5 days a season. I really love the peace and quiet sitting in a rowboat on a glass calm lake in the late afternoon.


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## steamboat1 (Jun 6, 2016)

We sail out of Gerritsen Creek on the Sheepshead Bay (the neighborhood) side of the creek but not where the piers are. We've been sailing from this location since 1956. My grandfather started my families party/charter boat business in 1949. I grew up working on the boats (we've had several) but haven't really been involved in the business for over 30 years. I choose a different career path. I do still maintain my captains license though.


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## dlague (Jun 6, 2016)

My wife and I took a fly fishing class and have signed up for three more.  The next classes involve lots of practice on casting technique and then actually getting out into actual fishing.  This sport is really big here in CO.


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## 180 (Jun 6, 2016)

JimG. said:


> Put some good effort into trout fishing this spring, pretty much from opening day on April 1 until last week. The cool weather that helped keep skiing alive was a disaster for fishing trout streams. The cold and many times windy weather made for sluggish trout action and difficult casting. Always fun to hike the fishing spots though.
> 
> My season really begins when we start getting out on the NYC reservoirs. The season does not officially begin until the third Saturday in June, but we start Memorial Day weekend to get the late spawning period action. After a fine Friday afternoon of bass fishing last week we went out yesterday and in addition to more good bass action I landed the trout I was looking for earlier this spring:
> 
> ...



Nice framing of the Cornell!


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## JimG. (Jun 6, 2016)

steamboat1 said:


> We sail out of Gerritsen Creek on the Sheepshead Bay (the neighborhood) side of the creek but not where the piers are. We've been sailing from this location since 1956. My grandfather started my families party/charter boat business in 1949. I grew up working on the boats (we've had several) but haven't really been involved in the business for over 30 years. I choose a different career path. I do still maintain my captains license though.



The photo you posted looked like the rail of a party boat. I have spent quite a bit of time with friends in the same spot. 

I think it's great that your family keeps the fishing spirit alive.


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## JimG. (Jun 6, 2016)

180 said:


> Nice framing of the Cornell!



Ha! Just noticed that. Not planned at all!

Steve had his camera ready and we got a quick shot. This fish was particularly uncooperative and insisted on wiggling and trying to escape at every turn. Lucky to get a good shot, unhook it, and get it back in the water.


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## JimG. (Jun 6, 2016)

dlague said:


> My wife and I took a fly fishing class and have signed up for three more.  The next classes involve lots of practice on casting technique and then actually getting out into actual fishing.  This sport is really big here in CO.



My first fly fishing experience was 30 or so years ago in CO. A beautiful meadow stream in a mountain valley near Vail. We had to hike about 2 miles to get there. 

Fishing is supremely relaxing to me.

Edit: the name of the stream was Piney Creek which fed into Piney lake which is at the base of a truly beautiful ridge.


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## bigbog (Jun 8, 2016)

dlague said:


> My wife and I took a fly fishing class and have signed up for three more.  The next classes involve lots of practice on casting technique and then actually getting out into actual fishing.  This sport is really big here in CO.



It's fun way to fish dlague....


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## dlague (Jun 8, 2016)

bigbog said:


> It's fun way to fish dlague....



Looking forward to the experience - we are going this coming weekend with a guide.  Once we understand things better and figure out what gear to buy then we will go on our own.


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## Tin (Jun 8, 2016)

Bed fishing Lake George last week with the pops. Did over 350 fish in 4 days.


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## JimG. (Jun 9, 2016)

Tin said:


> Bed fishing Lake George last week with the pops. Did over 350 fish in 4 days.



Nice! Trademark gin clear Lake George water.


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## Savemeasammy (Jun 10, 2016)

Tin said:


> Bed fishing Lake George last week with the pops. Did over 350 fish in 4 days.



Ski season is over.  Feel free to shave the beard!


Sent from my iPad using AlpineZone mobile app


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## Tin (Jun 10, 2016)

Savemeasammy said:


> Ski season is over.  Feel free to shave the beard!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using AlpineZone mobile app



The 70s are over. Feel free to cut the ponytail!


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## JimG. (Jun 11, 2016)

More smallmouth goodness today. Didn't have high hopes today very clear, sunny and windy. But wind abated soon after we arrived and we found a sunny shoreline late in the afternoon that produced really good action for about 2 hours. Caught 6 like this, a few nice largemouths and a lot of smaller fish:


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## Tin (Jun 11, 2016)

Just a little bit of wind can make them stupid. Got to love it. 

Anytime it is windy in the post spawn period I love the Rogue or McStick bite. I think the smallies bite the jerkbait better post spawn than pre (of course they are a bit lighter though).


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## JimG. (Jun 12, 2016)

Tin said:


> Just a little bit of wind can make them stupid. Got to love it.
> 
> Anytime it is windy in the post spawn period I love the Rogue or McStick bite. I think the smallies bite the jerkbait better post spawn than pre (of course they are a bit lighter though).



Wind can be good especially when blowing into favored coves; this time of year the bass can corral baitfish (in our area sawbellies) in those coves and you can see big balls of them even right along shore. Size 2 spinners and spinnerbaits work great. We do well with crayfish imitations also. Plastic worms always perform well but better after the weedbeds fill in.

And a lot of times the wind dies around sunset and that window of fishing can be ridiculous.

Agree the fish are aggressive post spawn; you have to be ready to hook any fish that bites at the worm right away or they swallow a lot of hooks.


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## JimG. (Jun 15, 2016)

Bass, bass, bass. They were really biting today. Went to a different reservoir. Fat Smallmouths:




Fat Largemouths too:




And I think this is my biggest smallmouth so far this season:




As awful as this past ski season was is as excellent as the fishing has been so far this fishing season. Hope it continues.


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## dlague (Jun 16, 2016)

Well my wife finished all our casting and entomology classes for fly fishing.  Our first trip is the 26th to fish Colorado's trout mecca in the Platte River and later Arkansas River.


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## JimG. (Jun 16, 2016)

I'm partial to the Frying Pan river near Aspen; great rainbow trout fishery.

I also enjoyed fishing the Gunnison where you can visit the rim of the Black Canyon.


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## steamboat1 (Jun 18, 2016)

They caught a nice black drum on the boat the other day.


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## JimG. (Jun 18, 2016)

Yeah, time for a saltwater trip.

Going out for more res action soon.


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## JimG. (Jun 19, 2016)

No pics from yesterday. Mostly small fish biggest only about 16".

Lost something that felt big, fought it for 3 minutes or so before losing it near the boat. Never saw the fish. It did not fight like a bass. The way it struggled for and stayed near the bottom I suspect it was a walleye. There is a good population of them in this res.

Walleye from 2 years ago:






That's why it's called fishing and not catching. Beautiful day on the lake.


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## JimG. (Jun 23, 2016)

Another fine late afternoon yesterday. Wind was howling from the west when I started out, went right to the CT side of the lake where this wind direction blows directly into a large cove that is deep in spots and shallow in others. Saw boiling schools of baitfish and once I found sheltered spots near shore where I could cast the plastic worm and control the boat I started catching fish. Smallmouths only today. Most fish in the 6"-12" range, caught this nice 3.5-4 lbs. fish casting the worm to a sandy underwater point from a protected cove:




Kept catching small fish along this shoreline, then rowed back out of the cove and went straight to a small island on the other side of the lake for sunset casting. I caught this fine and very well fed 4.5 lbs smallmouth my first cast on arrival; nice fat belly!




It does not get much better than this:


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## steamboat1 (Jun 24, 2016)

Outstanding JimG......


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## JimG. (Jun 24, 2016)

Fishing has been good since early May. Heading out again this afternoon, moving to a more southern (30 miles) res today.

We need rain badly, I see a lot of burned out lawns up in Dutchess/Putnam and the reservoir water levels are already dropping.


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## bigbog (Jun 24, 2016)

JimG. said:


> Fishing has been good since early May.....We need rain badly, I see a lot of burned out lawns up in Dutchess/Putnam and the reservoir water levels are already dropping.



Likewise up in Maine.  We're getting a shower or two about every 7-10 days...not enough, way below average so far...a number of small brooks that I've always had fun at until August are 90% dry already.  Think I'll have to visit my spring-fed streams in the remote sticks.


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## JimG. (Jun 26, 2016)

More good bass fishing on Friday afternoon. I landed nothing big, my buddy Steve landed a nice largemouth. We caught and hooked a lot of fish.

I hooked both a big largemouth and smallmouth and lost both of them. Frustrating because both broke off. Regular users of lighter test monofilament know that when it starts to kink that it's old and needs replacing. I noticed it on Wednesday but forgot to strip my reel and put new line on. Paid the price Friday.  

Sucks. Reel now freshly spooled with more 10 lbs. test. Still a great day the bass fishing really has been awesome. July is my go to month so things are looking good.


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## JimG. (Jun 26, 2016)

dlague said:


> Well my wife finished all our casting and entomology classes for fly fishing.  Our first trip is the 26th to fish Colorado's trout mecca in the Platte River and later Arkansas River.



Hope the fishing is good today.


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## JimG. (Jul 1, 2016)

I'm a little superstitious about fishing if you haven't noticed (always wear Cornell or RIT shirt or whatever my current lucky charm is like my sweated out and poorly fitting brook trout cap) and so are my fishing buddies. 

Conditions looked good yesterday with a west wind putting many of my best fishing spots into play. I rowed out to my favorite eastern cove and almost as soon as I got there the wind shifted very quickly to a strong east wind. Now if you talk to me or any of my buddies you will be told that the east wind at this res is "bad"; never catch fish with an east wind.

I pondered this for a minute and realized I have felt this way for 35 years because I never have good fishing luck with an east wind. Not sure why really. And I'm here anyway, so I rowed over to the southern shore of this cove and let the east wind push me back out along the railroad tracks on that shoreline. This area is deep, 10-15' near shore with plenty of good structure 15' or so offshore. I have thought many times that this area should be good.

In a short distance I had landed 4 decent largemouths all about 2-2.5 lbs. Pretty good action! Properly inspired, I thought about other spots in the western part of the lake that are similar. I fished the deep water sides of 2 islands in this area and proceeded to catch one smallmouth after another! Here are two:










These fish were very aggressive and all of them fought well, even the small fish. Many headshaking leaps followed by deep runs taking out line. Great day! 






An excellent example of how attitude can be affected by superstition. Fishing is in large part a confidence game. If you think you won't catch fish you won't. Lesson learned.


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## bigbog (Jul 2, 2016)

Nice pics/fish JimG...


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## JimG. (Jul 2, 2016)

Thanks.

It seems easy this season because the fish are biting so well, so far anyway. To put it in a skier's perspective, this is like getting 6" or more of fresh snow every time you go out on the hill.


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## 180 (Jul 5, 2016)

Fishing great by me as well, perch, crappie and bass


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## JimG. (Jul 9, 2016)

It was gray and threatening rain as we pushed off yesterday; even though a cold front was clearly moving through we decided to go out for a few hours anyway. Big smallmouths were hiding, only caught little ones. Good to see the little fish it means the water body is healthy and the fish are thriving and reproducing.

Since I brought raingear we never saw a drop of rain and the largemouth fishing was good in protected spots. This was my biggest of the day:







Gonna try to get out again tomorrow. Too cool and damp today.


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## steamboat1 (Jul 9, 2016)

A couple of friends of mine had an excellent day whiting fishing this week. One of my favorite eating fish.


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## JimG. (Jul 9, 2016)

I think a day of good action like that in salt water is the best! 

Also, the lighter tackle makes it more fun IMO.


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## bigbog (Jul 9, 2016)

Been pretty hot with lower water levels until the last 3-4 days, but two big player mayflies are hatching in the evenings and further into the night:
Green Drake(~1½" in length) and Hexagenia(~1½"-3" in length)..below.
The huge female Hexes are drawn to light @night...the big white insects seen up in the lights at gas stations at night...
HA...I'm a no show with the brooktrout, sorry...been cold and damp this last few days...gotta wait till next week.


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## JimG. (Jul 10, 2016)

That's a big daddy! There are many mayflies at my house but earlier in the year in spring.

Just noticed the umbrella rig and double header in one of steamboat's pics too.


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## steamboat1 (Jul 10, 2016)

JimG. said:


> Just noticed the umbrella rig and double header in one of steamboat's pics too.


Umbrella rig? They were using a three hook high/low rig with either a 8oz. sinker on the bottom or 8oz. jig. Between 5 guys they caught around 150 whiting,150 ling & a bunch of haddock. Lots of good eating right there!

rig: 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	





good eats:


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## JimG. (Jul 10, 2016)

This is what I've learned today; admittedly no salt water expert.

A lot of meat!


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## JimG. (Jul 16, 2016)

Wow was it hot yesterday! Not a great day to fish, nothing but a few small ones.

But it was a great afternoon/evening to hang out on the water in the shade and drink.

The other folks we usually see fishing had the same luck, there was a backup at all the boat spots getting off the lake at dark!


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## JimG. (Jul 20, 2016)

Beautiful day back in the northern reservoirs yesterday. Recent rain has helped and water levels are holding steady now.

After fishing a few spots and catching nothing, especially no small fish, I suspected the smallmouths were biting and it was a matter of finding a feeding frenzy. Went to my favorite eastern cove and with the steady west wind I found one. In one 200 yard stretch of shoreline I landed 5 smallies and 1 largemouth. These fish hit aggressively and fought well. All were 16-18" in length but they were literally stuffed to the gills with sawbellies. So much so that I could see 2-3 tails in the fishes' throats as I was unhooking them. 

This fish was about 17" in length and normally would weigh about 2.5 lbs. Yesterday it was obese and fought like a 4 pound fish:






That 200 yards of shoreline accounted for all of the fishing action. Great day for a row.


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## steamboat1 (Jul 21, 2016)

Very nice JimG. Our boat is currently down so I haven't been out on the ocean fishing. We cracked a liner in one of the cylinders so while we have it apart we're rebuilding the whole engine. Just waiting for the head to get back from the shop, it should go back together quickly once we get it back.

As for beach fishing it's been mostly small porgies & fluke on the bay side with a lot of kingfish being caught on the ocean side. Stripers & blues are in their normal mid-summer lull period.


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## JimG. (Jul 21, 2016)

Yeah, the dog days of August are approaching. Soon will be time for night/pre-dawn fishing on the reservoirs.

Really hope we get more rain but nothing in sight but heat and dryness.


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## steamboat1 (Jul 21, 2016)

New crank shaft bearings in, new liners, pistons & connecting rods going in as I type. Still waiting on the head.

Rebuilding a Detroit Diesel 671 engine. Only rebuilding one but there are two in the boat. Not the engine on the boat but heres a picture of a 671. I think it would sink your row boat.


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## JimG. (Jul 22, 2016)

Ya...or just crush it.

No motors allowed on res, not even electric trolling motors.


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## dlague (Jul 22, 2016)

Fly Fishing on South Platte this weekend - part of a three part lesson.  Will we be hooked?  We shall see.


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## steamboat1 (Jul 22, 2016)

Got the head back about 5:30 this evening. Going to be hard pressed to get everything back together so we can sail in the morning. We shall see.


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## JimG. (Jul 23, 2016)

Might head out this afternoon.


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## steamboat1 (Jul 23, 2016)

Still working. Heads on, valves & injectors tuned, fuel lines in, still need to adjust the rack, hook up the exhaust manifold, then all the peripheral crap, add oil & we'll see. Going to be an all nighter to get her ready to sail at 6:30am


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## JimG. (Jul 23, 2016)

Heading to beach instead.

Too hot to fish, that rowboat will be like a floating skillet.


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## steamboat1 (Jul 24, 2016)

Got it buttoned up just before sailing time. An all nighter.


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## steamboat1 (Jul 27, 2016)




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## dlague (Jul 27, 2016)

Finally got to go fly fishing on South Platte in Deckers, CO.  Very relaxing and we are hooked (hahaha)!


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## JimG. (Jul 27, 2016)

Glad you enjoyed a great way to spend a day outdoors especially out West.


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## JimG. (Jul 30, 2016)

It's been damned hot lately; fishing becomes hit or miss this time of the season, sometimes good and sometimes really slow. Today seemed like it might be OK fishing and frankly the weekend forecast for rain made it the best time to get out. 

As the bigger fish hunker down in the depths the small fish become bold so we wind up catching a lot of small bass. Some are barely bigger than the lures we use to catch them. True pigs!

Anyway, if you keep your lure in the water there is always the chance that one of those fish turns out to be a nice one. So, after catching about a dozen small bass you can imagine I was quite pleased to land this 5 pound largemouth:







Fishing picked up after I landed this one and we caught a few decent smallmouths each after the sun set.


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## chuckstah (Aug 8, 2016)

Nice haul of sea bass in Buzzards Bay today.  Reports of many stripers in the canal, but they have eluded me.  First light fishing in the morning has been hot. But not for me.


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## JimG. (Aug 9, 2016)

chuckstah said:


> Nice haul of sea bass in Buzzards Bay today.  Reports of many stripers in the canal, but they have eluded me.  First light fishing in the morning has been hot. But not for me.



Sea bass=good eating.

First light fishing essential for good striper action in my experiences out on the sound.


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## chuckstah (Aug 9, 2016)

JimG. said:


> Sea bass=good eating.
> 
> First light fishing essential for good striper action in my experiences out on the sound.



Yes, the sea bass dinner last night was great.  And tonight's lobsters from my neighbors traps that we hauled yesterday were also delicious.   Wish I could always eat this good.


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## JimG. (Aug 10, 2016)

Yeah I never eat enough lobster.


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## deadheadskier (Aug 10, 2016)

I tend to eat lobster too much this time year. Well, the lobster isn't the issue, the butter is. But at $4.99/# this time of year it's cheap eating


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## JimG. (Aug 10, 2016)

deadheadskier said:


> I tend to eat lobster too much this time year. Well, the lobster isn't the issue, the butter is. But at $4.99/# this time of year it's cheap eating



Yeah yeah don't rub it in.


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## JimG. (Aug 20, 2016)

Until yesterday afternoon it has been too hot to enjoy fishing. Weather was borderline as it was, not crazy hot but super humid.

Got out at 4pm and personally expected no fish until evening at earliest. Pushed off shore and caught a smallmouth on my first cast barely 10 feet from shore. That can be the kiss of death and it was until about 6:30.

Then the fish turned on and started biting. No small fish but no big fish either. Everything was in the 14-16" size range but the action was good and the three of us (also my buddies Steve and Chuck) caught a bunch of fish. Fish continued to bite when it got dark. We headed in at about 10pm and I caught a smallmouth on my last cast about 10 feet from shore. Maybe we should have just stayed there?

Classic mid-summer afternoon/night action which was good to see. The size range was good too even though we caught no big ones. Key was there were enough mid size fish to keep the 4-6" fish away. Bass are getting ready for prime late summer/early fall action. 

I think we may catch some big fish next time, hopefully worthy of a picture. Gonna try some night time shots with the spot from my headlamp.


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## steamboat1 (Aug 21, 2016)

Just hanging with the guys this afternoon at Floyd Bennett Airfield in Jamaica Bay, Brooklyn just shooting the breeze. All of a sudden the beach right in front of us (in tight) started exploding with cocktail bluefish (2-5 lbs.) chasing peanut bunker. We jigged a bunch for about 20min. & then they disappeared as quickly as they appeared. It was unexpected but fun while it lasted.


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## JimG. (Aug 21, 2016)

Mid-August fishing is usually spotty like that. Feast and Famine.

September-early October is always good.

And then it's time to ski! Good fishing like this year makes the time fly.


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## Tin (Aug 26, 2016)

deadheadskier said:


> I tend to eat lobster too much this time year. Well, the lobster isn't the issue, the butter is. But at $4.99/# this time of year it's cheap eating




Shocked it is this low. Saw $5.99 in western Mass and couldn't believe it. My buddy in Freeport was getting $2.30 a pound and it was average fishing at about 1.25 per trap, figured it would stay higher for longer.


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## bigbog (Aug 30, 2016)

deadheadskier said:


> I tend to eat lobster too much this time year. Well, the lobster isn't the issue, the butter is. But at $4.99/# this time of year it's cheap eating



Butter = meh, really can be exercised off....but the _Salt_ = takes more than exercise for me...
Can't wait to get back to skiing, hopefully this winter.....to essentially get back into shape.


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## 180 (Sep 1, 2016)

http://www.newyorkupstate.com/outdo...bass_in_st_lawrence_river.html#incart_m-rpt-1

http://www.newyorkupstate.com/outdo...smallmouth_bass_in_lake_erie_so_darn_big.html

http://www.newyorkupstate.com/outdo...55-inch_muskie_fishing_near_oswego_shore.html


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## jimk (Sep 1, 2016)

deadheadskier said:


> I tend to eat lobster too much this time year. Well, the lobster isn't the issue, the butter is. But at $4.99/# this time of year it's cheap eating



I'm not a lobster guy, buy my Dad loves the stuff.  The last time I took my Dad to MA to visit relatives was when he was pushing age 90.  It was around 2009, four years before he passed away.  We took a drive one day over to Hampton Beach, NH and up the coast to Southern ME.  My Dad had a lobster roll for lunch and then he had a lobster dinner at Browns Lobster Pound on the way back the same day.  My wife did the same.  I'll eat fried clams.  Lobsters look too much like aliens.





PS:  don't know how long Browns has been there but my folks made visits to friends at Hampton Beach as far back as the 1930s and always got lobster along the way.


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## deadheadskier (Sep 1, 2016)

Eat at Browns a few times a year. I live about 20 minutes away. They and Markeys across the street have both been around 50+ years. We gravitate towards Browns as it's BYOB


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## HD333 (Sep 1, 2016)

deadheadskier said:


> Eat at Browns a few times a year. I live about 20 minutes away. They and Markeys across the street have both been around 50+ years. We gravitate towards Browns as it's BYOB




I view Browns and Markeys as Red Sox Vs Yankees. 

It is either one or the other for me and I go with Browns. BYOB does help. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## deadheadskier (Sep 1, 2016)

Pretty good way of putting it. We went to Markeys first when we moved to the area 8 years ago. It's been 90% Browns since


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## JimG. (Sep 4, 2016)

I always laugh when I tell people I'm going fishing and they say "oh, your going to go catch fish". 

This past Wednesday and Friday were hard core fishing days. Everything earned nothing easy. 

On Wed we fished for 3.5 hours and had one 5" bass to show for it. Now it's dusk and the day is ending. So we looked around and picked out the closest shoreline we rarely bother to fish. Just figured we were fishing in the wrong spots. My first 5 casts after getting there produced 3 largemouths, nothing huge but all fun to catch:







My buddy Steve had similar luck. 

Friday was better but still mostly average fish and no big specimens. We got back to the big weed bed on the row in and I finally hooked something nice. There was still enough light to see a big smallmouth jump twice. The second splash sounded like a small child hitting the water. Then the fish charged the boat and I lost it. 

I hate when that happens. We fished another half hour or so but nothing else bit. Still exciting. I think I love the fishing part more than the catching part. Not great days, but still landed enough legal sized bass both days to feed my family well (if I were to keep the fish). Figuring out how to entice and catch fish on generally unproductive trips is the fun part.


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## chuckstah (Sep 4, 2016)

I had a fun couple of hours fishing the Merrimack in southern NH this afternoon.  Although most of the fish were very small, almost every cast produced something.  Mostly smallmouth, a couple largemouth and several brook trout.  Nothing worthy of a picture. Should have a couple hours free late tomorrow to do it again.   The river is lower than Ive seen it in my 10 or so years living here which is concentrating the fish in deep pools if you know where to look.  I'm still learning where they are.


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## deadheadskier (Sep 4, 2016)

Safe to eat the fish in that stretch of the Merrimack these days? You always hear about how polluted the river is from about Concord south.


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## chuckstah (Sep 4, 2016)

I catch and release unless the fish isn't going to make it, but from what I here the fish are ok to eat in limited quantities.  The river is much cleaner than even a few years ago.


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## deadheadskier (Sep 4, 2016)

Good to hear. I've always been a catch and release guy myself. I can probably count the number of fish I've kept to eat on one hand and that was due to who I was fishing with.  I've never salt water fished outside of a couple of charter experiences in Florida where we got skunked.  I think I'd be more inclined to keep a salt water species. Perhaps because you can get several meals out of say a striper compared with say a smalley.


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## chuckstah (Sep 5, 2016)

If i stumble upon a big striper,  sea bass or other good eating fish in salt water it gets eaten. Fresh water fish almost always get a second chance.


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## JimG. (Sep 5, 2016)

chuckstah said:


> I catch and release unless the fish isn't going to make it



Glad to hear others also catch and release. I have not kept one fish this season, all have been released uninjured.

I do keep fish when they are not going to make it (bleeding) and I love the taste of freshwater fish; mostly I'm just too lazy to worry about cleaning them after a long afternoon/evening of fishing. Also, in general salt water fish have more flavor. I just don't get out in salt water more than 3-5 times a season.


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## steamboat1 (Sep 5, 2016)

Most of the fish I enjoy catching because of the fight they put up I don't enjoy eating (stripers, blues, weakfish, albacore & to a lesser extent bonito). Most of these get thrown back save a few for neighbors that eat them. Years ago anyone would be able to ship them to market to make a few bucks. Can't do that anymore without a special license, in NY it's called a Food Fish License or FFL, which are very hard to come by. They are passed down generation to generation for the most part. It's only recently they've started issuing a scarce few new ones by lottery, hundreds apply for the handful of new ones issued. My family actually has one but lease it out to a commercial fisherman. We can only do this because our FFL is issued to a corporate name. The vast majority of FFL's are issued to an individual name & can't be leased or sold hence why they are passed down through generations. They don't issue FFL's to a corporate name anymore, we are grandfathered in.

Most of the fish I do enjoy eating come up like dead weight & I don't enjoy catching them (cod, haddock, whiting, hake). There are a few exceptions which can be fun to catch on light tackle (flounder, fluke, porgies, sea bass). The only local fish that comes to mind that I do enjoy catching because of the fight & eating is blackfish. I like fresh tuna but they put up to much of a fight. Enjoyed catching them when I was younger but now they are just to much work. Most local fish have strict recreational regulations on them now as to season, size & bag limits. I've never done much fresh water fishing save a handful of times.


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## bigbog (Sep 7, 2016)

Spent ~4-5 days back in early June with some nice hatches on some streams: the So.Br. Penobscot....upstream of the Canada Falls stretch known to rafters/kayaker, stretches of the N.Br. Penobscot, tribs to Seboomook and Chesuncook lakes, and a few brooks around the Farrar Mtn area of Maine.  Real good results in areas accessed by old cutting roads, but I neglected to take pics when fishing(still have to get better at that).  Will take pics from here on in through Fall....  What I missed was our hopper season(mid-July through August):angry:...the best time of year outside of winter.


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## chuckstah (Sep 8, 2016)

Nothing doing for an hour tonight, and than right at dusk some big ones decided to eat.  Too warm today until the sun set.  A rare fish worthy of a pic. But fishing solo today the pic is not good.


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## JimG. (Sep 8, 2016)

chuckstah said:


> Nothing doing for an hour tonight, and than right at dusk some big ones decided to eat.  Too warm today until the sun set.  A rare fish worthy of a pic. But fishing solo today the pic is not good.



Yeah, selfies holding fish are surprisingly difficult to take. 

Damned hot here too. Not surprised the evening/night fishing was good. 

We're heading out tomorrow afternoon.


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## chuckstah (Sep 8, 2016)

JimG. said:


> Yeah, selfies holding fish are surprisingly difficult to take.
> 
> Damned hot here too. Not surprised the evening/night fishing was good.
> 
> We're heading out tomorrow afternoon.



Have fun tomorrow. It's supposed to be near 90 here tomorrow afternoon, which wont be good.  I'm heading to the Cape for the weekend and hope to get in a bit of striper fishing after work if time permits.


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## Tin (Sep 9, 2016)

Took the dog for a run around the nature preserve behind our house last night and saw a guy with a $600+ G Loomis/Shimano setup throwing a 12" swimbait in the 3-4 acre farm pond. I initially thought it was just a shallow beaver pond pond maybe not lol


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## JimG. (Sep 9, 2016)

chuckstah said:


> Have fun tomorrow. It's supposed to be near 90 here tomorrow afternoon, which wont be good.  I'm heading to the Cape for the weekend and hope to get in a bit of striper fishing after work if time permits.



We will hang out and drink in the shade until the sun starts to set and then fish seriously between 6-10pm.

The shade is also the best place to fish until then. The stable flies are going to be obnoxious.


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## JimG. (Sep 9, 2016)

Tin said:


> Took the dog for a run around the nature preserve behind our house last night and saw a guy with a $600+ G Loomis/Shimano setup throwing a 12" swimbait in the 3-4 acre farm pond. I initially thought it was just a shallow beaver pond pond maybe not lol



Sylvan Lake right down road from me has about 5 acres of surface area and looks small. But it's 120' deep in one spot. Excellent Laker fishery.

There are a few other lakes in this area that are similar, Lake Gleneida and Lake Gilead are two of them where I used to live in Carmel. 

Glacial Boreholes.


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## JimG. (Sep 10, 2016)

Humans don't seem to care for high humidity, but fish seem to love it so who cares? Yesterday we got to our southern res at about 4pm and it was hot and humid. The only saving grace was for the first time that I can remember this season we had good cloud cover. The sun peeked out for only about 10 minutes but that was hell on earth.

The clouds seemed to make a big difference as today was more a catching day than a fishing day. We pushed off and were immediately rewarded with a double header after our first casts. That set the tone for the day and we caught lots of fish. Nothing huge or pic worthy, the biggest fish were 2-2 1/2 pounds but the sheer number and total biomass landed was impressive.

Still looking for that late summer/early fall lunker bass. I know it is out there waiting for me.


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## deadheadskier (Sep 21, 2016)

This came across my FB feed today. Pretty amazing the Fluke survived such a bite. Guy who caught it through him back.


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## JimG. (Sep 21, 2016)

deadheadskier said:


> This came across my FB feed today. Pretty amazing the Fluke survived such a bite. Guy who caught it through him back.



That is pretty amazing. The fish deserved to be released.


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## dlague (Sep 21, 2016)

My brother in law caught this bad boy today on Moore Reservoir in Northern NH.


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## Tin (Sep 22, 2016)

dlague said:


> My brother in law caught this bad boy today on Moore Reservoir in Northern NH.



Hope he released it. Northerns are becoming increasingly rare in New England. I know RI has actually stocked them in a few places to try to keep numbers up. They are such a fun and amazing fish, like a freshwater cuda/torpedo and not like their slime dart pickerel cousins.


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## deadheadskier (Sep 22, 2016)

How's the meat compared to a pickerel?  I caught a monster pickerel once and my fishing partner convinced me to keep it for us to have for dinner.  I tried to object explaining that I had heard they were a PITA to bone.  That turned out to be true. Tasty meat, but not worth the hassle to eat.


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## Tin (Sep 22, 2016)

deadheadskier said:


> How's the meat compared to a pickerel?  I caught a monster pickerel once and my fishing partner convinced me to keep it for us to have for dinner.  I tried to object explaining that I had heard they were a PITA to bone.  That turned out to be true. Tasty meat, but not worth the hassle to eat.



I know my girlfriend's relatives in Norway and Sweden live off pike, it is a staple there. I've never tried it but I've heard it is one of the better freshwater fish along with crappie and perch.


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## dlague (Sep 22, 2016)

Tin said:


> Hope he released it. Northerns are becoming increasingly rare in New England. I know RI has actually stocked them in a few places to try to keep numbers up. They are such a fun and amazing fish, like a freshwater cuda/torpedo and not like their slime dart pickerel cousins.



Catch and release is all he does!


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## steamboat1 (Sep 22, 2016)

dlague said:


> Catch and release is all he does!


Well then someone should teach him how to handle a fish properly if he plans to release it. By sticking his hand in the fishes gill he greatly reduced the chances of that fish surviving.


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## dlague (Sep 22, 2016)

steamboat1 said:


> Well then someone should teach him how to handle a fish properly if he plans to release it. By sticking his hand in the fishes gill he greatly reduced the chances of that fish surviving.



Alrighty then!  I will let him know of your thoughts.


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## steamboat1 (Sep 22, 2016)

dlague said:


> Alrighty then!  I will let him know of your thoughts.


Tell him also not to use a rag to hold a fish (not that he did in that picture). Using a rag takes off the fishes protective slime making the fish more vulnerable to infection & decease. It's always best to leave a fish in the water & dehook them there. I realize people like to take pictures of their catch but doing so is not good for the fish. Holding the fish up like that could also damage his internal organs. I'm not trying to be a wise guy, just trying to educate people on the proper way to handle & release fish.


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## bigbog (Sep 22, 2016)

Tin said:


> Hope he released it. Northerns are becoming increasingly rare in New England. I know RI has actually stocked them in a few places to try to keep numbers up....



Are sure on that?  Think RI has lost much of its native population is because most ALL freshwater fish, due to development...pollution and water temperature rise..ie Loss of Habitat, are on the decline.  They're quite healthy in PQ(correct JimG)..and in Maine..from illegal stocking and near any boundary waters with Quebec and New Brunswick..  Maine has to constantly monitor streams and provide obstacles to prevent pike from entering trout and salmon waters.  It's quite a battle/challenge given IF&W's low funding/commitment from state government...compared to the quality of what used to be..


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## JimG. (Sep 22, 2016)

Nice Northern.

Quebec still has amazing Northern pike fisheries. The area north of Lac St. Jean is filthy with big ones. Days with several 20+ lb. fish are not uncommon. 

Not to mention absolute world class walleye and lake trout fishing.


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## JimG. (Sep 22, 2016)

steamboat1 said:


> Tell him also not to use a rag to hold a fish (not that he did in that picture). Using a rag takes off the fishes protective slime making the fish more vulnerable to infection & decease. It's always best to leave a fish in the water & dehook them there. I realize people like to take pictures of their catch but doing so is not good for the fish. Holding the fish up like that could also damage his internal organs. I'm not trying to be a wise guy, just trying to educate people on the proper way to handle & release fish.



All true.

I am guilty of photos for documentation.


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## dlague (Sep 23, 2016)

JimG. said:


> All true.
> 
> I am guilty of photos for documentation.



Well when you get a bigun' you want to have perspective to tell the story right?


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## buellski (Sep 23, 2016)

dlague said:


> Well when you get a bigun'


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## dlague (Sep 23, 2016)

buellski said:


>



Great magazine!


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## Tin (Sep 24, 2016)

bigbog said:


> Are sure on that?  Think RI has lost much of its native population is because most ALL freshwater fish, due to development...pollution and water temperature rise..ie Loss of Habitat, are on the decline.



Should have specified, in southern New England it is much harder to catch 5+ pound pike. Mass is a little better but in RI and CT they are harder to come by. I know CT has lakes like Bantam/Pachaug that still have some numbers but still isn't a guaranteed pike each time you go. RI has 3-4 lakes you can go to and catch pike (and most are one pike every few trips if that).

Most RI fisheries are REALLY on the upswing (Stafford, Wallum, Beach Pond, Johnson's, Wachaug, etc.) and putting out more numbers and bigger fish in tournaments than years past. Stafford, Wallum, and Beach have surging populations of smallmouth. A few of these lakes have gone from 1.5 lbs average fish weight in tournaments to 2.5-3.5 pounds. Some of the best fishing I've ever seen. That said, they are small bodies of water and extremely sensitive to cold fronts and dramatic weather changes.

I would say 50+ years ago pollution was an issue, the biggest issue in RI is pressure. Places like Indian Lake and Roger Williams Park were taking a ~3-4 pound average to win a tournament (5 or 8 fish) five years ago. Then word gets out, you have 3-4 tournaments on them a week (some 20-40 boats/anglers), accompanied by recreational fishermen in kayaks bringing chain stringers of 4-5 pound fish home to show off/cook, and general pressure (going there on a random Saturday and there are 16 boats). All this pressure on 100-200 acre ponds will have a huge impact. Now those fisheries spit out nothing but 10-14" skinny, unhealthy looking bass and the occasional 4-5 pound fish with no bottom lip. A limit of 12" fish can win a tournament there now.


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## JimG. (Sep 24, 2016)

The season is starting to wind down near me. Last Friday and yesterday resulted in few fish. The cold front yesterday/last night killed the fishing action.

I think 2 more trips for me and the season is done. Time to ski!


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## Hawkshot99 (Sep 24, 2016)

I need the creeks to fill back up. I need to get some late season trout.


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## chuckstah (Sep 24, 2016)

Still lots of small to medium bass around me but large bass and trout are hard to come by.  Dry streams and creeks have most certainly hurt the trout population.


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## bigbog (Sep 25, 2016)

That sounds good on RI fisheries Tin!   Totally hear you on the more-than-a-few fisheries with a split in healthy growth....exactly the same thing goes for more than a few brooktrout fisheries in Maine, with respect to insect feed(ie hatches that've been severely diminished compared to ~40+ yrs ago), many thin and some very fat(predatory) brookies.

Feel bad for the trout in our streams these last bunch of summers & falls.

Just crossing fingers for snowmaking rainwater...


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## JimG. (Oct 3, 2016)

This guy equaled the NYS record for smallmouth bass, 8 lbs. 4 oz.:

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/...olice-sergeant-ties-record-big-fish/91326520/

I'm not sure what that fish was feeding on but it must be plentiful and tasty. If it had not been caught in a tournament I might suspect someone pumped it full of beer!


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## bigbog (Oct 4, 2016)

chuckstah said:


> Still lots of small to medium bass around me but large bass and trout are hard to come by.  Dry streams and creeks have most certainly hurt the trout population.



You can say that again.....the last couple day trips = August & September...took more than a couple minutes of planning through the DeLorme State Atlas and individual topo maps.


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## JimG. (Oct 4, 2016)

Big bass are staying deeper now and you need to use his technique or similar to entice them. 

We finally bought a portable fish finder and used it this past Sunday with some success later in the day, near weed beds with deep water access. It is really necessary to fish a vertical water column properly. In some spots near shore was 4-8' deep but 15 yards offshore it dropped off to 100'. Good for spotting lake trout too.

I'm pretty pumped about using it.


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## Abominable (Oct 7, 2016)

For any of you Westchester / Fairfield County folks (that fish saltwater), it's on fire right now with loads of bait getting hammered with blues and the occasional bass.  Should be pretty good until Thanksgiving.


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## JimG. (Oct 7, 2016)

Abominable said:


> For any of you Westchester / Fairfield County folks (that fish saltwater), it's on fire right now with loads of bait getting hammered with blues and the occasional bass.  Should be pretty good until Thanksgiving.



My buddy Steve fishes in the sound at his place in CT and he has been catching nice blues right off the small jetty at his beach. Quite a few 15 lbs. stripers too.


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## JimG. (Oct 7, 2016)

Today was good. Gorgeous afternoon. Studied up on using the fish finder. Learning how to interpret the display. Bass were holding in 6-10 feet of water. I usually use plastic worms but today I stuck to deep diving crawdad imitations; finally put on a crawdad color Bomber plug good for fishing at 7-10 feet with rattles inside the body. Caught 6 nice smallmouths all about like this one:







Wish I had this fish finder earlier in the season.


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## steamboat1 (Oct 8, 2016)

Abominable said:


> For any of you Westchester / Fairfield County folks (that fish saltwater), it's on fire right now with loads of bait getting hammered with blues and the occasional bass.  Should be pretty good until Thanksgiving.


Same thing along the western beaches of LI with a few albacore in the mix too. The ocean is loaded with bait, so are the creeks & bays for that matter.


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## outdoor.mne (Oct 25, 2016)

www.tenkarastream.blogspot.com

Sent from my ALE-L21 using Tapatalk


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## JimG. (Nov 10, 2016)

Turns out October 8 was my last day of fishing. Got busy with ski gear and other prep for the ski season and just never got back to the water.

It was a great season, glad to share my year here with you all.

Looking forward to Fishing 2017.


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## Hawkshot99 (Nov 10, 2016)

Never got to do any fall fishing really.  The DEC shut down the Esopus creek where I usually go.  Water was was flowing at 60CMS, where its typically at 400-600CMS.


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