On Friday I stopped at the Salisbury State Park boat ramp.
There were 6 boats launched but I saw nobody around to talk with.
So I drove over to the jetty to get a better look. The seas were flat
and there was no wind at all--- visibility
was unlimited
but I did not spot any boats. They may have been fishing for cod.
I then drove to the boat ramp on the Piscataqua River at
Dover Point in NH, The tide was coming in and only one boat was out on the water and air Temperature was
in the low 40s--- I`d like to try my luck here in a few months.The Great Bay is just up river from here and is a hot striper spot.
Dec 23 Leominster State Forest
Today is the first time ice fishing this season.Paul and I have been trying to find time to fish for a while.Talking on the phone of family stuff and when we could get away. 3 days later we were on Crocker pond at Leominster State Forest.The ice was 6 inches thick,-cold--- was the word and its great to be fishing again.The Score was just weeds and a great time with good company. Paul is lining up a power ager for next weeks trip. We hope to fish Webster Lake .
Nov 12 Cape Cod Canal
I can think of nothing more fun than fishing for macks at the east end of the canal and yes the macks are in. I caught About one dozen on a silver colored 5 hook rig . One of the guys I talked with said they were near bottom so we added 2 oz in line sinkers and began hooking up right away. But was only landing one at a time when a local told me how he landed 7 .He said when you hookup don't reel it in just keep your line tight and your Christmas tree will load up.well it worked . 4 at a time became common.There`s also allot of bait in the water.so get there if you can.
Nov 2 R.I. coast
Weather wise the Conditions on Rhode Islands Misquamicut Beach was Perfect . The tee shirt hat and sunglasses made it seem more like July than November and because it was Sunday the guys were out in full force.Boats 4x4s jetty jumpers and surfcasting from the sand made for a lively day.About 2 dozen boats were anchored up in 60 feet of water all afternoon but I could`nt tell if they were catching anything but not moving the boats around is telling.The shore was a different story and it didn't matter where you were it was a total skunk for every one from Weekapaug breech to Misquamicut Beach.
Oct27 Weekapaug breech
Paul show up at the Weekapaug breech way today with Nek. They Arrived for the morning high tide and the blues and stripers show up to . The bite turned on 45 mins` before high tide and lasted 2 hours . This place seems a sure bet if your looking for blues and maybe stripers.Paul landed 2 blue on the jetty rocks but Nek was out of luck today . Paul did tell me he could have caught alot more with a better landing and cooler system.Oh and by the way he uses homemade kastmaster lures.
Oct16 Weekapaug breech
Great fishing at the Weekapaug breech way in Rhode Island today with Large blues and Stripers chasing hickory shad up on to the beach and the jetty rocks for two hours. The large waves where pounding the beach and jetty so hard the shad seemed to have no where to go. Paul caught the first blue fish at 32" in length on a large kastmaster with 17.lb mono line .The soft lures where of no use today- chopped in half. Allot of fishermen showed up in 4+4s at high tide which is when the fish turned on.They seemed to know when the fish would be here.The guys caught a mix of blues and stripers.I had 2 cut offs and landed a 31" blue fish and 3 hickory shad . One guy caught a large 30 lb+ striper on a top water plug.
sept 20th fishing
Not much time spent fishing this month so far. Went to 3 or 4 locale ponds here in Worcester county.Caught a few bass and plenty of pan fish on spinner and jigs. only an hour or 2 fishing at a time ,mostly from shore.Oh and did some bluegill fishing with a fly rod.Its allot of fast fun if you can only fish for 10 or 15 Minutes at a wack. But most of my time is going into rebuilding a 17 foot Wellcraft. Hope to get That in the water real soon
Went bass fishing in the northwest cove Sunday afternoon.The strange thing was the pan fish where nowhere to be found . We said to each other that something was going on because last year at this same time we where getting fish on every cast. Well we soon found out. It seems a very large fish had taken up residents in the area.All Though I caught 3 smaller Largemouth Bass, Evert was the lucky one.His fish was -the fish of a life time-(Ev is 77 years old} it took him 35 min`s to land this monster.It got tangled from weed bed to dock pilings and back again.The lure he used was a 7`` lizzard powerbait by Berkley. This soft bait is strong smelling and works! Oh it was a Largemouth 7lb-4oz..... 23 1/2 `` long and was released to fight another day.....Nice job Ev. I`ll post the picture as soon as I can.
July 24- Merrimac river
Today Paul tried his newly restored 18 foot Sea Sedan in saltwater. We headed to the mouth of the Merrimac river and anchored up in the rip near the campground. Nick and Dave were aboard also and the stripers were every where.The fish finder showed small groups moving under the boat all afternoon. The average length of the fish caught was about 19", but we did get 2 keepers that we ate for dinner.
July 5-maremedow reservoir
The fishing at maremedow reservoir was tough today. High water made for little shoreline access. I did find a spot under the trees to cast from thought- but pan fish were all that I caught
June 18 Hampton N H
Went and fished the harbor Hampton N H a.m. in the rip area.-- until about high tide from the shore .The fish Had all things thrown at um for 3 hours --but they were not cooperating and the stripers were definneitly there .We saw 2 groups of large bass rolling on the surface at the mouth and one cow rolling in the rip 100 yards west of rt 1 bridge We had several bumps from (schoolie) but no hookups . storm shad lures had all the hits and cut bait on the bottom and drifting was not working today at all . The Weather was rainy but seeing the stripers rolling was worth getting wet for .
June 15 Baker pond
Went fishing in carlton Ma. -- baker pond . Shore fished the north side in the cove. The pan fish where biting well on jig rig with a micro set 3 feet down from bobber. The spinner fishing was slow but I did manage to get one 22" pickerel on the bottom with a texas rig baited with a chuck of shad.
May 26 merrimac river
Fished merrimac river on the state park side today.We were using chuck herring drifting the out going tide with open bails. Schools of stripers moved out of the creeks at low tide and herded bait fish around the mouth of the river for a few hours . Fly rods seemed to be the best way to land these fish. we saw hook ups consintly between 5 or 6 people fishing the mouth of Black rock Creek .sometimes they all hook up at the same time, and we did see some keepers to
May 21 Westerly to Stonington Ct. .
We fished the river from Westerly to stonington point in the rain and caught 1 striper .The fishing just did not heat up today. When we entered the little Narragansett bay the tide was almost full and the sea life is beginning to come back fast as the water temp rises The sea gulls and tern were diving but only 2 times that we saw
May 13th westerly Ri.Stripers.
First time striper fishing this season. Set the Boat in the river in Westerly Ri. There`s a
state boat ramp on rt 1a south , 1/4 mile from center of town.
The Strippers were biting in the river for about the last 3 weeks.
Started trolling with home made lures from the boat ramp to little Narragansett bay.
Paul took the first striper of the season.18 inches. caught less than 200 yards
from the dock. The tide was going out and the fish were biting for about 3.5 hours.
Then it slowed at high tide.Most fish were caught half way between ramp and the bay.lures of
choice today were kastmasters with red surg tube. many hits with a 1 in 4 hookup rate.
The day was a total thumbs up.
May 4th comet pond Hubbardston Ma.
When out on comet pond for trout . State stock it last week and the week
before that . Paul picked up an old 3.3 hp Johnson and we had to try and get
it running.The shear pin was broken so he lifted it off the transom into the
back of the boat! repaired it placed it back on the boat and trolled with it for 2
hours until it ran out of gas .Hey when you don`t have a shear pin you can
sometimes use the mettle in the hook of a bungy cord ? hey it worked ! fish finder showed Many but saw only one 14 in. rainbow landed .
April 29-30 Crow hill pond Ma.
I Went fishing at Crow hill Pond for trout and caught 4 hatchery trout 8" long. Seems
its a great place for fly fishing . Only small ones stocked to eat the black flies
!!! not for the fishermen to eat . Sill fun though.....PS:.Paul and I went back the next day to go trout fishing with light tackle and fly rods . WE caught only warm water fish --go figure 2 pickerel 12 and 19 inches and 1 small horn pout, and It looks like someone may have put stripers in the pond but I am not sure, but it may be so, cause I see striped fish small but striped---?
April 24-Chicopee Ma.
Went shad fishing on the Chicopee River today . Water was cold and the shad run is
just beginning. Paul landed one 19 incher and we had many hook-ups .
Granby Road and the wall were slow by local standards but its only going to
get better from here.A couple of guys we met said that schoolie stripers are
being caught at the mouth (point) of the river.A state boat ramp there on the ct. river will give you access.
April 22-Baker Pond Charlton Ma.
This pond is a killer warm water pond. It has limited access on a very tough rocky boat ramp. Good for cartop and small boats.I had 30 mins fishing with small jig and bobber with 2 hits and landed one fat crappie.
April 10th-Wachusett res.
Fished Wachusett Res at the river and railroad bridge with power bait and spoons today .Pumps were off and water was high and cold .Theres ice on cove near the river but should be gone in a couple of day . At the stone church area a couple a dozen guys were working the shore mostly with shinners.I Did`nt see any Trout landed when I was there but its a good bet that with so much live bait in the water a few were caught .
April 2nd-Central Ma.
Nik, Paul and I went fishing at 2 ponds today . Both were stocked last week
with trout --sandy pond in Ayer ---Mirror lake Fort Devens Harvard ma.
Fishing was slow but steady,and of all the guys that were shore fishing ,the
catch was 5 trout 3 yellow perch 2 bluegills and a dozen or so crappie.Oh spoted a Bald Eagle flying over head being chased by a crow. He was heading to the north east.He may have been after winter kill fish caused by the very thick ice this winter.
March 28th-Leominster State Park Ma.
fished fresh water ponds in and around Leominster state Park today. We
were using plastic bait. jigging on the bottom mostly and slow retrieval spinners
to. ice is 70% out.
state hatcheries have not stocked it with trout.In a few more weeks they will. note: 3 very large
largemouth bass were found in shallows dead . It seems there was very thick
ice this year and the pond where they were found is weedy and shallow. One
of them was about 5lbs which is large for this area .
March 19th-Cape Cod
Today Paul , Nelson ,Paul S.,and my self checked out Nauset beach in Orleans. The wind was out of the
north at 15mph--- temp 38 degs with lots of waves. No fishing was
possible.But we did stop at the locale Marina for a fishing report . It seems
the trout have been hitting good at cliff pond in Brewster.Shinners being the
bait of choice,that is when the ice was in .Water level is down now but it looks like a
good place to try, even with the ice out. Stoped at 2 bait and tackle shops today also(GooseHummock and Red Top)
March 9th-Cape Cod
This was the " March" Cape Cod salt water fishing trip---2003--yup 4 spots
to check out and all of them were top notch.--- Another great fishing season
begins....First stop Monument Beach boat ramp, its iced in so we moved on.
Next is west end of canal at low tide. The Water was cold for this time of year
and the tide was out . Now on to Pleasant Bay in Chatham with Access at Strong
Island Road . This area offers parking and room to explore virtually miles of
shoreline. This area was teaming with sea life.But no fish caught. Next is Sesuit Harbor jetty with
a short walk and deep sandy bottom that looks like a good flounder spot.
Last spot east end of the canal. This jetty is best fished from middle to high
tide but today the water was just a bit to cold .
February 21 -salem willows pier and Gloucester jetty
Today we went cod fishing from shore. Paul, Mark, Nik and Paul S. packed
our fishing gear and did a day trip. We Stopped at the locale bait shop to picked up
some clams and extra tackle. Then Fished the in coming tide at the pier for about 3
hours and then drove to the breakwall jetty at the entrance to Gloucester harbor. no
cod not even crabs ---
Well today, the Ice fishing continues --- Paul was up for fishing for salt or
fresh so we decided on fresh.---- I would like salt but travel time was short
so
we fished 2 local hot spots---- fort pond and Spectacle Pond in north
WORCESTER county Massachusetts. Fort pond is a great perch--- white or
yellow ,warm water pond.where as spectacle pond is a trout
only water.The air temp was 5f ----the wind direction was nw at 10mph---ice 24in---got to get a power auger. Thick ice will slow you down big time.
January 30th Long Pond Rutland ma.
The Early morning fishing on long pond was beautiful. With woods on all sides
,it made for a quiet and calm ice fishing trip. Weekends are sometimes busy
here but on a weekday mornings you usually have the pond to yourself. If
you have never fished here its definitely worth a try summer or winter. Today
we jig fished for yellow perch using Swedish pimples and shiner bits . Some
late arrival guys pulled up a large mouth bass through the ice and we had a
bonus sighting of coyote tracks on the powder snow from a few hours earlier. I think next time we`ll start with salmon egg and live shiners.
January27th Paradise Pond
Went ice fishing on paradise pond in Princeton ma. today -----Had some left overshiners to use up. We Stayed 2 or 3 hours and then called it quits..it was getting dark.---ice was 22" thick! It`s kind of tough to get many holes in with a ice chisel when it`s that thick. So we did`nt fish much of the pond and no fish were caught where we were.
January19th lake Quinsigamond
This morning Paul and I went ice fishing on the lakes northwest end
at the boat ramp. The weather was cold (19F) but without any wind it felt pretty good
.The Ice was 8" thick and the tilts were setup in about 20 minutes --medium
small live shiners for bait.We just had to go fishing, you know that feeling...
(getting out was great).... Plus I had a new fishing gear sled to try out...and it turns out it slide like butter,--the narrow steel runners cut like a knife.There were 8 other guys fishing in 2 groups so there was a lot of bait in the water. no luck on the fish side but there was a bunch of good people to talk with .
