gone fishin

Manchester - October 6, 2007

2007-10-06T08:10:00.000-07:00

The fishing was tough this morning. My brother and I went out in kayaks before dawn and fished for two to three hours. There was only one short burst where fish broke the surface, maybe five minutes. Other than that, all was quiet.

There were a lot of kayaks on the water today. And, kayak etiquette seems to have gone by the wayside. I was fishing around one of the little islands and three other kayaks converged on me, not more than twenty yards from where I was. I would understand if I was on fish, but I was just prospecting. It was very frustrating, especially because I watched them coming towards me from a half-mile away. It's a big ocean guys!

Hopefully I'll have better luck next time (fishing that is :-)).

Manchester - September 14, 2007

2007-09-14T13:49:00.000-07:00

I went out early this morning in the kayak in Manchester. The weather was cool, around the mid-50s, and the ocean was calm. At this time of year, it doesn't begin to get light out until around 6:00 A.M.

The action was fast and furious, as the fish (stripers) were pretty much everywhere. Before it started to get light, a smallish black deceiver on intermediate line was producing well. As the light set in, the fish continued to break the surface consistently, but the fish stopped hitting the deceiver. I switched over to a small white/gold baitfish imitation that produced some fish.

Unfortunately, worked (and parental duties) called and I had to cut it off.

The biggest fish taken was in the 24-25 inch range.

Sept 7 - Manchester harbor

2007-09-08T04:09:00.000-07:00

Decided to play a little hooky w/ a couple of my colleagues yesterday and went out on one of their boats. We were cruising outside of the mouth of Manchester harbor, between the harbor and around Misery island. Not long after mid-afternoon, we found consistently feeding stripers. There were several pods of fish breaking the surface.

It took a couple of lure changes to figure out what work, but eventually hooked up w/ a few 20 - 22 inch fish on a Yozuri floating minnow.

All-in-all, a great day (although, as always, I'd prefer to fly fish :-)).

August 25, 2007 - MV

2007-08-26T04:27:00.000-07:00

I kayaked from the Edgartown side of State Beach to the big bridge and back. It was a little hairy, the fog was thick and the wind was blowing out hard. At one point I let myself get too far out and thankfully there were plenty of cars going along the beach road to allow me to see how to get back.

I decided to hug the shore a little more, staying between the beach and at most twenty-to-thirty yards outside of the buoys.

About halfway to the bridge there were fish jumping everywhere. They were either bonito or bluefish. My fly was snapped off by whatever they were along the shore. I caught a nice bluefish at the bridge. All fish and hits were on a black deceiver on shooting-head line.

Overall, a great experience, aside from the fog and wind.

August 24, 2007 - MV

2007-08-24T18:41:00.000-07:00

The fishing the past few days has been tough. The best results have been in the morning at my favorite State Beach spots, although I have been skunked, too. A floating sand eel on intermediate line has produced fish.

Thursday morning, August 16, 2007 MV

2007-08-16T04:08:00.000-07:00

The water's super warm.

I went out around 5:00 to my favorite spot along State Beach. There were fish breaking the surface, but surprisingly the Striper Crack wasn't producing ... a rare occurrence. I persisted to no avail and then decided to switch it up. I put on a floating sand eel and let it drift inside. I hooked and landed two immediately, with one of decent size (22 - 24 inches). The same rig may be the best way to start tomorrow's hunt.

Saw an awesome sunrise, too!

Tuesday, August 14, 2007 on MV

2007-08-16T03:59:00.000-07:00

I went out on a guided boat to the shoals between MV and Nantucket.

The first shoal that we fished only produced a couple of strikes (and landings). We stayed for about a half an hour before the guide decided to move on to the next shoal. Good thing that we did! The next shoal was loaded w/ bluefish. In every wave that was breaking on the shoal, you could see eight or more darting bluefish. And that's only the fish that you could see and there were waves breaking all around the shoals. We literally caught a bluefish every cast for three and a half hours. There were so few casts where we did not hook up that the misses were insignificant. All of the fish were in the 5-7 lb range, with a few bigger (and smaller) ones. I was hauling them in on spin tackle and a fly road (I switched to spin tackle once in a while only because the person I was with had to come to my side of the boat to land the fish). In total, the person I was with and I caught approximately 80 blues. Unbelievable!

Memorial Day Weekend 2007 on MV

2007-05-31T06:58:00.000-07:00

I did the usual route each night, including my favorite spot on State Beach and Lake Tashmoo. Although, I added Vineyard Haven harbor to my route after going there w/ the kids during the day and noticing several spots that looked very promising. Thankfully for my Friday night fishing tour that I did, as I landed a solid 26" striper that saved my night. The following night I landed several at Lake Tashmoo and twice as many on State Beach. All were schoolies, including the smallest striper of my life (must have been 10"), except for one that was solidly in the mid 20 inches. The bigger fish was great fun, as it attacked the fly when it hit it at the surface. The best luck that night at State Beach happened at the very end of the out going tide. All of the fish were taken on the striper crack fly.

October, North Shore

2006-10-24T17:19:00.000-07:00

The north shore of Boston is teeming with fish, stripers and bluefish. I went to Singing Beach one evening and killed them. After having no luck right in front of the entrance and all the way to the left rocks, I decided to move further down the beach to the right, halfway between the entrance and the end of the beach. I hooked up on-average every third cast. Nothing big, but fun just the same. All fish were taken on a half-and-half, with a clouser head and large hackle (not the Orvis kind of h-and-h).

August 18, 2006 MV

2006-08-18T20:16:00.000-07:00

Caught another keeper tonight, 30+ inches. This fish was taken at the exact spot as the previous keeper on the same sand eel imitation and medium line.

Both keepers this week were caught on an out-going tide, my favorite tide to fish along State Beach.

August 15 MV

2006-08-15T19:53:00.000-07:00

Landed a keeper this evening, 29 inches. Caught the fish on a sand eel imitation (a.k.a., striper crack). The fish gave a great fight and took line a couple of times.

I had a good feeling about today, as it rained all day and was on the cool side. The skies cleared in the afternoon and all was calm.

August 14 on MV

2006-08-15T12:36:00.000-07:00

The fishing has been a little spotty of late. Lake Tashmoo is loaded w/ bait. I was there early morning and there were plenty of very large stripers at the mouth of the channel. With all the bait, the fish are tough to catch. My favorite spot along State Beach has been consistent, but no keepers.

Early August on MV

2006-08-10T05:21:00.000-07:00

The action's fairly consistent at night, but no keepers (yet!). I caught a half a dozen small'ish stripers on Saturday night, at my favorite spot on State Beach. The action at Lake Tashmoo and East Beach is non-existant.

Two of the fish last night were approaching keeper size, mid-20 inches.

All of the fish were caught on a sand eel.

Cracking open the North Shore

2006-07-20T03:29:00.000-07:00

Alert: Looking for help on locating striper hotspots on the North Shore, Mass only?

Requirements: An hour from Boston, no boat required, public parking within reasonable walking distance

Challenge: I've never had a day/night like on the Vineyard where the action has been fast and furious, with big bass in the mix. I've had reasonable success at Pavilion Beach, and along the beaches in Manchester (Singing, Black/White, etc), but nothing dramatic.

Promise: If I hook into them, I'll give you credit in my posts for turning me on to the spot!

July 4, 2006 on MV

2006-07-02T16:45:00.000-07:00

The Vineyard is in full swing for Striper fishing!

I fished Thursday and Friday night, hitting all my regular haunts including the bridges on State Beach, East Beach and Lake Tashmoo. On Thursday night, all the action was at Lake Tashmoo. Stripers were breaking the surface everywhere, attacking the sand eels. The action didn't start until late, after midnight, and continued until the skies opened up around 2'ish. The wind was tough and coming straight at you, but persistence did pay off.

The next night I started fishing much earlier, around 8:00. The majority of the next night's action was at State Beach. I caught a lot of fish, including a nice keeper and one just under.

All were caught on intermediate line w/ a sand eel fly. My brother turned me on to a new sand eel imitation, the one mentioned in my last post. It's tied by someone in Maine and looks exactly like the real thing. From now on, I'm going to refer to it as Striper Crack! I've used many, many sand eel imitations, some w/ great success, but nothing compares to this version.

Memorial Day 2006 on Martha's Vineyard

2006-06-07T02:44:00.000-07:00

I caught ~30 schoolies (and missed several more) at Lobsterville one night. None of the fish were bigger than 22 inches. The action didn't start until 8:30'ish PM. The same night I went in search of a "big" fish, going straight to my favorite spot along State Beach. I landed a 25 inch on the first cast. And, a few casts later had a very sizable fish on. The fish was taking line at will, even out of my hand when I had a good grip on the line. Unfortunately, it popped off after about a half-a-minute to a minute run, even though I set the hook well. Just one of those unfortunate things.

All of the fish were caught on a sand eel that was ordered special delivery from a fly-tier in Maine.

Delaware River 2006

2006-05-24T02:45:00.000-07:00

I caught the biggest brown trout of my life, 24-25 inches, on a March Brown emerger.

The fishing on Friday was great. We caught fish on March Browns (emergers and dries) and Sulfurs. And, most of the fish were big. A front came in Saturday and slowed the fishing.

All Fishermen Are Liars - Linda Greenlaw

2005-12-29T08:46:00.000-08:00

Linda Greenlaw is a great fishing author, articulate, weaves a great storyline, etc. This book is a fun read, especially for the plane/train. Don't expect to learn anything regarding fishing techniques, it's simply for fun. I highly recommend it.

The stripers are in

2005-09-26T10:01:00.000-07:00

Striper fishing is in full swing on the Vineyard. I caught several large bass on a fly rod this past weekend, with keepers in the mix. The fish are fat and feisty, all giving great fights. A white half-and-half on intermediate line worked well (not the Orvis kind, but one with a clouser head and a large feathered profile). A biggish white deceiver is a good backup.

There's lots of bait in the water, shiners and sand eels. Pods of shiners moved along State Beach all day long, with large albies crashing through. The bass had the bait pinned against the shore inside Tashmoo. Being in 6'ish inches of water and with so much natural bait, they're tough to catch though :-).

Early to mid August 2005

2005-08-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

There are lots of fish lurking around and big ones, too.

Had some decent luck at Lake Tashmoo and the bridges at State Beach. There is massive amounts of bait in the water, minnows and sand eels, making the fishing tough.

Best luck was with a floating line/floating sand eel combo. Going underneath the bait with shooting head line/clouser did not produce any success.

Singing Beach in Manchester

2005-07-25T13:26:00.000-07:00

The North Shore is a tough nut to crack if you're restricted to only fishing from shore. With all the rocks, it's treacherous walking at low tide. Fishing from a kayak would be ideal.

I've had lots of luck at certain spots on the North Shore, but this past weekend the fishing at Singing Beach was very good. The fish were sub-surface and there were plenty of boils on top from their tails. A white deciever on an intermediate line was the ticket.

Lobersterville Beach - Late May, 2005

2005-06-28T02:33:00.000-07:00

So much for my theory regarding seeing or hearing the fish!

Except for catching a keeper, I had an hour and a half of fishing of a lifetime, literally catching a striper at least every other cast.

As usual in late May/early June, the beach was packed with fisherpeople, both fly fishing and spin casting. I arrived about an hour before sunset and decided to walk a little way up the beach to separate from the first mass of people. First cast, BANG!, a fortuitous start. And from that point on for the next hour and a half, I hammered them.

I had no idea if the other people down the beach were having any luck until the person closest to me (and his girlfriend) walked down the beach to inspect what I was doing. Unknowningly, I gleefully stated that I've been hooking up consistently. You could hear the frustration in his voice when he said, "We know, we've been watching!".

Turns out that he was using a sand eel, too (on a floating line). But, he noticed that my version was a little bigger, not length but girth. Ironically when I was at Coop's earlier that day, I picked out that particular fly because it was a little different from the rest ... just got lucky, I guess. And who said that size doesn't matter! Not me.

If you don't see the fish or hear the fish ...

2005-03-23T11:32:00.000-08:00

... there are no fish.

That's always been my mantra on the vineyard, especially when fishing at night.

When fishing at night, your main sense is your hearing. Even in a strong current, it's very discernable when fish are present and hitting bait on the surface. The backup is your vision, but it's hard to see the fish unless there's a fraction of a moon.

Bottom line: when fishing at night, stop and put on your listening ears!

Martha's Vineyard - The fish of a lifetime

2005-02-15T05:41:00.000-08:00

A true story...

My brother had been having a frustrating week of fishing one summer and on the last day of his vacation was determined to put a bluefish in the freezer for my mother. He only had a short window of opportunity to fish and decided that the "big bridge" in Edgartown posed his best chances.

On his way to his fishing spot, he chatted with an elderly couple and explained his quest. In a few short casts of his plug, wham! he was on. And man could this fish fight. It ended up stripping a significant amount of line off the reel and he quickly adjusted the drag in hopes of tiring the fish out quickly. In classic folklore fashion, the fight became a consistent tug-of-war where he gained some on the fish followed by the fish taking more line. On and on it went. At one point, he was so tired he had to sit down on the rocks to rest, holding on to the rod and letting the fish pull on the line.

The fight lasted several tens of minutes and he still had not landed the fish. Finally, as he was holding the rod tight, snap!, the line busted and went limp.

Distraught over the whole experience and simply out of time, he started to make his was back to the car. On his way, he came across the same elderly couple and explained his misfortune, having fought the fish of of lifetime for what seemed like an eternity, only to have the line break. The couple looked at him, held up a lure and asked if the lure was his? Stunned, his answer was "yes". The couple laughed and said that the guy on the other side of the bridge recounted a similar tale, only to reel in my brother's line!

Martha's Vineyard - Striper Man

2005-02-04T03:05:00.000-08:00

In the heat of the summer when the fishing was slow at other spots, I'd always give the Oak Bluffs pier a shot. The bass were never that big, but the lights on the pier were kept on all night and always attracted some schoolies.

I ended up at the pier late one night right when the bars were closing, casting my "can't miss" sand-eel on a floating line to the schoolies that were smashing the bait on the surface right below the lights. At low tide, you can wade in a good distance, allowing you to cast to the end of the pier. The action on this particular night was decent, resulting in some consistent hook-ups. As I was casting away, I heard a commotion on the pier. I looked up to watch a woman who'd obviously been having a good time that night, hop the fence while trying to persuade her boyfriend to follow her, strip off the majority of her clothes, and dive in! And yes, right where I was fishing. She splashed around and then started to come my way. She paddled to about ten feet from me and said, "Hey Striper Man, how's the fishing?". She proceeded to let me know that there were bigger fish at this and that location.

Well, you never know where the advice will come! I just had to laugh. She had slowed the fishing at that moment, but the entertainment value was worth it.

FYI, they shut the lights off on the pier after the last ferry now. Maybe there was too much advice being given out :-)!