gone fishin

Martha's Vineyard - September 1, 2011

2011-09-03T06:05:00.000-07:00

Went to the Little Bridge ~9pm, at the end of the falling tide. I ended up catching three nice stripers, two in the mid-20"s and one in the solid mid-30"s, the biggest striper that I've ever caught on a fly rod. The mid-30" was the last one caught. I was fishing the inside of the bridge. When the big fish hit the fly, it immediate took off like a lightning bolt to the other side of the bridge and halfway down jetty, stripping line of the reel at will. At one point, it actually burned my hand when it was stripping the line! Given the slight current going out and the strength of the fish, I knew that it wouldn't be easy getting back to my side of the bridge, so I crawled under to get on the fish's side of the bridge. Thankfully, it was low tide, otherwise I would have been screwed. I ended up fighting the fish for quite a while longer, basically at a stalemate. Then, I decided to move further down the channel and after about 10+ more minutes, I finally landed the fish. What an absolute beauty! After hooting and hollering for a bit (of course, I was the only one who could hear, since there was no one around), I gave the fish a kiss and let another keeper go. Good luck, MyBiggestFishOnAFlyRodToDate.

June 26 - Ammonoosuc River, Lower Falls

2011-06-27T09:53:00.000-07:00

As part of a day trip to New Hampshire to look at houses, I snuck off to the Lower Falls w/ the boys for a little trout fishing. The pool just below the Falls is just jammed w/ trout. The kids were using worms and hooking up consistently. I decided to move to the opposite side of the pool, away from the trail that leads to it, and fly fished w/ a double-nymph setup. Multiple fish were visibly working in the current, grabbing anything that seemed to be coming along. I ended up hooking up almost at will w/ the nymphing setup. All the fish were brook trout, some of decent size. It was great, until the warden showed up (and I didn't have a day license!).

Lower Ammonoosuc Falls, Carroll, NH - Sunday June 19, 2011

2011-06-20T11:48:00.000-07:00

Fished the Lower Falls for the first time.

We arrived around 3:30 and were able to spend about an hour and a half fishing.

The scenery and weather were phenomenal.

There were a couple of people fishing in the large pool at the bottom of the Falls, so I decided to fish the run just beyond the pool's tailout. I caught a brookie and a very nice rainbow on the first few casts. I fished two-nymph setup, both w/ green flash. The brookie took the smaller dropper nymph and the rainbow the march larger.

The run below the tailout is ~50+ yards long, emptying into a second large pool. I ended up moving downstream to the second pool pretty quickly, getting no action on the double-nymph setup. I noticed a lot of surface action in the shade and decided to switch to a small BWO dry fly. It ended up being a good move, as I was consistently getting a strike on almost every drift. They were small fish, all brookies, but a lot of fun! I'm convinced that if I'd stayed through last light, the bigger fish would have moved in. I wish I could have stayed, maybe next time.

What a great way to spend Father's Day!

Martha's Vineyard - Memorial Day weekend 2011

2011-05-30T16:44:00.000-07:00

Had a great weekend w/ the family. Took the kids fishing at Edgartown lighthouse beach and Menemsha. Ended up catching several scup at the lighthouse (at the tip casting beyond the dropoff) and taugtog (sp?) at Menemsha (in the channel).

I ended up going fly fishing one night, hitting my favorite spots on the out-going tide. Although I only fished the little bridge, they've completely renovated both the big and little bridges, taking away all the pilings. I was concerned that the fishing wouldn't be good, w/ little to no ambush spots for the stripers. I was proven somewhat wrong, taking a 28" on a half-and-half. The fight started off light, making me think it was on the smaller size, but then it went into a full on tug-of-war. Not a bad way to start the season!

Manchester By The Sea - September 27, 2010

2010-09-27T05:34:00.000-07:00

A friend and I and our two kids went out w/ a guide yesterday. We went out of Beverly harbor, going north to Manchester, up to Kettle Island.

The goal for the day was to put the kids on a big fish, which we accomplished (a 33" striper!).

We ended up only landing two fish. I caught a schoolie-sized striper.

The guide had us working top-water plugs. I had two other stripers take a swipe at the plug, to no avail. The 33" was taken on a live mackerel.

My goal was to learn something new about the area, which is that I have given up on Graves Island too quickly (Graves Island is to the right of black and white beaches, closer to Singing Beach). There was some bird activity and that's where I picked up the schoolie-sized striper. The place to focus on is between the island and the beach. It's shallow w/ rocks, giving a lot of cover. The guide suggested a black and purple puglisi fly, on a shooting head line. Since I landed one and had another swat at a top-water plug, my suggestion is a gurgler fly, on a floating or intermediate (recommended by Orvis in recent article) line. Also, I recommend working the beach, too.

Martha's Vineyard - September 12, 2010

2010-09-12T05:13:00.000-07:00

I decided to sign up for my first Martha's Vineyard Striper and Bluefish Derby, which started this morning at 12:01am and runs for six weeks. We went the weigh station yesterday to look at the grand prizes, an Eastern boat for the shore and a pickup for the boat winners. Someone was touching the boat and I told them, "feel free to touch my boat, but don't scratch it!".

I got up at 3:30am and went straight to Lobsterville Beach. Nothing doing there and I noticed a lot of vehicles coming from the Lobsterville side of Menemsha. I hadn't fished the West Basin in several years, but figured it was worth a shot, especially given the long drive.

The channel was overflowing w/ bait and bass were slamming the surface. After putting in my time there, w/ no luck competing against so much natural bait, I went to the Basin, on the outside of the jetty. I ended up hooking up one, a smallish one, but at least I broke the ice.

By the time I left at ~6:30am, the fisherman were lining up along the beach. My guess is in hopes of the albies (false albacore) showing up. There were several kayaks cruising the outside of the jetties and beach, too.

I visited Coop's Bait and Tackle yesterday to sign up. Someone had just come in to deliver his 'special' flies for the derby. I got a good look at them (all the same) before he scurried them away and fortunately I have some flies that are very similar, in color, size and profile (the same fly I broke the ice w/).

Unfortunately, I have to go back to work tomorrow, but I'll be here next Friday to give it try #2! The boat will be mine.

The Big One, by David Kinney

2010-09-06T07:41:00.000-07:00

I'm halfway through a fun book describing Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby that takes place annually on the Island. Kinney participates in and befriends several regulars, who take him out fishing w/ them. It's a fast and fun read, so far. I highly recommend picking it up, if you're into reading fishing stories.

Manchester By The Sea - September 6, 2010

2010-09-06T07:38:00.000-07:00

Headed out around 5am today to Black and White beaches. There was no surface activity, but managed to pull in two trolling a Slug Go. One was of decent size, around 25".

I'm expecting the fish activity to increase significantly in the upcoming weeks, given the temperature drop we've been having.

Manchester By The Sea - August 29, 2010

2010-08-29T06:22:00.000-07:00

Took the kayak out this morning, trolling a Slug Go to see if there was anything going on.

Ended up landing a decent ~25" striper.

The weather was calm, but the surf was bigger than normal, although the water was relative clear.

Ran into a seal during my travels, which never bodes well for fish (they're much better at it than we are!).

Martha's Vineyard - August 18, 2010

2010-08-19T06:31:00.000-07:00

Fished State Beach from the kayak, starting around 10pm last night. I cruised along the beach and the big bridge, w/ no action. As I was finishing, the out-going tide was starting, so I decided to move to the small bridge and cast from shore.

I ended up catching a keeper striper (~28") on a white half-and-half fly. It gave a great fight, taking lots of line. I was too tired to consider cleaning it, so luckily for the fish, it ended up getting to fight for another day (or hopefully more)!

Martha's Vineyard - August 15, 2010

2010-08-15T03:11:00.000-07:00

Got up early to head out to the little bridge along State Beach. It was still dark out, but I could tell that I only had ~30 minutes before daybreak.

I ended up hooking up two, landing one of them, a schoolie of about 22". The second one bit me off cleanly, which makes me think it was a bluefish, although I've never caught one under the bridge, only stripers. Could have been a striper and that I just had a nick in my line ... who knows, but while it was on, it gave a great fight!

Manchester By The Sea - July 25, 2010

2010-07-26T09:50:00.000-07:00

Took the last month off re ocean fishing, due to the extremely hot stretch at the end of June and July. I just had to get out there, so I headed out ~5am ... all I was able to catch was a nice sun rise! Some of my favorite fishing blogs have been claiming good luck and plenty of bait. I didn't see any bait and only saw one fish break the surface. It was a beautiful morning on the kayak, although it would have been significantly better if there was some catching (not fishing) in the mix!

On a more positive catching note, I took the kids to Wiley Pond in New Hampshire last weekend. It's a 13 and under spot. The kids ended up catchy several brook trout, some in the 12+ inch range. They (we) had a blast.

June 23rd and 26th on the North Shore

2010-06-28T03:39:00.000-07:00

I was invited to go out on a boat in Joppa Flats in Newburyport Weds evening, catching the last couple hours of the incoming tide. There had to be 20 boats on the flats, including kayaks. And, I'm amazed that there haven't been any reported kayak accidents, as they were everywhere and were fishing up to 11pm, when it was very dark. I've fished very late in my kayak, but never when there are so many boats in the water.

The fishing was good. We ended up catching ~10 strippers between the three of us, none of keeper size. I threw a black and purple bronzino fly at them, to no avail. All the fish were caught on the bottom on mackerel (not my favorite way to fish).

I also took the kayak out to black and white beaches in Manchester by the Sea. The going was slow and the water was littered w/ seaweed. I saw a couple of backs come out of the water, but they weren't interested in my offering. When I took the kayak out of the water, I noticed some inch to inch and a half silver minnow-like bait. If I go again this week (which is highly likely), I'll switch flies to match.

Manchester By The Sea - June 13, 2010

2010-06-13T08:29:00.001-07:00

Took the kayak out to black and white beaches early this morning. Due to last night's storm, the water was filled w/ seaweed. It was dead low tide when I started. I managed to catch a keeper trolling a white slugo along the rocks, getting it all the way to the boat and popping off when I reached down to pull it in. It was a really nice fish that took two decent runs. I ended up not throwing the fly at all, due to the seaweed.

Catskills - Willowemoc River, June 4-5, 2010

2010-06-06T17:51:00.000-07:00

Went on my annual fly fishing weekend w/ the crew from GartnerGroup.

We stayed in a set of rundown cabins, run by the most eccentric woman. The up-side was that she owned a very large and private stretch of the river!

Throughout the two days, I caught several native brook trout and some stocked browns. The brook trout were mostly small, but fun and difficult to catch.

The most productive setup was a bright orange stimulator, w/ a nymph dropper, some bead-headed, some not. Several nymphs worked well, all of varying sizes and colors. The ones w/ green flash did best. The bigger ones worked best in the fast riffs, although smaller nymphs were productive, too.

The biggest fish was a 13" brown, caught at dusk on an emerger. I decided to switch to the emerger after noticing several fish swiping at the stimulator in close succession and missing, assuming that an evening hatch was taking / about to take place and the fish were moving to feeding positions on top. Emergers can be very productive during these times.

Martha's Vineyard - Memorial Day weekend 2010

2010-06-01T03:17:00.000-07:00

A great weekend of fishing!

Hooked into a nice fish Saturday night at Vineyard Haven harbor.

Chartered a boat w/ the kids on Sunday and caught several very large bluefish. The kids had a ball. I hooked / landed several on the fly.

Later Sunday night, I went to Lobsterville to try the Bronzino fly, a new Enrico Puglisi fly that was tailor-made for the stripers there (and stripers, in general). I spent ~1.5 hours and caught two excellent fish, one in the 32-33" range and the other in the 27-28" range. The bigger fish made multiple runs and took considerable line. It was a great fight and took a good 10+ minutes to get that fish in. And, it was the fish's lucky day, as I let it go :-).

The next morning, I took the kids to the Edgartown dock, where the caught several Scup, some of decent size. The theme of the morning was 'do it all yourself', cast, set the hook and take the fish off.

It was truly a great weekend!

Manchester By The Sea - September 7, 2009

2009-09-07T16:03:00.000-07:00

Took the kayak out for a quick hour spin at black and white beaches, trolling a white sluggo. Landed three stripers within a half hour, two in the mid-twenties. There was lots of surface action out near little and big egg, I just didn't feel like paddling out there. There was one very short surface feed near the rocks, but it only last for a half a minute.

Martha's Vineyard - August 21, 2009

2009-08-24T08:50:00.000-07:00

Menemsha harbor was 'on fire' Friday night. The incoming tide was pushing schools of herring into the harbor and the stripers were going crazy, constantly smashing the surface w/ a few huge blitzes. My eight-year-old son caught his first striper! All fish were caught on a surface plug.

martha's Vineyard - August 19, 2009

2009-08-19T10:32:00.000-07:00

My six-year old son and I went out w/ a guide this morning and absolutely killed them! We ended up landing two bonito, losing another after several great runs. And, we caught a lot of big bluefish. Most of the fish were caught at a shoal called the hooter, which is several miles outside of Wasque. We also hooked up on more blues on East Beach.

Martha's Vineyard - August 18, 2009

2009-08-18T13:38:00.000-07:00

Two stripers and three bluefish this morning in Vineyard Haven harbor. There was some surface activity, but nearly as much as yesterday. One of the striper's was caught on a white sluggo. All of the other fish were caught on the fly, smallish bunny flies (white and white / chartreuse). All-in-all, a good morning. Several kayakers showed up around 7:15-7:30 ... I think the word's out regarding where the fish are; they were a little late, at least for the initial onslaught.

Martha's Vineyard - August 17, 2009

2009-08-17T16:05:00.000-07:00

Great morning of fishing at Eastville beach and Vineyard Haven harbor this morning on my kayak. There were bluefish breaking everywhere. I hooked up several bluefish, mostly in the 15 inch range. I ended up catching a keeper striper, too!

Martha's Vineyard - August 13, 2009

2009-08-13T19:54:00.000-07:00

Caught a nice 28.5" keeper tonight, on a falling tide right underneath the little bridge. It took some effort to drag it out from under the bridge, but well worth it! Caught it on a white and chartreuse half-and-half, on intermediate line. It was a great fight!

August 7, 2009 - Manchester By The Sea

2009-08-07T16:53:00.000-07:00

Was on the water by ten of six a.m. Decided to troll a sluggo, rather than do any fly fishing. Ended up catching two, both in White's Beach, in pretty shallow water on the far side (by the big lawn). One was ~24 inches ... the other was tiny, 15 at best.

Manchester By The Sea - July 19, 2009

2009-07-19T15:31:00.000-07:00

Managed to land one fish on a Sluggo, right outside Black Beach to the right rocks. Went out to Kettle Island, but all was quiet, quite atypical. My brother caught 3, one keeper. He mentioned that the fish were everyone right before sunrise.

Manchester by the Sea - July 10, 2009

2009-07-13T03:17:00.000-07:00

Trolled my way from Black beach to Kettle island, dragging a white

sluggo behind me. Ended up catching two on the Sluggo on the

way, both of decent size ~25 inches. Saw pods of fish sipping the

surface at Kettle Island, but was unable to get them to hit my

fly ... I was using a shooting-head line w/ a white and chartreuse

deceiver. I'm planning to go w/ a floating line next time, to see

if that's the answer to these elusive pods. Good thing is, the fish

are there!