The Year-round Angler

Saturday April 18, is “Opening Day 2009.” I talk about getting your license, tips for trout, other options and more, all on the podcast this week.

I’ve heard Opening Day touted as the largest participation event in this state.  I like to joke about it being like Woodstock Rock Festival, only spread out over a whole state rather than a couple farms in upper New York State and the people may be crazy (to be out in some of the weather mother nature throws at them) but at least they aren’t stoned and rolling in the mud like elk in a wallow.

Remember, Connecticut is now on line with licensing.  In the past many shops and large chain stores such as Wal-Mart had blank licenses that were filled out by hand. That’s not the case this year. 

Two ways to get the licenses.  Online at www.ct.gov/dep/fishing on a home computer and print your own.  Need a debut or credit card.  Or go to a town clerk office (about 80% bought the machines for $2000)  and a select few tackle shops. Think a list may be available through licensing and revenue for convienience, or call your tackle shop.

I suggested my buddies at the fish Connection use a laptop and printer as a service to do licenses for customers they are doing thath for a nominal, $2.00 fee to cover paper and ink.   Time may become a problem during that last minute crunch the day before opening day. 

In eastern Connecticut, Mikes Tackle, Voluntown, Bob’s Place Ballouville, Bobs Rods and tackle, Montville and Wetu on Long Pond, Ledyard are the shops I know of with the “dieus amachina.”  Allow time and don’t take a chance the fine is $77 for fishing w/o a license plus any fish that may be in possession, not worth it.

There will be 386,000 trout waiting for you to catch, with another 300,000 being stocked throughout the remainder of the season.  The state raises and places about 700.000 trout per year.  Most are browns because they survie warm temps better, but there are brookies, rainbows and tiger trout a hybred brookie that looks like a bengal tiger with black zig zag marks on a white, silver to cream colored side.  They used to stock golden rainbows, a hybred rainbow that were yellow in color, too easy for predators to spot and pick off so have not been raised or stocked in years.

Winter Flounder Fishing started off slowly again this year.  Not much being caught from either Bluff Point or Niantic Bay, though points to the west probably fared better, due to shallower, warming waters.  This species is in horible shape and needs a total commercial ban for any sort of recovery to occur.

Striped bass are waking up in large rivers and salt ponds along the coast.  The first herring run caught bass hit the Greenville Dam on the Thames sporadically beginning just before Easter.  Nothing steady but those who fish the tides especially after dark are taking a few fish. up to 40 inches on Reverse Atom poppers and large soft plastics and swimming plugs. I have done well in the past with a ten inch long pike lure that big bass also love to dine on called a Skinner, a beautifully painted, great straignt running shallow swimmer made by a Polish compay called Salmo.  Their Fatso lipless cranker and Swimmers also do well on early spring, herring eating bass.

The total ban on taking of river herring, alweives and blueback herring is still in effect for 2009 in Ct waters and probably most of the northeast as populations continue to plummet.  Back in the mid 1980’s there were 650,000 passed over the Holyoke Fish lift, last year only 84 made it into the lift.

Predation primarily from striped bass and probably some problem in spawning recruitment or success are considered to be the primary reasons for the decline in all river herrings throughout the region.  When menhaden were decimated by factory fishing operations bass switched over to and decimated not only herring but other species as well. 

Get rid of all menhaden fishing other than small local bait catching operations, they will rebound and so will everythign else in the ocean. REmember Menhaden are The most important fish in the sea.  Bruce Franklins great book a must read for all concerned about marine conservation.

Fluke Regs Set.  June 15-August 19 3 fish per day 19.5 inches.  Not good.

Hearing on Winter flounder which is in terrible shape due to continued over fishing commercially, especially during teh summer months in Block Island and Long Island Sounds where they go to escape warm inshore temps.  As bycatch even these fish are in trouble.  Plus predation from cormorants, striped bass and seals is not helping troubled populations rebound.
 

Remember Legislature is still in session so all the important bills are still on the chopping block to some degree. Because something passed earlier doesn’t mean it can’t be hung out to dry.  

Bills of major significance fior sportsmen to monitor and keep supporting by emails and calls to legislators are: 
1) MOST IMPORTANT: SPORTSMEN NEED TO SUPORT SUBSTITUTE BILL #6428 LCO HB4955. Contains salvation of the Conservation Fund, which gives the state the ability to react to ever changing needs of a dynamic department such as fish and game.  ie.  Provoded by a friend who is in the DEP, Bureau Chief Ed Parker, Pump goes at Quinebaug Hatchery, can fix on the spot by adjusting funding in house, rather than wait for legislation to aprove money the following year after thousands of trout have died and been wasted. Also the moderate 25% increase in license fees and the very important All Waters LIcense.  This bill replaces Governor Rells original proposal #6371 a very dangerous and stupid proposal to do away with the conservation fund and increase all fees and licenses by 100%  totall unacceptable. 

2) Support HB 6553 part of which would allow Sunday hunting a necessary deer control option.

3) Support HB 5209:  No net loss of hunting on state lands.

4) Defeat or have legislators vote down or let die SB 994:
This is essentially a ban on trapping.  Sounds awful to the uninitiated, but this bill in place will allow beaver to run rampant and cause untold damage to roads and private property like they did when Massachusetts banned trapping during the late 1990’s. They are sorry they did now.

Contact Eileen Dailey on the Finance Committee because all legislation ultimately has to pass by this powerful Senator.
April 22 1st annual Sportsmans Day on the Hill.  11-2 First Floor of the Capitol.  Join you fellow fishermen and hunters to show the legislators what we are about and why then need to pay attention to the bills that affect our interests, which are essentially self funded for the most part.

On the podcast, talk about gearing up for ‘09. Cold nights, high winds, chilly rains and variable weather have kept water temps on the cool side, down in the 40’s, which means cold blooded fish will not be as active. Once temperatures reach 50-degrees, over-wintering fish along with schoolie bass will snap to life and begin their spring feeding.

Over the past two weekends I’ve fished one of my favorite spots on the Connecticut River, a small back water basin, for yellow perch, a species I’ve targeted this time of year for decades. There’s tons in “The Big River”, though getting past the ravenous golden shiners, pike, and largemouth bass was a pain in the neck.

When other, more warm-loving species dominate, it usually means my timing was late and the prime pre-spawn perch bite was missed (which based on egg sacks in larger females appears to be the case), but we had a foot of snow the weekend when perch fishing would have been perfect.

Every place is different, so its necessary to figure out timing, when temps first hit 40-degrees to hit perch spawn on the nose. Most years, it occurs under the ice or just after ice out. My buddy and I both caught many 9 to 12-inch largemouth’s, perhaps 40 total in two trips, along with about 20 or more hammer handle sized northern pike and assorted species other than yellow perch.
Action was great but over the past 30 years of fishing this particular place during March, perch were normally the primary catch with a few other species in the mix. The reason for this change in catch is speculative at best, however, based on the high number of two to three year age class pickerel my buddies and I’ve caught literally everywhere we’ve fished for the past two seasons spawning conditions have been favorable for essocids.  
There’s also been some good numbers of small bass in our catches, or maybe for some reason we happen to settle into concentrations of pike and bass by accident in two separate outings.
Striped Bass
The Thames River did not have near the super huge concentration of stripers during the winters of ‘08/’09.  The reason is as observed in the past, a close correlation between heavy late fall rains and a flushing effect they have appeared to have on stripers.
Over 35 years of chasing them, we’ve found wintering schools to be more extensive following warm, dry falls than cold wet ones.
Rest assured there’s tens of thousands of schoolie to mid-aged stripers waking up in the Thames, Connecticut and Housatonic Rivers and other discreet locations along the coast. 
My friend Eric Covino, of Playing Hookie Charters, a good guy to call for a spring striper outing, has fished the Connecticut River where he and some friends logged up an incredible number of bass three years ago, trying to repeat their 907 fish day. Hasn’t happened in two years probably not again in three lifetimes.
He noted Hamburg Cove had some bass, but they were uncooperative. Five trips have ranged in catch totals from 0 (plus some eagle photos ) to 30 stripers to about 24 inches. Stripers are at the point where they will be cooperative anytime now in all the large rivers along the coast.
Connecticut Regulations
As of April 1, Connecticut’s marine recreational fisheries regulations had not been set. Talking with Biologist Dave Simpson it appears winter flounder will remain the same as 2008, 10 fish per day, 12 inches, April 1-30.  
Black sea bass size increased coast from 12 to 12.5 inches, but still a year round season and 25 fish per angler per day.  This species is not a major factor despite decent populations around wrecks and reefs in theSound (most anglers, myself included, don’t know how to catch these great eating, challenging fish).
Scup regulations also change little, which means a late May opening. For splits and limits go to www.ct.gov/dep.
Striped bass remain unchanged as do bluefish, weakfish, and blackfish. The big question mark is summer flounder.  Simpson has a plan based on input from an early March public hearing, newly tweaked numbers and strict guidelines from the Feds. But he would not divulge this information when we last chatted.  We’ll all be able to find it on line within a week.
Legislative Issues:
1. The most important Bill in front of the Legislature this year is Proposed Substitute Bill 6428 LCO 4955, which has taken the place, of HB 6371, Governor Rell’s “stinker,” which would have ruined DEP’s finances by eliminating the Conservation Fund, Motorboat Fuel Tax and other important funding for fisheries and wildlife. Included was a proposal to double all user fees and licenses. Another unacceptable ploy to steal money from sportsmen. 
The substitute is more reasonable, preserves the Conservation fund and increases license fees by 25%, no different than we’ve had in the past, except for a shorter, five-year cycle.  
Included was the controversial but necessary license fees structure change the DEP proposed two years ago with an “all waters license” (saltwater) component. It allows Connecticut to meet a federal requirement to have a marine recreational fisheries registry by 2011.  
Having the “All waters license” on the books for 2010 allows the state to put in for a waiver, averting what would have been a requirement for marine anglers to sign up for a federal registry and pay a fee to the feds.
The new license structure will be covered in detail in a future podcast.  It is very important and necessary–so do not fight it. Like dealing with the Borg on Star Trek, resistance is futile. This bill, with reasonable fees increase and preserved Conservation Fund structure is very important for all sportsmen and needs our support.
2. A trapping ban is proposed by Senate Bill 994.  This bill should not be passed. Even if you personally find trapping detestable, the consequences of banning leg hold and Conibear traps is something to consider, intellectually and from a practical point of view.
The Humane Society and animal right activists have long been blindly against trapping for their personal emotional and moral reasons. The fact is trapping is a necessary and important wildlife management tool that enables private citizens and municipalities to take care of problems that can be quickly created by an industrious beaver setting up a new home territory. 
Beaver populations have been increasing rapidly since the ‘70’s. Despite the fact that trapping has declined with adrop in demand for fur, a small number of trappers continue.
A friend who has a lucrative job, loves to check his trap line before work, creating a four hour longer work day for him. He says checking his traps is like opening Christmas presents. “You never know what you are going to have in the box,” referring to the square shaped, metal, killer Conibear traps trappers use.
Back in 1996, after a major anti-trapping campaign on TV, Massachusetts gave in and passed what was known as “Question One”, a ban on leg hold and Conibear Traps. They paid a heavy price.
Within five years, beavers tripled to over 70,000 animals, causing personal property damage, covering roads with water and tainting water supplies in the towns of Sterling and Chelmsford.4)  H.B.. 5209 “An act concerning state land where hunting is permitted” is essentially a bill to provide the fact that hunting opportunities on state properties is not lost in this state of dwindling hunting opportunities.
To make your wishes known, go to the Connecticut Coalition of Sportsmen’s web site at www.ctsportsmen.com, search out the addresses and phone numbers of your legislators and follow up with letters and phone calls to support Substitute Bill No 6428, LCO No 4950, HB 5209 an act concerning no loss of hunting on state lands and have them vote against SB 994 the ban on leg hold and Conibear traps in Connecticut or be willing to pay the price.

It’s been a while since my last post/podcast, so this latest podcast I’m posting will be to get caught up on some late summer events. Better late than never.
My claim to infamy is I’ve been skunked fishing for everything–and twice recently in a small, club pond that under favorable conditions (dropping barometric pressure) is good for ten to twenty largemouths per hour of casting lures ranging from Salad Spoons to Slug-Gos, spinnerbaits and swim jigs.


Back in August
My son and I barely deskunked ourselves in this place under bluebird skies behind a storm system. Worms couldn’t even draw a strike from bluegills. Over a September weekend, two events took place to back up Bob’s theories on barometric pressure and fishing success.
Bruce Guyot and I made my second 6-hour drive in three weeks, to the Ottawa River for giant muskellunge. I went to target one I’d missed on the previous trip under what should have been ideal conditions created by the remnants of Hurricane Gustav. My primary musky partner, Eric Covino of Playing Hookie Charters, stayed home to fish Mansfield Hollow Reservoir, near UCONN.
Bruce and I had perfect conditions, overcast, wind, rain, level barometric pressure. My excuse for the fact we didnt do very well was that Montreal was tropical hot, making the water too warm for muskies, approaching 80-degrees. The trip produced one smallmouth bass, three hits and follows from muskies and a single 39 inch, 14-15 lb. ski.
Hurricane Hanna, meanwhile, bore down on Connecticut, dropped the barometric pressure, had winds moving and clouds dark and Eric landed a 42 inch, 19.5 pound northern pike. We should have saved the gas.

A day and a half of fishing the Ottawa River under much too warm water temps yielded only this 39-inch 14-15-pounder (above left). A “nice fish” but a small muskellunge. Eric Covino (above right) with our combined first decent sized (32 inch) tiger muskellunge from Pontoosuc Lake, Mass in six years of fishing this interesting lake. Note the 11-inch long Giant Thunderstick, by Storm Lures in its maw!

Ottawa River Rerun
My two trips to the Ottawa River this year were like the Three Bears fairy tale: too hot, too cold, too high, too low or too something. Weather was a major factor in poor musky fishing both trips.
During the first (podcast 21), Eric and I fished in unseasonably cool, high and turbid water for one 38-inch musky, seven smallmouth bass and five northern pike. I had a decent muskellunge totally miss a 12-inch Slug-Go around sunset on the second day.
Next morning, that same fish blasted and threw, Musky Mary, the 7-inch cream colored Mambo Minnow that caught me my best ever, a 46 inch, 29 pounder two years earlier. This 20-25 pound, 42-44 incher spit the lure like chewed gum as it leapt three feet into the air. One of the more spectacular disappointments of my career! (That image will piss me off forever).
During a conversation with Bruce Guyot, it took a half a nanosecond to convince him to join me in a hunt for that missed musky after Labor Day. According to Sampson’s Theory of Barometric Pressure, fishing conditions looked great as Hurricane Gustav’s remains headed toward Montreal. When we got there water temps were bath tub warm. We couldn’t even catch a bass, let alone cold-loving muskies or pike. We landed only a 2.5 pound smallie and a 39 inch, 14-15 pound musky.
Pontoosuc Lake Revisited
Out of frustration, Eric Covino and I went looking for tiger muskies at Pontoosuc Lake, Massachusetts. We call this trip an Essox fix because we have a shot at tiger muskies and northern pike. If the toothy critters aren’t cooperating this lake also has largemouth bass and panfish.
In July, I did a podcast about my first trip there in 2008. Pontoosuc had been treated with herbicides, so was barren as a coffee cup. None of the deep weed beds remained, making locating fish a problem. The only structure was schools of bait. We eventually discovered lures to match the bait and caught a whole bunch of Essocids, chain pickerel and bass.
Eric hammered them on a five inch, suspending Lucky Craft jerk bait and later on a fast sinking Spro, BBZ-1 rainbow trout swimmer and cleaned house on both lures. He had only one BBZ-1 but let me borrow a Lucky Craft. We hammered bass to nearly six pounds, a few northerns to nine pounds and over 20 monster pickerel averaging 20 to 24 inches in length.
After our disappointing trip to the Ottawa River in August, Eric called me for a return to Pontoosuc. Despite my lawn growing long I joined him, figuring there would be pike and hopefully tiger musky. Within the first twenty minutes, while experimenting with an 11-inch long Storm Giant Thunderstick, Eric landed the first decent sized tiger musky either of us had caught in six years of travelling to this lake.

Big lures equal big fish. The Storm Lures Giant Thunder Stick (above left), which is made in surface to deep diving models is a great looking “giant” lure that will “separate the men from the boys” when it comes to catching larger fish (even thought its the “girls” that are usually the larger specimens). Spro BBZ-1 swimmers are to the left, Spro’s, Giant Thunderstick (above right), and “Musky Mary” a 7 inch Mambo Minnow were the stuff we typically cast for big pike and muskellunge in the waters from Manfield Hollow to the Ottawa River.

I did not have one of these giant baits and no amount of substituting lures did squat for my body count. I landed only a small pike and a 20 inch pickerel on my reliable Mambo Minnow. Eric landed that 32 inch, 9 pound tiger musky, along with four pike ranging from 9 to about 14 pounds on that near foot long piece of plastic.
The point to this podcast is the fact that using big baits will filter out small fish and select for the big ones. Predatory species normally target and feed on prey one third to as much as one half their own body length. That 32 inch tiger musky and pike to about 35 inches that ate Erics 11 inch long Thunderstick proved that fact to us five times over! Seeing his success with the Storm lure was worth the skunk suffering I went through that day.

On the podcast this week you can hear about the muskie fishing trip Eric Covino and I took to the Ottawa River, bluefishing and blue crabbing, and some backyard birding.

Ottawa River Muskie trip: Having incurable cases of “musky fever,” Eric Covino and I have done a lot of “skunk suffering” fishing for these elusive fish.  Most has been on the Ottawa River,  a destination known for monster duck eaters 50 inches or larger.
Last fall, Columbus Day, we were hoping to beat our personal records. The previous year I caught my biggest, a 46-inch 29-pounder. Eric Covino caught his best ten minutes later, a 43-inch 24-pounder, and two others in the high 30-inch range.  Our best Ottawa River trip ever.  That was the fall of 2006.
In ‘07 trip we had perfect conditions, windy, rainy and overcast, with dropping pressure. Problem was the water temp was around 46-50 degrees F, 15 degrees cooler than in ‘06 and below comfort range for muskellunge. The muskies had moved from the inshore areas we’d caught them in previously and been replaced by more cold loving northern pike.
We caught twenty fish, mostly pike to about 15 pounds, along with a few smallmouth bass up to nearly 4 pounds, but no muskies so the trip was essentially a bust.
We moved this year’s trip up to mid-August, hoping to hit the summer bite.  Heavy rains had turned the Ottawa River turbid, with water levels two or three feet higher, made it difficult for us to fish and scattered the muskies and stripers.
During a four or five hour period of overcast and wind the “skis” turned on for a while.  We had two follows, two hits and caught a single skinny 38-incher that weighed only 13.5 pounds.   
We stayed at a clean, convenient, inexpensive motel called “Stephane’s” (613-632-2783), attached to a fine restaurant.
Despite our poor showing, we landed four smallmouths, two pike to ten pounds and  located two large muskies that we’re thinking about returning for some this fall.  
Fishing is always challenging on the Ottawa, but the odds of hooking into a 40-inch fish are good if you put in your time. Fish spinnerbaits, inline spinners and large 8-12 inch plugs around dense weed beds in coves and river bends, or troll deep edges and drop offs for Ottawa River monsters.
Bluefishing with Bill: Last Saturday I spent a few hours with an avid angler named Bill Sirois.  Bill is legally blind and had given up fishing, but earlier this summer decided to go back to the Race, when he ran his own boat 30 years ago.

Missing the excitement, Bill looked up Eric Covino of Playing Hookie Charters (860-889-8686) and struck up a relationship. “Eric puts me on the fish,” Bill says, “and gets me tired.  That makes me happy.”  
Bill agreed to my coming along on a trip to the Race last Saturday, realizing his story may help others like him enjoy fishing with a competent captain or friend.
Bill can, but does not like to cast. His thing is vertical jigging in deep water, or “squidding,” with modern lures.  Squidding is where a heavy metal jig (Diamond Jig or equivalent)  is dropped to the bottom, then reeled quickly up   through where bluefish are swimming at varying depths.
Bill prefers super braid lines, fast retrieve reels, and knife shaped jigs to “speed jig” the Race for a tide. The key to his success is his skillful use of knife blade like “speed jigs” that sink faster, with less weight, than Diamond or Crocodile JIgs. His ability to reach and feel the bottom, crank his jig through the depth where the fish are, hook up or quickly drop back down into that “erogenous zone” enables him to whack more bluefish than anyone else–a “Jig Meister” of the first degree.
To Bill, the essence of fishing is that hard, jolting  strike when cranking jigs up from the bottom, adding “but it has to be in the Race”. He loves the big water environment, where there are plenty of fish and he has a captain that can keep him over the blues. If the fish are there, Bill can catch them, coming up with bluefish when the depth finder screen is devoid of marks.
I’m curious to know what “the essence of angling” is to some of our listeners and readers.  Leave us a note here at the web site.
Bluefish: invaded the Race in huge numbers two weeks ago. This weekend, due to moon tides, they were “blown out” of the Race. They will begin to spread out now to fatten up for fall migrations not far off.
Snapper blues that appeared in late July at 2.5 inches are big enough to catch at 4 to  6 inches.  The little choppers eat all the time and grow rapidly, a half inch per week this time of year and will be ten inches to a foot by October.
Blue Crabs: crabbing has so far been a disappointment. Reports range from “nothing” to “excellent” in a few isolated areas in the upper Niantic and Mystic Rivers. Stonington’s Quiambaug Cove, Oyster River, Saybrook and the tide creeks of the lower Connecticut River hold a few crabs. A lobsterman off Groton said he’s catching them in pots, an indication they may show up in the near future.
Fluke: continue to be a slow pick, slightly better off Fishers Island and south shore Rhode Island beaches.  The season ends in Connecticut on September 1, not much time left to catch that doormat.  
Use large baits, herring, strips of hickory shad, menhaden, bluefish fillets or snapper blues added to a drift rig or jig, with a stinger hook if they are over 6 inches long is one way to improve the odds of hooking a four pound or better summer flounder as the season winds down to a close.

Photos from the Feeder: I’ve been trying to take a good photograph of two male Indigo Buntings that have been visiting the feeder this summer and last. Its been tough task because they are spooky, wary little birds. I did manage to capture on decent shot, but at double the distance I wanted and caught a female cardinal with her crest up as she heard the servo in my camera focus the lens for the photo.

Last week as the region was buffeted by rain and high winds, Captain Eric Covino (Playing Hookie Charters 860-889-8686) and I made our first muskellunge fishing trip of the year to fish Baker Lake, Maine and Lac Frontiere, Quebec. Hear all about it in the podcast this week.
This 33-inch Baker Lake musky (above left) was one of five we caught during what was one of the most miserable days I’ve ever spent on the water. The fish were all hard fighting with water temps in the ideal 67-68 range on this year’s trip to Baker Lake, Maine and Lac Frontiere, Quebec.
The unsettled weather conditions prompted our trip. Muskies are a tricky fish to catch, very fickle and unpredictable–to a point. One of the things we’ve observed in 15 years of this stuff is muskies and pike turn on when the weather gets nasty.  
Storms, winds, rain, dropping temps and barometer is a formula for success.  There’s nothing we like more than a good storm–but not “too good a storm”. Be careful for what you wish, because it might come true. The stuff that followed us north into Maine was ridiculous. A tornado touched down in Berlin, New Hampshire and others supposedly passed last Thursday.
When they did, we were on the lake and hit by drenching rain, BB-size hail and 40 mph winds–damn near perfect musky weather.  From a 16-foot Lund we had no problem handling the waves , while the other six boats at camp had not, some for days.
High winds and heavy rain hampered us, but the “ski’s” were turned on by it.  In 8 hours on Baker Lake, we landed five muskies to 33 inches and 9 pounds and lost four others (to about 35 inches or so).

We were concerned about being stranded at Baker Lake, 22 miles down a logging road from the Quebec border at the St. Auriele crossing. We ran for Lac Frontiere, an hour plus drive north and east, the next morning.
The weather, though no longer stormy was unsettled, with the wind blowing from the southwest for the next two days.  The muskies liked it and so did we.  We landed 15 fish on a curtailed Friday, 12 on Saturday but only 7 on Sunday because it turned “nice”, flat and calm. 
Add in 39 more strikes and lost muskies, plus 10 follows from disinterested fish and we had our best ever musky trip from an action point of view.  We didn’t land any big “skis”, the best were 33 inches, with most of the others averaging 27 to 31 inches.  Eric missed a boat side hit from a 20 pound class toothy critter and I broke a spinnerbait on a fish in the 12-15 pound range at Baker Lake and had another one crush a small bass sized bait in Frontiere.
We like to cast and caught all on white, gold, black or purple spinnerbaits with gold blades, yellow teaser tails and stinger hooks. 
We cast along deep weed edges, in pads when its overcast witg wind and temps in the 60’s or low 70’s.  Fish wind swept points, necks and the wind ward end of any body of water for muskies and everything else for that matter.
It’s not rocket science, but persistence that will get you into “the fish of 1000 casts”.  We caught one about every 200 casts, in the past it was closer to one per 700-800 casts. Work hard, put long hours in and keep a hook in the water. By the end of day four we were so sore we decided not to fish before leaving as we would normally do.  Musky fishing is the most physically and mentally demanding and brutal fishing I’ve ever done. It just plain hurts after the first twelve hours or so.

During summer heat, a great option is going to a larger river with ultra light tackle, some small soft plastics or fly gear and catching a bunch of river smallmouth bass (above left). They don’t get very big, but fight hard and the action can be fast and furious. Matt McGeowan, my nephew, caught this 1.5 or so pound, largemouth (above right) at Mansfield Hollow a week a go during a rainy day trip to see if the pike were hitting.
Freshwater Fishing: has fallen into the typical summer time evening through morning bite pattern, with day time fishing best with the approach of and during rain storms.
Due to hot surface temperatures we stop targeting northern pike. They don’t hit as well and when and if large hard to handle specimens are hooked, they can die from the stress of being handled and dehooked in summer heat, so we let them rest till fall nor’easters and other storms–and then fish them hard.
Saltwater fishing: Stripers will begin moving to cooler waters in the north, especially if the heat persists much longer.  However, there’s lots of small bait in the area to hold bluefish and schoolies and as long as there’s something to eat bigger bass will remain around deep water reefs and structure.  Fish after dark with live baits such as menhaden, hickory shad, porgy, or eels.
King Cove Tackle, Stonington weighed in a 74.2 pound monster striper last week. Shop owner Don MIchaud thought the fish, like one of the other five “70’s” caught this season, was landed southwest of Block Island, a fabled destination.
The Race and Watch Hill / Fishers Island reef complex is still holding fish as is the south side of the island itself.  Fishing remains surprisingly good for stripers.
Bluefish: are becoming a larger portion of the catch, especially for daylight fishermen.  Most are under 5 pounds, but there are big fish in the 8 to 12-pound range.  Hillyer’s Tackle weighed in a 16-pound chopper that hit hickory shad intended for stripers off Black Point.
Fluke: After a lull, fluke action picked up again this week. Whether its due to a slug of fresh fish from offshore, commercial quotas being filled or the abundance if small bait is anyone’s guess.
In the Sound the ratio of shorts to keepers is quite high, as many as 25 to 1 according to Al Fee of Shaffer’s Marina, Mystic.  Those landing big doormats in Connecticut often drift in 80 to 100-feet or more of water.  This will mean fewer bites, but from much larger mostly keeper fluke.
Rhode Island and Fishers Island south shore beaches have been the hot spots. Montauk Point is producing fluke as always, but it’s a long run and in New York the minimum length is 20.5-inches with a 4 fish limit.
Not many huge doormats reported, but good numbers of five to eight-pounders are coming in between Newport and Captain Morgan’s in Madison. Don Michaud of King Cove Tackle, Stonington said the fish he’s seen are “short fatties. A 9.5-pounder he weighed was only 25 inches long.
Porgy/Scup: fishing is excellent. Anglers frustrated with large fluke sizes are setting up around rock piles and reefs and hammering this easy to catch species. Many “dinner plate” sized scup are around. We landed a 16-incher two weeks ago that had no trouble with a size 2/0 hook while tube and worm fishing for stripers off Fishers Island.  
Blackfish: Bottom fishermen are doing well on blackfish during this short summer season where anglers are allowed only 2 fish of 14 inches. Not many big tide runners being brought in, but those using green crabs around reefs and rock piles are catching a couple fish to add to their fluke catch.  Fluke, scup and blackfish make for an interesting mixed bag of bottom fishing.
Black Sea Bass: Reports of sea bass came in from the Rhody beaches this week.  Fluke fishermen who drift near small humps and rock piles are also taking a few sea bass as well.
Crabs: Blue crabs are starting to show up in increasing abundance.  A friend saw one swimming by the boat off Watch HIll a week ago, likely a migrant from the south. When these crabs mix with our local survivors from last years large crop it looks like we may be in for a good blue crab run, especially if temperatures remain high with lots of sun.

On the podcast this week you can hear my mid-July fishing report for marine action, including the worm spawn, squid bite, fluke slacking off, and about a lake fishing trip for bass, pickerel and tiger muskellunge. After you’re caught up, I’ll fill you in on all there is to know about coming licensing overhauls—for better or worse—and what you need to know to make sure they’re for the better of all anglers.
Saltwater fishing remains good to excellent. The early summer slug of monster, 50-pound or better bass showed up from Newport to Niantic. One angler landed a 52-inch, 50-pound-plus bass from shore in the Niantic area. Other 50s came in from the Watch Hill Reef Complex, Race, Bartlett Reef and south shore beaches.

This 37 inch, 20 pound or so striper (above left) hit a Yozuri Hydro Squid off the Watch Hill Reefs about ten days ago, towards the end of the annual “squid bite” that had been running hot for most of the month of June. It was one of 41 bass averaging 30 inches we landed that evening along with four or five bluefish to about 8 pounds. One of the five, triple hook ups of fish (above right) in this 29-31 inch size range we had between Watch Hill Light and Wicopessett Rocks, that my son Jared in red and Kit Sullivan and I experienced about week and a half ago. Its not quite as productive at the moment, but last Wednesday one guy who fishes out of King Cove Tackle, Stonington caught 20 bass to 40 inches on squid pattern flies. There are some real monsters in the area at the present time.
The squid bite, normally shot by Father’s Day is still going on, but has slowed. We hit the Watch Hill/Fishers Island Reef Complex last week and landed 41 stripers up to 37 inches and 20 pounds. Fish averaged 30 inches and we lost a couple of much larger bass casting plugs and jigs that barely scratched the surface. Anglers fishing after dark with eels or live menhaden were taking 40 and 50 pounders in the same area.
Fluke fishing or rather catching seems to have slacked off. I’ve talked to experienced fluke fishermen who are having a tough time even finding fish, while shops continue to see a smattering of fish from 8 to 13 pounds brought in. Fishing is better off the Rhode Island than off Fishers Island and in Long Island Sound, where there is a higher percentage of small fish. With minimum lengths at 19.5 to 20.5 inches only a few “fluke meisters” will limit out, especially since sport and commercial fishermen have hit them hard since May. Reportedly draggers, to save fuel, are fishing close to home, one possible reason inshore spots are already picked over.
Pontoosuc Lake Muskies: My musky partner Eric Covino and I made the first of our usual two or three trips to Pontoosuc Lake, in the Berkshires, looking for big tiger muskellunge.
Tigers are a hybrid pike/muskellunge that are infertile and have been stocked in lakes in Massachusetts over the past decade or so. Eric and I have fished Pontoosuc Lake for about four or five seasons and have yet to catch a big one. He’s had two encounters with monsters and I had a mid 30-incher almost jump into the boat a few falls ago.
Its an interesting lake because it holds decent northern pike and a healthy largemouth population. This year, the lake was treated with chemicals to kill the weeds. Rather than the weed choked place we were used to, it was barren on the bottom, so we didn’t find fish the usual spots.
The only structure other than shoreline drop offs and docks was numerous schools of small baitfish that had no place to hide.
It took a few hours to find the right lure, but once we did we ended up taking ten largemouths to 5.25 pounds, three pike to around 30 inches and 20 of the biggest, fattest chain pickerel (averaging 20 inches and nearly 3 pounds) that either of us have ever caught in a single trip, anywhere!

Eric Covino (above left) with a 5.25 pound, Pontoosuc Lake largemouth that was one of over 30 bass, pike and pickerel that ate the hell out of this Lucky Craft 130 suspending jerk bait. This wide shouldered, four pound 23 inch chain pickerel (above right) hit a Salmo Skimmer swim bait, but a Lucky Craft suspending 130 on this trip to Pontoosuc Lake, Mass, that produced over 30 bass, pike and pickerel.
An important issue for sportsmen continues to be how New England is still heming and hawing about the marine recreational fishing license that will be required of any states that haven’t worked out a method for reporting saltwater sport fishing information to the feds by 2009.
In 2007, Connecticut DEP came up with its proposal to for a license restructuring that included a marine component. Sportsmen should be screaming about it, not because they will have to pay a few more bucks to participate in their sport, but because the Connecticut legislature has fumbled the ball on this one two years in a row.
The latest proposal takes care of a big problem many people raised, by clearly stating that any new licenses fees go directly to DEP fisheries and wildlife for conservation and preservation.
It has various hunting and fishing license packages, new mostly in name, including an “All Waters” license, Connecticut’s answer to the saltwater license. The costs would be $15 for marine only, $25 for “All waters” (freshwater and marine) or $5 more than the current freshwater license and $30 for a hunting fishing combo, or an additional $2.
If the state can pass the proposed package or a clone next year, we gain control of our fate. If not, the feds take over licensing and fees in 2011. You’ll hear about it all on the podcast.