December 27th, 2009: Ice Fishing For Pike,
Western MA
I got a call from Bill and was told that he and Steve were going out to
Western MA to ice fish early in the AM. Since safe ice was still very questionable in my neck of the woods I agreed to join
them. I could not wait to rid myself of the cabin fever that had infected me from spending too much time indoors, doing things
I hate like cleaning the house, Christmas shopping and waiting for safe ice. Anyway being the first ice trip of the season
and getting the call around 8 or 9 PM. I scrambled to quickly get my ice gear in order and the truck packed. So I could hit
the sack as early as possible for some Z's before being up at 3:30 AM.
It was a 2 hour ride
to the pond, it was a drizzly morning of rain and our bait was your average sized bait shop shiners and far from the giant
11" suckers or goldens I like to use but it did not matter. I was happy just to be out and hang with friends. We all start
setting up on the ice and before I could get my second trap set up I managed to land two small pike on my first tip up.
Not a bad start, especially while still trying to fully set up. Unfortunately for me those were the only fish I landed for
the rest of the day. I did have a few other flags but all with nobody home. Later on Steve managed to land a small pike as
well and his first of the season and had some other flags from bait thief's. Shortly after Steve got his fish I noticed another
angler from a different group of guys landing a 12 LB pike. A good fish especially for MA waters. Bill in the afternoon seemed
to get his chances but he had no luck getting any of the fish to commit to any of his hooks.
Toward the end of the day the temperature dropped a bit but the hot chocolate I grabbed for the
ride home cured me of the chill. This was the last fishing trip for us of the 2009 season and not a bad way to end it. TIGHT
LINES!
A 12 LB PIKE CAUGHT BY ANOTHER ICE ANGLER NEAR US
STEVE WITH HIS FIRST ICE PIKE OF THE SEASON
MY SECOND ICED BABY PIKE OF THE TRIP
A BETTER SHOT OF MY FISH
December 28th, 2009: Winter Trout, PA
Hey George,
Just
wanted to touch base with you. Well I hope you and your family had a great Christmas,
and a soon to be here Happy
New Year.
I
did squeeze in some fishing yesterday morning. I have to say it was
well worth the trip. I landed a solid 17 to 20 fish in a little over 3
hours. All fish were caught using egg sacs and salmon eggs. The creek
was on fire. Nothing really huge but 2 were pushing the 20" class.
Just a great day on the water.
Well here's a few pics for the site. Hope u enjoy. Stay in touch and I'll talk to you
soon.
Chris
A BUDDY OF CHRIS WITH A RAINBOW
CHRIS HOLDING A FAT BROWN TROUT
November 27, 28 & 29, 2009: Hunt For
Giant Trout, NY
Well it was a very exhausting but fun filled long weekend. Once again I hooked up with my friends
from Ohio, Mark and Larry. Bill from Georgia also joined our group this year (good meeting you Bill). Fishing seemed a bit
slow this year at the Oak and just as crowded as last year. The water level had been drawn way down a week or so before our
arrival, this did not help our efforts any. We hoped for the best and kept our fingers crossed that some fresh fish would
migrate up river for their annual run.
I
miss the good old days when the river had fewer anglers and there was plenty of elbow room, now it’s combat fishing
all the way and if you attempt to move in hopes of a more productive spot you will surely loose your old spot. More often
than not it was better to stay put then trying to find more fruitful spots that end up being worse off than where you were
previously.
Anyway after sticking it out, when
it was all said and done the whole group managed to land some beautiful trout. Larry who did not do so great last year with
the trout was on fire this year and caught enough fish to make up for last year. We were all worried about Bill who was not
having any luck fishing (aside from a surprise sucker fish, that gave us a good laugh) and who had traveled the furthest to
fish this great river but on his last day managed two brown trout. Persistence paid off for him and he got his brown. Most
fish caught were brown trout. However some steelhead were also in the mix. Larry landed a nice fat healthy steelie. Mark landed
a decent steelhead as well and I had a good one come unbuttoned after taking to the air. Larry while having a conversation
with me and barely paying attention to his drift presentation hooked up to another steelhead, lol (this one a monster) that
came unbuttoned but before doing so went screaming far down river in a matter of a few seconds, some powerful fish. With the
river so crowded it was hard to chase the fish down river with the gauntlet of fishing lines from all the other anglers. Though
I hate using them a good net was needed to aid in ending these battles as quick as possible before the fish headed down river
to potentially tangle. Other fish included a incidental king salmon I landed on the first day. My best fish of this trip was
the last fish of the trip (as seems to be the trend the last few NY trips) and it happened to be the rare Atlantic salmon,
few of these are caught on the river and not only the first in all my years of fishing NY tributaries but also the first one
I have ever seen on a NY tributary. This was truly the highlight of my trip. To battle a Atlantic on a fly rod made it even
more special to me and it’s many leaps in battle surely proves why these fish have the hard fighting reputation they
deserve.
The average trout of the group averaged
5-6 pounds. We did not get into any monster browns like the 13 pounder I landed last year but most of us each landed some
hefty trout in the 8-9 pound class. While this may not raise any eyebrows in the great lakes regions these trout elsewhere
would be considered enormous and possibly a fish of a lifetime for most fly fishermen. I know myself when heading back to
my home waters in Massachusetts again that it won’t be the same targeting those average 1 pound cookie cutter hatchery
trout so I’ll be back to NY again next year. I’ll deal with the increasing crowds and the combat fishing and I’ll
do so simply to have the opportunity to potentially hook up with more giant trout. How can I resist. Tight Lines All!
P.S. To my friends who were interested in coming on this trip but couldn’t due to other obligations
and bad timing, join us next year for some fun and laughs. The more the merrier!
PROTECT THE FISHERY & PUT THEM BACK
December 4th, 2009: Chris Slams The Trout
Again, PA
Faithful contributor
Chris of PA sent us this quick report: I
have been working my ass off LOL. Haven't been out at all. Finally
got out this morning and landed 13 trout in just over 2 hours. They were
hitting like crazy. Boy it felt good again, I almost forgot how it
felt. All fish were caught on grubs and egg sacs.
Great job Chris keep
them coming
November 29th, 2009: Rod Practice Brook
Trout, MA
Ray was testing out
his new birthday gift he received from his girlfriend recently, a new 9 weight salt
water rod. He was trying to get a feel for the rod at a local trout pond and nailed this fat 16 inch brook trout.
Sweet deal for just a practice run. Nice job Ray!
November 17th, 2009: Native Pickerel,
MA
Here's another quick
report from Steve: I attached a
pic of a Pickeral I got tonight at Spy Pond in Arlington. It was 24" 3
lbs 11 oz. Was hoping for the elusive Tiger Muskie, it hasn't been stocked with them since 2001. So not sure if there are
any
left there but big Pickeral are fun too.
Nicely done Steve.
November 17th, 2009: Palomino Trout Caught,
GA
Stephen was kind enough
to send us this quick report and our first one from Georgia: Attached are a couple of photo's of a 22 inch long and 17
inch girth Palomino trout. I caught on the Soque River, north Georgia.
Thanks for sharing Stephen thats a beautiful and impressive trout. Feel free to share with us again in the future.
Great job!
November 17th, 2009: Little Adorable Madison
Lands A State Pin Yellow Perch, MA
Last week my daughter
Madison became the first person in the family
with a state pin with a nice yellow perch. My digital scale read 1
pound even. The official weight on a certified scale was 1 lbs 3 1/4
oz. Makes me wonder how much some of the Bass we caught over the summer
really weighed. The Perch was caught in a small pond attached to Stow
Brook. We also had some nice Pickeral action including a nice 22 incher.
November 1st, 2009: Kokanee (landlocked
sockeye) Salmon Hunt, CT
For sometime now I’ve been wanting to fish Connecticut's elusive Kokanee salmon (landlocked
sockeye) during the fall. I have put it on the back burner long enough and decided to just invest the time and to try it this
year. I have fished for them in the past, during the summer months and had some marginal success but what I really wanted
was to catch them during the fall. The reason being is the males turn into incredibly handsome fish. This is the time of year
when they have already transitioned from a normal silver looking salmon into red bodied, humped back fish with green distorted
heads, that sport a crazy kype along with canine teeth. Massachusetts does not have this species which is why my efforts for
this quest were focused in the bordering state of Connecticut. This is truly a unique and rare fishery for New England.
However after last week I was almost ready to give up. Me and my good friend Ray made the trek only to be disappointed that
neither of us hooked up with any kokanee. I was very skeptical if we would hook any this week but we decided to try again
and meet up early Sunday morning. At the last minute though Ray got a stomach bug and was not feeling well and was not up
for the trip. At this point I debated on not going, after all it was a 2 hour ride and I could certainly fish much closer
waters. But I realized that I generally fish best and focus more when I’m solo, so off I went with hopes of a trophy
Kokanee. Like most salmon the kokanee die after spawning. Also Connecticut's Kokanee do not get very large, in fact the CT
state record is only 2 lbs 12 ozs. Yearlings are 10" and under, 2nd year class fish are usually 11 -12" and the 3 year olds
are the mature adults and usually run 13-15". They may lack in size but make up for it in their beauty.
When I finally got there and launched I immediately headed to the spot where me and Ray had briefly spotted them a few times
last week, we could not get anywhere near casting distance from them, without them taking off erratically. I hoped that this
would not be the case today. However when I got to the spot not a Kokanee to be seen. At this point I thought I was chasing
ghosts and that it just wasn’t going to be in the cards. I decided to make the best of it and continue to try and target
the trout and bass as secondary options, if the kokes were not going to co-operate. I also noticed that the fish & game
kokanee trap that I had seen last week was gone. I guess they had already collected the eggs and milk they needed to produce
next years fry for stocking. I thought to myself that maybe I was too late and missed the full spawn. But while working the
shallows I suddenly struck oil when I came across a section of the lake loaded with bright red full spawning kokanee, with
the males I was hunting guarding the nests. I felt relieved and immediately started casting spinners and little spoons. Unfortunately
they were not interested. I then tried casting a wooly bugger to them with my fly rod, that did not work either. I tied a
small jig head on and tossed it and a male koke immediately hit the bait, I set the hook but he came unbuttoned (that hurt).
After what seemed like a million casts I finally hooked and lost another. I started experimenting different baits until I
found something that seemed to annoy them. I put a countdown rappala on and ran it at the same depth as the fish and gave
it a erratic action. It seemed to annoy the hell out of the fish. I figured if I could not get them to hit out of hunger maybe
I could get them to hit out of anger and aggression. I anchored next to a bolder and climbed on it. I had a better view of
the fish and no rocking motion. I casted at some fresh fish and that did the trick. It seemed like you had to cast 50-60 times
to finally annoy one enough to hit the lure. When it was all said and done I lost 3 kokanee and landed five. While fishing
for the salmon I also landed a bonus brown and had another brown come off. I don’t keep to many fish but I ended up
keeping 4 of the 5 fish salmon. Two perfect specimens for a wall mount and two others as well that did not seem to look like
they were going to make it after their battles. So I decided to keep them for a future meal and since I already had fish to
clean I kept the stocker brown as well. What a great day of fishing, it made the planning and targeting all seem worth it.
Sometimes persistence does pay off. I ended up leaving earlier than expected to not have to make the long trek home in the
dark and risk sleeping at the wheel, better safe than sorry. Going to try and put together a video of these catches and upload
it this week, so look for that. Next weekend NY for trophy trout or bust. Hope you all had a good Halloween and weekend. Tight
Lines!
A HEN KOKANEE
BROWN AND KOKANEE'S
HOLY HOOK JAW
October 25th, 2009: Sight Fishing for
Fall Brown Trout, CT
Hey guys been a while since the last report. I’ve been real busy lately and trying to squeeze
in some hunting when free time is available. So I have not been able to fish much. I do plan on doing some more fall fishing
trips and more updates to this website in the upcoming weeks if all goes well. So check back often. And as always don’t
be shy yourselves send us your reports and pics or if you just want to share some favorite catches of the big ones that didn’t
get away, send those pics our way and I’ll post them up.
I finally got out again and boy it felt good. Me and my friend Ray decided last minute to take a small road trip to CT. A
little windy but comfortable and the autumn leaves were in full bloom adding a incredible and spectacular visual back drop
of fall colors to our day. The plan was to check out one of the lakes in CT that contain kokanee salmon. I wanted to see if
they were in spawning mode and try to catch some in full spawning colors. If the kokanee were not present we were going to
go with plan B. Which was to grab our fly rods and fish the fabled Farmington River for some trout action. Well we got to
the pond and I started to feel slightly less optimistic when I saw no salmon spawning activity near the boat ramp, it did
not help matters further when a couple of boats came in from trolling the deep water off the the lake claiming the fish bite
was off and very slow. Not what I wanted to hear but I have had days that I have heard these same type of stories and still
had some great success. So we launched my canoe in search of Kokanee. We checked out the spots I thought we would more likely
come across them but no luck. What we did find however was an abundant number of brown tout displaying spawning like behavior.
These fish were concentrated in shallow water especially beaches and gravel areas. I guess there was no need for plan B with
all these trout visually in sight. As the saying goes never leave fish to find fish. Me and Ray worked the shore line, which
consisted of anchoring and sight casting to the brown trout. We used our fly rods and ultra light rods and threw out a variety
of flies and spinners at them. On this day the fish seemed to prefer the spinners over the flies. Generally when our baits
were not getting hit we were getting followers near the boat, what a blast it was to sight fish on a still water. I’m
not sure how many browns we got but we caught enough to loose count. I also ended up with a bonus rainbow trout and if you
count it a decent largemouth that I caught clowning around with my net. Near the end of the trip we finally did come across
a small school of bright red kokanee (they really do look like little sockeye’s) that we spooked up when we got near
them with the canoe, They rapidly just bolted bolted. We took a cast or two but they were too fast for us and already long
gone. Regardless it was a spectacle to see these little red hump backs that just stuck out like a soar thumb, no wonder they
were extremely skittish. Going to try and squeeze another trip there before the end of fall for another crack at them. What
a fun day on the water. Tight Lines (and to the hunters straight shooting) All!
October 4th, 2009: Smallmouth Bass
& Outboard Check, MA
Bill came by and we decided to test out my outboard. It had crapped out on us a couple of weeks
ago or so. Bill’s brother Steve was kind enough to fix it for me. So I wanted to test the motor and make a few casts
with Bill and since there was not allot of time I wanted to do it more locally but due to the new Quabbin regulations (and
that damn chain on my boat and trailer) we were forced to do it at the Quabbin Reservoir. Normally I would want to fish the
Quabbin over other waters but it was a bit longer of a ride and not much time. We ended up going and I got even more disappointed
when I found out after getting to the launch facility that end of fishing time was an additional hour earlier than the last
time I was there. The spot that I thought we would find fish was about 15-20 minute boat ride add that time to come back to
the launch and that left us with around 40 minutes. Hardly worth the trip. To make matters worse the salmon were not at the
spot I’d hope they would be at and there was no further time to look for them. On the positive side I landed a decent
smallmouth bass and the outboard now runs better than ever. Thanks a million again Steve (looking forward to hitting the ice
with you this upcoming winter season). This trip was a little bit frustrating but looking forward to much better trips at
the Quabbin next season, that is if the Boston bureaucrats don’t have their way and close it. Tight Lines All!
2009: Some pics from Ohio.
Mark of Ohio
sent us some some pics. Nice smallmouth. The catfish was caught on a rubber worm of all things. The bluefish
and pompano were caught on his fly rod. See ya soon in NY Mark.
September 13th, 2009: Suburban Brook
Trout II, MA.
(Here's a report I got from Mike.) Ok so we decided to make 1 more trip to try for these native
jewels. Along with my 3 boys Mike, Skylar and Sam. We started the morning off warm water fishing hoping for bass but
got shut down. Skylar caught 4 perch so it was not a total waste of time. Around 1:00 we switched gears and went looking for
those brookies we caught a couple weeks back. Well they were still there and we got into them. Between us we caught
8 beautiful brookies again ranging from 3-9" most were fingerling size but still very colorful. We did spot a half dozen that
just would not bite. I think they were spawning, the way they lined up and were moving I would bet on it. Hope to get out
a few more times this year for trout. Take a kid fishing Mike Deloia
September 8th, 2009: Shore Fishing For
Drainage Pond Bass, MA
Yesterday evening I happen to have my rod in my truck and I happened to be in a area that had a
couple drainage ponds I had not fished in about 7-10 years. I’m not much into shore fishing anymore but remember the
action that these very well overlooked ponds used to provide me. They were always good for action and numbers. Allot of small
fish but I also used to get at least one bass or two anywhere from 2-4 lbs on just about every trip, with the rare but occasional
5 lb largemouth. These are very small ponds that you wouldn’t think would hold such fish if you looked at them but they
do. Since I was in the area and had my rod I had wondered if there were any of those big fish left in the ponds or if the
bass still even continued to thrive. One pond was disappointing the numbers were not there like they once were nor did I catch
or see any decent size largemouth as in the past but some bass were still there, I sporadically pulled out about 4-5 dinks
and then headed to the other drainage pond. The 2nd pond was still pretty good. I was catching bass after bass but all the
fish were between dink size to 1.50 lbs. I wondered what happen to the larger fish, especially after noticing more bluegills
than I ever noticed before. If there forage exists then there has to be some good sized fish still left I thought. After landing
somewhere between around 25 mostly dink bass. I started to believe they stunted themselves. As I’m getting ready to
call it quits I then saw a pack of 5 larger bass swimming together and cruising the shore line. I rushed to reel my line up
and cast at them. They tucked into a isolated patch of weeds and I could no longer see them. I remember sizing up the larger
of the 5 fish and was hoping to hook it. I casted to the edge of that patch of weeds and I hoped they were still there and
for some luck. Within a second my rubber worm got snatched and my slack line was tightening up quick. I set the hook and soon
realized I had hooked the largest one of the pack. All the fish in this little pond were scrappy and hard fighters, this larger
fish was no exception and was just peeling drag out of my reel. For a short little trip it was fun and brought back old memories
of past trips. The little shrubs I remember easily stepping over are now taller than me and almost impenetrable, There is
a bit more chocked out sections of the pond due to invasive weed growth but the fishing hasn’t changed. Tight Lines!
FOR A QUICK RELEASE ONLY GOT 2 CRAPPY SELF TIMER PICS
September 6th, 2009: Cape Cod - Trout
Pond - Road Trip, MA
Bill met up with me again, this time early and we hit the road and headed to a favorite kettle pond
of mine for some trout action and smallmouth. We wanted some numbers as well as a shot at some quality fish. So off we went
on a road trip with high hopes of a action packed day. Being the end of summer and allot of the spring stocked trout having
been plucked out by now. The pond remarkably still carries enough holdover trout to keep things interesting, as well as a
bonus smallmouth bass fishery. The action was not fast and furious but was consistent and enough to rack up some numbers with
enough time and lure experimentation put into it. The trip started off very disappointing when I hooked up with a big trout,
the fish leaped and cleared the water at about a 100 yards behind the boat. Even at that distance away the trout looked enormous
but my disappointment came after the fishes leap, when he shook the fly out of his mouth. No way to tell exactly how big the
trout was but if I had to guess I’d say 5+ lbs. Me and Bill were both beside ourselves after witnessing that. At the
very least it kept us into it and optimistic that the next strike could be another giant. Unfortunately no other giant trout
were hooked but we did get into a bunch of them. Some were decent size and others a bit on the small side but fun none the
less. Me and Bill even had a double at one point. Most of the fish caught were rainbow trout but in the mix were other species,
Yellow Perch, Brook Trout and Smallmouth Bass. Though I hate (really hate) loosing big fish it was still a very fun day. I
think we landed around 10 trout (give or take a fish or two). Another highlight of mine was a 3.5 lb (or so, didn’t
weigh it) Smallmouth Bass I caught on my fly rod. The fish fought incredibly and it took sometime to wear it down enough to
bring in. For most of the battle I did not know what I had on and was leaning on assuming that it was a big trout and I thought
perhaps I had gotten a second shot at a big trout but not the case. I would have rather gotten a trophy trout but I wasn’t
to disappointed, it was still an impressive and scrappy smallie caught on a fly rod. It gave me a hell of a rush and battle.
The smallmouth was a very fat female that looked like she was ready to spawn and pop her eggs. Odd since they don’t
generally spawn until around May/June. Over all a good trip for both of us and well worth the drive and I’ll be back
another time.
September 5th, 2009: Squeezing In A
Short Local Trip, MA.
I should have gotten up earlier but it had been an exhausting week and I needed some sleep. When
I got up I gave Bill a call and told him to meet me at one of my favorite local ponds. I got there first and while waiting
for Bill I unloaded the canoe and gear and then started fly casting to the bluegills and small bass hanging around shore.
Those small fish all eagerly took to the fly and kept me entertained while I waited for Bill to show. When he arrived we both
jumped in the canoe and started seeking some trout. We worked some deep water, but it was slow fishing. I had a couple of
trout on but they both came loose when my electric motor on it’s own turned the opposite direction I wanted it too,
while I was fighting the fish. Which caused some slack for a second or two but enough time for the trout to come unbuttoned.
Bill also had a hit or two, talk about bad luck on both of us. The sun was now up at full force and it was getting warm, I
knew this wasn’t going to help matters any. My patience was starting to wear thin and I was no longer picky as to what
I wanted to tug the end of my line. So we switched to some easier targets and went after some bass and bluegills and it was
a blast. We both got into plenty of largemouth bass and got a few decent sized ones along with lots of smaller ones but action
none the less. I even fooled around some more with the fly rod and sight fished and fly casted for some bigger bluegills.
I had to cut the trip short to attend a Birthday party. So we ended the trip at 2 PM. The highlight of this trip was a estimated
3.5-4 lb fat largemouth I got on the fly rod.
September 4th, 2009: Chasing The Full
Moon Night Bite
Me and Bill were hoping to hit the Quabbin Reservoir for some action but unfortunately last week
when we made the attempt to do so. After going through all the effort of getting down there and unloading the boat and gear
(don’t even get me started with the inspection process I had to go thru the day before) the gas motor decides after
we launch that it does not want to start. What a way to kill our day. Anyway we had hoped the motor could have been repaired
on time for this long weekend but not all the parts needed for repair had come in yet. So we were limited to an electric motor
for the weekend but decided we were not going to let that prevent us from trying to get into some fish. We decided to get
a early weekend start and do a short little trip Friday evening in search of big largemouth bass. We fished the last hour
of light and 2 hours into the dark, in hopes of nocturnal hog bass. During the last bit of daylight I worked a spinner bait
and some rubber worms and Bill worked some large Texas rigged black power worms. Steve was also out in his crawdad, fishing
the same pond. Between the three of us we couldn't land a fish during light. Talk about a slow bite. Me and Bill hoped the
night fall would turn them on. Come night fall I throughout a bunch of large swim baits and musky sized jitterbugs looking
to connect with something of bragging size. I ended up with a fish blowing up the surface and missing the bait (it sounded
like a large fish?). That was it for a while and then later on I connected with a bass around 2 lbs off the musky jitterbug.
Bill was using a smaller jointed jitterbug and got into a small bass, a couple of crappies and a bluegill. It was clear that
the bite was not on even with the full moon. We decided to cut it short and head home and try elsewhere in the morning. Kind
of disappointing when we know there are large fish in the pond but that’s fishing, at least neither of us got the skunk.
September 1st, 2009: Native Suburban Brook
Trout, MA
Ok so my son Michael told me he saw brookies in the nearby stream (which does not get stocked).
I had my doubts but he really knows his trout. So off we went just a half mile from our home. He was right we caught four
brookies and lost two. We saw at least that many swimming around. They ranged in size from three inches to about nine inches.
The nine inch one being a Monster by comparison to its surroundings. We took a few shots of the more colorful ones. All
this just a skip from home. Take your kids fishing! - Michael Deloia
August 26, 2009: Largemouth & Catfish
(off a rubber worm?), MA
Here's a report from
Steve: Bill and I fished our favorite pond in Sudbury again. Things started
out kinda slow. Before sunset we were both using 10 in power worms and
getting lots of hits from little fish.
Bill got one small Bass in the boat and I got a small Hornpout. A first
for me on a 10 in worm. After sunset Bill switched to the Jitterbug and
I started throwing a Terminator night spinnerbait with half of a black
powerworm for a tail. The tail was Bill's brilliant idea. The Bass
seemed to like it. A nice 21 in 5 pounder grabbed it when I was running
it slow and deep next to a patch of lilly pads. My first fish on my new
night spinnerbait. Money well spent for sure. About 15 minutes later I
got hit again running it slow in about 8 feet of water. This time a 20
in 4 lbs 3 oz Bass. My wife Angela was nice enough to meet us at the
dock with a camera because I forgot to charge my battery. Shortly
before she showed up Bill got a 2 lbs 9 oz Bass on the topwater. We
called it quits after the photos and healthy releases of all the Bass.
Work in the morning.
August 24th, 2009: Night Bassing, MA.
Bill reported that fishing the other night the bite was real slow but he still managed to land this
four pound largemouth bass off a jointed jitterbug. Nice job Bill.
August 22, 2009: Mass Bass
Here's a report from
Steve: Fished one of my favorite ponds this weekend. Caught a couple of good ones. Saturday night
got one almost 4 1/2 lbs. Sunday I caught my new personal best
largemouth on rod and reel. I have only caught bigger through the ice.
22in 5lbs 1oz according to my scale. A real monster was also caught and released Saturday night by a guy I saw fishing
in a bass tracker. About
a 6 1/2 pounder. My wife happened to be at the docks getting something
out of my truck when he was leaving. She took the pic for him and he
released it at the docks. Sorry I don't have a pic of that one. I will
when I catch it. I know where he lives.
August 21st, 2009: Summer Trout Action, PA.
Chris reports he finally
got out and managed to land 5 nice
fish. Nothing huge, but all decent.
August 18th, 2009: Top Water Smallmouth,
MA.
Bill reports landing
this smallmouth Bass during pre-dawn with a jitterbug. The fish was caught in Marlborough at Fort Meadow and was Bills
first Smallmouth Bass in a few seasons.
August 15th, 2009: Some Local Action,
MA.
Bill hooked up with me Friday night for some night bassing. We hit a very local pond, where last
year we caught some nice chunkers and I had lost a beast. But unfortunately this time around (our first time back this year)
the trip just provided dink largemouth. Hook ups were instant from the moment I started and good numbers of fish were caught
right until dark. Come night fall though the bite slowed down, even after we switched to top water baits. The top water bite
seems to be off this year, especially when compared to last year but we continued in hopes of a hawg. Bill threw out his jitter
bugs and I went through a assortment of large swim baits hoping for a trophy. All that was caught during the night shift where
a few more additional dinks. I found this to be strange for the body of water I was on, in fact it almost seemed like an entirety
different lake than last year, that’s fishing though. Since we stayed out pretty late Friday night we decided to do
a late morning trip the following day so we could catch up on some Z’s. So Saturday we got out to another pond and it
was nice to have a almost full day to wet a line, been a while for me. We ended up catching plenty of fish, which included
Rainbow trout, bluegills and largemouth bass but unfortunately again we ran into the same problem as the night before, all
dink sized fish with the exception of a semi-decent chunker rainbow that Bill caught. I thought about leaving and maybe trying
another spot but I said screw it and just enjoyed catching a bunch of numbers of fish, though all small always a nice feeling
getting a bend in the rod and I know soon enough it will be winter again and when it feels like a frozen tundra again I’ll
be wishing I could haul in a bunch of fish in shorts on a warm summer afternoon, even if there all small. I’ll be back
out again next weekend, hopefully you will too. Tight Lines!
August 8th, 2009: Quick Multi-species
Morning Trip, MA.
Once again it’s been a while since my last post, what a summer of unexpected events popping
up what seems like every weekend. I’ve spent about two weekends shopping around for new wheels. Ironically my old pickup
broke down on the highway while I was making my way to another dealership to truck shop.....LOL. On a brighter note and to
make a long story short I got new wheels and just when I was planning on hitching my little boat onto my new truck for a upcoming
weekend of casting I get a call from a family member wanting me to help build a shed. I couldn’t say no and the next
thing I know the whole weekend disappeared working on it (but it did come out nice). Knowing fully well that my weekend was
going to be full with the project I decided to slip away for a quick multi-species early morning trip with my friend Bill,
before meeting up with the guys to work on the shed project. Me and Bill did not have long and slid a canoe into one of my
favorite near home spots and managed to hook up with some bass, trout and bluegills. We trolled a bit for trout in the morning
and Bill got into his first trout of the season (glad I could assist with that Billy). We then casted and worked the shoreline
a bit for largemouth bass. Of course after we switched over to fish largemouth by the time we found the hot spot where the
bass were all hanging out and pounding our baits it was just about time for me to leave to meet up with the guys at the designated
time and start working on the shed project......figures! But we managed to get a good bite on them for a little bit. We ran
out of time before we could haul in a lunker but there is always next time. Hopefully this weekend I’ll be able to get
out for a full day at least. Hope you all have been able to wet a line more than me lately at least and catch a few.....Tight
lines all!
A Nice Fat Brown Trout
A Scrappy Largemouth Bass
Bill's Rainbow Trout
A Underrated Bluegill
Another Average Sized Largemouth
July 25th, 2009: Slamming Bass, CT.
It’s been a while since I headed out to wet a line, seems like lately something unexpected
pops up every weekend. But I finally made it out and had a half day to scratch my angling itch. The plan was to toss out large
slammer swim baits for pike and bass. I realize we have gotten allot of rain so far this summer but it really sunk in when
I got to the river and saw how high the water was up and how far less vegetation there was poking through the surface, suddenly
those deep channels I like to fish adjacent to vegetation where suddenly not as relevant with the high water. Cast after cast
I experimented fishing weed lines, points, blow downs, shallow and deep water. I also tried working the baits slow to fast
erratic retrieves. The pike did not cooperate but what seemed like was going to be a skunk ended with a couple of nice quality
slammer bass. Cranking them down hard was the ticket and it rewarded me with a couple of largemouth bass explosions. Both
fish that assaulting my perch slammer were landed and were of good quality size. I don’t know exactly what it is but
there’s something about throwing striper sized plugs for freshwater largemouth bass and being successful that gets my
juices flowing a bit. Maybe it’s the big baits equals big fish philosophy. Perhaps knowing that most of the little rat
bass I normally catch with smaller and more traditional bass baits will be to intimidated to hit the larger baits and that
most of the fish that do bite are of quality size. It’s hardly a numbers game fishing these plugs but always exciting
to see what’s on the other end of the line when you feel some hard pulls. Tight Lines All!
July 19th, 2009: Assabet River Largemouth Bass, MA.
Here’s a report from Steve (Bills brother) who landed a nocturnal hawg, nice job Steve! Keep
those reports coming: On Sunday night my wife Angela and I went hunting for that monster Bass again. Didn't get the 9 pounder
but it was a pretty busy night. Had several hits on the 10 inch worm between 7 and 8:30. Boated 2 bass less than 2 lbs. Lost
one that nearly ripped the rod out of my hand when it hit and lost a good size Pickerel about 10 feet from the boat. After
8:30 I went top water with a large jointed jitterbug. Had a few hits and between 9 and 9:30 landed 2 nice bass one 19" almost
4 lbs and the other was just over 20". My scale read 4 lbs 6 oz. Not sure how accurate it is. I thought it could have been
closer to 5. Angela didn't have any luck. She's kinda new to this. She has only done live bait fishing before. She had a couple
of hits on a jitterbug but missed the hook set. She enjoyed herself though and wants to go again soon.
July 12th, 2009: Assabet River Largemouth Bassing, MA.
Sunday me and my friend
Bill hooked up and decided to chase Largemouth Bass. This was my first trip of the season targeting them. Bill and his friend
the previous day had a monster on that came off at boat-side. The fish was so big, that Bill was still sick over it, even
though it wasn't even lost on his rod. Bill estimated the bass between 8-9 lbs. Needless to say trying to decide where me
and Bill were going to fish was easy. Though we got into some bass we had to work for them and it wasn't until the evening
that things started to liven up. The two best fish hooked was a largemouth of about 4 lbs or so (didn't weigh it). I guess
technically I also got a catfish, if you count the bullhead that was still stuck in the throat of my 4 pounder, with tail
hanging out and all. It amazed me that it still took my rubber worm. I also had another largemouth bass come off at boat side
around 4-5 lbs with a slammer swim bait. Bill's best of the day was a 2 pounder or so. Funny enough we ran into his friend
in a crawdad looking for redemption and another shot at his lost trophy bass. Don't worry Bill, we know where he lives and
we'll get him next time.
THIS (4LB OR SO) LARGEMOUTH WITH A CATFISH IN IT'S THROAT STILL TOOK MY RUBBER WORM!
July, 2009: Multi-species Fishing, OH
Mark sent us some pics of some recent fish he caught down his neck of the woods. Looks like your
sons not a bad fishermen either, great job! All dads should take there kids fishing. Mark I'll catch you and Larry on the
river this fall. Keep those reports and pics coming.
MARK WITH A NICE NORTHERN PIKE
MARK WITH A GOOD SMALLMOUTH BASS
LIKE FATHER LIKE SON
Happy Independence Day America!
Happy Belated
4th of July everyone. God bless America, the greatest country on the planet!
Un-like me I hope
you guys squeezed in some time over the long weekend to get out and wet a
line. My life has been to busy lately for fishing but I hope to get out this weekend.
Messed around
again with my video making software and put a new video together, tittled spring smallmouth at the quabbin. Check it out and
for more video's check out the Fishing Video's page on this site.
Can't wait to
get back out on the water again. Tight lines all!
June 28th, 2009: Pin Brook Trout Landed, MA
Here’s
a report from friend and reader Mike, who had a memorable day out with his son (nice job Skylar): With all the rain this
month I was hoping for just one day to take my son Skylar fishing. We got a window of clear weather so we went out to Hopkinton reservoir to make a few casts. It was Skylar’s 5th or 6th cast
with a fly we set up as a jig. When his line started to pull the drag was yelling at us. I told him to take his time, to be
honest I thought it was a bass. When it came to the top!! well I saw it was a very big brookie. After about 10 minutes he
landed it and us without a net or a camera and no scale. We went home and on our scale it weighed 2lbs 12ozs. The next day
on a certified scale it was 2lbs 10ozs and 17 3/4 inches. A pin brookie. This one is going on the Deloia trophy wall. Take
your kids fishing - Mike Deloia
June
25th, 2009: Another Giant Trout, PA.
Here’s
another report from faithful contributor and reader Chris, who’s trout catches so far this year have been outstanding.
Here's his report and yet another giant PA bow:Crushed um today. Lot's and lot's of fish. They were hammering the plastics
today. Every size, shape and color. It seemed like everything you threw they wanted, gotta love those days. Landed an easy
30+ fish and lost at least a dozen more. All fish were in the 15" range with a couple more real monsters. Here's a couple
shots of the big steelie.
Landlocked Salmon Video Completed
- Check it out!
I made a handful of trips over the month of May to the Quabbin Reservoir targeting landlocked salmon.
I compiled the footage from these trips to create this video. A few friends were asking me about this one, I finally had some
spare time to put it together. Here it is! For more videos check out the fishing video's page.
June 14th, 2009: Afternoon Rainbows with Friends, MA.
Sunday I was not planing on going fishing. I got a call from a friend who wanted to know if I wanted
to join him on a road trip to Cabela's in CT. I agreed but wen he picked me up I threw out another option and mentioned if
you guys prefer we could go fishing instead, your choice. They could not decide, so Dave tossed a coin and off we were to
squeeze in a couple of hours of fishing. We got to the trout pond and the first hour was slow but when we found them we got
into them. We landed 7 and lost a few. Overall not a bad little trip with soma good laughs. All fish caught on 4-6 colors
of lead-core line trolling. No way was I going to have 3 guys casting in my small little boat...LOL. We also saw a osprey
and spotted some deer driving home.
June 13th, 2009: Back to Rainbows, MA.
I spent so much time chasing land-lock salmon and smallmouth I missed chasing rainbows and also
wanted a change of scenery. Hit a kettle pond and got into some good rainbows including some chunky 16-17 inchers. The largemouth
bass bite was on as well. Fish came casting and trolling a whole assortment of artificial baits. The sun was a pleasant welcome
after a long week of clouds and rain. Felt great to be out.
June 9th, 2009: My Apologies To Our Readers.
Due to circumstances beyond my control this website had been temporarily
shutdown. Sorry to the good folks who tried logging on but couldn't. However we are back up and running and there should be
no more future interruptions. A special thanks to all the readers and friends who contacted me, to let me know about the problem!
Now that we are functioning again send us some pics and reports and help us make this site more interesting.
June 7th, 2009: Yard Work Blues but Squeezed A Little In, MA.
Had a ton of work I had put
off long enough around the house, so I decided to bite the bullet and mostly focus on the yard work this past weekend. Mostly,
being the key word, I did manage a few early morning hours of fishing but had to get up at 4 am to do so. Being that I did
not have much time I chased smallmouth and landed only four but got into this pig. My digital scale called it a 4 pound even
fish, which made the trip worth it. It sucked having to leave, I barely even count this as a fishing day, to me a couple of
hours on the water does not cut it. I did manage to get all the work I needed to get done though and plan on going out and
playing this upcoming weekend.
June 7th, 2009: He's At it Again, Some Giant Pennsylvania Trout!
Faithful PA contributor and friend Chris "the Troutdogg" got my jaw to
drop when he sent me these photo's of the results of a trip he made this afternoon. Unfortunately not allot of information
on these great catches but he did report showing up after the end of a fishing contest and whacking some real hefty giant's.
Chris I got your email and I have marked my calendar for a PA trip with you next year, now if I could only have half your
luck on our upcoming trip I'd be happy!
May 23rd, 2009: Quabbin Smallmouth & Comet Rainbows, MA.
I could not resist going
to the Quabbin yet again. The plan was to chase lakers in the early part of the morning and then target the smallmouth but
unfortunately I couldn't reach the lakers. I was picking them up on the fish finder at 100-120 feet down and I did not have
enough leadcore line spooled on to even come close to them. I thought about other techniques like jigging off the bottom but
said screw and went right to the smallmouth. I'll go back for the lake trout with my down rigger some other time. The smallmouth
bite was on, jigs, jerk and slash baits did the job for me, with plenty of fish. Being reminded again of the great fighting
ability of the smallmouth bass has rekindled my interest in them, now if only the largemouth had their fighting ability. Late
afternoon on the way home I popped by Comet pond for some rainbow trout action. After landing a few small cookie cutter rainbows
I called it a day.
May 30th, 2009: Some Big Trout Action, PA
Chris today reports taking his daughter to another fishing contest. Despite
her landing what would normally be a prize caliber trout, a 6.5lbs, 22.5" inch rainbow. She was denied a prize due to her
young age thanks to the contest organizers. Pictured though is her real prize. After the fishing contest a pissed off dad
Chris (and rightfully so) hit the water and showed them and proved that it runs in the family when he pulled out three palomino
golden trout, biggest went 22" and the smallest went 18.5". Great job guys! Though it sounds insane that they would deny a
little girl a well deserved prize, we here at thelocalhookupma give "Lil Miss Troutdogg" full props. At least dad got to spend
some quality time with his little girl and they both whacked some giant trout.
May 27th, 2009: A Real Fatty, PA
Our PA hookup Chris "the Troutdogg" fished the morning and fetched about
a dozen trout. With this guy (pictured) being the largest of the day. The fish went just shy of 20" but a real fatty.
May 16th, 2009: At it with Dale again
at the Quabbin, MA
Though we did not do so hot the previous day knowing the potential
of the lake and that with a new day things can change around. So Dale wanted to still give it another shot. This time we got
there as early as possible, wasting no time in morning preparations or getting there. We hit one of my favorite spots early
on and worked it, it looked promising after seeing a salmon boil. Within about 30 minutes or so Dale had his first MA salmon
in the net. It fought hard and gave him a good battle. Shortly after about 30 minutes or so he got into another salmon which
also gave him a good tussle. His 1st fish looked like it went 3 lbs and his 2nd chromer looked about 2 lbs 5 ozs, I had finally
put the man on some salmon. His spirits seemed to have lifted after landing these beautiful fish. Shortly after there was
a boil on the surface and I quickly reacted by casting out a jerk bait and had another small salmon come right in following
it. I’m wondering if the salmon school up together is size class pacs. This particular school of salmon were much smaller
than all the previous others I have found but a good sign that there will be another class of fish to grow and replace the
existing large fish. Dale also in addition to the 2 silver bullets also hooked up with a 3-3.5 lb smallmouth that also gave
him a little war on the rod. After the 1st couple of morning hours passed though things got slow. We even took a long ride
out to explore a new spot for lake trout, which turned out to be down right scary when the wind picked up and the white caps
came, making the ride back seem like a slow and endless nail biting commute in my small little 12 foot boat. We got back though
and messed around with the school of jumbo perch for a slight bit that we found the previous day and tried for lakers. It
looked like a storm was going to hit at any moment so we decided to play it safe and pull out early. When we finally had the
boat strapped on the trailer and everything put away it looked like the wind had died down and it was starting to clear up,
figures! That’s part of fishing I guess. Tight Lines!
DALE WITH HIS 1ST MA LANDLOCK
ANOTHER WELL EARNED SALMON
A BEAUTIFUL BRONZEBACK
May 16th, 2009: Lil Miss Troutdogg
Wins Trout Derby, PA
Chris took his 2 1/2 year old daughter Kaitlyn to a contest in morning,
down by his house and she ended up winning the contest with a 19 3/4" Brookie. She had such a blast and this was her very
first time ever fishing. Chris also reported that he is the proudest DAD right now. Little Kaitlyn ended up with 8 trout,
keeping the limit of 5 and being crowned the Styles Playground Fishing Contest Champ. At her young age she turned a bunch
of heads. What a day, I guess she earned the family name, but we'll call her "Lil Miss Troutdogg" says Chris. LOL.
A PROUD PAPA
QUALITY TIME WITH DADY'S LITTLE GIRL
May 15th, 2009: The Quabbin with
Dale, MA
My friend Dale had seen the 1st reports of the landlocks I had posted and
wanted in. I agreed to take him and was happy to do so, we usually have fun in the boat joking and busting each others chops.
Unfortunately though to make a long story short, I couldn’t put Dale on any salmon as I had hoped because I couldn’t
find them. We searched high and low and it was painfully slow. On a brighter note we did get a few smallmouth and I got into
a 2-3 lb pregnant pickerel. We also found a big school of jumbo perch that were averaging a pound, some real nice ones but
Dale was not so into the perch fishing (though he caught a bunch) so we moved on to try and locate some salmon and even tried
some new spots but no luck. Regardless that’s fishing and it was better than the skunk or working. Tight lines!
PLENTY OF JUMBO PERCH FOR THE TAKING
May 13th, 2009: Salmon trip turned
into a Bass trip with Ray, MA
Ray was off from work and wanted to join me on the Q to chase smallies
and landlocks. I wanted to play guide for him and put him on a salmon but unfortunately I could not find the salmon anywhere,
not even in all the spots that had produced for me in my recent previous trips. Ray had not had much luck lately on his own
so I had hoped I could help but we tried like hell all day but it was just plain slow and the salmon were just not cooperating.
We switched gears a bit and by the end of the day the two biggest fish came on Rays rod a smallmouth around 3 lbs 5 ozs and
a largemouth bass around 3 lbs. I thought Ray would had been disappointed by the days outcome but because the smallmouth fought
so hard and the largemouth was of respectable size he seemed to have loved the end results and wants to fish the Quabbin again.
Perhaps just feeling a tug on the line and the spectacular scenic views and wildlife, like the bald eagle and loon sightings
we were admiring was enough. What ever it was he wants to return again. Not the best trip but a fun one with good company
and laughs. Tight lines!
May 11th, 2009: Trophy Landlocked
Salmon & Smallmouth at the Quabbin, MA
Wanted to get out yesterday but it was mothers day but made it out early
today. Before starting I was anxious and excited and had Bert join me (he always brings me luck). My goal on my wish list
this week was to attempt to get into a 6 pound landlocked salmon within the 6-7 days I’d plan on fishing the Q. I figured
I’d put my time in this week and hopefully and maybe be lucky enough to be rewarded with the trophy I was looking for.
What I didn’t know before heading out was that day 1 of my vacation would not only be the best day of the week but the
day I landed one that exceeded the magic 6 lb mark. It all started when I went to my usual spot and worked it hard all morning
but the salmon were not there. Decided to work the same spot for a much easier but still hard fighting species, the smallmouth
bass. Which seem to be staging up and getting ready for the spawn. Jigs and a smelt pattern fly brought me a few respectable
fish but it was Bert that hooked into a real beauty, the smallie fought hard and leaped a few times trying to shake the hook
off. It must have taken 15 minutes to land but it finally made it into the net. It looked like a big heavy and fat female
loaded with eggs. A real nice brozeback. We quickly and carefully weighed it on my digital scale and she went an even 4 lbs,
a pig of a smallmouth. She was carefully released back in to fight another day. Bert was pumped and that fish made his trip
& day. When we were done with the smallmouth fix, it was time to get focused back to the mission at hand and switch gears
back to what appeared to be elusive landlocks. I decided to experiment and try a new spot and troll hardware and shiners.
I was on the hunt for a big fish, now a 5 lb landlock is a trophy anywhere in New England but I had already achieved a 5 lb
fish last week at the Quabbin and previously also some years back in ME. I wanted to reach that mythical 6 number. I had heard
some rumors and a report of some 6’s coming out of the Q and surprisingly guys living on and near lake Winnipesauke
were driving down to the Q to salmon fish? All my previous trips here every salmon I had hooked up with had all been between
4-5 lbs. So I knew this was the place to do it and chase that magical 6 pounder. However as time passed and no strikes, I
wasn’t so picky anymore and any sized salmon would have been graciously accepted. Then it happened around 11 am, my
rod keeled over with a nice bend, I set the hook and it felt like a good fish. My fish finder indicated that we were over
60 feet of water and the salmon seemed to know it too, it made runs down deep only to come zipping back up and to make aerial
leaps out of the water. It seemed every time I would get the fish near the boat the fish would launch back away from the boat
and go where ever it dam well pleased. It seemed the fish was finally starting to get tired but still wanted nothing to do
with the boat. Earlier I was going to ask Bert to reel his line in but he had grabbed the camera and was filming the battle,
which almost became costly. I finally got the fish near the boat again trying to maneuver it away from the other line but
it lunged and got tangled in the other line and when it made another lunge the fish (that I knew was a 6) snapped the line
and broke off. I was disgusted and in disbelief and while staring at the end of my fishing line with nothing on, saying to
myself you know better than that, ya blew it. Then I noticed the fish had come up floating. Apparently the fish had been warn
out by exhaustion. I quickly threw the trolling motor at full blast (not using the loud gas outboard to not scare him under).
I then ran to the front of the boat and Bert got out of the way and I reached for the fish with the net and as I got close
to it, the fish went under. I thought that was it, I had blown it twice but miraculously she popped back up again within reach
and I quickly scooped her up. I was beside myself. A fat, big shouldered, hook jawed male. A perfect trophy specimen. I grabbed
my digital scale but between the fish moving and the chop on the water it was hard to get a good weight read. However the
scale reading was going everywhere but seemed to more continuously bounce between 6 lbs 3 ozs and 6 lbs. 6 ozs. I exceeded
the magic mark and I had achieved it here at home and on my own, I decided to keep the fish for a trophy mount. A couple of
hours later after the catch I weighed her again in a flat calm cove and the fish was kind enough not to squirm or move this
time for the weighing and she came out to 6 lbs 11 ozs. At the end of the day hours later I went to a tackle shop and had
her weighed on a certified scale for a MA state pin and she went officially 6 lbs. 9 ozs. According to the MassWildlife website
the current leading landlocked salmon is a 6 lbs 12 oz fish. I wondered if I had listened to a friend I called after the catch
and immediately left and went directly to a certified scale sooner, before water, blood, slime and scale loss from being dragged
on a stringer all day if it would have perhaps been a contender for tying up with the current leader. On the flip side though
had I left I would have never hooked up with the other 4 lb 14 oz gorgeous hook jawed male or the fat 4 lb 4 oz hen. It seemed
each time I had made a pass trolling the new spot the I had found we would either get a hit or land a hard fighting salmon.
I will probably remember this trip as one of my best local trips ever. Tight Lines!
MY BEST FISH OF THE WEEK 6 LBS 11 OZS
TWO PIN FISH
ANOTHER SHOT OF THE MONSTER
1 FISH + 5 FINGERS = 6 (PLUS) LBS.
HOOK JAW
ANOTHER HANDSOME HOOK JAW FISH CAUGHT
4 LBS 5 OZS
ANOTHER SALMON THIS TIME A 4 LBS 15 OZS HEN
ANOTHER SHOT OF THE HEN
BERT WITH A HAWG 4 LBS EVEN SMALLMOUTH
A FAT FEMALE RELEASED TO SPAWN & FIGHT ANOTHER DAY
A SCRAPPY LIL SMALLIE CAUGHT ON A FLY ROD
May 9th, 2009: Back for more at the
Quabbin, MA
After landing some chrome leapers last week, the salmon were not the only
things getting hooked. I needed another fix and decided to hit my new favorite MA lake. The lake sports fantastic scenery.
A true wilderness setting with rolling green hills, eagles & loons. I almost felt like I was way up in northern Maine
but I was actually less than 40 minutes from home. I was feeling pretty excited since I took the upcoming week off for vacation.
The plan was to fish and to also take care of some yard work. I decided to invest all my fishing time this week to fish &
better learn the Quabbin Reservoir. I had wondered if last week was a fluke and if I could do it again this week and land
another silver leaping landlock. I arrived at the reservoir around 1 pm and by the time I got everything together launched
and got to my spot it was around 2 pm. Within the 1st hour I had a salmon hookup but I lost the fish when the boat accidentally
swung giving slack to my line and therefore loosing a good fish. Not happy with the loss but I looked at it as a positive
thing, knowing that the salmon are still in the area I fished a week ago. About 45 minutes later I had another salmon hook
up but this time after she made her runs deep and high, leaping and thrusting, she finally made it in my net. A 4 lb 5 oz
beauty. In between salmon I also got into a few small but scrappy smallmouth. Not a bad day for a few hours of fishing.
A CHROME 4 LBS 8 OZS SILVER LEAPER
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL PLAYGROUND
AN AWSOME SIGHT
UNDEVELOPED ROLLING GREEN HILLS EVERYWHERE
May 9th, 2009: Trout Slamming &
Carping, PA
Here’s a report from Chris (Troutdogg). Me and and my dad hit the
Little Lehigh yesterday morning and landed about 40+ fish in a bit over 4 hours. They were mostly Browns and averaged about
14" and great fighters (sorry no pics). After we got tired of slamming the trout we jumped to the Carpin scene and landed
about 8, the biggest about 15lbs. Then this morning we took out my sisters boyfriends brother who wanted to get into fishing
and hooked him up with a few biggins. Let me just say this he's HOOKED. Here's a couple of shots.
May 3rd, 2009: Big Landlocks, MA
Had Sunday afternoon to fish and I debated where to go, I wanted to hit
the Quabbin reservoir but realized it might be kind of late for that, knowing by the time I got there I would be into the
afternoon. I decided screw it and headed down trailering my little 12 footer. This year I finally got my boat set up for the
Quabbin, something I have been wanting to do for a long time. She’s not much but gets me from point A to point B. For
a first timer I was pretty intimidated by the size of this lake, I know there are allot of quality fish here but there is
also a ton of water to search through. When I finally got out on the water my first thought was where do I start. I decided
to just stick with one general area and not waste time moving around everywhere and it paid off. The Quabbin is the only body
of water in the state where you can fish for Lake trout & Landlocked salmon out of a boat. The only other option for Lake
trout & Landlocked salmon is Wachusett reservoir but it’s limited to shore fishing only. My personal preference
is fishing out of my boat, which lead me to the Quabbin. I worked one of the many islands off of gate 31 and was just hoping
to land a decent fish or two, I was not expecting to get into some trophy land locks. In the past I have traveled to Maine
and New Hampshire targeting trophy specimens not realizing that much closer to home and within my own home state that a quality
landlocked salmon fishery existed here. I knew we had landlocks but had no idea that such a quality fishery existed. All the
salmon caught or hooked were right on the surface. For those fishing a little deeper were getting into the lake trout, I saw
one angler land one around 3 lbs. The first landlock I landed was 4.8 lbs (23.50”) and the second (that I landed) a
5.3 lbs (24 1/8”), my scale is pretty accurate unfortunately when I brought the fish the next morning to be weighed
in for the State awards program the fish had lost some eggs and a slight bit of weight but more than still met the minimum
requirement of 4 lbs. I also hooked and lost at boat side a true monster landlock, guessing it’s weight I’d say
it went 5.50 to 6 lbs. My own fault for loosing it (don’t ask). Felt real crappy about loosing it but felt much better
putting one over 5 lbs in the boat afterwards. I planned on only keeping one if it qualified as a trophy, who knew I would
land a larger one and get two for the price of one. The 5 pounder will probably be going on the wall. I will be hunting for
some larger specimens in the upcoming weeks. In addition to the salmon I also got into bonus smallmouth. If your a bass angler
some hawg smallies have been reported 4-6 pounders (so go find them). The salmon all hit the last couple of hours of fishing
time. The only draw back to the Quabbin is that you must be back at the gates at 6:30. But it’s beauty, sights, sounds
and fishing make it all worth it. You’ll hear and see the loons and you might even see one of the bald eagles. Pulling
out I saw a wild turkey. It’s fishing in a wilderness setting but near home. No doubt I fell in love with this lake
and plan on making it a regular spot I frequent. At some point I also plan on targeting the lake trout and smallmouth fishery
as well. If you consider yourself a true angler you must fish the Quabbin, get out there.
P.S. Look for a video of
this trip to come in the Fishing Video's page - Tight Lines!
TWO MA TROPHY PIN LANDLOCKED SALMON
BEFORE LOOSING EGGS SHE WENT CLOSE TO 4.8 LBS
THE SMALLMOUTH BITE IS ON , MUCH LARGER SPECIMENS IN THE 4-5 LB CLASS ARE BEING REPORTED
HERE'S THE 5 LB LANDLOCK
May 1st, 2009: Slaying Trout, PA
Chris got out again today and landed
over 40 fish in about a 5 hour period, it was loaded. They were all about 12"-15". In addition to those guys I did manage
this gal. She was just shy of 23", but a good fighter. Also, lost one about 21"-22". All in all not a bad day at all. Chris
also reports that only being able to fish one day a week (due to priorities), is killing him. Hey Chris join the club, I think
most of us are in that club....LOL. Good work and keep it going.
CHRIS RELEASES A 23 INCH PA RAINBOW
April 20-27th, 2009: Early Season
Rainbow Trout, NH
Here’s a report big Mike submitted about his son little Mike. This
is Mikey’s report!! He fished his tail off in NH we had rain 3 days of the 6 we were there. So he worked hard to bag
8 bows for the week. Not bad for a 12 year old, he caught them all on hardware. 4 from shore and 4 from his kayak. His largest
16" 1.5 lbs. There was a huge 20+" 3 lb bow caught by another angler very fat male with a full kype (sorry no photo). The
best part is the state has not stocked our lake!! So these are all hold over trout. I never wet a line all week with company
up, I never had a chance but its ok. I really enjoy watching Mike do it all on his own and showing his creel off!! And he
cleans all his own catch (I do the cooking). Mikey and Mike Deloia "Take your Dad fishing"
April 25th, 2009:
Rainbows and Crappies, MA
My god what happened to spring, I was in shorts and
it felt more like summer than spring. Me and Bert went out in the afternoon and fished until dusk. We didn't crush the trout
today but we managed a few rainbows. Partly due to finding a school of crappies that we decided to work for a bit. Fun getting
into some of those slabs. Even managed a crappie on the fly rod.
April 25th, 2009:
A couple of good trout, PA
Chris (aka: Troutdogg) has been real busy with his new job but he has managed
to squeeze in a few trips so far this year, since PA’s opening day. He reported that each trip he did really well. He
sent us a couple of pictures from his trips below, a palomino trout and brook trout. Nice job Chris keep them coming.
April 24th, 2009:
Back for More Browns, MA
The Weather forecasters predicted warm 70’s for
Friday with some sun. Decided to take the day off and take my little boat out. Got into some good brown trout action again,
and a few chunky rainbows. Fish were caught using a whole assortment of different lures.
April 23th, 2009:
Brown Trout Surprise, MA
Thursday was a pretty pleasant day
weather wise, I couldn’t help but stop off at a trout pond on the way home from work. Casting a cast master and a vibrex
on the last hour of light or so put me on my first brown trout of the season. I landed 6 of them with the last 30 minutes
of light providing a big chunk of the action. Had another 4-5 come un-buttoned due to the crappy stock hook I knew I should
have replaced with a owner treble hook before using it. Regardless some good action and fun for a short after work shore fishing
trip. Another guy fishing near me was also getting into the browns and was lucky enough to get into a 14” or so tiger
and a rainbow in the mix. Not a bad little variety. Some of the other guys at the pond mentioned that the state had stocked
the lake again, earlier that day in the morning.
April 19th, 2009: Mixed bag on the Assabet River,
MA
Bill hit one of his spots on the Assabet River Sunday and ended up with 2 chain pickerel, 3 largemouth bass and a yellow perch.
One of the pickerel was decent size (around 18" Bill guessed) and put up a good fight. All fish were caught on the same
jointed fire-tiger Rapala. Sound like a fun day out on the water, good job Bill.
April 18th, 2009: Chasing Tigers & Catching
Rainbows, MA
Wednesday while driving home after work I stopped off at a near by lake, just to take a few casts. On my 3rd cast a big brood
stock Atlantic salmon followed my lure in. When I had completely reeled in the lure and ran out of real estate he turned around
and darted away. He was a true hog and allot heavier than any of the salmon I have hooked into so far this spring and a double
digit fish. I quickly threw out another cast but he was gone, I worked the spot for a little while but no salmon. So my original
plan (fully knowing chances would be slim) was to go back with the boat Saturday and make an attempt at catching this fish.
Later in the week Bert asked me if he could fish with me Saturday, he was hoping to get into some trout numbers. After reading
the stocking report Friday on the masswildlife website, it reported some tiger trout stockings in the southeast district.
So I changed my plans and hit two glacial ponds down the Cape and me and Bert could not of asked for a more beautiful, sunny
day. I thought we were going to slay the trout for sure but unfortunately we had to work hard for the fish we got, casting
and trolling. We managed a limit but not nearly the numbers I was expecting to get into. At least the trout we did get into
were some good 14" or so chunkers. I had fished one of the ponds we hit last week and did fairly well with the rainbows.
Anglers who had fished 1st light reported that they had got into some good numbers. The rest of the day everyone else I talked
too also thought the bite seemed slow. The trout me and my brother had caught were all rainbows, I kept hoping a Tiger trout
would have presented itself but no luck with them. There we're two guys in a boat that I talked too, that said they had landed
a 2 lb rainbow and a 3 lb brook trout, I didn't actually see either fish but if it was true, that's one hell of a brook trout
(or a misidentified brookie that was actually a good Tiger) and a fine rainbow. The weather and the fish bite is only going
to get better. Weather forecast reports as of this morning are claiming 80 plus degrees for Friday and 80 degrees for the
weekend, so get out there!
April 11th, 2009: Opening day of trout season,
RI
Douglas Jr. and his dad fished for 2.50 hours and did really well on the opener, here’s their report: Decided to have
a "guy's" day out and do a little fishing at Cass park in Woonsocket. This is where I take him for opening day every year,
which is fully sponsored by Elks. For the past 2 years Douglas has won the derby. In 2008 it was for the biggest fish weighing
a hefty 2lbs and in 2009 for the heaviest stringer of five, weighing in at a decent 3.5 pounds. In my years of fishing nothing
compares to bringing my son fishing and seeing the enjoyment on his face as he is catching his limit. I’m sure we will
have more pictures for you as the days of fishing continue. Wishing everyone luck Doug and Douglas.
April 10th, 2009:
Cape Rainbows
Me and my friend Dale decided to get together Friday
and head off to a couple of Cape Cod ponds for some trout and hopefully salmon action. Unfortunately not everything went smoothly.
We got to the first pond, it was sunny and warm and I could not wait to launch my little boat. As I was getting ready to launch
a canoe pulled in with a small 3.5 pound salmon and I hoped that the salmon bite continued and for a chance at one myself.
Shortly after launching the boat I got that chance, I hooked a small salmon on my fly rod but when I got it closer to the
boat she came unbuttoned, very disappointing, I eventually got over it though. We were also trying to target trout. At first
it seemed like we may not get into any. I got into a nice plump rainbow finally. Both myself and Dale were experimenting with
all kinds of lures that have always produced in the past, including one that another angler at the pond tipped us on. Still
the fishing was difficult. Dale got plenty of aggravation untangling his fishing lines and I was getting a little aggravated
myself with the howling winds that appeared time to time. However with a little time put in, I ended up slowly picking at
the trout. I ended loosing 2 trout and a small salmon but landed 6 rainbows. One rainbow really stuck out and looked like
a football. The trout averaged about 14” long and were decent sized. Unfortunately the day got cut short when one of
the batteries died, that was needed to run the electric motor. We still had the gas motor so we decided to go to another lake.
We launched and shortly after I was marking tons of fish down deep on the fish finder. The plan was to troll for them, unfortunately
my gas outboard motor kept stalling out every time I would lower the speed for a slow troll. We made some adjustments hoping
to correct this but still had the same problem and then came the rain. We decided to leave and call it a day. All and all
with all the head aches I felt like I didn't do great but ok. Dale had a good hookup or two but I felt bad that he didn't
land anything, but don’t worry Dale we’ll get them next time.
A FAT FOOTBALL SHAPED RAINBOW
April 9th, 2009:
Lunch Break Trout, MA
On a lunch break I was driving to a sub-shop to grab
a bite to eat. I noticed a state stocking truck loading up the Sudbury River with Rainbow Trout. I was planning on taking
a few casts after work and had both my camera and fishing rod. I pulled over and grabbed my camera and filmed part of the
stocking, (check out the video). I did not catch the entire stocking but it was one net full after another. One of the state
workers stocking the fish mentioned that a thousand trout were stocked into the Sudbury river system. When they finished and
left, I went back to my truck and I was torn. Do I head to the sandwich shop and then head to work or should I just skip lunch
and use my break to catch some rainbows. Most times after a fresh stocking the trout fishing is extremely easy with little
effort or challenge needed. However catching one fish after another is still allot of fun (even if it’s too easy). Granted
it was like fishing in a barrel, but I could not resist. I skipped the sub-shop and grabbed my rod instead and for about 15-20
minutes I caught and released a bunch of rainbows. Most averaged 12 inches or smaller and a couple went around 14 inches.
After work I went back again but this time to catch dinner, after all I was hungry from skipping lunch...LOL.
SOME PUT & TAKE STOCKERS HEADING TO THE GRILL
More Atlantic Salmon Action, MA
I had a few hours to kill so I headed out to Comet pond for two
reasons, one to try my luck at another Atlantic salmon and the other reason to test out a used gas outboard I recently picked
up. Once I was done playing and tinkering with the motor I decided to try it out trolling. After the first hour of fishing
and no bites or fish I was wondering if maybe I was trolling too fast. I was already going the slowest speed possible but
as I was questioning my speed my rod got slammed with a nice bend to it. As soon as I picked it up out of the rod holder I
knew I had a decent one on by the weight I felt. The fish was taken drag and staying under. I had a feeling it was a salmon
but thought it could also be a good trout. I had some good runs but when the fish started getting near the boat it finally
surfaced and when it did I could see a big flash of silver, confirming my suspicion of another salmon. Though not a giant
I was pretty happy with the catch. Fish was taken on lead-core line and a wobbler. After catching the salmon I stuck around
for another hour or so trying to land another salmon. I had run out of time and needed to head back home, which I didn’t
mind and was actually perfect timing due to the wind picking up and the temperature dropping. Some of the guys on shore braving
the elements had gotten into some rainbow trout fishing power bait off the bottom. The coming weeks things are only going
to get better (and warmer). -Tight lines-
March 21st, 2009: In Search of Local Atlantic Salmon
This weekend was finally ice free on some of the local salmon
lakes. I wanted to open water fish locally last week but couldn’t due to ice. Last Monday I was forced to head toward
the Cape to find any open salmon water. This past Saturday I had the luxury of staying local and saving some time and gas
doing so. The plan was to strictly to focus on Atlantic salmon and hope for a bite. These fish were stocked back in January
for ice fishermen. It can often be a long day fishing for these guys, especially when you consider the limited small number
of them stocked and when you take into account the fair share that the ice fishermen have plucked out, it’s far from
a abundant fish to pursue. However if you want to catch one on the rod and improve your chance of landing one a bit. I believe
that ice out is one of the peak periods to do so. The salmon after ice out seem to begin re-exploring their home and are on
the move and willing to bite. Allot of the Landlocked salmon fishermen up north also feel the same. At the very least at this
time of year your chasing the heaviest quantity of them left before things start to warm up and more fair weather anglers
begin showing up and gradually plucking out one salmon after another, therefore decreasing your odds more and more the longer
you wait (so get out there). Anyway I launched my little boat Saturday morning and began by trolling lead core line with a
silver mooslook wobbler. I tried different depths but nothing at first and after a few hours of no bites I was tempted to
put on some much smaller offering to try and get some action on at least the holdover trout but I stayed focused in wanting
something larger than a pan sized trout and continued to focus on the salmon. I tried casting metal and keeping the baits
just under the surface but no luck, then I tried letting out substantial amounts of lead core line and then immediately following
up with erratic retrieves and bang that did it and I finally got one. It was around 3 pm I was almost ready to give up at
1 pm but luckily stuck it out. The fish felt good but was staying deep the whole time and made several runs when it approached
close to the boat. The hen salmon surprisingly made no aerial jumps during battle as they often do, but was a dogging and
ripping lots of drag. Trying to operate the motor in the wind, fight the fish and self net was difficult. All the multi-tasking
was having me wonder if I would be able to land it. Once the fish was in the net and boated the wobbler fell right out of
the mouth of the fish, had there been any slack during the battle and I guess I would have lost her. It felt good being successful
again on my 2nd open water trip of the season. Interesting enough one of the shore anglers who saw me land and net the fish
yelled out what is it? I replied salmon and a few seconds later he drops a loud F-bomb. I thought it was pretty rude of this
stranger to be such a jealous jerk about it. So I decided to throw some mud in his eye. My brother happen to be filming the
battle with my digital camera. So rather than wait I stood right up after landing the fish and had my brother take some still
shots while I posed with the fish, showing it off even more so in front of this greedy stranger. I don’t know about
most people but when I witness someone catch a good fish, I get excited a bit and if I say anything it’s usually like
congratulations or good job, not a F-bomb, some people are just plain strange. Anyway I have it on video and if you guys want
to hear how angry this guy was and get a good laugh keep an eye out on the video’s page, I’ll be posting it sometime
this week. -Tight lines-
March 16th, 2009: In Search of Cape Cod Atlantic Salmon
Spring seems to have arrived a little earlier for us this year (at least for the time being anyway, it is NE). After
not fishing for 3 weeks or so I had the itch bad. I did not ice fish as much as I wanted to this past season, due to other
endeavors and wanting to complete some household projects before spring. Now that it’s (almost) spring. Sunday I decided
to hitch my small boat and head out in the afternoon for some ice out fishing. One problem though the ice was not out. I was
very disappointed when I stopped at several of my favorite local spots still with thin ice on them. To late in the day to
go far so I headed home. I knew the weekend and Monday called for some good weather. So I took Monday off to fish. Monday
morning I headed south in search of some open water. I ended up at at a Cape Cod pond, in search of salmon. Anyway I finally
launched the boat and began fishing. I had been told by a couple of fisherman that the pond had just been stocked with rainbow
trout right before I arrived. Not what I was after but thought maybe I might get into some incidentally or if the bite was
to slow to handle on the salmon that maybe I’d switch tactics for some trout action. The bite was slow on the salmon
but I stayed determined. I was trolling lead-core line with mooselook wobblers. My rod got whacked hard and had a heavy bend
to it but before I could grab it off the rod holder....gone. That bend seemed a bit too powerful and violent to be a trout
to me but who knows. About a half hour later I had a big hold over brookie on that came unbuttoned boat side. I was a little
disappointed but then shortly after I got whacked hard again and this time I was on. It felt like a good fish but then the
fish was making a fast run toward the boat that had me wondering if I still had him on, once I caught up to it the fish made
many aerial leaps and every time (about 4-5 times) I would try to land the fish at boat side it made another run. Not my largest
Atlantic Salmon but still a great battle. Another salmon angler that saw me land the fish from a distance came over to see
what I landed and to chat for a little bit, turned out he had some luck too and showed me a smaller 3 lb or so salmon. It
got a bit colder and I was feeling chilly, I debated on scouting out 2 ponds nearby for future trips and grabbing a hot coffee
or staying until dark in hopes of another Atlantic. It was windy and a bit raw out on the water which kept me trolling with
my hands in my pocket versus casting. I did cast a little and mess around with the rainbows for about 30 minutes or so before
I went off exploring two new spots that I’m pretty excited about for this season. Now that open water season is here
reports won’t be so sporadic, so check back often and share your own reports with us. PS: A short video of this catch
soon to come.
February 21, 2009: Ice Fishing
for Pike in CT.
Finally went back pike fishing again. About 2-3 weeks ago I went solo and was not feeling all that
well to begin with, got to my spot and about an hour or two after setting up I got soaked with a passing shower. It down poured
for about 45 minutes (and no shelter). I got soaked and was feeling worse. I wanted to fish the whole day but felt too sickly.
So I only fished for 3-4 hours, with no flags and left. Hardly worth the hour and a half drive. This time I went back feeling
healthy and hoping for better luck. I met up and fished with my friend Jarrod and his buddy Steve. Got to spend most of a
full day on the ice. It was one of the most strange days of pike fishing I have experienced. Me and the two guys got plenty
of pike flags but the pike seemed to be easily dropping the baits, even after waiting for them to stop turn the bait and run
again before setting the hook. I mentioned to Jarrod that this was the most action I have ever had catching nothing....LOL.
Steve started things off when he landed his first ever pike (2-3 lb). He asked Jarrod if he had his camera and was disappointed
when he told him that he did not have it on him. Since I had my camera in my pocket I volunteered to take a picture. As I
was setting up the camera for the shot, Steve accidentally dropped his pike right back into the hole in which he pulled it
out of.....gone! He looked pretty disappointed and I felt bad for him. Steve also ended up landing a largemouth and some pickerel
with his traps and was a persistent jigging machine on the ice. Jarrod had some pike hook ups that came unbuttoned but landed
some decent size pickerel and refused to pose with any of them...LOL. Nothing wrong with catching native pickerel but I thinks
he's a little tired of them. My first fish of the day was a pike around 6-7 pounds that had been messing around with my 9
inch live sucker bait and had tripped the flag a few times with nobody home. Well he triggered the flag again and when I got
there the line was straight to the right and suddenly the spool started spinning, I set the hook and landed the fish, unfortunately
it was deep hooked but it revived well and lunged out of my hand (hopefully it's ok). Later on while the guys were busy with
their own traps I got another flag and landed another pike of a 6 inch shiner, the pike just a tad smaller than the previous.
The guys had to leave around 3 PM, I decided to stick it out longer and 15 minutes after they left. I see one of my flags
go up about 10 yards from me. I walk over and the spool is flying, I have never seen a spool spinning so fast while ice fishing.
I wanted to wait for the fish to stop and turn the bait before setting the hook but I did not have that luxury I was close
to getting spooled out. So I set the hook and had the fish on for about 4 seconds. It felt massive but it dropped the bait.
I was extremely disappointed and am convinced I had a true monster pike on. But that's fishing sometimes. I kept hoping it
would come back. Around 4:30 PM or so I called it quits. Driving home I was over the disappointment of the big pike loss and
was just happy that I got to get out and fish the day and land a couple of pike. I'll be back for that big one though!
P.S. A video of this trip soon to come.
MY FIRST PIKE OF THE DAY
ANOTHER SHOT OF IT
STEVE WITH THE ONLY LARGEMOUTH BASS OF THE DAY
MY 2ND FAT & HEALTHY PIKE OF THE DAY
ANOTHER SHOT OF IT
A CHUNKY & DECENT SIZE PICKEREL
ONE OF MANY PICKEREL WE ALL GOT INTO
February 7th, 2009: Iced Trout
Saturday squeezed in some trout and salmon ice fishing. Unfortunately none of the big broodstock Atlantic salmon made an appearance but out of
the three of us fishing, myself and Doug were able to ice some rainbows. Using small shiners 2 feet under the ice.
January 20, 2009:
Florida Exotics
The chilly temperatures of Florida’s mid 60’s didn't prevent
our reader and Florida resident Sal from landing these cichlids. A Jagua and Mayan. Love those exotics, thanks for sharing
Sal.
December
27th thru January 16th: Fishing for Exotics in Brazil
My wife and I took a three week vacation from
old man winter. It was a nice break from shoveling and the cold. Of course while in Brazil I decided in-between the beaches
and visiting the in-laws to do some fishing. After all the temperature was in the 90's and how often was I going to get the
chance to open water fish in January in a t-shirt. Unfortunately we were far from the Amazon and any Peacock Bass waters and
had to stick to the general area we were visiting. Regardless we still got a chance to fish for some unique exotics and I
got to add some new species caught to my list. Which is something that I always enjoy. While there I fished a handful of waters
and fished a variety of methods. Including fishing with fruit (mangos to be exact) for bait. For full fishing report and more
pics click on the "Road Trips & Destinations" Page, left on navigation bar.
Check out the 2 video's of this trip on the "Fishin Video Page".
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