Canoes and Rubber Worms

    Recently I picked up a 15 foot Old Town square end canoe.  I got it at a Dick's Sporting Goods on a really great sale.  I figured it would be great for fishing small lakes for Large Mouth Bass and other fish that inhabit these places.  I also figured it would be a great puddle duck hunting vehicle since it is in OD green.  The canoe has a forward and aft seat with a bench in the middle.  The bench has a sealed hatch for your stuff and a box of ammo  and what not.  then it has 3 cup holders for beverages. The square end is reinforced with wood and can take up to a 4.5 hp engine.  One day i will get a 3.5 for it but not anytime soon.
    Today was the canoes Maiden Voyage.  My buddy Tony and I grabbed a few rods, a cooler with ice, and threw the canoe on the roof of the jeep.  We chose to hit a Bass Management Lake about 45 minutes away.  Paddling the canoe requires a little more effort due to the extra beam and keel, but is manageable.  We each caught a bunch of bass on 4.5 inch purple rubber worms.  Other than that we spent the afternoon paddling around and having a bunch of laughs.  In all we got about 15 bass.  I did notice the lake was full of nice sized sunfish.  I will have to take the 4wt out next time for these guys. I am overall very happy adding a canoe to the line up.  I prefer it better than the yak since i can add and engine, take dog, load it with decoys, and a second person.

On the Ice

   Well, here we are, at the end of winter.  What have I been doing since duck season closed?  Ice Fishing.  We got another treat of really cold weather this year, and Ice conditions are amazing.  Every body of water is locked up nice and tight, and I won't have a problem getting on the lakes into March.  I have been lucky enough to get out once a week or so with my friends and that makes a miserably cold winter go by fast.  To be honest, I really look forward to ice fishing, and I am bummed out when we get a mild winter.  Here are some of our highlights from the ice. 

   Spring is right around the corner and even though it will take weeks to melt the snow and ice off I have begun tying some trout flies.  Like everyone else I am looking forward to spring and open water fishing.  

I Have Good Friends

 

America!

 The calendar year is just about over.  People are preparing for parties and making resolutions they will never keep.  My friends and I, on the other hand, are busy making fishing and hunting plans to keep us busy all winter long.  This morning I got a call from a friend who wanted to do a combo duck hunt clamming adventure.  How could anyone pass a day like that up.

     Long story short.  Tons of sea ducks.  We tried a new spot and we were off the"X" and only shot two birds.  Clamming was hot and heavy, because they don't move around.  Happy New Year!

Well, That Escalated Quickly

 

The other day I had a  few hours to hunt in the morning.  I got up and out of bed.  As i went through my normal morning rutine of making coffee and brushing my teeth my hunting buddy sent me a text.  He was not able to make it.  I thought for a second about going back to bed and how good that would feel.  But as I looked out the window i could see the flag hanging stright down like it was in a picture.  The high temps for the day were going to be around 50, so i could not pass the day up, and besides, the boat was all ready hooked up to the Jeep.  I got going and had no problem getting the boat in.  On the ride out i was debating weather or not I should go over to my honey hole or try something new.  I decided to try a new spot that I have always seen birds frequent.

   The tide was almost all the way out when I got to the spot.  I was glad to see that, as black ducks and brant like t frequent the uncovered rocks at low tide to feed on the exposed vegetation or what ever else they can find.  It made the task of setting out the decoys a little tricky, but i got it.  I decided to run 15 Old Squaw decoys mixed with 6 of the foam Herters decoys that I painted to look like Old Squaw on 2 long lines.  Now I could tell the weather was nice and the surface of the Sound looked like a mirror.  I know when it is really calm the Buffleheads come out of the harbors and zip around the open water.  I threw in 4 Bufflehead decoys as well to pull a few of them in.  I anchored the boat 10 yards from the decoys and got the blind up.
      It seemed to take forever for the first bird to come in.  I just got done loading the gun and 3 were already landing in the decoys.  The first shot folded up the Drake and the hen next to him.  The second shot killed the other hen.  I was about 3 minutes into the hunt and i just downed 3 Old Squaw with 2 shots.  I would have let the third hen go  but its hard now that I no longer have a pump gun.  Running a semi-auto is cool.    Here in CT we can Kill 5 sea ducks no more than 4 can be Scoter and no more than 4 can be Old Squaw.  I had several more flights come in but I just didn't want to end my hunt in 10 minutes.  As the sun got a little higher I could see birds flying around all over.  My day dreams were filled with images of a golden eye, scoter, scaup, bufflehead, or merganser coming in, but all the birds flying were old squaw.  It was like someone shook a bee hive.  Finally, I had a nice drake come into the decoys and I shot him down.
    Sea Ducks are a separate limit from ducks and geese so I decided to stay out.  I didn't have to wear gloves and the jacket came off.  I did notice a pair of black ducks land about 100 yards away in the rocks.  I was hopeful they would paddle up to my boat so i could jump shoot one but they went the other way.  Some brant flew by but not with in range.  At 830am  i packed it in.  What a great day it was.

Sea Ducks!

   Sea Duck hunting is getting a lot better.  Today was just a great day to be out on the water, and I am glad I took advantage of it.  This mooring saw temps in the 40's and no wind.  It felt so nice when the sun hit.  Even better, the birds were on the move.  I was able to kill 3 Old Squaw drakes in about an hour and my friend got one as well.  so for a 1.5 hour hunt before work it was great.

If it Flies it Dies

Waterfowl hunting the saltwater is not for the faint of heart.  Cold temps, big water, wind, snow and ice are all conditions you will encounter, and you must be prepared for them.  Unlike summer, when one can see many boats out, winter is a ghost town out there.  The reward?  Several different types of ducks which like to decoy and lots of spent shotgun shells.  

   My season started with a bang.  Right after legal shooting time a nice Scoter came into the decoys and I was able to lay it out with no problem.    My partner for the day had never been duck hunting and it did not take him long to take out a bufflehead.  We ended the quick mooring hunt with 1 merganser, one Old Squaw, 1 Scoter, and one Bufflehead.  Weather was cold, but we had zero wind!

    I would also like to mention i was shooting the Kent Silver Steel which I now love and since it is cheaper than the Black Cloud I will be shooting that from now on.  

White Mountains

Having a blast in New Hampshire's White Mountains. 

The Ugly

Exotic Species Day

       Today was one of those days when you see things you didn't expect to see.  The morning started off easy enough with 2 schoolie bass coming in on the fly rod, but it took a turn in the unexpected direction rather fast.  I was cursing along a really nice section of rocky shoreline.  I thought fishing it would be better than blowing right by it, so I rigged up a Rebel swimming plug.  I trolled it behind the boat about 100 ft staying in 8-10 FOW.  In front of my I noticed something in the water.  It looked like a turtle getting some air.  Guess what?  It was a turtle.  I was able to get a look at it as it swam away from the boat and it was a rather large Diamond Back Terrapin.  I have seen these in the western part of the sound but not this early.
      Also, I came into the fortune of a new clam fork.  The fork is a Razor Back fork.  It is very heavy and would be great for digging a trench to mine steamer clams or digging in beds which have a lot of rock.  As I was digging several 3 inch lobsters were struggling in the mud.  On closer inspection they were not lobster, but little Mantis Shrimp.  I have seen these in the stomachs of filleted bass but not in person.  They were all about 3 inches long.

     On the return trip, I stayed on the troll.  The water was very clear and I could easily see the rocky bottom in 12 FOW.  As I was trucking along I saw a fish on the bottom.  It was a really nice Blackfish!  Probably one of the bigger Blackfish I have seen in the last 5 years.   It was good to know some have survived fisheries mismanagement.
   I ended the day loving my new clam fork.  I saw some cool stuff and now have a ton of work a head of me to make some stuffed clams.
Clam Video

In The Water

   

A load of clams in the 20qt. Yeti

    I got the boat in the water for the first time this morning.  I have been busy with a lot of other things and just did not have the time.  I launched early and took it easy for a while to let the engine heat up.  I fished a couple of spots close to the ramp with no results, however, my luck was about to change.  I noticed we had a minus low tide and I had the foresight to bring along the clam rake.  I called the hot line and headed to the beds.     My normal KB White rake is being worked on, so I had to take the good old eagle claw rake.  The rake was my dad's and is probably 25 years old.  Today, the minus low tide  granted me access  to areas of the beds which do not get worked over all the time, and the clams came fast and easy.   Just a reminder, we are now getting into the summer season.  The advisory is to bring a cooler with ice to transport your shellfish.  Vibrio bacteria does not do well in cold so the ice will knock it out.  I ended up having two bass follow my fly to the boat but failed at getting them to hit.  On top of the no fish trip, summer still seems to be allusive since it had a hoodie on this morning.

Flat Ass Calm

Hard to believe I got squat here

Cornerstones and Bombers

    Last week I was very fortunate to win some streamer flies tied by Alan over at Small Stream Reflections.  The fly series was named "Cornerstone Flies" tied to commemorate Small Stream Reflection's half a million page views.  Monday, I received the flies in the mail and decided to fish them in a wild trout river.  I have never targeted wild trout before, so it was a cornerstone for me as well.  I never gave much thought to wild trout fishing before.  Then I started reading Alan's blog and really getting into his adventures into the world these fish live.  

Gone Fishing

    I think all of us here in Connecticut were blessed with some fantastic weather this afternoon.  The thought of fishing was irresistible to me today.  I called my wife and told her I would not be home at 3 but more like 7.  When 3pm came around I rushed out the door and was greeted by my brother who also just got out of work.  He got out of his truck and said, "Lets go trout fishing".  I reached into my jeep and got my fly rod and gear and we were off.

It appears everyone else had the same idea, because traffic was horrific.  We did make it to our spot and  got down to business.  I ended up with 2 browns on a #16 bead head, and my brother got 5 with night crawlers.   My brother and I are at opposite ends of the fishing spectrum.  I had waders, and a fly rod.  My brother had night crawlers, no wadders, and all his tackle in a walmart plastic bag.  All fish were released unharmed.  The warm weather and sun brought the insect world to life as we had little dark Caddis flies and some BWO buzzing around, but  the trout were not eating the flies on the surface.  It was good to enjoy a nice day finally after a long day at work.  

Fishing Out of a Parking Lot

 

I am not the type of person who gives back to my community by donating my time to most popular causes.  Most people here in Connecticut have the idea giving back means helping the less fortunate by doing can food drives, donating money, or running 5ks.  What I do, however, is volunteer some of my time to the CARE program.  The CARE program is Connecticut Aquatic Resources Education.  The Connecticut DEEP runs the program to introduce people, mainly children, to fishing.  Twice a year a bunch of us get together and teach a class on fishing basics.  During the class attendees learn: Ethics, how to read the anglers guide, rig a rod, tie a clinch knot, find bait, look for fish, proper way to release fish, and care for the catch if they intend to keep one.  I have seen the young, the old, and whole families come to the classes and have a good time.  After each class we do a fishing day for the attendees at a nearby trout park.  Trout parks a heavily stocked waters with easy access for everyone. Today was one of the fishing days, and the highlight was watching a few of the young anglers catch their first fish.  One of the most rewarding aspects of doing this is watching how excited people get when they catch a fish.  The reaction is always the same: smiles and positive energy.  I have seen seniors have the same reaction as a 7 year old.  To top it all off Jan and I even caught a few trout ourselves.  CARE is one of Connecticut DEEP's greatest success stories and I hope it continues for my lifetime.

This Weather Blows

     Since the beginning of  March my two days off, Wednesday and Thursday, have been the worst days of the week, weather wise.  This week seems to be no exception as 2 inches of rain are on the way.  To be honest, I am really getting sick of the current weather pattern.  It seems I just have to get out there and fish through it, which I did today. 

Spring is Here

Got my first bass of the season today. He hit a Clouser.  It felt good to let some fly line rip after lots of roll casting on the trout streams. 

Opening Day 2014

 

Another opening day has come and gone, and we had a good time participating in the event.  Every year has its similarities and differences.  Like always we got to our opening day spot at 530am with only one other car in the area.  The other car belonged to a man and his son who have been fishing the spot on opening day as long as we have.  The weather was also cool like last year.  I wore a jacket and had gloves on.  I quickly grabbed my minnow pail and got to my lucky, opening day, hole.  At 6am I still did not see anyone else drive in except my brother.  My second cast with a live shiner produced a nice keeper size trout.  I got 3 fish out of that hole in the first 30 minutes.  The rest of the day was very slow.  I ended up with a 4th trout which I released.  Jan got 2 and lost a nice rainbow.  My brother and his friend got nothing.  The big difference this year was the lack of fish.  Most years we have limited by 930am.  I talked to other anglers who were also taking a beating, and here are the excuses i heard: we are bad at fishing, unlucky, river to high, river to cold, poaching, mink population explosion, state did not stock, they all got washed down, and my personal favorite the local kids kept them all because they were off from school last week.  Whatever the case may be, opening day was unusually slow.  We also fished a couple of different spots on a couple of different rivers and noticed the same caliber of action.
   Highlight of the trip was making breakfast sandwiches on a cast iron skillet.  Cooking on cast iron makes everything taste better, and after a tough cool morning of trudging through the woods in pursuit of the hatchery trout we needed it.  In the late afternoon, after a needed nap, we got together at my mom's house and had a nice dinner.  We had hamburgers, hot dogs, and a few trout.  So there you have it.  Opening day was what it should be, fun with family and friends.  Yes, the fishing was tough but we enjoyed it.  Here is a quick video Of the first trout of the day.  I spelled morning wrong on the opening credits, but I am not going to change it, so enjoy.

Opening Day 2014 Preps

    The Third Saturday in April marks the begging of fishing season for anglers across the state of Connecticut.  The State DEEP has done their part and stocked every river, lake, and pond with lots of hungry, uneducated, hatchery trout.  Once the clock strikes 6 am thousands of hungry anglers will be casting just about every bait under the sun at these fish.  The result is mayhem for the trout, and high fives for the anglers.  It is a morning when families, friends and loved ones come together and enjoy each others company while catching trout.  Some anglers don't share the same enthusiasm for opening day and would like the season to be open year round.  I will admit a year round open season would save these fish from the opening day harvest.  Opening day does make trout fishing seem like shooting rats in a pipe, but I really hope opening day stays with us.
    I can remember being very young in the late 80's and never going trout fishing.  I came from a fishing and hunting family, but we never really went trout fishing.  During my early years Western Long Island Sound was home to really good flounder fishing.  No one ever went trout fishing because they were filling coolers with flounder, mackerel and blackfish.  Today, all of those fish are not really an option, or at least no longer available in large numbers.  I can remember going trout fishing for the first time with my dad on opening day and catching a fish.  I loved the excitement!  I remember not sleeping all night like Christmas eve.  I can remember baiting a hook and casting, my hands being cold, and of course carrying a trout in the house at the end of the morning.  Since then I think I have only missed 2 opening days due to turkey hunting in the free state of Oklahoma.
   I have begun my preparations for opening day savagery.  First, back in January I put in to take April 19th off.  With the day approved I moved on to other items.  I had picked up a spool of 4 pound mono, a 25 pack of Octopus #8 hooks, and new minnow pail, and new waders.  With the rain tonight I will be on the hunt for night crawlers tonight and tomorrow.  My brother is coming along this year and he is going to go get eggs, bacon, cheese, and rolls.  I still have to rig my gear, clean out my Yeti,  get small minnows, and fuel up the jeep.
   I hope everyone gets to go out on opening day in whatever state they reside in.  During my life time opening day has always been the spring kick off and weather we went bass fishing, clamming, flounder fishing, or trout fishing we all got together on the third Saturday in April and had a great time.
GOOD LUCK EVERYONE

Some TMA Action

     I could hear the birds singing when I woke up this morning and figured it was going to be a nice day.  I went through my normal, day off, morning rutine: get dressed, bathroom, walk dog, turn on coffee pot, turn on tv, and make breakfast.  I poured the mornings first cup of coffee and opened the window in the kitchen and the air just felt right.  I am sure some of you know what I am talking about.  Breakfast consisted of two eggs,  two sausages, once slice of toast, and of course the coup off coffee.  Eating with the cool morning air and the sun on me was very pleasant.  I finished eating and walked out to my jeep after a quick shower.

   The ride to the TMA only took about 5 minutes.  Upon my arrival I wasn't surprised to see another angler suiting up.  I got a parking spot and began suiting up myself.  The water is still cold so I swapped out my cotton socks for my wool ones and got moving.  I began the day with a Mickey Finn.  I fished it close to the bank and near rocks and fallen trees, but got no takers.  While I was fishing stoneflies started coming off.  It wasn't long before i could feel them crawling on my face and neck.  I did not, however, see fish eating them.  I was beginning to wonder if there was any fish in the river.  The stoneflies were big too!  I couldn't believe the fish were not going nuts on them.  I needed a change so off wen the Mickey Finn.  I tied on a little #16 Black Hare's Ear with one #6 shot.  I then added the strike indicator about 5 feet above the fly and began fishing.  The first fish of the morning did not come easy at all, but it did come.  I watched the indicator twitch on a good drift and I reeled in a little brown.  The fish was only about 7 inches long but full of energy.  I felt good to get the skunk off my back.  The fishing after the first fish was slow, but i decided to keep plugging away.  I stopped at every little hole I came to for a drift or two with no takers.  At this point I was feeling really good about the one fish I did catch.  I was on my way out when I stopped at one last pool.  On the second drift the strike indicator submerged and the hook set came tight.  It ended up being a nice brown.  I got 2 more fish and decided to head home.
    I loved being out today and will probably try to sneak in a little fishing tomorrow.
Trout Video

Tactical Pens Part 2

   
 I have used the Smith and Wesson Tactical Pen at work now for 2 weeks.  I have found it to be really cool and useful.  First, the appearance of the pen is awesome.  The construction, machining, and anodizing is great.  I have had several people ask, "what kind of pen is that?  where did you get it?  how much?".   Second, The stylus tip has proved to be an invaluable tool at work.  I have used it on all kinds of touch screens, iPhone, iPad, and kindle.  I was asked by fellow blogger swamp yankee if the pens would work on signing for UPS and FedEX deliveries.  It will not.  Third, the pen uses Parker and Schmitt refills which are easily found at any office supply store, even a CVS.  I did switch out my Medium pen for a Fine refill, because i like to write with a fine.

     I was really happy with the pen because it is very useful and its cool.  I was so happy with it I added a second one to my EDC.   I have had the second one on me for a few days now and I love having it on me.  I know we are in the age of smart phones, but sometimes a lower tech approach is more reliable.

Pen added to my EDC

   If you want a cool, tough, man pen then you should get one of these.  Brad has a bunch of tactical pen reviews on his website so it is worth checking them out by clicking the link above.  If come up with other used or ideas for the pen type I will post it.

Tactical Pens?

 

 The other day I was shopping online for a new pen, even though,  I know i could just go down to a store and pick up a load of Bic Pens cheap.  I work at a waste water treatment plant and the pen is a very important part of daily bag of tricks.  I have broke several pens over the years and I was looking for something a little tougher.  So during my search I came across several Tactical Pen hits.  Really?  I guess in today's market you can spray paint just about anything Matte Black call it "tactical" and you got a winner.  A lot of manufactures are making these pens: Uzi, Smith and Wesson, Tuff Writer, Gerber, and so on. They range in price from $20-$200.  In addition to being a pen they can be used as a striking tool.  Some have a sharp point and are dubbed defense pens.  While others have a point to break glass.  I thought the idea of the tactical pen was equally ridiculous and cool.  I searched amazon and found a pen which would suit me well.
    I paid $25 for the Smith and Wesson stylus tip tactical pen.  It came a day later with the amazon prime free shipping.  The most notable feature of the pen is the stylus tip in the cap.  I have a lot of touch screens to deal with a work, and the pen will see a lot of use.  The construction of the pen is Aluminum and is in no way cheap.  This is a heavy duty pen.  The back end of the pen ends in a point and can be used as a striking weapon or to break glass.  The pocket clip is heavy duty like the rest of the pen and will not slip out.  The cap unscrews to expose the pen and screws on to the back end to hold it while writing.  It seems to be a little thicker than most pens and is heaver at 1.2 oz loaded.  You can get it in Black, pink, and gold.
    So I think the pen would be a winner for anyone that works like a man.  Operators, Mechanics, Line Men, Emergency workers and so on would find the world of tactical pens a handy tool.  I will use the pen at work for a while and post a follow up on my real world experience with this type of pen.  I predict i will not use the striker weapon feature, but i will use the stylus end a lot.