OK, so I'm not a good blogger...

I don't know why, but when the season is in full swing, I'm just not thinking about blogging. It's not that I'm not paying attention to my computer, it's just that I'm not writing about, or more to the point, waiting for the fish. Instead, I'm living the fish!

Anyway, the fishing season is over for me (and the local fish), the boat is has been de-commissioned and instead I'm thinking about preparing for next season. That's kind of a lie, I'm really just thinking about how to get my canoe out on the pond. Last spring I bought a canoe, light enough for me to "lift" alone, but that's about all I can do with it "alone". Gotta find some people willing to help me lift the canoe onto the truck, off of the truck, and then paddle it around the pond! Any takers? Of course, after paddling the canoe has to lifted back onto the truck, off of the truck...

Addendum #1: 20 minutes after writing this I went down to the harbor and there were little fish jumping and birds-a-working, and not just on ducks! Perhaps the season hasn't totally wound down...

Addendum #2: Don't forget to mark your calendars for early May fishing. I think this picture simply says it all.

Around the Corner has arrived

In many ways, this is my favorite time of year for fishing and today proved to me exactly why this is so.  Here's a day of fishing in the early spring...  Go into basement, grab rod, boots, pliers (if I actually remember to), add a layer of clothing ('cuz it's always colder on the water), drive down to the harbor, walk down to the water and take a few casts.  True enough, sometimes this is just "practice" but once it "happens" it's the best and today it "happened".  Noon-time, took a few casts -ZERO.  5pm, first cast -nothing, 2nd cast -BAM! 24" fish!  Yeah!  10 more casts, 4 more fish, 3 of them 26" - 28".  Twenty minutes, 6 fish and it was time to go home for dinner!  The season has started!

Spring?

So the thermometer reads 33 degrees, the wind is blowing 25-35 mph on the harbor and the local lobsterboat "Rosie K" is launched and loading her traps with fresh bait. I asked Bill, owner/operator of the "Rosie K" if it was time to start thinking about fishing and he said "no way, these traps won't be set until the end of the week!"

Next stop was Barnstable Marine Service to check-in on bottom paint status, Kate suggested bringing my boat "Gravy" by next week to begin the process of spring maintenance to the hull. Next stop, Brian's Outboards for the engine's spring massage and then home for the annual re-organization of all of the gear.

Today I'm also placing my equipment order with St. Croix Rods for some spankin' new Legend Elite fly & spinning rods. Also, I've been invited to join the Cortland Line Pro Program so I'll be sportin' some fresh Little Tunny (now they call it Clear Camo "All Water" Intermediate) fly lines.

Although spring still feels far away, I know that the early season striper fishing is really just around the corner! Can't wait!

Winter Fishing Fixes

It's that time of year again, the time for fishing shows!  What's the best way to scratch the "fishing itch" when the snow is flying?  Head south to warmer climates is one answer, however, second best are the fishing and boat shows across New England.  Three weeks ago, while the thermometer read in negative numbers, the Marlborough Fly Fishing Show was the place to be.  I sat in the Massachusetts Women Fly Fishers booth tying flies and promoting MWFF, an on-line organization that provides women interested in fly fishing with opportunities for casting lessons, fly tying lessons, fishing excursions, and more.  

Next weekend (Feb. 5th, 6th, 7th & 8th) is the Worcester Sportsmans Show/Eastern Fishing & Outdoor Exhibition @ the DCU Center in Worcester.  This show is pretty cool as they have hunting dog exhibitions and my personal favorite "birds of prey" -a live exhibit of owls & hawks.

February 28th is the Bear's Den Annual Fishing Show.  Visit www.bearsden.com for further details.  Once again, I'll be sitting in the MWFF booth so be sure to stop by and say hello.  This show we'll be raffling of some of Peggy Brenner's & Leslie Wrixon's flies.

April 3rd, 4th & 5th brings the Rhode Island Saltwater Fishing Show @ the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence.  I'll be at the St. Croix Fishing Rods booth all three days of that show so stop by and see what St. Croix has new for 2009!

In ain't fishing, but it's the next best thing!  Hope to see you at the shows.

Wow, time flies when summer is in full swing!

I had a busman's holiday this past weekend. MWFF's Jen Hall invited me to fish with she and Captain Rich Armstrong of Fishstix charters in Boston. It was great to be the client for a change, in fact as client I broke all of the rules and found myself "livelining pogies" on my fly rod. Actually, I was casting my fly rod and hooking pogies accidently and then watching as the blues and some large bass tore away at the pogies. It was really quite fascinating. However, it was my trusty Slug-go friend that hooked that nice fish you see me holding here in this picture. But enough about me...

I have pictures and stories from the past month, but I simply haven't had a moment to keep up on my fishing report. Busy with many things, and (literally) looking for fish would be one of those things. August was a tough month for stripers. Very late in the month the blues finally showed up and ate lots of flies and lures. However, betweeen tropical storm watches and generally windy weather, the fishing has been overall quite slow.

THAT IS ABOUT TO CHANGE. Last week I went albie fishing with the local St. Croix rep. He hooked some albies, and then some blues. It was a fun day on the southside, not my home waters but certainly a nice place to visit. Rumor has it that there are bluefin near, nearby, but check out John McMurray article in the most recent issue of Fly Fishing in Saltwaters magazine before you get too hasty about tuna fishing. I make no claims to being a tuna guide, but I do love to follow them and watch their magnificence. Here's the link to John's article: http://www.flyfishinsalt.com/species/conservation/the-bluefin-dilemma-1000064910.html

Anyway, judging by the terns, the bunker, and the albies, it's safe to say that the fall migration is in full swing which (hopefully) means the big fish are back.

If you don't hear from me for a while, that's a good sign that I'm off fishing again.

Family Charter 101

So, the customer calls and says "we're a family, two kids aged 6 and 9" the guide responds "no problem, kids are fun to fish with" however, the guide thinks "ok, I'm gonna spend a lotta time untangling lines, ducking flying hooks and if I'm really lucky, the kids will be able to cast far enuf to catch a fish". Well yesterday's charter included untangling and ducking (as most charters do) but it also included two of the sweetest and funniest kids I've ever met. We'll call them S & R (need to protect their identities as I was recently enlightened to the high level of internet child stalking that exists). S & R were ready for fishing, in fact, I felt like they merely tolerated the boat ride as the tedious means to the goal of fishing. It's the dog days of August, no wind, outgoing tide and as always, I'm hoping that the fish feel like being cooperative. I take us to "the spot", everybody is still in the practicing their casts stage of the morning, when R says "I see a feather, maybe that's a sign". We laugh, feather -ha, you need to see the whole bird... when ka-pow, R is hooked up to a nice size striper. Who knew that feathers floating on the water were "a sign". Next we drove around on the bar hoping to find fish balls but only found a lot of skates and pods of sand eels. I succombed to my "follow the leader" fallback position and headed back to where I could see my "friends" casting over one of the "no fish" zones. We call them "no fish" zones because they are where many of the "tourists" fish and who wants to be seen in the tourist zone. Well, one of my fishing mentors was in the "no fish" zone, so I followed. We got some strikes and follows but no hook-ups. Nevertheless, this boat ride was the beginning of the 10, 9, 8... blast-off method of travel where 6 year old S would position himself in a ball underneath the "seat" next to the trash bucket and enjoy the wind-free, low center of gravity comfort of a very cramped space. I guess that S was a bit like a dog that feels safe in its crate. We spent the rest of morning following signs such as feathers, horseshoe crabs, cleaning up the harbor of another errant piece of re-bar (a vestige of the up harbor aqua-culture grants) and when the tide finally changed we found a nice pod of mostly stripers with a few blues mixed in where we completed the "family slam" with every family member catching at least one fish all by themselves. It was a great day, especially when I overheard S asking his mother as they walked away from the ramp, couldn't they please go fishing with the "lady fishing guide" tomorrow as well.

PS: There was a "family" guide trip lesson learned which is no orange-potato chips on the boat. They really do leave quite a mess, sticky and stainy.

PPS: Note to Michael -you see now that the "mommy" fish really aren't around right now. At least I'm finding the juniors. Some say wait til next year and those juniors may become "mommies". We'll see.

PPS: Note to Jay, there were no bikini clad any-bodies on the whale boat that day at the ramp, you were hallucinating. Thanks for all your help!

Sum Sum Summer Time

So the it's mid-summer and it's mid-summer fishing. Middle of the day and the fish don't eat, unless off course it's cloudy or something. Yesterday the fish were hungry for flies, today while fishing with my nephew and his friend, the fish were loving the Hogies. The fish seem to be between 24-26". I don't know where the Mommy fish are hiding.

Timing is everything. This summer it's been good and not so good. It was good when my client hooked a 36" striper just at the moment that I was telling friends on another boat that they should come fish next to me as there were "big fish here" when BAM a big fish hit the lure as if I'd staged the whole thing.

It wasn't so good yesterday. I was on stage for the local whale watchers when, for reasons that are way too complicated to explain, I managed to drop my boat off the back of the trailer on to the ramp. It was awful, not only because it's tough on the boat, but why did it have to happen in front of a boat full of tourists? I can hear the announcer now "yes, that boat on the pavement belongs to local fishing guide Captain Ms. Salty Fly"... The boat suffered only a little damage, as for me, I'm still recovering.