Monday, March 25, 2024

Just Can't Let Winter Go!

 I haven't been fishing this much this winter,  but I have sure been enjoying my skiing. I'm up to about 60 visits to the mountains.  In recent weeks it has been good as ever with tons of snow north of us. I've especially enjoyed skiing with 2 of my grandkids who, like their father and grandfather, are addicted to it. I've also been doing some hiking with the grandkids in Vermont in the mountains. It's been so good, I can't just let it go.


Skiing with 2 of my grandkids in Killington, Vt.

My wife and I hiking with the grandkids in Vermont. Even the baby
joined us in a backpack!


On top of the world in Gunstock, NH today.
Free tickets for those over 70!




Saturday, March 23, 2024

The Waiting Game

 

The NLBN paddle tails were hot lures
in the early going last year.

For the next month it will be a waiting game until we see the first migrating stripers arrive here in RI. It's been a warm winter but that does not necessarily translate into an early season. Stripers are just like migrating birds- they come north at just about the same time every year regardless of the weather. I like that time period from April 15 to April 20 to deliver the first big wave of fish.  You might see a few early season "scouts" before then. In the past few years, here are the dates that I caught my first stripers along the south shore of RI: April 19, 2021, April 15, 2022 and April 18, 2023.  Note that I tried several times with no success before catching my first ones each year.

Usually, small fish, schoolies, make up the bulk of the fish in April. However, we all know there is a shortage of small ones around, and I suspect that we are going to see good numbers of decent fish, slots, in the early going. Last year, my first 5 fish of the new year were all slots.  That could very well happen again this year.

In general, Narragansett Bay tends to produce about a week after the first fish are landed along the oceanfront.  I will hit my bay spots beginning at the end of April. Surprisingly, there are years in which we see more stripers in the Bay during the first month of fishing than along the oceanfront. That's because the Bay waters heat up much faster and they attract more early season bait.

The start is often a simple affair in terms of lures.  Pack a lot of jigs- bucktails, plastic bodies with jigheads and even floats and jigs. Last year I landed many early season keepers on bucktail jigs.  I also did real well in the early going on white NLBN paddle tails.

Sunday, February 18, 2024

Next Stop.....Springfield Sportsmen's Show


 My next stop on my winter seminar tour is the Springfield Sportsmen's Show on Saturday, Feb. 24 at the Big E in Springfield, MA. I will be doing seminars at 1:00 and 4:00. 

For anyone who has never been to this popular show, it is a mix of everything outdoorsy. There's hunting and fishing stuff, camping stuff, outfitters, charter boat captains, tackle shops, boats, kayaks, etc., all in a massive venue. It also features an all star line-up of seminar speakers.

I will be doing my striper and carp fishing shows. My striper fishing show is called Finesse Fishing for Stripers. This show is loaded with info on using a finesse approach to catching stripers from shore and kayak when the bait is small (which it was most of the time last year). The show is filled with tackle and plugging ideas. Some terrific video footage and photos from last year's fishing are in the narrated presentation.

My carp fishing show is titled Carp Fishing Strategies.  This show focuses on different approaches to catching carp. also nicknamed "freshwater tuna"! These monsters of freshwater can be difficult to catch on rod and reel, and I'll offer many suggestions on how to do it that should appeal to beginners as well as seasoned pros. I've got some serious photos in the show that include multiple potential state records.

My striper seminar will take place at 1:00 while the carp fishing seminar will take place at 4:00.

Hope to see many of my loyal readers at the show! Form more info, check out the show information at  www.osegsportsmens.com


Friday, February 9, 2024

Where do I get my wooden eggs for the egg float?

 Every time I do a seminar, someone asks me where I buy my wooden eggs to use with the float and jig.

I buy them online in a place called Craftparts. Here is the LINK. I buy the 2 1/2 inch wooden "hen" eggs. You can buy these as unpainted or painted white.  I buy mine already painted.

It's a homemade project from here.  Drill the eggs out with a 1/8 inch drill bit.  You might need an oversized bit to get through them.  Run some plug wire through and put a loop on the end of the wire by twisting around a screwdriver.  Clip off the excess.  If you want, add a nail to the side of the float as a holder.

Some guys make this even easier by simply putting screw eyes in through the top and bottom. Note that the through wiring is much more durable.






Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Fishing Seminars this Weekend- NE Fishing Expo!

 

Hope to see many of you at the NE Fishing Expo
this weekend!

I will be at the NE Fishing Expo this weekend on Saturday and Sunday doing my latest carp and striper fishing seminars for 2024. The NE Fishing Expo is a pure fishing show that has gotten rave reviews in recent years.  This year it will move to the Royal Plaza Trade Center in Marlborough, MA which is right off Rt. 495. This is a show that caters to both freshwater and saltwater fishermen with loads of vendors, tackle dealers and the latest equipment on display. Show info can be found at their website at www.nefishingexpo.com

Here is my schedule.  Hope to see many of my followers at the show.

Saturday- 2:00 PM- Seminar- Finesse Approach to Catching Stripers.  This show is loaded with info on using a finesse approach to catching stripers from shore and kayak when the bait is small (which it was most of the time last year). The show is filled with tackle and plugging ideas. Some terrific video footage and photos from last year's fishing are in the narrated presentation.

Sunday, 11:00 AM- Seminar- Carp Fishing Strategies.  This show focuses on different approaches to catching carp. also nicknamed "freshwater tuna"! These monsters of freshwater can be difficult to catch on rod and reel, and I'll offer many suggestions on how to do it that should appeal to beginners as well as seasoned pros. I've got some serious photos in the show that include multiple potential state records.



Saturday, January 27, 2024

Surprises of 2023= New Ideas for 2024!

 

Hopkins No Equal- 3 oz.

In terms of fishing lures, 2023 brought some surprises.  Normally, I stick with the same stuff year after year because it has worked.  But, in 2023 I branched out a bit and found some surprising new effective lures which I had not used much of in the past. We'll give these a worked next season.

*Metal- I was out on a windy and rough northeaster in September.  I could barely cast my trusty egg/jig combo with the stiff wind in my face.  I had a big metal Hopkins lure (4H-3 oz.) in my bag that I barely used in the past.  What the heck.  I snapped that on and heaved a booming cast into the wind, way beyond what I was casting with the egg.  A few cranks of the reel and I was onto a decent over slot fish.  I was sold.  On just about every adventure after that day, I at least tried the Hopkins when I needed a long cast in rough water. It delivered good numbers of slots and over slots for me in that two week period of northeast roughness in September.

Yo-Zuri Mag Darter

*Yo-Zuri Mag Darters
- I was never much of a darter fisherman.  I tended to opt for skinny plastic swimmers like a Daiwa SP Minnow when I wanted a plug that swims.  But, one night, while plugging one of the breachways, I unsnapped the SP Minnow and snapped on a Yo-Zuri Mag Darter.  Right away, I hit a decent fish. I suspect there were mullet around and that smaller Mag Darter ( 5 inch) is a dead ringer for imitating a mullet.  I continued to use this plug and the larger Mag Darter (6 1/2 inch) for much of the fall as my primary swimmers, and I landed a lot of fish on them at night in moving water.  I'm sold!

*NLBN Paddle Tails- I used these as my primary paddle tails along with the NLBN jigheads. I used to fish Cocahoes a lot but these NLBN lures will far outfish the Cocahoe.  They have a tighter wiggle due to a smaller tail and that seems to elicit more hits.  When the bait was small, I went with the three inch models.  When we had large peanut bunker around, I went with the 5 inch models. I used only white colors. And, they were killers!

5 inch NLBN paddle tail


Wednesday, January 24, 2024