False Albacore in Rhode Island

Posted on September 22, 2023 by Ed Mitchell

False Albacore in Rhode Island

Wednesday I got a text from my buddy Phil Farnsworth saying he was hooking false albacore in Rhode Island. Accompanying him on this angling mission was Captain Pete Farrell and Peter Jenkins of Saltwater Edge fame.

Pete Farrell photo credit Phil Farnsworth

Together they sailed out of Newport in Jenkin’s Jones Brothers, eventually finding fish to the west. The “albies’ were feeding on bay anchovies. And as so often happens small flies were the right medicine. Granted, these hardtails may not be the biggest you have ever seen, but you can be sure they were a freaking blast on a fly rod. Always are!

Peter Jenkins photo credit Phil Farnsworth

Phil Farnworth

 

Posted in Fly Fishing in Salt Water, Fly Fishing on a Boat | Leave a comment

September Cape Cod Trip

Posted on September 16, 2023 by Ed Mitchell

September Cape Cod Trip

Nauset Light    credit Ed J. Mitchell

My Son Hooked Up     credit Phil Farnsworth

Had a fun time on the Cape Cod, despite shitty conditions. Man, it was sticky and humid with rain on all but one day. Water temperatures were high for this time of year too. And not surprisingly the fishing was thin and spread out. As always, fishing is wishing.

On our last day, however, things improved. The rain stopped, blue skies appeared. Hallelujah. And a quick ride in Phil’s new boat put Captain Pete Farrell, Phil Farnsworth, and my son into bass and blues.  Nice going guys. We pulled it out at the last moment.

They found fish stacked up in a back cove. Loads of birds announced the action where tons of bait was being pushed against the bank by striped bass. What a wonderful sight for hungry anglers. And a upbeat ending to our September Cape Cod trip.

Credit Phil Farnsworth

 

Posted in Fly Fishing in Salt Water, Fly Fishing on a Boat | Leave a comment

Shark Smart

Posted on September 15, 2023 by Ed Mitchell

Shark Smart

In the previous post, I noted the number of hooked fish being cut off by sharks. Yeah its surprising, a totally new thing here in Southern New England. But the flip side of this coin is the serious side. Anglers need to be shark smart, especially wading anglers. No the risk isn’t enormous and I don’t want to make it sound that way,  but the risk is nevertheless present.

Head of the Meadow Beach

Recently I was on Cape Cod and the need for angler awareness was clearly evident. When you walk to outer beaches, spots like Head of the Meadow,  the reality sinks in quickly. There is just no avoiding it. Yes, we all must be shark smart.

Shark Smart

Here on the Cape’s Atlantic side, the sign points out that the number of shark are at their greatest in August, September and October. Yet it also tells you sharks may be present at almost any time of year. If you want to learn more about great white sharks you can visit  www.atlanticwhiteshark.org/ There is an app available as well, that reports shark activity.

Severe Bleeding Kit

 

 

 

Posted in Environment, Fly Fishing in Salt Water, Fly Fishing On the Beach | Leave a comment

Sharks Eating Stripers in Long Island Sound

Posted on August 17, 2023 by Ed Mitchell

Sharks Eating Stripers in Long Island Sound?

By now you may have read some reports of stripers being bit in half by sharks, right here in Long Island Sound. May sound a little odd, but its true. Two tears ago I reported on a brown shark chasing a hooked bluefish at Millstone. So the notion of sharks hounding hooked fish was  clearly in the realm of possibilities.

Well now I can add another story to the tale of hungry sharks eating stripers in Long Island Sound.  Anglers fishing near Old Saybrook using live menhaden were catching some very large bass. These are fish well over the size limit, true hogs. One of the big bass, a fish estimated in excess of 3 feet,  didn’t make it to the damn boat! Clearly it was whacked by a shark. Here in these waters it was likely either a sand tiger shark or a sandbar (brown) shark. Both considered somewhat docile. But with our over heated waters, it may have been a different  shark entirely. After all a hammerhead showed up on Nantucket last year.

Posted in Environment, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Rescuing a 1987 17′ Aquasport Part 7

Posted on August 16, 2023 by Ed Mitchell

Rescuing a 1987 17′ Aquasport Part 7

Part 6 of this journey appeared over a year ago, back in March of 2022. So it’s been awhile since I reported on my son’s project to rescue a 1987 17′ Aquasport. Well life gets in the way at times. We originally found this boat in the woods back in 2021 where it had sat for over a decade. As you can imagine it was in sad shape.  Thankfully the majority of the hull was intact, but an ugly repair on the transom required serious attention. The motor was history, although the trailer was decent and the price for the whole shooting match was only $500. Good deal.

Back in Part 5 you’ll see my son successfully rebuilding the transom with modern materials. Quite a job. We removed the hull liner too, so work could start on the stringers. In this photo, you see the rebuilt stringers capped with high density foam. And you can see plumbing being laid out in the bottom of the hull for the wiring.

The deck will sit on the stringers, as you expect. And many of the voids are to be filled with foam for further support. In addition, a 3/4″ cleat is being epoxied to the gunnel where the deck will eventually land. This required some careful measuring to ensure things end up reasonably level. Now its onward to the deck itself, if the rain ever stops.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments