Ed Mitchell Outdoors

My Olympus Tough Camera Returns

Posted on April 9, 2026 by Ed Mitchell

My Olympus Tough Camera Returns

I’m known for hauling around a Nikon DLSR. Yeah, its a chunk, a D700, big, heavy, and mighty long in the tooth. How long? It was released in 2008! Now don’t turn up your nose. Damn thing does a stellar job. Really.

For a long time, friends have laughingly suggested I get something smaller, something you could stick in my pocket. Well I did. After drawn out research, I got a Olympus Tough. Fine camera, durable, versatile, shockproof, waterproof, built-in flash, GPS, RAW files, does tele and wide, closeup too, loaded with features. And small. So small the thing disappeared! I couldn’t find it for the life of me. Eventually I threw my hands up and wrote it off as totally lost to the ages. Then two days back, bang, it popped up under a pile of junk in my closet. Will I use it? Maybe.

Posted in Gear, Looking Downward, Photography | Leave a comment

The Weather Worries Me

Posted on April 3, 2026 by Ed Mitchell

The Weather Worries Me

Back in 2022 I penned a post with the same title. Well frankly I’m still scratching my noggin about weather. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know New England weather is notoriously unpredictable. Still it does seems things are getting extremely odd. Yup, the weather worries me.

Enough Whining – Blue Skies Ahead

Last year, La Nina had us by the short hairs. The mercury was a roller coaster ride, up and down, with a red hot, dry summer. Yet the coming winter proved a complete surprise? It was the coldest in over 15 years, with over 52 inches of snow and average temperatures running five degrees below normal. Ummm. Where is my damn shovel?

Right now the spring is yucky, mucky – grey, cool, damp, and wet. Primo conditions if you’re a salamander. Yet the long-term forecast is the exact opposite! By May into summer, we could be 3 or more degrees above norm. Enough whining – blue skies ahead!

Posted in Conservation, Environment, Fly Fishing in Freshwater, Fly Fishing in Salt Water, Looking Upward | Leave a comment

Striped Bass Spawning Success Remains Low

Posted on March 28, 2026 by Ed Mitchell

Striped Bass Spawning Success Remains Low

If you love striped bass like I do, you should be concerned. Despite a decent number of striped bass of spawning age, striper success on the spawning ground is d1smal, both in the Chesapeake Bay and in the Hudson River. If this continues it is apt to have a major effect on the striped bass population in the next few years.

The chart below shows the stark reality in the Bay. The average spawn index is eleven, a number we have not reached since 2019. Instead, we have 7 years of very poor success. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to realize that is problem.

Meanwhile to the north in the Hudson, there have been three failed years. In February the New York Department of Environmental Conservation stated serious concerns about the striped bass population’s future, remarking this spawning issue could reduce the number of bass on the coast by 1930.

Together, the Hudson River and the Chesapeake Bay account for roughly 90 percent of the bass on the coasts. When both are in trouble, face it we are in trouble. Why is this all happening? At this time there is no definitive answer, although many suggest it is effect of climate change on the spawning grounds. Can AI solve this?

Posted in Conservation, Environment, Fly Fishing in Salt Water, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Twilight on the Bar

Posted on February 24, 2026 by Ed Mitchell

Twilight on the Bar

This was one hell of a winter storm, the likes of which we have not seen in decades. And outside lies mountains upon mountains of snow. Yet fear not angler! March leads to April. April leads to May. Onward to June.

Posted in Environment, Fly Fishing in Salt Water, Looking Upward | Leave a comment