Rain, Rain go Away!

Posted on September 2, 2021 by Ed Mitchell

Rain, Rain go Away!

Hey at one time or another we have all fished in the rain. Right? Sometimes a passing shower, sometimes a downpour.  Sometimes we got caught by accident and sometimes we purposely fished in it. It happens. But the amount of rain we have been getting this summer in southern New England is flat out killing the fishing. It’s no longer a joke.  Its bad news. Flat out dangerous.

Thunderstorm Approaching at Dusk

In my home state of Connecticut, Memorial Day was wet and June was soggy. Then along can July – a real soaker. In fact, July proved to be the third wettest ever, only 1.5″ off the all-time record. Rivers swollen, low lands flooded, not good. Our total for that month was over 10″, 7″ more than average. And we weren’t alone. Our neighboring states had serious problems too. In Chicopee Massachusetts they got 12.48 inches of rain in July. Their average for the month is about 4 inches! Boston was a mess. The 15 and the 20th were the only days it didn’t rain in Beantown. By the 21st, the city had over 9″ of rain compared to an average of around 2″ Records were being broken. (By the way, worldwide, July was the hottest July ever!)

Storm Clearing with Nightfall

Damn, August was wet too. As it drew to a close, we got hit by tropical storm Henri delivering up to 6″ of additional rain. Yeah, the totals for the summer season were adding up fast. So when August came to a close, officially marking the end of season, we learned the bad news. Summer had brought 21.6″ of rain to Connecticut! Making it the third wettest summer ever in Connecticut. Yikes. Then as September opened more trouble arrived. Late last night the tail end of hurricane Ida hit us. Waking me up, with lightning, wind and torrential rains, it slammed us upwards of 8″ of water! Crazy.

And folks the hurricane season is far from over! Is my upcoming Martha’s Vineyard in jeopardy? We’ll see.

 

Posted in Environment | 1 Comment

Rescuing a 1987 17′ Aquasport Part Five

Posted on August 30, 2021 by Ed Mitchell

The $800 Coosa Board has Arrived

Okay, onward with the rescue. In the Part Four,  we began the process of building a new transom. Yesterday, with the Coosa board finally on hand, we made a good deal of progress. The Coosa will become the solid, strong core of the transom. But before it can be the core, it had to be cut to properly fit. Now this Coosa board is worth close to $800, so we had to be accurate the first time. To do that, we began by making a simple cardboard template of the transom core. Obviously, unlike the 1.5″ thick Coosa, this cardboard template is quite thin and therefore can not fully reveal the true finished shape of the core.

The Cardboard Template being transferred to the foam

The next the step was to transfer the cardboard template to a 1.5″ sheet of foam insulation. Once cut out, we tried it in the hull. As we expected the foam template didn’t fit snuggly in place. For one thing it revealed that both the port and starboard sides of the template needed to be extensively bull nosed. So we shaped the foam template to better fit, checking several times.

The Foam Template being transferred to the Coosa board

When done, we had a very good idea how to cut the Coosa. So the foam template was traced onto the Coosa board. Then a jigsaw was used to carefully cut the Coosa. The resulting Coosa core was then placed in the hull to check for fit. As the foam had shown us, both port and starboard sides required bull nosing. We did the adjusting very slowly, constantly checking to get the best possible fit, realizing that any small gaps could later be filled with epoxy resin.

My son checking the Coosa for Fit

Once we were satisfied, the inside face of the Coosa (the one that would eventually face the engine) was painted with epoxy resin. A piece of fiberglass cloth was then cut to fit that face and squeegeed into place and coated with more epoxy. Then the Coosa core with wet fiberglass cloth was firmly clamped into position and left to dry. Looking good!

Double checking inside and out

If you wish to see the previous post use the links below

Part One   Part Two    Part Three   Part Four

Posted in Gear | Leave a comment

Searching for the Soul of Ireland

Posted on August 27, 2021 by Ed Mitchell

Searching for the Soul of Ireland

Its been a long time since I set foot in Éire, but the memories are strong. Several things have delayed a return. My move to Florida put me considerably farther from the Emerald Isle. And then when I returned to Connecticut ready to hop a plane, covid19 struck.

Among my memories are a rainy hike on a remote road between Ardgroom and Eyeries.  About 10 miles in, the lane narrowed, barely 5 feet wide, coursing the rolling land, with the ocean never far away. Surrounded by silence and breathtaking beauty, I had not seen another person for hours.

Just beyond midday, I crested a hill offering long views over the rugged terrain. Dropping my pack, I stood there lost in thought, while in the distance a white horse ascended the hill to greet me. Separated only by a knee high wall, we stood 4 feet apart.  In the mist, we stared into each others eyes for what seemed an eternity. I felt I had met the soul of Ireland.

 

Posted in Ireland | Leave a comment

It’s Bay Anchovy Time

Posted on August 19, 2021 by Ed Mitchell

It’s Bay Anchovy Time

With September on our doorstep, it’s bay anchovy time here in Southern New England. These tiny critters have been growing up in our backwaters all summer and are getting ready to exit to the coast. And that is going to call every meat eater – albies, bonito, bass, blues, and weakfish. So you better have a handful of bay anchovy flies on hand!

Handful of Bay Anchovy Flies

Awhile back I did a post on tying a bay anchovy fly. Since then I made a small change to the pattern. To better tie down the top wing, I’m using a piece of copper wire to assist. It makes a neater looking fly and it is also more durable. The copper wire gets tied in early when the Bill’s Bodi Braid is attached. Once the top wing is secured ahead of the bead chain eye, I pull it down tight over the shank and wrap the wire forward to secure it.

Bay Anchovy fly with Copper Wire

The photo below shows the copper wire tied in along with braid. Both end just before the bead chain eye. And I coated the fly body in clear acrylic. Note I also put a drop of acrylic on the start of the tail to stiffen it up, and prevent fouling. By the way, I feel the black bead chain eye is an important part of this by anchovy pattern. Try to include it.

Bay Anchovy Pattern with Copper Wire tied in

You might notice that a few flies in the top photo are tied a bit longer than others. Well bay anchovies vary in size from year to year. So having a few bigger ones on hand can be helpful. If I need to trim them in the field, I use a small retractable scissor that Cabela’s sold to fly anglers years back. Snip, snip.  I love the thing, but its no longer available. Would like to find another one. It is a very practice device in both fresh and saltwater. Great for cleaning up a fly. Great for trimming mono. Real handy around camp. And it has a small retractable tape measure built-in. (In the photo, neither the scissor or the tape measure are fully extended.)

Retractable Scissor for Fly Anglers

Over in my magazine articles there is one on bay anchovies I wrote eons ago. Here’s a link to it  feature article . It appeared in Saltwater Fly Fishing, in 1996. It may be the only full feature ever done for anglers on this subject. It is in PDF format. So if you want to view it on your cell you’ll need a PDF reader app on your phone.  Easy to find and down load. Good luck on the water. It’s bay anchovy time!

Posted in Flies and Fly Tying, Fly Fishing in Salt Water | Leave a comment

Two Scott Meridians for the Salt

Posted on August 11, 2021 by Ed Mitchell

Let’s take a look at two fine saltwater rods from Scott- a 7wt and 9wt Meridian. I reviewed the 7wt awhile back, and was extremely impressed with it. In fact it left me jonesing to team it up with a 9wt. Well, that happened.

These two Meridians are without a doubt the finest saltwater fly rods I have ever owned. Why? The key reason lies in how they cast. For many years we were bombarded by high modulus, tip-action rods. I never liked how they cast, in fact I hated some of them. The Meridian has turned the tables. These rods are not tip-action, instead they load smoothly and uniformly down the blank much like the “glass” rods I first used in the salt. But unlike those “glass” rods the Meridian do it with plenty of punch. And they are much lighter in hand. It is a killer combination.

The 9wt Meridian tips in at 4.4 ounces. If the butt extension was removeable this 9wt would be about 4 ounces! Incredible. That’s about what a 9′ 6wt might weigh. Hell, it may even be in range of some modern 5wts. (I wish butt extensions were still removeable. Extensions are fine for boat anglers, but on the beach they pretty much useless.)

For the review, I used a Cortland Classic SL 444 9wt floating line. This is a decent line, but not what you might call a high-performance saltwater line. During the cast the Meridian generated an almost in perceivable single shockwave. Reaching 70 feet was a breeze. Effortless much like the 7wt. And without heavy lifting, the rod sailed 85 feet of line plus leader. Wow. In close the Meridian flexed with 12′ of line out. Don’t think you’ll ever need that? I’ve seen memorable times when striped bass and false albacore ran down the trough right at my feet.

Like the Meridian 7wt, the grip is a 7″ long full wells, nicely made and comfortable. It has a double up-locking reel seat, with a sliding hood keyed to align with the grip every time. The 2 stripping guides are titanium framed. Workmanship is impeccable, making for a very attractive rod. Far better in appearance than any comparable Sage rod. Overall, these 2 Meridians are superb saltwater rods with a proven track record for durability.  Much like Scott’s original “G”  series and Scott’s “STS”, you can feel a legend in the making.

Posted in Fly Rods | Leave a comment