Fishing Denied

Posted on November 5, 2020 by Ed Mitchell

Fishing Denied

Got up early this morning, hoping to find a few striped bass. With coffee in hand, headed out in the dark for Ocean Beach in New London. Traditionally this has been a good spot for late season bass. I was seriously pumped.

Fishing Denied

Got to the parking lot by 6:30Am. The damn gate was locked! Really? Years back I always got in early. Come on! Fishing denied.

Were they going to open the gate later? Maybe, but the fishing here usually fades fast with the sun. No sense waiting around. Jumped back behind the wheel and drove to Harkness State Park. Man oh man, the gate was locked there too? Fishing denied again. Kept searching for a place to wet a line. Bingo, I thought of a beach where I stood a decent chance. Great. Drove off trying to beat the sun. Got to the beach and its was plastered wall-to-wall with no parking signs. WTF? Never had them before? Fishing denied. I’m pissed.

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Dave gets another Tailing Red

Posted on November 2, 2020 by Ed Mitchell

Dave gets another Tailing Red

Dave down on the Florida Gulf Coast just sent me another picture. Once again Dave got himself a “tailing” red. Nice going Dave. You rule!

Dave’s Red

The light color of this red suggests it has been spending some time over sandy bottoms. When hanging over muddy bottoms, reds get a much darker bronze. Hey striped bass adapt to their habitat the same way. In Long Island Sound stripers tend to darken, while out on Cape Cod they look like Casper the friendly ghost. And I’m going to guess from the clouds it has been raining down Dave’s way. While rain discolors the water it also can drop temperatures which in turn invites reds back into the shallows. Any way you cut it a good looking redfish.

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Took the Kayak to Pine Island

Posted on October 23, 2020 by Ed Mitchell

Took the Kayak to Pine Island

Wonderful weather yesterday. Amazing for late October. Threw the kayak in the truck and aimed the windshield at Pine Island over by Bluff Point. By the way if you’re hauling a kayak that extends beyond the flatbed in your truck be sure to drape a warning flag at the far end. Believe me without it, on a quick stop the car behind you may pay an unwanted visit.  Don’t let it happen.

Kayak Flag

I knew that Pine Island was fogged in heavy. So I delayed a bit hoping the fog would lift. No such luck. The water was socked in solid. And get this: my kayak’s radar unit was in the repair shop. Wait a freaking minute! I don’t have a radar unit! LOL With near zero visibility, I didn’t dare paddle out front. Boats often don’t see kayakers even in clear conditions. No sense tempting fate.

Fog Lifting a Little

With that in mind, I decided to tuck around the corner into the Pawcatuck. Nice water back there. Loaded with bait. Once I arrived I got out, slapped on a stripping basket and waded the shore. Very peaceful. Fog lifting a little.

Walking the Beach

After a time I decided to travel farther back in the river. A fine day to explore. Found a few small bass on a flat. I could see them wandering around. But once again the bite was nothing to write home about. Still a glorious day on the water. Enjoyed it big time.

Around me the spartina grass was rusting, a sure sign of the year’s ebb. Ahh….the salt marsh in Autumn. Hey, the earth is tilting away from the sun. And old man winter is lurking in the wings, my friend.

The Spartina Grass is Rusting

Well all-in-all it proved to be another slow day. Hey fishing is wishing. What fly was I using? I was seeing large silversides so I stuck with a simple streamer pattern. And I fished all day with my Meridian 7wt. This rod is a jewel. Am I thinking the fat lady has sung? Na. I have high hopes the season isn’t over yet. Hell the water temperatures are off the chart! There may be bass action into yule time. 

The Fly Du Jour

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Southwest Rhode Island Report

Posted on October 23, 2020 by Ed Mitchell

Southwest Rhode Island Report

Got to Southwest Rhode Island for a tour two days back. Checked out Quonochontaug first. Nothing doing in the inlet. Saw a few small schoolies working back in the pond. Couldn’t get to them, however. So I went over and scoped out Weekapaug Fire District Beach. Another nice place. Saw a few birds and boats offshore. Nothing busy on the beach. Oh well.

Caster at Quonochontaug

Next I hit Weekapaug Breachway. (Mouth of Winnapaug Pond) Good tide, no signs of fish, however. Damn. Got back in the truck and shot over to Misquamicut.  Investigated a couple of spots. No dice. Nada. Zip. Coming up empty. Time to travel. Back in the truck.

Back in the Truck

Trekked over to Napatree next. I love this beach, but man that is a long walk in waders, especially on  warm day. Haha.  But I knew I would get to sit awhile out there and wait on the tide. Marched to the tip and parked my butt on a log. Felt good. Out front there were a pair of loons working the surf. Great sign, there was bait around. An hour later the bass arrived. Finally got hooked up! The action only lasted five minutes. Oh well. At least I found fish.

Taking a Hike out Napatree Point

Posted in Fly Fishing in Salt Water, Fly Fishing On the Beach | 1 Comment

Shark Sighting in Long Island Sound

Posted on October 15, 2020 by Ed Mitchell

Shark Sighting in Long Island Sound.

As a kid I did caught dogfish in Long Island Sound. Easy to do soaking sand worms on the bottom. Now they are definitely sharks, but they are small and have no sharp teeth. But yesterday for the first time ever, I saw a truly big shark right on the surface in the Sound.

Mark Kuz and I were fishing at Millstone in Niantic. Swarms of bait hung in the plant’s warm water discharge, as is often the case. Mixed in with the bait, however, were small bluefish. Mark hooked one on a spinning rod. While bringing it in a dorsal fin popped up tailing Mark’s blue. Wow, we were totally surprised to see it slicing the surface.

Shark chasing Bluefish

As Mark’s bluefish neared the boat the shark made a pass at the fish, but did not grab it. But that allowed us to get a pretty decent view of the shark. We both thought it was 6 to 7 feet long.

Shark at Boat

So what kind of shark was it? Well, several types of shark including the blue shark, the mako shark, and the hammerhead, that pay a rare visit to Long Island Sound, only two big sharks are common residents. The sand tiger and the sandbar shark, often referred to as the brown shark. The sand tiger has a pointed head. And given what we saw we can eliminate that one. So most likely it was a brown shark, which is one of biggest coastal sharks in the world. Quite a thrill!

 

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