Want To Catch The Striped Bass of a Lifetime?

Captain Blaine Anderson from Anderson Guide Services gave an excellent talk at the Worcester Sportsman Show last Sunday which I attended on catching monster Striped Bass on live bait. He fishes the southern shores of Connecticut and Long Island Sound around Montauk Point. He gave a lot of great tips on how to catch Hickory Shad, Scup, and Menhaden (Pogies) for bait, how to rig them for live lining and how to fish rips and reefs for large bass. Check out his website for more information. He is also a Principal at Connecticut Outfitters a tackle shop near Hartford CT and the Connecticut River. They provide educational seminars, tackle, and guides services for a wide range of fishing techniques from ice fishing for Walleyes and Northern Pike to trophy Striped Bass.

Fly Fishing the Millers River---A Rare Blue Ribbon Trout Stream in Massachusetts

Scott Evan’s presentation, “Fly Fishing the Millers River: a Rare Blue Ribbon Trout Stream in Massachusetts” plus “Shoot-Out on the Pemi River in NH: A Duel between Spinning Gear and Fly Rodder” from the Concord Carlisle Fishing Club meeting on January 26, 2010 Can Now Be seen online. Just click on “Scott’s Presentation”. The presentation is stored as JPEGs (photos).

Years ago the Millers River was the number one trout stream in Massachusetts favored by famed baseball legend, Ted Williams. The Millers River is 44 miles long with over 50 tributaries.

In addition to a very detailed presentation including maps and great photographs, Scott discussed his most successful flies, when to use them, and under what water conditions. Go to his presentation above if you would like more details.

From “Combat” Fishing in Alaska to the Ultimate Fly In Week

Glen Urban’s presentation , “From “Combat” Fishing in Alaska to the Ultimate Fly In Week” from the Concord Carlisle Fishing Club meeting on January 26, 2010 Can Now Be seen online. Just click on “Glen’s Presentation”. The presentation is stored as JPEGs (photos). Viewing in slide show mode recommended.

Glen gave a great presentation and then invited inputs from the audience from other folks who had fished in Alaska. Several attendees shared there experiences which I think made the rest of us a bit jealous. Fishing in Alaska should definitely be on everyone’s bucket list.

Tired With the Hassles of Wire Line Trolling?

Have clients or friends who are young or older and may have trouble with heavy rods and reels (not to mention reeling in 50 lb. test wire line)?

Capt. Pat Renna of T-Man Fishing Charters and T-Man Custom Tackle gave an excellent talk last night at the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association on a new technique he developed using light tackle, braid line, spoons and tubes to catch BIG Striped Bass and other species. His methods get you down deep where the fish are and catch large and small fish alike including Bluefish and other popular New England species.

Visit T-Man Custom Tackle for more information.

Best fishes!

Capt. Kirk

Project Healing Waters At Marlboro MA Fly Fishing Show

Here is a photo of the Project Healing Waters booth www.projecthealingwaters.org from the Marlboro MA fly fishing show. I spent the weekend working the booth. We had a successful show and raised quite a bit of money and recruited a bunch of new volunteers.

Alaska Halibut & Salmon Fishing on a Budget

These photos are from a presentation I attended Monday night at the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association about fishing in Alaska for Halibut and Salmon on a budget by Captain George Doucettee. Capt. George recommended Island Point Lodge in Petersburg Alaska. The total cost for a week of fishing including air fare from Boston, meals, tackle, and boats is less than $3,000.

Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. (Henry David Thoreau, from “Walden”)

I recently gave a fishing talk at the Thoreau School in Concord MA for the Cub Scouts. I discussed where to fish in and around Concord, what fish they might catch, and what tackle to use. Prior to the meeting I drove around Concord and photographed Walden Pond, the Concord River, Whites Pond and a bunch of other fishing locations in and around Concord. I included the photos in the presentation. In the auditorium where I spoke there were a number of Thoreau quotes stenciled on the walls which are included with the photos at this link. Most of the quotes were from Thoreau’s book “Walden”. This inspired me to get a copy from the library and read it again. In addition to the quote used in the title of this blog post the one that follows is another of my favorites that is related to fishing. “Time is but a stream I go a-fishing in”.

I subsequently went and said hello to Henry at his resting place in Sleepy Hollow cemetery (photo included at link above) and told him how much I enjoyed his writings, especially his books “Walden” and “Cape Cod”.

Capt. Skip Montello of North Coast Anglers Charter Services Discusses Targeting Big Brown Trout in Small Water in Western New York

We attended a great presentation last night by Captain Skip Montello at the monthly meeting of New England Saltwater Fly Rodders. Skip talked about fishing on the Salmon River and Oak Orchard Creek in Western New York. He presented techniques and strategies for catching large Brown Trout, Steelhead, and Chinook salmon. He also described tying an assortment of flies from Woolly Buggers to salmon egg imitations and nymphs. Skip said that the best time to fish these rivers is between mid October and mid November. More photos from meeting. Skips website is http://www.northcoastangler.com/

November Brown Trout On The Upper Madison

John Kirk “living the life” of a bachelor fisherman in Montana and his friend caught several nice trout yesterday on Black Wooly Buggers. They were fishing the Upper Madison where it flows into Quake Lake. The Brown in the photograph is 20 inches. More Pictures

Windy Day at Sea..

Too windy today to catch albies on the fly rod.....just have to go another day...

Helping Hands

Trout Unlimited member Kirk Reynolds and Rotarian Chad Duggan assist Bedford VA hospital resident tie a green and white “Deceiver” at our recent Project Healing Waters fly tying event at the Bedford VA hospital. We had 15 fly tyer volunteer instructors and 20 VA participants. Volunteers and residents alike had a great time tying flies and swamping fishing stories. Project Healing Waters is dedicated to the physical and emotional rehabilitation of disabled active duty military personnel and veterans through fly fishing and fly tying education and outings.

Trout fishing on the Yellowstone River

Barack Obama followed us around Montana visiting Yellowstone Park and trout fishing.

We arrived in Bozeman Montana the day prior to Mr. Obama and unlike Barack were quite successful catching Rainbow Trout on the Yellowstone River.

See photos of Yellowstone Park and drift boat trip on the Yellowstone River. (best viewed in slidehsow mode)

Sue Fly Fishing on the Shields River in Montana

Sue masters the fly rod on the Shields River which runs through sprawling meadows and cattle grazing areas near Bozeman Montana.

She is sharpening her technique with a 5 weight rod, floating line, and “Hopper” fly in search of Brown Trout.

Monomoy

This video is from a recent trip to fish with my faithful canine companion, Peaches, in the rips off of the end of Monomoy Island at Chatham MA in my 19 ft center console. A little tricky given the size of the waves and speed of the current. Monomoy is a long island that extends south from Chatham into Nantucket Sound. This is where the sound opens into the ocean. There are strong tidal currents and numerous shoals which create a perfect environment for striper fishing. On this day I caught five keeper bass and a few shorts. Bass were busting on squid at the edges of the rip. To see photos from several other recent trips see http://picasaweb.google.com/SteveKirkFisherman/JuneJulyFisihingTrips

Tight Lines - Fly Fishing Succonnesset Shoal

Under overcast skies and a fairly strong northeast wind Trout Unlimited member Pete Sterndale demonstrated he does in deed know how to handle a fly rod. We caught several nice bluefish off of Popponsett (New Seabury, Mashpee MA) before making the rounds of several other locals in search of bass. We finally found them feeding on squid in the rip at Succonessett shoal. I kept the boat positioned at the edge of the rip while Pete cast into the rip line, often to stripers busting on squid. Caught seven or eight bass, two of which were keepers. For more pictures see and a look at the fly see
http://picasaweb.google.com/SteveKirkFisherman/UntitledAlbumFlyFishinhJune28PopponessetAndSuccenessetShoal#