Lilly with Larry.. Turnover is starting

Went out with Larry Saturday mornin up to Lilly. At the launch for 8am heavy fog, 28 degrees.. Freezing! But action started quick. I got 2 largies on the jig on the second lay down we hit. Good start!  Then it was a fish here or there. No pattern really formed. Then Larry got a small bass followed by his best bass of the year at 4 lbs 2 oz on a big jig in heavy weeds. Wind picked up nasty and the fishing got real slow. When we called it a day we had 9 largemouth no smallies no pike! 6 bass on jigs and I got 3 on drop shot.  Always fun fishing with ya Larry! Thanks for taking me out and was cool to lip your 4 lber for ya! Our fish came between 8 and 25 feet. The lakes are starting to flip! Soon we will be fishing 25-40 feet. Looking forward to next time.

Lake Lillinonah 10/19 not terrible..

On saturday Josh and I wanted to find a place to fish that had a wide variety of fish.. we wanted bass and pike so our options were... pachaug (30 boat T) mansfield (20 boat T) Bantam (hasnt been good this year) then remembered lilly. Only fished there twice before and both times it was late novemeber so we gave it a shot. In the water by 7:30 and water temps were 61.5. The launch was really tough with the water down about 4 feet but we made it happen. Started off throwing big jigs in lay downs and i got the first fish of the day about 20 minutes in. 1.5 lb largemouth. We went on to hit some nice weed beds on points and found very little action. Tried slow rolled spinner baits, crankbaits, swim baits and drop shot.

 Got a few more largemouth on the jigs and then went to the one big hump on the lake and i got followed twice to the boat by a massive pike. It was probably close to 40 inches and was fat as could be. While using the trolling motor to get to the other end of the hump josh cast out his swim bait and gets his first ever smallie while trolling. Then nothing... went to another point and i caught a smallie and a largemouth on back to back cast on the drop shot on a ribster. Both keepers but just barely. Thought maybe we found a pod of fish but then all went quiet. Hit a small cove and josh gets blasted by a northern boat side and it jumps no joke 3 feet high almost into the back of the boat. When it lands back in the water it was gone.. ughh! Oh well on our way back to the launch around 2:30 we caught 3 more bass off of wood on the jigs. The wind got nasty and we called it a day. Ended up with 7 Largemouth 3 Smallies 1 lost pike and a monster follower. Shocked to see the amount of boats out there fishing. we will be back. All of our bass were between 1 to 2 pounds.

Got my Fiance on the boat! 6 fish caught and none were on the end of my line..

 Talking with heather today i threw out the....hey wanna go fishing tonight? Expecting the usual no. I got a yes and left work at 3:30 hooked up the boat picked up the mrs and went over to Hanover Pond in Meriden. Only a few miles from the house. I put a small grub on for her and i threw a big jig a chatter bait a spinner bait a jerk bait and i had not a single hit. Heather went on to catch 5 perch and a largemouth. Was her first time ever fishing lures and she did great. Couldn't get her to hold the fish but i cant complain.. just happy she came out with me and caught some fish and had a smile on her face the whole time. 

Hammonasset Fishing/Camping with the Family.

Day 1. Went down to Hammonasset to do some fishing/camping with my parents. Got there at 5 pm on wednesday and went over to the hammonasset river with my brother to see if i could find some bait and caught a few hickory shad on small white grubs. First shad ive caught in 8 years. Caught a few schoolies too. Saw some bunker but didn't have any luck snagging any. Went back to the site with intentions of fishing the next morning. Well after a bike ride down to the beach around 8 pm i came back and told my dad the sound is flat as a pancake and zero wind. Next thing ya know were going night fishing! We set up 2 rods off the beach and i tossed out a shad head and we had one quick hit and drop on my dads rod then at 11 pm my rod goes. Clicked the bait runner and fish on. Two times i thought i lost the fish but it was just swimming in at me. After a few minutes and some awesome runs i had my second heaviest fish ever on the sand. My Mom and Dad said hey i know you release everything but this one is dinner. I couldn't argue. Had no more hits fishing until 1:30am. Once back at the site i measured and weighed the fish. It was 38.25 inches and just over 20 lbs.





Day 2. We had a late start cause we slept in but managed a few more shad in the river and went to the beach for about noon. We didn't have a single blue fish hit for 5 hours.. but the sea robin show was unlike anything i had ever seen. To the point that i went to my car and grabbed my bass rods and went on to catch 36 robins on spinner baits, paddle tails, grubs and ribsters on a jig head. It was a lot of fun with everyone i caught having 3 or 4 friends following it. Talking with some other people fishing no one has seen any blues yet but it should be any day. I did catch one 8 inch snapper while going for the sea robins. We called it a day and went to the site to eat the striper. Had it on the grill and it was amazing. Might have to keep one every once in a while. Good few days spent with family.

Bday Pike Trip w/ Josh Rayner

 Its my 29th birthday tomorrow and my gift to myself was a fishing trip for pike on the river.. so pretty much a standard Saturday. Had my fishing buddy back on the boat for the first time in months and hoped to have some of the luck I've had recently. We did and then some! Pike gods were smiling on us today. Launched at 7:30am water temp was 73 degrees water clarity was stained. With in 10 minutes Josh had us started with a really fat 36 inch fish. Got it on a black and blue swim jig with a paddle tail trailer. Was his second biggest pike from the river ever and a great start to the day. 

36 "

We hit a small cove and found 3 small pike. 12", 27", 28" Also got 5 largemouth on tiny buzz baits. Worked our way out to some big weed lines on the main river and Josh threw out a big chartreuse Houdini Shad and had a monster swing and miss then right under the surface we watched the fish find the bait chase it and hammer it. Was one of the coolest moments i have ever seen while fishing. The fish went 38.5 inches and was a beast. Kind of fish that makes ya knees shake! Seems these fish are putting on the feed bag and are starting to fill out. This pike is Josh's new PB from the river, with only his 44 inch from bantam beating this one. 

38.5

 About a half hour later i start a long battle with a large pike.. seemed like my lures didn't have any hooks. Fish short struck my spinner bait twice so i threw my jerk bait and it swung and missed then hit as i was lifting it out of the water.. missed it again! So i took my third rod and tossed out my black chatter bait and bam fish on! Got this to the boat the third trophy sized pike of the day at 36.25 inch. Was unreal the quality of these fish and how fired up they were. Not long after we were at the other end of the weed bed i hook up again and my rod made that sound.. that great sound of a big pike pulling line of your bait caster. Josh and I were in shock as we got this one to the boat. Fish went 37 inches and had a massive head on it. We called it a day not long after with 7 pike. Was the best dam birthday trip i could have asked for. 4 pike over 36 inches all on different lures was simply an amazing day. Thanks Josh for being with me on this great day.

36.25

37

37 release

Finally got my brother on a good fish!

It had been a while since i got my twin brother Keith out on my boat.. mostly because every time he comes fishing with me we have awful luck and get skunked. I decided to take him to the CTR for pike because he had only caught one pike in his life and it was 19 incher years ago. I knew if i could get him on a solid fish he would start to understand why i fish so much and why i love pike and fishing in general. Water temp 72 degrees, clarity murky and the tide was super low. Lowest ive seen it in a long time. Hit 2 spots that produced good fish last week with zero hits and Keith starts getting the here we go again vibe. 

  
  Moved to a little cut in the river to get out of the ripping current and i picked up 2 pike, 25.75 and a 22 inch. Small but was some action. Keith had a few blowups on a buzz bait and we got to see a huge bowfin swim by us within about 10 feet. Ignored us completely but was my first time ever seeing one. Then we headed north to a huge weed bed on the main river and i get smashed on my spinner bait. Next cast i see this large fish follow me all the way to the boat. Then nothing. I tell Keith take a cast back there and let your spinner bait sink for 4 seconds and reel it back slow. Next words out of his mouth were " FISH ON " knew immediately it was that fish. After a great battle on the spinning gear and some great runs we had this beast of a fish in the boat. I told him how to hold it and he went for it no hesitation. The fish went 37 inches on the dot and was Keith's biggest fresh water fish of his life and also the first trophy sized fish of any species in his life. I couldn't have been happier for him and after all the bad trips we have had that fish made up for it and then some. Congrats Brother!  

it happened again... CT Pikin

 After yesterdays great trip on the river we decided to give it another go.The weather was even better for pike fishing than the day before so Garrett and I went out ready to set some hooks. Our first spot held zero active fish but the second one yielded 3 pike over 30 inches within 10 minutes. Bam Garrett gets a 30.75... Bam i get a 31.5 ... Bam Garett gets a 32. Then it died and we moved on. Our next stop produced a 26 incher on a buzz bait for me which was pretty epic on 8 lb test and a small rod while going for a few bass. Then we got two more in the next hour working a large weed bed. One being 27 inches and the other a baby probably 10-12 inches.  The action was farther spread out today and the fish were smaller than yesterday but by the time we left we had 7 pike. Back to back days with 7 or more pike is something ive never done so i was pretty excited about it.  Also the first time ive targeted pike and didn't catch a single bass for the boat all day. Water temps are still 77 degrees and the boat traffic was terrible to the point we ended the day a little early.  So the 2 day total is 15 pike with 7 over 30 inches and all released healthy. 

Day of Days... PIKE FISHING

                    FORECAST: Overcast, cool previous night... all i needed to know.. 

  I had my friend Garrett meet me this morning for a trip on the CT River. I love to hate this body of water as it can be amazing or it can be a toilet but having not fished it since March i was ready to give it a go. I had pretty high hopes for this trip. This time of year for me these past few years has resulted in my biggest fish of the year and my highest number days. We started off fishing some bends in the river and both had some massive fish follow us back to the boat one of which looked well over 40 and whiffed on my swim bait.  Before long i got us on the board with a solid 29 inch fish. Caught a few smallies and largemouth then we took a trip down river to some spots we found on google maps that paid immediate dividends. Fishing a new section of the river google can be a very helpful tool to have with you.  First cast on this spot Garrett hooks into a tank of a fish and handled it like a pro. Using his thumb with the drag when the fish made crazy fast runs.. after 4 attempts of landing this fish it was finally on board and he now had a new PB at 36.25 inch. Thick fish that swam off like a champ to be caught some other time but i doubt it will ever make someone as happy as it did Garrett. 

               

  Had a few more strikes moved on to another spot got a 27 incher came back to the spot he got the 36.25 and i get slammed first cast and catch my biggest pike of the year at 34 inches. Amazing fight and once on board we noticed it had some incredibly rare markings. Half of its face was almost white and the other half normal. Very cool to see and after a few quick photos this fish was set free. By the time we made it back to the launch we had a total of 7 pike all over 27 inches  6 largemouth and 2 smallies.  Thanks Garrett for the best dam breakfast burritos ive ever had and for being with me on such a great day. Your enthusiasm and high energy definitely keeps me going and keeps my focus high for more water wolfs and more adventures. 

What happens next is what made this day over the top....

36.25 PB

GET SOME!

34 

34 crazy pattern

two face

  As i'm driving home i decide to stop and take a few more cast in the river from shore and my first cast i hook up with a solid fish but i had no where to stand with the tide being low and mud everywhere i tried my best to land this fish but it shook off on a jump. It was most likely another 34 or 35 inch fish by the looks of it. Two cast later i set the hook on a monster. It leaps into the air and i said well i guess im getting muddy cause im not losing this fish. After a few minutes and some epic runs i slid the fish onto the bank and standing alone in the mud was screaming in excitement. I knew for a fact it was my new PB caught on a lure. I couldn't get to the truck because it would take too long so i set my camera on the timer and got this photo. It doesn't even do this fish justice. These past few years ive caught over 100 pike and usually i'm pretty close on my estimates and id say the shortest this fish was had to be 38 inches so that's what im going to call it. 38..  It was possibly close to 40 but i don't wanna say it was without a proper measurement.  I left after that fish cause i was shaking and too excited to even keep fishing.  I dont care if the rest of this year is a struggle for pike. We had an amazing day today that i wont soon forget or beat.  Just awesome.. 

Night Bassin for Largemouth! Tips

Booyah Buzz Bait

  I've spent the past three weeks struggling during the day with the water temps being at the peak of the year, i decided to try some night fishing. The same fish that were not active during the day down in deeper water at night come up shallow into the weed lines and shorelines and feed. These fish can be very aggressive! Buzz bait has been the hottest bait on most nights. We have been fishing with no head lamp no lights other than the bow and stern lights on the boat. Only using the head lamp to tie knots and unhook fish. The darker the better! 

  I have fished 4 times now in three different bodies of water with the same results at all of them.. When the black buzz bait isn't working the next best lure is a black spinner bait with a single colorado blade. Slow rolled over the tops of the weeds. The will hit violently and its awesome! If that doesn't work my number 3 lure is a black chatter bait with a black blade and a black or dark trailer. I use super flukes or bruiser baits even a paddle tail swim bait would work well as long as its dark. You can pick up these there lures at almost any sporting store or tackle shop.  

Strike King Midnight Special

ZMan Chatter Bait. No Trailer shown.

 These past few weeks i have caught some of my best largemouth of the summer and its been a lot of fun. Ive caught 5 bass over 4 lbs and tonight i caught three including my new PB at night. A 4 lbs 13 oz TANK.  This fish hit right at my feet and pulled some serious line on my bait caster. Get out there some time this month and see how fun fishing at night can be... is it creepy YES, is it kinda scary YUP, is it a thrill to catch some big fish in darkness ABSOLUTELY.  

Its that time of year.. smallmouth fever! Tips

 Every summer for the past 3 years i have enjoyed fishing for river smallmouth. To me there is no stronger fish that swims in fresh water. Catching a 12 inch smallie in a river your positive its a 2 pounder.. Then when you catch a 3 lb your positive its a 5. They never give up even when there right at your feet and there jumps are a thrill in itself. We drive all the way to NY and MA to catch these fish because its simply worth the drive every single time. When targeting these fish you need to learn how to read a river, read currents, current breaks and what makes these fish tick. 

   Early in the morning you can get them to hit full size buzz baits and even large spinner baits. But as the day goes on nothing beats a zoom super fluke rigged weightless nose hooked. You fish it like a jerk bait with violent twitches and small pauses. The current makes the bait slowly drift down current and you just watch these fish come up and smash the bait. If you find the fish aren't as aggressive that day you can put this same fluke on a 1/4 oz jig head and bop the bait along the bottom and that can work very well on slow days. White grub on the same jig head has its time as well.

 When fishing fast moving water always cast behind the big rocks where there is a slack water pocket. These are high percentage spots and if you find a big slow water pool after a fast current there is nothing better. If your ok with having to deal with treble hooks then throwing the top water spooks work fantastic and you get some great strikes. I don't do it just because its a pain to unhook them and i waste too much time not catching more fish.  So try these technics in your local spots. These will work in any body of water with smallmouth! Have fun!