Fall Run Stripers Video

Here is a little video I put together after Sundays Striper Fest! The Andy Reel

Good days, Better days, GREAT DAYS!

Throughout the years you get some days the are bad and some that are good but rarely do you get a fishing day that you can state is "Great". I love fishing it drives me to move forward and harder to try and master it or get better with techniques and etc but sometimes it's just plain LUCK

I must say the 10-27-13 was the Luckiest Greatest Fishing day I have ever experienced. 

The day started off horrible with huge waves and me blowing chunks off the back of the boat due to sea sickness I had to sit the entire boat trip from 7am -12pm but the last 15 min of that trip the boat got into some fish and I heard "Fish On" over and over again and I was contemplating getting up and grabbing my rod and joining but by the time my body let me get up captain said I'm sorry I have to head in and pick up the second day trip. 

I immediately told my cousin Andy, I don't care if I'm sick I'm going on the second trip because I felt something during that last 15 min of the first trip. 

Captain Walter of the Fish Finder II headed right back out to the same spot and I kid you not, the moment he blew that horn and we let our size 47 Jigs down my Jig never had a chance to touch the bottom of the ocean because "FISH ON"  I look to me left and Andy had a fish on and the angler to my right PAT and Andrew had Fish on! It was absolute Madness we reached our limit as a boat on one 15 min drift. 

Captain Walt is screaming on the horn that all the rest of the fish must be released because we reached our legal limit. 

It was lights out!!! It was fishing like I have never experienced before I will remember this forever. I find it hard to think we can ever beat that day of fishing 

Between me and my cousin I think we caught and released close to 25 or 30 fish combined! It was so crazy and we were so tired the captain brought the boat in almost an hour early because it was almost unfair. I am so happy I was there and not hearing about this trip from someone else! 

Stripers and Blues

This Sunday I met up with my cousin Andy and headed out to Captree once again to see if the "Fish Finder" could put us on Stripers again. We went on the Morning Trip and Andy was able to tie the winnings for the boat pool with this fish.

  We then stood on the boat for the afternoon trip and I had forgot to mention both trips were packed to boat capacity! It was a good trip I was able to get into some blues and Stripes but it was the one that got away that drove me nuts all night. We all lost a couple of fish but i lost a huge fish that was on for more then 5 minutes and it made me sick to see another angler at that same time pull in a 37lb Striper.

All in all we had a good time and a successful trip

Year of First and Goal

This year my beloved NY Giants have been very disappointing. I have been guilty this year of saying some pretty nasty words to my Expensive 55in TV each sunday, all because of football. So it was time to head back to the water and concentrate on some of my fishing goals.

This sunday my friend Shevy came into town from Cali and I wanted to take him fishing so we planed a two part trip with my Cousin Andy to go for Tog "Blackfish in the morning and Stripers in the afternoon.

5AM we headed out to Robert Moses sand dunes in search of blackfish and all we got were casting lessons, and the important knowledge that its not a real good idea to drink Whiskey the night before!
We got to the fishing hole right before sunrise it was cold and beautiful. We drowned allot of crab and not fish so we headed to Captree Marina.

Once we got to Captree we went to the restaurant the have by the docks to eat some "Brunch". Now being defeated by the mighty Tog fish we start reading reports of great striper fishing on the boat we are about to board. Naturally we all get real excited once we see this boat enter the dock with all the anglers from the morning trip all carrying bags of Fish fillets. Our nerves state to shiver and everyone i mean everyone is talking. The captains bragging and it was almost as if we had restarted a whole new day!

We finally get on the boat and we are talking to everyone about our failing Tog trip in the AM. The boat sets and for two hours not even one bite for anyone on the boat. Now I feel like the NY Giants always missing the opportune moment. "Why the hell did we go Tog fishing" this is what we are all three thinking and state to each other.

But none the less I had a Goal to catch my first striper so i continue casting in this really harsh wavy windy water. (Good thing I took my dramamine!)    

3 hours into fishing BAMMM Slamm my thumb on the reel! All i could feel was my heart racing "FIsh On" I finally hook into one of these Beautiful monsters and all I can totally remember is asking my self is the drag set correctly, is the drag set correctly??? I cannot repeat all the words I said but it was awesome once i see this monsters face out the water and the whole boat go crazy! Its my First and Goal! 17.5lb

Ten minutes later I get re rigged put my line in the water and I am still shaking in excitement I did it I met another fishing goal and Bam Slam I hook into another fish, Now im really excited but I see Jealousy in the eyes of the other anglers but who cares I paid my money just like them! I was wrong I landed that fish and everyone congrated me on a great fishing performance It was Awesome !

I ended up winning the boat pool. It wasnt much but cool that I won it! Headed home and prepped a Victory dinner. It tasted great! Thanks to everyone I was able to get my First Striped bass and reach a goal on my 2013 list of Goals!
 

First Salmon River Trip

I was invited by my friend Frank to join a group of very talented outdoorsmen on a fall fishing trip targeting Salmon & trout on the famous "Salmon River" in Pulaski NY.  As you well know it was an offer i couldn't refuse , So on Thursday Sept 26 i left work at 530pm and headed north to meet up with, Frank, Brandon, JD, Kenny, Mike K, and Chris D.

After a 5.5 hour drive to "Sandy Creek" I pulled in front of our lodge and meet up with all the fellas, All of us excited we closed our eyes for a few hours and got up 4am on Friday morning with great anticipation. We headed out to the towns famous bait shop "Fat Nancy's"  of course as soon as I got there I realized i left my wading boots back at the lodge so Chris had to drive my sorry ass back to the lodge to get them while everyone else got setup. (Thanks Chris!)

We all met up not too long after we got back with my boots and setup shop down by the town pool  upstream of the bridge area.

We were all excited and just before sunrise we all started our first cast.  We spent hours casting and changing positions and locations on the river. I learned a lot just by watching and listening to the advice of others.  it was a beautiful day and we all hooked into fish but not many fish landed.

Landing the fish was not that important to anyone because the mere chance that one hooked into a fish was such a thrill! I can only explain it two ways, One way is my friend Frank stated "its like hooking into a moving school bus!!!"  He is right it was amazing how much power these fish had. You would think by reading this the I or he was exaggerating but he and I are not! It was crazy! The second way and the best way that I could describe it is with the song I used in this video of the fishing trip. Watch it and enjoy




The trip was a success and we all had a great time together out there.  It was very tiring and made my body sore and even got me sick but I would do it again.
It did make me feel bad so see some ASS HOLES on the top of the bridge area deliberately snagging fish. On the weekend it was like a zoo up there so I would suggest if you are planning a trip up there try to go on a weekday. Check out the cool pic's of my buddies

Big Thanks to you guys the trip was a blast

Fluke Season Over

This past Sunday(First Official day of Fall) I met up with my cousin in Long Island and headed out to Captree and boarded the "Fishfinder" It was a beautiful day and we were going for Fluke.
It was a long day of jigging I brought in a couple of shorts as well as my cousin and we also landed some ugly Sea-robins. The entire boat had only to keepers and that basically told us that the fluke season was over. Over all it was good time spent with good company.

Jamaica Bay Maiden Voyage

Today I headed out to Jamaica Bay with the guys I purchased the Kayak from Kevin and Willy. They were kind enough to invite me out fishing with them and "Show me the Ropes"

Weather was absolutely beautiful I could not ask for a better day weather wise. We got out on the water at 615AM and off at 1130AM We all got one fish a piece, Not much but It was a great trip. I look forward to many more!

 

Birthday Fishing

Birthday fishing is awesome! I love fishing and what better to do on the morning of my birthday. I headed out to EB for some Flyfishing and was surprised to see how low the levels were this time of year at East Branch. I'm not sure what's going on with the Croton Water Supply but I'm sure levels are low everywhere. I was unsure of how the fishing would be but I was not disappointed. I hit up my fishing hole that almost always produces trout and I had 6 strikes 4 fish hooked 3 fish landed and one LDR. I also caught a LM bass the size of half my finger. 

The weather was great and it was a good two hours of time spent in Mother Nature . 

Bassin With Big Game E

Its Been a why since I have posted on my blog and that has a lot to do with work and family but Its never too late to put up a good report! My and my friend Erik went out Bassin and caught 4 small mouth 2 Lg mouth and 1 tiny lake trout in 1 hour on the Croton Watershed. It was tons of fun!

 

Getting into Kayaking

So I decided this year to get into Kayaking and after a couple of months of researching i finally purchased one. I bought a 2012 Hobie Outback with Mirage drive turbo fins, Lowrance Mark 4 Fish finder, Cooler and Rodholders. I am so looking forward to hitting the saltwater with it really soon.

While doing my research I found some good info for NYC kayaking launches rules and just basic all around good info i want to share. like LIC Flea has a doc that you can go kayaking on certain days for free.

 Some cool videos

http://www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/kayak/rules

http://www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/kayak

http://westchesterfishing.com/forum/index.php/topic,4774.15.html

If you have any Kayak tips email me

One year Flyfishing anniversary

It's been a long time since I have had a chance to go fishing and I finally had a chance today.
I decided to go fly fishing only because it has been one year since I actually started fly fishing.

I headed out to EB in Brewster where I first FF with Mike MVB.  I got out there and the scenery was completely different then a year ago. Much less trees up stream and plenty of extra fallen trees down stream!

I waded and FF for quite some time with no luck I proceeded to walk down stream and try some areas that I have had luck with in the past but no luck. I continued fishing but nothing. I tried and tried and nothing. I then realized that this time of year must suck to fish. I didn't see any fish in the water except one small carp, no fish rising at all.

Then while I was casting in my " Go to spot" I felt a slight tug. I got so excited I " blew my load" by pulling the fly to hard. I continued to Dry Cast and cast the line 10 ft above the exact location of the strike and again I felt the tug but I was ready this time! I just held the line instead of ripping out the fly and boom a 2 inch Yellow perch!!!!! Exactly what I caught a year ago in the same water.

Over all it was a beautiful day and it was great to get back into the swing of things. Sorry that I don't have any trout to report but these days happen, Even to the best of Anglers!

Hot Summer Days

What better way to spend a heat wave day, then out on the stream with Mother Nature and some new toys. My cool buddy from California BigWilly sent me a gift. He is a talented Rodsmith! He sent me my first 3wt Fly rod 7ft crazy medium LIGHT action! I paired it with a 3wt Orvis battenkill reel and WF floating line. I also just got a brand new pair of the Silver Sonic Waders. 

So now that you know about the new toys you can understand why even in this "HEAT WAVE" I still had to get out on the water and try it all out ASAP!

I went to the Diverting outlet at 830AM but water level was low and had no luck, doesn't matter it didn't stop me on trying out the new rig for the first time. I was more focused on the casting abilities of the rod and new line. I must admit I was shocked by how well it handled for being so small. Water temp was 68. I got one really nice hit on my fly about 3ft away from where I was standing in the water and that was it. 

I decided to drive up to Brewster and try my setup over there. The day was getting hotter. I soon got to sodom rd and saw about 8 cars. So it goes to show I'm not the only idiot out in this heat! I kept driving to "Brady's bend" to just look at the water and judge the flow. I could see one active rainbow but he could see me as well so I moved further down stream towards the bridge by the prescient. I hid in the shade under the bridge and continued practicing my casting on the new rig (now I'm liking it) I finally hook into a nice little 12in Rainbow. I didn't take him out the water because it was so hot so I just took pic's in the net and released him right away due to the weather. 

 

Since I achieved my goal for the day Successfully, which was try out the new Toys, I decided to get out of the heat and head home and help my family with there wants and needs. Hopefully fall comes soon so I can comfortably fish again. 

Westbranch 6-23-13

Today I found sometime to get out to the streams and fly fish. Sun was beaming and it was beautiful out there. I tried a triple nymph rig with a lot of success. I had quite a couple of long distance releases

Its been a while

Its been a while!!! May 5th was the last time I made it to a reservoir, Life has kept me busy with Family, Work and whatever my wife needs me to do with the only free time i have. Summer is definitely here. When I got home my face and arms were RED.

Got out to beautiful Cross River today around 10:30AM (after work this morning) Water looked like glass. Of course as soon as I got on the water a small shower occurred but disappeared rapidly. It was really good to finally get out there and be with mother nature again. Not too long after I launched my bait reel started screaming and caught a nice size Smallmouth bass, after two yellow perch and two smallies i had to go home. I cant wait to get back out there!

Happy fathers day to all you fathers