MichaelT

4 hours in the Black River and not a touch today. Down in RI yesterday and two of us picked up 64 bass in the morning off the beach. Did the same a week ago so they should pour in soon.

White is normally my go to color night or day. That said also always carry red when night fishing. Some nights red just seems to work better. White or red and white pork rind, now Ottor tails, first pick for a trailer. Favorite condition would be rough with a lot of white water. Perfect for me is an outer bar wave break with white water rolling over the bar then into the trough.

Run out to Old Scantum east of the Isles of Shoals for haddock, cusk and flounder when there is good weather. Any chart of the area will show you where it is. Drifting at the mouth just inside for flounder.

While once the fish make it to the spawning grounds in the Chesapeake Bay they are protected until April 20 Maryland managed to weasel a 2 fish limit on the ocean by protecting fish between greater than 38" and less than 44". So as they are funneled into the bay they are easy picking by a large charter/recreational fleet. Something to remember next year when ASMFC starts looking for public input to possible changes (if any).

In the 80s and early 90s there was tons of blue fish around. Since then it has been a steady decline to the point where the party boats haven't been targeting them much for the last few years in NH. I haven't caught one in NH from shore in the last 5 years.

I've had LLBean West branch Wadding boots for two seasons now using in rocky areas and sandy about 100 trips a season and there still in good shape. If you get on their mailing list you will get 20% off emails so with free shipping they about 100.00.

From May 15-17 ASMFC will be performing the striped bass stock assessment to determine the stock condition from Maine to North Carolina. After that in late November the peer review of the data will be completed. There is very little chance any changes in striper regulation will occur in 2018 but people should be alert for possible changes occurring in 2019. Since the main group of stripers are migratory need to remember prime striper season varies along the path. Prime season from the Hudson to Maryland is occurring just before and after the spawn. While regulations do address this some what it is not nearly enough but as always you can be sure the states South of New York will fight any reductions.

Like many things they sat in the basement for many years with the thought that maybe they would be used again. When the basement clutter of things I would never use again got to be to much the purge occurred. Didn't have time to sort just got ride of the stuff.

My all fiberglass surf rods have gone to a special place, the dump. Composite rods can incorporate the best of both fiberglass and graphite for the people looking for a more moderate action but still keeping sensitivity. Use of different fibers and manufacturing processes also can give the composites extra strength and resistance to damage.

For a jigging rod had CMS build a rod using a Rainshadow SU1208 blank that has worked very well for me, now on 5th year. Paired it with a Diawa Saltist 5000H that has held up to 5 seasons of jigging. For a plugging rod using a 11' Century Kevlar Northeaster blank that had made up last year. This is paired with a Shimano Ultegra C14+ 5500. While the rod has helped with distance there are times wish I had stayed with a 10' rod due to fear of snagging something behind me when casting. While I'm very happy with this rod there are many less expensive rods that work just about as well in my opinion. When you hold the Ultegra it just doesn't feel like a strong reel but it has worked very well on bass to mid 30s and a bunch of blues.

This matches my experience with them in that I don't think there worth the effort based on the limited gain. This became popular when I was a kid in the 60s but it was also a time of limited quality plugs and before Sluggos and shad.

Looks like raycaps goes into the lead for best trolling post of 2018.

Usually the determining factors of which type of surface plug to use is based on wind and needed casting distance since all are trying to imitate an injured fish. Then throw in the size of the most common bait. First part of the season I like to use smaller surface plugs which does not mean small fish. The rebel bone color jumping minnow would be number one followed by Stillwater smack-it poppers. Both are plastic plugs and fairly cheap. Both are light weight but very effective in rivers and back bays when calm. The jumping minnow works better on a moving current while the smack-it works in both. On the ocean front like to use Super Strike little-neck poppers, Tsunami talking poppers and pencil poppers. These would be in the 1 to 3 oz range. With the Super Strikes like to use the sinkers. Come fall add in using a spook style in the 6-8" range. Little necks are first out of the bag if it is windy, especially in a cross wind. They cast better and dig into the water allowing to pull the line straight or at least close to straight. In strong winds pencils often lose their walk the dog action and just slide across the surface. They work well under calm conditions but usually pick a pencil first. The Tsunami is cheaper and works well and can be loaded to give them more holding power.

For those who might be interested: DURHAM, N.H. – The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department will hold a public hearing on proposed Atlantic Menhaden rules at 7:00 p.m. on April 3, 2018, at the Urban Forestry Center, 45 Elwyn Road, Portsmouth, NH. The public is invited to attend and offer comments on new proposed rules from a previous public comment period. The following came from ASMFC when they approved: Through adoption of Amendment 3 and the setting of the 2018 and 2019 TAC at a risk‐averse level, the Board has demonstrated its continued commitment to manage the menhaden resource in a way that balances menhaden’s ecological role with the needs of its stakeholders,” stated Board Chair Robert Ballou of Rhode Island. “While the Amendment maintains the current reference points, the Board placed the development of menhaden‐specific ecological reference points as its highest priority. While the Board’s action was not supported by the majority of public comment received, it is still a conservative management action relative to our understanding of stock status and many of the positive signals we see in the current stock conditions.

Since I started fishing in the 60s it was common in the summer for blue sharks to sit under party boats and pick off cod as they were being reeled up. Not sure if it was the boat or activity that attracted them.