Striper blitz-bomb explodes under highway bridge in Portland Maine.

[Cascade]

18 hours ago, C.Robin said:

I’d fish a sewage treatment plant’s effluent if there was a blitz going on lol. 

 

Fish it? As kids we would swim in it because the water was a bit warmer than the rest of the Hudson River.

[Sea Of Atlas]

30 mins ago, petespeak said:

Hasn't been my experience. But on paper you are right. I should have said native striped bass are being caught in northern waters more than ever before.

 

After 56 years of consistently surf fishing 100+ days per season and catching thousands of stripers from California to Lake Meade to Jersey, up through New England and all the way up to Prince Edward Island, I can say without a doubt that native bass in northern waters are far more plentiful than any other time since I've been alive. This leads me to conclude that the native striper population is growing faster than before, most likely due to warming water temps and changing currents. But technically their have always been stripers up north.

 

And believe it or not, T-Rex also roamed Canada, but you won't see one there today...seriously, they even have fossilized footprints from an Allosaurus walking on a Canadian beach, way before New Jersey was even a state. Yet it is still true. Hmmm.

 

 

Not on paper my family has been a part of northern Maine way longer than that. If you are 56 then you’d be 18 in 1985. So maybe 38 years of striper fishing in “Northern rivers” Let’s hear what you caught between the 80’s and today in Northern Rivers. Let’s hear about experience. 

[prican1]

On 11/17/2023 at 7:25 AM, VanStaalSteve said:

There is an old saying, "never leave fish to find fish".

Words of Wisdom.....

[Lou T]

On 11/17/2023 at 6:34 AM, petespeak said:

I have never seen fish there. But I HATE urban fishing. Would much rather be skunked than stand under a turnpike bridge at rush hour. I moved to Maine 30 years ago to escape New Jersey and urban blight...caught too many fish in nasty places..rules of thumb: no city skylines, no busted glass in the mud, no dead bodies recently discovered, oil spills, or Superfund sites within casting distance. Never fish a place I wouldn't go skinny dipping. If you can't see your feet in knee deep water, as they say in Jersey, "FORGETTABOUTIT!!!"

 

On 11/17/2023 at 8:41 AM, petespeak said:

Pretty sure I was watching the last gasp of our striper season...today is the last day for six months the temps will be over 50...I'm going hit my favorite and most private place in the world to fish this afternoon: (turning gps off so no one can follow. I know something nobody else does and I'm not telling, haha) Need a fishy memory to chew on over the winter.

 

 

Thank you, for the new fishing destination.... 

 

 

[MikeMc]

48 mins ago, Lou T said:

 

 

Thank you, for the new fishing destination.... 

 

 

 

Hell of a driver, that Porky.  

[Lou T]

3 mins ago, MikeMc said:

 

Hell of a driver, that Porky.  

Yep, there blitz'en in Main

[Wave afterwave]

On 11/17/2023 at 6:10 AM, petespeak said:

En route to Plum Island to cap off my season, headed south down 295 corridor through Portland. Crossed bridge by Thompsons Point,: bait balls blowing up in the city, aggressive, BIG fish. And I'm doing 60 in bumper to bumper, a truckload of fishing gear and driving past the biggest blitz I've seen since the 70's. Every known striper river due south showed obvious bait action and some blowups. White knuckles on the wheel, driving past the exits of my favorite spots I reluctantly stayed on plan and headed to Plum Island. Never got out of the car: once I hit Mass., traffic, road work, detours, jammed up angry locals, confusing roads, rotaries, traffic lights on every block: four hour drive and still not there, I can smell the ocean! Finally, the suspiciously soft croissant from Dunkin did me in: stomach cramps, bent over the wheel, stomach churning like a ball of greasy eels, painfully aware of all the rest stop locations: 9 hrs of driving, several "pit" stops, 0 hours on the beach. NO WAY can I let this be the end...I'm going local and I'm catching a fish...try and stop me.

 

So you seen fish blitzing and good sized fish at that , and you still drove hours away to Maine , as Steve said never leave fish to find fish lol

[petespeak]

6 mins ago, Wave afterwave said:

So you seen fish blitzing and good sized fish at that , and you still drove hours away to Maine , as Steve said never leave fish to find fish lol

Unbreakable Fishing Rules of Thumb: No Super fund sites. No broken glass in the mud. No refineries, sewage plants, or pig farms in the vicinity. No gasoline rainbows, oil spills or leeches. Quick start guide: if you can't see your feet I'm not going in the water. Trash on the beach, especially of the human variety, is never tolerated. In fact, if I don't know you, I don't want to see you when I'm fishing. 50 plus years of surf fishing has turned me into a secretive loner tired of dirty places and nasty people. The avg ratio of poachers and stooges per 100 people escalates the closer you get to the ocean: in areas of urban blight, the numbers double. The character of fishermen is usually directly related to the degree of  natural beauty and remoteness of your fishing spot.

From where I stand: Raritan River: River Stix: think about it.

[Wave afterwave]

4 mins ago, petespeak said:

Unbreakable Fishing Rules of Thumb: No Super fund sites. No broken glass in the mud. No refineries, sewage plants, or pig farms in the vicinity. No gasoline rainbows, oil spills or leeches. Quick start guide: if you can't see your feet I'm not going in the water. Trash on the beach, especially of the human variety, is never tolerated. In fact, if I don't know you, I don't want to see you when I'm fishing. 50 plus years of surf fishing has turned me into a secretive loner tired of dirty places and nasty people. The avg ratio of poachers and stooges per 100 people escalates the closer you get to the ocean: in areas of urban blight, the numbers double. The character of fishermen is usually directly related to the degree of  natural beauty and remoteness of your fishing spot.

From where I stand: Raritan River: River Stix: think about it.

I know I’m the same way , I like close to providence but still drive south I’d rather fish out front myself 

 

but also if there was fish 15 minutes from my house that I know are there , and driving south is a maybe I might just say f it and go to the fish 

[recoil]

12 mins ago, petespeak said:

Unbreakable Fishing Rules of Thumb: No Super fund sites. No broken glass in the mud. No refineries, sewage plants, or pig farms in the vicinity. No gasoline rainbows, oil spills or leeches. Quick start guide: if you can't see your feet I'm not going in the water. Trash on the beach, especially of the human variety, is never tolerated. In fact, if I don't know you, I don't want to see you when I'm fishing. 50 plus years of surf fishing has turned me into a secretive loner tired of dirty places and nasty people. The avg ratio of poachers and stooges per 100 people escalates the closer you get to the ocean: in areas of urban blight, the numbers double. The character of fishermen is usually directly related to the degree of  natural beauty and remoteness of your fishing spot.

From where I stand: Raritan River: River Stix: think about it.

 

If I avoided your list of nasty spots,  I'd never fish!

Up my way even the bass have an attitude!

 

[petespeak]

On 11/18/2023 at 9:16 AM, Sea Of Atlas said:

Not on paper my family has been a part of northern Maine way longer than that. If you are 56 then you’d be 18 in 1985. So maybe 38 years of striper fishing in “Northern rivers” Let’s hear what you caught between the 80’s and today in Northern Rivers. Let’s hear about experience. 

You misunderstood...I'm 70...Been fishing northern rivers since 1968 and intensively since 1991. I've fished stripers all over the country at least 100 days a season for 56 years...56 years of STRIPED BASS fishing experience...67 years on salt water, 68 in fresh water...haha...you questioning my experience. .

 

Let it go...if you don't buy into what I'm saying who cares? Not me. Not you.

 

But no worries: There are lots of people who don't know what I do or know what I know...haha...just messing with you. But you do have an issue with what I'm saying. And I know what I know, just sharing my perspective. But one thing I do know...facts never change people's minds. My experience, young Grasshopper, is yours to accept or discard.

Edited November 20 by petespeak

[Sea Of Atlas]

5 hours ago, petespeak said:

You misunderstood...I'm 70...Been fishing northern rivers since 1968 and intensively since 1991. I've fished stripers all over the country at least 100 days a season for 56 years...56 years of STRIPED BASS fishing experience...67 years on salt water, 68 in fresh water...haha...you questioning my experience. .

 

Let it go...if you don't buy into what I'm saying who cares? Not me. Not you.

 

But no worries: There are lots of people who don't know what I do or know what I know...haha...just messing with you. But you do have an issue with what I'm saying. And I know what I know, just sharing my perspective. But one thing I do know...facts never change people's minds. My experience, young Grasshopper, is yours to accept or discard.

Discard mostly, not looking for advice. TLDR mostly.