I only had a few hours to fish and needed to stay local. In fact I stayed so local, I never even got in my truck. Behind my house is some town conservation land with a river that runs through it. About 3-4 years ago on my first backyard trip exploring and bow hunting the property I ran into this river. It was only a 10-15 minute walk from my house. Since that day I wondered if there was anything in it worth casting a line at. I planned on eventually fishing it and checking it out. Most of the river is pretty transparent and shallow and narrow, however there are some wider sections, with some deeper pools. But I just assumed there probably was not much in it. About every winter I usually squeeze a trip behind the house for a little bow hunting and every year when I run across the river I'm reminded of another fishing season of mine that has passed and overlooked this river again. There have been a few rare times I thought of it but quickly passed it up for more fruitful water. But finally I decided to grab a rod and load a back pack with the needed gear for the day and give it a shot. As I found myself walking through the back yard and into the woods I started to hope that this backyard exploration would not be a waste of time. The river is not stocked and I doubted there would be much for any warm water fish like bass and sunfish. However I thought there might be a good chance at finding two species that I had in mind. Such as carp but I never hooked or seen one. The other fish I had hoped to find and catch was there. In fact this species was very plentiful and struck my lure in every pool I casted into. The species I'm referring to is the Fall fish. Allot of anglers have not heard of them but those who fish rivers often enough incidentally and occasionally catch them while trout fishing. On this day they ranged anywhere is size from 5 inches all the way up to a 13-14 inch specimen. Most averaged 9 inches. Another common name used for this fish is dace. They are not shy at striking your lure and I lost count of how many I caught. What got me excited about this backyard fishery is that it's so close from my home and it's something a little different to target than the usual stuff. But more importantly I found a source of some monster live bait. Fall fish are like candy to large pike and largemouth. Though I fish artificial's most of the time, I'm not opposed to live bait or bumping up the odds a bit with some mega size live bait. Going to try some fall fish as live bait for pike and bass. Maybe even for smallmouth and lake trout over the summer. I also plan on collecting some later on in the late fall, for the up coming ice fishing season. It's going to get interesting, stay tuned. Tight Lines all!

Had the afternoon free and decided to go at it again with the trout. After boating a 3 lb and 4 lb 4 oz trout on previous trips. I thought to myself let’s see if there are anymore big ones and headed to the usual spot I’ve been fishing the last few or so excursions. The fishing was decent but I didn’t land any large fish this time or get the numbers I had gotten on other recent trips but that’s fishing. I picked up about 5-6 rainbows and a couple of tigers. Most fish were caught on the fly rod and a couple were caught on the lead-core rod. I kept a few of the hatchery put and take trout for dinner tonight and the wife did a hell of a job cooking them up and it made for a nice treat with a cold one. I think I've had my fill with the hatchery trout though. At least for a little while and need to move on and fish for something else next weekend. Tight Lines All!

My good friend Ray joined me for an early morning excursion I wasn't even sure if he would be joining me until I heard a knock on the door at 5:30 AM in the morning. Which is a story within itself, one I wont get into but all I can say is unbelievable. Anyway Ray was ready and 5 minutes after the knock so was I. We debated hitting The Quabbin or doing a canoe trip to some smaller trout water. After telling him a few stories and the numbers the wife and me had been getting into and since it was a bit of a late start for the Quabbin. It was decided to take the canoe and we were off to fish a favorite trout pond of mine. Surprisingly the early morning trout bite was not what we thought it would be. We had to work for them and picked at them sporadically, all rainbows. Late in the morning Ray hooked up with his personal largest trout to date in MA. After a long careful battle and struggle on 4 lb test, I slipped his fish head first into the net. A beautiful spotted brown trout. I weighed her quickly to get a fresh weight on my digital scale and she went 4 lbs 4 ozs. His fish qualified as a trophy for a state bronze pin award but unfortunately by the time we got off the water all the local bait shops were all closed for a official weigh. Regardless still one hell of a brown. Oddly enough mid to late afternoon the bite got really good and we landed rainbow after rainbow loosing count of how many we landed total. Ray also had a monster on that he originally thought was his lure stuck on the bottom until the fish made such a powerful and fast run. His drag was screaming and then just like that snap, his line broke when the fish made another powerful run. We checked the end of his line, which was pretty frayed up. We debated on what it could have been but whatever it was it was huge and Ray said the feel of the fish dwarfed the big brown he took earlier. Those are the breaks sometimes (no pun intended). In the mix were also a couple of (emerald green looking) tigers that I landed at the end of the trip, which capped off the day. Another enjoyable trip on the water. Tight Lines All!

Decided to go back to the same spot as last time, in hopes of more tigers and larger fish. Just as I was ready to leave and head out my wife changed her mind and decided at the last minute to join me. After a short delay in getting her a fishing license and getting some gear rigged up for her we were off. She must have been the good luck charm I needed because we immediately got into fish and they were plentiful. My 3rd or 4th fish in I hooked a big one on the fly rod and it took sometime to bring in but it ended up being a brown trout over 3 pounds. My wife was also getting into them pretty hard with a lead core line set up I gave her to use and not long after me she hooked into her own brown, one that went over 2 lbs. I also got into a couple more tigers and somewhere after number 15 we both lost count of how many rainbow trout we landed. Some of the rainbows were pretty plump and sizeable too but most were the 12”-13” cookie cutter size. Some fun quality time with my wife on a beautiful sunny day, cant ask for more. It was a good day. Tight Lines All!

Here's a report from Mike: I wanted to troll Echo lake in NH, every year a monster brook trout is caught on this body of water. I got up nice and early with everything packed the night before. We drove over an hour from my camp to get there. We started to unload all my gear!!!! I noticed I never packed the trolling motor for my canoe???? I was out of my mind. I thought to my self, do I drive back to camp grab the motor and lose 2 hours or stay and paddle into the wind and troll with it using bait!!! I stayed and did a wind troll!!!! It actually worked pretty well... We hooked up and landed 5 brookies between 9-11" I was pretty happy with that but after 3 hours of fighting the wind..We were ready to get back to camp. We tried again that night this time with a trolling motor. We landed 3 more. And 5 more at a hike in pond so a grand total of 13 brookies!!! No trophys but real nice trout. We did land a couple nice rainbows on our lake at camp. One was 16" just under 2lbs. We also got a great photo of a Fox on the way to the lake.

Keep those lines wet - Mike Deloia

Headed out for a few hours in the evening. I was on the hunt for Tiger Trout. I had heard about a spot that got stocked with them and also got a mix of other trout, with a small number of them going 18” or over thrown in. Also while I was launching my canoe I spoke to one gentlemen who was shore fishing and happen to show me a photo of a brookie he had caught a week prior that went over 3 lbs. So while launching I was feeling very optimistic. But what I really hoped for were tigers, I had tried for them one other time this year at comet pond but came away with a bunch of browns under my belt instead. Out of all the stocked varieties of trout (rainbow, brown, brook & tiger) the tiger in my opinion is the hardest fighting. Biologists attribute their vigor and fighting ability due to being sterile and therefore all their energy goes toward feeding and not breeding. Tiger’s in Massachusetts are the result of the Sandwich hatchery, where browns are crossed with brook trout, creating these beautiful hybrids. Though hatchery reared they are not necessarily Franken fish either, as some trout purists call them. This hybrid cross does occasionally happen in the wild were both brown and brook trout co-exist and successfully spawn. It’s extremely rare but it does happen. Out of the 4 varieties of trout stocked in MA the tiger is the least stocked in numbers, making them the most difficult of the 4 to catch. So I finally get out on the water and begin my search. I locate one area were the fish are down about 20 feet or so using sinking line on my 5 wt fly rod I get into a few pretty quickly. However they were all rainbows, I like them too but not what I was after. I ended up breaking a cardinal rule and left fish to find fish. But it paid off I found a pod of tigers in another spot about 10-15 feet of water and bagged 3 of them before calling it a day. I lost a few in the process including one fish that came un-buttoned that felt like a real large one. All fish were caught on the fly rod. I also had a dozen or so follows on my spinning rod casting out rapala’s but no matter what I did they just wouldn't commit. All and all a short and fun evening and I finally got my tigers this season. Tight Lines All!

Did not have much time this past weekend to wet a line. Most of my time was allocated to yard work but I did slip away Sunday afternoon. I hit comet pond for a quick trip and hoped I'd get into some Tiger Trout the state stocked about 2 weeks ago or so. While launching my canoe one guy I talked to ending his day landed a tiger and two rainbows. Which made me feel a bit optimistic but things were really slow. I covered a bunch of water and not even a hit. I finally landed a trout trolling with my fly rod but it wasn't a tiger it was a brown. After going so long without a hit I no longer cared about what kind of trout it was. I then anchored down and stationed myself and started casting a rappala rainbow trout pattern countdown and had another brown trout follow the bait all the way to the canoe. To make a long story short I landed 5 brown trout all in one small little area but had at least 15 follow the bait to the canoe and not commit, I would have killed for some fish sent to rub on the lure. Not what I was after but a fun little trip. Tight Lines All!

Here's a report from Mike: I have been fishing the remote hike in ponds and lakes in NH for 6 years now. I always seem to have pretty good sucess. My 3 boys and I have caught hundreds of Brook trout from these Glacier lakes and ponds. I know some very large Brookies roam these waters. I have seen photos and heard stories. We have caught some nice size ones over the years. Just not a true trophy, this has eluded us. I had planned on taking My son Skylar trout fishing and hiking just as a fun day, the fishing was going to be practice and a couple for lunch. We got on the water early and hiked to the back end of the pond. Its only 12 acres and 40 ft deep, it has some nice hold over trout. Skylar landed a nice 12 inch Brookie to start with,  on my first cast I felt a good tug on my hand tied fly. I knew it was a good sized trout but when it peeled line off my reel I knew it was a trophy. It surfaced just in front of us. I saw the huge mouth!!! I thought it was even larger than it was....we landed it with the net. The line broke just as it made a surge, lucky it was in the net. The measuring tape read 16.5 inches and the scale read 2lbs 4 ozs!!!! This was a true trophy a "Glacier Lake Monster" Brook trout. Up until this Brook trout the largest remote pond one we caught was Skylars, it was 14 inches 1 lb 8 ozs. We ended up catching a total of 8 brook trout,  from 9-12 inches. Along with this colorful trophy. This one will hang on the wall at Camp Deloia...Finally!!!!!! We also had a game warden check us out, he was very nice because I was with my son. We always use the same stump to photograph our brook trout so its funny to see the size comparison. Its great to know you may have landed the largest fish on a certain body of water...This Brookie was the Alpha Male of this water!!!
Take a kid fishing- Mike Deloia! 

Another trip to the Quabbin, this time I took my friend Dale out again. I had hoped the salmon were still in the general area that they were in yesterday but that was not the case. Though we did not get into the numbers I got the previous day, I did help put Dale on his biggest and first ever MA lake trout. I knew Dale wanted one and he got it. After it's capture the laker still remained strong and healthy and after some minor convincing Dale released the laker to fight another day. The wind picked up pretty bad and to escape it we tucked into a shallow cove that had very little wind and played around with the warm water fish. Other fish caught that day included: yellow perch, largemouth, smallmouth and pickerel. TIGHT LINES!

After taking out some of my friend’s back to back and playing guide, I needed a break. Though most of the time I like fishing with friends I wanted a day with no pressure of trying to put anyone on fish. So I headed out on a solo mission and ended up having so far my best day at the Quabbin. Early morning I got into a couple of beautiful lakers, bottom bouncing live bait. The first one was released unharmed, the other the hook had popped a gill and was a bleeder, and so he was kept for table fair. These lake trout are a blast, they’re also wild and allot larger than your typical 1 lb hatchery planted trout. I also fooled around briefly with the smallmouth and caught a couple of hefty fish with a jig. With the smallies and lakers under my belt I only had one species left for the day to complete the Quabbin big three. Something I had not done yet. So I switched gears and targeted landlocked salmon, which paid off. While trolling with my baits just under the surface I found some salmon and then continuously worked the school. When the bite stopped I would troll in the general area, find them again and work them again. I landed 6-7 salmon and also had a few come unbuttoned. Some were caught trolling and a few caught casting rappalas into the active school. They seemed to hit anything that resembled smelt (their primary forage). The first salmon landed was the best fish of the day, 6 lbs on the button (fresh weight). At the end of the day I brought it to a bait shop to qualify it for a state pin (MA awards program). After blood and slime loss and drying under the sun for a bit in the boat it lost a couple of ounces and was certified at 5 lbs 14 ozs. This big land-lock had a crooked kype. I also kept a hen that I dropped on it’s head by accident and decided since I was already bringing a couple home, I mine as well go ahead and keep this one as well, versus releasing a half dead fish. All other fish caught were returned alive and well and ready to fight another day. The hen also qualified for a state pin, it had a deformed head, which was a bit too rounded. Though the Quabbin does have wild salmon that are born and bred in the lake and it’s tribs., the state also does do some supplemental stocking of smolts. Judging by deformities of the 2 kept fish I believe that the school I found today are products of a past hatchery smolt stocking. Regardless of whether they’re smolt stocked or fully wild I can never get over how incredible they fight and in my opinion the hardest fighting of the big three with smallmouth a close second. Also while searching for the salmon some incidental yellow perch were caught, further adding to the multi-species day. What a blast on the water today. Now get out and go have your own fun and report back. Tight Lines!

P.S. currently in production are 3 new separate Quabbin video's (lake trout, landlocked salmon and smallmouth bass). Look for those soon to come, so check back often.

Also if anyone wants to send a video link and or pictures/report, feel free to email me them and I will include you in the next round of updates.

Back to the Quabbin and this time I took my friend Dave with me. Though we did not crush them today I was happy to help put Dave on his very first landlock salmon. We both also got some quality sized smallmouth bass. I also got my first Quabbin largemouth (I guess they do exist here), in the 2 lb range. It was fun hanging out with Dave and swapping stories. The day ended with a thunder storm that rolled in. The heavy rain and wind gusts were nothing I had seen before at the Q and made things plain miserable. There were Literally white caps in the marina. The wind was so bad it took both of us in the water to pull and guide the boat onto the trailer. Dave was a trooper and I'm glad he came otherwise loading and packing up in those conditions alone would have been a nightmare. We both got soaked to the bone. That's fishing sometimes. Tight Lines!

I love vacation, back to the Quabbin again. This time I took my friend Dale with me. We finally found some salmon and both landed our first landlocks of this season. Dale got his first and not long after I got mine, a pin size fish of 4 lbs 5 ozs. We also had a few fish come unbuttoned. Then all of a sudden the salmon suddenly seemed to disappear but we kept searching. After a little time and not too far from were we had hooked our previous fish, I was on again and brought a 5 lb beauty of a salmon to the net (another pin size fish). Just as we found them again and were about to slay them. A boat disrupts us and pulls right up next to us and it's a game warden. Asking to see our licenses, my boat registration and life jackets in the boat. To make a long story short the only time so far this season I forgot my wallet and life jacket in the truck was of course today (Murphy's law right). I ended up back at the marina pulling those items out of the truck to show the warden. When it was all said and done. I had my Q trip cut short and got slapped with a fine. Not exactly how I wanted to end the day. Being forgetful can be expensive :-) TIGHT LINES ALL! 

Headed to the Quabbin and was hoping to see a big fish taken today. I took Bert out with me this time and got him into his first lake trout. So far this season it's the best laker caught out of my boat. We had hoped we would get into a few more lake trout but though we didn't the monster smallmouth bass that we were catching more than made up for it. The best two smallies were 4 pounders. The highlight of the day was how excited Bert was over his fish. It's his largest freshwater fish ever. Bert's used to catching small hatchery trout, so to him this laker was a monster trout and something different to add to his fishing resume. TGHT LINES!

I had the urge to go Brook trout fishing up at my camp in New Hampshire, so I took my 3 boys and my son Mikes friend Nick. We wanted to try fishing the camp Lake first to warm up for the next day. We got to the camp a little late but got in some casts. My son Skylar hooked a real nice bass. I thought was a trout at first. It was 17" long and around the 3 pound plus area!! The next mornig we were off to this remote pond we have had some luck with in the fall. The spring brookies seemed to elude us in the past. We knew they were there but we never did very good. This time was going to be the exception. Skylar caught one on his first cast a nice 10" Brookie. In fact Skylar caught the first three brookies. Then sam caught 2 then I got one. Mike and Nick walked the shore not catching any trout at all. They soon rejoined us. We ended up catching 30 brookies ranging from 9 to 13 inches. Most of these brookies held on to their beautiful Fall colors. I know this pond has some larger brookies in the 16 to 18 inch range, we have never hooked into those trophys yet, but time will yield one. Mike and Nick enjoyed a nice meal of brook trout at the camp. Take your kids fishing - Michael Deloia

Headed back to the Quabbin again but only for the afternoon and this time my friend Dave joined me. We were looking for salmon without venturing to far out from the gate and could not find them but we did find some smallmouth. The biggest fish of the day ended up also being my personal best smallmouth, beating out a previous best caught not so long ago by one ounce. Off on vacation this week and look forward to putting some real time into the Quabbin and some fish in the boat. Tight Lines! 

Me and Bill returned back to the Quabbin. We concentrated in one core area. Bill did not have any luck the last time he was out with me but this time he landed 2-3 smallmouth, including his personal best smallmouth, a 3 lb 12 oz fish and the fattest football shaped smallie I've seen so far come out of the res. I got into a few smallmouth myself including one real pretty one with beautiful vertical bar markings on the sides, that went 4 lbs and I also got a couple of more lake trout. The lakers went 4-5 lbs and were also real pretty with their yellow vermiculation markings and spots covering their green bodies. Their forked tails and white edged fins certainly add to their beauty and character. The lake trout I have been hooking up with seem to not live up to their reputation and actually fight well, minus the leaps. I was actually pleasantly surprised with their fighting ability and have been enjoying targeting and catching them. Next trip hoping to find some landlocked salmon to add to the mix. Tight Lines!

Last year during the spring at the Quabbin I was successful at targeting landlocked salmon and smallmouth bass and I planned on targeting the lake trout over the summer too but then the unexpected closure of the Quabbin happened, due to the zebra mussel scare and I never really got my chance at the laker's. Nor did I catch one incidentally last year. In fact though I have caught plenty of lake trout, including some monsters. I have never caught one out of my home state. So this year I wanted to target them early and focus on them by fishing a bit deeper. That was one of my fishing goals for the season and I was happy to achieved it today. I got into two beautiful lake trout that were caught over 13 feet of water adjacent to a 40 foot drop and bottom bouncing the baits. I was pretty pumped and in addition to the trout I also got into a few plump smallmouth between 3.5 lbs and 4 lbs. In addition to the fish, the sightings of bald eagles, loons, mergansers, along with the gorgeous back drop of a wilderness setting just made the trip that much more grand. When it comes to MA fishing waters this reservoir in my opinion is the crown jewel of the state. I can't wait to return. Tight lines!

Well as excited as I was for the opening day of the Quabbin reservoir, it faded pretty quick when I woke up to pouring rain, cold temps and wind. Not exactly the most comfortable weather conditions. After a phone call and talking it over with Bill, we decided to call the morning a wash-out and go back to bed and reconnect after awakening for a afternoon trip. Which we did and when we finally got to the Quabbin, the rain had stopped. To our surprise the parking lot was jam packed with empty boat trailers. I guess there were much braver souls willing to deal with the nasty conditions of the early morning. Well for us a late start was better than no start. Due to the wind and having a small boat we didn’t head out to far from the gate. We hit some of the islands that produced some nice salmon last year but they were not there so me and Bill decided to switch gears and focus on the fat pre-spawn smallmouth that were around. Luckily the wind had died down a bit making it easier to fish. I landed 3 smallies with the biggest and also my new personal best weighing in at 4 lb 2 oz. The other two fish were not that far behind in weight. Unfortunately Bill was not able to get into any on this trip but I’m sure he eventually will on a future trip. All and all for a short tip not a bad way to start the opener. With the new boat seal restrictions on the Quabbin and the quality fisheries that exists at the reservoir I’ll be focusing allot of my upcoming weekend excursions there. Hoping for more big smallies, giant landlocked salmon and trying for some lake trout as well. So check back and stay tuned and find out how I make out or better yet head down to the Quabbin yourself and try your luck. Tight Lines! 

Took the day off to take care of some errands and things I needed to get done. I finished up earlier than expected and headed out late in the afternoon in my canoe for some recently stocked rainbows. I heard the state had put in lots of 14-16 inch trout this year. The rumors I heard turned out to be true. The trout were of decent size and fought exceptionally well. I caught about a dozen or so casting and trolling. I used flies, spinners and rappala’s. I had one rod with lead-core line I was trolling and not secured in a rod holder, that a large fish stole from me. I saw a large silvery fish clear the water and it either had to have been a very large rainbow trout or brood-stock Atlantic salmon. Followed by the jump was my rod flying out of the canoe and into the water. I attempted to grab it but missed it by about 2 inches. Normally catching a bunch of trout on a pleasant evening I would consider a good day but  loosing a favorite rod of mine and then add the insult of loosing that rod along with a large fish with it to boot made for a not so good time. I kept a couple of hatchery bows for me and the wife’s dinner and released the rest. Tight lines!

Larry on a fly fishing trip in West Virginia did very well and got this nice golden. In addition he also landed a couple of rainbows tout and brown trout on dry flies and that it was very fun. He also reports that the stealhead action is slowing down now in Ohio but the walleye bite is picking up and he should be putting the boat in the water in a week or two. Sweet fish Larry keep those pics coming. 

Steve sent us a quick report, he fished a lake in Orange and caught this 20 inch, 4 lbs 6 ozs Largemouth. Nice fish Steve!

Stopped after work for a few casts again at a near by trout Pond. Felt lazy and didn’t feel like doing allot of casting so I tossed out some meal worms, under a float and got a couple of brown trout. Only fished for about an hour or so, nothing serious just wanted to enjoy another nice evening from shore. Released one brown and kept one for tonight's dinner.

On the way home from work I stopped at a small no name, warm water pond. The weather has been so nice I just wanted to get out and take a few cast and explore a little before dinner. I targeted bluegills (A fish I don’t target often) using a ultra light rod and casting out some small spinners and some earth worms I pulled out from underneath some rocks near the lake shore. Caught a handful of gills along with a bonus largemouth I took off a rooster tail before heading back home. None of the fish were anything to brag about but just a pleasant evening to be out and feel some tugs on the end of the line. Some pretty colors too on some of those little scrappers. Tight Lines!

Last December the state stocked some big brood-stock Atlantic salmon. Me and friends targeted them during the ice season with some success. However the ice is gone and I decided to take the boat out for the first time officially. I like to target the salmon immediately after ice out or soon after. Had a few friends interested in joining me Saturday, especially with the out of the ordinarily warm forecasted conditions. Two weekends ago my friend Bill helped me work on the trailer and set up some seats and a bunch of other little things, so out of appreciation for his help he’s the one I invited and who joined me. Me and Bill were hoping to score with one of the remaining silver giants. Me and Bill got started some what early in the morning. To cover more water and help improve our odds for this hunt we trolled. We threw out everything that has ever worked on the salmon and even experimented with working the entire water column. The fish finder was picking up the trout that had been stocked Tuesday almost off the bottom. The water is still ice cold and even the trout did not want to show us any love. After about 8-9 hours of fishing with only a couple of missed hits to show for it. Bill was ready to call it quits and head home to have some dinner with his girl. I mentioned not much daylight left, you mine as well finish the day out, better than watching TV right. He said agh nothing was happening and he was going to head out. So while we said our good bye’s I joked around and mentioned maybe he’s the one that brought us bad luck and that I’d probably hook a giant as soon as he pulled out of the lake. We both chuckled, Bill headed home and I headed back out with the boat again. About 30 minutes later I tried a small orange rapala, I had not used it yet. In fact  I hardly ever use it at all. I figured what the hell nothing else worked. I ran the bait just under the surface for about 15 minutes or so and whack! At first I thought I was stuck on the bottom but looked at my fish finder and realized I was fishing over 43 feet, so no way. Then I finally felt the dead weight come alive and start to move and run. The fish made some massive runs and Could even feel the fish diving down all the way to the bottom. I slowly winched him up but then all I heard was that sweet sound to my ears of a screaming drag. The fish came to the boat about 5-6 times and then would run again but finally I was able to get him close enough to slip him in the net head first. When I lifted up on the net with the salmon in it what a sign of relief I felt and what a fight. The battle must of lasted 15-20 minutes. Trying to fight this large fish, control the boat, remove another line out of the water and self net made the landing a challenge for me. Certainly things would have been easier if Bill had stayed and maybe I could have even gotten him to film some of the battle, regardless what a blast. The salmon looked larger than I thought, but when weighed on my scale (that was a little on the fritz) it was a little shy of a pin size fish but still a monster to me, weighing in at 9 lbs 3 ozs and measuring 31” long. My friend Dave was across the lake and had witnessed the battle and called me on my cell phone right after I had the fish in the net and he congratulated me. I then called Bill and told him he should have stayed and that persistence sometimes pays off. I mentioned I just caught one of those big salmon off the side of the boat he was fishing. At first he thought I was joking but when I told him I wasn’t kidding around he was very surprised. Joking around I told him maybe you are bad luck and that I would have to reconsider the thought of fishing with him again. Of course I was just joking around and Bill you know your welcomed to fish with me again, hopefully next time things will be more fruitful for both of us. Tight Lines All!....George

I caught this fish with a J-9 jointed rapala, 6 lb test, no steel leader on Lake Quinsigamond. I was over by Sunset Beach trying to catch a Salmon or trout, and I think the musky was doing the same. Overall the bite was pretty slow Saturday but what a way to start my fishing season with my first tiger. Thanks for your interest – Chris

Thanks for sharing Chris and what a incredible catch, keep those reports coming!

Last Tuesday some of the local ponds got stocked for the first time this year. I stopped by one of them and casted some lures from shore during the last half hour of light or so and this rainbow whacked my rapala (bass pattern) countdown.  Tight Lines All!.....George

Here's a quick report from Ray. He says attached are pictures of three of eight hold-over trout that he and little Ian caught from a local trout pond. Ry got one off a dry fly using his fly rod and the rest came on power bait fished near the bottom.

Nice job buddy, glad to see you continuingly keeping the little guy on some fish. I think we got him hooked on fishing with all those perch and crappie he got into during the ice season.

Stopped by a local trout pond on the way home for a few quick casts and to soak up the great warm temperature. Really just messing around chatting with a friend. A real quick trip and nothing serious but still ended up catching a decent brown trout casting a rapala (rainbow pattern). The trout ended up being pan fried and made a great dinner that night with some sautéed onions and a cold one.  Tight Lines All!.....George

Spent most of the weekend with Bill fixing up the trailer and prepping up my boat for the upcoming season. I wanted to test the gas outboard after it sat in storage all winter and just test it all out. All the local lakes and ponds were still iced up. My cabin fever did not help, so I drove to Plymouth in search of open water and dumped the boat in Long Pond. Everything was functioning well and I had about a little over an hour to fish before heading out. The state has not stocked any trout yet so I was hoping for a hold-over. I did end up getting one rainbow trout working a deep diver rapidly. It’s slim body indicated to me that it was surely a hungry hold-over. I did not have much time to fish and it was rather a tease that I was not able to fish longer but the boat and trailer functioned well and I scored my first rainbow of the year. Tight Lines All!.....George

I've attached a couple of the nicer catches of 2009. The pickerel is 23 1/2", 3 lbs 6 oz, Caught on Thanksgiving day. The Largemouth Bass 20" 3 lbs 15 oz, I think was the following weekend at A1. - Mark

Nice job Mark and keep them coming.

Hey George. I attached a couple of pictures from the Berkshires on Monday. Still 20 inches of ice. Should be safe for a while. I managed to get a nice 34 inch, 10 pounder on one of the 8 inch dead shiners from my freezer. A new personal best for me. So it was a great day. Talk to ya later. –Steve

It seems the big pike bite turned on this weekend, some giant pike were caught. Unfortunately I missed out on that bite again. I still had some fun though, I got out on the ice with little Ian and Ray. I guess little Ian had so much fun with the perch last time he was anxious for more ice fishing. Kids going to grow up and be a fishing animal. Anyway me and Ray took him to another near by lake plug pond. Action was slow but we all managed to land some crappie. We got about 5 crappie total. Ian had fun icing his first crappie, I did too pulling one up on the jigging rod. We fished during a derby there were a million guys out on this heavily stocked pond and not a single salmon or trout was caught. The largest fish of the derby was a 4 pound plus Largemouth. Pretty sad results but still a fun day. Take a kid fishing!

Ok, here’s my first ever non fishing report (sort of) but figured some folks might enjoy reading it. Saturday I decided to give up a ice fishing road trip for pike and instead headed down to the Bears Den fly fishing show in Taunton MA. I did so for two reasons one to pick up some new flies for the upcoming season and the second and primary reason to meet the legend himself Larry Dahlberg. Before the popular cable shows “Hooked” or “River Monsters” Mr. Dahlberg had already been there and done that. Host and TV personality of my favorite fishing program “THE HUNT FOR BIG FISH”. From musky to peacock bass, tarpon and everything in-between. He’s traveled the globe and done it all and in my opinion is the ultimate big fish hunter & multi-species angler on television. I’m a big fan of the show and it is one of very few fishing programs I find entertaining or get into. The show targets big fish you’ve heard of, to exotic and strange fish most have never even seen or heard of. Which I find separates itself from the others shows. I’m just a local weekend angler and don’t mean to ruffle any feathers here, but I find most of the other fishing television hosts to be a bit tired and boring, week after week catching the same old tired species of fish or worse an infomercial masked as a fishing show. Understandably they all need a few sponsors to exist and pay some bills but then there is just plain selling out. You know the ones with all those patches on their shirts, making a big deal of catching 1 pound bass and every other word coming out of their mouth seems to be a product promotion. Those type of shows I find myself ignoring. Which I guess is why I’m such a fan of Mr. Dahlberg’s program because it’s different and refreshing. You never know what he will be chasing or what angling method he will be using during his pursuits. In my past I have ignored opportunities to meet other TV fishing personalities, simply because I’d rather be on the hard water than attend a show or my lack of interest. But in this case I made an exception and was glad I made the drive to meet Mr. Dahlberg. I’m not sure if my first impression on him came off a bit quirky or not but when I met him he was friendly, gracious, entertaining and a bit funny. I got to learn how to tie his classic fly the “Dahlberg Diver” by the man himself and during that demonstration he had mentioned that he had never written an article on how to tie his classic fly but that he had found and read articles on how his own fly should be tied, he then pointed out that they were all incorrectly written and the crowd, including myself got a chuckle out of it. It was a good time. Scott and the guys over at Bears Den did a great job organizing this free show. I also picked up some fly’s I look forward to testing out this spring on my favorite local waters. Next Saturday I hope to spend it outdoors though on the hard water, if it doesn’t melt with all the rain we have been getting lately that is. Tight Lines! 

CJ found our website and was kind enough to send us some pictures. He went for a walk down a Cape Cod pond and got into this beautiful and colorful winter brook trout. He’s also shared with us some great pictures of some of the landlocked salmon he has taken in seasons past. Great fish!

I went out to Lee again. The ice was 16 inches thick. Winter in the Berkshires is great. I did a little better than the last time. I managed to catch a 30 inch 6lbs 10oz Pike on a freshly killed 9 inch shiner. I am starting to become a believer in dead bait for Pike. Hopefully I will see some Pike in the teens or bigger this season. There is still time. Talk to ya later. -Steve

Well I finally got back out on the ice again. Saturday I originally wanted to target big pike in CT. A good friend of mine Ray though wanted to join me ice fishing but also take 6 year old Ian with us (his future step son). Ray wanted to stay a bit more local, near his fiancés house so he could take Ian and drop him off when he got to cold or bored. As anyone knows who’s ever fished for pike it can be real slow fishing, flagless days are not uncommon, especially when fishing large baits. It was little Ian's first time ice fishing and we wanted to take him somewhere were we had a shot at some numbers of fish, regardless of species. I couldn’t say no, so I postponed my pike hunt for another time. Kids get bored so easy and don’t care what kind of fish they catch. So me and Ray settled on a nearby lake that also happened to be stocked back in the fall with some brood stock salmon. So there was still a small chance at something big being caught. Little Ian was a trooper and stuck it out most of the day and kept busy scooping out holes and keeping them ice free, playing with the shiners and chasing yellow perch flags. The yellow perch kept us busy between all of us I lost count how many we caught. I had a couple of runs that took out some line but nobody home when I when for the hook sets. Ray had what was undoubtedly a salmon on that had the spool screaming but when he set the hook it came unbuttoned, better luck next time buddy. The spot we wanted to set up on was already taken when we got there and it gave up two salmon for one of the guys in that group. A 5 and 6 pounder, those guys seemed nice and were fun talking too. The spot where Ray had his screaming run was the spot closest to where they were set up. The salmon may not have co-operated for us but the yellow perch action was allot of fun and it was also a blast introducing the little guy to ice fishing. Tight Lines and Take a kid fishing! 

Happy New Year everyone. It's hard  to believe as I write this entry into this digital journal that it's 2010 already, time sure does fly by. This is my 3rd year sharing pics, stories, misspellings and improper grammar......LOL!  Well it was my first time out this new year ice fishing and a great beginning of another season. I wanted to target something big, so I debated between going after pike or (broodstock) Atlantic Salmon. I decided to chase the salmon and boy I’m glad I did. My friend Bill and Bert joined me. I set my 5 tip ups along with Bert's 5 tip ups. I rigged all the tilts with medium shiners, 3 feet under the ice. Some say these brood Atlantic's are not line shy but I believe sometimes they will drop the bait if they feel a steel leader attached to their morsel of food. Not wanting to take a risk and knowing big salmon are far and few. I spent the night before tying on some 10 lbmonofilament line leaders and experimented with down sizing my hooks to a size 8 (blood red). Without the fish feeling a bulkier hook my theory was it would be less likely to spit out the bait. I hoped that I would get the opportunity to test this very simple theory. After only 2 wind flags in about 3 hours of fishing I was starting to have my doubts. Finally another flag went up in a spot I had felt confident in and this time the spool was screaming line. I had planned on letting Bert take it but I warned him it was a real big salmon and that it would have to be played out carefully or the mono line would break or the hook would come unbuttoned and that he would not just be able to yank it out like the small bass and pickerel he's used to forcing up from the one other ice fishing trip he did years back. After hearing that and being inexperienced with ice fishing herelinquished the tip up back to me again. When I put the breaks on him I knew with certainty it was a good one. I played it for a bit and it made a handful of runs. Each time it got near the hole it would bolt again. Because the fish was making so many runs I had Bert still help out by holding up the trap to help keep the line from getting caught on any of the ice crevices. Bill filmed some of the battle and also helped undo a tangle on the spool right before the fish made another run. The head started to get near the hole again and I did not want to risk lifting the fish straight up and breaking the line so I gaffed the fish to get her out of the hole. These old retired broodstock fish are stocked for put and take and don't hold over for very long. I estimated the fish between 10-12 pounds. A couple hours after landing the fish I got her on a certified scale at a local bait shop and she officially weighed in at 10 lbs 5 ounces. She probably shed some ounces from just the blood alone she lost. She probably would have went 10 and a half pounds had she been weighed immediately after capture. Regardless the fish more than met the weight qualification for a state pin award. A great fish to start the new fishing season with. I hope to get a video up of this catch soon. Thanks again to Bill and Bert, not sure I would have landed it without your help guys. Can't wait to get back on the ice again, Tight Lines All!