In the spring , hours of day light and temperatures , stimulate the migration of stripers north. These same things also stimulate other spring related happening. One thing the is a pretty reliable indicator of timing of the fish is the appearance of certain spring flowers.

This picture is an Almond tree. Its called Hall's (or Hal's) Hearty Almond.

This tree is usually the first to flower in the spring. This year with the weird April weather , everything is popping at once but in a normal April , this tree will flower about a week or two before almost anything. Its flowering correlates very well with the appearnce of fresh run fish. It also correlates well to when you can usually start to catch fish in certain ocean spots that are in the 24 to 30 inch range. Before that , you can get the 1 inch rats.

Anyway , in addition to it being a full color advertisement that the fish are here , its a beautiful tree. the almosnd you get are edible. I never "harvest " them and I never have roasted any but I do sometimes pick a few and break through the peach like covering and eat the almond inside. Just raw like that , it tastes like someone put a few drops of Amoretto on your tongue. Its just a little burst of flavor.

So what other spring things do you use to tell you its time for the striped fish?

Forgot to add that right next to it on the right side of the picture is a cherry tree. its just getting little green buds so you have an idea about how far ahead of most trees this almond tree blooms.

Everything is popping open here as well. Trees seem to be three week ahead, so is the water temps.
The time to fish up here, is usually when the Dogwood flowers. That's usually around the beginning of June. We'll see what happens if this warmth holds up.

Bikini's
:uhuh::uhuh:

Bikini's
:uhuh::uhuh:

The smaller the better :) but to me that's a little later in the season (maybe cow time) not a sign of the first fresh run fish. :) .

I typically start around the new moon in May or some time around the 15th, whichever comes first.

As for nature's indicators, forsythia is a good one and like all other plant life, it requires X amount of heating degree days to kick it into flowering mode.

This is what I rely on...

Conditions at BUZM3 as of
(12:00 pm EDT)
1600 GMT on 04/08/2010: 46.8F

The smaller the better :) but to me that's a little later in the season (maybe cow time) not a sign of the first fresh run fish. :) .

Have you seen how early the bikini's appear at sororities on campus......long before 1st fish.:uhuh:

You are probably referring to the beach bikini!

I am lazy so I rely on two things.

1. OTW fishing reports, plus internet threads on S-B.:biglaugh:

2. Squid boats invading Vineyard Sound.

:)

lilacs, water temp, pics of fish

How about when I feel the strike on the line?:smash:

Or I could wait around and wait for someone or something else to tell me when it's time. (like my brother and cousin)

Nothing beats good old fashion "first hand experience"!

When I had any discipline what so ever , I had a firm plan based on the calender and very slight adjustments by keeping my ears open.

St Patricks Day- dinks at well known places both east and west of bay.
April 1 spread effort to famous hole and bars
april 15 start the whole ordeal of herring (lots of fun but big PITA as far as procurring and keeping the buckies alive)
May 1 Try some eels along with the herring and plastic.
May 15 , anything goes.

However , many people do not want to "waste their time" by going when pickings are scarce. I never considered fishing anytime as a "waste of Time" but many people do.

One funny thing was that to me , the herring ordeal was such a PITA that when you switched to just fishing with a plug or jig bag , it all seemed very easy. I guess its like how good your head feels after you stop banging it against the wall. :)

I second the Forsythia.....and right now mine is pretty near full bloom!

http://www.gardenersnet.com/flower/pics/lilac25.jpg

Amount of %%#^$%# workload increases just before fishing starts :wall:

When the cars are covered in yellow pollen and she comes over to wash the car.............:)

The smaller the better :) but to me that's a little later in the season (maybe cow time) not a sign of the first fresh run fish. :) .

They were out on wollaston beach yesterday, almost crashed the bike a few times.

And now to top it off I'm covered in pollen and I just can't get it off me without professional help.

For me it's when the green buds show up on the trees. It's definitely a week or so early this year. That's when the BIG lakers are caught at Wachusett Reservoir. That's my Spring thing, not schoolie stripers.

Unfortunately the 'res is flooded this year and there's little shoreline, and none in some of the hotspots.

Just when the leaves start to pop green like Reebok said. Take a look around right now.:devil2:Not all schoolies, mostly keepers too if you know the right spot.

When the cars are covered in yellow pollen and she comes over to wash the car.............:)

Hey ,what's my girlfriend doing washing your car??

When you guys start posting pictures..:rotf2:
around Memorial day I start seeing descent fish.