[bart]

My girlfriend and I split at the end of May after being together for almost 3 years. From June through mid October I fished my nuts off to help cope and it ended up being my best season in 7 years. 85% of my time was spent in RI with the other 15% at the Canal.

June through July was a numbers game in RI for me. TONS of small fish with some 13-18# fish mixed in, all on plugs, day and night. I went back to fishing (dead) eels in Aug and made a move to a spot that hadn't produced in years for me, and I hit the mother load. In a 4 night span during the new moon, I had countless fish between 20-30#s, with a handful of fish between 35-38#s. The only fish I kept during that stretch and all season for that matter was a 35# fish I couldn't revive. I released 2 others that were bigger, but never got a weight or length and I'm fine with that. After that stretch, I made a run to the Canal and stuck a couple fish between 28-30#s one night jigging the big shad.

I went into a "big fish" slump in September, but the fishing was still great in RI. Albies and monster blues were a blast to catch from some of my favorite rocks. The weather was incredible as well.

Started getting after bass again when Joaquin was moving up the coast. Was fortunate enough to get in on some of the best fishing I've ever experienced in RI in my life the days following the storm. Again, countless 20-30# fish from the surf, all on pencils. Truly epic fishing. That bite died out, but I was still able to find some 25-30# fish after in multiple locations, again, all on pencils. Staying on schools of pogies in the Lower bay or the South Shore was the key to my success this fall. All of the fish I caught had shoulders, were heavy, and were loaded with bait. Some true freight trains. Even the schoolies!

Overall, I have absolutely no complaints about this season. The bait situation was out of this world, like a scene out of National Geographic at times. And it's still going. Yesterday my buddy and I found some fish that were on pogies. He landed one about 25#s on a TonyO polaris and I got absolutely smoked by a fish that never gave me a chance to set the hook on it. So, no this season, is not over. Far from it. But I've been going like crazy since June. I'm tired and ready for it to be over at this point. Hope everyone has a safe and fun end to the year. Tight lines.