report from sommerville amehlia dam - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

ridler72 · 04-06-2003, 05:55 PM

arrived @ dam about 2pm. brought lightweight rod with penn reel 8lb test. I decided to go with 4" bunkercolor plastic shad /with 1/2 ounce jigby storm. fished about 1 hour with wind @ back along the east wall and dock. Results were a couple of small schoolies that were very unhealthy. They had dark underbellys and most likely holdovers. Peter (from Fishfanatics Everett ma) showed up and friend. Both caught a couple as well. Apeared to be in better shape then the two I caught previous. Water temp still way down but action none the less. Well that is my 2 cents. till then tight lines gentlmen. Any reports on herring ladder in the cape?

Notaro · 04-06-2003, 10:58 PM

schoolies in somersville?

ridler72 · 04-06-2003, 11:01 PM

yes that's my report. Do you fish the dam?

Notaro · 04-06-2003, 11:04 PM

no, but i would like to try there with someone who knows the area well.

ridler72 · 04-06-2003, 11:20 PM

its a great spot when the season first starts and it gets slim when the weather heats up. Every year a school of bottle nose dolphins chase schools of herring up the mystic to the dam and then disappear. I have yet to see but some reliable oldtimers have witnessed. Could be this week or next its hard to say. The dam is my favorite spot for easy access and quick action for some biggies. Fishing the low-tide has been most productive for me and many others. Snagging live alwives and letting them ride on the baitrunner is lots of fun. I am down there often. You wont find me down there with snow. I will battle rain for the prize! Fishing along structure down there is the key for most. But, then again some large ones have been caught within arms 20 ft off shore. Casting to where the boats enter the locks is very nice. Also when ocean side @ lockes is dead. Anywhere on the mystic river, especially the end, (alwives laying eggs) is very glorious when alwives are moving in. Again, this is all from my experience and have been fishing dam for 10 years.

Notaro · 04-07-2003, 02:00 AM

cool, man. can you show me around there?

Scotch Bonnet · 04-07-2003, 08:19 AM

He just did.

redlite · 04-07-2003, 09:15 AM

Be careful fishing there. Can turn into Urban combat fishing when it gets packed........

TheSpecialist · 04-07-2003, 09:25 AM

For those new to the sport, in the fishing world it is considered rude to constantly invite yourself, ask for spots, and ask a million questions. Others have been let go from the site for similar things. Here are some general rules to follow:
1. Before you ask a question do a search using the site's search feature. If you still have an outstanding question, send a nice pm to the person from your searches, who seems to know the most of what you are talking about.

2. Guys will post reports here all of the time. These guys fish everywhere from Jersey to Maine, and everywhere in between. Most of these guys are just letting you know , in general, that there are fish around a general area. This does not mean that they want all 1100 members of Striped -Bass .com coming over to fish with them. Also keep in mind that many here worked very hard to figure places out, some it took years to gain the knowledge they have. That is part of the fun of fishing. People here will not hold your hand, show every place under the sun, and every which way to fish those spots. They are doing you a service by letting you know that the fish are around. Now you can go and find them.

3. As a relative begginer to fishing, you should focus on where it is you want to fish. Instead of 100 spots around Boston, The Cape Cod Canal, Weekapaug RI etc. Learn the areas you fish the most around the Boston area and maybe a couple of new spots around there.

4. If you mostly dunk bait, learn to fish with an eel, a plug, or live herring. Use the search feature here to get you started. Also before asking a question, be sure of what you are asking.

5. The more that you jump onto post, and are unproductive, the less people are going to pay attention to you. Also the less they would want to share a spot, or take you out fishing with them.

Please keep these points in mind. It is only to help you in your quest for knowledge here. Please also note that we will have 4 get togethers called the Four Leg contest. They are Catch & Release tournaments with the members of this site. We will start a post when it is time and let you know when they are going to be. This would be the best oppourtunity for you to meet some people from the site, learn some techniques, and maybe even a spot or two.

mooncusser · 04-07-2003, 09:28 AM

They are Harbor Porpoise, not bottlenose dolphins that school up the herring. If you ever see a bottlenose dolphin there, call the NE Aquarium cause one of theirs escaped.

fishsmith · 04-07-2003, 10:10 AM

Specialist

"Now you can go and find them"
This is all the advise you need, if you can cast, you're 90% the way there.

Steve K · 04-07-2003, 11:14 AM

I was going to check out the dam on Saturday because I was at Home Depot but it was raining too hard. Thanks for the report.

Big Vern · 04-07-2003, 11:56 AM

Amen Specialist!

Thanks for setting the dude straight. Your post should be incorporated into the new user agreement.

As for the dam, it's definitely urban fishing, but still a good early and late season spot. It's also a great place to see some advanced googan fishing as well. Last year, I saw a guy reeling with the spinning reel on top throwing poppers with a two ounce egg sinker above the leader. Needless to say, he wasn't catching.

redlite · 04-07-2003, 12:04 PM

Yeah, last year was fishing for a bit on the parking lot side (usually walk around behind Target). Big dude gets out with one of those 15 foot Cell Phone towers and proceeds to cast two chunks of herring attached to the trebble hooks on a popper with a bobber about the size of a baseball. He did this over my head standing on the embankment behind me. Took about two seconds for me to pull it all in for him as he cursed at me in Swahili. Did I mention he was a real big dude? Urban Combat Fishing..........Way to do it is a small boat and just wait for them to open the locks. That turns into Covert Fishing to avoid being shot at by the guards working in the Dam. The quad 50 machine guns they have there keep that to a minimum....

Christian · 04-07-2003, 12:10 PM

memories of the dam, sewage outflow #128. anybody ever notice that?

Big Vern · 04-07-2003, 12:36 PM

Never noticed, but I would never take something for the table from that spot.

Notaro · 04-07-2003, 01:38 PM

d'oh, damn, i must have made an ass out of myself. you are right, billy. thanks for informing me.

ridler21, my apologies for inviting myself. sorry, man. i didnt mean it.

Notaro · 04-07-2003, 02:01 PM

let me rephase that sentence.

"alright, i'm sorry for... how do i put this way? disrespectful to you and turning all of you people off. i apologize for embarassing myself and such. and i hope that you can forgive me. so this won't happen again. i understand what it's like to be irriated by a beginner because i have a cousin or a friend who acted like me now. those kind of people like me don't benefit a learning experience from whining and turning people off. im not asking for anything, but just wanted to let you know what i did was wrong."

JohnR · 04-07-2003, 02:15 PM

Notaro - don't take this the wrong way but I think what people are saying is that you need to start paying your dues. It's OK to ask questions but you really need to do some of the leg work on your own, not off the boards. A lot of the people here have learned as a combination of reading, friends, shops, but #1 is time put in. You are asking an awfull lot of people to short circuit that learning curve for you. What you should be able to get from places like this is a chance to not repeat alot of the mistakes we've made along the way. Only you can truly teach yourself how to fish. We can help you along the way but you need to do the work and pay the dues too. Does that make a little more sense?

Paying your dues means reading the books, fishing a few spots and learning them and working them. "Spots" & "where can I find big fish" seem to be the most prevalent questions asked. Unfortunately spots can get burned pretty quickly and I also want you to tell me where the big fish are

...

This is just one tool for you to use as an angler. The biggest tool is time spent on the water with the skinny end of the rod pointed away from you. The more you do that, the more often your line will be tight by a bass...

Notaro · 04-07-2003, 02:19 PM

i understand, john. it makes senses to me. i haven't fished for a while because i'm stranded in DC. i will do the leg works when i get back home. i want to pay my dues, but give me some time until may. but as far as for my prerevelent questions go, i won't do that to anyone...like a serect spot and such. i was impulsive.

off the subject, johnr, do you know any good book that have an extensive info on using plugs and rigging them? my university library is extremely outdated. i will plan to buy gene b's book about cape cod.

TheSpecialist · 04-07-2003, 03:05 PM

Notaro, sorry I put your name at the front of my reply. It was meant for some others as well. I have edited my post. I am glad you see what I meant though, and you did not embaress yourself. Now lets talk books, I have many.

The complete book of Striped Bass fishing, by Nick Karas This is a good technical book. It does'nt go into todepth, just basics.

The complete Surfcaster, by C. Boyd Pfeiffer Same basics, and touches on the Pendulum casting technique

The guide to Surf Fishing Volume 1 A collection of articles from The Fisherman Many good articles reprinted from the fisherman

Striped Bass Fishing: Saltwater strategies, from Saltwater sportsman magazine. Another good book that touches on basics.

Sight Fishing for Striped Bass, by Alan Caolo This is a god book for fishing flats style, and if you would like to fly fish, this book is geared towards it. This guy likes to fish the flats on the Cape, and RI.

That should get you going pretty goo. I also recommend a subscription to either On the Water magazine, or the Fisherman.

Don't forget the trip at the middle of May or beginning of June.

Notaro · 04-07-2003, 03:09 PM

are those books avialable in stores?
right, thanks for reminding me, but i can't make it on the first week of may. i will return to MA on may 10. the end of may sounds good. and don't forget the rod/reel combo that you allowed me to sample. what town do you live? how do you want us to meet? we will talk more when i return to MA.

TheSpecialist · 04-07-2003, 03:20 PM

Notaro the Saltwater sportsman , and the one by The fisherman magazine were from Walmart or SportsAuthority. All of the others came from Borders Books.

Notaro · 04-07-2003, 03:23 PM

oh, yeah, i subscribe to saltwater sportsman, but they are all about fishing on the boat. i do subscribe other magazines. i could use thier tips if i had a boat, but apparently, i don't. however, i only read any articles for future trip planning.

Big Vern · 04-07-2003, 03:29 PM

I highly recommend StriperSurf by Frank Daigneualt, Reading the Water by Post, and L.L. Bean's Guide to FlyFishing for Striped Bass. All are very informative, and the L.L. Bean book is GREAT for striper foods, habitats, and overall behavior. Very informative for everyone, not just the fly fisher.

hooked · 04-07-2003, 03:31 PM

Notaro, I've got a copy of Striped Bass Fishing: Saltwater Strategies that I can let you borrow. It's a hardcover book not the magazine.

If you are interested send me a PM. All that I ask is that you send it back when you are done reading it.

Canalman · 04-07-2003, 05:18 PM

Notaro...

Get yourself a map that shows the coastline... any river mouth, inlet or salt pond is worth a shot. A lot of great info is available to you by simply reading posts on this site as far as equip, lures, bait etc. As Specialist said... we work hard for our spots... but no spot is secret to the observant angler. Don't be afraid to try and fail we have all walked 2 miles to find a sand choked shallow inlet that didn't produce or walked a beach with no change or structure. It's all part of the game... we all want you to be successful, but if we all gave up our spots we'd be throttled by the others that frequent them (right Bob, Greg??). Stripers are easy to find and when you experiment with different lures, baits, retrieves you will find spots, lures and techniques that work. Get your feet wet (and legs and arms and head for that matter). The fish are in the water... you will realize how special a spot becomes when you find it and learn to make it produce under all conditions on your own.

-Dave

Notaro · 04-07-2003, 05:23 PM

i will, dude. i understand. i will do that.

redcrbbr · 04-08-2003, 08:18 PM

there has to be some smokin fishing down there about now natoro.. get a rod and hit the potomic or any of the hundreds of rivers and streams down there... bring a camera too!

Notaro · 04-08-2003, 08:22 PM

no time for that. well, im going on a trip next saturday. so hoepfully, i will post some pictures.