I learned a lot this year. I fished many new places, Cutty, Block, Gansett, the Tail, and I made some great new friends from the board.
As has been the case for the past 4 years, my first fish was caught the first week of April. it was a nice fat 24#er on a pencil popper. That spot only produced for 2 more trips, as we received a bunch of rain and the water quickly became unfishable.
Next up was the run on the CT river. As has been the trend the past few seasons, the herring supply was nearly non-existant and the fish were very hard to find. I only broke 30#'s on 1 fish, but most were in the 20# class into June. My fishing partners and I were forced to really hunt to find the concentrations of fish. As a result, I feel we all became even better fishermen. I even dragged Krispy up here to show him what all the buzz is about. Now he understands.
Now came the learning part of my season. I hooked up with a guy as addicted to this sport as much as I am, and one of the best teachers I could have possibly met. I learned a lot from this guy, and together we did some damage in Narragansett. Thanks GF for all you taught me this year!
As the fall snuck up on me, I had plans to fulfill two of my surfcasting goals; fish Cuttyhunk and Block Island. As fate would have it, both of these firsts came within a 2 week fishing vacation I had planned. As many of you know from the pictures and reports I had when I returned, Cuttyhunk was amazing! The fish co-operated, and I learned about as much as anyone could possibly fit into a 4 day/3 night trip to the island. I also had the pleasure to finally put in some fishing time with Goose and get addicted to wetsuiting. My first trip to BLock was not quite as successful catching wise, but I also learned a bit about the island. I met a few more great guys from the site, and solidified a couple more close friendships in the process.
Back to the mainland of RI to finish off the fall. The fishing was pretty good on the mainland, but the Block Island bug had really bit me! I ended up taking 2 more trips out there, and had some pretty good success. SoCo filled up with bait as the days got shorter. I ran into pods of adult bunker and sea herring. This was the first time in a few years that I experienced consistant adult bunker blitzes in SoCo. It felt good to have a solid big bait supply to target.
The season began to fizzle out into November. I made a couple fruitless trips to RI, and began to persue other areas in search of bass. My last fish was caught just after Thanksgiving. Nothing quite like my first of the season, but I was happy to be still in the surf.
Overall, it was one of the most memorable seasons I have ever had thanks to all the people I met and things I learned. To all the fellow striper addicts I met and fished with, I can't wait to do it again next season!
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