elcapitanmas
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Posts posted by elcapitanmas
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thats one hell of a mirror, congrats!
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With the cancellation of the TOC in Hartford, I scrambled to schedule a last minute vacation to the lakehouse and the St lawrence river. I asked my good friend fran (damn yankee) if he was interested in joining me. He agreed and we made our plans. Its always great fishing with him and I hope to be as resilient as him when I get to be his age.
I left Ct after a 10hr work day and made the 5 hour journey north arriving just after 1am. Fran planned to meet me Sunday morning and was right on time. We decided on a "relaxing" day of fishing in the backyard and setup shop for the afternoon. Not much activity made for a nice session of sitting and shooting the breeze. Most times the bay is only calm one or two nights a week, so we welcomed the stillness. We pulled in the lines and headed into town for dinner at a restaurant I had never been to. The blue heron, some GREAT food and KILLER homemade meatloaf. After a very filling dinner we returned to the house to setup for the night just before a beautiful sunset.
Fran was first up to bat with a BEAUTIFUL 23lb mirror, and shortly after a 20lb common. I followed suit with a 24lb common, and an 18/19lb fish now known as kinky (named by IIan) This fish has had a rough life but was just as hungry as the rest of them. It looked like its spine was a couple inches off by the base of the tail. As it swam away it used the front of its body to swim rather than the rudder and looked pretty funny. With a couple fish to the bank we retired for the night and dreamt of saint lawrence pigs the following day.
Before Leaving monday morning, I prebaited the backyard again for another evening session. We arrived at the st lawrence to find fish rolling right where we were going to setup for the day. With no baiting ahead of time, it was a pretty slow day to say the least. Rain showers passed through as the day went on. Fran in his normal fashion took care of business right at the end of the day with a 33lb5oz beauty. With the weather constantly changing we baited up for the following day and headed home for some dinner.
Back at the house I decided to check the end of the dock to see if any fish were hanging around or had been through to eat the free offerings. To my surprise when I reached the end of the dock, I spooked at least 15/20 big fish from the very last section of dock. The baiting had worked and I couldn't wait to get back from dinner. Into the house to wash up, I walked out to the dock again 5 minutes later to throw some more particles out and low and behold the fish were ALLREADY back in. This time I spotted a few bigger fish. I couldn't believe how many were out there just waiting. Usually when I spot fish from the dock its 2 or 3, with a couple others out a few feet further.
We returned to the blue heron for another great dinner with an appetizer of lobster salad on toasted rye with melted swiss over the top. Delicious is an understatement . It was too dark to see any fish when we got back to the house, but as the rain started to fall I setup and gently tossed my lines 6 and 10 ft out into the "highways" that the fish travel. Fran decided to just watch as the walk down was getting slippery and treacherous. I've never had much success with maize in the backyard, but it had worked the night before and I stuck with monster maize from new world carp. I had picked banana for the evening session and as the rain got heavier I retreated to the deck to join Fran under a brolly he had setup. I poured a couple celebratory snifters and just as I sat down to relax......I'm sure you can guess what happened....... I scrambled across the slippery dock jumping over the dog to a screaming drag. I set into another quality fish that tipped the scales just under 27lbs. I picked up another fish at 22lbs just before heading in for the night.
Back on the Larry in the morning with fish rolling and a rainy forecast AGAIN. I setup my new resistance bivvy just as the DOWNPOURS began and was glad I had it with me. Plenty of room for 2 guys and it kept us nice and dry (aside from being soaked because of the 80 degree heat and humidity) Im not sure what happened to the fall time temps, but as the rain rolled off it got HOT again. Fran was first again and after a treacherous battle with rocks and rebar on the shore, we immediately released the beast of about 20lbs.
The rest of the day was mine and I picked away at low and mid 20lb fish throughout the afternoon, the biggest going just under 27 at 26lbs15oz which fell for a combo of monster maize and cukk corn.
What stuck out about the first few days is that we just weren't seeing the schools of smaller fish that had given us constant action during previous trips. The majority of the fish landed were 20lbs or more with only 2 lightweights at 18/19lbs. On the way home fran and I stopped at yet another new restaurant to me called the coffee cove and for a tuesday night the place was HOPPING. The dinner special was turkey dinner......2 of those please. A cup of their homemade bacon cheddar soup hit the spot. The stuffing was a homemade recipe and for the third night in a row we returned to the house completely stuffed for some fishing and relaxation. I was a bit slow to setup due to the turkey, but as the wind began to pick up, I decided to throw a catfish line out. Catfish run big in the bay and my pb in previous years was 22lbs. Shrimp is the bait of choice and a half hour after casting out the rod was bent over and the drag SCREAMING. I yelled to fran "i think its just a bullhead" then it started to swim away from me and the battle was on. It was DEF not a bullhead and the channel cat came to the boga at 19lbs, that was all I needed and the rods were put away for the night as the waves got bigger and the wind got worse.
Well thats the half way point of the trip, stay tuned for part 2. I have a "couple" pictures somewhere here........
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your on a roll man!
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I leave the rods, pod, mat and net for very last. Last weekend JUST after setting up I got a screamer, and realized the net was 50 yds away, turned the baitrunner back on, scrambled to the net and took care of buisness. You won't forget that lesson!
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great slideshow jerome!
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NICE! I may see you up there, but if I don't, GOOD LUCK!
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great vid man, its funny what a recap does for fisherman. pm me if you ever want some assistance with putting stuff like that together
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makes sense to have it on the larry ONLY because after all the bait that gets dumped in over 5 days on an incredible river................. Just a thought. I would think that after baiting literally TONS of bait, there might be a few fish around. Of course my opinion is biased since I'll be up there anyway
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part three of our 2 day trip
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itll be up later tonight, and part 2 has most of the fishing footage on it............
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Nice job sniper, I am truely jealous of the scenery you fish around!
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skeet, canada is "just across" the river, and the border is pretty close as well. Any of the tour boats that leave from these towns are subject to passport checks. Some of the border patrol guys stopped down to see what was going while we were fishing.
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Its been awhile since I had anything to really tell a story. The past few weekends have been relativly slow with a couple "relaxing" sessions on the water. Labor day weekend brought about last minute plans to make a trip back up to the saint lawrence river. A phone call to Captain Ahab, Welshie G and Greg confirmed the crew for the weekend and everything was set in motion. I finished the day at work friday and met up with Ahab and Welshie in Manchester. With hurricane earl expected to make land fall friday night we headed away from the storm that turned out to be just a fart in the wind.
Theres something to be said about the ride UP to the lakehouse. Its about 5-6 hours depending on traffic and gives you plenty of time to think about the trip ahead. By the 4th hour your contemplating what the hell it is your doing and WHY IN THE WORLD YOU WOULD DRIVE SO FAR TO FISH! We eventually made it to the house and went right to sleep. Planning to get up at 5 am it was more like a nap, but it was def. needed.
5 am saturday morning saw a VERY groggy crew of three ready to do battle with the river. En route to Clayon NY we drove through severe downpours, clear skies and wind gusts that would make "hurricane" earl look like a leaf blower. Arriving at our spot I was unsure what to think and wondered what the weekend held in store for us. While setting up a few storms blew through with an INCREDIBLE rainbow the ended RIGHT IN FRONT OF US. What does it mean? I tend not to put too much thought into natures "wonders" but had a funny feeling of how things were going to turn out.
With no oppurtunity to prebait we planned on spending a full day on the river and it would prove to be one of the most EXTREME fishing sessions I have ever been a part of. As the storms cleared out, the wind moved in. Blowing straight off the lake; by the time they were in front of us the rollers (waves) were 5-8ft with sustained winds of 30+mph and gusts of 40+.
We sat until noon before the first fish came to the bank. Somewhere in the high teens, G was on the board. Shortly after, Ahab had a double spaced out PERFECTLY. He landed the first fish, and as soon as it was on the mat, he fought and landed the other. Twin 24lb fish, 2 new personal best carp for him AT THE SAME TIME! The only movement my lines made through the afternoon were from the giant waves crashing over them. We witnessed NUMEROUS nutcases (mostly bass fisherman) braving the elements and almost capsizing their boats as the day went on and thanked god we were on the bank. Steve eventually had ANOTHER double and another PB 25lbs and 18lbs. We ended the day early but not before throwing out a TON of maize (corn) and particles (various bird seeds).
That night we sat around the dinner table feasting on a complete RIP OFF of a meal from a local pizza place. If your ever in Chaumont NY DO NOT ORDER FROM WISE GUYS PIZZA! The name should have said it all. We talked about what sunday would bring and all hoped that the winds would die down at least a little bit (15/16mph instead of 30)
Sunday morning, better rested we arrived at the same spot and immediatly began baiting the area. I threw my lines out before getting completely setup for the day, and within 1`minute my line was screaming off my reel. The rest of the day was mainly a blur because the action was NON STOP ALL DAY. We landed numerous fish of all sizes and everyone was catching. Greg had showed up at about 8 am and was into fish immediatly as well. Lots of fish were coming unbuttoned after a short fight and after switching to longer hooklengths and bigger hooks, we could only figure that the rough water was making the fish nuts and fight completely different than normal. The day turned out to be beautiful aside from the wind and saw some great fish on the bank including muddlers, Gs first larry mirror, a brace of high 20lb fish and pure chaos with the constant action. Pictures and video were taken and the paparatzi was ALL OVER. I'll never understand why someone would want to take pictures and or video of complete strangers and the fish they're catching. Numerous times I had to say excuse me as I stepped in to take a picture for the crew. At one point I turned around to see some lady trying to figure out how to operate my thousand dollar hd camera. She had taken it upon herself to pick it up off my chair and try to shoot video for us.
It was an EXHAUSTING day of fishing for ALL of us. We aptly named the 4 swims. Steve (ahab) was fishing vietnam. With the crazy wind all weekend he had trees and branches blowing on and at him the whole time. Gareth fished the "secret" swim, it was a little spot tucked away. You couldn't see his pod or rods the whole time. I fished the warsaw ghetto spot, concrete slabs facing all directions that I had to climb up and over MULTIPLE times. Greg fished the mountain, up nice and high he was in FULL view of the paparatzi.
A great weekend was had by a great crew, and I can't wait to get back up there again. There are numerous spots on the saint lawrence that are KNOWN carp spots. Its really nice when you can find your own and make it produce some serious numbers.
Working on the INCREDIBLE amount of video I have now, some really entertaining footage of the boats and the rough seas...........................
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would love to fish the event, but then I would be homeless
Will talk with you at the TOC about marshalling -
Well done! Can't wait to get down there next year
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I'll give ya $20
Oh and I'm drooling over both fish, that common is a CRACKA!
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you LUCKY DOG! that is a great trip and one that will be remembered for a LONG time. Gotta love having fish like that right in your backyard for a short time!
congrats to you and the lil man
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Great work gentlemen!
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great read, its tough when the youngins show ya how its done.
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brad was right on the money, another thing is that fish in brackish or tidal waters have a tougher mouth than still water fish that feed on "non threatening" food sources. Mussels, crabs etc etc have a tendency to not give up easy.
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There is NO DOUBT the Ct river is a WHOLE different ball game than most rivers, there are big fish to be had and challenges to overcome. ESPECIALLY in october. Gonna be a good one
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NICEEEEEEEEEEE, I feel a win coming on!
Ny vacation 2010
in Pictures, Stories & Video
Posted
Part 2......
Wednesday morning brought about an empty house aside from the smelly dog. Fran had headed north which I orginally planned to day, but with 5 days to go, I had to watch the vacation fund, and was expecting a visit from my brother and his salmon crew. I headed towards the st lawrence after breakfast and the conditions were fair. Small waves, a light breeze and no rain in sight. I decided to fish one rod with a grits pack and pva mesh combo. K1 pineapple ice cream boilies were on the menu for both the hookbait and the pva.
Some know the value of CAG and the "big picture" and I have learned over the years that we have one of the most diverse groups of hardcore carp anglers this side of the pond. Did I mention generous? A little off track, but nevertheless a important part of my trip/report. I had lost my partner for the TOC due to family emergency and John (zoomie) had stepped up to the plate. John and I had met briefly at baldwinsville, and I couldn't have gotten a better partner. We talked over the phone a couple times and had put together a SOLID gameplan for the TOC (which included packbait) John had said he would send me a sampler package to try out and see what worked. EVEN AFTER the TOC was cancelled, John still sent his "package" and it arrived just in time for my trip. Just another example of CAG members going above and beyond.
So back to the Larry, I fished a "euro paylake rig" and it accounted for half of my fish. Needless to say its a new favorite of mine. I had four fish throughout the day but being by myself I was okay with that. The swim can be dangerous and it is EXTREMELY dificult to land a fish by yourself. Once in the net, you have to climb back up a steep debris ridden bank to get a good picture and avoid having the fish flop onto damaging rocks. 4 fish to the bank, 4 unbuttoned in weeds/snags. Biggest fish of the day was 25lbs 5oz and I FINALLY caught a couple scrappers (i now regret writing this in my journal) One of course decided it was time to eat just as I was preparing to take pictures of the 25lbr.
I probably should have stayed later, but with no wind, I could only imagine what the backyard looked like. I setup at the house immediately and it was another night of flat glass water. The action was slow, no catfish and only one carp wanted my offerings. Just before it was in the net, the hook popped violently and almost sent me backwards off the dock.
Thursday was a MONSOON. I had checked the black river for my brother on my way to get a license and there seemed to be NO water coming over the dam in Dexter. There were however a few king salmon breaching (we call them moldie oldies) So with the rain, things looked good for him and his crew visiting for the weekend. I decided to setup my bivvy in the backyard and try to get some video done. I fished ALL day in the rain with only a double to show for it. Both fish were mid to high teens, but another one of those "scramble" stories. Im sitting in the bivvy trying to get a shot of the rain, and how dry it is, rod screams off, no biggie, net the fish, bring it up unhook and release it. I sit down to shoot another clip of the velcro rod holders while I rebait the rod and get another run.........I get to the end of the dock, greatttttt wheres the net? Up at the bivvy of course. All I had was the weigh sling, and after about 5 minutes I managed to somehow coerce the fish into the bag and carried it back up top.
Friday was another slow day with the weather getting even cooler, and I fished just the afternoon and evening at the house. I spent most of the day at the black river checking out the combat fishing scene. I watched as my brother and his buddy bruce hooked up with salmon on every third drift, making others around them look silly. My brother is a steelheader at heart but brings his friends up for the king run every year. The river that was moving NO water over the dam the day before was now RAGING! as you can see in the pictures. Back at the house I had 1 fish that night, a little backyard scrapper and made plans to head back to the larry saturday.
Saturday morning started out BEAUTIFUL, sunny skies, warm..........and then everything changed. The clouds came in and it got COLD. I hadn't dressed for the low temperatures but stuck it out most of the day. I had planned to stay for a while into the night, but couldn't handle the cold with just a long sleeve shirt. I picked away at smaller fish throughout the day, and headed home for sunset. Immediately the lines went out in the back with the same baits and about an hour later I was greeted to a screaming run (as I was in the house cooking dinner) Fish came to the scale at 24lbs 2 oz another backyard beauty. Headed inside shortly after to finish my 3rd book of the trip and rest for my sunday on the river. Its now 1030 sunday morning and I am headed to the st lawrence for my last session of the trip. Its been a great week and I can't wait to come back up. See if you can figure out my new favorite NON fishing picture............I think its my best so far this year.