Today I fished the Old Glory Outdoors Ice Fishing Tournament on Quaboag Pond.  This was the first time that I fished this body water.  This was also Old Glory Outdoors‘ first ice fishing tournament.

Social distancing on the ice was not an issue. Since the pond is relatively shallow with gradually sloping banks, the key to success was finding “deep” water.

I got my first flag within thirty minutes of setting up my Jack Traps tip-ups. Not a monst’ah fish. But! A fish is a fish. After unhooking and releasing this fish, the wind picked up and the bite died.

When I go ice fishing, I almost always see something new, unusual, or that defies explanation. This trip, was no no exception!

The relentless wind did not make me cold. My high-tech multi-layers kept me warm. The wind just made it uncomfortable to jig while monitoring my tip-ups via peripheral vision. When I fish Old Glory Outdoors‘ second annual ice fishing tournament next year, I will set up along a dropping contour with my new Eskimo QuickFish2 Pop-Up Portable Ice Fishing Shelter. Fish beware!

I went surf sharking recently. Prime time of year. Perfect tide. Optimal moon. But, the constant onshore wind swept in weed so thick that I had to reel in my presentation every 15 minutes to remove a wad of weed. Spending 15 minutes per weed wad was was cutting my fishing time in half! After the third weed wad, I decided to adopt a new weed management strategy.

I grabbed my rig and allowed the weed wad to slide away from the Tactical Anglers Power Clip tied to to my braided line. I then cut my braided line just above the Tactical Anglers Power Clip. Gravity pull the weed wad to my feet. I removed my Tactical Anglers Power Clip from my rig. I re-tied my Tactical Anglers Power Clip to my braided line and slipped my rig’s swivel onto the Tactical Anglers Power Clip. The entire process took 3 minutes!

If you are chunking the surf and have the misfortune of a wind-induced weed invasion, try this simple weed management method. Time is fish!

Striped bass swim in the Eastern and Western coasts of the continental United States of America. In Massachusetts, we are fortunate to have monst’ah strip’ahs. If you want to successfully target these large fish, then you need to start fishing less. More specifically, fish patterns. Saltwater fishing patterns are complex and inter-dependent. The first pattern to master is the “TOY-TOD-SOL-LUNAR” pattern.

June is a great time of year (TOY) for Massachusetts anglers because migrating striped bass collide with moving bait fish like mackerel, menhaden, squid, and herring.

I have fished from sunrise to sunset. Based on multi-year data from my fishing journal, I have hooked the most fish one hour before and two hours after sunrise and sunset. Hence, the best time of day (TOD) is around light transitions, which trigger striped bass into feeding.

Some anglers worship the New Moon and curse the Full Moon. Other anglers worship the Full Moon and curse the New Moon. I am not LUNAR-religious. I fish the New Moon and the Full Moon equally because they produce similar tides. I have had great success two days before and two days after the New and Full moons. My journal entries suggest that the Moon’s tidal effect is more critical to hook striped bass than the ambient light it produces.

The TOY-TOD-SOL-LUNAR pattern by itself is not enough! You need to apply this pattern to a structure that will attract and hold fish. A structures will hold more fish on the flood or the ebb. Keep a fishing journal to help you identify what tide produces best on your structures during the TOY-TOD-SOL-LUNAR pattern.

Fishing patterns will only hook monst’ah strip’ahs. To land them, you need exceptional gear like a St. Croix Mojo Surf rod (length: 11′ | Lure: 2 – 6 oz) and a water proof reel like a ZeeBaas reel, which has 40 lbs of drag and a 500 yard capacity for 50 lb braided line.

Last June I took the Five Frog Challenge with five solid body frogs. This June I took the Five Frog Challenge again, but this time, with five hollow body frogs.

I caught the first fish at 05:42 AM on the KVD Sexy Frog (2.5″, 5/8 oz).

I caught the second fish at 06:07 AM on the Teckel Sprinker Frog (2.75″, 5/8 oz).

I caught the third fish at 06:38 AM on the Livingston Lures Freddy B Frog (2 7/8″, 7/8 oz).

I caught the fourth fish at 08:14 AM on the BOOYAH Poppin’ Pad Crasher (2 1/4″, 1/2 oz).

I caught the fifth fish at 08:29 AM on the River2Sea Spittin’ Wa Frog (2 1/4″, 9/16 oz) .

This past June I went on my annual fishing trip to Cuttyhunk.  Every other trip that I have done on Cuttyhunk has been been during the new moon.  We could not have predicted what the full moon would bring.

On the first trip, we fished the southern part of the island at sunset.  The ocean was angry: waves, wind, and whitewater everywhere.  I waded through the chest breaking waves until I reached a good rock to cast from.  I fan casted the area with plugs and worked the entire water column.  The waves were relentless.  The only bump I got was from the wave that sent me flying into the surf.  The wind turned the ocean from angry to dangerous.  We moved to another spot.  At the new spot, my friends hooked into fish.  I dropped a good fish on a buoyant wide body black darter, which was ideal for the rocky shallow water.  When we got back to Pete’s Place, I noticed that my DIY Side Arm and $35.00 custom plug were gone!  It must have snapped off my belt during my unplanned re-entry into the surf.

On the second trip, we fished the northern end of the island at sunrise.  I forgot my main plug bag. My friends hooked and landed fish.  I struggled to get bumps with the limited plugs I had in my belt bag.  On the third trip, we fished the western coast of the island at sunset.  I hooked and landed the biggest and heaviest wad of weed north of Montauk!  My friends caught fish.  One fish was on a bucktail! Did the bucktail have a weed guard?  No.  He is that good!

On the last trip, I had all of my gear.  The wind was light.  The oncoming waves were predictable.  I waded through weedless water and climbed onto a flat top rock.  I snapped a floating blue/white Super Strike Little Neck Popper onto my leader’s 175 lb Tactical Angler’s clip.  I aimed towards Martha’s Vineyard and propelled my plug as far as I could with my 11′ custom rod.  I began my retrieve. Crank, crank…POP!  Crank, crank…POP!.  Crank, crank…FISH ON!  Schoolie.  I quickly unhooked the fish and made another long cast.  Crank, crank…POP!  Crank, crank…POP!  Crank, crank…FISH ON!  Keeper.  I quickly unhooked the fish and made another long cast and began my retrieve.  Crank, crank…POP! Crank, crank…POP!  Crank, crank…POP!  The fish moved.

At the second spot, I climbed onto a rock with a long slanted slope.  While struggling to keep my balance, I fan casted the area.  Crank, crank…POP!  Crank, crank…POP!  Crank, crank….BANG!  A fish blew up on my plug!!  After two nights and two days of extreme surfcasting, the adrenaline rush turned my bruised and fatigued body into Olympic grade!  I retrieved the plug back to my feet and casted in the same direction.  The plug landed past the blow up.  I started my retrieve.  Crank, crank…POP!  Crank, crank…POP!  Crank, crank…BLOW UP!  The fish broke the surface right in the path of my plug.  I continued my retrieve.  Crank, crank…POP!  Crank, crank…BANG!  The fish blew up on plug again!!  I continued my retrieve.  Crank, crank…POP!  Crank, crank…POP.  Crank, crank….FISH ON!!!!  My 11′ custom rod was fully arch over.  Line was pulling off my ZeeBaas reel like the drag was not set.  I struggled to gain line.  If my rod snapped, I was ready to hand-line the fish in.  I eventually got the fish to my rock.  I dropped my rod into the water behind me with my right hand and reach down with my left hand to grab the 80 lb Ande leader.  I pulled the fish up the seaweed slope of the rock.  As I griped the fish with my Fish Grip, my 11′ custom rod separated into two sections.  The fish slid down the rock back into the ocean.  I grabbed the lanyard attached to the lip gripper and genteelly pulled the fish back up the rock.  After a few quick photos, she was released to swim and spawn another day.

This trip reinforced lessons I learned from previous trips.  This trip taught me some new lessons.  Were two lights at night.  Carry a compass.  Fan cast your spot.  Retrieve your plug until your feet.  Fish the water column.  Move with the fish.  Secure your gear via lanyards.  Update my DIY Side Arm design.  Fish one piece rods.  Have confidence in your method.  Never stop learning!

Today I went fishing to one of my froggy spots with five different frogs. The goal was to catch a fish on each frog. Having never fished these frogs before, this increased the challenge.

I caught the first fish at 06:14 AM on an all white YUM Tip Toad Frog (4.5″).

I caught the second fish at 06:55 AM on a green pumpkin/chartreuse Strike King Rage Tail Toad (4.0″).

I caught the third fish at 07:12 AM on an all black Strike King KVD Perfect Plastic Gurgle Toad (3.75″).

I caught the forth fish at 07:45 AM on a ghost watermelon Berkley PowerBait Rib Toad (4.5″).

I caught the fifth fish at 07:56 AM on a “June Bug” Zoom Horny Toad (4.0″).

I caught all of these with my new frogging set up. A St. Croix Tide Master rod (TIS80MF), which is a medium power, fast action rod at 8 feet in length, rated for 3/8 oz to 3/4 oz. A Shimano Stradic ST 2500 HGFK, which has 20 lbs of drag and a 6:1 gear ratio. SpiderWire Invisi-Braid (50 lb tests) tied directly to a 50 lb Tactical Anglers power clip via Palomar knot[]. This unconventional frogging set up is very well balanced set up. I made loooong casts for 4 hours via kayak without fatigue or pain. This unconventional frogging set up also allows for fast frog exchanges. I was able to change frogs based on the structure and cover I was targeting without re-tying. Time is fish!

Today I had the opportunity to fish with Capt. Tony Guarino from Booked Off Charters.  The plan was to leave port at 6:00 AM.  I had a two hour commute, so I stayed overnight at the Scarborough Beach Motel, which is only a 15 minute drive to Point View Marina.

We started jigging bucktails on wire line and lead core line. The rod with wire line induced more strikes so we switched out the lead core rod with another wire line setup. When the bucktails stopped producing, we switched to trolling umbrella rigs with colored surgical tubing on wire line. Single, double, and even triple hooks hooks was not as hard as taking a picture in the 4 to 6 foot seas that we experienced at Block Island’s South West point!

I had my water shoes and Stomr neoprene booties. My feet were fine. Some of the anglers on the boat had sneakers. They hung their wet socks on the protruding stainless steel hardware of the highly customized 35’ Terry Jason Downeaster. Thankfully no man or sock went overboard. Before my next trip with Capt. Tony Guarino, I am getting a pair of water proof boots like the Rugged Shark Deck Boots, which I can use all season long (spring, summer, and fall).

Bottom line, this was one of the best charter experience that I have had. I would recommend booking a trip on Booked Off Charters. Booking online is easy. Capt. Tony Guarino has the expertise and local knowledge to get you into fish!

Today I fished one of my froggy spots.  For two hours, I systematically fished every proven productive structure with three different frogs.  Occasionally, I grabbed my forth rod and sank a wacky rigged Senko.  Skunked!

At the end of my trip, I clipped a Frankenstein Frogs onto the Tactical Anglers clip on the end of my 50 lb Power Pro.  I made my last cast.

The frog swam well.  The new legs created whitewater and sound as I retrieved it steadily.  The frog did not make it to my kayak without seducing a strike from a blue gill terrorizing bass.

Hence forth, I am saving my single and dual amputee frogs.  I will give them new legs via reconstructive surgery in my laboratory.  Fish beware….I now have confidence in Frankenstein Frogs!!!

Last month, life and weather finally came to an agreement and I had the opportunity to finally ice fish with Tim Moore.  I got up at 3:30 AM.  I was on the road by 4:00 AM.  At 5:00 AM I pulled into a Park and Ride to pick up my friend Clay Patles on the way to Lake Winnipesaukee.  We reached the meet up location at 6:40 AM.  We impatiently waited for Tim Moore.  At 7:00 AM, our official start time, no Tim Moore.  I sent him a text.  No reply.  I called him.  No answer.  We began to question if we were at the right place….and then we saw a snow mobile riding across the lake towards the parking lot.  Clearly driving his truck to the parking lot would have too ordinary!

Tim Moore provided us with 36″ medium-heavy Clam rods with matching spinning reels.  We used the Clam Leach Flutter Spoon on the business end of the line.  Clay and I had our own holes with an off-set hole between them for the Vexilar FLX-20 flasher.  Tim Moore explained how to read the flasher.  The visual model employed by flasher was easy to understand once you had a rod in your hand and you can see the jig “flash” on the screen as you moved it up and down the water column.  Tim Moore also explained some flash patterns.  For example, when lots of flashes suddenly disappear and a single flash appears: a lake trout came into the area from the side and scared away all of the bait fish.

The fish were unexpectedly selective.  Moving from spot to spot via snowmobile was effortless.  We fished a total of five different spots.  Through out the day, Clay fished on the left hand side of the flasher and I fished on the right hand side of the flasher.  On the last spot of the day, Clay started jigging in the right hand side hole.  A few minutes latter, fish on!

When fish are selective, you learn the most.  I caught knowledge.  Clay caught my fish!  LOL

Tim Moore is a licensed guide by the state of New Hampshire and CPR certified.  He has all of the required safety gear like a floating ice suit, GPS, shelter, heater, an easily accessible throw rope, and first aid kit.  He has years of local knowledge.  When you are ice fishing with Tim Moore, you feel safe.  When you feel safe, you focus on the important things: fun and fishing.

If you have not ice fished for lake trout, contact Tim Moore.  If you have not ice fished with a flasher, contact Tim Moore.  If you have not ice fished via snow mobile, contact Tim Moore.  Bottom line, if want to learn ice fishing or take your ice fishing up a level, contact Tim Moore. 😉

Bobbing for fish is a great way to learn what bait fish are swimming in the waters that you are fishing.  Bobbing for fish is also a great way to learn bait fish migration patterns.

I keep my bobbing rigs simple: cork bobber, 20# Ande mono-filament leader, tin split shot and a #8 Owner Mosquito hook.  OMG.  A 20# leader?  Yes!  A hooked and frantic bait fish is easy prey.  The 20# leader is my insurance policy to land the predator who eats my catch! 😉

Worms, crickets, and other small organisms all work.  I prefer artificial baits like Berkley Gulp Earthworms and Berkely PowerBait Trout Nibbles.  These artificial baits give off scent.  They are easy to store and are always ready to go.

Find bait, and you will find predatory fish.   Match the hatch, and you will catch trophy fish.   Go bobbing for fish!