Conference wahoo::fishing-v2

I went fishing out of Plymouth this past Saturday with a friend of my
father-in-law.  I've gone deep sea fishing (for blues) twice before and
caught several around 6-10lbs, and I thought they were tough to reel
in.  

We went out to Stillwagon bank (I think that's what it's called).  Anyhow,
really neat, the water was around 250-300feet deep and then you cross "the line"
and the water is 80feet deep.  At this line there were around 50-100 boats trying
to get bluefin tuna, blues, stripers.  Anyhow, we let out some line and started
trolling with ('hoochies).  We flipped to see who would get the first fish
and I won.  After 15 or so minutes one of the rods went haywire and the line
started to go "Zzzzzzzeeeeeeezzzzzzz" (what a nice sound).  I grabbed the rod
and pulled back, then the rod snapped forward!  Wow, I couldn't believe how
strong this fish was.  He took out around 100yards of line and went really
deep.  I started pumping, reeling, pumping....Couldn't make any headway, I take
in 10yards he takes out 20.  I thought I'd run out of line.  After 20 or so
minutes they decided I didn't have a blue on there.  They were right!! I
landed a 46lb 39 1/2 inch striper!! My first striper!! It was a keeper!!
Wow, I'm hooked.  Anyone selling a salt water boat!

After that, we caught (I'm not lying) around 25 blues, and the smallest was
12lbs, the largest was 18lbs.  We kept 6 or so, and let the rest go.  I've never
seen anyone grab a blue under the gills and remove the hook (Snap!!) They
have big teeth!! After spending the day, we pulled up 5 pots (the captain owns them)
and pulled out 6 1 1/2 to 2lb lobsters and cooked them!! Wow, fishing on the
ocean is really great!

On the way in, we spotted several hump-back whales. They were awesome!

Very Excited,

/Eric

    FWIW
    
    There were a bunch of large stripers right next to shore in 20+ feet of
    water at Norman's Woe (Magnolia, MA on Cape Anne) this morning. The
    first one I saw was as large as my 85-pound German Shepherd's torso.
    Small pollack and herring were also evident, but a little further
    offshore, though certainly within casting distance.
    
    John H-C

    I "only" caught one fishing the Merrimack last night, but it was
    a 36" 20 pounder. :-)
    
    It jumped 3 feet out of the water when I set the hook.
    

    Is it just me or are stripers somewhat of a disapointment from
    the "fight" point of view. After hearing about the great runs etc
    of a striper I have yet to experience it. I have now caught 4 from
    28-38 inches and none have impressed me with there fight. They do
    not compare to a bluefish of half their size. I am wondering if
    it is because these fish have come in a shallow river and they need
    more water to put up a real fight. My 20lb came on 16 pound line
    and he never took the drag, at best it was a standoff at some points.
    
    Is the striper mystic in their beauty alone?
    
    Bruce

    Some definitely fight more than others.  Both of my keepers came
    in relatively quickly, but both made several big runs.  I thought the
    last one was going to take all my line for a couple of seconds (200yds
    of 17lb).  Of course it was so dark I couldn't see the spool, but that
    gives you some idea of how I felt about the run!  Both were caught in
    less than 8 feet of water.
    
    We have caught some good sized sub-legal fish that came straight in
    with little fight.  Maybe they were full and lazy?
    
    Mark,
    

    	My biggest yet was a 35" striper on 6 lb. test on a medium duty
    fresh water spinning outfit. We had to move the boat once so I wouldn't
    lose all my line but that was due mainly to the light tackle.
    
    	Once the fish was spent it just sort of flopped on the surface, but
    the combination of weight and water current were such that we had to
    back the boat up to the fish and lift it into the boat.
    
    	If I had anything any heavier for a rig it probably would not have
    been that good of a fight. I would agree that blues give a much better
    fight pound for pound. Best fighting salt water fish I've ever caught
    has been from small skip-jack tuna in the 15-25 lb. range. Incredibly 
    fast and strong fish.
    
    	RAYJ

    I've caught a bunch of them in the 36 inch range. They were close to
    legal, but I took no chances. Some were definitely not legal. Anyway,
    most of them gave me a good fight, but I was using light tackle on
    these. I use a Shimano aero-cast 8-12 rod and reel with 10 ound line.
    The rod is very thin and 7' long. Nice rig. I have taken some further
    out on my 8.5' rod, which is a bit heavier. These borderline legal fish
    weren't nearly as much fun on that rig, but they can bend that rod, as
    well, and I also use 10# test line, so the drag is set light... 
    
    We all have off days, maybe bass do, too.
    
    leo

    Well, I now know one thing, the stripers sure taste good. Had a good
    hunk of the 20 lber last night and he's on the menu for tonight also.
    
    Bruce

    re: .4 on how much stripers fight.  I decided to research this subject
    a little more this morning.  I've come to the conclusion that it
    varies greatly with the individual fish.  Around 4:00 the morning, I
    had a pickup on my eel.  I set the hook and the line just started
    screaming off up stream.  He would stop for a second, then more line
    would scream off.  When I got him near the boat, I thought I would
    never get him up to the surface (only 10' deep).  Based on the fight
    of other stripers, I was POSITIVE this fish was well over 30 pounds.
    I would have bet my boat on it.
    
    Well, I finally get him up, and he is 35 1/2 inches and a light
    14 pounds.  I couldn't believe it.  After keeping him in the boat
    longer than I would have liked, I put him back and he raced off
    like nothing had happened.
    
    Mark,
    

    
    Here's my two bits...
    
    I think blues *definitely* give a better fight than stripers. 
    
    My brother in-law and I go out of Hyannis on the "Stray Cat" the
    first Wednesday after Labor Day every year.  Last year the Capt.,
    Ron Murphy, asked "what'll it be, Blues or Stripers?"  I was the
    only one on board who said blues (mainly because no one besides me
    had ever caught a striper).  My brother in-law landed a 44lb striper 
    on the first cast, the only "keeper" for the day.  The thing ran *with* 
    the boat and never broke water.  I caught and released no less than
    a dozen that day, all in the 33" range.  Not one of the dozen even
    came close the strong (and spectacular) fights the blues put up.    
    
    By the way, I highly recommend Ron Murphy and his boat for both in
    and offshore fishing out of Mid-Cape.  If you want the details send
    me mail.
    
    Tim  CUPMK::T_THEO

    Now that we have survived Bob, any thoughts out there on what this
    will do to the inshore striped bass fishing?  In particular should
    I expect the fishing in the mouth of the Merrimack to get better or
    worse for the next few days will all the increased water flowing down
    the river?
    
    I would appreciate hearing your thoughts quickly before I make another
    go at it.
    
    Mark,
    

    
    
         It'll get worse for sure, they don't like the additional silt,
    less oxygen, and fresh water that happens when we get that much rain.
    Wait for things to get somewhat normal......
    
    Steve

    Hi All,
    
    I'll be heading up to Arcadia National Park for the Labor
    Day weekend, and was wondering if I should bring the 
    surfcaster to go for stripers off the Maine coast.
    I don't fish the salt all that often, so I really wouldn't
    know exactly what to look for in a good casting spot.
    
    Anyone out there have any info on the Arcadia/Bar Harbor 
    area??  I'd appreciate the info...
    
    Thanks alot,
    
    Gus
    

 I am probably going to fish tonight's high tide (9:33 pm); a report will be
included tomorrow if it's worth it... :-)

    Good luck and please let us know how you do.  I am going to pass on
    tonight.
    
    Mark,
    

 No fish outside. Some pods of pogies in the harbor; out of casting distance.
A boat would have helped alot; there were definitely gamefish pushing the 
pogies.

 Lots of seaweed...

    Fished the incoming Friday and Saturday evenings - in Kittery and on
    the jetty at Odiorne.  One small striper (18") on a 5 1/2" green jointed
    Rebel in Kittery, 3lb blue on the same lure at Odiorne.
    
    Active small baitfish both places.  Suggests the fish are still
    around - or have returned.  Chauncey Creek was alive with Pogies under
    the full moon near high tide Friday night - I spent 45 minutes casting
    everything in the surf bag under them...nothing.
    
    Appreciate any suggestions on how to work under/around active bait.
    
    Also lost both trebles off a 3oz Atom popper to a striper a week ago.
    Kay at Surfland said people have had trouble this year with the hooks
    on those lures.  They were original and in cood condition.  Tough way
    to lose a fish.  Anyone been replacing the hooks on new Striper
    Swipers?
    
    No problems with seaweed either place - enough tides have passed to
    clean up the water.
    
    Jack

    Got one Friday evening about 4:30 pm on the outgoing tide in the mouth
    of the Merrimack.  Was trolling a orange rapalla magnum for blues.  I
    hit like a ton of bricks screeming line off the drag.  I though I had
    hooked a log floating down river.  It was 34" long and I didn't weigh
    it probably about 20 lbs.  Released it after a quick picture.
    
    Beautiful looking fish.
    
    The merrimack is also loaded with pogies.  I went over a school about
    10 ft thick and lasted from the sand bar to the captians fishing
    parties dock.
    
    Gordon
    

    What's a "pogie"?
    
    John D.

    
    Baitfish.  It looks kind of like a boring colored kibbie (panfrier).
    
    Tim

    Also known as menhaden (sp?)
    

    Thanks. Out here (west coast) they chase herring, grass shrimp (looks
    like regular shrimp, only clear/milky white), and Bullheads (small
    *ugly* little fish that are all head with a little tail sticking out).
    Also, they can be caught on pile worms (sea worms to you guys ?) and a
    variety of lures, the best bet being broken back Rebels and
    Pencil-Poppers. 
    
    'Course, the DFG recommends that you don't eat more than 8
    ounces of striper meat a week (none if you're pregnant or a
    child) because of the various pollutants in the delta/bay. 
    
    However, there are a few "clean" lakes that have Striper in them.
    
    
    John D.

    On grass shrimp:
    
    Sunday morning, there were 2 boys around 10 with a net walking
    around the dock, catching what they could. They managed to net
    what looked like 1" shrimp, you could see thru them.
    
    Were these grass shrimp, and do they need to be larger to 
    use as bait..
    
    JIm.????????????????

The Blues I caught about a weeks ago were full of the grass shrimp. The shrimp
were falling out of there mouths and were all over the bottom of my boat.

I don't know if you could so them for bait, they were only about 1 to 1 1/2 long.



						Jim

    Personally, I'd prefer a live baitfish over grass shrimp. But people
    use 'em, and they seem to work. They just hook a whole mess of them on
    a hook and toss it in the current with enough weight to keep it down.
    
    For that matter, once I caught a couple of stripers using night
    crawlers.
    
    
    John D.

    What's happening in the surf?  Anyone fishing?
    
    I went out on the jetty at Odiorne Sunday afternoon.  Nothing until the
    "magic minutes" of dusk when there was a tail-slap on the harbor side
    200' from the tip.  A 4 1/2" olive Rebel brought two small stripers
    (18").  This was 2 1/2 hours past high.
    
    Monday morning on a rocky point in Kittery, I had several short
    strikes, a couple of hits, and a five minute fight with a fish I'd
    estimate at 20 lbs.  It was in close, dorsal & tail out of the water,
    when the hook pulled out.  All on 2 & 3 oz blue Atom poppers worked
    slowly.  Right after that landed a 21" schoolie on the same 4 1/2"
    Rebel.  Strikes came at high tide, & magic first light of dawn, then
    later two and half hours into the falling tide, around 8:30.  
    Everything that happened was on the first casts into a new area - kept
    me moving.
    
    Maybe better off swapping trebles for large singles on the Atoms?  Any
    advice on that?
    
    Jack
    

    
    	I don't know about stripers but I use single hooks for Blue fish
    	as its no fun working with a mouth full of razors, and worry about
    	3 individual hooks.  I usually just disengage the lure if they
    	swallow it anyway, and snap another to return to water while its 	
    	still hot.
    
    	However, I have seen trebles hall in big fish just by their gills
    	when the original set hooks dislodged...
    
    	I've heard that the optimum time to fish stripers is at day break,
    	and live eels have been the prime bait.  This taking place on the
    	cape in the canal and the outer beaches such as laCounts and up to 
    	Race Point.  Any truth to this ??

    I understand the best way to take big stripers is with live eels - or
    live pogies fished under a school - at night.  They are reported to be
    all along the NE coast this year - especially in the estuaries though
    the Cape is certainly the prime area.
    
    I don't enjoy fishing at night, prefer dawn or dusk on a rocky point
    with the birds, the crabs, the tides, the sky, & the surf.  I like the
    action of casting and the rush of seeing a big fish hit a lure on the
    surface, then feeling her.
    
    I've read through the FISHING notes conference entries on stripers,
    blues and surf - taken a lot of advice from Ed Horwitz and others.
    Though I've only met him through that conference, I feel like I 
    know him a little.  He is still helping me learn surf fishing.
    Recently switched from wire leaders to 24 or 30 lb mono shock leader
    on Ed's advice.  Carry the wire in the bag in case blues over five
    pounds come through.  That has reduced short strikes.
    
    I'll try replacing the bottom treble on a popper with a big single
    with bucktail and some saddle hackle - see if that produces a better
    hookup ratio.
    
    Anyone else out there plugging in the surf this year?
    
    
    Jack
    

    Fishing at night in the surf is an acquired taste.  
    I get spooked sometimes....  In anyevent, I'm a strong believer in mono leader
    s - for surf and flyrods.   
    I use 12 to 24" of 40 or 60 lb test mono tied to a small, good quality 
    swivel.  I usually tie swimmers and poppers directly to the leader 
    (no snap/no second swivel)  It makes the rig pretty simple ~and very
    cheap~ and I'm convinced you increase the number of hookups. 
    
    -another suggestion - 
    
    Tie a 6-8-10" section of leader material off the swivel eye.  To
    this you can attach a plastic elver, sand eel imitation or best yet, a
    2/0-3/0 hook dressed with white or black saddle hackles.  Adjust the
    length of the dropper until the lure rides comfortably ahead of the
    swimmer/jig/popper.  
    
    Very effective at night - doesnt hurt during the day.
    
    - oh yes, unless your a lot bigger than most people you'll need a 
    pair of pilars to properly tighten heavy mono.
    

    
    
    Stripers-
    
    
          Live eels are great! Swimming plugs with eel skins are even
    better. They cast farther and last longer. Nauset beach Orleans
    produced a 42lb, 38lb and 43" in three days. That I seen/carried!
    
    When fishing eels, let them take it. I lost two stripers by hitting
    them too soon. Let them transfer the eel then set the hook!
    
    Swimming plugs with eels skins are awesome- they produced the big ones!
    
    I can't wait to get down to the Cape next month to go for the REAL
    cows that are heading south. There have been three 70+ lb fish
    caught on the National seashore in the last 10 years. So I would say
    it produces. 
    
    Cold water, late night over cast skies produces the best.
    
    Wildman
    
    Who will someday hold the state record for Striped bass! oh well I can 
    dream.
    
    The world record is 98 lbs- that seems a little much for my 20lb test!

    One thing I can't figure out...If you are surfcasting at night, and you
    want to use sand eels, how do you find live ones?  This has driven me 
    crazy all summer!
    
    	tt

     You don't. You get live american eels at a bait shop.

    
    
    re: -1
    
         Good answer! Mac's Bait shop in Orleans has them for 85 cents each
    and are about 18 inch long. If you buy them in the day time, keep
    a wet paper towel with ice on them. Keep a cover on your bucket, they
    are the masters of escape.
    
    Good luck-  keep casting and moving and sooner or later you feel a
    pick up.
    
    Wildman

    I believe the hook-and-line record is a tad over 77 lbs.  Maybe 98 lbs
    is a net record?
    
    Tim
    

 78lbs 6oz (I think the ozs are correct). I just saw an issue of The Fisherman
that described the catch and had a picture of the fish. Mammoth.

    
    
    
    The fish I am refering to was caught last Sept. off the NJ shore
    and I think it was 98 lbs. The story behind it was the fish was
    so big the guy couldn't pull it out of the water so he had someone
    hold the rod while he proceded to dive in and carry the fish out
    of the water.
    
    Either way 78lbs is a huge fish!
    
    Wildman

    I catch my own live eels in my eel trap.  For those of you that fish
    the Plum Island area...Pick up one of those cylindrical minnow traps
    (Surfland has them) and bait with crushed craps, mussels, horseshoe craps
    work real good, and I even threw in a leg of chicken in once that still had
    some meat on it that worked well too.  I find that the mussels I rip
    off the rocks while diving work best if I leave them on the porch in
    the sun for a day.  My wife love that action...
    
    I live in Newbury where there's lots of marsh.  Pick a spot where the
    river pours in, Behind Governor Dummer Academy off rt. 1, Newman Rd.
    off rt. 1A etc. and attach a line to your trap and heave it into the
    river at dusk.  Tie a stake to the other end of the line and stick it
    in the river bank. The trick is to remove you trap the next morning 
    before it gets to light as the eels seem to see better then and I bet
    some make ther way out of the opening. I wire one of the two ends of my 
    trap closed.  I've caught as many as 12 at one time and as few as 4. 
    
    I was using eels all last year off the island. ..heard that most of the
    big ones were taken using seaworms...now I alternate.  I've also begun
    rigging the eels with 2 hooks.  Ever get pissed off cause the eel
    starts squirming and tangeling up your line ???? A tip: Before you hook
    'em up, place the eel in the bottom of the cooler with some ice.  This
    slows them down quite abit so you can rig 'em and cast.  A glove to
    handle them is standard equip.  I've lost more eels through the
    scuppers than I can count!  (I don't tell the wife that eels touched
    the bottom of the cooler.)
    
    	/MArk

    Mark, how are you rigging your eels with 2 hooks?  We've been having
    lots of problems with blues chomping off the back half of the eel.  I
    wouldn't mind mind catching some of them, but don't want to do anything
    that would make it less appealing for a striper.  I also have enough
    trouble with eels tying themselves in knots in the leader where you
    have cut the leader in a dozen places and retie everyting.  I would
    think a second hook would make that a nightmare.....
    
    I got lucky last night and caught one blue on an eel with a single
    hook.  I could tell it was a blue from the bite, and I just gave it
    some slack line.  The blue was thrashing on the surface comping on the
    eel.  I'm guessing the fish had the eel by the tail and the eels head
    was dangling underneith the fish.  When I set the hook the hook caught
    the blue on the bottom of its chin (from the outside of its mouth).  I
    am not too sure how reproducible that approach is, but I got lucky
    once.
    
    Thanks for the info on catching eels.  I've been wanting to try that,
    but live an hour away from the mouth of the river.  Maybe I will try it
    in some of the inland parts of the river.
    
    Mark,
    

    Today's questions are three:
    
    1.  BOOTS/WADERS  Any advice on boots/waders for surfcasting from rocks?
        I want to get closer to the fish - wade out to rocks, across the
        shallows.  Won't be going in too deep, but the rocks & weed are 
        slippery. I've been wearing leather boots, they've been getting 
        wetter on each trip as I get more adventurous.  I expect I'll fish 
        into the fall down in Rhode Island, so perhaps I should have neoprene.
        I sure don't want something that could fill with water when I slip.
        Any recommendations on neoprene?  Can I use the long-john style
        wetsuit I use canoeing in the spring?  What kind of boots?  felt
        soles?  steel studs?  Who has the best prices?
    
    2.  BOOKS  I just borrowed a copy of Henry Lyman's "Bluefishing".  It is
        excellent.  Are there other books of this quality on fishing?  
        (I do subscribe to N.E. Fisherman, have read Coleman's stuff)
        What books do other noters recommend on stripers or surf casting?
    
    3.  WHERE TO FISH  I've been going to the rocks in Kittery (always
        found bass there but no keepers yet), the jetty at Odiorne (also
        always produced fish, more blues than stripers, nothing over four
        pounds yet), and Plum Island (only fished inside the jetty -
        no fish yet).  Are there other places on the coast I could learn
        about - within an hour of MKO or half an hour of Portsmouth?
    
    
    I've taken up surfcasting with a new passion - no, it's an obsession -
    this summer.  Biggest fish so far is a 35" striper.  Last Monday I
    lost one that spun the reel handle out of my hand (anti-reverse
    was off).  Been having fun with 10 pound test on a 550SS & 8 1/2 foot
    5.2 ounce steelhead rod catching 18-24 inch fish.  All the fish have
    been on Atom poppers worked very slowly and a 4 1/2" broken-back Rebel,
    
    I do appreciate this conference - for info & humor.  Thanks to the good
    Doctah!

    I drive right by Gov dummer on my way to Newburyport, I should get a
    trap and throw it under the rte 1 bridge and have fresh bait every day.
    
    I have heard but not tried this.  when surf fishing with eels hook them
    in the tail and they will always try to swim away and not tangle
    themselve up in the line.  Try it and let us know if it works.
    
    Gordon
    

    Gordon.  I have briefly tried hooking eels in the tail.  It works, but
    I am not as confident in the ability to hook the bass with that
    approach.  I guess everyone has there own preference.
    
    The main reason I don't try that more, is we usually are trolling the
    eels using an electric motor.
    
    Mark,
    

    
    	re: -.41
    
    	Its been my understanding that bass try to swallow eels and other 
    	fish head first	thus, the tactic of not setting the hook at the 
    	first sign/sensation of a strike, but rather after a few moments 
    	when they start to move	with it...
    
    	I usually set the eel from under the jaw, and up through the 
    	socket...not through the eye if I can help it.  I buy my eels from	
    	a local (worcester) tackle shop ($.75/per) and put a couple scoops
    	of the tank water in with them and they can last for a couple of days.
    	But, then before I head for the beach I toss a bag of ice in with 
    	them (lg. cooler) and this chills them out from twisting so much, 
    	but as soon as they hit the water they come right back with a vengence.
    	
    	Todd,
    	
    	own salt water 

    Anyone catching any stripers?  I was skunked for the first time in
    Kittery last Thursday - fished 90 minutes at dusk at dead low, only
    action was one blue jumping right over the popper - never touched it.
    
    Also fished the early incoming at Plum Island last Sunday - only one
    fish taken all morning that I saw - and that on bait on the ocean side
    - 13lb blue.
    
    I will try high tide in Kittery at least once this weekend.
    
    Jack

    Hi,
    
    	Looking for Striper hot spots down on Cape Cod, will be down there
    for the 27th, 28th, & 29th any help would be apreciated. What are they
    hitting on right now and when is the best time (night) ?
    
    Frank

    Herring run, cape code canal.  (i might even take you!)
    

    Caught 2 strippers lsat night in the danvers river, 28" and 34", both
    gave better accounts of themselves than previous fish, maybe the
    cooler water gets them more frisky.
    
    The 34 is a good story. Tossed the eel in and in 3 seconds the bass
    picked it up and took off. I set the hook and fought him for about
    20 seconds, during which he jumped and ran and then the hook pulled
    out with the eel still on. I dropped the rod tip and still had the
    bail close. The line came tight and a quick zing on the drag as he
    grabbed the eel again but he did not swallow it and the line went
    slack. I openned the bail and (you guessed it) he picked up the
    eel a third time. I let him run and nailed him. He ran up under the
    bow jumped a couple of times then Tim slipped the net under him.
    
    I need to find a tuna that dumb!!!!
    
    Bruce 

    RE: .47
    	That could have easily been 3 seperate fish.  If there's a lot of
    them around they'll chase the one with the meal in hopes of getting a
    bite themselves!  You must've seen Blues do this also, hook up and have
    several other fish follow all the way to the boat.  We've had 4 on at
    once just by having everyone cast right at the first hooked fish!  It
    can get a little hectic if you don't all know what you're doing!
    
    					B.C.

    I've also seen bonito do this, as well. But, the way they move around,
    it's real risky trying to hook a second one like that.
    
    leo

    Mighty fine stripper it was two.  Took it all off!
    
    ;-)
    
    Tim
    
    P.S.  It could have been three fish, I have seen bluefish do this...
    

    I fished three hours Sunday morning from the rocks in Kittery.  Caught
    two schoolies at 6:30 on 2-oz blue/white Atom popper worked slowly.  
    Keeping hooks razor sharp made a difference.  Looking over my log,
    time of day - first light to sunrise, sunset to dusk, is most 
    consistent factor.  But I haven't caught a keeper yet.  The little
    ones are still around, so there's hope.
    
    Like those Penn SS reels!
    
    Jack  

    
    
    Update from the Cape- weekend of 10/17-10/20.
    
    Well we had pretty good luck. The first day we fished 10/18 my
    buddy Kevin "The Chef" Cormier hooked into a real nice 43 inch
    33 pound Stripper. Which proved to be the only keeper for us of
    the weekend. Nice fish Kevin! (dick)! We did see 2 other keepers caught
    that day. One was caught by some guy in a boat drifting in the
    current using a pogie. That fish weighed 35 lbs. Some other
    guy across the inlet hooked into what looked like a 30+ lber. He
    carried it off the beach so I am sure it was legal.
       Saturday no luck, but we did have a beautiful day. We were told
    that some one had dragged a 41# fish out of there about a half hour
    before we arrived. That seems to always be the story.
    
       We fished "The Spit" between Coast Gaurd beach and Nausett beach.
    It is a small inlet that feeds the salt marsh in Eastham. It was 
    a really nice place. Except you had to walk about 2 miles to get
    there. Walk out is no problem- its the walk back that will kill-ya!
    
       The fish are still there and we only seen bigones being caught,
    so maybe one more trip before we put the rods away for the winter!
    
    Later-
    
         Wildman
                                                                      

    Anybody try yet?
    I was down my Folks house in Wareham and read in the Wareham Courier
    that theres a Striper tourny starting up this weekend. 
    And it will be going on for about a month.
    They were talking mainly about people catching them in the canal.
    I usualy don't try for Stripers or blues till around the begining of 
    June.
    MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM, should have kept the paper.
    
    I plan to try ancoring at the stern of the Maratime ship and drifting
    eels during an evening incoming tide.
    
                       I hope their hitting as good as last year!!!
                                                      
                                                               Scott.
    
    

    	I heard from a very good source that schoolies are presently being
    caught along the Mass. coast up to, and into, the Charles.  All that
    he's heard of so far are little guys.
    
    					B.C.

I got 9 Schoolies on Saturday.  Smallest was about 11", largest about 21".
Caught on a 1/2 oz mackerel jig with 1/2 plastic worm (the tail), firetail 
(dark/bright orange)

Tim

    
    
    		Captured 5 Schoolies in Hingham Saturday 2 to 4 hours after
    	high tide. Ranged from about 18" to 28" or so. Caught em' on silver
    	and black 3/4 rattle traps. Lots of fun on 10lb test.
    
    Neil.
    

    I got 4 schoolies (15-20") at an ocean side beach in wellfleet fri
    night about 1 before high tide.
    
    The bass are really back, its great!
    
    Will start some night trips on the boat this week or next.
    
    Bruce

    Has anybody been out in the Merrimack River or Plum Island for Stripers
    yet?  I've dying to go, but haven't had a chance to get out yet.
    
    Mark,
    

 re: Merrimack River

 Schoolies are in the river- as many as you care to catch. None are keepers.
Biggest one that a friend caught last tuesday was 9 lbs. I think he said he 
caught a dozen or so.

 The fish are also in the rivers in Hampton. Another two weeks or so and
a steady stream of keepers should start.

    I was in the Merrimack on Sunday and caught two schoolies near the
    power lines. I had been trolling in plum island sound/parker river and 
    caught several as well. I'm not sure how things are shaping up on the
    beach yet but the rivers are producing 12"-20" fish.
    
    Charlie 
    

    I was out Sunday AM in the merrimack around Plum Island and got 4-5
    schoolies all 15-20 inches.  Caught them at the turn of the tide low to
    incoming on bucktails and silver spoons like hopkins and tony acetta
    pet.  All fish were caught in about 20 minutes, they were busting on
    the surface like bluefish.  The were in the river by the old coast
    guard station sandbar.  I was in a boat, but the surf guys and fly
    fisherman were doing ok when the fish were in range.
    
    I understand that there are a few keepers mixed in, although I haven't
    seen any.
    
    Gordon

    
    
    
           Did any of ewe ever use a Zara Spook when they are on top
           as ewe all mention?
    
    
    
                                             The Keg

Schoolies...

	Kinda late sending.
	Went to Cape Sun/Mon over Memorial Day weekend to West Harwichport.
	Didn't bring the boat as weather was kinda yucky.
	Didn't bring the fishing gear out of stupididy!!!!

	My brother-in-law had two clunker freshwater poles behind the seat
	in his pickup.  Between the two I salvaged a "servicable" rod.
	Had it fed with the highest test the spool could take a whopping
	6lb test and bought a 6" split tail rebel Black/Silver deep diver.

	We went surf fishing at a private area where he can get in with
	no hastle as he's a "local".  It's near Wychmere Harbour.
	His moto is after 10 casts and no fish he's outta there.
	True to his word he gave up.  I contined...and a ca-zillion casts
	later I had 2 stripers on Sunday and another 2 on Monday with antoher
	lost trying to bring it in from the surf.  All small but beautiful
	and great fun on a small "clunker" rod with 6lb test.

	"there back".....
	-< Tuna Tail >-

    
       I'm going to Cape Cod Canal tomorrow a.m. for stripers. Last
    year we did pretty well with cut mackeral but that was later in the
    summer (after jul 4th).  Anyone been there this early ? We are going
    to the herring run area. 
    
       Thanks in advance
    
           Kevin
       

    Been out a couple of times.  Nights of May 15 & 16, Red River Beach
    south of Harwich on the Cape, several of us fished off the series of
    short jetties.  First night we each took three or four, second night
    seven to ten.  16" to 30".  All but one on 4 1/2" to 6" Rebels (mostly
    broken-back) olive & black/silver.  Other one was on 7/8 oz blue/white
    Atom popper.  All retrieves were very slow.  All around high tide, though 
    I think the darkness was more important.  When the full moon came out,
    the bite stopped.  Larger fish (some keepers) were being taken on chunk
    herring.  Herring runs were strong in the area.
    
    Last Saturday, May 30, I fished sunset to dusk in Kittery.  This is a
    rocky point with no immediate local river.  Wind was tough from the
    southeast - in my face for most casts, so small swimmers couldn't
    be worked in the more promising water.  Took one 22" on a 2 1/2 oz
    Hopkins with "shrimp" tube.  Not much sign of fish there.  They may
    be still feeding on the herring runs.
    
    I've heard very good reports from the mouth of the Merrimack from a 
    friend who fly-fishes and spins there.  Might try to get down there
    this weekend.  
    
    Jack

    re.64
    
    A couple of weeks ago, people were livelining herring at the Herring
    Run & doing okay even in the daylight.  Herring were running upstream.
    Sign said you are allowed to take 12 herring between the hours of
    5:00 pm and 8:00 am (as I recall).  Fishing there may get even better
    when herring run back down into canal.
    
    You might go to the run right-off, check it out, if it's active, position
    near it.  If you take a dip-net & hooks & use bait, then that's likely
    most productive method.  Nighttime if schedule allows & at the tide
    changes.
    
    I've already told you more than I know - good luck.
    
    Jack

    
       Thanks Jack , we plan on getting there in time to get some live
    herring (was there last week and read the same sign). I think we'll
    try some lures too see as everyones been hitting on them. 
    
       Can't wait till 4:00 am
    
                 Kevin
    
     I'm outta here now

    Wow, this note suddenly became active!  Thanks for all the info.  I
    think I've heard enough already.  I'm starting to feel very ill, and
    won't be able to work tomorrow.
    
    Mark,
    

    I was at the canal about a month ago and was told you need permit
    from the town of bourne to take herring. I don't know all details
    so you might want to check it out before going there.
    
    Shawn

    The rules in Maine are getting tougher for Stripers. In addition
    to the 36" min length, there are no keepers till July 1 and only
    single hooked artifical lures can be used. These rules apply only
    to certain rivers so you had better check with the Dept of Marine
    Resouces if your planning any fishing for them up here.     

I'm gonna try to be in the Merrimack River this Saturday early am
Thanks to JOHNHC for providing me some Tide info for the River.

I'll be there before dawn and most likely will launch from the 3R Marina
as I need to return after noon to head home.  The Salisbury State Park ramp is
a tad interesting at low tide with a front wheel drive car....woops/////splash

Anyone out Plum Island/Merrimack River way early Saturday am give me a shout!!!

	Will be monitoring.....VHF CH9
				CB CH19

	Aboard the "FishTeaser" 19FT SeaNymph Ctr Console outboard Flag Flying

There may be 4 aboard.  Will do some fishing early then later on 2 will
do some "bug" hunting.

Weather permitting.......please please please.......pretty please!!!
-< Tuna Tail >-

    I took my 7 year old daughter to the Merrimack in Salisbury today.  The
    schoolies are in there thick.  We boated 28 in about 3 hours of
    fishing.  We caught them trolling broken back rebels and rapalas.  The
    largest was about 29-30 inches and weighed 10 pounds on my handy
    scales.
    
    My daughter had a blast and I got a much needed "fix".
    
    Now for the big ones.....
    
    Mark,
    

    They were catching schoolies and some keepers off the rivers edge
    marina docks when I went out last evening.  Cut mackeral on the bottom
    under the RR bridge.  They appear to be everywhere.  Surf casters were
    lined up like a picked fence on the sandbar.
    
    Anyone see the picture on the cover of the Fisherman this week.  A 75.4
    pound striper caught on Memorial day in Westport harbor in CT.  This is
    the 3rd largest rod & reel striper ever caught.
    
    Gordon

    Gordon, where were you fishing last evening?  If it's the Merrimack,
    where's the RR bridge?
    
    Mark,
    

    Got a nice surprise yesterday. We were catching cod on the
    bank and some macks. Tossed the jig out and it stopped about
    40 feet down. Macks I figured...hey thats no mackeral, striper
    get the net!!!
    
    37 inches, 18lbs and delicious.
    
    Bruce

    Can someone confirm to me if there's going to be a small craft
    	warning our for tommorrow morning up in the Merrimack river.
    	I am planning to go out fog extimated and all around 4:00am
    	I will not go if a warning is planned.
    
    	REally appreciate a responce. to my VAXMail CAPL::LANDRY_D
    	as I am offsite at a conference and on the LAT line.
    
    	Thanks a bunch....Striper's tommorrow or ?
    	-< Tuna Tail >- aboard the "FishTeaser"

   Wow, Good one Bruce!  That must have been quite a pleasant suprise
    when you were expecting macks!
    
    I guess the season has officially begun!
    
    Mark,
    

    RE .74
    In the merrimack in Newburyport, the RRbridge is next to the rte 1
    bridge.  It's not a public access place, just the people from the
    marina.  However, cashman park is just up river and there may be some
    there.  If I was fishing from shore, I would go down to plum island and
    fish the sand bar if the tide was going out about 2 hrs before low; if
    the tide was high I would go to the island up near the chain bridge
    near rt1 95.  You cah get to the chain bridge by taking rt 110 exit off
    rte 95 and head towards salisbury take first right at lights and follow
    road to bridge, cross first bridge and take left into parking area. 
    There are usually a lot of people fishing here.  Also I hear that the
    environmental police are checking for legal fish 36" min.  They are
    doing a good job from what, I understand that the busted a bunch of
    fisherman for undersized fish.
    
    Gordon
    

    Thanks Gordon.  I usually fish the lower stretch of the Merrimack and
    couldn't remember the RR bridge.  I'm glad to hear they are cracking
    down on keeping sublegal fish.  The striper fishery has come to far
    to let that happen.
    
    Good luck,
    Mark
    

    
    
    			Yes they do work when the bait fish go to the top.
    

	Due to Small Craft warnings on Saturday we cancelled our Striper
	and Bug hunting trip at Plum Island.  Thanks for all who helped 
	with information.

	I'm taking vacation day tommorrow Tuesday as weather forecast
	makes it best day of the week.

	I may have the two bug hunters aboard but our priority is to first
	go for Stripers till our arms get tired or our minds.....

	Anyone else out there for vacation day or "sick day" give me a 
	shout on VHF CH9 or CB CH 19	aboard the "FishTeaser"

	-< Tuna Tail >-

    I have a chance to spend a few days in the Rockport area in a few
    weeks. Does anyone know of any spots up on Cape Anne where a
    shore fisherman has a good shot at stripers?
    
    			Thanks,
    				Robert. 

    re: -1
    
    I would try in the Annisquam river and at the point where it enters
    Ipswich bay.  I don't know about access to these areas from shore; You
    should go to a local bait/tackle shop and get local information.
    
    I have seen people fishing from the rocks at Halibut point, lots of sub
    bathers on the rocks, looks like some kind of public park.
    
    Gordon

	TUESDAY 9-JUNE-92   VACATION DAY
	
	Boat  in H2O at 4:30am Salisbury State Park
	Boat out H2O at 5:00pm     "       "     "

	40 Stripers later....

	30 Caught by Ken Goguen MRO first Stiper he's ever caught is the first
           aboard the "FishTeaser" nice work Ken.  Bring back those "Salmon"
	   lures anytime.  Maybe Stripers do some cross breeding?   Ken's
	   lures were 4" and obviously worked well with the Schoolies.
	   He had two lures and both were productive.  One solid silver
	   the other orange/gold ish.
	10 Caught by -< Tuna Tail > - aka me  using 8" Rebel's Rapalas
	   Silver/Black did well,  Orange/Gold ok,  LtBlue/Silver only
	   one.....Last fish of the Day....20min fight 29" 10.5#
	   I had three other's toping 24" 5# each.

	We started at Badger's Rock near the toothpick drifting.
	Then over to the Flats drifting and anchored till noon.
	Then tried the mouth but this time of day it was heavy rollers so
	went back to the flats.
	Mid afternoon went back to the mouth and stayed there till we left.
	It was great at the mouth trolling in and out,  In along South Jetty
	and out along North Jetty.  About 10-15 boats were out there and
	most stayed in place and were jigging but a few of us trolled our
	way in/out.  The "Big One" was caught heading out and during the
	20min battle we drifted to the outer marker which was fine as not
	many boats to contend with during "work".

	As Ken didn't find a diving partner we didn't do any bug hunting.
	But not a bad turn of events.

	What a thrill to see so many stripers.
	I don't even feel bad not catching a keeper!!!!
	-< Tuna Tail >-

	Anyyun's gonna B un D Merri-mak Sunday aftnoon giv a hawler.

	FishTeaser	CH9 VHF or CH19 CB
	
	Bringuns de family fishtin.
	Me wife is climbin D walls ta catchin her foist Striper.
	Dis kinda family fuedin is otay mit me.

	Hope yawl have a gooden
	N joy yoren's weekend

	-< Tuna Tail >-

	Sunday 14-June-92   1:30pm - 8:00pm

	9 Stripers for afternoons work.

	4 for wife jean....good action
	2 for daughter juli 12yrs
	2 for daughter kelley 8yrs
	1 for me....Needed rest from last week's trip........NOT

	Launched from Salisbury State Park ramp....it was packed!!!!!!!!!!
	The Merrimack R. was like the Southeast Distressway.
	What an expierence.  Fish very spotty.  Got three on 8" deep divers
	using wire line or lead core.  After these went to Spining equip
	and caught them on 6" split tail's varying colors.  All small
	schoolies 20" 4# being largest.  Caught between the jetties or
	outside the mouth during trolling in/out of the River.

	-< Tuna Tail >- aboard the FishTeaser

Hey Tuna Tail (or others),

Did you see anyone lately on the North or South Jettys at the mouth of the 
Merrimack who were catching any pollock ? I'd like to take my son there 
to catch a few, but haven't been for a couple years. I used to use 
spinning gear and Hopkins spoons, and used to do well. These fish were
usually not sought after by all the Striper and Blues folks, but we 
always kept a few and fried them up for tasty fish sandwiches.

Also, anybody know if pollock must be a minimum size to keep from shore ?
(I think commercial fishermen have a 19" minimum or something) ?


Thanks for any info.

Dave

	re:15.87

	Dave,
		I've only been out twice so far on the Merrimack and
	have not seen any Pollack nor Mack's being caught yet.
	Have heard requests over radio from boats looking for them but
	nobody replied with any sightings or catches as of yet.

	I don't think there in yet but hopefully soon.
	We tried jigging for some in large marks on fishfinder but no luck.
	Saw Flounder caught from person on South Jetty about halfway to tip.
	Lot's of people fishing from sandbar and standing in water into
	river at lowtide from begining of Southjetty near dock.  All fish
	I saw being caught were Stripers except for that Flounder.  I noticed
	some bottom rigs for floundering on boats that were anchored.

	I don't know of any restrictions on Pollack but don't keep them 
	myself anyway.  Pollack and Mack's are fun on light tackle espicially
	with the kids.  (Young & Old)

	-< Tuna Tail >-

    There is no recreational size limit on pollock - only good judgement.
    
    I had a school of pollock busting bait at my dock in beverly, thought
    they were school bass till I caught one, about 14".
    
    Bruce

I used to catch a mess of pollack at the coast guard jetty in Glouster.

    I caught a couple small pollack between the south jetty and the MR1
    buoy off plum island last Friday.  Also a couple sea robins and one
    keeper flounder.  We were drifting on the outgoing tide.
    
    Too much boat traffic on saturday to catch stripers.
    
    Watched the powerboat races on saturday, shortly after the race started
    the macks were jumping all around the boat but couldn't catch any. 
    They were scared from the powerboats.
    
    Gordon

	Went to the Cape this past weekend Sat/Sun.
	Didn't bring the FishTeaser due to small craft warnings buy brought
	the rods
	Saturday
	Got 3 Stripers from the Surf Sat at dusk near Wychmere Harbour
	Very small but what got me interested was that they were "in"
	the surf where it mixes up the sand as it foams up on the
	beach.  In fact all the fish caught (my brother-in-law got 4)
	were within 8-10 feet of our feet and we weren't getting wet.
	They were feeding on sand crabs etc as on a few retrieves we
	both caught some of them on our hooks.  Interesting.
	Fortunately we had light tackle so it was fun.
	Sunday
	Took my brother-In-Law's boat The INCOGNITO and only fished till
	his batteries got recharged and we had to head on home early.
	I caught 1 Bluefish my first of the year and very small 2-1/2 to 3 lbs
	off the mouth of the Bass River West Dennis

	-< Tuna Tail >-
	

	Going to take my son and his friends Striper fishing this Saturday
	on the Merrimack River launching from Salisbury State Park.

	Last time he caught one it was in the Parker River using an
	umbrella rig and he caught about a 4lb schoolie.  It was on a 
	charter and the rule was no fish we get a free trip.  His was
	the only fish caught that day.  Ouch...$250 fish.  By the way
	no size limit then?  He was 8yrs old.  He's 22 now....double OUCH.

	Sure hope he get's one...or two....or three...or......

	Anyone else goin out give us a call.
	Monitor CH 19 on CB
	Monitor CH  9 on VHF

	-< Tuna Tail >- aboard the "FishTeasher"

    Good luck Tuna Tail.  I fished it last night for the first time in
    several weeks.  It was VERY slow I think we only got 3 schoolies and
    nothing of any size.  The tide wasn't great last night (but boy was
    it high), hopefully you will do better.
    
    Also, a congrat's to the Doctah on your keeper.  I've been away on a
    non-fishing vacation so I'm a little late getting to this.
    
    Mark,
    

    Another note celebrating the return of striped bass.  I was surfcasting
    in Kittery, Maine Sunday morning.  Those 12" silver baitfish (what are
    they called?) were doing their merry-go-round thing - schooled, swimming
    in a tight circle (is this spawning or just schooling behaviour?)  The
    stripers were coming up underneath them, sending them up into the air -
    occasionally breaking water themselves - at times as close as 25 feet
    from shore where the water would be 18" deep.  Gulls were standing
    along the beach, but getting no leavings, I guess because stripers
    swallow their meals whole (unlike bluefish).  Gulls would occasionally
    fly low over the surfacing fish, even land - but never got a meal.
    
    Landed three fish to 34" - all on poppers, two on a Chrome Creek Chub.
    I'm dissappointed with the Atom's hooks - they bend or break off too
    often.
    
    Great season!  Keep the limits!
    
    Jack
    
    
    feet from shore

re: .94

	Mark,  Were you shore or boat fishing and where?
	       Moon was out in full splendor last night and I really wanted
	       to be out there.
	       Thanks for report and will let ya know how we do Saturday.

re: .95

	Jack,  Nice fish and nice story and sounds like great time had by all.

-< Tuna Tail >-

	My input to the Blues notes indicate Blues in Merrimack but did
	manage to bring 2 Stripers aboard 2:00am Sunday morning fishing
	from FishTeaser close to North Jetty near green can.

	Using large split tail deep running lures Black/Silver & Mackeral clr.
	Used Boat rods one with dacron and one with wireline with Mono leader.
	28" and 34" fish both released.

	34" fish was a beauty to see.
	Largest about the FishTeaser......"so far"!!!!

	-< Tuna Tail >-

    The lowell sun had a nice article about the stipers in the Merrimack on 
    sunday and how over the years things are getting better and better.
    They were saying that over 400 have gone up the elavator at the 
    lawrence Dam this year so far when only 200 total were counted in 91.
    It also stated in an article about a  month ago which I wish I kept
    that over 102,000 herring have been counted as well. Is this possible
    or was that a misprint?
    
    	I fish the river for small and large mouth bass in the
    lowell/tyngsboro area but with these #'s I may just drop my boat on the
    other side of the Dam and try my luck.
    
    	I was wondering what kind of lures/whatever can I use for stripers
    who have traveled all the ways to lawrence. I'm also wondering if I can
    just changed from my "normal" 6 # line for largemouth to maybe a 12 #
    line and take my chances??
    
    any comments?
    

I've caught plenty of stripers on standard bass lures.  I wouldn't want to
try to get a big one on 6#.  12# should give you a fighting chance.  Make sure
you have a smooth drag...

Tim

    re: .98
    
    I know from personal experience that it is impossible to count the
    herring in a school once the school has more than a hundred fish in it,
    unless you counted each one as you put it in the tank (as they did at
    the NEA). That number on the herring was an estimate, but it doesn't
    seem at all high to me.
    
    John H-C

    I thought herring was mostly a salt water fish?? Just did not think
    they went that far away from salt water but I guess that shows ya how     
    much I know about the fish..

    RE:98
    
    	I've caught my biggest striper to date (35") with my fresh water
    pole and 6 lb. test. It can be done but you need LOTS of line and you
    may need to move the boat once or twice till the drag wears him down.
    At one point while fighting the fish, I had well over 100 yds. of
    line out. As Tim and others said, a well set smooth drag is *critical*. 
    					--------
    
    	Whether you use 12 lb. or 6 lb. test, you'll want to set your drag
    on the light side so that line can pulled off the spool fairly easily by 
    hand. It should be well below the breaking strength of the line. When the 
    fish tires down a bit you can always apply a little added resistance to 
    the spool with your finger. It's much easier doing this than trying to 
    compensate for a drag that's too tight on the fly.
    
    	RAYJ
    
    BTW - A friend of mine picked up a few blues and stripers yesterday near 
    the toothpick (Merrimack River) from shore using cut bait (mackeral).
    Nobody from shore was doing anything on lures. His biggest was an 8 lb.
    blue.
    	

         This coming weekend I'm going to attempt for the second time to
    Fish (notice I didn't say catch)for stripers in the Cape Cod Canal. I
    read a bit lately about surface lures and/or cut bait as being
    appropriate. I was wondering if I could get some suggestions as to
    what lures and if cut bait seems best how is it rigged.
    
                                                    Bud

    re; 103
    
        I fished the canal sunday the 19th with some luck. We arrived at
    7:00am and fished till 10:00 am. Between 7 and 9, my friend and I
    each landed a 36" striper, I had another one on for about 10 seconds
    and we both had 2 more hits. We were fishings EELS on 6/0 hooks with
    18" of 50# leader and #3 barrel swivel. There were other people fishing
    cut bait with not so much luck. I'd recommend fishing either early
    morning or late afternoon and evening.   
        Last nite 4 of us went to the canal after work and fished til midnite
    without a single hit.

    Shawn
    
                                                    Bud

    The best time to fish the canal is during slack tide. Consult a tide
    chart. slack tide on the east end of the canal starts roughly at low
    tide(same time as boston). There are up to date tide charts available
    somewhere in this notefile. The slack tide should last for about 30-45
    minutes after low tide. I'm not sure of there is one at high tide, but
    it would make sense. Also check in with Red Top sporting goods near the
    bourne bridge traffic circle for some pointers.
    
    John.

    re;105
    >>                          -< try slack tide >-
    >>The best time to fish the canal is during slack tide. Consult a tide

    I believe the term is "Slack Water". I have found in the last week of
    fishing the canal, that tides are really strange! I dont think your
    assumption of slack water coinsiding with low tide is correct for
    anything but the extreme ends of the canal(even that is doubtful).
        A friend told me this is due to the tide differental between cape
    cod bay and buzzards bay. Sagamore Bait and tackle loacated at the
    rotary at the sagamore bridge has a tide chart for the canal and also
    lists current changes since they lead the actual high and low tide time
    by approx 2 hours.

    For example; tuesday night we arrived at the canal at 8:00pm( high tide
    was around 4:00pm) , the current was moving east to west very slowly.
    Around 8:30 the current stopped for a brief period and then began to
    move slowly west to east (this period would be considered slack water).
    The tide continued to ebb (drop) to low around 10:45, then began to
    Flood. The current picked up steam at this point still flowing west to
    east. The fish on sunday were caught between slack water and low tide.

    Confusing ain't it!

    Shawn    

    Thanks For The Help
    
                                 Bud
    
                             

    	Now I'm a little confused...  Rising tide in the canal flows east,
    from Buzzards Bay to Cape Cod Bay...  Or at least is has in the ~25
    years that I've fished it.  And slack tide (or slack water, whichever
    you prefer to call it) is AT high or low tide on either end of the
    canal.  It does get strange if you're fishing somewhere in the middle
    though, the current will stop and the water level will continue either
    up or down.  You can't really count on tide charts around the canal as
    wind can really effect it.
    	A few spots to try in the canal...  At the east end, right at the
    base of the jetty at Scusset, there is a jog in the shoreline.  During
    an incoming (east) tide you get a nice big eddy that forms a very
    pronounced line where it joins the main current.  You can walk out
    ~100ft. from the rocks that line the canal and either drift bait or
    fish lures right down current from where you stand.  The eddy will keep
    your bait out from the shore.....  At the west end, Cape side, just
    west of the RR Bridge is a small tidal pond that feeds into/out of the
    canal.  There is a rounded point of rocks that you can fish on the
    outgoing (west) tide in much the same way as the eddy on the east end.
    The current flowing out of the pond will keep your bait out from shore.
    It was usually fished with seaworms and only about 2oz. of lead.  Cast
    straight out and let the outgoing tide sweep it along.  Be warned that
    there is one large rock out from the point that has claimed LOTS of
    rigs and LOTS of Bass!  If you're really adventurous you can wade the
    mouth of the small pond near the end of the outgoing tide with a
    flyrod, just be real careful about currents, boat wakes, and the drop
    into the channel! 
    	There's also the obvious spots in the eddys behind all of the
    bridge supports, etc.  Pick a good full or new moon low tide and go for
    a little bike ride along the access road.  The extra low tide will show
    you lots of little pockets and points to fish. Just write down the
    light pole numbers so you can find them later.
    	The canal is a tough area to fish but worth learning.  If it
    doesn't give you a best ever fish it might reward you with the next
    best thing, an empty reel and great memories!!
                                               
    						B.C.

 I fished thrice over my week's vacation and caught stripers each time out.

 I fished a low tide at night and picked up a nice fish in the 34-36" range
and a smaller one.

 I fished a high tide early in the am (I got up at 3:30am) and picked up
another fish in the 36" class.

 An early evening high tide was rewarded with a tiny fish of about 20".

 Cut macks, fished on the bottom using a slip sinker rig and a bait
runner reel right in the surf off the beach.

 All fish were released.

    My neighbor stopped by the house last night with a nice striper (40").
    Awhile later he sent over a steak.  Is that the way stipers of this
    size are normally cut up?  I deboned the steak as best as I could
    and we'll have it tonight.
    
    How are stripers generally prepared?
    
    -donmac
    

 Alot of people steak the part of the fish from the head about 2/3 of
the way down the rib cage, and fillet the rest. 

 I filleted my entire fish.

    DonMac
    
    We Japanese like Stripers Raw on rice with Wasabe and pickled ginger
    very tasty, but somehow I don't think thats the type of recipe you were
    asking for.
    
    Brian

    actually, i'm pretty open to various ethnic cooking, but your right,
    the word RAW kinda made me lose interest with that one...
    
    it tasted great oiled lightly and grilled as suggested by tim lucia
    
    -donmac

	Ok so I'll "force" myself to take a 2 wk vacation starting tommorrow.
	Ok so I'll "force" myself to take it at the Cape in Hawichport
	Ok so I'll "force" myself to fish Blues day and Stripers night whatever
	Ok so I'll "force" myself to relax and enjoy myself.

	Am I glad I can be so forceful.....

	Talk ta ya when I return

	-< Tuna Tail >- aboard the "FishTeaser"  monitor CB CH 19 & VHF CH 9

    I'm going to be spending most of next week fishing the Cape Cod
    Canal for stripers/blues. Does anyone have any recent fishing reports?
    
    Also - does anyone know of any cheap motels in the area (doesn't have
    to be on the Cape - just near the canal)
    
    			Robert.
    

    	Try the Herring Run Motel...  You can't get any closer to the
    Canal.  Or there's the other option...  Fish all night and sleep on the
    beach during the day!!  I can't really recommend motels cause this was
    our system for years.
    	There are so many in the area you should be able to drive down and
    just pick one.  Their business hasn't been good enough to have them
    full all the time.
    	Another option would be the campground at Scusset if you want to go 
    real cheap.
    					B.C.

    
    
    
            or the campground on the canal in Bourne.
    
    
    
                                     The Keg

       Theres a cheap one on route 6 in Wareham called Starlight Hotel.
    It's just past Benny on the left. I think they have cable too.
    
       Theres a couple more in Wareham. Shop around. 
    Theres one called the Stone Bridge Inn in onset that overlooks the
    Onset beach but it might be expensive.
    
       If you stay in Wareham the best place to fish would probably be 
    under the railroad bridge. You can drive in and park there and fish
    anywhere along the rocks. Or go into the Maratime lot and fish along
    there.
                                            Good luck,
                                                      Scott.

    Thanks folks! I called the Herring Run Motel last night - a little
    pricey but they are willing to cut a deal. I'll check out the places
    in Wareham...
    
    I'm not really into the camping thing (besides, I don't have any gear!)
    
    two more work days...
    
    			Robert.

re"      <<< Note 15.119 by GNPIKE::NICOLAZZO "Over 5,000,000,000 served." >>>

>    I'm not really into the camping thing (besides, I don't have any gear!)
    
	... and you don't get cable tv at campsites ;-)

    re: .last
    
    	You got that right Ken!
    
    		Robert.
    

    
    
    	Are both blues and stripers still running?  I'm thinking of hauling
    	my boat up to the Gloucester or Portsmouth area this weekend to do
    	a little fishing.  I've been there twice in the past month, landed 
    	only 2 blues and no stripers, fishing eels with no weight and using
    	a stinger hook in the tail (after loosing many half eels to blue
    	hits.)  I'll be taking two people with even less experience than me
    	along, and it would be great to see them land a fish.
    
    
    	Jim
    

    I understand from one charter captain that he's getting more blues and
    fewer stripers in Great Bay / Piscata...  Another got into a school of
    blues beyond the Isles of Shoales yesterday.
    
    I don't get out on the water often, but north of Portsmouth I continue
    to find stripers in the surf and have had a couple of hits from toothy
    fish who cut the plugs off my 15 lb line, leaving a frayed end.
    
    Maybe a boatman can point you in the right direction.  You might also
    try the mouth of the Merrimack - I have chartered there a couple of
    times in the last month, caught some school stripers.  There is a lot
    of bait in the water there.  I know some noters frequent those parts.
    
    Maybe change techniques when blues are present - go to cut bait or
    plugs?  Do you go for dawn or dusk?
    
    What is Bruce Sweet finding out of Beverly?  Is he still doing
    charters? - or out chasing bluefin?
    
    Jack

    
    	I usually fish the incoming tides, I heard that blues and stripes
    	tend to follow the baitfish up into the rivers.  If i'm out on
    	the water (instead of fishing the mouth of a river) i'll try to
    	find rips along the shore or between islands (thatcher isl) and
    	shore...
    
    	I've tried some lures that are supposed to be real blue killers
    	and ended up going back to the eels after about an hour of 
    	no strikes while my partner was still getting hits on the eels.
    
    	i'll try both tomorrow and saturday and let you know how i make
    out.
    
    	jim
    

    My wife and I are planning a day at the beach at Plum Island tomorrow. 
    If I were to bring a pole and some appropriate tackle, is there any
    chance of catching a blue or two in the surf or would it be pretty much
    a wasted effort?  Just wondering.  Thanks.
    

RE:                     <<< Note 15.125 by MSBOS::POPIENIUCK >>>

I don't know about whether they're hitting at Plum Island, but if
I were you I'd definitely plan on bringing some gear.  It worked
for me down the cape about a month ago, where me and the family would
go to the beach for the day, with me constantly on the lookout for
fish.  

You could bring some plugs and cast, and/or bring some mackeral or
something for bottom fishing.

Ken    

>    If I were to bring a pole and some appropriate tackle, is there any
>    chance of catching a blue or two in the surf or would it be pretty much
>    a wasted effort?

 Well, you may be forced to settle for stripers, :-) but there are definitely
plenty of fish around.

 The Doctah

      Can anyone suggest a few places in the Kittery, Wells Maine area 
      Where I can do some surfcasting...I'm new to this so any directions
      would be a great help..
    
                                               Bud

    Hi, Bud.  I fish regularly in Kittery - maybe we could arrange to meet
    there sometime.  I'll send mail.
    
    Jack Hutchinson

    RE: Plum Island
    
    Take your gear.  There are stripers and blues around.  It's anybodies
    guess if they will venture by where you are, but they are certainly
    close by.
    
    Mark,
    

    re: blues/bass from a boat.
    
    The blues are back out on stellwagen. I heard one guy on the radio
    last evening say he had fished around halibut pt all day and
    only seen one fish, this would confirm them being off shore.
    
    Bass are around inside with dusk to dawn being the best time to
    find them. You  need to decide if you want to fish bass or blues to
    tilt the odds in your best favor.
    
    Bruce

    
    
    	We spent all day friday fishing from eastern point up to halibut pt
    	and never even got a hit.  we had 3 eels and a pogie in the water
    	all day.  Saturday we moved up to the merrimack and added mackerel
    	to the offering with the same results, not a single nibble.
    
    	i guess we weren't using the right fish call...?
    
    
    	jim

    This was the first weekend this year that I have been skunked.  Fished
    Friday Off Halibut point, not even a hit, and Saturday towards Scantum
    and the Isle of Shoals with the same results.  Saw lots of whales and
    basking sharks 2-3 miles north of Twin lights in Gloucester.  I hear
    the 1/2 day boats, that were catching were going 10-15 mi offshore. 
    This would confirm the last reply that they were at stellwagon or
    jefferies.  Two weekends ago I was at stellwagon and could have caught
    blues until my arms fell off.
    
    Gordon 

    There were a good number of blues on the bank yesterday. Got
    about 12 in an 1 1/2 hours. 
    
    Crazy year. Also had a decent cod bite in the morning.
    
    Bruce

	Sounds like a 17' boat doesn't have much of a chance at 
	blues this week if they are out at Stellwagon now.  The Fisherman
	reports similar info.

	What I'm wondering is, what about stripers ?   Do they migrate
	like blues ?

	I'm planning on going out of Plum Island or Scituate or anywhere
	of the MA coast by the weekend for either blues or stripers, but
	the recent reports on blues have me wondering. 

	Are stripers more likely to be around ?

	(I gotta catch something on this boat one of these days!)

	Thanks
	Ken

    Stripers are still schooling off of Plumb Island, but are best caught
    on the zombie tides (approx midnight to dawn, when high tide falls in
    that time period).  As dawn approaches, switch from eels to pogies. 
    About one in fifteen is a keeper.  I had to release a 34-3/4 inch
    beauty a couple of weeks ago.  Did everything possible to stretch him
    to 36 inches, to no avail.  My partner took a 56-pounder later that
    morning on an eel after sun up, but I think that was a lucky hit.  They
    usually stop feeding on eels when the sun comes up.
    
    
    Good luck
    
    			-mike-

 Blues are still in Buzzard's Bay, but they are itty bitty things of about 4 lbs.

	Saturday we got a 12lb. and an 8 lb. blue in Buzzards Bay on the way
back from an unproductive Tuna trip to the fingers (by way of the QEII).
We also lost about a 6 lb. blue.  These were all taken in about 30 min. of
trolling off Col. Green's.

	Rick

	After reading the prevoious messages I don't feel as bad now.
	Just got back from 2 weeks at the Cape.
	Went out fishing on the FishTeaser 6 times.
	Launched out of Saquatucket once and the other 5 out of Allen Harbour
	in Hawrichport my front wheel drive didn't do Saquatucket.
	Skunked 4 out of the 6 trips
	Of the 2 "productive" trips
	1 - caught "1" Blue on lure <6 lbs near Bass River not far offshore
	2 - caught 1 Skate, 6 Sandsharks all over 5ft long, 1 28" Striper
	    taken off Monomoy Island ocean side.  By the way while reeling
	    in the Striper there were two sharks attacking it up to the boat.
	    Fortunately I got the striper aboard with no damage and released
	    healthy after picture session was over.

	Used every lure in my collection.
	Also tried with live Skup caught before going out and kept in 
	live well. Also tried eels.  I got the Skate and all sharks using
	skup or the eels.  Got the Striper as the sun was setting over
	Monomoy and the full moon rising east over the ocean on a lure.
	Can you figure???

	Back to the Merrimack for me!!!
	-< Tuna Tail >-

re:                      <<< Note 15.139 by CAPL::LANDRY_D >>>

>	Back to the Merrimack for me!!!


	I fished the Merrimac on saturday, first time ever going for
	stripers.   The guy I was fishing with caught a nice one, about
	35.5 inches and about 20 lbs, using cut pogies.

	I lost 2 on my 15 lb line, which was cut presumably on sharp rocks
	or shells on the bottom :-/   They sure felt good!
	
	What pound test do you guys use for stripers ?


	Ken

I use 15 pound and also a steel leader as needed.


				Jim

    Might have been blues that cut that line.  I'm fishing 15lb this season
    and have had one cut off that way, leaving the end of the line frayed.
    I concluded it was a bluefish.  I think 15 lb is sufficient if you set 
    the drag to 4 or 5 lbs and make the fish work the rod hard.  It will
    not resist bluefish teeth.  I use a short, light wire leader when
    I see evidence of bluefish.
    
    On another note - I've had less sign of fish and less action the last 
    three weeks in the surf than I did earlier this season, and much less 
    than last year.  I understand the water has not warmed up as much.  I 
    see far less bait around (last year estuary creeks often held schools 
    of pogies around high tide - this year I've seen none there.)  No
    stories of blues attacking swimmers at Hampton Beach either.  Is this a
    slower year on the beaches up here?
    
    Maybe time to go to Martha's Vinyard & see about those bonito..  That 
    would be a thrill, and on 8lb line.  Congratulations, Tim.
    
    Jack
    

	re: 15 lb line

	I was bottom fishing with cut bait.  I had 2-3' of leader attached
	to a barrel swivel, with a 1-2 oz weight on the other end of the 
	swivel so the fish could take the bait and run without feeling the
	weight.   
					     barrel swivel
					 	   v	leader  hook
		rod+reel line --------------------#oo------------J
						  ^
				[break...^.]  	 weight

	Both times the line (Berkeley Big Game) broke above the
	swivel/far from the hook.  Since it broke above the swivel, 
	it wasn't due to a blue hitting the bait.  I figure it had to 
	rub against something sharp: rock, shells, another fish.

	Wierd.  Same spot, 2 hits, 2 breaks.  

	2 guys fishing off a _jet ski_ caught 3!

	Ken

 I'd bet you found yourself a submerged rock. Trilene Big Game 15 pound line
tests at over 20 lbs, and there's no way you should be breaking that unless
your drag is set too tight. Did you check your drag? Is there any sign of
fraying, does the break appear to be clean, or is the break area somewhat
elongated and thinner than the rest of the line. The latter case is a strong
indication of the drag being set too tight.

 I use 17 lb test, and haven't broken off a fish since last year.

 Was your swivel new, or was it an old one with corrosion on it? The corrosion
can sometimes wear through the line (but I wouldn't expect two breakoffs from
it.)

 Is your line old? Or did you leave it in the sun?

 The Doctah

re:           <<< Note 15.144 by WAHOO::LEVESQUE "the dangerous type" >>>

>  I'd bet you found yourself a submerged rock. 

There were *lots* of big rocks where we were.  Some were breaking the surface
until high tide covered them.   That's what I think happened.

The broken line had some chafing on it near the break, and no noticeable 
thinning.  It looked like it rubbed against a sharp/rough object like a rock,
then snapped.

As far as the drag goes, I had my drag open all the way so that the fish hit,
it could run as the rod sat there in the holder.   Then I tightened the drag 
quickly  and set the hook.   The fish was pulling line out when the line 
snapped both times.   It was a little awkward setting the drag like this,
next time, open bale with the drag already set.

I heard the same thing about the Berkeley BG line being good stuff.  I had
just put it on a few days before going out, so it was new.

There are two other possibilities: the weights I was using were homemade.
I may have missed some sharp edges.  And yes, the swivel had some corrosion
due to not rinsing *everything* with fresh water after my first time out.
But it wasn't bad and I didn't notice any sharp burrs or anything, though 
it's possible.

Next time new hooks, new swivels to eliminate the possibilities.

Ken

*BLACK* swivels, right?

I've watched blues snapping at shiny barrel swivels...

re:              <<< Note 15.146 by ROBOAT::HEBERT "Captain Bligh" >>>

> *BLACK* swivels, right?

Yes.

re: 15.140

	 Thanks for recent report on Merrimack.

	I'm anxious to get back there after my 2 wks of limited fish at the Cape
	On my Saltwater spinning rods I use 12-15lb test and only lost fish
	to Blues when not using wireline leader 12" or 18" Black or Nylon coated
	I also have Freshwater rods aboard with 6lb and 8lb test for smaller
	bait fish and also to try for some "small" blues and Stripers.

	Early in the season two of us caught 40 Stripers in a day.
	My partner caught 30 of them using freshwater rod with freshwater
	lures (Salmon lures) using I believe 8lb but it may have been 6lb test.
	He lost none. I was using my Saltwater rig with 12-15lb test and
	caught 10 but they wre all lager fish the biggest 29" 10-1/2lbs

	I alway's have my drag preset light with closed spool.
	As I fight the fish I can "gently" increase or decrease as needed.
	I believe if you leave your spool open that when you close it
	to hook the fish the line may get caught up in the mechanism as it
	trys to set itself up thus causing a no drag situation for a short
	time but long enough for the line to break.  If you have drag preset
	light even as your setting the hook the light drag will minimize
	line breakages as your setting the hook.
	
	If you were fishing from the jetties then it is likely that your
	line could have cut on a rock on it's way in.  If off the beach away
	from the jetties I don't believe there's many rocks off the beachline?
	-<Tuna Tail >-

Dick (& others):

A quality reel won't cause you problems, especially if you flip the bail closed
by hand.  I use a lever drag for livelining/chunking (penn 25gls).  This way
you won't ever exceed the maximum drag.  I'd suggest you think twice about
messing with the drag.  If you are good, you can apply hand pressure to the
spool to increase the drag.

Tim

    Well, Ken H. and I took an unscheduled vacation day yesterday to try
    again for those Merrimack stripers.
    
    We arrived around 10:00 AM and began by trolling through the mouth of
    the river. We boated 6-8 blues and did long distance releases on easily
    that number of fish. At noon we went over to the rocks and tried our
    luck at dunking chuck pogies for stripers - 10 mintues later Ken boated
    the first fish - a nice healthy 31 incher. I was using very light line
    and ran into the same problem Ken mentioned - line parting above my 30
    lb. shock leader - there's no doubt that the rocks (or mussles) were
    causing the problem. Ken ended up boating 2 stripers in the 31 and 32
    inchers (I think - I'm sure Ken will correct me if they were larger :*)
    ) and I ended up with 1 30 incher in the boat.
    
    final score : 6-8 blues + 3 NICE stripers in the boat.
    
    		Thanks Ken!
    
    			Robert,

	A friend has invited me to go sailing with him next weekend, and part of
    the invitation was, "Bring your fishing tackle.  We'll anchor where there
    are some bluefish and you can catch a couple."

	OK, this guy is a good friend, but not a fisherman (I'm trying to be a 
    good influence and get him started).  I have no idea how he knows there are 
    bluefish there, ut I'll take his word for it.  My problem is I've always 
    fished freshwater streams for trout and lakes for bass, so I haven't a clue 
    how to start outfitting for bluefish.  I have a spinning rod and reel that'll
    handle up to about 15-lb test -- if I catch anything bigger than that, I
    won't know what to do with it anyway.

	So, assuming I'm going to be casting from an anchored boat, and that I 
    don't want to spend a fortune (I'm saving my pennies for a Powell fly rod),
    would anyone who cares to make suggestions as to what I need at a minimum
    to give me chance at catching a fish or two?  Recommended lures or live bait,
    leaders, sinkers, etc?

	I did some searching, and if there's a note that already discussed all 
    this, sorry to waste your time, and a pointer would be appreciated.

	Thanks.

                 					Rank A.

Just about any lure that you can cast out there with work. The thing is to find
them.

Look for Sea Gulls they are always a good sign of blues feeding.


					Jim

    re: .151
    
    I think that the rod and reel you have that will handle 15 lb line
    should be ok to use.  I have seen many people fishing with fresh water
    equipment.  If you get serious you will want to upgrade to heavier salt
    water stuff.
    
    Use a steel leader or 50-60 lb mono leader when going for blues and
    even stripers.  These fish are strong and roll and jump, hit a rock or
    fish scale and they are gone with your $10 lure.
    
    Lures:
    	if trolling: a swimmer such are Rapalla magnum (blue mackeral - the
    other colors work too this is my favorite) deep divers.  Most swimmers
    work well for bluefish.
    
    Casting:
    	surface poppers: Atom, gibbs, etc white with some blue in it.
    	metals: hopkins, kastmasters, pet spoons all work.
    	swimmers: surface or deep divers.
    	Jigs: also work good, drop to the bottom and reel it up.
    
    Bait:
    	Cut pogies/ mackeral, whole hering, etc.  Just drop in water at the
    depth the fish are and wait.  Chumming/chunking helps draw them in
    close.
    
    Bring enough lures/bait/leaders; you will lose some if you get into the
    blues.  Keep drag set correctly, as mentioned in previous notes.
    
    Good luck and let us know how you did.
    
    Gordon

RE: 151

	Good info for you from notes .152 and .153

	In case you don't want to invest in a not too sure thing....
	Bring the biggest lures you have used for Bass but be prepared
	to possibly loose a few.  Blues will chew them up bad.
	Use the ones with the largest treble hooks.

	Your rod/reel are fine and 15lb test is the biggest I use on
	my Penn704 Salftwater rig on a 7ft pole.

	Make sure he/you have a net if you plan on releasing the fish.
	Gaff or Club if you plan on keeping them.
	Remember Blues are Ocean "Piranha" 
	Watch your fingers and toes and nose!!!!
	Fantastic fighters espicially on light tackle.

	good luck 
	-< Tuna Tail >- who keeps his spool closed and set light. 

You don't need a net, unless the gunnels are high on the sailboat.
Grab the bluefish by the tail if you can reach it.  A thrashing bluefish in 
a net will cost you enough time to untangle that you easily could have hooked
and released another.  Especially with trebble hooks.

If you do bring lmbass lures, you will be sacrificing them.  Bronze hooks
corrode VERY quickly in the salt water.  I don't think too many lmbass hooks
are stainless or cadmium.

Good luck.
Tim

p.s.  I catch them on 8# all the time.  A good drag and you won't break them
off.

    I just grab the leader and pull them into the boat.  Most of the time
    they unhook themselves, if not just grab them by the back and take the
    hook out using pliers.  DO NOT get your fingers near the mouth as said
    in previous notes, they have been known to take finger tips off.
    
    You don't have to club them bloody as I have seen others do.  If you
    are keeping them you will ruin the meat anyways.
    
    Bluefish can see as well out of water as in it, and they have been know
    to snap/lunge at extremities (sp) so be carefull.
    
    Good Luck
    Gordon

    Surf report:
    
    Fished the incoming at dawn in Kittery (5:30 - 7:30).  Some fish
    stiring, a bit of bait - little ones - are those "spearling" or 
    something like that?  A few short strikes and one 24" schoolie landed
    on 2 oz blue/white Atom popper.  Nothing on metal, swimmers or smaller
    poppers.  Fish activity ended by 6:30.
    
    It is always great to be there as the sun comes up!
    
    Any suggestions on how to fish the surf in late August/September?
    
    Jack

    
           I'll be at Old Orchard till after Labor Day, I just bought a
       10' Surf Rod, rigged with 17lb Berkley. 
           BUT I could use a few suggestions as to where to try first and
       what to use for bait.
           Am I too early or too late for Stripers and Blues, I know they 
       go up and down the coast but I'm not sure if now is the best time 
       to catch either.
           I saw a guy at Scarborough (sp) State Park catch two last week
       but they were only around 24-25", he caught them both on sand worms
       but, this is all new to me so any suggestions would help.
    
    
          Thanks 
     
             Frank

You're not too late.  Bait choices should include eels (not sand eels, real
eels), bunker/mackerel chunks and sea worms.

Tim

        How long do the Stripers run??? My friend just got a pass for the
    Parker River Refuge to take his vehicle out on the beach and it states
    that he can only surf cast until November. Are they still running then?

    
Gus

 They usually leave by mid to late October... (from the NH/no MA area.)

    Well, stripers are still in the Merrimack.  I netted my partner's
    4th 'keeper' of the season.  He released it because his wife left
    strick order for him not to bring more fish home.  I'm still waiting
    for the luck to shift to my end of the boat :-)
    
    We also caught quite a few schoolies and lost lots of eels to
    bluefish.
    
    BTW, it was a nice night with several shooting stars and a gorgeous
    sunrise.
    
    Mark,
    

Hi Mark,

What night did you go out ?

I took yesterday off and went out, Wind was wicked !

I didn't do anything.

				Jim

    We launched the boat at 3:30 this morning.  I almost canceled
    the trip looking at the wind yesterday evening, but glad I didn't.
    The wind was light to moderate while we were fishing.
    
    Mark,
    

    The stripers are still here, but where the H___ are the bluefish?  I
    have been looking for them for the past 3 weeks and haven't seen one
    yet.  I got a strike a couple of weekends ago on Halibut point but that
    has been it.
    
    I heard that they were busting pogies in Marblehead harbor last week
    sometime.
    
    Nothing around the newburyport area this past weekend.  Heard some talk
    on the radio sunday that they were catching them pretty good at the
    Isle of Shoals.
    
    Must be one great spawn going on out there.  The 20lbers will come back
    as 5 lb racers.
    
    Gordon

    Gordon, the blues we ran into were up on the flats at high tide, in the
    dark.  We were fishing live eels rigged for bass (single hook in the
    lips).  We had lots of eels chopped up, but didn't land any of the
    blues, so I don't know how big they were.  Once the sun came up there
    was no sign of bluefish for miles.
    

    I've been getting sporadic bluefish hits off the mid-coast of Maine
    throughout August but only in one place (Bantam Rock shoal, thank you
    Saltwater Sportsman).  It's not like anything consistent - in fact last
    weekend several schools of Pogies crossed the bow of my boat running
    scared as s**t but damned if we could find what was chasing them!

    I am going up to a place just north of Booth Bay (name escapes me now).
    What are the chances of catching stripers up there? I will be fishing
    from shore. Planning on using cut macks and eels. Any problems with getting
    bait in Maine? I don't really want to haul it up with me.

    Thanks
    Rich

    People in that area have been catching keepers in the rivers
    (Sheepscot, Damariscotta, Kennebec) since July but as I said before
    it's not consistent.
    
    Bait in that area is a source of some consternation.  You would think
    that a major resort area (Boothbay) known for its fishing would
    be lousy with bait and tackle places.  It just ain't so.  My theory
    is that most of the Summer crowd is going for blues and maybe tuna
    and that's largely on artificial lures.   A fisherman friend more
    serious than I am says he gets cut mackerel and eels from lobster
    pounds, commercial fishing supply places, and sometimes at retail fish
    markets.   Can't give you more detail than that...
    

    Jim, Damariscotta is the place I will be. I'll try your advice on the
    possible bait locations. Worst case I'll go to the fish store for
    macks. Any other advice would be appreciated. I am assuming legal
    length = 36" for stripers? 

    Thanks
    Rich

Rich, I'm a novice at Striper fishing but in the few times I've gone,
they've all hit on the outgoing tide, at least 2-3 hours before high
tide.  Action stopped at high tide.   From what I've read and heard,
this is the general recommendation.   

Other recommendations I've heard: the head works best if you're using
cut bait.  The hook holds real well in a pogie's lips too.  The stripers
I've caught were on just chunks of mid-sections.   

Ken

Ken,

re:-1

>> they've all hit on the outgoing tide, at least 2-3 hours before high
>> tide.  Action stopped at high tide.   

To be sure of what you are saying, didn't you really mean an incoming
tide?

	Steve

re:                      <<< Note 15.173 by LEDDEV::DEMBA >>>

>>> they've all hit on the outgoing tide, at least 2-3 hours before high
>>> tide.  Action stopped at high tide.   
>
>To be sure of what you are saying, didn't you really mean an incoming
>tide?

	Whoops, yes, I meant an incoming tide.   Rookie mistake ;-)

	Ken

It's been almost 20 years since I've fished for blues or stripers, so Tim
Lucia and I are going to give it a whirl next Thursday PM at Plum Island.
I'll have to drag out my old 7.5' light surf rod, replace the hooks on my
Atom poppers and put some new line on the reel.

Anyone been to Plum Island lately?  Any reports?

Thx,

Joe

    the blues are still out on the NWC (north west corner).
    
    

 I'll be in Seabrook this weekend, and I might have a chance to wet a line.
I'll let you know if the fish are still around.

 The Doctah

Thanx Bruce & Doctah.  It would be great if they were still there.

Tim & I were thinking of fishing from the beach, but I've also got my 15'
aluminum boat w/25hp that I could launch.  I wouldn't want to venture too
far out, but how much better are our chances at the mouth of the Merrimack
by boat versus from shore?  Where is there a boat launch?  Is it free or fee?

Also,  what are the rules regarding CG registration?  Is my NH inland reg
OK?

Thx,

Joe

    re:.last
    
    	Joe,
    
    		Take the boat! You can stay in the river and do REALLY
    well with a boat. Ken Hannan and I fished near the toothpick (about
    50 yards from the state park launch) and got into a lot of fish.
    
    I think your chances of getting into fish are a least doubled if you
    have a boat.
    
    			Robert.

    re: .171 (Striper minimum size in Maine).
    
    Well I always assumed it was 36" but now that you mention it, I've
    certainly never seen anything specific up in Maine with regard
    to size, but then again, I probably never looked.
    
    I always thought the 36" was some sort of federal law, given that it
    seems pretty consistent up and down the East coast.
    

    Joe, definitely take the boat & launch it at the state park.  You
    should be able to find plenty of info from reading through this note.
    If you would like, give me a call at 264-4329 and I'll tell you what
    little I know :-)
    
    On the 36" min size for stripers it is not a federal law, though I
    wish it was.  I think Mass, NH, and Maine are all the same but Rhode
    Island has a limit of something like 28".
    
    Mark,
    

    Agree, definitely take the boat.  If the blues are around inside the
    mouth you should have no trouble catching fish.  If the seas and mouth
    aren't too bad you can venture outside; CAUTION if the wind is onshore
    watch out for the mouth on an outgoing tide.
    
    If there are no blues you have the ideal boat for striper fishing on
    Joppa flats, in the plum island river, just aboun anywhere.
    
    Watch out for the big boat wakes, they can get pretty nasty when 3-4 of
    them go out in a row.
    
    Gordon
    I'll be there this weekend "Rock'n 'n Reel'n"
    

re: .178

  >> Also,  what are the rules regarding CG registration?  Is my NH inland reg
  >> OK?

  Your 15ft is fine as far as Federal Recreational Vessal Fee's rules go.
  Current recreational fee starts at boat's 16ft or longer up to 20ft $25.00
  I believe this Fed Tax will be gone in upcoming years.

  Watch you boat out at the mouth as it definetly is a challange even in
  larger vessels but there's "alway's" fish hanging in those waves.  But
  it get's choppy and you need to be watchful of others in same area.

  Might try to get out there this weekend sometime.
  Will launch from Salisbury State Park.
  Good Hunting
  -< Tuna Tail >- aboard the "FishTeaser" Minitor CB CH19 & VHF CH 9
  

    I got my daughters (8 & 11) up at 3:30 Saturday morning & we drove up to
    York, Maine for a striper charter.  Had breakfast in York at 5:00, and 
    met the captain, Dick Witham, at the town pier at 5:30.  We fished
    the river a bit, some points and holes along the coast up to Ogunquit,
    then back in the York River as the tide picked up going out.  Returned
    to the car at 12:30.

    The girls landed 6 fish, including a keeper for each of them, all on 
    livelined pollock.  So they're both ahead of me now (a year of surfcasting,
    zero keepers).  We kept one of the fish, took it home on ice to show 
    Mom, then filleted it and have been eating well.

    It was wonderful watching them fight those big fish.  We all had a great 
    time.  Several times a striper chased a pollock up to the surface,
    slapped and swirled it before inhaling it and running off.  We had at 
    least 20 strong hits.  Dick used small and very light (fine wire) hooks.
    They looked much too small & light to me, but they did the job.  Also,
    he used 30 lb mono on the reels, but 20 lb or even 12 lb mono leader.

    I recommend the charter - $200 for a half-day, which turned out to be
    seven hours.  Dick was great with the kids and with the fishing.  He 
    runs a 22' Tripp Angler center console, "Linesider".

    Jack

    Jack, You said that you were using Livelined Pollock. I am assuming
    that the Pollock were live? Did you catch your bait or did he have it?
    
    Rich

    Re: .181
    
    The legal limit in Rhode Island and New York is 28 inches.  Connecticut
    is the same as Mass and Maine, 36 inches.
    
    Greg

    Yup, live pollock - 11-14 inches.  He had caught them earlier in the 
    week.  Had them at a mooring in one of those wood-slatted holding pens 
    that's about 2' square.  He did not have a livewell on the boat - when 
    we were underway he set the pen sideways into a rectangular plastic 
    bin behind the leaning post.  When we drifted he dropped it over the 
    side.  We used at least 20 baits.  
    
    Everthing was low-tech, never used a fishfinder or turned on his radio,
    either.  He did wave & exchange greetings with passing boats...
    
    Jack

    	Anyone been out in Buzzards Bay around the West end of the Canal
    lately?  I plan on doing the Mashnee area Friday night with Stripers on
    the fly rods as our primary target...  Of course if all we can find is
    Blues we'll just have to be satisfied with them. :^>
    	Any info would be greatly appreciated.
    						Thanks,
    						  B.C.

    re: .188
    
    	The last time I fished the west end for stripers (about 1 month
    ago) proved to be a very frustrating experience. Schoolies were busting
    bait fish everywhere, but wouldn't touch anything attached to a line.
    I watched a couple of guys trying with flygear - they couldn't get them
    to hit either.
    
    Bring some bottom gear just in case - there are lots of fluke and
    'tog around!
    
    				Robert.

	I'm doin my best to go Striper hunting this weekend in Merrimack.
	May even take Friday off wind/weather permitting.

	After my two weeks vacation down the Cape with disappointing results
	I can't wait to get back to familiar territory.  Will fish all the
	High tides and the dawn/dusk periods hard using lures mostly but
	will buy some live/frozen bait who ha's.

	Launching from Salisbury State park.
	Anybody else goin this weekend give me a call and we can compare
	reel fish stories!!!

	-< Tuna Tail >- aboard FishTeaser 19ft SeaNymph Center console
			Monitors CB CH19 and VHF CH9

	I spoke to a breakfeast diner friend of mine this morning.
	He caught his first Striper this past Sunday down the Cape.
	Was aboard a Charter out of Rock Harbour.  Of the 6 aboard 3 of
	them had never gone sportfishing.

	They did well fishing along Bay side coast up to P'town but from
	what he told me did not go to Race Point.

	They used deep running lures (no live bait at all) from buck tail
	jigs to triple treble lures he could not describe type etc.  Trolling
	all the time as no fish spotted on surface with 2 outrigers and
	2 lines aft out at all times.

	They all caught fish mostly blues all down deep and 4 Stripers
	2 lost during fight 2 brougt aboard no keepers.  One being just
	shy of 36" which was caught by the person I was talking too.  
	They all had a great time.

	Captain said that there;s not many blues this year and even mentioned
	he felt they may need to put a ban on Blues if this keeps up?
	
	What do the rest of you feel?
	Is this yucky blue season just a fluke? (no pun intended)

	-< Tuna Tail >-

Tim Lucia and I are planning to  launch out of Salisbury State Park Thursday
afternoon and fish the incoming tide until well after dark.  It's been many
years since I've been striper/blue fishing so I'm looking forward to this
trip.  We'll be tossing both live bait (eels) as well as cut bait and lures.

If anyone is out there, give a holler.  No CB or VHF onboard.  Just look for
a 15' blue Princecraft w/25 Merc, tiller steering.

Will post results on Friday.

Joe

    re: merrimack river
    
    There are lots of pogies in the river, snag a few and live line them or
    slow troll with them.  They are the best daytime striper bait.  Use a
    stinger hook in the tail for those short strikes, I lost a couple good
    ones Monday am because of no tail hook.
    
    Gordon
    

    RE: .191                                
    
    	Not all about Bass, but...
    	The Rock Harbor fleet can usually be found out in about 70ft. of
    water off the "Cut" between Wellfleet and Pamet this time of year. They
    generally troll a couple umbrella rigs deep and some skip baits
    (hoochies or similar) off the outriggers.  The Blues are usually pretty
    scarce in the Bay this time of year but I'd bet they were looking for
    Blues and caught the Bass incidentally.
    	Bluefish population is cyclic.  When there's lots of baitfish the 
    population of Blues goes up each year.  Eventually there's SO many
    Blues that they're devastating the baitfish and the baitfish population
    goes down.  Now there's not enough food for the Blues so their numbers
    fall.  Been going on that way forever.
    	Thanks for the replies about the Stripers.  The Merrimack is an
    option, but I can get in more fishing time at the Canal.  If I wanted
    to put in the time for the 1.5 hr. drive up north I'd probably just do
    the extra .5 out the Cape to my father's house in Brewster instead. 
    There are a few spots out that way that almost always produce for us.
    
    					B.C.

re:193  merrimack river

	Gordon

	thanks for the update on pogies.
	I'll certainly try to snag some.

	Time permitting I wanted to go out and see if I could get some Mack's
	Anybody have luck with them outside the mouth of the Merrimack and
	if so how far did you go?  In the past I could get some not too
	far off shore just a tad <1/2 mile northeast of the North jetty.

	I'll probably also get some SeaWorms/eels etc from Surfland.

	Looking forward to working Full Moon High Tide around midnight Friday.

	-< Tuna Tail >- aboard FishTeaser monitoring CB 19 & VHF CH 9

	

I was fishing the incoming tide last Mon nite on Seabrook beach.  I usually have
pretty good luck there, but not this time. Not a bite.

Got a keeper there early in the summer.  Had good luck last year too.

The rips near the north end rocks aren't running like earlier in the season, so
my favorite spot may be blown out.

I usually use cut frozen mackeral.  I alway try a few casts with bucktail hopkins
(single hook), but it never works.

Caught a MONSTER skate!

I've had good luck there on incoming and outgoing tides. No luck at dead low.

Any ideas?

...bill

    
    Well, just when i was ready to give up on the big guys and head inland
    for some "toothless" bassoids, all this talk of full moon/high tide
    got the blood flowing.   So, in a little while i'm heading home to
    hook up the boat and head for gloucester.  Do some boat fishing till
    dark, then spend some time doing some shore fishing...sounds like just
    the nite for it...
    If anyone is around halibut pt/annisquam, SUMFUN will be listening...
    
    
    Jim

    I'm planning on fishing the Merrimac entrance tonight at the high tide.  
    Anybody else gonna got in_som_nia?  Just got off the phone with Kay at
    Surfland.  She said the BLUES HAVE COME IN.
    
    /MArk
    

    How is the area of the mouth of the Merrimack for boating? I have a
    little 14' 50 hp glassmaster but never ventured out toward the ocean
    and fish fresh water up in the lowell area. Maybe if somebody has an
    opening on there boat sometime and would like company I could join in
    and watch what the does and donts are?????? I have very light fresh
    water tackle and a heavy duty power stick for bottem fishing so I would
    also like to learn what I need to pick up for blues/stripers.

Well, Tim Lucia and I hit the Merrimack last night, launching at Salisbury 
State Park.  I had one small fish on for a few minutes and then lost it.  
Otherwise, nada...zippo...the big O!

There were a number of boats out there but no one was doing anything.  There 
were small craft warnings up and the wind was really whipping.  Impossible 
to see any surface action.

It was my fisrt time out for stripers/blues in many years and I'm looking 
forward to doing it again.  I'd really like to hook up with someone who 
knows the river well to get some ideas as to where to go.

Joe

    	Friday night 9/11 Buzzards Bay.  Fished from 6pm - 2:30am.  Caught
    1 undersize Striper and 2 Blues about 4 and 7 lbs.  Good grill size.
    
    Beautiful night!!!  NE wind about 8mph, full moon, high thin clouds.
    All of the fish were caught on the beginning of the outgoing tide on
    eels about 15-20 ft. down in 35-40 ft. of water.  Did lots of fishing
    around rocks in shallow water with nothing to show for it.
    
    	My first night out in that area in my little Whaler so I probably
    spent more time paying attention to where we were and what the tides were
    doing than I did fishing.
    
    	I'll definitely go out there again!  One little note to other first
    timers in that area.  The tides are incredible!!!  On our way back in
    we eased up around the bouy to make the turn into the channel for the
    Bourne Marina/Buttermilk Bay.  I slowed down and just held position
    beside the bouy....  My speedometer was solid on 10.5 mph.!!!  If you
    go out in the area in a small boat be sure you have the power to run
    against the tide!  We'd do drifts from under the stern of the Maritime
    Academy ship and we'd just zip out past Hog and Mashnee Islands in no
    time!  The water was rushing around the bouys and causing so much
    turbulance that it sounded like a waterfall every time you got within a
    couple hundred yards of one.
    
    	Anyone who wants more details please don't be bashful.
    
    					B.C.  

    I was out with a couple friends Fri. nite fishing the full moon tide
    at the Merrimac River entrance.  We boated 3 stripers, the biggest 
    being 26 inches.  No blues.  Was out yesterday as well.  Caught 1
    striper in the entrance and a dog fish off the bottom at the MR Bouy.
    NO Blues ...are they ever going to blitz the shore this year.?
    
    /MArk

    Went in the water at Gloucester about 3:30pm, Friday.  We went out past
    the drill rig and up along eastern shore.  Had two hits on eels, but 
    nothing in the boat.  Later, just before sunset, we moved back to the
    entrance to Gloucester Harbor and spent the next four hours drifting
    between the two bouys.  Had quite a few hits, and put three 5# blues
    in the boat, no stripers, although I had one hit that stripped all my
    gear after about 5 seconds, left me with some frayed line, which may
    have been a striper (i was using real short leaders, 6", which works
    fine for the blues...)
    
    What a NIGHT.  Real light winds (<8mph), Almost NO traffic, and not
    as cool as we had expected.  First time night fishing, but NOT the
    last.  Each time we hooked a blue, we would put a light on so we
    could net the fish, and we would see several other blues chasing the
    one on the line.
    
    
    Jim

re: .199 & .200	 hunting for tips

re: other noters knowing tips etc.

	Any noters out there want to rendevous at Salisbury State park ramp
	for an evening/night/day of fishing, swapping tails, tips about 
	the exciting Merrimack etc?

	If we could ever find a calm weekend like this past one it would be
	good to show those interested the hot spots in the River and how
	to handle the mouth in/out for those in smaller craft.

	I for one would welcome Digital noters aboard the FishTeaser.
	I had friends/some family members bug out on me this past weekend
	and had room for some hunter/helpers aboard.  Friday night it was
	my son (22 yrs) and I, Saturday my youngest daughter (8 yrs) and I.

	This would be good time to do it as fish are still there (somewhere)
	and the park is not crowded even this past beautitul weekend not many
	boats at ramp.

	Any other's interested?

	-< Tuna Tail >-

re:                      <<< Note 15.204 by CAPL::LANDRY_D >>>

>	Any noters out there want to rendevous at Salisbury State park ramp
>	for an evening/night/day of fishing, swapping tails, tips about 
>	the exciting Merrimack etc?


	I'd be into it.  Planning on taking the boat out there real soon,
	while the stripers are still around.  Daytime preferred.

	Ken

    re:-.2
    
    I would also be interested, although my scheduled is a bit cloudy for
    the next couple of weeks.  i've never used the salisbury ramp, always
    used cashman park, up river.  
    
    Jim

    re .204 - yes, I'd be interested in an evening trip Saturday night - if
    that works out.  
    
    No boat yet, though I'm working toward one.  Be happy to contribute to 
    expenses.  I have been out on the Merrimack a couple of times on a 
    private charter, caught some schoolies - and I could show how Dick Witham
    livelined those pollock.
    
    I fished the Sullivan Bridge and the rocks in Kittery on Saturday
    night.  Conditions were perfect - tide, moon, seas - but no fish at
    all.  I concentrated on swimmers & livelining eels.  I think altogether
    it has been a tough year on the coast.  We've had mostly westerly
    winds, and as a result the warmer water is blown out and cold water
    drawn up along our coast - which does not favor baitfish or blues. 
    Also, the weather has been cool.  I've seen very little bait around 
    compared to last year.  The stripers I've caught have generally not
    been plump, the one I cleaned had an empty stomach.
    
    Jack

re: 204

Yup, you might be able to twist my arm.  I don't think I want to try
to do it again from my 15' tin can while small craft warnings are up
and the wind is ripping.  If someone is going and has an open spot, let me 
know.

-Joe-

    Fished the MV tourney over the weekend...with no success. Started
    Friday evening at 7 fishing Wasque til 4 - of the 20+ fisherfolks
    there no one had a hookup. So we moved to Menemsha for some pre-
    sunrise, pre-high tide fishing. Saw a 30#+ striper caught and then
    the albacore arrived around 10 AM. About a dozen caught on the Lobster-
    ville side, but only a pair off the Menemsha jetty (guess where we were
    ??? :^(
    So we quit at noon on the low tide to head out for brunch and 2 hours
    sleep. Returned to Lobsterville then to Menemsha for the sunset alba-
    core blitz and fished for blues and stripers til 10, then left for
    Edgartown harbor which we fished til 1 AM. Saw only three caught
    throughout this period. All types of live baits and many assorted lures
    were tried, only Swedish Pimples and ??? Mikes ??? (looks like a
    pimple) produced positive results. Saw but 1 bonita caught as well.
    Fished my way back from Menemsha to Vineyard Haven for the noon ferry
    back to the mainland and didn't see a single blitz or hookup.
    Throughout the great sun/ fullmoon period we generally fished the hours
    before and after high tide, along with the slacks (both high and low).
    Judging from the previous notes and everyone's limited success from
    Maine to RI (RI being the exception) I'd blame it on the moon, although
    it sure was pretty !
    Talked to friends who stopped by the Edgartown check-in and reports
    seem to indicate that the tourney is off to a slow start for blues,
    and bonita. 
    Hope to try again next month. Will post stats if I can get them over
    the next few weeks.
    
    -Bob
                 

re: -1

	-Bob

	Good update on the MV tourney.
	Sure hope the season gives us a Wham/pow/shrill/whine of the lines!!!
	Somethin before winterizing time....Brrrrrrr.

	-< Tuna Tail >-

	Seems there's enough interest expressed in these files for an
	informal rendevous at the Merrimack River at Salisbury State Park.
	Weather/Wind/Tides/Time/$$$/family/friends/other DECcies permitting.

	Counted 5 others interested so far.
	Ken,Jim,Jack,-joe-,Baitmaster including me -< Tuna Tail >-
	Most have boats some may be too small for excursions beyond mouth.

	Anyone interested in targeting this Saturday am 2hrs <High Tide?
	I think HT is around 5:17am in the Merrimack.  This would make
	for a nice sunrise hunt.  Next HT is around 5:31pm so just about
	make sunset a few hrs after to make for a complete day.
	CAN SOMEONE VERIFY THE TIDES FOR ME....

	I will know soon if I can bring 1-2 aboard the "FishTeaser"
	19ft SeaNymph CC191 70HP Johnson CB CH19 VHF CH9

	Those interested can you post your vessel's specs and if you can
	bring a noter aboard.  I have your node::names and handles on file.

	If not this weekend we can keep trying till the fish show up again.

	-< Tuna Tail >-

Is there another baitmaster in this note file?  I originally replied to this
note in the LIVEBAIT note - I must be loosing my mind due to to much baiting.

My striper boat is a 16ft Duranautic Aluminum Skiff with the uglyst wooden
console afloat but it does catch fish.  I usually fish alone but I do have
room for another.  High tide this Saturday should be a bit before 5AM because
my pocket tide chart shows the PM HT at 5:13.  This is an excellent poggie
tide and if the stripers are still around like they were Labor Day weekend,
then it might be a lot of fun.

This Saturday really isn't very good for me as I'm planning an off-shore run
for cod and sharks.  Would Sunday be an alternative?  Still a very good tide.
Unfortunately it looks like Sunday is the only day I can join you folks as
my weekends have been planned for me until the end of October thanks to DEC
and family.

I'd really like to meet some of you folks...

Dave

re: -1

	Dave aka BaitMaster

	Nope you not los'n it.  I included your interest expressed in
	LIVEBAIT here in STRIPED BASE Note for the Merrimack gathering of
	Fishing-V2 Noters.

	How far R U goin offshore for COD/Sharks and if so will you be in
	your 16' Skiff????   Give ya credit if ya'r  Will you have VHF aboard?
	If so what's ya call sign so we can chat depending on how far out
	you are.

	I may travel out if seas are nice during day.  I have been to the
	Isle of Shoals with the FishTeaser but have not gone way way out.

	Anywho...

	Targeting the meet for 2:30am-3:00am Saturday at the Salisbury Ramp.
	Will fish 3:00am to 8:00pm to do both HT's and Dawn/Dusk hunts.
	Have -joe- joining me for the day (not bringing his 15' boat)
	Have Jack  joining us at 4:00pm at the ramp for HT Dusk hunt.

	B.C. can't make Saturday's for awhile (soccer etc)
	A few other noters (including myself) would like to drain your brain
	for the top secret info you have.  If we say Sunday instead would
	you make it???  Also would B.C. make it???  I'll ask -joe-, Jack
	-< Tuna Tail >-
	

    
    	i have a soccer committment on saturday also, sunday is possible...
    
    	jim
    

Dick,

Saturday is better for me, but I can probably do Sunday if that's the 
concensus.  We've had such a string of nice days that I wonder if it will 
last thru the entire weekend.

Joe

    heard on the weather this morning that sat afternoon could produce
    scattered boomers, but who believes weather reports anymore???
    
    Jim
    

-<Tuna Tail>-

Yes if it's Sunday I can make it and would be happy to share some of my
expertise on the Merrimack.  Of course not everything as I've got to keep
a few secrets....

As far as Saturday is concerned - no I'm not taking the 16' skiff off-shore
although I've been known to do more stupid things.  I also own a 27' cruiser
that I use on the big water.  If by chance the gathering is on Saturday give
me a call on VHF channel 9, 10 or 72 as I'll probably be listening along the
way.  I won't be heading out until about 6:30 on Saturday.  The name of my
boat is the "Harpoonist".

Now I won't be able to hide except in the dark !!!

Dave

I don't have a boat, but if there's room on someones, and if the gathering is
Sunday, I'd love to go and share expenses.

I've been out to Plum Island twice this summer, and been skunked both times.  I'd
sure like to have someone prove to me that there's fish out there 8^).

Dave

    question?
    
    on the salbury drift near the end of the tide what is the name of the
    solitary rock that appears oh it seems about 2/3s the way down the
    drift?  It is not a big rock .
    
    I was just wondering?
    
     
    
    

	RE-1: I believe the rock you are talking about is called "Lunt Rock".


	I will also be fishing Sunday. I was wondering if I should bring my
	small gas grill. Seeing we are talk about putting in at 4 in the morning
	and staying till after super. Maybe some of you would like to eat some of 
        the fish we hope to catch. This will also give me chance to try some of 
        those recipes for blues. Just a thought.

	I have a 16.5' Silverlane with a 70 Evinrude.

				-< Big Jim >-

Yes the name of that rock is either Lunt or Lunt's rock - I've always called
it Lunt's.

So what day is the Salisbury get together, Saturday or Sunday?  The weather
forecast is better for Sunday then for Saturday.

Dave

re: last few & calls & VAXmail

        Merrimack River Gathering at Salisbury State Park Ramp 20-Sept-92 3:00am

        Looks best for Sunday morning. I'm planning on launching around 3:00am.
        Check list below and edit times you can make it.
        Those with boats list who is with you or if you can take someone aboard
        I have -joe-, Jack coming with me on the "FishTeaser" and DECie Ken G.

        -< Big Jim >- indicated he'd bring his gas grille and be julia childs.

        Dave is looking for a spot so can someone offer one up.
        After Dave if another spot opens up I would have Ken G bring his wife.

        Bring your camera's and any photographic evidence of your "Big one's".
        We will have a group photo placed in the Fishing Album.

    SUNDAY       Sunrise HT             Sunset HT
    ------      3:00am-8:00am           4:00pm-9:00pm
================================================================================
-< Tuna Tail >- <------------------------------------>    19' SeaNymph 70hp J
     -joe-      <------------------------------------>    15' (not bringing it)
     Jack       <------------------------------------>        boatless
  Ken Goguen    <------------------------------------>    17' (not bringing it)
================================================================================
  BaitMaster    <------------------------------------>    16' duranautic
     +?
================================================================================
     Jim B      <------------------------------------>    17' Grady White 90hp J
     +?
================================================================================
    Dave        <------------------------------------> no boat looking for spot
================================================================================
 -< Big Jim >-  <------------------------------------> 16.5' Silverlane 70hp E
    +?
================================================================================
    Ken               <------------------------------> 17' Thomspon
    +1                <------------------------------>
================================================================================
   Brian                   can't make it
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Lemme know
        -< Tuna Tail >-

    
    Due to an "unexpected" family commitment, I will not be able to join
    you folks on Sunday (and i'll be muttering about it all day...).  Hope
    all goes well, and EVERYBODY gets a fish (which i'm sure will happen,
    since I won't be there...whine, whine, whine)
    
    	Jim

re: -1

	Jim,
		Sorry you won't make it.

		Will make sure you get to see all the photo's "evidence"
		of Sunday's event.

		See ya at the next gathering at the Merrimack.

		....keep your whining to the sounds of a Striper on your line!!!

	-< Tuna Tail >-

re: Friday am update....

        Merrimack River Gathering at Salisbury State Park Ramp 20-Sept-92 3:00am
        Weather pridictions are best for Sunday....looking good.
        ------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Vessel 1 -< Tuna Tail >- aboard "FishTeaser" with
                 -joe- & Jack and fellow DECie Ken Goguen.

        Vessel 2 -< Big Jim >- aboard and friend Dan.

        Vessel 3 BaitMaster aboard coming from upriver and can take 1 mate.

        Dave is looking for a spot so maybe he can go with the BaitMaster?
        ------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Bring your camera's and any photographic evidence of your "Big one's".
        We will take a group photo to place in the Fishing Album.

        We will meet at the Salisbury State Park Ramp at <3:00am.
        BaitMaster will call us on VHF CH9 on his way downriver to meet us.
        I have two portable CB's and will give that to -< Big Jim >- unless
        he has CB or VHF?  Looks like I'll be Comm central monitoring both
        CB CH19 and VHF CH9 to keep us all connected with action.

    SUNDAY       Sunrise HT             Sunset HT
    ------      3:00am-8:00am           4:00pm-9:00pm
================================================================================
-< Tuna Tail >- <------------------------------------>    19' SeaNymph 70hp J
!    -joe-      <------------------------------------>    15' (not bringing it)
!    Jack       <------------------------------------>        boatless
! Ken Goguen    <------------------------------------>    17' (not bringing it)
================================================================================
! BaitMaster    <------------------------------------>    16' duranautic
     +1
================================================================================
!   Dave        <------------------------------------> no boat looking for spot
================================================================================
!-< Big Jim >-  <------------------------------------> 16.5' Silverlane 70hp E
!   Dan         <------------------------------------>       boatless
================================================================================
!  Jim B                   can't make it               17' Grady White 90hp J
================================================================================
!   Ken                    can't make it               17' Thomspon
================================================================================
!  Brian                   can't make it               ?
================================================================================
! -mike-                   can't make it               25' Renken I/O VHF
================================================================================

        -< Tuna Tail >-

	Friday PM Status of those goin Sunday 3:00am.....BRING COFFEE!!!!

    SUNDAY       Sunrise HT             Sunset HT
    ------      3:00am-8:00am           4:00pm-9:00pm
================================================================================
-< Tuna Tail >- <---------------Boat #1-------------->    19' SeaNymph 70hp J
     -joe-      <------------------------------------>    15' (not bringing it)
     Jack       <----------------->                           boatless
     +1         <------------------------------------>    maybe Dave or other
================================================================================
  BaitMaster    <---------------Boat #2------------->    16' duranautic
     +1                                                   maybe Dave?
================================================================================
 -< Big Jim >-  <---------------Boat #3--------------> 16.5' Silverlane 70hp E
    Dan         <------------------------------------>       boatless
================================================================================
    Dave        <------------------------------------> no boat looking for spot
================================================================================

	-< Tuna Tail >-

	Sorry I couldn't make it but how was the fishing ?

			Jim

	Merrimack River gathering of Fishing-V2 noters

	Three Boats with 6 noters aboard made it Saturday.

	The "FishTeaser" with -< Tuna Tail >-, -joe-, Jack and Dave aboard
	BaitMaster and his 16' duranautic
	-< Big Jim >- with friend Dan and his 16.5' Silverlane 70hp E

	We all caught Stripers after hard 1/2 day to full day's work
	The FishTeaser launced at 3:00am with 4 aboard and received radio
	call from the BaitMaster who was already fishing.  We met -< Big Jim >-
	later that morning.  It was a beautiful day for fishing.  River was
	calm, mouth of the River was good and the ocean has small waves.
	A bit chilly but clear day.  FishTeaser pulled out at 6:30pm. Long Day!

	I know the BaitMaster and -< Big Jim >- got Stipers but no details.
	For the "FishTeaser" we got our first Striper on a live Poggie
	but for the most part the Stipers just toyed with them.  We did no
	better with live eels, various plugs and cut poggie using small pieces.
	All the Stripers were small schoolies.  Later we changed to seaworms
	on single hook and weighted for bottom drift fishing.  This did well.

	-< Tuna Tail >-		2 Stripers	1 Flounder
	- joe - 		5 Stripers
	Jack			2 Stripers	
	Dave			2 Stripers	1 Flounder	Misc junk
				----------	----------	---------
			       11 Stripers	2 Flounder	?????????

	Dave was getting restless as most of the day had gone by with only
	results being clam, rocks, seaweed, driftwood, other lines and
	various unknown aquatic debris.  Finally he get's a flounder so
	we all felt better he didn't get skunked.  We all wanted him to
	get a Striper so we fished more and bingo we had doubles on with
	Dave and - joe - bringing in two Stripers while doing the drift
	from the mouth into the river (Incoming Tide in the afternoon).
	To top this off they both did it again.  So two doubles for the day.

	My excitement came after fighting a Striper (we assume) for 5min
	the line went slack (my goof) and she's gone.  I doubt it would
	have been legal size 36" but it would have been a big fish for the day.
	That's my whining part.....

	All Stripers were released fine after a few photo sessions.
	1 Flounder released and Dave took one home for his wife. 
	Guess they need a pet?
	Speaking of which......In the morning Jack brought the sea worms 
	and 11 of 12 eels.  The 12th eel got loose at home that am and is
	still on the prowl somewhere under his refridgerator he thinks.

	It was great to finally be able to associate a face with the names
	in the Fishing-V2 notes file.  Now we can all laugh a bit more when
	the comments go flying around.

	Hoping to meet this gang again and you noters who coulnd't make it
	this time.

	Till the next gathering
	-< Tuna Tail >-
	
	

Yup, it was a GREAT day!  But Tuna Tail musta lost count, because I managed 
to pick up 7 (not 5) stripers, the biggest measuring in at 27".  Also, it 
was taken on an eel.  The l-o-n-g day in the sun must have fried his memory 
a little!  Talk about a MARATHON day of fishing...15+ hours on the water!

We did hear a report on the radio that someone picked up a 41" striper 
weighing in at about 30#!  It was released to get bigger.

It was good to meet you guys and it was a lot of fun.  I hope we can do it 
again sometime.  Thanks to Tuna Tail for his hospitality and the invite.  

Thanks!

Joe

PS.  When are you gonna get a head on the FishTeaser?
	

    Thanks for posting the trip report.  I'm sorry family plans kept me
    away.
    
    It sounds like the fishing was pretty slow.  I thought September was
    suposed to be one of the best months for catch big stripers.  So far,
    I've seen no evidence of that.
    
    Mark,
    

    I'm sorry I missed it also...sounds like just about everyone caught
    a striper.  The thing that amazed me was if I understand the report,
    NO blues were caught???  That's the only thing I end up with when I
    go after stripers...with 15+ hours of fishing, I would have thought 
    that some blues would have been mixed in with all the bass?
    
    Jim (envious...)
    

 The fish are just starting to come back in (from what I hear from
shore fishers.) The next couple of weeks things should improve.

Hey -<Tuna Tail>- .  I  believe that it was you who got the day's record for
largest Muscle, pulled up from Badgers late in the afternoon.  And  I think that
Joe got the first clam of the day.  I was just trying to follow his example 8^).
Besides, with all that meat comming aboard, someone had to supply the salad.

It was a fun day.  Thanks for the hospitality.  Fish Teaser's a great platform.

Those Stripers may have been small, but they sure didn't think that they were.

<dave>

    	Sounds like a great time!  I wish I knew a little earlier that my
    family plans were canceled!! :^(   Not enough time to get the boat
    ready, grab 1 wink, and leave home at 1am...  
    
    	The day was not lost however.  A friend showed up at my door at 7am
    and convinced my wife that I really NEEDED to go to Essex with him for
    the day!
    	I'm a little surprised that the mouth of the Merrimac wasn't rough
    in the morning.  The Essex River was, shall we say, interesting...  It
    was big enough that we came real close to taking water over the bow of
    my friends 25ft. HydraSports!
    	We trolled the Halibut Point area and picked up a few Blues. 
    Everyone seemed to be picking away at them.  Marked LOTS of fish, most
    at about 25ft. and some hanging near ledges on the bottom.  After the
    tide turned everything turned off.  We tried to raise the Fish Teaser
    on the VHF to see how you guys were doing, but you must have been too
    busy pulling in fish (etc.)!
    	Decided we'd see if we could get anything off the bottom around the
    ledges.  Dropped a 6oz. Hopkins down in ~50ft. and the second jig on
    the rod I got hit but didn't hook up.  5-6 pulls later and I've got a
    fish on!  I was a little surprised to see a Cod come up!  A little
    while later we boated another but then started snagging so many Dogfish
    we gave up on the Cod.
    	Back into the River with some eels but no bass to show for it.  We
    talked to 4-5 other boats and only heard of 1 little bass caught.  Of
    course everyone said they'd been catching them all week, but not today.
    
    	Almost forgot, the Blues were really skinny for fall fish.  The
    ones we caught were in the 7-10lb. range.
    
    					B.C.

re: last few

	Joe - Sorry I lost count.  Next time I'll have a score pad aboard.
	      Wasn't it you that also caught that crab???

       Mark - Fishing may be slow but it's great to catch fish any kind any size
	      I believe it'll get better quick and we will be there!!!

	Jim - Yup no blues were caught by us.  We heard some callers trying
	      to get a report on anyone catching Blues but no replies.
	      Last Blue aboard the FishTeaser was on Sat Sept 12 one 13# 
	      caught out of the mouth 30' depth on deep running lure wire line.

      <Dave>- Woops I was hoping you'd forget about my bottom fish....
	      But then no pictures were taken so it doesn't count anyway.
	      When all our pictures are developed we will need to rendevous.
	      Hopefully at the Merrimack gathering #2

	B.C.- Glad you made it out.  Didn't hear you call but we were 
	      not monitoring VHF CH9 as we stayed on the BaitMaster CH
	      till he left mid day.  In the afternoon we were on CH9
	      and I replied to one call but no response as other traffic
	      jumped in and I did not call back to see who was calling us.
	      About what time did you call and how often did you try???

	Ok so updated FishTeser report for 20-Sep-92
	13 Stripers, 2 Flounder, 1 Crab, 2 Muscle's, 1 Clam and Salad stuff.

	-< Tuna Tail >-

	From my perspective the gathering was very nice.  It's good to be able to
put faces with names.  Next time it would be good to have someone else aboard so
I could feel more part of the action.

	Overall the fishing was slow even for the baitmaster.  I only caught 2 fish
(1 about 27" and the 2nd about 30") both on poggies.  A non-Deccie friend of mine
"Tom" was the individual that caught the 41" fish.  He also caught 2 other 30"
stripers and a bluefish.  Another friend "Phil" caught 3 stripers with largest about
35".  Overall the fish were small and they played with the poggies more then anything
as Tuna-Tail previously reported.  I think the fish have thin-out a bit.  Also there
were a lots of poggies in the river so the fish can be selective.  I would suspect
the poggies will be heading out of the river in the next couple of weeks, because
they seem to be schooling up closer and closer to the mouth.

	I didn't know that a second boat had joined the gathering.  I thought that
it was only Tuna-Tail and myself.  Next time I hope to meet everyone.

	Tuna-Tail - How did the poggies keep in your livewell?  Did you have any
luck on them either alive, dead of chunked?  

Until next gathering....

Dave (AKA - Harpoonist or Baitmaster)

Dave,

The pogies kept pretty well all day in the well.  In fact, we tossed several back
alive and kicking when we pulled out a 6PM.

Several of us tried small chunks as well as live fish off and on all day.  When
we met you at the bridge was really the only time that they seemed to be
effective at all for us, but as you mentioned, they were mostly just played with.

The only real success that we had all day was drifting at the mouth on the
incomming tide with worms.

<dave>

re: -1	Glad to have your report.

	I know any of the gang aboard the "FishTeaser" would have been all
	to happy to join "the expert" including me but we didn't want to
	impose on asking so we kept silent.

	Now that we know each other we won't be so courteous....we'll all ask!!!

	With 4 aboard and all the gear/stuff it's about the max for fishing.
	Fishing alone is a bummer.  We saw a boat with only the captain who had
	3 lines out trolling.  We all wondered what would happen if a fish hit 
	let alone double's which we had two happen to us.

	The other boat was -< Big Jim > and Dan.  They did not have a VHF
	and I had problems keeping my CB plugged in solid so I didn't lend
	my other portable to him.  I fix it and use it next time.

	The poggies kept alive pretty well but not too active.  We tried again
	and even went back to the spot where we caught the first Striper 
	using a live poggie but we didn't even get any chasers.  The poggies 
	seemed to huddle up in the front of my livewell. It's a "V" shaped well
	with the "V" point at the bow.  They huddled up at the point.  I know
	this is bad but these two wells came with the boat.  We liked the
	setup you had.  Wish I had room on the "FishTeaser" to do the same.
	The cut poggies didn't produce and we tried large and very small cuts.
	Most Stripers got on worms but 1 on live poggie and 1 on live eel.
	None on lures

	 -< Tuna Tail >- aka dick

    RE: .-1
    
    I think I was the guy fishing alone trolling three lines.  My wife said
    (after I mowed the lawn and other honey do stuff) its a nice day why
    don't you go out fishing this afternoon if you want;  we'll two seconds
    later I was gone.
    
    Didn't catch anything, went to breaking rocks off salisbury beach and
    in/around the river mouth.  I saw a sea nymph with three guys in it, I
    looked for a name but didn't see it.  I also couldn't remember the name
    'fishteaser' or 'tuna-tail' so I didn't call on the vhf.
    
    Glad to hear that everyone had a great time, wish I had known earlier
    that I was going and maybe I could have hooked up with you guys.
    
    Gordon (rock'n 'n reel'n)

re: -1  I think I was the guy fishing alone trolling three lines....

	Glad I didn't write that we all thought this guy was nuts...
	Just kiddin.

	I saw another 19' SeaNymph same color but not center console.
	I believe they had 3 aboard but we had 4...close enough

	Seems though more DEC noters were out there then we knew about.

	Sorry we didn't "hook" up.
	Next time...

	-< Tuna Tail >-

-< tuna tail >-

I remember seeing Gordon's boat.  I remembered the name.  It was in the afternoon,
out at the mouth, after Jack left, so it probably was us that he saw.  Gordon was
trolling through the rip at the end of the south jetty, between us and the jetty.

    That was me trolling the rip.  Once I got in there it was nastier than
    it looked.  Lots of bait marked but no hookups.
    
    I have hooked up on two lines while trolling alone.  It gets
    interesting on which one to fight.  I set the hook on the first one and
    then put it back in the rod holder then grab the second one fight it
    and hope the first one stays hooked.   Most of the time you lose one;
    but I have gotten both on occasion.  It's certainly better to have one
    to choose from than none to fight at all.
    
    Gordon

	-< Tune Tail >-

	I didn't make it out there on Sunday. You found someone else
	going by Big Jim. One of these days I'll have to come up with
	a better handle. Also I do have a radio.

	Hope I can make it next time.
		Jim

Gordon, 

We started out the day with 4 aboard the FishTeaser but dropped Jack off
at the launch around noon or so.  If that was you trolling 3 lines, then you
passed us a couple of times at the mouth of the river.  We picked up a few
schoolies in the fast rip along the jetty bouncing sea worms, but we never
got even a strike while trolling.  I think we saw just one boat pick up a 
small one while trolling.

There was a small 14' trihull out there with a guy and a girl who were nailing
the schoolies on every drift near the mouth.  Every time we looked up, the
BOTH had fish on.  They were having a blast!  We were cursing!

Had a great time!  Tuna Tail needs to paint his boat name in big letters on
the hull.  Day-glow orange will do.

Joe

re. 243  Sorry Jim thought it was you from note .220 but in note .227
         you did say you weren't there?  Also Jim Bulter in note .223 said
	 he couldn't make it and verified it in .231.  Ok so it wasn't a Jim.

	 Ok So who was that masked man and friend???

	 We actually didn't exchange names but did talk a bit about fishing.
	
	 Anyone out there wanna fess up???

	confusing isn;t it.....Dahhhh
	-< Tuna Tail >-	

re: .244  Joe thanks for correcting my crew count for the afternoon.
	  Hope I didn't confuse Gordon as much as I am.

	  Can you or the other crew members on the FishTeaser confirm that
	  I was there for the day????  My mind is kinda wandering.....

	  Ya that guy/gal were really putting on a pro-fishing show out there.
	  It was nice of them to share info with us.  True sportspersons...

	  -< Tuna Tail >-

>>	  Can you or the other crew members on the FishTeaser confirm that
	  I was there for the day????  My mind is kinda wandering.....


Before I met ya...it was wandering. 

I met ya...it was wandering.

And it's still wandering!


BTW... On the way home I stopped to pick up something at a store.  I
stood in front of the counter and all of a sudden, EVERYTHING was moving!
After 15 hours onboard the boat with all that rockin' n' rollin', it took a 
while to get my land legs back!

Joe

PS.  Next time I play chicken with a green buoy, I won't back down!

    
    
    How did you guys catch the live pogies? Throw nets?
    
    Just curious- We are  plannning on fishing down the Cape towards
    the middle of Oct. and would like to have a few live poggies
    on board besides the eels.
    
    I have seen schools of pogies being nailed by blue fish in Welfleet
    harbour but the only way to catch them was by ripping a snagging
    hook through them. Must be an easier way!!
    
    
    Thanks for the input!
    
    
    WIldman

re: last

	WIldman,

	We got them quite easy aboard the "FishTeaser"

	The BaitMaster gave us some.

	Seriously though I believe he or his friend netted them.
	He has a neat holding tank aboard with a great aerating system.

	I tried jigging for some when we saw the poggies breaking water
	but to no avail.

	Down the cape I fished for Skup using seaworms and got many that way.
	It's better then snagging them and injuring the fish as you don't
	want blood in the livewell.

	Good Luck
	Heard there doing pretty good for Blues down there. Considering.

	-< Tuna Tail >-

Wildman,

	Take a look in the Livebait topic (#46 in the later replies).  I
describe how I catch live poggies with a floating gillnet.

Regards,
Baitmaster

Are you striper folks still alive? How come no one's fishing?  I've
heard the big one are being caught around the Hampton river
in boats. We caught a schoolie last week off Seabrook beach.

Anyone still trying?  It ain't over yet.


...bill

    
    
    Between work and weather, haven't been able to go out, but I haven't
    given up yet...maybe this week will be better.  On the weather this
    morning, it looked like things may be fairly stable for most of the
    week.
    
    Jim
    

        Went out Friday night, fishing was slow. Fished with a couple
        of friend and their boats. We had three boats on the water and
        where using eels. Between all the boats about 7 stripers
        where caught and one keeper about 38". Wind was blowing pretty
        good from the West. There was about a two foot chop at about the
        tooth pick and all the way out to the mouth. We didn't leave the
        river but people on the radio where saying it was pretty rough. 
	We ended up around the sail boats never the ice breaker because of 
	the wind.

        Well only a couple more trips out for me this year. I think I'm going
        to switch over to Cod fishing to get a few more fishing in the freezer.
        Hopefully we'll get a few calm days so I can get out there.


                                Jim
        

    
    
    
    	Things are pretty quiet in here...have all the blues/stripers left
    	for the season?  weather looks good for the next couple of days, 
    	and that, couple with a full moon last night, might make for some
    	good evening fishing for the next couple of days.  
    
    	Has anyone been out?  Or am I the only poor idiot working on 
    	Columbus day???
    
    
    	Jim
    
    

    I was out yesterday off the southern NE coast, fished the Watch Hill
    R.I./Stonington CT. area.  We did not catch a single striper or blue.
    We saw a few blues picked up by people trolling umbrella rigs on wire.
    
    We were flyfishing and although we did not find any stripers or blues,
    there were  lots of false albacore around.  I did not boat any, but I
    did a number of fish in the ocean with decorated lips....  My fishing 
    partner put four in the boat and also decorated a few lips...  
    
    Regards,
    Greg
    

There are still quite a few bass in the Merrimack.  There were large
schools of mackeral at the mouth which is probably a good indication
that the blues have all but disappeared.  There was very little boat
traffic during the week and those early October winds subsided making
flyfishing feasible once again.  I took 4 shorts on hardware among the
moored boats (Halftide rocks area).  I only resort to the hardware to
locate fish and then switch to the flyrod.  I simply could not
get the fly deep enough and to the fish.

Anyhow...  with cut bait or worms you should have plenty of fish and
little company for several more weeks.  The guys at the boat ramp
reported that several keepers were being taken on cut pogies just
up river from Cashman Park....

tightlines...

    	Fished the East end of the Canal Sat. night and again Sun.
    afternoon.
    SAT.
    	Two of us used fly rods for about 5 hours around the Scusset Jetty
    and in about as far as the dolphins (the BIG pilings where they tie up
    ships waiting for passage).  We didn't see any fish activity at all,
    not even any bait moving.  We talked to lots of other folks using
    flies, bait, and hardware.  Same story.  One of the Corps Cops told us
    he hadn't seen anything caught on the whole canal.  We later went down
    to the RR Bridge and heard the same thing there.  This was from about
    9pm to 2am.
    SUN.
    	Dragged my kids back down for the afternoon.  3 guys working the
    eddies at the base of the jetty with flies. None of them had seen a
    thing.  People catching LOTS of Dogfish on bait but nothing else.
    A few schools of Pogies, little guys ~5-6in., started showing up.  I
    snagged a few but nothing touched them.
    After the tide turned late afternoon a guy standing out on the little
    flat at the base of the jetty caught 3-4 schoolies on white/red
    bucktails.  Also saw some birds working across the canal between the 
    harbor and the Coast Guard station.
    						B.C.

	Nice day today. Naturally it's a work day but...
	looks like the weather will be nice for tommorrow
	Sunny in AM then cloudy in PM with temp's reaching the 70's

	I'f I go I'll try to launch before dawn from Salisbury State Park.
	Will try to get bait (seaworms/eels/Clams)somewhere before launch.
	Not sure if any Stripers/Blues around but will try anyway.
	Then will try for other stuff Cod/Flounder included.

	Anyone else gonna be out there?
	If so give me a haller aboard the "FishTeaser" VHF CH9  CB CH19
	-< Tuna Tail >-

    I'll be out in the AM only long enough to pull the boat for the season.
    It's going to be a sad day but the docks come out Monday.
    
    Gordon (packin it in till May 1)

    Gordon,
    	If there's nothin happening by the mouth etc maybe I'll head
    	up river for a scenic ride.  Give me a call when ya get there.
    
    	-< Tuna Tail >- "FishTeaser" VHF CH9   CB CH19

    Due to my wife's car dying on us this Friday evening I didn't
    go fishing.  Can't see why her Chevy corolla/Toyota Nova with
    190,000miles on it is acting up.  It's still in the shop with
    gas line/carb problems/?/whatever
    
    Will try again weather permitting from now till end of NOV
    -< Tuna Tail >-

    My friend Tom and I went fishing yesterday from the beach at Harkness 
    Memorial Park in New London, Ct.   Harkness is a well known surf fishing 
    location along the Ct. coast.  We arrived about 1:00 in the afternoon.
    The tide was one hour from full low.  We planned to fish the incoming 
    until dark, so after we arrived we suited up in waders etc and walked 
    down to the water.  This place a rocky point with beaches on both
    sides.  Since we fish a lot of rocks for stripers, we waded in among 
    the rocks and through flies for 1/2-1 hour.  There was no water moving
    so we got out of the water to look around a little more.  We chatted
    with a guy that approached us asking about the fishing there.  He had
    been there the previous week scouting the place.  He informed us that
    he had heard last week that the beach to the east was good and that he
    was going to gear up and give it a try.  By now there was some water 
    starting to move with the tide.  So, we walked over to the beach.  As 
    we got the middle of the beach, bait started popping out of the surface
    within 25 feet of shore.  We joined about 6 others fishing there.  For 
    the next 1-2 hours we had plenty of action.  Tom and I caught 12-15 
    stripers each, average length approximately 24 inches, with the
    smallest about 18 inches and the largest near 30 inches.  When the
    action on the beach slowed, we headed back for the rocks on the point.
    During the last hour of daylight we each caught another 5 or 6 stripers
    the same size as the others.  
    
    What niece way to spend the afternoon....
    
    Regards,
    Greg 
            

I caught two schoolies (~15") while smelt fishing the other night (in Salem).
Fun on a smelt rod (no reel, no drag)...They are still around.

	Two weekends when I tried to get the FishTeaser out we had car troubles.  

	The 1st time it was my wife's car which was out of commission for 
	a week with stalling problems.  Got it resolved "somewhat".

	I wanted to go this past weekend but Friday on the way to work
	my car decided it was it's turn.  It died on I-395 fortunetly
	only 1 exit up from where I got on.  I coughed, choked, backfired
	this baby to the nearest garage.  They kept it till Tuesday and
	think it's the computer.  They replaced the Catalytic converter
	which was blown out.  They didn't want to do any computer work.
	I then had it towed to my dealer the next town away and as of now
	they haven't looked at her.

	This weekend looks like a rain out so most likely it's time to
	dress the FishTeaser for a long winter snooze.

	Besides these two 1 week car losses my car also drained it's
	battery dead by constantly activating it's alarm in the garage.
	The alarm horn is inoperative so "only" the headlights kept
	flashing all night.  Needless to day the car didn't start in the am.
	This was when my wife's car was in the shop so nothing to jump start
	my car......What a minute.......Thanks to the FishTeaser's battery
	I got to work.

	I Love that Boat......Wait till late March......Early April!!!!
	-< Tuna Tail >-

    just discovered this notes conference and it looks great.  I am
    planning on going after strippers in Maine (Casco bay to Boothbay) in
    my 32 Luhrs.  The bluefishing has been so good the last two summers my
    family is usually bluefished out by Aug and the neighbors don't want
    any more fish (catch and release is ok, but only have ten fingers and
    would like to keep them - just lucky so far).  AT any rate next summer
    has been designated the year of the stripper in the Baker household,
    especially since everyone loves to eat them.  We will troll of Popham
    Beach,  Troll and Bait the rivers and Bait the offshore banks. Needless
    to say any suggestions are welcome. (my best so far 42" 48#s Nauset
    Beach).  I keep the boat at the New Meadows Marina and monitor VHF 9
    and CB 15 - Frances WUZ 8864. Give me a shout if your in Casco Bay.
    If you enjoy frostbite fishing and would like to fish ME. watch this 
    conference in early April, I am always looking for crazy people who
    like to catch strippers (my wife does not go on the boat till June.
    
    Can't wait for spring
    Bill Baker 297 9260 

    
    
    I decided to take a ride to Provincetown last Sunday (since I hadn\t
    been on the cape since I was about 13, many years ago...).  Since my 
    girlfriend came along to keep me company, we HAD to stop at the outlet
    mall just south of the Bourne Bridge.  When we left, we grabbed a cup
    of coffee at a Dunk's just south of there.  
    
    On the door of the shop was a poster announcing the "1993 CAPE COD
    CANAL STRIPER TOURN.	MAY 22-30"  The poster proceded to 
    proclaim that the "canal" was the "HOT SPOT FOR STRIPERS IN MAY"...
    
    From reading this file, I was under the impression that stripers didn't 
    run until mid to late June, so naturally, I was excited since I never
    did get one last year (still a striper virgin...).
    
    Was this just wishful thinking?   Do they run that early?  Or is this 
    just good hype to get the tourist season going on Memorial Day weekend?
    
    
    	Jim 

    re: .last
    
    	Yep. The schoolies should be around by then. I've caught small
    	stripers in the Merrimack River in May - no reason why they
    shouldn't be in the ditch.
    
    			Robert.

    RE: .266
    
    	Stripers usually show on the south side of the Cape (Popponesset
    Beach) in early to mid May.  The larger ones aren't usually far behind
    them but depend more on when the Herring show up than what the date is.
    	With the populations of Stripers going up again they should be
    wintering over in all the spots they did historically...  Like the
    Merrimack and Parkers rivers.  Pretty soon we'll be catching schoolies
    all winter again!
    				B.C.

    
    
    		The "schoolie stripers come are in Boston Harbor about 
    	the same time that, the "Yellow" pollen or whatever it is , is
    	found on our cars. This has happened between the 3rd week of May
    	and the First week of June for a few years. The stripers are in
    	the canal a week or two earlier ( sometimes three) depending on
    	the water temp on the north side of the cape.
    
    		I was not aware of a tounament down there that early though
    	hhmmmmmm    I'm on striper vacation (last week of May first week
    	of JUne) . Have you any signup info ?????????????
    
    
    
    					Neil..
    

 One of my buddies has caught stripers in Seabrook/Hampton at the end of April/
beginning of May. The real influx, though, is at the end of May/beginning
of June.

Every year I put my boat in the first week in May in th eMerrimack Newburyport.
The schoolies are already there most years.  I wouldn't be suprised if there
are a few early arrivals there now.  There aren't many fishing now so until the
first report in the paper we won't know unless we try.

Gordon (who has lots of yard work to do and still try and make the 1st week in may

	Still going nuts tryin to get the FishTeaser out of the mud.
	Last year caught first stripers down the Cape late may.
	But on 8-June two of us caught 40 of them babies in the Merrimack :-)

	Just itchin ta get goin
	-< Tuna Tail >-
	

    I'm also going nuts waiting for the stripers.  Over the winter I read
    several books on striper fishing.  That helped me pass the winter, but
    also got me charged up too early.  COME ON SPRING!  I'm trying to think
    of a way to fish the canal once to get a jump on the season.
    
    Mark,
    
    P.S.	At least the snow bank in front of my boat is getting
    		smaller........
    

Hey, Tuna Tail!

I'm definitely planning to put in the mouth of the Merrimack R. this year
with my little 15'/25hp.  If you're up for another get-together on your boat 
like we did last year, let me know when and where!

Thanks,

Joe

    RE: .273
    
    	Then go on down and fish it!  I didn't stop yesterday so I can't
    say for sure...  But from the number of people at the herring run there
    just might be some bait there.  Why not be the first on your block this
    year to catch a Striper!!!
    					B.C.

    
    
    		I hear they are about 2 weeks late .. 
    
    		Don;t have any second opinions though...
    

    According to the fishman mag, schoolies are being caught along the R.I.
    coast and in the breachways....   There are stripers to be had!!!!!
    
    Greg
    

Re:.274

	Wind/Weather permitting I'll be goin this weekend.
	Monday looks like best weather day.
	Before I went to the Bruins game lat Thur night I pulled
	the FishTeaser out of the mud.  Took Friday off and got her ready.
	Needed to replace the fuel line as it was cracking a bit.
	Had to get the Battery recharged but that's all done too.

	Not sure where I will launch.  I have directions to a public launch
	ramp down the cape not far from the canal with no fee :-) or will
	go and launch from Allen's Harbour near Harwichport where my
	brother-in-law lives.
	
	If not the Cape it will be the Merrimack launching from Salisbury
	State Park ramp and yes we will be planning another get together
	again this year for sure.

	I'm moving from BXC to WMO and my secretary and her husband just
	got a mooring at Plum Island.  They are fresh water folks so are
	asking for some help from us salty dog's :-)

	Gettin close to Striper time :-)
	-< Tuna Tail >-

    I went to the Cape last Saturday 24-Apr without the "FishTeaser"
    I had called Marine Weather and got small crafts warnings for the day.
    I got to the Cape and it was like GLASS on the ocean.
    Of course I was not at all amused with the forecast.
    It was a bit windy but the water was plenty calm for small crafts.
    Bummer :-(
    
    Well I'm not calling for tommorrow's forecast as I'm going to the
    Merrimack and launching before dawn :-)
    The tides are great for tommorrow and the weather looks fine too.
    I'll be launching from the Salisbury State Park ramp.
    I believe May 1st is the day they will start charging.
    
    Will be geared to fish but my goal is to check out the "FishTeaser"
    during it's first wet day :-)
    
    Anyone else around give me a haller on VHF CH9 and CB CH19
    
    -< Tuna Tail >-

I hear rumors that there are a few schoolies in the Merrimack.
Wouldn't hurt to throw out a bucktail and see what yanks back.

Wish I was putting mine in tomorrow.

Gordon

    This conference sure has been quite.  I expected lots of fish
    reports from the holiday weekend....or is everybody still out 
    fishing :-)
    
    I got my first striper of the year yesterday evening.  Not a
    keeper, but a nice fish at 28"-29".  Caught on a herring below
    the dam in Lawrence.  I also got a couple of shad while I was
    fooling around waiting for stripers.
    
    Mark,
    

I'll be on vacation next week and I'd like to get out to the merrimack in
Salisbury at least once.  Any new reports of stripers?  How about the blues?
Are they in yet?

Joe

    Divers report stripers all over the place, on the north shore, FWIW.
    
    No news on the blues, which is good news as far as most divers are
    concerned. <grins>
    
    John H-C

    I heard that a couple of keepers were caught the other night in the
    Merrimack between the toothpick and badgers on live eels.  I haven't
    seen many being caught but haven't been out at the right times.  There
    is loads of bait in the river and outside the mouth.
    
    Will know more after tomorrow AM.
    
    I was in Portsmouth last night at old ferry landing and stripers
    (assumed) were busting bait all over the place.  Wish I could have
    replaced that beer with a fishing rod.
    
    I think it's still a little early for blues,  I would guess a couple
    more weeks.
    
    Gordon

    Friday afternoon, ~3 hours after high tide, fisherfolk hammered
    the schoolies off the south jetty.  One 37" keeper caught. Jointed
    bombers and skirted jigs seemed to be the mainstay.  The bass are
    all over the Merrimack...
    
     /jro
    

    OK.   You fisherpeople have caught my interest. But I don't know how.
    
    Now I need help so that I can hook onto a striper or 2.
               ----
    
    Myself and a friend are planning on taking next Monday off of
    work. He has a 14" with a 40HP. engine that we can use.
    
    Questions:
    		1. I beleive the Merrimack is probably the closest
    		   place to go, but where would you suggest we go
    		   to launch the boat?  Directions also if possible.
    		   (Where coming from Rt.2 Fitchburg area)
     
    
    		2. When should we plan on fishing ie:High Tide or Low Tide?
    		   Or can we go out anytime and catch strippers?
    		   (Also if anyone could mention what these times for the
    		    tides would be would be helpful = Date is June 14th)
    
    
    		3. What would you suggest we use for bait,lures and 
    		   line size. (Is my trout rod with 6 lb. test enough?)
    
    		4. Are there any watch out for(s) when your on the
    		   Merrimack that we should be aware of?
    		
    		5. What is the legal lenght of a keeper?
    		   (If we happen to catch one!)
    
    I'll try and remember to post my successes or failures and stories
    of how the big one got away if it happens.
    Thanks,
    George                                    

    re:-1
    
    	I had a typo. That was a 14' boat, not 14" boat.
    
    George
    

 I'll let someone else answer your question about "where to go."

 2) The hours around low tide and high tide seem to be more productive
than the in between hours. In my experience, at least. I'd say about
two hours overlapping in either direction of the tide.

 3) To be completely safe you'd want to have a sturdy spinning rod with
14-17 lb line (some use 20). You'll have a lot less to worry about when
it comes to breakoffs. Some people will in fact use 6 lb line, but you
don't normally catch keepers with such a setup. For schoolies, though,
it can be a blast. Right, Tim? :-)

 For bait your choices are cut mackerel, herring, seaworms or eels.
Hooks should be 4/0 or so depending on your bait. Use bronzed hooks,
not stainless to make releasing the fish less stressful on the fish.
Weight should be a 3 or 4 oz pyramid sinker, depending on the strength
of the tide. Use a slip sinker rig and keep your rod on "free spool."

 Lures: atom poppers, kastmasters, large rapalas, hopkins spoons, ranger
plugs, etc.

 5) 36" for a legal striper in MA and NH.

    I think you can find directions to ramps in previous entries to this
    note.  Personally, I use the Salisbury State Park Ramp for $5.
    
    Your outfits are on the light side, but OK for schoolies.  My
    preference for schoolies are jointed rebels and white bucktail jigs
    (preferably with a porkrind strip).  It's hard to go wrong with those -
    and you can handle them with your rods.
    
    Your boat is big enough for that water - IF you are careful.  The
    Merrimack River is no place to take for granted.  Get a chart of the
    river and what the conditions.
    
    You should have a blast!  I'm hoping to head that way tomorrow
    afternoon.
    
    Mark,
    

    I second the comment about using some basic care on the 'Mack -
    especially given that it's new water for you. Mark the river channel
    and follow the rules o' the road, else you'll either get run down by
    the nuts, or you'll find yourselves up on the flats in short order.
    
    If you put in at the Salisbury ramp, the closest "hot spot" seems to be
    directly across the channel and just off of the mud flats - just 
    upstream from the closest green buoy (can't remember the number). We 
    saw a dozen boats there last Saturday morning on an incoming tide, and 
    although we only hooked a pair of schoolies we watched others pulling 
    'em in hand over fist, mostly using bait rigs. There are other good 
    spots nearer the mouth, but in a 14 footer you'll need to be extra 
    careful of the rocks and rips, and the wakes as the big boys whale in 
    and out of the river mouth...
    
    I wouldn't recommend using a trout rod - as nearly every striper in the
    river right now is undersized and you shouldn't overplay them before you 
    set them free. No point killing them from stress. I'd stick to 10 pound
    at the minimum and a rod to match, so you can boat them quick and turn
    them loose just as quick...
    
    From what I've been hearing and reading, the best recent action has been 
    on the evening incoming, with the morning incoming running second. I've
    also been hearing that there are schoolies all the way up to the
    Lawrence dam, if you wanted to put in at the ramp on River Road.
    
    FWIW: As an object lesson on (in)sane/(un)safe boating, I offer the 
          following:
    
    While we were anchored just off the flats near that same green buoy
    some clowns roared down the river at full rpm and decided blast by 
    the anchored flotilla and cut between us and the flats...I've never seen
    a 20+ footer get high-centered at top speed before - or a monster *brown* 
    rooster tail! Betcha the pump on that outboard got toasted big-time 
    from the full charge of sand running through the rotor housing! What a
    schmuck! One of 'em had to get buck-nekkid to push'em off the mud. Made
    my morning by realizing there *is* a God and sometimes He/She likes to
    teach the idiots that deserve it most a life-time lesson ;^)
    
    Take care and good fishin'!
    
    /dave

    
    I went thru most of this string looking for directions to sailsbury
    ramp and a ramp at the mouth of the merrimac, of course I couldn't
    find them so would some kind person please put them in for me? Also
    does anyone know what the tides are for that area for this saturday?
    Thanks
    
    Walt
    

	I-495 Exit 55 Go East on Rt-110 to Center of Salisbury
	At town Center Follow Rt-1A North signs to Salisbury Beach
	Careful in Town Center as RT-110, RT-1A and RT-1 all converge ;^)

	You will see the Salisbury State Park Entrance on your right.
	Stop at booth and pay $5 parking fee.  If your there too early
	don't worry just park at launch ramp and pay on way out ;^)

	Drive into park and take the first right to the boat ramp
	which is the road in front of the trailer park area.
	Ramp is pretty good except for pulling out at LOW TIDE if moss present.
		Merrimack PM High Tide

		11-JUN Friday   5:37pm
		12-JUN Saturday 6:26pm
		13-JUN Sunday   7:16pm,

	If your boat is small or are not familiar with the Merrimack
	stay away from the Mouth entrance.  Also in front of the Toothpick
	is Badger's rocks (aprox)  at High Tide the rocks are covered
	but not by much 8^0
	-< Tuna Tail >- Maybe I won't finish painting the house this wkend ;^)
	

    RE: .-1 I could have swore those directions were here, but I couldn't
    find the either.  Thanks for posting them.
    
    RE: .-2 I thought you were planning to take Monday off and fish.  On a
    Saturday you should be doubly caution there with a 14' boat.  There is
    a tremendous amount of boat traffic on weekends there, with lots of
    large boats and big wakes.
    
    Mark,
    

    
    Mark I think you may have me mixed up with someone else. Thanks
    for the words of warning tho. Tuna Tail thanks for the directions.
    
    Walt

RE: .286

   >>Now I need help so that I can hook onto a striper or 2.

	I wrote a mail message to George as we are both in WMO.
	He will stop by office in early am and I'll give him the
	"watch out for's" on the Merrimack and some Stiper spots etc.

	In his friends 14' boat with 40hp motor I'll of course tell him
	about my time with a rented 14' boat 35hp motor cruising the
	mouth when a 16' + shark surfaced alongside 8^0
	"I GOTTA GET A BIGGER BOAT" was an understatement ;^)

	If I can remember I'll bring in a chart and make a copy of the
	mouth and areas to avoid or go Striper hunting :^)

	I'd take the FishTeaser out and go with them but I can't take Monday off.
	Too many mtg's....Ouch

	-< Tuna Tail >-

RE: .294

	Walt,	
		Mark had you mixed up with George who is going Monday.
	If your going Saturday I may be out there???  My current alternatives
	is to go very early (predawn) Friday and get back home to take
	kids out of school and go see Zeraski Park (sp?) opening day :-)
	If I don't do that then I may go Saturday early am and possibly
	stay till dark.

	What kind of vessel will you be in?
	I'll be aboard the "FishTeaser" 19' SeaNymph Center Console 70hp outboard
	white with blue stipes.  Flag flying high.
	I monitor CB CH19 and VHF CH 9

	lemme know be glad to meet and sway "fish" stories.
	-< Tuna Tail >-
	
	

    
    
        Tuna Tail,
    
                  Walt and I will be fishing together in my shallow 14' v
    hull with a 9.9 evenrude. Do you think this will be too small to fish
    out of salsbury??? To tell you the truth, were I would really like to
    get to is Markies(sp). I was there last sunday ant the stripers were
    right underneath the deck they have were people sit and eat. Do you
    have any suggestions on how to get there??? Is there another lunch
    nearby?? How about eastmans?? Have you ever lunched there before??
    Sorry for all the questions but we have never had my boat in and around
    the mouth of the Merrimack. Thanks..
    
    Gus
    
                    

 If you put in at Eastman's to get to Markies there is the issue of
getting under the bridge adjacent to Markies. If you go there when the
tide is high enough to make navigation in the river easy, it may be too
high to get under the bridge. The rip going through the bridge can get
nasty, too. A guy in a rubber boat drowned there last year while we ate 
at Browns. Not a pretty sight. Maybe there's a spot up river (in Salisbury)
where you can put in and just go downstream.

    Sorry for the confusion in earlier notes.  I don't always think
    clearly this time of year :-)
    
    Went to Salisbury yesterday for the first time this year.  We launched
    just before high tide.  I immediately caught a schoolie trolling a
    rebel.  We picked up and ran near the boat morings where several
    boats were anchored fishing.
    
    My wife gave me a 9' 9 wt flyrod for Christmas so I tried that.  I
    eventually caught 5 with it.  2 of which hit close enough to the
    boat that I was able to see them.  I obviously haven't perfected my
    technique, because other flyrodders nearby must have landed 30 or more
    in the time I got mine.  4 of my 5 were "schoolies" but the 5th was
    pretty nice.  At 29" and approx 7 pounds, it was several times larger
    than anything I'd caught before on a flyrod.  What a blast!
    
    At this point I was pretty happy, but it got better...
    
    Late in the day we started drifting live eels.  I caught two more on
    eels, then hooked another that I just couldn't get to the boat.  It's
    initial run was short, so I wasn't expecting a big fish.  Everytime I
    got it anywhere near the boat, it would make another run.  It must have
    done this 20-30 times.  When we finally got it in the boat, it taped
    out just a fraction short of 37" - The first keeper of the season!
    I didn't have a scale, but guess it's weight around 20 lbs.  It was
    a nice solid fish.
    
    So, as far as I'm concerned, the season has officially started!
    
    Mark,
    

> then hooked another that I just couldn't get to the boat.  It's
>    initial run was short, so I wasn't expecting a big fish.  Everytime I
>    got it anywhere near the boat, it would make another run.  It must have
>    done this 20-30 times.

 What kind of equipment were you using? 10 lb test on a bass rod?

    Not hardly.   I use a baitcasting outfit with 200+ yds of 17 lb test.
    It's a light outfit by most saltwater standards, but heavy for
    freshwater.  I'd guess it is like a muskie outfit.
    
    Mark,
    

RE: .297

	Gus,
		A Shallow boat may be taking a big risk in the Merrimack
	espicially with only a 9.9 hp motor.  At "NO" time would I venture
	near the mouth as the current would take you where you want or not 
	want to go.  9.9hp will not hack the current in the Merrmack near
	the mouth.

	I'm not familiar with Markies(sp) so can't help on that but if
	you wanted to fish upriver a tad I used to launch from the 3R Marina
	which is west of the Rt-1 bridge on the South side of the River.  
	The launch fee for weekends was $10 and $8 for weekday last year.
	The river may be more manageable for you from there but with
	a 9.9hp motor it still would be a risk

	Not sure what the other noters would say but as for me I would
	not risk it.  Before you try maybe you can tag along with another
	on their boat to expierence the "challange" of the Merrimack.
	Then you can decide for yourself is it worth the risk.

	Hope this helps
	-< Tuna Tail >-

	PS: This does not mean that I haven't seen Kayak's, Canoes, jet ski's,
	    or row boat's near and beyond the mouth....I have.  Question is
	    did I "ever" see them return?????  8^0

    re: .last
    
    	I have to disagree Dick. A 14' with a 9.9 would be fine in all but
    	the worst conditions. I wouldn't take it out by the jetties or
    	beyond though. (although, like you, I've seen canoes out there -
    	and yes, I've seen them come back too). Launching at Salisbury and
    	heading UP river or to the toothpick should be fine though. The
    	only real problem is boat traffic on weekends - the place is the
    	Rt. 128 of waterways. yuck.
    
    			Robert.
    
    P.S. Gus - please don't run into any trouble out there - I'll feel
    awfully guilty if you did! :*)

    Thanks for the replies so far.. I have no ontention of going near the
    mouth with my boat. I have been there before and know what its like.
    Can you tell me a little bit more about the tooth pick??? Is there any
    place else we can lunch out of , like a bay that would be safe??
    Thanks.
    
    Gus
    

re -.1   > Is there any place else we can lunch out of , 
         > like a bay that would be safe??
    

  I'll add my two cents to the other great advice here.  As this string of
  notes stresses, the Newburyport - Salisbury area of the Merrimack is not
  tame.  However, having a small boat can be an advantage in Striper
  fishing if you respect the river and stay smart. For about $20.00 you can
  get a weather radio at Radio Shack that will give you continuous
  conditions including the Merrimack area.  You want to hear 1' - 3' seas,
  will settle for 2' to 4' and should think twice about any thing bigger. 
  I'm talking about boats under 15'.  These aren't the seas inside the
  river but are usually indicative of what to expect.  On rare occasions
  the water is like glass and on windy days, like today, it might be a
  challenge.  As an earlier note commented when the Whaley watch boats
  zip by they produce an enormous wake which can surprise the hell out of
  you.  There is good fishing among the  moored boats in Newburyport and in
  the no-wake zones and the flats.  Small boats can also drift the shore side
  of Badger's rocks providing the wind and weather cooperate.  

  AS for alternative launching - Cashman park in Newburyport is another
  state run launch ramp.  When coming over the bridge into Newburyport,
  look down and about a quarter mile up river and you will see it.  You
  want to take the down ramp off the bridge, right at the stop sign and
  look out for the small sign about 4-5 blocks up.  This is a no wake area
  and fairly protected for quite a ways.  A lot of stripers are caught up
  river as well. 

  hope this helps and safe fishing.....

>    Not hardly.   I use a baitcasting outfit with 200+ yds of 17 lb test.

 No kidding. That's a strong fish- that's more fight than I got out of my
40 incher that I caught off the beach last year. I only got about 3-4 good
runs out of it, and I was also using 17 lb test. Maybe the surf makes a
difference, or perhaps the current you were in gave him the advantage.

    re. .305

            Thanks for the info that sounds like what we were looking for.
    We will let you all know how we make out.


    Gus

    P.S. Excuse the typos.

RE: a few or so before this one... 

	I agree that small boats/motors will work ok in the Merrimack "but"
	I would only recommend it for those "familiar" with the Merrimack
	and the sudden changes.  First timer's should not venture into it
	having "never" been on it at all.  The two combined :
		Small boat/small motor + Never been on Merrimack R. = ?????

	By the river I mean venturing near the mouth or even in channel
	with the biggies zipping by.  Such as last year when I was out 
	in my "small" 19' Sea Nymph and two cigarette (sp?) boats were
	"racing" in/out of the mouth and up/down the river.  Not counting
	the other large yaucht's grinding their way by.  About 50 boats
	clogging the mouth area :-(

	If you go on a weekend be careful....
	Launching out of the Salisbury State park is fine as the inlet
	by the ramp is pretty safe for any boat and does not MT into
	the river direct.
	-< Tuna Tail >-

    
    Thanks to all for the words of caution. Gus and I are planning on
    getting to the ramp @5a.m. and checking things out. If it does not look
    good or if we feel uncomfortable going out we will not go out. We both
    like to fish for stripers but there isnt a fish worth risking life or
    limb for. If worse comes to worse we fish from shore somewhere or head
     inland and fish a lake somewhere. Staying away from the mouth of the
    river sounds like a must and we will surley do that. Our current plans
    are to troll/drift for stripers. Never having been there we are going
    to have to play it by ear as to where exactly we are going to go.
    Anyway I'm starting to ramble so thanks again for the advice and we'll
    put in a report monday morning.
    
    Walt

    RE: several notes back about my fish.
    
    I think my outfit is much less powerful than the average surf rod,
    though it holds plenty of line, it really isn't much bigger than fresh-
    water bass fishing baitcasting outfits.  This fish was also much
    stronger than most for it's size.  It seems to depend on the individual
    fish.  I was in a boat drifting, so the current wasn't really a factor.
    
    I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm having trouble
    concentrating on work today :-)
    
    Mark,
    

    RE: few back on $0.02 worth.  Good description of mouth.
    
    	Walt,
    		You do have a plus going at 5:00am as it won't be too 
    	crowded.  Just check the wind and get back in if it picks up.
    	Sure hope it's a calm day for you as you will have a great time.
    	Remember Badger's rocks just in front and to the East a tad of
    	the Toothpick.  You will be fishing the incoming HT and just
    	after dawn.  You couldn't pick a better time....
    	Unless I was with you ;^)
    	-< Tuna Tail >-
    
    	PS: I met George (going on Monday) who also is going in a 14'er.
    	    I gave him a CC of the Merrimack R. Chart. and pointed the
    	    "stay away from" areas and the "go and getum" areas. ;^)
    
    	I doubt if I can make it this weekend :^(

    RE:.309
    	Walt,
    		I'd meet you at the ramp at 5:00am with the "FishTeaser"
    	but my commitment tommorrow (so far) is to go and see Ross Perot
    	at UMass Amherst 1:00pm.  As a member of United We Stand America
    	and having worked for his Campaign Headquarters in Oxford, MA
    	I really want to see him in person.  This is a free speach 
    	but all he is asking is a donation of non-perishable items which
    	will be donated to the Food Bank organization in Western MA.
    
    	"But" I am now calculating my time+distance=commitments.
    	I'm trying to see if I can do "both" ;-)
    
    	I was supposed to have taken a vacation day today too :^(
    	Oh well time for mtg. ....Yuck
    
    	-< Tuna Tail >-
    
    	PS: At least I took my family last night to see Jurassic Park 8^)
    	    

    Anyone have a guess as to how far north this striper nirvana has
    migrated?   Portland?   Any chance they'll hit mid-coast Maine
    ahead of the Blues?
    

    
    Well we did it. Ended up with 5 stripers after almost not going. We
    ended up at the ramp at 5:45 and saw someone loading their boat.
    Couldn't figure out why till we walked over to the ramp, cold, windy,
    foggy, he was leaving and he had a bigger boat than us! So after a very
    brief discussion we both realized there was no way we were going out
    unless things got better. At 7:30 the sun was out the wind had died a
    little so we headed out. As we left the mouth we headed straight across
    and fished there most of the day. Saw one little row baot all by
    himself and th eguy was pulling in stripers. Headed over there stayed
    a distance from him and started to fish. Had one on 5 minutes later. A
    small one about 15 inches, got another later, then Gus got one. All
    small schoolies. Then the tide was going out things slowed there so we
    moved again, Gus got another then we moved again. The last spot we
    tried was right in front of the mouth thats where I caught the biggest
    one of the day, about 20 inches.
    
    There were quite a few boats out there all day, the sun was nice but
    the wind was still blowing but not real bad. saw 2 guys out there in
    a canoe and 2 different rubber rafts with motors. Someone mentioned
    being careful of the other boats, your right. They didn't seem to care
    how big a awake they left or how near to you they were.
    
    All in all had a great time. Oh yeah our tackle/set up were med/hvy
    fresh water rods, 8-12 pound test. A true turn hook (4/0) a bullet
    weight and seaworms. Nothing fancy but we caught fish! Thanks again
    to all who helped out, now can you tell us where the big boys are? 8')
    
    Walt

The big boys are mixed in with the little boys.  They are not as numerous or as
agressive, so have patience!

RE: .315
	Walt,
	     Glad you made it and played it safe.  Friday night I was dogged
	tired and was still contemplating going meeting you at the ramp at
	5:00am-5:30am Sat.  But decided to make sure I was rested before
	going.  I lauhced at 5:00pm so just guessed we just missed mtg.

	Some boaters are kinda dupa's.  Ya just have ta watch out for them,
	While out there towing the boater I mentioned in another file
	I had to cross the channel to get him from the flats to badgers.
	It was like the two of us weren't there.  The big guns just zip
	passed us and I'm talking "Less Than" 6 ft from us.  

	Then again I was trolling past the green can nest to the jetties
	(foget # sorry) which is the narrowest part of the channel and
	a big lobster boat came grinding along right next to us.
	Now I cannot complain as I am not supposed to be trolling in
	the channel.  So I was at fault and should have been out of his way.
	Now he knew he was ok and I knew I was the dupa so no "pleasentry's"
	were exchanged.  And he was in his right to give me the "high sign"
	and I would have deserved it.  But he didn't so I was appreciative
	of that.

	Saw/"heard" two cigarette boats out doing there "thing" Sunday mid day.
	These hulks are useless.  All they did was churm up the Merrimack
	make a lot of noise and 5 minutes later they were heading home outta gas.
	Waste of $$$

	Best part.....Saturday afternoon my brother and I saw two persons
	in the Merrimcak on a jet ski and both of them.....FISHING
	We were placing bets as to how far a big stiper would drag these nuts?
	-< Tuna Tail >-

re:                     <<< Note 15.317 by WMODEV::LANDRY_D >>>

>	Best part.....Saturday afternoon my brother and I saw two persons
>	in the Merrimcak on a jet ski and both of them.....FISHING
>	We were placing bets as to how far a big stiper would drag these nuts?

I saw two guys fishing off a jet ski last year too!  Sure looked
strange, but they were catching fish, good ones too.   

Whatever floats yer boat, or somehthing like that ;-)

Ken

    
    Tuna tail,
    
    we kept looking for you all day figured maybe we'd spot you. Of course
    we were looking for a boat named "Tuna Tail" is that the correct name?
    I suppose we left around 4pm so we did just miss each other. We are
    planning another trip out there soon so maybe we could (padon the pun)
    hook up then and swap some stories?
    
    Walt

Tuna Tail...

I kept an eye out for you on Sunday thinking you'd be out.  I saw several 
other boats out there with a similar style as your boat, but didn't see ya.

Walt...

We must have passed each other at the ramp.  We pulled out at about 4 PM
as well.  I've got a 15' blue Princecraft with 25 Merc and bow-mounted 
trolling motor.

BTW...Tuna Tail's boat is the "FishTeaser."

Joe

>	Saw/"heard" two cigarette boats out doing there "thing" Sunday mid day.
>	These hulks are useless.  All they did was churm up the Merrimack
>	make a lot of noise and 5 minutes later they were heading home outta gas.
>	Waste of $$$


	OK.. for us landlocked flat landers, I gotta ask.  What's a 
	cigarette boat?

		--chas

re:	OK.. for us landlocked flat landers, I gotta ask.  What's a 
	cigarette boat?

It's a high-powered, high-priced, ultra-sleek boat shaped long and narrow
(like a cigarette) that makes l-o-t-s of noise, consumes gallons of fuel,
goes like a bat-outta-hell, churns the waters to a froth, and serves no
reasonable purpose but to irritate the rest of us with its noise and
wake.

Now...put a MinnKota on the bow and it becomes much more useful!

-HoleShot Joe-

    Maybe they like getting to to the "HOT" fishing spots first???? :-)

re:.319
	Walt,
		The boat name is the "FishTeaser"

		My name for the NOTES file is -< Tuna Tail >- based on
		my Tuna "tale" told some yrs back.
	
		As soon as I can fix the flat tire and get my wheel guard
		re-arranged to not rub against it I'll be ready to go again.
	
		Assuming I finish the house staining :-(

		Will try to do the 2nd annual NOTESfile gathering at 
		the Merrimack sometime this summer.  Looks like a Blues event
		by the time we gather!!!
	-< Tuna Tail >- aka dick

re:.320
	Let me try to get this straight:  Walt and Joe confirm or change.

	Walt was on the Merrimack 5:45am-4:00pm	 	      Saturday
	I    was on the Merrimack              5:00pm-9:00pm  Saturday

	Therefore Walt and I missed connecting by an hour at the launch ramp.

	Joe  was on the Merrimack ?:00am-     4:00pm 	Sunday
	I    was on the Merrimack 5:00am-2:00pm		Sunday

	Therefore Joe and I were on the Merrimack for some time together
	but did not connect.

	So Joe did you also go Saturday?  You mention in Note .320 that
	you missed Walt but Walt didn't fish Sunday (right Walt?)which is 
	when you went right(Joe?)
	I had my ears on.  Both CB 19 and VHF 9 but nobody called the FishTeaser.
	The FishTeaser was flying the American Flag Higher then the VHF antennae.
	She has a White Life Preserver in front of the Center console with
	FishTeaser written on it.  Morning was in Merrimack Badgers, Flats and
	in river near mouth.  Noon we were out in ocean NE a tad of Mouth
	amongst group of boats doing Mack's etc.  around 2:00pm ish we were
	the bozo's towing a boat dodging the "pleasure boaters" on way to ramp
	at Salisbury State Park.

	I'm curious so verify the Walt/Joe time/day on the Merrimack.
	Of course we are all awaiting the report from George who was going
	today MONDAY in a 14ft boat ;-)
	-< Tuna Tail >-

    
    Tuna Tail,
    
    Gus and I were at the ramp saturday morning at 6a.m. maybe a little
    earlier. We waited till 7:30ish to go out due to the weather. We were
    back at the ramp and loaded up by 4pm.
    
    Walt

    Walt,
    	Thanks for confirming what I thought to be correct ;^)
    	Now the $64,000.00 question is if Joe was there Sat &/or Sun???
    
    	Hope also to hear how George did yesterday (Monday)
    	I am not in WMO today so can't talk to him direct.
    	You and Gus did great Sat.  Glad you planned a safe one :^)
    
    	Hope to see you at the FISHING-V2 NOTESfile gathering this year!!!
   	I left my boat trailer tire/rim at FireStone last night :^) 
   	-< Tuna Tail >- aka Dick                                   

I was on the water on SUNDAY, 7 AM to 4 PM.  We mostly worked Badgers to the 
toothpick and the mouth of the river to the park ramp.  Geez...I dunno how I 
missed TunaTail as I was keeping a close watch out for you.  No radio on 
board.

Joe

    Garry,
    
       When did you ever fish.... even up in Maine I remember you just
    sitting back and taking it easy. Hell we couldn't get you up in the
    morning.....
    
        Best of luck and always keep your lines tight..
    
               Tom
               Bartender
    
    P.S. Just to refresh your memory on the Maine trip thing of Bob P.
    Jimbo, Dan C. and myself.   The lake was called East Grand lake and 
    the place we stayed was Bradlins camp.

    
    You guys sure make it rough on a guy who loves his fishin'
    but hasn't used a rod in a couple of years or been out to 
    Race Point or Salisbury in 4 years, just tryin'na finish
    off his new home. Registered the boat'n trailer last year,
    got it all set to go, - never left the yard. :^( 
    Didn't even bother this year.
    
    But I'm weakenning to temptation to go up to the jetties and
    wet a line.  Maybe take a day off when it won't be so busy
    in the Merrimac.
    
    Fred

    Joe,
    	I guess the "FishTeaser" was a tad "Stealthy" on Sunday.
    	Just like the Stipers :^(
    
    	Sorry I did not expect you out there so was not looking for you.
    -< Tuna Tail >- aboard the "FishTeaser"

    RE:.330
    	Fred,
    		If ya don't get ya rusty skupper out a de yahd in
    	time ya kin always' join us "prepared" folk on our yaucht's
    	when the noter's git tah-ged-dah sometime dis yeah.
    
    	Keep us posted.
    	-< Tuna Tail >-
    
    	PS: My boat trailer tire/rim was repaired and is ready to go :^) 

    
    'Tail,
    
    Thanx fuhduh offa.  :^)
    
    I came close to offerring my trailer tires +, for the opportunity.
    
    Ever use the state ramp at 'chargogg ?
    
    Fred

RE:    	PS: My boat trailer tire/rim was repaired and is ready to go :^) 


Yeah, but have you picked up a SPARE TIRE yet?!?!

j

    
    Had one for years now.  The price tag is still stuck to it. :^)
    
    Not that I haven't had a tire go soft!!  I carry a 12 volt compressor
    plus a tubeless repair kit.  
    
    Can't complain either.  Trailer'a a '74, totes a glastron V140 with
    a 70 Evinrude'n gear. Been to L. Ontario a few times plus it used
    to follow the local bass tournament trail.  And there's still
    plenty of thread left.
    
    Fred

	Anyone know what time Surfland (at Plum Island) opens ?

	The Thompson is finally ready - new transom built/installed,
	ribs fixed, motor installed last night, trailer converted from 
	EZ-load gears to a bunk type, and I'm ready!!  If the boat still 
	floats after a test run tomorrow ;-), I'll be launching sat 
	morning from Salisbury.

	Ken

    Ken, I don't know the Surfland hours, but the phone number is
    (508)462-4202.
    
    Why don't you give and call and let the rest of us know here.
    
    You might also want to try Salibury Bait & Tackle at 462-2163.  We
    usually stop there because it is on our way (on Rte 110).
    
    Good luck,
    Mark
    
    
    P.S.	What ever happened to our fish report from George Pelletier
    		going out Monday?
    

Fred,
	Thanks for offerin tires.
	No haven't usd the ramp at 'chargogg"...where is it?
j
	Pick up my tire/rim this am but no I didn't get a spare.
	I figured my car doughnut worked fine for 50+ miles ;^)
ken,
	Be careful in Merrimack R Saturday. 19-Jun-93
	Cigarette boat race begins at noon so going to be crowded,
	noisey, rough water and poluated air generated by these
	useless $$$ toy;s :^(

	Tim's bait 172 Beach Road (Rt-1a) on way to Salisbury State Park
	(508)462-1574.  Don't have hr's of operation on business card :^(
Mark,
	I'm also wondering about George.  Will give him a call here in WMO
	and see what' up.

	-< Tuna Tail >-

    OK I'm late on reporting back to all of you (Tuna Tail called and 
    reminded me that I should put in a trip report).
    
    Last weeks preperation included:
    	1. Spending about $70.00 on lures
    	2. Spending about $60.00 on Pole,Line,Reel.
    	3. Spent about $20.00 on food.
    	4. Spent $12.00 on gas/oil.
    	5. Spent about $5.00 in gas looking for Deep sea Lures.
    
    			Total cost of the trip was around $167.00
    
    Spent approximately 2 hours talking to the PRO'S trying to get
    information on how we are suppose to try and catch ourselves
    some of these huge Strippers.
    PRO'S = Dick Landry (alias- "Tuna Tail)
    	  = Steve Budreau (alias - "I thought you guys had some basic
    		                    knowledge about fishing Strippers).
    
    
    Note: Steve recommended useing long white plastic worms or yellow
          to match the Bucktail leadheads. I must have gone to 5 or 6
          different stores asking for such and they all looked at me kinda
    	  funny (No one had any such color in long worms).
     
    Sunday night I had the "Hebe Gebie's" thinking about all of these
    great big fish that we were going to catch tommorrow morning.
    I don't think I got an hours sleep.
    
    Time: 2:30 AM on Sunday morning (Just enough time to shower,Shave,Sh_t and
          brush the old fangs).
    
    	  3:00 AM another DECIE (Gary True) shows up with his 14' boat
    	  which looks like a 1957 Chevy (you know the one with the wings
    	  on the back. It even had holes for tail lights like the old
    	  Chevy). The boat was about 5' wide and was powered by a 40Hp
    	  "Lark" vintage year of approx. 1961. (I just pictured myself
    	  in a Black Leather jacket with a "Duck's Ass" as being the
    	  coolest dude out there in the water).
        
    	  But I'm ready!!!  
    
    	  Throw my cooler and fishing gear into the truck and off we go.
    	  About 1hr & 45 minutes later we arrive at Salisbury State Park
    	  ramp.
    
    	The air was so clean you just wanted to stop and continue to take a
        few deep breaths before launching off on our great fishing
    	adventure.
    
    	Finally, I pull out this map that Dave (Tuna Tail) had given to me
    	and I was confused and surprised at the same time. Seems as though
    	I pictured a LONG stretch of river from the Ramp area to where the
    	mouth of the ocean began. I also thought that the "Toothpick" was
    	across the river.
    
        Now Gary was suppose to bring all of the essential boating stuff
    	but I really started to wonder about him when I seen these little
    	plastic oars from a kids little rubber raft.
    
    
    	It's now 5:00 AM and we got to get out there and hook onto one of
        them big Strippers. So out we go a couple hundred yards, throw out
    	the anchor, put on a piece of frozen mackeral and wait for the fish
        to bite.  Occasionally, we pulled up the anchor to move to another
        location or to get the heck out of the way of Bigger boats or
    	big waves by the bigger boats which would have surely swamped us.
    	(Had one wave come right over the top of the bow and got me wet).
    
    	At approximately 10:00 o'clock I start to reel in and it feels like
     	I've got the bottom but eventually it finally reaches the surface
    	and what I see looks like a Stingray (Steve told me it was a clear
        nosed flounder or something like that, but I don't care because I
    	dont like the looks of this guy). I tried for about five minutes to
        remove the hook from its mouth (Arghh) and finally gave up and had
        to release it back to the sea with the hook.
    
    	Gary ended up catching a Sea Robin and a Flounder before we
    	went over to another boat which was catching fish all day long and
    	asked him what he does to catch Strippers.
    
    	The guy showed us a beautiful keeper about 37-38" long and told us
        what to do. DRIFT WITH THE CURRENT USEING A SLIP SINKER AND A 
    	SEAWORM. Well we didn't have any seaworms, but he said he was
    	all done for the day and gave us what he had left.
    
    	Immediately, I hooked onto a nice stripper (21" long) what a fight.
    	Gary then hooked onto a nice fish but his line snapped when he
        tried to horse him up right away to get a look at the big guy who
    	had plenty of fight left in him.
    
    	Gary then went to start up the engine to go back upstream and noticed 
    	we were running on fumes. WHat a time to run out of gas!!!
        We had to go in!
    
    	
    
    Summary: 	1)It was a great learning experience. 
    		2)Can't wait till the next time.
    		3)I'll still ask plenty of questions.
    		4)The guys in this notesfile were GREAT for all of the
    		  information they provided, even though I didn't
    		  really understand all of the info they gave me.
                5)I had a real good day off of work!
    
    

	Thanks for the phone #'s!   

	Surfland is open M-F 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Sat/Sun
	from 5:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

	Salisbury Bait & Tackle, hours 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

	Tim's Bait, M-F 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sat/Sun 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.


re: 	-< Tuna Tail >-

>	Be careful in Merrimack R Saturday. 19-Jun-93
>	Cigarette boat race begins at noon so going to be crowded,

	You gotta be kidding!!!  Are they racing on the river itself ?

	I was planning on fishing from about 5 am till around 11/12 noon,
	and hopefully will miss most of this great butt-head boat action :-/

	Ken

    
    State ramp is off lower gore rd.   Lakeside area.
    Just wondered if you did.  You'd go right close to the house
    and I was gunna offer ya a cold one, just for the sniff of
    a FRESHLY USED BOAT.  That is if you caught anything.  :^)
    
    Fred

    RE:.340	
    	George, Good to hear you had fun.  I gotta see that "Classic" boat.
    		Make sure you come to the "Fishing-V2" gathering this year.
    		PS: -< Tuna Tail >- aka Dick not Dave ;^)
    RE:.341
    	Ken, Appreciate the bait shop times.  Have marked them on cards :-)
    	     The Dweeb's Power Boat race just say's 12:00 Saturday
    	     Merrimack River so I would assume the start/end in river as
    	     someone already told me they saw them anchored near the
    	     Rt-1 bridge this past weekend.  I also assume that the race
    	     would be in front of Salisbury Beach for spectator viewing?
    	     Looks like you will be pulling before the fishing "Dies" ;^)
    RE:.342
    	Fred, Still not sure whre Lower Gore Rd or Lakeside are is?
    
    	-< Tuna Tail >- 
    	

re:	Tim's Bait, M-F 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sat/Sun 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.


Hmmm... I'd question his hours.  Last year I went by there on a weekday 
well before 4 PM and he was closed.  Pulled out of Salisbury on Sunday 
(2 weeks ago) at 4:15 PM and he was closed again.  

Good to have the tel #s.  Thanks.

Joe

RE:.344
	Joe, There's a sign "Ring For Service" at Tim's Bait.
	     Maybe they want customer's to drag them away from the TV?
	     Next time I stop in I'll ask or if someone calls again
	     check out the deal. :^)

	-< Tuna Tail >- 

    When I went fishing with you guys last year and I had to make that bait
    run to Tim's....  The door was locked, but when I rang the bell they
    hopped right to it.  I'll bet Dick's right.
    

	Brief trip report.  Sat June 19th, Merrimac River

	Got to Tim's bait around 5:30 am or so, and they were open ;-)
	Picked up a few dozen seaworms and a 1/2 dozen frozen mackeral
	(I wanted pogies but they said they'd have some in a 1/2 hr :-/).
	
	Launched shortly thereafter in Salisbury. I didn't know what
	to expect, but the ramp area wasn't crowded at all.   Easy 
	launch and within about 5 minutes we were drifting the flats.
	Within 15 minutes, the first striper was caught by my bro-in-law,
	his first, 26", on a worm.   Continued drifting and did some
	trolling too for the rest of the day, covering the badger's rocks, 
	toothpick and flats areas.   Pulled in 1 more 21" striper a few 
	hours later.  I got skunked, which after all the work on the old 
	Thompson, was bound to happen.   Next time...

	A couple of friends in separate boats picked up 3 total, 31" or so
	the biggest.  Saw one keeper in someone's boat - nice looking fish,
	he was anchored at the rocks.

	As the hour approached noon, more and more butt-boats started showing
	up and hot-dogging it out of the river.  Right around noon the
	coast guard started telling anchored people to more away from the
	traffic area and what looked like hundreds of souped up, numbered
	butt-boats with names like "Need for Speed" and "Loud as Thunder" 
	started making their way to the mouth for the races.  We took off
	about an hour later as the skies darkened.

	Ken

    Stripers are reported as far North as the Sheepscot and Kennebec rivers
    in Maine.
    
    While up in that area last weekend I ran across a local who said you
    couldn't keep *any* of any length until after July 1.  I never
    heard this before (and I wouldn't put any stock into what this old
    geezer said), but does anyone know the Maine regulations?
    

    
    
    I have searched both this note and the bluefish note looking for an
    entry from last summer from someone who had taken a striper charter out
    of wells, maine.  If my memroy is correct the note described someone
    taking their two young daughters out for a half day...
    
    Can someone point me in the right direction?
    
    
    thanks,
    	jim
    

    I fished the Merrimack this weekend for the first time in over 2 weeks.
    Lots of schoolie action before dark.  After dark we hit one pod of
    fish and I quickly caught 2 undersized fish, but one was fun at 31".
    After that, it was very slow.  We fished for a good hour after that
    without a pickup.   Then one picked up my eel and I set the hook.  What
    followed was the longest, fastest, screaming run I've ever experienced.
    It ran off 100+ yds of 17 lb in seconds.  My knees were shaking as
    I worked it back to the boat, only to have the hook pull free before
    we got a look at it.  I may never be the same again.......
    
    On the next drift, Peter boated a fairly thin keeper at 17 pounds.
    
    Mark,
    

>Then one picked up my eel and I set the hook.  What
>    followed was the longest, fastest, screaming run I've ever experienced.
>    It ran off 100+ yds of 17 lb in seconds.  My knees were shaking as
>    I worked it back to the boat, only to have the hook pull free before
>    we got a look at it.  I may never be the same again.......

 It's better to have hooked and lost than never to have hooked... ;-)

    RE: .-1, I agree, but it's not nearly as good as hooked "and landed"!
    
    But, as Arnold says "I'll be back!"
    

    re .349
    
    Sounds familiar - it was in York, Maine.
    
    My note, don't remember where I posted - maybe search on name?
    
    Jack Hutchinson

    Silversides were touching the surface on large areas of Great Bay early
    Sunday morning - like rainfall.  Now and then the schoolies would come
    up, slap the surface, even jump clear of the water, feeding on them.  A
    couple of times we were virtually surrounded by small feeding striped bass
    - up to 20".  They did not hammer small surface poppers, and we had but
    one spinning rod, but we did boat four of them.  We spent 90 minutes
    following those small fish around, an electric trolling motor helped 
    stay close to them when they weren't moving too fast.
    
    Later we caught a larger bass - 8 lbs - livelining eels on an outgoing
    drift.  Caught it on two lines simultaneously - came up with both hooks
    in its mouth.
    
    I plan to go back Friday evening if the weather is okay, see how it
    works in the dark.  I am marking so many fish while getting so little
    interest in the eels.
    
    Jack

    Jack,
    	Where's Great Bay???
    -< Tuna Tail >-

    Hi, Dick
    
        Great Bay touches Dover, Exeter, Newmarket, Greenfield, Durham,
    etc. in New Hampshire.  It is inland from Portsmouth.  There are a
    number of launches.  I've only used the one at Dover Point - (Hilton
    Park) so far.
    
        Far less boat traffic & current than mouth of Merrimack, though it
    does get moving near the Sullivan Bridge especially.  Not so major a 
    fishing ground, either.
    
        Be happy to share the bit I've learned so far there.
    
        Pretty civilized place to fish.
    
    Jack

Jack,
	Thanks for clarifying my Dahhh on location of Great Bay.
	Sounds like a nice area.
-< Tuna Tail >-

    Well no fishing for me this weekend :-(
    Got news my car needs rear brake pads/calipers :-(
    Apparently I have been driving the car and towing the FishTeaser
    without rear brakes .....Don't you hate it when that happens 8^0
    
    I'm at home on a vacation day and it's Florida next week.
    Happy Fishing to all of you noter's
    -< Tuna Tail >-

    Let's hear some more reports...please? - I need the relief of these from 
    the pace and intensity of this work.
    
    My contribution follows.
    
    Fished Saturday morning 6:30 - 12:45, launching from Hilton Park on
    Dover Point.  Late start.  Tide was starting to run in when I launched,
    so I went downstream where it was stronger and drifted behind the #9 &
    #11 cans and past the barges & tug moored farther upstream.  No
    hookups, but there were fish.  I watched one fair-sized striper grab
    the tail of my eel as I was retreiving it - maybe within six feet of
    the surface, felt the tug, then she was gone.
    
    Later I worked up into Great Bay, explored several of the reefs on the
    charts, marked a lot of fish, but no hookups.  By 9:00 am, when the
    tide was rolling in, there were many gulls and terns feeding on
    silversides in front of Great Bay Marine.  I tried poppers swimmers and
    metal there - nothing.  No sign of fish feeding on all that bait,
    though the silversides were often coming out of the water.
    
    Past high I went down river to the end of the chart - just past the
    I-95 bridge, where the outgoing current was making up stronger.  Just
    past the bridge it was shallow & clear enough to see the bottom (11
    feet).  I saw a stripper cruising past, paused and worked a small
    popper slowly in every direction.  Eventually I caught one schoolie 
    (20") which gave a very good account of itself.  Lure was a 1/2 ounce 
    Striper Swiper with the rear treble replaced with a single and dressed 
    with white saddle hackle.
    
    I tried fishing several rips on the way back up the river, but nothing.
    
    Near the launch a sailboat was drifting, captain could not start his
    6hp outboard.  We worked at it, but it would not stay running.  Tide
    was running out pretty strong now and his options were few.  I offered 
    to tow him to Little Bay Marina - meaning up under the Sullivan Bridge.
    So the 14' utility boat was pulling a 22' fixed-keel sailboat into a 6 
    knot current.  It worked out okay.  Got up to 8mph plus on my speedo, 
    crawling over the bottom - maybe at 1/4 throttle.
    
    I'm encouraged about working surface lures more, and want to try
    drifting eels well before dawn.  Don't have this figured out yet.  The
    fish are there.
    
    Jack

    Hey first time fishing the jetty off plum island in over 16 years..
    nice to be back on the water...didn't see no fish ... tried chunk
    mackeral bait with no luck ... my 13 year old son commented the
    area looked like Loudon Motorcycle weekend except its boats rather
    than scoots. Fog on Sunday was Nova Scotia thick.
    Be back out there this Saturday,hopefully with better lures/bait
    and luck.
    
    The Canuck...
    nice to hear the previous noter towed that 'sailor'
    back to port...what with all the yuppy-yahoo's we saw Sunday I
    wondered if courtesy was history.

    
    I was out early saturday morning, 3:30 am , and was using live eels. We
    were marking alot of fish but no hookups. @7:30 I hooked into something 
    big , I set the hook hard and started realing her in. Next thing I know
    the line goes slack and I end up reeling in just the head of the eel. 
    The eel looked like it had been cleanly cut with a knife, it was
    probably a blue, I don't think it was a shark.
    
    I seen alot of people using live poogies , seen a few good size
    keepers being caught, they just werent interested in our live eels.
    Oh well, maybe this saturday the blues will be in heavy;')
    
    Gus
                                                              

    We tried launching from Hilton Park last Friday evening around 6:00,
    but the angle on the ramp was so slight that my boat was still over
    a foot in the air when the back wheels of the Montero were almost in
    the water. It didn't look like the tide would change anything as the
    angle of the ramp is the same all the way down. We ended up finding
    Little Bay Marina, over by Newicks and launched there. The crew at the
    Marina said it wasn't worth fishing until high tide, and then for 2
    hours after. High tide wasn't until around 10:00, but we fished anyway.
    No luck, but I did mark lot's of fish. Sure enough, as soon as the tide
    went slack, I got a hook up. We were right under the bridge at Dover
    Point. The fish instantly went back towards the boat, around the
    outdrive and back out in the other direction. SNAP! Oh well, it was
    exciting while it lasted...We had to leave shortly after that. This
    weekend we'll try again.
    
    Marty

    RE: 359.
    
    Jack, I think you are using live eels too late in the day.  Though
    there are always exceptions, eels are generally better at night and
    during very low light at dusk and dawn.  We usually stop fishing eels
    by 6:00 or 7:00.
    
    Mark,
    

    Saturday morning - September 4
    
    We launched at 6:00 am, ran up under the Sullivan Bridge and into Great
    Bay.  High tide had been around 4:45, so it was still pretty quiet, not
    much current.  
    
    We baited up to try some first-light drifts with eels, but immediatly
    saw schoolies working silversides on the surface, so went to the
    spinning gear and followed them around the bay for the next four
    hours.  We boated eight or ten to 25", plus one small blue.  All were 
    on small (1/2 to 7/8 ounce) poppers worked slowly over breaking fish.
    
    Just past low tide we moved downstream of the bridge where we found
    more schoolies on the surface.  As I landed one, Len Newsky, the local
    charter boat skipper, pulled up within shouting distance and started
    casting and retrieving.  I always notice his boat out there - where
    he's going and when.  I called out to him and he told us his charter
    had cancelled, didn't want to get wet - he was clearly not pleased
    about losing a day's work.
    
    The school moved to the other side of the channel.  We followed, and
    shortly Len pulled up and started fishing there.  Within ten minutes he
    was into a big fish, and five minutes later he had it on board and into
    his fishbox.  As we moved around him for another drift, I pulled
    alongside to ask what it had eaten.  He lifted his line to show us 
    a white 2 or 3 ounce bucktail.
    
    So while we were fishing the schoolies on the surface, he went
    underneath, caught his limit for the day, and headed home.  He did not
    fish more than 20 minutes at 10:30 in the morning.
    
    I think this guy is going to keep me humble for the next few years.
    
    Jack

    Do others see a pattern of poorer fishing behind a cold front?
    
    I understand this is true for freshwater bass.  Maybe some freshwater
    experts could speak to that.  My experience this season suggests that
    Striped Bass feed less just after a cold front passes through.
    
    Jack
    

From the February 17, 1994 edition of The Fisherman:

	Striper expert Frank Diagnault will present a slide show and lecture
	titled "Finding and Fishing Surf Stripers" at the following locations:

	March 4  - Worcester Marriott, Lincoln Sq, Worcester MA
	March 11 - Holiday Inn, Springfield MA  Exit 8 I-91
	March 23 - Ramada Inn, Mystic CT Exit 90 I-95
	March 31 - Sheraton Inn, Milford MA Exit 19 495
	April 7  - Hampshire Hotel, Salem NH Exit 2 I-93
	
	Admission $10
	Time 7:00 pm
	
	For more info call Frank Diagnault at 508-883-9897.


I'm planning on going to the Worcester showing this friday night, with a
stop or 2 for a couple of pints at O'Connors.

/Ken

    I will be attending the March 4th seminar, snow permitting.  Will try
    to include a summary of the meeting next week.  I saw him at the
    fishing/sportsman show at the Centrum and enjoyed his talk.  The March
    4th seminar is going to be a "how to" and "where" on surf fishing for 
    stripers and blues.  Also he said that the striper young of year index
    last year was 39.4.  So we should have great striper fishing for years 
    to come.  
    
                                                 Stewart (a.k.a. Culprit)

	I don't really do much of any fishing from the surf, mostly
	I fish from my boat usually close to shore.   I was wondering
	if I'd pick up any tips from this seminar.   What do you think ?

	/Ken

    Since the March 4th seminar is the first in the series, I could find
    out for you.  Frank is mostly a surf expert, but has been in the
    striped bass circle for over 30 years so he probably has some good advice
    for boater's also.  Thinking on it, Yes I would say you would probably
    gain a lot from going.  I just read a book by him on the 100 hottest
    locations from Maine to New Jersey so he knows the striper coast
    really well.  And spending the 10 bucks to talk about striped bass and
    blues for an evening sure beats spending the evening on the old couch
    watching the wife's and kid's TV show's.  
    
                                              Culprit

    When to the seminar on the forth, It was very good, there were about
    50-60 people in attendance.  I took notes so will try to enter a 
    summary in the next couple of days.  This was solely a surf seminar
    on "how to" and "where", and of course he pitched his 3 books throughout
    his talk.
    
                                              Culprit
    

	I thought the seminar was so-so.  Picked up a couple of things,
	but mostly heard "buy my books" if you want more information.
	
	Good bar at the Marriott anyway ;-)

	/Ken

    
Its still a bit early to start rummaging through the tackle box and the 
schoolies don't show up on the Parker River till early May....Reading about
someone else catching the big ones will do for now so I picked up a copy of 
STRIPER SURF.  I've read about half the book so far.  I like Franks style of 
writing and the topic certainly helps keep my attention.  His book isn't bad.
Previous books I've read about Striper fishing are more of a love affair with 
fishing in contrast to this 'how to' type of book...some techniques,.. this 
book is packed with information.  Your mileage may vary.  No ONE book has 
everything you need to know.

/MArk 

Included with my book was information about another book written by 
Frank Daignault called Striper Hot Spots.  This info is included below.
    I sent away directly to Frank for my copy of STRIPER SURF.  I haven't 
    seen 'em any cheaper except for shipping.

STRIPER SURF A HIT WITH SHORE ANGLERS

Striper Surf, last year's runaway in fishing books, which sold out its first 
printing only a month after its release, is still getting a lot of attention 
in angling circles.  Geared specifically for shore fishing stripers, it is 
the only how-to book of its kind in publication.

Techniques for the striper surf are gathered together here in an amusing, 
informative and highly anecdotal how-to book which promises to be the most 
definitive work ever done on the subject.  Glenn Sapir, prominent angling 
author and columnist says that "surf anglers will cherish STRIPER SURF".

Published by Globe Pequot Press, Striper Surf is comprised of 256 pages and 
36 pictures.  Autographed copies may be purchased from the author for $22.95 
plus $3 shipping by writing Frank Daignault, 19 Hickory Rd, Millville, Mass. 
01529.  Don't be afraid to ask Frank to inscribe your copy with something 
personal or special: "to the next World Record holder, or best surf fisherman." 

-->I didn't specifically ask Frank to sign my book but he did anyway. 
-->He writes, "To Mark, who, after reading this, will be qualified to give 
-->Striper seminars.
-->Well, I wonder if I choose to give MY OWN seminars if Frank will expect me
-->to plug his book (..or my own..? Can Striper fishin techniques be patented?)


New Book Has Secrets of the Striper Old-Timers

STRIPER HOT SPOTS, Frank Daignault's latest striper book which follows on the 
heels of an earlier success, Striper Surf, is an important piece of a puzzle 
that has perplexed shore fishermen for years -- Where?  The truth is that all 
those great fish that we are always reading about in magazines and newspapers, 
apparently caught by the same people year in and year out, are the product of 
knowing WHERE to go fishing.  Sure, knowing what methods are most likely to 
work helps.  (He wrote that book last year.)  Daignault says that "surfcasting 
is like anything else in that you have to know what your are doing.  But, if 
you don't do it where the fish are, you could waste an awful lot of hours 
fishing for nothing."  Jerry Gibbs, Fishing Editor for Outdoor Life, says 
"This book is like having a flesh-and-blood fishing guide stashed at all the 
best places along the Striper Coast."  Disclosing the best locations for surf 
fishing from Cape May to central Maine, readers can avoid knocking their 
brains out to learn the way the author did.

All 100 locations are star rated 1 to 5 like movies or restaurants; methods 
which are used by local regulars are discussed; incidental species that you 
might find there like albacore, blackfish, or porgies are mentioned; the best 
month, best wind, and suitable tides -- if they have a bearing -- are included 
in a no-nonsense directory of the very element that some striper old-timers 
have been keeping secret all these years: Locations.  For your signed and 
numbered copy of STRIPER HOT SPOTS send $13.95, plus $2 shipping to 
Frank Daignault, 19 Hickory Rd, Millville, Mass. 01529.
    

    	Frank's other book, Twenty Years On The Cape, is good reading also.
    Anyone who spent lots of time fishing the Cape will particularly enjoy
    it.
    
    	If you fish Stripers from a boat you should also read Tim Coleman's
    To Catch a Bass.  He tells you right up front that the book takes for
    granted that you already know how to handle your boat and that you've
    already got a basic knowledge of Stripers.  Then he goes on to tell you
    just about every imaginable way to rig and properly present your
    offering to the Bass.  Short and to the point, I liked it.
    
    					B.C.

	I'm looking for a new rod for striper fishing.  I fish for em
	from my boat.  My preferred reel is a Penn Squidder - I really	
	like this reel -  it works well for chunking or live bait
	from a boat and I can cast pretty far with it.

	The question is, do I necessarily need to match this type of reel
	with a particular rod type ?  The specific thing I'm wondering
	about is the guide size with this type of reel and my intended usage.
	
	There are basically two styles: those with the large diameter guides, 
	and those with the small diameter guides.  I always thought those
	with the large guides are for spinning reels, and the ones with
	the small guides are for conventional reels.  But is this true ?

	It seems like I might be able to cast better with less resistance 
	on the rods with large guides.  I guess optimally, the line from the 
	reel to the tip should pass thru the center of the guides; otherwise 
	there'd be friction if the line hit the guides.

	Any opinions on this ?   It's tough to find a rod around central MA,
	but if the rods with the larger guides are ok with a conventional
	reel, then I'll at least have more options.

	Thanks,
	Ken

Ken,

The rods with the large guides are (generally, but don't have to be)
spinning rods.  You don't want to use this style rod with a conventional
reel because the guides will be on the wrong side.  What I mean by this
is that when they build a rod blank, there is a spline (seam) along some
tangent(lengthwise).  This should either be compressed or not (I forget which).
For the sake of discussion, assume that it should not (I think that is right.)
That means you put the guides on the spline for a conventional rod and
opposite the spline for a spinning rod.  If you put a conventional reel on
a spinning rod, you'll be compressing the spline, which increases the
chance of the rod breaking.  99% of rod failures (breakages) are compression
failures, where the graphite or glass (except on spiral glass blanks, where
the glass is wrapped in a spiral around the mold) compressed until it splinters.

Hope this helps.

Tim

re: .374

    >>Any opinions on this ?   It's tough to find a rod around central MA,

	The FAIR on Rt-20 in Shrewsbury as a vast supply of rods all brands/types

	SPAGS on Rt-9 Shrewsbury has lot's in their sport shop building also.

	I find both places pretty much the same in prices give/take a few $
	and they are competitive with any catalog prices when you include
	shipping/handling costs etc.

	Bring in your reel and ask them.  I think SPAGS personnel may have
	more assistance in helping you select the right combo.

	Good Luck
	-< Tuna Tail >-

re:                <<< Note 15.375 by PEROIT::LUCIA "DECladebug" >>>

Thanks for the explanation on the "spline".  I had never thought of that!

re:           <<< Note 15.376 by CAPL::LANDRY_D "Warbirds 1939-1945" >>>

>	The FAIR on Rt-20 in Shrewsbury as a vast supply of rods all brands/types
>
>	SPAGS on Rt-9 Shrewsbury has lot's in their sport shop building also.

I haven't hit the Fair yet, but I did go to Spag's.  They have lots of
excellent cod rods, but nothing to my liking for stripers.   I was looking
at the only Penn Slammer they had, but I judged it to be too heavy for my
needs and not a good fit for the Squidder.  A Shakespeare Ugly Stick Tiger?
had the right characteristics, but the guides were crap for a $50 rod.

Hopefully they'll get more stock, or the Fair will have some good supplies.
Otherwise, I'll have to head east to the coast.

Thanks,
Ken

The appropriate rod for the Penn Squidder is often referred to as a 
Surf Stick or we used to also call them meat sticks with 11' being the 
most common size and none of this two or three piece stuff.  During
the late fifties and through most of the sixties five out of six
Striper fisherman on the Cape had this setup. A competent caster could
throw some serious line with these and before mono caught on most
Squidders held 36# test flat dacron (again on the Cape).  You would
not find too many Squidders on boats where casting was not the norm.  I
understand that these conventional setups are still popular on the
Jersey shore and that the commercial guys still prefer them on the
Cape Cod Canal. 

I have no idea where -.374 (Ken) is located but you typically got to
head to the coast to find a genuine surf stick. Red Top near the Bourne
Bridge would likely have a large selection.  Don't forget the rod
racks for the roof because these won't fit in the trunk.

I'm glad to see the Squidder, like the Mitchell 300 has survived all
the high tech gadgetry through the years.  The newer squidders do have
some magnetic anti-backlash spools though.

good luck in your search,
jd

re: .377

	Ken,

	I bought 2 Penn Slammer Light duty rods from Spags and 2 Penn 704Z
	reels for Christmas.  They had lot's in stock and also Medium and
	Heavy duty spinning rods.  They also had surfcasting outfits
	9' and up.  So did Spags but I think The FAIR had more rods.

	Don't wait to go east as my expierence is the closer to the 
	coast the more you pay ;-)

	The Fair has more inventory then SPAGS.

	I live in Oxford so buy mostly from The Fair or SPAGS.
	Usually stock up at The Fair for Christmas or at the Fishing show
	they have in February.  Good % discounts.

	I can't recommend which rod as I'm not familiar with the reel you have.

	Go to the Fair before you go east
	-< Tuna Tail >-

re:        <<< Note 15.378 by PIET13::DEINNOCENTIS "John...  PKO3-1/14D" >>>

>The appropriate rod for the Penn Squidder is often referred to as a 
>Surf Stick or we used to also call them meat sticks with 11' being the 

I'd like to do about 7' max.   11' from a boat would be too long I'd think.
In any case, thanks for the advice on surf sticks.  I'll probably have to
head over to the coa$t to find one, but if I find something I like it will
be worth it - like I did for my cod stick.

re: 15.379  D_LANDRY

I live in the next town, Charlton, so it's usually the Fair or Spags.  
The Slammer I looked at was a M Heavy action, and while I really like
the rod and the construction, guides, etc, it was too heavy for the reel.
I'll be checking the Fair for a lighter action Slammer as long as it has
some backbone.  Or head east ;-)

/Ken

    Ken,
    	You can always build your own...  I'm in the process of rebuilding
    a 7.5 ft. rod.  Found a little tackle shop in Franklin that builds
    -lots- of custom rods.  He has everything you'd need to make a great
    rod or he can make one for you.
    
    	Roy's Tackle Shop 
    	343 Union St.
    	Franklin, MA
    
    Directions:  Rt. 495 to exit #16 (King St. Franklin).  Go east at the
    end of the ramp.  Go left on Union and watch for Roy's on the left. 
    It's only about 1/2 mile from the highway.
    
    	He has some great looking local made SW lures also.
    
    					B.C.

    re:380
    
    > I'd like to do about 7' max.
    
    	Most of the people that jig on the party boats use an 8' rod. It's
    not as bad as you might think. They don't do overhand casts due to the
    amount of people (saftey reasons) but there is otherwise plenty of
    room to if they were allowed. I know these aren't surf rods. It's just 
    the length I'm commenting on.
    
    	RAYJ

re:                      <<< Note 15.381 by SUBPAC::CRONIN >>>

>                         -< Is Franklin close enough? >-

>    	You can always build your own...  I'm in the process of rebuilding
>    a 7.5 ft. rod.  Found a little tackle shop in Franklin that builds

Close enough for a lunchtime errand ;-)  Thanks for the reference.  

I've wondered about building my own... it's something I could get into
once I learn how to do it.  I have an old fiberglass cod type rod that
was my father's and grandfather's, decades old, that I'd like to repair
someday too.

re:        <<< Note 15.382 by VICKI::DODIER "Single Income, Clan'o Kids" >>>

>    	Most of the people that jig on the party boats use an 8' rod. It's
>    not as bad as you might think. They don't do overhand casts due to the

My cod rod is 7'6" I think - it's great for jigging and bait fishing off
the bottom.  The rod I need now is for water about 10'-15' deep average, for 
stripers.   I usually cast chunks from my boat.  An 8'er is definitely 
within the range that I think I need.

/Ken

RE: .374 question on small guides (casting rod) or large guides (spinning
rod) for use with Squidder.

Any properly made fish-fighting rod will have the spline positioned so 
that when you hold the rod in the normal fighting position, the easiest 
way to bend it is down.  So if you tie a weight to the tip and rotate the 
rod to the left or right, you will feel it trying to twist back to its 
original position.

A spinning rod has the guides on the bottom.  They progress from large
diameter near the reel to small diameter toward the tip so they can 
funnel the line into a straight line as it spirals off the reel when 
you cast.  The guides are set fairly far away from the rod so that the 
spiralling line won't slap the rod.

If you turn a spinning rod over so the guides are on top and pull against 
a fish, the rod's spline will make it want to flip over.  Also, if the 
guides are not exactly on top of the rod, they will provide a lot of 
leverage to flip the rod over because of how far up they stand out away 
from the rod.

A conventional (casting) rod has the guides on top.  The guides don't 
have to be large in diameter because the line comes off the reel in a 
straight line.  They are much closer to the rod so there will be less
leverage to flip it over if they don't stay exactly on top during a fight.  

On big game conventional rods where you are pulling really hard against 
the fish, it is still almost impossible to keep the rod from flipping 
over because of this leverage from the guides being on top.  So the butt 
of the rod has slots (gimbals) in it that you fit to a pin in the fighting
belt or chair to keep it from twisting.

Spag's has a big selection of spinning rods, but a pretty spotty selection 
of conventional rods.  I need to take a look at the Fair.  Don't overlook
Offshore Angler.  They have a full line of Penn Slammer and Power Stick
rods at unbeatable prices, plus free shipping even for 1-piece rods.

Regards,
Tom

    Does anyone have the tides for this weekend 2-3 Apr Saturday/Sunday
    on the Merrimack R?
    
    Thinking of taking my son on the FishTeaser for a run.
    
    	-< Tuna Tail >-

From Eldridge:

Boston

APR		   HIGH			   LOW
	AM	HT	PM	HT	AM	PM
2	3:28	10.9	4:12	9.5	9:53	10:12
3	4:31	10.3	5:18	9.1	10:56	11:15

Add one hour for Daylight Saving Time.

Newburyport ..... 0:30 after Boston	7.8 ft 

	Rick

re:-1
	Appreciate the tide info.
	Looks like a great tide for me to yank out before dark.

	The FishTeaser will be going and so far just my son and I will be
	aboard cruising the Merrimack from Salisbury State Park ramp.
	May go outside the mouth wind/waves permitting ;^)

	-< Tuna Tail >-

    FishTeaser made 1994 first launch on Saturday 2-April :-)
    8:00am launch from Salisbury State Park ramp after clearing the ramp
    of high tide debris.  Had trouble getting my newly tuned engine
    running.  Turned out the gas line was not attached to engine 8^0
    Don't you hate it when it does that ;^)
    
    Wind was pretty steady during time out and waves were choppy but small.
    Took her outside the mouth past north jetty and anchored for some cod
    fishing using shrimp/clam necks and lures but no luck.  Went out to 70'
    depth and waves were getting pretty steep.  Did some drift fishing but
    no luck out there either.  Came back inside mouth and fished near south
    jetty anchored.  No luck here either.  A few harbour seals were around.
    
    Saw one small party boat going out and one other small boat headed for
    Isle of Shoals.  Another boat was launching from Salisbury ramp as we
    yanked the FishTeaser out at noon.  It was getting more breezy and 
    their were whitecaps in the river.  No other boat activiy was seen.
    
    My son had a great time trying out his new rod/reel he bought and
    the box full of new lures etc I just gave him for his 8-Apr 25th B'day.
    My 9yr old daughter enjoyed sleeping all day in the car going up, in
    the boat all the time we were in the water and all the way home :-)
    
    	All in all a great day to just cruise and be out in the fresh ocean
    	air even though a tad on the chilly side ;^)
    
    -< Tuna Tail >-

	Rick,
		Thanks for sending me the charts/tide tables for the Cape.

		My goal this year is to try and take the FishTeaser out
		to SouthEast of Nantucket Island.  Our family may be spending
		1-2 wks in Harwichport so when I can see two good clear calm
		day's I may go for it.

	dick    -< Tuna Tail >- 

re:                      <<< Note 15.381 by SUBPAC::CRONIN >>>

>    	Roy's Tackle Shop 


Thanks for the recommendation.  They have some really nice custom rods there!
And lots of great looking striper lures.   This looks like thE place to hit
if you're heading to the cape, especially the canal, from 495/mass pike.

I'm not sure what I'm gonna do - I saw 2 rods I liked, one a custom at $120,
I'll have to think about that one...  more bucks than I want to spend, but...

/Ken

    Our first striper for the season was caught in the MR Tues. early eve.
    Nice to have one so early!!!!
    K.

Anyone find any stripers around the Merrimack/Ipswich/Hampton area this past
weekend?  I would like to get out there as soon as the weather breaks. Since
I don't have a boat, I'd like to do some surfcasting.

...bill

    
    
    	I would wait another week or two the stripper fishing has been
    	real slooooooooow.   There has not been a lot of fishing activity
    	only people fishing all the hot spots looking for them.  There
    	has been a few small ones caught but the strippers are not here yet
    	in any numbers.  Everybody is expecting them any day now.
    
    		George (JOY III)
    
    	
    

Did I see JOY III cruising up the Merrimack by rivers edge marina on Saturday
I was waxing the boat and thought I recognized the name.

Gordon (Rock'n 'n Reel'n)

    
    
    	You did.  I was out saturday morning and sunday night.  Saturday
    	I just trolled a few spots looking to see if I could pick-up
    	a schoolie and sunday I just took a ride to see if I could find
    	any action.  Both  days it was very obvious that the fish weren't
    	there.  People were sitting back in the seats drifting baits or
    	were moving consitantly and they all looked bored.
    
    
    	Next time give me a shout on (9).
    
    
    	George (JOY III)
    
    

The stripers are there, but not in great numbers.  I've caught a few over
the past week.

Watch out for those strippers--you can catch some things from them you
can't throw back... ;-)

    
    
    	That's why I couldn't find any on the river saturday, I was fishing
    for strippers instead of stripers.  I should have been trolling
    ten's instead of rapala's.
    
    	George
    
    

re: I should have been trolling ten's instead of rapala's.
    

Hmmmmm...dunno what kind of strippers you'll catch with "tens."  Not that 
I know that much about this kind of fishing, but Luck Lucia told me ya
gotta troll at least a C-Note!  He's the expert, ya know!

-Joe-

I'd troll a C-note if I wanted a keeper.  A ten ought to get you a 
couple of schoolies.

	Striper's in Thames (Schoolies)

	My son and I will be launching the "FishTeaser" from the ramp
	under the East side of the I-95 bridge in Groton, CN
	Saturday around 4:30am.

	I called Ken's Tackle Shop 213 Thames St. (203)445-6888
	and they said schoolies are in but no keepers have been caught yet.
	They don't open till 7:30am so we will do lures till they open.
	Will be fishing under/around the bridges.  My first launch here.

	....tail to follow ;^)

	-< Tuna Tail >- Dick    monitor VHF CH9 and CB CH19 "good buddy"

	I saw 2 stripers caught in the Merrimac yesterday - one at the
	dock before heading out deep sea cod fishing (which was *terrible*!),
	and one from a boat on the way in.    Small schoolies around 5-8lbs
	or so.

	Got a call from a real happy brother last night who caught a 
	24 lb 38" striper yesterday from shore in the Neponset River 
	in Quincy.   

	/Ken

    Dave Heuss and I spent several hours on Great Bay (Portsmouth, N.H.) on
    Sunday morning - up the Oyster River a ways and down to Little Harbor.
    
    Nothing to indicate there are any stripers around yet.   Didn't get any
    flounder either.
    
    Contact at Little Bay Marina said the freshwater flow to the bay from
    the recent heavy rains had pushed the herring and alewives back out -
    but aren't they swimming to fresh water?
    
    There were terns feeding on the widespread and numerous small (~2")
    baitfish in the water, and the cormorants seemed content/settled in.
    
    Oyster River estuary was 56 degrees.  Little Harbor 46.
    
    Still beautiful out there!
    
    Appreciate all the other notes in here.
    
    Jack

    MY B-Law and I are planning a trip out of Great Bay this Sunday. We
    will try for some stripers in the river and then go out to the ledges
    for cod. Any pointers on the local hot spots would be appreciated. We
    plan on trying to locate Great Bay MArina as they seem to have an all
    tied ramp. 
    
    Jim

    To reach Great Bay Marina ... head north on I-95 past the N.H.
    tollbooth.  Get off at exit 4 for routes: 4, 16, Spaulding Tkpe
    going toward the White Mtns. (that's a left exit).
    
    Head north on the Spaulding Tpke and take exit 4.  At the bottom
    of the exit ramp (which is only about 50 yards max) bear left.
    Proceed under the Turnpike so that you appear to be heading
    as though you had done a U-turn ie loop around until you seem
    to head south on the Spaulding Tpke.
    
    Just as you're about to get back on the Spaulding Tpke, take
    exit 4S ... its just before an Exxon station.
    
    Proceed on that road for about 3/4 mile to a blinking light.
    At that intersection there are a couple of town buildings ...
    a firestation and the police station for Newington i think.
    
    Turn right at that light (following signs for Great Bay Marina)
    That should put you on Fox Point Road.
    
    Proceed about 1/4 mile and take your first right onto Beane Lane.
    There's a big Great Bay Marina sign there.  Beane Lane leads right
    into the Marina.
    
    	Good luck!  Mark
    
    

    Mark,
    
    Thanks for the directions. Do you know if they sell bait there? If not,
    no problem we can go over to Little Bay Marina when there is enough
    water to get in there.
    
    Jim

    Jim,  Great Bay Marina told me that they would have bait  ... worms and
    cut mackerel ... but as of last weekend had none as yet.  Over at
    little Bay Marina, i was able to get a few sandworms the other day but
    was not impressed with their product either.  Maybe its too early in
    the season.  In any case, if you find a good place to get bait, please
    let me know.
    
    Good luck, mark
    

    The last week or more it has been pretty easy to stay in schools of
    active stripers in Great Bay until the sun gets bright (9:00 am) - 
    we're even occasionally getting splashed by them as they force the 
    silversides to, then above, the surface.  We often have a couple dozen 
    fish breaking all around us.  
    
    Fly fishing has been even more effective than small poppers.
    
    These are medium school fish - to 28 inches.
    
    There are more boats night fishing there now - and I hear that keepers 
    are being caught.
                                                     
    If you do fish Great Bay, please help keep it civil.  If a boat is on 
    a school, find a different one to fish - there are plenty to go around.
    Some of the drifts are big enough for several boats, but the
    schools that are ranging over the broads or flats will spook quickly
    when a boat approaches.
    
    An electric motor is very useful here.
    
    Jack

Jack,

I usually fish the mouth of the Merrimack R., launching from the Salisbury
State Park ramp.  Where are the launch ramps for easy access to Great Bay?
I only have a 14' w/25 hp, so most any decent ramp will do.

Thanks,

Joe

    Joe,
    
    I also use a 14' 25 hp aluminum boat.
    
    I launch at Hilton Park at Dover Point.  This is right beside the
    Sullivan Bridge.
    
    Avoid low tide there - the upper half of the tide is preferable.
    
    Be happy to share what I've learned about drifts & tides & rocks to
    avoid. - I'll probably be fishing Sunday morning, launching around 
    6:00 am.
    
    Jack

    
    Anybody know what the tides are for tommorow at the Merrimac?
    Thanks
    
    Walt

    
    
    The tides for Plum Island/Merrimack River from my High Tide P.M. Chart
    are as follows
    
    	Date	Aug	Sep	Oct
    	1		8:47	9:03
    	2		9:38	9:53
    	3		10:26	10:43
    	4		11:12	11:32
    	5		11:58	-----
    	6		12:23	12:39
    	7		1:07	1:27
    	8		1:53	2:18
    	9		2:41	3:12
    	10		3:33	4:10
    	11		4:29	5:12
    	12		5:29	6:18
    	13		6:34	7:26
    	14		7:40	8:30
    	15		8:45	9:29
    	16		9:45	10:20
    	17		10:38	11:05
    	18		11:25	11:47
    	19		-----	11:59
    	20		12:37	12:35
    	21		1:05	1:11
    	22		1:42	1:49
    	23		2:20	2:29
    	24	2:16	3:01	3:11
    	25	2:56	3:45	4:06
    	26	3:38	4:32	4:47
    	27	4:23	5:23	5:40
    	28	5:12	6:18	6:36
    	29	6:04	7:14	7:32
    	30	6:58	8:09	7:28
    	31	7:54		8:23
    
    	
    	

    A friend & I fished Great Bay Monday morning, 5:45 am till noon.
    
    The parking lot at the ramp was empty when we launched - had me wondering
    whether the fish were gone & everyone knew it but us.  Not so.  But until
    9:00 we fished alone.  Maybe it was the weathermen that kept everyone 
    else off the water.
    
    Patterns were a little different, but action was still continuous - by
    moving around we were in fish at every stage of the tide.
    
    We released 15 fish to 25", and lost as many more - all on poppers & 
    bucktails.  I went back to 6lb line & was happy with it.
    
    Jack       

        With the wind and rain coming in from the East over the next couple
      of days. What do you expect the fishing to be like at the sandbar and 
      in the surf at Plum Is. Sat. and Sun.
    
    Paul

I'd say a tad wet and cold.  Not pleasant, that's fer sure.  As such, I
don't think I'll be taking my 14' boat out there.

joe

    .....wind out of the EAST,
    FISHING is LEAST;
    .....wind out of the WEST,
    FISHING is BEST;
    
    It'll be tough, but I'll be out there
    
                                 -Steve 

    How wrong you are.....The surf fishing should be good if you hit it
    right. The east wind will push bait fish into the surf and you
    can be bass and blues will be there to take advantage. Some of the
    best fall fishing takes place when the wind is pushing a good surf
    into beach. I would expect either dawn or dusk to be productive.
    (yeah the weather will suck but that mean only the serious guys
    will be fishing).
    
    BTW don't confuse this note....I am only advocating surf fishing,
    don't try a boat in these winds.
    
    Bruce

Well, let's hope that this storm clears out before Saturday A.M.  The 
"Harpoonist" has extended an invite for early A.M. fishing out of the 
Merrimack.  This will be my last chance at a keeper for this year!

-Joe-

    If anyone is going out the MR early Saturday be carefull. If the wind
    is still out of the East with any strength it could be real nasty.
    There will be an out going tide running right into the wind which makes
    for some serious conditions. On the plus side the fishing could be
    outstanding. I've had some banner days under these conditions. I also
    had water coming right over the windsheild of my 20ft Aquasport and one
    morning  the Coast Guard had to tow two swamped boats. This is strickly
    one person at the helm at all times under power and nose to the
    breakers. We only put one line in the water.
    
    JIM

Point well taken, Jim.  If the weather reports indicate that this storm will
be subsiding after midnight, then we may stay on the boat overnight in
hopes that conditions are Ok in the early AM.  We'll first start out trying
to net some pogies.  Hopefully, there are still some around.  We don't 
expect to be going out beyond the mouth...mostly hanging around Badgers 
Rocks down to the jetties.

If I don't post a note on Monday AM on the results, you might have to send 
the CG out after us 8>).

-Joe-

       Sat. at Plum Is. was not bad. Slight wind and fog rolling in 
     from time to time. A few fish caught. The largest was a 32".
     I'm glade I went.
    
    Paul

Well...Harpoonist backed down, so we didn't go out Saturday AM.  Something 
about the wife ... <mumble...mumble>....

My wife went <mumble...mumble> as well, but I just ignored her and said I 
was going.  Period!

-Joe-

    
    
    I just got my copy of the Oct 6 #40 Fisherman.  There is an article
    writen by Dusty Rhodes which decribes a new Amendment to the Striped
    Bass management plan that is going to be approved at the Oct 16
    meeting.  The new Amendment #5 will drop the size limit for the
    Chesapeake Bay to 18 inches and dramatically shift the allocation.  The
    new scenario will shift the harvest allocation to 74 percent to the two
    Chesapeake Bay states while the remaining 10 states which are under
    this plan will only get the remaining 26 percent.  The new Amendment
    will also dramatically increase the commerical harvest to a projected
    8.9 millioin pounds by 1997 from a present 1.5 million pounds.  At
    these new levels they will be at the level at the time the fishery
    collapsed.
        Please get hold of a copy of the article and there is a
    name and address listed that you can voice your opinion to the Striped Bass
    Coordinator before the final approval at the OCT 16 meeting. 
    
    
    
    		George (JOY III)
    

Money talks, fish don't.

...bill

        re:423

    	I'm I reading this right ? It sounds like it's saying "Now that we
    built up the striper population, lets decimate it again", and "Oh, by the
    way, lets let only 2 states really profit from this".

    	RAYJ

(Reprinted without permission from the Fisherman magazine/New England Edition
 October 6 - #40)


	What Amendment 5 Really Means

	
     Amendment 5 to the striped bass management plan is but a heartbeat away.
Finalization is expected in October at the annual meeting of the Atlantic
States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) with the implementation by January
1, 1995.  The result will be more bass harvested next year with a progressive
increase through 1997.
     Justification for stepping up the bass kill stems from the fishery's
condition of restoration declared by the ASMFC this year.  But a recovered 
fishery and increased harvest are just the tip of the striped bass iceberg,
so to speak.  And like an iceberg, the big news lulls beneath the surface.
Just how the 1995 through 1997 increase will be allocated among coastal
recreational and commercial fishermen and Chesapeake Bay recreational and 
commercial anglers is a tale worth knowing,  if bass conservation interest you.
     MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY - Before one can clearly understand why certain
provisions crop up in the fishery management plan (FMP), one must understand
the concept of maximum sustainable yield (MSY).  Contrary to what some anglers
think, the purpose of fishery management is not restoration or protection of a 
species as an isolated goal.  Rather, the objective is to build or rebuild
stocks for harvest by recreational and commercial anglers at a level which
can be supported without damage to the stock biomass (in other words, maximum
sustainable yield).  When stocks are low, the MSY is also low as determined by
controls using combinations of minimum size, bag limits and seasons.  And when
stocks are high, the MSY goes up because controls are relaxed.  It's perfectly
worthwhile concept if you believe in resource access - as long as accurate and
realistic harvest levels are established and a fair allocation of that harvest
results.  Unfortunately, that hasn't always been the case with striped bass.
     BOARD GOALS - The goal of the ASMFC's Striped Bass Board since the 
interstate management plan for striped bass was designed in 1981 has been to
rebuild the breeding stock to its 1960 through 1970 level.  Once that goal was
achieved, the fishery would be opened to a harvest level deemed acceptable, and
through monitoring and plan amendments, the biomass would be protected from the
overharvest which brought about the collapse in the 1970's.  However, as you'll
soon read, the design of Amendment 5, although conservative if restoration has
truly occurred, hardly provides for a equitable split of fish.
     BOARD MEMBERSHIP - AS the ASMFC is a compact of East Coast states
(including Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C. and the Potomac River Fisheries
Commission), the Striped Bass Board is comprised of representatives from each
member entity (in the case of striped bass, membership and controls extends
from Maine to North Carolina, excluding South Carolina, Georgia and Florida).
Each state sends three commissioners: the director of fish and game, a 
legislative appointee and a governor's appointee (at-large representative). The
result is a mini congress, as it were, with decisions created by majority vote.
And like our other Congress decisions haven't always met with universal approval
or, from our perspective, haven't always been rooted inlogic, science or sound
fishery management.
     AMENDMENT 5 - It is therefore with some concern that we examined the
proposed provisions for Amendment 5.  Although several scenarios for opening 
the fishery have been identified by the ASMFC's Striped Bass Technical
Committee (the group of biologists who determine stock biomass and harvest 
rates), the proffered plan that's part of the options presented to the public
contains the following variables?: a recreational coast wide minimum size of
34 inches with a two-fish daily bag limit and a 240-day season (April 15
through December 15), coupled with an 18-inch minimum size with a one or
two fish bag limit and a 139-day season in the Chesapeake Bay.  That's one fish
per person recreationally in Maryland and Virginia and two fish per person for
the Charter industry.
     Within this scenario, certain variations are permitted.  For example if a
costal state opted for say a 28-inch minimum size, it would have to implement a
158-day season rather than the full 240 days.
     UNFAIR ALLOCATION - According to the Technical Committee, this scenario 
would result in the Chesapeake Bay states harvesting (harvest means kill; catch
numbers would be considerably higher) 417,000 striped bass in 1995 versus the 
coastal harvest of 143,000.  in other words of the full 560,000 bass harvested
under this scenario in 1995, over 74 percent would be allocated to just two
states while the remaining 10 states would have just 26 percent of the fish.
     Part of the rationale for this split is rooted in the fishery management
assumption that the Chesapeake Bay has so many pre-migratory fish (less than
24 inches) that the project Bay volume can be sustained without damage to the
fishery.  Which means that from the standpoint of pre-migratory fish, the Bay
is considered a large lake essentially the sole province of the two Bay states.
Mean-while, the coastal states are tightly controlled as to the number of
migratory fish which can be taken so as to preserve in large measure, the
Chesapeake Bay stock.
    The situation is actually more serious and the imbalance in fish allocation
even more unfair than the forgoing indicates.  According to additional
Technical Committee assumptions, 25 percent of the coastally harvested fish 
will come from the restored Hudson River stock.  Therefore, of the 143,000
coastal fish projected for 1995 harvest, only 107,250 will come from the Bay.
In percentage, the allocation of Bay fish is almost 80 percent to two states
versus 20 percent to 10 coastal states.
     COMMERCIAL INCREASES - The commercial allocation is even more lopsided.
From a poundage cap of 1.5 million pounds in the 1990 to 1993 period, commercial
harvest under Amendment 5 will shoot up almost 100 percent to 2.9 million pounds
next year.  By 1997, commercial harvest is projected to be 8.9 million pounds,
almost a six-fold increase and about what it averaged during the base years of
1972 to 1979!  In other words, by 1997, if restoration is truly at hand, the
commercial harvest will have been restored to its level at the time the
fishery collapsed!  And of that commercial quantity, the Chesapeake Bay 
commercial harvest would be 5.1 million pounds, more than half of the commercial
total and almost double what Maryland enjoyed as a high commercial harvest
during 1972 to 1979.
     A BETTER BALANCE - Yet the Technical Committee has also designed other
scenarios which merit consideration.  From the standpoint of a more just
allocation of recreational fish, its 24-inch minimum for both coast and Bay is
more equitable and is presented here to illustrate what can be accomplished
by considering alternatives which the ASMFC itself has made available.
     With this approach, the Bay would receive the same one or two-fish bag
limit but at 24 inches minimum and a season of 129, not 139 days.  Coastally,
a one-fish gab limit would prevail at a minimum size of 24 inches for a 240 day
season.  However, in this scenario, states which opted for a least a 32-inch
minimum size would be permitted two fish a day.
     According to the technical Committee's calculations, this 24-inch scenario
would result in a recreational harvest split of 305,000 for the two Bay-states
versus 459,000 fish for the 10 coastal states, a total of 764,000 fish.  How-
ever, by backing out the 25 percent contribution from the Hudson River stock
the coastal harvest of Bay originated fish reduce to 344,000, producing a 46/54
percent split of Chesapeake Bay fish between the two Bay states and the 10
coastal states.
     FALSE CONSERVATION - From this brief analysis, it should be sadly 
apparent that bass conservation through larger minimum sizes will not result 
in fish saved.  As Amendment 5 is fashioned, accepting an 10-inch/34-inch size
split and then opting for an even larger minimum size at, say, 36 inches will 
not result in fewer fish harvested from the Chesapeake Bay.  And it definitely
does nothing to limit the commercial harvest windfall.

     RECOMMENDATION - Only by selecting a size scenario which will actually
reduce Bay harvest (24 inches all around, for example) and then establishing
whatever larger minimum sizes coastal states deem advisable, will there be a
true savings of recreationally harvested fish.  And only by clamoring for a
more conservative approach to commercial increases can there be any savings
from that quarter.
     If you're intent on saving striped bass from potentially damaging
harvest increases, you must do more that just cling to a 36-inch minimum size.
Voice your concern by writing -   

	John Field
	Striped Bass Coordinator
	ASMFC
	1776 Massachusetts Ave., NW
	Suite 600
	Washington, DC 20036

     Tell him you're opposed to the 18-inch,34-inch split and the planned 
commercial increases, and that you favor a more balanced approach like the
24-inch scenario.  And do it before the October 16 annual meeting.

    	So it has been calculated that a 139 day season with 18" limits
    will yield 417,000 lbs of stripers in Chesapeak Bay ? I think I'm
    losing something in the translation here.
    
    	The author is using a lot of words to say very little. I'm not
    saying I agree or disagree, just that the basic points are lost in the
    shuffle.
    
    	RAYJ
    

    
    I went down the Cape yesterday. Lot's of herring in the canal
    and the run. Some small schoolies already being caught (few
    and far between but it's a start). Someone also scooped up a small
    schoolie while trying to net herring.
    
    Walt

    Just returned from three days of fantastic fishing, so I thought I'd 
    serve a wake-up call for the coming holiday weekend. Arrived on the
    Island late Friday night and slept til sunrise. Then the reelin' 
    started... and it didn't stop until we got back on the ferry last night
    at 6:30. Blues and stripers were everywhere. We had several four hour
    stretches where EVERY cast produced a tight line. Blues were 8# and 
    better. We had one eight hour period where amongst 5 of us we never
    went beyond 3 cast/ hook-up. Then we started home along the beach only
    to run into a known local who had caught and released 5 keepers within
    2 hours (mid afternoon) before keeping his sixth. By late afternoon
    we had 5 (30+") stripers and a dozen blues we C&R'd. We only kept the
    blues that were severely injured and still brought home 20 pounds.
    
    In the end, we went through every leader we had, including 2 packages
    of long,heavy duty. There were so many and they fought so ferociously that
    the schools continued to attack the lines when fish were on. Once we
    had 2 on the same lure at the same time. The blues, when hooked, would
    frequently leap out of the water before starting a another run. I went 
    through every lure I had (including four I bought there) - 3
    ballistics, 2 broken backs, 2 needlefish, 2 bucktails, 1 hopkins (?),  
    2 poppers, and 2 large flat metal ??? (forgot the name). Most of these
    lost while on leaders, frequently part of the leader still attached.
    They hit everything - any color, metal, wood or fly. It was perfect 
    for new fly-ers as the fish ran very close to shore, out to 70 yards+.
    
    I've got a busy summer ahead, so this will probably be my only outing
    until October. No regret... it'll take me that long to save up and
    restock on plugs. Special thanks to my wife and daughters for sending
    me on this one, I'd be kicking myself all season if I hadn't gone
    along. One h@#@$%L of an early Father's Day present.
                                                        

    Sounds wonderful.  I've never been able to get over there in the
    spring.  What part of the island were you fishing?  Or better yet,
    exactly where were you fishing?
    
    Tom

    As the wind was from the SW, we primarily fished "the gut" all the way
    to Wasque. We had 4wd and caught fished both within Cape Pogue and on the
    oceanside depending which tide. The baitshops reported fish caught all
    around the island. Caught fish on all tides periods and day/night.
    This was my first spring outing to MV, I usually go for the tournament
    in the fall as I prefer to fish bonita, false albacore "little tunnies"
    and strippers. 
    
    Good luck!

    Thanks for the info.  Maybe some day I'll get a chance to use it.
    The successful shore striper fishermen over there make sure no one
    knows or learns anything about finding big fish.  While evesdropping
    however, I've heard that a lot of good fish come from the incoming rip
    at the gut and the outgoing rip at Wasque.  Is that where the local
    guy got his keepers?  One technique that I heard works at Wasque is
    rigging a Hopkins spoon (the flat dimpled ones) with a pork rind eel
    and dragging it slowly along the bottom.
    
    The best rips occur at the gut when an incoming current meets a
    northeast wind, but the weather usually sucks then, and the fish
    usually don't show up for other cold-front and northeaster related 
    reasons.
    
    The locals aren't quite as tight-lipped about blues, but only among
    themselves.  They must use CBs or telepathy.  When acres of blues
    show up at Wasque, the beach suddenly has 3 or 4 dozen trucks all
    parked elbow to elbow around the point with their occupants fishing
    in front of them.  Any other day when the fish aren't there, you 
    see zero to 3 trucks.
    
    We're always there in the fall too, so we should plan on meeting
    there some time.
    
    Tom
    

    I caught my first keeper Sunday morning at about 07:00 at the Cape Cod
    Canal. Its taken me 3 years to get a keeper. I usually go with several
    friends and I've seen keepers and schoolies caught all around me. Was
    becoming very frustrated as I think I know what I'm doing while fishing
    for these guys. One time was there all night 11pm till 8am, people were
    catching stuff all night. At 8am two guys show up, one had never been
    striper fishing and his buddy was showing him how. This rookie lands a
    42" 30 lb fish! And he had been fishing for only 20 min. I just about
    lost it!!!  :^)
    
    Well this time I was the guy who showed up, just got set up and start
    fishing and 15 min later, I land a 35" 16.3 lb'er... It was great.
    Everyone around had not even had a nibble. I show up and boom, I'm
    done.
    
    What a good tasting fish!
    
    Don

re: .433

Bob,

You said you were "floating" mack chunks.  Were you using any weights at all 
or just the mackeral chunk in a hook?

I'm thinking of try the Merrimack this weekend.  Also, anyone have any 
reports on flounder fishing there?  

Thanks,

Joe

    re: last few 
    
    The 'Mack has been just crammed with stripers for the last couple of
    weeks, and they're coming in now with some size to them. I caught my
    first keeper (38", no idea of the weight) on a fly Sunday afternoon 
    about 30 minutes before dead low tide, to go along with about a 18 shorts.
    
    I concur about the sand eels - I was picking up clouds of them on
    sonar, and had birds working all around me on the flats side of the
    channel (by the #11 can). fwiw: I always seem to get the best action on
    the outgoing tide, and Sunday was no different: once the tide turned
    the stripers got smaller and the action petered out.
    
    This great striper fishing has been a mental godsend as the lack of
    runoff this year has put freshwater fishing in the tank earlier than
    usual. Now if we could get some blues int he river as well, I'll be
    able to hang on until the fall season (if there *is* a fall season!).
    
    /dave
    
    (ps: Because I didn't have a cooler big enough for the "keeper", I didn't
    keep it - so that should make up for the guy who stashed one in his
    truck ;^)
    

    Yes, this Mack invasion is a Awsome!!! What a blast it is bringing
    these schoolies to the boat. I'm not sure if I care if I catch a keeper
    or not. I would probably release it anyways!!!
    
    It seems from the replies that Sunday was the day and Saturday was not.
    It figures!!! Anyways, as this type of fish is a lot of fun to chase
    I was wondering if anybody had any suggestions on a more interactive
    type of fishing for them besides Mac Chuncks. Such as lures with
    different types of retreival considering the rushing tides in that
    place. I like trolling but with that traffic, I don't see it happening.
    
    Thanks,
    Bob Mercier

	  Ahhhh, yup...  There are a couple other methods for Stripers...

	Live Pogies
	Eels
	Seaworms
	Bucktails
	Bunker Spoons
	Swimmers
	Poppers
	Tin Squids
	Sand Eels (Launce)
	Squid
	Clams
	Crabs
	Snails
	Porgy's
	Harbor Pollack....

	   Cast, troll, wire line the above in any of the appropriate ways...
	I'll also bet that I've missed a few too.

	   Want a short cut?  Spend the $8.00 or so for Tim Coleman's book
	"To Catch A Bass".  It's advertised in The Fisherman and available
	at Spag's, bookstores, etc.  He takes for granted that you have a
	boat and know how to use it.  Then he starts with gathering bait and
	goes through all of the required techniques.  Short and informative.

	   Good luck in your quest...  Oh, and by the way, don't forget the
	you can flyfish for them too!!!
						B.C.

    Bob:
    
    Well, one convenient thing about flyfishing from a boat is there aren't
    too many bushes to hang your fly up in ;^)
    
    On the down side, you have to avoid falling into your own cast, lest
    you do what I did last week and bury a popper between your shoulder
    blades (lost my balance just as I launched a forward haul and WHAM!).
    Thank god for debarbed hooks!
    
    Tie a bit of yarn on the end of your leader, and practise casting on
    your lawn until you've got the basics down pat. Anybody can master
    flyfishing, but there is an investment in learning that's best handled
    with as little pressure as possible (and that includes nibbling chubs ;^)
    
    Catching stripers on a 6wt would be a riot - as long as you had enough
    backing, and someone was along to run the boat to give chase if you 
    hooked into something big (else you can kiss your line and backing 
    good bye). I came within a hairs breath of losing the keeper I caught
    on my 7wt, and if not for a lot of cooperative boaters between me and Plum
    Island (plus having 250 yards of backing to play with) I'd have lost
    hook, line and backing out to sea...
    
    Definitely going out Thursday evening - low tide somewhere around 7PM.
    
    /dave

re: .441

Does that mean that you expect the weak link to be
at the spool? I would've thought that the leader/tippet
would break first.

But what would I know. The only time I even see my
backing is when I decide to clean the entire line
after fishing scum-covered, bluegill-infested waters.

Jerry

    re: .442
    
    Well, yeah, presuming knots hold, the backing hasn't deteriorated,
    and of course, the tippet strength is lower than the backing strength. 
    I was more concerned about losing the whole works to another boat's
    prop - with all the traffic through the gut.
    
    Adds new meaning to the term "long distance release"...

Sounds like a good video:

20 flyfisherman, each alone in a boat and
each hooked into a fish. And maybe for a few
good cut-away shots, some extra flyfisherman
bobbing on the swells and launching big hooks
into various parts of their bodies. 

Maybe you could set up a camcorder on your
next trip? 

Jerry

DO NOT practice fly casting on your lawn.  You will not learn to pick the line
up off the water correctly as your lawn has far less drag than the water.  Go to
a local pond and practice.  You may still use a little piece of yarn for the
fly, but I would recommend using a real fly, possibly with the hook cut off, so
you are casting a realistic weight.

Tim

    Went out of Westport MA last week with couple of folks from work.
    Keepers one 44", 39", 37". Lots of blues and smaller base 24"/32". This
    has been best year for bass since early seventies.
    
                                           
                                        John
    

    Any weekend reports this morning from the Merrimack?  I was out there
    last Wednesday and things were still very slow.  Hopefully things will
    pick up soon.  I'm thinking of taking my kids tomorrow, so any info
    would help.
    
    Mark,
    

    I was out on the MR Friday night from about 1:oo am to 8:00am. It was
    pretty slow. The biggest fish we took was about 24". There were some
    blues at the mouth around 7-8 at low water unfortunately thats when we
    stopped for breakfast.
    
    
    Jim

    I got 2 keepers this weekend in York Maine. One on Friday morning about
    6:30 AM on chunks of mackeral. This guy was 38 inches. The other on
    Sunday night about 7:30 with my own lure, I make these up myself. This
    was a 42 inch striper. We also got about 8 others on Sunday in the 26
    to 32 inch range. All in all a good weekend to end the summer.
    Jim

    anybody been in the MR this week? Planning on fishing friday 9-3ish and
    try and get my first keeper.. :-( 
    
    	

    Well I'll answer my own question. Its friday around 5:30 and just
    getting back from 6 hours of fising on the merrimack. Boated 9 stripers
    but no keepers. :-( 19",22"24"26"27"27"28"28" and a 30".
    
    	The 30" is my bistest this year but not big enought. All caught on
    red tube with worm while trolling. Fished the mouth..
    
    	

    Lotsa people catching stripers in Hampton/Seabrook/Salisbury/Plum
    Island area right now. Saw one guy getting his piccie taken with a
    small keeper right next to Brown's on 286, and another guy caught one
    under the Hampton/Seabrook bridge.
    
    My striper contacts say the fish are in thick right now and people are
    having good days just about every day. Lotsa C&R action. The fish I
    personally saw caught yesterday were at low tide.

Tried Dover Point/Hilton park from shore yesterday for a couple of hours 
up to high tide.  Picked up 2 small schoolies and a small blue on mack chunks.
No bait fish around and no real signs of schools.  No hits on topwater by 
schoolies.  Did real well w/topwater baits a couple of weeks ago, but I 
suspect yesterday's east wind turned the bite off.

Interesting to hear that they were doing well at the Merrimack R.

-Joe-

    Ran into friends Sat. AM who were just returning from the Merrimack.
    They had 6 nice keepers w/ each of the 6 guys having returned at least
    one other keeper back for another day. Also had some blues. Caught
    everything on the outgoing tide (late evening/ early morn ?) using
    chunk herring.
    Saw another buddy on Sunday who has three keepers so far, all caught
    last week off the Merrimack on different tides, baits, days. Says he's
    been into them especially over the last 10 days.
    Keep the stories coming for those of us who won't make out in the
    forseeable future....

    re: last few
    
    I took my dad out on the 'Mack for the Saturday evening outgoing and we
    did pretty well (in spite of the winds - which made casting a
    challenge). He caught his first flyrod striper and if we'd put it on 
    the rack for a couple of hours we probably could've stretched it that 
    last inch needed to take her home ;^)
    
    In ~four hours on the water we landed over 20 bass and two smallish
    blues. The bass were all in the 26-30" class (plus the one 33" fish)
    and provided  excellent action for both of us (ie: we had a blast 
    along with sore arms). Except for about a half dozen which we caught 
    between the #11 can and the flats, all fish were hooked near the end of
    the south jetty  (where we also picked up the blues).  All caught on
    chartreuse lead-eye  deceivers using 500gr  Teeny lines and chucked
    right into the foam along the rocks...
    
    We saw a few fish kept (I'll assume they were legal) but a *lot* of
    near misses: the boat nearest us was drifting mack chunks and about
    every 10 minutes they were measuring another fish that just came up
    short. I'll bet when this class gets back from Maine there's gonna be a
    lot of bass being served for dinner...
    

DonMac and I fished the mouth of the Merrimack R. yesterday for stripers.  
We got on the water around 9 AM (low tide) and fished the upriver side of 
Badger's after the tide turned and started running in.  We picked up a 
number of schoolies, the largest being 28".  We used mack & herring chunks 
and even tried some clams.  

We did see 3 guys anchored in the rip by Badger's fishing live mackeral and
they were doing real well. We saw at least 2-3 keepers caught and a number
of other larger (30"+) thrown back. 

Question:  Where are they getting their live mackeral?  Just outside the 
mouth?  What's the best sertup for catching macks?

thx,

Joe  

    re: .457
    
    Mack's are pretty easily picked up with jigs ("mackeral jigs", in fact)
    *if* they're around. I was on the Merrimack yesterday afternoon thru
    evening (scooted down to Cranes for some beachin' then up to the river
    to fish the outgoing), and didn't see anybody jigging for mack's. The
    boats out beyond the mouth were mostly still-fishing for flatties.
    
    We had great fun catching schoolies using flys and bucktails (my kids
    aren't quite up to throwing a 550 grain shooting head yet). More than
    once we thought we had a keeper but the tape never lies - 32" was the
    biggest of the day, most were around that same 26" size.
    
    We saw live herring being used, as well as mack chunks, clams, and
    hardware. Didn't actually see anything kept, but with all the chaos
    from the fleet returning (man there were a sh*tload of boats out
    yesterday)  our attention was divided between watching our lines and
    watching out for incoming traffic...
    
    /dave

    I've heard lots of reports of herring in the Merrimack this year.
    My first question is where are people seeing them and how do they
    know they are herring?  I haven't seen them, so I guess I don't
    know what to look for.
    
    My second question is how the heck do you catch live herring this
    time of the year?  Gill net them like pogies?  I assume you'd need
    a smaller mesh net if that's the case.
    
    Thanks,
    Mark
    

First there are tons of tinker mackerel outside within a few miles of the
Merrimack. Use a mackerel jig to catch them but you'll have to chum them if you
expect to catch enough to use for bait.  Without chum you'll have to get lucky.
The best spots have been Breaking rock off of Salisbury, out around the intake
of the Seabrook Nuclear Plant off of Hampton and out on Speckled Aprin which is
about 3-4 miles east of the Merrimack river entrance.

As far as herring in the Merrimack is concerned, yes it's true there are a lot
of rather large herring in the Merrimack this year.  I've never seen herring in
the river after June.  To catch them you can use a pogie net, but a net with a
smaller mesh (1.25") will be more effective because the smaller ones will swim
through a typical pogie net (1.75").  And yes there are pogies in the river as
well.  They aren't as heavy as last year, but none the less they're still there.

This has been a very different year for bait.  I suspect it has something to
do with the cooler water temperatures.  I can't ever recall seeing herring in
the river in August and it's been 20 years since the mackerel have been around
all summer like they've been this year.  Usually the macks get chased north by
the bluefish by July and return in September.

Also in the other striper note someone put in a note about a 1/2 ton tuna being
caught this past week - well I don't know of any 1000 pound fish, but I know of
an 820 pound fish that was caught on Saturday...Unfortunately it wasn't by me...

Oh well...
Dave (AKA Baitmaster)

    Thanks Dave.  I have to admit the differences in the bait have really
    thrown me off this summer.
    
    I assume you are using ground pogies for chum to catch the mackeral?
    
    Mark,
    

    If you were on the Merrimack yesterday and wanted to catch Stripers
    the bait of choice would have been Sea Clams.  I know very little,
    no, make that nothing, about Sea Clams except that the guys drifting
    them were into steady action.  I'm sure the tide played a part but
    I couldn't find the sand eels I did two weeks ago.  Only got a
    handful of fish on the fly and had to work too hard for those.
    
    I'm not complaining cause I usually give up August and wait for
    mid September/early October for things to heat up again.  With
    the strange weather of 96 I'm wondering what late season fising will be
    like???  

I've been using whatever is left over at the end of the day for chum. Ground
pogies, herring, pollock, mackerel, etc. all work quite nicely thank you...
Don't you just love those old fashion meat grinders...

Good Luck
The Baitmaster