Really Enjoying this Winter!

 

Here's a big pickerel I jigged up
through the ice a few weeks ago.
It's been the best ice fishing year in
over a decade!

I'm sure many of you are sick of winter at this point and looking forward to spring.  But, I just love winter and the snowier and colder the better. 

I have really enjoyed this winter.  I did a lot of skiing.  It's not over yet and I plan to go till April.  I've logged in over 50 days on the slopes thusfar and I'm hoping to go at least another 15 days.  I've been able to do this with friends, my sons and my two oldest grandkids. I also got to go ice fishing many times this winter, maybe more than the last five winters combined. The last time I went (last week) I was cutting through 12 inches of ice with my brand new electric auger. The ice fishing has been super productive for multiple species of fish. I've only been jigging, but that has been real good. I've also been able to do this with all my sons and even some of the grandkids.

So, while I am also looking forward to spring around the corner and getting back to salt and freshwater open water fishing, I will savor those last few weeks of winter. It has been a winter to remember!

I'm at the top of Wachusett mountain skiing
with my grandson Troy and my granddaughter Hailey.
It's been a great winter for skiing!

Next Big show- Springfield Sportsmen's Show

 The next big show where I will be doing carp and striper fishing seminars is the Springfield Sportsmen's Show. This big outdoor show will be held at the Big E in Springfield from Friday, Feb., 21 to Sunday, Feb. 23. This show has everything for the outdoor enthusiast.  It has freshwater fishing, saltwater fishing, hunting, outfitters, tackle shops., boats and kayaks and more. It is held in a massive venue and draws big numbers of people.

I will be doing my two new seminars for this year titled Seasonal Strategies for Carp and Seasonal Strategies for Stripers.  Most likely I will be doing these on Saturday, Feb. 22.  As of right now, the exact schedule has not been posted yet.  The website should have the schedule up this week.

Hope to see many of my followers at the show.

Update: My striper fishing seminar will take place on Saturday at 1:00 in Seminar room A.

Red Hot Ice Fishing Continues

Ben Pickering holds a good size 
largemouth that was landed on a small
Kastmaster with an artificial maggot
attached.

We are on a roll with the ice fishing as my sons and I have been
jigging multiple ponds in both MA and RI and catching. And, the results have been the same with big numbers of crappie, yellow perch, bass and pickerel. We've also had some real braggin' size fish. All these fish are falling for small gold Kastmasters spiced with a real meal worm or an artificial plastic maggot. The plastic maggots seem to be just as effective as the real meal worms.

With the cold weather forecast to continue we just might have the ice till the end of the month.  This weekend we hit multiple places that had anywhere from 8 to 10 inches of ice. So far, I have done more ice fishing in 2025 than the last 5 years combined!

I landed this good size pickerel while jigging this weekend.
The ice fishing has been red hot.

On the Ice with the Kids

Here's a real prize that Jon jigged up.

 I fished this weekend with my two youngest sons, Ben and Jon. We went jigging through the ice, something we used to do a lot when they were young. Back then we would hit the local ponds after school before supper.  They loved doing it then and still like to do it. As you know, we have had very little ice the last few years, but we have it this year, so we decided to rekindle memories.

Ben landed this pickerel along 
with many perch and bluegills.

I went out with Jon in the morning hitting a pond near his home, and I later joined up with Ben to fish right in front of his house (lakefront property).  In both cases we found tons of fish. We landed good size largemouth bass, pickerel, huge crappie, yellow perch and bluegills.  We were jigging small Kastmasters with a meal worm attached.  The meal worm is the key to catching.

In all the places we fished there was anywhere from 6 to 10 inches of ice which is pretty thick for this
time of year. Interestingly, we saw very few other ice fishermen around on a beautiful day.

The next adventure is to get the grandchildren out there! 

We also landed some huge crappie.  They just 
don't get much bigger than this!

Seminar Schedule for NE Fishing Expo this Coming Weekend!

 

I will be at the New England Fishing Expo this weekend (Feb. 1 and Feb. 2) doing a striper fishing seminar and a carp fishing seminar.  This big outdoor fishing show will take place at the Best Western Royal Plaza Trade Center which is right off Rt. 495 in Marlborough, MA. It is one of the largest fishing shows in New England and features a lot of both freshwater and saltwater fishing along with some top notch seminars. You can see the complete seminar schedule at www.nefishingexpo.com 

Here is my seminar schedule:

Sat., Feb. 1- 2:00- Seasonal Strategies for Stripers

Sun., Feb. 2- 11:00- Seasonal Strategies for Carp

Hope to see many of my blog readers at the show!

First BIG SHOW- New England Fishing Expo

 My winter seminar adventures start at the New England Fishing Expo on the weekend of Jan. 31 to Feb. 2.  This big show will be held at the Best Western Royal Plaza Trade Center in Marlborough, MA which is right off Rt. 495.

I've been doing this popular winter show for many years now.  It is one of the best "pure fishing shows" around. It's a mix of saltwater fishing and freshwater fishing.  The show is loaded with vendors and has an all star line-up of seminars.

This year I will be running two all new seminars, one on freshwater carp fishing and one on striper fishing.  The titles of my seminars are "Seasonal Strategies for Striper Fishing" and "Seasonal Strategies for Carp Fishing".  These digital slide shows feature lots of information and have loads of photos and videos all shot in the past year.

The final seminar schedule is not out yet, so keep your eye on the website, www.nefishingexpo.com,  as it should come out prior to the show. I expect to be there on both Saturday and Sunday.  Hope to see many of my followers there.

St. Croix Avid Surf Rod

 For years I had used a St. Croix Mojo Surf rod and I have a number of different models.  The Mojo rod was always rated a good buy for the money and a real solid rod.  My 10 1/2 footer was getting old and the reel seat was moving so I decided to change rods and purchase a replacement. With the Mojo out of production, I decided to try a St. Croix Avid rod. This is a rod that has been around for awhile and has a proven track record.  It's hard to find anyone that does not like this rod, and every rating I found was very positive.

I bought the 10 footer, model # VSS100MF2.  I paired this with a Daiwa BG 4000 spinning reel and 30 lb. test Power Pro braided line. This two piece rod has a moderate fast action and is rated for 1 to 4 ounce lures.  I have used the rod for the entire season and landed hundreds of fish on it.  I have to say that I can't think of a single negative thing about this rod. It's well made, casts well, has a great feel, and performed flawlessly for all of 2024.  I especially liked the fact that it had bigger guides than my Mojo. While the Mojo produced an occasional wind knot due to its small guides, this rod did not.  It also has a light feel about it yet is quite powerful on the cast. I would agree that you can cast just about anything from lightweight 1 oz. plugs to 4 ounce "big wood". The rod is listed for $360, a moderate price for rods these days.

St. Croix Avid Surf Spinning Rods come in 7 different sizes from 7 to 12 feet long.

I would highly recommend this rod if you are in the market for a new surf rod this year.

I used this 10 foot St. Croix Avid Surf Spinning rod
all year. It proved to be a real good rod for me.