It's on to the Springfield Sportsmen's Show

My next stop on my winter seminar tour is the Springfield Sportsmen's Show, a very popular outdoor show located at the Big E in Springfield, MA.  I will be there on Sat., Feb. 20.  As of this post, the exact times for my two seminars are not set yet.  Keep checking back at their website here for updated seminar information.
I will be doing two seminars at Springfield.  One of them is titled Discovering Carp Fishing and the other is a saltwater show titled The Surfcaster's Edge: Strategies for Catching Stripers, Blues and Albies.  I already did these shows at The NE Fishing and Outdoor Expo, and they were very well received.
If you are longing for the upcoming season and suffering from cabin fever, why not visit the Springfield Sportsmen's Show where hunting and fishing is featured big time.

Revised Seminar Schedule for New England Fishing and Outdoor Expo this Weekend

My seminar schedule has been revised for the New England Fishing and Outdoor Expo,  http://www.nefishingexpo.com/this weekend.
Here is my revised schedule:
Saturday, 1:00- The Surfcaster's Edge: Strategies for Catching Stripers, Blues and Albies
Saturday, 5:00- Discovering Carp Fishing
Sunday, 11:00- The Surfcaster's Edge: Strategies for Catching Stripers, Blues and Albies

See the link above for more show information and directions.  Hope to see many of you there.

First Stop on Show Circuit.....New England Fishing and Outdoor Expo

My first stop on the show circuit this year comes in another two weeks at the New England Fishing and Outdoor Expo at the Holiday Inn in Boxborough, MA.  This outdoor show runs three days from Fri., Jan. 29 to Sunday, Jan. 31.
I will be doing two carp fishing seminars on Saturday at 1:00 and again at 5:00. They are titled "Discovering Carp Fishing" and "New England Trophy Carp Fishing".  I will be back at the show on Sunday to do my saltwater fishing seminar at 11 AM.  This is a completely new show called "The Surfcaster's Edge: Strategies for Stripers, Blues and Albies".
This show used to be the same show that was held at the Worcester Centrum for many years.  It moved to Boxborough last year.
For more info, check out the show's website at New England Fishing and Outdoor Expo.

Two FREAK Injuries in 2015

Looks like the fish won this battle.

You don't think of fishing as an injury type of sport.  But, in 2015 we had two of the most bizarre injuries I have ever hear of.
The first involved my son, Jon.  When the phone rang at midnight back in October, I knew this couldn't be good.  It was Jon reporting that he had a hook in his NOSE. His explanation was that he hooked and reeled in a striper from a rock he was standing on.  As he went to lift the schoolie upwards, the fish fell off and like a projectile the Yozuri plug went flying in the darkness toward his face with the rear treble striking his face and embedding itself in his nose.  He ended up in the South County Hospital emergency room where it took the doctor close to an hour to dig it out while repeatedly exclaiming, "I can't freakin' believe this." Jon recovered, and we even got the plug back (minus the rear treble)!

For two months the tip of a
spine from a striper's fin
was embedded
in  my thumb until it was
recently cut out.

The second freak accident involved me.  Back in late October I landed a schoolie one evening.  When I tried to get the hook out, the fish thrashed sending a spine from its dorsal fin right into my thumb.  Well, no big deal.  The minor puncture wound bled a bit, but I was back to fishing almost immediately. After about a month I noticed some redness and soreness in the same spot where the fish's spine entered my thumb.  After a few more weeks, I have an infection developing with a lot of soreness.  Puss started oozing from the infection.  I am now getting worried so I go and see my dermatologist who can deal with ANYTHING.  He takes a look at it and notices a grayish mass in the infection.  He thinks I have something embedded in the thumb and decides to cut it open to find out.  Soon, he exclaims, "I got it." He shows me a small pointed piece of cartilage from the tip of the fish's fin that had been in my thumb for 2 MONTHS. He told me he has taken lots of foreign objects out of his patients' bodies but a tip of a fish's fin was a first for him.
One of my resolutions for this year for me and the kids.....remain injury free!

Youth Writing Contest Sponsored by NE Outdoor Writers

The NEOWA (New England Outdoor Writers' Association) of which I am a member is running its annual Youth Writing Contest for 2016.  This contest is open to kids from 6th to 12th grade and is divided into a junior (grades 6-8) and senior (grades 9-12) division. State winners receive $125 cash awards with the possibility of winning the best of NE award ($150 additional).
The whole idea is to come up with a story or poem about anything outdoor related.  Here in RI we had several real good fishing stories last year from kids who entered after seeing a post like this on my blog. We had a couple of very deserving winners from RI and we are hoping to get the same this year.
The rules for the contest and other details are spelled out in the this link: Youth Writing Contest.
So, if you know a kid who likes to fish or likes to do anything outdoor related, think about getting him or her to enter out contest. Every NE state is running their own contest.

Just Nothing to Report from Saltwater; Freshwater Hot

I can't get a striper this December, but fishing for carp
in freshwater has been spectacular, the best ever for
this time of year.

I have nothing to report from saltwater.  Yes, I have been numerous times looking for holdover fish in the Providence River, but I have found nothing but bait.  There are schools of large menhaden as well as peanut bunker, but I have found no stripers. I've tried in the daytime as well as at night.  Man, this area has really taken a plunge.  At one time, as recently as five years ago, I was catching hundreds of stripers a month in the wintertime in this area. But, it has gone so far downhill in the last few years that I am beginning to doubt that I will get even one fish this winter. That should tell you a lot about the state of our striped bass numbers.
On the other hand, I am still fishing, and have turned my attention to freshwater carp.  This has been a record late fall/early winter for me as the warm weather has the fish feeding as if it is September.  Some days I catch 10, 15 and even 20 fish with numerous fish between 10 and 20 lbs. So, long as this weather remains ice free, the carp will continue hitting.  If you are looking for info about carp fishing, one of the fastest growing fisheries in the entire US, check out my popular blog at RI Carp Fishing.

Alls Quiet with the Winter Fishing

The disappointing fall fishing has extended into my winter fishing. Normally at this time I am racking up some big catches in the upper Bay.  But, I have been out several times in the last couple of weeks and it has been a big fat ZERO. No fish, no one fishing, which seems to be a familiar theme this fall in RI..
I was out tonight. Just like along the oceanfront in the last few weeks there was a lot bait where I was fishing.  There were lots of large menhaden just lazily circling about. I saw peanut bucker schools also milling around the lighted areas and shadow line. There was some sort of skinny small bait (bay anchovies?). But, no striper hits and no whirls.
In the last few years, winter fishing has been on a downhill slide which has mirrored the downhill slide of the striper stocks. Ten short years ago I was catching over a thousand stripers a winter in upper Gansett Bay. The way things are going I am wondering if I will even catch one this winter.