Connecticut fishing reports 2009

[DarkSkies]

Rip-plugger Aug 30, 2009

Sunday

"got OTW at 5:40,tide was flooding hard,top of the flood is around 9:15.
I'm slinging a 9 inch super rip-runner[red with pink sidebands/gold
sparkles] out and winding it back with the tide.
after about 15 minutes I switch to an oddity of mine,don't have a name
for it but I'll attach a pic.
it's orange with a yellow top has a wide wag about it,not one of my
faves but,it has caught fish before.
4th cast with it and it gets smashed hard!
I am using the heavy stick and I hit this fish hard and bear down on
it.
it digs in and there is no slip of my drag,I locked his *** up!
he was trying to get me over a pile of oyster shells,thats why I ,locked
him up.
I land him a nice,fat chopper about 10 pounds[pix].
I put on the super-duper rip-runner[chartreuse with pink sidebands,5-3/4
oz!@10 inches].
I cast about 5 times and I see a huge swirl behind it,the fish did this
2wice but no bite.

after about an hour and several plug changes,no more action so,I packed
up and headed for the chuck wagon!
thats it for now.
action shot to follow.

cheers

Heavy-Hooksetter"

[DarkSkies]

"Got OTW @ 5:45-am.tide was kinda low but,still ebbing.
saw a smash waay out.drifted medium rip-runner out there,it gets
smashed 2 times,the first I felt the fish,it missed and second I felt
nothing.

Saw a bunker shooting along the far shore,I sling my plug over there and
I bring it back,SMASH!,,it gets hammered I lay into it and muscle it to
shore.a fine sized,fat chopper gnawing on my plug.I release it.

I put on a white/blue sidebands rip runner and it gets hammered but the
fish misses the 2 hooks[no tail hook].
I hit a fish on the next cast and it comes in way too easy,I wonder
why,,I leader it and it goes crazy,I stay away from it and it comes off
and flops back in.I'm glad.
10 minutes later,I sling out a plug that neve swam,it gets bashed.I
fight with this fish and bring it to my feet,it's hooked on the single
tail hook[thanks SurfRat] straight through the lower lip.

I switch to a special plug,one that I was inspired to build by a
snake,the copperhead[blue/black and still bloody] to be exact.
I liked the shape so much,I made it's baby too.
I sling it out there and after 2 casts it gets pounded on shore.I drag
the fish on the sand and take a picture[attached].

after several smashes but,no hooks I try more plugs built, it gets quite
so,I head to the backside and sling out an odd swimmer that orange with
yellow top.
it kinda reminds me of a shoehorn in t's shape.well I sling tat out a
few times and it gets bashed,knocked 5 feet away from where it was.I
keep cranking and smash,I'm into a good sized chopper.
I land it and release it.
after I let got of it my friend comes up with his son and crowd me out,I
was ready to go anyway.
oh yeah,I ask him f he got any fish this morning,his reply was,"I went
all over looking for fish but,saw nothing".what the heck is that?,,you
get up waay early go in your car,burn fuel and look,never wetting your
line!
I told him he was crazy,why waste your time if you're not going to
fish?.

so,thats my morning,got my line stretched and landed 4 nice choppers all
on my creations,whats better than that?

a few more pix coming after this."

cheers

Heavy-Hooksetter

[DarkSkies]

"Got OTW at 5am.
took my heavy stick with me,a tica UEHA 9 foot heavy power-2-6 oz mated
to an Omoto 777-s3[black] full of 30 pound mono,I am loaded for bear!
began drifting a chartreuse/pink 7 inch swimmer waay out.
second drift it gets slammed hard,I hit the fish and fight for just a
few seconds and it's off.
5th drift I get creamed again but,missed due to slack line.
it's quite for about 15 minutes then I hear a crash to my right,a fish
is chomping on a bunker.
6am,I get slammed again but,was a miss on the fishes part.
as it gets lighter out,I switch to a new plug,just finished 2 days ago.
it's 10 inches long,pink body with yellow sides and gold sparkles,made
of some type of pine and it's not real heavy but,it's big.
I sling it out there and drift it out then hang it in the current,it
gets bashed like a bomb blew up.
I slam the steel to it,it's off,trying to fly.
my buddy John,his son and Baddog23 are there.
I was giving lessons on plugging with large wood.
I take some action shots and release the fish.

john's son Ralphie comes over and casts where I was,I go to where he was
and he said to me,hey,thats my spot.I sling it out,,,,smash!,I hit a
good fish in his spot.
I take some action shots and release the fish.

I say,anyone want me to slam another one,they all say,yeah do it again.
I sling it out and smash,I miss,I keep reeling and smash I slam the
hooks to it and it's a good fish.
airborne,thrashing,rolling and I take some shots and release it.
by now,it's nearing the end,no one was hitting any fish.
I take a break while all of them cast.

I stand up,freespool and sling it out,drift a bit,a and engage the
reel,I start to bring it in and just as I was gonna burn it back to cast
again,I get hit hard,I swing on him and he shakes free.
I cast again and drift,as I start to reel in SMASH!,,a fat heavy fish
has my big wood across the mouth,front hook is on one side,mid hook is
in the other.
this one tries to shake free but,no dice,snake eyes,I take some shots
and release the fish.

So,my super-duper rip-runner took all the money honey,they just stood
there mumbling!!

I have a few shots."

Heavy-Hooksetter

[DarkSkies]

got OTW about 5-am,slung out some wood in the dark without any results.
no hits,smashes or swirls,just current and my plug dancing on top waay
out there,,,somewhere.

I was drifting the plug far and close and about 6:18 I get a swirl
behind the plug.
i start reeling and SMASH!,,I hook up and fight for a short while then
it was gone,split ring failed,center hook gone[remember those that like
remove that hook?].
then Baddog23 shows up,he brings Big Larry with him[posted a shot of him
on SAA].

he casts it out there and there were some smashes after bunkers but,they
didn't look at big larry.
then Johnny ashtray show up with his kid.
John casted only like 3 times and then he just watched as I hooked
another fish then hit one and it missed,then I hit another.
he just could not believe how I was hitting fish after fish.even
Baddog23 was like what the Hell!.
any how,I ended up with 4 fish landed and 1 that took the center hook
plus 3 others that slammed me but,no hook.
I bet they believe in xtra large swimmers now!

attached shots to come!
cheers

Heavy-Hooksetter



^^Sounds like a good time was had by all, pic is below.

[gjb1969]

now see thats what i need big blues way to go rich

[DarkSkies]

G, that was Rip Plugger, I just posted what he e-mailed me. They're here in NJ, we're hittin it up this week, maybe tonight if ya can stay out late, call me.

[DarkSkies]

Got OTW at 6am,had my Tica UEHA casting rod mated to an Omoto Hubilie
777-s3[black,photo attached] filled with 30 pound mono.
put on my yellow/pink sides 9 inch Rip-Runner Pro-series surface
swimmer.
sling it out into the current,allow it to drift maybe 60 yards out and I
engage te reel.
I took 4 slow cranks and it gets hammered by a long,fat Bluefish that
wanted to take it with him.
I didn't check my drag well so,I had to add more drag and I stopped it
cold.
this fish was heavy but,I have to say somewhere in the area of 12
pounds.
it was kinda quiet after that but,the weather,calmness and solitude was
very nice.

I also had a smaller fish smash at it but,he must have known to abort at
the last inch because it saw my name on top of the plug head!

so,that was it,had fun and will try again soon,,,,

cheers


ps-more shots coming

Heavy-Hooksetter





"he must have known to abort at
the last inch because it saw my name on top of the plug head!"


Hey R-P, were ya wearin your "fish fear me" shirt today? (BTW, you need to change your camera to the correct date.)

[DarkSkies]

Posting this for Roddy, nice descriptive report, man!



got OTW at 6,tide was still flooding a little bit.
met malibu kenny there.
weather is wonderful,sky was black shading into white,no sea-eagles to
attack my surface swimmer AND no one around,we have run of the place!
I put my custom modified Daiwa Firewolf rod into action with my
ming-Yang CL-70[blue] and 30 pound mono.
I cast for about 30 minutes with no action.
the tide turned and just a few minutes after it started moving out I get
hammered by a big,fat bluefish,smashes the calm surface.
I slam some steel into it and its a bulldogging fight,digging down
taking a bit of line,reverses and comes 4 feet in the air,slapping my
big plug side to side and throws it 10 feet to my right.

ok,an ,kenny hits a nice fish on a smiling bill and is into a heavy
fight.
mean while I put on a 7 inch Rip-Runner-Pro series[yellow/orange sides]
swimmer and sling it out into te current.
I bring it back slow,on top wagging like a dog,I am not watching it and
suddenly SMASH!,I get snapped back to this world with an "OH ****"!.
I hit it hard and it's thrashing the water into suds.
I can feel it's a heavy fish.
I land it and release it to swim again.

I switch to my 10 inch rip-runner in pink/yellow sides.throw that
monster out there and alllow it to ride the rip.
I crank it slow with it's wide wagging action.
it crosses the second rip and is in the first rip and SMASH!,,I give
this fish a face full of VMC's and it rolls and tries to take off.
I hold it still and it thrashes and flies out of the water and the plug
shakes free,I swear I can see it's face is all cut up from the hooks
but,it's swimming away.

I put on a 8 inch RR[slim style] in pink/light grey sides and sling it
for a while,no lookers after 20 minutes.
I put on an 8 inch RR-pro series[wide body] in pink/ligt pastel blue
sides and sling that out there,Kenny hits a nice fish on a Capt Bills
atom jr in parrot color after he was just saying he wanted to catch a
fish on it,2 years and no fish ever hit it before.

I put on the big RR-pro in orange/pink sides and cast that for a while.
we were talking about quitting and it gets smashed,I hit this fish
hard,it's trying to take line but,the MY CL-70's drag is awesome,holding
it there and it got off,I pull the plug in and see the middle and tail
treble are bent a bit.
pliers fixe that.

after another 40 minutes of plugging with no action,we head for the chuck wagon.
it was fun,great action,great weather and beautiful water and NO DAMMED
BUGS!


cheers

[albiealert]

Wow it looks like rip plugger is a one man fishing machine. Nice catches there. Your reports inspired me to go out and fish this morning, though I have been busy with woirk and family. I got two small stripers to 24" on a white shad, and lost a few more. I am really out of practice, I need to get out more. Thanks for those colorful reports rip. It felt calming and was good therapy to get out there in the rain and fish.

[DarkSkies]

R-P's monday report

got OTW about 7:48,tide was just ebbing.
water looked fishy,overcast sky and me,full of energy.
I take off the cover from my Ming-Yang CL-70 full of sea-striker 30
pound clear which is mated to a customized daiwa firewolf planerboard rod modified to a casting stick by my additon of a trigger reelseat and some corktape.

I passed cadillac Joe on his way out, he did nothing,siad he saw nothing
too..
I knew there had to be some fish moving around with the tide full.
so,I a plug for 10 minutes and switch.
I casted and casted with nothing doing.
finally I am at the end of myselections.
it's a proven piece,the 9inch rip-runner proseries in white/yellow
sides.
I sling that out into the current and I am watching it waggle right on top.
I begin a slow bring back and I see swirl behind it,then another.
I get it close and pick it up.
I sling it out again and drift out to where I saw the fish.
I bring it back slow and SMASH,fish on!
it's diggin',trashing underwater,rolling around and then takes a small amount of line. It gets stopped by the great drag on the ming-yang.

with the low gearing I simply bear down and crank this fish in.
it's a fine chopper all of 10-12 pounds with my big ole plug hanging
from the side of it's face.
I grab the 80 pound big game leader and slide it on the shore as I hold it by the leader it begins to thrash and comes off,,,GREAT!,I allow it to find the water itself.

it hits the water and takes off like a striped *** ape!
I was happy to catch hm and he was happy to go ome.
fished another 40 minutes with noe action so,I headed for home.
had fun,stretched my line and had a blast watching this fish slam my
plug,,,

Heavy-Hooksetter

[albiealert]

There were a lot of blues last night. I walked away with 2 but caught 6. Winds were out of the w and I could see some bait. I used a bottle popper with an erratic retrieve.

[DarkSkies]

Rip Plugger report fri Oct 2, 2009


got back OTW about 6:00am.
took my Ming-Yang CL-60 chrome rocket coupled to one of my custom daiwa
firewolf planerboard stealth slammer sticks,25 pound mono and some large
wood.
I went out front.
the tide was at the start of the flood.
I put on one of my new pieces just finished on tuesday,sling it out,hits
the water and 11 cranks later it got slammed by a nice&fat chopper all
of around 10-11 pounds.
I showed him the iron and fought it to shore.
put the lipper on it.

after that it was several fish bashing the plug with no more hookups.
had one come inside of 6 feet to smash my plug as it swung back from the
shore as I took it from the water.
it hung onto the plug and thrashed a tiny bit then was gone.

did double duty today now time to sleep,had fun and love seeing my wood
get slammed!

attached pic

Heavy-Hooksetter

10-02.bmp

[DarkSkies]

Got OTW at 6:05am,tide was nearing dead low.
first light seems to be the trigger that makes the fish feed.
saw no bait had a SE wind blowing about 8mph.
this pushes water into the harbor and makes it rush upriver creating an
extra high tide.

I took the cover off my ming-Yang[red] CL-70 mated to a steath
stick[planerboard rod,customized].
put on a big swimmer and casted for about an hour/half.had 2 smashes
but,they missed.
so,after a while,I went in back as the current was getting heavy.

casted about 10 minutes and got slammed,I hit the fish hard,after a
heavy battle I land a fat chopper that has my plug all in it's face.
I release it.

switch to a blue,white hybrid plug of mine,it's a cross between a
standard rip runner and a fat mullet.
I sling it out for a while with no looks,I put on another large piece
orange with yellow and just a tied tail on the back.it gets knocked to
the side.
I cast again and a bigger chopper climbs all over it 2 times and I felt
nothing.
a few casts later I hook up with lots of water shooting up,I drag it in
and it comes off on the shore.
I put on a diff plug and begin casting.
it gets clobbered and my rod is not bent,such a smash and no hook.
I cast again and it gets hit again.
I hit the fish and fight it for a while,I drag it in and put the lipper
on it.

then it was quiet for a while maybe almost an hour,was thnking of
heading home.
then I saw a smash way out there,I cast at it and the plug lands close
but,I have a few loose loops,I pull them out and the instant the plug
moved it got hit.that fish must have been staring at the plug floating
there.
somehow,the fish avoided the vmc's and never got any hook.

so,I switch to the hybrid again,I sling it out and work it back,right at
the shore it gets hammered but,feels funny.
I am looking and I see 2 big choppers on it!!,1 on the single tail
hook[thanks SurfRat] and 1 on the front hook!!.
I was freaked out because seeing them just rolling around was crazy.
anyhoo,the front fish got off while I held the leader in hand the single
tail hook was deep in the fish's upper jaw.
lipper and release it.

a tradition around my parts with us veteran salts is when you're about
to leave you take a good luck cast,you say it out loud and then cast.
I do this every time over te years it's just a habit now.
I sling out a pink/grey sides pro-series[slim style] and as it gets to
the shore it gets bashed,I feel the fish's teeth drag off the tail of
the plug.

I simply chuckled and put my plug away,headed for the car
wet,tired,hungry and happy,thats what it's all about!
had a blast for 4 hours.

attached pix

Heavy-Hooksetter

[DarkSkies]

got OTW @ 6:05,tide was ebbing nice,was still about half full.

took the cover off my Shimano Calcutta 401-TEJ[japan only model] loaded
with 25 pound clear mono-mated to a shimano Scimitar salmon casting
stick in xtra heavy power with medium fast action.
went out front and threw a Bob Hahn's rudolph medium pikie for a
while,switched to my pro-series rip-runner for a while with nothing
doing.
heard a big splash and saw a bunker hauling ***.I sling out the plug
but,no lookers.
I put the Hahn's back on and slung it near a rockpile I know of and it
gets hammered by a bass.[attached pic]

saw 2 bunkers hugging the shoreline at my feet,then something I never
knew of or saw before,a lone hickory shad came from the other direction
and then fell right into formation with the bunkers!
they cruised back/forth a few times and then I didn't see them again.
then I see a disruption in the current going against the flow and it saw
a pack of herring,they packed in so close to the shore that it looked
like they were painted there.
still no sings of fish.
I knew there were some around because of the baits actions.
I put on my orange/chartreuse pro-series rip-runner in the large size
and threw it out,I brought it along the edges of this oysterbed and it
gets smashed,I hit the fish and it thrashed[nice chopper] and slings the
plug waay to the side.

I switch to a medium RR-pro in yellow/grey and cast it for a while.gets
a whirl behind it but it was just a look.

I decied to try the backwaters.
I go back there and put on a slm style RR in red/grey,I cast it for a
while and then it gets bashed,somehow the fish only nicked it and I felt
a tiny tap but it seemed like it hit from the top.
I checked the plug after I got it in and yep,it had a fingernail sized
piece of epoxy and red paint missing,this plug has not seen fish yet
so,I know it was from toothy contact.

so,I fish it more and about 5 casts later another fish erupts on it and
same deal,just a nip and water flew everywhere.

I saw a few smashes off the rockpile but nothing came to look.
I cast again and as I am reeling I see a wake thats odd,theres a fish
following my plug,I rip it away from it and SMASH,it hits like a truck,I
lay into it and bring it to shore fast,I grab the leader and slide it
onshore,it's still green and it's going crazy,finally it gets off and I
let this gator roll back to the water,no way was I going to get tangled
in that mass of muscle/teeth.

I feel something very cold on my neck,the rain came,,,,
I was kinda fished out so,I packed up and headed back to the barn.
will see whats doing in the early am,top of the flood is 4:30,I'll be
OTW by 5:30 to drift some big wood out.

Cheers

nice fatty on Bob Hahn's Rudolph Pikie

Heavy-Hooksetter

[DarkSkies]

got OTW at 6-am,tide was at full flood,calmness,no eagles,no people and
just me looking at the great sky.
I unwraped my daiwa firewolf stick mated with a ming-yang CL-70 full of
30 pound mono.

put on my big orange pro-series and plugged for an hour with no action.
tide began ebbing,I put on my 10 inch pro-series in white with yellow
sides and casted that for a good while.
when the rips formed I could feel the plug drag onthe tide,,great!.
I casted and casted and after about 20 minutes,I get hammered by a fat
chopper.
I didn't get a shot of it but I did take a shot of the smoke on the
water,,,cold start this am,40 bars on the thermo.I love it too.
attached is a shot of the catcher today,it's the bottom plug.

Heavy-Hooksetter

[bluesdude71]

Went out last night looking for a striper, fished clams came up with nada.