Fall Fish are Shallow

We are getting deep into the fall season here in New England and many anglers have put away their gear for the winter. The anglers that are still out there on the water, these anglers are the ones that are catching nice fish and numbers of fish as well. There is a surprising thing that the angler can take advantage of at this time of year and that is fishing shallow water. The waters are still somewhat warm and there are still green weeds in the shallower waters. Fish are still using these areas to feed heavily as they fatten themselves for the winter ahead. If you are fishing deep in the fall try fishing shallow as well and this may increase your chances of catching some nice fish. If they are not biting shallow, then move out deeper but don’t overlook the shallow bite.

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New England Bass Fishing Late October

Video of our latest trip out Bass Fishing in Late October...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTzPE67plNk

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Fishing October 27 2008

What a stressful week this has been and getting to the water and doing some fall fishing was desperately needed to clear out my head. Decided that since there was no wind what so ever, I wanted to go to the reservoir that I frequent quite often, that I fish from the shore throughout the season to see how I do out on the lake. This body of water is loaded with smallmouth bass and they were the target that I wanted to catch.

Rest of the report:
http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/OutDoor_Reports.html

Video of the trip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTzPE67plNk

See Biologists in Action at "Salmon Sunday"

CONCORD, N.H. -- Bring the kids and find out everything you wanted to know about New Hampshire's freshwater fish and fisheries at New Hampshire Fish and Game's annual event, "Salmon Sunday," at Pope Dam in Melvin Village on November 16, 2008, from 1 to 3 p.m. Pope Dam is nine miles north of Wolfeboro on Route 109 in the town of Tuftonboro. For more information on Salmon Sunday, call (603) 744-5470.

"Salmon Sunday is a great chance for everyone to get a close-up look at landlocked salmon from Lake Winnipesaukee in their fall spawning colors," said Don Miller, fisheries biologist for the Lakes Region. "Kids love to see the big salmon, averaging about four pounds each, and watch biologists collecting the eggs."

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Newsroom/News_2008/News_2008_Q4/Salmon_Sunday_08.htm

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Rhode Island Foliage Report

Rhode Island Foliage Report 2008

Here is a great foliage tracker that keeps you up to date on how the leaves are changing throughout the state...

http://www.visitri.com/current_category.32/current_advcategory.289/companies_list.html

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Massachusetts Fall Foliage Report

Massachusetts Foliage Report 2008

Here is a great foliage tracker that keeps you up to date on how the leaves are changing throughout the state...

http://www.massvacation.com/scienceNature/fall-foliage.php

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Vermont Fall Foliage 2008

Vermont Foliage Report 2008

Here is a great foliage tracker that keeps you up to date on how the leaves are changing throughout the state...

http://www.foliage-vermont.com/

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Maine Fall Foliage Report 2008

Maine Foliage Report 2008

Here is a great foliage tracker that keeps you up to date on how the leaves are changing throughout the state...

http://www.maine.gov/doc/foliage/

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Connecticut Fall Foliage Report 2008

Connecticut Foliage Report 2008

Here is a great foliage tracker that keeps you up to date on how the leaves are changing throughout the state...

http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2697&q=322764&depNav_GID=1631

http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2222&q=320738&depNav_GID=1631

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Kids Fall Fishing

Fall time is probably one of the best opportunity times that will give you an advantage for getting your kids to catch a bigger fish. In the fall before the really cool nights start taking over, the shallow waters of our favorite lakes are still somewhat warm. Being the waters are still warm yet, the fish that we seek are still utilizing the shallows in their search for food and also fattening themselves up for the long winter ahead. As we get more colder nights more consistently, these shallow waters will cool way down and this will drive these fish out into deeper warmer water that is more comfortable for them. So by taking advantage of a nice day to fish and taking your kids out, there are a variety of species that can be caught along the shoreline. Fishing for panfish with a float and bait to casting plastic baits, spinnerbaits and crankbaits for the larger predator fish. Take advantage of these warmer fall days and get the family out there and do some fishing and watch their expressions as they reel in a monster fish and they will definitely be remembering these outings for quite a while.

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Where to Hunt in NH

Where Can I Hunt In New Hampshire?

Based on long-standing tradition, nearly all lands in the state of New Hampshire are open to hunting. The "rule of thumb" in New Hampshire is: all state, federal, municipal, county and private land is open to hunting unless it is posted against hunting. However, hunting is a privilege granted by the landowner -- not a right granted to the hunter. There are four general categories of land ownership in the state, all of which allow hunting with a few exceptions.

http://wildlife.state.nh.us/Hunting/where_hunt_in_NH.htm

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New Hampshire Fall Foliage Guide

New Hampshire Foliage Report 2008

Here is a great foliage tracker that keeps you up to date on how the leaves are changing throughout the state...

http://foliage.visitnh.gov.ns1www.silvertech.net/index-flash.html

BackWoods Sportsman OutDoors
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Fishing Report October 15 2008

With the upcoming cold front heading in our direction, figured I better get out there and give it a try as things may be a little different after the front passes. This was another beautiful fall day with air temps in the low 60’s and a light breeze blowing into the shoreline that I planned on fishing. Started at my usual last location and the sunfish were in the feeding mood and size was definitely there. Was fishing T.H.E. Jig under a float about 14 inches and fished mainly near any wood that was in the water. Objects in the water seemed to be a strong attractor today and there wasn’t any fish caught that wasn’t near the wood. These fish are still fairly aggressive and once you hit an area that they are occupying, it doesn’t take long to show you that they are there. Moved down the shoreline to another area that I frequent that is an opening in a tree that is hanging over the water. Same thing in this area as long as you were placing the bait near branches that were in the water there were a few fish hanging around. I was going to go back to the original place that I started but there were four Labradors that decided to take a swim there and chased the fish out of the area. The fall colors are coming into their peak in this area and when the sun is shining there is not a better view. With the cooler weather there weren’t any snakes hanging around the trees and that was fine by me. Hopefully I will be able to get out there again soon and catch a few as it is a great feeling to be able to catch fish in the fall and take full advantage of these remaining days as the hard water season is coming.

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Gearing up for Hard Water

Many anglers don’t look forward to when their open water season is coming to an end. This means that they need to put all of their fishing gear away for a number of months, and also getting the boat winterized and getting that ready for the long winter season ahead.

For those anglers that hang up their fishing when the water turns hard, they are the ones that are missing out on some of the best times to be on the water hard or soft. Hard water fishing in my eyes is much easier to get ready for as the equipment is more compact and easier to travel with.

Hard water fishing is much more exhilarating as the physical work that is involved is much more rewarding when fish location is achieved. The solitude of the frozen waters and the coolness of the cool crisp days really get an anglers blood pumping once the hard water season comes around.

Rest of the article:
http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/uploads/Gearing_up_for_Hard_Water.pdf

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Fishing Report October 12 2008

I am going to have to start this report out by saying that half way to the lake I realized that I had forgotten my camera at home and any angler knows what happens when you leave your camera at home.

With that said, this morning was one of those beautiful fall New England mornings with air temps at 45 degrees, no wind at all and clear sky’s for as far as you could see. There were a couple of trailers in the lot already and this time of year is great as the lake is void of boat traffic and as each week passes, it gets to be less all the time. The lake is still high for this time of year and never got over to the dam area to see if they are letting the water out yet. This is one practice that I don’t like here as they lower all of the lakes 1-2 feet for anticipation of snows and then we don’t get the snow and come spring the lakes are low. Anyway, the water temps are still hanging around 57 degrees which is still fairly warm for this time of year and with the warmer fall weather we may be out here through November as well. Started fishing on a deep hump that usually holds some bigger fish in the fall as there are plenty of smaller fish, sunfish, crappies and white perch that hang around here as well. Was using a technique that is used here in New England quite a bit in the fall and that is vertical jigging a Silver Buddy. A Silver Buddy is a blade bait that vibrates as you are jigging it and works great for fishing deep structure vertically and by using my Vexilar I am able to watch what is going on down there. I was jigging up a lot of action down there and could see that there were fish checking out the Silver Buddy but none of them would hit it and I assumed that they were probably white perch. Next time out I will bring along my underwater camera and see if I can get a look at what is going on down there. I tried this area for about 45 minutes moving around the area with no takers so I then headed off to the next spot.

There is a flat that I fish frequently that is at the mouth of a creek arm and the water depth is from 4-8 feet of water. In the fall time I am always looking for green weeds and there were plenty here and the weeds that are here are of the grass looking type in clumps spread around the area. The bass use these clumps as ambush points waiting for a quick meal to come along. The bait and technique that was only used was the Carolina Rig with a BearPaw Freedom Fry for the bait choice. Casting this rig into the weed clumps and working it slowly back through the grass all the way to the boat is very critical to get the most bites that you can. Was only a few casts in this area and the first fish pickup was happening with a hook set and battle on hand, the first 2 pound largemouth was in the boat. To me if I get a bite fairly early when getting to a spot, this tells me that these fish are using the area and should be more there. Was nice not having any wind which allows the boat to just sit in the spot and not move which lets you to work the area much better. Kept working through this area and caught a couple more of the same size fish as earlier and these fish definitely are in the feeding mood as when they pick the bait up, they definitely didn’t drop it at all. Things were slowing down as there was a light breeze picking up and decided to try a few more spots to see if the fish were hanging in other areas of grass. After trying those areas with no results, I had 45 minutes left before I needed to head out and went back to the flat in the creek arm. Was only a few casts once again and a fish hit and swung another 2 pound largemouth into the boat and sure felt good to be catching fish once again. Made a few more casts and a bigger fish grabbed the bait and fought it to the boat and as I was reaching to grab the fish I could see that the line was lassoed around its mouth and as I untangled the line the hook wasn’t even in it’s mouth and he swam away. This fish looked to be a 3 pound largemouth and all of these fish were very healthy looking fish. After a little more time there the clock said it was time to go home and loaded up and ended my day of fishing. This day goes to show what I have been talking about the last couple of weeks in that fall fishing can be feast or famine and today was a feast. Would have been nice to have my camera along as there were plenty of things that I wanted to show from the fall leaf colors, what types of things I was fishing and the water with the weeds to give you an idea of what these fish are relating to. But there will be plenty more times out there and hopefully the fish will be feeding like they were today. For the three hours that I was out on the lake, I had boated 5 nice largemouth bass and probably was one of the most productive days that I have had on this lake. If you have put your boat away for the winter, you don’t know what you are missing as these fish are feeding and as each week goes by they will be feeding more every day.

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Fishing Report October 9 2008

Another beautiful day here in New England and why not spend a little time seeing what the fish are doing once again. Decided to head back to the same lake as the previous day and noticed that the wind was a bit stronger today with temps around 73 with a nice fall day. I have four places along this lake that I usually target and go to the furthest one first and then work my way back towards the truck. Was fishing once again with T.H.E. Jig in the blue/chartreuse color pattern and once arriving at the first location, with the wind blowing in there wasn’t any action happening there.

Rest or the report:
http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/OutDoor_Reports.html

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Fishing Report October 8 2008

I have been very fortunate to have lakes close by to my place of employment and this allows me to get away during my lunch time to clear my head and be able to think things out. Today was another beautiful day here in New England with temps around 70 and the sun shining as well as little to no wind to contend with. Decided to got to my favorite panfish lake and see if their activity has picked up at all. One nice thing about going here is that you have to walk around a good portion of the lake down a trail to get to where I like to fish. The scenery is getting better every day as the leaves are changing to their falls colors, especially if the sun is out and shining on them and it is getting to be quite a scene to see. So far I haven’t been able to find any schools of panfish in this lake and today wasn’t any different. I was able to catch fish but you would catch one here and catch one there and just not able to get more than one out of a spot. I was fishing T.H.E. Jig in the blue/chartreuse color pattern under a stick bobber. Of the fish that were caught I am definitely seeing the size going up as the sunfish that were caught were good palm sized fish and very colorful for this time of year as well. Haven’t seen to much crappie activity along the shoreline yet and may have to get the kayak out and search deeper water to find them. But, I have been having a good time catching these bigger sunfish and always look forward to going back again soon. After catching a few fish and clearing my head, this makes it a little easier getting through the rest of the day at work and the stress that goes along with that.

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Fall Fishing

Fall fishing can be some of the best fishing as well as some very tough fishing with the ever changing water temps and fall turnover occurring. The name of the game for a successful fall fishing trip is to cover as much water as possible. Try and locate green vegetation as this is some of the only things that are still putting fresh oxygen into the waters. Green vegetation is a fish magnet and the fish in the lakes are searching out these areas of green vegetation. By covering vast amounts of water, this will allow you to present your bait to more fish in that particular lake. Once an area is found to hold fish, then you can slow down and work that area more meticulously and hopefully catch a number of fish. These areas may have schools of fish in them since fall time the fish are doing more schooling together now as opposed to other times of the year. Get out there and enjoy the fall weather and cover water as much as you can.

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NH Clam Flat Status

Clam Flat Status ~ Call 1-800-43-CLAMS

Updated October 3, 2008. For more information and updates, call the Clam Flat Hotline at 1-800-43-CLAMS. The next scheduled update for this web page is October 10, 2008. This webpage is not updated on weekends. Call the Clam Flat Hotline at 1-800-43-CLAMS for updates.

Click here for the latest status chart:
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Fishing/clam_flat_status.htm

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Fishing Report October 5 2008

Fall is definitely in the air here in New England as I had started my day on the lake in 41 degree air temps. Luckily there wasn’t any wind and the lake was like glass with steam rising off of the waters surface. Water temps are hovering right around 56 degrees in this particular lake as the color of the water is fairly murky with about 2 feet of visibility and the is allowing it to retain some heat from the rays of the sun. This time of year I really enjoy fishing as the waters are void of boats as once Labor Day weekend passes many folks put their boats away for the winter. There was one other boat fishing this particular day and they didn’t hang around to long.

Rest of the report:
http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/OutDoor_Reports.html

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8BZZt0nXFE

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Cod, Poor Man's Lobster

Ingredients:
2 lbs cod fish filletsWater, to cover
1 tsp salt
1 bay leaf
1 small onion, peeled and sliced
2-3 slices lemons
1/2 cup vermouth
4-6 tablespoons butter, melted
fresh parsley, chopped fine for garnish

Directions:Place fish in a wok
Cover with water and add the next 5 ingredients
Bring to a boil at 225 degrees
Reduce heat to simmer for 8 to 10 minutes or until fish is opaque
Carefully remove fish from wok with slotted spatula
Serve hot with melted butter and chopped parsley
Submitted by: SueVM

Tree Stand Safety Tips for Hunters

More and more hunters are taking a stand, but this has nothing to do with the upcoming election.

The bowhunting boom of the 1970s introduced a new tool to hunters -- portable, commercially-made tree stands -- and both bow and firearm hunters were quick to discover their advantages. You can see over the brush, and when the wind is right, your scent will drift above deer that are close by. However, using them safely and responsibly demands preparation and precaution. With archery season open and firearms season just around the corner, here are some tips to get the most out of your tree stand hunting experience:

* Choose a live, straight tree. After you locate an area where there is plenty of deer activity, then choose a healthy tree within easy shooting range.

* Choose smart stands. Only use stands certified by the Treestand Manufacturers Association (TMA).

Rest of the story:
http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/Detail.cfm?Agency__ID=1382

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Fishing Report October 2 2008

The fall winds have started blowing and the leaves are beginning to change with the nights cooling with winter coming soon. It has been a while since wetting a line and was getting to be too much that I went to a local lake during lunch to catch a fish once again. Decided to try for some panfish and went to the lake that I ice fish frequently. With all of the rains lately the water level was considerably higher for this time of year. The wind was blowing onto the side that I was fishing so casting was a little troublesome and you had to wait for that in-between wind gusts to cast where you wanted. Wasn’t long and my quest was answered as the sunfish were still occupying the shallow shoreline areas. I was fishing T.H.E. Jig in the blue/chartreuse color pattern underneath a stick bobber. Casting this setup around and near overhanging branches and wood that is in the water as areas that didn’t have any type of cover, there weren’t any fish there. The bite wasn’t fast or furious by any means but consistent for the work I had done to try and catch them. Also was able to catch a couple of smaller bass on T.H.E. Jig that were chasing small minnows around the surface of the lake in a calmer cove. Definitely going to keep fishing and hopefully get the boat out this weekend and won’t be long and will also get the kayak out and start searching for deeper crappies up to the hard water season.

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Children's First Fish

Rhode Island

Children's "First Fish" Certificate

Award Program

YOU'VE CAUGHT YOUR FIRST FISH CONGRATULATIONS!!

Receive a special "First Fish" award certificate from the Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife, signed by the Chief, and a free gift. Simply print out this APPLICATION, fill it out completely, and return to:

RI Division of Fish and Wildlife,Aquatic Resource Education Program,277 Great Neck Rd., West Kingston, RI 02892

Contact person: Christine Dudley (401) 789-0281 or christine.dudley@dem.ri.gov

http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/bnatres/fishwild/records.htm#children

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Fall Plastics

When the fall season comes along, it is always a guess as to what we are going to throw out there into the water to catch a fish. Fall can be a tough time to fish as well as there are fall days that no matter what you throw for a bait, fish just chow on whatever you are throwing them.

If you happen to hit a day that the fish are on fire and eating everything in sight, just throw what they want and catch as many fish as you can. But traditionally for fall time baits they consist of crankbaits and spinnerbaits and if you don’t feel liking casting and cranking all day, there is another alternative that may get overlooked and you will have in the boat at all times, the plastic bait.

Lets take a look at a few plastics that have worked well over the last handful of seasons and we are going to look at what BearPaw Hand Poured Baits has for these selections. We are going to take a look at five of their baits and give an idea of what can be done with these baits in your fall fishing.

Read the article here:
http://www.backwoodssportsman.com/OutDoor_Articles.html

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