42" Striped Bass taken 5/10/12

Some amazing spring bass action on the "Two Docs III" out of Hampton Bays, NY. The better part of the day was spent hunting for bunker in the Peconic Bay.

Windy conditions made it impossible to find the schools of bunkerin the bay, so we headed up the Peconic River near Riverhead, NY and found the bunker.

Later that day we dropped a live bunker in the Shinnecock inlet and thought we had snagged on the bottom when this monster turned up. Hope this is a good omen for the coming season.

Interesting lesson in catching rainbow trout today at Evergreen Lake - located about 30 miles west of Denver in the foothills of the Rockies with my nephew.

After deciding against the really expensive local trout fishing outfitter - Blue Quill Anglers -  we opted for a walk around this scenic lake and met an angler who employed hand tied streamers along with "Rainbow Tough Bubble" to get down 15-20' deep about 30 feet off shore to where the fish were sitting.

Amazing to see this technique land a fish on nearly every cast. He was happy to share his approach with several of us who were having no luck, turning our afternoon into a great outing.

The Striped Bass are Back!

An old salt fisherman from the east end of Long Island once told me a sure sign that the striped bass are back is when the dandelions start to bloom. I saw a bunch of them in Central Park this morning.

So hopes springs eternal that this season will be much better than last for the striped bass - and I think I will head down to the East River with some blood worms this weekend, to try my luck behind Gracie Mansion. Here's to a great 2012 season!