Welcome to my blog on my fishing adventures - post Iraq
A quick introduction is in order. I am a native son of Montana who ran off and joined the Navy after have spent my youth it a wonderland for outdoorsmen. The call of duty and the sirens of sea have kept me away for over 20 years, but I still love to fish and hunt. My Dad taught me to fish before I could walk, I was selling flies at age 8 and my high school years I spent working in both a tackle shop and a taxidermy shop to earn gas money for my '64 Ford so I could head to the mountains and waters around central Montana. Now I am a can-can fisherman -I fish for what I can where I can and when I can. That all depends on where the Navy has stationed me. Right now I am in San Diego. I prefer to fly fish but I will fish with whatever is working. I am by no means a purist, though I only drown worms when I take my daughter fishing. I started blogging about my fishing adventures while I was deployed to Iraq. Now that I am safely at home, I thought I would share my adventures at home with anyone interested. I love to share my fishing stories almost as much as I love to fish. One thing I can promise is that though they are fish stories, I work very hard not to embellish and provide pictures. I live by the motto "Not all fishermen are liars, but a lot of liars fish." I belong to the former vice the latter, really. That said, I have not done a lot of fishing. I have gotten out a bit and started learning the waters around San Diego. Most of my fishing has been from charter party boats, but it is still fishing. I am waiting on delivery of a new float tube and then hope to spend more time on San Diego Bay with my fly rod. Fish on! Joel
I recently came home from my tour with NATO. During that tour, I went from the US to the Caribbean Sea, to northern Europe the Arctic Circle and then circumnavigated Africa before winding up in the Mediterranean Sea. Now I live in San Diego with my wife and daughter, waiting for my next ship to be delivered to the Navy. It is the USS MAKIN ISLAND (LHD 8). When she is complete, we will sail her from Pascagoula, Mississippi, around South America and finally to her homeport of San Diego, where she will be commissioned.
06 April 06
I got home from Iraq in February and reported for duty as a student at the Naval War College in Newport, RI. It was great to be at home, spending time with my family. It snowed the day after I returned, so I got a taste of the winter I'd missed in the "Sandbox." 
Home coming snow! Didn't see this stuff in Iraq.
04 May 06
Braved the wind and rain to go for stripers at dawn. Paid off with the first 3 fish of the season, all on my fly rod. All were about 17". Forgot the camera. It was great to get the first few fish of the season. It was pretty chilly at 45, but the fish warmed things up.
05 May 06
Weather was much better today. Went to the beach and had a ball. Caught 7 stripers ranging from 14-22 inches. They were hitting a Ray's fly. I also learned the value of "corkers." The rocks where killers, with slippery weeds all over them.
08 May 06
Went for fresh water fish today. Waded the shallows at a local pond, caught trout, bluegills, bass and pickerel, all on a bead-chain Wooly Bug not a Wooly Bugger, but my own Wooly Bug. I guess I cannot claim credit for the fly, it was tied by a co-worker back in the early '80s when I was tying flies for Mountain Bait and Tackle in Great Falls, MT, named Brian Kinkaid. Brian was a few years older than me and quite accomplished as a self-taught tyer and fly caster. He is the culprit who first introduced me to fly fishing for carp. His original Wooly Bug was a combination of two favorite flies, the classic Wooly Worm and the Girdle Bug. Differing from a Wooly Bugger (which I did not hear of for another 10 years or more) in that the hackle is tied in butt first as opposed to tip first for a bugger. I added the bead chain eyes while I was in Iraq, and found it to be a very deadly fly. It is my number one choice in a a new pond or lake.
Wooly Bug
13 May 06
Took my daughter to the pond again. Only 1 fish this time, pink PowerBait strikes again. Before anyone rails at me for keeping these fish, the pond is a put an take fishery, stocked 3 times a year with no reproduction of trout. It is a great place to take kids fishing. Please don't harpoon me for keeping a few fish. We like to eat fish now and then.
23 May 06
Caught my first tataug today. Very interesting fish and quite scrappy. Also supposed to be one of the best eating fish in the area. It was delicious, a dense white meat with a mild flavor. Very good baked. These are a demural fish that feed on crustaceans. They are only found in cold northern water and are similar to southern groupers. They live around rock piles and deep piers. I have not met or heard of anyone that catches these guys on artificials. Bait is the only thing that will get one of these scrappers on the hook. I used small Asian Crabs fished just off the bottom on a size one hook. They hit very lightly and if you are not quick on the hook set, you will have an empty hook. Unlike other fish, you cannot let them hit the bait more than once. It can be a bit nerve racking, but lots of fun.
They ain't pretty, but they are delicious. Check out those teeth!
27 May 06
Stripers are showing up in Newport in full force. I have been doing pretty good on schoolies, fishing small streamers at night. I have not caught any "keepers" on my fly rod yet, but I have taken some fish up to 26" with it. That is about a 5-6lb striper. Striped bass have to be a minimum of 28 inches to be kept in Rhode Island. That means a fish has to weigh about 9-10lbs before it is going on the grill. I took my neighbor fishing tonight and we managed to get a couple big enough to bring home. We fished some cut squid off the bottom to catch them. I tried my fly rod, and managed to catch a couple smaller fish.
14 Jun 06 03 Jul 06 08 July 06 10 July 06 18 July 06 29 July 06 10 August 06 16 August 06 17-Aug-06 21-Aug-06 21-Aug-06 (still) 26-Aug-06 28-Aug-06 30-Aug-06 31-Aug-06 2-Sep-06 4-Sep-06 20-Sep-06 22-Sep-06 25-Sep-06 10-Oct-06 15-Oct-06 16 Oct 06 18-Oct-06 19 Oct 06 5-Nov-06 09 Nov 06 18 Nov 06 26 Nov 06 26 Dec 06 This year, my deployment has taken me from Boston to the Caribbean, Cape Verde, Spain, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Poland, Norway, Iceland, South Africa, the Seychelles and Crete. Below are some shots of ice flows we encountered North of Iceland. I fished (unsuccessfully) in Curacao and Cape Verde. I was able to go home for a few weeks in July and spend time with my family. I fished with my daughter, who caught a nice barracuda and my wife's Uncle who came to see us from Texas. We caught 'cuda, sand bass and rock fish. It was a great time filled with wonderful memories. I know that some day my little fishing buddy is going to be more interested in boys than fishing with Dad, so I treasure the days we get. I finally caught fish on this deployment in Cape Town, South Africa. I went to the mountains one day with my 5wt, after stopping in to find a place to go from the Cape Piscatorial Society. They set me up with a beat on the Hoolsoot River north of Cape Town. It was beautiful water, but I never saw a fish. Still, it was great to be on the water with a fly rod. The next day I went on a charter with two guys I work with, one Polish and one Spanish. We did pretty well fishing cut bait in 160m of water. Not fly fishing, but it was a great day to be on the water with pals. Our next stop was the Republic of the Seychelles. They are home to some of the best bone fishing in the world and I was excited. Problem was we pulled in at the wrong time of year and the bonefish flats are 200 miles south of the island we visited. Still I tracked down the only resident guide who took me to local haunts. I caught fish, including what has to be the smallest fish I have ever caught on an 8wt, but no bones. It was sunny, it was calm, it was pouring, it was windy. A day of contradictions, but a good day none the less. I wouldn't trade a moment. Bruce (my guide) taught me a lot, as this was my first time even trying to catch bonefish or fishing a "flat." I didn't know ballyhoo could be caught on a fly rod - but they can! I also caught a small grouper (never knew they had teeth like that!) and a trumpet fish in addition to some colorful, but really small snapper. All very interesting. Of course the only picture we took was of the smallest fish - don't think that will make into any brochures! I was a bit over-gunned using an 8-wt for this snapper... I am now home, with my family in San Diego. I have been out on the water once since I came home. That was for a 1/2 party boat trip where my out of town guest spent the day ill, so it was not the best day on the water. We did catch a few fish, but nothing of note. I am getting all my gear unpacked and ready for the summer. I can't wait to hit the water! The party boat I have used the most is a boat called the Malahini. it is an open charter boat that can take up to 59 fishermen. It is usually not that full (thankfully), so there is usually room to move a bit. The fishing is simple - soak anchovies or sardines on the bottom for a variety of fish, depending on the season. The peak is summer time when California Yellowtail (amber jack), albacore and yellow fin tuna come within range of San Diego. The Malahini is a 3/4 day boat that usually frequents the waters off the Coronado Islands, just south of San Diego in Mexican waters. On my last trip, with a life-long friend from Montana, we caught barracuda and sand bass, mostly by throwing spoons. We did watch an 8-yr old boy catch a 43lb California halibut - what a fish! Spotted Bay Bass I have found my way to the bay a few times, with small success. I have caught some spotted bay bass and three halibut. Additionally, one night I took my fly rod down and was able to sight cast to needle fish - very interesting fish. Savage take, scrappy to the end and fun to unhook. Yellow Fin Tuna For Father's Day my wife and daughter gave me a over night fishing trip. I was pretty excited and was really looking forward to getting out on the water with the chance to catch yellow tail. I went out August 1st and could not have picked a better time to go. Seems like every day the boats were reporting great catches of yellow tail and dorado with a few albacore thrown in to make it really interesting. That is the latest from on the water. Return to the Baghdad Anglers Club and School of Fly Fishing Copyright © 2008 by Joel Stewart. All rights reserved.
Went down to my favorite stretch of water tonight. The bait guys (there were a couple) weren't having any luck. I pulled on my waders tied on a two-fly rig (bead-chain Minnow and Clouser leech) and caught 3 right off. I moved to a beach that has some eel grass off it and caught a double on the first cast - 17in and a 25in. I caught a couple more and then headed home. No keepers tonight.
Caught 2 small black fish and lost one bigger one. I caught a keeper the day before yesterday in the same place.
June was slow for fishing, one or two fish, here and there. Today I dug out my float tube and hit a pond. It was a good day for small fish. Lots of blue gills, perch, large mouth and small mouth bass, one lone trout and a couple small pickerel. It was warm and a good day to be in the tube. Nothing worth taking pictures of, but I landed about 50 fish.
My daughter had a friend up for a couple of weeks. She caught her first fish. It was in a small pond at a campground, not a place I'd go to fish, but great for two little girls who wanted to fish. I couldn't keep them off the water! They caught a bunch of sunfish and were happy as can be. The pond was stocked with sunfish, perch, bass and trout. My daughter broke in her new fly rod by catching a few sunfish with it. Her friend tried it, but decided it was too much work. I was helping her and she managed to hook a small sunfish, only to have a 4-5lb bass suck it in. We tried to land the bass, but the fish pulled free, only to be attacked again by the bass. We got the bass up into the shallows and it finally spit out the sunfish, who managed to swim off after we removed the hook. I was "trying" my daughters new rod and was surprised with a 14" rainbow. Everyone had a bit of fun in the murky little pond.
Took my daughter on an over nighter. It was a trip to try out her new rod on a trout stream. It was hot and so was the water. We found a section of stream that was completely shaded and the trout were active. Native brookies. We also caught a couple of rainbows and a salmon parr. Never caught one of those before.
This was the first major outing with her new fly rod. I mentioned it above, but the real story is that we made it. She is a real enthusiast and asked me to teach her to fly fish when I got home from Iraq. So, I told her we'd go through the whole process. We ordered the blank, she chose her wrap colors (rose and pearl, thank you very much) and so began our spring project. We finished her rod, a nice 7' 4wt and she was anxious to get out and use it. She also got in some time at the tying bench, though I had a hard time keeping her from tying only pink flies. Whatever, she had fun and right now that is the most important thing. Matching any kind of forage will come later.
The biggest story of our trip however was not the fishing or the fly rod. It was the weather. We fished the first day and then went to set up camp. I'd seen on the weather before we left that we might be in for some thundershowers and I wanted to be set up before the rain came. We pitched camp and got dinner going. Just before dark the clouds rolled in and the wind started, so we crawled in the tent to hunker down for the night. What a night it turned out to be. The wind howled, the rain came in sheets and lightening flashed with horrendous thunder to follow. The wind drove the rain so hard that it came in sideways through the tent. The rain fly was meant to keep a bit of rain off the tent's occupants, not this kind of deluge. My little girl was terrified and certainly not having fun. So, in the middle of the night in a pouring rain, I broke camp, stuffed everything in the car and we headed for home. On the way home I was constantly dodging downed trees in the road. It was the wildest storm I've seen in a while. We made it safely home and she slept until lunchtime the next day. She is ready to go again, but wants to know the weather forecast first.
I've been catching fish here and there. Mostly small (striper small anyhow) schoolies between 16 and 22 inches. Occasionally I will hook a fish that is bigger. One is in the picture below. I fish mostly at night and don't always remember to take the camera, but I did last night. This fish is 24 inches and probably a bit over 5lbs. Striper fishing takes you to some pretty spots, one of them is below. It is the famous striper fishing spot at Beavertail Light on Conneaut Island (Jamestown locally). Some huge fish are caught here, but not on this night. Still, it was a great sunset. I finished fishing with a group of fly casters and then on the way home decided to try my honey hole. In a pouring rain, I made 3 casts and on the third caught a 14 inch striper. At least the night was not a skunking. 
24 inch Striped Bass taken on a Clouser Minnow. 
Fishing the white water at Beavertail.
I took my neighbor fishing with me today. He is a local guy, but does not have access to the water where I fish, as it is on the Navy base. He has two daughters, so all three girls were looking forward to fishing. Larry and I were hoping for stripers or maybe a bluefish, but that was not to be. Fluke or summer flounder where the fish of the night. One of Larry's girls caught 2 and I caught one. Her fish were legal to put in the pot, mine had to grow a bit.
Today was my first trip out on a boat this year. I don't have one (yet) so I am at the mercy of friends. One such friend took pity on me and an Australian bloke we know. It was an amazing evening on the water, we boated about 40 fish. I also managed to bring a Herring Gull to hand. She flew into my cast as I was fly fishing and tangled in the line. I brought her in, we got her untangled and she flew back into the flock of birds working over the fish we were after. I caught several fish on flies and when they were out of range, I switched up to tossing tin with my spinning rod. What a great night. In the picture below you can see my rod bowed with a fish, the birds working and fish boiling at sunset. We had several triple hook-ups which always make the boat busy!
This entry is about blue fish. For those not too familiar with these "Atlantic Piranha" or "Poor Man's Salmon," blue fish are a very common fish along the east coast. They grow to over 20lbs, though most are in the 5-7lb range. They usually move in schools and are slashers. The school will get a school of bait fish cornered and then proceed to rip through the school, cutting fish into pieces eating as they go and then going back after the pieces. This is very dramatic fishing, as the water above this activity will just boil with bait fish trying to escape and blues chasing after them. This activity is called blitzing and it is really something. I watched one afternoon as a huge school of blues chased silversides out of the water onto a beach. Over 200 yards of beach were glistening as the blues forces the 2 inch long fish onto the beach, where thousands of hungry gulls gobbled them up. The silversides were doomed either way. Fortunately there are millions of them in the waters around Newport.
I have several spots around the base where I can catch blue fish, but it is hit or miss. The fish are either there or not. They do not hang out in these spots, just pass through, mauling bait fish as they go. In other areas, they will hang out around structure and terrorize the spot until there is no food left. They show up in June and usually depart in October, though there are always exceptions.
I love them as a game fish because they hit hard, often and are awesome fighters! They always take me into my backing, even the little guys (4-5lbs). One has to go prepared though, for they have a mouth full of razor sharp teeth that cut through line like it was cotton. Most use steel leaders or very heavy monofilament leaders (50-100lb test). I've even had blitzing fish cut my fly line!
The one thing they are not however, is good eating. They can be made to be palatable, but it takes work. They are are oily fish and can have quite a strong fishy flavor. There are much better eating fish in the bay so my blues end up where I caught them instead of on a dinner plate. Some folks like to smoke them, but even that does not improve their flavor enough for me. One thing I do know that is if you keep you, it must be bled out immediately. Cut the gills and let blood drain out of the fish and the flavor is better than if the fish is just tossed in the cooler and hauled home to be cleaned. 
I was driving around, going home the long way and looking for fish, as usual. I spotted some birds and as I looked I saw it was lots of birds. Below the birds I could see flashes of something tiny. Soon it all came into focus. It was 1000's of blues chasing bait onto the rocks, gulls were crazy. The cove the fish were on was right off a main road, but choked off with brush, mostly really thick roses. I found a way through it all, my trusty 8wt Redington in hand. I tied on a simple streamer of my own making and hooked up on the 1st cast. The fish ran long and fast. I palmed the reel, but that didn't seem to slow it much. Finally it stopped, then ran parallel to the shore. I managed to gain some line and had the fish about 20 feet out when it took off and again ran me into the backing. I slowed it sooner this time and then began to pump and reel, pump and reel until the fish was at my feet. It was an average blue, about 26in and maybe 6lbs. In the next 1/2 hour I landed 4 more and had 4 bite me off, including one that bit the fly line off. When fishing for blues, I keep a couple of leaders rigged ahead of time, including with the fly on, so when I get a bite off, I can get back in battery fast. Tonight was a good reason to use that system, I never would have landed 5 fish with that many bite offs if I did not pre-rig my leaders.
Today was a planned fishing day. Nothing takes the blue out of Monday like fishing. I had checked my times and the tides and knew where I wanted to go. I'd found a rock with a nice rip on a rising tide and I knew it would hold fish. I was up well before dawn and waded out to my rock in the dark. As dawn crept into the eastern sky, I saw a few fish break, but nothing was taking my offering. I was fishing a 10' 9wt rod from TFO and really liking the way it cast a heavy fly. I was drifting my fly along the bottom with the current when I felt the jolt and hooked up on a 8" black clouser bunny eel (not sure if that is a real fly, but it is the one I tied, yellow eyes and all). Line zinged off the reel as this fish ran hard and strong. Tossing its head in-between powerful runs it even surged up crashing through the water's surface. I knew it was a good fish, maybe the "keeper" I'd been looking for with my fly rod. It was still not full light yet, just that dim grey of dawn as I worked the fish into the shallows. Just as I was beaching him, the rod snapped at the top ferrule, but I still managed to control the fish. It was a beauty I admired it there on the rocks and eel grass. 
So, one might think that since I started the day out by catching a nice striper on my fly rod, that my lust for fish would be sated. One would be wrong however. After I got out of class for lunch, I spotted some birds working bait on the shore of a shallow cove. The wind was very stiff and since I had broken my heavy rod that morning on the bass I was using my 8wt Redington. I waded out into the choppy waves to find blues chasing bait. They were not "blitzing" but cruising the shallows, in kind of a snatch and grab manner. I hooked up blind fishing at a tidal stream outlet. It was a typical blue and took me into my backing on the first run, and almost there on the second. I had another on but it threw the hook. I didn't see any more fish after that and I had to get back to earning my keep.
I took my neighbor bait fishing (chunking locally) to our usual spot behind NWC. I caught 2 skates right off chunking, but drowning bait was not for me. I rigged a popper and quickly landed a fat and sassy 22in striper. Larry was quick to follow suite - fishing surface poppers was a first for him. He caught 4 stripers and one 28" blue. I grabbed my fly rod and caught 10 more stripers on a September Night fly, a local streamer.
Hit some pockets below a rock wall I like to fish and caught a few on a bunny eel. Also caught one tiny fish near a marina boat ramp. Ended up with 4 fish for the night.
Used a Gartside Gurgler that a friend gave me. I was sight cast to cruising blues, caught one, lost 2, including one bite-off. Gotta love the teeth.
Hit my trashy slew, got one strike, saw a few fish cruising the channel. Saw a strange speckled fish, perhaps a squeateague (weakfish)- not sure, but it would not turn to my popper. I managed to scare the remaining blues in this little piece of water off with the popper.
Caught 1 striper and 1 blue near my favorite bridge on a peanut streamer. They were going nuts. Moved to the rock piles and caught a 22" striper on the first cast, but it was slow after that. I caught a 22" blue on a Gartside Gurgler popper a bit later. Cooked up very nice
Tonight was a special night. I took my daughter out after striped bass. She had not shown much interest earlier in the season and I did not push, I knew she would come around. She had asked me a couple of days earlier and we went that night, but only for a few minutes and only to see if the fish were around. They were not. However, she is not one to give up easily, once she decides that she wants to do something. Her determination paid off in fish. She landed a beautiful 24" fish on a storm jig. Later she also caught a 12in schoolie. She was a very happy young lady with a Dad who was tickled pink.
Driving into work saw the birds working in a corner. Of course I had to stop. It was a ton of schoolies. I had on a Cast Master and could really range them. I've started fishing with Fireline and man does it make a difference. Not just in casting but also feeling the fish. With no stretch in the line I hook more fish. On this morning, I hooked a fish a cast. They were all between 18in and 22in. Nothing huge but what ball! After 8 fish I had to go. I was a bit late, but what an excuse!
So it was Friday, I was on my way home to pack camping gear and meet my family who had a head start on the weekend, or at least that was the plan. I was a bit ahead of schedule and decided I could squeeze in a couple of casts. Not enough time for the fly rod, so I grabbed my trusty 7' spinning rod. First cast with a small popper and a fish explodes on it. Scrappy as hell, even clears the water once. I get him in and it is about a 27" striper, hooked on the trailers instead of the front hooks. I reach down to lip the fish and before my hand gets to his maw, he flops and sinks the lead set of hooks into the meat of my right index finger. Deep too. Now that we are attached, he really goes to it and I now have about 9 lbs of thrashing fish dangling off of my finder. Before I can control him, the split ring on the trail hooks opens up and the fish is free. I quickly get the loose hook out of the fish and put the fish back in the water. Then I look to my hand. The point went in on the top outside edge of the finger between the knuckle and first joint (in the really fleshy part) and straight down. I loop some mono around the bend and push down on the shank while pulling with my teeth, the hook won't budge. I realize that the thing is going to have to come out the other side and have the barb cut off. I'm now worried about tendon damage and so decide since the hospital is only 10 minutes away, I'd better go and have a professional remove it. Remember that statement.
I get the plug off the hook, so I am driving with just the hook in my finger and not with a plug rattling about. I call my wife, so she'll know why I'm late and find out she is at home, miffed because I am not there. She came home to "surprise me" and of course I was fishing. She was not pleased at my situation, but wants to help. The house is on the way, so I stop to pick her up and off to the hospital we go. Surprisingly, I am not bleeding at all. There is hardly any blood at the entrance wound and my finger does not yet hurt - though I think Mrs. was hoping it was. I got lectured about how she came home and emptied the dishwasher while waiting for me. My reply was I didn't know she was home I thought she was at the camp ground didn't wash. She was pretty pissed I was fishing while she was waiting (even though I didn't know it).
We get to the ER and they send me back to a op room. After a couple ladies gather all my info we wait and wait then wait some more (I am not upset, my injury is far from serious). Finally a PA comes and looks. I notice he is carrying a pair of rusted up lineman's pliers and a cheap pair of diagonal cutters. He looks at my finger and then asks if I have anything better than his tools in my car to cut the thing off. I thought it was a joke and laughed. It was not a joke.
The doc goes to work and give me a couple injections to numb the finger. He too is worried about tendons and decides that the point must come out the bottom of the finger. He sees the pliers won't work. Then the diags are too weak to cut a 2/0 stainless hook. They even try a pair of those scissors carried by EMTs, but they just twist open. Finally they call maintenance for a pair of wire cutters. Sure enough a guy in a the standard maintenance uniform (light blue shirt, dark blue pants) shows up with a pair of decent cutters. I am guessing that they aren't worried about sterility because I already have a fish hook embedded in me. Anyhow the cutters worked when he tested them on the two exposed hooks. The doc was great, but worried me when he didn't have enough strength in his right hand to work the cutters. I was about to offer when he succeeded with the left. He shoved on the shank, cut the skin around the point, then cut the barb and out came the hook. He had to shove pretty hard because the hook was deep in the meat. It never really bled much. The injection sites bled more than the hook.
Later we find out they the really do have a pair of cutters they keep in the ER for just such situations, but apparently someone didn't put them back (a nicer thought than someone stealing them from the ER). Now my finger is back in battery and none the worse for wear, save for some slight stiffness. I made only one cast on Friday, but it was a doozy. Wife is still mad at me, so I think I'll take a bit of time off before I fish again. Tuesday should be good.............
I didn't make it until Tuesday. I fished on the way to work. I saw them breaking by the bridge on the way in and had to cast, I just had to. After 3 small scoolies on a light spinning rod, I headed to work.
Nothing real earth shattering in the way of fish. I have been getting them here and there, all small schoolies. I pick off a few on the way to my desk or I catch a couple a lunch. Other folks run at lunch, me I'd rather fish. I think I am getting the better use out of my time. I'll run when I have to, but I'll fish whenever I can!
Caught some crabs at lunch and went to the pier for black fish. Love the fire line, I could feel every tickle. These fish love the rocks though, so I am going to need something stronger and tougher. Lost a couple of nice fish but I did keep one to fillet.
I believe that I may have mentioned something about me being a fishing junkie. Today proved it again. No, I did not get another hook buried in my finger. However, once again I was on my way home and just had to stop and make a couple of casts. Now that we are off daylight savings time, sunset coincides with my trip home. So I thought I'd hit a rock I've come to be fond of. I cast into the setting sun, heaving a surface popper out over the submerged boulders that I hoped were harboring bass. First cast, nothing. Second cast the same. Third cast however was different. I could not see my plug due to the glare of the sun, but I felt the hit and then saw the flash as the fish took to the air. Based on that performance, I thought I had a big blue fish. That thought lasted until I could feel the head shakes and raw strength of this fish. It was no blue. The line paid out of my reel, but not in that bluefish scream. Instead it came off in a more determined manner, this fish had power. After a couple of strong runs, lots of head shaking and a couple rubs against rocks I got another look at the fish and could see it was a nice one. I worked it into the shallows and managed to slide it up onto the gravel beach. I was still in my shirt and tie, gotta love a man who dresses to fish! I got the fish home and had my daughter snap a picture, after I took my tie off. The fish was 34in and 15lbs, my best striper, ever. 
Shirt and tie Striper!
3 fish - 1 baby, 1-25", 1-26", all off my favorite rock right at sunset. Guess I can't hope for more like yesterday's fish. I am not going to knock landing a couple of 5-6lb fish in 30 minutes on the way home from work either!
Well I didn't think I'd have a story to top the last one, but I do. This morning I had to go in to school early and work on a paper. I went in before dawn and got done sooner than I thought. So, the sun was starting to show in the East when I headed for home. It was a falling tide and I just could not resist the temptation of a few casts. I tied on an Atom Popper and started working the water over my favorite stretch of rocks. I got a strike on the first cast, but the fish missed. I cast again in the same spot and this time the fish did not miss. It hit the plug so hard they both came out of the water. I set the hooks and he ran for deeper water. A couple of long runs and a lot of reeling later I had my fish at my feet. It was even bigger than the one from 2 days ago. I loaded up and headed home to get it cleaned before I had to be back at school. This fish was 36in and 19lbs. 
My best striper, ever. This is the rig that did the above fish in.
Got on the water right at dawn at my favorite rock. It was gorgeous, with the sun coming up and the full moon setting. Caught a nice schoolie (about 25") off an Atom popper about 10 minutes into my morning and then nothing. I didn't get another hit for the rest of the day. I think that was the last striper of the season.
My daughter had a friend sleep over and they both wanted to go fishing. So we went to the beach, gathered up some Japanese Crabs and went to the pier. It was slow, but both girls managed to land a fish. It was her friends first fish ever, so it was a good day. I seem to be getting a lot of girls their first fish this summer.
A friend of mine knows that I love to hunt and geese are high up on my list. He took me about 2 weeks before I left for Iraq and made sure to give me a call this year for opening day. I dropped my first goose out of the first bunch that came in to the decoys. Good thing I got it on the first shot, because my gun jammed. A big flock landed in a nearby field and was pulling the geese in away from our spread. Another of the group and myself went to push them out, managed to sneak into gun range of the bunch and drop one apiece, completing my limit. Short day, I was home and picking geese by 9. My girls were hardly out of bed, figuring they could sleep in while I was out hunting. They didn't help pick though.
I got out again at lunch time and for once I remembered to take the camera. I caught 3 tataug in about 40 minutes. They were all pretty small. These two are barely legal and I turned them back after snapping a picture. The hook was showing the teeth on one, so I snapped that picture so those who have never seen one can see their teeth. I've not been bit, but a friend assures me that they will do a number on a finger is you let them. I'll take his word for it. As these are the only game in town, they are what I am catching. I also took a picture of the rig I use, incase anyone wants to use it.
I made one last final trip for the year 2006. It looks like that may well be my last trip while I am here in Newport. I have new orders to sea duty and while I am taking a rod (or two) I don't think I'll have much time for fishing. The old adage "water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink" fits well to my situation, but rather "water, water every where and not a spot to fish." I've tried fishing off the stern of a destroyer and while it can be done it is not an easy proposition. So, I'm resigning my self to my fate and will just go with the tides and hope I can land a fish or two along the way.
Anyhow, back to fishing here in Rhode Island. On morning I found that I could not sleep. A friend had told me of a spot that held stripers long after they had left other haunts. So I slid out of bed, grabbed my gear and at 0400 in the morning I found myself looking at the water. There were lights around the area and I could see fish feeding. I rigged up and was soon feeling that wonderful dance at the other end of my line. Soon I had a feisty schoolie striper in my hand. I spotted one fish holding in place and just like casting to a trout, I presented my fly and he sucked it in. It was about the same size as the first, 16in. I fished a bit longer and then found a much bigger fish on the business end of my 8wt. I played the fish for a few minutes and then the line went limp, the hook pulled out. I was not deterred and soon hand another strike. This too was a good fish and when I got it beached I was looking down at a nice 26in striper. I caught another schoolie and then a 24in striper. Then all the fish disappeared and when I looked to the east, I could see a glow, so I packed up and headed for home to get ready for work. It was a good day to be on the water!!! I can't think of a better end to a great season.
I'm not getting much time on the water lately. I have created the map below to show some of where I was in 2007. It has been the most eventful deployments of my 22 year Navy career. 
I went to Cape Town in July for a planning conference. I did get to see a bit of the place too. These pictures are from a trip we took down to the Cape of Good Hope. The picture with the penguin is just before he attacked me. I was bitten on the knee - no harm, just surprised as can be. It was not because I was too close, it was because I wouldn't let him escape into the local neighborhood! 
Now I am in port in Crete, Greece so I can post this update. I will endeavor to keep it up better now that I am going places were I can access my website (I can't do it from sea).
He hit like a train, but then the fight was over.
This is not my fish, though I wish. One of the crew on the flagship caught it off the back of the destroyer in the Gulf of Aden (north side of the Horn of Africa).
He had to haul it up 14ft of free board - but those fillets were worth it!!!
I almost forgot that over Easter my family and I went on a cruise to Mexico. My wife bought me a 1/2 day on a charter out of Cabo San Lucas and I caught my first tuna. Not a monster, but bigger than any other tuna I've ever caught - since it was the first. The boat kept all the fish, that is the deal made with the cruise line - would have liked to made it into sushi, but... 
Long story short, there were fish caught, yellow tail, dorado and tuna, but none by me. I lost a couple and missed more, so it is no one's fault but my own. Still, it was fun and a great experience.
Fish on! Joel 
This link will take you to my Iraq fishing adventures.
Joel's Iraq Fishing Adventures 
Revised: 08/13/08.