Maritime Aquarium wants to hear your LI Sound fishing story
By Martin Armstrong
Correspondent
Updated: 11/20/2009 10:19:37 PM EST
The one thing that most fishermen do best is tell fish tales. Some of our tales are true and some are, well, let's just say, some are unsubstantiated.
The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk wants to hear your fishing stories and see your fishing pictures. The only catch -- about sharing your big catch-- is that it has to be about fishing on Long Island Sound. Did you catch a scale-tipping bluefish two days after the close of the WICC Greatest Bluefish Tournament on Earth? Did your grandchild haul in a keeper suitable for the taxidermist on his first time out?
The Aquarium is in the midst of putting together its next major exhibit.. The working name for the exhibit is "Go Fish -- Long Island Sound and Beyond"
The exhibit will explore our fascination with fish, particularly the catching, eating and protecting the fish of Long Island Sound. The exhibit will feature large game fish from the Sound in a 30,000-gallon tank while exploring the relationship and connections we have with fish and fishing in the Sound.
The tank was being built when I visited the Aquarium on Tuesday. Bacal plans to feature five fish species in the tank. Those species are striped bass, spiny dogfish, Atlantic cod, wolffish and a gigantic 8-foot halibut.
"As part of the new exhibit, we plan to include an area where we1ll post stories, photographs and videos from the adventures that people have had while fishing on the Sound," said Judith Bacal, the Aquarium1s
exhibits director. "Everyone has a great fishing story and we want to hear about it! We want to hear about people1s experiences with friends and family catching fish, or about the ones that got away. These are the stories that stir our emotional connections with the Sound and the animals that live in it."
Bacal also said they she would love to see some really old photos of anglers catching fish on the Sound.
The exhibit will also have plenty of fun things for kids to see and do. One particularly interesting activity is a play fishing boat from which youngsters will 'catch' a pretend fish. After catching the fish they will use it as a learning tool as they use it to identify one of the species of fish in the 46 degree saltwater tank.
There will also be a film supplied by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. "Can The Oceans Keep Up With The Catch" takes a look at worldwide concern over a sustainable supply of sea food. The Maritime Aquarium has partnered with the Monterey Bay Aquarium in the struggle to maintain sustainable fisheries worldwide.
Whether avid or novice, all anglers are invited to submit photos, videos and stories for consideration in the exhibit, which is scheduled to open in February 2010. Stories -- which are optional -- should be kept to one paragraph, please.
Photos will be accepted in both digital and print form. Mail a CD or a print, or email a file. If sending a print, please send copies, not originals, as you will not get the submission back. Videos should be digital on CD or DVD, in one the following formats: MPEG-4, mov. or DV.
Send your materials including your name, address, phone number and email address to Exhibits Department, c/o Becky Schaefer, The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, 10 N. Water St., Norwalk, CT 06854.You can also email your submissions to fish@maritimeaquarium.org .
When sending photos or videos please supply any information you can including the date and time of when it was shot and also the location. This can be as specific as GPS coordinates or as simple as, for example, "300 yards west of Cockenoe Island." Submissions cannot be returned so please keep a copy.
Entries will be accepted for consideration until Jan. 15, 2010. The Maritime Aquarium1s Submission and Usage Policy should be reviewed before sending any material. It's available online at www.maritimeaquarium.org/special_exhibits1.html.
For more information about Maritime Aquarium exhibits, IMAX movies, programs and events, go online to www.maritimeaquarium.org. or call (203)-852-0700.
q
Last weekend was a terrible one for fishermen. Only the hardiest of anglers braved the super high tides, the rain and gusting winds. Once the weather calmed down, fishing picked up a bit.
Blackfish are biting around the Norwalk Islands. Last week Bob Kloz and Ross Daily caught a limit of blackfish using green crabs. Their largest fish weighed 8.5-pounds.
Stan Leonard has been doing real well fishing from shore off Shippan Point. He tallied 17 keeper blacks and a nice bluefish over a couple of trips. His largest black weighed 8.5-pounds and was taken on an Asian crab. The chopper weighed 11.5-pounds and was taken on a mackerel chunk.
Early in the week, Billy Wilder tried everything in his bag of tricks but caught nothing but blackfish too small to keep. He tried the shallows and water 60-feet deep with only minimal success.
Kevin Miller at Sportsman's Den in Cos Cob reported that Larry Imbrogno win the store's annual Blackfish Blast. Imbrogno won with a 9.28-pound tautog that he caught in Greenwich waters. The fish was taken on a green crab.
Wanna know where the blues and striped bass are feeding? The past few days fishing off Rye has been nothing short of amazing.
John Windus fished there twice during the week and found the action non-stop. Mike Noyes went with him on the second trip and he said the fishing was incredible. The only drawback was that the stripers were too small to keep. They were using diamond jigs.
Hank 'Sparky" Weis crossed the Sound to fish at Lloyds. It was worth the trip as he jigged up lots of blues and stripers. Weis was using a diamond jig.
Ricky Mola also went to the New York side of the Sound to fish. He used a diamond jig to catch some stripers off can 13. His largest linesider was a 33-incher.
Tom Lucas did real well at 11B last Wednesday. Using a diamond jig he caught and released lots of schoolie bass and some bluefish. His largest chopper weighed 15-pounds.
Freshwater fishing is picking up, Trout, bass, pickerel and Atlantic salmon were taken in local waters last week.
Randy Sala has switched over to sweet water last week with some success. While fishing at a private pond in North Stamford, he caught a 5.2-pound largemouth bass and a 3-pound, 23-inch, pickerel. Both fish were taken on a Pig 'n Jig. The largemouth bass is now calling the fish tank at Pete's Place Bait and Tackle home.
Dave Krom is always experimenting with new fangled baits. Last week he fished with a South American Fish Root while working the Mianus River off River Road. He did catch and release a few trout.
Chris Miller made his first trip of the season to Kensico Reservoir last week. He returned with a 4-pound brown trout. He was using live shiners for bait.
I received this email from Ron Merly on Thursday. "I went to the Naugatuck River for two hours late this morning (Wednesday) and landed a 28-inch, 8 to 10-pound Atlantic salmon as well as a 22-incher that weighed about 4-pounds.
Bill Donovan and his buddies, Dino and Craig, fished the Salmon River in Pulaski, NY for a couple of days last week. Each day they caught between 10 and 15 steelhead each. Their largest fish weighed just over 13-pounds and their average catch weighed between 8 and 10-pounds. They caught their fish using egg sacs and beads.
Scott at Fisherman's World says that fishing is picking up at the Saugatuck Reservoir. Anglers are catching some trout, bass and perch. Scott also mentioned that walleye fishing at the reservoir is dead.
Martin Armstrong is a member of the Fisheries Advisory Council, a lifetime member in Trout Unlimited and a member of the Outdoors Writers Association.
__________________
By Martin Armstrong
Correspondent
Updated: 11/20/2009 10:19:37 PM EST
The one thing that most fishermen do best is tell fish tales. Some of our tales are true and some are, well, let's just say, some are unsubstantiated.
The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk wants to hear your fishing stories and see your fishing pictures. The only catch -- about sharing your big catch-- is that it has to be about fishing on Long Island Sound. Did you catch a scale-tipping bluefish two days after the close of the WICC Greatest Bluefish Tournament on Earth? Did your grandchild haul in a keeper suitable for the taxidermist on his first time out?
The Aquarium is in the midst of putting together its next major exhibit.. The working name for the exhibit is "Go Fish -- Long Island Sound and Beyond"
The exhibit will explore our fascination with fish, particularly the catching, eating and protecting the fish of Long Island Sound. The exhibit will feature large game fish from the Sound in a 30,000-gallon tank while exploring the relationship and connections we have with fish and fishing in the Sound.
The tank was being built when I visited the Aquarium on Tuesday. Bacal plans to feature five fish species in the tank. Those species are striped bass, spiny dogfish, Atlantic cod, wolffish and a gigantic 8-foot halibut.
"As part of the new exhibit, we plan to include an area where we1ll post stories, photographs and videos from the adventures that people have had while fishing on the Sound," said Judith Bacal, the Aquarium1s
exhibits director. "Everyone has a great fishing story and we want to hear about it! We want to hear about people1s experiences with friends and family catching fish, or about the ones that got away. These are the stories that stir our emotional connections with the Sound and the animals that live in it."
Bacal also said they she would love to see some really old photos of anglers catching fish on the Sound.
The exhibit will also have plenty of fun things for kids to see and do. One particularly interesting activity is a play fishing boat from which youngsters will 'catch' a pretend fish. After catching the fish they will use it as a learning tool as they use it to identify one of the species of fish in the 46 degree saltwater tank.
There will also be a film supplied by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. "Can The Oceans Keep Up With The Catch" takes a look at worldwide concern over a sustainable supply of sea food. The Maritime Aquarium has partnered with the Monterey Bay Aquarium in the struggle to maintain sustainable fisheries worldwide.
Whether avid or novice, all anglers are invited to submit photos, videos and stories for consideration in the exhibit, which is scheduled to open in February 2010. Stories -- which are optional -- should be kept to one paragraph, please.
Photos will be accepted in both digital and print form. Mail a CD or a print, or email a file. If sending a print, please send copies, not originals, as you will not get the submission back. Videos should be digital on CD or DVD, in one the following formats: MPEG-4, mov. or DV.
Send your materials including your name, address, phone number and email address to Exhibits Department, c/o Becky Schaefer, The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, 10 N. Water St., Norwalk, CT 06854.You can also email your submissions to fish@maritimeaquarium.org .
When sending photos or videos please supply any information you can including the date and time of when it was shot and also the location. This can be as specific as GPS coordinates or as simple as, for example, "300 yards west of Cockenoe Island." Submissions cannot be returned so please keep a copy.
Entries will be accepted for consideration until Jan. 15, 2010. The Maritime Aquarium1s Submission and Usage Policy should be reviewed before sending any material. It's available online at www.maritimeaquarium.org/special_exhibits1.html.
For more information about Maritime Aquarium exhibits, IMAX movies, programs and events, go online to www.maritimeaquarium.org. or call (203)-852-0700.
q
Last weekend was a terrible one for fishermen. Only the hardiest of anglers braved the super high tides, the rain and gusting winds. Once the weather calmed down, fishing picked up a bit.
Blackfish are biting around the Norwalk Islands. Last week Bob Kloz and Ross Daily caught a limit of blackfish using green crabs. Their largest fish weighed 8.5-pounds.
Stan Leonard has been doing real well fishing from shore off Shippan Point. He tallied 17 keeper blacks and a nice bluefish over a couple of trips. His largest black weighed 8.5-pounds and was taken on an Asian crab. The chopper weighed 11.5-pounds and was taken on a mackerel chunk.
Early in the week, Billy Wilder tried everything in his bag of tricks but caught nothing but blackfish too small to keep. He tried the shallows and water 60-feet deep with only minimal success.
Kevin Miller at Sportsman's Den in Cos Cob reported that Larry Imbrogno win the store's annual Blackfish Blast. Imbrogno won with a 9.28-pound tautog that he caught in Greenwich waters. The fish was taken on a green crab.
Wanna know where the blues and striped bass are feeding? The past few days fishing off Rye has been nothing short of amazing.
John Windus fished there twice during the week and found the action non-stop. Mike Noyes went with him on the second trip and he said the fishing was incredible. The only drawback was that the stripers were too small to keep. They were using diamond jigs.
Hank 'Sparky" Weis crossed the Sound to fish at Lloyds. It was worth the trip as he jigged up lots of blues and stripers. Weis was using a diamond jig.
Ricky Mola also went to the New York side of the Sound to fish. He used a diamond jig to catch some stripers off can 13. His largest linesider was a 33-incher.
Tom Lucas did real well at 11B last Wednesday. Using a diamond jig he caught and released lots of schoolie bass and some bluefish. His largest chopper weighed 15-pounds.
Freshwater fishing is picking up, Trout, bass, pickerel and Atlantic salmon were taken in local waters last week.
Randy Sala has switched over to sweet water last week with some success. While fishing at a private pond in North Stamford, he caught a 5.2-pound largemouth bass and a 3-pound, 23-inch, pickerel. Both fish were taken on a Pig 'n Jig. The largemouth bass is now calling the fish tank at Pete's Place Bait and Tackle home.
Dave Krom is always experimenting with new fangled baits. Last week he fished with a South American Fish Root while working the Mianus River off River Road. He did catch and release a few trout.
Chris Miller made his first trip of the season to Kensico Reservoir last week. He returned with a 4-pound brown trout. He was using live shiners for bait.
I received this email from Ron Merly on Thursday. "I went to the Naugatuck River for two hours late this morning (Wednesday) and landed a 28-inch, 8 to 10-pound Atlantic salmon as well as a 22-incher that weighed about 4-pounds.
Bill Donovan and his buddies, Dino and Craig, fished the Salmon River in Pulaski, NY for a couple of days last week. Each day they caught between 10 and 15 steelhead each. Their largest fish weighed just over 13-pounds and their average catch weighed between 8 and 10-pounds. They caught their fish using egg sacs and beads.
Scott at Fisherman's World says that fishing is picking up at the Saugatuck Reservoir. Anglers are catching some trout, bass and perch. Scott also mentioned that walleye fishing at the reservoir is dead.
Martin Armstrong is a member of the Fisheries Advisory Council, a lifetime member in Trout Unlimited and a member of the Outdoors Writers Association.
__________________