By Martin Armstrong
Special Correspondent
Dear Santa,
I know that this is your busy season so I thought I would help you out a bit. I polled several of my readers and surveyed visitors to www.ctfisherman.com to see what they wanted for Christmas.Ê
Last year a survey of www.ctfisherman.com users revealed the most wanted gift was a satellite radio. This year no one even mentioned satellite radio. The most popular request for Christmas this year was boats. Nine people wanted new powerboats.
Listen up Santa. I know flying the skies on Christmas Eve with a bunch of boats in your sleigh is out of the question so here is my suggestion. Give tickets to the New York National Boat Show held annually at Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan. This year it will run from Dec. 30 through Jan. 7.
Last year the second most sought after gift was more time to fish. This year more time to fish came in second again. Last year Webmaster and online philosopher Mitch Passero pointed out that "An ounce of gold would not buy an ounce of time." Amen.
What else does Mitch want for Christmas this year? Besides more time to fish here is the rest of his list: a Nils ice auger; a Dawia Steez spinning rod & reel combo: a winter cold enough to freeze Candlewood Lake for ice-fishing and the Martin Armstrong fishing column available on the Advocate Web site.
Andy James of Bethel wants "a month of warm, not hot, days and nights on calm waters to cast, jig and feast on the fruits of the ocean." Note to Andy - you should be writing a letter to Mother Nature not Santa.
Outdoor writer and star of the ESPN2 television show World of Saltwater Fishing George Poveromo's Christmas list is simple. What George wants are "flat seas, no storms and plenty of hungry fish for the eight times I'll be running my boat to the Bahamas in 2007! And he needn't worry over how to gift-wrap it!" Note to George - two words - Mother Nature.
Fisheries Advisory Committee member and active angler Diane Grenier wants "More warm summer days, tall iced teas and time to do more fishing with my family and fishing buddies. Ahhhh, it ain't even December and I'm dreaming of warm summer days."ÊÊ
John and Phyllis Crimmins of Stamford want "one of those fishing kayaks, hands free, foot pedal controlled I think only Hobie makes them. Ideally, I'd like four of them - two for here and two for Panama." John would also like to see artificial reefs put in Long Island Sound.
Most of the other gift suggestions centered on fishing tackle and clothing especially rough and cold weather gear. Any fisherperson who says he or she has too much tackle and gear is not an angler. Favorite lures make great stocking stuffers and a new reel under the tree is a great gift.
Here's a tip. The guys at the tackle shop where your angler shops knows what his favorite lures are and knows just which reel he has been drooling over.
The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection has lots of gift suggestions. Here are a few things that I either own already or wouldn't mind finding under my tree this year.
The DEP is offering a great Candlewood Lake Depth Chart. Until now, all maps that depicted the bottom of Candlewood Lake have used the topography of the land surface before it was submerged. Now the DEP has a depth map with all new bathymetric measurements. The fieldwork and compilation ran from 1999 to 2005 and the final product is a laminated color chart, which measures 23 by 36 inches. The price is $10.95
A perennial favorites gift from the DEP is its Guide to Lakes and Ponds. It features full page color depth maps of 113 lakes and ponds and each provides depths, bottom contours, in-flowing stream locations, fish species and neighboring roads, water surface area size, directions and launch ramp conditions. There are 20 pages of color plates depicting and describing the natural history of each of 25 fishes common to Connecticut's waters. The price for this 354 page guide is softcover $19.95 and hardcover $29.95.
Connecticut Wildlife Magazine is the DEP's Wildlife Division's 20-page, bimonthly magazine that is the perfect gift for those who like to stay informed about wildlife issues and events in the state. Articles are written by Wildlife Division staff that are responsible for the management of Connecticut's wildlife. This magazine is also a great gift for the youngsters whether they fish or not.
For a one-year subscription (6 bimonthly issues) send $6 to: Connecticut Wildlife, P.O. Box 1550, Burlington, CT 06013-1550. Make checks or money orders payable to "Connecticut Wildlife."
Visit www.dep.state.ct.us/gift/giftguide.htm for more information on these gifts and many more ideas including a variety of posters depicting bats, eagles and other animals native to Connecticut. These gifts are available at the DEP Store, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT or on line through the DEP website.
Oh Santa, I almost forgot, Elizabeth, 7, and Abigail Lupinacci, 5, want lots of worms so they can go fishing with their grandfather.
Many anglers stayed off the water this week but the fish are biting. Saltwater fans are catching lots of stripers and freshwater anglers are taking some nice trout.
Scott Loecher, aka The Fish Doctor, took a client to the mouth of the Housatonic River. Using Clauser flies, Stuart Cragin caught and released 20 stripers, the largest 7 pounds.
Mike Noyes and Shawn Kelly fished off Playland. Using diamond jigs they caught and released 25 stripers. The largest measured 25 inches.
Jesse Hammerman had a great day at 11B. Using a diamond jig he caught and released 35 stripers in just 90 minutes. His largest measured 27 inches.
Also doing well with diamond jigs at 11B was Dave Rosevear who caught and released 40 stripers including one that weighed 12-pounds.
On the freshwater scene Saugatuck Reservoir is red hot. Fish are schooling up around the dam and the Handicapped area and that's where Mike Bach reeled in an 8-pound, 12-ounce brown trout. It was taken on a Krocodile lure.
Kensico Reservoir where Pete Miller caught a 21-inch laker and a 3-pound brown trout. Both were taken on shiners.
Chris Miller went to Kensico twice and he caught a total of four lake trout using Krocodile lures. His largest measured 24 inches.
Ed Kucharski caught a 25-inch pickerel at Kensico. He was using shiners for bait.
While fishing at Cross River, Dave Krom landed a 3-pound brown trout. Krom was also using shiners.
Martin Armstrong is a member of the Fisheries Advisory Council, a life member in Trout Unlimited and a member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America.
Copyright © 2006, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.
Special Correspondent
Dear Santa,
I know that this is your busy season so I thought I would help you out a bit. I polled several of my readers and surveyed visitors to www.ctfisherman.com to see what they wanted for Christmas.Ê
Last year a survey of www.ctfisherman.com users revealed the most wanted gift was a satellite radio. This year no one even mentioned satellite radio. The most popular request for Christmas this year was boats. Nine people wanted new powerboats.
Listen up Santa. I know flying the skies on Christmas Eve with a bunch of boats in your sleigh is out of the question so here is my suggestion. Give tickets to the New York National Boat Show held annually at Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan. This year it will run from Dec. 30 through Jan. 7.
Last year the second most sought after gift was more time to fish. This year more time to fish came in second again. Last year Webmaster and online philosopher Mitch Passero pointed out that "An ounce of gold would not buy an ounce of time." Amen.
What else does Mitch want for Christmas this year? Besides more time to fish here is the rest of his list: a Nils ice auger; a Dawia Steez spinning rod & reel combo: a winter cold enough to freeze Candlewood Lake for ice-fishing and the Martin Armstrong fishing column available on the Advocate Web site.
Andy James of Bethel wants "a month of warm, not hot, days and nights on calm waters to cast, jig and feast on the fruits of the ocean." Note to Andy - you should be writing a letter to Mother Nature not Santa.
Outdoor writer and star of the ESPN2 television show World of Saltwater Fishing George Poveromo's Christmas list is simple. What George wants are "flat seas, no storms and plenty of hungry fish for the eight times I'll be running my boat to the Bahamas in 2007! And he needn't worry over how to gift-wrap it!" Note to George - two words - Mother Nature.
Fisheries Advisory Committee member and active angler Diane Grenier wants "More warm summer days, tall iced teas and time to do more fishing with my family and fishing buddies. Ahhhh, it ain't even December and I'm dreaming of warm summer days."ÊÊ
John and Phyllis Crimmins of Stamford want "one of those fishing kayaks, hands free, foot pedal controlled I think only Hobie makes them. Ideally, I'd like four of them - two for here and two for Panama." John would also like to see artificial reefs put in Long Island Sound.
Most of the other gift suggestions centered on fishing tackle and clothing especially rough and cold weather gear. Any fisherperson who says he or she has too much tackle and gear is not an angler. Favorite lures make great stocking stuffers and a new reel under the tree is a great gift.
Here's a tip. The guys at the tackle shop where your angler shops knows what his favorite lures are and knows just which reel he has been drooling over.
The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection has lots of gift suggestions. Here are a few things that I either own already or wouldn't mind finding under my tree this year.
The DEP is offering a great Candlewood Lake Depth Chart. Until now, all maps that depicted the bottom of Candlewood Lake have used the topography of the land surface before it was submerged. Now the DEP has a depth map with all new bathymetric measurements. The fieldwork and compilation ran from 1999 to 2005 and the final product is a laminated color chart, which measures 23 by 36 inches. The price is $10.95
A perennial favorites gift from the DEP is its Guide to Lakes and Ponds. It features full page color depth maps of 113 lakes and ponds and each provides depths, bottom contours, in-flowing stream locations, fish species and neighboring roads, water surface area size, directions and launch ramp conditions. There are 20 pages of color plates depicting and describing the natural history of each of 25 fishes common to Connecticut's waters. The price for this 354 page guide is softcover $19.95 and hardcover $29.95.
Connecticut Wildlife Magazine is the DEP's Wildlife Division's 20-page, bimonthly magazine that is the perfect gift for those who like to stay informed about wildlife issues and events in the state. Articles are written by Wildlife Division staff that are responsible for the management of Connecticut's wildlife. This magazine is also a great gift for the youngsters whether they fish or not.
For a one-year subscription (6 bimonthly issues) send $6 to: Connecticut Wildlife, P.O. Box 1550, Burlington, CT 06013-1550. Make checks or money orders payable to "Connecticut Wildlife."
Visit www.dep.state.ct.us/gift/giftguide.htm for more information on these gifts and many more ideas including a variety of posters depicting bats, eagles and other animals native to Connecticut. These gifts are available at the DEP Store, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT or on line through the DEP website.
Oh Santa, I almost forgot, Elizabeth, 7, and Abigail Lupinacci, 5, want lots of worms so they can go fishing with their grandfather.
Many anglers stayed off the water this week but the fish are biting. Saltwater fans are catching lots of stripers and freshwater anglers are taking some nice trout.
Scott Loecher, aka The Fish Doctor, took a client to the mouth of the Housatonic River. Using Clauser flies, Stuart Cragin caught and released 20 stripers, the largest 7 pounds.
Mike Noyes and Shawn Kelly fished off Playland. Using diamond jigs they caught and released 25 stripers. The largest measured 25 inches.
Jesse Hammerman had a great day at 11B. Using a diamond jig he caught and released 35 stripers in just 90 minutes. His largest measured 27 inches.
Also doing well with diamond jigs at 11B was Dave Rosevear who caught and released 40 stripers including one that weighed 12-pounds.
On the freshwater scene Saugatuck Reservoir is red hot. Fish are schooling up around the dam and the Handicapped area and that's where Mike Bach reeled in an 8-pound, 12-ounce brown trout. It was taken on a Krocodile lure.
Kensico Reservoir where Pete Miller caught a 21-inch laker and a 3-pound brown trout. Both were taken on shiners.
Chris Miller went to Kensico twice and he caught a total of four lake trout using Krocodile lures. His largest measured 24 inches.
Ed Kucharski caught a 25-inch pickerel at Kensico. He was using shiners for bait.
While fishing at Cross River, Dave Krom landed a 3-pound brown trout. Krom was also using shiners.
Martin Armstrong is a member of the Fisheries Advisory Council, a life member in Trout Unlimited and a member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America.
Copyright © 2006, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.