The DEC confirms it - It was a Wild Atlantic Salmon

It is confirmed by DEC expert on the subject - the fish was a wild Atlantic Salmon:

From DEC's email:

"First, we got the opinion of Connecticut's salmon expert and he agrees with you. His response: "This is definitely an Atlantic salmon. Moreover, I do not believe that it is a hatchery fish—one of the broodstock that we stock into the Shetucket and Naugatuck rivers as part of the broodstock trophy fishery. I believe this to be a wild, post-spawned Atlantic salmon departing the Connecticut River, not entering it. I suspect that it entered the river last year, spawned, and was late to depart back to the ocean as a kelt due to the absence of a spring freshet. The fish is very skinny and not fully reconditioned as we would expect a bright incoming sea-return fish to have done. You can see that it is mostly head. It may have gotten lost in Long Island Sound and begun feeding and partially reconditioned."

Now the bad news. Atlantic salmon are an endangered species and you are prohibited by law to take or possess them. We know it was not intentional, and that the fish died because of bleeding. If you still have the fish or any parts of it, I'd ask that you please surrender it to DEC and we'll send it to Connecticut for analysis. I can make arrangements to have it picked up by Law Enforcement. We will not file any charges."

Since I have anticipated this answer I have saved tissue, scales and flesh along with high resolution pictures of the fish.

It is a little bit sad that I couldn't released this wild fish last Sunday. But it also may be the sign that environmental efforts are paying off and that fisheries around New York City are improving but we still do need to pay close attention to its fragile habitat.

An incredible wild fish and may be the sign that wild Atlantic Salmons are back

I caught an Atlantic Salmon in New York City - From the Bronx, on my kayak!

Unbelievable... but true!

Last week my wife told me to "go catch some striped bass" and it was with a lot of confidence that I planned my fishing.

Friday after work went kayaking by night in Pehlam Bay until 11:30 pm for nothing (and I saw people landing bass (big) from shore - froze my arse off and it was frustrating...

Saturday: hit JayBay from 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm for... nada... same story I heard people catching them from the kayak... [Very] frustrating..

On Sunday, my wife and I went to Pelham Bay, in the Bronx for a picnic on the shore and after we are finished eating, well, I wanted to try a couple of time with my spinning rod, casting a white grub and my wife was reeling it in... On her first retrieve - BLAM! a healthy upper teen fish! Was thrilled for her but when I tried I couldn't hook a single one! I was almost about to give up and face the truth... my luck is gone, even my wife outfish me :)

Almost by pity, she granted me a one hour paddle from City Island, while she took a nap in the car. Conditions were "so-so", strong winds pushing offshore, cold water and absolutely no one on the water (why would you go? right?).

Gearing up, I know this is truly my last "chance" to land one. So I started to paddle and aim for a couple of submerged blocks I know, using this same "white grub", thinking its "mojo" could be my savior...

Well, on my first cast I "felt" something... A short "thunk"... Considering my level of luck, I thought it was maybe a bunker that rolled in my line or short bass... Anyway, I make another cast, this time in the rocks, reeling fast, and BLAM! now that is a "real" fish... Funny though, it doesn't fight like a bass, nor like a bluefish... I am like "hey, may be it is a weakfish!"

After a rather short battle I finally get to see "it" - a dark blue fish... that looks like a trout! WTF is this? Also, I see that it has swallowed the grub and the hook is in the gills deep :(... After a little struggle to calm it down, I have leashed it to see if the gills will stop bleeding but after few minutes, the fish is no more...

I head back to shore, looking at this gorgeous fish... Man, did I tried hard for this one! I have caught a lot of salmonids (brown, coho, king) in my life but this one is not a trout (since the eye and jaw line are aligned) and it's not still clear if it is an Atlantic Salmon or a Steelhead - DEC will analyse to confirm and identify it.

Since I really like "Jacks bait and Tackle" I showed the fish and the guys were like "I have been workin' here for more than 15 years, and I have never seen something like this ever" - was a lot of fun.

It is still a "bitter-sweet" catch since I would have rather released the fish, but since it was badly hooked, there is nothing I could have done.

All the best and keep fishing!
Pierre

An Atlantic Salmon in New York City!

A close up on the fish!

Another Shot for the Road :) 

A NEW SPONSOR - HPA France, the specialist of waterproof bags and equipment for Stand Up Paddling, Fishing and kayaking is now my official sponsor

Dear readers,

I am stoked to announce that I am now officially a sponsored paddler for HPA Equipement - http://www.hpa.fr/ - a company focused on the design, manufacturing and distribution of waterproof bags and accessories serving the Stand Up Paddling, Fishing and professional markets.

HPA sent me a lot of very useful goodies including fully waterproof bags, ceramic knife, a "fish box" designed to be placed on the front of the SUP, a lot of rigging leashes, waterproof pack to store my Iphone, shorts and a camera bag...

To say that I am grateful is an understatement, I very happy to count HPA as my sponsor as I am already preparing for Jamaica Bay Kayak fishing tournament in New York City, in which I intent to compete, on my Stand Up Paddle board in the Fly-Fishing division of course!

Stay tuned...

PAC


Chers lecteurs,

Je suis très content de vous annoncer que je suis officiellement sponsorise par HPA, http://www.hpa.fr/, une société spécialisée dans le design, la fabrication et la distribution de sacs étanches et d'accessoires pour le stand up paddle, la pêche et les professionels du nautisme.

HPA m'a envoyé une super sélection de sac étanches, un couteau a lame céramique et une "fish box" qui est designe pour etre installée sur le pont du SUP, un short et des packs étanches pour Iphone.

Dire que je suis reconnaissant est insuffisant, je suis vraiment heureux du support de HPA et cela tombe tres bien car je compte participer cette année a la compétition de pêche en kayak de "Jamaica Bay" prévue le 16 Mai prochain a New York. Compétition que je vais faire en Stand Up Paddle, dans la division Pêche a la mouche!

A bientôt!
PAC

HPA Water Proof Bags - My New Sponsor

Stand Up Paddling - Fly Fishing for the mighty False Albacore

YEAH! That is what life is all about - Trying new things, exploring new grounds and NEVER give up on your dreams (even if they are pretty crazy!)

Fishing from a Stand Up Paddle Board for Striped Bass

Hi There!

I took a long paddling trip from City Island to Execution Rock lighthouse and found perfect conditions - little wind, no traffic and a good amount of bait fish.


I was kind just really "in tune" with everything but I was still fishing and catching small striped bass when I saw a big school of bait fish behaving like they were stressed out... Interesting... so I decided to try my chance and BAM... my line stopped for a moment... the fish was barely moving... and then my drag screamed... wow! I was standing up and decided to go for the ride...


As minutes passed I was almost sure that it was a big Bluefish... and was so happy to see a big "striper" coming up!


Only problem, the fish inhaled the hooks and was pretty badly hooked so I decided to keep it (I usually keep 2-3 fish a year, for conservation purpose but also because it is very awkward to first have a SUP in the street of NYC AND a big huge fish that takes hours to clean, cut and filet )


This is not a monster but at 43 inches and 22 pounds it is a big fish on my book.


I wish I had a Go Pro camera because for an hour or so it was amazing to see these bait fish getting crushed by big striped bass - caught two other big ones but they were safely released to live, spawn and caught another day!


Tight lines to all of you Stand Up Paddle anglers!

Turning Lemons into Lemonade

Spring has sprung and my buddy and I are back into Saltwater fly fishing!

The plan was simple, wake up at 4:00 am drive to Long Branch in New Jersey to catch striped bass from shore. We arrived there after a swift drive and found ACRES of Menhaden ( also known as Bunkers) near the shore... WOW! That looked like a great start of the season - at least bait fish was here...

The problem was that no bass or bluefish were chasing them and they were just happily swimming and flipping on the surface at about 150 yards from shore.

After 3 hours of casting and not a single bite my buddy who was exhausted from a previous night trip suggested that we should head home... I was a little mad to have woke up this early to head back in NYC without trying to catch a fish.

So I worked out a deal, we would go back home but since we had a bunch of Gurglers, poppers and other minnows, we will stop by local NJ ponds to check if we can catch a largemouth bass (or two..)

My buddy was not 100% happy but since it was on our way back he was ok.

After a quick search on the Iphone (not sure Steve Jobs was thinking that his creations would generate countless amount data dedicated to tides and intensive Google maps searching but I thank him anyways) we headed our way to a nice size bass lake in Monmouth County (BTW: we both have New Jersey Fresh Water licence).

Arriving there, we found out that the parking was at a 25 minutes walk to the nearest parking lot - PERFECT - I like walking to my fishing spot!

My first impression was WOW - this lake looks really cool. Lots of trees in the water, a lot of bluegills and pumpkin seeds, this looks like a promising spot. Then, just on the right of a fallen tree I spoted a nice LMB... Hmmm... Looks like there is fish in fact.

The problem was casting the fly to them - it was a real maze, making my cast challenging... but I managed to cast by miracle in the shade my big black Gurgler (RIP Jack Gartside - May your line never dry). Following my buddy advice I left the fly for about 30 very long seconds... I am tensed... and I start to strip it and BLAM!!! Big slurp, a big bass took it! and swam for the big log... then he jumped right in front of us, that is where I saw the size of it! BIG BASS on my book! Using a "technique" used by french fly fishermen on big trouts to avoid breaking the line, I jumped in the swamp, spooked the bass away from the logs he was heading.

Filling my waders with this smelly murky water was not the best experience of my life but catching and releasing this bass on the fly rod was a great moment and will be remembered!

Tight lines to all!

PAC

The Bass that Saved the Day!!

The First Striped Bass of 2012 on the Fly Rod, from Shore !!!

Spring is here in full force in New York.

The birds are singing, the grass is growing and the striped bass are back to New York.

After a long period of fly fishing in fresh water in the Catskills and New Jersey, I decided to try my luck on our beloved striped bass. Because I have tied quite a bunch of flies over the Winter I was excited to try them out at Jamaica Bay where I have heard and read some good reports these past two weeks.

Had the chance to arrive right on time for the high tide and fished just the beginning of the outgoing tide. I was fishing from shore and was patiently waiting to make my first cast when the rip will start flowing.

The great thing of being able to fish for trout and in salt water is that especially in fly fishing your skills are consistently improving.

What you gain in trout fishing is:

- Presentation

- Stealth

- Positioning

- Reading the water

- Locate fish under different arrays of conditions and light

- Reflex - trout fishing really improve them especially if like me, like to fish dry fly, sight fishing and wet flies...

All of these are transferable in the salt water world (no matter what other people say). A good example of this is Lefty Kreh, an amazing humble fly fisherman as sharp as one can be when targeting a tarpon in the Keys or a small mouth bass on the Potomac river.

Coming back to my story... So as the tides started to move out I notice  a great current close from shore forming a great spot for a striped to hunt its preys. I was almost sure that if a fish was in the area it will be just in front of a big rock under water so I casted my clouser minnow about 8 yards in front of it, in a similar fashion as when I fish for trouts with slow sinking nymph. After two mendings, making sure my fly was not dragging and at the right depth, I did one twitch on my line and I saw the Striped Bass following very closely the fly. At this point and instead of striping faster, I just did a micro-twitch on the line follow by a pause and the striped bass literally engulfed the fly. WOW!

The fight was quite epic because the fish was large enough to use its mass in the now ripping current and after a great battle I managed to land it, took a quick picture and released it.

It is not a monster fish by any standard but it is certainly a fine catch from shore.

See you all on the water.

PAC