Merry Christmas!

Stripers Forever Video

Check out this video on the handling of striped bass.

Rhode Island Blitz

These pictures were tough to take when I received them from Matthew Genetelli earlier in the week. Why? They are a painful reminder that the striper season has come and gone. Also, I know these pictures were taken after the blitz of all blitzes. Matthew described the scene as a bunker apocalypse. Stripers and blues were crashing bait for well over an hour. The bait was being pushed right up on the beach and blues were regularly being washed up on the sand as they gorged themselves on bunker. Matt fished the fly rod for the first hour and recalled, "I don't even know how many I caught, all I know is that my hands hurt." You can tell from the pictures below that even the birds have had their fill.

Thanks for the pictures!

Swift River

Sam Hart hit the Swift River over the Thanksgiving break. From the looks of it, he did pretty well with the fly rod.... Sam - what were you using for flies? Do tell!

Nice work!

Lone Trout

A big part of fishing is problem solving. How would you go about solving the problem of catching this trout sitting in a feeding lane all by himself? Video shot in Massachusetts last winter.

Brown Trout

This brown trout picture comes in from Luke Pessinis. Though it is definitely not a huge trout, it comes with a great story. The very short story is that after being skunked fishing the saltwater on Cape Cod, Luke and a friend decided to scout out a pond that was rumored to contain trout. It required covert operations to reach the pond, but they paid off with this nice fish.

Striper Tourney T-Shirts Have Arrived!

If you participated in the first annual All Scholastic Striper Tourney, your t-shirts have arrived. They can be picked up in my office at your convenience.

Go Fish!

Take advantage of the upcoming weekend and Thanksgiving break to do some fishing! There is still some great freshwater fishing to be had this fall. Also, saltwater die-hards are still catching tuna and then there are always cod to be caught (season closes in the Cod Conservation Zone on 12/1).

I took advantage of Veteran's day and did some trout fishing in the western part of the state and was rewarded with a small stream-born brown trout pictured below.

Meeting: Tuesday 11/18

We will be having a meeting in B228 after school on Tuesday (11/18). We will discuss club plans and activities for the rest of the semester. The meeting will conclude with a fishing film.

White Perch

This picture of a nice white perch comes in from Chris Vigliotta. The fish was caught in a pond in North Reading on a Mepps Trout spinner. Nice fish!

Free Fly Fishing Magazine

This Is Fly is a free online fly fishing magazine that is geared towards a younger audience. The electronic format is very easy navigate and there are videos and audio clips that are incorporated into the articles.

To subscribe, simply go to the link and enter your email address. An email will be sent once a new issue is published online. They also publish a blog which can be found here: http://www.thisisfly.com/blog/

Skunked!

I never thought it would happen, but Mr. Soule and 4 members of the fishing club were skunked this afternoon on a charter with Captain Judd. Despite some great weather and favorable conditions, the fish were nowhere to be found. As it was said this past weekend at the tournament, "this is why they call it 'fishing' and not 'catching."

I'm sure we will be back to some great fishing on our next trip with Captain Judd.

Below is a photo from our last trip.

Catch of the Season Contest

Calling for submissions for "catch of the season." All SJP affiliated fishermen are welcome to submit photos of their best catch this season. All photos will be posted on the blog as I get them and winners will be determined at a fishing club meeting in the future. Send your photos in!

Kicking the contest off is a nice blue fin tuna caught by Tyler Conway a few weeks ago. Nice fish!

Tourney Results - A Draw

Central Catholic and SJP Fishing Clubs

The First Annual All Scholastic Striped Bass Charity Tournament between St. John's Prep and Central Catholic High School turned out to be a draw after both schools failed to land a fish during competition. Still, it turned out to be a great experience as both schools enjoyed time on Park River Refuge section of Plum Island.

SJP was represented by 9 students and 3 faculty members (Mr. Boyle, Mr. Soule, and myself). Even though we had successfully pre-fished some spots and we had several days of solid reports, the fish were nowhere to be found.

Since there was no clear winner, each school will make a donation to the charity of their choice (We will be making a donation to My Brother's Table). At the end of the day it was a great experience and it will be the foundation for future events between the two fishing clubs.

From left to right. Mr. Boyle, Mr. Borgatti, Mr. Soule, and Mr. Don Jalbert '75 (Central Catholic's Fishing Club Moderator)

Yesterday's Trip Cancelled

Due to all the motion in the ocean (the small craft-advisory) yesterday, we had to cancel our trip with Captain Judd. We'll try to schedule a makeup trip next week and hopefully get in an additional trip. Be sure to email if you want to get on one of these boat trips.

All Scholastic Striped Bass and Bluefish Charity Challenge

I'm very excited to announce that we will be participating in what will hopefully be the first annual All Scholastic Striped Bass and Bluefish Charity Challenge. It is essentially a competition between SJP and Central Catholic High School. The idea behind the tournament is to promote fishing in our school communities, raise money for charity (food pantries), and have a great time.

The tournament will take place on Plum Island on Sunday, October 5. Registration is at 12:30 and fishing starts at 1:00 PM and runs until 6:00 PM.

If you would like to participate, contact me ASAP for details and registration form. Registration costs $25 and you will receive a t-shirt for participating. All proceeds will benefit a local charity.

Next Fising Trip 9/30: Fishing with Captain Judd

I have a special opportunity next week, but space is limited. Captain Judd of CJ's Charter's will be offering a special after-school trip on Tuesday. Because of the nature of the fishing we will be doing (hopefully chasing breaking fish) he can only accommodate 4 students. There is a cost associated with this trip, so see me for details. If there is a lot of interest, we will try to book another trip later in the week.

For more information on Captain Judd's charter, check out his website (http://cjscharters.com/). Visit his photos page and you will see more than a few SJP students holding some nice striped bass.

Below: Mr. McManus joined the Fishing Club once on a charter with Captain Judd.

9/23 Fishing Trip - First Striped Bass

Our first trip of the year was a success. We went to Plum Island and did some surf casting for striped bass and bluefish. Fishing was a little slow but it still yielded a few fish. Nick was the first student of the year to land a fish. It also happened to be his first striped bass ever. Congrats Nick!

First Outing on Tuesday 9/23

Fishing Club will have its first outing of the new school year on Tuesday. Anglers will fish the beaches of Plum Island. The fishing from the sand has been a little slow as of late, but it should be picking up soon.

Students can pickup a permission slip at my desk in the Bio Office, or they can print one at the following link http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg6zkn35_2hgvszmg5). Permissions slips must be returned Tuesday morning before the start of the school day.

First Meeting

The first meeting of the year was held yesterday and over 25 people were in attendance (another 10 students contacted me and said they were unable to make it) so things are off to a great start.

During the meeting we discussed plans for the year. Some of the items discussed included:

• Monthly Fishing Tourney
• Possible Interscholastic Striper Tourney with Central Catholic and Governor's Academy
• Fall Fishing Outings
• Fishing and Boat Shows
• Panama Trip
• New blog and potential applications

If you have questions, ideas, or suggestions for this year be sure to email me.

New Blog

The blog will be updated regularly with news and information for fishing club members. Also, it will serve as a "bragging board." Catch a nice fish, snap a picture, and send it in. Or, if you have a fishing report we can post it to the blog.

Tight lines!