Friday Fishing Tips – May 28, 2021 – Jeff Gross

by Jeff Gross, contributing writer

Well, it took a few weeks, but this writer is on a roll with the trout. Great success has occurred in the last two weeks that makes up for a lean spring. The fish were there, they just did not like my presentation. 

Some members of the Federated Rhode Island Sportsmen’s Club feel that the RIDEM should post the location, trout numbers, date, times etc. when they stock the fish. This request occurred during the RIDEM regulation hearing on May 6th. The phrase “combat fishing” comes to mind!

I totally disagree with FRISC’s assessment that RIDEM should provide location, dates, times, etc. of where they are stocking the fish. That is unsportsmanlike to require that information. Why not just go to the local pet shop and fish in the fish tanks, as that is what it equates to. If DEM were to provide all details of the stocking locations, then there would be hordes of people going to those locations, too, so from a COVID point of view, that isn’t a good idea neither.

The first few weeks in April and early May this writer only caught 2 Brookies. My friend and his wife and many others were doing extremely well. Well, it is fishing, so I needed to assess what I could do better and implemented that two weeks ago. Like the Patriots do at halftime, adjustments were made, and I came out catching a lot of fish. Success has occurred ever since. Now my friend and his wife got skunked this past Sunday. That is why it is called fishing. And a sport. To have all the stocking information and details takes the challenge out of the sport. 

Friday’s Fishing Tips:

Tip #1 – Take time to assess the situation: If the fish aren’t biting, then look at the details. Are they jumping on the surface? No? Then they are on the bottom. Are they slowly rolling on the surface? They are probably after flies. Keep a variety of offerings in your tackle box. I watched a guy using a clear bobber towing a dry fly and he was hammering the trout last Friday. That was working that night for him. Me? It was a gold spoon, slow retrieve right on the surface.

Tip# 2 – Check the feet of line near your bait or lure often. This writer hooked the lower 18″ rainbow and the line snapped when the fish was on the embankment. The lure went flying into the Poison Ivy and the Rainbow trout rolled down the backside of the embankment into more poison ivy. Took 15 minutes to retrieve trout and lure as this scribe is highly allergic to poison ivy. Checking the other gear in the truck showed 2 other rods had abrasions around the lures.

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Jeffrey “Jeff” Gross spent 21 years as an Analytical Chemist at the USCG R&D Center in Groton, Connecticut, Woods Hole Laboratories, and Helix Technologies. Changing careers is a “great learning experience for everyone”, Jeff says, and I’m an avid outdoorsman and conservationist, a student of the sciences, and the world. The US holds too many wonders not to take a chance and explore them”.

Jeff is the Model Train and Railroad entrepreneur. Proud Golden Retriever owner. Ultra strong Second Amendment Advocate and Constitutionalist. “Determined seeker of the truth”. 

Jeff is a RIFGPA Legislative and Legal Officer, Freshwater Chairman, NRA Liaison.

His subjects include Outdoors, Second Amendment, Model Railroading, and Whimsical.

He can be reached at: [email protected]