Fishing - One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
As Doctor Suess use to say, its fun when you know how to fish and a good book certainly helps.

Well it is time to take out the old fishing pole and try catching the big one that always gets away. Even if you are rusty or haven’t tried fishing, it sure is a relaxing endeavor. All you need is a fishing pole, some hooks, and some bait to start. You drop the baited hook in the water and tug on the line a few times to attract the fish.

Most fishermen will catch a fish and then gently take it off the hook and throw it back to swim away. The fish soon recovers and you have not depleted the fish population from the local pond. This is called “Catch and Release”. Other fishermen will catch fish that are big enough and take them home to eat. In most local freshwater ponds you can catch sunfish, bass, pickerel or trout.

The Mass. Dept of Fisheries does stock most ponds and lakes with a yearly supply of fish that they have grown in local hatcheries. Normally they might dump a thousand fish or more into one pond. The cost of maintaining local ponds and lakes with fish is supported by the purchase of fishing licenses.

If you are the least bit interested, I have listed some information below that might get you started. Also, fishing is a great activity to share with your children, grandchildren or just a friend. There is nothing like spending the day out in the woods near a pond and enjoying the quiet outdoors.

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As I was reading the Sunday Boston Globe today (May 9, 2010), the title of a book caught my eye. It was written by a Biology teacher from Billerica, MA along with his son. The drawings and photos in the book are from those actually caught by the authors.

Although I noticed the book title because I like fishing, I also noticed it because a friend told me about it recently. One of my Romeo friends, Joe Loducca, knows the author and mentioned the book as well as some good fishing spots near Townsend, MA. You can see the news article and the book title below.

New Freshwater Fish Identification Book
Boston Globe,May 9,2010, page C6, Books, Shelf Life, “Guide to Northeast Fish”,
By David A. Patterson, Billerica Biology Teacher, (Friend of Joe Loducca)
http://www.boston.com/yourtown/newton/articles/2010/05/09/shelf_life/

Local Fishing Derby (Check your local papers for local fishing Derbies)
Wilmington, MA, (June 5, 2010), 9 AM to 12 Noon at Silver Lake , Town Beach, No License Needed for this one day of fishing, Take the Kids, A life long hobby enjoyed by all. All you need is a line, a hook and some bait. Residence and Non-residence welcome.

Learn to Fish
Volunteers from the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife will present an Angler Education Program sponsored by the Wilmington Recreation Dept. at Silver Lake, Town Beach on Thursday, My 13, 5-7 PM. Parents and children are encouraged to team up. The class is free for residence and non-residence. Pre-registration is necessary. Call the Recreation Department at 978-658-4270

Some Fish That I Caught
You can see some photos of a few fish that I caught at Silver Lake, last year with my grandchildren. I caught a few Pumpkin Seed Sunfish. They are identified with the black spot on their gill cover with a red spot on the end and squiggly vertical dark lines across their body. I also caught a juvenile Largemouth Bass recognized by the dark line down the center, the mouth and the fins. See photos of fish at the link ……. http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/FishingAtSilverLake81908

Mass Fishing License
Now that I am a senior citizen, I can get my fishing license at a reduced rate ($16.25 for the year, January to December). A rate chart for hunting and fishing licenses can be found at the state web site …………… http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/recreation/licensing/license_fees.htm

Local Fishing Ponds in Massachusetts
You can also find depth maps for local ponds that help you decide where to fish, identification photos and links to other relate sites at the site ……. http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/habitat/maps/ponds/pond_maps_nd.htm

Other Fish Identification Web Sites
http://www.identicards.com/allaboutfreshwaterfish/
and http://www.landbigfish.com/fish/default.cfm