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02/18/2014 11:00 PMDid you know that our first president of the United States of America, George Washington, born Feb. 22, 1732, was an avid fisherman? In 1762, according to entries into his diary (he was very meticulous about detail), while he was residing and working out of his Mount Vernon, Virginia home, Washington ordered from London a "fishing case for the pocket."
This was a rudimentary tackle box of sorts that could inconspicuously accompany him in his travels, yet be quickly available when the opportunity to fish availed itself. The case was a simple container made from tinned sheet metal and blackened. It contained blued, hand-wrought hooks, wax, horsehair, and silk fishing lines.
President Washington fished not only for sport, but also for food. He enjoyed both offshore and inshore waters where he fished for cod, sea bass, and blackfish (tautog), as well as shad and herring. Fish was his favorite food-Potomac shad topped the list. When in Barbados, he caught shark, dolphin, and catfish, but when in the Ohio Valley area in 1787, it was trout and perch.
A quote from the Pennsylvania Packet Newspaper on June 12, 1790, reporting on Washington's expedition near Sandy Hook, New Jersey, states, "where he had been for the benefit of the sea air and to amuse himself in the delightful recreation of fishing. We are told he has had excellent sport, having himself caught a great number of sea-bass and black fish."
Among his various enterprises was a small commercial fishing fleet he built that provided Mount Vernon with fish to export. Although he sold catches in Virginia, his best outlets for barrels of salted fish were in the Caribbean. Not only is Mount Vernon rich in heritage, but also can brag about the fishing exploits of our first president, who was quite an outdoorsman.
On the Water/Ice
Winter Storm Hercules barreled through the northeast with strong winds dumping truckloads of snow throughout the region. With the strength of a Greek god, it jolted the Atlantic coastline with three uppercuts as it made its way north. But of late, we have grown accustomed to pushing show piles around. Long Island Sound hovered around 30 degrees with many of its tributaries icing up while air temperatures generally remained below freezing. To top it off, tides have been negative low and two feet above normal thanks, in part, to a full Snow Moon.
This daily drop in temperatures created a surge in ice fishing as hole punchers attacked the hard water. In fact, due to the building of ice, augers have been in short supply. This winter social event seems to be attracting folks new to the sport, at least judging from the elementary questions asked at the shop. Of course, the 13,000 rainbow trout that Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection stocked through the ice in several lakes and ponds throughout the state had to be another reason for the spike in activity.
Trout stocked from the Quinebaug hatchery from 7-to-14 inches were introduced into Bashan, Lake, Beach Pond, Black Pond, Coventry Lake, Crystal Lake, Gardner Lake, Mashapaug Lake, Black Rock Pond, Highland Lake, Mount Tom Pond, Squantz, Stillwater Pond, Tyler Lake, West Hill Pond, and Westside Pond. In addition to trout being flagged through the ice, there have been exciting catches of largemouth bass, northern pike, pickerel, black crappie, and perch.
Realizing we are more than halfway through February and the weather pattern has been freeze/thaw, expect a warming trend soon followed by a lot of melting. Whether we will continue with subsequent safe ice build-up as in the past remains to be seen. However, there are several more weeks of cold left and plenty more fish to catch.
For all things fishy, including licenses, swing by the shop (203-245-8665) open seven days located at 21 Boston Post Road, Madison. Until next time from your Connecticut shoreline's full-service fishing outfitter, where we don't make the fisherman, we make the fisherman better.
Tight Lines,
Captain Morgan
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