Thursday, April 24, 2025
04.24.25 Shit happens and finally a fish to hand...
Monday, April 21, 2025
04.21.25 What a long strange trip it was....
After a four year run at Essex County College my time is just about done. It was a good run, but things went a little sideways at the end. Like we see in sports all the time sometimes the coach just has to go. Coaching a team of 78, without any assistants, is overwhelming, sometimes out of control, and in the end difficult to ensure that everyone gets a participation trophy. So I chose to step aside and allow people better than me meet the college's expectations going forward. I'll always be a proud graduate of Essex County College and lucky to have been able to circle back to give back.
One things for sure this semester has definitely interfered with what every other spring has been, which has been some work, a lot of fishing, and taking care of things around the house. I have put everything and everyone aside this spring just concentrating on the students, and I have paid the price. While fishing is off to a way slow start this spring I still have the fire inside to go and get it done. I've been out a bunch of times and have yet to turn a fish. For me, it's about a month later than usual. This past weekend I did catch up around the house, mowed the lawn, seeded it, and went around picking up twigs which could be listed as a hobby in my hobby list. I have one of those grabbers and it's just relaxing covering the acre-plus yard just doing non-thinking stuff. I also got a new, well almost new, set of skins for the 2002 Silverado.
I spotted these on Facebook about 10 minutes after they were posted and Theresa And I took the ride to Wilmington, Delaware, last Friday to pick them up. On the way home we stopped at 9th Street in Philly and spent the afternoon walking around and getting food at the Italian
Market. We ended the day at the famous Isgro Pastries shop on Christian Street. It was a Good Friday mob scene, no pun intended, but it was worth the wait and the $40 bucks.
On Saturday I had them put on and I can say I just love good tires on a truck. At 285,000 miles will these be the last tires that she'll need? I'm not sure but I'll try and keep her purring with the occasional sniffle here and there. New trucks, and the payments, are something I just can't have around these days. Plus, it looks like we're going ahead with the sale and the move, maybe next May the house will go on the market.
Things have broken open on the Raritan Bay, well really the line between the bay and the river. Those pre-spawn fish are out in force and chewing on just about anything they get thrown to them. What is crazy is the boat traffic. I saw this quick video taken from the shore in Perth Amboy and counted 37 boats in and around the bridges. That is so not my scene.
What is interesting is that when there's fish all kinds of folks come from far and wide to get in on the action. with the Chesapeake now closed charter operations have come
north and now make the Raritan there new home for the season. Just more pressure on an already pressurized fishery. But that's what the ASMFC wants I guess.
Social media is abuzz with the images of fine catches these days. I still shutter when I see treble hooks down the gullets of these catch and release anyway fish. I just don't get it. And there's plenty of sand-breaded fish being caught and held up from shore as well.
And kudos to Cody Silver who caught a monster 9 pound rainbow while shad fishing the past week out on the Delaware. That is a dandy of a fish and must have given him a good tug and run.
And lastly but not last today Pope Francis passed away. The leader of the Catholic Church and a job that couldn't have been easy. These days it seems that religions and churches pop up all over the place venturing away from the big ones. I liken it to travel baseball for the kids. When you think your kid is better than rec ball, you go out for a travel team, when he doesn't make it you go and start your own.
Saturday, April 12, 2025
04.12.25 I'm not a river flow reporter, but...
I've never been a straight 9-5 working slob until it started this January. After only a few months of it I can't imagine, one, who invented it, and two, who took jobs with that schedule. For all of my adult life I've been in jobs (fire, EMS, nursing, photography) that operating on a 24/7/365 schedule. I always tell my kids that if they want a quality of life the take a job that operates around the clock and has the ability to switch shifts and with off with other people. Monday through Friday is for the birds.
So that leaves me really to fish, even quick run and cast outings, on the weekends. Well not really because I work on Saturday and Sunday as well preparing for the Monday through Friday. Last night we got hit pretty hard with rain and that no doubt will ruin this weekends fishing.
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
04.08.25 Normal ups and downs for the season...
I'm sure it doesn't matter where you fish early season for striped bass. Hard fluctuations in weather patterns lead to Bipolar fishing. Take in point flows. while more, well consistent, flows are a good thing in rivers, quick swings can shut things down. Take two days ago when the river went from 8,000 to 16,000 cfs. Now we seem to leveled off around 13,000 but with big rain on the way I'm sure that number will double.
Sunday, April 6, 2025
04.06.05 Things are startin' up....
Due to a tremendous workload I've just been off my game. When the posts slow down the mental health wellness checks begin, "Bro, you good?". Yes. I'm good, just overwhelmed, overworked, and underperforming with the nursing students. They're having a rough run of this semester and it is sitting heavily on my heart and shoulders. Might be time for the coach to step aside.
And since January I've been neglecting just about everything in my life. Nothing bring me joy. My mind is working 24/7 to make it through this semester. But this weekend I did get out as the fish have started to show up and play in various and predictable early season spots. First, the Raritan started, I wouldn't say went off, but the first round of fish pushed in and headed towards the back.
Monday, March 31, 2025
03.31.25 Time to batten down the hatches...
Well ask and you shall receive. I've been concerned, and complaining, about the drought like conditions out here in Mercer County. Flows on the Delaware River have dropped yet again
and are now at 7,400 cfs. Tonight the East Coast is getting to get hammered by rain, hail, high winds, and threats of tornados. Of course we couldn't just get a nice few days of steady rain, it has to come all at once over 6 hours. No doubt trees will fall, and wind up floating down the river, power outages will occur, and basements will flood. The river will get blown out and then maybe we'll see the start of spring and fishing.
Sunday, March 30, 2025
03.30.25 Off to a slow start...

Tuesday, March 25, 2025
03.25.25 That fever just showed up....
Sunday, March 23, 2025
03.23.25 Some fish starting to show...
I would say things are off to a slow start compared to the last few years. But the question is is this year just a "normal" year like things used to be? While temps seem to be what should be expected the thing that concerns me are the water levels in and around the spawning grounds for striped bass. With a spawn dependent on so many factors drought like conditions this early aren't good.
Friday, March 21, 2025
03.21.25 Well there went that...
Driving home from work yesterday I thought that maybe today would be the day. But around 2 am I could hear the wind and the rain outside. The shutters were banging against the house and I was sure the rainwater was seeping into the basement.
When I woke up I took a ride down to the river. I knew things weren't good because when I opened my truck door it almost blew off the hinges. The wind was cranking northwest and the temperature had dropped from yesterday. even with the rain we had days ago the river is only running around 15,000 with temps just below 50. The thing is either way, the fish have to start to move.
I don't know why I tried but I threw a bunch of casts, with most of them sailing from right to left landing on the bank below me. It's not what I had in mind for my day-off outing.
Monday, March 17, 2025
03.17.25 Well that helped....
Wishin' I was fishin'. After a quick deluge of rain, and of course wind, this weekend, things are starting to look better then they did. Rain up north quickly had an effect on the water levels in the river. Since this morning we've seen a 20% increase in the cfs and there will be more coming over the next day or so. While the water will drain rather quickly a good push of water does wonders for the start of the run of American shad, river herring, and striped bass.
Friday, March 14, 2025
03.14.25 Quick shakedown trip...
Took the opportunity with the warmer weather to give it a go for the first time this year. Did't expect much and got just what I expected. One thing I did learn is how resistant my hands are to the cold as I get older. I just can't take it anymore.
Incoming tide wouldn't be my choice especially at 630 am this time of year but you go when you can. Amazingly the waders and the stripping basket still fit from last year adjustments which is a good sign. Obviously there was nothing to see and the northwest wind kept things chilly and my hands raw even just after 30 minutes of casting and retrieving.
At least we've had some sun and warmer weather which causes a slight bump in the water temps but not enough to get things going. It's still early, and way early if you think of things 10-15 years ago. It's just the mild winters we've had in the last few years that have got things going earlier than normal. The earliest fish I've caught at the place I visited this week was March 9th, but it was much warmer than this year.
And in other news how's that for a result of hard work on the professor's side and the student's side as well. It's the trill of victory and the agony of defeat. Above is the class average from Exam 3 which has has my guts all turned inside out. For some it's a continuation of good or bad performance, a wake up call, or a nail in their coffin. As a teacher you pull for just about all of them, the ones you don't are those with a bad attitude or continued bad habits. It's a 27/7 job, literally, for 15 weeks in the fall and the spring. Nursing school is hard and there's no participation trophies given for just showing up.