06.16.26 Day 4- That's one handsome dude...

 

     Some guys just have it like that. Custom Joe is one of them. He just photograph's really well when it comes to fishing. While most of us have tons of fish and fish holding photos of ourselves most of them just fall short in one way or another. In pictures with Custom you can see that his smile and happiness is not staged, it's genuine. Over the last few years we've worked on his finger placement and fish holding techniques and he takes the cues well, and the quality of the pictures has improved. When I see his face I can only go back 50 years ago to a cute little kid over his Grandmother's house for the Sunday family meal of meatballs, pasta, and sauce. And as each family member that enters the house they grab his cheek and give it a squeeze, and say, "Joey my boy, you're just so handsome". 

     So on the other side are guys like me, who don't photograph well and have no history of getting my cheeks squeezed. That's me above taking the morning to write the students final exam for next week. I started around 5 am and worked as the boys got ready and went out fishing. I have to get this done and this morning will do more of the same. But as morning wore on I got the itch to fish somewhere, anywhere.

      With our rental in Vineyard Haven making the run Up-Island to Menemsha is more of a journey then a quick outing. So I decided to stay local and hit Tashmoo. It's literally less than 10 minutes away. I arrived around 1130 and found conditions pretty good. Dropping tide, bright sandy bottoms, high sun with sporadic cloud cover, and a wind that was there, but settled down with the dropping tide. 

     There was another guy on foot and two in skiffs patrolling around looking for fish. I set up the ladder at a point where the sand meets the darker vegetation covered bottom. I wasn't up in the air but for a minute before I saw my fish fish coming towards me going from left to right. I made a cast leading him that got no notice and then just as he disappeared in the darkness I saw him follow my crab fly out. I stripped, I twitched, and then paused it before he refused it and moved on. 

     Over the next two hours I planted the ladder down in several spots and walked across the flats. It was a good day, saw nine fish, had five that showed interest, with three solid refusals. I had a crab fly on, obviously not the right one, and wonder if a baitfish pattern would have got it done. I didn't see any bait, that's why I went with a crab fly. 

     If you know then you know. Each year various state's publish their own, "Most Dangerous Roads". Massauchetts should include that small section of a dirt road leading to Lake Tashmoo as one of them. If you take it slow, or fast, it really doesn't matter, in the end you're going to get jostled around. 

     When you look at from the driver's perspective it doesn't look all that bad, but be warned. At some point your head is going to hit the roof which could displace your cervical spine or whip you from side to side only to have your head hit the side window exposing you to the chance of suffering from a subdural hematoma. And since it's one lane there's always someone coming from the opposite direction. 

     The three of us were running on the same cylinder. Rest in the mid-afternoon before hitting it before the sun went down. In the morning while I worked and then hit Tashmoo the boys were out in OB where we would return to later in the day. Custom caught the fish up top and Flatwing broke off a good fish while I worked. 

     We found a parking spot by the stairs near Inkwell Beach in OB. Inkwell, or Town Beach, has a long and strong history dating back to the Nineteenth Century as it is a well known and travel destination for black, or African American, travelers. While the names, like Chicken Bone Beach in Atlantic City, may have had derogatory undertones during their initial labeling, these locations have become annual destinations that have been passed down by families for decades. 

     We had to navigate just enough of a small crowd of late beachgoers to find some water that hadn't been splashed through throughout the day. We made out way down towards the Oak Bluff's ferry terminal and I chose to poke around through the pilings looking for patrolling bass while the boys made their way out onto a sand bar.

     I saw a ton of bait circle-eighting around the wood and could feel the warmth from the eyes that were trained down on me as people waited for the next ferry. Two came when I was there, one was from the  Steamship Authority and the other a passenger only Seastreak ferry. 

     I did this for a bit making a handful of casts before moving out to check on the guys. Flatwing had a solid follow without a commitment and Custom just did his thing, cast after cast after cast. He tells me he can't do what I do, stand and wait, and needs to be in motion while fishing. You can't catch fish when your fly is dangling in the fingers in your non-dominant hand, that's why he catches more fish.

     So I moved down to Town Beach and saw the "jetty", as they call it, leading out from the beach entrance. When I got to it I could see it was kelp covered from beach end to the tip, which can only mean one thing...slippery. But groin tips are just so fishy. So I started out. 

     I fished both sides around the tip and the pole without a tap. I did see bait, in fact OB had the most consistent bait we had seen, a mix of sand eels and, I don't know what they are, but I'll say minnows. Luckily I made it up and back without taking a spill. Not only is the kelp slippery, but the stands are like hair covering the rocks so it's hard to see the gaps in between the, One wrong step and it could be a easy ankle, foot, or leg fracture. 

Like we've said there just doesn't seem to be a lot of fish around. Before calling it quits we stood there and came up with a plan. Grab a slice at Giordano's before heading 

up to Menemsha. The slice hit the spot and if I were doing a Dave Portnoy, "One Bite Everyone Knows the Rules", pizza review I'd give it a 7.6. No flop, not running or greasy, with a nice 

crisp and crunch as you made your way around to the crust. The $4.75 a plain slice, I guess that's just welcome to Martha's Vineyard, but for me, a tad much, but Custom treated anyway.

     While we had high expectations about Menemsha there was some things we forgot to factor in. Tide rushing in on New Moon, NW wind from 15-20, and tons of people on hand for the sunset. There was some people out fishing, from fly rodders on the rocks and docks, to kids 

tossing live bait, to a line up of spin guys down by the boulder field. There were some birds working and word has it there's bonito around in the early morning. With two hours left in the flood tide the harbor was chock full of water, and construction equipment as well. You can see the water up above the boards with plenty more to have came in.

     In the end we decided to not stay and headed back to Senge. But before we left Flatwing made me pose for an awkward picture at the Swordfish Harpooner Sculpture. You wouldn't see Custom posing for pictures like this, maybe I should do the same. Horrible.

     Today it'll be more of the same, work for me in the morning and then a quick run over to the local waters. The boys are hitting State Beach at first light before working a plan we talked about last night but I can't remember all the details. We'll have good sun, but some wind around as well. It seems it will die with the dropping New Moon tide so that should be good for me up on the ladder. 

     My prediction today is we will all have the opportunity to have a picture taken with a fish in hand. Today may even be a numbers day, like more then one each. But success for me isn't hooking, fighting and landing them, but just finding them and seeing if they are interested, or not, in what I'm throwing. I still believe this trip could be a big fish trip, so we'll see about that.

     We have some socializing to do while we're here and tomorrow night we'll be hitting Abe's "The Shed" up in Aquinnah for a gathering of like-minded fly fishermen. Then on Friday at Kismet Outfitter's the Two Joe's will do a head to head fly tying tie off before we head for home Saturday morning. There's still days of fishing to be had with a mix of sun, rain, and clouds. It's all real good, I'm just happy to be up here. And thanks to my wife who's holding down the fort, and tackling all the house selling and buying stuff that's going on everyday. Thanks bud. 

06.15.26 Day 3 - "Hello ladder my old friend..."

(Sung to Simon & Garfunkel's The Sounds of Silence) "Hello ladder my old friend, I've come to fish you with again". So, today I pretty much went against all the advice and things I said I wouldn't do. It was Flatwing's first full day on the island and of course he wanted to get going. We discussed several options based on some local intel and things Custom and I have seen since we got here. 

     After some I'm-ready-for-the-Lowcountry-grits, which my wife makes better, it was off to the races. In yesterday's post I said I wasn't going to Red Beach and wasn't going to try and sight fish until real late in the dropping tide. Well, I think I was perched on that ladder at first light just as the tide was still filling in.

     Custom had his specials of the day picked out and they were on the menu and ready to be eaten. The problem we’re having is there doesn't seem to be a lot, like hardly any, bait around. A cloud of sand eels here and there and some small baitfish hugging the usual sod bank or traveling back and forth with the tides. Basically the only things that are moving are the horseshoe crabs. 

     We're about 22 minutes from Look Street in VH to the Aquinnah side of Menemsha Pond. In the early morning and without traffic, and without those super annoying bicyclists, it's a nice ride. Remember I said I was going to wait until later in the tide, like 130 PM, well the above pic was snapped at 612 AM, so much for that.

     I started out putting the knee pads back into my everyday-water-logged-waders. I'm wet in both feet and my underwear is moist so the leak must be somewhere in my groin area. These are my favorite waders yet and Orvis have stopped making them. They better be good on the repairs because I will sending them back, in fact I may call them today. I have some other things to talk about as far as repairs, you'll know about that soon enough. And in other Orvis news, Orvis has stopped making their indestructible stripping basket. 

     If you go on their website and type in "stripping basket" the above is what you get. I don't want ECO-friendly when it comes to a stripping basket. I want one that is hard, durable, can be drilled through, and lasts forever. Bad move Orvis, on top of bad moves. 

     The reason I needed those knee pads is because when I stand on the ladder my knees rest on the top rung. After a day without them, because they were drenched, I had red marks on my shins from rubbing on the waders and aluminum. 

     If you know then you know and what you would know is there was a lot of water in the pond when this picture was taken at 8 o'clock. The wind was a tad stronger than we thought coming from the dreaded SW which created enough of an annoying shimmer on the water. But even so if you kept to the sides you could see a passing bass, if there were any. 

     And as far as fly selection there's mixed feelings on that. Go big, like a size 1/0 or go home, or throw size 6 crabs and baitfish flies? Yesterday my Flexo Crab wasn't any bigger than a quarter so I opted for a Brad Buzzi albie fly. It didn't matter in the end I never made a cast with it. On the first drop I saw a trio of fish that came from right to left off in the distance. 

     I was perched pretty high up on the ladder and close to the boys. At one point I could feel the stressed aluminum start to twist below me, I was going over again. But this time I somehow rode it down like I was on a surfboard and was able to stay bone dry. "Are you alright over there Colin?", asked Custom. I answered "Yes", but then said to myself, "Alright this ladder has got to go." 

     I had moved down and pretty far out on the flat thinking I'd just wait them out if my ADHD would allow. That lasted 10 minutes. So I put all my gear on the ladder and went it search

for the original Vineyard ladder. One that I knew was stronger. So I walked over the dunes and through the heavily tick infested brush on the hunt. And then that's where, "Hello ladder my old friend....", popped up in my head. Needless to say I'm been humming it for about 18 hours now. 

     She was sitting right where I left her a year ago. What that tells me is no fly anglers chose that stretch of dune to use as a toilet, only to be pleasantly surprised when they found a ladder to use while there. She was rusted tight, kind of like the tin man in the Wizard of Oz, and I could have used a little oil on her joints but I finally got her to open her legs. That came out kind of creepy. 

     I swam her back out to the ladder I brought this year and was surprised how tall that one is. That just solidifies my belief that there aren't all that many fish up here this year. Being that high above the water should really help me pick out the fish, and in three days I've seen just 43 fish. 43 in fish with about 20 hours on the water, so 2 fish per hour. 

     So I swapped out the ladders and returned this years to where last years stood. It was getting near low tide so I shouldn't have needed the extra height. When I got up on the ladder I noticed it was lower, which reduced the amount of water I could see through, and it was much more stable. Like I could look side to side without throwing off the center of balance and tossing me into the drink.

     At 1043 AM I took the above pic of two guys who had just blind casted consistently for three hours without a tap. They were done and I followed them out. I wasn't sure if this was a food break or done done with this place for the day. It becomes a risk vs gain type of thing. Like should I stay or should I go? 

     I tried to stay optimistic and offer up a good prediction. "The wind has been dying with the dropping tide and the sun is high and bright?" The they said low tide was over two hours away I kinda thought to myself I was done as well. In the end they split and I stayed. 

     And what did I do with my time? I took the most glorious nap in the back of the Suburban. I haven't had a truck with a cargo area in a long time and this thing is great when you need some shut-eye or are too cheap to get a room. The SW wind just caught the tail end of the truck so it was nice and cool and all in the shade. 

     I woke up before the alarm that I had set went off. I had slept for about 90 minutes which was great. I was ready to go and find them and at least annoy them. I checked the wind app before I went out for round two....

11 knots is 12.7 mph, not too bad, zero would be better but I'll take it. It looked like it would be low water, high sun, some wind, which is not too bad, if there's fish around.

      The trouble with the low water, and wind at 11 knots, with some gusts here and there, is it creates whitecaps across the flat. That creates shadows that creep along the sand below. Throw that in with 100 mating horseshoe crabs and let's just say it's not as fun as it should be, but hey, that's fishing. 

     At one point I was moving from spot to spot with the ladder dragging behind when I saw two nice fish within range. I dropped the ladder, got off a good cast, but they just swam off. I made a longer "going away" cast but I had lost sight of them. After just about two hours I was done. Total fish for the day was 8 fish seen, no real shots, and only about five casts with any hope. 

     Back at the parking lot I met a guy who came over and said he fishes the pond every morning by kayak. He confirmed what we had found, let's just say no bait, not much for fish, and less than perfect conditions. We talked for a bit before we said our good byes. As I pulled away he flailed his arms and stopped me and said, "Do you have your fly rod?", adding, "I know that sound when it slides down a truck". 

     So I got out and found my new Orvis D 9 ft 10 wt laying there. It looked perfect and I thanked him and put it in the Rodmount rod holder in the back of the Suburban. As I drove past Lobsterville I noticed my 

rod tip was missing so I went back to find it. 

     A quick search revealed it wasn't on the ground but dangling in the middle of the rod....yep, I had ran it over. So that and the waders will be going back to Orvis. And oh yeah, I didn't tell you about my new Orvis D 9 ft 12 wt.. While trying to twist off the sections one of those flimsy line guides twisted out, so that'll be a nice package heading back to Vermont. Luckily I have a spare Orvis H2 9 ft 10wt with me to use. I should have brought my stocking foot waders as a back-up, and I would have if they weren't packed away for South Carolina already. 

     I stopped by Abe's on the way home as the Two Joe's were visiting Kismet Outfitters. When they got back we came up with a plan, some nappy naps now, then dinner, then off to fishing. 

     Well we accomplished two of the three, as in the naps and the meal. When it came to fishing Down-Island in the evening we realized it was all dead low, the wind had picked up, and really, I just think we were a little deflated from another disappointing day at Menemsha Pond. We just hung out for hours which in the end was enjoyable and time well spent. But going forward we need to think like a fish and come up with a plan. They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, it seems to just keep going back to Menemsha Pond might just be insane. 

     And while we chowing down on sausage and peppers sandwiches Abe was Up-Island digging into Theresa's meatballs that she slaved over for the trip. Even with the batch I lost on the way up here we still have a bunch in the freezer for some night later this week. 

06.14.26 Day 2 - Tough, but fish came to hand...

     My plan is alway to be the first one on the water. That's in waters that are salt or fresh. On the Upper Delaware I always wanted to put in earlier than the other guides, not that it got me any better action in the end. My thinking is always I don't want sloppy seconds, and don't want to try and catch fish that the previous anglers spooked, pricked, hooked, and or landed. 

     Now getting to Red Beach at the top of the tide, like for sight fishing, is, well a waste of time, but I do it anyway. My thinking is that maybe I'll see some fish in the shallows of a flat or sneaking along the bank. Or maybe I'd find some fish that are working under the terns. But most if the time I'm just walking back and forth or standing on the ladder until the blood pools in my feet. 

     But before I go further let me get to the handles of my roommates-for-the-week squared away. First there's Joe Calcevechia, above right, of Saltwater Custom Flies fame, his pledge name is Custom Joe. Then there's Joe Cordiero of Flat-wing, above left, he'll be known as Flatwing Joe. That's not to be confused with Delaware Joe or C-Ducer Joe from back home in Jersey. I have lots of fishy friends named Joe. In addition there's Joe- Carey, Phiefer, Nicosia, and Passerella, just to name a few.

      So if you look at the top image you can see the conditions we had around 730 AM. Cloudy, with blue skies poking through, wind from the right side, or the west north west, and lots of water just about the top of the tide. I say we because shortly after I pulled into the parking lot off Lobsterville Road Custon Joe rolled it. 

     I set up the ladder and spent some time looking around but with the sun low there wasn't much to see. Custom filled in behind me after I climbed down and went walking to see if I could find some fish. That pursuit took me down the bank to West Basin. 

     Today, well Day 2, was the first time I saw multiple clouds of sand eels leaving the pond on the ebb tide. You can see them in the circle below. 

     But what's crazy is there were no bass set up to intercept them. It would be pretty easy. Find a depression, a rock, or even a shell, that changes the flow of water and just hang out and pop up and take a mouthful when they go by. I watched the scene for twenty minutes. 6 pods of sand eels, zero dimples, zero flashes, zero splashes. And for more mind blowing what's-going-on, or not, how can there not be a fish or two hugging the bank as the current really starts to crank? Very frustrating. 

     I decided to just go back and wait for the water to leave. It's literally like someone takes a drain plug out of the pond when the tide is outgoing. So as I walked I kept my eye on the bank above me where the sun had it all lit up. Zero. Zilch. Nothing.

     It was a little after nine o'clock when I turned the corner and saw Custom hooked up off in the distance. He was using his new St. Croix EVOS seven-weight rod and it had a good bend in it from what I could see. So I picked up my pace wanting to get a few nice pics after he landed it. You know what they say when the summer season comes, "Suns out, guns out". 

     His fish took a small sand eel fly that was swam low and slow with a sinking line. This fish was a nice ocean fish because it was clean and green and full of sea lice. 

     Like yesterday, as it often happens, the wind died with the tide. That made the view better from the top of the ladder. But it was tough, I had only seen two in the morning on the outgoing, two on foot, and a few while perched on top of the osprey's nest. 

     One bit of advice I should take for myself. Unless you're leaving, like really done, do not reel in all of your line and crank down on the drag. Because surely a fish is going to pop up within range and you won't be ready.

     And if you're lugging around a ladder be ready to ditch it, or a-frame it and use it. That's what happened to me yesterday. Custom had moved around me and was heading for the exit and I was following. While walking in the water up to my waist I saw a three pack coming towards me. It was a comedy of errors trying to strip out line, manage the ladder, clear the 10 foot leader and tippet from the rod tip, and then make a shitty cast. While I spooked the trio I thought about sticking around at that spot, maybe there's more that come by this way?

     Over the next 30 minutes I moved the ladder three times and finished the day with a body count of 14. 14 fish seen, maybe five shots, and yes ladies and gentlemen, one to hand. 

     He was a dandy. Classic fish you never catch. He came from behind me from right to left so he was going away on my non-dominate side. He was about 40 feet out when I plopped the Flexo Crab fly down within 5 feet of him and he stopped, made a left, and fuckin' ate it. It was cool, and now it was off to the backing races. I did get him in and put a tape measure on him...31 inches from tip to tail. 

    It was then that I realized that over the last two days that I saw more fish and had better shots 90 minutes before slack low and ninety minutes into the flood tides. So going forward, unless I just want to get burnt and frustrated, I'll be concentrating my work around those tide times. Today is the New Moon for the month. We actually timed this trip around the moon. And if the number of horseshoe crab pairs increases with the new moon then that was evident because I saw a lot more yesterday then when I got here two days ago. 

     With a few fish to break the seal it was time to head to Vineyard Haven (VH) and our home for the week. We're on Look Street a few blocks from downtown VH so it's convenient, it's just a pretty good hike to the Up-Island fishing spots. We almost cooked when we entered the house as the outdoor temps felt like 100 degrees and the inside about 125. Custom hit the rack and Flatwing and I hit the Stop and Shop.

     I think our plan was to get settled in, take a cat nap or not, have something to eat, and then go fish the evening. It went like that for a little while. Flatwing and I made a banging pasta salad to accompany some Bubba burgers and hot dogs on the grill. 

     Abe came Down-Island to slum with us in VH and we sat and enjoyed the dropping evening temperatures along with a good meal. I'm 2 for 2 with solid dinners so far.

     You know this is such a great trip for me each year, and it's something I'll have to continue to make even after I move south. And with each year the first night is one where we all catch up, and some years there's some big news, both good and bad, to share. Last year Custom was still adjusting to life after his son Joey's accident, this year Flatwing survived cancer surgery, and then there's me with all the the moves to South Carolina. And it's okay to share the ups and downs equally, and without guilt. A win for the team is just that, and everyone celebrates a win, and shows support when things are tough. 

     As the minutes ticked away and my eyelids got heavy I tapped out on fishing in the dark. In the end we decided to stay put and get a good nights rest and give it a strong go out of the gate in the morning. We talked about maybe heading over to Chappy, aka Chappaquidick Island, at 

some point this week, to see that. I've only been one time, and that was with Theresa in back in 2020. We took the 527 foot ferry ride across from Edgartown and walked around Wasque or 

part of the Katama Bay or somewhere. I did see some fish that time even though the conditions weren't great. It might be nice to try something different while we are here. Doing the same thing over and over gets a little old, and Red Beach, dare I say it, has just rubbed me the wrong way so far this trip. I'm so glad to be here, it's just there should be more fish around, just to see and not even catch, then there are currently. 

     It's 345 AM and I'm about to put this post to the press, that's what we used to say back in the day when the daily newspaper was all done for the day and they were going to start printing it. There were times when the run would get interrupted, that's where "Stop the presses" came from. The run was stopped by some huge breaking news event, that just had to be on the front page the next day, or somewhere inside, wherever you could fit it. It was a big deal sheen it happened, but it was exciting. 

     I need to start the morning with a shower before organizing my clothes and stuff before we head out somewhere. On Monday it looks like rain, so it might be that day when I'll write the kids final exam which they'll take on June 24th, after I get back. In the meantime, I'm just enjoying myself and the guys, and I'm lucky to be up here for another year. 

     And in other news, just because I like to time stamp world events here, after a 53 year drought The New York Knicks won the NBA Championship last night. 

     Funny thing is we didn't even talk about it or watch it. In the 1980's and 90's I was a huge Knicks fan and Bernard King was always my favorite player. No more sports for me, I'd rather sit at home and watch sports on TV, well not really, every game these days comes with the need to subscribe to something and pay for access. Everything kinda sucks these days.