10.09.24 Stormy weather ahead....

      The world is watching and waiting for Hurricane Milton to make landfall sometime today into tomorrow. This comes less than two weeks since Hurricane Helene roared up from the Gulf of Mexico and wreaked havoc from Florida up through North Carolina. Rescue and recovery operations are still underway from the devastation from that storm. 

     I'm watching and holding my breath as my Mom stays hunkered down at her home in Bradenton which is possibly in the path of Milton. She's been down there "In Paradise" as she calls it for three years now. Her area has been through some storms and she's a brave and tough cookie. Born in New York and raised in Keansburg, where storms and flooding from the Raritan Bay were a common occurrence back int he day. But this may be bit different. Various models are predicting the storm to hit somewhere between Tampa Bay down to Naples. Millions of people have evacuated or are still relocated from the last storm. 

      The decision to evacuate is a personal one I guess. You can be warned, or threatened, with impending bodily injury or death, but one only has to look to past storms that didn't materialize making ones decision to stay correct in their minds. It winds up being a case of the boy who cried wolf. 

     The counties that are could be affected have issued various stages of evacuations in their respective areas. Evacuations are laid out in zones using the alphabet. For Mom, she sits in evacuation Zone E, and they have called for Zones A, B, and C to start a mandatory evacuation to a strongly suggested one. Her complex is a series of four story concrete buildings which just recently passed hurricane inspection from the State of Florida following the collapse of the 12-story condominium in Surfside, Florida. 

     They say this could be the worst storm to hit Tampa Bay, if it lands there, in a 100 years. Wind, rain, and storm surges up to 20 feet could happen depending on the where it hits and how the storm rotates, pulling or pushing water around the bays ands rivers. She's a tad less than 2 miles from the Manatee River at Bradenton and 8 miles from the Gulf of Mexico at Bradenton Beach. 

     As I've said before it's just amazing what this thing called life can bring of us at different times. People waiting for a life changing storm in one part of the country, or dealing with other life altering events, while others enjoy calm weather and good times. Today, in New Jersey, it's an absolutely beautiful fall day. I guess we just have to roll with whatever the day brings. 

     And there's some stormy weather in the fly fishing industry as of late. This week several fly fishing companies announced big news. Vista Outdoors, which purchased Simms just a few years ago to go along with other outdoor brands announced it was selling off part of their conglomerate. Simms is slated to be sold along with the brand Camp Chef to a company called Strategic Value partners for $1.25 billion dollars. What was once a small company started by John Simms back in 1980 has become a traceable asset to big investors who've never laced up stocking foot boots nor ever fished. Simms is now just a pawn in the Monopoly Game of big business. and what that means it just comes down to the bottom line, not worrying if your $900 waders leak or not. 

     And there's some news coming from the Orvis Mother Ship up in Manchester, Vt. Orvis has cut 5% of its workforce, 112 people, will close several retail locations, and eliminate their print catalogues. They are also going to sell their headquarters in Sunderland and move all offices to Manchester. While Orvis may spin this as "...today's challenges are new, and they require us to be bold in order to continue sharing stories, experiences, products that inspire our customers well into the future" as per company President Simon Perkins, the bigger picture is what is the health of Orvis as a company and how is the industry doing as a whole? In 2021 Orvis' revenue was $316 million dollars. According to market 

research the fly fishing industry is going strong with anticipated growth heading in the right direction over the next 10 years. Not surprising revenue generated comes more from online sales than brick and

mortar stores. But that's been going on since the late 1990's when the internet and technology came and ruined just about everything known to man. Long gone are the fly shops outside of destination or lodge based operations. In New Jersey we still have Orvis in Princeton and Ramsey Outdoors, but long gone are Effinger's, The Fly Hatch, Down-N-Trout, amongst others. 

     While I am sure Tom Rosenbauer is safe from the chopping block I do know one Orvis employee who has been let go. Phil Monahan, who ran Orvis News, which is the company blog, since its inception is looking for a new place to call home. Orvis News has always been ranked high in the fly-fishing blog game across the world. As of today it's ranked #2. 

     I did a quick check to see where The Average Angler might be at since, to be honest, my fishing outings and posts have been less than normal since the spring season. But here we are 

coming in at # 21 worldwide just behind Gink and Gasoline and ahead of The Urban Fly Fisher. Hopefully sooner than later this pages will be filled fishing outing stories as the fall run heats up.

     And finishing up with storms when I think about storms I think about, good fishing before and after, but also the effect it has on the beaches. We know how Mother Nature gives and takes from the beaches before and after storms and also with normal tides and winds. And you also know how I feel about beach replenishment, or beach nourishment. Right now "The False Hook" is closed as they once again dredge the Sandy Hook Channel which gets all shoaled and filled in from the sand movement north with the littoral currents. 

     This week the ACOE announced it will be starting a 92 million dollar beach nourishment project down south. earlier this year it was North Wildwood and Hereford Inlet that had emergency work done just before the summer season. Now Absecon Island, including parts of Atlantic City will be pumped. Long Beach Island will also be under attack as Harvey Cedars, Beach haven and Long Beach Township will get 1,750,000 cubic yards of sand dredged up from the bowels of the Atlantic Oceana and pumped onto the beach. Eventually that sand will migrate north and jam up the Barnegat Inlet and shoal up the North Jetty, which will then have to be dredged. We just never learn. 

     So enjoy the beautiful weather today. Enjoy your baseball and football games. And enjoy whatever fallsy thing you're doing with the fam this upcoming weekend. But keep those in your thoughts and prayers that are still reeling from life, the last storm, and the impending storm down to the south. And of course include my Mom in there as well. 

10.04.24 Out there thinking of Bobby...

     It's October. Starting to feel like fall. Day off from work. And the ocean isn't as angry as it has been. Might as well take the drive down and give it a go. Conditions were near perfect on the mid to the end of the incoming tide. Little swell, zero wind, beautiful morning. 

     When I got there it was calm and the waves built with the flood tide. No signs of bait, or birds, or life, for that matter. Making cast after cast with little expectation I couldn't help but think of my buddy Bob, fighting for his life in a hospital five miles away. It made me sad. He's had such an impact on my fishing life, and as a mentor on what it means to be a good man. Hard working, kind, humble. There's a myriad of other adjectives other people, who see him on a daily basis, could use to describe him. 

     It wouldn't be far to think that I don't think of him each time I tie flies or fish. When someone has totally influenced every part of something you love those gifts come whether you are aware of them or not. In fly tying it's the technique. While fly fishing it starts with the fly selection and then how to fish it reading the cues of bait movement and reading the water. He has influenced all of that. This morning as I left I bumped into an old friend from the beach, Bob Dooley, who I haven't seen in years. He made me 

think of Bob when he gave me a, "Remember when..." story. It was a throwback to Blitz-O-Ween 2013 and he took a photo of me that made it into Bob's book, something I am honored to have been a part of. 

     Things on the beach are looking better than the last time I was down. The near three weeks of NE winds and storms have cut up the beaches and pulled the shoaled up sand out and up along the beach. So much so that the ACOE are dredging the False Hook once again, which has become an annual event. "The Tip" will be shut down again until December. The groin was the place to be this morning even on the flood tide.

   There is now enough water on each side making getting up on and staying possible. While it was great to have that vantage point it didn't change the catch results which were zero. I heard yesterday it was a Fluke-A-Thon on the lower tide, too bad the season closed September 25th.    

     I was joined on the rocks by Leif who gave it a good go as I did without results. But, like he said, it was good to get out. It was a good opener to the fall even if there wasn't anything going on. Fly fishing for striped bass, outside of looking for the blitzes, is one of time spent. You have to almost fish it or at least drop down to the beach everyday to stay connected. October is usually that slow month between the early migration of mullet and the arrival of striped bass and bluefish, which are a mix of resident and migratory fish. But as we wait for the November action to heat up, while it cools down, there are those surprise days where the fishing is good, with good and big fish caught, rewarding the angler putting in the time. 

     I started with a blackish fly before going over to a chartreuse and white one. The water was just about green and was clean with very good visibility. If they were there we would have caught at least one. We stayed until the water started to act like it was washing machine, which can be good, but we had given it 

a good go and had lost some faith since neither of us had a bite. We made our way off the rocks and caught up on life and a little about our predictions for this fall's fishing. It's funny how those fishing relationships wax and wane over the year depending on the season. I'm tight with some guys out here who fish the Delaware and then some who spend most of their time in the salt. The first outing of the seasons is like a reunion, and one that I very much look forward to. 

     When I was done I stopped by Bagel Talk in Neptune for something to eat and then hit WaWa for something to drink. As I walked to my truck I looked to my left and saw The Hope Tower which is part of Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore Medical Center. I thought of Bob once again. As a Nurse Practitioner I can visualize what's going on with Bob even without the updates. His road is still rocky and long towards recovery.

     I decided to swing by and just pause for a moment and say a prayer. Any visitors for him are immediate family but I wanted to just be on the same property as him. I went to my fly rod and took off the fly I used this morning, a variation, which means a poorly tied one, of Popovic's Hollow Fleye. I was going to stick it near the entrance but I figured someone might grab it and put it in the trash. 

     I made my way over to the flag pole where the American Flag stood still with the near zero wind. Bob, a true Patriot and Marine, might like this as the flys final resting place. It's been 12 days since Bob's accident and life does goes on, for all of us.  

     His family's restaurant is still open everyday for business, I go to work, people watched the debate, people are watching or going to baseball and football games, and social media is still getting fed. But remember to keep Bob and his family, and anyone who may be going through tough times, like the victims in Florida and North Carolina from Hurricane Helene, in your thoughts and prayers while you may be having a good day, month, or year.

09.29.24 A nice night in Brooklyn...

      My Mom always says that one of her greatest joys is spending time with her adult children. I get it, and agree. This girl. Well, this woman. All growned up and nearly 28 years old. I got to take the ride, albeit 4 hours, into the heart of Brooklyn to Crown Heights and enjoy a hang, some dinner, and to tackle a few handyman type projects around her apartment. 

     For dinner we hit a place called Muse Thai where I went legit from the beer, called Singha, to a Massaman Roll appetizer, to a Crispy Pork Belly over Jasmine Rice main dish. The food was great but the company better.

I don't usually get one on one time but it was overdue and something we have to make more of a priority. Daughters need their dads, and dads need their daughters. And what's funny is there doesn't need to be an agenda, just being in the same space works for me. 

     We also hit a Home Depot which was about 4 miles away the way the bird flies but about a 45 minute drive. We picked up some things like blinds and a shelf kit which I expertly, I don't know how, mounted into the masonry walls in her kitchen. My project completion rate usually hovers around 80% 

hovers around 80% but this came in at 100%. I was so confident I actually pulled down on it and it surprisingly held tight. This morning we walked in the rain through the transitional neighborhood she now calls home. As we walked to a bagel place each building was in a different state of a homeness with a diverse mix of residents. There were people on the way, some on the way down, and some who seem to be stuck. When you drive or walk around, some things, like young white women, just seem out of place in places like Bed-Sty, Bushwick, and sections of Crown Heights. Most are there because they have been priced out of Manhattan or the neighborhoods of Brooklyn along the East River. 

     Years ago when I was in the business I would meet FDNY firefighters protecting these rough and tumble neighborhoods, which now they couldn't afford to live in and have a cafe or latte place on every other corner. I give her props, and the others doing what they have to do these days to survive. I just don't know how they will ever establish roots, like a buying a house, when so much of their income goes towards rent. While I wish she lived around the corner I am proud of what she has become and how she keeps on truckin' in this thing called life. 

09.28.24 Trying hard not to sweat the small stuff...

 

....and most of life is just small stuff. As many of you know my friend, and a friend to thousands of people, Bob Popovics, was critically injured in a hit and run accident this past Monday. He remains at Jersey Shore Medical Center today. That's not the small stuff. And while I am rocked by this, and trying  to resist day to day small stuff from getting to me, it is life, and life does go on. We've all been there before. We get jolted by something or when someone we know and love has their bad day, but life around us all goes on. Life doesn't pause for anyone. And, at times, that just adds to our own anger and grief. Keep Bob and his family in your prayers. 

     The above pic, taken by Tom Lynch, is just fantastic. It shows Bob in his beloved rose garden at his beloved Shady Rest where he works with his beloved partner Alexis and his family. He's looking down, probably at his phone where he is commenting on someone's half-ass tied fly posted on social media, giving them positive feedback and encouragement, that's just the guy that Bobby is. 

     So Since Monday I've let the small stuff get in my way. Problems at work. Problems with the 1,000 jokers on Facebook Marketplace telling me they're coming for a pick-up, and even getting to a CT scan 

appointment over in Staten Island. Add to that our getting ready to put our down dog who's losing her bladder everywhere in the house, and that's just some of it. All small, all annoying, but in no way in the realm of real life stuff people we know are going through. It's just life. 

     I remember when Ryan passed away. I remember the days of his wake and funeral. Who was there or not? Who wasn't there but posted pics of them at a party holding up a drink or a large striped bass they caught that day. Other peoples lives go on, it just is what it is. And what's ironic, is when those people have their turn in the shit barrel, they then see and ask, "How can their (others) day to day life, at the moment, go on?", while they, or I, are having the worst moments of life. 

     So, I'll go there, because it is what it is. This past week my 2004 Jeep started sounding wonky. Old things, like people, experience that. So I took Theresa's car to work on Friday and left her with my old bucket of bolts. I wasn't surprised when I got that call, "You're car broke down and AAA is on the way". My first concern was for her safety, check, the cops made sure of that. My mind goes to her getting rear ended as she sat on the shoulder waiting for the tow. I made my way to her location and swapped out spots with her. 

      The tow truck driver was a nice young guy. He was ecstatic. This week he and his wife are expecting their first child. He rushes every tow just in case it was go time. The events in his life this week could bring him the greatest joy and memories someone could experience. As we drove to my house to drop it off I thought of the small and big things. For me, my friend in the ICU, my cars broke down, and the dog might have to be put down. But, here's another human expecting one of the best days of his life. Life goes on and it is what it is. 

     On Friday I dove in under the hood and onto the You Tube videos. The car had spit the belt, not shredded it. I went and replaced the belt and the idler and tension pulleys. But to do that I had to remove the alternator and the bracket because I had snapped off the pot-metal tension arm. So I had to drill it out. After all that I fired her up and it spit it again. Upon further You Tubing I have diagnosed the problem as a "Harmonic Equalizer" problem. Which calls for the radiator to be removed as it's the largest and lowest pulley that goes into the driveshaft. From what it looks like it's a job, and one that will take me 5xs the time it would take someone in the know. Couple that with no lift and a five dollar tool set this should be interesting. Needless to say I'll be running my pick-up. Luckily that's a project I completed, almost. 

     In the end we're all in this together. We all have our suck. Sometimes it's a big suck and other times not so much. Let the small things go. We can't control others or life itself. But what we can do is be aware that someone next to us might be going through the worst of times. So be good to yourself, and each other. 

09.25.24 For my friend...

"May you gain strength each minute from those who love and are praying for you. Godspeed."

09.23.24 They say time heals all wounds....

 Yes they say time heals all wounds. It kinda does because that day of suck, whatever it was, is always worse on Day 1 then it is seven years later. And that goes for the good things in life as well. Dating and the big wedding day rather than....well you know. But, either way, one things is for sure, life really just goes too dam quick and if you don't steer it in your right direction you just remain on another course and wind up some where you would rather not be. That's in your head, in your marriage, your job, or where you sleep each night. 

     It's been been seven years since Theresa woke me up and told me about Ryan down in the basement. And since then it's been a roller coaster of emotion regarding Ryan, how it affected my family, suicide, and how I perceive and process other peoples suck and trauma that each of has or will experience in life. In the end we all have to acknowledge where in this together and everyday we will meet someone who is having their worst day, or maybe the anniversary of their worst day. 

    I chose the top photo to remember Ryan this day as it was a good day. It's somewhere around 2000-2001. It was another day when the boys would come and visit me at the firehouse in Newark. This one on Mulberry and Lafayette Streets where the Prudential Center now sits. So that's a loss. And that's me as a fireman in Rescue 1, some of the best times of my life were in that role, and that's a loss. I see I have on a new and shiny front piece which replaced one that was all beat up from fire duty, and not going to fires for the last 19 years since retirement, is another loss. If I look closely I can see my Essex County College Nursing School pin on my helmet, funny how I'm still connected to that school these days. 

     And maybe the biggest loss, besides Ryan not being around, for like yesterday to help me with our yard sale, is just being "that guy" to my kids. Yes, we want them to grow and do their own thing but there is also a loss when times like in the above picture are just a memory. I thought about taking off work today and going fishing. I do that on Ryan's Anniversary but I have to work to do and today falls on a work day. I'll remember him, and the suck that today was seven years ago, and try to do for others in some way. 

     If I had to say what losing a child is like, and I guess it can be the same for any great loss. It's like going into heart failure. If your heart is supposed to pump with 100% of force, after losing a kid it's like 50%. Your heart still beats and you get by, but everyday it's lets you know it's not at 100%. 

RIP buddy Ryan Michael Archer 8/18/96- 9/23/17

     

09.22.24 Taking baby steps forward....

     What a beautiful weekend to hit the yard sales and flea markets. Or you could do the right thing and have your own. And that's what we did. We decided this week to do a purge of stuff we have in and around our house. We anticipated heavy traffic but two things we learned was, one, living on a busy street, and having your "front yard" in your backyard doesn't lend to good paying customers stopping by. 

    We ran it Saturday and Sunday, 8 hours each day. We started off with the biggest sale in the two barely used kayaks which went for $250 and then it was a pick here and there. We moved some stuff, a lot I guess, with the Sunday ending till coming in at $1,250. 

     But now there's still "stuff" littering the yard and driveway. What to do? The last thing we want to do is drag it back in the house so the next few days Theresa will have donation duty going on. 

     And why am I writing about this and what does this have to do with a fishing blog? Everything. I remember when we moved from Red Bank to Titusville and all the fishing adventures it brought to my life. Well, with a big move to South Carolina in the works this is just part of The Average Angler's story. 

We're staying focused and it's been three months since we got back....only a year or two away till the house goes on the market. 

What's funny is we don't like the heat, not much for the beach and never really listened to Jimmy Buffet. What could go wrong? 

09.19.24 Well there's a point of no return...

     Sometimes things just make sense. And then when we do them something clicks in our head making us think we made a mistake. This couldn't have been more true when I listed the motor on me and Jim's boat for sale. Jim purchased his boat back in 1996. Surprisingly to me his original boat came with a Yamaha 130 hp two-stroke engine on it.

I thought that all of the Jones Brothers 19'10" Cape Fisherman came with a 150 hp motor on it. Some six years later Jim re-powered with a 175 Yamaha HPDI. A motor that was different than others at the time, and supposedly better on gas mileage and power, I think. 

     Now 1996 is a long ways back. It was the year Ryan was born, and as of last month he would have been 28 years old. That 175 would be 22 years old this year, not a spring chicken by any means. But it was well cared for and not used all that much as Jim kept that boat out in Pottstown and used it in the salt water. And since he passed in 2018 and during my tenure with it it hasn't seen but a few days out on the water. But that said, when I did want to service it before getting it wet, it was hard to find someone willing to open her up, "It's a death by 1,000 cuts", they told me over at Gateway Marine. So I bought it over to Mercer Marine. 

     So as we have started our two-three year New Jersey exit plan hopefully heading to Hilton Head the question became, "What do I do with the boat?". I love this boat, loved mine, until I sold it, and now love Jim's. And I love that I was able to continue Jim's "Brine Fly" journey, even if that's just making the move from Pottstown to Titusville, and sitting in our driveways. 

     The few times I did have the boat out it I was always nervous if not trying to figure out what was wrong with it. when Leif and I would give it a go we'd start backing the boat in the water and then 

pulling it back out when it didn't start. That happened more than once. That all led me to not have much confidence in it and always left me nervous, "Should we try and shut it down while we fish?" was a common question. But after we got underway we had some really good days out on her. And then there was that one cold December morning in 2020. That was just a flukey thing. And yes I had the wheels on the truck chocked. 

     Last week I talked with Paul Eidman who has done the old-Jones Brothers 19'10" makeover in the past. New poly tank replacing a metal one, redoing the supports and the deck, and re-powering it. At some point I would have had to do the same to my original Jones. That's just the way it is.

     So I came up with a realistic plan. The boat really needs a make-over, like a good one. Not a patch job here and there but a stripped-down naked kind of makeover. Why have a 22-year old motor, and a finicky one at that, that isn't easy to get parts for or someone to work on it, sitting in my driveway for another cold winter? Let me take the plunge and sell the motor and go forward. 

     

    Eidman said the motor might be worth $1,200 and would probably be snatched up from someone who wants to send it overseas or use it for parts. So I put it up for $2,000 and waited. Just like other Facebook Marketplace posts I got 1,000 hits and plenty, "Is this available?". The first guy whop came I talked out of it. I just couldn't. He was a nice guy who knew less than me and wasn't familiar with HPDI engines. If he gave me a $100 after talking him out of it I would have taken it because I know I saved the guy a ton of headache and money. 

    My next guy was local. He had a center console that he ran a 175 HPDI on and he loved the motor. He was also a Yamaha dealer at some point so this was in his wheelhouse. He and his BIL came over 

and just wanted to see the boat. No salesman required. He compression tested all the cylinders. He checked the fuel pump. Then he asked to give a start a try. It fired right up. My heart sank. Did I do the wrong thing? He was happy as a clam while I had a pit in my stomach. He then went over saying how he would replace the head gaskets and this and that which was way over my head, that conversation, made me feel a little better. With the motor still on the boat and his shop just over the bridge in Pennsylvania I suggested just taking it and doing what he had to do. Nice guy, I trust him, so we'll see. 

     He loaded the boat up and made his way down the driveway. I took some pictures as I always do and then gave chase when I saw I still had Jim's old plate on it. He stopped and said, "Second thoughts?" and for a minute I didn't know how to answer. But I think I'm good. Now I have to give Donnie Jones a call and see what tank he wants me to get for the boat and see if he would like to do the tank and deck portion of the refurbishment. When I say spongy I'm afraid to see what's really going on underneath.