02.08.26 Still dry in New Jersey...

 

     While we're all over the snow here in New Jersey, well maybe more so the deep freeze were in, we know that falling precipitation is good for the ground, the waters, people, animals and fishes. To be honest I'm so dam cold these days it's hard to think about anything other then staying warm. 

     With temps around zero to 20 degrees the snow that hit the ground remains frozen in place so we haven't seen any benefit as of yet. One day, within the year, the temps will rise above freezing and the snow will melt into the earth. But in the mean time New Jersey remains in a moderate to severe drought. 

      One thing I found interesting is the general formula regarding snowfall and the ratio to rainfall. The NJ DEP says the ratio is 10:1, with 10 inches of snow equaling 1 inch of rain. Others sources have it as high as 17:1. What we need is a nice and steady melt of the snow to gently raise the aquifers and waters. What we don't need is a rapid defrosting mixed with torrential spring rains which just blows everything out. 

    

     They are saying this winter is the coldest we've seen in the last twenty years, but there has been far colder. Above is a map showing the coldest temps by state. New Jersey's River Vale came in at - 34 in 2004. It looks like this coming week we will have temps in the high 30's and next weekend into the forties. 

     I can attest what this winter haas brought to our house. Thousands in oil bills to keep the house around 58 degrees, sometimes cooler and sometimes above 60. We've had a pipe burst in the basement that I luckily caught early. I suspect many others will have the same situation as the pipes thaw and then blow out due to being frozen for some time. Some good things are almost all of doors now close due to contraction caused by the cold. On the other hand the hard wood floors have also contracted, but at least I can now vacuum in the gaps. 

     I took a peek to see how the weather is looking down in Bluffton, South Carolina. They will defrost this week with temps in the 60's and low 70's. Needless to say this winter has 

definitely pushed us to make the move sooner then later. We have doing solid work in editing through our stuff and downsizing but I fear we're not doing enough. The homes we are looking 

at are around 1,500 square feet and the kitchens have some cabinets for daily use kitchenware, not for the collection of stuff we have, and never use. So no matter how much I like it, it has to go. There's no Butler Pantry's, attics, or basements, so having the ability to store them isn't an option. People who downsize or move say, "If you have to store it you don't need it", and I'm starting to realize that. 

     Kids today don't want anything, and I mean anything, and maybe they have it right. People down in Sun City say you're not buying a house, but a lifestyle. Getting rid of all this "stuff" is like taking off a weighted jacket, but I'm always struggling with the question, "What if we have have a lot of guests over?". The truth is we never do, so four glasses will serve us well, the other eight we have will do someone else just as well. 

    

02.06.26 I couldn't bring myself to join the meeting....

 

     Another meeting of the ASMFC and I'm sure another waste of time. Just more kicking the can down the road. While I was tempted to join and listen I couldn't bring myself to do so. I just don't care anymore. They've won, and the striped bass have lost.

     I kind of followed the meeting updates on The Striped Bass Pledge page on Facebook where Ross Squire gave a kinda blow by low of what was going on. If you remember when they punted in the fall one of the points was to create a Kumbaya "Work Group" where members would join forces and try to solve all the ills of the striped bass, or at least put it into a White Paper. Nowalsky threw the bait out there and the voting members bit on it hook, line, and sinker. 

     So when I saw that people in the meeting were trying to figure out who, how, why, and what the group would be working I had to laugh. How did you just accept Status Quo and vote for 

a group before the guidelines were in place? It reminded me of a time made famous by Nancy Pelosi,

     Without going into details they came up with six tasks the group should focus on. Yada yada yada, Yawn. Yawn. And a bigger yawn. But here they are; 

     Interestingly, as recent as yesterday, they hit on some of the things I've talked about on this blog. One's that stick out are any potential for striped bass stocking programs and researching if there are other rivers that may be nurseries for YOY striped bass. With mention that a lot of the work couldn't be done until after the 2027 Stock Assessment what are we left with and what will we see or hear? Who really cares anymore?

     To show you just how stupid this all is just look at one of the things they looked at during the fall meetings...How to properly measure a striped bass. Well, that was months ago, it's now 

February, and it was decided that States have until January 1, 2027 to implement a plan. WTF are you talking about? Pinch the dam fork or not, period. Effective....immediately. Is it me? 

     Below is the directive about the Work Group and what they hope to accomplish, as outlined in the six tasks. If you read at the top there's more questions about the who and what's 

then answers. It's all just a waste of time, and the striped bass don't have time on their side. I'm so glad I didn't listen live. It was my day off between days in the hospital and I didn't want to experience chest pain. I'll see enough of that today. 

02.05.26 Tragedy on the Delaware River....

Video grab from 6ABC Philadelphia 

     A veteran Camden firefighter died on Thursday around 11am while performing routine checks to the cities fireboat. He reportedly fell thought the ice where the boat was docked at Wiggins Marina Park in Camden along the Delaware River. Responders found his body and resuscitation efforts were started and he was transported to Cooper Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Firefighter Howard Bennett was a 26 year veteran of the department. The last Line of duty Death in Camden was 30 years ago. RIP brother.

     The Delaware River, while one of the most picturesque waters in America, claims several lives each year along it's 330 mile path from Deposit, New York down to the Delaware Bay. The river is unforgiving and changes from day to day and season to season. It's mix of changing currents, depths, and tides catch the most astute people who use the river for work and pleasure. All are encouraged to respect the power of the river and take utmost precaution when nearing or entering. I can attest that it only takes a misstep while on foot or misdirection when in a boat to get caught in a bad way in a mere second. Every time I learn of an accident or death I shake my head and make sure I remember how quick things can go south around any waters. Truly a sad story yet again from the Delaware River.

02.05.26 More of the same from the Hudson...

 

     Just when we thought the Hudson River strain of striped bass was going to save the striped bass we see yet another year of poor recruitment. The Juvenile Abundance Index (JAI) for the Hudson River is out and you can see above how the trend is going. While the Hudson is north of New Jersey its juvenile indices are heading south. 

     The Hudson River is home to the second largest strain of striped bass. It's wedged in-between the Chesapeake Bay and it's tributaries and the Delaware River, followed by a distance fourth in the Roanoke-Albermarle fish. But no matter where you look to see there's no good spawns happening. In the end, to have big fish, or spawning striped bass, or SSB, you need little ones to fill in the ranks. Not having babies, allowing harvesting to occur in those slot fish, and bonus fish, depletes the numbers of older spawning fish, more so the biggest females then the males. 

     It's in the spring, during the spring spawning run, where pre-spawn fish congregate below their natal waters. They'll stage in places like the Chesapeake, Delaware, and Raritan Bays, and fatten up, before making their spawning run. That's why they're so "easy" to catch and leads to drop and reel fishing, if you will. Position yourself over a school or on the edges of bait pods and you're in like Flynn. I've always believed that striped bass eat before they travel and catches, with big flies and plugs, mostly occur because they hit out of annoyance then true eating, similar to what we see with salmon and steelhead, and shad too. After the spawn they put the feed bags on in their natal waters before heading out to the ocean for the summer, and the fall migratory run. 

     And I also believe, and it's just my opinion, that just because waters hold striped bass in the spring doesn't mean they are spawning in it. Conditions have to be just about perfect for a successful year's spawn. Water flow and temperature, water quality, and the fresh-brackish-salt content all have to hold and carry fertilized eggs before hatching. Any one of those, and there's more, factors just has to be off a bit to kill any type of good spawning, and more importantly, surviving. 

     "They spawn in the Navesink and Hackensack", so I've heard. No, I'm not a believer. The same could be said for rivers in south Jersey in and around the Delaware Bay and River. Just because you see, or catch, a striped bass, and maybe even an egg laden female, in those waters doesn't means they are there to spawn. While one might say the distance between say Belford and Secaucus is far, yes if you were walking, it's not that far by the way the crows fly, or the fish swim. They're all thinking of going to the same place, home, or where they were born, to spawn. 

     And looking at the spawning of striped bass. Picture yourself in your prime. All gussied up and heading out with your crew for a night out on the town with the possibility of hooking up with the opposite sex for some adult pleasure. You may look like you're ready, and you might, but you just might pass on the opportunity on any given night, and that's what some striped bass do. They come to the party, in any given year, but just might be in the mood, or the opportunity doesn't present itself. In the end, not every striped bass spawns every year during every run. They may make the trip and go through the motions, but in the end the eggs, and milt, get wasted. It's like the difference of having sex for pleasure, or for family planning. 

     As Whitney Houston sang, "I believe the children are our future", the same could be said for juvenile striped bass. We can throw the blame around, environmental conditions, both man-ruined and by Mother Nature, over fishing, or changing patterns by the fish themselves, but in the end it's not good, nor going good. And as a true lover of striped bass I can say that over the years between the drama and roller coaster of fisheries management and what we're seeing from an anglers perspective, especially from the river banks or beaches, the passion of fishing for striped bass has diminished, at least for me. 

     Fishing, and fly fishing, is supposed to be just fun. It's good for the mind and the soul. But fishing has become kind of like what we see in just about every aspect in every corner of life these days, conflict. Everyone has an opinion, everyone is an expert, and everyone knows, or tells us, what we should think and how we should act. And I won't even go into this new AI world we live in where you can't trust anything you see or read anymore. Content, in word or images, isn't original or even believable. Pictures, and even video, used to be truth, now not so much. 

Recently I had to "prove" I was at the World Trade Center the week of 9/11, only to be told that photographic evidence is no longer supported due to the ability to doctor up photos these days. What a world we have created. 

     So in the end it's not surprising to see the trend of poor recruitment. What will 2026 have in store for the spring? Well what ever is left of the SSB will, in the next two months, begin their move towards their natal waters. This freeze were in, with all the snow and ice, will pass and the natal waters will be replenished with quality and volume, but for how long? It will melt, the waters will rise, and then they will fall. We'll see 90 degree days in March, then snow in April, then monsoons in May. The inconsistencies in the weather patterns just call for chaos, and people and fish don't like chaos or drama when they are out trying to find a mate and reproduce. 

     And with that I would say I would support a moratorium for a few years. While Cabin Fever gives most of a us a pause and the time to re-boot for the next years fishing, maybe it would be good to give the striped bass a break for some time. Would that just skyrocket JAI's in the natal rivers, of course not. But what it might do is allow for a reset of fishes both big and small to regroup and rediscover themselves. Remember, angling pressure changes fishes behaviors, and while we think they're just dumb fish, just think how many outings you had catching nothing but a skunk. 

02.04.26 Keansburg Fishing Pier destroyed again...

     For some fishing from part boats and from fishing piers is as good as it gets. It's not only the access to fish but it's the community and relationships that are formed from like minded anglers. Head boats will put you out on the fish and the 2000 foot walkway out into the Raritan Bay surely gave you an edge from anglers walking the bay sand.

     Yesterday it was reported that the Keansburg Fishing Pier was destroyed by heave ice following this sub 32-degree weather we've now had for about three weeks. With the bay iced up over and the ebb and flow of the tides the pier got caught up in the moving ice. While practically impossible the only way to prevent this would be to have fountains of water around the pier to prevent the ice buildup. But it's not practical due to its length and the extreme weather we've been having. 

     Piers have been a long part of Keansburg's history. The iconic City of Keansburg steamer used to shuttle folks between The Burg' and Battery Park City in Manhattan. The 231 foot long passenger ship was built exclusively for the Keansburg Steamboat Company. The above picture shows the Keansburg docked at NYC and below at its New Point Pier in Keansburg. 

     Years ago there was a shuttle train that would run passengers out to meet the steamship. While it operated as a fishing pier you could pay a buck or two and get taken out to the end in a golf cart. 

     While I have fished on either side of the pier on foot and in front of it when I ran my Jones I've never fished from it. The last time I remember visiting it was while I was on assignment for The New York Times following Super Storm Sandy. 

     It's sad to see this go down, yet again. It is a huge part of Keansburg's history, part of a huge community, and one of the last true fishing piers in New Jersey. There's plans to bring back piers in Long Branch, Asbury Park, and the Wildwoods, but we'll see. I can't imagine how much it would cost to demolish and then rebuild the pier, but they've done it before. Keansburg people are pretty tough. My whole family is from The Burg' and I spent a lot of time there growing up.

02.03.26 I can't imagine the horror...

An illustration has been published showing the seven souls who died after the F/V Lily Jean sank off of Gloucester last Friday. It puts faces to the tragedy. RIP

02.02.26 Take a chance on this for sure...

 

"Road Trip Raffle 2026"

     Now here's a good return on investment, if you win. But actually, in the end, the monies raised go to the American Museum of Fly Fishing. Imagine throwing down a $25 bill and winning the opportunity to fish with a bud and three of the top saltwater fishing guides from Montauk to Maine. But, I'd really like to win this. 

     The American Museum of Fly Fishing was established in Manchester, Vermont in 1968. They have a museum you can visit, archives you can browse through, and hold award ceremonies honoring the best in all types of fly fishing. If you remember Bob Popovics was awarded the Izaak Walton Award last year, posthumously. Additionally, they publish the quarterly journal, The American Fly Fisher. Fly fishing artist and illustrator Mike Sudal snagged the cover of the Winter 

2025 edition with his work done for the Jackson Hole One Fly Foundation. The cover is a view of the commissioned piece he did for the annual tournament. Inside there's a nice article about Mike. You've seen his sick work in many publications, probably without knowing it. 

     So what is this fund raising auction about? Well here you go. It's called the "Road Trip Raffle 2026" where the winner and a buddy will win a guided trip with three of the best in Paul Dixon 

Paul Dixon- Montauk/Gardiner's Bay

out in Montauk, Jamie Boyle on Martha's Vineyard, and Ben Whalley in Southern Maine. on top of that Yeti is throwing in a prize package, you'll get a $500 gas card, plus swag from the AMFF. Add that all up and you're probably talking around a $3,000 hit. You could make it a road trip and start in Montauk and end up in Maine. 

Jamie Boyle- Martha's Vineyard

     Tickets are one for $25, three for $50, and eight for $100. I can tell you this. If this is my last year living in New Jersey it would be a great way to say good-bye to my beloved striped bass before we head south to the redfish of South Carolina. It would be like coming up to bat with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth and hitting a grand slam to win a game in the World Series. It can happen, just remember in October 2024 when Los Angelos Dodger Freddie

hit the game winning Grand Slam at Yankee Stadium. It happened in the bottom of the 10th inning and the Dodgers won 6-3. But the only way to do that, to be at the plate for a shot, is to buy a chance. You can do that HERE with the raffle ending March 15th. But I can tell you I'm already winning this thing. 

Ben Whalley- Southern Maine

02.01.26 Deadly weather continues...

 

      Winter continues along the East Coast this morning. For those living in the south they too now know what winter, and snow, really feels like. Since the beginning of the year we have had three snow events before this weekend's "Bomb Cyclone". I'm no weather geek but "bombogenesis" occurs when there's a rapid drop in atmospheric pressure which creates strong winds, rain, snow, and blizzard like conditions. While I'm waking up to just more cold air temps, both inside and outside the house, snow, ice, and low temps have wreaked havoc from Virginia down through Florida, and to interior states as well. 

     While this winter has seen the death toll rise from accidents to exposure the story out of Gloucester, Massachusetts has hit the local fishing community extremely hard. On Friday the F/V Lily Jean, a commercial fishing trawler, went down with seven souls on board. 

     On board was a crew of six plus a NOAA observer who was tasked at overseeing fishing operations while the Lily Jean was out at sea. While there are no images of the six crew members who are missing and now presumed dead the story and images of the NOAA observer are now being released and reported. 

     Jada Samitt was 22 years old and had recently graduated with a degree in environmental biology and this was her first job at sea. Officially, the observer is not part of the vessels crew, so on board the Lily Jean was a crew of six plus her. This tragedy is reminiscent of the story of the F/V Andrea Gale who went down with six crew members in 1991 and was featured in the movie "A Perfect Storm" in 2000. Early reports speculate the Lily Jean went down due to storm related conditions which may have included being iced over which would have caused the 72-foot boat to capsize and sink. To date one body has been recovered. RIP to the crew plus one and their families, as well as the commercial fishing community. 

     While human suffering and sacrifices always first and foremost, I wonder what this rapid change in the weather will do to the fishes up and down the East Coast and around the tip of Florida into the Gulf of America, duly named by National Park Service. Up north fishes are used to the swing of water temperatures and do a pretty good job of finding those deep holes in the bays and rivers or take the ride out off the coast to ride out the winter. Sometimes though they don't fare well during the hot summer months, as we see with the massive menhaden die-offs from summer to summer here in New Jersey. 

     The last time I've seen a fish kill was when I was down visiting my Mom in Florida and a "Red Tide" had hit the shores along the Gulf Coast. A Red Tide, also known as a HAB, or harmful algae bloom, which can either release toxins or rob the oxygen in the waters which kill the fish. 

     Recently I was was talking to renowned guide Paul Dixon and we were talking about how the tarpon and bonefish fishery was doing down in Florida. As he explained the ebbs and flows of that fishery he mentioned the catastrophic fish kills due to low water temperatures. The last major fish kill event occurred in 2010 when inshore waters went down to just above 50 degrees. While some fishes may move out of the shallow estuaries to seek warmer weather, many do not and die. That also may occur from Virginia down to Georgia where many species come into the warmer waters in the shallows during the winter months. Just a week or so ago we were down

in South Carolina snooping around the low-tide waters looking for redfish that are active inside during the winter months. It's on the flood tides during the summer months where those fish are most active. 

     And as far as fishing. These conditions are am ice-fishermen's happy times. From the Adirondacks down to Maryland anglers make their way out onto the ice with shanty's and tip-ups looking for those ice through fish like bass, perch, walleyes, muskies, trout, and even striped bass. 

OTW magazine photo- from Maine 

But ice fishing can be a dangerous hobby. On Facebook recently I saw a post just warning people about the Delaware River in Easton where some had made their way out onto the ice to fish. 

     Knowing the waters, and ice depths, are paramount for safety while ice fishing. And doing it with water that moves underneath calls for more awareness and safety precautions. Angles shouldn't fish alone, have a cell phone handy, and have a throwable device at the ready. Falling through the ice is bad enough, but falling through and going under the ice would be deadly. Ice fishing, and ice fishing on rivers, has been around for centuries, you just have to aware and smart.

     So those are just some of the things that the cold weather brings to us. Add to that frozen pipes and high electric and oil bills and spring can't arrive soon enough. But as far as the waters where fish live these cold events, which bring snow, can be beneficial. Below is a drone shot by James Loesch. It shows a partial 

James Loesch. It shows a partially frozen Delaware River in Trenton. Hopefully some flowing and open water will remain to reduce the chance of the river being frozen over, where ice dams would form leading to dangerous flooding when they thaw out.