04.02.26 Staying focused but the pace has slowed...

     I might as well talk fishing since it's been a bit. If I had to put my hands on my gear right now it would be impossible. I saw the above picture on some Facebook page showing the catch a father and son made in one of the backwater lagoons in Palmetto Dunes in Hilton Head. I've driven through there and even walked some of the property but it's mostly a live and or stay there and fish kind of place. You basically need a pass to get through the gate, like most plantations or resorts on the island. Funny thing is my sister and her crew are down there now. I hope they got to wet a line.

     I haven't been on the river watch which is weird as by now I've usually had at least forty hours in and a fish or two to hand. A quick look at the USGS graphs show me things are looking real good.

     While the flows may be off from the norm, and we're probably still way to dry after the winter we had, the temps are looking real good, maybe too good. The river is running at 15,700 cfs and the water temps are near 55. While the shad fishing has broken open to me it's still too skinny and too warm for the first week of April. If water temps are a trigger for spawning then things may be early, or are already underway. My buddy took the ride to one of the Chesapeake tributaries last weekend and had luck on the fly rod at night. He found tons of herring and bass on them, and most were already spawned out. I should take some time and gather my stuff as I feel internally I'm missing out on something in my normal spring rituals. 

     One thing about having a dumpster is it's just go time. The more and harder you work the more you get done. Period. But that bull-in-a-China-closet-approch doesn't work for all home selling preparation operations. During my house survey I realized I looked over, for eight years, some things that need attention, especially if someone is going to plop down some serious money for the house. 

     The entrance to our home is pretty stunning. In an effort to pretty things up I thought about painting it over. The problem is a close inspection shows all of the dentil work has lost its detail after about 100 years of paining and subsequent weather. You just can't paint over it. And that's where speed and work comes to a quick halt. You can't rush a heat gun and picking through lead paint. And so it begins. 

    Next week we'll host the realtor team that will handle the sale and hopefully they will give some guidance on what to do or not before the house goes to market. What a seller thinks is important might not be to the buyer, so it can be time and effort wasted. To me, the entrance is the big first impression, and this one can be spectacular when it's all buttoned up. 

    What's also slowed the process is being down to one strong hand. This laceration wan't acquired from the work of filling the dumpster but from a much needed break during some day drinking when Theresa and I paused for a bite and a beer over at Al's Airport Inn. Said to say I had to direct the minor surgical procedure, and even redo two of them, as you need to grab some meet to approximate the edges of the wound. I didn't want to say anything, and be that APN guy, but I had to. I need this to be closed and stay closed, and clean.

     I was trying to cut a hole in a to-go container and a serrated knife and soft flesh met at the wrong time. I can't imagine the patient's faces when they get a load of my hands of horror as I approach them to start an IV or put in a foley catheter in the ED this Friday. I don't know how surgeons keep those surgeon hands impeccably clean and own a home where they do the yard work and tackle home improvement projects. Well, maybe they don't roll like me.

     We've set the to-market day as May 22nd and hopefully we'll meet that deadline. With springs arrival the landscape is coming in nice with everything coming in nice Ana green and the house shows best during May, before it gets unbearably hot inside during the summer. 

     I checked out the neighborhood yesterday on Zillow and saw that a few homes are coming close to market. There's one coming on with 3,900 square feet for $1,375,000 which is a nice number and will be interesting to see what kind of action it gets, and if it moves quickly. If it does I'll increase my lead paint poisoning exposure to try and get every dollar we can from the house. The bigger the get the better off we are starting anew in South Carolina. 

     What's funny is we just never know as we scan Zillow every night. Is our future home already on the market or is it to come? There's so many options, price, size, and location within Sun City that it's hard to zone in when we don't know when or how much scratch we'll be able to help in the search. We've capped out searches to a max of $450,000 but there's more in higher price ranges. The last thing we need is more space than we need.

     So while Theresa is looking at what kind of kitchens a listing may have I have my sights on more important, to me, spaces. One listing had the most glorious room that would serve me very, very well.

     It was a garage view that was an image towards the back of the gallery. It showed the garage and a secret little staircase located in the corner. The next picture showed a beautiful space which could become a fly tying room or a safe room where I could go and hide when we're just about to kill each other. 

       The 55 and over homes in our price range are basically 2 bedroom and 2 bath at around 1,300 square feet with no where to run and hide, or have a messy Man Cave space where I can feel at home. Part of me needs to have a space that isn't organized or sterile. One like this just might do. 

     So what does all of this personal stuff have to do with The Average Angler and fly fishing? Well this blog has documented the journey of a fly fishermen, like you. No doubt it's just a chapter in my life's book. And the next chapters will hopefully include fly fishing and guiding in and around Hilton Head and Beaufort, South Carolina, and not about burning lead paint, loading dumpsters, and getting stitches.

04.01.26 I hope this isn't an April Fool's joke...

      I check Zillow frequently for places to buy down in South Carolina and for listings in our neighborhood in Titusville, Every now and then I'll check our house. I don't know if it means anything, or if it's an April Fools joke, but the Zestimate as of this morning, has our house with a value of $1,004,420. To me that's crazy, but either way I'm glad to see this arrow of value moving up rather than down. 

     Like I had said after the estate sale, people who stopped by asked what we were listing it at and I put the question back to them. "I don't know, 2 million?". "1.7?". It's crazy to see how the value of real estate has increased over the years. 

     Luckily for us there isn't ANY thing on the market, like a similar big old home, in our surrounding area. Next Thursday a relator team is coming over for a meet and greet, a presentation, and to discuss their plan. No doubt they'll be targeting New York folks who are looking to come to the beautiful Garden State, and won't blink an eye at a one million dollar price tag and $18,500 a year in taxes. Hey, it's near Princeton, Lambertville, New Hope, and a short train ride to New York, and Philly. 

    I'm hoping for a bidding war. Actually I just want the house to go to the right people, who have the scratch to make it even better than we tried to do. She is a beauty. 

04.01.26 There's some things that just make you pause...

     There are things we've had to make the tough decisions about as we downsize and get ready for the sale and the move. The extra "stuff" is pretty easy to part with, but other things are definite saves and some just get a quick picture and then meet their doom in the dumpster. We've sent photos and texts to the kids asking, "Do you want this?", and most replies are a simple, "No". One thing that we've accumulated is every photo package we've ever purchased from Lifetouch or Jostens over the years. Imagine having folders with 8 x10's, 5x7's, too many wallet sized photos you could ever give away, and class or team pictures. That's for seven kids, for 8 years. Needless to say we whittled them down to just a single picture for each of them, for each year, and put them into a bin. 

     But then there are some items where I just have to sit and pause, and think of the story behind them. The other day I was out in the yard doing a hard edit and filling the dumpster. Then I came across the wood holder. There's not much to it and it's simply built. But I remember like it was yesterday. It's made from four pressured treated 4x4's and 2x4's and some galvanized bolts. I built in 1996 when we bought the house on Madison Avenue in Red Bank. I most likely purchased the materials from Home Depot in West Long Branch and surely paid less than the current price of $10.68 for a 4x4x8. 

     But like me, this log holder has been around. "Born" in Red Bank, it moved to Middletown, Ocean Township, did a stint in Roscoe, then back to Red Bank before its final rating place in Titusville. Most of the time it sat off behind a garage or along the side of a property. When just used for storage it held a few logs, most becoming the home to rodents under a frayed tarp. 

     This past fall we had a wood stove installed and she was dragged out from the back forty and brought out closer to the house. All winter she did her job, although a little wobbly. The rack was aways full and at times even over the top. She helped us stay warm this brutal winter, and may have even helped us save a few bucks in oil. But with spring arriving and my move to make the house present as pretty as possible my first move was to unbolt her and throw her in the dumpster. But she deserved better than that. 

     So I found a ratchet and tightened her joints up and displayed her proudly in the sun. I threw a few pieces of oak on her to look fresh and a little bit younger. Hopefully she will serve the new owners well as she did to me. We've had a relationship for thirty years. It's funny how things like this stir your mind, and your heart, as you downsize and move to live the last chapter of your life, pretty much naked, with just the clothes on your back and a few things stored in the bins. 

 

03.28.26 Released my first bass for 2026…

 

     It felt good to hold a big bass the other day and release it. While not the usual first of the year bass I e been used to over the last couple of years this one was rewarding. It’s a decades old mount of a large bass that I’ve held onto since 2013. I found it after setting up a table at the Allaire Flea Market.

     I bought it not knowing what I’d do with it and it never found a wall or place to display it. Over the years it bounced around and it lost an eye and the fins got split. I was thinking I’d bring it up to the Vineyard where my buddy Abe could do something artsy with it. But it was time to go, and on top of the pile in the dumpster it went.

     It went in along with some pictures I mounted to display at my booth at The Fly Fishing Show when I was guiding and trying drum up business. One of those images was of my largest Upper Delaware trout that I caught on a streamer on the West Branch in Deposit. It measured 24 inches and was a beautiful butter brown. 

     They said we could have the dumpster for up to three weeks but at this pace we should have it filled in about a week. I can only imagine the workers at the transfer station trying to piece together the story of the people who owned this shit as it’s dumped out on the floor. We pushing forward with a proposed date of listing it the third week of May, and we just might make it. 

03.26.26 What a beautiful sight...

     I don't know if you can get an early Christmas present for 2026 but if you need an idea here's one. A beautiful 30 yard dumpster delivered right to the front door. I think the overwhelming feeling of loading a dumpster is getting rid of all of the stuff that keeps you weighted down each day. It's kind of like wearing a weighted vest, or a straight jacket. 

     And the bigger the house, were around 4,300 square feet, plus the basement and the attic, which had become the staging area for broken stuff, projects in varying degree of ideas and completion, and items and memories that should have been stored more in my head then in hand. They say when you downsize if you need to store it you don't need it. 

     This past weekend we had a pop-up estate sale. We had good traffic, got rid of a ton of stuff, and put some money in the wallet which will pay for this dumpster, at $750 for up to four tons, and towards Cape May, which is due May 1st. The next big item to move is the jet boat after I spend some time cleaning her up for market. The timing is good as the river rats will soon be out chasing migratory fishes. 

     I think before the guy turned out of our driveway Theresa and I had the first stuff hitting the metal box. Before the dumpster arrived it has been weeks of getting the property cleaned up. Sticks, leaves, downed trees, and anything else the weather and wind had deposited around the yard. One thing I can't stand is when people use their "back forty" to just drag debris out to hoping it will decompose over time. Well that takes about 100 years. So all of that stuff

had to cut up, staged, and then loaded up before being taken to the local recycling center where it'll be turned into mulch, which we'll be getting in a few weeks. There's nothing like new black mulch to pretty up around the house. 

     Needless to say I've checked out of this house, and New Jersey living. It's been 58 years and I'm ready for a new change, and new adventure. I'm tired of the landscape that my eyes have seen for all of these years, especially the changing landscape. The same places, the same restaurants, people, stories, politics, and the taxes. No doubt when we head south all of those things will be there, but they will be new to our eyes. And then there's adventure of something new, which can bring a new change in perspective as we crest over 60 years old. There's still a lot of life to live, and the maintenance, both physically and emotionally, of this big old house and the grind will be something I'm looking forward to leaving behind. 

     During the sale someone asked, "Is the pick-up for sale?". 'My pick-up too?", yep. I'm not taking this war wagon down to a 55 and over place. I told the guy I still had some work to do with it before I'd let it go for $2,500. I've been snooping around for my next vehicle, either a GMC Yukon Denali or Chevy Tahoe, which will easily tow the Jones Brothers. My thought was to tow the boat down to North Carolina and come back and sell it but I don't think it would make the trip. But I'm thinking I'll hold off on purchasing a new truck around here as anything used has had seasons of brine on the roadways or slat from the ocean spray. 

     So in the meantime I'll keep loading, keep teaching at the hospital, waiting for the house to be emptied out before tackling the completion of the projects left unfinished. That will include painting the house and going back to the white and brick rather than the yellowish paint scheme I started last year. 

     It's just easier to cover it in white as there are so many miles-foot of wood that would have to be sanded and painted the light banana color. And there's still windows that need to be removed and sanded and painted in black. When I look at the picture above, with everything grown in and in bloom, I can dollar signs, and hopefully there's a lot of them. The big question for us is to do the sale ourselves, or list it with a realtor. Paying 6% of something, which could be $50,000 is hard to swallow. It would make sense if they could prove to us they could sell it for more then we can, justifying the big commission cut. 

     They said we could have the dumpster for 2-3 weeks. The way we are going it might be ready for a pick up by Monday. I'm doing the Facebook Marketplace thing, the Goodwill drop-offs, and asking a friend. But in the end a lot will spend their last days in this box before getting incinerated somewhere. I'm done with stuff forever but it will be hard passing up those Yard and Estate Sales we've grown to love over the years. Maybe down south I'll spend more time in the gym rather then searching through other people's stuff before it hit's their own rented dumpster.

03.24.26 Coming soon to a Facebook Marketplace near you...

     I'm selling my 1998 Lowe jet boat soon. I'll have the particulars with the listing. It has a Mercury 40 hp jet out the back. Perfect the river where rocks and skinny water.  Let me know. $4,000 if you want it. 732 261 7291

03.19.26 Gettin' it done, but what a PITA...

     If you haven't ventured into the world of selling things online, my advice, stay away. I say that because things are getting worse, like everything else in this world. Yes, people have been slaughtered during meetups since Craigslist first came around and the butchering continues from time to time with Facebook Marketplace. But that's not the reason I say stay away. Although, I have to say, the other day I had a sale that made me, the seller, uncomfortable. I sold a Pier 1 table and chair set. It used to be my fly tying desk. Too big and too heavy to move to South Carolina I figured I'll just get something new down there. And who knows if it would even fit. I've had this the late 1990's so for $75 I was fine with it.

     So a woman reaches out to me that she'd like to buy it and pick it up. Perfect. I listed it as "Pending" and waited for the pick up at the house. Now, picture this. Me. Old. Kinda overweight. Double chin. Unshaven. Just ugly. Working in the yard picking up sticks. Probably on day 3 unshowered with the same clothes on. Most likley with a pizza grease stain running down the center of my chest. And who shows up? Well, a young 20-something year old girl in tight yoga paints, who was a yoga instructor from Brooklyn, alone in her Honda Civic. 

     It was funny because she rolled out of the car like she had done this 1,000 times. No fear. Just picking up a table. I was uncomfortable from the jump and even had a hard time forming words. Adorable. Yes. Yoga paints. Check. But this is not a creeper thing. I have daughters that age. It's just, I don't know, after a  million episodes of kidnapping and murder and law and order shows it almost felt like it was a set up. 

     We started to figure out how to put down her seats and move stuff in her car and I'm telling her about my kids and my wife.....and then,"Hold on for a minute". And I went into the house and got Theresa. Phew..... I felt better the moment I introduced them to each other. But I just couldn't imagine a young woman driving into the country, rolling up into a long-drivewayed house, seeing the mess that I am, and being comfortable with even stopping. It was almost like you could stereotype a crime victim. When she pulled away I was relieved, and $75 richer, well not really, she Zelled Theresa the money, which, I'll never see. 

     I also sold the tractor that I bought from a guy in Amish country shortly after we bought this house in 2018. It's been a run with this one as I blew the motor and had to replace it and struggled every time I switched the attachments, and I could never get the 48" mower deck level. The guy who came, who rented a Home Depot trailer before he saw it, shouldn't have bought it. I told him, "This is not you man". 

     I sold the tractor and seven attachments. He must have asked 500 questions which I didn't know the answers to. "But how do you set up the hydraulics?" As he inquired about everything the price just kept dropping in my head and all I could see was all of this shit gone. When it came to the price, "How about $800?". SOLD. And we loaded it up.

     I try and tell buyers the truth, always, about things I'm selling. Even the Jeep that sold. I told the guy, "You don't want this". But no matter how I tried to explain to him what a harmonic balancer is and what it could mean, as far as repairs, he bought it. I took off $100 to show I cared and to help him with the tow or the repairs. That's on you bro.

     Then I had the snowblower. Probably had it for 20 years. It really helped out during this years snowmagedans. But towards the end it started to act wonky and wanted to cut off each time I engaged the blades. I put it up for $200 thinking a small engine guy or girl would grab it and do their thing. Nope. I get a retired printer from South Jersey who came with his adult-basement-living son in their Prius. WTF? I tried to talk him out of it. Nope. Okay. SOLD. Good luck.

     The last big item, before I go and list the jet boat, is my Lionel train collection. I put that up for $7,000 and just dropped it to $6,500. I had a dream, or a nightmare, the other night that they didn't sell and I packed them up and brought them south only to finally be able to enjoy them in my old age. The problem is the places we're looking at are 1,200 square feet with no basement and no attic. So, forget it. 

     But buyers can be brutal, or nuts, or both. Here's a reply I got to the train listing. It was out of the blue and just a thoughtful message from someone who probably wants to buy it but can't or won't. There's a couple of reasons why people don't buy, they don't have the cash, or their significant others won't let them. So here's the love I felt....

     WTF? Okay. Don't know where that came from. But then there's the people who I try and have patience with. This lady wants the sofa, she thinks. We've been back and forth 100 times...

     What do you do with that? In addition she asks if I'll deliver it. A sectional that measures 100 feet long by 50 feet wide with 50 cushions. I grabbed this when my parents downsized. It's been in our family for twenty years. The problem is if I put it in a dumpster and it rains not only will it take up too much room but it'll weigh 1,000 pounds if it gets wet. Somebody please come get this? Aren't there college kids who need this for their Animal House?

     And then there's people who are experts in things, while I am not. I've been holding on to Ryan's guitar since his death. I'll never play it and figured someone who's in the know will. It ones of those things, like kids things are tough to part with, but dead kids things are really hard. So it would have been easier to just list it and have some one come pick it up.....but. 

      So here comes Eric Clapton, a nice guy I might add, with 1,000 questions and picture requests. "What about the neck?". I didn't know if it was about the guitar or a line from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, "Save the neck for me Clark."....

     "Move the camera to the right and show the first 12 frets.". Frets? What's a fret?. I fret listing anything else on FBM. Anyway, needless to say, it's still sitting on the couch that the lady says she wants, desperately. And then there's always the dreaded.....

     If you list on Facebook Marketplace you'll get 1,000 of these with each listing, no matter if you write you won't respond to, "Is this still available?". Or you'll get just a lowball offer no matter what the item is listed for. Those are my favorite, because if and when you say "Yes", they never respond back. 

     The fly anglers are pretty easy to deal with. I listed the Fly Tester on one day and it was gone the next. In fact, it'll be picked up today. $75. Easy peasy. done deal. 

     So I warn you when and if you use FBM when you downsize or just purge all of the shit you have collected over your years on earth, and the stuff your kids and parents have left you, after they collected over their years on earth. Yes, there's deals to be had and there's people looking. And as far as pricing? Most people who list are just trying to get rid of stuff, while the buyers are either looking for something, are a dealer or flipper, or have a hoarding mental disorder. You'll know if you got good stuff because your Messenger will blow up as will the click count rises quickly. 

     After I listed my Pyrex collection it hit 2,500 clicks before the lady drove 3-1/2 hours from Maryland on a Friday night to make the 11 pm deal. That kind of traffic means you either got something real good or you priced it way too low. 

     So if you're about 60, or 70, or 80..it's time. What are you waiting for? All the shit your kids have left for you to deal with is ready to be Facebooked or dumpstered. I'm not even talking just about the old report cards and arts and crafts from when they were in kindergarten. Get rid of it all, or tell them to come and get it. At your age your basically just running a self-storage unit that is costing you a small fortune if you have a mortgage, or not. And the tools, and the wood, and the projects....you're too old these days. Those were the days but they are over. 

     One of my last sales was just that, another great loser idea of a project I had in my head. I picked this wood up about six years ago, for free, like Sanford & Son, from an estate sale. It was going to be the wood shed I needed to cover our firewood. Yeah, had that go? 

     I listed it for $20 bucks and threw in a set of saw horses I've had in my yard for the last 8 years. Within seconds I had hits and a few hours later a nice young guy came and picked it all up. I saw myself in him from way back when. A wife in the front seat, two kids in the back, and a small trailer used to pick up way too much "stuff". When I saw the smile on his face and he said, "This is like gold", I knew I was looking at someone who could be mental like me. But when he said, "I'll send you a picture after it's done", meaning a chicken coop, I knew it wasn't me, because the me would get this stuff and just leave it housing rodents and rotting away waiting for the day when I did something with it. And with me that day usually never comes. 

03.18.26 Catch Brad on MOF tonight...

 

Catch Brad tonight on Master's Of the Fly...

03.17.26 No justice for Bobby...

     Well this was an extra sharp knife to swallow. I'm sure it's the same for almost all of us that knew and loved Bob, especially his family. Yesterday Genell McInaw, below, pleaded guilty to

vehicular homicide and will be sentenced to five, that's 5, years in State Prison for murdering another human being. It's a choice to go bar hopping around town and run someone over and leave the scene. That night, over the course of six hours, she consumed none alcoholic drinks, including two beers and two cherry bombs between 840 and 916 pm. Didn't the bartender see she was intoxicated? Her BAC came back at three times the legal limit. 

     While I won't degrade Bob by having his picture in this post I will talk about the players that have something to do with this agreement. I first must start by saying how flawed the criminal justice system is in New Jersey, and the United States. If I killed someone during a robbery, while intoxicated, would I get 5 years? The woman who killed Bob, not only did she know him for years, she worked for him and was part of their family.

     And there's the Ocean County Prosecutor, Michael T Nolan, Jr., above, who signed off on the plea agreement, along with Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Burke, who handled the case. They obviously don't have a problem with the justice system or the law because they CHOOSE to be a part of it. Do they think this was fair and just to the family and the untold amount of friends, yet alone to the man she ran over and left for dead in the street? I guess they are, otherwise they wouldn't have chosen this line of legal work to call a career. And Judge Kenneth T. Palmer must be okay with it, otherwise he wouldn't have left his job as the Mayor of Manchester to become a Superior Court Judge and oversee cases like this. 

     The picture above is during the court proceedings yesterday as Burke presented the plea agreement. McInaw would be required to serve four years and three months from her release after her June 26, 2026 sentencing. However, the Judge made it clear that he is not bound by the recommended sentence and could impose up to 10 years in prison at her sentencing. And that's where victim impact statements come into play. The family has requested family and friends to submit testimonials to Ldolby@co.ocean.nj.us. So in the end, and I'm no lawyer, the prosecution and defense came up with deal, presented it to the court, and Judge Palmer has the power to either accept the deal or impose the 10 year maximum sentence. We'll see where he stands on this in June. 

   

     And then there's her criminal defense attorney, Terrance Turnbach, seen above in court yesterday with his client. He must be okay with the plea because he was paid to represent her and get her a fair trail and or the best deal he could. Smiling all the law to the bank. Maybe he'll be claiming, "We didn't want to injure the family further....", if it went to trial. Yeah, good excuse.

     Imagine these four guys, living their best lives, getting paid a boat load of money, going home to their families, and being part of daily scams, shams, and deals, when it comes to justice. Don't tell me their hands are tied and they are just operating within the confines of the law. They knew what business they were getting into. If they couldn't ethically or morally handle it, by agreeing to it, or accepting plea deals, they would choose another line of work. They've sold their souls to the devil, and to those that commit devilish crimes. 

     In the end it'll goes down as a win for the prosecution, a plea deal isn't a loss, and it's not a tie. If you're not part of the solution then you're part of the problem, and this is another travesty of justice. And not because I knew Bob, but because you can knowingly make irresponsible decisions, KILL people, leave them to die, and basically get away with it. In less then five years, she'll be out and be able to make her rounds around the Seaside bar scene yet again. And I hope those who have been her enablers for all these years face some type of justice or a lawsuit, or at least they have nightmares knowing they paid some part in Bob's death. I know that sounds brutal, but I'm pissed.

If the Judge accepts the plea deal she'll be set free September 26, 2030. And the players I mentioned above will have been voted or promoted to higher positions in the prosecutors office, the courts, or at the practice. It's a chess game they all played, and in the end the only piece knocked down and dead was Bobby. We need to have a run of those Pop Fleye's shirts made up stating, Justice for Bob, and send each one of those guys a shirt and see if they have the balls to wear it. NEVER FORGET!!!

03.16.26 Offering it up here before Facebook Marketplace...

     You have 48 hours before this message self destructs. Actually I'll soak this here for two days before it goes on the open market on Facebook Marketplace.

     It's a Fish Skull Fly Tester. Fill it up with water, attach your fly, turn it on, and see if what you tied swims the way you want it. Fun for the tier, or good for the tier/vendor, who wants to display and swim flies at the shows. I've probably used it five times.

New models go for $199 new, it's your's for $75. Text me if you want it, 732 261 7291, but need you to get it soon after you buy it.