02.18.26 Please not more drama with fish down there...

     In between work and downsizing and packing I spend a lot of time looking at real estate listings down in Sun City Hilton Head where we hope to relocate in the next six months. We're motivated, and working hard, the question is will we get the house ready and sold in time for it to happen this year. We're gunning for it and hopefully we'll get it done.

     I also look at the Hilton Head Island Packet, the area's daily newspaper, from time to time. Recently I saw an article about schools of redfish wintering in the estuaries around Bluffton, the town we hope to relocate to. Drone operator Jason All captured hundreds of large redfish in and around the May River marshes a few weeks back. These fish come into the shallows where the warmest water can be found during the winter. It's kind of like when striped bass come up onto the mud flats in the bays during the spring here in New Jersey.

     When I was down there in January I looked for those low tide fish but didn't find them. While low tides are key in the winter it's the high flood or King Tides you look for in warmer months. I can say I've been on the flats during high tides and the fish do come way up into the skinny water rooting around for fiddler crabs and baitfish. But those low tides are tough as getting to the water on foot can be difficult and dangerous. Surely that's where a skinny water boat is surely needed. 

     I'm lucky in the short amount of time that I've have fished Hilton Head to have done it from a skiff and on foot. You know me, and how I'd rather be in waders or wading boots then perched on the bow of a skiff, but skinny water fishing and boats, of several varieties, have their weight in gold. On thing I discovered while down in the Lowcountry was their pluff mud. I would describe pluff mud as a combination of silt, clay, and organic and microscopic debris. It's a huge part of the tidal estuary ecosystem and supports crabs, shrimp, and baitfish, which in turn, attract predator fish like redfish, sheepshead, triple tail, and sharks. 

     During my first trip down in 2023 I thought I could be cool and get away with using a pair of Walmart water shoes. Those lasted a few outings and served me well avoiding the razor sharp oyster shells that lined the waterways. On our next trip down I invested in a pair of Orvis flats boots which was definitely a step up. And it was also where I learned the importance of knowing when, where, and how to step around pluff mud. 

     I was attempting to cross from one oyster mound to another far away from the resort we were staying in. I stepped with both feet into some "mud" that looked like it could be a transition from shell mound to shell mound. Within a second I was up over both knees in what I could only describe as the closest thing to quicksand I've ever been stuck in. Needless to say there was a brief moment of panic before I was able to unclick my stripping basket and use it to help pull one foot out of the suction trap that was pluff mud. I could only think of rescuers finding my headless body after the gators made an easy meal out of a hot dog stuck in the mud which was me. And that's why fishing from an anything is better in the Lowcountry. Some kind of watercraft will either give you a solid platform or the ability to pull up to a flat that you can walk around. 

     I've also learned that if I thought that moving south would take me away from fisheries management drama, like with the striped bass up north, and the ASMFC, then I was surely mistaken. Redfish, or correctly, red drum, have their own fight going on especially down in southern waters, and the ASMFC is in the thick of it.

     The ASMFC looks at two different stocks when it comes to red drum, the northern, New Jersey to North Carolina, and the southern, South Carolina to Florida. While the northern stock looks good, the southern stock is currently overfished and overfishing is occurring. I just can't escape this shit. What makes matters worse, to me, it seems like the ASMFC depends on the flawed

NOAA MRIP data when determining the health of the red drum stock. While I think I have a decent grasp on striped bass admittedly I don't know all the ins and outs of things regarding southern redfish. I kinda feel like Al Pacino in Godfather 3...

     In the Hilton Head Island Packet article they talked about changes that may be coming with red drum in South Carolina. Currently the bag limits for red drum are two fish per day per angler in a slot of 15 -23 inches with a maximum of six per boat. It seems they are running into the same problem we are seeing with striped bass, hammering down on slot sized fish and then wondering where the SSB, or Spawning Stock Biomass, fish are. Well if you take all the babies out you won't see the adults, ever. 

     South Carolina banned commercial fishing for red drum in 1987. Remember New Jersey stopped their commercial fishery in 1990, and started the New Jersey Striped Bass Program (SBBP), when commercial fishing was stopped and it was designated a game fish.  Like striped bass in New Jersey, it is illegal to sell, or have redfish on the menu, in South Carolina. So in January the SCDNR brought the need to reduce harvest of red drum to the SC legislature. They based the 24% reduction need based on three things,

and in order to increase the red drum SSB changes need to occur, which could include reduced bag limits, or even changes like No Target and No Harvest, and us Yankees know how those options went with the striped bass. I'm sure the same bullshit that occurs with the ASMFC and the politicians and the recreational vs commercial, in terms of charter operations, with striped bass, happens down south in regards to redfish. 

     They point out that catch and release mortality, or F, is a major factor in the reduction of red drum. That coupled with changing environmental conditions, God that sounds like the Chesapeake, and over development in and around the estuaries, God that sounds like New Jersey. What people don't remember is that with development you have runoff, not only from rain and storms, but things like fertilizers and chemicals as well. 

     Red drum aren't anadromous like striped bass. In the late summer and fall they spawn in high salinity waters just outside of the larger sounds and bays where the eggs hatch and then the larva are carried into the low salinity estuaries where they mature. That's why small red 

drum, or puppy drum, are abundant in the skinny waters and on the flats. That's right where the 15 - 23 inch slot is in effect, and fish are taken regularly by locals and tourists alike. And if they're not harvested there's always catch and release mortality. Maybe they need those circle hook regulations down there when using bait. 

     So just like they say, "The grass isn't always greener...", I guess fishing and drama go hand in hand no matter where you are, or where you hope to land one day. It's looks I might be going from one species that's in trouble to another. I just can't win, and it seems the fish never will.

02.17.26 Now that wasn't easy....

     If you know then you know. This day had to happen eventually. It was finally time to empty the Pyrex out the butler's pantry and edit through my collection. For years I've spent endless hours at yard and estate sales picking up pieces and sets that have spent more time on the shelves than in use. I realize I have a problem, a Pyrex problem, but why? 

     There's a part of me, well a part of my brain, that's attracted to things from the past. I won't even tell you about my mixer and blender addiction. And then there's the Lionel trains that I have to tackle, hundreds of them, all sitting in bins, just waiting, for something. But I think deep down my thing is not letting go of things I never really had. My Dad wasn't a Lionel guy, and my Mom wasn't a Pyrex girl. I think the trigger for me is holding on to something I wish I had experienced, or aways wanted to try and create. 

     I started getting into Lionel trains in the mid-1990's when my sons were born. I thought I could re-create scenes like I saw in the ads. A father and son bonding over the hobby of toy trains. That became an obsession, to a point, in a time before eBay and Facebook Marketplace made "the get" lose a little bit of it's allure. Spending hours digging in peoples attics and basements searching for the Mother Lode. 

       Or standing in line with a number in hand waiting to get through the door at an estate sale before the vendors and flippers did. "Where's the trains?" I would ask as I handed my entry ticket over and stepped over the threshold. But the truth is the kids, both my sons and daughters, never really bit on it, no matter how I tried to push it on them. The same went for fly fishing. I bought them their first fly rods and that lasted for a few outings before I realized they wanted to fish with bait and actually catch fish. And no doubt technology came and blew up any chance of hands on type hobbying with that generation. 

     And the Pyrex thing appealed to another part of my brain. Now are they beautiful, at least to me, and they bring me back to a time when I think people and families were different. Was that wishful or pie-in-the-sky thinking, or jealousy, on my part? Well maybe. If you look at the old ads it may appear to be a touch out or reality, or for some people, even archaic or Neanderthal thinking. These ads and products came during a time when a women's place was in the home, or with Pyrex, in the kitchen. 

  

     Say that today and you'll be cancelled pretty quickly. But, for me, I love everything about those ads and maybe those times in our country's history. But do I believe that women have to be home and in the kitchen? Well, no, but in a perfect world, it's really nice, if they choose to be. Now I have to careful on how I state that or else I'll be cancelled and you won't come back here. But there's nothing like a Mom that's home as you're growing up, it's just really good on so many fronts.

     The fifties, sixties, and seventies, were a time when this country was at its best. Perfect. No. There were plenty of things that were bad. Wars. Discrimination. Those that lived during those times and are historians could school me on all the things that were happening and we grew out of, and some for the better. But it was also during those times that I think the neighborhoods and family units were at their best. Father's went off to work. Mother's stayed home and ran the house. And the kids had stability and always knew what daily routines meant. 

     It was a time when we could survive on a one household income. Back then there were more blue color jobs and things were more local. People worked where they lived, although plenty of white collar workers would commute to the bigger cities by rail, bus, and car. So while Dad was off making a living Mom would be the CEO of the house. Doing the laundry, cleaning the house, shopping and making the meals, balancing the checkbooks, being there to greet the kids when they came off the bus, shuttling them to after school activities (if the family had two cars), and running the household 24/7. And she'd be there to greet her other half when they got home from work, only to have to send them off early the next morning.

     "That's sexist", well it shouldn't be. Because that's what happened back in the day. Today I stand by that those times made the family units more stabile, not perfect, than we see today. And, more importantly, that I wish we could return to those times, with either a man or the woman, designated as the stay at home parent, able to stay home. But these days we need two incomes to maintain a household, because we've chosen that way of life. Years ago people lived within their means, not way above it. There were poor, middle class, and rich. It's just the way it was, and that still continues today. But today's problem is people that exist is one of those classes and want to live bigger and above their means, or where they truly belong. 

     Will I ever live in Rumson? Nope. Not smart enough. Not rich enough. I know my place. Years ago people could live and support a family, like have a car, own a house, and send their kids to college on a blue color factory or hands on type job. If they didn't own then they rented, and lived with similar class people in neighborhoods of like minded, looking, thinking, and financed people. 

     Recently I saw the below picture on Facebook. If you know then you know. It's a family standing in front of the Christopher Columbus Homes in Newark (above). It stood on what was the old First Ward in North Newark. In the 1950's they bulldozed over single and multi-family homes and created affordable housing, thus wiping out an entire neighborhood of Italian immigrants. 

      It was block after block of high rise living for low income families. In the beginning, after talking to people who lived there, living was good. And if you look at the picture of the family above, it kinda looked like it was. Dad off to work, Mom at home with the kids, and a lot of them. Then things went to shit. I caught the tail end of the 7th Avenue projects when I was a firemen and EMT in the early 1990's and I can you it was like going to a war zone.

     So what does that have to do with Pyrex and my mental illness about them? Well, I think, or maybe I'm delusional, that even in those brick towers Pyrex could be found. It wasn't a rich families possession but one that was used everyday across the class lines. To me, it represented everyday American life, when it was good, or at least better. The Pyrex was used, proudly displayed, and hopefully not dropped or chipped. And if survived over time then it was handed down to the generation, usually to the daughters, for them to continue the tradition of old family, well I hate to say it, values. To be safe let's just a families day to day operations. 

     Several times a year I drag out some of my Pyrex collection for actual use. I get excited when I do, more than the other people sitting at the table. My stuff is near mint. No scratches, no chips, hardly with any signs of use. I put them out more for a throw back experience then day to day use. In the end I think I get more warm and fuzzy using them then anyone else. 

     So as the downsizing continues I had to make some tough decisions. What to do with all of this Pyrex? Surely we don't need it and won't have room for it as we downsize. And surely "the get" was always part of the Pyrex game, not the dusty collection just sitting on the shelves. So yesterday Erin and I used my Pyrex collector's book to identify when they were made and which sets they came with. I had first dibs and after making the painstaking decision I packed what I wanted into just one bin. 

     The picture above with the pieces on the table is after I made my choices and Erin as well. I put aside some sets for the kids and will send them off to them, if they like it or not. These days kids want nothing, and especially nothing that wasn't a part of their reality, or delusion, like Pyrex is to me. And that's okay, I guess, and definitely more mentally healthy. But maybe one day, as my remains sit on a shelf in one of their houses, they'll reach into their cabinet and pull one of these out to use with their family. And maybe they'll remember me, and what role Pyrex played in millions of households during the long gone good days in America.  

02.14.26 That's what warmth feels like...

 

     It's been a bit but boy did we need it. Crazy how nice mid-40 degree temperatures feel. Only had one pipe burst today during the thaw out. C'mon spring you can't come soon enough.

02.14.26 Yep the World's on Fire these days...

     The world's on fire these days. Not only globally but locally as well. It's not far away lands that are getting scorched but inside your own house as well. If somehow you are able to survive all of this while being truly content then I'm jealous and happy for you. 

     If you think the strings that connect you to the rest of the world aren't being pulled then your head is in the sand. We have been taken over and controlled by forces more greater and powerful than the human spirit. Sounds a little conspiracy theory like right? Well just look around.

     I can remember counseling parents of children who were acting out and sitting on the brink of mental illness vs behavioral problems. One of the greatest weapons people, both kids and adults, have in their quiver is splitting. Splitting occurs when one person, or group, or even an ideology, creates a wedge between people. Kids do it with parents all of the time, usually, because one of them allows it. Just remember back when you were a kid and were called down to the couch because you messed up, and both of your parents were sitting there. You had no where to run, no way to split and divide them, and really no way to win. 

     We, as a people, are more divided than we ever have been before, in my opinion. And opinions, well really sides these days, are becoming the downfall of society. And when opinions, and the people who hold them, are grouped together they become weaponized, and people with weapons hurt people. I used to joke about "safe spaces" years ago when it came to children. The idea was kids needed to exist in a place where they were always safe, in their schools, on the playing fields, in restaurants, the workplace, and at the dinner table. And I'm not talking physical safety. They were elevated to the rank of adults, they were seen as equal. Do you remember when parents used to say kids should be seen and not heard? Then do you remember when kids were starting to be allowed to call adults by their first name? When did that happen? If you're old like me then you remember adults were called by Mr. or Mrs. or Sir or Ma'am. "Well you can still respect them if you call them by their first name?". Um no. I can remember cringing when I was introduced to a 12-year old as Colin, and it would make my blood boil. 

     Technology and the media have taken over the world and our minds, and we contuinue to allow it. Hey, years ago even this blog and space didn't exist. This piece is kind of what I cringe, just another opinion offered out there to those that are willing to read it. I used to find the newspapers and the news a place to go for the facts, until that didn't matter anymore. That's not to say news outlets weren't slanted a bit here and there, but they did what they did, you read or watched them or not, and went about your "normal" lives. And then we went to opinion-based reporting with a 24-hour news cycle. And that's no just with the news, like newsworthy events, but everything and anything within reach every time we click, turn on, log in, or access what have become weapons that injure our minds, relationships, and lives. 

     Let me ask you this, when's the last time you heard about Ukraine? It used to be thrown at us 24-hours a day. Did Ukraine just go away? Are people still suffering and dying over there? Aren't we still sending them millions if not billions of dollars? What happened to all those blue over yellow flags and bumper stickers we saw everywhere? Where's the Black Lives Matter signs? Where's the LGBTQIA flags? What happened to Covid and Fauci? Covid still exists. Each week I gear up to enter a patient's room who is Covid positive. It's still out there and people still die from it, we just don't hear about it.

     We have been sucked into the quagmire of content overkill these days. If it's not the "news" outlets, and I say that loosely as true journalism is dead, and has been for some time, it's anyone who can make a post or a video. And when you click on something that algorithym that is watching and tracking you sees the crack in the door and then bombards you with similar content. Just do a quick search or click on a post or an ad for workboots and see what happens. Want to check out GLP-1's these days, forget it, you'll never be able to see stuff from your "friends" or regarding things you have previously viewed. And those short videos of people dancing, people falling, people scantily clad? Viewer, or buyer, beware, there's a file somewhere tracing all of your activity, and how you think and act when in front of the phone, tablet, or computer screen. 

     It's all fun and games until it's not. These days we have more of a relationship with our chosen technology then each other. There are more boundaries between humans then what has been created using all of those technological advances that our younger generations love. And the more we use them the more we get away from reality and each other. We have lost the ability to think for ourselves and exist with each other, especially if our opinions are different. 

     These days we are bombarded with things that "they" say we need to know about. Bad Bunny. Trump. Minnesota. ICE. Voter registration. Epstein, just to name a few. I can tell you this, they will all go away, only to be replaced by the latest narrative that fits what "they" deem important. And these days the "they" has changed as AI and ChatGPT has taken over what separates us from animals and technology, our brains. We are thinking less for ourselves these days and allowing others to decide what matters to us and how we feel about said topics, and each other. The last thing "they" want is for us to just all get along. Forever the divide and tensions played into the narrative of good vs evil, and these days there's more evil around then good. And back one of the bigger stories of these times like enforcing immigration laws of the United States. During a former presidency, between 2009 - 2017, 3 million people were deported. Where was the absolute outrage then? "They" and "we" pick and choose what works for us or not. We are shallow. We forget. We are weak. Go Google your favorite guy or girl from way back and see what they said and did about the same hot topics we obsess over these days. Remember, your being played. 

     Yesterday in the late afternoon I left the students in the emergency department and made my way to the vending machine for a quick snack. I saw an elderly lady sitting alone under a hospital blanket in the warmest row of seats along the window. I decided to go over and sit down and say hello. "Hey girlfriend, how ya' doin'?" She summed it all up for me, "Baby, I'm tired". She summed up in two words how I felt as well. And for the next 15 minutes two human beings just sat there chatting it up as we watched the people who weren't actually ill enough to get a direct seat inside the ER. The floors were covered in dirt and salt, the space didn't smell like flowers, and the security guards had to calm down the frustrated and frequent flyers. It was like we were sitting there as two buds or a couple watching a movie or TV show. 

     We didn't talk about what "they" say should be floating around in our brains or on the tip of our tongues. While our journeys in life have been different, at that moment, for that moment, we were just two people enjoying the time and attention each one of us gave each other. And after we said our good-byes I put my ID badge up to the scanner that allowed me back into the war room of the ED. As I walked to a room that had increased in the number of staff and the sounds of alarms I couldn't help but allow my ears to take in the sounds from the other rooms. There were three to be exact, one was the sound of the current report for the search of Savannah Guthrie's mom, one was about Epstein, and the last about Trump and Bondi. Truth be told the people lying on the stretchers and sitting at the beds weren't even paying attention. 

Life's a mess these days and yes the World is on Fire. 

 

02.09.26 We're getting closer to fishing....

 

     Imagine this, the back bays and river open for striped bass in 20 days. There are events that happen over the winter which we check off as we await spring and the warmer weather. The holidays and the New Year, the fly fishing shows, and the Super Bowl. Last night 127.7 million people came together in person or on the TV or airwaves to tune into the big game which ends the 2025-26 season. For many it's the last party of winter before the big thaw out. 

     We went over to my parents house to watch the game. It was walk in the door, eat and drink too much in the first thirty minutes, and then wait the hour before the game started. With 2 minutes left in the second quarter I was warming up Theresa's car to make the drive back home. Needless to say I split before I got caught up the drama and division the two halftime shows that people had to chose from. I didn't care and still don't care. All of that has nothing to do with my life. 

     I like to watch a good football game but I'm not really a sports fan. I didn't have a team to route for but in the end I wind up rooting for a player. It was Sam Darnold. He was a rookie for the New York Jets for three seasons before he was cut in 2020. He was written off as a bust. Now he's a Super Bowl Champion.  

     What impresses me about Arnold, and others like him, is his perseverence to keep going and fight. The game of football is a just a game, entertainment if you will, and of course really big business. It amazing that he survived the NewYork fans and media and kept his head in the game after leaving the Jets. He had stints with the 49'ers and Vikings before joining the Seahawks in 2025. I'm sure at any point he could have just rolled over and quit but he kept at it.

     I'm not sure it would be fair to say he re-invented himself but so many people do over the course of their lives. Life ain't easy and change is difficult. But people do that when the chips are down and bad things come their way. I commend those who continue to fight the fight and come out better or on top. I see this a lot at work, and celebrate it, when I first meet people during their worst days and later when they've come out still standing. 

I like to root for the underdogs. Currently I see nursing students in that light. Working hard through all that is nursing school and life to get to their Super Bowl, which is graduation and their pinning in May. While 127 million people won't watch them onstage I'll be there, at Essex County College and Capital Health, watching them stand they're proud of their accomplishment as they prepare for a career helping others. Kudos to all of the people out there who fight or re-invent themselves and keep their eye on the prize. It's really inspiring and fun to watch or be a part of. 

This week is the big thaw across the United States. Enjoy it and get ready for those busted pipes.

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.