04.24.25 Shit happens and finally a fish to hand...

     I'd never be the one to cast the first stone especially when it comes to boating things. I've had my share of mishaps. Got some calls about this little mishap that occurred today. With the river running low, like stupid low, like 7,450 cfs, it doesn't take much for the water to empty out when the plug 

is pulled on the dropping tide. A nine foot tide is great but this place is an underworld of all types of structure and this poor lad found out the hard way. Luckily he wasn't running hard and came to an abrupt stop. I'm hoping for his sake all it will take is the flood tide to get it afloat without anyone getting injured. That's not a light boat and hopefully there will be little damage on it way off it's perch. 

     Interestingly enough I was at those same rocks at sunup this morning and thought to myself how low the river was and how I need to be extra careful when it's super skinny. This could have happened to me, or you, or any of the keyboard tough guys that will surely have their say with this. Be careful of throwing stones in glass houses. 

     And what do you know. With the last unit exam yesterday and the final exam next Wednesday I have had some time to hit the river. Well after a solid month and half of getting small windows to fish today I landed my first 2025 striped bass. A month later than normal. It was a fine fish that I enjoyed sight fishing to and feeding. It was a good primer for the Vineyard trip coming up in a few months. That I can't wait for. 

04.21.25 What a long strange trip it was....

 

     After a four year run at Essex County College my time is just about done. It was a good run, but things went a little sideways at the end. Like we see in sports all the time sometimes the coach just has to go. Coaching a team of 78, without any assistants, is overwhelming, sometimes out of control, and in the end difficult to ensure that everyone gets a participation trophy. So I chose to step aside and allow people better than me meet the college's expectations going forward. I'll always be a proud graduate of Essex County College and lucky to have been able to circle back to give back.

     One things for sure this semester has definitely interfered with what every other spring has been, which has been some work, a lot of fishing, and taking care of things around the house. I have put everything and everyone aside this spring just concentrating on the students, and I have paid the price. While fishing is off to a way slow start this spring I still have the fire inside to go and get it done. I've been out a bunch of times and have yet to turn a fish. For me, it's about a month later than usual. This past weekend I did catch up around the house, mowed the lawn, seeded it, and went around picking up twigs which could be listed as a hobby in my hobby list. I have one of those grabbers and it's just relaxing covering the acre-plus yard just doing non-thinking stuff. I also got a new, well almost new, set of skins for the 2002 Silverado. 

     I spotted these on Facebook about 10 minutes after they were posted and Theresa And I took the ride to Wilmington, Delaware, last Friday to pick them up. On the way home we stopped at 9th Street in Philly and spent the afternoon walking around and getting food at the Italian 

Market. We ended the day at the famous Isgro Pastries shop on Christian Street. It was a Good Friday mob scene, no pun intended, but it was worth the wait and the $40 bucks. 

     On Saturday I had them put on and I can say I just love good tires on a truck. At 285,000 miles will these be the last tires that she'll need? I'm not sure but I'll try and keep her purring with the occasional sniffle here and there. New trucks, and the payments, are something I just can't have around these days. Plus, it looks like we're going ahead with the sale and the move, maybe next May the house will go on the market. 

     Things have broken open on the Raritan Bay, well really the line between the bay and the river. Those pre-spawn fish are out in force and chewing on just about anything they get thrown to them. What is crazy is the boat traffic. I saw this quick video taken from the shore in Perth Amboy and counted 37 boats in and around the bridges. That is so not my scene.

     What is interesting is that when there's fish all kinds of folks come from far and wide to get in on the action. with the Chesapeake now closed charter operations have come 

north and now make the Raritan there new home for the season. Just more pressure on an already pressurized fishery. But that's what the ASMFC wants I guess. 

     Social media is abuzz with the images of fine catches these days. I still shutter when I see treble hooks down the gullets of these catch and release anyway fish. I just don't get it. And there's plenty of sand-breaded fish being caught and held up from shore as well.

     And kudos to Cody Silver who caught a monster 9 pound rainbow while shad fishing the past week out on the Delaware. That is a dandy of a fish and must have given him a good tug and run.

     And lastly but not last today Pope Francis passed away. The leader of the Catholic Church and a job that couldn't have been easy. These days it seems that religions and churches pop up all over the place venturing away from the big ones. I liken it to travel baseball for the kids. When you think your kid is better than rec ball, you go out for a travel team, when he doesn't make it you go and start your own. 

     I was Baptized Catholic and while it has been a stretch in staying put I'll take my chances when I get to the Pearly Gates and will hopefully get into heaven sometime. Heaven isn't like nursing school these days where participation trophies are expected to be handed out just for knocking at the door. 

04.12.25 I'm not a river flow reporter, but...

      I've never been a straight 9-5 working slob until it started this January. After only a few months of it I can't imagine, one, who invented it, and two, who took jobs with that schedule. For all of my adult life I've been in jobs (fire, EMS, nursing, photography) that operating on a 24/7/365 schedule. I always tell my kids that if they want a quality of life the take a job that operates around the clock and has the ability to switch shifts and with off with other people. Monday through Friday is for the birds. 

     So that leaves me really to fish, even quick run and cast outings, on the weekends. Well not really because I work on Saturday and Sunday as well preparing for the Monday through Friday. Last night we got hit pretty hard with rain and that no doubt will ruin this weekends fishing. 

     A quick look so far, with the crest coming later today or tomorrow, shows we're up from 8,300 cfs to 13,500 cfs. If it rained up north like it did here last night surely it'll hit somewhere between 20,000 - 30,000 cfs, at least in my opinion. We've also seen a 10 degree water drop from 56 to 46 degrees, which can stop fish in their tracts and shut them off.

     Looking at it all from a fishing perspective is selfish as really it's all about the striped bass. If this winter and the current weather is good for them and this years spawn then let it all fall where it may. At some point I'll catch a fish or two, and forget about the early skunking I've been taking this spring. 

04.08.25 Normal ups and downs for the season...

     I'm sure it doesn't matter where you fish early season for striped bass. Hard fluctuations in weather patterns lead to Bipolar fishing. Take in point flows. while more, well consistent, flows are a good thing in rivers, quick swings can shut things down. Take two days ago when the river went from 8,000 to 16,000 cfs. Now we seem to leveled off around 13,000 but with big rain on the way I'm sure that number will double. 

    When the river went to 55 I was worried that a few days of sun would crest it over 60. But now with air tmps in the 30's at night were down to 50. I know that changes in water temperatures like that can shut them down and keep them being active and any kind of aggressive. 

     Things will normalize and there will be good days but this season is starting off a bit sideways. It's definitely not fly rod time and I could use a few trips were I'm not just putting in time but confident that I have a shot at landing a fish. 

04.06.05 Things are startin' up....

     Due to a tremendous workload I've just been off my game. When the posts slow down the mental health wellness checks begin, "Bro, you good?". Yes. I'm good, just overwhelmed, overworked, and underperforming with the nursing students. They're having a rough run of this semester and it is sitting heavily on my heart and shoulders. Might be time for the coach to step aside. 

      And since January I've been neglecting just about everything in my life. Nothing bring me joy. My mind is working 24/7 to make it through this semester. But this weekend I did get out as the fish have started to show up and play in various and predictable early season spots. First, the Raritan started, I wouldn't say went off, but the first round of fish pushed in and headed towards the back. 

     With water temps staying above 50 for just about a week there's bait and fish getting active. While the low and slow thing always works I'm hearing they're getting them on topwater as well. Also, the reports from Atlantic City and Brigantine are coming in as they usually do during April. 

     This weekend was the trout opener on both sides of the river and both Delaware and Raritan Canals were lined with anglers plying for those cookie-cutter stocky rainbows. I haven't done that for decades and I'm sure it's fun especially if you have the kids around. These fish were 

made for the skillet so anyone who gets angry due to catch and fillet is nuts, as almost all of the waters around here get into the 90's in the summer, surely killing any that survive off. 

     The fish on top was from a 3 AM shift that I did today with a buddy in the non-tidal section of the river. While I haven't been out some of these big fish must have made their way up and are staging for the big pushes. What's interesting is that this morning the water was running below  

7,800 cfs and for some reason it went to over 13,000 in less than 10 hours. We've been dry around here but they must have caught a monsoon somewhere up north or one of the reservoirs collapsed flooding the entire system. 

     As night turned to first light and then day the fish still were out and playing. Amongst the quarry were some less than svelte females that were definitely eating. While I'd love to claim the pool winner today it was my buddy who won it all as I couldn't get a fish to hit a fly. It's hard to compare a hook full of feathers to a loaded Redfin. 

03.31.25 Time to batten down the hatches...

     Well ask and you shall receive. I've been concerned, and complaining, about the drought like conditions out here in Mercer County. Flows on the Delaware River have dropped yet again

 and are now at 7,400 cfs. Tonight the East Coast is getting to get hammered by rain, hail, high winds, and threats of tornados. Of course we couldn't just get a nice few days of steady rain, it has to come all at once over 6 hours. No doubt trees will fall, and wind up floating down the river, power outages will occur, and basements will flood. The river will get blown out and then maybe we'll see the start of spring and fishing. 

03.30.25 Off to a slow start...

 

     Well it's striper season 2024 but to be honest it just doesn't feel like it. It's probably due to a combination of work stuff, which is 7 days a week, poor conditions, and a later start on the fishes part. I'm trying to find some mo-jo to get me going and it's coming at a snails pace for me. Usually this time of year it's watching and waiting for conditions to line up for things to kick off which is usually a tap dance around big rain and big water. This year the river its boring. It's flat. It's droughty. And it doesn't look fishy.

 

     Right now the river is at 8,300 cfs which is summer flow levels. I wonder how it affects migratory fish that move up the rivers to spawn. I know they have to get there and do their thing but it has to affect when and how they move. When the water's big you can kind of count on fish being in places similar to trout when the waters up. With flows down and a minimal "movement" when there is a tide it's just hard to picture fish strategizing and taking shots to move north. Not only does that affect the fish but it changes how and when you fish for them. For me, picking the deepest holes and the spots behind the rocks when it's that low isn't challenging and is kind of like fishing in a bathtub. They want to go up but when the waters low they stop and stage, and can be easy pickings if they are interested in eating or a reaction swipe because they are annoyed that you're bothering them. 

     The wait for those 50 degree water temps is over. While it's not 50's across the board we're now over the hump and things should be more consistent temperature wise in both the bays and rivers. But that doesn't always mean it's good. My friend has been down on the Chesapeake and has been struggling to find striped bass even when there's bait and good water temps. Now the Chesapeake is big, and the fish, at least this year, seem to be more mid-bay and east. 

     The problem, more for the rivers than the bays, is the water temps and the water levels. While 50 is great, we're only a few warm and sunny days away from the temps skyrocketing into the 60's. Yes, 60 is a good number, especially if you think that's around when spawning gets going, but the quick jump doesn't do anything good. High temps mean low oxygen and just nasty water. Cool, fresh, oxygenated water does the body good. High temps mean stress, and that run alone is taxing on the fish, and can affect spawning. 

     I won't get into fishing for pre-spawn bass, like pros and cons, but what I will say is anglers should take all precautions when targeting, hooking, fighting, landing, and releasing striped bass. Single barbless hooks is a good start. Maybe fishing within a certain area, meaning casing distance, can help when and if you hook a fish. A 40 pound fish hooked 400 feet away, and down current, is a recipe for disaster. Most times, after the hooks and first run, the fish peter out and what you're doing is fighting the current, basically dragging the fish up current until it comes to hand. That's how fish lose eyes, lips, gill plates and rakers, their esophagus, and their lives. You may not take them home but they ain't surviving. Ok, that rants done. If you're catching and releasing, be the best sportsman and woman you can be.

     I've been out here and there and hit it a few good times this weekend. Again, the river isn't much to look at. What it is is just time airing out some casts with low to no expectations. Yesterday marked March's new moon which can be a sleeper compared to a full. April 13th marks the "Pink Moon" which is one I always look forward to. While I haven't found any striped bass the smallmouth are out to play. There's been some swings and misses and some that came to hand. I got to tell you, I'm not much for fish other than striped bass. Not smallmouths, largemouths, bluefish, or albies. But that's just me. 

     I've done the O-dark thirty thing and I have to say it was a push and grind to drag myself out of bed. But I did it and once I got going the juices started to flow. In going I got the opportunity to find my gear, get my waders on and off, and try and rekindle the relationship between my muscles and my casts. It's been three plus months since my joints rotated that way so it has been good for that. 

     It's also given me the chance to find my walking and climbing mo-jo again. Long gone are the days of just rock hopping, now each step is carefully calculated with staff in hand. I do that because I know one false move could be a slip and fall which could wreck me and my now aging- college-Professor-body. To sat my core is strong would be a joke. Outside of having a spine I don't think there's much there these days. 

     And in kind of sad news a friend sent me the below picture yesterday. It's the house at 116 Spier Avenue in Allenhurst. It once was the Walker household. I spent many a day over there stopping in before or after a trip to the beach. If it was after then it included having coffee 

with some pastries from Craving's or lunch from Brennan's. Of course Al and I would hold striped bass court while Evelyn just shook her head at us. I don't think she ever got the striped bass thing, probably because Al was obsessed and drove her nuts about it for over 60 years. 

     Al and Evelyn passed in July of 2022. The house in Allenhurst was built in 1964 and they lived in and around town for over 50 years. In 2019 the home was sold for $3,000,000 which was way above the price per square foot at that time, according to the Asbury Park Press. At $3 million the house went for $1,087 dollars per square foot, far above the $445 per square foot for other homes in the town. 

     Soon after the purchase the new owners proposed a plan to the town of Allenhurst Planning Board. it called for demolition of the existing home and the construction of two single family

homes. In 2021 the plans were approved but the project never went anywhere. In 2024 revisions were made which included a single family home with pool and pool house. That got some of 

the neighbors up in arms but eventually it was approved and and this week the house was demolished. It's not surprising as that has been common in and around the Jersey Shore for the last two decades. Older homes that were laid out and served people differently than the ones constructed today. What's sad is how the face of the towns have morphed into something too large, too extravagant, and too new. But it is what it is.

     The above picture was taken during my last visit with Al and Evelyn before they sold and moved to North Carolina a few years before their deaths, which occurred within 24 hours of each other. Since then when I left the beach I always turned onto Spier off of Ocean Avenue and looked left at the house as I drove by. Things come and go, people, houses, but what can't be taken away are the warm and fond memories that are cemented into our hearts and minds. I am sure the Walker kids fondly remember growing up in that house and no matter what stands at that address the memories can't be erased. 

03.25.25 That fever just showed up....

     I liked what I felt weatherize when I left the college this afternoon. Sun felt warm and it finally appeared to resemble spring. I had my stuff in my truck so on the way home I decided to stop and give it a hard go. Conditions were perfect on the dropping tide but the only thing I didn't like was the gin-clear clarity. I prefer a touch more water and it a little off color. 

     Last week I said my first time with a fly rod in my hand was the shakedown trip but today was really it. I had my waders on and my feet in the water. Luckily I brought the ski pole and that saved me from surely would have been my first wipe out of the season. Put it 1-1/2 hours of pure bliss with the sun on my face and a river devoid of anyone or anything which including the fish. 

03.23.25 Some fish starting to show...

American Angler via Facebook

     I would say things are off to a slow start compared to the last few years. But the question is is this year just a "normal" year like things used to be? While temps seem to be what should be expected the thing that concerns me are the water levels in and around the spawning grounds for striped bass. With a spawn dependent on so many factors drought like conditions this early aren't good.

     Many of us look at water temps as the sole indicator of when things should heat up, no pun intended. In the Raritan Bay water temps have crested 50 during the warmest parts of the day but at night, and when the wind is honking from the NW, temps drop back down to the high 40's. What we look for is consistency. In the spring where fish acclimate to water temps and get going as the temps increase the see-saw fluctuations can stop them in their tracks and slow things down. 

     There's been reports of bunker hitting the bays and rivers and the American shad run is underway in the Delaware with some catching around the Delaware Water Gap. Hopefully soon the river herring will begin their trip north and if cormorants are any early indication then they're here setting up shop on the rocks mid river. 

     Way down river the big bass are starting to show and are eating worms and bait the soakers are throwing out there. There's been a nice start in the less than clear water and you have to be patient, and rich, after threading jumbo bloodworms onto a hook. I've been out a few times throwing flies and I can say it's been less than inspiring. The wind has been relentless already and it doesn't take long for my fingers to shut down due to the cold. As far as water levels were now down to 13,000 cfs with no real sign of rain in the near future. 

First fish 2024- March 29

     For some reason I feel less than inspired this spring, which is a little concerning. Maybe there's a part of my brain telling me that it's way too early which is saving me from frozen fingers and skunks to show. Or maybe it's a combination of all the drama surrounding striped bass that just has turned me off a bit. Could it be social media and reports, that show up without searching, that turns me off by seeing poorly handled fish and or multi-hook baits that I know don't do the fish any good. Or it could be I'm just burnt out from this semester and will get my mojo back when things wrap up. 

Either way the fish will come and go and it'll be another year in the books of my life and who knows how many more of them I'll, or any of us, will have. 

03.21.25 Well there went that...

     Driving home from work yesterday I thought that maybe today would be the day. But around 2 am I could hear the wind and the rain outside. The shutters were banging against the house and I was sure the rainwater was seeping into the basement. 

     When I woke up I took a ride down to the river. I knew things weren't good because when I opened my truck door it almost blew off the hinges. The wind was cranking northwest and the temperature had dropped from yesterday. even with the rain we had days ago the river is only running around 15,000 with temps just below 50. The thing is either way, the fish have to start to move.

     I don't know why I tried but I threw a bunch of casts, with most of them sailing from right to left landing on the bank below me. It's not what I had in mind for my day-off outing. 

03.17.25 Well that helped....

     Wishin' I was fishin'. After a quick deluge of rain, and of course wind, this weekend, things are starting to look better then they did. Rain up north quickly had an effect on the water levels in the river. Since this morning we've seen a 20% increase in the cfs and there will be more coming over the next day or so. While the water will drain rather quickly a good push of water does wonders for the start of the run of American shad, river herring, and striped bass. 

     In addition to the flows the water temps have hit that sought after 50 degree mark for the first time this spring. I'm not ruling out cold weather, or even snow, in the forecast but for right now I'll take what Mother Nature is giving. I'm probably a few weeks away from bringing the first fish to hand and I hope to start sneaking away from life, and work, from time to time coming soon.

03.14.25 Quick shakedown trip...

     Took the opportunity with the warmer weather to give it a go for the first time this year. Did't expect much and got just what I expected. One thing I did learn is how resistant my hands are to the cold as I get older. I just can't take it anymore. 

     Incoming tide wouldn't be my choice especially at 630 am this time of year but you go when you can. Amazingly the waders and the stripping basket still fit from last year adjustments which is a good sign. Obviously there was nothing to see and the northwest wind kept things chilly and my hands raw even just after 30 minutes of casting and retrieving. 

     At least we've had some sun and warmer weather which causes a slight bump in the water temps but not enough to get things going. It's still early, and way early if you think of things 10-15 years ago. It's just the mild winters we've had in the last few years that have got things going earlier than normal. The earliest fish I've caught at the place I visited this week was March 9th, but it was much warmer than this year. 

     And in other news how's that for a result of hard work on the professor's side and the student's side as well. It's the trill of victory and the agony of defeat. Above is the class average from Exam 3 which has has my guts all turned inside out. For some it's a continuation of good or bad performance, a wake up call, or a nail in their coffin. As a teacher you pull for just about all of them, the ones you don't are those with a bad attitude or continued bad habits. It's a 27/7 job, literally, for 15 weeks in the fall and the spring. Nursing school is hard and there's no participation trophies given for just showing up.