11.02.26 Got out before the weather hits and gave the court a shot...

 

     Ah, two lovers going for a walk in the park. Actually, I conned Theresa into taking a drive and walk with me to my favorite no fish fishing spot. It was a nice day. Up early with the "Spring ahead, fall behind" time change, a little exercise I'll talk about in a second, and a check for the redfish before a day plopped in front of the TV for the NFL games. 

     We got to the mud just in time for me to walk around before the water pushed in on the flood tide. I knew the outing wouldn't last long because once the water came it would be pushed around by the steady NE wind which would make seeing any fish rooting around in the grasses difficult. 

     I stayed put on the flat while Theresa took a walk around the refuge. As I stood there I watched and listened for signs of life. One thing I've noticed is that during the warmer months there is more activity in the water as there's more baitfish and predator fish swimming amongst the grasses. I'm thinking these backwater flats are like a nursery that brings in hungry fish lurking around. You can see the water filling in off I the distance and then hear the sounds as the bait fish get ambushed by the bigger fish. 

     The other thing that I've noticed and is a good indicator of where the water is is the movements of the White Ibis that search for small fish and crustaceans in the mud and shallow water. As the water pushes in they move as well. If you look above you can see them to the left, as the water fills in from right to left. That clearing above is one of my first stops as it gets deeper there first and where I get my first shot at seeing rooting or tailing fish. But there was nothing to see yesterday.

    I started my day in the gym. It was my first morning joining the guys on the court for the men's basketball league. It's been 20 years since I've played and I made sure I got there early to do some lame stretches, climb 10 stories on the Stairmaster, and shoot around before the competition came.

     I made sure my plastic Adidas sneakers were all laced up tight so I wouldn't twist my ankles. Being built like a horse, like all body and no legs, it's easy to land the wrong way and get hurt. We had six guys show up which allowed for some three on three games. 3 on 3 is tough as there's no where to rotate to take a play off, like if you're running 4 on 4's. We played three games to 11, by ones and twos, and like other pick up games there were varying degrees of ability on the court. Even though it's been a while for me I played like it was a championship game, and paid for it. 

     Theresa was supposed to meet me at the game but did't make it so I took a quick selfie afterwards just to show her I was still alive when it was all over. The being winded part didn't 

bother me, nor did my heart rate in the 160's, it was my right achilles tendon that was killing me. After not testing it for 20 years I guess loosening it up properly would take more than the 30 seconds I took to stretch it out. 

     Before I sent Theresa the photo I looked up at the clock. It was 1050 am. I thought to myself and commented to the guys, "Not bad after 20 years, two hours....", to which one guy replied, "The clocks went back last night, we played for less then an hour". Oh well, I played hard and paid for it. Hopefully I'll be ready for next Sunday. 

     Even though I limped to the water when we went for our walk it was a good thing because spending a half and hour in the cool water did my foot good. I backed it up with some Motrin when I got home and then hit the recliner for Elevation part of the P.R.I.C.E. approach to sprains and strains. Protection. Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevation. 

     Between the NFL games my personal nurse went to work on my ankle which in the end loosened things up a bit. When I got up I noticed it's tender and I'm walking like an old man recovering from a fall. That'll serve me well today as I'm headed to one of the local college's for a walk through and meet and greet with the nursing Dean and faculty. 

     Exercise is great, and there's no better place to do it then our brand new $60 million dollar amenities center here at Sun City. It's one of four in the complex. There may be an older crowd here but they are an active bunch. Besides what goes on in those buildings there's the pickle ball, tennis, and golf crowds which are always out and about as you drive around. 

     Inside are the gym, track, basketball courts, locker room, and indoor pool and hot tubs. It opens to the outside for the outdoor pool and hot tubs, restaurant, and stage. One thing about this 55 and over community if you're bored it's on you as there's alway something going on somewhere. 

       I probably should have worked my way up before playing basketball like my life depended on my performance. But it was good and I'm glad I went. My next goal, and it really is a goal, is to find away to touch my toes again. I've never felt so tight and weak in my life, especially from the waist down. Getting old sucks, and I can see that you have to intercept again before it's effect becomes permanent. They say when you move to a 55 and over you're not just buying a home, but a lifestyle, which should be an active one. It's time for me to get active. 

11.01.26 Cool to see this out in circulation...

     It was around noon on Monday, February 26, 2007, when my flip phone rang. It was Mel Evans, the New Jersey Supervisor o Photography for the Associated Press. He asked me if I'd like to go across the river for an assignment. Of course I said sure. Back then Marc Steiner and I had founded Agency New Jersey, a photo agency covering politics, sports, and breaking news across the Garden State. 

My love for photojournalism began back at The Red Bank Register in 1984 when I was a sophomore in high school. I walked in to the paper and met the Chief Photographer, Carl D. Forino, who would go on to be a great friend and mentor. Let's see, that's me, 42 years ago. But anyway. 

     Now traveling to New York to shoot is a pain in the ass. Traffic, gas, tolls, and worst of all parking can add up quick and cost a fortune. On assignments you get your expenses covered, but if your creating your own assignments, those get negotiated into the sales of the images, which for us, was mainly the New York Times, The Star Ledger, and the rest of the New York regional papers and magazines. 

     Mel's call came around 12, and when I asked when the assignment was he said, "Now". He went on to give me the particulars. I would be going to the Iridium Jazz Club at 51st and Broadway in Manhattan. I cringed when he told me where because it would be at the height of rush hour in Midtown. But the things with assignments, you never say no, because you'll go to the end of the list of photographers the editors would call when you decline. 

     He then went further. "You'll be going there to photograph Les Paul, you'll have an hour with him before his show". "Bring your lighting equipment and get some portraits and him during the show". There was no tight deadline as these images were for the tank, honestly, they wanted to get recent images of Les as he was getting older, and one day wouldn't be playing anymore.

     I was a nervous wreck driving there, arriving, and setting up. But he was great and was gracious and accommodating. This was in the days before iPhones and when quality digital cameras were readily available and affordable. These days there's 1,000 cameras out and a multitude of images taken of just about everything so finding recent photos are easily found with a quick Google search. Back in the day, photojournalism was great, everything was a paid assignment, not on spec like today. 

     I didn't think much about the images after I submitted them, but was more interested in getting my rate and expenses covered in my check coming from the AP. In 2009, two years later, Paul passed away and the images from that night we were used everywhere. 

     That's the funny thing about being a photographer and images, very rarely do you get royalties. I had been paid a few hundred dollars for my work that evening and that was it. So all those news outlets that had paid subscriptions with the Associated Press were able to use them at their will, and still do today.

     I remember The New York Times ran it pretty big in their newspaper, and even in their digital "paper", which was new back then, and helped kill the daily newspaper industry. They had to run a correction a few days later as they published the wrong location and date, but at least they got the credit line correct.

     The reason I write this is because recently I saw some of those images out there again. In August 2026, Paul's Mahwah home and studio were demolished and news outlets needed some images to complement their stories. 

     Those images, along with the tens of thousands, that I took during my time as a photographer are buried somewhere in the old bulky external hard drives we used to store images. I don't know if they deteriorate over time but they are there. Maybe someday I'll dig them out and spend some time looking through them. I know there's some good ones. 

    After I saw the story about Paul I went to Google to see what other images were out there in the Cloud or online. While I was just glad to get some decent images, and get paid, from the assignment, Google really jazzed, no pun intended, the images up, and their importance as a,

 "... definitive historical visual of the artist...". Who wouldda thought? I'm just glad I said yes to Mel almost twenty years ago. Those were good times. 

10.31.26 Have a Happy Blitz-O-Ween...

      If you live on the Jersey Shore, and have a pulse, and fly fish, I hope you're not reading this until late Saturday afternoon. It's go time, and you should have went. While I am floundering down here in the mud of the Lowcountry you up north are just getting into the swing of the Fall Run. I know the boats have been into them good with some hitting the beach, but unless you go you'll never know, and it's time to know. 

     While the participation will be heavy right out of the low-tide-at-first-light gate the day and tides look great. As you know those bass can push in at any time and there's some dandy's swimming around out there. What would I do? First light at The Hook and work my way south, no matter what anyone is saying on social media. I would even consider a long walk in the dark to have that first light hit me in the face. 

     And it's October 31st. Boy do I remember Halloween, or Blitz-O-Ween 2014. You've seen the above picture here and in some of the popular fly fishing books. It was a day to remember. So much that I'd thought I would share my top three best striped bass fishing outings. Above was me, all alone, except for Bob Dooley who snapped the picture, at Pullman Avenue in Long Branch. You can read about that banner day, HERE. 

     And coming in second was the largest striped bass I ever landed on a fly rod. That happened one April night in 2022. I was out with a few Delaware River rats that night and was pretty much getting in everyone's way with the fly rod, like I always did when I fished with the spin rod guys. They were always kind and I tried my best to stay clear. I had positioned myself on a rock upriver from them when the below beast hit. Thanks to "JoJo" Passerella for the picture, without it it would be hard to remember. And there's no old post to send you to because back then I would have been banished from the river if I posted anything that would spot burn or bring attention to that fishery, so the story was never told. 

     And coming in third, mostly because they were boat fish, was an outing I had with Joe Pheifer on November 2nd, 2018, a day when all the boats stayed tied up at the docks or in guy's driveways. We took a shot, and it paid off. This was at a time when catching 40's and 50's was unheard of. Well we had a mackerel bite around Flynn's Knoll that I've never seen before, and never will. You can read about that day, HERE.

     I do remember bringing my fancy cameras and took great pictures of the bait and bass on the surface as well as us with some very big specimens Joe had landed. Luckily we took a few with the iPhone, like the one Joe snapped above. It was when I got home I realized I never put a memory card in the camera. I just needed one picture to always remember. 

     I have had some great days, on foot and on the JB Cape Fishermen. More fish days. Just good fun days. Good company days. And while I just like fishing for striped bass it's always nice to have a numbers day, or a big fish day, or even just a Nat Geo day happening in front of you day. And for me, it's always better when you're alone or just with your buds. I hate crowds, but got used to that fly fishing the Jersey Shore. 

     So if you went, I hope you found life in front of you. If you went and didn't catch it, it will be happening sooner then later. The bunker bite, peanuts or adults, it something to experience before the later sand eels filter in. 

Ok, enough about fishing....

     Sell yesterday we took a ride over to that used car lot to check in on the pick-up. When I first drove by early in the mornin, to my horror, it wasn't in the same spot as it was yesterday, but luckily it was just moved a few spots away. 

     Theresa and I talked with the owner and his son and daughter that own the business. Nice people. I trust them. I think it's a good deal. They did the work as promised while we were away which included a new radiator and some new gaskets for some oil leaks. We're having to do a kinda lay-away until next month which they were okay with. Now we just need the financing company to give us the green light. 

     They insisted we take it for a ride and to "take our time" so I headed to Zips Car Wash to give it a nice bath. It was already clean but I just wanted to, so I did. Before we dropped it back off I pulled over for a quick photo to which Theresa just shook her head and said, "You're such a goof", and she's kinda right.

     After I dropped Theresa off I took a ride to check out the flood tide, which had done exactly that. There was water everywhere and no signs of life to be found. With enough of a north wind to make seeing any surface activity difficult I broke out the binoculars, which didn't help at all. 

     Tonight there's some Halloween type gatherings throughout Sun City, but you had to pre-purchase tickets for them. We were away when they went on sale and aren't really in the know with where, when, and how, you do things around here. If things went my way today, and we had tickets, I wouldn't have dressed up in a costume. I would have went as a happy guy who just brought a new-to-him old pick up truck. And he would have been joined by his loving spouse who is always supportive, well more like an enabler, and could have dressed up as bobblehead doll, just shaking her head with her goofy husband at her side.  

10.30.26 Insanity, and remembering on the 29th...

    "Insanity- doing the same thing over and expecting a different result". Well it was the "Same Bat time, same Bat channel", if you know you know, yesterday in the mud. Saw one redfish, plopped a fly on him, and it blew out. So that's insanity in this post #1- going back to the same spot to many times and expecting a different result.

     I joked with my buddy Abe Pieciak that I think his hat, which I wear far too often, is giving off bad mo-jo, which of course is insanity #2. Abe, up on the Vineyard Abe, has been busy in The Shed and is now offering a new line of pieces which he has been carving up. 

     

     The boy has some sick skills and these, like the ones he's done before, are even better when you stand in front of them. So those are insane #3. So if know anyone who would want something for Christmas or to hang in their restaurant or office you can find him on Facebook, or drop me a line and I'll get you in touch. I recently showed my interior designer sister his work 

with the thinking that maybe one day she'll have a space where Abe's work would be the perfect fit. While I'm pimping friends and family out if you need a designer Jess is based in Monmouth County but does work across the country. 

     And while surfing the internet yesterday as I looked for jobs outside of nursing I came across some posts of things that occurred on October 29th. One of them was Hurricane Sandy, which hit the Jersey Shore on October 29th, 2012. At that time I was living in Ocean Township, and our home was 

1.83 miles from the beach, our street a continuation of 2nd Avenue in Asbury Park. 

     During that storm I was busy between keeping the family and home safe while covering my area for The New York Times. As I wrote this I went through back posts on this blog to see if I could grab some pics to put up, but they would just be low resolution screen grabs. I have a ton of images on external hard drives, but they are buried deep somewhere in the garage. But looking 

back, do you all remember the several inches of snow we got a few days after the storm hit? It really complicated things and was just another Mother Nature gut punch. 

     And on October 29th, 1994, my friend and colleague at Rescue 1 died in the line of duty. Mike "Elvis" Delane, 33, was killed, another firefighter critically injured, and a civilian perished at a fire 

at 58 Chester Avenue in the city's North Ward. I was at that fire working my part-time job as an EMT at UMDNJ EMS. His loss shook the city, the department, and our company as a whole. We lost a good friend and firefighter that day. I can't believe that was 32 years ago. Life seems to go slow while you're living it but is a blur when you go back and reflect on it all.

     There's so many things I would tell a 20 year-old me to do differently if I could. Imagine if you could have a re-do on some of the poorer choices and decisions you've made over your life. They say you can live your best life even as you get older, and closer to checking out. I don't really feel that. While looking back through rose colored glasses, or even with 20/20 vision, it's the early years that are the best. The firsts are what makes you. First; apartment, new car, career, marriage, child, and home.

     They say, for us northerners, that the south is Heaven's waiting room. At 58 is there really anything you could accomplish that would rival the early successes in life? Yes, you can still make a buck, downsize and even move, help your kids out, and even make your grandkids happy, but really what are you doing? 

     Well now we're back home and now have to re-learn routines and where we fit it. New friends, new schedules, new jobs. We haven't had the chance to sit back and reflect and figure out where we are heading, even though we are here now.

     It's been a whirlwind of a 10 months this 2026 year. I know people are travelers for work or fun but us, not so much. But we have been around via car, truck, boat, and plane. We did that while working and getting the house ready for sale and downsizing. We're not alone conquering that feat of relocating but I can say it has been quite the year.

     Now we, well I, hope to find my way, and not get into the trap of "Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results". I'm done with insanity, although that, with some chaos mixed in, seems to be my comfort zone and where I like to exist. If people, like me, surround themselves with enough stuff, and chaos, and insanity, then they'll never get to see themselves alone in the mirror, which is like kryptonite for a lot of us. It's like sending alone with no clothes on.

     Imagine having all your shit, but a lot less if it, in order. Your finances set. Your house and cars all fixed up or new and reliable. Your daily routine just that, a daily routine. Your health in check. And your friends and family all good and drama free. Now, to me, that's either abnormal, heaven, or insanity. 

10.29.26 It's good to be home...

 

     It is good to be home, finally. Got a good night sleep and decided to head east to a flat that I've spent a lot of time on. It's the King Tide, which is about a 9+ foot tide, kinda like I had twice a day back in Trenton. They all talk about these big flood tides, but to be honest, I don't know if I like fishing them. Yes, I can admit, that I've haven't caught a redfish yet, but that's not the reason. 

     My goal is to sight fish redfish. Any ideas that I had in my head of any water filling the flats will bring tailing fish was a mistake on my part. On the times that I have been out the water had brought blue crabs, shrimp, mullet, sheepshead, and redfish to the party. But those King, or flood tides, are hard to fish, and quick. 

     I arrived at the perfect time. The water was just starting to fill in past the grass and with it I had two tailing redfish to cast to. But in a matter of minutes the water was in, the tailing had stopped, and I didn't see anything else thereafter. They fish could just swim around, rather then search in skinny water. You can see those differences above and below, the top photo captured at 0845, the one below 0849. 

     It may look flat above but soon the north wind kicked in and just changed the entire vibe. I walked around, mostly towards the back of the estuary where the water was skinnier, but it soon filled in as well, so I called it a quick morning. 

     I planned on unloading the Suburban at The Fly Barn so I made a detour to check out another spot. This time there were two fly rodders there, both saw no fish, one of them laying two into trout. 

     The wind was at your face and it made seeing into the water difficult. I wasn't looking for tails but bank huggers who I've seen patrolling the edges from time to time, but not today. October is bull red month, well not where I am. In addition to not seeing any fish, there were no birds, and not much for bait. Even the fiddlers were in hiding. 

     Luckily it's slow-grow month for the grass so I didn't find it overgrown and out of control. One of the reasons the Suburban was packed to the gills was because Theresa and I couldn't hold off on a yard sale we passed in Jackson. A family was "selling out" as they joked as the neighborhood was "turning over", so they wouldn't need their electric lawn mower anymore. So we loaded it up.

     For a buck and a quarter this is a far cry from that 12 inch push mower I had been using. One thing I'v realized is that I've outgrown the structure that is attached to the barn already. My plan is to have it be a hang/fly tying room, not a garage for all the tools and shit I dragged down from New Jersey. I'm pictured a small couch and a TV on the wall, and of course a mini-split for climate control. And a new fridge. I would have taken the one from Cape May but that wasn't going to fit no matter how we packed it, so I'll be on the Marketplace hunt. 

     And I took Sammy, short for Samantha, the Suburban to Zips Car Wash for a must needed and deserved bath. She cleans up nice, and has served us well, but there's something going on with her EVAP something or other and she's hard to start after you take off the gas cap, like earn you fill up. And she could use some suspension work, like shocks and arms, and whatever else. even though she only has 135,000 miles she's been siting on that stuff for going on 23 years, and they're tired. 

And then there's my pick-up in waiting at the car lot. She's still there, waiting, but we'll see if that goes down like I want it to. October has been an over-budget month so it'll take some additional hold time or a price drop on their part to get it done. But I'm ready for a pick-up, and Sammy could use a break. 

10.28.26 We made it home, finally....

(Not our house)

     Well at 712 am we were on our way. After a long month of being on the road we were heading back home. Theresa likened it to the movie, Trains, Planes, and Automobiles. While the night before I was thinking of leaving before 5 am I reconsidered thinking getting a solid nights sleep would serve us better for the ride. 

     Our first stop was to hit my brother's house and pick up Luke who was less then enthusiastic when he saw us. We didn't know if he wanted to stay in New Jersey or just hated us for living him as we traveled around. Eventually we got him going and after a THC dog gummy he was ready for a chill ride south. 

     Siri laid out the best route and she said we would be rolling into Bluffton, South Carolina at 730 pm. By leaving when we did we pretty much beat the Baltimore and Washington, DC traffic, but there was other traffic to be found. 

     We did have a slow down and then bumper to bumper traffic for almost an hour in somewhere Virginia which really set us back and our arrival back home. Add in a few spots and 730 become 10 o'clock. 

     At some point south of Fayetteville with my ass cheeks burning and my eyes fuzzy I looked over and saw something that woke me up in a hurry. At one point I thought it was me looking at me. 

     It was a Jones Brothers Cape Fishermen that was on it's way to Florida now doubt after being picked up in Morehead City, North Carolina. Like my boat it hit the road without power on board. Whoever has this set-up I am envious, a new GMC Denali, a new JB, and a new trailer. Congrats on that bud.

     One highlight of going hame and coming back is hitting Buc-ee's. If you've never been then make sure you find one one day and make the stop. It's like WaWa meets Target on steroids. Best part is since they are so busy and move so much stuff it's relatively affordable and all fresh. And then I saw the sandwich board outside. Could this be an employment opportunity?

Who would thought a GM job there would pay between $225-$300 thousand a year, and there's a plus sign next that 300. I guess they make money and they spend money on goods help. Maybe I could get a part-time hustle as the mascot who roams the store taking pictures with the customers. 

     The last leg, like the last three hours, were a dog but we finally got home. I quickly emptied the bags from the truck and got my fishing stuff ready for today. I'll let myself sleep in and if I get the 

juices flowing I'll go and check out the King Tide somewhere near home. I know things are starting to get good back home with the Fall Run and I wish I could have been there over the next 30-days as I know it's just a matter of time before things go off. You might even see a Blitz-O-Ween somewhere along the Jersey Shore on Saturday. 

     I miss the birds, the bait, the bass, and the blitzes. For now I'll settle on looking for tails and swirls on the flats of the Lowcountry.