So since yesterday was a bust, today must be a good day, right, wrong. Up at um' at 515 am, which is late for most guys, but I had a strategy. I'll get there when I get there and catch a fish. There were several cars at 8th Ave when I went by, so I moved down to DEal. There were more guys there so I suited up and walked down. I started my usual work near the jetty and moved along the beach. I just didn't feel it. So I got back in my truck and started the hunt. I stopped at Seven Presidents in Long Branch, Monmouth Beach, Sea Bright, and eventually North Beach on the Hook. Once there I met another fly rodder and we walked out to the beach and starting talking about business, and fishing, and life. He is also in the arts, and you can check out his work at www.harrystoiber.com. I think we were both resigned to the fact that blind casting for stripers just wasn't a good use of time. That was until we saw this guy north of us hook into one with a SPEY (I gotta get one) rod. I always saw the guys using them for salmon and steelhead, two fisheries I'm just not in to. I grew up in New Jersey, where a 7'6 fly rod is more than enough. Then I make the big jump to a 9 foot rod for the Delaware, only after trying to fish that river system with my Fran Betters custom 7'6" 5 weight. Now, I have found something special. My fly casting coach, Jim Valle, has talked of his use of his spey rod in the salt but I never gave it much mind. Today I was sold. What a beautiful thing to cast. The angler pictured in the video was nice enough to let me try it. 12 foot 6, shooting head, running line- cast about 1.2 miles. Fantastic. After that I stopped along the way back home only to hear of one big bluefish caught and weighed in at Scott's in Bradley Beach.
If I get my order in soon, I'll have my spey rod in time when the stripers really come in.
SPEY casting on Sandy Hook