This morning I had Craig out to the beach for his first time fly fishing the salt. We've been doing casting lessons for a few weeks and he's doing great. We're at the point now where we're working on our single and double hauls. He bypassed fresh water fly fishing and went straight to the salt, and doesn't fish the salt with conventional gear so we're having fun with it all. Today was a great day for him to get his feet and line wet. We worked the start of the incoming and didn't move any fish but definitely put the fly in fishy water. We had a 630 am start, and that brings me to the question, " Is it cool to fish before you have a lesson or charter?" I know the answer that a guide fishing during a trip is a big no, but this?
Well, I got down to the beach at 5 and found my buddy Rich hooked up as I watched from a distance. I joined him and we worked a short stretch of the beach well with him landing the best fish of the morning. I followed that up with a nice fish I got casting into the rocks. I was surprised to find a sand eel up on the beach but now know why Rich got his on an Ava. Around 830 am the bunker line went from Long Branch to Asbury Park, with it touching the ends of the rocks in Deal. I watched and shot the shit with Al who came to scout things out and we didn't see a single fish blow up on them. I saw lots of boaters coming in to snag and drop but didn't see anything come over the gunnels.
Should be a parking lot out there today, but for me, the shot below of Rich at sunrise always works for me.
