It was a beautiful morning along the Jersey Shore. Clear skies, cool air temperature, mild W wind, and beautiful first light and sunrise coupled with a flat-like-glass surf. Those conditions are great if you are watching and photographing but not if you are striper fishing. Maybe.
Started at 4 am looking to catch the end of the ebb and getting off the water early since I have a walk and wade trip later today. Picked a short stretch of beach and went to work on top and underneath with only one bluefish that grabbed and let go. I was done by 6 am just not impressed with the look of the water and the lack of life that I saw. I put the rods away and made some cool images of a fly angler finishing up as the sun rose. Making those images made my day even though it was slow with the long rod and fly. I was about done until.....
...... I found the birds and the bait and the blitzing bass. I had fish swirling, breaching, splashing, in front of, behind, to my side, and underfoot for about 45 minutes. At just about each disturbance I either tangled a bird, got a swirl, had a hit, flossed one, missed one, or hooked and landed one while I waited for someone to come behind me and pinch me. I arrived alone, fished alone, and left alone. It was the perfect ending to an already picture perfect morning. My only wish for the morning was that I had a lucky client making those casts instead of me. It would have just as good to watch it unfold as it was to fish it.
