08.31.14 Puttin' clients on the fish......

                        

.....some days the job of a guide is difficult.....demanding clients looking to catch fish after fish their way all day.....today was one of those days. Just kidding. You know you're having a great time as a guide when you lose track of time and have a great day even if the biggest fish to hand, was, well, and 8 inch snapper bluefish. But, hey size doesn't matter!
     Had Victoria and John out for a fun first light outing looking to pick up a striped bass inside along with some bluefish. I'd have to say we did a yeomans job but couldn't find em' today. We fished outgoing, slack, incoming, here, there, drifted, anchored, popped it, chugged it, Clousers, Decievers, single hand retrieve. two hand retrieve, just about everything but the below method.



     That said it was just a fun day. At one point John and I realized we were ducking for cover when Victoria got up to cast....it made for a good laugh, in the end it was John that put a fly in V's jacket arm.
     After finding the snappers "blitzing" on bait up top and the boat traffic on the river starting to build we called it a day. Victoria wants to learn how to fly fish off the beach and rocks....I told her she has no idea what that means as the obsession will quickly take over her being.

08.30.14 Beautiful morning out on the beach.....

     Yesterday I didn't get to write a post about my return to the beach. I did hit it yesterday and managed to squeak a nice feisty 20" striper from some bigger surf.
     This morning I hoped to repeat yesterdays success, but had no takers. Got to the water just as light arrived and as the tide started to flood. Water was clean, but warmer than yesterday, which may explain the lack of a bite. I would say fall is here. the air temps were in the mid 50's and it just felt like the season is starting to change. After this weekend the summer crowds will be gone and "we" will have our Jersey Shore back.
     Tomorrow I have a boat trip and look forward to hunting for some bluefish and stripers in the back waters with one of my favorite clients.

08.24-28.14 Great week at the Bill Canfield Kids Fly Fishing Camp.....

     It was another great week at Camp Weequahic in Lakewood, PA. This was the third year of the Bill Canfield Kids Fly Fishing Camp. Joe D, Charlie "Bunky" Limpert, Dave Canfield, and myself spent 5 days with local youths from the Hancock area introducing them to fly casting, tying and fishing. Like year one this was a sleep away camp and the boys were under the watchful eye of camp counselors at night and during activities like Ga-ga-ball, campfires, gymnastics, swimming and movie night. 

     We start the camps off with an introduction of Dave Canfield. Bill's dad, whom this camp is in memory off. Then the boys receive their Orvis 8'6" 4 wt outfits and the fun begins! Rigging, knots, and then it was into casting where the boys picked it up rather quickly. 

     One of the most anticipated classes during the camp is the fly tying. The boys could have tied all day everyday. It was fun to see them tie one day, and then go and fish, and then try and tie the patterns that worked before fishing the next day. We tied a "variery" of flies, but most seem to get a bite, or a look.



          We then moved to the docks and the banks where the sunnies were very cooperative eating flys that the boys tied. Bunky couldn't resist getting in on the action and the boys had a laugh as I poked fun on Charlie's big smile in getting a sunny to bite on a fly under the dock. It was nice having cooperative fish for the boys to see and cast to.

     The lat two days we backed down the drift boats and took the boys out on the lake. It was here where the boys really got to get a good shot at some bass that were along the edges and lilly pads. Since the boys mostly spin fish for bass they knew what was up so it was easy just guiding them on their cast, presentation, and retrieves. I think my sport Wyatt landed the biggest bass....well maybe we just got the best picture of one. In the end it was just great to catch a lot of fish....the pic below is great!

     We are thinking of opening the camp up to parent/kids. Three days/two nights....same location...may include a half day float trip on the Delaware. We're kicking it around. If you are looking for a nice long weekend with you and your youth fly fisher, or aspiring fly fisher, drop me a line so we can see what kind of interest that camp would generate.

08.23.14 Off to the Bill Canfield Kids Fly Fishing Camp....

     It's that time of year again. I'm off to spend the better part of the week with Upper Delaware guides Joe D and Charlie "Bunky" Limpert as we run the third Bill Canfield Fly Fishing Camp. Each year its always a great time for both the kids and the guides. Be back next Thursday.....
     You can read more about the camp in last years blogpost HERE.

Here's a slide show from year one....

08.22.14 Love big boxes from STORMR....

     Fall is just about here and its time to start thinking abut cool and foul weather gear. Today I received my STORMR Fusion jacket. This jacket is it. Windproof, waterproof, and breathable!!! HERE

    I find the STRMR line has something for every season and every art f my body. There's nothing that will end a fishing session quicker than being wet and cold, or both! Check out their entire line on the web, HERE, or stop by the bigger tackle shops and they will have the product line to check out, try on, and buy. 

08.20.14 Small blues and nice fluke...

                           

     Just love the timing of these tides with first light. If this was a month or two from now I'd be in heaven. Started out again looking for some bass but could only find snappers willing to nip at the flies before sunrise. After sunup I landed a narrow keeper fluke than was released as I high sticked a fly from the rocks. I had anther come up with the same presentation but I set the hook before it was in his mouth. My friend fished off the sand and caught three keeper fluke. It was another nice day, and it looks like we're going to be getting some E winds which might make for some good fishing off the beaches and rocks. 

08.19.14 Had a different plan in mind....

     So I was thinking of changing up my routine a bit. I liked the outgoing tide and took a shot outside the inlet thinking bait was getting flushed out and the bass, or blues, might be lined up. Well I was wrong. I popped and only had small snappers following. I dredged an eel fly, and only had snappers follow and nipple at it.

Hey, you will never know if you don't go.

08.18.14 Fall is here.....

     Back at it this morning. Getting out of the truck at 0445 I could feel that fall is in the air. Great timing of the outgoing tide this morning but the surf was flat. If a striper as much as farted in the water you would have seen it. Tried with a black Kinky Muddler in the dark before going over to a sand eel pattern. I had the 35 gr line on and as the tide ebbed I wish I had the intermediate line on board. Not that would have mattered but I most likely wouldn't have caught a pair of crabs dredging the bottom.

08.17.14 Nice surprise coming back to the beach.....

     What a great surprise. After a dead stop still July and August it was nice to get back out there and find some bass. Got out in the dark and just as light arrived got a 26" bass on a Brad Buzzi sand eel fly.
Have perfect conditions, end of the outgoing, west wind, some white water, some bait in the wash, and a few bass out on the prowl. I picked u a second smaller bass before sunup. In addition, there was a beautiful sunrise before the clouds rolled in and the rain started.
     This was just the kind of return I needed.

                        

08.09 -16.14 Great week in Wildwood Crest.....

     Been away from here for a week and it has been a good break. Just got back from a week down in Wildwood Crest with the kids and visits from some family and friends. That said, I'm ready to get back to work, fishing, and this blog. I actually miss writing it.
     We stayed down in SeaPointe Village and had a great condo overlooking the beach. I got it off of VRBO.com [vacation rentals by owner], I have had great luck renting directing from owners here in the U.S. and in Puerto Rico. We did a little of everything, the pool, the beach, the boardwalk, crabbing, and Cape May. At times we did nothing....which was a great art of the trip also. I tend to read books



always related to fishing so I thought I would break out a bit. I picked up a book by Nicolaus Sparks called, The Longest Ride. It was a great read and would make a great movie. I really enjoyed getting u early and reading. When I was finished that I got another book, Missing You, by Harlen Coben, another great read.
     The weather was great and we only missed out one day because of the weather. We pretty much ate our faces out, well let me speak for me, starting each day heading to Britton's Gourmet Bakery in Wildwood for a dozen donuts and some pastries. My boy Sean did a lot of the cooking when we ate in and he delivered beers and lunch poolside for the family, well the beers were for the adults.

     Erin did most of the hard core swimming either in the ocean or the pool. It was fun t watch her enjoy the water with her siblings, cousins, uncle and grandparents. Kids and water just go together.



     The boardwalk was well the boardwalk. Nice, but overpriced. I found the constant heckling in some type of Russian accent a little bothersome...it just made all of the Tshirt booths, and tatoo stands, and games just a little sleezy and dirty and cheezy. I heard it from end of the boardwalk to the other.
     The highlight of the boardwalk visit was watching my two 17 year olds decide whether to go on the Spring Shot. A bungee cord/ slingshot "ride" that puts a sphere that riders sit in into orbit 265 feet in the air, in three seconds. It was $50 for two riders, or $75 with the video and two t-shirts. It was worth the extra money.

Here's why it was worth it.....



     Well it was a week of no fishing and just family. Soon it will be back to school and taking Ryan off to his first year at Rowan University. The kids will have a few more weeks of fun including a last weekend summer trip to Roscoe. Without rushing life, I am looking forward to the fall, and fishing, starting with a few trips in Jersey before heading to Montauk in mid September.

Tomorrow I will be on the beach before first light....I can't wait.

08.09.14 Great day on the water....just couldn't find the fish

     Had a great morning out front with an uncle-nephew team in Jim and 15 year old Anthony. We met up around first light and went to work. They knew how the summer has fished on the beach but they were there to learn fishing off the beach and rocks. 

     We went through everything from tackle to tides and all else in between before going fishing. Started with a Bob'b Banger then scaled it down to a Slider when some tiny snappers showed up. As light arrived we went into fluke mode and the guys worked the beach and rocks for the next 4 hours with only one fluke flash for their efforts. It's always nice to see young kids getting into fishing, and 

even more into fly fishing. Anthony has had great teachers in his dad and uncle because his casting of both intermediate and sinking lines, on and off the rocks, was great. Today was one of those days where I really wished we could get tight on a fish. We saw some bait, saw some blues under birds off the beach a bit, but the colder wash water might have had the flat ones in deeper water. 

     These guys are all ready for the fall run and I look forward to fishing with them again. Jim has a nice resume of fishing experiences and his next is a bluefin trip with Gene Quigly from Shore Catch. Jim a guy I can relate to......he only fishes with the fly rod.....no matter what. I hope he gets a good shot at some tuna in a few weeks. 

08.07.04 From the ASMFC's meeting two days ago.....

Basically "we" all want a 25% reduction in one year, the lobbyists and politicians and the money will put the pressure on a three year plan......lets see who's running the asylum at the ASMFC

ASMFC Atlantic Striped Bass Board Approves Draft Addendum IV for Public Comment

Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board approved Draft Addendum IV for Public Comment to Amendment 6 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass. The Draft Addendum proposes new fishing mortality (F) reference points, as recommended by the 2013 benchmark stock assessment, and associated management measures to reduce F to a level at or below the proposed target within one or three years.

The Draft Addendum responds to results of the 2013 Atlantic striped bass benchmark assessment indicating F in 2012 was above the proposed F target, and female spawning stock biomass (SSB) has been steadily declining below the target since 2006. This means even though the stock is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring, SSB is approaching its overfished threshold and stock projections show SSB will likely fall below the threshold in the coming years. In addition, a similar decline has been observed in total harvest.

In response to these factors, the Draft Addendum proposes management options to reduce fishing mortality to the target level. The Draft Addendum includes a suite of management options to reduce recreational and commercial harvest along the coast and in the Chesapeake Bay under three reduction timeframes. The timeframes include (1) reducing F to its target in one year with a 25% reduction in 2013 harvest in 2015 (2) reducing F to its target within three years with a 17% reduction in 2013 harvest in 2015, and (3) reducing F to its target within three years with a 7% sequential reduction in harvest for three consecutive years starting in 2015. Specific options to be considered include bag, size, slot and trophy size limits for the recreational fishery and quota reductions for the commercial fishery.

Given the Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River (A/R) stock of striped bass contributes minimally to the
coastwide complex when compared to the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware, and Hudson stocks, Draft Addendum IV proposes it be managed by the State of North Carolina using stock-specific biological reference points. These stock-specific reference points, which have been approved by the Board, would result in a separate quota that is set to maintain F for the A/R stock at its target level. The Board tasked the Technical Committee with the continued development of Chesapeake Bay-specific reference points for future use.

It is anticipated the majority of Atlantic coastal states will conduct public hearings on the Draft Addendum; a subsequent press release will announce the details of those hearings once they become finalized. Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum will be available on the Commission website (www.asmfc.org) under Public Input the week of August 11th. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on September 30, 2014 and should be forwarded to Mike Waine, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at mwaine@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Addendum IV). For more information, please contact Mike Waine, at mwaine@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

08.05.14 The fluke are keeping my interest.....

     Beautiful morning out at first light. Few hours till low tide made fishing the outgoing fun. Of course went on the prowl for any fish with stripes but couldn't find any. The bunker was out again this morning but this time just happily flipping with a care. Switched over to a sand eel pattern and landed one nice sized and one short fluke.
     Still waiting for some small bait to show up but I haven't seen any out front. Usually by now the snappers are around in force but I haven't seen them either. Hate to rush life...but I can't wait till the fall.

08.04.14 Nothing but lettuce....then the big bunker got pushed up on the beach

     Early start catching the last hours of the ebb tide. Thought for sure it would be easy to pick a fish, hopefully a bass, but maybe a fluke out of the water. Problem was, every cast came back with lettuce on it. I felt more like a farmer than a fisherman.

     Just as I was about to leave I looked up the beach and saw a black cloud in the water. I said to myself, 'Man, that looks like a lot of bait." And it was. Full sized adult bunker were getting pushed up on the beach. I made the switch from a Clouser to a medium sized bunker fly and starting casting. Pretty good south to north sweep so I had to figure that plus the breaking waves on when and where to cast. I snagged one bunker on a cast but it came undone. The "action" lasted for about 45 minutes with a few rip throughs and some swirls on the ocean side of the pod, nothing for me from the beach.

    Even though I didn't catch anything it was nice to see some life, and a bit exciting, thinking for a bit that I might just get a August bass or bluefish blitz all to myself.