Started out this morning at dawn on patrol for signs of bait or bass. I was surprised to find the beaches and empty outside of the usual faces I see each morning.
Today I saw the above picture posted on Facebook taken by my friend at Island Beach State Park. Yes, there's a better bite going on down there, and the word is out. Its the Berkely Striper Club's annual Catch and Release Tournament so the crowds at the park were extra heavy. There's bunker down there and more bass than up here so the crowds were plenty. I wonder how the guy at the right of the frame made out fishing 30 feet behind the line at the waters edge.
On a different front as I was leaving the beach I noticed a trophy buck in a yard a block from the beach. He was a ways off and I made an image with my iPhone to send to my brother who is out as much as possible in the deep woods looking for a big buck. Well this chap is a keeper as I stopped counting his points at 12. There's always deer around here with all the large parks and golf courses to call home- but this beast is the biggest I've seen in the backyards to date.