Knew thing would be a littler snotty than yesterday but didn't think this much. Got down in the dark and was met with E winds to 20 at the top of the tide. Spent a few hours looking and making some casts and then driving up and down Ocean Ave. Hit the usual towns Bradley, Asbury, Long Branch before settling into Deal. Saw a guy get two back to back blues to 10 pounds in Long Branch. Not much for birds and couldn't see the bait in the big waves and white water.
I decided to hit what was once one of my favorite places to fish. Phillips Ave was always a stop, to either scout, stop and talk to friends, or hit the pockets at the start or at the end of an outing. From the below view all looks normal, but behind me wooden ramps and heavy machinery littered the beach. I was fine as long as I looked out. I fished the north side pocket which now has a long outflow pipe paralleling the rocks. I didn't get a tap all morning and it wasn't easy getting the bigger fly to where I wanted it.
I heard yesterday was real good with mostly big blues chasing peanut and adult bunker off and onto the beach. Also heard there were some bass mixed in. This morning looked great and I didn't want to leave but it was just time to go.
I got a kick out of seeing the footings being prepared for the old fishing access at Roosevelt Ave. One might say that it's good, for me I am suspect. Recently Deal has tried to limit access to the beaches along town and seeing this makes me worry that they will say, "We have improved limited public access" and the DEP will go along with future plans to essentially shut access down.
