I was making my way from Red Bank after dropping off my daughter for school heading to the bay where I figured I'd walk the sand on the outgoing tide. Then it hit me I had a boat in Atlantic Highlands. The boat reports have been crazy for a month now and that continued through last night. So I jumped in and joined the fleet in Sandy Hook bay.
I tried....hard. So fish caught. Mostly on the troll and some on either the chunk or livening. I did see a great kayak report of several big fish on a metal lipped swimmer.
Sadly I could't get them to take a fly.....for five hours. I tried shallow. I went to the channel. Had some great marks on bait and some fish.....at every cast I said to myself THIS is the cast.......zilch.
I am hearing about a lot of catch and releasing going on. Caught 50, kept four for the table. A quick peek in the marina dumpster should fish are being harvested, of course, but whats sad is the hack fillet job they do on bigger fish. I watched a guy fillet some fish the other day. He cut out cheeks. Took the heads for soup. Didn't leave a morsel of meat and said he was taking the racks for fertilizer.
After washing the boat I sulked on the way home......WTF! I am still riding the skunk wave. I had my last class last week, last clinical this past Monday, Thursday is the final exam and I AM DONE! with graduation set for May 16th.
So instead of sulking I said tonight is my night to get my first in the Delaware. I was fishing skinny low tide water when a couple of local lads starting hooping it up downriver. I took the walk to add misery to misery and found a nice healthy 27-1/2 inch fish stuck to some wire in the shallows. I tried to educate them on the 21-15" slot limit in Pennsylvania from April 1-May 31 but that fell on deaf ears.
Now looking at that belly either its full of river herring or its a female on her first spawn and its full of eggs. It should have went back. I tried. Don't even know where to call out here for a visit from Fish & Game. Back at it tomorrow before the big studying cram begins.
