to wet a line in some nicer weather. I also needed some testosterone time to myself, my chickens are girls, 6 of them, one of my two dogs is a girl, my wife is a girl, and my daughters are girls....its only me and Lucas to keep the mens representation in the house. The Delaware heated up nice cresting over 50 today and that, they say, is one of the magic numbers. Males make their way up from the ocean, 133 miles, and wait for the big girls to come and have a romp. So, it looked like a good time to try. There was a few anglers out, nobody doing anything when I got there, a mix of shad and bass fisherman. My expectations were low, it usually remains low until you get into them, and I did.
If you didnt know river fishing is s but different. Lots of worry about the backcast. Lots of worry when wading a 9 foot tide. And lots of worry of getting down deep enough without finding the trees, rocks, concrete and rebar. I jumped to three spots and had fish at two of them. This perch, below, is above moving water and is deep, so if I ever go in, you'll probably find me in Philly.
I threw a Hollow Fleye that had the bass, both striped and smallmouth, jump all over it. Landed two migratory striped bass and had two other witnessed swipes. I am learning more every time I fish the river. The tides, again a 9 for swing, has me fishing from above when the waters up, and then in when the water had ebbed. But you have two things to worry about, the rivers flow, and that big huge tide.
While there is wide open water, most of where I am is pocket water, on the flood or ebb tide, fishing. These ocean fish quickly adapt to the structure and the flows, and where to wait for a meal. Now the shad are too big for these fish and I haven't seen any herring yet, but they are on the way.
It was a great few hours out there, and tomorrow looks like it gets worse as the day goes on. I feel bad for Theresa, as now its on. Time to chase tides and time of day, as the fishing will only get better. Its early now, but it was good to get some early season action. And the commute, 10 minutes from my door to the parking lot.....better then the trek to the Raritan Bay or Deal.
