06.29.22 No bass for you!

     Funny how it goes when you guarantee yourself fish. With high tide around 4 am it was an early start because as soon as the tide flips the water is all but gone in a few hours. Started with a popper and did nothing and fished two spots before settling in for no doubt a multi-fish morning. Why do I say that? Because I planned it that way, and my buddy landed 22 last evening out in his boat. 

     So there was no surprise when I moved a fish on my first cast. No worries, it'll be game on soon I thought. Well that never happened. Not a swipe, a hit, a nothing. By the end I was just about dragging my fly across the rocks in desperation. I have to say, although I have said it before, I'm 

all good out here, and have nothing but good things to say about the Delaware River 2022 striped bass "season". With the salt a long drive and spotty catches I won't be doing that much, it'll be local, as I've said before, trying to get some snakeheads on the fly. 

06.28.22 A bass a day....

     I thought I timed it right getting down to the river at 530, a few hours on the drop. Well, someone opened the drain plug because the water was low and there was only a few spots to get them. I found that spot and had a bunch of chances during a short window. I went to the few remaining plastic envelopes I had left and tied on the below fly only to have it broken off after my first cast. 

     Always an excuse, but today's was I think due to excitement and wanting to get a fly in the water before the water left. There's some challenges here, and one of the biggest is the backcast and direction you can throw and land a fly. I kept trying to get it into the deeper water but it was tough.  

    The Orvis Recon rod is slow, which is good, as you can bend and load the rod quickly and kind of direct your cast better than a fast rod. When I did it right I hooked a nice bass which was the only one that made it into the viewing tank. One thing is for sure, you can't fish from an elevated perch 

and think you can hook, fight, land and just release the fish back into the water, they need that time to recover and get their strength back. The tank does just that. Tomorrow the tide will be just about an hour and I will get there an hour earlier and hopefully find some fish. As I was wrapping up I 

noticed my hook had snapped, probably done on a backcast that hit the metal or concrete behind me. I need to bang out a few flies if I am going to continue to pick away at the fish when the tides, temps, and time of day are right. 

      Well, I had a minute before work so I hit the dungeon and tied up some bait for tomorrow. Just one that should work. I'll be sure to tie up a new leader and tippet. The below fly hasn't been through a bath yet and some time in the water for the fibers to figure out where they below will help. I love the Squimpish material, but I find myself putting a touch of Softex on the fly just to keep in it some type of shape so it doesn';t foul. And when they do do foul, or after you catch a bass, the fibers are all over the place and you have to comb them back or it won't swim as it did before it got eaten. 

06.27.22 Never gets old....

     Even the little guys are fun in the tank. Had a break today so fished for about 45 minutes at dead low with just one swipe which peaked my interest and got me wanting to go back on the flood tide. Water temps up from the last few days but will enter a little slide down with the quick deluge of rain we got today, the cloud cover, and the 60 agree air temps at night. That should set up for a good first light in the morning. And I need to stay local, this new truck ain't no Prius, she loves to drink.

     This little guy was fired up and didn't need any time in the tank to recoup. He was a quick drop and go after being lowered back into the water. The tank, especially during this time of year, is a must have and not only good for me as far as entertainment is concerned but good for the fish as they get a few minutes to catch their breath before going back into the river. 

06.26.22 One and done....

     I won't be able to make the journey down to the beach this week so this morning was my morning. Up at 315 am, on the beach and getting hit with the incoming swelly waves at 420. Tried to pop my way down the beach and on the rocks and it was hard with the quick sets and waves breaking up on the beach scarp. 

     When the waves did break the water would run up the beach nearly sending me head over heels depending on the force of the wave. The water was clean and green and looked fishy, which it was,

just tough with the fly rod on the high incoming tide. There were mussels galore and it was tough trying to get the fly down in the trough without coming up with junk on each fly during each retrieve. After light came I met up with Leif and we made a quick spot switch as I was having no

luck. There was a guy fishing a bucktail/squid combo and he must have landed 20 fluke, including a few keepers, which we shared a bowl. Now, bowl meaning structure, not bowl meaning cannabis (pot). I walked down the beach and up onto the rocks and after 10 minutes I had my first hit and fish of the day. It grabbed the Ugly Ass Fly just as I was taking it out of the water and soon he was making his way into the still swell waves. I haven't landed a fish on the groins lately but luckily this one had a nice carved out section I could get down and land the ocean run fish. I had to call it an 

early day because Lauren had listed her Subaru and she had a lineup of customers starting at 9. It only took three people looking at it before she had the asking price in 20's in her hand. That's some

vehicle weekend we're having out here. I swapped a truck for a truck, she sold her car and now we're off to look at a 1998 Dodge Ram 1500 for her, and it's a stick. 

 

06.25.22 Here we go again....

     So, here we go. After a few week listing on Facebook Marketplace and looking at a bunch of used trucks I decided that a truck swap was going to be the best I could do. I had my 2003 Chevy Silverado Duramax with 138,000 miles, I know, 'That's just breaking in", "It's worth a fortune", and "You can't get trucks anymore", well with all that no one came and looked, I was back and forth 4,000 times with a handful of buyers......later. 

     I found a local guy that moves cars, does the whole towing/junkyard thing and had this 2002 Chevy Silverado (Gas!) crew cab. Tons of miles, probably around 200,000 maybe even 230,000, but you know what, I did it. He switched out the cluster so the miles aren't actually that high, who knows. Brought it home last night after switching titles and spent the night and this morning cleaning her up. She's got the AVANGLR plates on and it blows cold air. 

      I gave him a super clean truck and I think it was a fair trade. Lauren, the technician, thinks he got over on me, we'll see. 

 

06.23.22 "Wipers" in the rain....

     A little lunchtime outing before the rains moved in. End of the incoming and the start of the ebb. Flat and boring looking water. No much for action until I saw a nice keeper sized bass grab my fly and he'd for the current. Fought it nicely, had the net ready, and snap!. There goes the leader. There must be something to be said about proper care of your gear. You can't fish fish and then salt and then leave your rod outside in Africa like heat and then rain and then heat again and assume it will not be affected. Good fly, good fish, good bye.

     But after that it was slow and I moved a bit in the hour or so I was there. When I went tight I thought it was another bigger bass, only to find it was a hybrid striped bass on the other end of my line. This are feisty, and strong pullers for their size. Hybrids are a cross between striped bass and white bass, either female to male or male to female. Not sure where these came from but maybe 

from Lake Wallenpaupack or one of the other lakes New Jersey or Pa stocks them in. Something different, kinda cool, glad to have got out. And for TBT, Throw Back Thursday, the below popped up on my Facebook page. It was a pic from an outing I had out front with Andrew Hamilton, where the big bass were all over and on bunker. That was a good day also. 

06.22.22 That's a wrap....

     That'll do it for me, I'm really done now. Honey hole has all but dried up. Getting kind of tired of fishing the same couple of spots over and over again. I'm also not going to worry about the water temperatures and stressing the fish. No more bass, unless it's a by catch. When I can go it'll be the saltwater or snakeheads in the march. I'm thinking I'm done with the viewing tank, but would love to see a snakehead or bowfin in there. That's next. 

 

06.21.22 "Evan, you're definitely going to catch a striped bass..."

     It's never a good idea to guarantee a kid that they are going to catch something when you go fishing. I did it kinda. Did the guarantee but then backed it up a bit to the proverbial "Fishing not catching" line. Hit it on the incoming. Water has cooled down to 70. Cloud cover. What else could

they want? Well wee did have one swipe at the fly one, two, three times and miss each time, which kind of made for a cool early morning. Love my girls, all of them, but its nice to have a guy around 

for a few days. We set off Cape May Sunday for a few days but were called back late last night because Theresa had a birth to attend to. We did catch dinner at H&H Seafood in Cape May. and then the sunset at Sunset Beach before we split. I am ready to start fishing the summer salt, although

Leif said it has been tricky lately, seeing the bass but having a hard time feeding them. The fluke are there, and this 24" doormat from the other day is proof. This one is still swimming. 

 

06.19.22 Happy Father's Day...

     Happy Father's Day out there to all you guys, and to the women who have to step in the role of father in a fatherless household, and there are a lot. It's not a great day for some, for those who have lost their father at an early age, or to those who lost a child before their time should have been up. But it's a day to celebrate the good times, memories, and hard work Dad's do for their kids and families. 

     

     Well the fan is still on and blowing here along the river. It really makes it tough to fly fish. I tried the popper for a bit without moving a fish and then dropped to the honey hole where I went 0-6 in about an hour. Prick on, lose one, see one, and none of them stayed committed. So that was it, the tank stayed empty today. In between the gusts and trying to do some line management I just enjoyed the cold morning and reflected on Father's Day. Thought about my kids, and Ryan whose no longer here, and my own Father who has recently started his journey now undergoing treatment for cancer. You have to live life each day like it's your last, but continue to take care of the responsibilities we have before us. God, if we only knew then, when we were younger, what we know now. 

       My mornings fishing was relegating to making some sort of downwind cast and working the fly along the wall. Before I left I got a tot that hit the fly and almost knocked themselves out as it swam tight to the wall. Once I got the one I was done. 

     

     After breaking things down I jumped in my truck and cranked on the heat. I was freezing and my hands shaking from the cold. The temps were around 56, but felt a lot coder than that with the NW wind. While I heated up I watched my buddy fishing in his boat. He was using topwater so I had something to watch anticipating a bass blowing up on his lure. 

     Besides it being Father's Day weekend last night was Lauren's 20th birthday. We are so proud of her as she continues her studies in Automotive Technology at Mercer County College and watching her day head to work as a technician, they don't say mechanic anymore, at Fred's Beans Dodge Chrysler, Jeep and something else in Doylestown. I'm proud of the Brady Bunch we have formed in our clan and enjoy watching each of them grow and start their adult lives. 

06.18.22 Mother Nature turned the fan on high....

     Brutal conditions out there. Well maybe just less than brutal. WNW honking to over 20 mph which is the worst wind I think for a flyrodder here. It was blowing, then calm for a short bit, then steady winds came. Started at 430, I'm just about done with that, and tried the popper without a 

swipe or a swirl. I knew then it would be a slow morning. I then hoped my popping would have tuned them up a bit so Switched over to that Snake Fly/Squimpish fly that quickly got one in the tank. Then I thought it was all good. But over the next four hours it was three more to 24 inches and that was it. Only had two swipes which is slow compared to the last few days. 

    After yesterday heat wave the dark and the wind cooled off the water a bit dropping it three degrees to 72. Hopefully it stays cool today and the fan gets turned off so I can get one for Father's Day tomorrow, and that'll be it for me for a bit, until it's not.