Yes, I must admit, I have still been doing the snakehead thing. I go to a few different spots when I need to fish for a bit and today was another loser outing. I have no expecations or confidence that I'll get one, at least on foot, so I really don't even care. Hit it today at the end of the outgoing in super skinny water, thinking they must hide somewhere waiting for the tide.
So in between putting my fly in the trees or weeds I was surprised when I felt a tug, a decent tug, and set the hook like it I was on the show Survivor and hadn't eaten in a week. Sorry, little guy. He swam off strong. But for that split second I thought I would be ending August, and the summer, with my first snakehead.
With the water in the river down to a mere trickle on the low tide I have been scouting and getting familair with the river structure, a lot. The other day I parked and walked and looked and took pictures of the rocks. I was interested to see what the below truck was doing far from the
construction zone near Cooper's. Well, driving down past Trenton today I see why. I guess this project is going from Cooper's, well Riverfront Park, all the way up to the Calhoun Street Bridge. That area, used to be called Mahlon Stacy Park, named after the founding father of Trenton. Below
is a postcard from 1939 showing the park. I'm going to continue my research on the Trenton waterfront and the history of striped bass fishing there, so more on that and the park. But, what I can tell you, the park was destroyed in 1951 when they put Route 29 through the middle of it, essentially severing it off from downtown Trenton and the neighborhoods around it. Well, as we can see, and have heard, they want to (re) move Route 29, and recreate a larger and more inclusive riverfront park. Good for the State, the city, but bad for anglers, and maybe bad for the striped bass.
As I drove south on Route 29 the Jersey barriers were in place. What I think we might see is a promenade constructed from Cooper's to the Morrisville, Trenton Makes Bridge, coming south on Route 29. That is the biggest hurdle preventing walkers walking from Lamberton Street at Marine Terminal Park all the way north to Glen Afton Park in The Island neighborhood. That has to be 5 miles. Of course you would have to up and over it, or go under, the Calhoun Street Bridge and behind the Trenton Water Works facility. Either way, it will be safe, more assesable, less gritty, less river access, more places for people to fish, and more fish hoisted, or attempted to be hoisted up walls that line the river. Not good, in fact it sucks, from a fishing perspective. It's kinda like beach replenishment, but different.