Got out of work about 245 and just wanted to fish. Raritan wasn't looking to good yesterday on the dead low to the start of the incoming so while up north I figured I'd stay local before heading home. I'm hoping the fall fun blitz fishing is over and now I can just get back to fishing. I checked
out the Passaic River but it just wasn't looking lively so after a half and hour I headed east to the Hackensack. I have already done my scouting in the spring so I have an idea on where to be on certain tides. Sometimes the main river is good, sometimes the tributaries are better, sometimes
it's better up river, and sometimes down near the Newark Bay. I timed it near perfect with an incoming tide starting to really fill things in and about an hour plus of daylight. I fished for about 15 minutes thinking this was a bust and then a fish blew up on something right below me. I made a ton of casts but I have to say it was just enjoyable fly fishing. Working the tides and points and waiting for some action, and luckily it came. Some nice fish, a handful of follows, a few pricks, a few missed hook sets, and one I played with on a retrieve that wouldn't commit. Most fish +/- keeper sized and
one that looked mid 30 inches that I missed but saw his swipe. The water was flat and relatively clean even though we got pounded with rain yesterday. As the water filled in and the dark arrived I
was just waiting for some bait to show as it rode the tide north. I thought for sure the fish would be stacked up on the tide line as it wrapped around the points I fished but that didn't happen. I have to say while I love the beach, the rivers are becoming a real close second. I love water that moves right to left or left to right. I also enjoy not fishing the blitzes, although I'm always happy to run into one from time to time. This time of year the rivers, outside of my home waters in my backyard, start to
see fish moving in, I think these are the ones that hunker down in the channels, bays, or the Hudson for a hopeful mild winter. The bait also moves up, riding the tide and the wind, enjoying the tad warmer water. There are still bigger fish around and in these rivers. These spots are the coveted ones, hard to find, long walks, hard to fish, but can be rewarding if everything lines up right. Tonight it did.
