Last night I kicked back and forth about taking the boat out today. I kinda felt, and feel now, that I would have caught something today, maybe even several. I ran it by Leif and Paul Eidman, you know it's one of those decisions where you need a push to get it done. So, I was going. High tide at 10 so I wouldn't haveto get there at zero-dark-thirty and I might just catch that part of day where it was warmest.
So when I woke this morning it was 24 degrees. I had plugged the batteries in for the night to keep them warm and juiced. I started gathering my stuff and then reality set it. Get ready, one plus hours there, hoping all goes well with firing her up at the launch, get out there, freeze, drive around, freeze, fish alone, loser, see birds and motor around, freeze, fish and catch one, hands frozen, but gloves on, can't fish, drive around, freeze more, decide to come in, freeze, delaunch, still frozen, take her for a bath, freeze again. Drive home, defrost. Being old and out of shape, 10 hours today and two days to recover. All for three fish, 25, 28, and 30 inches. Glad I stayed home.
There's a blessing and a curse to having a old big house. Lots of room. If you are smart and organized and not a mentally ill hoarder and disorganized then everything goes where it is supoosed to and your have nice spaces. For me, I set up my fly tying room last winter below grade, in a air-not-so-healthy environment where the moisture meets the asbestos and is just depressing. Besides your bucktail gets moldy and your hooks and tools start to rust.
In between the girls bedrooms, when they used to like to be with us at home, there is a bedroom. No one has ever slept there and the idea it would be there hangout and study room. But in reality it became the junk-over room, well let's say a staging room. Well I finally mustered up enough testosterone and declared this as my new fly tying and man cave room. Theresa helped me with my old psych office desk and I started bringing up my bins.....I have alot of bins, and materials I need to just say good-bye to.
I am going to start tying earlier this year than last. This past spring I was very well supplied with flies, ones that were productive and held up, but the number is down to a handful after losing them to fish, the concrete jungle, and the dreaded river backcast.
So while today I punked out, or made the right call, I'm okay with that. Time to put the boat away for the winter. The $1,000 I spent, at not a good financial time, for one outing, was, well don't tell Theresa, not a good idea. If I would have been able to ride that fishy wave along the beaches then it would have been worth it, but that's okay. It'll be less money I need to spend next year.
By late afternoon the air temps in Atlantic Highlands were 39 with a little WNW wind. I couldn't wait to read someone's report, "Striped bass beatdown" or "Had to work hard to find them, and they
were deep". Around 3 o'clock I gave Facebook a look and found today's report from ace Captain Derek Belitz of Fisher Price IV Sportfishing fame and it looked like today was grind. It doesn't matter, if the year ended today it was good. Hit some homes runs, got some hits, struck out a bunch, and was sidelined on the bench. Can't wait till spring....4 months away!