I picked a great day to wrap up 2022. It's quit # 3 and I can say, for sure, that's it. But first let me start with a PSA. A lot of people ask me why I carry a fire extinguisher, pry bar, and first aid bag in my truck. Well, it seems like that stuff just finds me. If you've ever seen someone burning alive than you know it's horrible, I have, several times, and have vowed to be ready to help. Yesterday while
coming down Route 1 I found two ladies standing some distance from their car in a gas station. The car had just started to get going so it was an easy knock down and after popping the hood it was out. There was another guy who stopped and between the two of us it was over quickly. Get yourself a fire extinguisher, even a small one and keep it in your trunk, you never know when it'll be your time to jump into action, especially if it comes to saving a life, not necessarily a car. Be careful, don't breathe that shit it in, it's horrible. They require them on boats, but not in cars? Go figure.
I looked at things last night and with the weather apocalypse coming around Christmas I thought this was going to be my day. Water had cleaned up from last weeks blow, high at 4 am, air temps around 40 by midday. I thought of doing the first light thing, and maybe should have if I wanted to catch a fish, but I didn't want to go, freeze my finger tips off, and be done early. I searched though my stuff and found my StormR gloves, which I think are the best for fly fishing. I got down to Deal and was in the water by 9. I had some birds looking and picking in front of me and after wading out to the bar, which was really just over the trough, I was casting to deeper water. The west wind
created an almost blow-out tide and it was hard to find fishy water. Again, the water was gin clear but after looking at the beaches and seeing all of the sand in the shallow water, and forming the bars off the south tips of the groins, I knew the storm had pulled the sand off the beach and into the water, ruining any structure that had built itself up during the summer and early fall. As I made my way
off the beach I had to find the path in between the Cliffs of Deal. I had seen birds up and down the beach, a quick stop here, chasing each other, and at times bunched up way off the beach. I never saw a swirl or a splash other then the ones from the birds wings. I got in my car and made my way down
Roseld and then Marine Place. A few weeks ago I had a banner evening on Marine, when the bait, bass and other anglers were out. During those weeks, even midday and on workdays, anglers were out, now I was the only one out. The wind switched from the north and that got my hands a little chilly but not all that bad. Looking below, can you tell where the wind is coming from. That's how you read water, and wind and tides. Choppy on the left, calm on the right. I know it's deep around that pipe and fished hard for a 20 inch bass that never came to hand. While fishing I made a cast and
lost my two-fly set up. Double haul and gone. So I reached in and the first thing to come out of my sling pack was a Jim Matson tied sand eel. He never stopped trying new things. This one had a rubber tail on it and in the water profiled down to a fine sand eel pattern.
Even though there was hardly any water there was enough and sexy looking conditions to make me stop and cast. Water moving left to right with the wind between the trough and the bar. Now maybe they weren't right in front of me, but the exit to the right looked nice. Just needed one to be set up to snack on what's blowing past, or not. Not wanting my day to end I stopped at Allenhurst
and looked up and down. I found Evelyn and Al's bench on the boardwalk located at the foot of Spier Ave where they lived, I think for 40 something years. It was a nice break and a nicer time to reflect about Al. Life moves too fast these days, and people are gone before their time, although those two had a really good run living into their 90's. I also thought about Ryan, gone to soon himself. I planned on going to step on Ryan's Rock on Phillip's Ave but didn't need to do that to think of him today. I wished them all Merry Chrsitmas in heaven. I hope Ryan and Al got to meet each other, yeah, I believe in that heaven stuff, a big room filled with all the good people, and there's a lot of good people up there.
From Allenhurst I could see a lot of birds, you know how that goes, south of me. So a quick glance over at the old Walker homestead and I was motoring down to Ocean Grove. When I got there it was more flat sea, but some birds near the Asbury Park border peaked my interest. They seemed to be working, or at least looking right at the groin tip. So why not, let's go. As I made my way down I couldn't help but notice the guy standing on the groin. He was yelling, and waving, and
threatening something, I thought maybe it was the birds. As I got closer I could see he wasn't having the best of days. It looked like what we call in psych a psychotic episode. Not only talking out loud, but having a full conversation, or argument with something in his head. As I got closer I just looked straight and settled in between the outflow and the groin he was on. When I got up on it he yelled at me. "Okay, this isn't going to go well", I thought to myself. I thought about calling the police, but people can have a bad day and blow off some steam, but anything else to me or anyone walking the beach and that call would have been made. I then figured out what the birds were doing. There must
have been a ton of garbage and stuff coming out of that outflow on the outgoing tide which had the birds interested. I saw them stopping and picking up the same sticks or cigarette butts so I knew it was time to call it a day. I hit the groin to the south and my then by bud started to walk off heading into Asbury Park. Hope he has better days ahead.
As I reeled in I looked down and saw a piece of frayed backing sticking out of my reel. Thank goodness I didn't hook into one of those "Big December bass". As I penned this I do remember one such big bass. It was December 2013. I was doing my thing and met Ed, who was fishing fom the rocks for the first time in his life. I watched him catch some of the schoolies, the same size I was
catching, so take that Mr. Big Spin First Time Guy, and then he went tight. Are you f'in kidding me? That's was December, that was Ed, and that was a big bass. So I believe it can happen. You can read a throwback post about Ed's fish HERE .
So with that I am done, 2022 in the books. It was a fine year that I'll review and then predict 2023 in an upcoming post. Big things for next year, lots of early fishing, lots of boat fishing, and a more focused search for big bass, quanlity over quantity. And the Chesapeake fishery is in my sights.