It hasn't been fun. It's been a grind. Well it's always fun looking back but not when you're going through the skunk run. It was two weeks before things got better for me. Basically three different rivers during that time with nothing to show for it. Mostly fishing solo so it's me talking to myself for hours.
It's been fishing around work, which is what most anglers do, but itss been busy as its go time for these kids finishing up finals and for one class their graduation and pinning ceremony. I like when they say, "Professor, you look tired, were you fishing all night?. It has been two a days with the fishing and finally things did get better. Found some bait and then found some fish. Sadly, because the way people and social media are these days, I can't take those nice landscape photos I've been doing for the last 14 years. Landscape photos these days are called "spot burn" images. I knew there was a problem when a guy came up to me and said, "I know every spot where you fish". Not only sad, but creepy.
I've had success with the "Shop of Horror Fly"made from the hair extension material I got from the beauty supply shop. I think it adds bulk and has a good profile. It's a little heavy, which is good, since it loads up the Bank Shot line on the 12 wt. It hasn't been gangbusters, and I wouldn't say it's "a bite" but
more hard work in not only planning times and tides but also picking runs and seams to find the fish. One thing about that wig/extensions material, it fouls up by the time you land a good fish so a pocket comb is needed to right it before you send it back out there. So my best fish has been a 40+ inch fish that had to go 25 pounds. Beautiful take as the fly hit the water and then, if I may say, played perfectly as she dropped down to behind each rock until I finally got the leader in my hand. Could have used a bud there with help for the landing because as soon as I reached for the lip she threw the barbless single fly hook. Luckily there was another smaller fish there which helped with the pain of the no-picture-of my -econd-largest-bass in that river. Really, who cares, I don't need proof, as I try to always keep it real.
So I switched over to topwater and have enjoyed covering a lot more water along with the visual tracking of a large popper is a hoot. This morning I made the perfect long cast and on my second strip as it cleared the top of a rock protruding from the water it was game on. This one was as just as good as the no-picture fish. I had this one on for about 4-5 minutes and when it was about 15 feet from me the line went limp. That one hurt and there was no conselation prize after, it was a one and done outing. On my way out I marked my spot so I know where to head into the water on a higher tide. Maybe I should
have just put an X that marked the spot. When I got home I sat down at the vice and tied up another popper. This one will do well, maybe better, as I tied it on a Ahrex Bob Clouser 5/0 hook which gives plenty of room for a solid hood set. I had tied a lot of the flies this winter on Mustad 34007 and saw the light after Andrew Hamilton over at Orvis in Princeton suggest I move
to a better wide-gap hook. He sent me in the right direction with that and also with the new waders. I've been in these Orvis Pro Zip Waders and the BOA boots for a month now and I can say I really like them. Comfortable, the right size, and easy on and off. I was so glued to bootfoot waders for the last 10 years because all of my fishing was on the sand or jetties. These are perfect for river fishing. Things
around have settled in, except for the water levels in the rivers. I can't imagine what the Upper Delaware looks like now and then in a month or so. We had a heat blast week and then Mother Nature turned the fans on high for a few days and now it seems we are track for some "normal" spring weather.
The beach bite has started and the fish have moved from the back of the bays and rivers to a more "out front" or near out front position. Yes, some of the blown up river spots are still holding good fish but the participation in the numbers of anglers is astounding. It has really changed the way and where anglers fish. Someone who calls spot X home can now expect it to be crowded during the best times. Even though that person has been putting their time in and is dialed in waiting for it to get good, they find lines of anglers to the left and right. They leave as soon as the bite is over...sad but true.
While I have enjoyed finding a few big fish I could really use a day of numbers. Numbers meaning maybe more than two fish. It's like you're doing everything right and it would be nice to be rewarded, or at least confirmed, that you're in the right spot at the right time throwing the right fly and doing it right.
It looks like perfect weather this Friday to Sunday so I can't imagine what the boat ramps and boat traffic on the bay will be. It'll look like an invasion. Sadly, those private, charter and party boats will continue to pick away at the 2015 year class, the best last recruitment year since 2011, and keeping those 28-38" fish.
And then in just about a month, May 15th, New Jersey's Bonus Tag Program will begin. From May 15th to December 31st anglers can take an additional striped bass from 24-28", if they applied for a tag or get one on their for-hire vessels, and remember for-hire doesn't mean commercial, but it should. So according to the data, and the hacks who support this program, in 2021, the reported Bonus Tag fish harvested was 6,457 fish with a weight of 41,867 pounds. That's puts New jersey at a 19.4% usage of the allotted "commercial" fishery, one that we don't have. So some would argue we do it better in New Jersey. We don't have a commercial fishery, only use 19.4% of our commercial quota, which maybe be transferred to another state if those a-holes at the ASMFC have their way, and we are leaving 81.6% of our quota out swimming and alive.
But the problem remains that we are decimating the 28-38" fish, everyday, and this weekend the slaughter will continue for that "one for the table". Remember "Hey it's legal". Remember these days I tell ya as history does repeat itself.