and fished deep into the night thinking fishing would be alright. Hit my northern honey hole but there hasn't been any honey in the last two outings. Caught the outgoing with a few hours left looking for small bait spray along the sod and and rock banks. Found some good current and was hoping to find some fish feeing on YOY baits. That didn't happen so it was what it was. With the students wrapping up their semester yesterday it was a long day of support. Nursing school is brutal. I was there thirty years ago and now I'm here on the other side of the classroom. There's some trouble in Dodge that's reminding me of the movie Dead Poet's Society. Hopefully not more on that in the future.
So I might say good bye to my northern rivers. It seems by the word on the street that the once choked with bait and fish in the rivers and back bays has thinned out. Fish, even ones way up the rivers, have made the move to either join their friends for that long ride north up the Hudson or to locations east to the mouths where the bays meet the ocean. And as far as the ocean, aka out front, it's go time.
The other day when I was on my buddies boat I got frustrated trying to cast from the bow of his boat with my right (casting arm) the first thing the wind hit as it blew downriver. In big quartering wind short casts are okay, but the long ones can be dangerous. Figure this. You need a few backcasts to load your rod to make a 40-50 cast. You have the rod tip low as to hopefully reduce the air resistance. Remember you're throwing a large popper which isn't aerodynamic. As you move your cast behind you the wind grabs your fly and line dropping in more in line with your double-back-neck-head. When you proceed forward the fly either gets buried into your skull or whizzes past your ear at 120 mph. And then there's the retrieve. Your line got blown down the river further than you wanted to from the jump. Now it's caught up in the current and, well that's okay, but then you have to strip in the line to get ready for the next cast, number 87. As you go to load your rod you pick the fly out of the water and it comes at you like a bullet, ready to be imbedded into your forehead or eye socket. Fun times.
I have been using the Orvis Hydros Bank Shot line. The one that comes with a sink tip. I like it, but I haven't been able to work topwater flies all that good with it. In bit water it's great because it keeps the popper popping as you retrieve across and up. But for the softer water you need a floater, which I never use, ever. So I got an 11 wt floater to use with a series of 6-7 inch poppers. I added to the quiver a slider, as the herring, when chased, speed through the top of the water column when being chased, kind of like mullet do in the fall. It's great when I don't need the popping action but want to alert fish that there's a
party going on on top. My day ran later than I wanted it to and by days end my blood pressure was boiling and I was ready to throw in the towel. I needed a nap and I needed to fish. So thankfully Theresa had a plate of pierogis and a cold Guinness waiting for me when I got home. They both hit the spot. Then I got into the recliner about 930 and put on 20/20 on OWN to watch a good murder mystery that would put me to sleep. I had my alarm set for 11 and when it went off I was so tempted to go up to my warm wife and bed. This would be my third night in about five days of pulling the midnight shift. It has
