08.31.23 Those new waders can't come soon enough...

     There's always a debate among fishermen about when to fish on an approaching new or full moon. Some say a few days before, some say a few days after, some say never on the moon. And others say never on a full moon because the light just messes things up.

     Our super Blue Moon arrived last night and into today. It's the biggest super moon of the year. The blue moon has nothing to do with color but the timing of the moons with the months. A blue moon is when there are two full moons in the same month or a third full moon in a season that four full moons. Any super moon that occurs during the year is one that is closer to the earth so it appears bigger and brighter. Moon phases affect tides. So a new or full moon, and if it's a super moon, means high highs and low lows, that why a moon tide with a high tide and storm or Hurricane like Idlaia or Franklin can be so dangerous. I would say Sandy, but can't remember if it was a hurricane or what they call a superstorm. 

     After heading down south to look at a new ride I headed east to fish the top of the moon. I was met in the parking lot by two good old buds who were coming off the flip from incoming to outgoing. The moon and tide were up, like up, like really up. It was good catching up with them and it was good because I was just so early on the outgoing so some stall time worked out well. 

     As we finished the line, "I don't think it's happening tonight", kinda put a damper on my brain but I was able to sneak down as Theresa is pulling a 3-11 shift and the dogs were good. I haven't been in waders for a bit so I was looking forward to that. Plus, on the moon or not, you never know, and if you don't go you won't experience it. 

     The bait is usual for this time of year. Lots of silversides and a strong showing of peanut bunker. I'm not sure if the mullet are holding deep in the back of the bays and rivers or is it just that our mullet runs are a thing of a past or in some here today gone tomorrow cycle. 

     When the water started to move the bait did as well and small bluefish were slashing through the bait. Every now and then I would see or hear something which I think were bass blowing up. It was kinda like that bank eater brown trout that rises every now and again, not set up in a lane or in an eating rhythm. That can be frustrating if you are a cast to the splash fly angler. I've been sucked into it, and still am from time to time. 

     I fished for four hours ending after midnight. I could have stayed for dead low and the flip but I was tired and not seeing anything impressive over that half a shift couldn't convince me to stay. Throughout the night I could feel the water seeping into my waders. Now these are old, way past past their service life, but it's what I have left in boot foots until my new Orvis rides arrive, which should be soon. 

     When I arrived home about 2 am I looked up and could see the moon a little more clearly than I had while standing in the water. There was a distinct halo around it. A little further reading on the Scientific American website laid it all down. The halo is formed by ice crystals high in the earth's atmosphere. I'm not that smart to know the points I made about this moon and a moon's halo. The next Super Blue Moon won't be overhead until 2037 so I hope you get out to see it. 2037, I'll be 69 years old, if I make it that far. 

 

08.30.23 Lots of weather in the USA, and a good phone call from an unhappy reader...

      A quick update from Mom down in Florida this morning. She is fine tucked in south of Tampa and spending most of her day watching the local news down there updating Hurricane Idalia's path. Yesterday I talked about our Jersey Shore beaches and the affects hurricanes and nor'easters have on both our natural and replenished shorelines. You know how I feel about beach replenishment and us as a species trying to reverse and control Mother Nature. 

      I focused on Hurricane Idalia which hit a Category 4 status last night. In addition to Idalia Hurricane Franklin in the one that could affect the northern East Coast more. As it sits now he's 200 miles west-northwest of Bermuda and is wavering between a Cat 2 & 3. It's running parallel to the East Coast and you can see above where it's location correlates to the United States. 

     Interestingly enough I received a phone call yesterday which kind of relates to the post I made about storms and beach replenishment. Back on February 25th in a post, HERE, I followed up on a Asbury Park Press story and a Facebook post on NJ Surfers discussing beach replenishment, the ocean front in Deal, and the affects that all plays into beach access for surfers, beachgoers, and anglers alike. I dug a little further into the beachfront homes, and their sale and tax history, as found online in public access databases.

      The call from was one of the owners of one of the properties I had mentioned. She wasn't happy with my post. She told me it was incorrect, presumptuous, and might even be a tad, well I won't go there. I appreciated and respected her call. That is the way people should voice their pleasure or displeasure. While she talked I scrambled to find the post on my phone. I had remembered it but wanted to refresh it in my mind. 

     While we didn't discuss specifics but I got what she was saying. If even, we assume, that the data is correct in something I post, the assumptions that could be made, about the people attached to the topic, or here, the properties. Point made and well taken. Period. 

Phillips Avenue- 2010

     I will stand behind my beliefs of the ridiculousness of beach replenishment. The suspect cycle of federal, state and local officials who "benefit", in so many ways, from trying to fight Mother Nature and appease local landowners. And that goes up and down New Jersey's coast. Why did I pick on Deal? I used to live, just rent a house, on Phillips Avenue and "Jetty County" in Deal is where I started my passion for fly fishing for striped bass. I go there still when I want to reconnect with my past even if "Jetty County" has since been destroyed. 

     This blog gets a lot of traffic. It's still holding at the #23 fly fishing blog worldwide according to Feedspot, HERE. From time to time I do tick people off, usually regarding striped bass management and the ASMFC and the NJ reps, but here's a case where another post sat the wrong way with the reader. 

     At the end of the conversation she said, "You're probably not a bad guy", which did make me laugh for a second. I appreciated her call. I appreciated the chance to have a civil conversation with another human being, which has become a rarity in todays world. In the end I would say, "She's probably not a bad girl (woman) either". 

08.29.23 Florida braces for Hurricane Idalia....

 

     Well fall is here, I guess we can call it an early fall. I think we are in store for things to go early this year. Cooler temps, both air and water, the anticipated foliage color change and drop, fall storms, and a cold and snowy winter. I haven't checked the Farmer's Almanac but that's what I'm feeling.

     Down south hurricane season is upon them and they are anticipating Idalia making landfall tomorrow. My mom is down in Bradenton, south of Tampa, and they have started to batten down the hatches with mandatory evacuations in place in some sections of the Gulf Coast. She's a bit inland but the swath from the storm could affect her. Remember last year Hurricane Ian hit in late September and destroyed Sanibel Island, kind of out of the blue. 

     Yesterday on the way home from work I passed the New Jersey Task Force 1 heading south. It was a caravan of search and rescue vehicles and boats that were deployed in anticipation of the upcoming storm. As they predict now it may land as a Category 3. Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the coast as a Cat. 3 on August 29, 2005. 

     It's not just the wind and rain that these storms bring but the tidal surges and flooding, as we saw with Sandy. Although thousands of miles away from the Jersey Shore the affects may be seen. The full, Blue Moon, is on August 31st and the high tides are around the 7's, am and pm. 

     We can't control Mother Nature. We've tried but failed. She takes our homes, towns, and lives but we go back and rebuild. We pump sand on her beaches and she takes it away. The cycle is a continuous one. Happens every year. On the beaches most of the good structure is obliviated by southern summer winds and the littoral current which fills in structure and shoals up the south sides of the jetties and groins. You can see a recent pic I took while down in Deal.

     Big moons, tides and storm surf arrive each fall and cut into the beaches. It's something we as fly anglers look for. Structure gives bait a place to hide and predators a place to hunt. Structure also affects the currents, which becomes like a highway for travel of baits, especially small baits. 

     While it looks like Idalia may make a right turn into and out of Florida we may see some effects on the beaches here. It's storm season so if its not hurricanes it's Nor'easters we have to watch which occur from September through April. 

Thoughts and prayers pre-storm for the people in the South, including my Mother. Let's see how they come out of it on the other side. Fingers crossed. 

08.27.23 Around the world kinda day, please stop and help, and thanks to Plymouth Meeting Orvis....

 

     What a day. Lately I've been laser focused on getting my life back on track or really just trying for find the right track. With Ryan's car gone and the delusion of it one day being my daily driver it's been some internet searching insanity for a car that I can use for work with a little fishing mixed in. A 20 year old Silverado work truck isn't a commuter car or one that you should use for quick trips to the beach. I realized lately the amount of gas I have to feed her and the rotating auto-deductions from EZ Pass that I have to find a smarter car. I also have to reassess how much money I'm spending and making commuting to Newark for work. I think that job costs me about $800 a month to get back and forth to. 

     It would be a day of many stops. And while this lately has been a blog of a lot of non-fly fishing stuff it always touches or comes around to fishing. First stop was to Trenton to the metal salvage yard. My tobacco road looking yard is filled with bad ideas and rusted things, so they had to go. On my last trip out to Laura's I loaded up some of the things Jim had designed and built for the boat. One of them was a poling platform he built that was sized to handle the Yamaha 175 and the jack plate that was mounted to the transom. Fresh off the Hilton Head trip where our guide poled us around Beaufort looking for reds I thought for sure my boat needed one back on, you know, for all the poling I do. 

     After I posted on it I got a few calls from our mutual friend Mike Ferraro who quickly warned me to be careful. "Colin, when we put it on and backed it down the ramp the boat started to take on water." Wouldn't that just be me and fit into all things that go wrong. I told Theresa and informed her I could drill out the platform to make weight.....WTF was I thinking. Later. And it went in the truck. 

     That and some other metal I had laying around brought me in a cool $46.00. It's not the money parting with all these things as much as it's a huge reduction in the mental chaos that exists having too much shit. The cash was enough to cover the witch hunt looking for a new ride and an order of Chik-Fil-A chicken strips which we are on a binge thing lately. 

     You know you don't know until you realize things but how many used and new cars are out there on any given day. It's ridiculous. In my search for a daily driver I found a 2007 Yukon Denali. That's my favorite ride. Had one a few vehicles ago. Just for reaffirmation, it's basically a big pick up truck, almost the same engine as I have. Again, me, delusional. So Theresa and I took the drive down to Palmyra down near Camden. It was there she sat in a seedy, what I thought, was a "Buy here Pay here" used car lot. Another thing I have to reassess is how I'm sitting if a used car purchase is going to break our piggy bank. I'm 55. I should be able to go and buy a $20,000 used car with no problem. For now the search for a $5,000 ride will do, and still set me back. 

     If you know the Route 73, 30, and 130 mess that runs through Camden County then you know how easy it is to get turned around and lost. Siri had us driving around in circles and on one of our turn arounds we noticed traffic all bunched up on Route 73 in Mount Laurel. There was one car stopped in traffic and a car behind it with their flashers on occupied by an elderly woman. Of course, everyone 

slowed, but no one stopped. When we got flush to the car I looked over and saw a woman who needed some kind of help. So we pulled over and assessed the situation. 

     Here's the skinny. You know I document everything. Everything. Good, bad or indifferent. For myself and others included. I don't hold back, and maybe sometimes I should. I don't need to take pictures of other peoples suffering for any personal gain. What I will tell you I will always snap a picture before I help someone if there is any chance it's something, like a crime, that would need to be investigated and that I may be called on the carpet for. I've seen too many crime shows and been at too many incidents so I know better. And yes, these are human beings, someone's family and loved ones. It's not to be insensitive or embarrass someone. But's there a lesson always. 

     I probably wouldn't even post this but Theresa and I have been on a little Good Samaritan run lately. But back to yesterday first. People pull over and get into a bad spot for a variety of reasons, emergency childbirth, medical emergencies, and even trauma. After an assessment it appeared the woman had overdosed on something. She needed a IV line and probably a little Narcan to reverse her respiratory depression and help her mental status return back to normal. In my old beat up truck which doubles

as a storage unit and fly fishing shop there's an array of people helping things. Fire extinguisher, tools, ropes, and my once-was-an-EMT-wanna-be-Amazon bought-cheap-first-aid-bag. In it are a few Narcan kits that Theresa had scored at a health fair in NYC. Narcan, aka naloxone, is a opioid antagonist, which reverses the effects of opioids, like heroin and fentanyl. It's a life saver, and good to have on board. 

     Now mind no one stopped even after we stopped. Not a nurse, not a cop or fireman, nobody. eventually the police and EMS came and we were out. But back to why write about this anyway. I guess part of me is just baffled about peoples quandary about stopping to help someone out. I was first 

dismayed but peoples lack of action back last April when I pulled over as cars drove past the man laying in a Newark street while on my way to work. Where is the humanity? At least pull over and call 911 and wait until help arrives. Nope. Gotta go. 

     

     So it was 10 days ago when Theresa and I decided to make a Mickey D's trip for some McFlurry's. We were on Olden Avenue and found a car up on the median. Cars going back and forth in both directions, of course, no one stops. This one I thought for sure was a shooting. Theresa called 911 and after quick assessment determined this wasn't trauma or medical, just a driver under the influence, like really influenced. 

     And to wrap it all up I guess here is why I post this. If you can't or won't stop and SAFELY help then at least pull over and call 911 and wait until help arrives in case the situation changes for the worst. And I offer this PSA if you are going to stop. If you find someone unconscious or just out on the nod first make sure the car is in park. In both of these cases the car was in drive and running. Startle someone behind the wheel and their first reaction may be to step on the gas and drive. That could put anyone in the cars path, or your vehicle if you pulled in front, in harms way. While there pull the keys and put them on top of the car. Remember, that person, no matter what the when, why, and how's, could be you, or someone you know. Plus, they are another human being. 

     And then it was off to Tractor Supply to give both dogs a much needed bath. If you aren't in the know and have some dogs their Pet Washing Stations are great. For $10 it's better than trying to do it in your bathroom or freezing them to death with the garden hose, especially if you have a well, where the water is just above the freezing mark. 

     

     And lastly there was the late afternoon trip to the Plymouth Meeting Mall across the river in Pa. Theresa wanted to go and check out a "thing" going on there that involved her jam, reflexology, reiki, crystals, energy work stuff.....you know, all the things I'm into. But, how many stupid fishing things have I dragged her to? So it was time to return the favor. 

     I haven't been in a mall in like 20 years. This one was in full effect although what was once high end stores had been replaced with B level stores. We did the walk through. Theresa made us appointments to have some energy work done with crystals. It involved laying on a table and having rocks placed in strategic positions along your body. Let's just say I was so relaxed I fell asleep and didn't know where I was when I woke up, and my mouth felt like a Deseret. So I guess something went down. 

     As we walked though the mall I saw a map that laid out the store location. I saw...Orvis? What. Wait, maybe this day can end up about fly fishing. So we pulled around and looked over and there it was. If you had ever been to the Marlton store it looks like this could be it's sister. 

     Inside it looked Orvisy. Nice and big and a nice display of everything Orvis and fly fishing. I love when stores have the space for those big rod and reel layouts. The other thing that is nice is at just 

about every store you'll be offered a drink and a snack as you shop. At some stores, like this one, you may even be able to snag a local brew, and in Pa Yeungling is always local. 

     Lately I've been going through the want-it-to-be-right process of buying new boot foot waders. with my brother Ryan now in ownership of those Simms G3's I need something boot foot for the fall and winter. And after using the stocking foot Orvis PRO zips I wouldn't go anywhere else. But the problem is, like for many of us, and especially the ladies is the sizing. Thanks to years of hitting the gym, or not, I'm built like a horse, well I guess a sickly horse, no ass, no legs, all upper body. 

     I run the XL's in the stocking foot which gives me lots of room for climbing and maneuvering on the minefields of the Delaware River. I had my eyes set on the same size for the boot-foots. I had tried them on in size 12, I'm an 11, at Andrew's Princeton store and they were okay, enough. A little sloppy to the point where the waders were just too high on my upper chest. I felt like a St. Bernard. But in the legs and body there was more than enough. Do I need more than enough standing vertical on the beach or jetties?

     In the last week or so I've been like an Orvis loser. I've been to Princeton, Haverford, and now Plymouth Meeting. The other stores didn't have the L 11 which is what I felt I belonged in. Convinced

and not wanting to see my wader savings get spent on something stupid like food I pulled the trigger before we went on our world-wind tour. I ordered the waders, in XL 11, and those flats boots for next years trip back down to Hilton Head. That'll be in July. And in June the Vineyard, even for a day or so. 

     Orvis associate Mike is a good bud of Andrew's and helped me out a bunch pulling stock so I could try a bunch of sizes even though I had already placed my order. After lots of walking and bending I felt better in the L 11. Luckily a quick call to the Orvis mothership and they were able to change my wader size before it shipped out. I will say this, I will have to be aware of what a bacon, egg and cheese or Chik-Fil-A can do to my waistline going forward. 

     I was catching up with my sister the other day and she said, "Bro whats going on down there?". Referring to my recent "awakening" of how much of a mess I am, not really a mess, but I guess just another normal person existing on the earth these days. The thing about having a kick in the head moment? Be careful how you share because you can come off like you know or are better than the next person. Nope, I'm a dope. I would love to have a bunch of mulligans (redo's) about so many of the decisions I have made in my life. And I have a great life. Always thankful and blessed, I believe that.

     So yes the blog has been lately more about that kinda stuff rather than fishing, but hey, it's really just been the story of an average angler since this all started in 2009 and 2,826 posts ago. I'll try and steer it around and back into the water. Fall is coming. It feels like it, and I love the fall. 

08.26.23 Last one to leave our nest and hit the Hawk's nest....

     I guess it could be one of the parental rights of passage. The dreaded freshman college drop-off day. It dreaded for several reasons. One, the kids shouldn't be or isn't ready to go. Two, the parents aren't ready for them to go. Three, there's just to much stuff. And four, it's not easy especially if you're coming from a distance or air travel is involved. 

     Well, for me at least, it was easy. She's ready. I'm ready. The amount of stuff wasn't all that bad. The school did a great job organizing the move in. And it was only a 40 minute ride for me to the City of Brotherly Love. I remember either moving in or out just about all of the kids from Scranton, Rutgers, Rowan and FIT. For our bunch the girls have rocked college with 3 for 4 graduating, and Erin could

complete the quadfecta, if that's what it's called. St. Joseph's is a small Catholic university located in Philly's west side in a neighborhood called, well, West Philadelphia. It was in that section where Will Smith's character was from in "The Fresh Prince of Bel Aire", "West Philadelphia born and raised....".

     St. Joseph's is a small college with an enrollment of 4,100 students, which I think is better for our bloodline. Too big and I, well we, I think would get lost in the shuffle. It's a small campus also but those stairs.... . It's right on the Septa line and there's all kinds of trolleys and shuttles so it's in a good place, but like any city, or anywhere else, you have to beware of your surroundings. But Philly can be anything but Brotherly Love. 

     Erin and her roommate are both loves. She's from Maine and shares the same major which is Pre-Physicians Assistant. They're both in the accelerated three year program, so that's 17 credits a semester, good luck with that Erin, I know I couldn't get that done with any decent GPA. The girls overcame having the smallest corner room on the floor and organized and decorated it after we tried every furniture move combo to maximize the space. 

     And of course since St. Joseph's isn't too far from Lancaster Avenue I made it a point to swing by Orvis Haverford to try on that pair of Orvis PRO bootfoot waders before I pull the trigger. The only problem is size 11 seems to be the go-to size as both Princeton and Haverford didn't have any in stock. 

     I'm not pimping Orvis out but I will say this. If you're from New Jersey, or anywhere for that matter, and want to be a part of something, stop by your local, if you have one, Orvis store. Yes, they are usually located in some boushy neighborhood where women's clothes and dog beds are displayed front and center, but somewhere in that store is a cool fly fishing section manned or womanned by someone in the know who is fishy. And while your there take a peek at the classes and seminars they offer. It's usually talks, a fly tying night, or a day trip you can take part of. So like if you live in Central Jersey, and don't want to take the hike to Tights Lines in Parsippany, or hit the Bayshore or Atlantic Saltwater Flyrodders meetings, this can satiate your taste, or better yet you can take them all in. 

     Before I left the store the above hat caught my eye. I am really trying to resist advertising for other people anymore. But there I go and went having to buy that cool redfish hat before I left the store and 

also grabbing a St. Joe's dad shirt at the bookstore. We're all about resisting labels, and being labeled, but there I go falling into the trap, buying things with someone else's label on it. I guess I'm just part of the bigger problem where we all need to be aligned with everything that isn't just us. 

     Little did I know but Lancaster Avenue is a major thoroughfare that basically runs from St. Joe's up to the campus of Villanova. It's there where Erin's girlfriend Sophie is a new Wildcat so I took her for a quick surprise visit before heading back to the city and said our goodbyes. 

    And before I hit New Jersey I met up with Laura to finsih up the transfer of ownership of Jim's boat. Now it'll just be off to NJ DMV for have it registered and put into my name. The fall is coming fast. I have to get that boat wet this fall. More to come on that. 

 

08.25.23 In August I guess it's a smallie a day....

      With the overcast day and a chilly 60 degree overnight I thought I just might be able to squeak out a river striper. It's been awhile since I've landed one, the last time I was tight was with a keeper sized bass probably three weeks ago. The smallmouth bass have been active and I've landed one each time I go. Today was no different. I had the tank set for a striped bass, but a smallie would have to do. 

     The rivers temps are sitting nicely in the low 70's which is surely a nice temp for late summer. Soon the shad and herring fry and the bigger eels will be making their migratory path down to the ocean. Lots of bait is great, but it can make catching difficult as the YOY baitfish can come in clouds and tiny sizes to match the hatch. 

08.24.23 That was a big and healthy exhale....

     I wasn't sure if yesterday was going to go down. Since Friday I received some bot emails regarding the sale and pickup of Ryan's car but that was it. No calls. No return emails. So when my phone rang shortly before 8 am I was surprised and not ready. I hurriedly called out to Theresa for help.

     I had to scramble to remove what had become a storage unit in Ryan's car, remove the Abe Pieciak sticker from the back glass, and some personals like the below which came after Ryan passed. In doing 

that I had to pause and reflect on my life since 2017. The above is a keychain I received which is the etching of Ryan's signature from a letter he had sent me, and an ornament that Theresa and I found with one word, "Simplify". That was going to be our mantra moving forward from 2017. Yesterday I stopped and thought if I was in any kind of direction toward that goal. 

     What would "Simplify" look like? Would it be picking up and moving to the other side of the state into a big-old-money-pit, but beautiful, home? Would it be buying or holding onto cars, trucks, and boats that don't run, need help, or should maybe have just gone to lie in pasture? How about getting chickens, and dogs? And then how about all of the yard sales, flea markets, and online Marketplace and auctions that lead to just more "stuff" or a-lot of times, just "shit". Clothes that don't fit. More shoes than Imelda Marcos. And then the start, stop, and not finishing projects? And I shouldn't even begin to talk about trying to figure out professionally what I want to do when I grow up. "Simplify"? Not even close. 

     The tow truck driver made quick work of loading up Ryan's car and pulling away. He gave me the check for $254.00. That will go towards the new waders and that pair of wading boots that I resisted, well cheapened out, in buying before the trip down to Hilton Head last month.

     Moving forward I think I have come to some realization. Something is wrong with my brain which allows me to be stuck and caught up in the chaos of living in todays world, which I really don't like.

     Recently Theresa and I have been over our friends houses, three in fact, who have a healthier, and more organized, but not better, life. They have started the descent from middle age and post kids at home to downsizing, organizing, and planning for that next big chapter in life. They are positive role models, at least for me, in how to close some chapters, and start to write new ones. 

     Recently I found the below when it popped up on Facebook. Yes, everyday there's something we could be drawn to and repost as a "Ah-ha". But this one, to me, was good. What are we really doing here each day? And what is all really about? What is truly important in this world and in our life, which at some point, is going to end when we take our last breath, and life around us will just go on. 

     Now I'm not a Danny-downer but I may come off as one. I think each of us do the best we can with what we have and the tools we have been given. But why do I, and we, put so much of our energies into, that in the end really will mean nothing. Meals? Clothes? Concerts? Cars? Trucks? Nic-knacks? Houses? Second houses? Money? Phones? Cable? Fishing?, well let me hold up on that one for a bit. 

     I guess this year has been a "The meaning of life" kinda year. Maybe it's post mid-life crisis, although I didn't have one, maybe it's a flash of my own mortality, maybe it's just gaining some maturity and insight, as my own plane starts to descend for a landing that is of unknown date and time. I hope all of this serves me well and gets me on a path to mental and physical wellness and the realization that you can't take anything with and you come into this world with nothing and leave with nothing. I think the most important thing is time, time spent with loved ones, time helping others, and time focusing on living life and not being caught up in what life has become in these chaotic and misguided times. 

      So while we are only a few months out from having filled a 30 yard dumpster of stuff, it's go time again, and we are both on board. Get rid of it. Sell it if you can get a few dollars for it, or donate it for someone else to enjoy, or hoard themselves. For the 98% part, the kids don't need or want it. It will only be a burden when we are gone. 

     I just want to be happy and free from the web and weight of the life I have created. And of course go fishing. And all things fishing that I have acquired, way to much then I need, need to be whittled down to some rods, some waders, a stripping basket, and maybe a working boat or two to enjoy and make memories of enjoying the real world around us. Okay, I'm done with all that. Just my two cents.