It was a tad brisk out there this morning. 42 degrees when I rolled up to the beach. WNW wind. An hour or so into the ebb tide. Things were looking good. Fished for a while without a tap. When the light arrived I could see the popper/dropper doing it's thing and I was just waiting for a blow up.
As I was casting I was thinking to myself how nice this new Cortland line is....then phew...right through my fingers and down into the rocks. Luckily I was able to maneuver down in them and some
how I don't know I got both free and without any abrasion to the leader. I stayed with the groin fishing and soon realized how off color the water was. It was like that big swell sandy colored water which
never gives me confidence. I moved down to the beach and it was fishy looking. On a retrieve I had a large bass blow up on one of the flies. About a dozen casts later another, or the same fish, blew up on it again. I guess that's why those surfcasters love those treble hooks. So I went 0-2 but it made my trip
worth it. I switched over to a "If it ain't chartreuse it ain't no use" colored fly and worked it underneath the surface without a bump. What I notice in the picture it's a fly that I didn't crush down the barb so
next time I have to be more aware. I watched as the party boats headed north and the Miss Belmar Princess stopped and made a right turn into the beach. By then I was already undressed but their action made me wonder. I took a ride north and busted out the binoculars and watched the repeated casts of topwater plugs from the guys on the boat. They stayed for a bit but then blew out and headed north.
During my stay out in Monmouth County I got a call from a friend tipping me off to some action going on down in Ocean County. I already had my day planned so, while tempted, I decided to take a short drive south of the inlet to see if maybe a ton of bait had poured out and there were fish there to intercept them. It appears that adult bunker are hitting those usual haunts down in the OC.
It's funny how one post can get the engines humming and guys all fired up and ready to go. That post was about Dominick who landed this beauty in the surf the evening before. I'm not surprised Ocean County has seen the first push of adult bunker and bass up on the beach. It kind of coincides with the firing up in the Raritan Bay all the while the Monmouth County beaches remain quiet. But things do change from year to year. Time to keep the binoculars in the front seat these days.
