Today was a non-fishing day, although I have heard it was one of the days this fall to go. My parents offered up their Giants-Patriots tickets so I invited my football-fan bud Neil who lives out on Long Island. I drove up to meet him after he took a series of trains to get to New Jersey.
He was early. We were near some water. He didn't mind. So I quickly dressed and made the trek to my 30-cast spot. It was about two hours into the outgoing and if they were there I would have been good. Well they weren't and it really satiated my need to know if the fish have moved their winter around. They're just not there yet.
The seats were fantastic. Field access. Coaches Club hang before, during and after the game with all the food and drink you could possibly fit into your stomach. I was prepared for the cold, maybe over dressed a bit, but I was warm and dry even when the mist started, which eventually turned to a steady rain. By then we were camped at a table in front of the food and the bar.
One thing I know is I am a casual football fan who prefers the game on a couch and in front of a big screen TV. As we parked we passed the sea of humanity tail gaiting and throwing the football around and playing corn hole. For me I was into the plush experience season tickets get to enjoy. The game was, well slow, but the G-men pulled out a victory thanks to a last 3 second field goal miss by the Patriots.
On the way home I got a call from Joe, the Delaware Joe of my Joe's, who was eager to fill me in on he and, the other Joe's, fishing report from today. They joined the Daytona 500 crowd on the beach and found some spots that were empty, held their ground when they got mugged, and each landed double digit fish as they were on adult bunker.
When I got home social media was reporting the same from the last two days. Tons of fish, tons of fisherman, tons of vehicles, and tons of assholes. The below pic was taken by Tom Lynch of Angry Fish Gallery who always does a great job in capturing a bite, especially when crowds are involved. It was
Lynch who documented the crazy 2011 sand eel bite down in Ocean County. His pics make the news and are burned into our memory of what stupid fishing can look like. Below is that pic. A classic.
But what was disturbing was the accounts several people made which had words like "shit show", "embarrassment", "aggressive", and "no thanks". "Zero fishing etiquette" painted a picture of what I missed, and heard about. Guys driving up and down the beach 30 mph following birds only to put it in park and start casting before they got to the waters edge, with no consideration as to who was already fishing the bowl or pocket just waiting for their turn at the fish. Lots of fish harvested, and lots of dead ones on the beach. One thing I can't understand is how can a guy catch a fish and then at the same time look out in front of them as to whats going on before releasing, properly, the fish they just caught. They get into a frenzy and are afraid of missing something, even when they are in the middle of it.
I saw something like that at the game, receivers taking their eyes off the ball and looking downfield before properly securing the catch. There's no rush. Make your catch, secure it, and then make your next move. Always respect the ball, and the fish.
Another analogy is when we used over Christmas Christmas and the kids would just rip through presents looking for the next one before appreciating what they had in front of them. Don't be a kid.
And I wonder if that weekend bite had anything to do with that Beaver Moon I talked about?