As with all storms, rainfall, and flooding, the waters eventually subside. They may leave a path of destruction in their wake but in the end things returned to how Mother Nature wanted them. On my drive to my last day of work for the fall semester I stopped and took a photo at the Trenton Makes bridge. It was still chugging but way down from just 12 hours earlier.
This was a good semester. Had great kids. Had some great kids make it, and sadly some great kids not. Nursing school was one of the hardest things I have ever done, and these students have stories and stressors many of the students we know do not. I hope the ones that didn't make it return to fulfill their
dreams of becoming nurses. Nursing as a profession is a life changer for the patients we care for, but it is also a game changer for our families and our quality of life as well. There are so many opportunities as a nurse in the health care field. The possibilities are endless. But, to be honest, health care today sucks, and being a nurse in the trenches is a very, very difficult job.
While walking the halls I met a faculty member from another division who said they saw my name in the Board of Trustees minutes from November and was sad to see me leaving. Yes, I pulled the
trigger, but just before the hammer hit I pulled it back. I had to explain I reneged on my resignation and in the December minutes they would find that I'm back and all in. While I did have a great opportunity to go and explore with The Sharing Network in the end I had to just ask myself why do I keep running. I have a good job, although the commute is long and costly, I love the kids, and my coworkers, where am I going? So I stayed.
And yesterday my coworkers and I went to lunch in Downtown Newark. In my recent posts I have been doing a Throwback Tuesday which includes images from way back. Well in order to do that you have to have images in the tank. I thought the content and lighting of the below scene was worth
capturing. It was taken from Halsey Street near the corner of Branford Place. If you know that area then you know on the SW corner sits Hobby's Delicatessen. The deli has been there since 1962 and was a stop we would sometimes hit for lunch as my firehouse was only blocks away at Mulberry and
Lafayette Streets. I spent a little over 10 years on that corner as a fireman in Rescue 1 (on the left) and then came back for another 4 as Captain of Truck 1 (on the right). When the Prudential Center was being constructed those companies were relocated and the firehouse knocked down. It was a great spot.
Alright, back to the river. On my way home I wanted to see how how the bulkhead project held up in Trenton. The river had, as they say, dropped like a stone, and as I write this at 430 a.m. the river is at
58,900 which is down from 113,000 cfs just a day or so ago. I hate to hope for things like this, especially if there is extensive damage or loss of life, but I think these events are good for a watershed. It's Mother Nature flushing her toilet, in a way, like slash and burn agriculture back in the day. If the trees and sticks and boats and signs didn't make their way down to Philadelphia or Cape May then
they found their way to the sides of the river or jammed into the piers in the middle of the river. Above you can see the debris is log jammed into where the sheathing sits for the new Trenton "waterfront". I can only imagine the shit show of anglers this new river access will create. I can tell you from what I've seen these spots are filled with garbage, beer cans, old fishing line and hooks, and, the worst gear and techniques in catching and releasing fish. So I can only imagine what is to come. The fact that this is no where near completion makes me kind of glad.
And from time to time I like to share things that catch my eye from Facebook. I'm not on Instagram or Tic Tok so that's the extent of my social media. This time of year we start to see the Maryland and Virginia anglers get into the bass we had starting just about a month and half ago. I guess they like sloppy seconds. What will be interesting to see as they get their shots at stupid huge striped bass is how
it will be used against striped bass conservation and the move to rebuild by 2029. Anglers will see these almost unreal monsters and think all is good. The timing of all of this is interesting because as I write this Maryland is proposing ending the Trophy Season in the Chesapeake Bay. Below is how 2024 will look if that one month slaughter of big fish isn't ended. Remember, up and down the East Coast we're looking at a continuation of the 28-31 inch slot, which isn't that good either. But if we can
keep these big fish alive to continue spawning then that is one way to help the SSB. I know "they" say that by May they are spawned out so why not kull the school a bit but that makes no sense. They are also proposing changes to the Susquehanna Flats fishing as well, you can read more HERE. The big question is why should there be different regs for the Chesapeake Bay vs the Raritan Bay?
And while most of us, and what this blog calls home, is the New Jersey and New York striped bass fishery, the Chesapeake Bay (CB) is the epicenter of where a majority of striped bass called their natal river. Estimates put the CB as 70-90% of the biomass of striped bass originating from the CB followed by the Hudson, then Delaware Rivers. The Roanoke fish contribute a small percentage as do other rivers, but those "others" are up for debate. In my opinion, those "others", rivers like the Navesink, Raritan, and Hackensack in NJ, and Housatonic in Ct., and more into New England, aren't natal rivers, striped bass don't spawn there, yes, I know they may go there, but that's it. Again, IMHO.
Looking outside the New York Bight I took a look to see how far we're talking about. To most of us the Chesapeake Bay seems like it could be in another country. But lets look at that migration just a bit. Remember when we had big bass crash Monmouth County in early November, like the 5th. Well today is the December 21st. That was 46 days ago. The distance from Deal, New Jersey to the ocean side of the Chesapeake in Virginia is 1,259,313 feet, or 238.7 miles. 238 divided by 46 is 5.17. It is estimated a striped bass can travel, and that's up for discussion, 20 - 50 miles per day on it's migration. By the math 5.17 miles is very conservative. At that pace it must show these bass hung out and chewed for several days between Deal and say Cape Charles.
In 10 days the back bays and rivers in New Jersey will be closed for fishing for striped bass. Anglers will venture out on those warmer days coming up to get that last bass of the year and the first for 2024 on the ocean side. From today the countdown begins, we're 71 days till March 1st, when the bays and rivers open up for those early season bass. For me, I started fishing March 1st and brought my first
fish to hand March 9th. It was surprising to me to get them on a fly that early, but things are changing. Milder winters mean more wintering over for a lot of the bass, and good ones to boot, who start chasing and chewing earlier than in years past when it was all about the soak of clams, bloodworms, and bunker.
Good luck getting that last bass of 2023 and your first of 2024 if that's you thing. I'm done till March 1st, I think.