I woke up this morning and it was a tad chilly out there at 29 degrees. Um, no, I'm not going, nor are a lot of other fishermen. "Is it over?", is a question we all start to ask ourselves just about this time of year. Yes, there will be fish caught through December, and maybe into January, but the more relevant question we should ask ourselves is, "Am I done?".
It's always hard to pull the trigger and put the stuff away for the year. It goes from being used to being stacked up in the trunk or in a corner of the backseat just in case we decide to give it one more shot. But really, most of us are shot by now. Thanksgiving has came and went and now it's a short jog until Christmas and the New Year. That means switching out the fall and turkey decorations for the Christmas tree and Santa decorations. It also means the work and family party season is here. Add to that going to watch the tree lighting or an overpriced light show at your local orchard, and there's not much time to donate to fishing. So, let me tell you now, you're pretty much done.
For us attending or working at a college it's the last few weeks before the semester ends and soon everyone will be back home for the holidays. There's always a honey-do list that never gets finished and hopefully you've taken care of the outside because I can tell you those roofs are slippery and the leaves are frozen in the gutters and along the foundation of your house. Plus, the town has already come and picked them up from the curb, or they have found a spot in your neighbors yard, even though they blew out every leaf that fell early on their property. Yes, they hate you.
After a very mild fall Mother Nature is waking up just in time as December rolls in. Those west winds we had are now blowing SSW and will soon be coming from the north with a spattering of west from time to time.
If you live close then keeping the fall run alive isn't all that big of a commitment. Keep your stuff in your truck, give the beach a peek from time to time, maybe chase a report, or give it a quick session just because. The water temps are still around 53 degrees and we usually see fish until it drops another ten degrees to around 42. That's when the micro bass that missed the party, and migration, hit the beach.
Are there still fish around? Sure. No doubt. There will even be a flurry, or even a blitz, along the beaches as the few fish find the bait pods hugging the beach. Sand eels might even stay and stick which are like striper crack. But let's be honest, it's still is a boat fishery. Those braving the elements on an open
center console or the warmth of the head boats galley will find the marks and the fish. It's a jig time of year as those fish pass you by while hugging the bottom in 30-50 feet of water. There's nothing more fun them casting a fly rod through iced up guides watching the boats tightly packed a mile off the beach.
Those with the beach buggy passes will be able to hang in there a touch longer. The last time I had a pass and drove the beach was in 2021. I bought it and used it for one day on
December 7th. Leif and I made the trip down after hearing of three solid days of nice weather and off the charts fishing. The following day we went and it was about 20 degrees, nobody out, with no bait or bass, although Leif braved the elements as I watched and got a little guy.
Little guys can be fun on the right day. Lighter rods, smaller flies, unless there's herring around, and can produce double digit fish if you catch it right. But it's not a donate-a-day type fishing driving from The Hook down to the North Jetty in search of them. It's usually a close trip mostly to just fish and clear the mind type of fishing. They way it should be.
After I wrote this blog early in the morning of November 30th the below image from a post on Grumpy's Tackle Facebook page hit the net at 11 am, about an hour before dead low.
That's a real good fish and you can see that the cold hasn't affected participation as you can see the line up of guys over his right shoulder. Just so you know fly rodders, he was throwing an Ava, try and compete with that unless you're walking out to the edge of the bar.
I have one more trip in me, before I make the switch like every other fly rodder, from fly fishing to fly tying. Soon social media will erupt with posts of flies tied, both good and bad, with the requisite "That's beautiful" to "I'd eat that", even on those creations that a blind fish wouldn't eat. That's not to say that ugly flies don't catch fish.
This morning I spent time more wisely on the dead low tide close to home. With drought like conditions the last month or so I've been scouting and photographing my local waters identifying those rock fields and currents which may be useful to know come the spring.
Following the Thanksgiving Day rains we have nearly doubled the rivers volume from 4,000 to 8,000 cfs. The lowest I recorded this fall was 2880 cfs which is extremely low. Knowing the lay of the land is good, but the river in the spring is 50,000 cfs and you're fly fishing the edges it really doesn't help all that much. But when the river drops and the post-spawn fish are eating once again having an edge on the lies can be helpful. I hope your season isn't over and you find them all by yourself one chilly day.
