Dispatches from fly fishing for striped bass and more along the Jersey Shore and the Delaware River
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I stopped by the river the yesterday just to see how it looked. There was a group of men working on the land side but I noticed a ladder going down to the river. It was low tide and there was more activity below then up top. What's funny is Mark and I did that same tactic during a practice session one night to see if it could be done. The worry is with the new watefront project all access to the river on the Jersey side will be over.
It's been several years since the Trenton waterfront project started, actually it was August 2022. The work is being conducted primarily around the old wharf just below the train bridge.
They've knocked the old one out and are in the process of building a new one. It's been a long time since they started but I was told by an engineer they had to wait for the final plans to be approved, and the budget passed.
It used to be a great place to fish, but no longer. Yes, you can fish the stretch from a boat, but you know how I feel about boat fishing. Long gone are the days where I'd tip toe
past the sleeping homeless to make my way to the river. Now fencing lines Route 29 and there is no access. It's over Johnny.
I talked to the project foreman and he told me they were painting the river side of the wall from the top down to the high water mark. They use a special epoxy based paint that is used to extend the life of the concrete walls. Those walls have been holding the land one way and the water the other since the 1950's and 60's when the project was completed.
Route 29 plowed through what was once Stacy Park and it basically separated the city from the Delaware River. There have been studies to re-route Route 29 and make the waterfront more accessible and inviting. It is all planned around the Trenton Thunder Ballpark. While that's great for anyone who doesn't hold a fishing
While that's great for anyone who doesn't hold a fishing rod in hand, it's not so good for the striped bass. If fishing is even allowed on the public promenades anglers will have a chore landing a striped bass from that vantage point. The folks that fish along Trenton's waterfront now, are great, and not so great. Lot's of garbage, lot's of poaching, and lot's of mishandled big fish when it's the season. Like everywhere else, the Delaware River will become a boat fishery. And I hate boats.
And just a fun fact. New Jersey is the only state where you can see another state, like in close proximity, to another, from the Capital building.
During a late night talk with the two Joe's last week I recalled, incorrectly, when I first stepped foot on Martha's Vineyard. I had told them it was back in 1993. When I got home I went digging for that old photo album and discovered it was actually in August 1987. I was 19 years old at the time and sporting my then Ralph Lauren Jersey Shore preppy look.
It was August 21, 1987 when we took the ferry over with our car, which was a 1985 Ford Bronco II. The passenger rate at the time was $7.50 and the car rate was $26.50. Today the rate is $10.50 per passenger and $160.00 one way for a vehicle during the summer months. My recent trip with my larger pick-up cost me $346.00 round trip.
We took the Islander over which was put into service in 1950 and had an original purchase price of $1,010,043. It was sold at auction to an upstate New York fruit farmer in 2009 for $23,500.
Our home away from home was at The Tisbury Inn. It sat on Main Street in Vineyard Haven and was a 33-room inn established in 1794. It had been renovated two years before we arrived and was a most convenient place to stay Down - Island for those coming over without a car. The rate for a double occupancy room with a private bath was $75 per night.
In December 2001 the inn suffered a devastating fire that destroyed the building. Eighteen months later the building was demolished and rebuilt to what is now The Mansion House. These days a room there in June
will cost you $519 a night for a room with a king sized bed. During my more recent trips there I didn't know what had happened to The Tisbury until I wrote this piece. It wasn't the first time that the structure in that footprint had burned, in 1883 a devastating fire destroyed 62 buildings in
downtown Vineyard Haven. The original Mansion House, later renamed The Tisbury Inn, and then after the 2001 fire, renamed back to the Mansion House, was burned to the ground with only the chimney remaining. Interestingly, VH did not have its own fire department at the time
and the closest, the Cottage City Fire Department, was called to help battle the flames. Cottage City was once part of Edgartown, until it broke free in 1880 and became what we now know it as Oak Bluffs. One of the fire "engines" or really hand water pumps the department purchased in
1855 is on display at The Edgartown Fire Department Museum and is pulled out for a demonstration every July 4th.
I vividly remember renting a little Boston Whaler at the Dockside Marina and taking it out for a cruise. It was great sailing out, but the wind against tide, which I didn't know existed
at the time, made for a hair raising and f'in scary ride back in. I remember coming back to a calm harbor looking like we had been assaulted and scared to death. I've never been so glad to stand on ground again.
My first steps at Menemsha were some 38 years ago. Funny to think that last week I may have stepped over those same rocks I was standing on to get down to the water to fish. That's 1987, the years of the "Black Monday" stock market crash, the year Ronald Reagan told Gorbachev to "Tear down this wall", and the New York Giants won their first Super Bowl (XXI).
I remember Menemsha as being more build up with a busier marina back then, but that's just my memory. Maybe 38 years ago the fishery was more robust. And, while this year is the 50th anniversary of the release of the movie JAWS, it was still fresh in the minds of the locals there at it was only 12 years young back then. I'm sure more of the ORCA was still visible in the channel that
connects Menemsha Pond with the Menemsha Bight. Below is an image taken from 1988, a year after I was there, with one of the ORCA boats still on the west shore of the channel. Eventually the weather, and fans looking for souvenirs, would pick away what was left. If you go there there are still fragments of the boats, channels, and rails used during the film shoot.
Art Vaughn photo via Flickr
The cost of the original JAWS was nine million dollars. Filming took place on Martha's Vineyard in 1974 and lasted 159 days, at a cost of $30,000 per day.
I had started the process of becoming a Newark firefighter at that point so I was interested in all things fire service. With the trucks outside I stopped for a picture at the Gay Head Volunteer Fire Department. I'm not sure if they run out of the same house these days, I doubt it.
And Gay Head, whose name was officially changed to Aquinnah back in 1997, was the home to Gay Head Cliffs. If I knew I had this picture I would have snapped a similar one on my most recent visit, just to see how much the landscape has changed.
While there were signs prohibiting nude bathing and soaking in the clay pools that were formed in the cliffs, people still took advantage of it. It was weird seeing people, naked, and
covered with all different colors of the clay walking around or baking in the sun. They say it was the best natural spa treatment you could give yourself. I stayed dressed, from head to foot. At one point while we were walking a boat ran aground and myself an a guy in the buff went out and helped them get off the rocks. It was also weird shaking a guys hand for a job well done while he sat there with his junk swinging from left to right as we walked out. Maybe I shouldn't put hand and job in the same sentence. When in Rome do as the Roman's I guess.
So there you have it. 1987. 38 years ago. Why in earth did I wait until 2013 to return to a place that I love so much. Now, to be fair, I didn't get the striped bass bug until my first in 2003, after a solid decade plus of chasing trout in New Jersey and in the Catskills. It would have been nice to catch the Vineyard in its heyday, when big bass, as Booby would tell me, 20-30 pound bass, would routinely patrol Dogfish and Lobsterville.
For now it's time to rid my mind of the Vineyard till next year. Yesterday I made sure my flies were all washed and dried and put away for safe keeping. Maybe there might be a fall visit up there this year, which would be a first for me. It's all albies, and I hate albies, but they say you can sight fish them up there. Mmmm, where did I leave that ladder?
Like many other parent's on their respective parent's day I did get to do something I wanted to do, of course that was to go fishing. Caught the middle of the outgoing and had a series of swipes and flosses before bringing one in for the tank. The river looked kind of how I felt, blah.
I was able to spend the afternoon with my Dad, brother and stepmother which was a good time mixed in with a lot of good old stories and laughs. It's hard to believe that I'm 57, brother 54, and our Dad about to hit 79. Where does the time go. They say live each day likes it your last and everyday is one step closer to the grave. Staying positive, and thankful and grateful, makes life go by just a little easier, and boy does it go by fast when you reflect on all the things life has and will throw you during the game.
What kind of miserable bastard hates Father's Day? Before I wax poetic let me first wish all of the Father's out there a happy one. I hope you get a day to do what you want, hopefully fishing, and spending it with your own Dad or the kids that call you Dad. I am blessed, at 57, to still have my Dad around, and will spend the afternoon over at his house. Something I've done, and made a priority to do so, for as long as I can remember. Boy, times have changed.
Father's Day 2024, with my brother Ryan
And having your Dad around is truly a blessing. Parent-child relationships come in all sorts of kinds, from bad to great, and everything in between. That goes for the Moms and well as the Dads. I know plenty of people who's parents, let's just talk Dad's here today, who have passed away, and for some leaving an indelible hole in their lives, minds, and hearts. Hey, your Dad is your Dad. While I may not see mine everyday life's just better knowing he's around, of course if I need him, and second watching him now fully retired and ready to begin those Golden Years of living.
Theresa and her parents, Florida, late 1970's
People lose their fathers at all ages. My own daughter lost her biological Dad at 8, and it's a void I will never be able to fill. My Mom and Theresa lost their's in their twenties, that would mean, for me, I would have been 30 years without mine around. And for the later two their Mom's passed away around that time as well, so no parents for most of their lives. I can't imagine what that is like.
Father's Day, for me, comes in two parts. Being a son of a Dad, and being a Dad to my children. Like I said before, there are certain days that you just make a priority, and Father's Day should be one of them. They used to be, in the good, well better, younger years of life, a time when time spent was more valuable then anything else, well those handmade cards we all
made when we were kids were priceless. I think that's where I get all anti-ed and melancholy about. Rather than cherish those memories it's more about wishing those days were still around, when the kids were young and I felt more needed, loved, and relevant. That's just me being in my own head.
I have had, and continue to have, the pleasure of being in several Father roles. Biological, adopted, and step. I have to say I hate titles- I hate the word "step" when it comes to describing both parents and children alike. But some need to do that, and demand it, out of respect for those that share the same bloodline. But if you've been a "step" and have "steps" as I have, a stepchild with a stepparent, as you grow and mature you realize, that titles just get in the way, and can cause a barrier to those who have served you well, and continue to do so. But I get it, blood is thicker than water.
So the crew above is my clan. Sean, Tara, Patrick, Lauren, Ryan, Erin and Juliet. This is one of my favorite pictures taken in March of 2016, a year before Ryan took his own life. He's still my kid, and me his Father, as I hope one day when it's my turn to go, I'll be reunited with him, in Heaven, where he'll introduce me to his buds as, "Hey, this is my Dad". One thing I can say about divorce and blended families is they are great, and then they are not, but only for a few tides, but they do change the dynamics. And dynamics get in the way as the kids get older.
I remember the early years, when the kids were young, and before divorce and the two house set-up. Father's and Mother's Day were days, and they were good days. Taking the kids shopping for a gift, helping them pick out or make a card, waking up extra early to make breakfast or go and grab bagels, and then figuring out where we were going to make sure
Fathers Day card, 2015
we checked off all the Father's or Mother's Day visits. If I remember, back in the good old days, there were no excuses, it was like a mandatory thing, but maybe I'm delusional. I remember breakfast in bed, opening the gifts, and just feeling all warm and fuzzy about being a Father.
Then life happens. Kids would come and go split between the two houses, well, in my case, it would later become three houses. It was all good, cause the kids were then now adolescents, old enough to be anti or annoying, but not that old that you couldn't control, or coerce them into being a part, and smiling for the camera. Those early days are when I felt like a Dad, a protector,
Sean and Ryan, Father's Day, around 2000
a provider, and someone working hard to ensure they had clothes, food, shelter, and help with a life plan. I always hoped I was doing the best that I could for all of them, regardless of the role or title I held.
And then it all goes to shit, at least in my opinion. The only thing a good parent wants for their children is for them to grow up, move out, make good decisions, and be happy and live their best life. While I am part of the shitty I buried a child club, I have several friends who have been tested to the gills with their children who are struggling and juggling, and or, depend on the grandparents to be the parents. Helping out is great, but boy is it hard for them to live their best life when their kids have including them in their life plan. And the financial support can extend way beyond what we used to say, "Eighteen and out".
"Well the kids have their own lives now", really. If it's not one excuse it's another. Add to that any difference of opinion in the family about politics and social bullshit, raising children, vaccines, etc., and you have a better chance of seeing Jesus then you do your kids on Father's Day, or any of the used-to-be-mandatory-attendance days. Oh, Bah Humbug. I swear life used to be better.
So that brings us to Father's Day 2025. I can't tell you how many times I've been in the company, or received the phone a few days before Father's Day, "Hey, what's going on for Father's Day?". And boy that gets my goat. While I should, these days, be happy that we are still in the equation, there seems to be a under current like, "Hey, what are you doing for or with us on Father's Day?". And if a visit to a restaurant is in the equation, guess who's footing the bill? That's no matter that the kid dropped $150 this week on Amazon or Temu. And in response I hear guys answer, or have said, "Yeah, no big deal, I'll see you when I see you", or, "I don't have to see you ON Father's Day", or, "I understand". You know what, "Fuck that", that's what I say. Yes the kids go on to have kids, and then they are or are married to a Dad, but you know what, there's only one OG, or a close replacement, that should be front and center that day. Those are my thoughts and mine alone.
These days those hand made cards are replaced with the above, a text message, on what should really be a day where a tad more effort is expended. If you're lucky, or if I'm lucky, I'll get a call from one, some, or none of them, but I will get the texts I'm sure.
Some say that the day is no big deal. Just another Hallmark money grab day from back in the day. Yes, it only takes a minute to become a Dad, actually, but if people only knew the responsibility, work, worry and mental anguish that comes with all the good then it might require a little more effort and appreciation. If you're that guy who can't relate to this post, I applaud you and am envious, and enjoy your day. For the rest of you I hope you know you are appreciated and good job for a very, very difficult job well done.
Well my last day wasn't really a day at all. With only a couple of hours sleep after a late night talk session with the boys I had to make sure I was in Vineyard Haven for my 630 ferry. The trip was over, and now the countdown to next years trip begins. When I got to the terminal they let me know I in fact had a 730 trip over, but they squeezed me onto the 6 am ferry and I was off.
As the ferry crossed Vineyard Sound I saw the other ferry starting the day bringing people over on the early Friday into the weekend push of people. Everyday the ferries will bring tourists, tons of vehicles, with tons of traffic, and for the local businesses that depend on revenue, a much needed influx of cash. I also saw the boats lined up at the rip at Middle Ground, a place that sits between the Vineyard and Elizabeth Islands, a magnet of a place for striped bass, squid, and other baits.
The line was already formed when I crested the Cape Cod Canal bridge bringing people who will go right to the ferry terminal at Falmouth, or left heading onto Cape Cod.
So it was a bit weird leaving the island, a little more lighter then when I arrived. I came with a ladder and a boat, and I left without a ladder or a boat. Both left for the locals to use, and get better use out of it, then them just sitting in my yard at home. The ladder wasn't much but had served me well for years up there.
The boat, the SS Archer in the making I'm sure, was purchased with one place in my mind, Menemsha Pond. I lugged it up there this year, it's second trip, with the intention of selling it when I got back. Over the week I had to explain to wondering minds what it was, how it worked, and if I had built it. It really is a cool designed vessel, and I can't wait to see what becomes of it.
Abe has a crew of young anglers up there and he and one of them were all jazzed up when I went through it while we visited The Shed. When Abe said, "This belongs on the island", I knew no sales pitch was needed". He was right, it does belong there, I think it's the perfect one man sight fishing thing you could ask for, although Joe Calvecechia's Hobie set up looked just as perfect. So the three of them split the bill and it was left on the island, and I was relieved, as I didn't want to do the Facebook Marketplace routine of 1,000 questions, promises, and failed sales.
When I arrived home I got some different welcomes, my dog, Luke, nearly soiled himself, while Theresa said, "You should have just stayed". Not that I was expecting Theresa to soil herself but a little more of a, "Boy, I missed you" would have been a bit nicer. But I know she said "stayed" with all the love and understanding a fly fisherman's wife can muster up.
And of course, as I always do, I went fishing the day after I arrived home. My striped friends were waiting for me and I think they dam neared soiled themselves because there were many and they were active. I also got reminded of what lurks along the banks of the waters I fish,
there's no horseshoe crabs here underfoot, but syringes used by the people who lurk in the shadows at night and fight their addictions and past. I hadn't unpacked my truck yet, and surely didn't have access to my Delaware River fly selection at the ready so I just went with what I could put my hands on. My fly would be one that Abe tied and gave me, "Perfect for when the mullet are around". So that would have to do. And it did.
Well there must have been a mob of mullet making their way downriver because that fly got swiped, tail slapped, inhaled, and buried into the lips of more fish then I caught all week on the Vineyard. The bite lasted the meaty part of the dropping tide before I switched spools and went
for an intermediate line. I also switched over to a hookless fly just wanting to watch them react to the fly in the water, which included several eats and spits, well they didn't spit it, they just can't be hooked on flies with no hooks. Although one time this spring I did, when the Squimpish material wrapped around ones lips and it couldn't become unglued.
The river is approaching Juneish conditions. Running about 15,000 cfs with temps ranging from 68-74 depending on the time of day and the sun. They'll be gathered up in the faster and broken water where food comes down past them along with the higher oxygen concentrated water. I'm really just about done, with nothing to prove, and if I go it's just to clear my mind and have a quick outing. But I know this, if I didn't go to the Vineyard this week, it could have been a 100 fish week here at home.
And to recap the Vineyard 2025 trip. It was a win all the way around. Great guys, great house, some good fishing, but overall less than perfect conditions for sight fishing. It just comes with the territory.
Some thoughts if you go,
1. Just go. Book a trip now, really to anywhere. Pay it off along the way. Eventually it will be go time.
2. Make your ferry reservations way in advance. There's no more stand-by so do it early.
3. Fill up before you get over. It's about +/- $1.50 dollar a gallon difference over there. And you do a lot of driving when you're jumping spots at different times of the day.
4. Figure out the right tides at the right locations. It's an island so the water fills in and drains differently at different spots.
5. Check the weather and adjust accordingly. I was hell-bent on sight fishing at Spot X, but might have been better served, and caught more, if I wasn't so narrow minded.
6. Listen to those who have more experience, they know more and get it done more consistently than you do.
7. But, fish and try to catch the way you want to. Blind casting is great, but not catching the way you want to will leave you less than fulfilled.
8. Bring bug spray, when the wind dies the bugs will find you. And sun block as well.
9. Throw some paper towels and wipes in your sling pack, especially if you drop Aussie Bites in your mouth like M & M's the day before, you'll get caught out there, trust me.
10. Bring some water and a snack, those 6 hour tides are long, especially if you are like me and can't stay in one place for too long. A lot of these places are long walks from the car.
11. Plan on fishing in the sun, then going back and taking a nap, as evening and night fishing is a thing. Have a headlamp at the ready.
12. Think small, like real small, those early sand eels are like grains of rice. Not Jersey sand eels.
13. Be prepared to try something or some new spots, that's how you become better, even if you have to travel 5 miles over ankle breaking rocks.
14. When your bud tells you to 'Keep walking", and not giving up after 45 minutes, there's a reason.
15. Take lots of pictures, not just fish pictures. Yes, memories get etched in your mind, but if you don't take them you'll never have a portfolio of what might become your favorite fishing place.
16. Stay away from the tourist trap food spots, they are pricey, like $68 for a 1-1/2 pound lobster, an ear of corn, and some butter.
17. Massachusetts outlawed plastic bottles, so there's no Poland Spring as such. Also, there's no flavored tobacco products, or plastic bags from the markets.
18. Clam chowder can be offered in a few ways, liquidity or thick. Most places will allow a sample before you buy.
19. Make sure you have rain gear as the weather can change here on a dime, it did for us.
20. Support the local fly shops. A lot of these shops use locally and expertly tied flies. "Custom", aka Joe Calcevechia did a fly drop. Coops and Kismet are great places to stop, not only for gear and flies, for some local intel as well.
20. And surround yourself with good people, they make a great trip even better. In fact, they just make life better.
And as far as trip pics, here you go....
Favorite overall pic-
Favorite best-two-buds pic-
Best fish of the trip pic- taken by Joe "Custom" Calcevechia-
My best my fish of the fish trip pic-
Favorite no-one takes pics of me so I do it myself pic-
Favorite having a great time catching pic-
Coolest animals doing animal things video, the mallards hunting YOY herring-
Best relese video-
Favorite casting pic-
Favorite best hang pic-
Favorite "We got a good house" pic-
Best "Theresa they liked your food" pic-
And best, "Am I gay for this guy?" pic-
And lastly, a PSA, watch this combo pic-
So I am already looking at the calendar for 2026. I looked up the moon phases and it's new on the 15th and full on the 29th. This year the trip was nine days in total, with day 1 and 9 the travel days. I would like to extend it next year, by like two weeks, wouldn't that be a hoot.
I think I came to the conclusion that I might be able to call the Vineyard home. What would hold me back? Work of course. But they have a hospital, so I could do that. They just have some people in need of some mental health help, so I could open a practice. Theresa could do her reiki/ reflexology, and doula work there, or I could just dust off the Captain's license and get the Jones Brother's fired up. Of course that would be after a time of learning the water's that surround the island.
I found a nice place in Chilmark, which is Up-Island, near my favorite places to fish. Guys, if I do grab this, unfortunately, I'll have to have you chip in a few shekels if you come, I'd need some help to help defray some of the cost of the taxes.
