08.05.25 Off to the Emerald Isle...

     This is it. A year and half of planning, saving, buying vouchers, and working at work and at home until the very last minute to get to this point. We both worked yesterday, me day one at Capital Health School of Nursing. It was one and done as my five-day hospital orientation was cut short by this vacation. When I get back it's week one for the kids at the school in Trenton. 

     This morning, instead of packing, we were taking down and trimming doors to get ready for the tile guy who's going to finish up the mud room and bathroom renovation. We'll be over in Ireland for 13 days, returning on August 18th, Ryan's birthday. Theresa and I will be joined by the two youngest, Lauren and Erin, 23 and 20 respectfully. That's a long time away and in tight quarters. It should be one for the books. 

08.04.25 It's not all about the slot everywhere...

 

     Saw the above photo making away its way around Facebook. Nothing wrong with it as it's all legal. It's from an operation, Boston Fishing Charters, who fishes commercially and recreationally in and around Boston. Massachusetts has a commercial fishery where, if you have a commercial permit, you can now take 15 fish over 36 inches on the allowed commercial fishing days, which are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

     The slot limit now, for most of us on the East Coast is 28 -31 inches. Some states have open and closed seasons, like we do here in New Jersey, with no targeting during Jan. and Feb. In and around the Chesapeake there are a number of openings and closings and it takes a very mindful angler to ensure they aren't fishing dirty. 

     As of August 1st, through December 31st, the Chesapeake is open. Anglers there are allowed to harvest one fish per angler per day from 18 - 24 inches. Remember this week the ASMFC has their summer meeting, so we'll see what bullshit management efforts they come up with next. 

08.01.25 Holy s%$t Batman...

     Can you believe it? Chuck's running the International Fly Tying Symposium (TIFTS) again this fall. I'm glad I didn't run bets after last years show if it was coming back in 2025. No, I'm not a hater and actually have enjoyed the TIFTS over the years, but the last couple of years have been difficult to get excited about and drag myself to. 

     Years ago the IFTS almost looked like halls of The Fly Fishing Show (TFFS). Above is the TIFTS from 2012. Back in the day it was a show that drew a lot of the same heavy hitters that would attend TFFS in January in the same location. If TFFS was a must attend, the TIFTS was a close second. 

     But things have changed. Fly fishing and tying has changed. People have changed. The legends have moved on, from doing shows or to a better place in Heaven. Things just aren't the same and it's the same things these days when it comes to industry type shows. As we have seen in recent years people, let's talk manufactures, just don't make the commitment, in money 

and personnel, to attend these shows anymore. It's risk vs gain. The return on investment just isn't there. Yes, Orvis has started to roll back in, literally with a van, but I think that's just to show face, knowing that at the end of the weekend their attendance didn't have all that much of an impact in exposure and sales.

     Smaller operations, like Buzzi's BuzFly and Cordeiro's Flatwing, get a big draw and do well, but the big guns no longer compete for the space and bodies in the booths. These days there's a ton of smaller rod and reel manufactures and they dot the landscape that once was filled by competing big companies. 

     2024's "show" could have been called The International Fly Tying Room, as it has dwindled down to one room with basically four rows. There was some some booths to pick up supplies, more Bucktail Decievers, Hollow Fleyes, and BEAST Fleyes then you could count, and tyers, more names unknown then known, and, what made my show, was the booth occupied by Mr. Bob Clouser. 

     You have to tip your hat to Chuck Furminsky, and now Ben. While you can say whatever you want about how the shows are run, and where they are run, the costs for the vendors and admission, and all the bullshit and politics that goes with it - TIFTS and TFFS have had a HUGE impact in the fly fishing world, and to the tens of thousands of attendees over the years. The question is how long can and will they survive. My money was that last year would be the last for TIFTS, but I was wrong. 

     In the Press Release for this years show which specifies, "About 100 professional and amateur fly tyers - among the best the world has to offer- are scheduled for demonstrations. To be honest there's more amateurs, good people and good tyers, then professionals. There are plenty of good baseball players out there but when people come to a convention they want to see a Jeter, a Harper, or whoever is a baseball star these days. But one of those names I see is Tim Camissa, who I seem to mention a lot with all of these shows, and maybe beat up on a bit, but that's because he has become the poster child for the shows, because Chuck drags him around the country. I'm sure he's a nice guy and has a following, just not me. 

     The big news is that Hareline won't be in attendance this year, replaced by J. Stockard Fly Fishing "who has booked an extensive space". That will be interesting as there's really not all that much space to occupy. Hareline won't be there, "Because of a prior commitment....", mmmm, maybe they did the risk vs gain thing and pulled the trigger. Maybe this year they'll put Brad Buzzi where he belongs, front and center at the entrance as many, many people attend this show just to browse through his bucktails. 

     Many say that November, when New York and New Jersey are in the start of the meat of the fall run, isn't a good month to hold the show. That many of the people who would attend would be out fishing. Well, let's be honest, how many fly fishermen and women are lining the beaches these days anymore, outside of when they get the calls for blitzes on the beach. The TIFTS and TFFS have both really been leaning towards freshwater fly fishing and tying, which is where the largest percentage of anglers, and the money, comes from. 

     This week the contracts came out for vendors for TIFTS. A booth for the two-day event will run you $800 plus all the expenses that goes with it. For those "professional and amateurs", mostly amateurs, they'll be plenty of space to share to sit and tie and help fill the room. 

     This years show will be November 15-16 and will cost you $20 to get in for one day and $30 for a two day pass. Save the $10 and just hit it one day, you'll only need an hour or so. 

     I checked the show's website to see about the seminars and classes but they are all listed at TBA as it's a few months out. I've always said if they kept the themes local, like local NY/NJ/Pennsy fresh and saltwater fly fishing and tying, with a little destination stuff thrown in, they'd have a bigger draw. In addition I've always felt the "talent" should be paid for presentations and not just "to network and build your brand". 

07.31.25 Last day of a good run....

 

     July 31st, today, is my last day as a nursing instructor at Essex County College. Although by contract I get paid until August 31st, today is the day. I had the miserable task of going in to clean out my office and complete all the "Okay you can leave tasks". Besides loading up all the books, papers, and wall decorations I had to make my way around the campus, like a scavenger hunt, and obtain signatures from various department heads. They'd only sign if I didn't have any outstanding books or equipment out, turned in my keys and ID's, and was all current with my time sheets and employment paperwork. 

     Offices are more than just a place to dump your stuff and have computer access, especially in the nursing department. They are more of a therapist's office then anything. Between those walls students entrust and share their innermost dramas and traumas of life in-between the thrills of victory and agony of defeat following exams or the hard conversations of dropping or potentially having to repeat a semester. 

     My office walls were filled with pictures of my students over the years, diplomas and stuff from when I attended there 30 years ago, and some inspirational sayings pinned around that old beat up striped bass mount that I found at Allaire Flea Market some 10 years ago. 

     As I packed up I have to say I was a little bummed. Was I doing the right thing? Was I leaving for the right reasons? Would I be doing more bad than good by leaving? Well, I can say this, during this semester there was a lot of college management "intervention" regarding exam content and difficulty, subsequent exam scores, and who passed the semester. Once you question or intervene you jeopardize the standards and integrity I'm out. So for that reason alone I'm good with leaving. Nursing schools today aren't those of old. I can remember, even as an adult working as an EMT and a Newark fireman during nursing school in the early 1990's, being petrified of my instructors and my readiness for the day and the quality of submitted work. Those days are long gone. Respect is out the window. Entitlement is the now what was once hard work and acceptance of one's performance. Not all, but some. 

     My fondest memories came from what we did in Room 204. It was there I held my first lectures, labs, and pre-clinical sessions. I'll always remember that red line down the center of the classroom. I used it demonstrate blood vessels, usually the big ones, when talking about intravascular and extravascular spaces, and how fluid moves in and around the body. 

     I'm leaving a very comfortable and familiar place for the unknown, well kind of. Capital Health sits in the heart of Trenton, another inner city with all of the challenges that inner city health care, and nursing programs, bring. The program is in the rebuilding phase so it's spread out between two buildings separated by five miles. There's also an additional hospital campus in my hometown. 

     But what I'll miss are the kids. The diversity was amazing. Not only in color but in culture and life experience. I tried to make that a point everyday, sometimes at the expense of an accent or different interpretation or understanding. I'll also miss the hangs, and there were many, either 

after school or clinical we always found some time to break bread and share a drink. Some would say that's not appropriate. Well this nursing school, not high school. These are adult learners. Big boys and girls. 

Class of 2025 pinning

     My last group (below) was special. Either special in my heart or just special ed. That last semester had 78 students in the NRS 114 class, which is a doozy, and, a class that historically filters out either those just not ready at the moment and the fakers and the frauds. This crew was good. Unfortunately 18 of those 78 weren't moving forward, until they were, and are. You can read between the lines on that.

     They, well the ones that didn't wish me for dead, were gracious enough to send me off with a surprise party. That was topped off with a present that came in a long narrow box, an Orvis Helios 9ft 10wt, which is my go to fly rod. Of course there were dishes from around the world and drinks, which I only realize now, may have contained fluid with an extra little something in them. 

     Before I left I took my shingle down and closed the door. During my scavenger hunt for signatures I bumped into one of my ex-students, and it was nice to see him, but sad for me in a way because I won't be able to witness the last leg of their journey up until pinning in May 2026. But I will be there for sure. 

 

     I left office number 1161 better then I found it four years ago. Hopefully it will serve the next Professor as well as it did me. There were times where I just went and shut the door and took a break. At my new gig there's no set office for me. I chose to not take their full-time offer as they work 0830 Monday to 1630 on Friday, a true Monday through Friday job. I've haven't worked Monday through Friday since I was an ironworker in the late 1980's. I'll be working almost full time hours but picking and poking through the holes to help out. 

     As I traveled east on 78 past the airport I thought to myself how the one thing I won't miss was the daily commute. Titusville to Essex County College was 71 miles and to Clara Maass Medical Center was 78. Now it's 6 miles to the Trenton campus and 2.2 miles to Hopewell. 

     That commute started between 4 and 5 am each day. I was always early and never lost at sea. In four years I was late one time. It was my first day. As soon as I got on the NJT at Exit 7a there was a double fatal accident and I was landlocked between exits. The only days I missed were the times I was admitted to the hospital following hypertensive events after getting the Covid boosters and flu shots, and Bobby's funeral last November. 

     As I drove I thought, "Wow, another chapter in the crazy-ass book of Colin Archer's Life". Then I soon met Phillip. But before all of that. During our week in Cape May we were getting the 

beach stuff out of my truck which became the beach stuff staging area for our time at Congress Hall. My sister and Dad asked what was in the side compartments and I told them fire extinguishers, some hand tools, and some first aid jump bags. I always say I carry them to at least give someone a hand or a shot at life if shit goes down in front of me. I don't want to be that person, like I saw yesterday, who just drives by just after something happens, or brings out water bottles to pass around. I love when people offer up water to trauma patients. I'm just poking fun, but do they need water at that moment? 

    So I was driving south on the Turnpike a little after 130 when the front tire of the above truck blew out causing it, and Phillip, to overturn. It was a violent accident and I thought for sure there 

would be some serious injuries and possibly heavy entrapment. After getting my kits from my truck and playing Frogger getting from the inner lane to the shoulder of the outer roadway Phillip had already self-extricated himself and there were people who had stopped to lend a hand. He was a mess, cut-up from the floor up and in need of some help to stop the bleeding.

     He was just a nice guy. All he wanted to do was call his boss and tell him what happened. He was so conscientious about the responsibility he had to his employer. He wanted to call him before he called his wife in the Bronx. So he made us call his boss and asked me to snap a picture to send as proof. While we waited for the Trooper's and EMS we joked a bit to pass 

the time. I told him he would be on the blog and he laughed. While the bleeding from various sites was slowed, my concern was his belly, which was tender and tight. Most likely something, the spleen or intestine, was lacerated and leaking. I'd bet he wound up in the OR for a look or a quick stitch inside. 

     After I reported off to the Troopers and EMS they stopped traffic so I could get back over to my truck. Just like any other kind of incident I reflected on how it could have gone better. Well, there was some critiquing to do. With two bags in front of me I couldn't find what I needed when I needed it. I couldn't quickly place my hands on a set of gloves, couldn't find the shears to cut off his shirt, and the Kerlex gauze dressing I need to pressure wrap to to stop the bleeding wasn't where I thought it was. So as I packed up there was stuff, dressings, tourniquets, Band-Aids, and a few boxes of Narcan laying on the ground. It all looked amateurish. 

    So when I got home I organized the bags. I came up with a Bag 1 and Bag 2 system. Bag 1 gets opened first, gloves, tourniquet, trauma dressings, baby delivering stuff, and Narcan, along with a BP cuff and stethoscope. Bag 2 is more first aidy along with extra supplies. Every now and then I should hold a drill and familiarize myself, and check the fire extinguishers as well. Yes there are two. 

     My world after the Ireland trip will really exist within the confines of Mercer County. Live, work, and fish all within a say 10 mile radius. That's not bad. Easy for time management, good for the mental health, and easier on the wallet in terms of gas and tolls. 

But there's alway's the fall run. Titusville to Sandy Hook is 71 miles. But a few times traveling there in the fall won't be so bad. 

07.30.25 Oh, I haven't forgot about the ASMFC....

 

     It's that time for the ASMFC summer meetings. Just as all the striped bass anglers, except for those chasing Block fish, are enjoying backyard BBQ's, fluke fishing, and chasing tails, tuna that is, the ASMFC will be moving forward to rebuild the striped bass by 2029, yeah okay. 

     I couldn't help but look back as to what the committee was fermenting for the August 6th meeting and couldn't help but notice the early pages in the document, the members of the management board. New Jersey has Joe Cimino, the AA, Jeff Kaelin, the GA, and then there's still Adam Nowalksy, the "Proxy" for Senator Vin Gopal. We can't seem to shake ourselves of Nowalsky, although the meat eaters and charter guys love him. 

     What's at stake? Well a lot. I'm not going to get all into it as I have before. But remember, the same people who punted and kept the regulations the same for 2025 from 2024 are the ones "trying" to rebuild the SSB by 2029. It's a joke. Are there good people there, yes, are they doing the right thing? Questionable. 

     So if you pour through what the MB and TC have been talking about things like size limits, or slots, and seasonal closures and no target/ no harvest are still on the table and will, or should, be ironed out by the end of the meetings. There's also things like mode splits, having different regulations for commercial and recreational and tagging for commercial operations. If you fish commercially every fish should be tagged and recored and reported, they want to get away from doing that. 

From the July meeting, 

     The "Waves" will be back in the discussion as far as having seasonal closures. What will seasonal closures mean? Well, in my opinion, it'll mean shutting the "season" down by weeks, or days. It won't be like no more fishing in New York and New Jersey after November 15th, it'll be odd days or weekend days sprinkled throughout the fall. That's just my gut. They'll also be talking about the Chesapeake fishery and no doubt the Maryland Charter Association and Delmarva Fisheries Association will be out in force following the lawsuits they filed and were ultimatley denied a hearing by the United States Supreme Court back in May. 

     Now, NY and NJ will fight the seasonal closures. New York doesn't "open" for bass until April 15th and New Jersey is closed inside January and February. You know, we are shut down in January to protect the striped bass here in New Jersey, right? C'mon man. Yes, there are big wintering over fish deep down in the channels ain and around the New York, Raritan, and Sandy Hook bays, but who would be targeting them for real during the winter? But those states will pitch that bitch. 

     Hey, New Jersey won! In 2024 we landed the most striped bass out of everyone else on the East Coast....36%. That means we killed the most between beating up on the slot fish and catch and release mortality. New York came in second at 25%. 

    What is a hoot is that all of this "science" and "data" is centered around the NOAA MRIP Fishing Effort Surveys (FES). I've talked about this and showed you what the survey looks like. It's volunteer and asked about number of trips and fish and fish kept and released. How many of you have been stopped on the dock, or the beach, and asked to fill one out? It's joke science. But "they" say, "It's better than what we used to use". Yeah, so was asbestos. 

     So, like I said, many of us are in summer mode. Not thinking about striped bass and most not fishing for them. We don't get all juiced up until September, well really October these days. So most of us won't care or react until it's too late. Below is the agenda for the August 6th meeting. 

     In the end to "rebuild" there will have to be reductions. They are looking at 50% and 60% as the percentage of the chance of rebuilding, and to do that you need -12% or -18% reductions, again, for a chance to rebuild. That's where closures, no- target, and no- harvest comes in. 

I'll keep you posted. 

07.29.30 Fishing? What's that?

     Yep good old fishing. I have to say I'm okay talking the summer off. I worked hard during the spring semester, hit the river hard after that, and then had the Vineyard trip before settling in to 

 

normal New Jersey summer life. We just got back from a week with the fam down in Cape May where I caught up on some rest in the cabana while those that dig the sun and the water did their thing. 

     One of my favorite pics of the week is the one of my son Sean and Eva. Nothing better than seeing your kids happy with a solid partner. That just about made my week. 

     Before I left I was in total Bob the Builder mode. I must say I'm impressed with myself, at least up to this point. My problem is completion, where my rate falls somewhere between 70- 90 % on most projects. Below is a view of the puzzle of 100 year old brass pipes and shut offs that can't be budged. 

     The push now is to be ready for the big family trip to Ireland coming next week. While we're gone we're having the tile guy come and lay the floor in the mud room and in a first floor 

half bath. That's been a project as well getting the old floor up, skim coating the walls, moving some supply pipes, and getting ready for paint. These 100 + year old houses really test one's skills as everything is complicated and usually leads down a rabbit hole of additional work you didn't plan on doing. I still have to tackle the thin setting the Durock subfloor before we go. 

     Well there has been some some fishy stuff here and there but not at the water' edge. My buddy Abe Pieciak worked on making this tail in honor of Bob Popovic's and I was lucky enough to score shirt #1. 

     Abe's the artist, fisherman, and just all around great guy from Martha's Vineyard. Like I always said Bobby was the link between so many good people, and if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have met Joe Carey, and then in turn, Abe. Abe has all kinds of cool art swag on his site HERE. He keeps pushing me to take a ride up for some Menemsha jetty albies in the fall and that is something I would definitely do. Albies on foot yes, albies from a boat, I'm just not a fan. 

     I think the only reason I wouldn't take the trip up north is I'm unsure of my new work schedule. I'm taking my shit show on the road, leaving Essex County College after four years, and landing 10 minutes away at Capital Health School of Nursing in Trenton. 

     I've been in the new hire mode since coming back from the Cape with a physical, background checks, uploading license and documents, and yesterday my first staff meeting. It'll take some time to get acclimated but so far so good. Great staff and hospital based! I'll get more into what hospital based means when I get going. 

     And then there's always "Health is Wealth". Yesterday I had an appointment back at Mt. Sinai where I underperformed during a breathing test. But I think not to worry as you can cut the air recently with all this humidity which just kills my lungs and breathing. It's the countdown to October 8th and the repeat chest CT to see which fork in the road I'm heading down. 

     Fall will be here before you know it. The bays and rivers are full of YOY baitfish which will make their migrations out and south. Either shad or herring in the river, or bay anchovies, silversides, mullet, and peanut bunker in the bays, things will start moving come late August. There's been some Spanish mackerel starting to show off the beaches and the boat guys have been out on the tuna grounds, and closer, for a month or so. I might take some buds offer up on a tuna trip before the fall. I've been hearing the fluke fishing has been good this summer and I'd like to get down there for first light at least once this summer. 

     And for the hunters in the bunch below is a pic my sister Jessica sent me from her yard in Middletown. Three bucks in velvet chewing and putting on weight before they get all horned up and lose their minds during the fall rutt. It almost looks like they are hanging out in a deer preserve. 

    It' time to put the respirator back on and get to sanding or take another trip to Home Depot to drop another $100. But I've been tight because I'd rather have money in my pocket to have a Guiness in Killarney next week then extra spackle, PEX, or sandpaper laying around in Titusville. 

07.25.25 Happy 10 years Theresa....

   

 "What a long strange trip it's been". It seems in 10 short years we've tucked and ducked and taken some big blows. Marriage is great, not always easy, and having a blended family is a great multiplier. The goods are gooder but the bads can be badder. In the end it's just life, and I'm lucky to have Theresa by my side to help me through. And I really have to thank her for putting up with all things striped bass and fly fishing. Here's to another 10 bud.