What a difference a day makes. It's funny how the river handles the deluges of rain that we get. If it rains hard in my neighborhood it crests and falls quickly. If upstream gets pounded then we see a delayed cresting and scouring of the bottom and the banks which brings everything downriver with the added flows.
The river corridor did get hit yesterday pretty hard and we have seen the river rise from 8,000 cfs to 32,000 cfs in 24 hours. For me I say bring it on. Not only is it good for the fish but it's good for the river as well. Every now and then a good flush, at the right time, can be good.
The night before the storm I ventured out and hit the river at 4 am. It's funny, I set my alarm at 345 am and woke up at 344 am. If it was a work day I surely would have hit the snooze button.
At 4 am I had the last two-plus hours of the outgoing. I pushed the limits and made my way out as far as I could go and and fished hard for 2-1/2 hours without a tap. I had confidence with just about every cast and not one, well maybe one, tap to be had. I was disappointed, as I have been this entire spring. But, to be fair, I haven't been able to be that multiple-trip-a-day guy like I have been in the past.
Yesterday after the rains I hit it and found a few fish that took a swipe at my fly but couldn't get one to commit. I like the river up as the bank feeders look for herring that gets carried down river or looking for a hold out of the main current which is ripping, regardless of the tide.
I went back at it this morning and today was my day, if you can call it that. I found them at times in the bigger water before it really went from Yoo-hoo to chocolate milk. Herring was being
pushed to the sides and the bass were willing to take a shot out from their cover to eat. I would think their metabolism is up with the bigger water and they need it eat to get some calories in their bellies.
While guys, and girls, like to hunt for big fish, I'll take 28-32 inch fish all day, with an occasional beast thrown in from season to season. Easy to fight, quick release, after some time in the tank if needed, with a better chance of surviving. Today I landed 3 fish to 30 inches and was surprised these fish weren't bloated from all the herring that has been around as of late. Usually they are full.
The other thing that a good deluge does it brings down the water temps in the river. We were up over 70 degrees and now were bottoming out at around 62, much, much, better this early.
And while I haven't had my trout game on for a while this spring has been a disaster as far as keeping the vehicles clean of bug splatter. It's been the most I have seen in my 8 years out here. It reminds me of when I used to drive up to Hancock to guide on the Upper Delaware. As soon as I would criss-cross the Beaverkill, Willowemoc, and East Branch, the splattering of bugs on my windshield would get my heart pumping knowing at least the bugs were up in the air.
While I know the bottom pic shows a trio of yellow stone flies the upper pic I'm not too sure about as the sulfurs, which is what they look like to me, have three tails, this specimen has two. It just goes to show how long I've been out of that game, not saying I was ever an expert.
Social media continues to not disappoint in pictures of big fish caught on the east side of New Jersey. Big fish passing by Atlantic City are making their way into Ocean County.
While the above guy may be a happy camper you can only imagine the beating he took as far as comments from the internet expert anglers. Yes, breaded up and far from the drink isn't good, and he needs to do better. I can imagine that fish spending a tad too much time out of the water.
And while school is winding down for the semester, and for me the end of a good four year run, I am able to get back to "normal", or at least my normal. Somehow I have still maintained
a #23 worldwide ranking in fly fishing blogs according to Feedspot,
HERE. It's surprising because year to date in 2025 I've posted 66 times, down from 99 to this date in 2024. That is purely work related. I can say, while my wife may not get what this fishing is all about, my mental health and wellness has suffered being away from the game and this blog.
And with the spring brings the start to another year at our "Shore House" down in Cape May. On Monday Theresa and I opened up and got the pressure washer out to do the roof and the
outside. Theresa spent most of the six hours weeding which was most needed. This weekend it'll be picking up and pressure washing the white rocks that we have as a front yard. It would be easy to just get a few tons delivered but with my Vineyard trip in June, Ireland in August, and a wedding in September it's time to keep the wallet closed on things that are not essential. And the Martha's Vineyard trip, which is guys only this year, is very, very essential.
