While the anglers fishing the ocean are out enjoying the hunt for big fish from Atlantic City up into the New York Bight I've been home and happy throwing flies to hard to get fish. But, I wouldn't have it any other way. Two evenings ago I found the Mother Lode of fish staging on a dropping tide looking for a meal. With no signs of herring, for me, maybe a little less bait it a good thing. When I say they jumped at the chance to eat that would be an understatement. I went back to that honey hole yesterday morning but only found a handful of fish willing to play with my hookless fly.
I've been using a fly I tied two weeks ago, the one with a little color in it, to be seen in the dirtier water. It's been beaten up, lost some girth, but has consistently caught fish, so why change it up. But last night I sat down to tie something without all the color, just white on the bottom and some blue and black along the top. In the end after a real solid morning session I found no need to unveil it to the river.
This type of fishing isn't for just anyone, especially in big water. It's an outing of crawling, climbing, and wading to get to where you think the fish might be. There's no easy access here and you earn every fish you catch. When the waters up the edges become where you may usually stand when conditions are "normal" but now it's wading onto the debris caught on the banks to get access.
Yesterday while fishing the river dropped to 37,000 cfs which is more manageable and fishy. But here's the thing about that. Where the fish may have been on one flow and tide, along with the moon, they might not be as conditions change. So, it's now become the hunt for fish and luckily I was able to find alot of them, with some of them being a class size bigger then what I've been catching.
I can't tell you, if you haven't experienced it, what 30-inch river fish are like in bigger water, especially when you're fishing in waders. These fish are strong, and feisty, and don't like being hooked. I started around 0630 and was done by 1030. I could have stayed because there
were more fish to be had but a combo of work and just having enough fun for an outing had me call it a morning. But back to fishing. I caught them just about everywhere I stopped. I fished in places where I usually dodn't have confidence in but there was always someone home.
I'm lucky I have an 11 weight and that's what's why I've been able to hook, turn, fight, land, and release in the bigger water. You have to turn them away from the comfort of the seams to prevent them from heading into the current. Soft edges make a great place to release and rehab.
The tank got some use as well as I always love to photograph them "underwater". I'm telling you they could stay in there all day and they just float there and look around.
While home working the heavens opened up yet again but I wasn't worried that it would change the river much. I ran down on the top of the high tide and found it hard to find fishable water. I decided it was time for a fly change because either the fish weren't there or they needed a new look.
I tied on the above fly and on the first cast went tight but after the release I saw that both eyes were gone. Again, some say eyes are for the fishermen and not the fish.
I stayed for a bit on the drop and moved to a few spots before finding another large school of fish. It was fish after fish until I was all good. No big fish, most 20-28 inches but fun and feisty with most seen flashing on and eating my fly. It was a good day and one of those numbers days which is nice from time to time.
