This weekend I brought my fly fishing stuff down with us to Cape May. I never know if I'll I use it and really have any interest in the always chalky to chocolate milk water that is Delaware Bay. I could fish in and around the ocean side but I have never explored.
So on Saturday morning I tiptoed out of the house, grabbed a quick coffee, and headed to the bay. The wind was cranking as the flood tide filled in and blew over the jetty. And yes this is a true jetty, two of them actually, opening up the Cape May Canal to the Delaware Bay.
There was no one out, so that should have told me something, but I went out to the tip to take a look. Things did not look promising. The water was, to me, unfishable. But I fished it knowing that these fish are used to this mess, there's still good fish migrating from the river to the ocean, and what else was I going to do.
Luckily the wind, southwest, quartered on my non-casting side, so if you caught the angle right it was not that hard getting a cast out. The problem was there had to be little to zero visibility. And we're talking flies, not shimmering and vibrating SP's or rattled up Redfin's.
I was there two hours catching the end of the incoming, I think, and by the time I was just about done the water was up and the 2-4 foot swells had me soaked, and cold. But then there was the cast. Just a regular cast that landed on the top of a swell. I watched it as the fly, not delivered in a straight line due to the wind, but more a shitty cast, turned and straightened back to me, all in a quick second. And then she blew up on it. You know when you're not ready and actually get scared, well startled, when things you don't expect happen? This was it.
So I knew I was tight, and set the hook again just to make sure, but I didn't know what I had on. Once that fish realized she was hooked she was off to the races. And I then knew I had a tank on. Now I had to figure out some things. Where's my line? How's my drag? Where will I land this?
The fish burned through the fly line, half of my backing, and was pumping the drag. So I thought well I'm going to have to make a move. I started to walk back to the beach trying to reel and keep her tight at the same time as I walked. I paused, gave her a little reminder she was hooked, and she reminded me who was boss. On the the top of the wave she showed herself, rolled, and then gave a tail wave before breaking me off. I'm no expert, but I sticking with that was a 30 pound fish.
Of course she would be waiting for me on the same tide later in the day, yeah right. Theresa's friend was down so she asked if I would mind if she caught up. Sure, I had a fish to catch.
I gave it a go for two hours again. Outside of the pack of dolphins within casting range there really isn't anything to see. I did manage to donate a fly to the rocks, a large white one, and
then decided to try a bigger and darker fly that might seen better in the off color water. I had no takers and that fish I dropped hopefully has made her way around the corner into the ocean. If I could talk to her I'd tell her to steer clear of Atlantic City at all cost, cause AC in Bangin'.
