08.30.25 Twenty years since Hurricane Katrina...

 

Looking down from I-10, New Orleans, Sept, 6, 2005

     It was around August 29th 2005 when I decided that I would head down to New Orleans to help out during Hurricane Katrina. I'd be going in two capacities, first, as a Registered Nurse/Fireman, and two, as a photojournalist. I knew that might be logistically difficult to do but I had a plan. I'd spend the first few days working at one of the makeshift hospitals they were setting up and then travel through the city to capture the aftermath. 

     I'm not doing a step by step of my time there but I flew into Baton Rouge Airport and headed to Louisiana State University where they had converted their gymnasium into a makeshift hospital. It was slow at first but then the patient load picked up. The below image was the only one I was able to get off during my three day stay working there.      

     On my last night at LSU they asked for volunteers to go to New Orleans International Airport to help out because all of the patients being rescued from New Orleans, from the roof tops to the Superdome, were being airlifted there. It was helicopter after helicopter during my two days there. 

     After my fourth or fifth day it was time to hit New Orleans. By then most of the people had been evacuated from the Superdome and from the elevated highways that circled the city. Any rescues made by then were done during door to door searches. 

     Luckily I thought ahead and made sure I packed a pair of waders for the trip down. Believe it or not I somehow got a pair of Simms Vibram soled bootfoots into my backpack/ camera bag. And even more lucky they didn't leak while I was down there. People ask me about the differences 

between 9/11 and Katrina. I always say Katrina was more difficult as there were far more people in need of rescue and treatment then at at Ground Zero. I found the days after 9/11 were more of a recovery operation but in New Orleans people still needed to rescued, evacuated, and treated. 

     The victims in New Orleans had no medications (high blood pressure, insulin, anticoagulants, and psych) for over a week, and just about everyone had been in water for some time, and nasty water at that. Look at the guys foot above. That's probably a diabetic foot that had been soaked in Lake Pontchartrain water mixed with sewerage, fuels, and everything else that was floating around. 

     I was first in the 9th Ward, one of the hardest hit, before finding my way back to center city. I snapped the above pic along Bourbon Street and it always reminded me of a scene from Saigon. The scenes of what was left after the storm and the evacuation were unbelievable. 

     I remember walking one way down a street and horses were making their way up on the other side. I really didn't do a double-take because it was just another scene. Bodies covered with garbage cans or sheets after they were dragged to higher ground. I didn't include those images here. 

Buildings were burning everyone you looked and some had a firetruck or two trying to protect the buildings next door from burning down. 

Where firetrucks couldn't respond to helicopters dropped water from the sky. It was all surreal. 

     I took the below image of the St. Roch Market which sat on St. Claude Avenue. Originally built in 1875 it took a beating during Katrina and sat vacant for nearly 10 years. 

Today it's the home of Blaine's Restaurant after a very costly, but important, renovation. Most of the buildings in the Faubiurg Marigny/ Bywater neighborhood, next to the French Quarter, were 

heavily damaged and torn down. I guess you could liken Katrina like we had Sandy, the only difference was that hit an entire city, like the size of Philadelphia. 

     As the days followed the actual storm and breach the water receded and the survivors milled around trying to save what they could. Some people held out but eventually

surrendered to the lack of water, heat, electricity, and food. Most knew looters would be out and about and at night the city was one big shadow where do-badders capitalized on the situation. 

     I have to say the nights were less than fun. When I got to New Orleans I had no connections or friends to hang with. I didn't have a place to stay. I squatted inside the Hyatt Hotel on the 

mezzanine level with the conference rooms. It was safer there then being corners in a vacant hotel room. Here was my view from my make shift bed on one of the sofas that was in the lobby. Eventually the phone service was restored and I was able to call home and let everyone know I was alright. 

     I remember walking down Canal Street all alone one late afternoon. I was hot, tired, and just about done. My feet were killing me. All of a sudden a car came down the street and it stopped near me. "Hi, I'm Shiho Fukada, do you know you're way around here?" She was a freelancer 

for the Associated Press and for two days we drove around as far as we could to bring us to the neighborhoods that were hardest hit. It was fun while it lasted but on one morning she got a call that they wanted her to drive to Biloxi, Mississippi to cover the story there. It was then I knew I was done. No friends. No car. It was over. 

     I hooked up with The Salvation Army, put on a t-shirt, and went to work. My goal was to just get back to the Baton Rouge Airport to get home. Luckily that planned worked as the staging area for TSA was near the airport. While none of my images made it to print I did establish a relationship with The Star-Ledger, The New York Times, and Getty Images. 

     It would be a few weeks after Katrina, October 2nd to be exact, when a tour boat, The Ethan Allen, capsized on Lake George killing 20 of the 47 elderly passengers on board. I was in Red Bank, New Jersey when Getty called asking if I wanted to take the assignment. 

    While the rescue and recovery was done when I got there it was the image I made the next morning which got a lot of international play. It was a picturesque fall morning on the lake, 

which was in far contrast to the horror and chaos that occurred the day before. It all seems like an eternity ago. I remember the good old days when newspapers ruled and you could make

a buck or two in photojournalism. I would go on to work for The New Post, The Star Ledger, and The New York Times until the advertising dollars dried up and publishers eviscerated the newsrooms in all the big papers. The assignments dried up with the money. 

Twenty years ago was a new life post Newark Fire Department. A friend and I started Agency News Jersey, a news photo agency that worked until the newspapers change their business plans. It was then into guiding full time which then led to a return to all things nursing. There's a difference between sustaining a habit or a hobby and truly making a living. 2005 seems like a long time ago. I retired. Erin was born. I went to Katrina. And then it was off to the races in photojournalism working in both New York and New Jersey. I wouldn't mind having those last 20 years back. I definitely would have done a few things differently. 

08.29.25 Another legend passes on...

 

      Flip Pallot, one of the original OG's and a legend in fishing, fly fishing, and all things outdoors, has died of complications following surgery in Georgia on August 26th. He was 82 years old. 

     I waited a day to post something about Flip as social media had every angle covered. The posts filled me feeds from people that called him friend or met him just once or were entertained or influenced by him. I met Flip once at The Fly Fishing Show when Bob Popovics called me over to introduce me to him. It was quick, but it was memorable. 

     I first saw Flip Pallot when I started watching Walker's Cay Chronicles in 1994. The show began a year or two after A River Runs Through It just about when I started fly fishing. It was on 

Sundays on ESPN that I would watch it, and if it fell when I was working I would leave the firehouse kitchen and go to the watch room to catch it as I was the lone fishermen of the crew.

     

     I remember his narration (after the first season) which would begin with "Come with me on a trip into angling adventure, we'll ride the jagged edge where the fish are big and wild....", it was fascinating television in a time when magazines and books were the go-to source of information. There was no internet, no forums, no social media. The magazines, books, and fly fishing shows would satiate the hunger for what was out there in terms of fish to be caught in exotic locations. Everything back then seemed inaccessible, from the legends of the game, to the places they fished, to the fish they hunted. Flip, like Jose Wejebe, Marc Sosin, and Curt Gowdy, brought us with them into the great unknowns which fed our curiosity and allowed us to live each adventure through them. 

    These days we're over exposed to everyone who has a Go Pro and a You Tube account. With free video editing software available people can produce super high quality videos with relative

ease. That didn't happen back in the day when video was shot on film which was edited, cut, and spliced together. But times are different and so are the motivations of the creators. Back then those original guys did it to share and teach which is a little different then the chest pumping "Look at me's" we see today. 

     It's easy to say we have lost an enormous amount of the anglers who this industry was built on. There are still some big names out there that we are lucky to still have with us, Joe Humphries and Bob Clouser come to mind. But how many have we lost, Gartside, Brooks, Kreh, Wejebe, Sosin, Wulff, Beck, and of course, Bob Popovics. Flip Pallot was surely among the Royals.

      Bobby told me about the time he went to Montauk to film an episode of WCC with Flip and Paul Dixon. He said it was an amazing time even though the weather didn't cooperate with what they had in mind. You can see that episode below, 

     I am saddened by the passing of Flip Pallot. Not that I knew him personally but I know what he did for fly fishing and his influence on so many that enjoy our sport today. He was one of the legends, and this week he joins his, and our, friends where I hope the tides are right and the fish are biting. 

I don't know how this industry is going to survive and stand tall when all of the pillars who held it down for so many years are passing on. RIP Flip, and thank you for everything.

     If you'd like to hear a great interview with Flip check out Andy Mill's Millhouse Podcast, HERE, where you can hear about his fishing, hunting, and television career, his father, and his thoughts on friendship and mentorship. It's a great one. That voice will never be replicated. 

08.28.25 What say you?....

 

     The weather was markedly different when we stepped out of Newark Airport last week. I could tell that summer had crested and fall was in the air. When we drove to the tip of New Jersey a few days later some of the trees had started to drop leaves and appeared to be fading in color. At night out here along the Delaware River it's cool and perfect windows-open sleeping weather.

     I think this winter is going to be brutal. Well, brutal may be harsh. What I do think is it's going to get colder sooner and stay colder longer. And snow? We'll get it, a storm or two that may leave up to 20 inches on the ground, but nothing big, like a blizzard. Those days seem to be over. 

     The Old Farmers Almanac (top) and the Farmers Almanac (above) put out the yearly prediction and the first says it's going to be generally mild winter, while the later says we should be prepared for a good old fashion cold and wet winter. 

     What will that mean for fishing? Well, a few things. First, fly rodders looking to put a fluke on the table should get out there while the water temps are up and the season remains open through September 25th. If you do go remember it's an 18 inch minimum with a three fish limit. Boy, if you caught the right honey hole that would make for a nice feast and plenty for the freezer. 

     If you do go and hit the beach be ready with an assortment of white bait type flies for the Spanish mackerel and false albacore that may be out there. It's also not uncommon to have a mix of bonito out there as well, although it's usually bonito or albies, as they don't play well in the sandbox together. And remember your 20 pound flouro may be too thick for those eagle eyed predators so you might have to go down to 16 or even 12. Surf candies or small epoxy flies in pink or green usually will get some notice. Inlets have been a great place if you happen to be there when they are. I have spent countless mornings waiting at the Shark River Inlet for something to pop. 

     I anticipate the door of summer to shut early and the water temps will follow suit. The bait is percolating in the bays and rivers and the predator fish, well all I care about are striped bass, will begin their runs on the flood tides was they travel up and in to intercept the bait. Then we'll have those flushes in November which will be at the height of the fall run. But before that, like now, there's holdover fish, and some good ones, that can be caught under the dock lights or are lying in wait at your favorite bridge spots. Upwelling brings the cold water into the beaches and the incoming tides push the cool water into the inlets, rivers, and bays. 

     Out near me the Delaware River is way below it's August average running now at 3,000 cfs. It's been to low and warm to fish, and I'm thankful for that, as I welcomed the break from the 

spring, where 2025 saw my most productive year since I started fishing it since 2018. It took seven years but the stars finally aligned and I hit it just right. I now know I love big (45,000 cfs +) and off color (Turbidity @ 20) water. That's as long as the bait and bass are around, and hungry. 

    Water temps have started to drop around the mid-70's after times this summer when they hit nearly 90. During warm temps I find the river unappealing to fish. The flow is off, the color is off, the smell is off. When you catch a fish it feels like they just came out of a warm bath. For smallmouths that's okay, not for striped bass. I like 55-65 degrees, as they do. 

     And what comes up must go down. In the spring the shad and herring run up and spawn, and in the fall the fry make their way down and out into the ocean. Any of those striped bass that chose to hang around, or where too timid to make their first runs, will be able and willing to feast on the Scooby snacks that small fish are. That should be going down in a few weeks and I will be out there trying to bring one to hand or for a ride in the tank.

08.27.25 It's so much happier sitting on Menemsha Pond....

 

     I saw the above post while surfing Facebook after work today. Of course my buddy Abe made the vessel complete with the name bright and bold along the pontoons. The "S.S" Archer" sits on the shores of Menemsha Pond in Aquinnah on Martha's Vineyard. It really belongs there and I'm glad Abe and his boys made it happen. There's a chance I might pay her a visit in a little over a month if I can pull it off. I'd be catching the last week of the famed Martha's Vineyard 

Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. I'd be there for October 4th when it's false albacore Super Saturday, with prizes for the top albies weighed in that day. 

     And in other news this past weekend Theresa and I went out to spend some quality time with our bud Laura. Laura's was the beauty behind Jim Matson. As you can see we, or I, find her

place out in Pottstown very, very relaxing. The reason I write this is because Laura and I revisited the idea of the BrineFly Grab Bag. If you remember we were going to do it last year but I just got timed out to get it done before the shows. So this year it will happen! 20 people @ $50 a shot will get you a "Grab bag" filled with whatever we deem grab baggable from what remains

 of Jim's "stuff". That books, flies, fly tying materials, tools, yada, yada. It will do several things. One, it'll help recoup some of the money Jim spent that Laura didn't know about, two, help her clean out and be able to organize a bit, and three, give you a chance to win some cool stuff. Every person will get a bag which will have the same amount of stuff in it. I know a few people were in last time and I'll include you int he list, in fact I just might throw it up here to make it easy. If you're in drop me a email, colin@theaverageangler.com, or text me, 732 261 7291. 

     As we searched through the bins and boxes I came across some old original stock of Dave Skok's Mega Mushy material. Dave Skok is one of the best fly designers, and fly anglers, that

revolutionized fly fishing in the North East. While I could have held off and divided these up amongst the grab bags I had to make a management decision and put them aside. I know one person who would love to have these so they'll be heading south, well maybe north, in the next week or so. 

08.26.25 Rip Dr. Karl Chen...

     If you're on New Jersey related fishing social media accounts long enough you'll eventually see the same faces from time to time. One of those faces was of Karl Chen, a physician

from Princeton. I don't know how many people he saw as a Doc (he had a very busy practice) because the guy fished ALL the time, and all year long. 

     He was just a fishy dude and especially liked fishing for striped bass. Every spring when we would come out of hibernation it was Chen who would be on the pages of Facebook holding an

early season bass. While not a fly fisherman I enjoyed seeing his pictures, and to be honest, at times, I zeroed in to see where he was having good luck. I never chased his spots as most of those outings involved a soak, or throwing lures with a spinning rod. 

     It was Sunday afternoon when I learned of a fatal boating accident in the Barnegat Bay down near Little Egg Harbor Township. I knew there was a small craft advisory for the ocean and most boaters would be in the bays following the passing Hurricane Erin this week. As I read various stories I learned it was Dr. Chen who was killed. While the details haven't been published early 

reports state he and another passenger were thrown overboard and Chen was killed when his own boat, traveling in a circular path, struck and killed him. The other boater was rescued.

     My first thoughts were how sad. My prayers went out to those involved and their families. Then I thought to myself, as always, "This could have happened to me". There's some speculation that they caught a wake from a passing boat that tossed them overboard, but that hasn't been confirmed. I am not sure if they were on a drift or under way, the investigation will determine the details. 

     And why could this have happened to me? Because I, like many other Captain's out there, don't routinely use the tethered kill switch keys and lanyard, or otherwise known as an ECOS - or engine cut-off switch. New Jersey, along with six other states, has had that law in the books for some time and in 2021 it became federal law for boats 26 feet and under and PWC, or personal watercraft. To note, Chen's Robalo was 27 feet long.

     The idea of the ECOS is that the operator is tethered to the key and if there should be a mishap while underway the key on the tether causes the engine to shut off, stopping the boat. If not in place the boat, unmanned, can continue on it's path causing injury or death to other boaters and swimmers. 

     The above video made its way around social media a few years ago and shows what could happen without an ECOS. Luckily no one on that boat was killed or seriously injured. 

     Interestingly I am awaiting my third OUPV license to be issued by the United States Coast Guard. The OUPV, or "Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessel", or commonly known as a "Captain's License" or "Six-Pack License" allows operators to legally carry passengers for hire. That includes charters for fishing (on any water), sightseeing, diving, transportation, teaching or any use considered "passenger for hire". Many charter operations, especially in the spring and fall, illegally charter people trying to offset the expenses of owning a boat and liking to buy fishing gear. If you haven't taken the Captain's license class it's a doozy, or at least it used to be. I first took it in 2012 and it was a four week class and in-person only. 

     While a Captain's license isn't needed on the Upper Delaware system to guide, guides there are required to have the various state guide license, an National Park Service permit to work, and the required insurances. I've seen many people attempt to say, "I'm just fishing with a friend", while trying to dodge the requirements and operate legally. It's kind of like saying, "We're fishing for bluefish", when fishing outside the 3 -mile line in the EEZ when the stripers are out of legal reach. When you pick a guide make sure they are appropriately licensed and insured. 

     When these things accidents happen I always feel bad for those involved and know it could be anyone of us who this cold happen to. I always learn from other's peoples tragedies and triumphs. I am sure they will say Chen died doing what he loved, it's all just to soon. RIP Karl Chen, dead at 56.