12.10.10 More on the Tampa trip

     So let me recap. I had been back and forth with Dave Chouinard about going down to Tampa to visit and do some fishing. In November I started looking at Spirit Airlines and found a short window where the flights were cheap, 25 dollars down and 69 dollars back, total round trip was 120 dollars, BUT, with no carry ons or checked luggage. That would have been 30 extra dollars each way. You are allowed one "something" 16*14*12 inches. So I took my Domke camera bag and loaded it with a camera body, two lenses, a flash, and three shirts and some underwear and a windbreaker, and a toothbrush. I measured it up and was ready to go, hopefully passing by the size police. I drove down to the Atlantic City Airport and then flew to Tampa where Dave picked me up. We stopped by his fly shop, The Tampa Angler, which he is shutting down December 31st, and then he gave me a quick tour of the area and where we would be fishing. Dave has been busy since he became the southeast Simms rep. He is responsible for a large territory including, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. We drove to
his house where it was nice to see Jen and their boys again. After a great home cooked meal I fell asleep.

                         
                    
                         

                         

Temps were down in the high 20's overnight in Florida, and it took a while to warm up to 45-50 degrees through the day. We towed his skiff down to the beach off the Causeway Boulevard and launched to fish the flats at Caladesi Island. For those who know, you know how knowledgeable, and intense, Dave can be. Well, he was on as always. We had the tide rolling in over the flats, which brings the redfish with it. He poled and spotted fish as I stood ready at the bow. The first day we saw some fish, one really good close fish, that I totally spit the bit on causing the big red to blow out before I made a good cast to it. Dave couldn't be happier with the fishery he has chosen to live near and guide on. Redfish, tarpon, and snook- all within 15 minutes of the airport and his house, some of it even closer. As the clouds started to move in we pulled the boat and headed over to Tampa, where we hunted fish just below the planes coming in to land. We didn't see any redfish, but it was fun watching huge mullet, compared to our mullet, jumping out of the water with abandon. That night we all headed to a local eatery and had a nice meal and soon I was asleep again, tired from balancing on the bow, attempting to make some good casts, and from the cold wind blowing on my underdressed body.

                        

                        

      Things were looking better yesterday, the sun was high, it was supposedly going to be warmer, and the wind, well the wind was a bit more 15, with a gust, throughout the morning. We started today where we started yesterday. As Dave poled, he was using all his senses to gather information to store in his mind, time of tide, direction of the wind, layout and depth of the flat, and the size and location of the fish. We had a steady north wind blowing with the tide, and bringing with it redfish onto the flat. We were drifting south, so we had more fish behind us, and thus I needed to make casts into the wind to the approaching fish. Sometimes I would be looking south out past 12 o'clock, and a fish would blowout right below me, I just couldn't spot them with a 3 o'clock sun, and milky horizon. We had trouble seeing fish, well at least I did. My 179 dollar Smith Optic polarchromic amber glasses were useless as it was too bright. We both looked like puppies being talked too as we move our heads side to side to have the "polar" in the polarized help cut the glare. It was again him spotting a good fish and me not making the cast, too short, too right, too long, too left. It's not a knock- it's just the location where you have to cast to when he sees the fish and you can't. So Dave sees this fish 25 feet at 12 0'clock- I can't see a thing into the glare. "Now" he yells. Of course I'm an extra false cast away. "Going away now", he says, and I let it go, "Too far, you put it on him." And then I hooked up. Thank goodness for Dave's sake. I would have hated for him to have invited me down and not catch a fish after all the work he did for me. The fish was slow and lethargic, probably because the water and air temps were so low. But once he came too, quickly he had me deep into my backing. After a few pics we continued the drift and hooked up on a nice sheepshead that we worked for a few minutes and watched as he stalked the fly and attacked it. Within 20 minutes we were through St. Johns sound, back on the trailer, and at the terminal at Tampa Airport. It was a great quick trip and I look forward to going back.

It's a world class fishery practically right next to the airport. You can take a cheap flight, stay in any kind of lodging you like, fish for a day or so, and fly home. It's that's simple.

For all of you old Fly Hatch customers who want to take a quick trip down for some great fishing, with a great guy and guide, give Captain Dave Chouinard a call. He can be reached at 732.610.9700.

12.09.10 "Give me 50 feet at 12 o'clock..okay that was 25 at 2 o'clock?"

It sucks to hear that, and I heard that more than once over the last two days. Tough conditions down in Tampa  as the cold front from Canada stretched all the way down to the Gulf Coast. 30's when we woke up. 40's out on the water, wind that was a steady gust at times. But, a great visit with a friend and his family, and time on the water with the most knowledgeable fly fishing guy I know, Captain Dave Chouinard. Today I did hook up with a nice redfish, and here's a quick shot below, I'll recap the last two days on Friday, gotta unpack and warm up!

                        

12.08.10 When they say you have a shot...it usually means one shot

Quick note from Tampa. Out redfishing. One good shot, I spit the bit. More to follow.

12.07.10 How lucky am I too escape this cold to go to Tampa where it's....

38 degrees right now. So much for signing off on striper season and heading for redfish today with friend and former Fly Hatch owner Dave Choinard. His text from yesterday was, "It's f#&%in' cold down here!". Here is todays Tampa Tribune front page,

I fly out of Atlantic City at 1pm and get in around 4. I have my camera gear packed up, why I don't know. I pimped the idea of a redfish-in-Tampa-a-stones-throw-from-the -airport story around, I wonder how the editors react to seeing images of fly fisherman in Florida with winter parkas on? Oh, well, just my luck. Be back up when I get back. 

12.06.10 Okay ..it's over...at least that's my call

So...it's time to put a fork in it. I will still have my fly rod and gear in the back of the truck for the next week or so, but I am calling it a season. Time to move on. i went down to Deal today, Water was tinged, 51 degrees, nasty cold air @ 34 degrees, just nasty. Just done. I did see gannets plunging into the water out off aways, probably on herring.

It's time to turn my attention to tying, going over the gear, booking trips for next spring, and maybe an outing to the Catskills or Adirondacks for some winter trout or landlocked salmon. I am sure this thing

                         

thats blowing down from Canada and putting us, the east coast, in a deep freeze. We had snow here in Ocean Township, my sister has it in Saranac Lake, and it's 22 degrees in Deposit with light snow. So I am sure that will shut things down for a while. Forget the fact that Dave called me today and said it's really cold, 56 degrees, in Tampa. You know what that means, the redfish are burrowed in on the bottom and any remaining snook that didn't get killed off during last years freeze are worried.

Look to the bright side. Hannukah is here, Christmas is coming, and it's almost New Years. Soon it will be the Fly Fishing Show at Somerset just as cabin fever sets in in January.

Stay tuned to the blog as it will shift from the daily striper hunt to more of the in between season things I do as I get ready for the spring.

I'll let you know how Florida and Dave is when I get back Thursday.

12.05.10 There's still fish around...went to the Nets-Celtics game instead

It's busy, busy, busy time nowadays. I do believe things are super slowed down, but not yet done. I do hope to catch some striped bass for the next week or so. It's getting out that's the problem. Kids, holidays, parties, honey-do lists, and today the Nets-Celtics game in Newark. Too bad it was a yawner, Nets lost by 25 points. Got my 50 dollar a seat tickets for 40 bucks for two on a internet ticket website 3 hours before gametime. That's was pretty cool, and easy. I drove and parked for FREE on the street a block away. They charge 25 dollars to park.

But the big news I read about off of Betty and Nicks website was that the Berkley Striper Club had their tagging weekend this weekend and the teams of 38 anglers caught 265 bass from Brick to Island Beach State Park. One guy had 34 bass, the biggest was 31 inches.

So it seems the biggest of the fall have moved on, but there are plenty around for those who dare to brave the elements. Glad I'll be in Florida on redfish starting Tuesday!

12.04.10 Wow..no post yesterday...checked it out today...new "The Average Angler" ride

Yep- took a day off. No fishing, no shooting, no blogging. Even slept in today and got up at 7am. I jumped out into the brisk morning and took a quick ride to Deal to see what was going on. On my way I found a very pleasant surprise, I looked up and saw a sign in Loch Arbour that said, Grateful Deli...sccreeccchh. I pulled Bertha over...my cool ass van that is named after the Grateful Dead song,

Bertha. Inside I met Mary the owner who was really cool, great coffee, great menu, and a good bacon, egg and cheese. The outside of the place looks like this,

                             

So when I got to Phillips the parking lot was packed, and on the beach guys were lined up north and south. The tide was just heading out, water flat, no birds, "Shoulda been here yesterday.", no really that's what I was told, fish in the wash on sand eels. One fly guy was out on the tip of the rocks when I got there, and I made a few dozen casts with nothing. Not a fish caught all morning, from guys there since before sun up. Later in the day I spoke with a local reel manufacturer rep who lives locally and fishes the salt water. In his opinion, " It hasn't even started yet.", wow now that sounds good. I'll be checking out the local scene for the next two days and then it's off to Tampa for redfish with Dave Choinard from the old Fly Hatch in Shrewbury.  So those that know me know I keep vehicles for along time, keep them clean and try and do the right thing and keep my mechanics in business.

                             

Well my Dodge Dakota that you've seen and read about here, the one I dropped a new tranny in during the spring when I broke down in the Adirondacks, well, she was tired, and ready to move on. So I started looking for a nice new or newer, mid size pickup, for the family and the drift boats, something good on gas, low miles and not too expensive. Forget it. I looked at 30,000 trucks both in person and online. It's pretty simple, the more you pay, the better shape it's in, and the less mileage. I saw trucks with over 75,000 miles for over 20 thousand dollars. So, I finally found one real close to home, a trade in at a dealership that they knew for years and here it is. Oh, yeah the Smog and Green Rating on this, like Blutarski's GPA in Animal House, 0.00. It's a 2003 Dodge Ram 2500, 8 cyl 5.7 Hemi, with a quad cab and 8 foot bed. Sweet, sweet, sweet. There a few drawbacks-  it's 57 feet long and gets 10 miles per gallon on gas. Perfect for those client trips to the Catskills or the Adirondacks. Anyway I liked it, hemmed and hawed over it, and did the pros vs cons list, came down to this 48,000 miles for 15 thousand. Sold! I will be gladly accepting gas cards for Christmas.

12.02.10 It went from "It's gonna be a late season."' to "I think it's over."

     That's what I heard walking past some guys scouting out the area off the Phillips pier. For weeks I have heard guys speculate that we'd be catching fish through Christmas. Well there's a few doubters out there. So anyway, due to work and the kids today I was able to go out at, well, dead low tide. 1010am. I got there  at 955am. I stayed till 1105am. There were surfers out, but nobody fishing. The water was clearer than yesterday evening, but still tinged. I took the opportunity to scout out the underwater landscape while the water was low. I walked to the tip of the groin and made some pictures and then fished to the north off the beach where I was able to better identify the structure there. There were birds working out a ways in the same spot they were last evening. I didn't see any fish on the surface. As I digested what the guys were saying as I was leaving I heard the other guy say, "Where's all the bunker?'

12.01.10 Weather slowed, wind from the west, took a shot...

     So I thought maybe since the wind changed and the rain stopped that maybe the seas kicked it down a notch, nope. When I pulled onto Phillips off of Ocean Ave I could see it was a surfers convention, that meant big waves. Yep, big overhead to 10 footers breaking off the groin. I still liked my chances. I fished on the north side and in between the waves that snuck into shore and crashed at my knees and the strong rip, I thought I could squeak one out. The water was filthy and I felt like I was fall trout fishing because every other cast I picked up leaves. I did see a huge flock of gulls out a bit diving and feeding on something. I didn't have my binoculars so I couldn't see if there were fish underneath. Looks like things may be okay tomorrow, I'll give it a go mid morning.

12.01.10 Super snotty...found one hardcore angler...

      Took a quick drive down to the Shark River Inlet. Looks like we're in for some nasty weather. NOAA has it as follows,

Gale Warning
Hazardous Weather Outlook

Synopsis...LOW PRESSURE FORMING OVER SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA EARLY THIS MORNING WILL PASS WEST OF THE WATERS. A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL CROSS THE WATERS THIS AFTERNOON. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD TOWARD THE WATERS FROM THE SOUTHWEST AS LOW PRESSURE DEEPENS OVER THE CANADIAN MARITIMES. THE PRESSURE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO SYSTEMS WILL KEEP A GUSTY NORTHWEST FLOW OVER THE WATERS THURSDAY INTO SATURDAY. A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL CROSS THE WATERS SUNDAY...WITH MORE IN THE WAY OF GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. 

---

Today...S winds 25 to 35 kt...becoming SW 25 to 30 kt late. Seas 8 to 11 ft. Rain with a chance of tstms until late afternoon... Then showers late. Vsby 1 nm or less...increasing to 1 to 3 nm late.

Tonight...W winds 20 to 25 kt with gusts up to 30 kt. Seas 6 to 9 ft...subsiding to 3 to 5 ft after midnight. A chance of showers in the evening with vsby 1 to 3 nm.

Thu...NW winds 15 to 20 kt with gusts up to 25 kt. Seas 2 to 4 ft. 

Thu Night...NW winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts up to 20 kt. Seas 2 to 4 ft. 

Fri...NW winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts up to 20 kt. Seas 2 to 4 ft. 

Fri Night...NW winds 15 to 20 kt with gusts up to 25 kt. Seas 2 to 4 ft. 

Sat...NW winds 15 to 20 kt. Seas 3 to 5 ft. 

Sun...NW winds 15 to 20 kt. Seas 3 to 5 ft. 

winds and seas higher in and near tstms.

 I did find one hardcore guy out on the jetty on the Avon side of the inlet and then I took a walk over to the Belmar Fishing Club to watch what I thought would be the flag pole come down. I did get word from Rich who's on the pulse down in Deal who said yesterday before high tide 1145-130 pm he got 6 fish and a keeper on a bucktail. I knew things looked good when I got back up to Monmouth County yesterday, but I picked 8th Ave rather than Deal. 

                                                    

My advice for today, go to work, or at least get some of those Christmas decoration boxes out of the basement or attic, that'll keep the Queen happy.

                   

11.30.10 Started south...fish were there...then came north...fish weren't

     Another day where I fought off the urge to get up for before sunrise to fish. I'm just not feeling they are here, or it's necessarily an early morning bite like we had. So after doing a few office things I took  ride down to Monmouth Beach to see how thing were, and if maybe fish were on all that bait that was here yesterday. Wind was up, from the SE, no birds to see. I drove down to Seaside Park and headed to 

                                       

H Street because there were  a few cars parked there. When I got onto the beach around 11am I could see that someone was going to catch fish down here today. The wind was kicking with strong gusts and big waves, and the water was a nice aqua-green color. I met up with a guy I met up in Asbury Park while he was fishing last week, he was fishing with his buddy and between them they caught 17 fish, two of which were keepers. They had been fishing most of the night into the day. I joined them for a bit and then started to fish a bowl that looked productive. They had fished it during low tide and did well there. It was a tough day with a fly rod. Guys tossing bait were using 5 oz to keep bottom, or close to bottom, and guys throwing metal had their heavy stuff on. Soon a guy using cut bunker above us hooked a fish and worked his way down near us. He fought hard and was tired by the time the fish was in the wash. A fellow angler helped him out, and he was rewarded later with a nice short he caught on an Ava. The fish was over 20 pounds maybe 25. I stayed a lit longer and then headed north.

    

     It was nice to see a fish, and a guy actually catch a fish because, for me and what I've seen, it's been dead. It has been a while since I had a fish on, hopefully this snotty weather will change that. I pulled into 8th Ave and there wasn't a fisherman's car in the parking lot. It was darker out then down south, but the wind wasn't as strong or as gusting as it was, at least when I got there. I just felt I would get one. Outgoing tide. Waves. Overcast. Nothing. Bounced the weighted clouser off the back of my head a few times, once taking my hat and putting it in the ocean. About 10 minutes later I saw it and made about 20 casts, and got it. That was a good catch, it's my favorite, The Average Angler, hat. So I chucked and ducked for about 2 hours, for a bit walking into the wash and trying the beach. I was surprised none of the usuals weren't there, maybe they're getting close to being done. 

11.29.10 Thought of going south...but stayed up north instead

Monmouth Beach

     I thought about heading south. I've just come to realize that this fall run has been better for the Seaside/IBSP angler. But, I decided to stay here. I got to Asbury before the high tide at 1pm, and found a beautiful and flat Atlantic Ocean, well, actually Lake Atlantic. Flat. Dead flat. High sun. Gin clear. Not many birds here. Then I moved up to, Deal, Allenhurst, Takanasee, Monmouth Beach, I decided to stick around Big Monmouth for a while. It was beautiful, and there were birds, everywhere. Birds and bait in the water, just not a fish on them anywhere. I was joined by another fly fisherman who casted his arm out too and didn't catch anything. I waited and waited for something to blow up but it never did. I did more watching and waiting and looking through the binoculars than fishing. 

A flat 8th Ave

 Watching the birds on Monmouth Beach

11.28.10 Quick ride to Deal...with a coffee...in pajamas...

                         

no spikes...no waders...no stripping basket...one rod...one fly. You hear about these guys that come down and with one cast hit on a big fish, or any fish for that matter. So, today I slept in till 7am and then snuck out without waking my gang and took a quick ride to Deal. First I stopped at 7-11 for a coffee. I got to Phillips around 720 am and the sun was up and the ocean flat. It was the start of the incoming tide so I walked out half way and made some casts. It was nice to just "come as you are and fish" even for a little while. There was one guy down by Brighton and the only other fisherman were guys on the charters heading up to the Shrewsbury Rocks. I fished for about 45 minutes, and made a stop in Asbury

                            
Park on the way home. There were two guys on 8th Avenue, one was Gus. If you know the 8th Avenue crowd, Gus is one of them. And his red painting van is always in the lot. I spoke with him a while and he said there is just nothing going on. One guy got a short yesterday after a small pod of bunker came through off the end of the groin.
     We watched as a flock of gulls concentrated their flight patterns some target out off Allenhurst. Quickly a boat swung around and tried to find some fish underneath. Through the binoculars you could see the birds one something here and there, but the surface was flat and no sign of fish.
    

     Todays bust out the Christmas tree and lights day, hopefully I won't miss anything.

11.27.10 Couldn't resist to try south again...it's been hot....of course not this morning

                       Fishing first light at 9th Ave in Seaside Park

     Finally went to sleep around 1230 am after posting last nights blog. Around 4am I started dreaming of big bass in the wash. As I concentrated on my dream I could make out the piers from the boardwalk in Seaside in the back as the stripers blitzed in the wash. I know, I'm nuts. So I gingerly got out of bed and made my way down to Seaside Park and parked in municipal lot next to the pier. There wasn't a soul around. Can't figure why it was a balmy 34 degrees. So I geared up and made my way down to the water to find an incoming tide just starting to bring good water over the sand bars and into shore. The only killer was the ocean was flat, and stayed that way the whole time I was there and later as I drove back up north. I fished for about an hour and when I couldn't feel my feet I decided to get out and move on. I met a guy in the parking lot who said south of K Street has been good. I wanted to see 9th Avenue where John from Betty and Nicks does his morning reports. I drove down and found guys spread up and down the beach. No birds working or fish, well I saw one about 1/4 mile out, doing anything. I fished this nice bowl but

                           

didn't get anything. In fact I didn't get anything all morning, nor did anyone else, maybe 75 guys I saw all morning up and down the coast didn't get anything either. But that doesn't mean it won't blow up later. I traveled up the coast and talked to some guys, they had a few fish close to shore at Downer, Lyman was dead, Bay Head quiet, that after a guy caught a 29-1/2 pound fish there yesterday, and the Manasquan Inlet was quiet except for some charter boats heading out. So here's some numbers out of Betty and Nicks 11/26 report, 15, 9, 29-1/2, 9, 12, 15, 21, 13, 16 pounders plus more - from Bay Head to Island Beach State Park taken on a mix of clams, herring, bombers.

                            
                            Scouting Lyman in Mantoloking

11.26.10 Let me try it at night in Deal...great..no parking in the lot 9pm - 4m

     There are plenty of real things to complain about in life, getting a ticket while you fish sucks. I got to Phillips around 9 pm to fish the outgoing tide. Here's the current moon phase, a waning gibbous.

                                                                                                                               

So anyway went out on the groin, nothing, fished north of it, nothing, worked my way to Brighton, nothing. Decided to call it quits around 1030. As I walked into the lot two other cars were in the street and a guy was pulling up. We talked about the fishing and then he warned me that the Deal Police give tickets to "non fisherman" looking vehicles after nine. I looked over to my wifes Saturn and it had a ticket under the windshield wiper. I was furious. Not that the cop wasn't doing his job, but that you can't park in the lot on a cold-November-Thanksgiving-weekend-shouldn't-be fishing-anyway kind of night. I went and looked for the cop to see what he could do. I finally found him in Interlaken. Nice enough kid, but once it's written, "There's nothing I can do."

11.26.10 Everything looked good, and bait in the water

 Phillips south

 Phillips north

     So after a nice Thanksgiving Day with family and friends and eating too much, It was a little hard getting out of bed this morning. It was drizzling and SW winds with an incoming tide when I got to Deal. One or two guys. Water was flat but tit started to kick up the time I left around 730. Fished Brighton and then jumped to Phillips where I fished both bowls on the groin. While I was on the north side I noticed some flashes in the water and then a boil or two. Then a fish would leave the water, small fish. I am thinking peanut bunker, but it could have been silversides. I switched from a clouser to a deciver and then a cool bunker fly that I eventually lost in the rocks after taking a second, just a second, to clear my line up around my reel. Had to cut the leader as low as I could. Got soaked in the process. So I think today is looking pretty good. Some snotty weather, bigger waves, wind not the best, but at least SW. And with some bait in the water maybe all those fish I hear about hanging off Montauk will start their way down to their winter homes.

                             

     Since it is Thanksgiving weekend, I must give some less than serious thanks. Thanks to the contractors who left the Johnny on the Spot open at the house they are building at Seaview and Ocean Ave. Much appreciated, in a hurry. And, just a tip, not that it happened, clear your wader suspenders before you squat. Yuk!

11.25.10 Happy Thanksgiving....all quiet on the northern Monmouth front

     First from our family at The Average Angler to yours, Happy Thanksgiving and the start to a great holiday season. Earlier this week I predicted that if your were going to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, then sadly you would miss great fishing here at home. Well, hopefully you had a great time on 5th Ave, in New York City that is. I was out way before first, false, or any sign of light. Absolute beautiful morning. Conditions weren't super- slight NE wind, flat water, gin clear, not a sign of anything.  

                             

Started out with a few guys on the end of Brighton Ave in Deal, we had a couple of laughs and that was about it. We did more watching and waiting then blind casting. I counted 26 guys in Deal, not a fish, not a sun dial, not a herring, not a short. I made my way south back to Asbury Park, zilch, from 3 am on. Then I decided since it was 730 am to head up to Sea Bright, where there was some mention of a possibility of a sighting of one fish, maybe within the last two weeks. So I made some stops along the way, Pullman, Park, Takanasee, Monmouth Beach, and finally Sea Bright. Same conditions. Incoming tide with high around 930. Tons of stationary boats at the Shrewsbury Rocks. There wasn't anything to see or do. I did spend some time fishing, or casting, off those short groins behind the municipal parking lot, and the much needed Johnny on the Spots they have there, thank you Sea Bright. 

     I was following some reports from down south and according to Betty and Nicks they had great fishing in Seaside Park, near the piers, where I was two days ago, down into Island Beach State Park. They reported that Bob Popovics caught a 30 pounder, of course on the fly rod.  

     So we will continue to wait for the next bunch of fish to leave New York and show up. It seems they may leave New York, show up here for a minute or two, but land some where in that Mantoloking to Barnegat Stretch with a little more regularity and for a longer duration. I'd like to see how those boats did today. They were out there in bunches, and not moving much.

11.23.10 Couldn't resist poking some fun at myself

After today I realized how frustrating, silly, nutty I have been during the first half of this striped bass run.

Check this out here, it's funny,  http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7795945

or click on the image below,

11.23.10 Beautiful morning, looked promising, gettin' close...first stood in front of the principal

      I am sure we all remember what is was like getting sent down and standing in front of the principal. Most times, if we were smart, we would just stand there and take our licks. I am also sure that most of us fishing addicts have to stand in front of a girlfriend or wife, once, or twice, or several times per year and hear the music. I've never had to hear it, until today. My 2000 Dodge pickup is having problems, 165,000 miles, a newer trans thats not working, needs a fuel pump, yada yada. So I casually mentioned that I might take a ride over to see what kind of numbers a used pick up might be. Well, that was not good, it went from pick up to unfinished honey-do lists, to fishing, and then photography and then where ever else. I just stood and smiles, guilty on all counts. So I just put on my waders, gave her a smile and a kiss and left, to become one with the stripers even for just an hour or so.

                          
    I was alone in the lot and Rich pulled in and I guaranteed a fish, well I said two, off the end of Phillips. We my spikes on out I went, crystal clear greenish water, nice high sun...well I caught or saw nothing. I worked my way back into shore and found my buddy Al with his grandson Matt ready to slay them. Right before I left it became overcast, the waves kicked up, the wind shifted from a SE to SW. It looked really promising. After some pics of the two I fished the wash and not a bump. BUT, those fish are on their way from New York. I hope you're not going to the Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC, beacuse, just my prediction, you will miss something special along the Monmouth County coast.

DISCLAIMER- The above prediction is based on no sound evidence.!

11.23.10 And the verdict is.....

     Remember this fellow I caught a few weeks back. I thought is was a hickory shad. A few other guys caught the same and they thought it might be a blueback herring. I put the question out to several guys who said they would get back to me after leaning towards it being a hickory shad.

     Well, tonight I asked Shore Catch Guide Service Captain Jim Freda who confirmed it's a hickory shad. He also added that we don't see bluebacks this time of year but that soon, Atlantic herring, aka sea herring, will be arriving by the millions and the big bass will be pushing them up to the surface. He also said when you see the gannets dive bombing, it's the herring they're after. Thanks Jim.

11.22.10 Quick ride to Seaside where I was told, "Save your money!"

     I was off to Trenton early this morning for an assignment at a construction project in the cities downtown. I was finished up at 130 and decided to take a long way home via Seaside Park. I have been following some of the reports from both shore and boat, yes I've seen pictures of fish, and decided to check it out. we're still in the full moon phase, it was still bright out, the wind was from the SE and steady to gusty, and the tide was on its way in. So what, I took a shot. My plan was to check out Seaside and then take the drive into Island Beach State Park. I saw a guy in the parking lot of the Funtown Pier and asked how things have been. "Nothin' " mmmm... a week to two weeks ago they were doing good. A few days ago the bunker passed by offshore. So I asked him if I should give IBSP a shot, " Save your money !"' he said. So I listened and stayed in Seaside Park. I found some cool water near the pier. Sandbars on bar sides with strong rips and deep holes. I am working on a "new" technique for fishing this type of water, borrowing some of the tricks used in fishing for trout in faster rivers. I fished the water hard with no results. I was nice fishing different water than what I have been on in Monmouth County. Nice to have a change of scenery and a cool backdrop with the empty boardwalk rides in the background.