07.23.12 To Mt. Sinai for a head scan....but had time to stop at the Orvis New York store

     So I had to get a cat scan of my head today at Mt. Sinai. I hate getting old, wait, is 44 even old? My sinuses are a mess and the ones closest to my brain are infected and shut down and blah, blah, blah..... I did make the best of my time with my car in the parking garage and jumped on the 6 train from 96th Street and headed downtown to see my buddy Rob and check out things at the Orvis store. I had to pick up a few things for a client of mine who is heading out tomorrow for Chatham for a few days of fly fishing the Cape with Orvis Endorsed Guide Tony Biski, www.monomoyflats.com. He hated using my stripping basket as it always worked its way down around his ankles so now he has a brandy new one to fit just right.





     It's always cool to browse the shop and see what Rob and his staff have out that's current. I saw the above display for the Titanium Predator Leader which will come in handy when the second wave of big blues hit next month. There's a great selection of flies for both the fresh and salt water and I couldn't help but play with a few Softy Minnows which Rob said, "Is a go to fly for for albies!" which will hopefully be here later next month or early September.

And now for the kind-of-news-kinda-sorta.......the first picture below is the current entrance to the Orvis store at 44th and 5th Ave in Manhattan. And, below that, is a vacant storefront that is currently being fitted out for, lets say, maybe a retail store of some kind? This one is located on 5th between 42nd and 41st Streets. Sure would make a nice new Orvis store wouldn't it. *

* We are not responsible for starting rumors that may be correct or incorrect....

07.22.12 Summer is a great time to brush up on your casting skills and scout the beaches

     Love getting work done early before the heat rolled in! This morning Craig and I continued our casting lessons spending time in the wash getting ready for the fall run. He picked up his first fly rod in May and will be all ready when the stripers come back down in the fall. In the meantime we pick up fluke hear and there as we work on casting all types of fly lines on different weight rods. In a month we'll have some bigger blues to target as we work off the beaches and groins. If you are, or anyone you know, that is interested in learning how to fly fish or wants to learn how to fly fish in the salt water please give me a call, 732.261.7291.

I knew the surf was kicking when I pulled into 8th Ave in Asbury Park and saw 100 cars in the lot, that means there's surfers in the water. I did find one guy who caught and released a short fluke in Allenhurst and my buddy Rich was out and had hickory shad bite while he fished for fluke off the rocks. It's the dog days of summer and with the kids home, summer vacations, projects to do around the house, and, our favorite fish not around in any numbers, fishing is put on the back burner. Can't wait for the late summer and fall to arrive.

07.19.12 Back from Roscoe....back from Canon

     I have been asked several times about the cameras I use. When I am on assignment I shoot with Canon 7d's and when I am fishing I use a Canon G12. This will be my third G12 since the first two I sunk or got wet. This camera is small enough to fit in my waterproof Orvis Gale Force Backpack or Slingpack but it packs a lot in it's little size. The best feature for me is that it shoots both JPEG and RAW. Most of the time I shoot while putting together a short story for the blog. But sometimes I need the best quality of that image if a magazine or newspaper editor requests an image for print. In this months Eastern Fly Fishing magazine I have several images in that issue that were shot with the G12.

     I have been without this camera for several weeks and have had to fit the bigger nd more expensive G12 inside my backpack and pull it out to make some images. Not cool to bring out a 3,000 set up as waves are crashing on the rocks.

Roscoe with the wife's side of the family was a hoot. We had a dumpster party and danced around the campfire at night like wild......white people.....can't say Indian's as my sister-in-laws partner is Native American! Ate a bunch of meals at the Roscoe Diner and a great meal on night at The Rockland House. The rivers were high and turbid when we got there due to the heavy rains...and then low and warm when we left so I'm glad the fly rods stayed home.

07.15-18.12 Heading to Roscoe for a few days

   Heading up to the Roscoe house for a good clean up, some camping, and some good times and I'm sure plenty of stories. THIS IS NOT A FISHING TRIP...in fact I'm leaving the fly rods home. Things are too warm up there anyway outside of the Upper East and West Branches of the Delaware.

07.13.12 Wow, 60,000!

    WOW! Thanks to all of my clients, family and friends who enjoy The Average Angler blog. I looked back at some of the posts since I started this blog May 8th, 2009 and it has been a interesting journey. Lots of cool pictures of some of you during outings on the Jersey Shore and on the Upper Delaware rivers. I wonder how long it will take to hit 100,000.

07.11.12 It's not fishing...but it's fish related

     After a morning of editing images from a recent fishing related assignment I had a great afternoon with my two girls at the Adventure Aquarium in Camden. Luckily when I went in January I purchased the yearly season pass which allows myself and a guest to get in. It still doesn't matter, you still wind up dropping a hundy somehow. But today it was worth every penny of it.

07.10.12 Look what arrived at it's new home today!

     A few weeks ago my favorite rod, a 9ft 10 wt Orvis Helios starting showing signs of hard use. Plenty of Clousers had bounced off the tip sections and the cork was starting to get loose where my clients and thumbs (and mine too!) had applied tons of pressure to it while both casting, fighting, and landing, (well also loosing) stripers, bluefish, and fluke. I caught my last striped bass with it last weekend while up in Newport, Rhode Island. It was there where the first three rings of cork had split and fallen off. I continued to use it and was amazed in the difference in casting without the aid of my thumb and the "lip" of the cork on the upper butt section of the rod.
     I decided to call Orvis and get a repair number and send it back in. I have sent plenty of rods back in for repair usually due to damage or destruction caused by operator error. This time my rod blank was strong, but the cork was shot and the finish had dings in it and had started to discolor.
     Well today I got that familiar triangle shaped box left at my doorstep. Inside was a brand new Helios, replaced by the Orvis rod repair department after evaluating the older rod. I have sent in rods before and got replacement sections or guides which made the rods perform as good as new. It was nice to have a new handle to hold knowing that after just one outing it will never look new again.

     I had the pleasure of attending a tour of the Orvis Rod Factory in Manchester, Vermont this past spring during the Eastern Guide Rendezvous. I was amazed to see how the rods are constructed from raw materials to the finished product. Not only do they manufacture the rods there, they also repair them with an incredible number of rods coming in and out everyday. Since the Hydros line has been discontinued, the Access line, which was manufactured in China, is now made there in Vermont. Which just adds to an incredible amount of rod work, one good thing was it created 17 new local jobs.

     Some would say I have drank the Orvis-juice since becoming an Orvis Endorsed Fly Fishing Guide, but I have had great experience with Orvis and their 25 year rod guarantees and 100% customer satisfaction policy long before I joined the family. 

I am sure many of you who use other manufacturers have good stories about your favorite, and that's good for all fly fishers out there. But take my first hand testimony of someone who had benefited from the great technology and service they offer. 

Look for exciting things to come from Orvis within the next year, including some advancements with their sonic seam wader technology. A cool preview to the Silver Sonic Waders is shown below.

Silver Sonic from Sharptail Media on Vimeo.

07.08.12 Hit the mud looking for carp...surprised that this bass survives here

Went sight fishing on the mud flats for carp before dinner, went 0 for 1. The blowouts remind me of redfishing with my buddy David Chouinard in Tampa. Almost yanked this bass's lips off when I saw my leader change direction for a second. No fishing tomorrow heading south to look at COLLEGES!

07.08.12 Real early try for bass on the crab prowl

     Post full moon there's a lot of crabs around in the wash and around the groins and jetties. Yesterday while throwing Clousers for fluke I snagged several calico, or lady crabs (ovalipes ocellatus). When legendary fly tyer and fly fisherman Bob Popovics saw my post about it on Facebook he said that the bass where on them and that sight fishing on the outgoing tide would not only be challenging but a prime time to catch a summertime bass. 

     Well yesterday it was brutally hot and the beaches full of beachgoers, so I decided to give it a go early this morning while the tide was still moving out. I was out of my truck by 4 am and worked a large crab fly I tied last night up and down a good low water holding groin. I concentrated tight in the rocks at the ip but didn't move a fish. I got about an hour out of my "creation" before the top and bottom of the "shell" came apart. It was probably just as well as it surely was more visible as first light and the sun came up. 

                                                     

     Since my crab fly was just about done I downsized and went both smaller and realistic. I had purchased this crab kit at the Somerset Fly Tying Symposium. I thought I got them at Rob Lewis's booth, but I can't confirm it. I looked on his website and didn't see a mention of it. I also purchased the Enrico eyes at the show but they're a little big for this size fly. Straight burned mono or a bead/burned mono will work. This fly looks great in the water and casts better then mine which casts like a pillow. I didn't get any hits on either, but it was a slow morning. Towards the end I switched over to a Clouser and pulled a 16" fluke out from a small rip. I checked with a couple friends who were out looking for the flatties and it was a short for each of them. 

My buddy Al says I need to develop my crab fly fishing skills since they're a major part of a striper's, and fluke's, diet but seldom used by fly fishers on the Jersey Shore.

07.07.12 Went out before the temps get crazy

     Today the temps are supposed to hit 99 degrees. I wanted to get out early so by 515 am I was walking the low tide beach on my way to what I thought would be a great spot this morning. Worked hard with a chartreuse/ white and then pink/white Clouser.
     What was cool was I found small bait near the wash and decided to throw the fly into it, just after it hit the water a fluke grabbed it, much further up in the water column then I would have thought. I made about 15 casts to the same area and in less then 10 minutes had 5 short fluke to 16 inches.
     In addition to the fluke I caught, or really snagged, a half a dozen fresh shed crabs like this egg carrying female above. Sometimes it was tricky trying to unhook the crab without getting pinched.

The short fluke to keeper ratio this spring with the fly rod is about 20:1, and I'm due again for my :1.

07.06.12 Went carping....and my Helios went snap

     I wanted to get into the latest fly fishing craze, carp fishing, so I grabbed my Helios 9ft 5 wt and my daughter and took a ride to my local mud hole. Found a bunch of hogs grazing in the muck and gave it a shot. Sight fishing to bubbles, tails, and wakes was fun until my Helios went snap on a basic cast. It must have had a sore spot from some previous outing.
     We went home and I grabbed my 7wt Hydros and we went back at it. Found a monster in the shallows and sent my rubber legged nymph flying near the gray to black discolored water. As the bubbles approach the fish blew out with my fly in it's mouth. After a run and a turn it was gone.....and my daughter said I lost the fish because I didn't reel it in....."Next time my little pretty"

07.05.12 One late night during the winter I cursed this pipe....this morning I loved what it holds

     It was a night during the crazy "fall run" that we had here along the Jersey Shore this past winter. I think it was late January! I decided to fish Allenhurst and was working my way around the "T" jetty as it's known when a nice striper hit my fly. I was on the beach, or cove, side and quickly the fish took me into my backing. From where I was I was below the rock line and had to high stick my rod as the fish started to run out in front of the rocks. As I watched I saw my line catch an 18 inch post sticking out from rocks. I wondered who put that stupid thing there and then had to wade out to my chest, climb up on the rocks, fight the fish, and then reach to lip grab it all the while waves crashed in front of me. It was another great night, where the water temps stayed above 45 and the bait and bass hung around till spring.
     Last night was July 4th I took my daughter down to watch the Asbury Park fireworks. We made a late move, so had to watch from the Loch Arbor side of Deal Lake. It was a nice clear night and I know  the beach and area around the "T" jetty was full of spectators. As the sky lit up this flag, stuck in the pole I came to hate that late January night, must have looked majestic. This morning on my rounds looking for flat fish swimming in the wash I found that flag still waving in the west wind.

I remember a few years ago standing at Convention Hall during the July 4th fireworks and they played one of my favorite Grateful Dead songs for the finale, U.S.Blues, and one of those lines came to my head this morning as I looked through the lens,

"Wave that flag, wave it wild and high,
Summertime done, come and gone, my, oh, my."

But summer here is just starting.

07.04.12 Some pics in Eastern Fly Fishing magazine

     I have some images in the summer issue of Eastern Fly Fishing magazine that go with a Beau Beasley story on fly fishing Sandy Hook. One of my favorites, a black and white lone angler image, is one of them. 

They also used an image of local spey rodder and Bayshore Saltwater Flyrodders member Ruben Gonzalez  hooked up while fishing North Beach. 

07.03.12 No fluke...but lots of baby blues in the water

     At first light the full moon and high tide had water everywhere and the fluke were hard to come by. It was a beautiful morning to be fishing but none were interested in my freshly tied Clousers. My buddy Rich was out with me and was using a small plug to catch the young of the year bluefish that were on the prowl around the groins. He was then live lining them for fluke.
     There are two stocks of bluefish on the Eastern United States. A southern spring spawn stock and a northern late summer spawn stock keep the species healthy and around from April till October. The above snapper bluefish at 4 inches is from the southern stock and will grow about an inch a week.

07.02.12 Tying up some breakfast for the fluke in the morning

     Tonight I tied up some pink and white Clouser minnows. I am just sick and tired of looking at chartreuse and white anything and I know the fluke like shades of red. I am on the Regal Engineering Pro Staff and use the Regal Medallion Vise with the Big Game Jaws.

07.02.12 Went from pretty stripers in Newport to ugly stargazers in Deal

     So you've been following the blog and want to give fly fishing for fluke a go. There are several bycatch species you will catch while dragging the bottom with your Clouser or Deceiver. Here is one of them, the Northern Stargazer. This morning I caught this off the rocks in addition to to six short fluke to 16 inches.
     The Northern Stargazer ( Astroscopus guttatus) is found on the east coast of the United States from the Carolinas to lower New England. They are found from the wash to water with depths to around 100 feet. You can probably figure out how the stargazer spends his or her life. Buried in the sand with their eyes just above the sand line waiting to ambush prey. They also can create a moderate electrical current in an organ located behind the eyes.

If you take your kids fluke fishing from the beach and catch one, you handle the fish. And when you release it do it in shallow water, the kids will get a kick out of watching it bury itself in seconds in the sand.

06.29-07.01.12 It wasn't a fishing trip.....but a little fishing in Newport went a long way!

     So I went away with the wife to Newport, Rhode Island. It is one of my favorite places and I thought that even though we are crazy busy it would be nice for just us to take a long weekend. We got engaged here four years ago and it was time for a return trip. We left Thursday and had to drop one of the kids off in Brooklyn on our way up. No problem, it usually takes 3-1/2 to 4 hours, what could a quick swing through NYC add to it....well it took us almost 8 hours. But we made it up in time to eat at Scales and Shells so all was not lost on day one.
     This was not a fishing trip.....but.....I did bring a few fly rods, my waders, and a stripping basket. On Friday we took a nice ride on Ocean Drive where we found a few striper fishermen who should have earned a fish or to just by getting out to their spot. Wetsuits seem to be the norm up here and these guys charged right into and swam out to the rocks. I don't think me in my waders would have lasted long crossing that moat.

     I caught my first striped bass on a fly rod about 12 years ago on a charter I took with Captain Corey Pietraszek of The Saltwater Edge. I remember I had a great time and caught a few schoolies with him that day. That was when the shop was down on Thames Street in Newport. Whenever I go away I always like to visit and support the local fly shop so after some lobster rolls at Easton's Beach Cindy and I took the ride up the street to The Saltwater Edge which is now in Middletown. When we pulled in there were three guys in the lot and one was holding a large striper. I pulled in and asked if I could

                                       

take a quick picture of him holding it. It was a 45 pound cow, and he had a 37 pounder in the cooler. By then Cindy had joined me and I said to the guy who was all smiles,"Wow, that's a nice fish." And the other two guys had come over, and I added, "What did you get her on?" And then there was silence, like cat got your tongue silence. The client looked to the guide and said, "Capt?, and "Capt" said nothing, and then there was more silence. It was awkward and I thought it was a real sh@t way to handle my question. I was just looking to talk some fishing. Listen, I'm all for keeping your secret spot, or even what you actually used, where and when.  So just say, well, something. But that's okay everybody does what they do, some guys do the same thing down here in Jersey. I like that the guy checked with the Captain before answering though....hey, he paid for that trip, expertise, and it's the Captain's call to answer or not. But, you could say artificials, bait, flies....or even,  I can't or won't tell you. At that point I almost left. But we went in anyway, and luckily met a great guy at the counter.
     I wanted to buy some locally tied flies but all they had out were some Umpqua's so I asked if they had anything else in the shop. The guy at the counter, Steve Cook, works there and ties flies for the shop and he had some in the back that hadn't been priced and put out yet. So the guy who was tight lipped outside, who is the store manager, brought them out from the back for Steve to show me. He suggested, well sold me on a few and I bought five flies and he was nice enough to give me advice on a spot to try in the morning. I left feeling better after talking with Steve, but still bothered by the silent treatment.



     On Saturday morning I got out at 445 am and the first thing I realized was that first light is earlier up here then back home, and that was cool. I stopped by the spot Steve had recommended but I really wanted to fish out front so I drove out to Ocean Drive. I found some familiar looking territory (above) and had a blast for a little over an hour catching five fish to 25 inches. The spot was so fishy looking from the road, and then even more fishy looking from the out on the rocks. I was out low on the tip and got swamped by a rough wave that caught me head-on, so the early morning saltwater bath woke me up.

The other thing I noticed besides the first light and sunrise times, was the difference in the amount of and texture of the structure and rocks along the bay and coast. With spikes on, your not slipping up here. In addition to the super grip rocks, was the sharpness of them. These will slice through just about any line, as I would learn early Sunday morning. 

     After a great Saturday, and a fun lobster dinner that lasted hours at The Barking Crab, it was up early Sunday for hopefully more of the same. However, remember, this is not a fishing trip. I went back to where I was the day before and the wind had died down a bit and the water cleared up. The S-SW winds had pushed the grass, weeds, ect up along the shore where I was fishing, but on Sunday it was cleaner. I made my way out hoping for a repeat, I put my money on the sixth cast....that came, and went, and then on about the 40th cast I hooked up with a feisty and strong fish that took a beat-up-Steve-Cook-tied-fly right at the rocks. After a quick pic and release I went into my fly wallet to give them a different look. Little did I know, but as I tied my fly on, my 85 foot sinking fly line had made it's way into a little hole in between the rocks, and then found it's way into some current. Needless to say, no matter what I did, those razor blade rocks had there way with my favorite Orvis Depth Charge line. I though I just about had it cleared and with one pull it parted....and I was done. I was so happy to have been able to fish while I was here, and even more happy I bought a few to hand. But, the best was yet to come.

     So, now for the one that got away story. On my way back to the bed and breakfast, I stopped before the bridge to Goat Island. It's a popular spot, people fish here around the clock, but mostly at night. This morning the water was glass and gin clear. I was in my tights and I looked around from my car and didn't see anyone, but I did see some bait. I got out and walked to the wall and found silversides pretty much stacked up along the bulkhead. I looked down and every now and then the pod would part and upon looking closer I saw a large shadow swimming slowly below. I thought bluefish, but that's not a blue move, I thought striper, but, it was more sharklike. I went back to my car and changed spools and put on my Orvis Striper Intermediate line, went down to 12 pound flouro tippet, and tied on a white with peackcock hearl Clouser. The bait was moving away from me so I made a cast of about 45 feet. I counted down about 8 seconds and began to strip....strip...strip....BAM! It was a good fish, a very, very good fish. I was into my backing and all I could do was smile. Here I am in tights, Crocs, no basket....with a, very large striper on.....all alone in calm water on a beautiful day. I now had to come up with an exit strategy. I couldn't lay down and lip it, the distance to the water was too great. I had to climb down the yellow ladder to land it. I had the fish on the top of the water and it had to be 35 inches and at least 15 pounds, and it was a brilliantly colored fish. I put my hand on the ladder, snuck my foot around to the top rung, the fish turned, I held my right arm up....and it was gone. In a way I am glad it went down like it did, the landing and release wouldn't have been pretty, but what a pretty fish it was.

It was a great ending to a great non-fishing trip!