11.24.14 Foam is not always home.....

     Ouch! Add foam to one of the hazards for fishing off of a groin. This morning I hit it after first light hoping to pick a bass out of the pocket. Incoming tide, south swell, winds from the SSE 25 to 30. Plenty of white and fishable water if you made it out before the water got to big and off color.
     I'm pretty confident I know the groins that I think I know but today my assumption proved me wrong. Not 20 feet off the beach and onto the rocks the rock I thought that was there just wasn't, and I went down hard, break a fly rod hard. The foam being pushed up over the rocks had covered most of the rocks on the beach end and I found the crevice where two rocks didn't meet. And at 46 that fall hurts.  I jumped up, well kind of, and fished a "new" Brad Buzzi sand eel fly tied on a jig hook. Really like those surf flies that we fish on sinking lines tied on jig hooks. I got a question yesterday about what

 

knot to use on jig hook flies. After trying a Mono Non-Slip Loop Knot I found a straight Clinch Knot works best. I thought for sure I would entice a bass to bite as the pocket looked real fishy. 

     Hopefully this blow won't shut things down, not like they were on fire, and make the water like chocolate milk. Temps look like they're staying in the 40's this week so hopefully there's lots of nice fishing to be had for those that venture out heading into Thanksgiving.

11.22-23.14 Nice weekend at the International Fly Tying Symposium......

     Spent the weekend at the IFTS at Somerset. It was a nice but quiet weekend with the busiest time happening after the show opening on Saturday morning. Had the pleasure of sharing a table with John Collins so we had a mix of fresh and saltwater anglers stopping by over the two days.

    I was able to walk the floor several times and I couldn't find the buzz this year. Last year it seemed Blane Chocklett's "Game Changer"- an articulated streamer fly- wowed the crowd but this year nothing jumped out at me. For me it was the usual "wows" - Bob Popovic's tying up his "Beast", Pat Cohen and his spun deer hair flies, and local tyers Steve Farrar, Brad Buzzi, Gerry Fabiano and Scott Stryker demonstrating their talents. I spent the weekend tying up my version of Lou Tabory's Snake Fly and Gerry Fabiano's sand eel fly. If and when the sand eels show up I will hopefully have an imitation that the bass will eat. Like everyone else my fingers are crossed.



     Of course, for me, Jim Matson of BrineFly and Pulse Disc fame took the cake. First he demonstrated his version of a rattle fly including an underwater audio microphone that let you hear what the fish hear as the fly is moved through the water. That was cool. Then he introduced his "tube" fly, which I watched him tie effortlessly. The pictures below are of his sand eel pattern pulled through a tube using a simple mix of a bunny strip and some flash. These guys never seem to amaze me by always coming out with new ideas and innovations.

     This show is the first which for some kicks off a long show season. In a few months we will be back here at Somerset for the Fly Fishing Show. I will have a booth and be presenting a series of lectures throughout the weekend. Hopefully between now and then we will have plenty of good fishing to enjoy. 

11.21.14 Miserable cold out there, but found a few to bite.....

   

     Last night around 8 o'clock it was 43 degrees. I felt like this morning would be a nice morning out on the beach. I went out to my truck at 11 pm and the temp felt like it dropped 20 degrees. This morning it was 27 minus whatever the bone chilling WNW wind dropped it down to.

                                                 

     I stopped at a pocket and tossed a Brad Buzzi sand eel fly and found a few to bite back to back. I saw a few swirls but after about twenty minutes my hands were just about numb making casting and retrieving painful and holding a camera and trying to work the controls useless. The two fish may have been 35 inches between them and they were skinny and not stuffed like they had been on the bait and eating for days. But, at least its some life and a few on the fly.

                              

     This weekend temps are expected to hit the 40's, 50's, and 60's with the wind swinging to the WSW. The west wind is good, but at over 20 its keeping the surf flat and not to exciting. 

11.20.14 International Fly Tying Symposium this weekend in Somerset....

     It's that time again. Showtime that is. It's late fall and soon the fishing will stop and the show circuit will be in high gear. Not a better way to start it off with the International Fly Tying Symposium. Fly tyers from around the world will be on hand as well as merchants and fly shops selling just about everything you could want to tie all types of flies. I'll be there in a booth tying up some of the flies that I tie, or well try and tie. For me it'll be some Snake Flies and some sand eel patterns and maybe some small baitfish stuff. I am by no means a true fly tyer but I tie flies and use them to catch fish.

It runs Saturday and Sunday and you can read more on it HERE.
   

11.18.14 "Be forewarned"......

.......striper fishing as you know it might just be over. Just my opinion, but I really have to wonder. Looking back at falls past, and even the rest of this year, things are definitely different. Blame the reduction in bass numbers, a change in migration patterns, a change in bait migrations and timing, beach replenishment, or just cyclical events that keep us guessing each spring and fall.

                              

     Today I was up and out before first light. Kind of blistery conditions on the beach with temps just about 30 degrees, even lower with the wind that was blowing over 25. No signs of birds, bait or bass which has become the early morning norm. Again, these are my results as there are anglers out there picking a bass here and there along the Jersey Shore.....but this isn't normal.

     Outside of bass on bunker during the spring it was a poor season. Summer was non-existant as far as early morning "popping" of resident bass along the beaches. The fall has been a disappointment, outside of a few days to a week of bass blitzing on bunker. What was interesting was that some of those beach blitzes had bass chasing butterfish and spike weakfish.....rather than a strong showing of peanut bunker.
     This early summer Marthas Vineyard was slow. Montauk this fall was great if you are an albie angler outside of a late but short flurry of bass in early October. On the Jersey Shore we had a slow mullet run that was squashed by a few nor'easters that disrupted that action.

Now.....we wait and hope for sand eels......

There is always a panic when the fishing goes dead. Will the bass pass us by? Will the bait show up? And one of the most important things, for surf fly rodders, is having bait that that holds bass within our range. The bunker and other bait fish are on the move. Sometimes they travel near the beaches while other times they get pushed in by the bass and the blues. Just because, if and when, the sand eels arrive, there's guarantee it will make for a good sand eel bite.

IBSP Fall 2011

     I think back to Island Beach State Park in fall 2011. It was, well, cliche, but "epic". The sand eels and the bass were they for a solid week to two weeks. The surfcasters and the boat guys had the best fishing, and taking, ever. It was good for the flyrodder, but a lot of times, depending on the tides and surf, it was mostly a spin-throwing-metal over the sand bar time fishery. Even this time last year,

IBSP November 19 2013

exactly to the day, there was a steady sand eel bite going on down south. You can read that blog post HERE. But this is a different year.....and we are either behind schedule or it just may be one of those "things" that happens and we won't have them around.

                   But not to be a danny downer....it is still early and there is still hope.

     I checked into Stripers Online and saw a thread discussing "interaction" between boats and surfcasters. Since I was talking about IBSP I wanted to share this photo that was posted, I can't give credit to the image maker because it has been shared around so much. I guess desperate times call for desperate measures and the party boats have been nearly beaching themselves to get on the fish.

     As far as "hope" and the rest of the fall season is concerned. There are still bass in the bays and the rivers. I got a call from a friend last week who is an Ironworker working on a north Jersey bridge that spans an urban river. He said there was an all out blitz of bass on peanut bunker that lasted for hours. Another friend who guides had a steady bite of bass on flys and spin tackle "in the back" so maybe on the next moon we'll see a late bait run out front, hopefully followed by the bass, if they aren't planning to go up into the Hudson for the winter.

In the meantime.....you have to hold onto hope, and just fish. Looks like temps will be back up into the 60's next week, which will at least be easier on the fingers in this 30 degree weather.

11.15.14 I wondered where everyone was today....

     Started out this morning at dawn on patrol for signs of bait or bass. I was surprised to find the beaches and empty outside of the usual faces I see each morning.
     Today I saw the above picture posted on Facebook taken by my friend at Island Beach State Park. Yes, there's a better bite going on down there, and the word is out. Its the Berkely Striper Club's annual Catch and Release Tournament so the crowds at the park were extra heavy. There's bunker down there and more bass than up here so the crowds were plenty. I wonder how the guy at the right of the frame made out fishing 30 feet behind the line at the waters edge.

     On a different front as I was leaving the beach I noticed a trophy buck in a yard a block from the beach. He was a ways off and I made an image with my iPhone to send to my brother who is out as much as possible in the deep woods looking for a big buck. Well this chap is a keeper as I stopped counting his points at 12. There's always deer around here with all the large parks and golf courses to call home- but this beast is the biggest I've seen in the backyards to date.

11.14.14 Lots of driving up and down and waiting and watching......

     Drive, stop, and look.....drive, stop, and look, and drive, stop, and look. Looked like the dead sea out there at first light, and early afternoon, and then a ton of life way off the beach as a plethora of birds were tight and on the move.....thinking it might have been bluefish chewing through bait making lots of pieces easy pickings for the birds. Chilly this morning but later in the day was nice as it warmed up a bit and the wind kicked it down a notch.

11.13.14 "Out in the Cold Rain and Snow....."

                         

     Gave it a go just as the "Polar Vortex" brought the low temps and some nasty weather. Couldn't but help to think of the Grateful Dead song "Cold Rain and Snow" as I jumped from beach to groin in a few towns. Had the incoming tide and good looking water but found no takers on a black Kinky Muddler. I did meet up with a guy that caught three shorts on a black Bomber, so maybe the offerings have to be on the bigger side and sent out a ways from the shore. I wonder how this front will effect things....hopefully soon all that bait out back will make its way out front and along the beach.

11.11-12.14 Nice to be "off the grid" for a few days.....

Lackawanna River brown trout

     Love the Jersey Shore in the heat of striper fishing but its also nice to step away for a few days. Really I only lost a day as I fished Monday, had off yesterday, and today's pea soup fog in the New York Bight area had most boats on stand by. Hope to get back to the beach in the morning.
     The Scranton area has always held a special place for me. About 17 years ago we purchased a vacation home in a place called Big Bass Lake. It was a perfect get-a-way place. Not too far nor too close and the gated community was safe and secure between visits. It had a few lakes loaded with fish for the kids, outdoor and an indoor pool, ski and tubing slope and all the nature a kid could want to catch or see. During those times I discovered and came to love the Lackawanna River near Scranton, Pennsylvania. I would get up early and travel there to fish while we were on vacation. Always trying to leave so I would be there when the kids woke up, but that didn't always happen. At times my oldest son Ryan would make the trip with me and the below pic is one of my all time favorites.

Ryan and I, about 2002

     I love returning to that area and making the ride out on Route 80 and then north on Route 380 always brings back great memories. As with anything its amazing how much things appear to always change. Scranton has changed too. I remember when Lackawanna Ave was filled with vacant buildings big and small just before the mall and Steamtown. The Lackawanna Station is still there and one of my favorite restaurants, Carmen's, still operates in the once bustling waiting area.
     I usually jump right on Route 6 heading to Olyphant, Jessup, or Archbald anxious to see if the brown trout are hungry but I enjoy taking the city route and driving through downtown and the University of Scranton before taking Main Street which parallels the river.
     A stop for me is always Cousins Convenient Mart for food and gas before making the walk on the Lackawanna Heritage Trail along the river. I am amazed how much development has occurred around the river. When I first started going there the river was kind of second class and the houses on it depressed. My favorite access points on High Street are still there, but only if you know them and act respectfully in traversing them.
   
As an angler I love having and fishing "home waters" and enjoy finding new and great places to fish. And although life brings plenty of changes along the way and places we used to frequent become less familiar, it is nice to return and be filled with great memories of good times from the past.

11.10.14 Nothing showing out there this morning.....

     Nothing out there for me this morning as I got out before first light and worked a sand eel and Kinky Muddler fly up and down a single groin and the beach. Took a high perch to see if I could find any bait or signs of a bass but there was none.
      Gonna be off the grid till Wednesday just in time for the Polar Vortex to drop the air temps down into the twenties. Hopefully it will only last a few days so I can feel my fingers as I retrieve my fly.

11.09.14 Nice to see some visiting blog readers hook up....

      I got a call on Friday from blog reader Graham looking for a little "encouragement" for his planned striper fishing this weekend. Graham and his brother Evan were hitting the Jersey salt for the first time this year, the second time they have saltwater fly fished. They are orignally from Kansas and Evan was visiting his brother who is attending graduate school in Pennsylvania.
     I told him what I had been experiencing lately and pointed him to a few locations that may serve them well. Between them one fish was caught and by the look on Evan's face one was all that was needed.
     I'm seeing smaller baits around and tonight I fished and snagged spearing that was in the pockets. No fish for me but it getting that fishy feeling again and I think soon we will have a solid sand eel bite, mostly occurring during the night and before first light.

11.08.14 Lake fishing out there this morning.....

                      

     If a striped bass, or even a bait fish, so much as farted in the water this morning you could have seen it a mile away. Started out before first light just to see if my call of starting later yesterday was a bad move. Didn't see any bait or bass as first light arrived and the only thing I did see was guys perched up and down the groin tips casting plugs without a tap. Heard late last night a few good fish were caught for those anglers braving the 30 degree air temps. It was definitely late fall like weather out there this morning as the temps were in the low 30's which was a change from the nice toasty warm bed I left hoping to find a fish.

11.07.14 Nice and long but slow day out with Christina....

     Had Christina out for a long day of striper hunting and fishing. Started out after first light on the start of the outgoing tide. I wanted to start after the big moon water subsided a bit but in the end I don't even any plan would have worked. We put a lot of miles on the truck and on our feet looking for signs of bait and bass.
     This is the second time we have fished and the next time we WILL get into some fish but the groundwork has been laid, all we need now is some hungry fish. In between our search we had a nice lunch at Brennan's and a coffee break at DD's. In the end we found her favorite spot down south and were able to creep out to the end of the sand bar and fish fishy water as an occasional gannet would dive off the bar.
     Last week we had a lot, a mean a lot, of fish pass through the Jersey Shore and now we need more fish to pass and the sand eels to show to keep the fish around and within a fly rods reach.

                                

11.06.14 Had a great new fly fisher out today......

     For those of you that remember the stories from this blog I'm sure you'll remember when I met Zachary last year. Zach and his Dad were out fishing in Asbury Park almost a year to the day and under similar conditions. I watched as Zach caught and released a monster fish, much to the chagrin of the "harvesters" that were on the groin that morning. You can read the whole story HERE.
   

     I told Zach and his Dad that if he ever wanted to take up fly fishing then the first lesson was one me since I was so impressed that he released that big bass. Well today I had 15 year old Zach out in crummy conditions for his introduction to fly fishing. We went through the basics and jumped into the surf and then on the rocks throwing small and big flies with intermediate and sinking line set ups. It's really fun watching new fly rodders start and be engaged and ask questions along the way.

     Zach has started tying already and we are already making plans for additional outings. Hopefully we'll see some consistent bass fishing and not this bass-on-bunker, or other baits, blitz fishing that we've been seeing along the Jersey Shore.



                            

11.05.14 A tale of two sides......

     Got out this morning hoping for the best. Real fishy looking water with nice wave action and sweep
on the south sides of the groin. A strong sweep isn't always bad if you know how to fish it. It's kind of like casting upstream and letting you fly get down to where the fish are. Only problem for me today the fish weren't there.
     With a south wide anglers like to cast with the wind at their backs, but that's not always the fishiest water. A 50 foot cast to the north side might appear appealing, but your 20 foot cast directly into the wind and into the slop may be more productive.
     You have to think like a bass, and not like a fly fishing casting master.

11.04.14 Back to snag and drop fishing, at least where I was......

     Love that we are back to light early in the morning. Headed out before sunrise and found conditions as I left them yesterday. Flat calm seas with no signs of fish. Unlike yesterday the beat I was on had pods of bunker passing in front, albeit far off, the groin tips.
     I joined two spin guys who were anticipating a bunker pod to get within range to tempt up a bass on their topwater plugs. The boat traffic was light but one solo boat did see what we saw and they set up perfectly ahead of a nervous pod. We watched as they snagged and dropped and soon the gaff was readied and three bass came over the gunnel.
     I fished near the beach end back to fishing structure and moving water. I still threw a bunker fly but will make the switch today downsizing to a more peanut bunkery or sand eel pattern. But, I will keep that go to fly close by if I need it.

11.03.14 Boorriinnggg........(Boring)

     Afternoon. Just before slack high. Pretty boring out there.

11.02.14 Good day if you're a surfer, not a fly rodder....

     Post blow, well kind of on the end of the blow, things were looking kind of Yoo-Hoo-ish out front. Swells had the surfers happy although I got the sense that wave action wasn't exact;y what they were looking for.
     Heard from some friends who toughed it out that the sand eels are in in big numbers. Guys throwing metal were snagging them on almost every cast. Hope that a couple of tides will clear things up a bit.
   

11.01.14 What a difference a day makes......

     Really cranking out thee today. Big difference from yesterday. Have to say I am kind of glad, with the fish hitting the beach on a Saturday after the word is out would mean a ton of dead bass. I gave it a go picking pockets but nothing to show for it. Saw a few guys huddled up throwing bucktails landing a few small bass. It might take a day or so for this to clear out, tomorrow the surfers will be in their glory with big swells on the way.

     So if you're looking to "match the hatch", the stripers and blues were on butterfish and squid and small weakfish and or bunker. The picture below was taken by StormR pro-stafer Chris Buchta, who has probably caught 500 bass this fall in Jersey alone.