09.16.16 If I just had another hour........

                                   

     Well, fishing before work, well just sucks. I was out again at 5 hoping to get a bite in the dark, and I held onto each minute as light arrived. Moon tide, E wind, on the incoming. Tough with the fly rod. Water coming up way up the scarp onto the beach. Wish is was the middle of the outgoing rather than end of the flood. Saw one fish jump, and saw some mullet wakes before I had to go. I stayed until the last minute I could 618 am, then had to call it.

     I got back to my truck and made the change, but realized the waves that I took over the bow had my underwear soaked, so I was wet drawers for the first few hours of my shift after swiping in at 7 am. I can't wait until next week. The water was warmer this morning so I hope it cools down, and the post moon bite would be on and the surf just a little more tame. And, I should have a few mornings where I won't have to run to work. 

09.15.16 Word of the day........Sporty

     Got out before work today. On the beach in the dark at 445 a.m. Let me describe the kind of morning it was. With the wind kicking my face got pelted with grains of sand that were getting picked up by the steady 25-30 N-NE winds. Then I almost did a few splits in the water at the either the waves coming in, sideways along the beach, or the water running down the scarp would separate my legs and spin me around. It wasn't a perfect fly fishing weather type of day, but that is my favorite kind of conditions to fly fish in.
    I gave it an honest go but had to clear out just before light arrived. I made this image just before doing a uniform change in the parking lot. I know the bait doesn't like it but the bass surely do. There was plenty of white water around and the air and water temps are starting to drop. Fall is here, the mullet run as begun, and good bass fishing is about to start.

09.14.16 Had Mom out for a scout around.....

     So my Mom retired last Friday at age 70, sorry Mom, after working for probably 50 years. I think she is like many people approaching retirement, so happy it's here, but uneasy at the same time. The uneasiness comes from both knowns and unknowns. Am I financially ready to retire? Do I need to relocate because New Jersey is way too expensive for people on a fixed budget? And, then there's always the.....what happens if I get sick and how long am I gonna live?
    Here's a Mom plug for any eligible bachelors out there, or know some eligible bachelors......Mom is now retired, single and available to a fine gentleman and ready to enjoy life, just a little bit more than she has before.
     At her office shindig Mom tells me she wants to start off her retirement with a nice boat ride, most likely in her mind along the Navesink, and then pull in somewhere for lunch, maybe Eventides or Moby's. That all sounds nice, but I had a different idea.

                                         Let's go look for albies!!!!!!!!

     We were around the tip of hook by 730 and we had birds from the beach out about 1 mile in what started out was tub kind of conditions. We chased the birds a bit hooking up with cocktail blues before moving out and chasing what might have been some albies.



                       

     We took a ride to the New York side checking out Coney Island and an unnamed inlet that fishermen frequent in the fall. It was wind against tide over there and we found no birds or fish breaking. I wish it was on because I like fishing in the slop, and the albies like it to.
     The trip back was high and dry and when we got back the wind swung and died down and we had beautiful conditions. Not wanting to kill my mother with a long ride out just to see if I could find anything we stayed close and played with the snapper to cocktail sized blues. Quick drifts from the tip put us over blitzing fish each time. First I tried a bigger fly to keep the small ones away and maybe catch an albie, that could have been in the mix just watching the different rise forms that were made on the tiny baitfish.

     If you wanted numbers, like 1,000 small bluefish, then today was your day. A 5 weight with a tiny rain bait imitation was all you needed. Mom and I did pose with a small fish just as proof that we could catch something out there. After coming in I gave the boat a good washing and checking to make sure I am all ready for the fall. It was a good scouting trip and it felt good to be out there, although where I really wish I was right now was in front of the lighthouse at Montauk, and laying my head down each night at Snug Harbor.

     For lunch, or anytime after being on the water, On the Deck is always a good stop for a cold beer and some good pickens'. 

09.13.16 Welcome back......

                                     

     Last evening I wanted to see how the late afternoon water was looking. I decided to take the short drive to the water and was glad to see the beginning of the reversal of beach nourishment. Today I read that the State of New Jersey is looking to increase, well double, the funding for breach replenishment. That comes on the heels of beaches in Ocean County being closed after Hermine due to dangerous conditions caused by erosion. While it's not like it was, as least there is a change in direction and a place for big fish to ambush little fish. "The Pocket" used to be deep, and very productive. Below is a picture of Charlie Shapiro working along "the beach".

Maybe 2010 or 2011

     This morning I had Dad duty followed by a meeting at the hospital so by 930 I knew things would be over. I decided to take a ride to Shark River Inlet to see if anything albie-wise was going on. Saw the wakes of the mullet and the spray of the silversides but no signs of allies in or out front. Here is my prediction for this fall......ALBIES WON'T SHOW AT SRI. The dredging that is occurring in the Shark River has the water, at least on the ebb tide, silty and sandy......not a choice for the pelagics. If I were a betting man and a planner I would hit Manasquan Inlet. Now, I may be totally wrong, and, the SRI may be good on the slack before it gets shitted up, but thats my early prediction.

09.12.16 Dawn patrol with positive results......

                                                 

     Was on the beat before 5 a.m. I was scheduled to work today at 7, but just before 5 I received a text from work saying I had been cancelled as most likely the back-to-school census hasn't increased just yet. So many anglers do the before work fishing routine so I figured I would see how it worked. I had my scrubs in the car and planned on fishing Long Branch with just enough time to spare to do a quick outfit change before swiping in.
     It was a little sporty out there with the N wind and the lots of waves crashing on the beach with a right to left sweep. I picked two points and did a typewriter approach, casting down as I worked north to south. At my starting point I had a few bites, and figured they were snappers, but landed the below nice fish in the dark in the trough.

                              

     As light appeared I went with the popper and was confident it would produce even in the bigger water and quick sets. But it didn't move a fish. I walked up the beach again and switched over to a sinking line with a Deceiver and the fish at the top blew up on it before getting hooked.

     At 723 the allies showed up for a minute, and I decided to head south to the inlet to see if they were inside or just outside as the bait moved with the ebb tide. On my way down the strong scent of burning wood wafted through the air and I discovered this house fire on 4th Ave in Bradley Beach. Luckily everyone in the few houses that were involved got out safely. That fire came in around the time I would have been going down that street if I decided to fish Bradley. From what I hear a jogger discovered the fire and alerted the residents inside. That's a job well done.



     At the inlet things were quiet. Didn't see much for bait or anything on them. I threw some flies out and hit a few groins just because the conditions were so right. Water was clear and clean with lots of white water. We won't turn the clocks back until November 3rd which is a shame because that early first light is just the best time to be on the beach in the fall. Hopefully the water will cool off and we'll see the mullet soon. It's almost Snake Fly time of year.

09.12.16 Spent this 9/11 on the South Shore....

                                

     Spent the day with family out on Long Island. Beautiful end of summer start of the fall day. Walked Jones Beach for the first time and trained my eyes on the water looking for signs of life. No birds, no bait, no albies. However, I did see lots of action when I peered over the water on Jamaica Bay along the Belt Parkway. Lots of bait spraying out of the water.



                                      

    The flag was drawn down to half-staff and I did stop and read the 9/11 memorial set up at Area 4. On this day communities across the country each paid their own tributes to people affected by the events of the day 15 years ago. It is sad that it takes such a catastrophic act to unite a country and its people. May that never happen again on United States soil, or anywhere else.

                             

09.11.16 As we remember.....

  I am sure I am like others who can't believe it's been 15 year since 9.11.01 The effects of that day are still felt as broken families and broken bodies still try to heal and remain healthy. Sadly, the death toll from exposure to the conditions are the World Trade Center site are still rising. People and first responders may have survived the crash and the collapse but so many have taken ill or died since.

                                           

     For me, I will never forget where I was. Shortly after I made this image of my son starting his day of Pre-K someone came into the classroom and said a plane had hit the Trade Center. I thought for a minute it might be a small plane, one surely the FDNY could handle in short order. In the minutes following the news I was heading up to Newark ready to respond into New York, but there was plenty of work for us in Newark as hundreds of people came to UMDNJ to be decontaminated, evaluated and treated. It wouldn't be until early morning on the 12th when I would first step onto Ground Zero as firefighters from departments from the New York area responded. I spent the first days there as all of us hoped that people were in need of rescue, but as the days passed it became a more organized search and recovery operation.
    That day had an impact on countless people, the tri-state area, the United States, and the world. While evil has reared its head in the last 15 years across the globe, I hope there is never a repeat of the horror of watching Americans choosing to leap to their deaths because of the acts of cowards who took out their anger on innocent people.

09.10.16 First fish, and a good one, this fall.....

     Finally. Summer is dwindling down. Beaches are now open. The "summer folk" have retreated back to school and parts unknown. First light is always my favorite time to fish. Darkness into light. I started out with a black baitfish pattern that got me a good take but caught me off guard so I blew the hookset. As light arrived I could see the bait just outside the bar, and further out a large pod of dolphins just rolling in breakfast. With nothing to show for my efforts, and realizing the sun would shut things down I contemplated going where I have known guys have ben catching fish off and on all summer. I actually reeled in before I came to my senses. "I have good water here. I want to fish here. I'm staying."And I'm glad I did. 

     I put on a  popper and played double-dutch withe the arriving waves. Timing my car between sets and on the backside I worked that popper up the beach. I had one swirl and a blow up that got my juices flowing. Then the above fish breached and inhaled my popper. It was so far down it's gullet I didn't think I would be able to safely remove it. Luckily, the barb was pinched and filed down and it slide out the roof of its mouth when I was able to get a pair of hemos onto the fly. I wasn't expecting such a good fish with the warmer water temps and really no bait in tight. Soon the mullet will be waking in the troughs. You just have to get out and scout and know the water your fishing and the tide and amount of water the fish will have to swim in. 

                 It's a new season and the Army Corps of Engineers have changed the game. 

09.09.16 Went south....then went "home"

                           

     Headed south, which is what I mostly do every time I fish now, and hit a place where the effects of beach destruction have been slightly changed by time, tides, and Mother Nature. Got in the water at 5 a.m. and joined a spin angler who had released his second bass. I fished hard over the next hour and a half, trying a SF Blend baitfish in black, a Banger type popper, and then a Jiggy because of the small bait that was appearing occasionally along the rocks. Missed a fished as I lifted the fly out of the water, could have been a fluke but I wasn't sure. At this location I didn't notice much in the way of any structural change since Hermine.
 
     I worked my way north, which is what I have to do if I drive south to fish, and stopped by a few old favorite spots. Here I noticed more changes, lots of sand filling in the south sides of the groins. and hollowing out the north sides. All good changes, I hope to see some more after a few more fall storms. While on the scout I did manage to find a few snappers that were into the Jiggy.

     Not wanting to be done because it was looking fishy, I decided to painfully return to my favorite "home". The effects of the destruction of Jetty Country are evident at each placed I stopped starting with Allenhurst. I decided to park and walk the long wide beach over where the rocks were buried at Hathaway and walked north to where the machinery and outflow pipe construction and sand pumping still continues. The march is one from Phillips to Lake Takanassee. 

     During my walk I stopped at the start of an old groin that I spent countless hours on for several years. Although the start of "beach end" was a hundred or so feet from where I used to climb up on it, it felt good to just look out into the ocean and start my trek out. I used to remember where every rock was, and the path to get to the tip was programmed into my mind. Not any more. I did find an old favorite rock, not just for me, but for many, including the fly anglers who would be able to clear the other rocks when retrieving in tight.

                             

     For just a few minutes I was able to focus straight and at times a little left and right, keeping my eyes off the beach and the unfamiliar terrain. I missed the days when I could identify the guys I seem to fish with every day, all of us part of the "Phillips Ave Gang", which we named ourselves one night out for drinks at Mister C's before Sandy blew it a part.
     Even in low light you can identify your fishing buddies. Either by their location, silhouette, what they were using, and their casting stroke. I miss seeing Richie and Bucktail Jimmy on the rocks, Andy throwing lefty covering on days what seemed like miles,  Bob tucked into The Hump, Lief swimming Snake Flies up near the pilings near the outflow of Poplar Brook, and my favorite old man Al, either with the fly or spinning rod, at it almost daily as he passed the tender age of 90.
     Like I have said before, they killed Jetty Country, killed a habitat, suspended a vibrant fishery, and helped change friendships and relationships that were formed. While we weren't friends in the true sense of the word, we didn't hang out or go over each others house for dinner per se, we were fishing friends, good fishing friends, that was the glue that held us together. Sadly, it will take time for us to return back "home". Some of us may not return, but I miss those times, mostly first light times dearly.



     And what do you know, as I stood there thinking of what I was going to blog about, a familiar face shows up, and I should taken his picture. It was Andy. No rod in hand but he was walking the beach looking for sharks teeth. It was good to see him. Good to ask if he's seen the other guys. And good to ask if he's been fishing.
      People ask me often where my favorite place to fish is, and if I could fish anywhere, where would that be? This is favorite place. Walking and wading, say Long Branch to Spring Lake, with a few good friends to stop and talk to along the way.

Above is the view of Pullman Ave. Lots of sand in front of the wall. I can confidently say that there will be no Halloween Blitz happening here this year. There are no pockets for the good fish to trap bait fish into. Sad.

09.07.16 Everyone is back to school......

     Summer is gone and it's back to school time. Each year since they started school I have made a sign and taken a quick picture of them on their first day. This year was the same. Back to school this year took place at the Red Bank Middle School, Red Bank Regional, Rowan times two, Fashion Institute of Technology, Rutgers and University of Maryland.
     My daughter thought it would only be appropriate that I am put through the torture I bestow on the kids so here is my picture on my first day of graduate school at Monmouth University. I'm in the Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program. It's going to take a few years but at 48 where am I going. I have lots of work years left in me and need to attain the highest level of education I can in order to work for something other than a hourly or daily rate which I have done my entire life.

09.04.16 Hermine luckily wasn't much.....but I hope he leaves some changes

     Everyone along the East Coast was bracing this weekend for Hurricane, Tropical Storm, or just plain old storm Hermine to wreak havoc. Luckily "he", and I think he was a he, moved out and didn't bring the wind and waves and big surf that could have left a destructive wake in its path. There was plenty of sun and happy people along the Jersey Shore today, but I bet it scared a lot of beachgoers away and also blew a good weekend for business owners from Sandy Hook down to Cape May. I spent most of my weekend at work in the psych unit. After work today I went down to the beach in Long Branch and found the above scene.
     I do hope that on the bog tides the waves carve up the beaches a bit. Summers gone. The wide swathe of sand that was created for the season can now be swallowed up but the sea, although the damage to the ecosystem if far and wide. I can say that the above Jetty was exposed, then covered, and is now shown again. While this won't do much to improve conditions here, hopefully south of here things might improve.
     Structure holds bait, and bait attract predator fish. Soon the bait, and there's a ton of it, that is in the bays and rivers and has been growing all summer, will start their migration out. In a week or so we should see things cooling and moving. On September 16th the Harvest Moon is always a good time to start things off in the fall. Allies and bass and blues should start to be caught, and the last fluke of the year can be taken until September 27th.

I miss being on or at the water each day, making some images, and writing this blog. I know I have lost the daily faithful, but hopefully there's still a few that come by from time to time to catch up.
 

09.01.16 Found this from a few years ago....

     I was looking through some old The Average Angler images and stuff and came across a podcast I did with The Open Fly from out west in 2014. The image they used is one of my personal portrait favorites. One the rocks, in Crocs, with just a fly rod and one fly. No basket. No sling pack. Now fishing without a stripping basket isn't easy, or practical, but being bared down sometimes is just fun. I miss those days on the rocks. I miss Deal. A lot. I can't say how many times I fished that beat, sometimes several times a day depending on the tides, wind and moon.

Here is the LINK to the podcast. It's about my experience when guiding, a little about fishing the Jersey shore and the Upper Delaware. I chime in on the fun at minute 25. Enjoy.

08.31.16 Did some fishing this summer....had a few good days on the water

     I some nice times out on the water this summer. I broke the ice and picked up a few spinning rods, and, it increased my kids interest in fishing. It started in late June when the big bass were around and on bunker. I had my son Ryan out throwing poppers and he landed his first striped bass. Most of the other times it was out in the boat with the girls drifting in the Raritan or out front looking for the flat fish. Lauren caught the biggest one of the summer.

     We also spent some time hitting the rivers looking for crabs and in the later part of August we were finding nice big ones. The best crabbing we had was during the mate when the crabs would be hugging the pilings or the docks. After a week straight of eating crabs we were done with that.

And this weekend is Labor Day. Soon the summer folk will be gone and the kids will be back in school. I have been hitting the beaches and the rocks at first light, moving a few resident fish even in the late summer warm water. In a few weeks the mullet will start moving out front and the moon tides will help move the other baitfish flush out.