05.15.19 Mommy's not going to be happy about this....

      So it wasn't until I was on the water did I realize what I had done. 6am leaving Titusville for Red Bank. Got the girls. Check. Got my fishing stuff. Check. Put seat down so they can sit. Check. Move Lowrance HDS7 Gen 2 Touch fishfinder and chart plotter.......Not. I must have had it in a bad spot in the back seat when I put the seat down. It cracked the screen making the "Touch" untouchable. I can't get past the accept screen as it won't "accept" my touch. It's over. So if you know anyone that has ungraded let me know as I would rather just have the same unit with the already-installed transducer. I went to West Marine to see if its still under warranty, and the extended warranty that I bought, but I purchased it in 2012. SOL.

     I made the run to Keansburg and fished a bunch of drifts, quick ones, with the NW wind and the outgoing tide. I must have been over something because the chirps were going good but I couldn't see anything on the screen. After hitting West Marine I ran to the beach and was pleasantly surprised

with great conditions. Almost low but plenty of water, clean and green water, but I didn't find anyone home. Saw more boats on the horizon so I don't know if guys are starting to sniff around out front or if another species season opened. I'm thinking sea bass opened today. After Daddy duty

I headed west and stopped on a risen and off color Delaware River. I had the "jetty" tip to myself and threw different color flies but had no takers. I didn't mind going 0 for 3 but the Lowrance unit thing, stupidity on my part, killed me. Have to get another one sooner than later as I feel things will be heating up, and the fish will start looking up more and better for the fly anglers.

05.14.19 Surprisingly nice out there.....

     Thought about the beach but after seeing it yesterday I had my doubts. Thought about the river but it was up and if anything I would use the boat. So after dropping off the girls I decided to hit the marina and splash the boat. All that rain dropped the water temps a bunch and I was tempted to hit the rivers but the bay was calling. Found good marks but they had lock jaw. I did this drift for about 2 hours. 300 grain, 350 grain, 550 grain. Big flies, 

medium flies, smaller flies. even my special Clouser that weighs about a pound. That one I jigged on the drift and still not a tap. It was frustrating but I was okay with it as I had no other options or tricks up my sleeve. 

     Since I had to hit Red Bank Regional first I dropped into the river just as the rain started to really come down. Tide was flipping and my hopes were high. I got hung up on the backcast and as I made my way to my fly I found a big bluefish. No, I didn't catch it, it was dead, and I didn't snag it on my back cast, just placed the fly there because I was bored and needed a fish pick for the day. 

     Hopefully this rain stops sometime soon so I can, one, mow the grass, and two conditions improve for fishing. Right now the Delaware is roaring so my options for bass are back n the beach or the boat....hoping soon things on the beach heat up, I got some people waiting. 

05.13.19 Fishing the Nor'easter....

     Was down near the beach so decided to give it a go. Konking East winds and rain and mid-tide was just unfishable on the beach. Hard sweep and water running up the scarp. Made two casts and got back in the truck to check another spot.

     Hit the back f the river and had some protection from the wind but the rain found its way into every part of my body for the 45 minutes I was out there. Lots of birds looking, some bunker flipping, but no one around for the fly.

     Weird May nor-easter and the amount of rain we have got has the rivers up and both in the back and out front off color. Its going t take some time to find better conditions for fly fishing. I know a bunch of you are waiting fr that bat r walk and wade confirmation call so this post should show why were not fishing this week. Hopefully soon.

05.10.19 Delaware river beatdown!!!!!!

     Alright...I'm kidding. Hit the Delaware early yesterday morning only to find I read the tide chart wrong. It was high tide and there just wasn't any place to be able to comfortably fly fish and enjoy it. Went home and started the honey-do list and went back mid to end of the ebb.

     So it very interesting fishing a true spawning river. Sex isn't the only thing on their minds and when they want a snack there's river herring and shad and then just other stuff for them to eat. Where I am at Trenton is at mile marker 133 on the Delaware River, with say Delaware Bay at mile marker 0 and the upper part at the Junction Pool, where the West Branch and East Branch meet, in Hancock, New York, at mile marker 330.

  So what happens in the spring during the spawn? Males come up first waiting for the big girls to arrive. Most males will fertilize a big females eggs and unlike his date who heads downriver after depositing her eggs, he'll wait for another round of females to come up river. Younger males and females may summer over in their natal rivers until they become sexually mature and then will make the trek up and down, maybe producing eggs that are reabsorbed rather than deposited and fertilized by the males.

     One question that always comes up is how do the striped bass survive in non-salt water. The other question is how far does salt come up the Delaware River. According to the DRBC website the "salt front" or "salt line" is where there is water with 250 milligram per liter chloride concentration. The current salt line location is at mile marker 65, and the record upriver location was at mm 102 which occurred during a drought year in the 1960's, some 30 miles downriver from one of the primary spawning grounds for spring striped bass. Striped bass don't need to spawn in the salt line, but do need tidal flow. Striped bass generally prefer to spawn in totally fresh water, or little to no salt water 0-02 ppt. (Murphy, Fly Fishing for Striped Bass pg 71) The eggs need to remain buoyant in order to float and make their way towards sea.

     Striped bass hatch about 29-80 hours after fertilization. Newly hatched larvae remain suspended in the water column eating the large yolk mass until their mouths form in 2-3 days. Once they can chew they start eating small microscopic organisms and after a week they start eating crustaceans, shrimps and amphipods. During the first year they grow 10-12 inches.

     They are sensitive to river conditions and that is why the survival rate of developed eggs is low. Temperature, flows, salinity, acidity, turbidity, and predation all affect the survival. And then they have to swim 133 miles out to the salt water and then get caught by some guy in the surf. And then released. Then caught at the Hook. And released. And the Cape Cod Canal. And then Marthas Vineyard. And Montauk. And Asbury Park, Atlantic City, Virginia, Chesapeake Bay, and then back up the Delaware to hopefully reproduce once in their lifetimes.

     I have tried for about a month to catch one of these stripers with some shoulders on it. Like I've said I talked to guy who caught a 40 pounder (and illegally kept it) here about a month ago. Now, it seems the little guys, who were born here and call this there natal water, and inhabit these waters before making their first trip to the salt when a few years old, are abundant and willing to eat a fly. They are 1-2, maybe 3 years old and you can look at the size chart and figure how old you're 20 inch bass is.

     This time of the season you'd like to say 'I'll pull out the 5 weight and have fun", but, there's still decent fish around and depending on the tide you're still using a 300-350 sinking line. These fish aren't up. They are down near the bottom where the herring and shad tend to run. So that little cute trout rod won't work here, not just yet.

     This upcoming week I have availability for the boat and or walk and wade so give me a call to set something up, 732 261 7291

05.09.19 Guides day off.....

     My buddy Capt. Paul Eidman just got back from a week in Montana fly fishing for trout and needed to get out for a scout for an upcoming trip. He invited me along and I couldn't say no. We had some nasty E-SE wind and he had to dance around the river for a while finding the perfect spot and drift and protection form the wind. 

     Luckily it was still all bass and no bluefish and we picked away at the schoolies drifting over structure and marks. It was dredging the up fishing with 350-650 grain lines as they were hugging the bottom and definitely not up. Nice to be able to just fish from the boat and not have to maneuver it.

      After meeting my classmates for a little graduation shin-dig in Eatontown I decided to hit the beach. I haven't been there in so long it felt like reunion. Fished without a tap from 730-830 on the incoming. Next week dead low isn't at sun-up so I'll be giving it a go then. If you're interested in walking and wading give me a call 732 261 7291

05.08.19 Slow, real slow day out there....

     Had Tom out for the morning and until the tide flip today. Great guy, has all the moves, but we, well I, couldn't get us a bite. We moved a round....a lot.....and found ourselves alone at times and others sniffing around boats that were anchored up.

     Started near the Bug Light and Hook on the incoming, ran up to the 'Burg and joined the trolling, live lining, and chunking boats and didn't find a fish. Wait, let me back up. So I woke up in Titusville at 445 am to get the lunches and the stuff ready for the trip. Out the door at 510 and about 45 minutes later while driving north on the Parkway my wife calls and says, "You forgot the cooler dummy?". Yes, I am a dummy. Thankfully she's the best and drove the hour plus to drop it off.

     After covering some ground I came up with a plan. Lets run over to New York near the big bridge and sniff around the islands and they maybe out front on the tide flip. Well that didn't prove to be a move so I headed back to the fleet. After lunch and as the tide started to ebb Tom was back at it. He preferred to use the stripping basket in the boat, which I like also, as it helps with line management,

when, and if, you go tight. I even added a little love potion to the fly hoping the scent might trigger some interest. While Tom was casting I was throwing a hookless pencil popper on a spinning rod trying to drum up some interest from the bass or the newly arriving bluefish. With that popper you know when they're here....and they weren't for us today.

05.07.19 Out for a scout before tomorrows trip....

Capt. John McMurray photo

    Had some time between school drop off and pick up so I jumped on the chance to run out and scout before a charter tomorrow. Hit a bunch of great spots, marked some fish and lots of bait, but couldn't get them to eat a fly. Frustrating. 

     Had to avoid getting runned over by the trolling crowd out there. I would say 75% trolling, 20% livening or chunking, #5 casting a spinning rod, 1% throwing a fly rod...me. 

    Capt John McMurray and I were in the same general area for part of the day and later he made a FB post showing an image of some of the boats out there. Herring, butterfish, whiting or ling, and not shown bunker and I'm hearing rain bait. 

     Also had the opportunity to hit the river and and I hit it hard for 1-1/2 on the outgoing. Walked out and about but had no takers...and lost a good fly.

     And on a sad note the one American that was killed in the Russia plane crash was Jeremy Brooks, 22, of New Mexico. He was on his way to Russia to fulfill his dream of becoming a fly fishing guide. Tight lines to you up in Heaven Jeremy, you got a lot of good fly fishing and story telling folks up there.

05.06.19 Nothin' in the river but my buddy got a good one.....

     So on Saturday my buddy and his girl were on the beach in Ocean County. Nice day. Bring the rod. Small Clouser on the 20 lb. flouro. Little bit of something pushing water......BAM. You just never know when the fish of a lifetime is going to come. Below is the video

            

     I gave it a go after yesterdays rain. Water was up and choclatey. Funny how those river herring find a low spot in the river and follow the runoff on the high tide right into the woods. The only thing for me was a SP Minnow in black and purple.

05.05.19 Swinging in the rain.....

      Wanted to get out before the rains had the river up and dirty. Hit across from the city and did the usual spot thing before losing interest. Outgoing tide. No hits. Left for greener pastures.

     A 10 minute drive upriver found the river to high to try and get in and fish where I wanted. I was limited to the town ramp and another spot near the sewer plant. Again, many casts, not a touch. 

     I'll be back down in the salt Tuesday and hoping to get a boat trip in on Wednesday. Looking to get in on those bigger bay fish. I here at times they are up and even taking flies......

05.04.19 Casting flies to little guys in Trenton....

     Maybe it was the moon or pure river sympathy but found some little guys willing to eat in the ebb to dead low tide. The water still moves downstream even on the slack tides, so, to me, its all fishy. Started with a white Hollow Fleye as the light let and then went to a black and purple fly. What I have to do is, at least I'm thinking, is go to a larger dark fly at night to maybe get into a little bigger fish. The other day I caught a huge smallmouth bass which has been the best fight from the Big D yet.

05.03.19 Great guys out for the first boat charter of the spring....

.....but it was frustrating. As I drove home last evening I filled my head with what-ifs and second guesses about what I could have done differently to get these guys some fish. In the end all of my rationales basically came down to excuses. Either you got it done or not.

     Started out, and ended, the day in the fog that just wouldn't lift. Would have liked to run around the Raritan Bay a little bit but we were forced to stay close. Had the end of the incoming and then the outgoing which should have been good. We ran back into the Navesink and then hit the Shrewsbury at slack. Had some marks but couldn't get them to eat the fly. We had alternating fly and spin going and always had a shad in he water but outside of a few taps on both nothing committed.

     Brett and Glenn are a father and son team who came in from Pennsylvania. Both work in jobs related to the environment. Interestingly, Brett lives out in California and discussed how striped bass out there, in some waters, are vacuum cleaners, a nuisance, and almost like an invasive species. They put a beating on salmonoids and other fishes. It sounded similar to what Canada was saying about striped bass in their waters since it appears the northern migration up the east coast has expanded.

     We picked a few spots in Sandy Hook Bay and blind casted our way around. Officers Row, Bug Light, Leonardo, and then finished up outside the marina. Guys hung in and it was a day of 1,000 casts with only a few snagged bunker to a fish smell on their hands. I hope to see these guys again on a tad nicer day and on some eating fish.

   

05.01.19 Broke the skunk on the Delaware......

     They say you always remember your first. It might not have been one of the bigger fish that swims on the banks of the capital but it was nice, very nice. Started out at first light on the dropping tide and fish for about 2-1/2 hours before it grabbed the fly right out my feet. 

     I had 'The Pipe" as its known all to myself, which made me doubt myself for even fishing, and then moved upstream to the brides. Amazing how pocket-watery it is here and I fished it like a trout stream but had no other takers. Its about a 9-11 foot tidal range here depending on the river flows and it comes quick and empties quick. Now have to get some in the bay or ocean. Have a trip booked for Friday if the weather holds out.