09.14.20 Racoons, snakes and bumble bees.....didn't matter

 

     After squeaking out one fish the other day in big surf I was looking forward to this morning. NW wind, high around 530 am, mullet starting to show, and fish around. The problem is when I'm going fishing the next day I always wake at 2 am, regardless if the buzzer is set for 345. So I was up and at it again too early and fishing by around 415. Should have stayed in bed. 

     But last night I tied up some bait, a mix of sizes and colors that were sure to get some attention. One thing I have to work on is setting up my fly tying room in the basement. Its never organized, the air quality isn't the best, and any power requires a 50 ft extension cord. Other than that its perfect. I tie my Snake Flys with dumbbell eyes, good especially when the surf is up during high tide. Don't get me started about high tide, its the only time to fish on these new shit beaches. Waters there and then in an hour its gone. Each stretch will hold water, its usually within 20 feet of the rocks, north side only, and very little good structure in between. 

     I started with a hi-low double snake Fly set up, thinking the more the merrier especially in the dark. Wrong. Not a tap in the dark, nor in the light. I fished hard for the hours on the end of the tide, and 

     

by the time light came I was done. When the sun came up I didn't see any bait, except right before I bailed at 8am some small bait being harassed in the pocket by some fluke or small blues. I fished from the rocks, then the beach, then the rocks again and back on the sand. Leif was down and didn't get a tap either. 

     I hope the mullet come in thick and some bass meet them, it usually only takes one storm to shut it down, like last year. This week Hurricane Sally is about to wreak havoc down south again, and not sure where its path is projected for up here. 

09.12.20 One'll do....

     I looked down before I took my first cast and it was 447 am. Water about an hour and a half into the ebb, N-NE wind to 25, perfect. I didn't know what the water quality was but as I got the above fish in I figured it couldn't be too baad if he saw these tandem flys in those conditions. I stayed at it fishing both the north side off the groin, basically into the wind and slop, and the calmer south side from the beach, as the shoaling on the south sides haven't been dug out since its just the start of the fall NE weather patterns. For now, outside of any deeper water near the groins on the north sides, its water comes in and water goes out. Not much for structure and sadly any good troughs that bait and predators like to patrol. You're just hoping a fish comes in to sniff around the same time you let a fly go.

     Sun up lit the place up and I could see it was off color, big, and of course windy and gusty. I didn't know Leif was on a another beat until I had left around 7ish and he later sen me the below pic of a keeper at 28", the first one for the fly anglers that I know that hit these Jersey Shore beaches.

 

09.10.20 Third shift bass...

     I had planned on fishing Friday morning but got a text from Leif stating it looked like rain and NE winds 10-20 in the AM. I needed to go so I decided to make the trek after class tonight. During class I found my fly tying stuff but couldn't find a bobbin holder so hand to hand hold and tie the best I could. 

       

    Since I was going in the dark I tied up a Snake Fly. Now the thing is when you tie during class you kind of have to hide your hands so our professor and fellow students cant see what you're doing, so this was the best I could. Its ugly, not Ugly Ass Fly ugly, but I thought it would work. 

                 

     It poured for a while during class but stopped when I got on the road about 930, putting me in a spot around 45 minutes. There was no rain, no wind, and the flood tide was about 2 hrs. in. 

     I fished some spots that I hoped would be productive but couldn't find the feeling with the incoming tide running up the beach. Decent sized waves kept me always playing catch up with my fly. I decided to violate my own new Yukon rule, well the second of them. First, no eating inside, that didnt last, and no wearing waders inside either. That diet last either.

                       

On my second spot on a rock pile named after a president I liked what I was seeing. After a short cast on the south side playing time-the-tide I hooked a nice fish as I pulled the fly from the water. I had nothing on the Snake Fly so switched over to a popper/dropper, it took the small tailing fly. I thought it was a keeper, and after walking back to the beach end of the groin I could see why. The fish was about to split open, it has been eating very well. 

           

It was a one and done night, fishing from 1030-1230. I could have caught more if Iwaited for more water to arrive. Top ofnthe tide and the start ofnthe outgoing around 5 am would have been the ticket. But, I was happy. I needed to get out and catching a nice bass made it all worthwhile. I had a nice drive there and back just cruising and listening to the Grateful Dead channel on Siruis XM.

09.08.20 This popped up on Facebook....

 

     The above pic was from a blog post I made September 8 2014, HERE. I remember the fall of 2014 well. Came home that Sunday night after a trip to Newport, RI with a match.com date, fished early Monday, and then that night by chance Theresa and I reconnected. Rest is history. 

      Can't wait for the mullet to show up, next week or so. 

09.04.20 Shakedown run.....should have kept running

     Star Date Sept 4, 2020. Start of Labor Day weekend. Around 530 AM, two hours into the flood tide. Hardly any water. Not much for bait except bunker flipping a aways out. 

     Glad I made the trip.Good to shake the cobwebs out. Funny how I get weak in the knees when I go out on the rocks again, even in calm conditions. I think as I get older I just get afraid of wiping out really hurting myself. Oh yeah, check your waders! Just because you can hear metal as you step on the rocks it doesn't mean its good and meaty. It'll just cause you to skate and break your ass. Check your studs!

      First trip with the Yukon. I have it all dolled up so theres a mat and some bins for my gear. No more getting in it with waders and just running to a another block. I'm keeping this nice. I went through my gear standing on Phillips. Flies are old and rusty and not the correct ones. Leader material is getting low. Time to tighten it up and get ready. Snake Flies at the vice this week......MULLET!!!!!!

 

09.01.20 "My precious......"

     So before Covid hit I had a few heavily used, alright broken rods sitting in my home office. They are my favorite go-to rods. The H2 9 ft 10 wt and 9ft 11wt. I have used them hard, too hard, and they show the battle scars. One had a porcelain stopping guide ring pop up, which when not in place will 

                  

eventually strip the rating off your fly line, and one that had a broken tip or mid-tip section, I think broke while battling a beast, maybe the day Joe and I were out tackling 30-40 and even 50 pound fish near Romer Lighthouse. So I went online, paid the repair cost and got them back a few weeks ago. 

     This morning I decided to break them out, anticipating an early go at the fall run. Both looked good, still beat up, but luckily I got them back in one, well, four pieces. Funny thing is, it looks one section is from a Recon, but I may have sent it in that way. So with a few good sticks and a few Recons I'm ready to break some more, but hopefully not. 

     In the pleasant surprise- I'm a disorganized mess department, I found an envelope that was delivered and never opened. It was from Andrew Warshawer, you can only know what that means. I had placed an order and sent in the cash but never opened it. Inside were a beautiful assortment of flies just in time for the fall. These will be great boat flies, missing and wishing I still had my boat, but thats okay, all good things happen with good reason. I love throwing big flies to big bass from a boat, lots of good memories and good times. 

     And on the report front I got one from Leif who found a few bass and has been on the fluke. This one took, well what else, an Ugly Ass Fly (UAF for short). I hope to make it down soon and scout out the beach and see whats going on. Lots of small bait, bunker out a ways, and predator fish like snappers, cocktail blues, bass, maybe some bonita and albies along with Spanish Mackeral. It shouldn't be long until we see the mullet making their way down the beach, about two weeks. Get out and scout!

 

08.31.20 Alrighty lets catch up before the season....

     Since this is a fishing blog and I haven't been fishing in the salt in about two months and not since Leif and I hit the Delaware in early August here's a quick update before things get going in the salt in September....

     Friends and clients have seen me evolve over the years in my rides. Never new, not always practical, sometimes a money pit, but always leave me attached to them full of good memories either towing a drift boat, my Jones Brothers, walking clients, or my wolf and kids. My latest purchase after Ryan died in late 2017 was a 2014 Ford F-150. Funny, I never knew how desired Raptor rims were until I owned this. I Ama truck driver guy, but not a truck knowing guy. People ask me engine specs ect. and I have no idea. What I usually know is the monthly payment and insurance amounts each year.

    I got the truck with about 35,000 miles on it three years ago, in August it hit just over 120,000 miles. I figured it was time to move it before there was no value in it and things would start to go. I put it on Facebook Marketplace, which to me is more addicting than Tic Tok to a kid. I put it up for $18,500 and after the buyer, who took an Uber down from Totowa, pointed out an oil leak we settled on $18,000. That took about 2 days.

       Just to note, a lot of these moves happened at the same time. So, I sold the Ford and found a 2005 Yukon Denali cross the river in Pennsy. One owner, a military man, old school, took real good of his vehicles. He was asking $6,995 and had recieved several lower offers. I offered $7,000 if he would throw in and mount the cargo carrier on the roof. Deal done. 152,000 miles. Hope she lasts. Love her so far. 

     And just before all of that we were at Holly Shores campground in Cape May, well just north of Cape May on Route 9. This years things were a bit different with Covid 19, but we still had a blast. One thing about having a camper, for me. I hate looking at it in my driveway/yard for the 50 weeks a year we didn't use it. So, we started looking into keeping it down there year round and even started looking at the Park Model homes that they had on site. One day after I trekked back home to see patients, Theresa found another seasonal place right at Exit 0 called Cape Island Resort. When I got back we stopped at the gate and arranged a drive through, within 500 feet we were sold. So, back to Holly Shores, clean it out and up, take some nice pictures, put it on FBM, sold within a day. $5,000. Bought it for $3,500, used it for two years, one of out better moves. 

     So now we go through Cape Island looking for a site to park something. We drove around the Cape May area checking out campers for sale. The ones we liked went for $17,000 - $22,000. Again, either trailer it home or pay for a seasonal storage. The front desk had given us a list of private owners selling their Park Model homes. Park Model homes, are well trailers, not ones you to around, but can be towed into a spot. Cape Island is all trailers, no renters, no in and outs, you put it in, you and your family stay, period. There are a lot of rues, which I like. So the list went from $8,000 up to $65,000. The first was sold the next one was $15,000, and after that $24,000. So it was a no brainer for us, $13,000 and we have "a summer home in Cape May". A 2004 Layton on the top of Bennet Creek in the Cape May Wildlife Management Area. Right away we went to work. Ripping up carpets and a new floor and some freshly painted steps. Its a place to go and use from May 1st- Nov 1st. We've been just about every weekend since.

     Above is the night hang....

          So $23,000 in, $20,000 out. A man needs a pick up. To be honest, I loved the newer Ford, but I was never comfortable in it. Too nice, too clean, to much nausea every time I put something in the bed or went to the dump. A scratch would make me feel faint. So I found this beauty in town. A young buck, freshly graduated form University of Colorado Boulder had her up for sale $3,000. He drove it back and forth, he took care of it, he loved it, and for $2,000 I love it now too. There are no interior door knobs, the interior is a mess, but she runs solid and has a cool look to her. This may be the vehicle that drives those walk and wake clients round, or tows my next boat to the ocean.....more on that later.

     And on the home front my chicks, now full fledged chickens, are dropping eggs. There are delicious, "meatier', and I love having them. Thanks to mom and out neighbors for keeping an eye on them while we're down in the Cape. We started with six, the fox got two, but I think four is a good number for us. 

    And then there is school. First year doctorate program at Villanova. Second class in. I wasn't checking emails and they moved the semester up three weeks. My classmates emailed last week and said 'Where are you", my answer "Driving to the Cape"....."um we have class". So I have to quickly get on track and am thankful to a very understanding professor who cut me some slack.

And then there's that last $1,000. I snoozed and lost on this little garage kept gem. It was $1,500 and would have been perfect for me and Theresa to do the Delaware River in front of our house, even in skinny summer water. But it's gone, I couldn't fir the ride to Lancaster in and someone got it. Wasn't meant to be. 

Maybe what's meant to be is another Jones.........stand by

 

08.09.20 Quick Upper Delaware trip....

     Spring 2020 will always be remembered for the Covid-19 pandemic. My memories of springs past always included either trips to the Upper Delaware alone or with friends or nights spent sleeping in my truck or bumming a couch when I guided up there. Each return trip has me visiting those good times, either nights of too hard a hang, great clients, great or no hatches, and the best fish brought to net or the one that got away. 

     This spring I didn't make it up there, missed my favorite hatches, the Hendricksons, Quills, and the March Browns. After selling my drift boat last year, which was a mistake but had to happen to raise cash to start the practice, my desire was a little bit off, not to mention I took a gig at the Covid hospital in Edison.

     So when Leif and I were talking we thought about running up and back, but decided on a two nighter at the West Branch Angler. We'd go mid-week to lessen seeing other anglers, as we knew the only game in town was the West Branch, where the temps were holding at 50-60 degrees. There weren't many fish to see or catch, mostly small ones that showed splashy sulphur emerger rises. Most of the fish came on small streamer and Wooly Bugger type flies. We wanted to just head hunt, but no fish got into a rhythm.  

     

      While the Upper West had the lowest temps and busiest fish, we did venture down in the early morning to the Lower Gamelands. Leif found a run that held a lot of small fish while I trekked upstream looking for a steady riser. 

     

     Few highlights were just being away, being up there, finding a new cool access (which isn't good for thatspot or the fish), and good times with a friend and a great meal. It was filet mignon and lobster tails followed by a few Guinness Blondes 

     After the last supper we gave the evening a try. Thinking we'd find some garbage pickers or streamer eaters into the night never materialized. I even had a large mouse fly to chuck to big browns but after an hour or so without a take and following a quick little squall we called it a night. I always leave there reconnected on how much I love that place, and surprisingly, how much I can love it with big gaps between visits or not on the oars taking clients down one of the rivers.