03.07.22 Someone turned the fans on....

     Not only was the wind turned on but the gas price meter as well. I got gas at  $4.09 a gallon and by the time I went past again it was $4.19...ouch, and diesel for my truck is $4.95. So anyway, I took the ride to check out a spot, and, just like the other early season spots it was going pretty good. Saw about 20 anglers out, and about a dozen fish caught, bloodworms and bucktails. Wind to 40, at least it felt like that, from the south and I was on the north side looking south. Plenty of trees, luckily not all the reeds 

yet, that caught flies with no problem. Had the outgoing tide which I thought might help since my casts could only go about 20 feet where I was. After almost driving the fly into the base of my skull I took a walk and found so little tribs that I thought might hold a bass. Nothing for me but I did find a trio of 

poorly filleted bass when I looked down. With most of my office work done I took a late afternoon ride down to the river to see if I could bounce some flies off one of the vehicles stuck in rush hour traffic. That will be bound to happen, but I hope not. The warm weather really bumped the water temps up 

with Trenton hitting just about 45 degrees. I don't think that will last as we are supposed to get some snow and cooler temps this week. We all look at river temps, but those fish have to come up the river, usually following the shad. And you know what, today I saw my first shad caught, so, it's coming soon. 

 

03.06.22 Fun night with Jason Taylor.....

          Super cool session last night on MOTF with Jason Taylor. I don't want to come off like it's a love fest or I have feelings for this guy, but this guy's a really nice guy, last time I'll say that. So I set up my computer down in the dungeon and got my materials ready and BANG.....in about three minutes I was already behind, but that's okay. In the end it was better for me to just sit back and watch him and listen. The below pic shows me in action, but what is most disturbing is, at 54 now, I have, or maybe have had, that old man turkey neck starting. I hate having a turkey neck. I remember wrestlers in high school used to strap weight plates to a harness around their necks and do head lifts.....I need to find that soon. 

     Jason tied three flies, one with bucktail, the other with Squimpsih, and the last with ostrich, marabou and schlappen, which was a fly way over my pay grade. The thing that I like about him, okay, here we go, but he is truly a regular angler and tyer. Good at both, but he's just a guy that loves to fish and tie. He comes in with a red Target sweatshirt and a cloth backdrop and goes to work. No fly tying den with logos and stickers and shirts and hats and a background of pictures of exotic places and big fish. Ok, 

no more about him. So, I really liked the part where he tied in Chocklett's Filler Flash, although it looks like if you use it you'll burn through a lot of material, to build up a dam?, before tying either bucktail or Squimpish in front of it. It gives the front of the fly a nice taper, if you tie it right, and adds some bulk. 

     Alright, the other thing I liked, here we go, is he just doesn't get sucked in to question about product endorsement, what to use and buy, which, can really cause someone new to the sport to run and buy what they may or may not need. "If I buy what he uses then my flies will come out the same". When asked about what hooks, and they are a tom of them out there, and some very expensive, he replied, "Ones with points", and the same about his bobbin, he told more of what he looks for in one, rather then just give the brand, which would cause the watchers to pull it up online and order it. He did speak of his   Regal Vice, and I would like to upgrade mine to a Revolution with a Monster Vice Head, HERE. Jason fished up with his Four Feather Fly, well last night he jokingly said, "This one will be a Five Feather Fly", and opened it up to questions, and even offered to go into overtime to show a Hollow or Beast tie. I think he'll be coming back for another session. Hopefully by then I'll have stepped my game up. 

     In the end MOTF guys put on another great show, there's a few more dates coming up before it is over for 2022, you can check out the schedule and register, HERE.

03.06.22 Here's a little lowdown for tonight...

     In preparation of Jason Taylor's MOTF virtual session tonight I spent some time practicing some of the things I have learned from him recently. Things are getting better, two things, well three things are pestering me, first, getting the tapers down, as I now see how important they truly are, finishing the head of the fly without flying on Solorez to clean things up, and how to not burn through so much material causing a lot of waste, and cost, especially with the Squimpish materials, either trying to get the right length before its tied in, or after when I Edward Scizzorhands the fly into shape. 

     Yesterday I hit the D, early season, a few guys out looking for early season American Shad. I am still looking for that early smallmouth which has been the season opener for me the last two years, smallmouth first, then stripers about two weeks after. So for tonight, set up your vice in front of your 

computer and do a tie along with Jason. Below is the itinerary, so clean off your desk and gather the needed materials, I'll be there. And luckily I just picked up some Chocklett's filler flash from Brad the other day, Coq de Leon, I don't have. 

 Flies to be tied:

• Hollow Fly

• Semper Fleye

• Four-feather Fly

Tying materials:

• Bucktail

• Squimpish fibers (optional)

• Strung saddle feathers

• Schlappen

• Marabou

• Chocklett’s filler flash or other dense fibered flash chenille

• Coq de Leon saddle hackle or large dry fly hackle

• Ostrich eye (tip of ostrich plume)

03.05.22 Make reservations for a great virtual tying night....

     Sign up for a Sunday night fly tying session with Philly's own Jason Taylor. He is the fourth person to be featured on this years Masters of the Fly sessions which started in 2020. You may have been Jason at one of TFFS where he has demonstrated his gift of fly tying in seminars or booth side with Nelson's Squimpish Flies. 

     There's a few things about Jason, one he is a nice, nice guy, always very approachable and willing to lend a hand, two, he got into fly fishing late, 2009, and picked up fly tying a few years later, and went from 0-60 in no time, he's flies are, no disrespect, stupid simple, three, you will find he is "a master", no pun intended, in making a small amount of material look much bulkier, and four he's just fishy, as I have seen him out there on the beach or on the Upper Delaware.  So, if you have been following the latest well known tyers, or even just your average tyer, you may see too much and poor control of the material used, Jason blows that up at the vice. 

     You will be shocked when you sit in front of the screen tomorrow and see that his flies, using some Hollow style tying here and there, are basically done in three to four ties. You can register for the virtual seminar HERE. It'll be a good last cure for cabin fever as we're going into a run of warm days and that should get things going for the fly rod anglers. Be there, Sunday 8 pm. 

03.04.22 Diggin' my new gig......

     Someone asked me a few weeks ago "How do you like your new adventure?", I think the above image says it all. There has been something lacking in my life for years now and I kind have figured out what it is. I like team. I like teaching. I like helping others develop and be the best they can be, and mostly that involves them helping others.  The last time I felt that was when I was a Captain in the Newark Fire Department. Since then it has been a journey of pretty much one-man-show jobs, or 

careers for some, working solo as a photographer, fly fishing guide, and owning a private mental health practice. There is also something top be said about owning your own business, and the three careers I stated previously were all private and owned by me. I'm not a businessman. I'm a disorganized mess. I've realized I am just a worker. Swipe in, do my job, swipe out, get paid every two weeks with the taxes taken out. But anyway, I was blessed to lead off with a great group of young soon-to-be nurses. They were great and I look to help more do good work for others. 

     So, let's talk fishing. Few things that are really, like, have me shaking my head. No realize, the joy I get in seeing other peoples posts and reading articles about striped bass isn't to chase the reports, as much as it is learning and following striped bass. While, for years, I was fascinated about the beach and the migration along the East Coast, I am now intrigued about striped bass waters inland of that. So, after a relatively mild winter, following an insane amount of fish active up until the third week of December, its no surprise that many strayed the course and hunkered down till now. What I am shocked at is the 

solid, good class of fish that winter over. Above is my friend Gerry, as true sharpie as they call them, fly and spin fisherman. plug builder and fly tier, and just a hardcore angler, and he opened it up with a solid day, the same day and time, and we were kind of in the same waters. Now, I know, and at times use it as a great excuse, "Well those weren't fly rod fish", but sometimes that is true, especially early season. But back to the fish, so Gerry catches fish to 32 inches. That's about an 8 year old fish that weighs average about 14 pounds. That's a horny teenager. Is there a natal ground in the Toms River? Barnegat Bay? I don't think so if you talk about fresh water, salinity, bouncy, ect. They will that fish come out of the Barnegat Bay, take a right and hit the Delawar? Or make a right and hit the Hudson? Or maybe stop in one of the smaller rivers along the way? This is what fascinates me about striped bass. 

     I am not to be that guy that just posts other peoples social media posts, although it makes blogging easier. But the other post from Paul Michael really tells me a few things, there is a strong early season population outside of the Raritan Bay, this guy is pretty hardcore, and there are peanut bunker around this early in the year. While his fish, a lot off them over the last three days have been on worms, Gerry had them on atrificials. The next week or so we should see water temps in the bays and rivers quickly hit above 45 degrees. This morning, even with a cold blow coming from the north last night, we are holding at 40 degrees, after hitting 42 in the afternoon yesterday. 

     And just a warning for those that hate to see it, the kill shots are coming soon! As well as the bad fish pictures. The charter captains are going to be jump starting the season, and rather than the April launch date, it will be more around St Patrick's Day, its hammer time and the striped bass are going to get hammered once again. Let's see how conservation-concerned-proactive the charter captains are when they institute a catch and release only policy for their own boats...or maybe the ASMFC will make early season fishing-in-a-bowel spots like the Raritan Bay catch and release only, yeah right. 

 

03.02.22 Quick stop at the Toms and my dealer.....

     I'll go from late in the day to early. So, if you are looking for fly tying materials and stuff, then Brad Buzzi should be your guy, especially if you are looking for bucktails. Theresa and I had planned on hitting TFFS in Lancaster this weekend but, honestly, my interest just fizzled out. Brad was one reason I was going, Dave Nelson and Squimpish was the other, but looking at the floor plan in Lancaster I don't think he is going. So after a few early morning appointments I decided to take the ride down to give the Toms River a go. Sunny, outgoing tide at midday, why not. 

     It's a nice enough place, moving water on the tide, plenty of room for a back cast, nose in parking to the water. There was a bunch of guys out but the only thing I saw caught was a catfish and two large white perch, nothing with stripes. It's a cool spot that I bet gets shoulder to shoulder in the next few weeks when word gets out the fish have found the warmer waters in the back of Barnehat Bay. 

     Now, I've lost the days order. On my way to work I made a strop before the water warmed up. Dead low tide, good for scouting or refamiliarization of the structure in the river. I'm looking for that early season smallmouth that usually is the start that the water is heating up and things will get going soon. 

     So back to Brad, my dealer. He runs Buzfly. He sells flies, materials, teaches, and is very involved with the Atlantic Saltwater Fly Rodder, where he is past president. So he's involved, and into it. The really only way to pick proper materials, at least materials, is to hold them in your hand and run your fingers through them. Brad does the show circuit, but, even remotely, he is a great resource for bucktails. He gets them raw, debones them, cleans them, dyes them, dries them, brushes them out, and grades and packages them. He says each tail is handled 12-15 times in the process. He has great colors and quality, but they don't come that way. Below is how your pretty tails look raw, from the processor. 

    His basement workshop is a maze of bucktail in different stages of preparedness. You can text him at (732) 406-0463 to put an order in, he says, "Text is best". If you want to discuss certain lengths or a higher grade, softer if you need, or a certain color, he can discuss that with you. Don't rely on ordering from some factory only to be disappointed with the color selection or quality. 

     So I made some sweet scores being able to go through his several bins that are ready for Lancaster. I needed a few good whites, some of the lighter pastels I like, and browns, including the dark brown to the right which I loved. I was also able to get some SF Blend in needed colors and some newer colors to me, ones that will give lighter materials a little contrast. I sleeve of tab eyes and three spools of mono to tie with and I was set. I had some questions on trying bucktail, reverse, Hollow style, and Brad was nice enough to pull out the vice and help me out. 

Go through your drawer of sub-par bucktails and then give him a call. 

 

03.01.22 Opening day and a three river shakedown....

     After waking up I jumped on the computer and the first thing I saw was the above post. Solid fish taken in the bay, and not on bloodworms! I had to head to the college today and that was just perfect for a shakedown trifecta. First stop was the Delaware at dead low tide. Today really wasn't about catching, although an early season smallmouth would have been nice, but more about checking conditions, getting my feet familiar with walking on rocks again, and getting the muscle memory in my casting shoulder loosened up. I did my duty covering office hours for the students and as soon as the clock hit one I was out my office and on my way the Passaic River. It was just about dead-low tide and

and after a quick two dozen casts and it was time to move along. It's only a few miles across Hudson County and I was at the Hackensack River, more accurately in the flats that are just off the main branch.

     This area, which what looks like a six foot tide, is just prime for early season bass. Lots of mud, moving water, and a great place for bass to warm up and grab a snack before retreating to bigger water. 

Some guys bitch about burning spots, truth is, you have too get there at the right time on the right day, and drop the right thing to catch. It's not rocket science. Early, and sometimes late, season fish like the backwaters as the warm up first and usually hold many types of bait not found out front. 

     I look forward to being there when all the stars align, and hopefully they'll be into eating flies. I did alot of walking and scouting and glad I made the stop. Soon I was in front of rush hour traffic driving down the Turnpike. Then it hit me, what about a late afternoon Delaware River stop. This morning was dead low, and no top of the tide, just the start of the outgoing. 

     To be honest, I was hoping for a taker. There has to be some stripers that have wintered over and ready to snack on something. While there I couldn't imagine how many man-hours I would be putting in over the next 2-3 months. This is my year. Spring only comes once a year, its game on. I would be remiss not to share how I love the surroundings on the inner city Delaware. Drums, garbage, construction debris, all nice things to look at or get your fly imbedded into. Soon the banks will be full of anglers soaking worms and bunker for bass or casting shad spoons for the upcoming migratory run. 

      Facebook is the only social media I do and there were several posts from the days opener. Below is 

a nice, real nice fish, that was caught in the Delaware about 30 mins south of Philly. And Dave Showell from Absecon Bay Sportsmen's Center always has a stream of anglers trying to be the first with a keeper. well husband and wife I think both scored the bounty for the first bass of the year. Big fish around already, maybe they never left the inside bays and rivers. 

    And in fly tying news, I'm still behind the vice trying to graduate from beginner to novice. Thankfully, Jason Taylor, an artist when it comes to fly tying, has been Messenging me some pointers on how to get these flies looking better. Below is one I tried really hard on, but again, I feel, blew it at the head. Too much thread, not bad taper, hopefully will get eaten. 

     I'm not one to give any advice, but I will this time. If you want your flies to really look their best, then get yourself some plastic sleeves, it makes them look professionally tied, just for a bit.