07.05.11 Poppin' in the Avon early morning wash...I'm moving away from stripers as they move away themselves

     Got out a little after and fished a choppy low tide to the start of the incoming. I had one fish attempt to take the above barbless popper but missed. I have to figure out how to get three treble hooks to hang off this fly so I don't miss another one! Kidding of course.
    I have enjoyed this spring into the early summer but am now going to move onto different things till the fall run. I might give fluke and the schoolies a shot but it will be more a now and then thing. I am planning out taking a drive out to Montauk in the next week or so.
     As the summer starts to heat up so do the waters we fish, and with that should come responsible fishing. It is difficult at times, for both client and guide, but fishing in "hot" water will just stress and kill the fish. If your fish haven't moved out and up along the coast or into deeper water of the rivers and lakes, then they are holding in places where the water is cool and as oxygenated as possible. Bring your thermometer and stick the water before you fish, and while you fish. Land the fish as soon as possible, keep them in the water, and revive them and make sure their strong before you release them.

Huge fish kill in the West Branch of the Ausable, summer 2010- water temps over 70 degrees

    On the thermometer subject. Mike McAuliffe of Rise Form Studio recently wrote about the importance of calibrating your thermometers before use. I wish I remembered where he wrote it because it was a good how to. Anyway, enjoy the summer, fish responsibly, and be safe.

Please call to schedule one of the following half, full or multi day trips for this summer and fall and next spring. I offer float trips on the Upper Delaware, walk and wade trips along the New JErsey coast, and multi day walk and wade trips in the Adirondacks around Lake Placid. 732.261.7291 or colin@theaverageangler.com

07.04.11 Happy July 4th !!!

Red Bank fireworks on the Navesink River, 2008

     Happy and safe 4th of July. This morning I went back to Avon and on my second cast I had a striper blow up on a popper fly. I went back at him and that was it for the next two hours. I worked the water from top to bottom starting with floating line and a popper, working in between, and ending with a sinking line and a Clouser. I managed a fluke for all my efforts. Heavy fog extended the morning to no avail, but seeing the one fish kept my interest through the morning. 

07.03.11 Nice morning in the rain in Avon

     This morning I got out early and stopped for coffee before heading to Avon. There were several anglers out most in pursuit of fluke. I fished north of the Shark River Inlet jetty and caught a couple of short fluke on the incoming tide. I moved up and met a guy throwing a small plug who caught three stripers and lost three more. I have to say I doubted his claim at first, for no other reason than I wish it was me who got into some striped bass. But I met the above fly fisherman who sees the guy around all the time and said the guys just dailed in and gets fish often when other do not. I made the above image of Paul before we met, I was surprised when he asked, "Are you The Average Angler?". I thought was cool. Hope he likes his pic.

Fluke from the wash in Avon

07.02.11 Nice morning in Deal..no luck with my one eyed fly..almost stranded on the rocks

     I had the second shift this morning on the end of Brighton in Deal. I got down there just before six and two guys were coming off and did nothing. My buddy Al fished the beach and did the same. Beautiful morning, lots of, well tons of bunker, but no fish. With temps on the outside here at 73 degrees, it's getting closer to the time when the stripers are moving out and up. I did have a pod of happy bunker 150-200 feet off the southern tip and kept my eye on them as stripped my one-eyed- fly around the rocks. It wasn't designed as a one-eye but became one after being battered on the rocks during a few bad casts. I watched as the bunker went from happy to nervous, and then saw a few bigger fish in the mix. A quick flash and spray, but I couldn't make out if they were stripers or blues. I stayed for a few hours, often inching my way out another couple of rocks to see if I could get my fly closer. At one point I turned and realized I had to keep a watch on the incoming tide or I might be out here for more time then I wanted too. Brighton has a dip about a quarter of the way out, and if the water is high or rough, it's dangerous to get back to shore. I watched as the pod settled down and made my way for the beach. Nice morning, no fish for me, or the boats, lots of boats, parked off the beaches, that I saw.

The One-eyed fly 

Nervous bunker off Brighton 

The low point at Brighton 

Brighton

07.01.11 Stripers, blues and fluke beware...it's July 4th weekend.

     How many fishing poles do you think are in these cars? Fish and locals watch out!

07.01.11 Bunker, and a humback off Deal this morning

     Couldn't get out this morning to fish but I did stop in Deal to see what was going on. My buddy Al was just dressing down at his car. One regular had three early morning stripers on a popper. Acres of bunker can be seen from right to left. This morning a humpback whale was running through the bunker. If you look closely you can see the spout in the distance off the groin. A few weeks ago I was all alone on the end of Phillips and a whale breached and closer then that one is.

The hard S blow we had yesterday has changed to a W wind. I'll be out around 4 tomorrow morning before the weekend and holiday warriors wake up.

06.30.11 Boats mixed in with huge schools of bunker...no fish in sight

     This morning I loaded up my gear and took a quick drive down to Long Branch to see if anything was going on. I went to Pullman and found a few guys fluking, but no signs of bait or bass. I moved south down to Marine Place and found these boats off Darlington live lining bunker below the large pod. I stayed on the fleet for about a half hour and no anglers hooked up while I was there. The bunker were just Jersey Shore happy, not nervous in the least.

06.27- 06.29.11 Up in the Adirondacks...the future fly shop is up for sale

     Took my boys up to Ausable Forks to tighten up the houses. We left around 5 am Monday and came home about 5pm today. We did a lot of work and the boys were great most of the time. I spent most of my time seal coating the macadam in front of the lodge ( 10 5-gallon buckets) and the boys painted. We also did a ton of yard work between the two houses. We took plenty of meal breaks and last night had a great meal at the Great Adirondack Steak and Seafood Company in Lake Placid, followed up with shakes at Ben and Jerry's. It was more of a work trip but I did sneak out around 6 am to fish my "home waters" in front of the place.

     We have decided to sell the "blue house" or future fly shop as I would call it. It sits on the banks of the West Branch of the Ausable. It is empty inside, I mean empty as in gutted. It's needs to be done from top to bottom. The view up the river is phenomenal and watching the hatches and guys fishing from the deck overlooking the river is great. You have one neighbor, me, and no one up river of you for miles. The sale price is $ 50,000, firm cash as-is. I will be putting up a formal blog post on the sale shortly, for now, the sale sign is planted on the lawn.

06.27.11 Heading up to the Adirondacks

     Heading back up to the Adirondacks for some more landscaping, painting, and driveway sealing at the lodge in Ausable Forks.

06.26.11 The law comes to Marine Place on Saturday...and happy bunker stay off the beaches this morning

  Late yesterday afternoon I had to get down and see this late day bite which has been hitting like clockwork everyday. I drove to Allenhurst and saw 25 guys with poles pointed up jockeying for position at the end of the rocks. Summer is in full swing and parking around that area is nearly impossible, so I went over to Marine Place. I watched as each groin tip got populated with anglers waiting for the stripers to push the bunker within striking distance. I watched a full out blitz last for several minutes about 500 yards off the beach. One boat was on it and I saw one large bass caught.

The law visits Marine Place in Deal

     What caught my eye more than that however was a NJ Fish and Wildlife Officer making his way out on the rocks at Marine Place. I could tell from his walk he was on a mission. He stopped and checked coolers and stringers and directed three people off the groin to the street where Deal police officers were waiting. I thought at first he might be checking the NJ Saltwater Registry cards, but I guess short fluke are a better hit.
  

 This morning I did the Long Branch to Ocean Grove tour. Acres of bunker with an armada of boats on the water. I saw one guy walking around with a crusty striper he got on a pencil popper around 2 a.m. I didn't wet a line but did scout some water in Ocean Grove. I drove past this town 1,000 times a year, and only fish it a few times. The beat in the picture looks promising. Can you look and see where fish may be holding?

The fleet off Bradley Beach

06.25.11 Late afternoon bass bite continues...but mornings are slow

    I got out early this morning and stopped at Allenhurst before settling into Deal. I talked with a guy who said the last two nights have produced fish, and that Wednesday there were "epic" blitzes along Monmouth County. It's been late afternoon to early evening. All quiet- then things blow up- and then it's quiet again. I heard the bass were trapped at the Breakwater and "60" huge fish were harvested. Glad I wasn't there.

     But this morning started out grassy on Phillips and slow and remained that way all morning. I fished the wash north of Phillips without results and then headed north to the Alley and fished the waters behind the rocks there. I really like the water and beaches there, untouched by beach replenishment. I stayed for about an hour with a few other guys and tight boats but saw no hook ups. Later I scouted at Marine Place and watched as a pod of dolphins rolled through bunker about 500 yards out. I then watched a fly guy head down the rocks, turn and look, see a few fish busting, and then run back down to the end. I quickly pulled around to Deal Esplanade, parked, put on my spikes and went out on Marine Place. By the time I got there  it was gone, if it really even ever showed itself. My thought was it might have been blues.

06.23.11 Watch out, strong east winds bring big things at your feet!

     On my way home from Morristown tonight I figured I go out and give it a shot. Rain had moved in and the winds were from the east with strong gusts. I stopped at a few places before settling in on Big Monmouth. I  had the beat to myself and worked the wash with 30 foot casts into a tough wind. I kind of went half-ass and trying to cast with no stripping basket made me look the same. I was in over my knees trying to manage my line when I felt this hard knock against my left leg. I looked down and a large section of a piling was being pushed up on the beach. Luckily I only got a glancing blow. If it caught me "leg on" I am sure it could have hurt a lot more or worse.

Words of advice: always use a stripping basket and watch for debris when in the water

06.23.11 Lots of bait and some fish too...

      Since I've been away for the last few days I decided to do a short tour along the beaches to see what was going on. Pods of bunker continue to travel up and down the coast. Early this morning boats were mixed in with surfers and bathers as bunker came in close with a few fish under them. I saw the boast hook into big fish. Guys on the end of the groins were waiting, and they waited, but never got within range of the snagging hooks to snag and drop.
     The last few nights the fish have been on the bunker from Monmouth Beach down to Allenhurst, it's just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Which yesterday was late afternoon in the middle of the rain and lightning storm.

06.22.11 Back from Atlantic City...not much doing on the beaches there

Back from two nights at the Borgata. We spent more time at the blackjack table and slot machines then on the beach. We did hit the southern AC beaches and found turbid water with a gusting S wind. Not a pole in the water left to right. I'll be back out on the prowl in the morning. Had to defer two last minute Delaware float trips for this upcoming weekend which is a major disappointment. I could't move things around in short order. I hate turning trips down.

06.20.11 Bunker from left to right...no fish in sight

     I went down to the beach today and saw bunker up just off the rocks as far as I could see from north to south. Guys snagging and dropping with not a fish to be seen.

Off to Atlantic City for a few days so I don't know how much fishing I'll get in, but I'll have my rod and stripping basket in the car!

06.19.11 The Average Angler blog crests 10,000 visitors!

     We did it! This blog has now over 10,000 visitors. Tell your friends, link us to your website. We encourage you to leave comments on our posts or general opinions of the blog. Thanks again for visiting.

06.19.11 Happy Fathers Day!

  

  It's a great day to be a dad, have a dad, or know someone who is a dad. Lucky for me I'm in all three groups. I went down to Deal and Allenhurst this morning still in pursuit of some stripers but haven't seen one in a while. I decided to just fish the wash and along the groins this morning leaving the spikes in the truck. I met up with Rich in Deal who nailed a few short fluke while I was there. He moved down to Brighton and I jumped to Allenhurst where I found the above father and son team fluke fishing. I thought that image was a great one for Fathers Day.
     I am very lucky to have four beautiful children to help me celebrate today. They gave me cards, bagels, coffee, and IOU's- they even helped me move 500,000 river rocks, well okay 200 rocks, around the yard today. It is amazing how each child brings something unique and special to my life everyday. I love to see them grow up, but hate it at the same time.

06.18.11 Out for a scout this A.M., graduation party today!

     Stopped by in Deal this morning to see what was happening. Beautiful morning, water is clean, lots of bunker, tons of boats, but no fish. Guys have been waiting for something to blow up since the bunker is back and relatively close to shore. There are big blues in the surf but the stripers have been spotty.

The "kids" following Juliet's 8th grade graduation

     On a non fishing note, today is my oldest girl's graduation party- now Cindy and I will have the following fall of 2011 lineup- first grade, 8 grade, 9th grade, 10 th grade, and first year of graduate school!

06.19.11 Heavy storms from the west this morning and blowing south winds last night

    I went out last evening with my daughter and tried to get a fluke on the fly rod for her. The wind was blowing from the south and after I caught my Half and Half dead in the center of my back on my forward cast at 100 miles per hour I called it quits. It stung so much I felt nauseous.
     This morning I got out around 530 am in Deal, only to catch heavy rain and lightning after about 10 casts. Later. I got into my truck and drove to 8th Ave, lots of guys sitting and waiting. Wind should change later today so hopefully that'll be better. "Winds from the south, fish shut their mouths."

06.16.11 Bunker up and down Monmouth County and fluke in the wash

Bunker on the move off Allenhurst

     Got down to Allenhurst before 6 am and found pods of bunker just off the groins heading south. I watched them travel from Deal to Asbury Park in minutes time. There was no sign of fish on them. I made some casts into a glass-like surf and managed one fluke. I think one of these mornings I am going to go just fly fishing for fluke. I would like to bring one home for the wife so she will finally believe me that I go fishing everyday! 

06.15.11 Got my Wonderline in the mail today

     I switching up fly lines on my 5wt Helios setup. I ordered a WF 5wt floating line. It's the Orvis Generation 3 Wonderline. I've heard good things about it. I'll be giving it a whirl soon up on the Delaware.

Today I got a call from Z, one of my clients a few weeks ago. Him and Joe were heading back up and were looking for a float trip this afternoon and evening. I am swamped down here in Jersey otherwise I would have love to oblige. 

06.14.11 Back home, nice dinner at Mister C's in Allenhurst

     Finally back home after a rough two days working in the Adirondacks. Of course I couldn't wait to see what was happening down on the beaches. My wife and I picked our favorite place for dinner after seeing our daughter off to her 8th grade graduation dance. We picked Mister C's in Allenhurst, one of our favorites. Besides great company, I was able to watch and see what the anglers were doing from Allenhurst down to Asbury Park. I gotta get a life!

06.13.11 Great day pickin' pockets on the Ausable

    
     In between breaking my arse cleaning up both yards in Ausable Forks I took some time to fish my "home" waters. The lodge and future fly shop sit on the West Branch a few hundred feet upriver of Junction Pool, where the East Branch joins the West to form the Ausable River. I went out at 6am and fished Junction Pool down to Gordon Oil. I used a bead head nymph before turning to the go-to fly of the day. It's Adirondack fly fishing guide Rich Garfield's creation, it's called the Ausable Ugly. You can check out Rich's website and place an order at www.flyfishtheadirondacks.com. I caught a few and missed a few more. While I was fishing a guy from the Ausable River Association stopped to chat about Didymo. It is part of their education program aimed at educating anglers about invasives.
I went back to landscaping and around 130 I gave it another shot. I went back down to the Ausable and fished there and connected on a few before making a move upriver into the West Branch. I wanted to fish heavy pocket water so I took the five minute drive and had the beat all to myself. There was nothing coming off so I stayed with the Ugly. I hate fish and numbers, but I can say I lost count. It was a great afternoon, so great I fished the same stretch through twice and was glad I did.

     Late in the afternoon the rain began to fall as I was slaving in the yard. By 8 o'clock I was done so I jumped in my waders and fished my stretch of the river from the Jay side. It was a good way to end a long hard day. More then one time I did say to myself, " I wonder how Aaron would do here?." Aaron in Jasper, the current Euronymphing guru. I see his name everywhere, he's in the Catskills, then he jumps to the Adirondacks. I've never nymphet that way, but I am sure today was a prime example of where it would be effective. But, how many more fish would I want to catch?

If you are interested in a guided fly fishing in the Adirondacks trip please call me as there is availability. These trips have a two night three minimum. Included is lodging on the West Branch and round trip transportation from New Jersey can be arranged.

I'll post pics tomorrow, I can't figure out how to do It with and iPad, I don't even know if it can be done.

06.12.11 Starting a new venture, "Archer's flatfish fly fishing" !

Fluke, aka summer flounder, taken on a Half and Half in Avon

     Went out at 5am looking to fish the outgoing tide. Started in Avon where choppy grass filled waters reminded me of a warm West Branch of the Delaware after a heavy release. After every cast the fly or leader knots had to be cleaned off. I was in the hunt for stripers, but soon was catching fluke, aka summer flounder and sundials in the wash. I had one keeper sized fluke (above) that hit a Half and Half like a bus. My fellow anglers were in shock as I released it back into the ocean.
     I stayed there till about 730 and then drove up to 8th Ave in Asbury Park to see if it looked any different there. Another stop check in Allenhurst before settling down in Deal. Deal didn't have the same  amount of seaweed in the water, but it was more stained. I started fishing between Phillips and Brighton and was soon back into fluke again. I fished the wash between the groins and lost more then I landed. I jumped to the north side and fished there without getting a fluke before calling it a last cast at 915. Then on my last retrieve next to the groin,  a striper jumps clear out of the water. I went at him with the half and Half, switched to a Deciever, then finished with a Softy Minnow. I made 1,000 casts for the next 45 minutes to no avail. Today I'll break my saltwater gear down and give it a good cleaning as I'm heading up to the lodge in the Adirondacks for a few days.

06.11.11 Woke up to a strong east wind and went to Bayhead and then north

     Anyway, it's 930 pm and I'm just getting around to this. I woke up early and headed down to Bayhead. Nothing going on there so I hit the Manasquan Inlet and found this kayaker fluking in between the party boats and normal heavy weekend boat traffic going, and the trawlers coming back in. Hey, what ever you're into. I fished on the north side of the inlet and did nothing. I moved to one of favorite spots in Avon and hooked a nice striper but lost it in the wash. I fished later in the day, high tide, choppy wave, string gusty northeast wind. My favorite weather to fish in. I hit Marine Place but didn't do anything but two guys were fluking and got two smalls. 

I made some cool photos today, and agian have to do some post production on them so I'll get a gallery up this week. I'll be heading out tomorrow morning, fishing the outgoing tide.