07.21.13 Big water first time and first light summer bassing...

     Had Dan from Virginia up at  430 am for some striped bass fishing while he vacations on the Jersey Shore. Dan wanted to get a taste of the salt before heading out to school in Missoula, Montana.....think he'll be fishing out there?

     We met at the boardwalk and quickly set up and hit the beach. With the end of the incoming we had plenty of big waves and white around to fish into. He started with a popper and worked hard casting to and around the series of notched groins that we hit. We also dropped down with a Clouser when the sun came up but didn't get a touch. In the early light a spin angler walked past with a keeper bass that he caught on a black swimmer, which was encouraging, at least for a while. 

     As the tide ebbed the water looked great and fishy and we moved down a town and got out and up on a groin. We started from the beach and worked our way to the tip and around and did that twice over a few hours with just one take for his hard work. He thought he was hooked on the bottom and handed me the rod to free it, but it was a fish and after giving him back the rod it came unbuttoned.
     Dan had a few firsts this year as far as fly fishing goes. He had his first Upper Delaware float trip with Joe Demalderis and his first time fly fishing the salt water. He did a great job and quickly picked up casting a heavier rod with floating to sinking lines and in using a stripping basket, all in some big close water.
     I am sure he will have plenty of time to hit the rivers of Montana but hope one day he gets to return to the Jersey Shore salt where we can put him on a better pick of fish. I do know he fell in love with the Upper Delaware and will no doubt return there some day.

07.20.13 What a sweet surprise this morning.....

     This whole story is just perfect. I got a call two days ago from Guy about a fly fishing trip on the Jersey Shore. I introduced myself and my walk and wade and boat trips for striped bass, bluefish, albies, and fluke. I also told him about how the spring was, or wasn't, and how the summer bite had been, or lack thereof, except for a slow pick of smaller sized bass.

     If you have been on the beach, rocks, or boat since the beginning of June you know how it has been. This time of year brings some great things as far as fly fishing. Early starts, beautiful sunrises, lots of practice, and a slow bite from the schoolie resident to just keeper sized bass that have stayed along the Jersey Shore. There hasn't been a lot of bait to keep the bass in, but like fluke and the short to keeper ratio, there is a bass trip catch and not catch ratio as well.

     So yesterday I spoke with Guy and figured we set something up for the fall that would make his four hour drive from near Binghamton worth it. We ended our conversation as we'd be in touch and fish sometime. A few hours later he called back, and said, "I'm on my way, let's fish tomorrow morning." Okay, game on. I told him we needed to start early, like real early.

     He made the drive and looked for a place to stay near my house but there was no room at the inn, or any inn that he checked. He went into Asbury Park before midnight, and couldn't find a room or believe how many people were out. I think he was surprised of all the gay and lesbian couples he saw. He actually caught the first night of Sand Blast Weekend, the annual LGBT beach party weekend that occurs in Asbury. It draws a lot, I mean a lot, of people each year. So, he slept in his car in front of my house. 

     When I opened my front door at 345 am he was ready to go. A quick coffee at 7-11 and drive to the beach and we geared up. Guy had never fly fished the salt so we fitted him with a stripping basket and spikes for his wader boots. He lives near Deposit New York and the West Branch of the Delaware River so this was a new experience for him. Guy owns the Afton Golf Club, so if you are a golfer and are in the Catskills, check out his 18 hole golf course. You can see it HERE.

We started popping along the north side and made our way out front without a bump. With the last week having been slow, dead stop slow, I was beginning to worry as first light and the sun came up. I was okay with the way things were going because I had explained current conditions to him to a 'T". However, this morning was different. With a cold front approaching and pressure change this just felt and looked better. We fished lots of while water into the 530 am high tide and after an hour into the ebb we moved to fish the wash. 

     

     Guy had switched from the floating line/popper set up to and intermediate line with a white and chartreuse Clouser. With steady waves crashing on the beach and rocks at our feet and a WSW wind that was picking up we were getting soaked, but I told him this is the side we need to fish on. He worked the fly into the wash and worked the trough. Then I heard him say, " I got one." 

   

  Buy the time I looked he was already into his backing, and the reel was emitting a steady scream. At first I thought it was a cow-nosed ray. We were only 30 feet into the groin so I told him that we would be better off landing the fish from the beach. Guy did a great job taking and giving line as needed and beached the fish perfectly. It was a good fish. No, it was f'in great July-heat-wave-been-dead-slow-bass.

                            

    After a few pics the fish was gently released and swam away with some strong tail kicks. He went on to catch a 3 inch snapper and fished for another hour or so before saying, "I surrender." He did a great job working hard and making a 1,000 casts popping and Clousering in good waves and wind. 

    There's nothing like a days fishing when a clients day is made, but today, the guides day was made as well. 

07.19.13 Here we go again, and again, and again.....

                          

Images from Monmouth Beach at the Long Branch border, south of the Bathing Pavilion 7/19/13

     I hate beach replenishment, or now as it's called, beach nourishment. I think the Army Corp of Engineers and the NJ DEP are a joke when it comes to this. I believe beach nourishment falls right in line with fish management....it comes down to money and politics. I won't beat my drum in this post because I've said it all before. Look at some of the older posts as I reported on beach replenishment projects- they pump the sand in and up, and Mother Nature takes it back. It's about to happen again. 

     They're using Sandy as an excuse on why to spend millions upon millions to do "emergency" nourishment. This time it's a little different, the municipalities and the State are off the hook, the feds are footing the whole bill. 

     Let me break down the current project. It is called the ACOE Emergency Beach Replenishment Project. Over the last six months the feds have asked each municipality to sign on to the project. In doing so, the current beach nourishment will be performed to bring the beaches to before Sandy levels. That, my friends, is a joke, Why- because the "new" project, which will be in four parts, will go from Sea Bright to Manasquan. The first contract is Sea Bright and Monmouth Beach, the second, Belmar to Manasquan, Long Branch (including Elberon), and Asbury Park to Avon. Funny thing is DEal, Allenhurst and Loch Arbor are not included, after all towns voted to go all in. The total monies allocated is 102 million dollars. The current Sea Bright to Monmouth Beach project is another 25 million, that's 75 million we've spent on those towns beaches in the last 4 years. 

Just another thing. Look at the image below. Daily fee to use the taxpayer funded beach $9. That is an absolute crime. Natural resource. The beach ffes should be abolished after our 102 million is spent there.

     Below are some images taken off or near the groin on the north side of Little Monmouth today July 19, 2013, or the Monmouth Beach Bathing Pavilion. Notice where the sand is, or isn't. This was last replenished in 2011. Then look at images below that post nourishment taken in March 2012, way before Sandy.

These images from March 2012 a few months after the same project that is about to start was completed. Orginally the groin was covered, and notice the six foot drop off.

07.18.13 Okay, I fell hook, line and sinker....

     So after seeing "a fin" in the shallows yesterday I was all jazzed up that a small shark or sharks were combing the beach early in the morning looking for a meal. I figured I would go back out early this morning on the hunt, or should I say, the wait.
     As I stood on the end of the groin as first light came up I noticed that "fin" in the water between the groins. It or they moved closer to the other groin so I hurredly made my way over to and out on the next one. The "sharks" were in range. I had a larger Jim Matson tied Deceiver and I added a little "juice" hoping to get a scent in the water that would attract this or these ferociuos predators.

     Okay, here's the deal....they were cow-nosed rays. Cow-nosed rays, or skeetes, Rhinoptera bonasus, are common in our waters and put up some fight as they flap there wings with brute strength when hooked. Although these rays looked like they were on bait, particularly the sand eels that are around, they, I believe, are spawning, with the females being courted by several smaller males. The spawn from June through October. They are oviviviparous, meaning the young gestate inside eggs inside the female rays body. Gestation lasts between 11-12 months and usually a single pup is born. As adult they can weigh up to 50 pounds. ( from www.wisegeek.com)

     The courting, or blitzing so I thought, occurred from the line at the groin ends all the way into the wash. I downsized flies and tossed a Clouser when they came in, just in case they were eating as danced around. I likened it to the freshwater fly anglers pursuit of carp, but had no takers, although I did have my fly line rub in between a few of them as they swam by.

     Even though they didn't turn out to be sharks, I have to say it was exciting for the while until I actually figured out what was going on. My buddy Rich was out and snagged on it the wing early on before we smartened up. It was released unharmed.



     After I originally published this blog post, Bob Popovics sent me a link to a video he shot of cow-nosed rays in Island Beach State Park. A fly angler hooks into one. Great video. I can't embed it, but you can see it HERE. For more great videos go to the Atlantic Saltwater Flyrodders website and go to the menu and search Multimedia and Fishing Videos.

http://www.aswf.info/images/SEAHOZE_SHUFFLE.mov

07.17.13 Check out the latest issue of Fly Fishing in Salt Waters....and sharks in the wash

     Wanted to share with you some great content in the July/August issue of Fly Fishing in Salt Waters, but first I'll fill you in on todays fishing. Since the days have been over 100 degrees, I've been hitting the water at 330 am and fishing till about 8. This morning I hit the groins and the beach, with only a 16" fluke to make my morning. That was until my little friend showed up.
     I was wading up to my things when all of a sudden a shark fin broke the surface about 30 feet off the beach and 30 feet away. I had given up on the striped bass by then and had a small Clouser on looking for fluke in the wash. The fish stayed in the area for about five minutes going in and out, giving me two shots with the fly. I made my casts and then switched flies but it was gone. I hope to see that again tomorrow.

     FFSW is a magazine I really enjoy reading. I first met the editor, John Frazier, when a group of writers and photographers were invited to Guy Harvey's Bimini Big Game Club. Since then I have seen John at the fly fishing shows and stayed in touch via email, and had some images in the magazine two issues ago.
     As with all print media these days, things are tough everywhere. We all have become accostomed to reading and being entertained for free but print media costs big bucks to produce, from newspapers to magazines, the industry has changed. It all comes down to advertising and sales. So I would encourage you to subscribe or purchase a copy in a book or magazine store.

                                         

     In this issue Pete McDonald has a great article on Bob Popovics. Of all the leaders in the industry Bob is at the top of my list for people I admire. I have had the good fortune to watch him tie flies, break bread and have drinks with him, and watch him at the Atlantic Saltwater Flyrodders meetings. He is a class act through and through. This fall I hope to fish with him for the first time. Below is a picture my wife took outside of Betty and Nicks in October 2010. What amazes me is that I don't have CROCS on, I always have CROCS on!
     It took about 10 years and 100 introductions for it to "stick" that we had met before. He didn't realize I was 'The Average Angler" and penned the blog he reads almost everyday. The night we put it together was a long night over many drinks with Dick Dennis at this years Fly Fishing Show in Somerset, a night I'll never forget.

     The next article worth reading is a summary of what a lot of us have been saying for a few years, the striped bass are in trouble. Lou Tabory penned an article titled "State of the Striper" and does a great job putting all of our concerns and fears in writing. 

07.16.13 People ask what time do we fish in the summer....

     ....... today it was 344 am. With high tide at 104 am and low tide at 716 am this was the time to get out to catch some water around and hopefully fish too. I wouldn't call it a blow out tide, but the west winds and the outgoing tide made for skinny water fishing on the beach and notched groins. 

                             

     The town I fished this morning is one where groins were notched during a beach nourishment project years ago. With the water on the move and low getting out to and up on the rocks was easy. It looked promising as the rips along the rocks looked like a place a bass would strap on a bib and getting ready to eat. I jumped on three without a bump and finished up walking the beach walking out to the edge of the sand bar and fished the sloughs, cuts. and bowls. 

     I was hoping to find birds diving and picking in the shallows but there wasn't any. The water was flat and I couldn't find any bait or swirls to go along with it. 

Depending on the tide, a 4 am start has you back in your car around 8 and ready to start the day before the beachgoers and lifeguards mob the beach. 

07.15.13 First light low water fishing....

     Hit the rocks a little after 5 am before the 618 am low tide. Stayed with popping off the front of the groin before switching over to a Clouser. Went stealthy with a new fly line that I am trying out. It's made by Monic Fly Lines, www.monic.com,  and it's a clear floating line that I first broke out in Costa Rica. Normally I run with intermediate and sinking lines but when I'm using a popper, or fishing skinny water, I like a clear floating line.
     Without a bump off the rocks I found some good current off the beach and managed three short fluke in near succession. Besides a pretty morning and getting some fishing in before the start of this weeks heat wave, I saw birds diving on sand eels on top of the sand bars. Since the water was low and the waves non-exitent I moved to the edge of the bar to see if there was a bass trolling for breakfast.
     I was back in the office by 8 o'clock, which is one reason why summer salt fly fishing works so well. Early up, early out, with plenty of day left for work and dad duty for and with the kids.

07.13.13 Working the popper off the front....

     Low tide was at 5 am this morning and I got down to the rocks as the water started to move. The heavy rainfall we had last night changed a few things from yesterday. Off color water still flowed from the creeks and drains along the beach into the ocean and the incredible amount of debris, shells, seas glass, and shells were absent this morning covered by the sand that flowed back down to the water.
     Low water is a great time to scout your favorite haunt, and looking at the above image can illustrate why striped bass like to lie in wait amongst the rock fields that are usually covered by water in front of the groins. Pluggers and spin fisherman have it a little easier than the fly rodder. With their skill, and high tech rods and fishing lines available to them, coupled with heavy but balanced lures, gives them the ability to throw a country mile.
    For the fly rodder working the front or south or north sides can present many challenges. Say you can cast all of your 105 foot fly line our front. First, looking above, where will that put your fly? Second, the more line you have out means more line your have to manage.
    A popper, like I used this morning, can help eliminate snags, coupled with a floating fly line, but that combo only helps. As much as you'd like to fish certain spots it's just not possible. You have to fish within yourself and the limitations of the conditions presented. Today I chose a to fish from 12 to three o'clock (12 being straight out to 3 being on the south side.)
     Timing the incoming waves is essential is preventing your fly and line from being carried into the rocks in front of and along the sides of the groin. At low water everything that calls the rocks home and is sharp is exposed and waiting to grab and chaff and or cut your fly line.
     There is nothing more exciting than watching stripers blow up on poppers worked through the white  water, especially when there isn't much visually going on on top. Although I had no takers this morning just being out alone and working up a good sweat for a few hours was a load of fun.

07.12.13 Back on the Jersey rocks at first light....

     Aaahhhh....nice to be home. Had the alarm set for 445 a.m. figuring that after a quick coffee stop I would be arriving at the beach just as the tide started to flood. Found the beach empty except for an angler plugging off the front of a neighboring groin and another soaking bugs just off a productive cusp.
     I was looking for some early morning striped bass that may be up looking for a meal. They're around, it just takes patience this time of year. I worked the south sides of the groin as the NW wind made casting into the white water a little easier. I stayed with a chartreuse and white Clouser before moving to the beach and then another set of rocks.
     On my third cast I connected with a short fluke and then caught seven within a 30' radius using identical casts, drifts, and retrieves. The above fish taped out just shy of 20 inches and made the trip home for dinner tonight. The best part of the morning came when my inquisitive seven year old Erin wanted to watch intently as I filleted the fish. Afterwards we dissected it and went through a quick anatomy and physiology lesson about fish coloring, shape, and how food is ingested and digested, and how the fish breathes. That interaction was priceless.

It's a great time of year to explore fly fishing the Jersey salt. You can wet wade and cast to fluke and striped bass that are roaming or are set up in the sloughs and troughs just below the wash. More importantly starting or polishing up your fly fishing skills now will put you in a great place come fall when fly fishing for striped bass, bluefish and albies comes into it's own.

Walk and wade trips are $200 for one angler for four hours and $300 for two, with drinks, snacks, and use of equipment and flies included. Call 732.261.7291 to set up a trip.