03.19.20 They have arrived in the Raritan Bay....

      There are anglers starting to venture out into the Raritan Bay for the spring run. The males arrive first followed by the fertile females. We are seeing water temps start to rise and pretty steady above 45 degrees to highs just above 50. In the Shrewsbury, Raritan and Navesink Rivers temperatures 

in the blackest of the back are probably running a little higher. Tides and the sun can bring warmer temps and get the bass looking up. I've heard of the bass being taken on the worm soak but also plugs. Birds are doing on herring which is one of the first signs we have started.

     Out near me the Delaware River is a little off. Not much for snow melt this year and we haven't yet had the typhoon rains we had last year. The river is calm and quiet and starting to warm up. The spring brings the herring and the shad up to spawn and the bass follow. again, males usually first followed by the breeder females. While I am in no way a Delaware River striper novice or expert from what I hear the go time water temperature is 52 degrees. There are other considerations as well, salinity, oxygen, ph, and turbidity. 

Hopefully soon it will be time to step away from the social distancing and start fishing in the fresh air. 

03.17.20 Happy St. Patricks Day...

     Well no doubt this years St Patricks Day is different. No parades, not even the big ones In Ireland, New York, Boston and even the smaller ones here in New Jersey. 

     I remember doing the circuit as a member of the Newark Fire Department's Pipe Band. Hoboken, Seaside Heights, Union, and Newark, always a good day to celebrate our own or our neighbors heritage. If I remember Belmar was able to get theirs in this year before the world started to shut down. 

     If I, well we, survive this coronavirus pandemic I will happy at least to say I was able to visit the island of the Irish once before the end. In 2018 Theresa and I took the trip. Wasn't perfect timing as 10 days overseas can add up quickly. I still think most of that trip still sits on our credit card. But if we didn't go then, who knows when we might have had the vacation of a lifetime. My advice- don't wait to start living.

    I haven't done my 23 and Me, so who knows really what my make-up is. I am a proud American, proud to be Irish and Polish and whatever else snuck in. In these times, it really doesn't matter, we are all humans, and connected in the triumphs and tragedies that present themselves to us. 

     I have experienced in person, 9/11, Katrina, Hurricane Sandy. There have been people who have witnessed far more than I have in their lives. Other storms, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, the wars in the Middle East, Vietnam, Korea, World War II. There have been recessions and booms. And then there's the things that happen to us on a smaller, but no less traumatic scale, suicides, cancer, car accidents, work and sports accidents, just getting old, and at times being kept alive longer than we should. For many there's been job losses, bankruptcy, divorce, abuse, too many hardships to list. 

     But remember its not what you do when people are looking, its what you do when they are not. Integrity, honesty, sacrificing for others, putting your life on the line for your neighbor, especially in hard times, will be how you judge yourself and others, and how you are to be judged, if you believe, when it is time to move on to that next place that I hope to get to one day, hopefully later than sooner. 

Take care of yourselves, but more importantly take care of others, everyday, not just in a time of crisis or when people are watching. 

     

03.16.20 Trying to do our part....

   While most are working at home we are open for business. Patients need to be seen. Some are opting for tele-psych. That is done remotely on a HIPPA complaint telemedicine platform. However, it doesn't work for all patients. So people just need to be seen especially those coming for a first time psychiatric evaluation. 

    Its the new normal, for now. Luckily, I still don't know anyone who's contracted the virus, or anyone that know anyone for that matter. Rumor has it that one of my daughters classmates came down with it. Its just a matter of time before that changes. 

     To all who read here, and there is an uptick since most folks are home, I hope you are well and your family is well stocked on all things you need. Soon, it'll be time to fish. I need to fish soon. 

03.13.20 Life meet fishing.....

     Well it was just a matter of time. Call it precaution, call it hysteria, call it media driven, call it politics driven. It is what it is.

     So this weekends usually much anticipated Saltwater Fishing Expo in Edison has been cancelled. It's huge show for some. One member of our family is affected as Patrick works for the company setting up and breaking down the shows at these venues. His job status is day to day as these big gatherings get shelved.

     On a personal note. Juliet and Tara who work for big companies in New York and Dallas are working from home, for Juliet that saves her from multiple subway rides there and back each day going from one borough in NYC to the next. Erin and Lauren's school at Red Bank Regional is shut down as a student there caught it from her sibling, so schools now online. Theresa on her last class for her BSN is also having to adjust as her school is now closed, so no instruction, no library, no tutors to extra help. And at the office patients are skittish, and there's a push, from patients and insurance companies to use telepsych to see patients.




     The markets are down and people, and people that are older like my parents are watching the gains they've made on their investments slip away, "should I stay or should I go now", is a question many are asking during the selloff and stock market decline. Supplies for living are being gobbled up and cant be restocked, the doomsday peppers or in their glory and saying, 'I told you so". The gun owners are ready to protect themselves from the apocalypse.



     I remember 9/11, and days after leaving Ground Zero the push to get revenge was go out and live your life, the best revenge is good living. Now, with a virus, and according to the WHO, a pandemic, it is a little different. Its not just that fear is contagious, but germs and illness are as well.



     Personal responsibility, taking precautions, and obtaining and processing the best information out there, is the best way to deal with this. While people are going to isolate, self quarantine, and be told where and when they can live their lives, my thinking has always been, if its your time to go its your time to go. That doesn't mean go poke the bear or swim with sharks, but be smart and hopefully your time isn't up.

    What will take this country down is the financial collateral damage and fear from this. The loss of income and revenue will be devastating. One thing that for sure, we never learn from the past. Each recession are eyes are opened to how over-leveraged we all live. Credit is king, but its also a curse. Good for the people who live within their means and live credit free, as Dave Ramsey says each week to people that have paid off their debts......"Freeeeddddooommmm".

     A lot of us will be forced to open our eyes, either for the first time or not, and realize how "good" they are or their lives are, or how really not they are.

     Breathe, wash your hands, be selective in how often and from whom you get your 24/7 news from, and reset your life plans and how you live, sometimes getting knocked down is a blessing in disguise.  Think of your happy place, this too shall pass.

03.10.2020 Are we losing our minds.....

    This blog has always been politics free. Yes I do mention current events from time to time and they may thrown in with the news fodder, but generally I don't care about Bernie, Biden, Hillary or Trump because, like in so many places in todays world, this is a safe place to take about your feelings, and more importantly fly fishing.

     Covid-19, aka coronavirus is real. If you get it and you immunocompromised you could become real sick, and even die. Chances are slim, but it does occur. Do your due diligence to protect yourself and others, just like you would do from the common cold or flu, which runs rampant, comes in many strains, and is only protected 10-+/- 30% depending on the vaccine you got, or, if you work in healthcare, were forced to get. 

    My problem on this isn't politics per se, but more with the media. The media is ruining our country. I haven't heard much about the border, the Russians, and anything else that was 24/7 news cycle barrage that has occurred year after year. And please, this isn't a current administration defense, or attack, it happened during the previous 8 year administration as well.

     I wish we could go back to the days when Walter Cronkite would bring us the news. Look it up on You Tube and watch. There is no slant, no panic, yes, tears, like when JFK was assinated, but he was real, and fair. 

     His approach and delivery would not have events being cancelled across the world. St Patricks Day parade in Boston? NCAA tournaments? My kids school, Red Bank Regional High School for "a one day cleaning"? Monmouth University? Princeton? Enough.....wash your hands, cough in the crook of your elbow, pass on the wine at church and offering a sign of peace, refrain from hand shaking....but otherwise breath deep and often. 

If its your time to go its time to go........

03.09.20 They have arrived at some spots, waiting for them at others....

     So here's what all the excitement has been about. Its that time of year when the herring start to make their own migratory run into the bays and rivers of New Jersey. For the past few weeks folks have been reporting seeing gannets and herring gulls very active over the water out front, in the back, and way up the back in the rivers, like the Delaware near me. 

Below is a drone video taken this past week from the back of the Raritan Bay.....

     For those that know Mike Laptew from Rhode Island, "The Diving Fisherman", you know he photographers and videos all things striped bass and other fish, birds and crustaceans along the Atlantic. He's a herring watcher this time of year and they have invaded the rivers near him. Remember, there is a moratorium on harvesting or using herring for bait. 

     So usually its the smaller alewifes that arrive and then followed by the slighter more streamlined blueback. They are very similar in color. Mikes image is great because if you are tying flies to match the hatch then you can see the colors that pop along the spine. 

03.06.20 Nice to be able to drop by to my happy place.....

     We were in Long Branch for work and that put me in a good spot to visit two of my favorite long Branch places.......Aji for sushi and Pullman Ave for a chance to watch the ocean and breathe in the salty air.

     Didn't see any birds are signs of bait or fish but the water was clean and green and just rough enough looking very bass.

     Hearing the first fish being caught in the bays and rivers, from Absecon to the Maurice, the Toms to the Raritan, gannets are diving and the first bass are eating worms and clams. usually the school bass show first, then the bigger pre-spawn fish arrive. They are here in the channels and gdeeper water, and the boat guys are on them and taking them home already. Below was a grab from a Facebook fishing group from this pst week........These fish, females, are fullofeggs, and in prime breeding age, shape, and readiness. We will never learn. The fish are being harvested, and the full Raritan Bay onslaught and pressure hasn't even started.

Below is the Raritan Bay at Keansburg. Water temps of course depend on the air temperature, and how much the sun bets down on the mud and warms the water up, also how high and hot the sun is, how low the tide is when the warming occurs and the flood tide that brings the bass to the warmer water to root around.

03.02.20 OPEN SEASON.....The bays and rivers are open......

     2020 is here. Water is still cold. Not much for water volume as we've had one of the mildest winters on record. But remember last spring, deuce rains every week. Hopefully we can get some more water for the fish to be able to swim in and mate. 

     Make sure you check out the latest regulations that Nj adopted and the ASMFC approved,

REGULATIONS

Effective April 1, 2020, New Jersey recreational striped bass regulations in all state waters will be as follows:

• One fish 28" to less than 38"

Until the regulations chance, the current regulations are as follows,

(WHICH MEANS OPEN SEASON IN THE RARITAN BAY FOR ALL THOSE PRE-SPAWN BREEDERS!!!!!!)

• One fish 28" to less than 43" AND one fish 43" or greater

With a bonus permit, anglers can keep one fish 24 inches to less than 28 inches from May 15 through December 31, 2020. Reporting bonus harvest within 24 hours is mandatory.

(WHICH MEANS YOU CAN ALSO DECIMATE THE SMALLER 2014-2016 YEAR CLASS FISH!!!!!!)

Please note the order of fish harvested does not matter (Bonus fish can be the 1^st or 2^nd fish). Visit the NJ DEC website to check current Federal and State possession and season regulations for striped bass fishing in your area.

02.14.20 New New Jersey striped bass regs almost 100% set.....

     Here we go. So here's the story as I got it. Last nights meeting was held in a shoebox and they turned people away because the venue was so small. Also, with most people there for the striped bass comment and decision they decided to make it the third topic of the evening, leaving most folks outside the room or building.

     What I've heard is this. 

Striped Bass 2020 Regulations-  (after submission and approval to the ASMFC)

                       March 1st to December 31st. One fish 28-38 inches. 

                       March 15 to December 31st BONUS TAGS in effect 24-28" fish with 27,000 tags available for purchase. It eliminates trophy tags for big fish, and bonus tag  fish cant be harvested if they are over 28". These are the 2014-2016 year class fish. As we have seen we have decimated the years class 2010-2012, that evidenced by the lack of 28-35" fish we saw on the boats and beaches this fall.

We've killed most of the big fish, almost all of the medium fish, and are now gonna get the little ones. There is a thought that the smaller 28-38" fish are mostly males, open up the Bonus Tag slot to take the 24" fish and you are just aiming and firing at both female and male babies just getting out of the nursery. 

So what that means is when you peer into the dumpsters at the marina this year you'll be staring at the tacks of small bass, the future of the fishery. 

I'll have to check on exactly New York has finally decided, because isn't it a hoot that New York and New Jersey boaters and head boasts and recreational boat anglers fish the sea waters, but may have different seasons and bag limits, while fishing in the same pond. Kind of like different regulations for the Delaware River between NJ, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. 

02.13.20 Big meeting tonight....

So tonight the New Jersey Fisheries council is having a public meeting as they attempt to iron out regulations for the striped bass fishery. As well known, by angler in NJ, and up and down the east coast, our state, and Maryland also, are a laughing stock.

NJ will decide on the slot size, closed seasons, and the Bonus Tag system-all trying to justify and meet a 18% CE, or reduction.

I won't be able to make it, and its killing me, but I thankfully have a full patient load today and tonight.....thanks for all who are going!

Here's the agenda-

·       "“The New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council will consider two options for the striped bass recreational harvest, (1) one fish of 28 inches to 35 inches per person per day, or (2) one fish of 28 inches to 38 inches per day, said Lawrence Hajna with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) press office. Hajna said the second option is pending a Conservation Equivalency approval by ASMFC.

·       In an effort to keep the lower end size of the slot at 28 inches, that decision by ASMFC could allow New Jersey the ability to implement a maximum size limit of 38 inches on a one fish bag limit. Final word on striped bass regulations, including the future of New Jersey's Striped Bass Bonus Program (SBBP), should occur when the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council takes up the final striped bass options at 5 p.m. on Thursday at the Stafford Twp. Municipal Building on 260 East Bay Avenue, Manahawkin, NJ. The meeting is open to the public, and the public is encouraged to attend in order to provide final input for a vote.

·       According to the the latest tallies from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the SBBP in 2019 accounted for less than 15% of the overall allotted commercial quota of 215,912 pounds, by way of just 5,382 tagged 24- to 28-inch striped bass for a total of 31,239 pounds. The New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council is expected to take up bluefish regulatory changes as well this Thursday in Manahawkin.

·       Hajna said the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council will be considering two options for the recreational striped bass bonus tag program, which is derived from the state’s allocation of the commercial quota: “One fish as 24 inches to 28 inches per tag per day opening May 15, 2020 and closing December 31, 2020, or one fish of 24 inches to 28 inches per tag per day opening September 1, 2020 and closing December 31, 2020,” Hajna said by email on Tuesday afternoon, adding that staff will present several options that were reviewed with the Advisory Committee for public information and potential comment.

·       “Once an option is selected an approved by the Marine Fisheries Council, it will be sent to the DEP Commissioner for final approval,” Hajna added."

      My friend and guide Capt Paul Eidman plans to speak and has outlined his talking points-

·       My talking points for tomorrows meeting in New Jersey. Please show up and speak up. 

·       Support the coastal standard of 28"-35"

·       Follow Connecticut example and suspend the bonus tag program until stock recovers

·       Delay the opening of the season in Raritan Bay until May 1. Protect the pre-spawn fish that will head up the Hudson.

·       Cooperate and reciprocate with New York on regulations due to our shared fishery

·       The Hudson spawning stock needs more protection now than ever

·       Increase funding for conservation law enforcement

·       Create and fund angler education program on catch & release (virtual or in person)

02.04.20 Say good-bye to the Recon rod line.....

I guess thats it for another mid-priced Orvis rod line.....

     

     This morning while checking my email I saw one that came from Orvis. This one was titled Orvis Pro Newsletter. It comes every month directed to guides that are part of their program. I was once an Orvis Endorsed Guide, having gone through the vetting process, which included an application and day on the water with one of the representatives from the Mother Ship. 

     I was part of that program fro 3 or 4 years, when I split my time between the Upper Delaware and the salt waters of New Jersey. There was a yearly "fee" that came with being in the program, one that came with some controversy among other non-Orvis guides. It was kind of, and you know this term because its been in the news for a year, quid pro quo. 

     One of the benefits of the program was that, as an Orvis endorsed guide, was a deep discount on gear, gear that you would use exclusively and put in the hands of your clients. But, as I found, guides didn't do that. They may have used some of the Orvis product line, but it wouldn't be uncommon to see an Orvis Endorsed Guide wearing Simms Waders, a Fishpond pack, an Orvis Helios rod, coupled with a Hatch reel, throwing AirFlo line. And the kicker to me was, any guide could get the same discount, in %, as the endorsed guides.

     I have never been a gear head. Give me a decent rod and I'm going fishing. Some anglers like the newest and greatest, me, well just call me, well Average. I always went for the middle of the line rod. There was the Hydros, then came the Recon. Well, today, according to the website, the Recon has come and gone. It leaves angers the choice of the H3, or the Clearwater product line.

     One of my complaints of the lower price-point rods is the grip. The cork grips are often filled, and after exposure to the salt, they (the fill pieces) loosen and fall out. You can see that above on my Clearwater 10 wt. Orvis claims the tapers are the same, its just a lower priced rod with some lesser expensive options in the real seat and guides. Also, it depends on where its made. You can there is no Made in USA, Manchester Vt. sticker, so this product line is made overseas, they just don't tell you which Communist country they come from. 

     Since I started fly-fishing in the early 1990's, around when A River Runs Through It came out, I have always been an Orvis guy. I have stayed consistent for nearly 30 years. I've been through the terrible bootfoot waders, the change in company direction- likes catalogues with guides tossing PBR's between drift boats, and I won't even get into the 50/50 On the Water recent push, and I've stayed put.

     Most guys and ladies cant swing the $8-900 fly rods that are out there today, and that's just not Orvis, and prefer that mid priced rod, better than entry into sport that companies are offering. Yes, you can go to a TFO, made in South Korea, where the rods are good and cheap (made overseas), but if you wanted to stay with an established, sometimes American made company, it seems Orvis is missing the mark. Just stay true, don't cower to the competition, or the political correct world we live in, and stay true to what Charles Orvis started in 1856.
   

02.01.20 Been missing this guy this past week....

     Readers here know how fond I was of Jim Matson, and his wife Laura, from BrineFly Innovations, the inventor of the Pulse Disc. Jim passed away in 2018 after a quick battle with pancreatic cancer. Jim was an ironworker, a tinkerer, an inventor and innovator. He was a retired Ironworker and the skill of his hands matched the creative thought processes in his mind.

     So this year was the first time I was able to make The Fly Fishing show since Jim's death. In my rush through to catch up with old friends and find the latest "thing" out there it wasn't until afterwards that I realized what was missing. I quickly came up with some things that missed from the old venue, but what tugged at my heart was not seeing Jim. 

    When you lose someone close, life goes on, you, hopefully are able to go with life. I see that since I lost Ryan two years ago, some days harder than others. On the days where the ones that passed are close to our hearts we are usually left missing them because of the good memories we had. While Jim and I weren't "besties", I always remember talking with him on the phone, seeing him at the shows, opening up his "mystery boxes" of things he would end me, and visiting his home and being allowed into his basement laboratory, where his greatest innovations were created. 

     I never got to fish with Jim, but used his flies, some that would come with a plastic sleeve where "juice", either herring or bunker, could be injected into it that would be released over time while fishing. But is was Pulse Disc that he was mostly known for. My favorite was that coupled with a Brad Buzzi sand eel fly in the fall. I used them from the beach and boat and always had good luck. 

     Enjoy the company of good people, learn from they know and are willing to share, don't miss an opportunity to stay in touch or get together, and if you do you'll have great memories when you do think of them.

01.31.20 In the area so I took a shot.....

     Was down in the area so decided to take a peek. Outgoing tide with about two hours till low. Air temps below 40 and water temps just above. First noticed the crabs on the beach and was brought back to 2012 when we had spring-like conditions all winter with lots of fish around, mostly on the rock or Jonah crabs. 

    I had tied up a crab fly which I thought looked good until I placed it down next to a pair of actuals...maybe thats why I didn't get a sniff. Looking at it now I see where I have to make some improvements, for one, after seeing it during the retrieve, is to add some tungsten powder on the underside so it rides flat in the water.

Good to be able to get in late January...spring cant come soon enough!

01.24.20 Thoughts of The Fly Fishing Show...

    I, like many other FFS visitors, spend part of the hours walking around the hall trying to figure out whats the hot thing this year. In the past it had been the Orvis Helios line of rods, Chocklett's Game Changer, Bob Popovic's new book Fleye Design, Jim Matson's Pulse Discs, and this year........it was Dave Nelson's Squimpish Flies line of hair and blends. I'll get to more on that but had to explain why Nelson's picture leads this post. 

     I missed last year due to school, and actually may have missed 2018, so this is the first time I've been at the new venue at the New Jersey Convention and Expo Center in Edison. For years it was held at the Garden State Exhibit Center in Somerset. I have fond memories of that place for many reasons. I remember the FFS being THE PLACE to get the latest info on destinations, gear, fly tying and anything fly fishing. Why? Because those were the days before the internet and cell phones. Info had to be in print, brochures, magazines, books....or imagine this, face to face and mouth to ears. I also worked at The Fly Hatch breaking down the shop in Shrewsbury and setting up and working the show.....and then breaking it 

The Fly Hatch booth, Fly Fishing Show, 2003 I think

down and setting up the shop again. Theresa and I had a booth of our own in 2015. I remember having a great time. It took a lot of work and cost me a boat load of money. I did a few presentations, partied too hard, and in the end got a few trips out of it, but it didn't cover the thousands it costs for a booth. And, I'm not sure now, but Chuck didn't pay presenters back  then, nor cut the rent for the booth if you spoke. 

     Theresa and I got there about 1030 Friday morning and were met with guys with flags trying to get us to park in a dirt lot and take a shuttle to the venue. We bypassed that and found a spot right in front of the center in the street. The parking lots were packed with trucks from vendors, vendors employees, and friends of vendors. They might have to rethink the parking. I was going to buy my tickets on-line, remembering the days before the internet where you would wait in a line so long you didn't think anything for sale would still be available by the time you got in, but the prices were the same, $18 for one day...ouch, if you purchased them online or in person. Dick Dennis took my cash so I started the day seeing an old friend and familiar face. The second person we ran into was sweetheart Joe Calceveccia, who ties up his mean "Striper Dragon" and offers chocolate on the sneak from his years working for a chocolate candy company in New England. 

     So not to make this post way too long. The location of the entrance is annoying, you walk and walk and walk until you can finally enter. It's big! And tall! There is so much carpeting, thats not taped down, I sure someone busted their ass at some point over the weekend. There were more destinations that I can remember. Lots of rod and reel booths, some busting out with guides and reps and friends of guides and reps that you couldn't easily get down the row. It was confusing to navigate through....just my opinion. Beers were $5, at least the Coors Lights were, and that seemed fair. Food from the venue and from other outside vendors looked good, and people were eating and walking and hopefully not tripping. 

Fly Fishing Show, Edison, 2020

     It seemed dark to me. Dark green carpet. Black ceilings. Green booth dividers and green partitions. The only thing that broke up the green was whatever the vendors hung off the metal partitions. Edison had white walls, and green and white drapes. It doesn't sound like much......

Fly Fishing Show, Somerset, 2014

Now let me say this......I very well may be in the minority, guys and gals may love this place.....but.  

 But, what I remember the most of the show was the anticipation of and the clocks ticking down to show-closing time for the bar hang located just through the covered walkway leading to the hotel. To me, that is where the true connections were made. There were meet and greets, and some sides drawn, it was political- not like Republican and Democrat, but camp vs camp, and at times kind of just almost tension-tight enough where fists were gonna fly. And way after midnight you either stumbled upstairs or took the long walk of shame to your hotel across Davidson Ave. It was an easy flow. For some it didn't matter as their "camp" took to reservations at a local restaurant or just a hotel room or floor hang. This year I wasn't part of it so I don't know how this venues post-hang goes. For two years, or for at least the Friday night party, I was either in the parking lot casting in the dark or studying for my FFF CI test, which I took at Somerset twice in the cold and snow......and failed both times.

       So to the show. I know some people and I don't have to name drop, as many others do, for whatever that gets them. The people that I was happily to run into I consider friends, from what I consider good, to some just social, to others just because of the business. What's funny is the guys I consider friends I don't spend much talking about fly-fishing, its a moment to really engage on how they've been, hows the family, and how is your physical, (man their getting old), and mental health. 

     I popped into Jonny Kings fly tying session. What I really wanted to talk to him about was jazz piano and when his next gig is because I want to take my daughter to see him. When I got to talking with him with a few other friends he pointed me to Dave Nelson's booth, more on that later. We were also drawn to the Angling Ireland booth. When we went there in 2018 I did not fish. If the practice takes off I would like to return there in September and make part of my trip a fishing trip, maybe 2-3 days for salmon in the River Moy. 

     So we got there at 1030 and we were going to pick up the kids at 130 since they had a half day. That went to 230 and finally 4 by the time we got out of there. It was just nice to catch up with friends. I thought the Regal Booth was great, and the vices they are offering are really nice. Allen Landeer and Jason Taylor put on some good tying shows. I have to upgrade my vice soon, its spent to long in my damp basement and is all rusted up and what not. Funny, while writing this and taking a look at the new Regal website I guess they purged their pro-staff and I'm no longer on board....oh well, I still like their vices.  

     As with many others, nowadays, the FFS is not the place to purchase things. Years ago it was. Guys would be juggling rods and waders and bags of stuff. Now, you see most people looking and touching and walking around with a small bag of materials or destination brochures. Every year we would get the post-show report, "this was the biggest $$$ show yet, the vendors are all happy an made money". Hopefully that was the case this year. Guys I talked too, guys like me, have what they have and are happy, and what they bought was materials, usually the bottom-of-the-bin stuff that you have to dig for, or some eyes, or some tails. I almost went for a bunch of money at Brad Buzzi's booth, looking to gather what I need to tie up blueback herring flies for this year's Delaware River run, but I figured I'd put a list together and give him a call. Dumb move, he had great colors and I sure they are gone. Next door Scott Stryker had his line of flies, which are really must haves, especially if you throw squiddy flies in New England.

     And then the show favorite, at least for me, was Dave Nelson. I heard it from some friends who are legit tyers that I should go check it out. In fact we all walked over together and gave it a look. Andrew Hamilton from Orvis was there browsing and he said he couldn't wait to check out this years stuff out as he bought it last year and its great. Its always good to see Andrew, he's the best fly fishing model I know, especially when it comes to holding fish. We put each other on magazine covers and in fly fishing books. And, as always, it was hard to pry my wife away from him!
   
     The material is synthetic, a cross between bucktail and polar bear. It comes in just hair or a blend. Dave, who I don't know all too well, has been one of the top tyers for years. The times I've seen him

are behind the vice at the shows or in the bow of Rob Lewis's drift boat on the West Branch of the Delaware. I first heard about his line, Squimpish Flies, in the back of Bob Popovic's most recent book, Fleye Design. There was a buzz at his booth and later that night when talking with friends most mentioned the Squimpsih booth and materials. I bet Dave had a very, very good show. I spoke with him for a bit as he explained the blends.....it sounds like its very time communing and labor intensive as its all done by hand. When I think of the evolution of blends I have to go back to Ian's Devlin Blends, Senyo's Laser Dub and Steve's SF Blends, all which greatly changed fly tying, especially for the bigger and saltwater flies.

     And then while walking around looking for the bathroom we found an interesting booth, and an interesting man. Vito DeVito, yep, thats his name. An accomplished artist and sculpturer? who Theresa and I just hit it off with. Now, as a photographer, well a guy once with a few cameras that tried to made a living doing it, I can appreciate works, but the prices, even of my own stuff, always made me cringe. Speaking of photos, Jim Levinson's pictures looked fantastic when hung, and hopefully he sold them and they will grace the walls somewhere soon. But as we talked with Vito I was drawn to this sculpture that was on a rotating base in his booth.  It was titled 'The Ambushers". It was three striped bass that were on a bunch of peanuts. It is beautiful. If I had the money, $6,000, I would have bought it right there. 

     Why would I spend that much money on a piece of art. I'm not a fine art collector. But what I am is in love with everything striped bass. This would be a tribute to my love and passion for this species. From what he told us there are seven castings made, five are sold, this is the sixth, and the seventh is staying in the family. So, if my wife really loved me she gave Vito a note that she is gonna send him a deposit, again if she truly loved me. 

      So then there was a sad moment. When I first walked into the show I quickly saw the guy from Mass. or Maine that sells the fly rod holders for the boat. I said to Theresa, well I caught myself, "I need to get those for my....." Ouch. That hurt. No more boat. But I did see a cool boat outside when I toured the 1.4 mile along the exterior of the building looking for the entrance. It was a Stealthcraft. A composite 16 footer that looked like a drift boat with power. I thought now this may be a great boat for the Delaware River, not the Upper, but near me in Trenton. It's called a 16' Power Drifter Sled, and at a show price of......$23,795.  Now my wife, if she truly loved me, should have put a deposit on that too!