06.22.23 New Jersey did the right thing....but.....

 

     Don't be fooled by a wolf is sheeps clothing. This week, on June 20th, the NJ Marine Fisheries Council met regarding the ASMFC's emergency action regarding tighter slot limits for striped bass. The regs would be one fish per angler per day at 28-31". Everyone thought NJ would balk on accepting the action and be in non-compliance, something they have done in the past.

     But guess what, New Jersey "voted", 5-2, to be in compliance, like agreeing to do as you are told. So effective July 2nd, the new slot limit is in effect. Big deal. Yes. Big deal. No. The ASMFC waited too long to make a move to save the striped bass, and the emergency action, in effect July 2nd, is "good" for 180 days. Then it has to be readopted, or it falls off. 

     The delay has meant that this spring the beatdown of fish 28-37.99" has already occurred. How many fish had been killed while the powers that be decided to make a move. In their non-action, anglers, charter captains, and the headboats made sure they got into them good, and harvested "our legal limit" or "one for table", for each angler and the captain and mate. 

     Now don't think New Jersey, not listening to guys like Fote and Nowalski, is doing the right thing. "Commercial" fishing, which in my opinion should include anyone that pays for or gets paid to, fish for striped bass really doesn't occur here in New Jersey in the summer. Guys on the beach fish for schoolies and maybe keeper sized bass. If you want big summer bass you head to Block or the Cape Cod Canal.

     The real showdown will be in October when the Emergency action expires. That when the neanderthals from New Jersey and groups like the RFA and JCAA will be out in force protecting their harvest of those fall run bass like we had last year. They will spend the summer planning their attack and legal rights before the emergency action has to be re-upped.

     As of now all of the states have voted to comply, except the lone holdout state of Virginia. The good old boys will either fall in line or be the model of opposition and non-compliance, which will come with the support of those, like from New Jersey, who really wanted to fight this now, and not wait until October. 

6.19.23 "Is that me?"...

    Quick session arriving too late on the dropping tide. Tried to pick out the bigger fish from the wolf pack but the smaller fish were more aggressive hitting a Ray's type Fly. The one above I think was fascinated by seeing its own reflection in the tank. Second one went a tad bigger than the first at 24 inches but that was a quick catch and release. This time of year I wished I lived down near the beach for these quick outings but having bass in my backyard is good for the soul. 

06.18.23 Happy Father's Day....

     Well it was a weekend with a bunch of highs and lows. It's a fly fishing blog, I know.....but you know it isn't always but it usually ties into fishing somehow. So. Today was Father's Day. I got an invite to join my father and brother for breakfast in Allentown which was very nice. Later in the day my son and daughter took the trek out to Mercer County for dinner at one of our newest and favorite hangs, Al's Airport Inn. I got a cute and memorable card from Erin....the cover says it all. She drew that freehand, I'm impressed. There's a nice message inside on how great I am and a promise to spend more time together, and of course fishing. If kids only knew how much time together matters before you croak. 

     So where to begin. My Aunt passed away this week and on Thursday we buried her. It was sad, but at the same time, nice to be reunited with so many family members that I'd hadn't seen in some time. 

     She was the oldest of my mother's siblings and had six children who I grew up with. They were from Keansburg where my mom and dad grew up and I spent countless hours there. All good times. It was a nice send off to heaven and the repast at Yesterday's in Hazlet (where I bartended there over 35 yeras ago) was a great venue to catch up some more with my family. 

    Then it was off to Erin's high school graduation. I was so beat up from the week, and has to many Guinness's at the repast, but luckily I had my son Sean to help an old man up when she started to walk up to get her diploma. 

     After the ceremony it was late dinner at Buena Sera in Red Bank. I have to say that place is just really good. I was always turned off by the wanna-be-ganster-vibe I got there but I have to give credit where credit is due. It was a good way to end the two days on a high note. 

     On Friday it was time to tackle the transfer case replacement. You know I am not mechanical in any way or shape. My ace #1 mechanic and her boyfriend weren't able to assist me, but their diagnosis last week really helped get me off in the right direction. Earlier in the week I drove 90 minutes each way for the $1,400 replacement case from Collis Truck Parts in Northampton, Pa.  

     I had found and watched a You Tube video on how to do this and after 7 hours, between thunderstorms and a tornado watch, it was in and I was done. A test drive confirmed, at least for now, that I had done it right. I also replaced a "liquid line" for the a/c system and re-charged the coolant and now I have cold air conditioning. I must say I am impressed with myself after all of that. 

    I got a call later Friday afternoon that my mom was in Centra State Hospital and would be admitted, which turned out to be until Sunday afternoon at 2 pm. She's good. It has been a busy month for her during her one month visit back home to New Jersey. She admits, " I can't wait to get back to Florida". 

     When Lauren had the truck up on the lift she let me know my tires weren't looking good and they should be replaced. I found a good set on Facebook Marketplace for $150 for all four. A quick pit stop in Trenton on Saturday morning and for $80 bucks they were installed, balanced and the old skins kept

by the shop. Four Goodyear tires for $230, now that's not bad. Now while I nearly hurt myself playing mechanic Lauren, Brandon and my ex-wife were hooping it up in Saratoga with two nights of the Dead & Company. It was a great way for her to celebrate her 21st birthday. I stated last year that I had seen

my last show in Philly and I have no tickets or plans to see them in what is alleged their last shows ever. I now wished I could have made it to one more show. But now to fishing. In between all of that I did sneak out early Father's Day morning. I have wanted to mouse up a bass in the Delaware River and tried

but that didn't happen. I did manage to move a half a dozen or so on an articulated eel fly that I had tied while trying to come up with a pattern for the Delaware. Even though they eat head first this 

could use a stinger hook as most of the strikes came from the rear. I had dug up an old fly line to use since my intermediate line parted and I haven't got a replacement yet. Let's just say no matter what I did the memory wouldn't fade away. It was frustrating to say the least. 

     And finally I put the Simms waders to rest in better hands. Simms had made good on the G3's that I had a problem with earlier this year. A big thanks to John Frazier from Simms who reviewed the case and made sure things came out right in the end.  I had ordered a Large 11 and they just didn't fit me the 

way my old Simms waders fit. So I did the next best thing I could do other than try and squeeze into them like sausage skin, I gifted them to my brother for Father's Day. They fit him much better and now hopefully he will join me for some fishing. We have fished together in the past but not nearly enough as we should. 

     So that was a real busy, and at times stressful, weekend. I hope I am done with funerals, seven of them in seven weeks has been enough. This week things wrap up with school and then it's all about next weekends big doubled-up graduation party at the house. Right now it looks like rain, that's where the $2,000 tent comes in, but hopefully it's cool with clear skies. But, things for me never seem easy, so I'll expect the below of course. "I'll get you my pretty and your little dog too". 

06.14.23 Next year and going and what will New Jersey do.....

     I'll say one thing I enjoy for the most part is when "memories" pop-up on Facebook. I may sound like a broken record and have stated that in the past. But yesterday at work I signed into Facebook and the above popped up. That a Red Beach bass that I caught while sight fishing on the flats in Martha's Vineyard. It's a trip I have made on and off since 2014. It was an annual event but like everything else 

in life all good things come to an end. Guys get older, June can be a tough month with graduations and Father's Day, the Covid pandemic came and went, and life just happens. The above pic was from 2015. Of all the years that was the best group pic. It wasn't even the best house we had rented over the years. It was a great house but it was located near the airport and a drive from the water. But anyway, when that feed popped up I know I have to make that trip a priority for myself next year, no excuses. I just have to make it happen. 

     And now we are 18 days away from when the new slot limit for striped bass should have already been adopted by the states on the East Coast. The ASMFC during the May meeting declared an "emergency action" to take place ASAP or by July 2nd, just 18 days from now. I know some states have already put the new slot into place or have a start date in the books, but not New Jersey. 

     Since the May meeting, New Jersey had a meeting, and side-stepped putting a plan of compliance into place. The feeling is New Jersey will "choose" to not abide by the emergency action. They, well we, have done it before in 2017 with the then new fluke regulations. In preparation of this anticipated non-compliance, the ASMFC has a meeting scheduled for July 5th to figure out how to deal with New Jersey, and any other states that choose not to follow the new rules. New York has been doing what it can in Washington to have the date postponed for all of the states....can you imagine the lobbying and the money and politics that is going on behind closed doors now. 

      In the meantime anglers, well more the charter and head boats, continue the harvest of "legal" striped bass, those measuring between 28 - 37.99 inches. Add to those Bonus Tag fish and it's day after day after day of more dead bass. So take the current slot, add the "bonus" fish, and ad the catch and release mortality and there you go......

     So let's say one private charter boat leaves the  dock with six anglers on board. Nice guys. Meat eaters. Legal fisherman. There's also the Captain and a mate out for day. They get on good numbers and start catching. Each guy takes there 28-38 inch fish home, plus the Bonus Tag fish. The Captain and mate throw there quota into the cooler as well. Then they go on to "play" catch and release of overs who are blowing up on bunker. They use circle hooks, because it's the law, sending out livies while a few others throw big rubber shads. They catch 50 fish and "release" them, some of the fish in better shape than the others. 

     So here's the numbers, in fish harvested for the morning trip, for each guy and the skipper and mate, 

28-37.99"                                           8

24-28"                                                8

9% (of 50) mortality of c&r               10 

                                                           26 dead bass

     Now I'm picking on anyone in particular. But look at the shear number of boats out there on any given good day and multiply it out. July 2nd can't come soon enough, for those that care and will follow the science and the law, well if they adopt the ASMFC emergency action and put it into law. We'll see. 

06.13.23 "Rain...I don't mind"....

 

     The last I used my windshield wipers was a few weeks ago near the Upper Delaware. It is always a welcome sign when you travel on Route 17. Well, now called Route 86, so there's an old Route 17, and then, I guess a real old Route 17. But the sound of bugs splattering on your grill and windshield was 

always welcoming. It was also like, "Dam man", I wish I could have stayed, as you make your drive home usually late into the night after trying to catch one more evening of big bug hatches or spinner falls. 

     

     But yesterday I had the wipers on as a much needed, like drought needed, rain swept across the Delaware River area. I have a rain gauge station right near my house at Jacob's Creek, a trib of the Delaware River,  so I can see just how much rain we got. In the last 48 hours, and I hope there's more to 

come, we've received .98 inches of rain. Now while that does the lawn and garden good it doesn't do much for the rivers as the ground soak is so strong after not having been wet in some time. What the rain did do was cool the river down a bit, now down to 70, and bump it up a touch to 3,970 cfs, still

almost drought-like conditions, but the bass are still around. Either holding in the oxygen richer moving water in the non-tidal sections or doing the ebb and flow thing and coming up to root around and eat in the tidal zone. If I get mo truck done this week I am try to try mousing up a striped bass in the Delaware River. I've seen too much topwater sips, slams, and blow-ups to not try. 

     And speaking for the mental health/ therapist side of me I thought the below was something worth sharing. It reminded me of the scene in "Walk the Line" where Johnny Cash's brother gets caught in the blade at the saw mill. The last line below says alot, just let it all go, if you can, the past is the past.

06.11.23 I always said a bass a day...

     A bass a day is always good for the soul. While it's really about being out on some water and just fishing, fooling a fish into eating and landing it always feels better. Tonight I watched as bigger fish than the other night swam around looking for a meal. They were rooting, swimming just above the rocks. Maybe they key in on things like their cousins the smallmouth do. A mix of worms, small eels, hellgrammites and maybe even bugs. I have seen rising fish and aren't sure what they are. Maybe bigger bugs attract bigger fish. The one and done above fell to one of my Hackensack River mummichog imitations after lots of watching and waiting. It was pretty much sight fishing as I saw the pack and then the one that took. This was a nice fish, all of 26 inches. As it fought it's buds followed him in almost to the net. It spent some time in the recovery room, the tank, catching it's breath before swimming away strongly. I'm ready for the salt, as soon as my truck is up and running and can make an hours drive. 

 

06.10.23 Two buds watching the sunset....

     Couldn't lay off not fishing after a long day. The truck situation continues. Today was the day to commit to getting a new transfer case. I took my Mom along for the hike and after an hour and half ride we arrived at Collis Trucks parts up in Bath, Pa. It's an interesting place, occupied by interesting people. Basically it's like a amusement park of everything that is trucks. Just about anything you could need, they have. So I had called ahead to confirm that they had what I needed. I followed the hired help

to another part of the place and loaded up my rebuilt transfer case. It ran $1,400 plus a $200 deposit for the core, which means you have to return your transfer case to get the $200 back. It looked good enough but what do I know. But I'll tell you this by the time Lauren and I try and put it in I will know. I found 

some You Tube videos and it looks relatively easy, famous last words of course. I had borrowed my Dad's new F-150 to make the trip and don't you know the law caught up with us on the return trip. The plates and registration were a tad overdue but the nice officer believed what we told him so he sent us on 

on our way. Once home I eyed up the case and it looked like a perfect match. I threw it up on some ramps and made sure the bolts were rust free and ready to be spun off. I think we are all good to go. 

The other day when Lauren and Brandon were busy diagnosing the transfer case I had mentioned that I had no a/c so they diagnosed that as well. I ordered a new "liquid line" and installed that myself. My thought was the more I could do by myself would mean less time and work for my in family mechanics. I do this because it must be a pain in the ass being a mechanic and having needy family members. 

    And while it was up on the lift Lauren found that one of my tires was all kinds of split on the side walls and and a few were balding. So, I happened to find a set of four on Facebook Marketplace for $150. They aren't rated as Load E but they will do. So it will be a busy after hours at the shop on Monday. We'll see if we can get it all done. I will owe them big time. But how cool is that. 

     So after all that I needed to fish. I had hoped to hit the beach Sunday morning but I didn't want to take my Dad's truck and the tide will be dead low at first light anyway. Even though I had quit the Delaware it was close, it had been relatively cool, and it was the incoming to the top of the tide. As soon as I set up I found a wolf pack of fish mulling around. In it were some keeper sized fish, but as soon as 

my fly hit the water the fish got spooky and moved away. They would come back around but it was more with each cast. Now about the cast. The other night I had made a cast and on one of them the line just parted and it was gone. It was an intermediate line and all I had left was about 40 feet of the running line, but it would do. It was a smaller fly that worked on the one that couldn't resist. It made for some cool pics as the sun set to the west. 

     Before I left I stopped because there were rising fish in the middle of the river. I figured I'd give that a shot but even at high tide there was no water, and no current, along the banks. This spot has been cool

for the tank but I found that that will soon be over as well. Somehow two sections of the stone had fallen in the river some years ago and two replacements were now sitting ready to be installed. That spot was fun while it lasted and soon the entire Trenton waterfront will be a park with easy access to the river from walking paths and rails. I liked it better when it was overgrown and seedy and occupied by the numerous homeless that called that stretch home. 

 

06.06.23 That's a 2023 Delaware wrap.....

     Yeah, I'm good. Putting the Delaware River striped bass season in the books. Just over three months ago I started when the season opened March 1st. It has been a very different year compared to the last five. The weather was, lets say, all over the place. Early boiling temps in both the air and water threw an early wrench in things. Then we had blowout rains, which weren't all that bad. And now we have drought-like conditions, similar to what I found on the Upper Delaware last week. 

     The other difference for me was laying off the Jersey side in April and May. That definitely cut down the catching opportunities, but, the regs are the regs. I have to admit I jumped in the river about a week early then the June 1st reopener, not that it mattered as I caught no fish, plus I was fishing for walleye. While there was no river monsters this year I did manage to leader-touch a 25 pound bass that took a herring fly. I lost a bunch of both fish and flies and will enjoy getting back to the vice this winter to re-stock. What I did do was manage my best day on the Delaware this spring catching about 20 on a picture perfect day. That was one that I will remember. 

    With the Strawberry Moon high around 430 this am I figured I'd give it one more shot. I wanted to put one in the tank to go with this post, kind of like a 2023 send-off. I had two on for a bit and in the end tapped my hat to the fish and the river and went home. The river just doesn't look inviting to fish. 

     It has that too-warm algae growth floating stuff oil slick looking appearance. Definitely not water that looks fishy and alive. Now, I know the fish from up north have to come past if they're looking to send the summer along the beach. The herring has to come past also, but they can do that without my fly in the water. Below are the current USGS conditions, with nighttime temps at 70 degrees. And a flow 

of 3,730 cfs, down from a mean of 10,200. Dead low is like dead low. Like dead. And hot. So I aways quit like 10 times but this may be it. Maybe if we get like 5 inches of rain I'll give it a shot but I'm feeling it's beach time. It's time for those early morning outings mostly stripping crab flies for bass or fluke. 

     I'm not sure I'll be getting down there anytime soon. When we were up on the Delaware Leif thought he heard something coming from my truck. A few days later I heard it and limped home with something making some kind of noise from underneath. I asked my ace mechanic and her boyfriend to take a look at it last night and the diagnosis was made....transfer case. Don't know what are where it is, well I know have an idea, but it sounds like one of those things that you say, "Okay, I'm done", and take it to the local car dealership and pick up a new pick up. Well that ain't happening. Not with Erin heading off to St. Joseph's in August. So then plan is to find a refurbished one and see what happens. 

     Below made for a cute pic. Erin and Brandon took time away from working on her truck to help and old man out. While there they diagnosed my lack of a/c problem, an easy, allegedly, $17 part that will get the temps inside down and comfortable. Then, at least, I won't sweat to death making the drive of shame home from the beach.