Quick Late Fall Update

Its been a very busy Fall, both on the water and off the water. The Fall run has not been great/stellar/epic or super memorable, but it has produced fish. We have been experimenting with trolling this Fall and for the most part it has worked well. Still fine tuning the set-up, but overall it has been successful.

I've been experimenting with my two HD cameras. I missed several video opportunities on my last fishing adventure. I had the controls wrong, which lead to no video being taken. The above picture was taken with the camera, in waterproof case, mounted onto the motor case using the wireless remote. Pretty decent picture for the first time. We now know we can stand alittle closer, since the wide angle of the lens covers the whole boat almost.

Be sure to check out my youtube channel, which is a work in progress!

Youtube Channel

Blowing NE

With this weeks past weather system that came through, the beach front (surf) was in no real great condition to be fished. So besides watching football, checking off some 'honey-to-do' items, I added some tackle.








Once the weather past and after a few days of letting things calm down, I got back at it. Nothing to show for my fishing efforts however, but still always nice to be away from reality. Even if it is only a temporary escape.

Fly Rod Blue Fish

Here is a video I put together from a recent trip. It was my first real opportunity to use both the Swann Freestyle & Contour Roam together and pair the videos together. Some adjustments will be made for the next go around, but overall I was satisfied with it.

9/23/13 - Raritan Bay - Fly Rod Blues

Flounder has closed in NJ, so basically now its a waiting game until the stripers show up. And I can't wait!!

Very Late Report from Vacation

June 15 thru 22
Late report/story...

Our annual South Jersey vacation with my wife's two brothers and sister was June 15-22 in Sea Isle City. Our house is located right on the bay and we have been going down for 9 years. Typically fishing is done to entertain the kids and its not very serious. Over the years I've caught some nice crabs, a few keeper flounder, sharks, blowfish, etc... The normal back bay stuff. This year I stepped up my game. The plan was to try and get a few times during the week to explore and try new things. I didn't get to explore as much as I hoped, but still had a great visit.

Well that happened! We visited the Cape May County Zoo, which was very nice and I recommend it for any families in the area.

Bald eagles are always amazing to me

This zoo puts the animals upclose and personal

This guy was huge! I was amazed at how big these cats actual are.

One particular day, the mid-afternoon heat was getting to me (perhaps the beers too). I had some clam out soaking. It was being tormented by smaller fluke and seabass. After changing out to a nice fresh piece, WHAM! Made Gavin's day (and mine!).

Sandy Hook/Kayak SOL Meet

My normal kayak fishing partner ditched me for his "Honey-to-do" list or more like keeping the peace on the home front. I totally understand! So happened that the SOL kayak community was meeting at Sandy Hook lot C at 0530 (ouch).

0236 departure from the house

The morning drive was alittle rough. I was very tired and its never a fun drive solo in the dark of morning pre-dawn. I did manage to get out of the house earlier then planned, which was shocking.

Once arriving I was the first one there and a tad early. Nice to be around the salt again though. I began unloading my equipment and other began to arrive. Quickly into the task, SNAP, my camera mini-flexy-tripod breaks. Good start to the morning.

Broken mini-tripod

After loading my kayak, and pulling it toward the beach, SNAP, my home-made kayak cart breaks. I tested it with just the weight of the kayak without a problem. I guess the additional load of my gear, plus the uneven surface was to much for the PVC. I believe this time I will look to order something made from metal, designed for this application.

Broken PVC kayak cart

Once we finally got to the fishing part, which seemed to take forever, we/I found fish right away. A small was up from our launch site was a nice rip and smaller, less obvious secondary rip. Both location where holding fish. I landed several small flounders & blues, plus two sea robbins. Made several drifts through this area, each time seemed like a hook-up or missed fish.

Then I broke a major rule with fishing, never leave fish to find other fish. So while I was not boating keepers, I decided to move on and discover new water. A move further North and I found a nice drop off. A nasty scum line was in the area with cocktail sized blues feeding on minnow type bait fish. I only managed to hook a few blues in this area and the ones I did came unbuttoned at the boat or in the boat. All fish found a way to get there freedom, unhelped from me, which I was perfectly ok with. I tried topwater plug, no takers.

Tide went slack and fishing stopped! I mean grinded to a sudden halt. About 45 mins to an hour and things began to turn back on. The tide started to move out and fishing picked back up. By this time I had started to work my way back towards the launch site, fishing in the earlier rip area. And had the same results, several small flounder, blues and sea robbin.

Fluke on Diawa SP in 22' of water

Keeper Blue @ 18"

263 Mile round trip

Proud Dad

Got Gavin out for his first fishing trip. He's been on a boat, out in my kayak and has watched me fish, but he never has actually done it himself. So we packed a cooler of all kinds of snacks, drinks, bait, etc...I even brought the minnow trap hoping to catch a few minnows (mostly for entertainment purposes). While the minnow catching generally was not good, the sunny fishing was. Although small, he didn't seem to mind and neither did I.

Gavin did great! Held fish, played with worms, reeled in the whopper of the day. He hasn't graduated to casting yet or really handling hooks, but we'll get there. Below our pictures of the days activities.

Family photo

Playing with wormies

First ever, small bluegill

Action shot

First largemouth

Kayaking the Salt

What have I been up to, well, ALOT!

The kayak is rigged and ready for fishing. Its not a completed project (maybe 85%), but still a work in progress. My next task I believe will to be rigging some way to add picturing taking and video. I have realized, that I really enjoy fishing from the kayak. It took me alittle while to come around to the idea, but not that the boat is rigged properly and I have the proper equipment, its enjoyable. Honestly I hear stories of guys with boat problems, expensive repair bills, towing vehicles breaking down, etc...It makes the kayak that much more enjoyable!

 Often times I will have fish, turtles, birds, bait, etc...come right up to the kayak. Very much like they are investigating. Its very cool to marine or other wildlife up close and personal.

Doesn't hurt to bad when your catching fish and just having a good ole time! One particular day myself and fishing partner had some morning events we had to tend to. Had a late start to our fishing day, but we planned on fishing up until dark and getting home late. No big deal! By the time I fought traffic, got home, cleaned up my equipment, filleted fish, showered, etc. it was almost 1:00 AM! Made for a long Monday in the office.

 

I was even 'un'lucky enough to have this stuffed in my gear bag. It's a game that is played between a few of us who fish. This stuffed pillow bass has been deemed the unlucky token. If its slipped into your gear, lunch box, cool, etc. you are guaranteed to not catch all day. On this day, I did not catch and this was my only photo opt!

I've had a long hiatus from this blog, breaking my goal of two blog entries per month. Its not as easy as I thought. My thought is to post without pictures/video in the year 2013 seems pointless. I do have some new ideas and items in the works, so hopefully I can find some time to pull them all together.

First Keeper of the Season

The season, for me, is off to a good start. My first keeper is in the freezer before May. The migration seems to be alittle late this year. I guess 'Old Man' Winter didn't want to release his grip on the east coast. Either way its time to pound the 'salt.

We hit Raritan Bay (upper) with dirty and chilly water. Near perfect early Spring day though. Very light breeze, calm waters and fish around. Several small schoolies taking clams. Only keeper of the day!

Helgies & baitfish

Upcoming posts on helgies and some saltwater prepping.

Frenchie

This is a very easy pattern to tie. Quick, that is easily varied to accommodate a wide range of colors, sizes and profiles. Its almost like a lazy mans pheasant tail. The bottom line of this fly, it catches fish.

Somerset 2013

Made the voyage to the Somerset, NJ fly fishing show. A yearly event held in several locations, however I believe Somerset is the larger one. They also have one listed in Lancaster, which would be closer. But lets face it, end of January, what else is there to do?

So I didn't get any pictures/videos during the show. If you have ever been to a trade show, you know what these looks like. I will begin to highlight a few things I experienced during the show.

Upon entry I was drawn to the Bears Den booth, which was decent size. They had a nice selection of materials and supplies, even on Sunday. I picked up a few items that I needed, a few I didn't and some that I felt more comfortable buying after seeing/touching. No exceptional deals.

I noticed Bob Popovic tying nearby with no one around him. This amazed me. So I bellied up to his small tying table to receive my education. He was tying surf candies and proceed to lecture me (basically one-on-one). Even though I have tied a bunch of his patterns, I was amazed by how easy and fluid he made it all look. To me this was a very nice, UNEXPECTED, experience.

Proceed to walk around and enjoy some of the other tiers and booths. My next note worthy stop was Rip Lips. Got three nice fly boxes with slotted foam for $20, which I didn't feel was a bad deal. Also got some 200 quantity beadheads (although much of the tungsten selection was sold out). Felt good to stock up on some of that material. Same pricing as their website, but saves on shipping (maybe not after driving).

Again, I was surprised when I walked right up to Steve Farrar's tying table, with no one around. Steve showed me a nice anchovy pattern using sili skin. Very simple pattern that he even tied down to tiny weeny like 3/4"-1/2" patterns. Thats very tiny for saltwater, in my opinion. Very nice man and was the first time meeting Steve.

Had a brief, but enjoyable conversation with Colin McKeown of The New Fly Fisher. I enjoy watching the show, so its always interesting to meet the person behind the face.

Also spoke with Brandon Alexander with Cross Current Guide Service. We discussed a trip to the upper Delaware River using larger streamer patterns targeting big browns. My kind of trout fishing! I explained to Brandon I am willing to cast all day, heaving big, chunky patterns for one strike. He blew my mind when he said that sounded great, but how did I feel after doing all that, IN THE DARK! Blew my mind and I was sound. So I am willing to bet, in the next week or so, I will have something firmed lined up with him.

Lastly I sat in on a seminar regarding fly fishing the New Jersey coast, hosted by Jim Freda of Shore Catch Guide Service. Very informative seminar that highlighted striper and other fishing opportunities along the New Jersey coast as it related to seasons and water temps. This man knows his stuff!

Overall, this is a very good show. Parking is FREE and entry was $18. Definitely worth the trip to shake hands with some local legends. Chat fishing with guides & outfitters and perhaps even line yourself up for a nice Spring/Fall fishing adventure on new water. There are some deals to be had, if you look around and know what you need. Many opportunities to educate yourself with the varying tiers, seminars and instructional classes. Also, you can "test drive" several different rods from many of the large & small manufacturers. All-in-all, its a nice way to get out of the house during the cabin fever months and get the juices flowing for Spring.

Shoo shoo retarded flu...

For at least a week I have been down and out with the flu. Never had the flu or even really been this sick before. Mostly feeling better at this stage, but late last week it was bad. And of course all I could think of while laying in bed watching fishing/hunting shows...

This weekend is the Somerset, NJ fly fishing show. I will be heading out Sunday. Excited is an understatement. I need to get out of the house. A peaceful road trip and what promises to be a fun day at the show. Can't wait! I'll have a report hopefully later Sunday night or Monday.

2013

Happy New Year! 2012 has come and gone. We now move onto a new year, broad promises of 'change', brand new beginnings and the list goes on and on. I would tend to think most of the personal promises go unfulfilled or fade away with a few months, weeks or even days. So lets reflect back on 2012, it was a poor year for myself relating to fishing. I did not get out nearly as much as I would like. The few times I did get out on the water, the results where minimal. 

2013 Goal #1: Fish more and fish more often! Don't let weather deter, a small window in the schedule is more than enough and the grass can always wait! An idea I have to help track trips and fishing time would be a fishing log, but we'll just see about that. Perhaps this blog can facility itself as a type of fishing log. This year it WILL  be about the fishing (well to a degree)!
Potential fishing excursions: 

• Upper Delaware River (trout) via drift boat 
• Chesapeake Bay striper (charter) Spring 
• Kiptopeke concrete ships (DIY kayak) Fall 
• Montauk (Spring/Fall)

 This blog started in 2011 with, again, big dreams and high hopes. Well as you can see from my post history, it has been anything but. Laziness, life, lack of creative juices, etc..., pick any number of excuses. 

2013 Goal #2: Keep this blog relevant. In order to do this, I will attempt to post a minimum of 2x monthly. Hopefully with worthwhile, quality topics and subject matter. At this time I have no objective or goal set/angle in mind for this blog. It is a hobby, outlet and fun project I will be doing.
Ideas for "project" posts:

• "How-to" crease fly using cutter kit (versus pre-cut kit) w/ photos
• Father-son fishing
• Gavin fly tying
• 2014 fly fishing calendar "making of" or "behind the scenes"
• "Full feature" (purchase material, tie, fish, catch)
• Fishing show report (report cards) 

This particular post and listing is subject to modification as it evolves. Above is just an approach to goals for the new year as they relate to fishing & this blog. Personal improvements, self achievement and financial success are listed elsewhere.