Fishing Report 7/25/2014

From my experience on Thursday, I figured I would try my luck with the fly instead. I rigged up the Orvis Helios 8wt (mostly because I know it is salt-proof and not because I had high expectations) and set about to probing the waters. I had better luck than the day before - but still nothing to hand. I saw blue crabs all over the place, and even got a few to take on a small gummy minnow fly (I just couldn't lift them out of the water otherwise I would have counted that as a legitimate "catch"). I also saw a fish chase, but it didn't seem much bigger than the fly - probably a "get out of my living room" chase as opposed to a "I think I want to eat you" chase. I moved over a lot and by the end of the session I was out at a point. I got several tugs, but could not connect the hook. And there were several tail swirls in the water throughout the time I was out. But in the end - a skunk is still a skunk and I am stinking right now...

Secret Fish Catching Weapons

We're going paddling/surfing/fishing this weekend!!! I've got a score to settle with some freshwater piscine adversaries and these Gamakatsu size 10 SL45 hooks covered in blue yarn are going to be "Killer Blueberries". The orange yarn size 14 eggs are stripped down sand crabs - advertising what I think the small fish would want - "just the eggs please - no shells". We'll see if this works as I'm not sure the baby pompano are running around the lower Chesapeake yet. And the fall back for the common bottom feeder - a small orange and black clouser minnow. I am going to bring spinning gear, lures and bait as well as the fly gear (Daiwa Kiyose 43MF, Orvis Helios 8 wt and the Nissin Fine Mode). Weather is looking good too - can't wait!!!

OOOOOOOOHHHHHHH BAAAABBBBBBYYYYYYYY!!!!

Look what the fly fishing fairy delivered!!! For me???? You shouldn't have - but I'm sure glad you did (THANKS LA!)

Sweet Spot

By my research on the better places to focus your cast on, this guy is on the sweet spot. I didn't hang around long enough to see if he had a bite though.

Wading 4 Mile Run

So here I am wading in at 4 Mile Run. I saw one fish - some kind of bottom dwelling goby - and didn't get one tug. There were a few other guys out casting lines, but I didn't see anyone getting hits. The waders kept me dry. The boots were really nice. And the rod hanging down from my chest pack is a Nissin Fine 3.9 to 4.4 m Zoom Seiryu (ultralight weight tenkara) - nice touches on the rod itself, but this one will take a little getting used to in order to cast the line correctly. I did read an article today about guys heading out real early to this spot and nailing it - maybe I should get up early... Or maybe I should wait for Spring to get here.

Somerset NJ Flyfishing Show

I made the drive up to Northern Jersey to catch the Flyfishing Show. I got to check out Mystic Rods, Hatch Reels, the Orvis H2, all kinds of tying material and some more or less famous dudes. Lefty was demonstrating casting. Enrico was tying flies. And most of the East Coast fly tiers were showing off what makes their craft unique. I also got to check out the new Shimano Tenkara rod that Chris Stewart at www.tenkarabum.com recently wrote about on his blog - OMG that thing is SWEET!!! Zooms from 340 to 380 cm (I think) and the balance was perfection. I needed to buy Marlon's birthday present, so I couldn't bring the Shimano home - maybe for our anniversary... So the opportunity to check out and compare the rods and reels, finding some hard to find materials and getting ideas for just about everything in fly fishing (where to go, what flies to tie, gear to be cooler - or at least make me think I'm cooler), made the drive worth it.

Visit to 4 Mile Run

Saturday's weather was nice for mid-January. Highs in the 50's and the sun out, but lightly diffused by the wispy clouds.

We paid a visit to 4 Mile Run Park to check out the fishing action. A bunch of flyfishers wading both banks. A couple of spincasters were chumming the water and brought in a decent sized carp. I was not inspired to pull the waders and boots on - maybe if the fish were biting a little more aggressively... Not to mention the flu is finally catching up to me (I'm deep into the nasal congestion and body aches phase).

There were a bunch of other people out enjoying the good weather - riding bikes, jogging and just walking. In between the foot traffic, Marlon and Noe transitioned from the kneeling skateboarders they were, into full fledged stand up boarders!

Nice day! One last thing - if you were out there fishing on Saturday, try false casting a lot less than you did - fish hit flies in the water, not in the air. And you are probably not going to get as many wind knot in your line either. Two false casts should be good - if you still think you need to get the line out further, try to double haul (youtube has tons of how to videos - once you get it, it will always be with you). Just some advice from someone who has been there.

Flyfishing Kiddoroosters

The kids got their new Kiyotaki rods from www.tenkarabum.com today - Chris S is awesome to work with and has the best customer service ever - if you are interested in tenkara, give his site some love. The kids were pretty excited and stoked to get their own appropriately sized flyrods. I had them practicing and within 5 minutes they had their casting strokes down and they were consistently hitting their targets. I tied on some flies and they were off! Noe hit one of the small Bass on her first cast! I had to cut their fly lines down to size (they were picking up too many 'wind' knots) and then the real action began - Noe whacked a medium sized bluegill and she was giving herself kudos for getting a huge bend in the rod!!! I resized Marlon's line too (if you're reading this and want to get the same setup for your kids, cut the lines to just a hair longer than the rod - their casting was perfect after that modification) and he caught three bluegill. I don't know who was more excited - the kiddoroosters or me!!!

Home Made Stripping Basket

Just like the post title - I'm making a striping basket. Orvis had their's on sale for $65 - still pretty pricey when you have a single income family. This is a dish tray a friend gave me, some thicker weed wacker line, my heat gun and a small investment of time. I tried using this setup while I was at my last job - but without the upward facing prongs, it didn't work well (but it did hold the bonefish well). I'll post more once this is finished.

Sand Crab Fly

Gearing up for Virginia Beach...

Similarities to the familiar

I knew there was another closer, more intimate reason I felt drawn to flyfishing. It couldn't have been just the fact that line management was the core of the act (like kitesurfing - heck I've even got preferences towards furled leaders that look just like 2011 Cabrinha lines). It is more than just the immersion into sight fishing (literally wading for hours in the surf). No - much closer - a linkage to the thing surfers value the most - a good wax job! It even looks like surf wax (but doesn't smell like it - in fact it doesn't smell like anything...). The Orvis factory sent this container with the repaired rod (maybe a hint...). To me, it was reassurance that while we are living further and further away from ridable surf, you can still practice your moves (wax the ferrules before you go, just like you'd wax your board before every paddle out)!

Last Day of Fishing (the spot)

Damsel fish caught on a scud fly. Good thing I crimped the barb down... This is the last fish I caught while stationed where I was (don't ask - I won't tell). I did catch a grouper, some darts, some snapper and a few wrasses, but this damsel gets the distinct honor of being the last fish I caught where I was at!

Smallest Trevally

And here is one of the smallest trevally I've caught. At this size, it's hard to tell what species it is, but from the location, it's probably a BFT. I also caught a tiny Two Barred Goatfish (but didn't take a picture. Taking a step back from trying to catch the biggest fish and appreciating what is around you is an often overlooked therapy.

Biggest Sergeant Major

Here is one of the biggest Sergeant Major fish I've caught.

The Other Fish

Besides the mullet and the bones, I also hooked up with a BFT (and missed another - but the strikes were awesome!), several big goat fish, tons of snapper, a bunch of wrasses, some darts and a grouper. Very good day flyfishing! Also - I've just about got my double haul nailed. I can tell when I need to haul to load the rod on both the back cast and the forward cast - feels really good to be able to cast far and strong. If it isn't apparent from all the blogging I've done on flyfishing, I think I'll be sticking with this for a long time to come -

Another one off the list

I caught a mullet on the fly today. Hooked its tail with a Meko Special as the school was passing by - HUGE fight!!! These fish are nearly as hard to land as bonefish (of which I caught a few - almost at will if I could see the school - hooked up and spat - 4, landed - 4). I have been trying to hook a mullet for a year now - felt good to get another one checked off the list!

Good Deed

This is Jason Masculli - he's been trying to catch a fish on the fly for 10.5 months. I've fished with him for several sessions, gave copious advice and watch in my own frustration as time after time he didn't hook into a fish (considering at times I've pulled them in like flies to stink right along side using silly simple flies). Yesterday was different. After fishing with Mike down south, on our way back, we saw Jason's truck. I told Mike to pull over - I'll go fishing with Jason. I saw him at the 'spot' fishing to left bank. I walked up and he said there were bunches of BFTs, but that every time he saw them, he couldn't get off a good cast. I suggested we move to the right bank because of the silly easy fishing I've been having there. As we walked over, I caught the Bonefish I wrote about on the last post (solo bone on the bread fly) and several other fish (darts, pinfish, snapper, etc). With the tide out, we were out past the normal spot and on to a large school of bones. I called out the shots but he was still having trouble getting the fly out. I walked up to him and asked to see his rod. I suggested (and went ahead and did it) to cut his leader down - he had wind knots on the lower part of the leader anyways - but I explained that the long leader requirements from calm freshwater scenarios aren't necessary out here in the salt. While I was fixing his rig, I told him to cast mine so at least one of us was fishing. Well - within a couple of casts, he hooked into a big dart - so FINALLY he caught a fish on the fly. Unfortunately, it was with my gear and to top that off, after retying his rig, I cast out to the school and hooked into a bone (so now his gear works). Eventually the tide started to come in and we had to move back up to the shoreline. I stitched to my tiny flies and started to catch at ludicrous speed. Jason was starting to feel the bites, but not hooking up. He decided to switch flies and after another long wait, he finally got a strike - we both thought it was a small trevally, but when I got a glimpse during the fight, it was a good sized bonefish. Three minutes later, he had landed his first fish on the fly and his first bonefish. The guy was buzzing with adrenaline! So with more patience than even I thought I could muster, some good weather and water conditions and a little gear tweaking, I did my good deed for the year and in the process transformed from novice flyfisherman (I'm getting better at my double hauls and getting the fly way out there) to budding guide (but still have a ways to go).

Killed It!

Two spots today - mediocre results at the first spot, a virtual slaughter house at the second. Hooked into schoolie bones, tons of snappers, several darts and several BFTs. Even caught a solitary bone on a bread fly - ridiculous fun!!! I saw a hunting pack of HUGE BFTs and a Black Trevally - by the time I tied on a gummy minnow - they had moved on. I'm going back tomorrow!!! BTW - every fish I caught was safely released - crimping down the barbs on the hook and minimal handling allowed for strong swim aways.

First Flyfishing Fish on a Boat

Hooked into a 5 pound Bluefin Trevally while fishing off a Mako. I had one of the clouser-ish flies I recently tied on the line and the BFT stopped, looked at it and ate it up. Despite the picture, I didn't land the fish - it broke me off, but the fight felt good. Lesson learned - if fishing off a boat, a heavier fly helps.

Second Spot - Second Chance

I picked up and went back to the spot I was casting at yesterday. I tied on a bread fly and on the first cast, I brought up this feisty big eyed trevally. I focused on getting my timing down on my double haul and also tried more to feel the rod loading. Some of my best and longest casting to date! I saw a few needlefish too, but they weren't interested in the bread fly or the green scud I later tied on (although darts, snapper and some small BFTs certainly were). Over six hours flyfishing today -