The Day of Doubleheader - Surf Fly Fishing and Stream Tenkara Fishing

Since mid-May, I have been fishing in Robert Moses along the beach on the ocean side. In all my outings,
I got a few schoolies in one morning only.
Again Saturday I was skunked.

Later I drove to the Croton Watershed for fishing spots hopping.
In Amawalk I caught several beautiful small browns.  

After checking out some other favorite spots, I got to the pool in the East Branch where I had a good time last weekend, but a fisherman was fishing there. So I fished the rapid in the upstream of the pool with tenkara wet flies.
I caught several nice browns and rainbows. In contrast to the dry flies, catching them with the tenkara wet flies made me feel really like a traditional style tenkara fisherman fishing the mountain stream in Japan. It was a lucky day for me.

In Saturday's tenkara fishing, I saw sulphur in every spot I visited.  In the afternoon, in one stretch of the upstream of the East Branch, light cahill, caddis and many other insects were also hatching.
A lot of small birds were busy flying back and forth catching insects. They caught almost all insects in the air and on the water.  It seemed the trouts couldn't get a chance to rise for them. It is interesting to think whether it was a good day or not for dry fly fishing - there were an abundant of insects, but the trouts couldn't taste them.

Robert Moses State Park, Long Island, NY

Since I had caught first stripers in Little Neck Bay, I also fished in several other places, and got all skunked.
Well, this is the reality of my surf fly fishing for stripers, full of hopes and disappointments.
Hoping for the best, this morning I hit the Robert Moses and finally got schoolies again.  Bingo!

I landed three. Two of them were micro.

Many times when I was retrieving the line, I got bites but without hooking up.
I would guess in most cases these stripers were too tiny even for my small flies.

Early Morning in Robert Moses, Long Island

                                                                                                                

I fished at Robert Moses both days this weekend when the high tide came in the morning.
Saturday morning was supposed to be the best fishing condition for fly fishermen - a gentle breeze, no higher than 2 feet of surf and a lot of white water.
I didn't catch any, though some spin fishermen around me caught some schoolies.

                                                                                          

I started a little earlier this morning.
There was some east wind but no much surf.
I caught a schoolie with a night sand eel fly in the wash before dawn.

I wish fish would be still here next weekend.

I stopped by Captree. It seems every Sunday proud car owners show off their customized cars in the party boat pier parking lot. Some even open the hoods to let people look into the engines.

Surf Fly Fishing - Facing the Ocean（Ⅱ）

I fished in Robert Moses in today's early morning and later in Sunken Meadow.
I haven't produced anything yet.
This was my third time trying to fish on the ocean side of Robert Moses.
Today's surf was quite rough, but I got used to casting and retrieving the fly in the crashing waves.
It made me feel like I was actually surf fishing. I will try there again. However, I wish I could catch some fish before I start going to the Point of Sandy Hook, NJ where is my usual late season fishing spot.  

            

                               This small patch of grasses creates an oasis in the sand.

Surf Fly Fishing - Facing the Ocean

I went to Robert Moses and fished the ocean side for four hours around high tide.
No fish again!
I usually prefer fishing in calmer water on the bay side or inside of the bay.
But in this fall season, I am a little more adventurous and fish in the rough ocean beach surf to get some experiences.
It is a tougher environment to fish than in the calm water.
Let me see how I do next time.

Continue being Skunked in this Fall's Saltwater

    
                                                                                                                                                            

I fished in three spots this weekend:  yesterday Robert Moses in the early morning and Sunken Meadow at noon, Jamaica Bay Inlet in today's morning - all skunked.
I haven't caught any decent fish yet since this fall saltwater fishing started.
This is the reality of surf fly fishing for me. I would say the probability of catching any fish is average one in fifth outing.  Though it looks unproductive, the total experience of surf fly fishing including preparation (tying, research, planning and practice etc), fills me up with excitement even more.

Camping surf fishermen in Robert Moses State Park

Democrat Point, Robert Moses State Park, Long Island

I fished in Fire Island inlet from Democrat Point side of Robert Moses State Park from early morning till 10am yesterday.
It was only the second time I fished there.
I got nothing. I need to learn more about this area.


Democrat Point looks wilder and larger than Breezy Point where I usually fish at this time of the season, but it is still close due to damage caused by Super Storm Sandy.
Therefore instead of getting a 4WD permit for Breezy Point, I got one for Robert Moses.
At Robert Moses, I saw many fishermen camping with their RVs on the beach.
I guess that's the way to do surf fishing by enthusiasts.

When I was leaving, I encountered a couple of foxes, probably a mother and a child.
They weren't really afraid of people.
I could enjoy watching their intimate time together at a close distance.