Tenkara Fishing in Carmans River, Long Island, NY

It was my first time to fish in Carmans River, Long Island yesterday.  I wanted to see if this river is good for tenkara fishing.
It would be nice to have a small stream for tenkara fishing near my home.
I paid 3 bucks at the Southhaven County Park boat rental office for one-day fishing in Carmans River
I checked out all access points along River Road in the east side of the River.
The River and the natural environment are nice and well preserved, except one can hear gun shots all the time.

The Carmans River inside the park is a shallow spring creek with a lot of water weed.  It is good for light tackle fishing, like tenkara.
But I didn't see any fish.
I was able to find a rise below the Lower Dam
outside the park and caught a tiny sunfish, the only fish of yesterday.
I fished there around noon time.  I guess the timing was not right. Probably in the early morning or evening would be a better time for fishing.

Hopefully I will have more luck next time.  
                        

 

Little Neck Bay （Ⅸ）night fishing

Did I get a "skunk"  also at my back?  Oh no, it was a RACCOON.

I fished in Little Neck Bay last night from 9:30 to 11:00.  High tide came at 11:00 pm.
It was a nice and quiet spring evening.
The gentle east wind blowing behind me made my fly casting easier,
and yet, nothing happened at all. A bait fisherman fishing next to me caught a large striper. But none of my stuff works - flies, retrieve speed or depth countdown etc.
Maybe I just didn't have any luck.

The well known early spring striper season in Little Neck Bay has been over.
Let me move on.

Tenkara Fishing in Croton, NY

My wife bought a tenkara rod from Tenkara USA last year and caught many fish until the rod tip was broken. Tenkara USA was not able to replace the tip after a month of waiting, so they sent her a new rod instead.
It seems tenkara fishing is natural to her.

During off season last winter, I researched tenkara fishing and bought two rods from Japan, in different length and action.

I tried tenkara first time yesterday in Croton River and caught three trouts.
I started fishing at the spot in West Branch where I caught a large and nice brown in the beginning of the season last year.
Soon after I had fished, I hooked a brown even larger than the one of last year - over 17".
My tenkara rod was bended so much that it looked like a weeping willow.
I had difficulty pulling the fish up close to my net.
It was swimming lively around me while my arm was extending upward to the back trying to control the fish.
It was a tough battle.  My extending arm became tired.
When I was finally able to grab the line to pull up the fish, the tippet broke immediately.
I figure once I grabbed the line, my 5X tippet lost the cushion of flexibility from the tenkara rod.  It just got too much pressure and broke
If I had landed this fish, it would have been a perfect picture of my first fish caught by tenkara rod.
As a first-timer, I was not ready to land such a large fish. I have to learn how to do it.
However I managed to catch three small trouts in other spots of the River.

I would say my first tenkara fishing was a success and I enjoyed it.
But there is a negative side.  I broke the tip section of the rod when I tried to retrieve the line caught in the river bottom.
During my research, I read many warnings about the fragility of tenkara rod tips.
Unfortunately I proved it to be true in my first tenkara fishing.
It seems the rod tip can withstand the pressure from the fish's pulling, but it becomes very weak when the impact or pressure comes from the side. How weak is it?  It is as weak as a tooth pick.
When fishing with tenkara rod, I really need to be extra cautious.    

        

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Little Neck Bay（Ⅷ） night fishing

I tried night fishing for 2-3 hours three times last week in the Bay.
I got only a tiny schoolie in the third night.

I fished two nights in the east side of the Bay at the same spot.
In both nights one lure fisherman took his same spot on my right hand side.
He caught a large striper in the second night.
It is obvious that large fish were there, but I couldn't catch them.
The lure fisherman reeled slowly most of the time and changed lures often.
I used the heavy sinking shooting head at all time, so that I could cast the large fly in farther distance.
It seems I have this obsession to use large flies once I have seen bunkers in the Bay.  Last year I saw large bunkers jumping in the Bay as if they were trying to escape from large stripers' pursue.  I have tied large bunker flies to entice these large stripers.
The heavy sinking line requires constant fast retrieve, otherwise the fly will sink and snag the bottom.
Unfortunately this approach has not worked much so far for night fishing in the Bay.

If I go night fishing next time, I'd better have more variety of flies and use intermediate line so I can retrieve with various speed.  

Little Neck Bay（Ⅶ）bunker fly

Last week I fished the Bay intensively
- Thursday evening, Saturday morning and evening, and Sunday morning -
trying to catch a keeper, but I got only several schoolies.
I am a little bit tired of catching schoolies.
Well, maybe I will try my luck night fishing.

I met an acquaintance, who told me two weeks ago bunkers were in the Bay and he caught two keepers with his fly rod.

I think that was the day 3~4 lure fishermen near me caught large stripers one after the other, but I got none, not even one bite.   I assumed that my small silver- side flies didn't get the fish's attention. Since then I have been using bunker flies, regardless bunkers being in the Bay or not, for their larger profiles. I have caught more fish.

 I don't mean to say larger flies catch more fish, but they work for me so far.

Little Neck Bay ( Ⅵ ) The season is in full swing now.

I fished the east side of the Bay yesterday.
It was one of my most productive days as I caught seven schoolies ranging from 13-inch to 24-inch in 2 hours.

But today I fished the west side of the Bay.
I caught three schoolies in 3 hours.
I would say I was the luckiest among about 10 fishermen fishing around me, though I caught only three.

I give credits to my tackles for such good fortune.
The combination of my 5-inch bunker tied with SF flash blend and my 16-foot, 12-weight two-handed rod with 21-foot, 700 grains sinking shooting head line work extremely well.
I can deliver the fly over 30 yards away with only one swing of the rod  and retrieve the line in quick succession like lure fishermen do.

Now I hope I may catch a keeper in the remaining days of the early striper season of the Bay.

Little Neck Bay （Ⅴ）first striper

                                                  
 I finally caught four stripers in the Bay this morning.
I fished for three hours around the time of the high tide at 10:30 am.
I looked forward to the warm morning temperature which was in the 40's, for a good day of  fishing.
I said to myself I had to catch some fish today.
I felt relief when I did.    

   

  

          

Yesterday I fished in the Bay too.
It was chilly and windy. I got nothing, not even one bite.
Six or seven lure fishermen and I fished in the same vicinity.  Some hooked and landed the fish.
I saw their lures were much bigger than my silverside flies which I always use in the early spring as they are supposed to be abundant at this time in the Bay.

So today I changed to use the banker flies which have bigger profiles than the silversides.
I figured that the stripers wouldn't be picky at this time in the Bay as winter had just gone.
Bigger flies can let them to find my flies easier.

 The structure is behind me on the right side. 

On Wednesday I lost my shooting head line in the Bay.  After fishing in the morning yesterday, I went back in the afternoon with my wife during low tide and hoped to find my lost line when the bottom was exposed.
The bottom was muddy and the soft soil sucked our feet. Both fell down on the mud and had good laughs at ourselves.  What a mess we made, but I  found my shooting head line!!
As I was searching for my line, I got an inkling why a spot in the back of the Bay has more fish caught than somewhere else.  There is some kind of a structure sticking out at that spot. In general the bottom is flat, so I guess stripers prefer hiding in that spot to ambush their preys.

Little Neck Bay 2013（Ⅳ）all Sic guides rod

I fished the Bay yesterday afternoon for 3 hours and hooked one, but failed to land it.
Since started the season fishing the Bay for almost a month, I haven't caught any yet.
Maybe I won't start fishing so early next year.
Though I haven't got any fish, I don't think I waste any time as I need to practice the two-handed rod casting.
I need to practice often, especially the spey casting.
Here is a good point for the fan of the two-handed rod fishing.  Even you don't catch any fish, you can have an excuse for just casting practice.

During off season, I replaced all the guides of my 10-weight 15-foot two-handed rod with Sic guides.
I have used the rod couple of times. It performs well as expected.
I can cast the line farther than before. It becomes easier to cast the line with the shooting spey which I often use in the Bay because of  the limited back space.
One of  the reasons the shooting spey casting makes easier is that the rod's better casting ability allows me to use less power, thus prevent blown anchor.
  
I think if someone wants more casting distance, rather than spending a large sum of money on the latest high end rods, it is worthwhile to spend a little time and money to replace the rod guides to Sic or other ceramic guides as most makers' rods are equipped with the wire guides except stripping guide.                  

Little Neck Bay 2013（Ⅲ） They are here !

I fished the Bay for 3 hours this afternoon.
It was still quite chilly.
As the northwest wind made some waves in the Bay, the water became murky.
I saw only one lure fisherman.

When I started to wonder the striper's presence, I hooked one but failed to land it.
Now the stripers are finally and surely here.

Little Neck Bay 2013 （Ⅱ） Icy Water

Yesterday was a beautiful day.
I started fishing around 9:00 am at the back of the Bay.
There was only a slight breeze, so the surface of the water was as flat as a calm lake.
As it was an incoming tide, the water slowly moved toward the back of the Bay.
I was casting the fly with a hopeful mood. Then I saw something like spilled oil coming around me and it hit my legs with a cracking sound.

It was a huge, thin layer of ice drifting from somewhere. It didn't break into pieces because the water was so calm.
This layer of ice on the water surface was not a good sign.  My heart sank.
The water temperature was colder than I thought.
But I continue casting till my body was totally frozen from top to bottom.
No luck!

The tidal timings of this week are not convenient for me. I have to wait till the weekend to try again.

Little Neck Bay 2013

I have just started the new saltwater season in Little Neck Bay this weekend.
I didn't have any luck.
I guess it was still a bit cold.  However, I enjoyed casting the flies and swinging the rod after a couple months of hibernation.

I didn't see any fisherman except a lure fisherman passing by me when I was walking to the parking lot while he was heading to the back of the Bay.
He said to me, "They are here!!"
I am not sure of it. But I am sure the striper season will be in full swing next week.

 Somebody  left a curious piece of art work by the Bay. 

Steve Farrar's Flash Blend Fly

 The top fly is last year's 8-inch yak hair  bunker  with EZ body head which weighs 5g.  The new ones (middle and bottom) weigh only 3g.

My new saltwater season will be coming in a week or two.      
I have prepared some new flies.
Since I am a budget fly fisherman, I don't use many kinds of material for tying.
But when I saw the video of the mullet fly tying with the SF flash blend in YouTube, I was very
impressed by this material forming the bulky body fly so quickly and easily.

I ordered several different colors of SF Flash Blend online to add to my few lists of the saltwater fly material.

This material is so light and voluminous that one can make bulky flies easily with less material.
These qualities are what I have been looking for.
In the YouTube video, eyes were glued to the body directly.
But I am not sure whether this way of attaching the eyes is durable enough or not.  So I use pieces of clear plastic as the eye bases and tied them on the hook shank.

Last year's early spring, I saw a lot of  bunker activities in the Little Neck Bay and it will be my early season striper fishing spot.
If bunkers appear again like last year, I will use this new fly.
Let's see.

Install Sic Rod Guides

Last season I found the stripping guide of my 10-weight 15-foot two-handed rod had a crack on the ceramic ring.
As a off-season project, I decide to replace all the guides.  I have used this rod in the saltwater for several years, so it is about time to get new guides.
After I had bought a 13-weight 16-foot rod two years ago, I intended to use the 15-foot one as a backup.  But I use the 15-foot quite often because the 16-foot is inconvenient in certain fishing area.

Sic guides are used on the tip top and stripping guides of the 16-foot rod, so I know Sic guides are strong and good.
During my research on rod guides in the internet, I come across some interesting conversations among surf casting fishermen who want to cast farther distance.
In one of the forums, a fisherman says he prefers Sic guides because he won't hear any noise when the line is running through the guides.  If other guides are used , he can hear noises.
I am kind of fascinated by how much these fishermen care about guides and the research they do to find better guides.     

I would say most fly fishermen are not so serious about their rod guides, myself included,
until I come across this site:
http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/forum/index.php?threads/single-foot-sic-guides.10225/
Of course some fly fishermen do know how rod guides can make a difference.

I want to have the experience of  a rod with all Sic guides because I do care a lot about the casting distance in surf fishing.

I have just finished replacing the guides of my 15-foot rod with all Sic guides.

 

Little Neck Bay (III)

I fished at the Bay again early this morning and caught several schoolies.
They were all small.
I felt I had gotten enough of them.

I usually don't reel the line when a fish is hooked.
I continue stripping the line and land the fish, especially a small one.
I cannot reel in the fish because when the fish is hooked, usually at that time the long running line has already piled up in the stripping basket.
If the hooked fish is big and strong enough to pull all the running line from the stripping basket, then I can use the reel.  But it seldom happens.
Most of the time I strip the line to bring the fish in as if the fish and I were playing the "tug of war".


            

  

                                                                                  

Little Neck Bay (II)

This afternoon I fished the Little Neck Bay again till dark and had another productive day.
I caught several schoolies but also missed several.
Many times the strike came when I had striped all the running line and was raising the rod to pick up the shooting line.
It seemed like the fish was waiting for my fly just right in front of me.

I probably can enjoy more fishing in the Bay before the end of the season finally comes.
How nice!

Little Neck Bay

I want to fish the south shore of Long Island before the striper season ends.
The West End of Jones Beach is one of the few public areas open for fishing after Hurricane Sandy.
So yesterday I went there, but I was skunked.
I felt that was it, the end of my striper fishing season.

Today was warm and nice.
So I went to the closest fishing spot from my home,  Little Neck Bay, without much expectation.
The bay is a famous fishing spot for early spring striper, but not for other season.
I figured that I would be happy just to practice spey casting, overhead casting, etc with my long spey rod.
As it turned out, today was quite a productive fishing day.
I landed two schoolies.

Oh boy!  The season has not yet ended.

Central North Shore, Long Island

Because of Hurricane Sandy,  my usual fishing spots in Gateway National Recreation Area: Jamaica Bay area, NY and Sandy Hook, NJ are closed.

Last weekend I went to find fishing spots in Central North Shore, LI and got a schoolie in one of the bays. I even missed a big one which broke my tippet. I must say I had an unexpected lucky day.

I wish those people who were devastated by Hurricane Sandy recover really soon, so do my fishing spots.