Island Beach State Park, NJ - The surf fishing season almost ends.

On the web I saw good fishing reports of Island Beach State Park, NJ last week.  So I decided to go there in the early Saturday morning before the arrival of the really cold weather.

I caught a shad, but I didn't catch any striper, neither did fishermen around me.
I guessed either most of the fish had already gone or they didn't come to the beach last Saturday.
I got another chance - a strong strike, but I missed the fish only a moment later.
The sand eel fly went with the fish when the blood knot of the tippet had come loose.  I probably did not tie the knot securely enough in the early morning as my fingers were numbed by the cold wind.  

Later I thought about the miss.  After casting, I wasn't able to start stripping the line right away because I had to free the end of the running line which became tangled on the butt grip of my two-handed rod.  Because of the delay in stripping, the fly sank deeper.  When I started stripping the line, the strike came.  It makes me realize that in some cases, even in surf fishing, I should do a countdown for the fly to reach a certain depth of the water, rather than starting to strip immediately after casting, even though delayed stripping can cause real trouble:  the incoming wave can push the line toward the shore and create an irretrievable slack line. It is difficult to control the sinking depth of the fly in the surf by countdown, but it is worth trying.
    
I have surf fished in the ocean side of the beach several times since the stripper run started.
Although I caught only one schoolie, I become used to fish in the ocean side and learn something about it.
I hope to do better next season.

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.

Little Neck Bay, NY and New Jersey Shore

     

I fished the Little Neck Bay on Saturday and the New Jersey Shore on Sunday.

In Little Neck Bay, I caught one schoolie to end my skunked streak.



  

In the early Sunday morning, I fished in Monmouth Beach. The surf was quite flat - Nada!
Later I went to the Sandy Hook Point.
Only some shads welcomed me.

The striper season will end soon.
I wish I could finally have a memory of a good catch for the long off season.
     

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

Salmon Fishing - Pulaski, NY 2013

As our autumn ritual, we went salmon fishing last weekend in the Salmon River.
Playing tug-of-war with this powerful fish gives us a lot of fun and excitement.
Unlike trout fly fishing, it is not quite demanding on us regarding to skill, knowledge or tactics etc., though we need to be in good spots.

This year we were fortunate that the river condition and the weather were very good.
Plenty of salmons were in the river. Somewhat mysterious to us, we saw almost all salmons caught were kings. In past years, we saw mix of silvers and kings.
We had many chances to fight with the fish and landed some nice kings.
We really enjoyed catching these enormous fighters under this year's summer like weather.

Shawangunk Mountains and the Catskills Mountain Streams

We drove along Route 55 in Showangunk Mountains area to the Catskills.  We stopped by Minnewaska State Park to enjoy the nice fall foliage scenery which was in full swing.

Awosting Falls

                                                               Lake Minnewaska

  

                                                            Rainbow reflection on Lake Minnewaska

We were pleased to see the beautiful Catskills mountain streams in autumn, and we caught several brookies and browns.
It would probably be our last tenkara fishing trip to the Catskills to end the season.

Montauk, Long Island, NY

On Monday I spent overnight in Montauk and wanted to experience the famous fall striper blitz fishing which unfortunately didn't happen.
I fished three timings of high tides:  Monday morning and evening, and Tuesday morning.  However, I didn't even get one bite.  I didn't see anyone catching any fish within my sight the whole time either.
The days were just sunny and peaceful like beautiful summer days.
These warm days make me guess the famous Montauk striper fall run hasn't started.
   

I fished in the white water most of the time. There are plenty of nice white water around the Point.