Fishing reports june 1 - june 30

[bottom knocker]

Two big things are are preventable: Sewage and runoff..Also Ray you have mentioned pesticides sprayed for skeeters..

[BassonaFly]

Two big things are are preventable: Sewage and runoff..Also Ray you have mentioned pesticides sprayed for skeeters..

So very true, but the NJ population has exploded in the last 50 years.
When I was a young guy living in Cape May, so long ago, the bay water was pretty clean? You just couldn't believe the amount of weakfish swimming in the clean life filled bay?
Now every square inch of sand has a building on it. Now millions of toilets flushing every second in Philly and all the other slop put in there! It all runs down to Cape May Point with the tide.
Years ago, I could see the flounder near the shore at the infamous Magnesite pipeline. Now it is always dirty with a smell. It has become a cesspool where it was once a paradise! Once world class weakfish and flounder ...... now seaweed, skates, lots of jellyfish and sickly sand sharks.
I'm about Ray's age, and I can see the very same thing. It makes me sick to my stomach, so I don't fly fish there anymore!

Even with money spent........ really, you don't have a time machine? Could you evaporate 75% of the people, boats, and buildings? Then bring the oysters back to clean the water?

[CapeMayRay]

It is a tough problem to solve. Sewerage from houses is no problem, Run off is the biggest. No way to filter out the nitrates in an economical way. Once you have some algae as it dies and breaks down it sucks up more oxygen. It is like a pool. The multiplication effect happens so fast.

I don't know. My marina is a 1/2 mile from the ocean and on New Moon and Full Moon tides at night around the dock lights there use to be tons of life by this time of the year. Little pod like stuff swimming, bay anchoviess, spearing, tons of grass shrimp and worm hatches. I keep looking at night and see little to nothing. That alone tells me something isn't right.

[duff]

All the streams around the Phila area are carpeted with algae from lawn fertilizer run off. All of it enters the Del river. The river, not as bad yet, but will be carpeted soon with the next heat wave.

Developers scrape off and sell the top soil when building. They spread maybe an inch of soil when they seed a lawn. People just don't understand that pouring loads of fertilizer on a lawn that has very little top soil only washes right away when it rains. Lawn service businesses just overload a lawn with fertilizer to make it look good.

Too much money being made to stop it now !

[sparse grey]

Finally found a good access & fishing spot on the Eagle River West of Vail after 2 humbling days on the Gore River in Vail. Just too tight for me I suppose. The access we found was an old launching ramp apparently not used anymore. Nice pool with plently of fast water up-stream. Started with the nymph rig allready rigged & had 2 very quickly with several more & quite a few blunders. Most were on the dropper #20 some kind of caddis nymph. Several rising which caused me to switch to my favorite method-dry. About a size 16 or so.


Sorry wrong pic. Stubby fingers. Here tis.


The caddis dry is visible.



Wife came down & while talking me out of the water managed 2 more. A wonderful 1 1/2 hrs before dark.

[CapeMayRay]

Again, very nice pictures. It looks like you are in to more good fishing.

Back here in Cape May the fly fishing remains pretty poor. Was out last night with a one person fly charter and ocean water was 74 degrees. Picked up a few weakfish one 12 inch blue and 8 sea herring. Pretty dismal when you are primarily fishing for stripers at prime time if day, with a good tide at normal good locations. Very weird not to have at least blue action. Kept hoping he would get a decent fish to take a picture of. He was happy as it was his first salt trip as he us use to brook trout.

Today wasn't much better. Picked up filet knife by the sheath and the knife started falling out and instinct to stop was faster than common sence. Now know where saying do not catch a falling knife comes from after needing 12 stiches to close the wound. Good old duck tape stopped me from making a bloody mess as was bleeding li

Was patched up in time for my charter tonight but with 25 mph winds we canceled and will try tomorrow morning.

[CapeMayRay]

Very poor fishing this morning. As poor as it gets. Went out early this morning with 2 fly anglers and a spin fisherman. We had great weather and a good tide. Started them fishing clousers and jiggies and the spin guy with a swimming plug and had one fish hit and lost it. Looked like a small blue. Always had one guy working the fly rod and not a single hit, That is as bad as it gets. Switched two over to gulp an jig heads and they picked away at fluke with no keepers.

Worked all 4 sided of the inlet jetties and never saw a single baitfish, or bird work and the wind picked up as it was time to come in. No fun for them or me.

[sparse grey]

Sorry about your fishing woes Ray. Wish I had some phrase that would help. On the good side, Glad you have a good sharp blade on the fillet knife. Hope from not lack of use. :-)

[sparse grey]

Guick PM trip. Lots of surface activity. Can see the caddis dry.



Okay-alarge caddis dry. Helps with my eyes.

[CapeMayRay]

Way to Ron. Right now I could use a nice trout trip in some nice clean water.

I guess it is the heat with the water in the 70's in the ocean. Our water is some what clean but has a bit of a off color green. I am hoping it is from all the rain we had on Monday.

Afternoon trip yesterday, with the poor fishing in the morning and a fairly strong wind I decided to try some clam bellies and clam at a couple of good areas for bass as I had a father and his young son out. I knew I would have to fight off a number of sand sharks to get a couple of bass or blue but that never happen. Kid was having the time of his life with the rod bending, but after about 40 sharks I had to make another move.

With the wind now starting to die out we shot to the ocean and picked some small fluke and 1 keeper size weakfish using gulp.