Here's a cool pic from Delaware taken today.
Two 50 ft Northern Right Whales came into
the Indian River inlet.

Inlets are great places to see relatively unusual offshore species. In NJ, there are no resident populations of whales, but we are on the migratory path.

More often when striper fishing, you can encounter porpoises, but there was an occasion last fall where some smaller whales were crashing jetties
from which anglers were targetting Striped Bass!! Way Cool to watch, but not great for fishing :)

January 2007


Well, it took over a month, but we finally received
our first "real" snowfall for the season last night.
As Winter has finally settled into New Jersey,
I look out over the ocean and just wonder about
what this year holds. No, it's not all fishing. There
are family outings and issues. Some things good,
some things not so good. But always an adventure.
In fact, a Christian life can be viewed as an adventure
with God. As an angler, I'm constantly aware of
God's presence in my life, the wonder of His creation,
and am in awe of all around me. Having that perspective
keeps a child-like enthusiasm active and alive within
me. Unfortunately, I don't have the free-time
that a child has, with which to pursue all my
desired activities *LOL*.

The Hockhockson Brook


This is a picture of the upper headwaters
of the Hockhockson Brook in Monmouth County.
It probably held wild brook trout 10 years ago,
however unchecked development in the watershed
has destroyed the native brook trout population.

Still, it holds stocked fish over during good years
and provides decent fishing opportunities for
for those who live in the area.

BTW, I'll try to update the blog at least once
a week, sometimes more often. The focus
will be on both stripers and trout with an
emphasis on the coastal Monmouth County
region of New Jersey. Of course, as blogs go,
the subject may vary from time to time.

Winter Blues

Now that cold weather has settled into New Jersey, we are entering a time of year
called the Winter Blues...well at least that's what I call it. This is analogous
to that time of year called The Summer doldrums... and basically everything
slows down. Ok, perhaps you can find some frozen lakes in Northern NJ, and
if you like the party boat scene, you can still go offshore for some of the bottom
fish. But to a surf bound striper fisherman, and to a coastal bound trout fisherman,
it gets pretty difficult from now until late February to hook up with anything
substantial. Plus it's cold :)

When fishing for striped bass,
you should remember that night-time is the right-time. These predators prefer
feeding in shallow waters during low-light hours. Since I do most of my fishing
in the surf, on foot, and not on a boat, this makes going out after the sun sets
mandatory. Here is a 7 lb bass caught at 1AM using a black feather and bucktail
"fly" called a "deceiver"...made famous by Lefty Kreh. Pitch black out using
a black fly and yet this bass slammed it vicously. Stripers have keen eyesight
and can see at night as well as you and I could at noon.

This is a typical spring stocked trout caught on
the Hockhockson brook in Tinton Falls in May
2006. Not a great pic from the cell phone, but
you get the idea...

While stripers and trout definitely "reign" in the
eyes of most anglers in NJ, no one should knock the
ever present bluefish!!

This is a typical "winter" striper along the New Jersey coast.
I use a "storm" type shad, which is very popular, and these smaller
resident striped bass (aka Rockfish down south) will hit these while
feeding in the zone just beyond the first breakers.

Trout

A trout caught in one of New Jersey's Trout Conservation Areas. It measured 15" exactly.