South Branch of the Raritan River

The last place on earth you might think to find such an awesome looking limestone fed river....the armpit of America...New Jersey.  But the South Branch of the Raritan is a Garden State gem.  I did a little research and found this stream right near where I was working, so I figured I'd give it a shot.  The most impressive thing about the whole trip was that I fit waders, vest, boots, and gear into my carry-on.  I just had to make cuts on work pants, socks and underwear.  Priorities people.  I had the whole day planned and was super pumped to go and not even torrential thunderstorms stopped me from getting out.  The fish weren't rising, but the stream was a nymphers delight and I tight lined about 8-10 fish in an evening and felt my stress level go from an 8 to a 1.  I love fishing. 

He are the Vladi!

Nympher's paradise

Yough Baptism for the Twins

Cooper thinking we're completely crazy

Spencer and I took the twins out for their first fly fishing adventure / baptism on the Yough.  Now, I know what you might be thinking,...that I've lost my mind taking a couple 8 month olds and my dog out on the river fly fishing, but all I can say is my wife thought it was a good idea at the time too (and one of the many reasons why I love her!)

Clara quickly grabbed an oar....future river rat!

  I cant claim it went exactly as I envisioned it, but I'm glad we gave it a whirl.  The trout were rising as they always do and Spencer was doing her best to occupy both babies.  But there is just something not very relaxing about casting to rising trout when twin babies are having mini meltdowns in the middle of a river. 

Clara famously waving in all of her pics! 

I think we could have handled just one meltdown, but not two.  I did get enough casts off to realize that the fish were not taking the big obvious yellow sz 14 cahills, but I didn't stick around too much longer.  There were a couple guys fishing below us and I felt terrible about the screaming babies.  Its one thing to have to accept screaming babies on an airplane, ....but on a river, you should NOT have to listen to other people's screaming babies. 

So we paddled upstream as we sang, "Row, Row, Row your boat"  and I just put the rod down and floated merrily, merrily back down the river. 

Dad with the best catch of the evening....a 22" wild Clara!

The nice thing was the twins aren't moving yet, so when that day comes (which will be soon,) we wont be able to take them out in the boat until they're a little older.  So I am so glad we got this float in now.

But it wont be long until ol Jack is rowing his old man down the river and I cant wait for the day!

Jack told me the fish were midging, but I didn't listen to him and kept casting that cahill dry fly.

Fishing Turks and Caicos

I recently went to an destination wedding for one of my best friends in Turks and Caicos Islands.  It was an unbelievable wedding with ridiculous times at the Beaches resort.  The weekend was epic, but for purposes of this blog, we'll stick with the fishing.

Friday we had a guys outing (all the girls went to the spa) and we hooked up with Grand Slam Charters and they took us on their Wahooooo boat. T&C islands are setup nicely because within 10 minutes you can be fishing for blue marlin and the big boys if you want.  In the States its an hour trip to the Gulf.   We had a great trip and though we didn't catch a ton, the most important thing was the groom-to-be landed a fish: a Spanish mackerel.

We found plenty of bait balls and bombing birds, and I really thought we were going to get into the fish, but it just didn't happen today.  With the trolling bite a little slow, we decided to anchor up and do some bottom fishing...but the only problem was Captain didn't have his  anchor.   Seriously, what kind of Captain, forgets his anchor?  Fortunately, we had a laid back group, so we just rolled with it and went back to trolling.  It was a great day to be out, so most of the team rested up, while some of us pounded Turks Head beer and ate Cheetos.

We ended up boating these two fish and the nice thing was we had the resort cook up the mackerel and Mahi for the rehearsal dinner Friday night.  The food on the menu was great, but nothing trumped that fresh fish.

Provo Bonefish Flats

Though I had an awesome day on the boat deep sea fishing, I couldn't stop thinking about the endless miles of pristine bonefish flats surrounding Provo Island, Turks and Caicos. 

I also spent hours tying up bonefish flies in the winter for this trip and brought all my stuff.  I was so pumped to go, I skipped the late night partying and instead got a good night sleep.  Nothing trumps fishing.

As luck would have it, our concierge at the Beaches resort knew just the local old timer that grew up on the island (also known locally as a Belonger) and knew all the local spots.  His name was Lam which was short for Lambert.  He wasn't a guide, but for a few bucks, he knew where the good flats were located and loved to go fishing.

I've said it before, but I think I could easily wander these miles of flats hunting for bones / permit forever.  Time just doesn't exist here.  Nothing but wading, searching and peacefulness.  True heaven.

After a few hours of searching and not one single cast, I spotted the first two bones flanking in at 45 feet.  I had seconds to get it off...and as I started my false cast, my fly line kinked in the rod guide  and they were gone just like that.  I blew it.  I was sick.  And they were big - so big I didn't even ask Lam how big.  But about 20 silent minutes later, he said, 'you know they wuz bout 12 pounders.'  The biggest bonefish I ever caught was maybe 6 lbs and a 10 pounder was a fish of a lifetime.  I wanted to puke.  But I was pretty stoked I spotted the first fish before Lam did, so we waded on, hunting... searching. 

I continued to look down wind hoping my next fish would present an easy cast, but Lam found the next fish and the bonefish was dead into the wind.  'There he is.  Make the cast.'  With one false cast, I made the best cast I've ever made into the stiff flat's wind.  At 35 feet, that single bone cruised the mud flats in 10 inches of water and I put the fly 5 feet in front of his nose between him and me.  He instantly turned.  I made a strip and he swam, but didn't commit.  He was close to me..now maybe 25 feet and my heart was about to come through my chest.  I crouched as low as I could and on the third short strip of a small tan shrimp fly, he ate it.  Game on!  3 trips into my backing and what felt like an hour later, the fish was to hand - a solid 8 pounder and biggest bonefish to date.  It was epic.  I'll never forget that.  It was the last fish we saw and then I had to hustle back to get ready for a wedding!  What a day.

 Hours later, it was back to the pool side bar and prep for Robbie and Clare's wedding (which was the real reason we were all there :)  Then onto the celebration!  I've been to a lot of weddings, but none with a view like this.  All weddings should be in bonefish heaven.

Memorial Weekend Yough Float

 

 
With Grandma holding down the fort and watching the twins for the day, I was finally able to get Spencer onto the Yough for a float over Memorial Weekend.  It was exactly one year ago she was out on the Delaware in the boat and its been a long and wonderful year since then.  This was the first time she was away from the twins for any period of time longer than a grocery trip and I was glad she was really excited to go out. 

 

Dave, Spence and myself hit the water around 8 ish and had a wonderful day on the water.  It was a little chilly to start but a bluebird sunny day that hit the mid-60’s, with the only knock being the ridiculous wind.  Dave had been seeing good numbers of March Browns, but the wind really hampered the hatch and the dry fly fishing.  We did pretty well on nymphs anchored with a big thingamabobber and heavy stoneflies and were able to boat some nice Yough bows.  We didn’t catch one single brownie.  Full moon and a blue bird sky - I wasn't too surprised...but still a little crazy.  And no matter how many times I go out,  I'm still amazed how hard a 16” Yough trout can jump and fight.  These fish are all muscle.  No squishy stocked trout here.
 
 

Half way through the float, we were able to find a couple rising trout lazily sipping march browns and caddis along the bank that seemed completely unaware of any wind.  The highlight of my day was watching Spencer make a nice quartering downstream cast and feeding this nice Yough 'bow a March Brown dun.  The fish ate and left her with about 40 feet of slack line as it ran right towards the boat!  She got tight and landed him like a pro.  She may not have fished for a year, but it was like riding a bike for her. 

 

The water was around 1000 cfs and it felt great to get behind the oars again on the river.  I’m really looking forward to many more floats this summer.

Yough Float

Love this river!

  

David and I hit the Yough for our first 'full' float of the year on the middle Yough. I wanted to do most of the oar work and get another run with the hard boat under my belt, so we took the RO.  We saw there was a chance of rain, but decided the risk was worth the potential reward of catching an epic Hendrickson hatch that neither of us have ever seen on the Yough.  Well, we gambled and lost.  haha.  It rained all damn day and then the wind started.  Felt like the West Branch all over.  My rain jacket apparently didnt work too well either.  Soaked and cold, but rowing and fishing and having fun. 


 








David started it out good with a couple fish on a new streamer he tied up the night before including a palomino that proceeded 'lay' eggs all over the boat after this pic was snapped. Sweet. 










We tried nymphing, but apparently didnt bring our A-game cause we couldnt move a fish.  We chalked it up to a slow nymph bite, which sounded great in theory until later that day we talked to anther boat who was cleaning house on nymphs.  damnit.  The good news was the streamer bite was great for us so we rolled with it all day.  The fish were nailing the streamer, at times taking 3-4 strikes before connecting on the surface and some right next to the boat.  I was rowing and having just as much fun watching.  It was nuts.  And they were all rainbows with the odd goldie and an even more rare 10" brook trout that ate that streamer!  But on a cloudy overcast, miserable day, we never did catch a brownie.  So weird. 





 






















Anyways, I felt much better behind the oars on this run, but it helped having those extra few hundred CFS.  We saw a few BWOs, caddis and even a couple Hendricksons, but the rain downed the hatches for sure.  No worries...the Yough is just heating up and the fish are looking fat and healthy.

     

Steelhead???....Nope just a Yough fatty that ate some meat

Wild Leek (Ramp) Recipes

 

I didn't have a banner mushroom year, but did find my share of wild leeks (ramps.)  This was the first time I got into these guys and won't be my last.  Think cross between onion / garlic.  But a little more earthy and just popping with flavor.  I picked bags of them and then had to figure out something to do with them. 

The soup recipe came via Southern Foods online and it was out of this world.  So good.  After frying them up or eating them in salads, I didn't have a ton left, but I decided to pickle a few jars for later in the year just to try something new.  I can't say I've even tried these yet, but they do look really, really good.  I'm thinking fishing / hunting camp with some good cheese / crackers and a nice strong IPA.

Potato and Wild Leek (Ramps) Soup 

 

Ingredients:

• 4 to 6 slices bacon
• 4 cups chopped ramps (including green)
• 4 to 5 cups diced red potatoes
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:

In a large skillet or Dutch oven, fry bacon until crispy; set bacon aside. Add ramps and potatoes to the skillet; fry on medium-low heat until ramps are tender. Sprinkle with flour; stir until flour is absorbed. Stir in chicken broth; simmer until potatoes are tender. Stir in the cream and heat thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serves 4 to 6.

  

 





Pickled Leeks

 

 

I found this brine online on another Blog. 

- 8 cups of leeks bulbs
- 5.5 cups of 5% white vinegar
- 1 cup distilled water
- 2 teaspoons of canning or Kosher salt
- 2 cups sugar
- 8 teaspoons mustard seed
- 4 teaspoons celery seed
- 2 teaspoons coriander seed
- 2 teaspoons hot pepper flakes

Simmer vinegar, water, salt and sugar for 3-minutes before adding the leeks. 

Once you`ve simmered for 3-minutes, add the leeks and bring back to a gentle simmer for 5 minutes (start timing once you`r back at a boil). Add into hot sterilized pint jars (leaving a half inch of head space), remove any air bubbles and place in a hot water bath under a full boil for 10 minutes.



JP's 1st Upland Hunt

One of my best friends from JMU that lives in Boston came into town for the Steelers v. Ravens game.  We had some time to kill on the weekend and we decided to get out to a local hunting preserve (where he didn't need a license.)  He had never hunted before and only shot a gun once in his life.  It was a beautiful day and he wanted to see Cooper in his element and try his hand at wing shooting.

 We started out with some clay pigeons and Johnny hit a couple - probably batting around .200. But when we moved onto the birds, it was a whole new game and he was dead nuts.  One after another, he didn't miss a single bird.  The first few birds Cooper flushed were chukar and he smoked them. 

There were pheasants all throughout the property, but man were they running.  These birds were really wily and rarely held.  It was also warm with little wind, which made it tough for Cooper.  But he stuck with them and tracked them really well. 

                                                                                                           Wait, Labs can point????

Towards the end of the hunt, we finally put a couple ringnecks up for Johnny and he was lights out on them too. There were some pretty difficult crossing shots and I was super impressed with how he swung on these birds very naturally.  Cooper did his work and fetched them quickly up. 

All in all it was a great hunt and I think we have a new wing shooter whenever he is in town.  We finished up with a couple cold Two Hearted Ales on the tailgate of the truck and then headed home.

                                        Johnny was absolutely lights out shooting.  First time out.  Literally didn't miss a bird!  I never seen that.  

                                                                                          Helltown Brewing from Mt. Pleasant, PA

Earlier in the day, we were down in the Stript District and picked up a growler of Helltown Reserve Stout.  I'd never heard of this brew, but we come to find out that it was a new local brewery in my old hometown of Mt. Pleasant, PA!  I had no clue.   I had to laugh at the name of the brewery given some of my youthful experiences.  But, I later learned Mt. Pleasant was nick named 'Helltown' due to the omnipresent red glow of the coke ovens and the hazy smog that created a very eerie rendition of Hell on Earth.   

So with a few Stouts under our belt, we decided to get a little exotic and plucked the pheasants (which is a pain in the ass) to keep the skin on and then spatchcock them so they could be grilled whole.  I'd had never prepared a bird of any kind like this and Johnny showed me how to cut the breast bone out so it could be grilled flat.  I would never have grilled pheasant breasts because they would typically be too dry, but the secret was that you grill it with the bones in and it keeps the bird MOIST and flavorable.  You really get the taste of pheasant and they were delicious.  Birds, beer, grilling...good day.

Wood Crest Point Upland Hunt

Brad and Christine turned Spencer and I on to this Living Social deal in the summer for a combo pheasant / chuckar hunt at Wood Crest Point. It's a little bit of a hike, but we love checking out new places and knew the dogs would love a late season hunt. We split the day up and ran Brad's GSP, Roxie, in the morning and then Cooper in the afternoon. 

Cooper on point and ready to be released for his flush

Roxie locked up on point

We used to hunt the two dogs together, but Cooper was causing Roxie to break and we found it best to just work them separately.  This works out well cause then Brad and I can just work our dogs and the girls just get to shoot away!  Both dogs did great this day and the shooting was pretty good from our end too.  In fact, after we picked up a few bonus birds, we ended up with more than we planted, which doesn't happen very often.  Cooper did a fantastic job, quartering within range and pointing almost every bird.  Without a doubt though, the best part of the point is the flush that follows.  If he knows exactly where the bird is, he'll dart right in.  But if he's not quite sure, he calculates his approach and then jumps into the air trying to land on the bird.  If he doesn't land on it, he continues to jump around like he's on 4-legged pogo stick until the bird comes up. It's pretty hilarious. 

Here's a few action shots that Spencer took on this really beautiful golden pheasant.  The flushing picture is one of my all-time favorites.

The point

The flush

And the retrieve

Cooper with a fine finished retrieve

Wood Crest Point was a really nice property with plenty of room to hunt and great cover for the birds. Its definitely a nice hunt and we plan to be back.

Picture of the crew with a few of the birds from the afternoon hunt