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Welcome to our blog. Visit here frequently for fish stories, ramblings, and occasionally some useful information.

8/28/08

Summer is fading and fall is quickly arriving. The fishing has been pretty good. There are a few things to talk about. The first is Ken Lockwood Gorge has been fishing well.  Many of the guys, myself included, have done well with dry flies, especially attractive patterns.  Royal Wulffs in size 8-12 worked well for me and many guys have been doing well with similar attractive patterns including humpies, sofa pillows, parachute adams, etc.

The next thing to talk about is the smallmouth fishing has been outstanding on the Delaware River in addition to some of the local rivers including the Passiac and Raritan.  I'm heading up to the Delaware on Sunday to do a float in the area of the Mongaup River.  If you'd like a report give the shop a buzz next week.  

I got my first report that albies were spotted and caught in a vicinity of Sandy Hook.   I'm not sure how solid they are yet, but it's a good sign that they should be coming in strong soon.  I've also heard that the striper fishing has also been fairly decent as of late.  I think much of it has been from boats, but the bass are still around, which for late August is great to see.  

The salmon River has been a bit slow as of late, but there are Summer Steelhead (Sakmanias) being caught.  A buddy of mine caught 6 steelhead over 10 pounds a couple of weekends ago!  He caught them on the spey rod swinging flies.  Nothing like catching steel during the summer!  I did hear that the salmon have moved shallower and are now being caught in 45-60 feet of water in the lake so a good push should be in soon.

I've got a few openings for the spey casting class with Simon Gawesworth coming up September 6th or 7th.  I have an opening or two on both days.  If you're interested, please contact me for more info.  

We're going to be running a spey fishing school for steelhead on Cattaraugus Creek up near Buffalo, NY. The "Catt" is an awesome steelhead fishery where the fish are very aggressive to flies fished on a swing.  This is an excellent opportunity to not only learn how to fish with a spey rod but to fish semi-private water on one of the finest steelhead fisheries in all of the Great Lakes.  The class will be taking place in the Zoar Valley which is a pristine absolutely beautiful gorge that the river has carved for millions of years.  Spots are limited, contact us now for more info.

7/24/08

On August 17th we will be holding our 2nd Trout Academy.  Please contact us for more info on this full day of learning to fly fish for trout.

The South Branch at Ken Lockwood Gorge and the Pequest rivers have still been doing well.  With the rain we're receiving tonight and the cooler temperatures forecast this should be an excellent week to get out and fish for trout.  Small nymphs, midges, Blue winged olives, suplurs, isonychias, caddis, and various attractive dries have been working.  Terrestrials are also working well.  With the potential for high water after the rain tonight I would look to fish some larger nymphs and streamers if water levels get high.

The smallmouth fishing on the lower Delaware, Raritan and Passaic Rivers has been very good.  Another option would be to head up to the West Branch, East Branch, or Neversink in NY state for trout.  These three rivers are tailwater fisheries and remain cold during the summer months, especially closer to the reservoirs.  For more info on the current fishing please give us a shout or stop by for more info.

Albie season should be starting soon.   We're stocked up on flies for the fall saltwater season.  We will be having more come in as well.   Please let us know what patterns you like to see us carry if there is anything in particular that works well for you.  

Steelhead/salmon season is also starting soon and we're also fully stocked in that department.  We're also offering spey casting classes for those interested in learning to use a two handed rod.  

Our Andros Island trip is coming fast.  The dates are November 29th - December 6th.  If you're interested in coming now is the time to give us a buzz or stop by for more info.  We will be booking airfare relatively soon.

6/15/08

On June 29th we will be holding our first Trout Academy.  Three instructors will be teaching the art of fly fishing for trout including casting, nymph fishing, dry fly fishing, streamer fishing, knots, setting up leaders, reading water, presentation techniques and much more.  

Learning to spey cast is a great way to strengthen your fishing skills and to put more fish on the bank with less aggravation, even with a single handed rod.  We have a few different classes and demonstrations coming up in the next couple of months.  Make sure to visit our homepage again before signing out and check out the right column.  It has a bunch of information about upcoming classes and free demonstrations.         

Summer is here, long days and hot steamy afternoons.  Trout fishing has slowed a bit, but the fish are still there and the fishing has been good overall despite the heat.  Longer leaders, lighter tippets and smaller flies will help. Sulphurs, BW Olives, Isonychias and cahills will be the predominant hatches for the next few weeks.  Some rivers will see better hatches than others.  Keep in mind that the coolest part of the day now is early morning.  If possible fish the morning as water temperatures will be coolest.  The bugs will also like mornings as spinners and adults from the night will often still be on the water.  Also remember it's terrestrial time.  Ants and beetles will become a large part of the trout diet over the next couple of months. 

Bass fishing is hot.  Largemouth are on the feed and clousers and bottom bouncing flies will work best during the day while surface bass bugs will rise them up during the evenings.  The smallmouth fishing is very good now along the Delaware River and other NJ rivers.  The South Branch below Clinton is another good spot, while the Passaic and Ramapo rivers are doing well with bronzebacks. Woolly buggers, large stonefly nymphs, muddlers, deceivers, jig flies and poppers are some of the patterns that will work well.

Saltwater fishing is pretty hot.  Lots of bluefish and large stripers are down the shore.  Live lining bunker has been putting a lot of giant stripers on the end of the line.  Try fishing big bunker patterns, especially at night from the beach.  You never know what you might come up with!  Another good way to go about it is to use live bunker to attract stripers and then thrown them the bunker fly.  Some may say it's cheating, but it does work!

Till next time...

Tight Lines,

Andrew

5/7/08

The fishing remains good throughout NJ and NY.  Various caddis (apple green, tan, grey, olive),  Hendricksons, Red Quills,  and March Browns are the most predominant hatches right now. Generic nymphs such as Hare's ears, Princes, Zug Bugs, Pheasant tails, and Copper Johns have been working well in NJ along with scuds, midges and various streamers. On the Delaware, the East and West branches are still seeing excellent Hendrickson, Red Quill, and caddis hatches.  The upper Mainstem of the Delaware has been seeing a mix of Hendricksons, Red Quills, March Browns, and caddis.  The further down you go on the main river, the more March Browns you'll see and less Hendricksons and Red Quills.  Sulphurs should be hatching by the 15th or so of May, at least on the lower part of the upper Mainstem.  By the 20th, Sulphurs should be infiltrating the upper Mainstem and West and East branches. For more detialed reports, give the shop a call as John has guide trips all week up there and will be reporting in.

It's also striper time!  I've had a few good reports from down the Sandy Hook way.  One report was that a guy did extremely well with surface plugs for both big bass and blues.  If they're hitting surface plugs, they should be hitting poppers and large bunker patterns.  Get down there early in the AM and fish sparse clousers, epoxy flies, and flatwings around the inside of the hook.  It should be happening.  Starting around May 12th, the morning tides should be good for outgoing water in the early AM.  This may be a good time to probe around of mouths of some of the backwaters as bait from the evening comes out with the tide. 

We'll be starting to hit Penfield Reef in CT around end of May early June.  Please stay up to date with the blog, or give the shop a call for reports on the striper fishing in CT.       

Tight Lines,

Andrew

5/2/08

The fishing has been very good in both NJ and NY. In NJ, the rivers are experiencing good caddis hatches along with a few remaining Hendricksons. Caddis and Hendricksons have been hatching well throughout the Catskills. March Browns were hatching on the Delaware last Monday in good numbers as I took the day off to head up near Lordsville on the mainstem. With the water temps reaching the mid 60's the week prior, the March Browns were bound to come early. Despite not having any March Brown patterns with me, I landed one nice rainbow and broke another off on a hard run. Two small browns also came to hand.

Our fall bonefish trip is beginning to fill, and now is the time to consider booking if you're interested in joining us.  The spring trip was a blast as the we had a great group of guys and very good fishing despite a bit of inclement weather.  We'll be posting pictures from the spring trip in the near future. The dates of the trip are November 29th - December 6th, a great time of year to get away as the weather starts to go down hill in the Northeast.

Spring striper fishing should be heating up soon. Get your tying materials now and get ready. Bunker and sand eel patterns are the way to go for the spring. Sparsely tied clousers, jiggies, flatwings, etc will do the trick along NJ, CT and NY. Along the NY harbor and NJ coast some big bunker patterns should also be in your box.

Tight Lines,
Andrew

4/9/08

We just returned from our spring 2008 bonefish trip. This was my six trip to Andros South Lodge and as always it was filled with great fishing and great fun. The weather reports were not looking great upon our arrival. A brisk easterly wind was going to be blowing all week with scattered showers. I have to admit that it had me a bit concerned.

Our group was varied in bonefish experience from some members fishing for them for over a decade and others taking their virgin trip into this type of fishing. Some people I have known for a while others I was meeting for the first time. One common thread that was found very quickly was that we had a bunch of funny people on our hands.  The group consisted of 12 anglers including myself, Edward, Tim, Bob, Jody, Jorge, Will, Dave, Frank, Eric, Drew and John.  For those who joined me I want to say again how much of a pleasure it was having you all there.  Really looking forward for the opportunity to spend time and hopefully fish together again.  

Upon arrival, luggage is taken into the rooms, some appetizers are served and some Kaliks are drank. We spend the first evening getting our tackle ready for the next day. Our main target for this trip was bonefish on the fly. There were some barracuda landed as well. If you have never caught a Cuda on the fly, it should be something to put on your list.

Regardless of the weather the fishing turned out to be quite good. You very quickly adapt to working with the wind. The guides at Andros South are as good as they come and are able to position you in a way where the wind doesn’t affect you as much. Bob, who has come to Andros with me a few times, has a great saying about fishing down there, “something always happens”. It can be having a slow morning then hooking a double digit bone before the day is over, landing a Barracuda with no wire, having a shot at a mutton snapper, to having a bonefish eaten by a shark 5 feet from you!

After a long day of fishing the flats, every angler works up a great appetite. We quenched it with some great cooked meals consisting of conch, grouper, ribs, chicken and rice dishes. There was one special night that one of our group members Tim, made his “surf and Turf”. This year consisted of the most tender venison loin I have ever had, coupled with giant stone crab claws.

We're working on putting together a picture page for those who like to see some of the action.  You might ask, "how good was Andros really?"  Well, we're heading back in November. The dates are set; November 29th - December 6th of 2008.  If this is something you'd like to do or have interest in, please contact Andrew for more information. 

Trout season is upon us and we've been getting lots of good reports from our customers over the past week.  It seems as if the usual flies have been working well, including generic nymphs (princes, zug bugs, hare's ears, pheasant tails, scuds, midges, caddis larva, etc.  Dry dropper combos having been working very well.  Woolly buggers, dace, mickey finns, and matukas are also doing the trick.      

3/5/08

FlyFest '08 starts March 15th and ends March 22nd

FlyFest is Tight Lines new fly and fly tying event which will take place each spring.  This year's dates are from March 15th to the 22nd. FlyFest will feature items on sale including flies, free fly tying seminars with food and a raffle for one of three fly boxes. For more info please click to visit our FlyFest page.

Fish Now...Pay Later is Tight Lines program where purchases over $299.00 qualify for 6 months no interest and no payments.  Please call or stop by for details.

Fishing right now is a bit slow with the high water, but in a couple of days it should be right on.  An excellent time for catching fish that have been pressured hard.  The high water makes them more vulnerable, providing you can figure out where they are in the high water.  Use the high water to your advantage instead of being afraid of it.  Fish along the edges. Nymphs and large streamers/buggers will be best.

2/19/08

The rivers are high from the rain, but spring is coming! It's almost March so bugs should be hatching within 4 to 5 weeks, at least on NJ streams. Before our major mayfly hatches, little black stones and midges should start to get fish rising on some of the warmer days. Blue Wings have already been hatching on the Pequest by the affluent. Get out there!

The salmon River is in pretty good shape flowing at 750cfs + runoff (approx. 1000 cfs). The steelhead fishing this year has been some of the best on record. Serious numbers of fish showed up this year and have provided anglers with tremendous fishing. The fish are there, it's just a matter of hitting the conditions right.    

2/11/08
It's snowing again.  Not great for fishing, but great for tying flies.  We're stocked heavily, ready for the tying season.  Our classes are going on for February.  If you're interested in a tying class, we have both an advanced trout class and a beginner trout class coming up in March. Give us a call or email us if you'd like to sign up. 

If you haven't signed up for our online newsletter yet, now's the time. We're running a raffle for those on our online newsletter list. We're giving away 3 fly boxes, 1st prize a C&F fly box, 2nd a Cliff fly box, and 3rd a Morell fly box. To sign up for our newsletter, click on the link at the top of this page above the picture or click here.   

John was sticking some fish on dries on the Pequest before the weather hit. There were some pretty good hatches of BWO's and midges. He said the fish were up rising very well for this time of year. Most of the fish he caught were on an olive emerger. Give the shop a call or stop by for info. 

1/21/08
We've been busy with getting ready for the Somerset Show.  Please come and see us at the show if you go.  We're going to have a superb selection of product.  

Winter is back.  Not too many guys have been out fishing with the sub freezing weather.  Most guys have been stopping by to pick up tying materials to bide time till the weather let's go a bit.  However, some guys have been braving the weather and picking up some fish.  Mostly on midges.  Expect the little black stones to start moving in the local rivers as we move into February and March.

We're going to have our fly tying classes starting back up in February.  Please call us and/or visit our calendar of events page for more info. We're going to have a Beginner Trout class which will take someone who's never tied before to a level in which they will be able to tie basic nymphs to dry flies and streamers.  Our Advanced Trout class will take the average trout tier and step him up another level to where he'll be comfortable tying more challenging flies.  In this class we focus on flies ideal for fishing the Catskills of NY which will also advance your flies for local fishing. 

Tight Lines,

Andrew

1/8/08
Winter has taken a vacation, at least for a few days.  Midges hatch on days like these, and by the looks of the Pequest TCA, the anglers were ready.  I, John, took a little time off this afternoon to test some new tippet from Rio.  It's called Extreme Tippet, a fly fisher's version of Power Pro, Fireline and the like.  I used the 5x 10lb size, and although didn't stick any fish with it, I'm impressed.  No stretch, abrasion resistant, and incredible breaking strength, all good stuff. 

Now on to the fishing today.  The fish by the hatchery effluent are getting tough!  A variety of flies are working, but good drifts are crucial.  Try a dry fly/midge dropper, it is a fun way to cover those midge eaters.  Get creative with your midge patterns,  see what works and what doesn't.

My friends and I fished the Gorge on Sunday as well.  Took fish on nymphs, and the ubiquitous midge.  The South Branch is flowing well and clear as gin.  Flourocarbon is a real help in the clear water.  Classic midge patterns off the back of Hare's Ear or Stonefly is a good start.  Get out and Fish, If you have any question give me a call here at the shop.   

Tight Lines, 

John a.k.a. "POP"    

12/27/07
On Saturday January 12th, 2008 from 11AM-3PM, Matt Grobert will be coming to the shop for a book signing.  He just wrote and published "Fly Fishing New Jersey Trout Streams" which is the finest book ever written on trout fishing in NJ.  He will be here signing books and answering questions.  If you'd like to meet him and get some great information, please stop by.  Free of charge, everyone welcome.  

On Saturday February 9th, 2008 from 10AM-3PM, CAPTAIN Joe "Maz” Mustari will be coming to the shop tying saltwater flies and talking NE saltwater fishing. Joe is a saltwater Captain out of NY Harbor.  Joe's website is www.mazmancharters.com for information on one of NY's best saltwater fly guides.  Bring your vise and fly tying materials and sit along with Joe. Free of charge, everyone welcome. 

John has been fishing the Pequest with a lot of success. He's been able to catch a few even on dries, which aint too bad considering it's almost January. The best flies have been midges and micro mayfly nymphs trailed off of a dry fly or indicator. Using a dry for an indicator is probably the best idea, especially since they've been willing to come up to them. He's also had a lot of success with woolly buggers especially since the big raise in water flows. For more info on the fishing give the shop a call or stop by to see John. 

12/6/07
Just a couple of quick notes. We just sent out our December 2007 newsletter in the mail. Some of you may get it, some may not. If you'd like to be on our mailing list, please fill out your info on our E-news page

We have CAPTAIN Joe "Maz” Mustari coming to the shop on Thursday December 13th. Joe will be tying saltwater flies and talking NE saltwater fishing. Bring your vise and fly tying materials and sit along with Joe. Free of charge, everyone welcome. 

Our annual holiday party will be Wednesday December 19th at 6:30 PM. Everyone welcome. Great food and camaraderie.

We have both beginner and advanced trout fly tying classes scheduled for starting in February. Sign up now as the classes fill up quickly.

11/25/07
We fished up on Cattaraugus Creek a couple of weeks ago and had very good success swinging flies. John is now up on the Salmon River with some fellow customers and they all hooked fish. Overall it's been a great year for steelhead in the Great Lakes.  The fish are up there, if you can break away, it may be worth the trip. Obviously with the temps being cooler now the fishing may get a bit more difficult. For info on the recent fishing John experienced on the Salmon River, stop by or give him a buzz.  He'll be in the shop again on Tuesday after 1:00PM.

We're trying to keep the website fresh.  We promise we will be more on top of it as we get into December and next spring.  Right now is a busy time of year for us with preseason ordering going on.  The good thing about the ordering we're doing, is that we'll have a load of new products and inventory coming in.  We've already received a good amount of stuff from various manufactures.  We're also working on filling out and adding to our fly tying selection.  If there are any materials you're interested in seeing us carry, please fill us in.

We have one particular product coming in that I found to be great.  When we were up on Cattaraugus Creek, the guys I was with had a JetBoil product called the Personal Cooking System.  I decided to bring them in for 2008.  It is super well made, lightweight and compact (fits in the back of a Fishpond vest or any backpack).  It boils water in under 2 minutes.  We brought instant soup and it was absolutely fantastic to have a warm lunch on the river.  They were coffee fanatics and would make coffee every hour or two.  Ask us about it when you come in, we'd love to show you. Our order will be in before the end of this week.

We scheduled our fly tying classes in Beginner Trout and Advanced Trout for February and March.  Please go to our events calendar page to view dates. To sign up for a class, please email or call us at 973 244 5990.

10/26/07
We were up on the Salmon River Sunday and Monday the 20th and 21st. The steelhead fishing was incredible. We hooked many fish all swinging flies with spey rods. I didn't use any split shot, only versi tip lines. It really didn't seem to matter what flies we used. Atlantic salmon hairwing patterns such as Black Bear Green Butts, Undertakers, Blue Charms, Bondatti Killer's, etc all did the trick.  2-3 inch long smelt patterns in addition to various spey flies and egg sucking leeches also worked.  We fished Douglaston so the fish were fresh out of the lake.  With the water temps also in the 60's, the steelhead were very willing to come off the bottom for the fly. I included a few pics below.  The river is now loaded with fish.  For info and details on the fishing please give us a call or stop by the shop.

We just scheduled our fly tying classes in Beginner Trout and Advanced Trout for February and March.  Please go to our events calendar page to view dates. To sign up for a class, please email or call us at 973 244 5990.

The fishing in NJ is very good right now. We've finally received the rain we desperately needed.  All of the rivers now have good flows and should get even better after the rain tonight and tomorrow. John had some good fishing on the Pequest about a week ago.

10/3/07
John had some pretty good action on the Delaware last weekend with some friends. The action wasn't hot and heavy as they had to work hard for them, but they managed some very nice fish. Most of the fish were caught on streamers as the release rates from Cannonsville dam are on the high side since we've had so much dry weather. The release rate is now over 1000cfs. 

I attached a few shots of the fishing. The pictures show John holding one of Steve's browns pushing 22 inches, Joe (to the right of John) holding a nice brown he latched into with a streamer, Steve (blue hoodie) holding another streamer brown, and Matt (holding small fish - sorry Matt had to do it) with one he caught on a dry.

Give the shop a buzz for details on the fishing. 

Our Cattaraugus Creek Spey trip is coming up fast. If you're interested in attending, please contact us as soon as possible.

Our fly tying classes have started for the fall.  Check November on our events calendar page for our next set of classes.

9/19/07
Sorry for the delay on the blog. Just got back from British Columbia. The trip was great. It's an amazing place with beautiful scenery and rivers. The fishing was not at it's potential, however we had a great time and managed to catch some steelhead in addition to coho and pick salmon. Our main target were steelhead, but we were a bit in between runs (between the summer run and fall run). All of the rivers on the Skeena River system are experiencing late fall runs of steelhead this year. 

Below are a couple of pics from the trip. The steelhead my buddy Bill caught (2nd row left) we estimated at 17-19 pounds. The pics show each of us with a steelhead and coho in addition to some scenery shots. 

We strictly used spey rods as the water would have been a lot of work to cover with single handed rods.  The rivers are big and in many areas your back casting room is limited. Bill had only cast with a two handed rod twice before the trip and had great success quickly learning to use the rod. 

Quick story, the bear and cub pictured below saved my spey rod and reel. I had mistakenly left the rod and reel on the roof of the car and after driving 15 KM down the dirt road towards the main highway we saw the bear and cub. We stopped and took pictures and realized the rod was missing. We were fortunate to come across a truck coming down the road that had it. I gave them a $20 bill and thanked them for returning the rod. If it wasn't for the bears we would have never got the rod back. 

If you have any questions regarding the trip please give me a call at 973 244 5990 and ask for Andrew.  

Scroll below the pics for more shop info.

Our upcoming October fly tying classes are coming quickly. Please contact us to sign up. Our first set of classes will be "Beginner Trout" and "Spey Flies". We also have a one day class - "Saltwater Tube Flies".

The Salmon River is running way below average water levels. However, there are a lot of fish in the river at this time. You can either wait for the rain or head up and take advantage of the fish there now. Use a floating line with no weight. The water is so low that you're better off fishing with no weight and being as stealthy as possible.

Albie's are here! Montauk, RI and Breezy Point are all seeing albies. I'm sure they're around in plenty of other areas as well. Get out there and fish. The nice dry weather should lead to some excellent saltwater fishing in the next few weeks!

John's going to be doing some guiding up on the Delaware River this week.  Give the shop a buzz on Saturday or stop by for a report on the action.

8/28/07
John was on the West Branch on Monday and had one good fish to hand before breaking him off and watching the large brown swim away with his isonychia. He said the river was in pretty good shape. Not a lot of fish to cast to yesterday, but enough to keep the fishing interesting. Give the shop a buzz if you want a report from John. He'll be working tomorrow (Wednesday), Thursday and Saturday.

The rivers in NJ are a bit on the low side.  Not lower then normal according to USGS, but a bit low, which is normal for this time of year.  The smallmouth fishing has been good on the lower Delaware River from NY to southern NJ. Grab some muddlers, small deceivers, clousers and any other smallmouth flies and get out there!

Another reminder that our fly tying classes will be starting in October. Check our events calendar page for more info on available classes, dates and times (go to October).

Sage has just come out with the new ZXL series of rods. We spent the weekend casting the new rods and are thoroughly impressed. We have 3 models in stock now; 8' 4 weight, 8'6" 4 weight and 9' 5 weight. More models are on the way in addition to the new Bass fly rods Sage has developed. The "Smallmouth" and "Largemouth" models will be in shortly.

8/17/07
The trout fishing in NJ has been pretty good considering it's the middle of August.  With the heavy rain tonight, I would expect it to be even better over the weekend and early next week.  They're also calling for cooler weather so it should be a nice time to be on the water.  Don't forget about bass, with temps beginning to cool with fall approaching they will be trying to fatten up for winter!

Salmon and steelhead time is quickly approaching!  We're loading up now on equipment, tying materials and flies to help make your first or next trip to the Great Lakes tributaries a successful one.  Please feel free to give us a call or stop in if you have any questions with regards to fishing up there.  We also carry a wide selection of traditional materials for those who may be chasing steelhead on the west coast of the US or Canada or who prefer to fish with traditional methods.

We have just updated our calendar of events page with our October fly tying classes.  We will be running a beginner trout class on Tuesday nights and a spey fly tying class on Thursday nights. 

We have scheduled our next spey casting class for September 23rd.  Please contact us for details or to sign up.  Speaking of spey, we will be launching our online spey shop shortly, with our entire shop to follow behind.  

8/1/07
The smallmouth fishing has been good on the Delaware. We've been catching them on all kinds of flies including: clousers, muddlers, buggers, deceivers (even striper size ones), poppers, hornbergs, and many other patterns. The fish haven't been big, but the action is strong and it's a nice place to go and get your kicks out. They hit really hard!

We're working on online shopping and will be putting it up at some point. We're going to start with an online spey shop while we work on the rest of the store.

Sunday August 12th we will be having a spey class on the Delaware River in upstate NY. Let us know if you're interested in learning to spey cast. 

Keep in mind we will be starting our fly tying classes in October. Please contact us if you're interested in signing up.

Our 2008 Bonefish trip is coming up fairly fast.  We are now collecting deposits for the trip. If you're interested in chasing bones next spring, please contact us for details on this great trip. 

7/14/07
Went to the West Branch Delaware on Wednesday. Flows were good and fish were up and eating. Lots of sulphurs and a few isonychias up towards deposit. Lower down on the west we had mostly Olives. The fishing is definately challenging at this point. The fish are very educated, but the action was very good. Great opportunity to hone your skills. The trout up there right now are very unforgiving. We did fairly well with about 6 fish landed. A few small 10-14", one at 16" and one large at 22.5".

It's also time to start thinking about the fall season coming up. We're well stocked for false albacore and steelhead/salmon. Get your tying materials now and get ready! We also have spey casting classes coming up July 29th and August 5th and 12th for those interested in learning spey.

7/3/07
A quick video below from last Sunday. The fishing at the reef was a bit slower then it's been. This doesn't mean it's over for the summer. We'll keep you up to date.

Many of the rivers in NJ are low. Hopefully the wet forecast will help flows. Happy 4th everyone!

6/30/07
The cool weather should bode well for trout fishing this week. Get out there!  Heard a rumor that there were giant bass off of Island Beach yesterday? Anyone hear anything?

6/29/07
We're stocked up well on bass flies. Now's a great time to fish your local pond or lake for bass. The Delaware River is another great spot for smallmouth bass. The water on the Delaware is running a bit muddy from the flood on the Beaverkill, which could be a good opportunity to get out there. Very often when rivers are muddy after rain, fish get aggressive and less shy towards streamers and larger patterns.

6/28/07
Returned from Newfoundland, Canada last Saturday. The trip was a yearly one for Atlantic salmon. Had a great time with everyone that went. It was a pleasure to fish with 4 great guys, Jeff, Rich, Pete, and Bill. Unfortunately the salmon fishing this year was not up to par. The runs of salmon all over Newfoundland and other parts of eastern Canada were very late and the fish were extremely sparse.

Penfield reef is still fishing good. Reports of bigger fish to 30" have come in. Give us a call at 973-244-5990 for info on fishing Penfield reef.

The Bonefish Grill is now open right next to us.  Come visit a great restaurant and stop in while you're by!

6/7/07
Good morning everyone. Quick report from a friend this morning was that the fishing on the Rockaway River is still holding up. He caught 3 chubs and 2 trout on caddis last night. He said there was an abundance of caddis, more flies then he expected.

Heading up to Cape Cod for the weekend so will have reports for those who may be going in the next week or so. I'll be back in the shop on Tuesday. John will be holding down the fort on Saturday and Monday for those who'd like to come by.  John will have reports from up north on the Delaware for anyone heading up.

6/6/07
The last shot of rain has helped water flows in NJ a bit. Our guide John Heaney reports that the gorge is fishing well and he thinks it will remain good for at least 1-2 weeks without rain. Of course weather will dictate what happens and how long the rivers will actually hold up. Otherwise, reports have still been very promising in NJ.

The Catskills rivers are all on the low side. The best areas to focus on right now would be the upper east and west branches, especially during the day when the sun and temperatures are highest. Evenings you could drop lower on the branches or fish the upper mainstem down to Buckingham. Also try fishing the mornings, as this is a good time to find fish rising to spinners with temps also being at the lowest for the day. I attached a pic of a nice brown a customer of ours Russell Doucette caught on the west branch a few weeks back.

6/5/07
The last couple of weeks we made a few rides to Penfield Reef in CT for some striper fishing. The fishing has been excellent and we've caught fish every time there. The best tides have been revolving around low tide (last half of outgoing and first half of incoming), although you may find it better at other times. The fish have been mostly schoolies and bluefish to 6 pounds, but the action has been very good and the bait is plentiful. Most of the bait we noticed were sand lances in the 2 inch range, so tan and/or olive over white in jiggies or epoxies have been working best. We have also caught some fish on the usual chartreuse and white clouser.  During low light periods, you can get away with them being a bit larger, but overall I would keep the flies small for now.  For directions and more information on fishing the reef give us a buzz @ 973 244 5990 or send us an email.