November 17, 2017 – Slipping and a Sliding on a Windy, Sunny Day – Lehigh River

Sporty.

I have had a busy week on the home and work fronts, and I spent last weekend on a food and drink bender with some old (now older) friends in Asbury Park, NJ, so I was itching for a fishing trip on Thursday.  The boy woke up sick that morning, however, so he and I spent the day home comparing the classic King Kong to the Peter Jackson jaunt from 2005 to the Skull Island film of last year—I know which one I prefer, but the verdict is still out for the boy.  No, it’s not the 1976 version, either, though I am sure Jessica Lange made an impression on another 10 year boy when the film made it to VHS back in ’78 or ‘79.  I think the boy finally stopped coughing and passed out around 11:30 PM that night, so I had to listen to him cough, poor kid, while I graded papers before going to bed, hoping that tomorrow would be a better day for both of us.

Jersey fresh weekend: mitches, blow outs, pork roll and many flights of fancy beers in the local breweries.

Friday is the day I take the boy and a neighbor kid to band practice at 8 AM, so I was up, hoping that Lukas did not need another sick day.  A family meeting was held, and his fate was decided: not band practice or lessons with all the coughing, but his teacher should listen to him hack for a day instead of me or mom.  After squeezing the boy and his backpack into the Subaru loaded with all my fishing stuff, I dropped him off at school and was heading north by 9 AM.  It was windy and sunny, and it got windier still as the day progressed, probably gale force at the shore, the kind of NW shot that will send a T-Hex 200 yards into the surf if it doesn’t blow the surf out past the bars.

Best intentions: See, there's a sign and everything.

I wanted to be home by 4 PM to let Tami go out with a girlfriend for happy hour or something, so I stopped about an hour into my drive, just past the Lehigh Tunnel, and found some water to fish.  In an effort to give spawning fish a break, I figured I would target some nice holdovers in the big river.  As luck would have it, I drove right past a familiar landmark and realized that Tom C. had taken me to a spot near here, so I figured what the heck.  We didn’t have much action at this spot earlier in the year, but it certainly looked fishy at the time.  I sort of felt like a bad friend, but I knew Tom C. would be happy that I found some fish at one of his honey holes!

Wild?  Or just a really quality stockie?  Had the blue spot behind the eye and all.

After a short walk, I arrived on the river, and the conditions looked great.  I was rigged up to toss a streamer, but the flows were not up and the water was pretty clear, so it took going down deep with a couple tungsten nymphs to hook up.  Fish took both a walt’s worm and a beadhead caddis in size 18-ish.  Despite favorable water conditions, it didn’t take long to determine that I had brought the wrong wading boots for the occasion.  I usually toss in my felt bottoms as a back up when packing, and I could have used them (with studs) today, but I just had rubber with studs, which was a bit tricky with the slime from leaf decay all over the already rounded river rocks.  A slip cost me a picture of a gorgeous rainbow that measured over 17 inches in the measure net.  The barbless hook must have slid out already, so despite being in the net, he took a swim when I nearly did.  In windy 45 degree conditions, I am happy it was him and not me!  Yes, I am aware that I took a tumble with the same boots on the Brodhead last month, but it’s the boots, not that I am too stubborn to carry a wading staff (Okay, it’s both. I'll admit it).

Another pretty brownie.

I ended up catching a handful of quality fish between 13 and 15 inches, so the fish have been eating well and looked fat and healthy.  Besides the big rainbow, I got at least one more, and I landed two browns too.  The browns looked wild, fittingly enough, as I tried to avoid them today, but the same thing happened with my best intentions on a heavily stocked section of the Brodhead last time.  I really need to start surf fishing, I suppose, maybe Sunday or Monday if my old buddy Dolf can get out.  He and I have been trying to plan something for the last week or so.  I saw birds, bait, boats and whales last Sunday in Monmouth County as I sipped a latte sans fishing equipment on the sands of Bradley Beach, so Thanksgiving and early December might just produce this year! .

A fat rainbow, though not the little piggie I dropped.....