Some years are outstanding in the striper department, and this is one of them. The coastal area off NJ is stuffed with big bunker (baitfish) and the stripers are piling in the weight. Ben and Chuck Furimsky and friends are taking full advantage of all the season has to offer, latching into 40 inch plus fish every trip out. This is phenomenal—must be yesterday there. Anyway, they are heaving huge bunker imitation with great success. If you are a coastal angler, get thee to the water.
Chuck looking mighty happy, but this was only the start.
Later toward evening, another big one rolls in.
Number three, what a way to end the day.
Another day, and Ben nails a really big one.
And then there’s 56 pounds of striper taken by a friend of a friend of Ben;s. Now this is something else!
One of the events that I always look forward to during the International Fly Tying Symposium is a fishing trip with Chuck and Ben Furimsky. We run out off Ocean City, NJ, and hunt for stripers and blues. This year, because Nancy and I are moving to the Pacific Northwest, I was unable to attend the Symposium. Of course this was the year that the stripers were, big, big, big. The ocean was filled with huge bunkers and the big stripers were there chowing down on them. Next year, when I can return to the Symposium, the fish will all be small to average—as usual. “Yah, you shoulda been here last year.”
This year, BIG stripers are “average.”
The International Fly Tying Symposium is coming up this weekend, and Chuck, Theo, and Harry are in Ocean City hunting stripers and blues. There are so many bunkers about that finding the stripers is a bit difficult. But, Theos Eelskin Sandeel found a nice one. If you get to the Symposium, stop and see Theo his eelskin creations. Say “Hi” for me.
Theo with a nice stripe on his eelskin fly.
My friend Pablo Perez is hosting a TV series in Argentina for Latin American ESPN. It’s called Patagonia Waters.
Recently they shot footage at Rio Dorado, Salta, Argentina, where the golden dorado occupy clear waters. Whew, makes me want to grab my fly rod and head off south of the border. And maybe I just will. I’d love to see my photo holding a nice one like this.
This is the kind of place that I want to fish for golden dorado.
Yup, I would be grunting too! That’s some fish!
Our friend, Jake Jordan, is ripping albacore. Nice ones, too. The kind that nearly pull one’s arms out of the shoulder sockets, and that before they get serious. If you ever want to feel what a fish is capable of, this is where you should cast your line: http://www.jakejordan.com
Paul McGarvie with a very nice albie.
Well, enough of aliens. The fearsome trio of Chuck, Theo, and Harry headed to the hills for some real fish—trout in this case. And they found some very nice ones. Question is, will they have enough will power to leave real fish and go to the International Fly Tying Symposium in Somerset next weekend (Nov. 21-22) (international fly tying symposium). Will power or not, they all have to be there, so they will be.
Unfortunately, I will not be. I wish it were because I will be catching real fish. Actually I’m trying to catch some real estate—somewhere in the Portland, OR, area. Nancy and I are camped in our motorhome, enduring the November rains, and reaching out into the area for the best place for us to live. We will be close to Jason and Kelley and Brooke, and will be able to fish, picnic, hike, and generally live life together much more easily than when we live in central Wisconsin and they were out here. By the way, the dogs love the motorhome; they think it’s a giant kennel that we have to stay in, too.
Finally. Harry with a real fish. A very nice brown.
Even Chuck had to get in on the action. That’s quite a rainbow!
My blues picking buddy, Keith Scott, is twanging up a storm in the Seattle area and taking every chance possible to sample both the Chinese food and the fishing. He’s found great examples of both. I love the chrome bright coho–it would make a really great salmon-over-alder-wood-fire dish. If he’s playing anywhere in your area, go hear him, and tell him GB sent you.
What a magnificent backdrop to a day’s fishing.
This is the color I like them!
How does he do it? Chuck Furimski was fishing with our mutual friends from Holland, Theo Bakelaar and Harry Schoel, for stripers and blues. They managed no fish, but did get all sorts of “aliens.” Chuck nailed a nice squid, Theo hung a dog shark, and then a ray. Now that’s a fine assortment if you ask me. Harry? Well, he was fishing for a really big striper, a whale of a fish. Suddenly, their dreams came true. A whale-no not a whale of a fish, a real whale. Not many anglers get to cast to real whales. But, like the stripers and blues, the whale merely ignored their flies, and gave them the “tail” before he left, rather indignantly.
Calamari anyone?
This is my pet dog, “shark” is his name.
Is there even a “ray” of hope for us today?
“You can’t catch me, na, na, na, na, na.”
“Here’s what I think of you.”
This year’s king salmon run in Wisconsin is what one might call pitiful, both in numbers and in size. And that marked decrease is seen right on through the cohos and browns and rainbows. It’s not due to any single factor, but a combination of super cold winters the last two years, poor spawn return, zebra mussels, and the feeding habits of the predator fish in Lake Michigan.
My friend, John Beth, spent a day last week pounding our favorite tributary, and managed a king or two and a few browns. However, the fish were all small—none of the behemoth browns of years past—just the “small ones” up to 26 inches. Still very nice fish, but not what we’ve seen.
John sent me some photos, and a very interesting link to an article on the low salmon numbers and size. Have a look: Salmon population plummeting in Lake Michigan
John with one of the smaller and lesser in number kings.
John’s biggest brown, a nice 26 inch, robust female.
A very nice male brown, only several inches smaller than in years past.
A nice female coho, but space in numbers.
My bluesman, fly fishing friend, Keith Scott (http://heavyblues.com) has been picking and singing his way across the Northwest. He was in Smithers, BC, recently and had a chance to swing streamers for steelhead in the Bulkeley—to no avail. Turns out they wanted a clown egg, which he fed them most willingly. Then to Smithers for Chinese food at the Twin Valley Hotel (Keith and I eat Chinese toigether every chance we get). Play ‘em some blues, brother.
A “clown” eatin’ steelie–that’s the fish. The other one is bluesman Keith.
Keith is a Chinese food eatin’ bluesman, too! Look great.
