Category Archives: New York Fly Fishing Reports

Read the latest northeast fly fishing reports from Jamaica Bay, NY Harbor and NY Bight.

Economic Excuses

BEWARE OF “ECONOMIC SAKE” EXCUSES:

shark, slaughter,

Signs of the times?

Is this the beginning of the end to all United States Fisheries?

Recent findings locally on our beaches and other news reports have begun to concern me on a local level, a national level, and others raise concern on a global level. While I have always been locally concerned about how its citizens show respect for nature and a few cases have stood out lately and I feel they warrant a little pondering.  This shark carcass was found on the Port Aransas Beach on December 31st 2013. It was butchered by someone who should not be allowed to cut fish. I would estimate that they only took about 15% of the edible meat from this majestic animal, and the rest left to rot in plain sight.

If you are able to read to the end of this article, please know that your comments are welcomed because awareness of the effects that our Nation’s Conservation decisions will have on us is important to you and me. I encourage you to read the links provided to further increase your knowledge of these issues.

Several large leading global conservation organizations have approved and are considering allowing some large-scale threats to our natural environment, all for the sake of the economy.

While we all want more money in our pockets, we need to realize that we cannot eat money. It tastes bad, no amount of washing it will make it taste better. If we take every last bit of a natural resource, such as the fish in the seas, the oil in the grounds, the trees from our forests, until it is all gone and do it so quickly that the natural resource cannot replenish itself, everyone will be left holding nothing but cold, hard cash. No amount of spices and seasonings put on it, there is no nutrition in it and it will never sustain us.

There are talks of our leaders not reauthorizing the Magnuson-Stevens Act, reauthorized in 2006, which was established in order to legally protect and rebuild our nations coastal resources. One Angler’s Voyage puts a rational doomsday spin on this potentially deadly blow of a decision, and their new plan would create such giant loopholes that the fisheries could be wiped clean in short order. The Sustainable Fisheries Act was setup and is the strongest document our Great Nation has created to protect these resources. It has also proven to be highly effective, so long as it continues to be reauthorized.

Some say the “Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act” will blow it all away, and the wording in this proposed Act is as loose as a goose with no eggs.

glass, disrespect, beach, city slickers work

Glass Trash uncovered on Port Aransas Beaches. Glass doesn’t burn in a puny fire like this.

Raping the ocean and it’s species which have already been pillaged for the sake of the economy is the worst excuse I have ever heard. Thinking you can burn glass bottles in your beach fire is simply stupid. If you don’t already know, the temps of a fire required to burn glass wouldn’t allow you to stand  within 100 feet of it. If you have ever fished the east Atlantic Coast, you know that it has been seined clean already and difficult to find fish outside of a market. Long ago, the Bar Fish, a sea bass of sorts much akin to the striped bass, once grew to 30-40lbs historically. Now, the minimum size limit to keep a bar fish is 14cm. And if you can even catch one, its probably wont be that big. A trophy bar fish by Europe’s current standards rarely breaks the 5-lb mark. Bar fish of this legal kill size don’t even get to spawn once.

Leaders in Australia just used the same excuse (economic survival) to allow the dumping of 106 million cubic feet of dredged sediment on top of the Great Barrier Reef, which is already dying, over an area of 455 acres, which certainly cannot be contained in the designated 455-acre area. Ocean currents will certainly cause the sediment to spread over a much larger area and cause much more harm than intended. The Great Barrier Reef is the worlds largest and supposedly the “most protected” reef and it is shocking that this activity even be proposed, considered and alarmingly, approved! And all the conservation organizations there seem to have swallowed the most sour of all horse pills. That is a lame excuse from the economists and wont survive for long. All so that the coal industry there can continue and expand its operations. Thankfully there are other organizations which are outraged by this decision and many free people which are raising their voices and demand their cries be heard. Certainly there is a better place to dump these dredged materials!!! Additionally, this is an example of how the coal industry can destroy the environment, happening NOW.

This is where our lawmakers and leaders are going wrong, giving us the excuse that its for the “sake of the economy”. This is NOT a reason to take the very last bit of any natural resource. The economy was built around natural resources, and once those are gone, there will be no economy as we know it.

Shame on them for deciding to exercise greed, display publicly a lack of respect for nature, and prove their lack of respect for their peers (you and me).

The biggest problem is that our leaders and decision makers (For The People), may never read this article. Not that they somehow would have an epiphany and change of values.

Since I like a good challenge, and I know our leaders like challenges too…

I challenge each of them here and now… To hire a nature guide of their choice. Go out into the back country with them without luxuries, and spend a week sleeping on the ground under the stars listening to the sounds of nature and forage for their food. And each night, sit by a fire, gazing into it, and contemplate how we all came to be here, in this place, in this way, and as successful as we are.

Go back to your roots, and find the respect needed to appreciate good dirt, bugs, green grass, tall trees which give us shade, and drink fresh water from the stream, not from a bottle. In these things, One can find a lifetime of Peace and Prosperity.

Pondering the paths we make,Capt Kenjo

 

Hurricane Sandy deals NYC

Bravo New York! The tough will survive!

In the last week and a half you have endured many rigorous and high-stress challenges. I can only imagine what it is like to be there right now.

Like most hard-core outdoor enthusiasts, New Yorkers are just as hard-core as the rest! Considering the conditions you all have experienced in the concrete jungle recently such as no power, no transportation, loss of communications with little fresh food, water supplies low and no lights. Hopefully at least you can see the stars in the sky!

Over these last two weeks, many wonderful memories of all of you that I have fished with or worked with during our time in the Big Apple have been in mind. I wish you all warmth during these next few weeks as the weather continues to disrupt the flows!

Here are a few favorite pics from the last few years in good ‘ole NYC! And if you want to get out of there come on down to Port Aransas. We’re stocked up with redfish, trout, and yetis!

Coldest Cooler Yeti

Nothing is colder than Yeti cold!

 

Hooked’em good in Jamaica Bay, but let’em swim their way home.

Double Stripers

Jamaica Bay Demo

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good thing I took the GPS coordinates for this spot!

Topper for the day

How to really rock Jersey

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gateway National Wildlife Refuge, New York

Already miss this sonuva beach (Breezy Point NY)

 

The story behind how and on what this fish was caught will surprise you all. This fish has got nice color too!

 

 

 

 

 

1x Bass + 2x Bluefish

Hilarity ensued on this day. Great to have them onboard and inboard!

 

 

 

 

 

 

rough seas at breezy point new york

Sandy did much more

 

this is just a small problem compared to what Hurricane Sandy did to Breezy Point.

Hot Fall Fishing Action in NYC

Cat is out of the bag but loves the water!

The fall saltwater fly fishing season in New York and vicinity is HOT!

nyc false albacore fly fishing

Blind casting can be rewarding when fish are near but seemingly "out of reach"

Cooling air temps and the subsequent fall in water temperatures in New York provide special times when multiple species can caught from shore, jetty, or beach. In NYC’s marine saltwaters, its the Striped bass, bluefish and false albacore that draw people from their slumber and delay them in the evenings! Yeah!

As someone who has fished from shore enough to be considered down-right crazy by the locals, I encourage you to find your favorite areas and work them thoroughly, steadily, and with routine and even at regular intervals such a 3 evenings in a row, or two pre-dawn mornings back to back. This will hep you see minor changes in the habitat and structure of the beach, and how the current runs at different tide stages. Soon then you will learn, Hey! This spot fishes best during top flood tides and this spot holds bait better on the bottom half of  outgoing/incoming tides. You may also discover that the current comes closer to shore at a certain stage in the tide than at other times! Thats always a plus! I always looks for places where my line move sideways when cast into the water. This confirms that current is present and saltwater fish absolutely love the feeding advantages that strong current provides them.

Fly Fishing from the beach or jetties can be very rewarding if good strategy is practiced. Don’t let the other fisherman around you discourage you, or tell you if the fish are biting or not although I cant help but stop and ask because I live to hear fishing stories.

Perhaps though, it is possible that they just didn’t figure out the bite that day and maybe they didn’t use enough finesse to make a catch. I just prefer that the fish tell me whether or not they are hungry! Many times I have gotten up-to-the-minute reports from others telling me nothing is eating. Then after I get out there and spend some time working an area the fish usually tell me if they are interested or not! A few aspects of saltwater fly fishing (particularly in the Northeast) that should be mentioned here is that there are a few key things that can be done to get your own first-hand opinion on how the fish are biting. Worse case you’ll get in some good practice casting!

Once you settle into an area that looks fishy, work your flies through the entire water column. I typically start with a fly that rides shallow in the water, for better visibility which gives me the chance to see a fish follow or even strike the fly. This will tell me if the fish are playful and if they follow but reject the fly, then I can make minor adjustments to my approach, technique of presentation and fly selection. It is also important to start fishing by making short casts, essentially fishing the area within a 40-ft radius of your feet. If then there are no takers, I will begin working the water column from the top down, casting further out as I continue prospecting. Make casts in ways in which the fly and line have time to sink (such as when casting up current) and follow the fly back down, across and behind, as if swinging spey style.  Keep the line tight and stay in contact with the fly at all times. This will help you cover water in a uni-lateral direction. Pay close attention to currents whether they be up, down, or across as well as the vertical part of the water column. This will help you rule out unproductive water as well as help you determine where in the water column the fish are feeding and what the fish have in their preference lists. Usually I will also throw two or even three patterns through a certain area before moving on. The fish pictured above ate on the second cast of the 4th fly pattern I had selected to fish in that area.

Additionally, don’t overlook your tippet selection if you are in the mood to tangle with a false albacore. Even in stained or dingy water slightly off-color, I find that dropping my tippet to 15-lb TroutHunter 0x fluorocarbon tippet still pays off when most others are not getting bites at confirmed fish such as when casting into a boil or breach. You can get TroutHunter tippets in Manhattan at Urban Angler. Spools are 50 yards, yes thats right, FIFTY Yards!

Lastly, I strongly suggest using the two-handed stripping technique, after the cast, the rod is tucked under the arm and both hands are used, palms up, to strip line in. The most known benefit of this technique is to allow you to move the fly faster but in my opinion the most invaluable benefit of this retrieve is that one hand always has contact with the line in which case you can detect even the most subtle strikes, or strikes from fish that come straight at you as well as allow you to set the hook in an instant without having to reach for more line. One hand or the other remains in contact with the line at all times. Strip setting is now made faster because the hook can be set with either hand at any given moment! The trick of using this retrieve to its fullest potential is to strip line smoothly with both hands, but doing so slowly, and only fast enough that you maintain tension on the line during the retrieve. Then you can change it up a bit by adding a twitch or two and or making a longer pull with your stripping hand. Stops and starts of the fly can also be finessed from most any fly using this technique so long as you keep the rod tip pointed at the fly line where it enters the water.

Close but not close enough

Notice the bay anchovy is not two-tone . The bottom of the tail is also the same color as the back of the fish.

Fly Tying tip du jour:   Clousers Minchovy (modified minnow)

When tying Bob Clouser’s monument fly, the Clouser Minnow, use a short dubbing loop to dub the body of the fly behind the dumbell eyes with Hareline Ice Dub or SLF Prism dubbing. This covers the tread wraps but also imitates the silver lined stomach cavity that the bay anchovies have so distinguished. On the bay anchovy, their bodies are almost completely translucent tannish brown. The only two body parts on a bay anchovy that are not translucent are the lining of its stomach (silver/opaque) and their eyes.

Therefore, if you tie a clouser minnow in all tan buck tail with dumbell eyes of choice, then dub the body of this fly with some pearl flash dubbing as mentioned above, and Voila, you have a more precise imitation. Note: tan is not the only color scheme to use, I also ties these in off-white, light olive, dark olive, pink, chartreuse, and even black and purple. Use similar and corresponding shades for the dubbing as well to keep the color scheme common.

Remember to keep your hook sharp (Go Tiemco!) and get out there and fish for the fresh air and practice if for nothing else!

Keeping the hooks sharp,
Captain Ken Jones
Kenjo Fly Fishing
ken@kenjofly.com

 

all you need for albies

Here’s a little somethin for those wondering what to tie when chasing the false albacore in NYC. Reports are in that these speedsters are working the coast good. Get out there frequently and there’s high chance that you’ll even get shots at these fish from the beaches (just beware of rampant tornadoes)!

NY Sewer Discharge

This is good news for Public Notices relating to environmental alerts in New York City and only hope to see more preventative measures taken in regards to avoiding and preventing the discharge of raw sewage. Hopefully they will also realize that pouring pure chlorine directly into a waterway following the raw sewage doesn’t “help” really and can be even more detrimental. In an uncontrolled environment such as a river, the chlorine kills good bacteria too, not just the bad.

Riverkeeper is an organization which provides a good resource for latest news.

East River Brooklyn Bridge NYC

Looking north past Brooklyn Bridge from East bank of the East River

 

 

 

BFT offshore NY

We set sail one day this week at 4:15am and pointed the bow of a beautiful 35 ft Contender Southeast. She ate up the chop taking on an Eastern swell and a sturdy Southern wind wave. Steady as she goes, we made it to our first location at 6:45am to setup on the troll for Bluefin Tuna offshore New York City. With only two boats within sight on the horizon we put out an 8 rod spread. A good mix of lures in the water initially helped us fine tune spread as small bluefin tuna (avg 30-40lbs) began to show us their preferences. As the day wore on we shuffled the rig over to another location just 10-15 miles further ESE and into deeper water and sure enough the fish got a little bigger weighing in around 60-lbs. All in all, we went 7 for 10, releasing 6 fish to swim again.

NY BFT

a hefty 60# BFT

 

Guerilla Bluefish-ing in NY Bight

WOW! New York bight fishing was filled with screaming drags & aerial acrobatics!

stay tuned to Kenjo Fly Fishing in New York City

MORE TO COME!!!

My guest today was vacationing in NYC from Europe and really showed his world-wide angling skills! We really put a hurtin on some monster, I mean, MONSTER Bluefish! Right out of the gate, FISH ON, and once we got this 15-lb bluefish to the boat we spotted another fish, which resembled a giant 30-lb bass, which was chasing down the big bluefish already on the hook and under siege!!! Sure wish we could have gotten a closer look at whatever fish that was!!!!

When I grabbed the tail of this bluefish, it spit out the whole bunker, all in one piece! Upon closer inspection this ancient bluefish had literally no teeth!

no teeth

International Angler Zyed battles monster bluefish in NY Bight

After witnessing this event unfold before my very eyes today, it certainly supports the idea that these two species of fish will swim side-by-side and compete head to head for food flushing out of Jamaica Bay! The silver-sides and bay anchovies are getting hammered as well. Find the birds and you will find the cocktail bluefish… Remember to have fun and keep switching up lures or flies until you find the fish that eats! It is also a good idea to remove any front end trebles on plugs, swimmers and other casting lures. Single hooks simply make for safer landing and de-hooking so you can get that plug back in the water! Plus, it tears up the fish so much less that there is no reason not to reduce the total number of hook points on your lures. WinWin for the angler, and the fish!

Pre-shaped haywire twists were a good finisher to the day after using up all the 50-lb mono on the boat! I prefer large test mono instead of wire because it is easier on the hands when landing fish and it doesn’t kink after a few fish. Nonetheless, it is a good idea to wear a fish glove when handling the bluefish too! It allows for better leader control which aids in better protection for your hands from line cuts to the fingers or palms. For convenience I only use one glove on my non-dominant hand, which handles the leader until the fish is under control and while handling the fish for quick pics and the release.

Freebird

SO! Like a bird, get out there with your light-weight tins, heavy metals (yeah!), and small 2-inch to 5-inch cream colored flies with a silver stripe down each side and even throw in some live bait if you can keep it alive. It is a good thing the bunker are still in town. Until next time, keep your hooks & your wits sharp! Change is good and so is the challenge in cracking the code of finding huge fish that are no where near the birds!

 

Keeping the hooks sharp,
Captain Ken Jones
Kenjo Fly Fishing
Licensed by USCG (OUPV)
361-500-2552

 

Flies beat artificials on NYC striped bass

Loads of life have poured into Jamaica Bay NY recently. Bunker schools are growing thicker and tons of heavy sonar marks indicating big striped bass are appearing in just all the usual places. Trust your sonar and work the area thoroughly then move onto another area until you find the fish that are feeding. If they are not feeding in one spot at one moment, they will be a little later when the tide is a bit different. Keep moving and working different areas and you’ll run into them.

JBay Striper

WIDE LOADS

Surprisingly, the biggest flies and the smallest flies were not as effective, but anything medium bodied really got smacked by these fat striped bass. It is a good idea to not horse these bass, as you can see the result from the picture, even if they don’t feel big and especially at boat-side! These bass are full of energy and ready to rock because of the prime water temperatures. Normally for this time of year, the water temperatures are colder and the bass are more sluggish. But that does not hold true this season. It was impressive to feel the brute force that the broad shoulders and heavy heads of these bass could put out and even forced another Sage xi3 to bite the dust… Would be prudent to say that 10-weights are better rod of choice considering the strength of these fish…

So get in on the action one way or another and get out there! These fish have tails, and are not shy when presented with the right size offering! And remember when it comes to fly fishing for striped bass in NYC, you cannot catch a fish if the fly is dry!!!

Keep your hooks sharp,
Capt Ken Jones
361-500-2552
ken@kenjofly.com

Wild Ocean WILD Mutants

Reports of eyeless creatures caught in fisherman’s nets, fish with tumors you can visibly see from the outside and crabs with no claws found in Gulf Of Mexico near popular shrimping grounds which also happened to be one of the highest impacted zones of the BP oil spill. What NEXT???

eyeless shrimp

BP Oil Spill mutating sea life???

 

 

Salmonella wastes over 600,000 pounds of Yellowfin Tuna

This is all the more reason to eat locally sourced and seasonally appropriate fish! Commercial catching and processing of fish is a major breeding ground for dangerous food-borne illnesses. Catch what you eat, eat what you catch!

Fall Bluefin Tuna less than 1 hour from the dock

Salmonella FREE!!!

From the CDC website:

…State and local public health and regulatory officials are working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct a traceback of tuna. FDA has selected 4 of the clusters, which are located in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Texas, and Wisconsin, as the focus of the initial investigation. Information to date indicates that all 4 received the same imported frozen raw Nakaochi Scrape tuna product from a single tuna processing facility in India. Most common cause is ingestion of ground tuna meat, commonly used in

This investigation is ongoing. CDC and state and local public health partners are continuing surveillance to identify new cases. Further investigation is ongoing to identify possible sources of contamination and whether any other tuna products are linked with illness. CDC will update the public on the progress of this investigation as information becomes available…