Saturday, April 10, 2021

Beautiful Afternoon at Stockers


Ever since my brother Rick and Dennis Fairburn went to the Hunterdon streams Monday, I've wanted to go. Not for the outrageous numbers of trout they caught: 120 for Rick, 96 Dennis. No, Dennis posted a couple of photos and I felt drawn to these streams, some of my very favorite, despite the fact that they're spring fed little and trout don't reproduce. 

Saturday came very quickly, and I didn't feel prepared to go. I waffled around during the morning, going to the bank and seeing dozens of cars at the North Branch, working on an essay I've worked on for more than a month and can't seem to finish. I sure wasn't headed over to the North Branch and hoped that in the afternoon, the Hunterdon streams wouldn't be crowded. 

I deeply considered just canceling on my plan and going to Round Valley to walk with my wife and dog. Shooting a few photos, yes, but not a photo shoot proper. I very much enjoy outings with her. She kept telling me to go fishing, as if she knew that would be best. I told her I should give up fishing and for now on, she and I will go on outings together. She just laughed. "Go fishing." And she was out the door before I left with Sadie the Black Lab to walk Natirar.

Life can be like that. She has better judgment than I do. I get lost in my sensitivity easily. She certainly knew better than to get sucked into some nonsense about me not fishing anymore. Like that's really going to happen. I drove away from Bedminster wistfully remembering when she was about 25 and me 32.

And things got bad. I was driving U.S. 202 towards Pennsylvania, and I don't believe I have driven it in that direction for about five years. We used to all of the time, to visit family in New Hope. 

All sorts of landmarks seemed ragged and torn, ripped through by the struggle for nickels and dimes they represented, and to cap it all off, I saw the Stewart's Root Beer we stopped at a couple of times, out of business and coming undone. I had gone deep south by the time I arrived at Alexauken Creek, imagining the residents along the border as malevolent and to be avoided. I stopped at one spot, then decided the stocking crew probably didn't carry trout a hundred yards, despite the Fish & Wildlife sign. 

I drove on.

I scouted Wikicheoche Creek, and decided it, too, wasn't to fish. I knew I was headed for the Lockatong, but driving along the Wik raised my mood quite a lot. Where I put boots down at the Lockatong, I caught a trout on my first cast, the crowds gone. I persisted there awhile, catching seven more and coming back to myself. I sometimes wonder if other people go south and turn around, quit before they make the journey in full. Never compromise on your happiness. Do whatever it requires, even if getting there feels like it might do you in. 

I was at Kingwood. On a plateau. Farmland. As you can see in the photo above, the creek has a pastoral quality. I followed roads down into my favorite gorge. It gets no respect as the Ken Lockwood does, but it's beautiful. I came completely out of the struggle by the time I reached Strimple's Mill, fully happy to be there. Trout were there, and I caught three more, but I wasn't out for excessive numbers; I was meeting my favorite place--Planet Earth--on its own terms, rather than as a resource to scrape together loose change.

 


 


Hunterdon Streams

Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Trout Seem Spread Out

On Monday, I got ready to over here to the North Branch, and found my wife had thrown out all of my salmon eggs. I told her I had $40.00 worth in the fridge. She said, "Go to Kings, buy caviar, and use that." 

An order from Dicks should arrive today.

So I went to the North Branch with Trout Magnets this morning. Nobody there, no trout seemed to be, either. I saw none in the dump spot or upstream of it. I fished 10 minutes. Nothing hit. I did feel I might have done a little better with eggs. Mainly, I'm impressed by how they've spread out, unless they haven't been stocked.

If they've spread out, that's good for wading the stream up and down. If they stocked, they must have stocked a heavy load.

I'm off to work in minutes. I must say it feels good to have broken the routine a little.

Monday, April 5, 2021

Laurie Again

 Laurie Murphy:

With warmer weather approaching, fishing should continue to improve. Knee Deep stocked their trout this past weekend and the State also stocked again during the week. Trolling small rapalas and phoebes along the shorelines,  docks and in the backs of the coves, should produce fish.  The crappie bite continues to be strong, using small plastics fished under a bobber, though small suspending Rapala husky jerks have also been effective. It was a decent week of bass fishing with swimbaits, jerkbaits and Rat-l-Traps all producing fish. Good numbers of bass, white perch and pickerel were also caught. We are open 7 days with boat rentals , bait , and tackle. Not comfortable with driving your own boat or would like some hands on experience, or a single Mom wanting to get her kids out of the house to learn to fish, call Aaron of Lake Hopatcong Guide Service (856) 577-0653 to set something up. Have a great week !

Sunday, April 4, 2021

Mercer Meadows


Had to get a shot of the Iron Bridge over Stony Brook, and I thought of Mercer Meadows nearby as a good place for a walk with my wife and Sadie the black Lab.

It was real good to stand at the edge of Stony Brook. My home stream. 

I grew up in Lawrence where the Meadows stretch around for miles, and I was familiar with them growing up, though most of it was farmland then. Now 1600 acres comprise the park. The Mercer County Park Commission has done a great job making and maintaining trails, preserving farm buildings and equipment, and maintaining the wild spaces for wildlife, especially birds.