NJ DEP A couple of Sedge Island programs available, including kayak fishing. My son stayed on Sedge Island a couple of times, and I always remember his adventures with the others as a highlight of his youth. Among many other activities including ocean kayaking by paddling out through the inlet and fishing for blues in the bay, he treaded clams just like his father used to do for a living. The thought of a real outpost on a sedge island is archetypal for me, because I used to think of rooms and apartments I stayed in--although I lived in some nice houses too--as "stations" away from the American mainstream. From my vantage far, far away on the edge I analyzed not only the culture I had removed myself from, but during my daily work engaged with the given realm of nature.
Friday, July 14, 2023
Tuesday, July 11, 2023
Back Recovering and About Bedminster Pond
I'm out of the hospital, but the back pain is lingering yet, and I don't know when I'll fish again. I've been in very frequent communication with Brian Cronk, and my good friend Noel Sell phoned me to talk about his chiropractor...and of course, fishing.
The conversation somehow landed on Bedminster Pond's lack of access now, which a cop Noel had spoken to told him is permanent. Although it is possible to walk in from River Road Park, it's a long walk when the sun has gone down and every minute at the pond matters during the Magic Hour. But I told Noel I don't think that pond is productive any longer. The photo above is of the sole 18-incher I've caught there, that on March 31, 2018, as the link below reveals. On that day I also caught a bunch of little ones not quite nine inches, and one about 10 1/2 inches. Since then, the largest I've caught was about eight inches.
The Bernardsville News published an article a couple of years back about an ecological study done on the pond, which reports that it's headed downhill. It's shallow. By late May it's covered in algae. That goop accumulates each year and affects the pond's health negatively. I fished that pond a lot since 2018. Every March and maybe some in April except this year. It might not be a total loss but it might be that soon.
I shot some photos from the western shore up near the north end last I had parked at the gravel lot no longer there. Nice images of white-barked trees and their reflections on perfectly still water. I felt then as I often do. Called over to the scene to have a look and maybe engage it with my camera, when it would have been convenient to just get in my car and leave. I didn't know the taking of the photos was to be my parting gift to Bedminster Pond, but I very distinctly remember taking those images.
The sun had set. The trees are all the way up near the northwest corner. Even if I were to fish the pond again, to get to River Road Park before it would get too dark...means it's not likely I'd ever again have a chance at photos like these last I got.