Writing to let you know I might have done it once before, but I'm not going to go for more than a week without posting, if I can help it. Did plan on fishing the Raritan today, but I'm busy with a writing project I've got to get done as soon as I can.
Off on Monday, I'm thinking I'll get over to the lower South Branch. Noel Sell gave me a call today. We talked at least 15 minutes, good talk, and he gave me a clue as to where to try. Now living in Pennsylvania, he's very happy with the people over there, who will "bend over backwards to help you. In New Jersey, they screw you and take your money."
Speaking from my own experience, I love New Jersey, which is not to say I'm blind to its flaws. Anyone who reads my blog knows that, but not because I resent those flaws. Resentment is always directed upward against a superior, be it an individual or a group. Restrain resentment and you don't need to bother with self-aggrandizement to stand straight. Rather than gripe and get sour, I just lay out problems like fishing pressure--frequently lay them out--for what they are. We who fish in New Jersey play the game of outsmarting pressured fish because we enjoy it, not because it "should" be otherwise, even if, on occasion, like the previous post expresses, we feel put off by how difficult it really can be to go without an easy catch rate.
Someone I worked with at Fiddler's Elbow Country Club told me, "In New Jersey, you have to work for the fish." It's nice when sometimes the action is fast. But on the other hand, my catch of four smallmouths on the Raritan late this past July was very satisfying.
Just want to let you know the book on microlight method for trout is still in the works. Hope all of you read it and get the word out, not because I need to get rich, but because the quality of the book is something anglers who enjoy reading will appreciate. I've taken about two years' hiatus from working on it, but once I get the new website up, I can turn back to completing the finish, and then seeking the book's publication.
I keep getting sidetracked by other writing projects. Even the monthly article I do for New Jersey Federated Sportsmen's News takes some repeated effort over the course of four or five days, maybe a week. I will reread a 1200-word piece entire, just to tweak a word or mark of punctuation. The editor's final copy is perfect, after he asks me for a proof-read.
That's it for now. Hope I fish on Monday.
