Saturday, August 9, 2014

the apple doesn't fall far from the tree

When I look through old photo albums my dad is always posing with a fish next to me and my sister. He has been fishing his whole life and really got serious in the early 1960's. He started reading books on the natural life and habits of Striped Bass, experimented with numerous lures and meticulously dedicated time to a fishing journal. With pen and paper he has logged every fish he has every caught from 1960 to 2014. He logs the date, fish species, weather condition, wind, tide, length, and lure. Then he has all these field drawings that visually show sandbars cuts, structure and where and how he caught fish. I always learn new things when I sit down with my dad and we thumb through pages of fishing knowledge and insight he has collected over the years. He understands that before a storm the barometer will drop and fish instinctively know to feed because the water will be churned up for a few days. He can read the water conditions and know where the fish are going to ambush prey. He is selective and only fishes a few specific hours a day. His favorite is called the "Magic Hour", the last fleeting hours of sunlight into dark. 

Fast forward thirty plus years and like osmosis I have absorbed all the same habits and traits as my father only they are slightly more modern. I document everything fish I catch via photographs, computer information graphics and log it on my blog. You can say the "apple doesn't fall far from the tree" or we are "cut from the same log".

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Hunt | Gather | Cook
Delaware Tributaries: Slot limit 20" to 26" from July 1 to August 31st
Striped Bass Caught on August 7th, 2014 @ 11:15 PM
Tide: High 7pm  |  Low: 1am (outgoing tide)  Size: 24"   Lure: Custom Painted black Rattle Trap with blue/green glitter (three coats of clear lacer finish)

New Jersey | Island Beach State Park
August 8th @ 3pm caught Blue Claw Crabs and Middle Neck Clams
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Hunt | Gather | Cook {the meal}
Striped Bass sliders with spinach, tomato, sautéed shallots, and avocado with steamed crab seasoned with Old Bay and clams off the grill with lemon butter sauce