So I'm just back from a 4 day boat trip to New York City. I was there to participate in a benefit "live release" fishing tournament, Fishermen's Conservation Association's (
http://www.joinfca.org/) "Manhattan Cup". We departed Old Lyme, CT on Wednesday under clear skies, unfortunately, due to scheduling constraints of the boat's owner, we had no extra time to fish on the way to NYC. I spent the next two night and days bobbing up and down at Chelsea Piers (West 23rd St.) as the commuter ferry traffic kept the seas alive. Friday was Manhattan Cup day and the rain started just as 35 fishing craft made their way down the Hudson River to participate in a bluefish festival. Bluefish, bluefish, bluefish and rain, rain, rain. That about sums up the Manhattan Cup for me, that and another schedule dictated non-fishing boat ride back up Long Island Sound to Old Lyme.
So Sunday, I find myself on local waters -at last. Stripers abound, but they just aren't too hungry. I'm not sure if it was the tide, the moon, or perhaps even the weather, but the stripers were following, almost sniffing the fly and not really taking. In fact, the few that I hooked up seemed to grab the fly only after I had let the fly drop into the water to sink for a several seconds. Seems that as soon as I started to my retrieve, "fish on". Unfortunately, by 2:00, the wind was howling, the fish were very quiet so I stashed my rods and headed home only to discover that the 4-wheel drive system in truck still doesn't work properly and this is after 2 trips (already) to the Ford dealer. Thankfully, my charter was able to re-schedule for Wednesday, and we can sit out the predicted 20-35 mph winds of the next 24+ hours.
