Hewitt section

2nd time out & first full day of the year - 4 miles into the hike i realized that Google maps might just be wrong - although the bog was large 2nd only to the Flow Lands and a whole lot closer to the city. As usual there were spots where you could go in up to your knees or worse. The Water was tea stained and looked right but the flow was not enough to support wild fish. Unfortunately there was no central cascading brook feeding the flow nor was there even a decent spring but the hike was just the thing to get me into shape and broke up the day nicely...

About 3 or 4 miles into the interior i ran into a lost hiking couple - it always strikes me as odd since 3-4 hours in any direction is generally a road here in the east. I guess i am getting old but i just can't understand how this happens, they had no water, map, gps or even a candy bar and they had been out about 7 hours by the time i ran across them.

As to the main river below 1 brookie on a greenie weenie and fished "over" a ton of fish but none were rising to anything bigger than a 28 - white fly (wayyyyyy to early in the season for this type of long tippet fishing.

If you see what i saw on Google than i would recommend /consider trying the approach from the southeast side to see if there was any better luck in the next valley over but based on what i could see i doubt it.

http://maps.google.com/maps?client=firefox-a&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&channel=s&q=hewitt,+nj&num=10

5/20/07

Sunday was my first half hearted attempt to get out this season. I know we are well into the 2nd month in NY (which is the 5th month in NJ) but i could not get out until now. I planned to drive to the river and sit watching the flow for a while. In general i seem to be watching more than fishing lately but fishing more effectively when i do get out.

I choose i spot where i have never had any luck, although i know there are fish in this section of the river. I parked the car and just as i hit the trail down to the river i noticed a spotted fawn lying 5 feet from the trail and 10 feet from the road. He was fine, just taking a nap and so i did not take a picture or disturb him. I walked down to the river and strung up the 3 wt. The river was high & cold for this time of year, but i quickly found a rhythm, flipping a Micky Finn into the current and letting it drift down to the first fish a nice 14" brookie. The temperature made him a bit more lethargic then a mid May trout is usually, but it was fine fish, firm and silky.

At some point in the afternoon a large snake crossed the current, i guess it was about 6' long. No idea what kind of snake it was, but it was 15 feet from me and that felt comfortable (as he was down river and the current was on my side). After he passed into the brush on the far side i focused on 2 good current threads and i alternated between them for a few hours with a cigar to break the time up. The faster inside current held a few rainbows - 15 maybe 16" with a bit more life than the brookies.

The longer you go with out getting out the long you will continue to go with out getting out... so just go, now, it does not matter for how long or far or what or if you catch anything but standing in a river clears your mind and allows you to digest loss and melt concern away.

Plus it should make it that much easier to get away on the next trip out..