Prefish Day:

It all begun with a 5:30 alarm. It was to be mini tournament time at Lake Denmark at 7:00 am. Lake Denmark is located outside the wire of the Picatinny Army Base about a 45 minute drive north into the mountains. After arriving I made my donation to the tournament pot. I say this because typically I do not fish freshwater lakes. Although the times fishing them the tendency to catch fish is there.

After waiting for the guys who stayed at the cabins the night before to get back from breakfast we all launched in the lake around 8:00 am. I opted to paddle the Big Rig as it is the bass anglers dream kayak due to its stand-ability and stability for standing site fishing all day long. The guys wouldn’t let me compete with my Torqeedo although pedals were aloud which I felt was not at all an advantage. Next time I think everyone paddles.

I tied on an inline spinner bait and first cast fish on its a pickerel. It was pickerel all day long! Fun to catch those toothy critters. Inline spinners seemed to work best but i do believe if i had some top water poppers they would have been hooked and landed on those also! Around 11:30 I paddled my Big Rig back to the boat ramp and loaded it back up as it was time to catch the Rangers hockey game at the cabin! The 2 bedroom and loft cabins are really nice! Fully furnished with amenities such as Flat Screen TV with cable, Internet, a full kitchen, and hot showers!

We enjoyed assorted salami and cheeses that Larry  brought and some venison sausage Dave Mormak brought along with some killer empinadas that Sam Callalo’s wife made! After lunch and the Rangers beat the Caps in game 3 we all went back to the lake to fish for a few more hours as the tournament apparently went on until 5:00. We ended up fishing until around 6:00 and by that time I was really hungry so loaded up and went back to the cabins for some beverages dinner and just to hang out with other fellow volunteers. Ending up going to bed after the fight of a life time that was actually not a good fight.

I ended up taking a shower then going to bed late around 1:30 am and didn’t not sleep much due to strange noises in the night.  I think i got an hour and a half just before it got lite out.

Event Day:

7:00AM I’m up feeling a bit tired but pack my gear up and head to the lake where I will be running the check in electronically. The sun is shining not a cloud in the sky. It was a cool morning but the forecast was calling for mid 70’s to 80’s in the mountains.

Volunteers begin to show up and its great to see the familiar faces. Its been quite a few months since most of us have seen each other.

 The check-ins went smoothly. It seemed there was 10 people in line at the most. So everything went pretty quick. From here the need is to get rid of the paper which I am working on.

Most of the volunteers were down at the boat ramp which was about 100 yards down the road. They were unloading and setting up the kayaks for the event.

The veterans started to arrive and enjoy a light breakfast! It was now time to kick off the event. Matt Williams gave his speech and then was a nice giveaway to veteran.  There was a gift card to Ramsey Outdoors and also a nice fishing rod Sean Gavin custom made in his fishing rod shop that he donated.

It was now time to give our guests a great day on the water! After a safety briefing the participating veterans were paired up with guides and set off onto Lake Denmark. Pat Od was the ramp commander for the day and did a great job! It was a picture perfect day on the water. Sunny a few small clouds made it completely comfortable. Quite a few fish were caught while Civic Duty Partners volunteers were preparing lunch that consisted of burgers dogs and sausages with various sides. Lunch was called around 1 PM and was excellent as always.

The event was a great way to kick off the 2015 season of fishing and HOW events. Keeping up with our great weather record once again!

After lunch the event was extended to 3:00 PM by the event coordinator. We wanted to end at 2 PM due to it being Sunday but it was just too picture perfect to pack it up. A quite a few people went back out fishing after lunch and had to be rounded up at then end. A couple hours later we were all packed up trailers loaded to be transported to their home base for another day.

Thanks again to all of the volunteers who take up a beautiful weekend day to fulfill taking out veterans fishing and helping them rehabilitate back to the civilian life or just have a great day.

There was a HOW NJ Fly Tying Session planned for Saturday Feb 21 2015. I decided to stop by and learn something! This was the second Fly Tying session coordinated by Tom Dwyer and the Bayshore saltwater flyrodders club. They donated their time knowledge, equipment, and materials to give veterans and volunteers whom were interested in attending get out of the house during a cold winter. This event is part of an effort to entertain and just hang out with the veterans we assist during the winter as we can’t get out fishing.

I met up with Sean Gavin a friend and volunteer at his house to join him for the other half of the drive south to the Neptune NJ American Legion. We arrived just before 1 PM and everyone was happy to see us as the feeling was mutual. There was ten of us total in attendance. I think there would have been more attendees if there wasn’t snow in the forecast. By 2 PM it was snowing but time flew by learning how to tie flies! Learned the Clouser Minnow then went on to tie a few teasers for Fluke fishing.
The time went incredibly fast. The next thing I knew we were packing up. It’s a lot of fun creating a lure or in this case a fly. I honestly cant wait to catch fish with them! The guys said we have the bug now. Once you start its impossible to stop!

After we left the Legion went back to Sean’s house and tied a few more flies and hang out. I now need to purchase some more items on top of the tools and materials i purchased a few weeks ago with Justin and Sean at  the store.

Below is a video of my First Clouser Minnow!!

I have to say thanks for all of the knowledge and pointers! Im looking forward to passing time during these freezing winter months creating my own fishing tackle and honing my skills!

Prior to going out on any event/tournament its a good idea to check the weather forecast prior to packing. This allows you to pack what you will important for the weather instead of packing everything. This time of year it is typically cold nights and cool days so preparing to dress in layers is the best way to go. It appears that this weekend is not going to be very cold but will be a bit windy. Therefor dressing for the wind will be important.

So now that know the type of gear and clothing I will need to bring the next step will be creating a list so forgetting to pack key items is a good idea. Being only 2 nights and a full day and a half of fishing its easy to pack light. All of my fishing tackle and rods are already packed due to previous fishing trips so that cuts out about half of things needed. It is fall so i will need to pack warmer clothing and my semi dry gear. Rule of thumb is water + Air temperature must reach a minimum of 120 degrees or falling into the water could be deadly without the protective dry gear.

I am also looking forward to using my Torqeedo as this is a special place with a 4-5 knot tide at fall new moon. Its going to be ripping and windy. challenge accepted! I will be targeting Striped Bass Blue Fish Speckled Trout and Tautog.

The Jamboree is held in Cape May NJ which is a two hour drive from my home. It is ground zero for some of the best Tautog fishing on the East Coast.

A nice drive south on the Garden State Parkway through the Pine Barens. Looking forward to meeting up with a lot of familiar faces and meeting new anglers! Im also looking forward to doing a little celebrating as today is my birthday!!

Hope to see you all there at the captains meeting tonight!

If not I will be on campsite 729.
For more information see http://jckf-forum.forumotion.net/