ON THE POND

There is a different type of air around the Long Beach pond most of the time, but when competitions are imminent, the early morning sun has not yet knocked down the dew, the doves are drinking the water, and the first pot of coffee is brewing in the clubhouse; it feels like hallowed ground. Something I am always observing is the trees. In the park that surrounds the club, there are so many diverse types, and all of them have been around for quite some time. I just wish they were a little further back from the pond and a little better at cutting the wind. What makes the mornings electric is that some of the people who contribute to the aura of the place are still walking in with their casting equipment, finding their place to set up, and going to work on the pond. With Steve and Chris casting this week, there is the added pleasure of hearing their tips, watching how they compete, and seeing bits of their competition routines in the same place where they have competed for many years.

As a greenhorn, I have already discovered that I want to have certain things set up in specific ways. I am getting better at having less of a mess in fewer places all the time. Carabiners, key rings, and multiple bags of the perfect shape and size have become paramount to my success in this endeavor. My keys to success have always been a necessity, but with lines, heads, leaders, cleaners, and so on, I need to organize many more things. For now, I treat my travel rod case as a mothership and use various sling bags or fanny packs to have my necessities at hand on the pond for each different game. This tactic is working okay, but there are so many different games that I still look like a good retriever getting all his toys out during playtime. I just don’t pick them back up as well.

I had been warned to look for a looper over the weekend, and as soon as I saw the black tube with a gold cap, I knew. Interestingly enough, Mr. David Siskind said basically the same thing. “I didn’t know exactly what you looked like, but I saw the gold cap and figured that was you.” (might be worth knowing, Paul) I really didn’t have the time Friday to hang out with David as much as I would have liked, but I made sure that he felt at home. Long Beach is such a welcoming place. I don’t know if all clubs are like this, but they ought to be. I’m looking forward to some carp fishing plans that the two of us shall make. I have committed to doing some heavy carping this year between practices. At times, it gets easy to just go cast all day and not fish much. I need to fight back against that a little more in the future, and I hope fun fishing with new friends can make that happen. Looking forward to it, David!

The Eliminator

Sea trout felt rather good all week. I had competitive numbers for the wind the day of the eliminator, so for that event, I have yet to be eliminated. 5wt distance was a question and potentially a problem. For those of you who have been following along: I threw my HT 10 wt rod. The instructor hasn’t been ruled out, but the 10 felt good right away, so I didn’t mess with the voodoo. During the week, I was throwing it really well. Game day, I couldn’t keep my long carry forward cast delivery off of me. The wind was into my right shoulder more than behind me. I never really nailed one that didn’t hit me, but the numbers were competitive for the day, and for that event, they have yet to eliminate me. Then came the final event—accuracy. This was a tough cookie to crack, but it seems like I cast well enough to not be eliminated at this time. I say "at this time" because it is certainly possible that another qualifier could occur, and if my numbers don’t hold up, then I may not qualify, but we’ve got confidence — <on the pond> (sometimes disguised as arrogance) ((especially if I’m drinking)). Apologies when necessary.

Notable Casting of Other Anglers

Rick casted well, I thought. He and I both need to work on getting in the zone on game day, but he threw one 5 wt distance cast right after the clock hit zero that was absurd, and it may have been all he needed.

“It’s like a switch that goes on and I don’t know… I feel like another person.”  — Stallone, Over the Top

Speaking of my geriatric friends, my buddy Dr. Marty McVey MCI was casting out of his shoes this week going for the team, and I will say that I do not believe he will be eliminated. Excellent work, Marty; I know you have been going hard, man. YOU did it!

I have mentioned it before and will be talking about it for a long time, I expect, but our rising star, young Mr. Elias “the gunslinger,” is one to watch. I admire what he can do with rods of all types, and it is a pleasure to be his friend. I just hope he does not beat me at 5 wt distance at Worlds, but I would expect him to give me a good ribbing for it if he does.

Steve is Steve...

…Same for Henry

Glen too…

Whitney looked like she found something with 5 wt distance. She blows my mind every time I see her cast. I can’t wait to be taught about the LONG whippy stick. Thus far, it has fooled me by being way too long and way too whippy to enjoy the casting side of it. I assume that if there is anyone who can get me up to speed, it is the Lady of the Lake. I also hope she doesn’t beat me at 5 wt distance, but I would expect a good ribbing from her if she did as well.

Obviously, you can’t point out each individual who has been working hard and casting well, but there were many of them present at Long Beach this week, and you can't help but have a good time. When I was guiding in North Carolina, there was a run near the hatchery on the Davidson River that had these giant trout in it all the time. However, everyone knew about it; it was in a catch and release area, it was near enough to the hatchery that kids of all ages would walk down to it during the week and skip rocks, and it was extremely difficult to get one of those fish to eat. Everyone also knows this to be the case, so it was deemed “humble hole.” The Long Beach Casting Club Pond reminds me of that trout river run. The pond does not care what you can do elsewhere or yesterday. The pond does not care who you are or where you came from. The pond has seen better casts before and will see better casts after. You have to be special to catch a fish in those waters, and I’m going to keep sizing down my tippet.

Awesome photo David