Surf fishing

I've been hearing of reports that people are catching striped bass in Monmouth county from the beach in Raritan Bay. I have also heard some blue fish are being as well, although I thought it to be a bit early. Anyway, I decided to go out and see. Beth, Baileigh and I went on Saturday from about 11:00 to 2:00. I fished clams from the beach in Port Monmouth next to the Spy House Pier. This is the spot were not only stripers were supposedly being caught, but keepers as well. I did not get a hit. I also did not see any fish caught for that matter. Someone walking on the beach told me a fish was caught on the pier but I did not see it. There were quite a few people fishing from the pier, yet no fish were pulled out. At least Baileigh had fun playing in the sand.

I went again last night. Same spot. Same results. Clams from the beach and not a single hit. One thing I did notice though was the abundance of seaweed. This made it difficult to fish. Especially when I tried to throw plugs. I fished for about 2 hours and gave up. On the way to my truck I was talking to 3 guys who were headed out on the pier. They told me they only heard of a few fish being caught. One was a 12 pound weakfish. There were only a few people fishing this time. I guess everybody else thinks like I do now....there are no fish being caught like you hear. It may be tackle shops giving out bogus reports to drum up business. I think I'll try Belmar ocean surf one night next week.

Backyard garden

I started getting my garden ready for this season. I have clay dirt in my yard (all over my property for that matter). And anyone that knows anything about clay dirt knows that it does not drain. After a soaking rain I have puddles in my yard that look like ponds and don't drain for days at a time. So I knew that if I did a garden the plants would be drowned in no time at all. Besides, clay dirt is VERY HARD to dig. So after thinking of what to do, I came up with a plan.

I built 2 raised beds, put down landscape fabric and filled them with bedding soil. Of course I used pressure treated wood and galvanized screws.
















I used stakes in the corners and drove them into the ground for stability.

























This one I built with 1x4's and use for growing tomatoes, basil, peppers and other vegetables.








This one I used 1x6's and use it for growing garlic. Garlic gets planted in September/October and is harvested in July/August. Since I did not plant garlic last year, I am going to use this one for tomatoes only and the other for everything else. Tomato plants need a lot of room to grow. When I planted them in the other garden with everything else, they were too close and almost got choked out. So now I will have more room to grow more peppers. I am going to grow habanero peppers because they are are to find. I enjoy gardening with Baileigh and she loves it. She never touches the peppers because "they are hot".

Pictures from Keyport

I took out the camera and snapped some pictures tonight from the bulkhead in Keyport, NJ. A shot of the rock wall in Cliffwood. I've never fished from here but I hear it is a good spot.












The sun setting behind a water tower in Cliffwood.











The beach by the boat ramp. Not much swimming goes on there.











One of only 2 boats moored. There are a lot more moored in the summer time.













A buoy in the channel coming out of the few marinas in Keyport. Staten Island, NY in the background.








Another shot of the sun set over Cliffwood.

The next Mia Hamm???

Today was the second day of soccer. It was also picture day. Of course I brought my camera.




Baileigh getting warmed up for practice.

During practice.

Listening to the coach.

Team photo. There are so many kids on the team they had to split them up into team A and team B. This is team B.

Baileigh's solo shot. Of course we are buying a bunch of pictures. :-)

Here are some more pictures with the new camera. I am still learning what all the functions and features are.

This is my truck.













Baileigh coloring Easter eggs.















Baileigh getting ready to ride her scooter.












Showing off the new Dora brush.











A boat taking off in Point Pleasant.












An action shot of the scooter.

Opening Day.....Trout that is

So Saturday was the long awaited trout opening day @ 8:00 am. My friend Eddie came down Friday night and stayed over so that we could get an early start. We woke up at 5:00. I looked outside and it wasn't raining. After a cup of coffee we loaded my truck and left.

We got to Holmdel Park at about 6:15 or so. The gates to the park are not opened until 7:00 but we have to get there early to get a good spot to fish because it gets crowded. I have another cup of coffee as we wait. So far still no rain.

At 7:00 the gates are opened and we head into the park to the parking lot. Doesn't seem to be as many people this year as was in the past. This is my 6th year going here for opening day and there were always many more people than this year. Although it is Easter weekend. We get all the gear out of the truck and head to our spot that we fish every year. As I am walking along the pond I see rain drops. OK, it is a very light drizzle which I can deal with. We set up our chairs and it starts to rain harder. Eddie hands me a cigar and somehow in the rain we both manage to get them lit.

It is now about 7:30. 1/2 hour to fish time and the rain is coming down even harder but somehow we manage to keep our cigars lit. And with the rain comes the wind. Finally it is 8:00 and we can start fishing. Now we are going to catch some trout and sort of make up for the rain..right? WRONG.

The wind is really blowing, and the rain reminds me of Forest Gump, "We got all kinds of rain. Stinging rain, big old fat rain, and rain that seemed to come right up from the bottom". We fished for about 2 1/2 hours and didn't even get a bite. In fact, I only saw about 5 trout caught which is not a lot at all. There are usually 10 to 15 caught in the first couple of hours. So, after what seemed like an eternity in freezing, rainy weather, we decided to bag the rest of the day and go back to my house and grill some venison sausage and drink some beers. This was the worst opening day I can remember. We had one that had more rain (if that is possible) but at least we caught some fish that day, albeit bass but fish none the less.

Oh well, the season just started so hopefully there will be a trout or two in my future.

Aquarium

On Friday we took Baileigh to the Jenkinson’s Aquarium in Point Pleasant. She had a great time. We saw all kinds of fish and birds. She actually knew some of the birds. They had some bird eggs on display and she pointed at one and said, "Look, a Scarlet Macaw egg!!"

Of course I took the new camera. Here are some pictures.

Baileigh got to pet a star fish.

This was my favorite part.

A Macaw.

A photo op.

Don't want to get too close to this guy!!

Baileigh as a seal.

Beth and Baileigh had fun! (So did I)

My New Toys

Over the past few weeks I got some new toys. Here they are in no particular order.

First up is my Canon EOS Rebel digital camera with all the accessories. I got it on e-bay just this past Tuesday and have used it every day so far. It is an awesome camera. A lot better than the point and shoot we have. It came with an instruction manual, two booklets, a pamphlet and two cd's. It will take a while 'til I get the hang of it. Of course, I will be posting the pictures I take with it.




















Next up is my Toshiba laptop. I got tired of fighting for the PC with Beth and Baileigh. I got this as a birthday gift from Beth, Baileigh, my mother and my mother-in-law and father-in-law. I can now surf the net from the comforts of my lazy-boy chair or in the backyard with a cigar. Ahh, the good life.






Last but not least is my new golf cart. This thing is amazing. It folds up so small and stores out of the way in my garage. It is so much better than my last cart. It has a storage compartment, beverage holder, handbrake and airless tires. So many times I would check the old cart the night before golf and discover the tires were flat. Now I don't have to worry about that.

I also got this for my birthday with money from my dad. Too bad it doesn't make me play any better. :-)

Baileigh's soccer

Baileigh had her first soccer practice on Saturday. Actually, her first one was last Saturday but was canceled due to the rain. She took it pretty well considering how excited she is. She did awesome!! We were worried that she wouldn't like it or would be too shy to do anything but not that day. She was running all over kicking the ball and listening to the coach.

It started off a little chilly and windy but about half way through the wind picked up and the temperature went down. We even had a bit of rain but that didn't stop Baileigh. She kept on trucking...and kicking. She had a blast and can't wait to go back. It is not for 2 weeks; they don't have practice on Easter weekend. Just as well because next Saturday is trout opening day. :-) I have video of her practicing and as soon as I can figure out how to put it on here, I will.

A new bathroom part V....progress!!!

Almost done!! I got a lot done in the past week. Got the room painted and on Saturday (my birthday by the way) Gene and I put in the toilet. It actually went smooth. The first thing we did without a hitch...knock on wood. After we got that in we went to my in-laws for dinner with her family.

On Sunday I put the vanity and sink in. Not so smooth this time. Since the walls are not square, I could not put the sink on the vanity the right way. The vanity sits against the walls back and side fine but the sink does not. It sits away from the wall 3/4 of the way around so I have to come up with a way to shim it or build up between the wall and the sink.

If you look at at the back of the sink you can see a piece of wood I have there for now....until I come up with a better plan.













The drain is also leaking. I need to go to Home Depot and figure out a way to fix it. The pipe out of the wall is 1 1/2" inside diameter and the pipes on the sink are 1 1/2" inside diameter. So I have a cup under the sink, again for now....

All that is left, aside from noted problems above, are some last minute touch ups and a new light and exhaust fan- which I am most likely going to get an electrician to do. My house has aluminum wiring and I do not want to fool around with that and we also have other electrical work to be done.