Just read on another web site that Dennis Skarka from Catskill Flies has passed away.

Just learned that Gil Bergen passed away recently at the age of 89. Some might remember Gil as the head man for many years of Connetquot State Park which for many years provided some amazing fishing opportunities until the hatchery was hit with disease a number of years ago.

We (jSTU) have a surplus float box that is available to anyone who is interested. It is wooden, in fairly good shape , and usable. It has a capacity of at least 150-200 trout.

Anyone interested in the salt there are still a ton of stripers in the surf. Caught around 20 yesterday in 1 1/2 hours. The fish are small (12-20 inches) but lots of fun. Small Storms and a teaser works well. Yesterday trout in the morning and stripers in the afternoon - not bad for January...

If you fished in the Cape May striper tournament this weekend and caught a 50 pounder ( a fish of a lifetime) you lose. Winner 52+ pounds and some 40+ pounders caught. Somehow (during the storms?) they snuck by us.

If anyone is interested in fishing the salt I would GO NOW. Bass and some bluefish were hammered yesterday from Sandy Hook to Long Branch and were in pretty much all day. Conditions similar today and the wash is loaded with bunkers big and small.

I've noticed the temps at Hale Eddy have been gradually increasing the last week or two to the point that they have reached 70 degrees or more. Does this reflect the fact that Cannonsville is down to 30% capacity and is releasing warmer water?

I understand that FUDR presented an emergency plan to the DRBC/DEC recently that would provide a consistent release of 482 cfs from July 1st until Sept 15th. Anyone care to expand on the plan?

Ran into a good hatch of large stoneflies this week end which I believe are called Black Willows. In flight they are black with white markings and must be close to a size 2 or 4. The fish love to slash at them but are seldom able to bring one down. Wondering if anyone is familiar with them...

Rocci Aguirre of New York Trout Unlimited will be speaking about TU's part in conserving the Catskill rivers on April 19th at 7:30 pm at Jersey Shore Trout Unlimited. For those interested go JSTU.org for directions.

Larry - I'm curious what it means when you say the 225 flow plan is not working?

Check out the other board (http://www.njtrout.com) if you want to see a picture of a 26 inch wild brown from a NJ stream and a 23 incher. Pretty amazing. It was electrofished and certified as wild by a biologist.

Has anyone tried the line-to-leader connector (L2L) sold by Scientific Anglers? Might be useful for nymphing. www.3m.com/us/home_leisure/scianglers/L2L.jhtml

Orvis sells whay they call Instant Sink Tip Leader System. Has anyone tried these and any thoughts on plusses or minuses?

Just received TU's magazine "Trout" and there is a lengthy article regarding the Delaware flows. It's worth reading.

Got pretty much the whole day to fish on Sunday and am wondering if it's worthwhile to make the 2 hour trip up to Flatbrook. Any one fished there recently? Fly14 - how do you get up there from our area? Haven't been there for many,many years and miss it.

Wondering if anyone uses or has tried furled leaders. If so, what are your thoughts on them. Are they worth the expense?

My son is interested in taking his family to the Catskills between Christmas and New Years and thought the West Branch Angler would be a good spot i.e. clean, inexpensive and fun place to be - however he found that it is closed during that time. Does anyone know of a comparable place that might...

On Wednesday was taking a break from fishing at the Hendrickson Pool on the Beaverkill and the hatchery truck pulled up - thought I was back in NJ for a moment. Anyway they proceeded to stock about 100+ browns 6-7". The CO that was with the truck told me that a lot of the radio tagged trout...

Tuesday evening was standing on the bank overlooking a pool on the WBD along with several other fishermen waiting for some sign of activity - nothing. Then I noticed a dorsal fin break the surface and several other almost undetectable rises. After several casts with no takes I remembered...