OT: The Thread About Nothing Part 201: Let's fill it under 6.5 months this time

[Devils Dominion]

I like small towns in West Jersey that have a General Store

 

[Davegarri]

I usually fish the entire 2 mile stretch between the gates... time permitting.


I like that main street area of High Bridge. The liquor store there is awesome. One of the only stores I've ever seen have Pappy Van Winkle.

The Mexican restaurant in High Bridge is pretty decent.

I also like Circa. Mostly for their beer selection. They used to do a really cool Oktoberfest in the back of the building. Not sure if they do that anymore. One year they had Ramstein brewery ceremonially tap an oak barrel with a giant mallet and served it until the barrel was empty. I like to stop in there for a beer and appetizer at the bar after fishing.

It's a great area, not just High Bridge but all around there. I contemplated moving in the area a while ago but I just didn't want to deal with with Rt 78/287 every day to get to and from work.

Yeah it's a nice area, I love living here. I grew up in Clinton but my SO grew up in High bridge so I've spent plenty of time there. Not like it's that far lol. I just think the HB school system is a little worse than some surrounding areas. The taxes in HC are outrageous too.

I don't blame you though for not wanting that commute. 78 isn't bad, but 287 is a ****ing nightmare. I hate that road with a passion. I'm so glad I work in Ewing and just go straight down 31

 

[Davegarri]

I like small towns in West Jersey that have a General Store

It's a shame they're all starting to get out of business, if they haven't already. Walmart and other big stores are killing the mom and pop plaxes

 

[BenedictGomez]

The internet has done far more to kill Mom & Pop businesses than WMT ever did.

 

[tr83]

The internet has done far more to kill Mom & Pop businesses than WMT ever did.

Wut?

Maybe the stores that aren't near a Walmart, but Walmart decimated entire towns when they rolled in.

 

[JimEIV]

The internet has done far more to kill Mom & Pop businesses than WMT ever did.

I go way out of my way to support local businesses. Especially tackle and fly shops.

When I used to drive to Wyoming every year I would try to find one new small restaurant, fly shop or outdoor store along the way. This country is truly amazing, especially when you step off the beaten path and so are our people.

Unfortunately I haven't made the drive in 5 years, the nearly 6,000 miles round trip is too much for me these days... I just fly now.

 

[Devils Dominion]

I don't step foot in Walmart.

I try to avoid malls as much as possible too.

I prefer main st USA

 

[JimEIV]

I don't step foot in Walmart.

I try to avoid malls as much as possible too.

I prefer main st USA

Local hardware stores also. They all seem to be disappearing. I try to go to a local garden center or hardware store before Walmart or Home Depot.

 

[Devils Dominion]

Local hardware stores also. They all seem to be disappearing. I try to go to a local garden center or hardware store before Walmart or Home Depot.

Yes, me too Jim.

 

[The Wumpus]

This country is truly amazing, especially when you step off the beaten path and so are our people.

x100.

Things really open up once you leave the Bos-Wash megalopolis. There is so much out there to explore. Many of my best life memories are from long road trips.

 

[None Shall Pass]

One time I was on a dusty road in Kentucky during a roadtrip, and we parked next to a pickup that had four dead skunks in the bed, and another on the hood.

Breathtaking.

 

[TheUnseenHand]

During the winter a golf buddy of mine came up with an idea for a tournament just between the three of us that usually golf together. It would be the first round of the year, we had to use clubs we purchased over the winter with a max budget of 30$, golf balls also had to be purchased within that budget, we had to have at least 6 clubs, and we were not allowed to use the clubs prior to the round. Shipping did not count towards the budget, only the price of the clubs.

After a lot ebay bidding, I wound up with a pretty interesting set of clubs that had definitely seen better days. All told i ended up with a driver, 5 wood, 5 iron, 7 iron, 60 degree wedge, and a putter.

Today was the round. Our scores reflected the sorry state of our sets, but it was a ton of fun. And in the end, I was victorious with a score of 94! Here is me with the trophy:

 

[JimEIV]

Is that a Yeti?

 

[TheUnseenHand]

Is that a Yeti?

Haha. The lid of a Yeti is probably worth 100 times what that trophy is worth.

 

[sabremike]

Wait, now you are no longer Unseen!!!

 

[TheUnseenHand]

Wait, now you are no longer Unseen!!!

I've posted pics of myself on ocassion. It's rare, but I've long since been "seen"

 

[JimEIV]

I never saw so many people in the Gorge as today. Hardly any were fishermen,mostly families. I saw license plates from 3 different States other than NJ....Wtf? This place was supposed to be a secret!

I still manged 5 fish in an hour and a half. All rainbows. Didn't see any mayflies in the air only caddis. Water temps are still really cool in the Gorge. Didn't have a thermometer but it was no higher than low 50's and wouldn't be surprised if it was still on the high 40's. Flows seemed a little on the low side considering the time of the year and all the rain we've had.

 

[StvBroDan]

The Gorge has become one of the places to visit. Makes people feel like they jump out of NJ into Maine. The people I dont mind its the parking they take up.

 

[TheUnseenHand]

I never saw so many people in the Gorge as today. Hardly any were fishermen,mostly families. I saw license plates from 3 different States other than NJ....Wtf? This place was supposed to be a secret!

I still manged 5 fish in an hour and a half. All rainbows. Didn't see any mayflies in the air only caddis. Water temps are still really cool in the Gorge. Didn't have a thermometer but it was no higher than low 50's and wouldn't be surprised if it was still on the high 40's. Flows seemed a little on the low side considering the time of the year and all the rain we've had.

The creeks around here are low too. I think it can be mostly attributed to the lack of precipitation over the winter. I was able to wade through areas in Monocacy yesterday that I have never been able to wade before.

 

[MartyOwns]

It would be the first round of the year, we had to use clubs we purchased over the winter with a max budget of 30$, golf balls also had to be purchased within that budget, we had to have at least 6 clubs, and we were not allowed to use the clubs prior to the round. Shipping did not count towards the budget, only the price of the clubs.

After a lot ebay bidding, i would up with a pretty interesting set of clubs that had definitely seen better days. All told i ended up with a driver, 5 wood, 5 iron, 7 iron, 60 degree wedge, and a putter.

how the hell did you afford all of that plus balls on $30? what is that, $4 max per club? that's ridiculous. if you can post a pic of your bargain basement golf set, i'd really appreciate it lol

edit- also, that's an amazing idea, i'm definitely stealing it

 

[JimEIV]

The creeks around here are low too. I think it can be mostly attributed to the lack of precipitation over the winter. I was able to wade through areas in Monocacy yesterday that I have never been able to wade before.

That is probably right.

But that is pretty much the same as I am seeing. Some of the deeper slots I like to fish that are usually 3 to 4 feet deep or more like 2 to 3 feet deep right now. I hope we don't dry up this summer. The water was crystal clear yesterday.

I think this year I'm going to do more exploration in PA. I spent most of local fishing time on the South Branch of the Raritan, the Musconetcong, the Pequest, occasionally up in the Water Gap. I'd like to play a little more in the limestone streams of PA.

I think later this month I am going to check out Tulpehocken Creek.

I really love the State College area but it's too much of a haul to fish regularly.

 

[TheUnseenHand]

State College is beautiful. But you don't have to go that far. Little Lehigh, Monocacy, Spring Creek, and more are just absolutely loaded with wild brownies. There is a small creek in the Poconos called Devils Hole I'd like to get back to this year. Very tough to access, fall/pool freestone stream with a thriving population of the most beautiful wild brook trout I've ever seen.

 

[TheUnseenHand]

how the hell did you afford all of that plus balls on $30? what is that, $4 max per club? that's ridiculous. if you can post a pic of your bargain basement golf set, i'd really appreciate it lol

edit- also, that's an amazing idea, i'm definitely stealing it

I made out pretty good. I went for the fewer but better clubs strategy and it paid off. I also managed to snag a newer burner 5 wood which is actually in my bag now The other guys went quantity, but one had a wooden driver and 3 wood that he couldn't hit off the tee at all. He ended up using a 2 iron off the tee the rest of the round. My driver, while garbage, was actually modern and I could at least get the ball out there 260-275 off the tee which was a huge advantage. It felt like hitting a marshmallow, though. And it was a regular flex shaft with 11 degrees of loft which made me have to completely change the placement in my stance and caused freaking moonshots.

 

[Davegarri]

I made out pretty good. I went for the fewer but better clubs strategy and it paid off. I also managed to snag a newer burner 5 wood which is actually in my bag now The other guys went quantity, but one had a wooden driver and 3 wood that he couldn't hit off the tee at all. He ended up using a 2 iron off the tee the rest of the round. My driver, while garbage, was actually modern and I could at least get the ball out there 260-275 off the tee which was a huge advantage. It felt like hitting a marshmallow, though. And it was a regular flex shaft with 11 degrees of loft which made me have to completely change the placement in my stance and caused freaking moonshots.

This is a great idea I gotta try it with some friends. Definitely a good strategy though. I could play a whole round with a driver, 3 wood, 6 iron, 8 iron, and a sand wedge.

I would need a stiff shaft driver though. My swing speed is really fast, usually between 115 and 120, and the ball slices like crazy without it.

Still would be fun though, I don't think I'd shoot well though

 

[TheUnseenHand]

This is a great idea I gotta try it with some friends. Definitely a good strategy though. I could play a whole round with a driver, 3 wood, 6 iron, 8 iron, and a sand wedge.

I would need a stiff shaft driver though. My swing speed is really fast, usually between 115 and 120, and the ball slices like crazy without it.

Still would be fun though, I don't think I'd shoot well though

Looks like the pic disappeared. Not sure what happened there. My photobucket account doesn't seem to work properly anymore either. In any case, I had meh but modern clubs. I have a fast swing too, and I had to tweak my swing a lot to hit that driver decent. The thing that bugged me most was that there was no feedback. When I hit my driver, I know instantly where on the face I hit it. And I can somewhat reliably work it, at least from straight to varying degrees of a fade when necessary. The cheap driver I had what like swinging a giant marshmallow on the end of a wet noodle. And it honesty took a bit to get used to my clubs again. It was fun though, and worth it.