FishTales

My buddy Jay-san lived as others merely imagined but never realized

Nov. 8, 2010

Jay-san surfcasting on Gin Beach in Montauk, October 2003

Sad days. Jay P., a great friend and fishing companion, succumbed last week to a debilitating illness that drained the sport out of a terrific sportsman.  My remembrance of Jay’s inauguration to surfcasting goes back to 1983 with Jay riding the ocean beach for the first time in my Scout, along with Big Brother Frank as we searched for blues and bass. “So how big a pole do you need and what kind of reel?” he asked. “And what type of lures do you cast and where do you get those waders?” By the next season, Jay was fully outfitted, including a brand new Jeep Wrangler boasting a custom made cooler rack with rod holders from Hamburger’s in Tom’s River, NJ. Jay’s trademark was “All In!”

Jaypster was a man who never let reality be an obstacle in the way of his desire. He taught me it was indeed possible to create one’s life exactly as one would want it to be. Where others saw limitations, Jay had the vision to see opportunity. He chose to live his life as most people simply imagined but never realized.

I fished many seasons with Jay and his sporting wife Laura. Besides the catch, it was always the gestalt that he loved most: The camaraderie of the hunt and the celebration of our victories;  The accoutrements of cool, colorful October days: coffee with “fortification”, cigars for the indulgent and, of course, Jay’s signature morning manna for the beach: lovely rolls.

Jay was a big picture guy for whom the details counted mightily. With Jay, we didn’t just clean fish after a good catch.  Jay would see to it that we had a fish cleaning party, complete with Bloody Marys on his deck, and a manly bacon-and-eggs breakfast at his table.  Jay excelled in the kitchen with our bounty.  Blackened bluefish was one of his many triumphs.  And none but Jay could turn out a dish so unexpected and delicious as bluefish parmigiana.

I’ll miss Jay throughout the year. He was a fixture at my table on Christmas Eve, an original instigator of our annual Lunar New Year road trip to Chinatown, and an enthusiastic participant in countless summer “gala gala” dinners and beach parties. But I will miss Jay most during fishing season.

Farewell and tight lines, good friend. The gestalt of surfcasting on the East End simply won’t be the same without you. Heaven has itself a keeper in you.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 8th, 2010 at 8:59 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.