NJ Fishing Reports for August 2015 - www. StripersAndAnglers.com

[DarkSkies]

Short and sweet......

1. Post your fishing reports here.....
2. Be as specific as ya want....but remember the limited access....If you don't enjoy fishing next to 40 friends at night in a 400 foot section of beach, think before ya post.....:idea:

3. Location -
Out front....
out back.....
or the county...

further details on the first page of any past S&A monthly fishing reports.

4. Moderation...
I rarely have time to moderate these threads.
If something needs to be addressed,and you are a contributing member.....please PM me or send an e-mail via the report post button.

** Thanks for your cooperation and for being such a great group! :thumbsup:





**Important when registering on our site -- use an active email address so you can activate your account to be able to post. If you began to register and can't post, check your spam folder for your activation instructions.
If you are not able to post or have problems logging on, making sure this is correct will most likely fix your problem. Thanks. :HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

Late Summer Recap
August is usually a great month for vacations and traveling to different places ...
Some people have adapted to diminishing opportunities in NJ, by nomadic traveling to current fishing hotspots...

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?3857-The-life-of-a-nomad-tips-for-on-the-road-fishin
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7866-LI-Sound-Nomad-fishing

That's great....but unfortunately I remember the days when you didn't have to drive 3-5 hours to get into some fish...
and there is no guarantee when you get there, that the bite will be as hot as it was yesterday....

Some observations.....
1. The highly touted Montauk Spring/Early summer bite of larger fish lasted less than 30 days this year.....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8039-Why-are-there-no-fish-in-Montauk-right-now
(http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8039-Why-are-there-no-fish-in-Montauk-right-now)
2. The "epic" CCC MA Coast Spring/Early summer bite has been OK, but inconsistent. Given the fact that the highest concentration of bass on the East Coast are now in that region...that's cause for concern...at least for me....others may think differently.....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?10118-The-Great-Cape-Cod-Canal-bite-of-2015

3. and several of the usual Secondary locations have been dead or holding very few bass......despite tremendous bait concentrations in those areas......








During the summer, many give up on bass and bluefish and turn to fluking...
It seems boat Captains and those who do this for a living have a tough road....stricter regs every year for different species.....longer closed seasons....
And lots of disappointments just trying to make a living......

For those still dedicated to striped bass, bluefish, and weakfish...there are some opportunities....water temperature and presence of different types of forage seem to dictate whether your trip will be successful, or a bust....

Remember that as the weather transitions into early Fall....the best opportunities for high bait concentrations will be in the back.......where no one really wants to go...because folks are not posting and telling them to go there.......or the bugs are unbearable.......
another reason to keep good logs...:fishing:

Good luck out there...people....
enjoy the summer weather.... http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/smilies/HappyWave.gif

[albiealert]

Hey dark! Fishing has slowed down a lot by me and haven't gotten out as frequently due to the weather. Clicked on the li sound nomad link you posted above. . Great shots. Do you take your kayak out to the sound anymore? Thanks for sharing that it reads like an online magazine. tight lines.

[surferman]

summer doldrums. Yeah true but there are still brown sharks to be caught!

[storminsteve]

I am not sure but I haven't seen a kayak report from dark in a long time. Maybe he sold the kayak. Or maybe he is bailing cows at night and doesn't want anyone else to follow him.:laugh:

[hookset]

Have been fishing a few times at night. Nothing much to write about. Last night with the full moon tide got lucky with a few. Picked up 2 short stripers and a handful of hickory shad. All on a small yozuri crystal minnow. The spot I was at was loaded with small spearing.

[DarkSkies]

Hey dark! Fishing has slowed down a lot by me and haven't gotten out as frequently due to the weather. Clicked on the li sound nomad link you posted above. . Great shots. Do you take your kayak out to the sound anymore? Thanks for sharing that it reads like an online magazine. tight lines.

Nope....I suck lately....see below....but thanks for the kind words....Glad ya enjoyed that thread....and good to hear from ya...best of luck this Season.....:HappyWave:





I am not sure but I haven't seen a kayak report from dark in a long time. Maybe he sold the kayak. Or maybe he is bailing cows at night and doesn't want anyone else to follow him.:laugh:

Where ya been Steve? :moon::HappyWave:
My last fishin report was from a boat.....when was the last time any of ya's heard of me fishing from a boat to catch a fish? :don't know why:
Or fishin bunker?? :)

There are a few bass left here and there, but no one wants to believe there are virtually no more resident fish in many of the secondary areas.....
Has anyone caught bass in the Shrewsbury or Navesink rivers in the last 2 months?
Check this thread for more detail.....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7174-S-amp-A-Education-Series-NJ-s-resident-bass-why-have-they-abandoned-us

During July, there were still a few larger fish around....a select group of people fishing from boats in late afternoons were able to find a few.....to the 40# range....not much was reported about them, as it was hit and miss......

A good friend of mine went out, after I pushed him to go fishing with all the bunker that were in close.....and managed 8 fish to 35# from land, one night...
Those fish are long gone...(except a few that are still tight to the bunker schools)....and he's the kind of fisherman who will fish 8 hours at a time for one fish.....

Some fishing from shore on the other side of the NY Bight got fish to the high 40# class as well...it was all about those concentrated schools of bunker....

Even at the famous Navy pier, with guys fishing on it every night, (and in the past a guaranteed place for bigger bass throughout the year)....fishing has been very inconsistent, and spotty......Rays and sharks are currently plaguing those Vets so much they are grumbling.....

The reality is, finding those bigger fish from shore is like finding a needle in a haystack.....
And for those who did find larger fish....many were the nights that they found nothing at all....

Those are the only cows I know of in this general area....
The last activity we saw, in terms of bigger bass, was a few boats bass fishing way over the line......

What can I say.....I suck...:embarassed:
And yes, I'm embarassed that my kayak sits gathering dust......JB keeps asking me when I'm gonna sell it.
Monty keeps asking me if I remember what korkers look like.:2flip: :moon: :kiss: :laugh: :HappyWave:

[basshunter]

Hey I know you said they were only a couple but I would love a chance to catch a 35 pound striper that would be my personal best. Congrats to your friend for puttting the time in. I wouldn't have the patience to do that.
Fished nomoco last night with the full moon tide. Managed a couple hickory shads on a teaser and one cocktail blue on mag darter.

[porgy75]

Mo co late afternoon after 5 - with gulp double set up. I read where blazing was doing well with white so I bought some white mullets. The ocean was like a lake out there and it didn't seem like there was any fish at all. I caught 2 short flukes.

Saw one boat from belmar all the way up in long branch. I couldn't see if they were catching anything but they were real close to the beach. Got my fluke near where some of the rocks were still exposed and not buried. Thaks for the advice on the white gulp blazin.

[captnemo]

Fished the fluke tourney in raritan bay with some friends. The best we could do were up to 5lbs. Some real nice fluke were caught today. We didn't even place. Congratulations to the winners.

[surferman]

The tides from the full moon last night were very high. atlantic county from 8-12 useing fresh croaker for bait. Got 2 doggies between 4-5 feet long. Also lost a nice fish. Maybe it was a brownie or huge ray. All I know is it pulled drag straight out to sea and then broke my line. Damn!

[Monty]

Ocean side Monmouth County 1:30-7:30 this morning.
Solid skunking, couple hits but no hook ups. Looked like a few Hickory shad flipping sun up.
Nice night, bright nite.

[baitstealer]

Fished mo county yesterday by one of the inlets. Tried to fish back by the marina first but there was some kind of tourny. Fishermen all over. Maybe the croakers came in? I did not want to get involved with the crowds so I went out and fished the surf. it looked like the dead sea out there nothing doing. Just one searobin on gulp.

[baitstealer]

Ocean side Monmouth County 1:30-7:30 this morning.
Solid skunking, couple hits but no hook ups. Looked like a few Hickory shad flipping sun up.
Nice night, bright nite.

what's a good thing to catch hickory shad with? Maybe I will try for them next time guess it's better than sea robins.

[Monty]

what's a good thing to catch hickory shad with? Maybe I will try for them next time guess it's better than sea robins.
I have caught them on teasers, feathered and the rubber type.

A couple from 2008

http://i2.wp.com/rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2008_11_9_HS.jpg?zoom=1.5&fit=810%2C810

http://i0.wp.com/rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2008_11_28_HS.jpg?zoom=1.5&fit=810%2C810

[finchaser]

3/4 ounce deadly **** if you want to target them

[plugcrazy]

Maybe the croakers came in?

Theres croakers in atlantic and cape may counties. Not sure about that far up tho.

[baitstealer]

Thanks for the shad info guys.

[jigfreak]

Yeah those hickories will hit small teasers or small plugs, magdarter, small yozuris, etc. Lots start showing up from now until the end of the year. Pick an inlet or place where you have access to deeper water like a marina and you got a good chance of getting them. Good luck.

[hookedonbass]

jersey tarpon!

[buckethead]

Low water when I was out there this morning. surf was a little churned up from last night. nice walk on the beach. No fish.

[J Barbosa]

The best teaser for hickory shad is something really short so they don't short strike it.

I've found you can catch them every cast with just a plain hook.

[J Barbosa]

Fished the fluke tourney in raritan bay with some friends. The best we could do were up to 5lbs. Some real nice fluke were caught today. We didn't even place. Congratulations to the winners.

Surprisingly this tourney had a lot of very good fluke fisherman in it....I was expecting most of the fluke guys to be in the JCAA but nope saw most of them at the Leonardo meeting and knew right away it was going to be a tough one.

We fished with 4 guys on my boat and ended up taking 4th place (the last payout slot) with our best five fish totaling 23.5lbs. On my boga 8lbs, 7.5lbs, 4lbs, and a pair or 2lbers.

Under 45ft of water worked best for us and bunker strips took the 3 biggest fish. We ended with 9 keepers total (0 for me) for a LONG day of fishing.

[storminsteve]

northern Monmouth last night from 7 until a little past sunset. I was fluking with Gulp got 5 shorts and few Robins. there was a lot of bunker around but I didn't see any fish busting on them.

[storminsteve]

NIce going on the 4th place J Barbosa. win any decent amount of money? Heard the purse for the JCAA was supposed to be big but less entries this year. Was wondering how the other one was compared to that.

[cowherder]

:clapping:Way to go jbarbosa! Have to be in it to win it!
About how long were those bunker strips you were trailing? Do you think that would work from the surf as well? thanks

[finchaser]

This morning 1 bass 26" and 2 bluefish all on SP minnow

[buckethead]

Morning shift in moco. The ocean was very calm and no breeze at all. Looked like a lake. Another skunk. finchaser congrats on the effort. jb nice going on the tourney.

[seamonkey]

The best teaser for hickory shad is something really short so they don't short strike it.

I've found you can catch them every cast with just a plain hook.

Are you serious? Dont mean any disrespect just trying to learn. What would make them hit a plain hook? You mean no teaser even a small one? Would be interested in learning why they would do that if you know the answer. thanks

[bababooey]

Good job placing in the tourny JB!

[DarkSkies]

Trying to shake the cobwebs from a long absence from fishing...I was out there before dawn this morning....Fished total of 2 hours.
Was looking for a certain feeding window...wading the bay flats...after about 15 mins I knew I picked the wrong window...
Not a touch.....
Back at it soon....:fishing:

[DarkSkies]

Under 45ft of water worked best for us and bunker strips took the 3 biggest fish. We ended with 9 keepers total (0 for me) for a LONG day of fishing.

I want to enlighten the folks here how unusual this is.....
Any time JB has had people on his boat, he usually ends up out-fishing them......
The trip Rui and I took with him, he was the only one to land a bass that night.....:headbang:

It's uncanny...almost every time he's out there....
Even if the fishing is terrible...he's often the one to pull the rabbit out of the hat...the whistle fish...the fish that no one thought was there.....:thumbsup:
So for him to fish for a long day...with no keepers.....is most unusual.....http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/smilies/don%27t%20know%20why.gif

Thanks for the tournament observations and congratulations to JB and crew....glad to hear that ya's placed on the leaderboard. :clapping: :HappyWave:

[hookset]

Hey hey DS actually fishing. Thought you gave it up for Lent. Jk, good to see you in the game again.:HappyWave:

[finchaser]

This morning 5 to 6:30 AM 3 bass to 27" and 5 bluefish in the 2 to4 pound would only hit pink finesse. My partner had 9 bass and some blues

[basshunter]

Awesome fishing finchaser it seems like everyone gave up fishing for the summer. Rarely do you read reports of bass and you are still plugging away. Congrats. Why do you think the color has to be pink? Is it the water color where you fish or more a resemblance to the bait there? thanks

[J Barbosa]

NIce going on the 4th place J Barbosa. win any decent amount of money? Heard the purse for the JCAA was supposed to be big but less entries this year. Was wondering how the other one was compared to that.


:clapping:Way to go jbarbosa! Have to be in it to win it!
About how long were those bunker strips you were trailing? Do you think that would work from the surf as well? thanks

4th place was only a 9% payout, about 60 boats total. It was a lot of fun regardless. Fishing was definitely tough with a lot of boat pressure, strong winds, super moon tides...

I fished 6" gulp grubs and bucktails (my usual). Rui fished 6-9" bunker strips and crushed our 3 (possibly 5) biggest fluke.

I think when given a choice side by side a big fluke will more often go for the fresh bloody/oily bunker strip over the gulp.


Are you serious? Dont mean any disrespect just trying to learn. What would make them hit a plain hook? You mean no teaser even a small one? Would be interested in learning why they would do that if you know the answer. thanks

Just thinking out loud here myself....the bait they often eat is tiny and translucent. If you ever heard Bob Popovic's talk about tying his surf candies to imitate rain bait he wants just a strip of flash, the silver belly and a translucent body that you can see through. I think those hickories target on the flash the hook gives off and go for it.

I caught onto this method when the fluke fishing was slow one day at the hook and the hickories & small bluefish were plentiful. I started to catch small blues and hickories on every cast. After a while my teaser was nothing more than just the bare hook. The bare hook was out fishing the small metal trailing it.

Since then I've tried the much thicker live bait hooks in sizes 2/0 or 3/0 and its amazing how well they work. Any hit translates into a hookup. If you use a traditional 3-5" bucktail teaser you will get a ton of short strikes. This can be particularly frustrating at night when plugging for bass with a teaser.

If I was tying a teaser specifically for hickories it would be a shiny live bait hook in size 2/0 or 3/0 with only a piece of bills body braid wrapped around the shank of the hook and then clear coated for durability.

I've also caught small sea bass on plain 5/0 hooks this year when fishing the reefs.

I was jigging for fluke and kept getting my gulp stolen by the small sea bass so I stopped tipping the teaser hook and switched my bucktail for a diamond jig. Well apparently the small sea bass love plain 5/0 hooks too...

[fishgutz]

Fascinating read. During the herring run here herring will hit small hooks with even just a piece of flashy mylar on them. I guess with the shad they must be eating very tiny fish that are as small as a hook. When they see it in the water they think it's food and go for it. Thanks for sharing that.

[cowherder]

finchaser continues the hot streak. Thanks for the tip about the fin s too.

[surferman]

jbarbosa thank you for the explanation. If anyone would of told me fish hit bare hooks I would have said thats BS I have to see it for myself. You guys make sense tho. If they are hitting small skinny bait and the hook is a little shiny that could work too. Thats one of the reasons we like to use gold hooks for shad and herring when they come around.
Fishing report. sorry have not posted for awhile bit its been the usual doggies and skates. The Cape May prize fish lol.
Tried CM this morning for croakers and it was the end of the outgoing tide and no dice. Also it was rough surf which I have found not to be that great. I got a nice mess of them last week when the beginning of the incoming tide was very early near sunrise. Fishbites worked better for me.

[finchaser]

This morning 4:30 to 6 released 4 bass to 28" and to many 2 to 6 pound blues to count all on jig head with DOA rubber tail they would not touch a plug or metal even under blitz conditions:don't know why:. My partner did about the same

[finchaser]

Awesome fishing finchaser it seems like everyone gave up fishing for the summer. Rarely do you read reports of bass and you are still plugging away. Congrats. Why do you think the color has to be pink? Is it the water color where you fish or more a resemblance to the bait there? thanks

They were feeding on rainfish (bay anchovies) and pink usually produces under that particular situation. When they are pushed into a bait pod the water looks pinkish / purple. Hope this helps you.

http://sfbaywatertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Northern-Anchovy_from-Aquarium_Beth_Hoffman.jpg

[Fishman]

Great suggestion. So many of the internet reports I read are about how many fish they caught, look at me, or showing the fish on the dock wth no mention of what worked or didn't. Don't post much but had to say thank you for the good info. btw went out and fished monco this morning and was using gulp and bucktail like a lot of you guys recommended. The waves were big. Had trouble getting and keeping the bucktail on the bottom. Should have switched to a heavier bucktail but that was all I brought with me. Hope that this change in weather is good for the fishing and good luck to everyone. thank you for all the tips.

[ledhead36]

fishing for porgies the other day. Back bay late summer hotspot. Got some to 11". most were smaller. Got them the next day too along with 2 croakers. Sandworm pieces and clams for bait.

[DarkSkies]

Thanks to all the people who are helping others out.....I've been kind of busy with other things lately.
I don't always give folks the compliments they deserve. I do want to say, for the most part, that although a little wacked in the head, :laugh: most of ya's are good people. The fact that I don't have to come in here that often and moderate disputes is appreciated, and one of the things that gives me incentive to keep the site going. :thumbsup:

Thanks to all for your contributions and helping others. :HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

Pebbles and I were out last night. The focus was crabbing. I have a great summer spot that has yielded dozens of crabs per trip in the past. It fits me well because I'm very impatient, and the only way to get me out there is to stalk the crabs like a hunter. Find a good area and you can net 2 dozen in an hour.

We got to the place, and I saw 2 guys coming off the beach rolling 2 50 quart coolers filled with crabs. As soon as I saw that I knew we were in trouble.

Getting to the location, we saw an additional conglomeration of about 3 famiies, at least 15 people, crabbing in the dark and pulling out everything they netted.

We gave it an hour, only managing to net 7 that were barely over the legal size. Normally, I won't keep those and prefer to keep only the ones close to 6". But the pickings were very slim.
In one square mile of bay area, it appeared to us it had been stripped of most of the usually abundant life.

We left and went to another area about 2 miles away. The tide was starting to come in and time was limited. Still, we managed a few more, all around 6". If the 6" crabs were not at the first location and relatively abundant at the 2nd stop, it kind of tells you how "crabbed out" the first location was.
Way too much pressure. But no one really cares about crab numbers anyway....so it is what it is.....:don't know why:

Lesson learned - :learn: next year get there 1 month before all the families do...and try to get some nice ones for myself.









Best part of the night -

1. teaching Pebbles to stealthily scoop crabs from the bay bottom at low tide. :clapping:
She did pretty good for her first time out, and we had a great time. :thumbsup: :fishing:

2. The 2nd stop we made was the mother-lode of small forage fish....spearing, rainfish, baby spearing, mullet, and some small bluefish in the mix.....There were so many spearing crowding around our lights at times it was difficult to see the bottom to spot the crabs.....
More spearing and very tiny baitfish than I have seen in years....I know I'll be back there soon at the right time of tide to wet a line....I have good feelings about the Fall run, if the hurricane season isn't so severe.

** Note, we only kept the jimmies, letting all females go, even the ones without eggs.

[ledhead36]

We got to the place, and I saw 2 guys coming off the beach rolling 2 50 quart coolers filled with crabs. As soon as I saw that I knew we were in trouble.

Getting to the location, we saw an additional conglomeration of about 3 famiies, at least 15 people, crabbing in the dark and pulling out everything they netted.

We gave it an hour, only managing to net 7 that were barely over the legal size. Normally, I won't keep those and prefer to keep only the ones close to 6". But the pickings were very slim.
In one square mile of bay area, it appeared to us it had been stripped of most of the usually abundant life.



Sounds like you ran into the Lin and Wang clans aka the Hong Kong crab company. They don't know how to respect the limits and pull every damn crab out. When theres nothing left they move on. Like one giant processing factory lol.

[J Barbosa]

Your posts keep making me want to try and crab at night Dark Skies.

I haven't been putting up my crab reports recently but its been a great crabbing year for the Barbosa family.

Net up some peanut bunker from shore on Saturday...the ones I got were still small around 1.5 - 2.5" big. Took them out on the boat and had some success with them for fluke but action has slowed drastically from two weeks ago (cooler temps maybe?). Managed to boat 4 keepers to 7lbs and I messed up another net job on a 20"+ fish next to the boat.

bunker took the biggest fluke again

[cowherder]

bunker took the biggest fluke again

Thanks for the info. When you say they take the biggest fluke are you talking specifically about peanut bunker or bunker strips. thanks

[jigfreak]

Fished last night in the back. Lots of peanut bunker being harassed. One dink bass on rattletrap right as sun went down.

[jigfreak]

They were feeding on rainfish (bay anchovies) and pink usually produces under that particular situation. When they are pushed into a bait pod the water looks pinkish / purple. Hope this helps you.

http://sfbaywatertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Northern-Anchovy_from-Aquarium_Beth_Hoffman.jpg

Yup good point thats why pink finesse and zooms are money.

[hookedonbass]

Well its raining cats and dogs in my neighborhood today. Hoping it will shake things up a bit.

[J Barbosa]

Thanks for the info. When you say they take the biggest fluke are you talking specifically about peanut bunker or bunker strips. thanks

Bunker strips from an adult sized bunker. Take a FRESH bunker and filet it. I cut off the belly portion so I typically get two baits per bunker. I don't think you could filet a store bought bunker as it would probably turn to mush really quick.

Peanuts got us one keeper that was barley hooked and unfortunately I botched the net job and it got away.

[hookset]

Fished moco from 6-7:30. Thought it would suck with dirty water from the rains. It wasn't that bad just a little touch of chocolate. Not so great for catching tho. 1 short fluke and one stubborn stargazer. I saw birds working about 150 yards out. Too far to reach. A little east of the last breaker. They were moving back and forth. From what they were picking up it looked very small like rainfish. Possibly being chased by small blues. Nothing was breaking water but those fish were definitely being pushed back and forth.

[finchaser]

These south winds kill everything they suck

[Blazin420]

Havent been able to get out in about 3+weeks due to family stuff...Decided to take a ride yesterday afternoon in between the rains since i had the day off!! When i got to the spot water was dirty chocolate color...Didnt have much hope but i said i need the therapy of just casting lol..Fished 2-5pm and had a real good bite with the flatties...Managed 10 fluke and thank god 1 of them was a KEEPER :thumbsup: my wife was happy haha...These fluke were aggresive and of the 10 i had to measure 5 of them they were all 17.5-17.99...Dropped 1 that slipped out of my hands that could have been just 18in..The others were all 16in...White was the way to go started with chartruse due to the water clarity but did nothing till i put that white on...Mullet on the teaser and 6in grub on a 3/4oz jig got most of the fish..Also got 1 on Zoom paddle tail in white...The wanted a steady slow retrieve close to the bottom

[seamonkey]

Cool report. 1 in 10 was a keeper that's a great ratio considering some of the others were close. Fluke must be getting bigger. Nice job.

[robmedina]

nice job Blazin.
Man I can not believe I have not surfed fish but maybe one time early in the season. Been on the yak more this year- love that daggone hobie.

[cowherder]

Awesome job on the fluke that flattie looks pretty thick.

[finchaser]

This morning 5 to 6:30 released 4 bass to 29" and 6 bluefish to 14#

[Monty]

This morning 5 to 6:30 released 4 bass to 29" and 6 bluefish to 14#
Very nice, :HappyWave:, Big Blue:thumbsup:

[VSdreams]

Wow awesome fishing and catching as well finchaser. Nice going.

[robmedina]

Nice job! I will take that size bkuefush all day long!

[fishinmission78]

Finchaser fantastic report. Do you think they're feeding mostly on mullet and rainfish or peanuts too?

[buckethead]

Moco this morning. Conditions perfect not dirty and surf not that big either. If anything it was a little too calm. Goose eggs for me. Well done fin chaser.

[finchaser]

Finchaser fantastic report. Do you think they're feeding mostly on mullet and rainfish or peanuts too?

mullet,rain fish and spearing haven't seen any peanuts yet in the back

[cowherder]

So happy to hear the report about some bigger blues! Bang Zoom! way to go finchaser nice job.

[finchaser]

Today 4:30 to 6:00 released 2 bass and 2 blues all on DOA jerk tail south wind effects starting to show. Then the boat traffic killed it should know better than to fish on Friday the new Saturday this time of year.

[cowherder]

Moco last nite. Skunk city for me.

[jigfreak]

One serving of skunk this morning for me as well.

[Blazin420]

Fished this am 6-1030...Slower action till about 9 once the tide started to move out..Managed 7 fluke 1 keeper@18in 2 others that were 17 and 17.5in...rest real small..All on white...white mullets on the teaser and white grub or Zoom paddle tail on a jighead..Keeper hit the Zoom..saw a few others trying with little luck..Ill take the 1/7 ratio any day lol..Also saw a few schools of what looked like cocktail blues pop up a few times..Tried the popper i had in the bag with no luck..

[surferman]

Nice going on the fluke blazing. You seem to be killing it with that white. I tried CM this weekend with gulp white and chartreuse and the white seemed to have a slight edge. All small fluke though nothing even close to keeper size.
Then I down sized my hooks and picked up a few croakers on fishbites. I have been finding them right beyond the surf break in case anyone else wants to go for them.

[finchaser]

Sunday boat 6# 9 oz. bucktail and gulp

[cowherder]

Thats a nice size fluke! Fish tacos for sure.

[storminsteve]

Lotto fluke sandwiches too congrats finchaser.

[storminsteve]

Just a quick question. About how deep water were most of your fluke in? I have heard some of the guys saying that the fluke are starting to make a move to the inshore lumps and out of the bays. Was wondering what you think about that. Thanks.

[finchaser]

60 to 65 feet

[storminsteve]

Thanks. if they are in water that deep then it looks like they are already moving out.

[finchaser]

been there all season

[lostatsea]

Thats a very respectable fluke guy nice job. I fished no mo co last night. It was windy and not that great. Handful of short fluke on gulp before sunset. Then when the tide started coming in stronger the snapper blues came by. I changed to poppers but they would not hit. They must be really small. Oh well better luck next time.

[lostatsea]

This morning 5 to 6:30 released 4 bass to 29" and 6 bluefish to 14# Thats what I'm talking about! Cant wait till the larger blues come in in force. Supposably they are not even getting them 15 miles offshore at the mud hole. Where are all the bigger blues this year? Last year they were catching 20 pounders every week.

[jigfreak]

Where are all the bigger blues this year? Last year they were catching 20 pounders every week.

They took advantage of cheap summer airfares and booked a group trip to Costa Rica.;)

[finchaser]

non offshore out to 60 miles either

[cowherder]

Fished no moco last night for a few flatties Allshorts water was dirty and not much other life to be seen.
Finchaser or anyone else just wondered if you seriously had any thoughts on where those big blue fish could be this year?
every year I remember the big blues being offshore and they seem to have vanished.
Jigfreak like that comment about them going on a special trip that was funny lol

[storminsteve]

Similar results for me yesterday afternoon. The tide was low and kind of lame. Picked up a few fluke on gulp. Not that great. Then around sunset there was some activity and got a cocktail blue switching to a small ava with green tail. I don't know where the big blues went but I sure would like a chance at them!

I think it's kinda weird that the party boats are going 17 miles off to catch the pee wees.
Jeez,that is bait.

[hookedonbass]

I agree they aren't showing pics because the fish are so small. I fished moco in the back from 5-7am. It was probably bad timing as the tide was halfway out. There were some small fish hammering the heck out of these little baitfish. Maybe the fish were hickory shad or snappers but I couldn't even catch one. Even downsized my lure and still no luck.

[jigfreak]

prob small cocktails or snappers. Throw a 1/4 oz kastmaster and you should get all the fluke bait you want.

[J Barbosa]

prob small cocktails or snappers. Throw a 1/4 oz kastmaster and you should get all the fluke bait you want.

Cast nets work wonders in the right hands...Yesterday adult bunker, peanut bunker, mullet, snappers in 3 throws.

-------------------------

Saturday - Got beat up all morning in wind vs tide situation while it was blowing 20+. Managed 1 keeper each for a total of 4.

Sunday - 5 keepers for me, 1 for a friend.

It's certainly been a tough year for fluke. We got checked by a game warden at Atlantic Highlands Marina yesterday. He said everyone fishing for the day had no keepers or just 1 keeper.

It seems like we find the fluke one day, then come back the next day and they are gone.

I did get my 3rd fluke limit of 2015 yesterday with the smallest being about 20". Live mullet and the 6" gulp mullets worked best. No love on the live peanuts or snappers yesterday.

What's scary is the scarce amount of shorts this year. Last year I remember having consistent action all summer long (even if the keeper ratio was 25-1). I know they are proposing a cut to fluke for 2016; I think they should cut it on the commercial side first...that has to be one of the main reasons we are seeing less 14-18" fish around.

[J Barbosa]

Fillet lessons available
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=19520&stc=1

[hookset]

Nice!!

[basshunter]

What's scary is the scarce amount of shorts this year. Last year I remember having consistent action all summer long (even if the keeper ratio was 25-1). I know they are proposing a cut to fluke for 2016; I think they should cut it on the commercial side first...that has to be one of the main reasons we are seeing less 14-18" fish around.

Good job on the fluke. Remembering that last year as well. It was about 20 or 25 to one. This year it seems like there are not a lot of small fluke. Or keepers either. Like the draggers come once a week in the middle of the night and take them all. Def agree its not fair that those commercial guys can take 14" fluke and we cant.

[buckethead]

Out a little earlier this am to take advantage of the high tide before dawn. Managed 2 short bass tossing a bucktail and pork with a redgill teaser. Both bass hit the bucktail.

[buckethead]

Fillet lessons available
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=19520&stc=1

Good job on the fluke. The catching and the filleting.

[nitestrikes]

They took advantage of cheap summer airfares and booked a group trip to Costa Rica.;)

Maybe they're back from vacation. today on one of the sheepshead bay party boats.

"Very very very good fishing on the Brooklyn Vi Today. Lots of fish in the 5 to 8 pound size. Some limits, everybody caught fish.
There were lots of fish , they re back from vacation."

[lostatsea]

Fillet lessons available
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=19520&stc=1

That is a nice day's work! Good job.

[jigfreak]

Thats a Hella pro fillet job there dude.

[cowherder]

X2, very nice fillet work JB. congrats

[finchaser]

This morning 4-6 AM released 5 bass to 30" and a 12# bluefish all on DOA 5"jerk bait on a 1 ounce jig head

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT1ektAU2zr_MLJ5QYjogRc8EULCytAy hvs2KyHsR3Xl3UI_3Z8

[Monty]

This morning 4-6 AM released 5 bass to 30" and a 12# bluefish all on DOA 5"jerk bait on a 1 ounce jig head
Great report Fin, congrats on the catching. Sounds like a fun morning.

[storminsteve]

finchaser kicking *** and taking names! Awesome report good to hear the bigger blues are coming back to town and that bass catching is spectacular!

[hookset]

Well done finchaser.

[finchaser]

Thanks guys just so you know I am not out front

[wish4fish]

atta boy on the stripers mr finchaser dude thats awesome. we started catching fish again with the cool nights but its 98% blues. got sum last nite up to 8pounds. lots of peanut bunker around this should be a great fall.

[wish4fish]

oh and we were not out front either it was in the back.

[seamonkey]

Fantastic catching. All on rubber we use the pink zooms a lot for weakfish down here at night but it has been slow. Very nice stripering finchaser!

[finchaser]

This morning 4 to 6 AM released 3 bass to 28" and 2 blues in the 3 # range then the boat traffic ended the catching and sent it back to fishing

[buckethead]

Finchaser nice work. Fished out front moco this morning. Great conditions, caught the skunk.

[Blazin420]

Nice job Finchaser! I got out Wednesday night for a while managed to find a spunky 24in bass on a mag darter dropped another and caught a fluke on a mucho minnow..Lots of bait where i was..I was snagging spearing every couple casts..If i had less wind to deal with i may have done better..It was a beautiful late summer night..and the bass made it that much better...Things are setting up nice with all the bait thats been around..

[jigfreak]

Nicely done finchaser. Fished the back in OC last night. A few very small cocktails and 2 small weakies on fin s. Bait everywhere I looked.

[lostatsea]

Awesome news guys. Glad to hear the bass are starting to show.

[ledhead36]

We got one short striper last night using bunker. Still mostly blues and dogs.

[robmedina]

fished for kingfish last night on LBI. caught some kingfish using bloodworm scented fishbites and then I get a hard strike. I grab the rod and it hits again and I am hooked up to something a lot bigger than a kingfish. I thought it must be a big doggie, then I thought maybe a skate. whatever it was it felt like a good size fish because he was bulldogging it. I was trying to take it easy too since I had kingfish rig on. Long story short I get it in with a final wave and I see it in the surf it was a black drum. It was approximately 30" long weighing maybe 15 pounds. Unfortunately it broke off right at the lip. Oh well, it was a pleasant surprise.

[finchaser]

Nicely done finchaser. Fished the back in OC last night. A few very small cocktails and 2 small weakies on fin s. Bait everywhere I looked.

Way to go on the weakies and black drum too much boat traffic where I 've been fishing on weekends so I'm joining them for fluke today

[Blazin420]

Fished 7-11pm last night water was a bit off color but fishable..moved around a bit and found 1 23in bass that crushed my trusty my Vision sandeel... such a shame they stopped making that lure its a catcher for sure..Im guarding the last 2 i have with my life hahaha..Had 2 other solid bumps that didnt connect..Nice night on the sand.. 1st pic is off the bass on Wednesday night along with the spearing i was snagging....The other bass pic was from last night..

[cowherder]

Nice going guys fished nomoco this morning from 4-6am one bass about 23" on a mini pencil popper. One small blue jumped out of the water too but he never came back. There was a lot of very small bait. Felt like I should have done better with all that bait but at least it was something.

[cowherder]

Vision sandeel... such a shame they stopped making that lure its a catcher for sure..Im guarding the last 2 i have with my life hahaha.

They were great I remember during the island beach sandeel invasion they were money. I wonder why someone else has not started making them they could make a lot of bucks!

[SharkHart]

The Weakfish are in. Found them working over huge schools of peanuts in the barny. Watching them big schools quiver was worth the price of admission. The weaks were picky as hell, only 1 in first two hours but that just pissed me off to try harder. Keeep switching up my angles are rod movement and i managed 4 more before it got light and dropped 2. This was in barny bay.

[hookedonbass]

Nice to hear about the weakfish. Thank you sir.

[hookedonbass]

whatever it was it felt like a good size fish because he was bulldogging it. I was trying to take it easy too since I had kingfish rig on. Long story short I get it in with a final wave and I see it in the surf it was a black drum. It was approximately 30" long weighing maybe 15 pounds. Unfortunately it broke off right at the lip. Oh well, it was a pleasant surprise.
Great catch(almost) and story. Heard the red and black drum are making a comeback in nj.
Thanks for sharing.

[robmedina]

took the kayak out in the Mullica river headed towards the closest bridge. The current was pretty strong but was able to maneuver my outback into an eddy (my buddy could not do it in his pa 14 LOL I had to act as a tug boat to help him position LOL) caught steady fish in there- 1st cast- small striper- then multiple catfish catches one perch for me. Tide shifted and started heading out and caught a snapper blue on the bottom . My buddy did pretty much the same but caught more perch.
The Mullica is loaded with sickly looking bunker. Jetskiers kept trying to tell us there were schools of snapper blues all over the river...yeah, thanks but they are bunker.

[fishinmission78]

The Weakfish are in. Found them working over huge schools of peanuts in the barny. Watching them big schools quiver was worth the price of admission. The weaks were picky as hell, only 1 in first two hours but that just pissed me off to try harder. Keeep switching up my angles are rod movement and i managed 4 more before it got light and dropped 2. This was in barny bay.

Thanks for that. A friend of mine has been trying but said they are awful hard to catch with all the bait around. Nice work.

[fishinmission78]

The Mullica is loaded with sickly looking bunker. Jetskiers kept trying to tell us there were schools of snapper blues all over the river...yeah, thanks but they are bunker.

Thanks for the intel. Jetskiers have no clue when it comes to the fish. I really think they ruined some of the best fishing in barnegat bay with their jet systems because it ruins the bottom and baitfish habitat. It's like they constantly have to put themselves in the most dangerous positions. I have seen them rock those people in the rental rowboats with their wakes.

[finchaser]

Thank god it's labor day:clapping:

[seamonkey]

AMEN! A few more days and the tourists and beach litterers will be all gone.

[robmedina]

^^^^^^X2!!!!

[Blazin420]

Out last night 7 till 1030...Tide was high and strong current from the moon made it tuff...1 small fluke on a vision and nothing else...Im with u guys cant wait for labor day!!! BENNIES GO HOME LOL!!!

[J Barbosa]

Fished on a friends boat Friday, all the albies you could want about 65 miles out. We managed to land 5 yellowfin in the mix. Two of them on the troll and three on jigs.

Our hot trolling lure was the Rapala Magnum X-rap, size 30. Crazy how a fish known as being "picky" will hit a lure almost as big as them trolled at 7 knts.

The troll bite slowed in the afternoon and jigging/poppers was working much better. We found a pattern late in the afternoon which is what helped us land the three additional yellowfin. It seemed like the albies were pushing sand eels to the surface and you could get all you wanted on poppers or jigs but no yellowfin. We found a school of feeding rays that was holding yellowfin under them. We made three drifts over the school catching 3 yellowfin and 1 stingray on jigs before we lost that school.

It seems like the guys who limited all found the yellowfin and then chunked HEAVY to keep them at the boat.

Spotted a hammerhead shark about 25 miles off SRI.

Fun trip!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/778/21048772261_ba70cdbf49_o.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/y51sEz)

[J Barbosa]

Fished on Saturday and we had 10 keeper fluke and about 5 shorts total.

Went back to the same spots on Sunday and had 1 keeper fluke and 1 short.

"hero to zero" lol

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5682/21014919336_a1fb3759b9_o.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/y21Xns)

[robmedina]

nice JB- now if them albies would come 65 miles closer!

[J Barbosa]

I'm 80% sure I saw albies breaching water yesterday in the middle of a big school of 2-4lb bluefish that were blitzing on small snappers and peanuts (this was inside of RB).

We tried to catch one to confirm but the blues were just so thick.

Think this guy wanted my bucktail?

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5635/20418662684_3bbe45c572_o.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/x7jZ3m)

[cowherder]

Nice bluefish hope we start catching them in the surf soon! Those 2 baitfish you have there in the pic is one of them on the bottom a mullet or a baby snapper? Couldn't be sure but it does look a little like one.