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

[DarkSkies]

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

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:





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[DarkSkies]

Early Fall Recap
October is usually a great month for fishing, as local waters cool down and bait starts to leave back bay areas.

Some observations.....
1. Montauk to Rhode Island Fall fishing has been good for some, and frustrating for others. The bright spot has been the albie action in that general area, some of the best in years.
A friend and I were talking. He mentioned the pattern of the last 3 years to have been very inconsistent until late in October. I would agree with that. There are still some nice fish for those who follow the tides and current patterns, but it's a lot of work that people are not used to doing. You can't just expect to go to Montauk any more and consistently run into acres of fish blitzing like in the past.

People who claim how healthy the fishery is would be well-advised to turn the pages back 15 years and compare the catches then, to now....
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. There has been a tremendous amount of bait in the back bays and rivers..... some claiming more than they have seen in years...... I would tend to agree with that.
Columbus Day is the usual time when the bait patterns along the ocean front become more consistent....However, make no mistake about it....that bait is moving now...as I type these words...whether the water seems fishable or not.....:learn:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5149-S-amp-A-Education-Series-Understanding-back-bay-bait-migration-and-fishing-patterns



3. The weather seems to be on everyone's mind....just a reminder, as some here have said....that when bait is migrating it will move whether there is a storm system or not....it just moves differently....There is still a pattern to it....particularly with the Sept and Oct full moons......
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5279-Let-s-talk-about-Full-Moon-Surf-Fishing-%28and-New-Moon-as-well-%29



4. In sum....... what some may not realize, and has been said here by others...is that in good weather and bad, bait and fish will be on the move....if you can identify patterns and pick windows where it's not too bad, you can find some very nice fish right now.




Wishing all readers and their families best of luck for the Fall....:fishing: :HappyWave:

[buckethead]

Wind and water not that bad this morning. Handful of short bass on bucktail and pork in moco.

[storminsteve]

bucktail the old reliable. Nice!

[VSdreams]

Good going man.

[cowherder]

Nice job buckethead.

[SharkHart]

I got out Monday night targeting weakies, doesn't seem like there is many in the state at all but i did manage to find 7 weaks ranging 15 to 21" on a special piece of water that has a "coral" type bottom, Dark has mentioned this before you sometimes snag what looks like a rock and you look closer and there is small worms in it, this bottom seem to be the ticket they like, also need the bait which seemed to be spearing, the loads of peanuts I saw a month ago were gone, but this made the weaks more cooperative on bites, missed a fair share of short strikes too, gulp worked best but 4 inch zooms took a few.

[finchaser]

This morning 4 to 6:30 released 7 bass to 28" and 4 blue fish in the 4-6# range my partner had 4 bass and a10# blue all on DOA rubber and jig head

[DarkSkies]

I got out Monday night targeting weakies, doesn't seem like there is many in the state at all but i did manage to find 7 weaks ranging 15 to 21" on a special piece of water that has a "coral" type bottom, Dark has mentioned this before you sometimes snag what looks like a rock and you look closer and there is small worms in it, this bottom seem to be the ticket they like, also need the bait which seemed to be spearing.


These small worms are so important to the feeding cycle of some large predators.........weakfish...big bluefish.....and bass as well.....I'm surprised ya remembered way back when I was talking about this, Shark.......:HappyWave: These aren't the small sand and blood worms that live in the clam beds....they're much smaller......I'll have to do some research to try to come up with a pic and an exact scientific name....

If anyone can help with the ID in the meantime I would be most grateful......They are very tiny worms, no bigger than your fingernail....that live in clumps of bottom vegetation......This vegetation is very specific.....some have described it as "moss-like"....but the key is that it is often found around the "coral type" bottoms that Shark has described......When you're bouncing bottom with a bucktail or jig.....you often come up with clumps of this coral/muck/mud/vegetation....in certain areas....that is filled with these tiny marine worms...........

I think part of the feeding cycle is these clumps of vegetation allow these tiny worms to thrive...which in turn attracts small
baitfish....spearing...peanuts....baby fluke, flounder....sea bass....tog......many other species seem to thrive around it.......the bigger predators either are attracted to that activity...

OR they just center around the worms in the vegetation, and eat that if there are no baitfish around.....
I have found this stuff in the bellies of larger bass and bluefish I kept and cleaned.....and may have mentioned it here...once or twice.....:learn:










**(That's why Sharkhart catches a lot of fish throughout the year......IMO is one of NJ's most successful weak fishermen.....and also in the past when there were 15+ lb weakfish that you could hunt.....he was on them regularly...):thumbsup::thumbsup:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XELPQpNY2Q


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9H_Mfscwfc


He pays attention to the conditions that bring fish in to feed at night....and hunts for numbers, selectively targeting them...based on that.....:HappyWave:

[seamonkey]

This morning 4 to 6:30 released 7 bass to 28" and 4 blue fish in the 4-6# range my partner had 4 bass and a10# blue all on DOA rubber and jig head

Wow you are like the borg catching fish with 20mph winds and thumbing your nose at Joaquin who is just offshore. Nicely done.

[baitstealer]

Nice catches. beautiful weakfish videos too. Have heard of that but never in my life seen ones that big. They're huge!

[lostatsea]

Guess no one will be fishing or surfing the beaches today lol.
http://njsurfer.com/

[hookset]

Bulldozers busy at work yesterday

[surferman]

No surfing today the duration is too short. It would be impossible to stay out there for any length of time.

[cowherder]

I wonder why the towns push that sand up like a giant ski jump? From my limited experience won't that just push the water into the streets of the towns if it gets higher than the dunes? Why not do what the town of ocean beach did and make some real dunes there?

[finchaser]

Nice catches. beautiful weakfish videos too. Have heard of that but never in my life seen ones that big. They're huge!

We use to live line adult bunker to them in the 70's teen size fish were common especially from the Long Branch Pier on live spot

[jigfreak]

Sure it will but they won't build dunes cause I heard the homeowners dont want it. They would rather be bailed out by the acoe.

[finchaser]

Wow you are like the borg catching fish with 20mph winds and thumbing your nose at Joaquin who is just offshore. Nicely done.

Will be in the back out tonight and probably in the morning too:fishing::HappyWave: until the wind gets too bad :scared:

To DS:beatin:

[bababooey]

^^^^^^^Finchaser pond? are you guys fighting again? I call dibs on the popcorn concession.:HappyWave:

[fishinmission78]

This morning 4 to 6:30 released 7 bass to 28" and 4 blue fish in the 4-6# range my partner had 4 bass and a10# blue all on DOA rubber and jig head

Nice going. Nice weakies as well shark hart.

[VSdreams]

Tried to fish moco today from 3:30-6. had about a 30minute period where there seemed to be some bait that you could see past the breaking waves. There was definitely some good bruisers chasing. I casted a lot of things, bucktail, shads, needlefish and no takers. Finally hooked into a nice blue with a big red and white polaris popper. Got him into the surf and he popped off at the beach lip. Not sure, I estimate he was at least an 8 pounder. Was the nicest fish I have had in a while besides fluke.

[baitstealer]

Solid effort man at least you were rewarded with something. Was the water very dirty where you found the bait?

[plugcrazy]

We use to live line adult bunker to them in the 70's teen size fish were common especially from the Long Branch Pier on live spot

Quick question spot don't seem to be that popular for catching fish in north jersey lately. I realize we didn't have much up here this year. south jersey guys keep spot pens and fish them in the cape may rips. they also fish them in the inlets near my cousins house in long island.
so why not spot in north jersey that much? Is it they very hard to keep alive or just not that many of them around to catch? thank you

[finchaser]

Quick question spot don't seem to be that popular for catching fish in north jersey lately. I realize we didn't have much up here this year. south jersey guys keep spot pens and fish them in the cape may rips. they also fish them in the inlets near my cousins house in long island.
so why not spot in north jersey that much? Is it they very hard to keep alive or just not that many of them around to catch? thank you

They work no one uses them, hard to find use to be very abundant

[finchaser]

Last night 8 to 11PM released 5 bass to 26" and a few bluefish all on Chartreuse DOA and jig head my partner had 9 bass to 28" water is like a sewer and down to 66 degrees. That's all she wrote for a while it was nasty out got soaked even with rain gear.

[surferman]

That's some nice catching right there.

[buckethead]

Good going finchaser.

[cowherder]

hardcore out in those winds last night. Nice job.

[fishinmission78]

Don't bother fishing until monday fellas. Just took a ride from brick to ssp and it's ugly. Waves breaking on the beach at 10-12 feet. Lots of very rough water out there.

[cowherder]

Gave it a try in nomoco with bucktails. One missed hit, othewise skunk city.

[seamonkey]

CMC fished the back last night. Nada, there was some bait but not as much as before the storm.

[cowherder]

Thanks for the report we definitely can't catch them from the couch that's for sure! took a look at some of the surf cams. It looks a little dirty but it also looks beautiful and inviting.
will try to make it out there one night this week. I got a fishy feeling about that water.

[hookset]

Picked up a few bass last night in moco. Sunset and 2 hours after. Yellow SS needle fish. They hit pretty hard. Small fish but fun.

[robmedina]

going to try and hit it after work today.

[hookedonbass]

Nice going man I fished moco last nite from 5 till dark got the skunk. Guess I should of stuck around a little later.

[buckethead]

Mo co in the am. There was a flurry of actvity around first light into sunrise. Managed 4 shorts. Bucktail and pork. Water has cleaned up pretty well with a slight NNW kick to the wind.

[buckethead]

Decided to hit the suds again this afternoon given the success I had this morning. Surf is still cleaning up and looking better. Nothing for me.

[Blazin420]

Nice going to those that have been catching!! Been real bad for me lately! Tried Tues afternoon into night...Fished from 430pm till 830pm...1 stinkin hickory shad...Wanted to stay longer but had a tooth pulled about 2 hrs before i went out and it was sore as hell by about 7pm...so thats my excuse LOL:d..

Woke this am about 4 and decided to take a ride close to home to see if the beaches that were covered got any better after the storm.....Im home so posting sooo that means......Nope....Still a barren sand bar:skunk::skunk::burn:....Should have stayed in bed....I got 1 more shot on Friday since the wife will be with her mom all night so i dont have to worry AS much if she decides to go in to labor:scared::d......Ill find a few fish sooner or later!!

[fishinmission78]

Skunk last night too in the back. I think this storm really messed up the bait concentrations. Have a few friends who were getting fish. It seems like there are pockets of feeding fish in certain places. Other than that slim pickings.

[finchaser]

This morning 4 to 6:30 AM released 11 bass to 22" all on 3/4 ounce jig head and 5" pink Pin tail purple also worked. due to tons of rain fish. bigger bait no where to be found

[robmedina]

Hit the surf after work near IBSP- rough at the lip- water was stained until about 100-150 yards out then was clean. Tried the inlet to see if would be any better- nope chocolate milk. Tried top water , tried bucktail...nada. I know fish were there but nada for me. I noticed small bait tight to the rocks but nothing was after them.

[buckethead]

I noticed small bait tight to the rocks but nothing was after them.

Try a teaser next time. I have been doing better around first light.
Report-managed 2 shorts this morning in the dark tossing a bucktail and pork with a redgill teaser. I noticed some small bait around but not much. The mullet were strangely absent.

[buckethead]

This morning 4 to 6:30 AM released 11 bass to 22" all on 3/4 ounce jig head and 5" pink Pin tail purple also worked. due to tons of rain fish. bigger bait no where to be found


Nice job I noticed the same as well. The mullet I was seeing were nowhere to be found. Just a few patches of small bait, rainfish and spearing.

[hookset]

Fished the back last night. Not much bait around. Only stuff I saw was peanuts in one marina. Did not see any mullet. Bunch of spearing still around though. Picked up one short striper on bucktail. Water is looking good like you said, just not so many fish around.

[cowherder]

Worked it in nomoco last nite skunk city! where the heck did all the mullet go?

[finchaser]

Worked it in nomoco last nite skunk city! where the heck did all the mullet go?

Hopefully not South in storm but it sure looks that way

[surferman]

Nice job gents. I fished last night in the back cmc near structure. Was sure with the weather and conditions I would be finding the pot of gold with stripers and blues. No such luck. I think the blues have moved out of my area. Could not see any mullet either. Did score on one feisty striper at 24" that took a pink zoom. There is still a lot of rainfish and spearing around like you guys said. I remain hopeful. This can't be the best to come for October.

[porgy75]

7-9pm last night in moco. surferman I can identify what you said about the water looking fishy. It looked real fishy to me. Even talked to some bait guys who were fishing clams for stripers. All they got was dogfish. Me I caught the skunk. It was still a beautiful night out to be fishing.

[cowherder]

That's the attidude dude! If you are out there and don't catch you might as well enjoy the night and the weather. I think it's perfect right now. The fish may not be here in numbers now. You have to believe they will be soon and it will happen. Good luck all, I'm getting ready to start casting now. Surf doesn't look that bad am hoping for just one striper.:fishing:

[cowherder]

Nothing to report for me but skunk smellage! Fished nomoco just got done. Like I said before conditions were perfect. Water was perfect. Wind was perfect. Surf was perfect. Only someone forgot to tell the stripers because they were swimming somewhere else. Missed one bump that was it for the night. Going to try again this weekend. I have to believe there are some stripers out there in the surf that want to eat.

[finchaser]

This morning 4 to 6:30 AM released 5 bass all caught on jig head and Chartreuse DOA tail

[buckethead]

I had some trouble finding a fish this morning. Walked a lot of beach front. Finally managed a short bass on bucktail and pork with redgill teaser. Fish hit the teaser. Relatively calm conditions out there. Some white water and slight breeze from the SE. Not much bait in the surf where I was.
Nice going finchaser.

[buckethead]

Only someone forgot to tell the stripers because they were swimming somewhere else. Missed one bump that was it for the night. Going to try again this weekend. I have to believe there are some stripers out there in the surf that want to eat.

A buddy of mine has started catching in the surf over on long island and was talking about sandeels and bunker. I think we are a week away from some better times with the sand eels coming in from the east. I could be wrong. As you said it's good to be optiimistic. The fishing now is not really that good just a pick here and there.

[storminsteve]

Fished nomoco last night. Threw the bag. Not a touch for me. pulled out of the gate with a cocktail blue on a bucktail/ pork combo.

[storminsteve]

I had some trouble finding a fish this morning. Walked a lot of beach front. Finally managed a short bass on bucktail and pork with redgill teaser. Fish hit the teaser.

I see you're back using the redgill again. No sand eels and still it works for you? Nice job. finchaser nice work as well. You are the king of rubber. Im the king of dead things but have been in a slump lately.

[jigfreak]

Fished nomoco last night. Threw the bag. Not a touch for me.

Maybe that's the problem. Throwing bags in the water don't catch fish unless you put dynamite in the bag.:HappyWave:
Next time try rubber. Last night found some spearing, scattered, in the back. A few fish feeding. Tossed small rubber on 1/2 oz jig for 2 baby stripers.

[buckethead]

storming steve the focus of using a redgill doesn't have to be sand eels. They are perfect for when most of what the fish are eating is small bait. They can mimic a rainfish, spearing, or other small forage fish. Try one next time out. Hope that answers your question.

[finchaser]

like jigfreak I'm in the back and agree with buckethead have seen no sand eels but the DOA and pintail IMO are a small bait/sandeel profile

[fishinmission78]

Nice going finchaser.

[Monty]

I see you're back using the redgill again. No sand eels and still it works for you? Nice job. finchaser nice work as well. You are the king of rubber. Im the king of dead things but have been in a slump lately.
:ROFLMAO
Congrats on getting out there. Slim pickings on the dead thing front. Any day now and a whale or dolphin should pop up.

[jigfreak]

You guys are lucky. Rarely do we see dead things in the barny bay like you do up north. Mostly its a end of winter thing to see what crawled out on the ice and died. Dead deer and racoons and such.

[seamonkey]

Good job gents. Fished cmc last night. Skunk followed me home.

[storminsteve]

I would like to say how great this fall run has been. so far it's been a fizzle for me. fished last night before the rain got one hickory shad on a teaser. Chased out by the thunder and lightning.

[finchaser]

This morning 4 to 7 released 6 really cute little bass all on DOA jerk bait and jig head

Also test casted the soon to come 4 1/2 inch SP minnow very impressed should be out by 11/15

[hookedonbass]

By cute im assuming they were small? Better than I did. Fished .oco this morning for nada.

[porgy75]

Fished somoco tonight 6-9 one hit on a ava at 6pm by a small blue. Tried poppers, the SP and some bucktails. One small tap on the bucktail too and that was it. Hope some of you had better luck.

[porgy75]

This morning 4 to 7 released 6 really cute little bass all on DOA jerk bait and jig head

Also test casted the soon to come 4 1/2 inch SP minnow very impressed should be out by 11/15

How does that cast when its windy? thanks

[Blazin420]

Got out this am 5 till 730...fished some rocks..First couple casts had a blue rip the tail off my shad after that NADA! Worked the whole jetty..water looked great clean with some good movement..Expected more...Was getting ready to leave made a few more casts from the beach..And BAM finally kicked that damn SKUNK! Nice 25incher crushed my olive Greenpoint swimmer in the wash..after that no more.

[cowherder]

.Expected more...Was getting ready to leave made a few more casts from the beach..And BAM finally kicked that damn SKUNK! Nice 25incher crushed my olive Greenpoint swimmer in the wash..after that no more.

I have been out there recently and expected a LOT more with all the bait out there! It seems we may not have a decent fall run until November! Just have to keep trying man, nice job.

[seamonkey]

Nice going blazin. Fished the back in CM last night. Lots of bait. Not even one fish. I think they have too much to eat right now.

[finchaser]

this morning 4 to 7 had 4 micro bass that are usually here at the end of the fall run very strange:huh:

[lostatsea]

Fished moco this am for the hour before and after sunrise. Incoming tide and the water was awesome. Small bait, spearing? Got one small stripper and one small blue on an ava jig. I have read reports on ny forums, massachusetts forums, and nj forums. Where the heck are all the stripers? Didn't they get the memo that the fall run is supposed to be here?

[lostatsea]

I have been out there recently and expected a LOT more with all the bait out there! It seems we may not have a decent fall run until November! Just have to keep trying man, nice job.

Yeak I expected a lot too. Guess we'll have to lower the expectations lol.

[storminsteve]

Got the skunk last night as well. nomoco. Yowza this Fall is awesome so far.:kooky:

[robmedina]

fished moco ocean side from the yak- nada for me- had my eels chomped by small blues but no hook ups. Albies were being caught by other yakkers on small metal. Fished sun up till noon. bait slingers from land were hauling in skates from what I could see.

[baitstealer]

Thats pretty cool that you were out among the albies. About how far off were they? In your opinion wouid you say we have a lot of chances of catching them from the surf in nj? It is mid october already and I haven't read of many being caught that way.

[VSdreams]

Perfect columbus day in so Moco. Had off and figured I would try my luck. The fishing was perfect. The catching not so much. I tried bombers, sps, rubber shad (one bite off on that) poppers, and casted a needle fish around sunrise too. The only thing I had luck with was right around sunrise when I got a 2 lb blue on a bucktail with pork rind. About the same results as the other guys I talked to fishing today. Where are the stripers? I fished from 6-10am.

[robmedina]

Thats pretty cool that you were out among the albies. About how far off were they? In your opinion wouid you say we have a lot of chances of catching them from the surf in nj? It is mid october already and I haven't read of many being caught that way. The albies were about 1/4 mile out and spread out to a few miles off shore. I can't say if they will come close enough to shore or not as I don't personally know. One yakker said he had been catching the albies for weeks now. I have never been out there with albies so I don't know their normal behavior but they were so spread out- there would be a few splashes and then nothing. Look 50 yards away and a few splashes 200 yards away a few splashes- then nothing in site for a while than an occasional splash. In that environment Luck was needed.

[baitstealer]

Thanks man. Should be a real thrill to get one on a kayak. good luck in the future and tight lines!

[buckethead]

Decided to start a little earlier this morning in moco. Picked up 4 shorts today pre dawn with bucktail and redgill. Wind slightly from the S/SE. Decent conditions out there. Not much bait visible.

[seamonkey]

Nice job with the bucktail.

[jigfreak]

A handful of micro stripers last night in the back. Rubber and light jig.

[finchaser]

A handful of micro stripers last night in the back. Rubber and light jig.

What he said but this morning if I didn't know better I'd say the December death rats are here.:scared:

[finchaser]

How does that cast when its windy? thanks

Don't know it wasn't windy then off it went it's 4 1/2 inches and 7/8 ounce

[buckethead]

More of the same this morning. 3 shorts pre dawn. Bucktail and redgill. Not that many spots holding bait in the surf. They must be feeding on the crabs. Wind shifted to the west. Hoping for better luck with the wind. May give it a go again this afternoon.

[cowherder]

Nice going bucket head. I fished moco last night and got chased off the beach by lightning. Hope some of you folks did better than me which was zippo.

[SharkHart]

I don't have a NJ report but i was fishing the south shore of LI, and there is sand eels and Bass not a ton for me the last 2 days but they are there and some heavy crowds, but Im saying this to let everyone know we should get opportunities in 7 to 9 day of migraters.

[hookset]

Thanks for that man. Silver lining for sure. Fished the back last night came up empty handed. Jersey fall fishing so far is pretty lame for me.

[jigfreak]

Read about it on fb. Somewhat jealous lol. Appreciate the heads up from someone who is over there. Good luck.

[DarkSkies]

After a long absence from the water, went fishing the other night...the first time in quite a while....Covered lots of ground.....found many spots that held tremendous amounts of bait....but no predators.

Short version....8 hour trip, ended up in the morning at sunrise with a lucky short bass, hit a small polaris popper.
Longer version in the ACF thread.

[buckethead]

Fished moco this morning again before sunrise. It was low water which may have hindered the action. No fish today where I was. The ocean was pretty flat and the wind has shifted to a NW. Not much bait at all. Saw bunker out there with nothing on them.

[seamonkey]

Had a decent of run of fish in cmc. Last night it was like they all were away on a conference or something. Skunk ola.

[porgy75]

So Moco from 7-9am today. It was very calm, have read here that too calm is not good. Think I agree with that. Was casting a diamond jig with a teaser about 24" above it. Got 2 hickory shad on the teaser. No striper or blue. The ocean looked like a flat lake on a postcard.

[jigfreak]

Fished last nite managed two dinks on rubber. Talk of a large kayak bass posted up at murphys. That was definitely one in a million. Most of these fish I'm seeing are cookie cutter dinks. According to my logs the last two weeks of this month we should start seeing some larger.

[basshunter]

Fished right above ibsp this morning. There must be a hot bite somewhere else or there really aren't that many fish yet. No one around me. Got one cocktail blue on diamond jig. come on fall run we are waiting.

[storminsteve]

Had a decent of run of fish in cmc. Last night it was like they all were away on a conference or something. Skunk ola.

Don't you feel like that sometimes when fishing. You are out there in the middle of the night. Perfect conditions. Awesome water. Bait in the right places. Wind is perfect. Like a surfcasting commercial, or what you would expect if they put the perfect commercial together. Then you can't even buy a hit. You wonder if it was the cigarette you smoked. was it the motor oil that got wiped on your hands when you went to add some cause you were a quart low. All these questions and doubts start running through your mind. Think I'll use that as an excuse to my wife the next time I come home and don't have a fishy smell on my hands. "They were all at a conference, honey. That's why I couldn't catch." Perfect

[storminsteve]

I don't have a NJ report but i was fishing the south shore of LI, and there is sand eels and Bass not a ton for me the last 2 days but they are there and some heavy crowds, but Im saying this to let everyone know we should get opportunities in 7 to 9 day of migraters.

I sure hope so man. Thanks for the intel. Any size to the fish you were getting? or just good numbers, thanks.

[finchaser]

This morning 4 to 6:30 AM 1 bass 2 blues 6 fluke all on pink finesse very little bait and really small fish

2 big schools of bigger fish have passed 4 to 5 miles off the beach in the pain in the a_s bunker schools

Yesterdays Monmouth County blitz conditions are non existent today

[cowherder]

I noticed that too finchaser. Lots of little bait in the surf in nomoco but not many fish. Picked up two small stripers in nomoco this morning on bucktail. Once 7am came and I got ready to leave a huge armada of guys came walking on the beach. Fishing is not like going to the bank if you want some you can't keep bankers hours and expect to catch them lol. Checked a few other beaches on my way home and there were lots of guys and no one catching. Someone must have sent an inter-office memo to go fishing. I did make one more stop because there were albies about 4 casts too far out there at one place. Casted like crazy for a half hour but they never came in.

Funny thing is me and 2 other guys were the only ones casting. The other guys were just standing around and waiting. Waiting for what?:don't know why:

[seamonkey]

Nice going guys. At least you got some. I caught a skunk this morning. Beautiful conditions. Maybe I will have to go back to fishing at night next time.

[hookset]

Skunk for me yesterday. A bud managed 2 nice ones. Will try again this afternoon.

[hookset]

Funny thing is me and 2 other guys were the only ones casting. The other guys were just standing around and waiting. Waiting for what?:don't know why:

Dunno but you will catch more fish with your hands tossing the rod than with your hands on your pecker. Good on you for trying. More time casting = more fish on the beach.

[surferman]

^^^^^^^True dat!

[porgy75]

I paid attention to some of you gents using the teaser above the bucktail. Fished MoCo this morning and it was not a lot of stripers or blues but I did hook up with a bunch of hickorry shads on the teaser. Thanks buckethead and others they do work well. Now we need for some stripers to get here and I will be happy. Still had some fun anyway and it was a cold crisp morning out there. Perfect fall weather.

[plugcrazy]

Another saying similar to that is you can't catch them from the couch either. Good luck this weekend guys. The NW winds should hopefully put some fish in front of us.

[cowherder]

Fished nomoco on the incoming tide and part of the outgoing. Saw one bass caught lots of guys out all complaining about it being dead. I had a teaser on so I played with the hickories. As was mentioned they can be fun when a lot of other things arent going on. Also got a giant stargazer. Those things are prehistoric looking!

[cowherder]

t I did hook up with a bunch of hickorry shads on the teaser. Thanks buckethead and others they do work well. Now we need for some stripers to get here and I will be happy. Still had some fun anyway and it was a cold crisp morning out there. Perfect fall weather.

He motivated me to use the teasers too. They sure beat the skunk. The party boats are catching stripers in the bay so it's prob just a matter of days before we get them too.

[hookset]

The party boats are catching stripers in the bay so it's prob just a matter of days before we get them too.

Yep just posted some of the slobs in the meatmen thread. They are here.

[hookset]

Fished last night nomoco. It was a little inconsistent. Lots of small bait. Went with a stubby needle with teaser and managed 3 shorts. Around sunrise it was a hickory shad blitz and managed a half dozen of those. Guys if there are any fly rodders out there you would have a ball catching these. You would probably do better than the rest of us there are so many shad around right now. Good luck.

[jigfreak]

Am finding inconsistency as well. Last nite should have been great. Had one shot at albies in the late afternoon. Lots of bait in the surf. Swung and missed. Back out again for the incoming. Found some bait but no love. One tiny striper on rubber. Waiting for some peanuts to come in where I fish and it should get better.

[SharkHart]

was off so i rolled the dice Friday afternoon for long shot try at the bunker bass or albies, 2 to 8 without a hit boats and yakers didnt do much too. report the good with the bad.... End of this week we should get a shot of more migrators

[cowherder]

I hope so man this long shot fishing is tough. After not doing so great I fished moco again with a bucktail and pork. This time I tied a different teaser on and it seemed to improve my luck. Picked up four cookie cutter stripers between 24-25". What was pretty cool for me is three of them hit that tiny little teaser. They really must be focused on small bait. Also a few more hickories on the teaser.

It's getting really cold out there guys. Bundle up.

[clamchucker]

Teasers can be very effective this time of year.
There are some of small bluefish at island beach in case anyone is interested. I took my grandsons there on friday. They had a great time catching a few using cut mullet and later on tossing small diamond jigs for the cocktail blues. They get bored easily so I try to find fishing action that keeps them interested. Although the bluefishing was not that steady we periodically saw porpoising too far out of reach which could have been false albacore. These were mostly evident about an hour after sunrise. They never came in close enough.

[hookedonbass]

One 27 inch striper last night on a black bomber, and a pretty decent size hickory shad. The hickory fought harder than the striper. moco. Nice night out but the ocean was very flat.

[hookedonbass]

It's getting really cold out there guys. Bundle up.

Yeah I had some layers on last night and was glad I did. Very breezy. The cold days are a coming.

[plugcrazy]

Hopefully the cold days and nights will bring some more stripers into the wash.:dribble:

[porgy75]

Glad to see you guys got stripers last night. I was the hickory shad pro lol. There seem to be a lot of them around right now. Total for MoCo end of night was 11 and one fluke that was almost keeper size. I was using a sp minnow and a teaser about 2 feet in front of it. The only one that hit the sp was the fluke? I thought that kind of strange.

[baitstealer]

clamchucker blues at island beach is great news to me. It's a lot easier for me to fish ocean county when I go down to visit my grandparents there. I fished a little above the park last nite for the incoming tide and got bubkus. One feisty sea robin and a skate that I snagged. It seems the best fishing is in moco right now?

[fishinmission78]

report the good with the bad.... End of this week we should get a shot of more migrators

I hope so. The month of october is 3/4 done and my fishing so far is a lot of suckage. A few decent night out back on the sods. Just some small blues lately. clamchucker I think I saw those albies too but when I was there they were way too far out.

[fishinmission78]

One feisty sea robin and a skate that I snagged. It seems the best fishing is in moco right now?

It seems that way to me too but not always. The sods in the back of OC hold some very nice fish even in the summer except for july and august. We have a lot of bait on ocean county. If you are focused on the tides maybe you want to switch it up a bit. As a general rule I fish the back for the incoming tide. Out front for this month if you are fishing near any inlets at all you want the outgoing tide which will push the bait out along the beach. my .02 only and it does change depending on the water temperatures and time of year. hope that helps

[baitstealer]

Awesome advice gents thanks.

[VSdreams]

Fished moco from 3-7:30 it was like a lake out there. Saw some bait and blowups around sunset. I could not hook up with anything but those shad. Heard they are crushing them in the boats off long island. Hope they save some for us.

[storminsteve]

Nomoco from dark to now, just got done. One bass caught not by me. A few others and I gave it our best. Like others have said it's hickory shad heaven out there right now. I would love to see some 15lb blues come in and crush these shad like jaws. The stripers could come and pick up the pieces and we would all be happy. Doesn't look like that will happen.

I hope sharkhart is right about the sandeels. Or we can just pray to the striper gods to have mercy on us and open up the striper pipeline a little. That is if there are any left. Starting to see what all you guys are saying is spot on. It's going to be november in 12 days and like finchaser says it seems too many stripers are dead. They are just not there.

[hookedonbass]

Haveing the same experiences as you gents. Found some shad in no moco last night. I was casting mag darters and bomber long a plugs. I thought shad only hit teasers but I got one on each of those lures. Didn't see or hear of any stripers caught.

[hookedonbass]

I hope sharkhart is right about the sandeels. Or we can just pray to the striper gods to have mercy on us and open up the striper pipeline a little. That is if there are any left. Starting to see what all you guys are saying is spot on. It's going to be november in 12 days and like finchaser says it seems too many stripers are dead. They are just not there.


Yes please. someone come up with a prayer or something. Lack of bass is getting depressing. While we are praying, maybe NJ will can the program of 3 stripers. I met a guy from long island this week in a tackle shop. He was visiting family and coulldn't believe we can still keep 3 stripers. Why do we have to be such greedy a-holes when the other states are trying to fix this problem?

[finchaser]

Yes please. someone come up with a prayer or something. Lack of bass is getting depressing. While we are praying, maybe NJ will can the program of 3 stripers. I met a guy from long island this week in a tackle shop. He was visiting family and coulldn't believe we can still keep 3 stripers. Why do we have to be such greedy a-holes when the other states are trying to fix this problem?

There dead almost wiped out again I never thought I'd live to see it again. I heard a 9# fish just won the Jersey Coast shark anglers boat tournament. There are no fish in Montauk or any other place north of here, Sharkharts fish I believe passed here on Wednesday and Thursday. Our regulation suck thanks to the JCAA but then again who do you know that has caught 3 fish. 1) 28 to 43 then 1 over 43 and a 24 to 26" bonus fish you can't catch what isn't there . I have been catching December size fish all month:scared:

[cowherder]

Why do we have to be such greedy a-holes when the other states are trying to fix this problem?

Tom Fote?
All the raritan bay meatmen who say there are plenty of stripers? Those are possible answers. Sorry that I do not have any answers how to fix it.

[cowherder]

There dead almost wiped out again I never thought I'd live to see it again. I heard a 9# fish just won the Jersey Coast shark anglers boat tournament.

You mean to tell me all the boats were out trolling and livelining bunker and a 9 pound striper was the winner? That's crazy!

[buckethead]

moco was dead for me this morning. Lake like conditions, a chill in the air. Lots of rainbait in the wash and hickory shads feeding. Otherwise I didn't see that much else, even offshore was quiet.

[lostatsea]

Tom Fote?
All the raritan bay meatmen who say there are plenty of stripers? Those are possible answers. Sorry that I do not have any answers how to fix it.


It doesn't make sense that if there are plenty of striped bass the best the guys could do is a 9 pounder. Either there is a great conspiracy theory that in the middle of the night they are being removed by the FBI to be stockpiled in holding tanks - or there aren't too many stripers left. Just read a report from a guy saying how bad fishing is at montauk right now. No fish at mecca? Something is wrong with the whole picture here.

[finchaser]

You mean to tell me all the boats were out trolling and livelining bunker and a 9 pound striper was the winner? That's crazy!

Yes here is a post from a charter boat

Sunday troll

Belmar to the hook. Nothing except tons of birds outside SRI, saw a whale off of Belmar. Didn't see anyone else catching. Water wasn't bad if you stayed inshore. Bunker spoons, stretches, umbrella rigs not a touch.

[bababooey]

I took a walk along the boardwalk by the squan inlet. Some buds said they were catching stripers to 30 lbs last week within 2 casts of shore when bunker were around. "were" is the key word here. I did not see any bunker or signs of life. As for that little bait you folks are finding along the beach I wouldn't put too much faith in it. Long Island has sandeels. If we were going to get them they would be here already. My opinion, that little bait you all talk about is not really worth it if you want a big striper. mullet, bunker, sandeels will keep them close. If not they will run the coast along the 3 mile line like they did last year.

[finchaser]

This morning 4 to 6AM released 5 bass to 30" all on purple 5" pintail from Got Stripers colder out going water and weed in river shut it down

[surferman]

Nice!

[cowherder]

Good going fin chaser! I fished no moco last night with 20 of my closest friends lol. I got a short striper on a bucktail and pork around 7:30. fished for four hours after that and got nothing although I saw one decent striper caught and that was it where I was. Pretty cold and windy out there too gents you might want to start packing gloves.

[hookset]

Finchaser well done. You are the king of rubber,sir.

[seamonkey]

Nice job guys. Its been windy and cold in cmc. Haven't had a bump last 2 times out. Instead of the fall run we should start calling it the fall bocce ball tourney. Periods of excitement peppered by many periods of boredom.

[seamonkey]

As for that little bait you folks are finding along the beach I wouldn't put too much faith in it. Long Island has sandeels. If we were going to get them they would be here already. My opinion, that little bait you all talk about is not really worth it if you want a big striper. mullet, bunker, sandeels will keep them close. If not they will run the coast along the 3 mile line like they did last year.

Well in my opinion you guys are lucky to have even those varieties. We rarely have had sand eels. Mullet are good for about a month. sometimes the bunker hang out around cape may in the back as well.
The great food source where I fish is spearing. We have a ton of that. Don't know what we would do without it.

[storminsteve]

Finchaser well done. You are the king of rubber,sir.


From what I have read here its what he catches most of his fish on. Hes the king of rubber. I am the king of dead things.:viking:

[fishinmission78]

Rubber, small avas, small curly tails and bucktails will catch more fish throughout the year in NJ than 90% of the big wood out there. I don't know why guys drool over big wood the way they do. If I never saw a custom plug for the rest of my life I could still catch fish and feed myself. Why do you think the army puts bucktails in it's survival kits?

[fishinmission78]

Figured I might as well post a fishing report. Have been fishing the island beach area for the last 2 weeks on and off. This time of year it's usually full of some schoolies and keepers. A few decent bass were landed by some of my friends but slim pickins is the smartest way to say it. It's a desert of cocktail blues and hickory shad out there. The bright spot is the false albacore I have seen the last 3 times out. Usually too far to reach but very obvious when you see them. I hope they stick around for a week or so more. would really like to nail one.

[jigfreak]

From what I have read here its what he catches most of his fish on. Hes the king of rubber. I am the king of dead things.:viking:



Still vying for this dubious title? Knock yourself out Rocky.:rolleyes:

[jigfreak]

Finchaser well done. You are the king of rubber,sir.


Rubber, small avas, small curly tails and bucktails will catch more fish throughout the year in NJ than 90% of the big wood out there. I don't know why guys drool over big wood the way they do. If I never saw a custom plug for the rest of my life I could still catch fish and feed myself. Why do you think the army puts bucktails in it's survival kits?

+2. If you learn how and where to fish rubber instead of paying $3 for those way overpriced vision sand eels you can cut down on the gear you bring with you. I bring one small bag with me when I'm out. 3-4 different sizes of shads, curlytails, bucktails, different jig weights. Easy peasy. They catch fish. The thing that probably prevents more folks from fishing them is you actually have to work them and know what you're doing. Too many guys today want a lure that does the work for them. Rubber has saved me from the skunk many a time.

[porgy75]

Well said. I do think it does take a while to get the knack of it. I'm still learning and appreciate the advice you gents have shared.

[Monty]

From what I have read here its what he catches most of his fish on. Hes the king of rubber. I am the king of dead things.:viking:
Congrats on catching Fin, StorminSteve :ROFLMAO



Still vying for this dubious title? Knock yourself out Rocky.:rolleyes:

Rocky?? Thinking StorminSteve is more like Gerry Cooney :blackeye:

[buckethead]

Moco this AM from 4 to 6. Bucktail and redgill as teaser. picked up two short bass and 1 Hickory all on the redgill.

[lostatsea]

Glad to hear someone got fish, and congrats. Fished oc co from 5-7am. There was small bay anchovies all over. Some places were dark because there were so many. Hardly anything under them though. Threw the sp and some bombers. Barely escaped the skunk with one blue.

[J Barbosa]

Not sure where I left off so if I repeat one don't hang me...

Fished 10/9 on my boat did really well with the porgies in a few short hours. We caught a bunch of large ones mixed in with a ton of shorts as well. Total was 41 keepers if I remember correctly. No lack of action and many doubles (lots of shorts mixed in). Clam cut up in small strips worked well.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/746/22120393519_cc743b049a_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/zGGNka)
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/592/22354725432_9269a85bbb_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/A4pP3y)

Fished 10/10 - 10/11 on a friends boat. We headed to the Hudson canyon along with 2000 other boats. Picked some small mahi off the pots nothing great seems like most of them had been picked clean by the time we checked them. Setup on the night chunk and immediately had two big eye bites that we lost to broken/chafed leaders. We lost a third big eye on the troll when the hook failed. We did end up landing a 50# longfin and 80# yellowfin. Squid's were our hot baits
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5820/22119214630_3f3963d34f_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/zGAKTu)
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5813/22119217260_19c4228c26_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/zGALEQ)
Fished this past Saturday on my boat...We were looking for those big bass chasing bunker schools but couldn't find them. It certainly wasn't for the lack of happy bunker around! Had dolphin swimming along side the boat about 200 yards from the beach. Large schools of rainfish everywhere and albies busting on them. We didn't play the chase game and ended up anchoring near some structure. No bass/blue love on the bunker chunks but did catch some albies when they rolled through. At one point they were right on the beach without a surfcaster to be seen for miles. Got one hell of a pounding on the way back to the marina. A reminder about "pushing your limits" in a small boat this time of year.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/720/21686186103_172f1aba3e_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/z3knAp)

Fished last night 5:45pm to about 8:30. 8 bass on bucktails lots of small rainfish around. 1.5oz bucktail with #70 pork worked for me

[Monty]

Fished last night 5:45pm to about 8:30. 8 bass on bucktails lots of small rainfish around. 1.5oz bucktail with #70 pork worked for me

Great reports and pics JB.

[cowherder]

I tried the redgill this morning and couldn't keep the shad away from it. They must be very hungry even with all the rainfish around. Fished a little further south in moco. 4-6am outgoing tide. One striper 27" and a handful of shad with bucktail and redgill teaser. The one shad I got was giant it must have went 18 inches. Was fun to put a bend in the rod.

[cowherder]

Fished last night 5:45pm to about 8:30. 8 bass on bucktails lots of small rainfish around. 1.5oz bucktail with #70 pork worked for me


Awesome report I guess those fish are really close to the bottom. I saw lots of rainfish too but didn't see any bass come up and slurp them in the dark. Maybe with the full moon coming up they are feeding on crabs too?

[porgy75]

I saw the same thing. Rainfish all over and no fish feeding on them. There is so much bait out there and hardly any fish! I was in moco around one hour after sunrise and you think you can get a few stripes around that time. Like you said there are a lot of hickory shad. I got one on a teaser and missed a few others. No stripes for me or anyone else I saw casting. Very frustrating for sure.

[captnemo]

Boat report, trolled to the rocks and back this morning. A bit breezy but good bass water. Temps low 60's. One bluefish.

[finchaser]

Fished south of the capt. in a boat nada on the bass

[buckethead]

Fished south of the capt. in a boat nada on the bass

I read on another site how the boat guys are killing them. One gent said the raritan bay is loaded with bass. I guess there must be a few bass in the ambrose channel up there. I haven't seen any boats really lay into them by me in moco in the morning. They could be doing better in the PM and I'm not seeing it. Otherwise it seems like a limited slow pick for most of us.

[buckethead]

Figured I might as well post a fishing report. Have been fishing the island beach area for the last 2 weeks on and off. This time of year it's usually full of some schoolies and keepers. A few decent bass were landed by some of my friends but slim pickins is the smartest way to say it. It's a desert of cocktail blues and hickory shad out there.



Fished last night 5:45pm to about 8:30. 8 bass on bucktails lots of small rainfish around. 1.5oz bucktail with #70 pork worked for me


I tried the redgill this morning and couldn't keep the shad away from it. They must be very hungry even with all the rainfish around. Fished a little further south in moco. 4-6am outgoing tide. One striper 27" and a handful of shad with bucktail and redgill teaser.

Congrats on the catches gentlemen. Thank you for the kind words about the redgills. cow I see you got one on the redgill. Some one else asked how they can hit the redgill if there are no sandeels around. The key is the profile. There are a lot of tiny fish they are feeding on. When you present that profile to them you will tend to be successful. Of course the shad will hit it too. They are just like getting skates and stargazers part of the fishing experience.
I arrived in the dark this morning and worked hard but could only manage one bass. A few hickories as well. There is a tremendous amount of bait around and very few bass. My .02

[porgy75]

You can't hit home runs every time right? Well I had off today and tried my luck all over moco. Thought I would look for breaking fish but I found none. Casted a pencil popper for an hour and tryed a bucktail, also a shad. Had one bump on the shad. Otherwise skunk. Beautiful sunny say. Good luck guys!

[lostatsea]

You can't hit home runs every time right?

That's for sure I am happy to take a trip and not get skunked. Forget about catching the big stripers that is like finding a needle in a haystack. If you can get one or two it makes it worthwhile and you are ok with going back next time.

[jigfreak]

There is a tremendous amount of bait around and very few bass. My .02

Seeing the same thing. There ar nights in the back when I have seen 4 different kinds of bait, the spearing, rainfish, gars, and peanut bunker. There is so much food. Then you will have the "bigger" fish come in to feed. lol that means the 10 inch blues and 19 inch bass are on the feed. Very far cry from when 15 and 20 pounders would come in and you would hear thrashing in the sod banks like someone was getting dumped in there by the mafia. When you find the bass they're in schools. Not a lot in between.

[J Barbosa]

Fished early this morning and landed 5 bass on bucktails. Didn't see many caught this morning but still lots of bait around.

The bass are mixed in with the hickory shad, take off the teasers guys. The hickories are much more aggressive and beat the bass to your offerings.

Just my observations from this morning. Everyone seemed to be fishing teasers and catching hickory shad every cast. I fished just a bucktail and got 5 bass and a few missed bumps (only seen about another 6 bass caught between a dozen guys).

[SharkHart]

I read on another site how the boat guys are killing them. One gent said the raritan bay is loaded with bass. I guess there must be a few bass in the ambrose channel up there. I haven't seen any boats really lay into them by me in moco in the morning. They could be doing better in the PM and I'm not seeing it. Otherwise it seems like a limited slow pick for most of us.


Was it the Raritan Bay pay boat hype man PGOINS?

[J Barbosa]

Was it the Raritan Bay pay boat hype man PGOINS?

I suck at boat fishing haven't been able to troll or liveline or chunk a bass in my two boat trips the past two weeks. They are that thick!!!

[storminsteve]

Yeh these guys that are saying they're thick must be smoking some good seedless californian red hair! I went out early today to scope out the situation. I saw some boats out there didn't look like they were doing much. Once it got dark I tried a few places up and down moco. Ended up with a mixed bag o fish. 2 skates, 11 hickory shad, 1 short fluke, one small blue, and finally one baby striper!!!!!!! that must have just have gotten out of diapers it was so small. If I had a sea robin maybe I could invent the new NJ grand slam definition.`Weapon of choice was the bucktail with redgill teaser. Thanks to buckethead I will be using the redgills from now on. The only problem is the hickory shad love them a lot.

[storminsteve]

Got out this am 5 till 730...fished some rocks..First couple casts had a blue rip the tail off my shad after that NADA! Worked the whole jetty..water looked great clean with some good movement..Expected more...Was getting ready to leave made a few more casts from the beach..And BAM finally kicked that damn SKUNK! Nice 25incher crushed my olive Greenpoint swimmer in the wash..after that no more.


I heard some good things about that greenpoint swimmer. How big is it? Castability in the wind? thanks and congrats on kicking the skunk.

[storminsteve]

We didn't play the chase game and ended up anchoring near some structure. No bass/blue love on the bunker chunks but did catch some albies when they rolled through. At one point they were right on the beach without a surfcaster to be seen for miles. Got one hell of a pounding on the way back to the marina. A reminder about "pushing your limits" in a small boat this time of year.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/720/21686186103_172f1aba3e_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/z3knAp)

Fished last night 5:45pm to about 8:30. 8 bass on bucktails lots of small rainfish around. 1.5oz bucktail with #70 pork worked for me

Congrats on the albies. That one looks FAT. How much did he weigh. Congrats on the bass seems like this the year of the bucktail. I would not have caught fish tonight if I didn't have them.

[storminsteve]

Still vying for this dubious title? Knock yourself out Rocky.http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/smilies/rolleyes.png

Oh come on lighten up Francis! Just some good fun. What else are we going to do while waiting around for the bite to get better. :don't know why:



Congrats on catching Fin, StorminSteve :ROFLMAO
Rocky?? Thinking StorminSteve is more like Gerry Cooney :blackeye:

OK you think that's funny? I am going to find some commercial fishermen and win the contest legitimately when I slip them a case of beer and a $50 to throw some unknown gutted dead fish into the water so it floats to somewhere in nomoco. Then I will find it and I'm back on top again. Anyone know some places where those guys hang out? I'm on the hunt to get my epic dead thing. All sources considered. Even if you live near a processing plant and it touches sea water, let me know. Under contest rules if I'm fishing that water and find it, that counts. Thanks guys.:HappyWave:

[hookset]

Was it the Raritan Bay pay boat hype man PGOINS?

Man that guy is a total a**munch. If stripers were as healthy as he says they are there would be 50 pounders jumping out of the water at the oceanic bridge. Is that where he fishes - the raritan bay? I fished there a few times in the spring. Some good blue action and decent bass but nowhere as good as he says it is. Another internet expert.

[hookset]

Fished tonight, steve you got me beat with the hickory shad. I got a few. The conditions in moco were perfect. The weather was outstanding. The fish, still up north I guess. One ornery stargazer, on bucktail, then a few shad when I switched to a small darter with a teaser.

[plugcrazy]

You guys are right it was great weather. Felt like late spring. Too nice not to fish. OC from 5-10 outgoing tide. Managed small blues and those famous shad. Magdarter and teaser. Will be out this weekend looking for the stripes.

[ledhead36]

Was it the Raritan Bay pay boat hype man PGOINS?


Man that guy is a total a**munch. If stripers were as healthy as he says they are there would be 50 pounders jumping out of the water at the oceanic bridge. Is that where he fishes - the raritan bay? I fished there a few times in the spring. Some good blue action and decent bass but nowhere as good as he says it is. Another internet expert.

I hate it when someone tries to be an internet hero and shows how stupid they really are.He lives close to the bay so he is the raritan bay resident expert. Hoo boy.
We fished hard for the last 2 weeks and caught a few stripers. It is so spotty it is depressing. Sure they're killing them. Doing so well that the fishermen stopped its day striper trips until more bass show up. As for cows being in the bay, take a look at last nights catch from the fishermen. Do you see any cows in that pic? Most of the fish barely look like keepers up to about 31 inches. Cow-BS!
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=19740&stc=1

[ledhead36]

OK here's the report. Fishing last 2 weeks with a good variety to choose from. We are still getting mullet which is strange. Some really big shad showed up. We have tried mullet, shad, clams, and bunker heads for bigger stripers. Managed a few till it got really cold on the 18th then it shut off. Last 2 nights got a little better. We fish an average of 5 hours/night like we usually do. Got one keeper each night, barely 28 inches like the fish above. The rest of the action is mostly dogfish. And small stripers. Bluefish non existent except for one about 10 lbs we got a week and a half ago. Still lots of bait in some places but very few fish on em.

[basshunter]

Holy smokes. Those look like barely keepers or those guys are all over 6'5" tall. Only the one on the right side looks like it's above 29 inches. thanks for sharing.

[finchaser]

^^^^bonus tag on head boat 1 fish 24 to 26" thank Tom Fote and the JCAA again

[finchaser]

This morning 4 to 6:30 AM released 3 small bass on pink 4" finesse and jig head tons of rain fish also had 10 fluke in the river

[buckethead]

You did better than me finchaser. Only got 2. Fished my usual area from 4-6a. One was 16 inches. The other went 16 lbs on the boga, 36". Both took the redgill teaser in front of the bucktail. Still swimming.

[cowherder]

Way to go guys! Hits count whether they are singlers doubles or triples. At least we have some stripers coming through. Will be out this weekend good luck to all.

[finchaser]

You did better than me finchaser. Only got 2. Fished my usual area from 4-6a. One was 16 inches. The other went 16 lbs on the boga, 36". Both took the redgill teaser trailing the bucktail. Still swimming.

My 3 were no where's near 16# total weight, so in my eyes you win great job:thumbsup:

[plugcrazy]

16 lbs very nice!:clapping::clapping:

[seamonkey]

Needle in a haystack! Awesome nice going and nice on the release as well.

[buckethead]

Thank you for the kind words guys. It really wasn't different than my normal morning routine. That larger fish was a surprise and startled me when she hit. It was one out of 100 that we are seeing right now. I m not trying to come across the wrong way. It's real poor fishing for this time of year. Grateful for the few chances we have. Sometimes I wish the younger anglers here could step back into a time capsule and backtrack 20-25 years. The Septembers and Octobers of 2 decades ago were alive with fish and predators. I never thought I would live to see the day when we were back to the slow pick for this time of year. Deja vu shades of 1982 are happening all over again.

[lostatsea]

Sometimes I wish the younger anglers here could step back into a time capsule and backtrack 20-25 years. The Septembers and Octobers of 2 decades ago were alive with fish and predators. I never thought I would live to see the day when we were back to the slow pick for this time of year. Deja vu shades of 1982 are happening all over again.

I have read a lot of the reports and reminiscing on some of the posts. I wish I could go back in that time capsule and see it. Must have been incredible fishing that you guys got to experience.

[cowherder]

^^^^ Me too when I hear stuff like that it is hard to comprehend. You guys must have had the best times fishing. It's a shame that someone in the gov't can't see how bad things have become.
Well add me to the skunk reports. Fished nomoco last night and the northeast winds were pretty bad. Tried heavy bucktail and nothing. Did catch one skate but that was it for me. Hope some of you other guys caught fish. I didn't see anyone catch in the crowd where I was standing.

[VSdreams]

Out in moco this morning at sunrise. Bassy water as john from B&N always says. Threw bottle plug for an hour and I was done. Little too windy and no fish or bait.

[hookedonbass]

SoMoCo from 4:30 6:30. Very windy and choppy ocean. One bump, one fluke, on a bucktail.

[buckethead]

Could not repeat my good fortune from yesterday. As mentioned the surf was sporty this AM. Wind from the NE at 10-15 Picked up 1 very small bass with the bucktail combo. More fishermen out than usual. Got the one in the dark.

[buckethead]

^^^^ Me too when I hear stuff like that it is hard to comprehend. You guys must have had the best times fishing. It's a shame that someone in the gov't can't see how bad things have become.



They were the best, and I fear we will never see them again. One of the chief persons in NJ who has the ear of the government is Tom Fote. All of his testimony supports his claims that the bass fishery is very healthy. As you can see it is not. As long as he is in the position he is we don't stand a chance of changing things.

[porgy75]

Skunkville in moco. Talked to a few other guys, more of the same for them.

[finchaser]

They were the best, and I fear we will never see them again. One of the chief persons in NJ who has the ear of the government is Tom Fote. All of his testimony supports his claims that the bass fishery is very healthy. As you can see it is not. As long as he is in the position he is we don't stand a chance of changing things.

He is a piece of sh_t IMO responsible for the collasp as are his puppets in the JCAA who nothing but promote there ever failing fluke tournament that is a bigger joke than them.

[cowherder]

Nomoco 6-8:30. Great conditions total skunk. Taking a coffee break and may go out again change of tide. There has to be a few fish out there this fall fishing is so lame so far!! Sorry for the rant will feel better once I drink a coffee and eat a sandwich.

[finchaser]

Thank you for the kind words guys. It really wasn't different than my normal morning routine. That larger fish was a surprise and startled me when she hit. It was one out of 100 that we are seeing right now. I m not trying to come across the wrong way. It's real poor fishing for this time of year. Grateful for the few chances we have. Sometimes I wish the younger anglers here could step back into a time capsule and backtrack 20-25 years. The Septembers and Octobers of 2 decades ago were alive with fish and predators. I never thought I would live to see the day when we were back to the slow pick for this time of year. Deja vu shades of 1982 are happening all over again.X-2
Last time it was commercials this times its on the recs'. Sorry I ever fought to save bunker they made everyone a so called bass fisherman. most can't find or catch a bass without them

[cowherder]

Fished to 3am last night. Went and put a teaser clip on and figured if I experimented with different teasers I might have a better chance. What worked was the one that buckethead uses all the time the redgill. Great conditons out there. I really thought there might be more fish but I guess I'm not in charge of that Tom Fote is lol. Picked up a few shad on the teaser and one short striper when I moved a little south. Hoping for some more fish around halloween. I remember we have had some good fishing around that weekend. Good luck guys.

[cowherder]

X-2
Last time it was commercials this times its on the recs'. Sorry I ever fought to save bunker they made everyone a so called bass fisherman. most can't find or catch a bass without them


Have to say times 3 to infinity on this! When I first joined here I wasn't that experienced and did not catch a lot. You guys helped me with your pointers. I feel like I did catch a lot in the years 2008 to 2010. Some nights I got 15 or 20 stripers and blues and felt so great. Lately I feel like I suck big time. You go out there. You fish the night tides like all the books and threads say. You work on your presentation experimenting with different retrieves. You are trying your best with the accumulated knowlege you have. And you still strike out or get one or two. I am starting to think I am cursed. We need to figure out a better way to regulate these stripers!

[jigfreak]

We need to figure out a better way to regulate these stripers!

Yeah fire tom fote.
Fished last nite. Had a great little area that was producing some small fish with the bait stacked up. The bait thinned out. No hits runs or errors. Skunk report.

[SharkHart]

Sat Night - No bass where they shoulda been headed back to OC and found 2 rats to at least sorta make it feel like striper fishing.

Sunday am on the boat- I thought it was going to be a windy day skunkaroo but the winds weren't bad and albies saved the day, and there were a lot of them in N mon area mini surface blitzes and birds for hours, had to be hundreds.....maybe a few get into the surf line?

19746

[hookset]

Nice job on the albies. That has got to be 7 or 8 lbs? What were they feeding on rainfish? Thanks

[SharkHart]

I weighed a few for kicks and they were all twins around 7 lbs, yes rainfish, coughing up rainfish on the deck

[surferman]

Those albies are a beautiful looking fish, good going.

[finchaser]

this morning 4 smallllllllllllllllllllll bass all on pink 5" got stripers and jig head also numerous really fat FLUKE 12 to 17" range I'd say

[buckethead]

Skunk for me this morning. Pretty decent conditions out there, slight E wind and small chop to the surf. Lots of rainfish. It's really hit and miss lately. Got a good morning walk out of though.

[buckethead]

Nice going on the fish shark hart and fin chaser. I guess they don't know they are supposed to be making a beeline for offshore yet. there is still a lot of small bait around for them to feed on and the water is still warm enough.

[buckethead]

Did a little better today in the dark. 2 shorts before dawn on bucktail and pork. Short fat and aggressive fish. Quick burst of activity and it was over. 2 hickory shads on the redgill as well. Nice little chop out there, wind from the E/SE.

[surferman]

Fished cm this morning. Lord did that ocean
look perfect out there. No fish

[J Barbosa]

Sat Night - No bass where they shoulda been headed back to OC and found 2 rats to at least sorta make it feel like striper fishing.

Sunday am on the boat- I thought it was going to be a windy day skunkaroo but the winds weren't bad and albies saved the day, and there were a lot of them in N mon area mini surface blitzes and birds for hours, had to be hundreds.....maybe a few get into the surf line?

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=19746&stc=1

Don't mind any species that will save me from a skunking.

Does anyone know why all these rain fish are sticking around in MoCo/RB this time of year?

I was out on Saturday evening and got 4 short stripers and a handful of hickory shad.

3 came on one of my rain fish teaser and the other on a mag darter.

[cowherder]

Just to add to what J Barbosa is asking, I would like to know how come there's all those rain fish around and how come there aren't tons of peanut bunker or adult bunker mixed in with them?

[finchaser]

Peanut appear to have left in the northeaster/hurricane and IMO there are no fish to push bunker in

A couple of the tuna boats ran into massive adult bunker schools 5 miles off

[SharkHart]

Sunday there was a patch of adult bunker very close to shore right at Monmoth beach with no bass on em, a few dolphins though, In Sept when i was weakfishing there was tons of peanuts and then yesterday after a NE blow they were all gone, which ironically made the weakies hit better not racing through the schools but they didn't stay through oct like they usually would

[jigfreak]

I was out and about and saw them bunker on Sat. Dolphins galore and no stripers. Very frustrating a few guys were livelining for nothing.
Fished last night in a different place up in moco in the back. Bagged 2 shorts on rubber. Fished 8-11 out of the wind. Should have been a lot better but I'll take it.

[hookset]

At least you got something. Fished nomoco around the same time. Wind was getting up there and rough surf. Nada.

[fishinmission78]

Went down to the park this morning before work to toss a few casts. Water still a little dirty and surf pretty big. My neighbor nailed some stripers yesterday on clams. I was tossing metal only had an hour. Nothing for me. I would give it another day to clean up. If you want to throw snot its worth it. The fish are there but scattered.

[surferman]

Yeah looked at the surf cam and it def looks like some choc milk. Time for clams and bunker.

[lostatsea]

Interesting you mention surf cams. I have been checking them out the last week looking for signs of life. I realize you can't see everything on them. Still it looks pretty dead this fall from what I have seen. You rarely see birds in the surf anymore.

[buckethead]

Nothing for me. I would give it another day to clean up. If you want to throw snot its worth it. The fish are there but scattered.

I agree. Started early this am. I had a Dr appt and limited time. It was bad timing as I started out at exact dead low. Nothing at all for me. May try again tomorrow. The water and conditions aren't that bad. As was said, a little dirty. By tomorrow they should be back to more fishable with the steady NW winds.
The fish are still there though. A smart sharpie would be fishing clams. I'm too old to sit there in the cold and do the bait and wait game. Good luck gents.

[cowherder]

Thanks for the heads up on the water conditions guys.