NJ Fishing Reports for the week of 7-14 to 7-20-08

[bunkerjoe4]

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Please post fishing reports here.......as little or as much detail as you want to give.

Please note: NO SPOT BURNING! Posts burning spots will be Edited or DELETED!
Some veteran fishermen have put in years developing and learning about certain spots.Some of these spots can only handle a few guys at a time. We are losing enough access as it is, due to the unfortunate behavior of a few selfish people. No sense in making it worse.

For some areas, it would be wiser to say:
OutFront (Ocean) OR -- OutBack (Bay) -- if you feel too many people will figure out what you are talking about. "Spot burning" also could involve mentioning something specific only to that area. If you do this, your post may be edited, or deleted. Remember that thousands of people could potentially read these posts. You don't want to be fishing next to ALL of them at the same time!

IF you are fishing an area that is NOT residential, being vague is less critical. For example, it's acceptable to say (Any)Park, or (Any)Bay, or mention a specific state park that has loads of parking and can handle the crowds.


If you are unclear on this concept, ask yourself:


If I name this place on the internet, will it be too crowded for me to enjoy tomorrow when people hear I got 30 fish here today?


If the answer is "Yes", then you should probably not be so specific.


We post these reports so our community will have a sense of what is working, what is not. We want to show people how to catch fish, rather than where.Even if you struck out or got skunked, it would be helpful to hear that as well.

If you have any additional details you would like to share - weather conditions, tide (incoming, outgoing, ebb, flood) water temps, bait present, or other mention of techniques or plugs used - feel free, as long as you are not overly specific about location.

Some acronyms -

SH - Sandy Hook
NoMoCo - Northern Monmouth County (below the hook to Shark River Inlet SRI)
SoMoCo - Southern Monmouth County (below SRI to Manasquan Inlet)

OC - Ocean County
IBSP - Island Beach State Park
LBI - Long Beach Island

AC - Atlantic County
CISP - Corson's Inlet State Park
CMC - Cape May County
CMR - Cape May Rips


RB - Raritan Bay
BB - Barnegat Bay
CB - Chesapeake Bay
CBBT - Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel
DB - Delaware Bay

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[bunkerjoe4]

NJ WIR 7-14-08
Well folks, it has been an interesting week for NJ fishermen. The Spring Bass run is basically over. Some sharp anglers have been catching a few big bass, one at a time, the old fashioned way - by blind casting hundreds of times in select locations in the dead of night. Good for them, some very big bass have been caught and released. :thumbsup:

However, the warming ocean waters have let the innate biology of the bass direct them to cooler waters up North, mainly LI Sound, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maine waters. We will still get some decent bass for the next week or 3, but the bulk of the fish have moved on, following the huge pods of bait.

As to fluking, fluke are definitely getting fatter on the rich nutrients offered by our bays and sea floor, and abundant small baitfish. There are many promising schools of peanut bunker spread throughout the bays, which will help to turn on the action in the summer heat as they grow bigger.

The spawning bluefish are mostly done now, and are hitting anglers' rods with a vengeance. Steel leaders are a must, as some of these choppers are huge. I feel this will be a year where we have record sized bluefish in the fall surf.

Croakers/kingfish have invaded the South Jersey surf, and according to some reports ;), so have dogfish. Pieces of clam or gulp on a hi-low rig will work for these. They are great fish to introduce the kids to fishing, because they are relatively easy to catch in the morning and evening. And, there are still fat fluke available on the lumps offshore if you can get away from the dogfish. Spike weakfish are also starting to hit in the back bays.

Offshore fishing has turned on, with some nice reports of yellowfins, and some bluefins, being caught in the bluewater canyons. It's hit and miss, but the reports are becoming slightly more consistent now.

Along with pelagics, those targeting sharks are doing well, with threshers and browns being caught 1-3 miles from the beach in some instances. Another caution to surfcasters to be careful if you catch a cow nose ray. They will pull your rod in the water if you are not paying attention.



NY WIR 7-14-08

New york waters still hold quite a few large bass, particularly the inlets and NS Long Island areas. They are more available to boaters than surfcasters, but as the waters are slightly colder than NJ, the bass may hold for a little longer in certain areas.

Montauk has been producing some decent catches at the right times, and the groundfish fleets have been having a decent fluke bite. More compelling are the extended trips, such as the Viking and others, where the catches are simply great for this time of year, with big cod and other species providing fast and exciting action.

Another note of caution, as a dead boater was pulled out of the waters off of Long Beach the other day. Please double check you have all your safety gear before starting a trip. Bringing AND using it could prevent a tragedy.




The last thing I want to mention is Access. There are several threads here, and on other sites, that mention our surf access is in clear danger of being taken away. I ask anyone who fishes to read these threads, and help us out with a phone call or e-mail, if you please.

Due to the poor behavior of a few, some towns have had it and are trying to find devious ways to restrict access -- from not allowing fishermen to carry rods in LI -- to claiming jetty fishing is "dangerous" in NJ, and should be banned.

Many of these regulations are designed to circumvent the "Public Trust Doctrine" which in simplest terms states the land bordering the seas is available to anyone, at any time, for free and unrestricted access, up to the mean high tide line.

We will all lose if access is lost, because that pushes people into other areas, and makes things even more crowded. Please join us in fighting for the rights of fishermen, even if you don't surf fish, or live in another state. Thanks to all those who have sent e-mails, but remember - please don't accept complacency - this is happening as we speak, and may not be reversed if we lose access.

Here are the links to other threads:

NJ losing access:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=1009

NY losing access at Shoreham Beach, LI:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=990

[plugaholic]

Took the kids down to the beach today for some kingfish, south of LBI, got a few, kids were even happy with the doggies. The swell from the storm seems like it's getting a little smaller, should be in great shape tomorrow or the next.

[fishinmission78]

Last night back bay occo, some small weakies, pink fin-s and a 1/4 oz leadhead.

[amboyangler]

Last night back bay occo, some small weakies, pink fin-s and a 1/4 oz leadhead.

Good to know they are arriving...... you should read the article I just posted about weakfish..... very interesting info...... have you ever used the pink plastic with a bucktail or does that defeat the whole purpose? I have a pink bucktail which looks really cool with the bubble gum zoom super salty fluke but I havent had any luck

[fishinmission78]

Took a ride to ibsp today, keep hope alive, but it was dead out there, not many people fishing. On the plus side, the swell had died down, w wind will flatten it even more. Should be good to go by tomorrow. Anyone who lives far, I don't think it's worth it to make the trip, there are better areas besides ibsp now, it's a big waste of gas for not many fish. One tackle shop keeps blabbing about catches, but he's all bs, I've seen it with my own eyes, really sux unless you are going for dogs and skates.

Amboy, I read that article, didn't get any weakies tonight. Up and down now until they are in in greater numbers. Your pink plastic with bucktail is better for doormat fluke, large profile = larger fluke. Keep it simple for the weakies, pink bubblegum fin-s or small tsunami, small jig head, slow retrieve.

[fishlipper]

^^ Amboy, what he said, keep things simple with plastics. I know a guy who uses bucktail with porkrind with good results, but it's not really the bucktail or porkring, it's the action. You could be standing right next to him using the same setup, and he would outfish you (or me) 4 to 1. It's all about the technique with the bucktails, which are effectively used many times where there is current. If you are fishing the flats or an area of flats that leads to deeper water, I would stick with the pink bubblegum leadhead.

[clamchucker]

Fished the dawn patrol this morning, first 2 hours, small bass 25" on clams right in the wash, that's all she wrote.

Amboy, you might also consider using peanuts when they get a little bigger. They are feeding on grass shrimp right now if you know where to get those, and can get enough for an outing (hint-near marinas). A smart technique used by us "old timers" for later on is to put a decent sized peanut hooked through the back out on a small bobber, you'll gettum.

[amboyangler]

thanks for the info guys..... i'll give it a shot next time with only a plain jighead and the bubble gum zoom

Went out tonight... RB.... 2 cocktail blues on bunker chunks and 1 very small bass on a piece of shedder crab..caught right on the lip with a circle hook and safely released.. the shedder crab was getting a lot of hits I must say..... probably schoolies from the looks of the one who actually got hooked

[wish4fish]

Out front monco last night till 10pm. 2 small bass using black bomber, biggest 25", lost one right in the wash, it hit 5 feet from me.:embarassed:

Amboy, shedders are like striper crack (shhhhhhh! :D)

[wish4fish]

woo hoo, it aun't over yet! Friend got a 38lb bass moco last nihgt, bass pushed the bunkies into the beach, but I'm a loser because he didn't tell me till the morning! :banghead2:

[amboyangler]

woo hoo, it aun't over yet! Friend got a 38lb bass moco last nihgt, bass pushed the bunkies into the beach, but I'm a loser because he didn't tell me till the morning! :banghead2:

wow.... you think you can post a picture of the beast? what bait was he using?

here's my report:

RB last night... outgoing tide..... 3 short bass on shedder crab..... once again caught right on the lip with Gammy Circle Hooks and safely released...... blues were not around and bunker did not get any attention :huh:

[clamchucker]

Fluking in a friend's boat, down the beach from SH, we managed 45 fluke between 2 guys, spearing and squid, and gulp penny shrimp when we ran out. Equal amounts of fluke on both presentations. 3 whole keepers. Most fish caught as the tide ran strong, and action died down toward the end of the tide.

[fishinmission78]

Took a ride down to Barnetgat inlet this morning, hoping against hope. Caught some flies, enough for a sandwich. :skunk:

[wish4fish]

Sh flukin today, 10 fluke, 9 robins, 1 stargazer, NO KEEPERS! :burn: Amboy, my friend got that bass snag and drop bunker, they wouldn't hit plugs or poppers. I'm still pissed cuz he didn't call me in, but the action was quick anyway, only 1/2 hour lol. where you gettin all those shedders, everytime I go out, I get maybe 1 shedder for every 30 crabs, it's a lotta work to get one. Congrats on the bass, they love those shedders, if you can find em.

[amboyangler]

Sh flukin today, 10 fluke, 9 robins, 1 stargazer, NO KEEPERS! :burn: Amboy, my friend got that bass snag and drop bunker, they wouldn't hit plugs or poppers. I'm still pissed cuz he didn't call me in, but the action was quick anyway, only 1/2 hour lol. where you gettin all those shedders, everytime I go out, I get maybe 1 shedder for every 30 crabs, it's a lotta work to get one. Congrats on the bass, they love those shedders, if you can find em.

they come right to the shore on outgoing tide..... I think it has something to do with the moon

[clamchucker]

32 fluke between 2 guys today, 5 keepers. the fluke seem to be getting slightly bigger, or maybe we just hit better spots this time. Down the beach from SH, using bigger peruvian spearing, and sea robin strips.

[fishlipper]

Late report, went out thur night/fri morn , 3-8am. Started somoco, but the water was too skinny, threw bombers, but decided to wait for it to fill in. Went to an inlet jetty, and spent some time throwing crabs, and leftover fresh bait someone had left, fresh clams, bunker, even a small ling chunked in pieces produced nothing. The swell was pretty intense, duration every 8-10secs. Dawn brought about some sea robins caught near the tip, some 1 1/2 lbs and bigger, 11 in an hour.

Highlight of the trip was 2 drunk guys who climbed a tower, so drunk they were almost falling off at times.:plastered: Another guy came out to fish, and they decided to sing to the ocean to bring us some bass - "Hey water, bring some bass for my dudes down there, bring some fish!" :kooky: :ROFLMAO:

You can't tell a drunk person much of anything, so we just fished, enjoyed the entertainment. Eventually at dawn the PD came out and made them climb down. Felt kinda bad if they got arrested, not sure. They weren't really bothering anyone, but at a few points we thought they would end up on the ground with skulls smashed like eggplant.

After dawn, went back to the original somoco rocks areas, fished swimmers for awhile, nothing. Great night to be out.