NJ Fishing Reports for May 2016

[DarkSkies]

NJ Fishing Reports for May 2016 - 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.....

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!

[DarkSkies]

Well, apparently the Goog curse is still with me. I was doing maintenance on the site early this morning. And still a little befuddled that Jim Cousins is actually gone.

Somehow I deleted the NJ May fishing reports thread, what a goofball I am.

I tried getting it back but it doesn't seem that's going to work.
My deepest apologies to those who took the time to put reports up for the benefit of others.
If you can repost, that would be nice.
Otherwise, there are fish out there right now.
Put your time in...pay attention to tides and bait concentrations, and you should be able to find them.

Good luck to all...from the head Goog.:bucktooth::HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

Some may not know that Jimmy Cousins, one of the old timers in the surf fishing world and a great rod builder, has passed away.

He just recently had another stroke, and with his other health problems it was thought it would be difficult for him to recover.
Thanks to finchaser for first sharing the news.
He was a good man and will be missed.
for anyone who wants to express condolences or post up funeral and visitation arrangements, please do so in the thread below.


Thanks

[DarkSkies]

Prayers for Jimmy Cousins
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?10318-Prayers-for-Jimmy-Cousins

[basshunter]

Somoco. Low water did not look too fishy. Got one blue on a pencil popper around 5:45.

[J Barbosa]

Got my first skunking in over a month last Friday from the surf. Dropping water temps, dirty water & high winds. It was bound to happen at some point.

Took the boat out Saturday in the light rain with Rui. Water was really dirty tried a bunch of different spots but just couldn't get through the bluefish. Eventually made a move and found what we were looking for and ended up the day with 6 bass (3 in the 20# class). Not great but can't complain considering the poor conditions we had.

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=20243&stc=1

[jsarosi]

Fished Sandy hook yesterday late afternoon in the dark. Lots of bunker and bluefish. Landed 3 nice blues on a swimmer plug. The other guys fishing with bunker chunks were steady picking at the blues. One fishermen landed two short bass and released. No other bass noticed just blues.

[cowherder]

Nice going, and you too JBarbosa. I fished a little south of that yesterday afternoon and ended up with a few blues on pencil poppers. It looks like they may be setting up in the area for a while. It was fun to catch them in the ocean.

[cowherder]

since dark the master googen messed up the reports I want to again ask J Barbosa if he really has a bunker pond in his backyard as dark claims. when you don't put the smileys in there, it's hard to tell if you guys are busting or not.

[buckethead]

Did my usual walk today. Switched it to mid morning for a better tide opportunity. Picked up four feisty schoolies on bucktail and pork.

[VSdreams]

Nice going guys. Beautiful striper there. finally got some decent action on the big Blues in the back of Raritan Bay. Had them for 2 hours yesterday until sunset. Poppers and SPs's did the trick. Boy were they vicious. Saw a lot of tackle getting lost.

[storminsteve]

nomoco in the back bay was exploding with blue fish yesterday. Casted metal exclusively to try to avoid bite offs. Lots of fun with the Slammers hoorah!

[plugcrazy]

Went to Monmouth County today. it was a lot of activity in the ocean and I got a mess of them crazy bluedogs using a lime green pencil popper. lost count of how many, my hands are tired.

[jigfreak]

Made a move last night up north of where I usually fish. Got a bunch of dink bass during the change of tide, leadhead and mister twister. Lots of people out late at night walking around like zombies.Thankfully most of them were gone by the time the fish started biting

[hookset]

Mess of gator blues this morning in moco. Poppers.

[plugcrazy]

fished sunrise oceanside. Very foggy out. Don't know where the fish are but they weren't where I and 20 other guys were. Good luck to you guys getting them and congrats because today I officially sucked and the conditions were perfect.

[lostatsea]

Nomoco today from 6 to 9:30 a.m. on the incoming tide. pencil poppers, metal, bucktail, and some other plugs. got one big blue about 14 pounds on the bucktail. I heard the famous "you should have been here yesterday" speech. story of my life, may try again tomorrow.

[cowherder]

Got up late and fished Moco from 8-9. Got the skunk next time w)ill try earlier and a little bit of a different beach.

[porgy75]

Southern Monmouth. It was very breezy and I kept getting a bow in my line and it was aggravating. Gave it a go for an hour and then quit.

[baitstealer]

skunked in the ocean today.I did see a lot of blues caught and some big ones. But they only wanted meat. bunker was King. drove me crazy!

[cowherder]

moco, a slow pick of larger bluefish to 12 pounds this morning. Really had to work for them and for me metal was the ticket. Everything died when the sun got bright.

[hookedonbass]

Nice going on the big blues. I had some fantastic bluefish catching this morning in monco. All on metal. These were from 2-8 lbs. One older dude was out fishing us all using worms. He got the only stripers. I was so curious I had to go and ask.

[SharkHart]

Skunked in SNJ looking for the big bass just hasn't had the same magic as last few years at least not yet. There is one bite going on where teen and twenty pounders are coming into some lights but a local tackle shop has blown it to hell, the only places to stand were shoulder to shoulder literally, and i saw about 10 large ones laying for all to see and have more stop and fish. A guy coming off said they are all casting so wildly not even looking. Social media has really been a game changer for the people formerly not in the know.

[finchaser]

Skunked in SNJ looking for the big bass just hasn't had the same magic as last few years at least not yet. There is one bite going on where teen and twenty pounders are coming into some lights but a local tackle shop has blown it to hell, the only places to stand were shoulder to shoulder literally, and i saw about 10 large ones laying for all to see and have more stop and fish. A guy coming off said they are all casting so wildly not even looking. Social media has really been a game changer for the people formerly not in the know.

Couldn't agree with you more social media chest pounders and bunker will wipe them out in short order:scared:

[finchaser]

this morning got 2 bass and 3 blues all on bucktail and otter tails

[J Barbosa]

It still amazes me how any fish can find a lure in such heavily stained water. Last Sunday I couldn't see my lure 2" under the water. When I took the walk out to the beach I could swear it was already "unfishable" and would take a day or two to clean up. About five minutes in I hook up to a bluefish and all of a sudden I remembered why I was standing there casting into 30mph winds! I ended the day with 6 bluefish...not as many as I was looking for but can't complain considering the poor conditions.

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=20255&stc=1

[ledhead36]

One older dude was out fishing us all using worms. He got the only stripers. I was so curious I had to go and ask.

Yup, when the water is colder it's an old-school tactic that works for me. At least you had the courage to come up and try to learn. There were a few other guys- you know that type- vs reels fancy waders all dressed up in style, but no substance or knowledge and how to catch fish. They kept walking by me staring, because it was killing them that I was catching stripers while they only got blue fish.
If I would have known you were a stripers and anglers member I would have given you one of my set ups and one or two worms.
Nice talking to you, tight lines.

[seamonkey]

went fishing three times in the last week. Cape May County. Finally managed 1 37 inch striper on bunker chunks.and a heck of a lot of skates and dogfish as well.

[plugcrazy]

Nice going gents. led you sound like a good dude. Good karma to you.

[fishrich]

Two of us checked a few spots in OC this morning and after coming up empty, we decided to try a few spots in MOCO. First stop we saw some bunker and had a decent pick of blues 10 - 15 lbs. for 1 1/2 hours. Next stop the bunker were pinned to the beach and 12 - 15 lb blues were tearing them up. For the next 3 1/2 hours it was non stop action. Popping plugs worked best, but also caught fish on metal and bombers. Stopped at one more spot on the way home and plugged for awhile and only caught one micro bass.

[surferman]

Nice!!

[clamchucker]

Fished Island Beach early sunrise yesterday morning. There was a good amount of activity early and then it died out quickly. Blue fish on poppers.

[plugcrazy]

Nice work, fellas. The next time I can get out is this weekend, so really enjoying reading the reports.

[fishinmission78]

OC early am. Not much time to fish had to do quick hit and run before I went to work. skunk for me, but there were some bunker and fish busting way far out. Hope you guys got into them.

[buckethead]

Back to my usual walk in moco in the morning. Outgoing tide for two hours, two short bass on bucktail and pork.

[buckethead]

Also wanted to add that in my area, they seem to be feeding on small bait. So downsize your offering and you may be able to catch a few more bass.

[hookset]

So moco 5-6. Nada.

[hookset]

Props to the fellas who caught today.

[finchaser]

4 bass to 30" this morning all on jig head and rubber all released

[cowherder]

Good going, how heavy a jig were you using?

[J Barbosa]

15# surf caught bass laying on the "boardwalk" from Monday night :)

Got skunked Tuesday night :(

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=20260&stc=1

[finchaser]

Good going, how heavy a jig were you using?
1 ounce

[VSdreams]

Nice going on the Stripers.
I was in Monmouth County this morning fished for 2 hours. Got some big blue's on poppers but the bite fizzled out quickly. it seemed they were chasing after the bunker and maybe if you had a bunker chunk you might have done better. Not that many guys on the beach. Overcast and cloudy. Good luck gents.

[J Barbosa]

Went fishing last Wednesday with Zoran and his friend Skip. We had a good day of laughs and fishing ending up with 20 stripers landed (+4 we dropped) all nice sized fish. Stopped and beat up on the bluefish for an hour on the way back to the marina.

Mojo madness continues...



http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=20261&stc=1http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=20262&stc=1

[jigfreak]

15# surf caught bass laying on the "boardwalk" from Monday night :)

Got skunked Tuesday night :(

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=20260&stc=1
very shiny fish you have there. is that the new Photoshop?:fishing:

[jigfreak]

Went fishing last Wednesday with Zoran and his friend Skip. We had a good day of laughs and fishing ending up with 20 stripers landed (+4 we dropped) all nice sized fish. Stopped and beat up on the bluefish for an hour on the way back to the marina.

Mojo madness continues...



http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=20261&stc=1http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=20262&stc=1
Very respectable fish.

[jigfreak]

OC this morning. Only had an hour, skunk for me

[surferman]

JB nice! Any weights on those?

[storminsteve]

Man are my arms tired! Got into some nice blues early this afternoon moco. Action lasted until dark- poppers, then got a few on bucktails. Even picked up a few on small Ava jigs right before dark. Looked like small bait in the wash.

[storminsteve]

Went fishing last Wednesday with Zoran and his friend Skip. We had a good day of laughs and fishing ending up with 20 stripers landed (+4 we dropped) all nice sized fish. Stopped and beat up on the bluefish for an hour on the way back to the marina.

Mojo madness continues...



http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=20261&stc=1http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=20262&stc=1

Nice catching, you should change your name from J Barbosa to striper Slayer Barbosa.

[fishinmission78]

Nice catches jb.
Fished OC this morning between 5 and 7. 15 minutes of hot action as the bunker came in for a short time.Few blues to 14 pounds. 1 striper 16 pounds will be my dinner tonight. All on pencils. Bite died as quickly as it started.

[jigfreak]

nice

[hookedonbass]

monster Blues invaded Moco tonight, got a bunch and lost a heck of a lot of tackle. They were smashing everything. I have to go to the tackle shop tomorrow and spend about $100 in replacements!

[J Barbosa]

JB nice! Any weights on those?

The biggest was 24lbs, most were in that typical 16-22# range we have been seeing.

[J Barbosa]

I went out last Saturday and left the trolling/chunking/spinning gear at home. I landed 17 bluefish and my friend caught 19 all on the fly. 10 double headers on the day. Had to call it quits after 3 hours.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=20263&stc=1

[jsarosi]

Did a boat trip for blues yesterday and it was an all out slaughter with 8-16lb jumbos. Caught my limit and lost a few. All on jigs. The fish were full and spitting out anchovies.
Was out 2 to 4 miles of the beach in moco.

[seamonkey]

Way to go gents! CM this morning and got skunked. Beautiful weather and very nice conditions though. Next trip will be up a little further north.

[captnemo]

Nice catches jb.

[captnemo]

We trolled the shrewsbury rocks yesterday and got covered up with blue fish - no stripers.

[basshunter]

Way to go guys. I did a lot of fishing yesterday, but very little catching. Betty and Nick's said this blue fish all over, so I went down and fished Ocean County from Seaside North to Point Pleasant.
2 bluefish in 5 hours of fishing. Good luck on fluke this weekend everyone.

[surferman]

great work, those are some big striped bass you guys are catching. lucky dogs!

[baitstealer]

The biggest was 24lbs, most were in that typical 16-22# range we have been seeing.

Wow very cool

[baitstealer]

Did a boat trip for blues yesterday and it was an all out slaughter with 8-16lb jumbos. Caught my limit and lost a few. All on jigs. The fish were full and spitting out anchovies.
Was out 2 to 4 miles of the beach in moco.
I know this is probably a long shot, but was wondering if on your trip out or back if you saw any guys catching near the inlet. would love to try to find some of those big jumbos from the shore. Maybe they have moved off into deeper water?

[fishrich]

Three of us fished MOCO yesterday afternoon. Had a pick of large bluefish on metal and bucktails. Did not see any bait present.

[storminsteve]

Nice going. Fished 5-7pm yesterday, very popular spot, nothing.
Fished another popular spot today 6-8, nothing as well. Should have brought some gulp with me to try for fluke.

[lostatsea]

I became a report chaser in the morning. Had to do it. Sat 5-7:30 am Hunting Island beach because of all the great blue fish reports. It was a madhouse! I left and drove to the beginning of the park. I caught two blues by casting pencil poppers into the surf. This was midway into the incoming tide.

[baitstealer]

Hey I did the same thing I went down there because read blues are all over the place. When I got there I saw that there was probably a lot of exaggeration. I still got blues anyway so I was happy.

[baitstealer]

Nice catches guys especially on the stripers. I was at Island beach yesterday. I didn't see a lot of fish caught but there were a few nice big Gorillaz. I got four using bunker. I got chopped off a bunch of times before I started using steel leaders.

[J Barbosa]

Hey I did the same thing I went down there because read blues are all over the place. When I got there I saw that there was probably a lot of exaggeration. I still got blues anyway so I was happy.

haha...wait people exaggerate on the internet? lol

Nice 22# surf bass on the Atlantic City boardwalk from Wednesday night :)
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=20274&stc=1

[cowherder]

Fished a river today, total skunk.

[cowherder]

haha...wait people exaggerate on the internet? lol

Nice 22# surf bass on the Atlantic City boardwalk from Wednesday night :)
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=20274&stc=1

I hope you don't think I'm calling you out or anything because I appreciate your reports you're obviously one of those sharpies out there and a very good fisherman. I keep seeing the same dock planks. Are they different stripers and different docks
? LOL. could you explain what's so great about Atlantic City that it has all those striped bass right now? Thanks

[VSdreams]

Somoco 5-6:60. Big swell. Skunk for me.

[VSdreams]

Fished a river today, total skunk.

we should start a club called The Skunk Club. Fishing sucked for me the last two times.

[J Barbosa]

I hope you don't think I'm calling you out or anything because I appreciate your reports you're obviously one of those sharpies out there and a very good fisherman. I keep seeing the same dock planks. Are they different stripers and different docks
? LOL. could you explain what's so great about Atlantic City that it has all those striped bass right now? Thanks

Nice, what does it take to become a king size sharpie?

Different stripers = yes.
Different dock = no, all caught on the same "dock" pretty much.

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=20277&stc=1

[J Barbosa]

Good night of bass fishing last Thursday that started off real slowww and was looking pretty bleak until I trusted my gut and we made a move. We had 2-3 hours of good fishing...not sure exactly how many we caught but I figure somewhere between 15-20 bass on the night. I certainly didn't get quantity myself but made up for it with a healthy 32# bass. We caught two pugnose bass...I can only remember seeing one in the past 10 years and we managed to catch two in one night. Crazy! Starting to wonder if it was the same fish twice or if they were swimming together? (we lost the second one next to the boat because I don't carry a landing net onboard).

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=20278&stc=1http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=20279&stc=1http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=20280&stc=1http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=20281&stc=1

[cowherder]

Nomoco sunrise, got blanked.

[cowherder]

Lmao! JB like the king size sharpie pic. well, if there was a king-size Sharpie your picture or boat would probably be under there.

You guys catch a lot of stripers. Congrats you have the Magic Touch.

[basshunter]

moco 4-5:45 just walked off the beach One blue saved me from the skunk. On a hopkins . Nice fish JB!

[hookset]

fished the ocean last night monmouth county. It was kind of funky with some big swells. Found a somewhat protected spot, worked the water with bucktail. 3 Bass to keeper size, released and a bunch of larger blues.

[hookset]

Nice job on the catching JB. You really have picked up some larger bass so far this season. Thanks for sharing.

[hookset]

Oh I forgot to add boat fish don't count!:laugh:

[lostatsea]

Hah lol well he's holding them up for a pic so I guess they DO count! nice catches JB

[DarkSkies]

^ I was recently in Atlantic City and shot some clandestine pics of Barbosa out on the water.
I got some pretty clear shots of him on his boat, the "Portuguesa."

Might be willing to sell pictures to the highest bidder.:d

[cowherder]

Quick Stop in somoco before sunrise today. Two decent blues on an SP right when the sun started coming up and then nothing.

[cowherder]

Might be willing to sell pictures to the highest bidder.:d
Mug JB!

[hookset]

Moco skunk. Good going jb you must have your own version of the finchaser fish pond.

[basshunter]

somoco near sri. Tired of waiting for good striper action so decided to concentrate on the fluke. Got a handful of fluke, all shorts. Was using gulp shrimp and casting into the current. Best action was strongest part of tide.

[buckethead]

Finally a little life to the surf. A few yesterday and today same time about a half hour after sunrise. all shorts. Bucktail snd white grub.

[jsarosi]

Fished in Raritan Bay yesterday during the day and caught plenty of bluefish all on jigs. No action out front.

[J Barbosa]

Oh I forgot to add boat fish don't count!:laugh:

but they are so much fun!


Mug JB!

A mugging in Atlantic City usually has a totally different meaning!


Moco skunk. Good going jb you must have your own version of the finchaser fish pond.

Haha I wish!

[J Barbosa]

Another decent night, total was 16 bass to 30#.


Beat up on the bluefish after sunrise but they were much pickier than normal. I think it had to due with some kind of algae bloom on the Western side of Raritan Bay making the water a solid brown color?

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=20282&stc=1http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=20283&stc=1

[jsarosi]

Nice catch! Was it on bait or lures?

[J Barbosa]

all bass caught on bunker chunks

[storminsteve]

Nice catching you are crushing it. Skunk for me too last nite moco. That brown water was terrible.

[Blazin420]

I got exact coordinates on JB!!!! Little does he no I planted a GPS tracker on his boat when we cleaned it LOL!!! Not that I have time to fish anymore grrrrrr!!!

[vpass]

Beautiful stripers there JB. it must be great having a boat.

[VSdreams]

X2 on the nice pic comments. I decided to wait until the stripers get a little more thick from the beach. Fishing for fluke now to try to get a keeper or two. Got 3 nice ones this morning moco on incoming tide. Gulp shrimp. One just shy of keeper size. They are out there guys, good luck.

[J Barbosa]

I got exact coordinates on JB!!!! Little does he no I planted a GPS tracker on his boat when we cleaned it LOL!!! Not that I have time to fish anymore grrrrrr!!!

You don't need a GPS you have an open invite any time you want to come!


Beautiful stripers there JB. it must be great having a boat.

Yep it is so much fun! Yearly compounding and wax, cleaning after each trip, fixing whatever broke last trip, oil changes (already going on second one this year - lol), paying for gas, marina fees, insurance, registration to the state....and probably 2 dozen more things I forgot!

[captnemo]

Tell me about it. Boat stands for
break
out
another
thousand

[SharkHart]

Good lord I just casted 10 30 to 4 am for one 20lb class I dropped in the wash, yellow darter, only one other fish taken all night among 12 to 15 guys. No Magic in SNJ this year. The bad weather early May just flushed most out of the southern region.

[seamonkey]

^ Thats some dedication. Heard they were catching some stripers up in atlantic county. Was never able to get out there at the right time. Congrats a 20 pounder is a nice striper whether you landed it or not.

[seamonkey]

Fished cm this morning before the rush. 5-7. Ended up with the cape may special, dogfish, skate, and sea robin. Clams and bunker.

[storminsteve]

Moco last night till the rains chased me off the beach. One short striper on sp. Thinking of switching to fluke soon. A buddy was there earlier and got a keeper so nice he didnt even have to measure it.

[Blazin420]

I'm with ya steve..Went out Sat night 11-4am... good wind good water good tide saw some bait end result....SKUNKED...I haven't had time to put in as much as I usually do but man this spring is the pits in the NoMoCo-MoCo area..IMHO.. if you weren't on the big school early or have a boat it's just plain sucked..Past years a night like that would have produced at least a handful of schoolies and a possible keeper.. Last year was ruff but this year even worse..If you ask me something is wrong...Where are the schoolies? Thank god for blues on some of my trips or else I would have blanked on most trips...Stocks are way down plain and simple...I'm gonna bust out the GULP soon if things don't change I'll give it another week or 2 but I don't have high hopes....Sorry for the rant and negativity but just my observations

[basshunter]

Just got finished, fished outgoing tide in Moco. 1 blue on a popper. There was some splashing but it was way too far out to see what it was. good luck gentlemen