NJ Fishing Reports for the week of 8-11 to 8-17-08

[bunkerjoe4]

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
AI - Absecon Inlet
CISP - Corson's Inlet State Park
CMC - Cape May County
CMR - Cape May Rips
GEI - Great Egg Inlet
TI - Townsend's Inlet

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

[bunkerjoe4]

NJ WIR 8-11-08

Folks, we are still in the summer doldrums as far as bigger bass in the NJ/NY bight area, but as my Dad always used to say: when life gives you lemons, learn to make lemonade! :)

The bluefish -- old reliable targets for the hot summer months, are still on again, off again. Boats in the near shore waters are getting them, but fishing is not consistent. Even night bluefishing, which has been almost a sure thing this time of year, has produced some dismal nights, though the party boat Captains are trying their best. Bluefish, believe it or not, can actually be picky.

Fluking is the best bet for the beaches. One significant move I may have mentioned last week is that the bay areas are still producing fluke, but the bigger catches are coming from the deeper bay channels and near-shore lumps as the fluke get ready to start their fall migration offshore. Some nice sized doormats are being recorded. People are still complaining about the shorts, but they will at least give you a lot of action if you are fishing in the daytime.

Offshore, the tuna bite is still productive for those finding the temperature breaks, and tuna now seem to be scattered on some inshore lumps, along with some mahi-mahi and other tropical creatures. In fact, anyone who snorkels or scuba dives will tell you there are many colorful fish living among the rockpiles in the inlets. It's almost like a big tropical aquarium down there.:wow:

NY WIR 8-11-08

Bigger fluke are being reported, particularly in the Montauk area. There are also some decent reports of cod and other groundfish from some of the day boats, Viking fleet and others.

Montauk bass fishing has been hot and cold depending on the weather pattern and bait available. Again, night time is the right time, and eels are still producing many of the bigger fish.

Bluefish are more abundant and aggressive in the NY than NJ areas, especially bigger tackle busting bluefish.





For both areas mentioned above, there are numerous schools of bait schooling up in the bay and harbor areas. Following these schools are a multitude of snapper bluefish.

I went to visit some friends in NY the other day and stopped at a local marina to check out the action. The time was late afternoon, and several people were pulling in one snapper after another using the styrofoam float popper rig baited with small bits of clam, worm, or using the smallest mirrolures. I imagine sabiki rigs would work just as well.

These snappers are great sport on the lightest of tackle, and one of the best ways I know of to introduce young children to fishing. Easy to catch, great fun. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon14.gif Just make sure you are aware that the daily limits for your area are the same as with larger bluefish. Kingfish are another great light-tackle fish to target from the beaches now, use clams or fishbites.


Crabbing is another great family activity that is easy to do this time of year.

The striped bass, one of the most prized surf catches, is relatively scarce this time of year, but a few diehards are getting them at night in places where you wouldn't think they would be. Anywhere you find huge concentrations of bait under harbor or other lights at night, you will inevitably find some bass. For these specific instances, live bait will be your best bet, though fly fishermen are doing pretty well when that target bait is very small. Otherwise, the old reliable Bomber, and other small profile plugs are producing short bass.


Making lemonade --
For those adrenaline junkies among us, some creatures are providing great nighttime action for those of us with open minds. I am referrring to brown sharks and cow-nose rays. Many people are not happy to catch one. At times they can spool you and take all your line. However, those who are prepared can have a good time fighting and catching these unusual creatures. They are best targeted at night from the ocean surf with some type of bloody bait, preferably bunker.

If you do target these creatures, remember that sharks, though many think of them as a nuisance, take a long time to mature, and should be handled with care if you are throwing them back. Brown sharks also have a nice set of teeth, be careful.

Some rays have a needle like spike in their tails, just like the one that killed the crocodile hunter. Even if you don't get one of these in your heart, a puncture of the skin by one of these things can cause a serious infection. If you don't have experience handling these things, you would be well-advised to move carefully and slowly around them. It's not worth losing your life or a hospital trip.

If targeting them, it's not a good idea to dead-stick 5 poles in a row. Each pole should be close to the fisherman, who would ideally fish 1 pole, or 2 at the most. If one of these things hits your bait, you will regret it as your pole quickly travels to England if you are not paying attention.

Otherwise, if taken care of as soon as they are caught, gutted and prepared carefully, rays are good to eat. Many sharks are protected, and should be quickly released.

Once again, please take only what you can use. Everything exists in a delicate balance in our ecosystem, (although I feel that our sand sharks, the dogfish and spiny dogfish, are abundant anough for all the planets in the solar system).:D

There are some serious storms rolling through again this week, folks. Please be mindful that several people have been killed by lightning on the beaches thus far. A graphite pole will act as a lightning rod on a beach with no other tall structure. Please be careful out there. Good luck, folks.:HappyWave:

[clamchucker]

Somoco, 8-10am, quick bluefish blitz, 2 up to 8lbs, then they moved on, didn't feel like chasing them. Lots of small spearing in the suds.

[fishinmission78]

IBSP morning bite, looking for browns, ended with doggies, 3/3. Not much time to fish today, but things may get interesting, small bait in the surf.

[wish4fish]

stripers in the surf! finally the little bass are starting to school up, got 4 before dark tonight moco, bait all over, was using a a007 jig green tail, dancing on the bottom and reeling in slow.

[bunkerjoe4]

OK folks, the winner for the July NJ fishing reports plug giveaway is clamchucker. :clapping:

Clamchucker, please e-mail me the address where you want it sent. The plug will be a Davis topwater swimmer, similar to the ones fishlipper is using. If anyone has not yet checked out the thread for Davis lures, go take a look. He's a good plug-builder, sells them at reasonable prices, and as shown, they do catch fish.

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=78 (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=78)


Attached Thumbnailshttp://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1610&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1213203990 (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1610&d=1213203990) http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1611&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1213203990 (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1611&d=1213203990)

[wish4fish]

sh comes alive, finally! bluefish and bass to 27" at sunset, krocodiles and a007s. didn't exactly slay them, but at least they were there.

[clamchucker]

Thanks very much, Joe. PM sent. Nothing to report today except for a mess of small fluke on gulp, no keepers.

[cowherder]

Been a member here awhile, felt I didn't have much to report. But tonight we got into some big bluefish back of RB. All on bunker chunks, biggest probably 10-12 lbs.

[LennyD]

This morning i went fishing with my buddy to MOCO. We got some fluke 3 keepers, and my buddy got a 35" 15lb bass.
Great day out there!:fishing:

[nitestrikes]

Nice report, man, mostly smaller bass by us in LI. wtg! What did he get that bass on?

[LennyD]

he used clams, not fresh!!! The bite come 5 min. after we got there.

[nitestrikes]

So he was using STINKY clams?:laugh: Real deal,sometimes I use them in the spring, water is colder, I figure the bass have a better chance of following the scent if it's stinky. wtg, nice catch.:thumbsup:

[fishinmission78]

IBSP today, fished the sunrise bite, felt I would land some bass with bunker. Only one cownoseray, smaller, but got one nice run out of it before I released in the wash. A few fluke after that on gulp, no keepers, left early.

[wish4fish]

moco, fished the jetties for a few hours, few small bass to 25" white shad and yellow teaser, small bait jumpin out of the water. all fish on the teaser, wtg Lenny, i can't get any large bass for the past few days, must be the full moon.