NJ Fishing Reports for the week of 9-29 to 10-5-08

[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 9-29-08

Well folks it has been a tough week in NJ with the storms. There are still fish to be found, but the inclement weather makes it a little more difficult.

The weakfish bite in Barnegat Bay is still on, and Raritan Bay is developing a spotty weakfish bite. Better late than never, it almost looked like it wasn't going to happen this year.

As for our prized striped bass, they are again being caught chiefly at night, with the addition of an early morning bite that has developed in certain key areas that are around or near inlets or large rivers.

Bluefish are giving boaters a good fight, but the bite has been more spotty for surfcasters. Sometimes they are the only thing to save the day for those traveling far distances to enjoy our fishing. However, the sustained surf blitzes that many look forward to have not been happening on a regular basis yet.

As for the tuna bite, the severe weather has kept a lot of captains home. The last reports sent to me indicated a spotty bite right now. I would advise those spending precious cash for a tuna trip to hold off for a few days until things stabilize. The fall tuna bite is usually spectacular, and I am hoping it will develop into one to remember.

NY WIR

Folks in New York waters are facing similar conditions as those in New Jersey. I would call this a week in transition.

In NY as well as NJ, bait is dumping out of the bays and inlets as part of its annual Southern migration. However, there are still some NJ and NY back bay areas holding a smorgasbord of tasty bait, from adult bunker to peanuts to spearing. Until these baitfish consistently make their way Southward, fishing will continue to appear to be spotty, except for the guys fishing at night, and targeting areas known to hold large bait concentrations. Moreover, these "known" areas change from week to week, which makes it all the more challenging.


The good news from Montauk is still coming down the pike, and decent catches are being made. What has happened in the last week is a skewing of the bait concentration in the LI sound. Large amounts of bait are being found in the Connecticut portion of the sound. There was a significant bunker kill in that area from lack of oxygen as the fish were pushed upriver by the predators.

Additionally, there are large concentrations in the most Western and Eastern parts of the Sound. It could be that they are finally ready to move along the coast or through the rivers. Maybe the next big storm will spur them on.




As for the almost absent albacore (say that 10 times fast):), boaters have been into albacore and bonito for at least 2 weeks now, depending on the area. Yet the traditional NY and NJ early season spots for surf albacore catches have had very little activity, save for a few reported catches. We are rapidly losing opportunities to catch these great fish as the ocean temps slowly decline. Hopefully this week, there will be some decent surf catches put together.

Have a great week out there folks, remember to be careful, as we still have some storms rolling in.

[DarkSkies]

If there's a skunk of the week award, we won it last night. 11pm-4am.:skunk:

A friend started Nomoco where we found some fishable surf. I met him there, we started fishing hard, other friends had pulled fish out of there last 2 days in a row.

Conditions perfect, light rain, foggy, dark, wind was shifting from SE to N, finally W, perfect for the fish to chew.

Worked the whole water column, from topwater to mid level swimmers to bucktails and weighted eels and sluggos. Not a tap.

Finally I threw a clam on the extra clam pole i had. After about 1/2 hour getting ready to leave, got one decent hit, no connect. I knew then it was time to seek different water. If you can't catch anything on a clam pole after a storm, gotta move on, no matter how good that spot was yesterday or the day before.

We then fished a river right before slack, conditions perfect, clear water, no bait, no fish.

We still wanted a shot at 1 measly fish, so we went back deeper inside, at another spot that was holding bait and fish a day ago.

3 strikes youre out, next time can only get better.:embarassed:

i didn't feel so bad when I checked my voicemail when got back to the vehicle. Another friend said he was about 1 mile from us, worked a couple locations, he and another good fishermen couldn't get a tap either.

Just an overall bad night of fishing, but it was hard to sink in our heads, conditions looked so perfect.:don't know why:

[cowherder]

Just an overall bad night of fishing, but it was hard to sink in our heads, conditions looked so perfect.:don't know why:


A bad day or night fishing always beats a good day at work! At least you tried.

[fishinmission78]

3 short bass this morning. Occo, mullet.

[LennyD]

Thanx for the detailed report DarkSkies!!!

[LennyD]

Nomoco this evening, 2 small bass, one on a teaser the other is on clam!!!:fishing:

[VSdreams]

Nomoco last night - 2 bass on clams.

[wish4fish]

SH first light, 3 small bass, storm shads. They're in the wash!

[DarkSkies]

Late report. Fished nomoco Tuesday night with a friend, he already nailed a fish close to 28" by the time I got there on a ghost colored x-rap. We fished the first 3 hours of the outgoing, and the fish were chewin.

There was some lightning going on close by, and it started to rain for a bit. We decided we would re-assess every 5 minutes, and think about leaving. Luckily, the main part passed to the north of us, and we could keep fishing.

We each caught about 5, and lost as many more. All bass, not one bluefish!

My one keeper was 29", but skinny. Others were small and fat, mixed sizes. He lost one over 28" that was fatter than mine, line broke when he went down to the rocks to get it and a wave crashed where he was. It was a little hairy with the rough water, but that's where the fish were.

He left around 4, I stayed to fish the sunrise. Only a small flurry of bluefish activity around 6:30am, and that was it. There were some other guys who came to the beach around 5am, and were catching small schoolies from the sand for about a half hour.

Looking back, I should have left when the bite died, or 20 minutes after, like I wrote in the surffishing 101 tips thread. The fish were feeding so intensely that i felt the bite would resume in the morning. Live and learn, at least there is now some decent action at night.

We got them trying different presentations. What worked was mostly plastic swimmers - x-rap, orange mag darter, mega-bait. We were fishing teasers as well, and each got one fish on the teaser.

Another friend was fishing a few miles from us, and had told me that most of his fish than night were on a green teaser, so it depends on where you are, and the bait concentrations.

The bait - we were seeing small pods of mullet jumping periodically. The ocean was alive with bait, that's why we were catching. Later on, there were scattered rainfish being chased by bass. Toward the morning, the bait that I thought would hold to the rocks just was not there, and that's why less fish were there. Next time, when the bait thins out, would be a good idea to leave and hit another spot.

Overall, it was a great night of fishing. My friend had been fishing hard with no results, and gotten skunked too many times before. He fishes hard, and won't give up till he hooks up, :thumbsup: just like me. It was great for us to finally be into feeding fish. That's why we had a hard time quitting.

[fishinmission78]

IBSP last night, 3 bass to 34", swimmers.

[cowherder]

SH yesterday afterenoon, plugging.:skunk:

[fishinmission78]

Just got back from IBSP, killed the gator blues on poppers, about an hours worth of good action.

[DarkSkies]

Another marathon fishing night, moco out front.

It was one of those nights setting up for a perfect fall, air a little crisper, bite-promoting west winds. We fished a 15 mile section of moco oceanside. Only problem was the bait that was there the last few days was gone, beautiful water + no bait = no fish.

After hitting many locations and seeing the same thing, with only a few bumps and taps from scattered bass, we decided for a drastic change - fish one of the areas with current, or fish one of the outflows out back.

When we got to the place, nice fish were busting on bait every few seconds during the outgoing tide. Some of them sounded like bowling balls dropping. A quick check of the water revealed there were schools of spearing swimming through, and tucked in the sides, and the occasional scattered mullet. It was a frikkin predator smorgasbord! :scared:

My friend got a decent bluefish 2nd cast on a green teaser attached to a rubber mullet with 7/8 oz jighead. After that we couldn't get any more fish on teasers. They were also feeding on the top, but only seemed to hit artificials that were lower in the water column. I got a nice fish on a sinking needle, and lost that needle to the next fish. Learning from this mistake, I set up a rig without the teaser - steel leader direct tied to 50# braid, and prepared to do battle.

It took us about 2 hours to find out exactly where the fish were holding. They were busting all over, but only stacked up in a certain area.

It was like an underwater room full of angry bluefish. Hit the door with your offering, and you were hooked up. Miss the door by 20 feet, and you got nothing. :D

Once we got into a rhythm, it was easier, and crazy, addictive fun. :wheeeee: I ended up throwing an Ace bait squid profile white diving swimmer. My friend was bucktailing, and throwing aaa pink fin-s as well, and had some success. He ended up throwing a yellow Roberts Ranger w/porkrind trailer, both with single hooks. We lost a lot of fish this way, but who cares, it was insane catching those big angry blues.

We hooked up with dozens of fish, but only landed about a dozen fat well-fed bluefish 6-12#. The best way to get them was to just let the plug drift in the current, hold the pole and wait for the light tap. Reeling them in against the current was the greatest fun, some ran drag and felt like mini-tuna. I can't imagins how people can pull in a 20, 30, or 40 bass against the current, even some of these 12# felt like we would never get them in.

We kept hoping for a bigger bass under them, and some fought deep like a bass, but the head shaking gave it away.

My friend had to leave, but I stayed until the slack. The surface feeding died way before that, but we were able to continue to entice hits when we hit the door to the bluefish room. ;)

Great action, my arms are sore, I'll take slammer blues vs 24" bass any night.

[fishinmission78]

Very slow at IBSP today, one small bluefish on diamond jig near sunset.

[clamchucker]

SH late afternoon, few short bass storm shads. Not much bait in the surf, where did it go?

[voyager35]

Yesterday late afternoon trip in RB, caught 9 bass between the 2 of us, using sandworms. Kept one at 30", also caught 12 weakfish up to 22".

[wish4fish]

out back last night, a mess of blues to 9lbs using bunkerchunks and peanuts. fish the inlets.http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon3.gif

[LennyD]

last night NOMOCO & SOMOCO before and after high tide....no fish!!!

[fishinmission78]

Knew there would be crowds today with the tournament, so I fished IBSP last night. It was getting crowded already, but I fished some cuts where no one was. 3 bass to 28" on point jude tins. Lots of sandeels around. Today I think it will be a zoo down there, good luck everyone.

[DarkSkies]

Last night, covered a lot of ground to get a pulse on what was really happening. Started at IBSP area, some people getting shorts on clams. Met some interesting people at an inlet, learned a lot. Also met this cool guy with an amazing kite, some of you might have seen him out there.

Made our way northward, wind shifted from the S to NE, looked like good conditions. However we could find no bait in the water.

On out 8th stop, finally got a bump, no fish. 9th stop, fish were chewing, small bass 22-25". As soon as I walked out, one guy said so me - they here - hitting close. Wind and waves in our faces, starting to get a little frothy. Fish were caught on bombers - black and chicken scratch.

Only problem was the 2 guys were keeping shorts. One of them walked past me with a 24" for the cooler.

First time - I said - dude, that fish is 24", you know it's not a keeper. He had to go have a conference with his friend at the end of the rocks, and ask him for advice. He decides to walk past me again, I tell him if he keeps the fish, he'll get fined, and his pic will go in the paper.

He goes to his friend again, they have another huddle, and they dump the fish in the water. Walks past me, says "Good idea to throw back" Yup, says I.:rolleyes:

Seeng there were only small fish where we were, we decided to leave and go to the bluefish factory. Sad, no bait or bluefish in the factory for us to play with. We checked 2 areas, but the NE might have put the bait off in that place, messed with the current. Today looks like it's setting up for a good bite.