NJ Fishing Reports for the Week of 10-13 to 10-19-08

[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 10-13-08

Another fine week of fall fishing, folks. While the bulk of the bass are small, the action is steady at night. Additionally, some larger bass - from bass in the 20's to a 42 lber - have been caught in the Jersey surf this week by some lucky, and talented, anglers.

The daytime action is still spotty, but the best bet is end of day in the hours before sunset, where some Monmouth County beaches have been seeing consistent action when the baitfish are in tight to the surf. There is also some decent action on Ocean County when the baitfish come in close enough.

The bluefishing, although spottier than usual for this time of year, still provides a lot of action. Some blues have been caught in the last week that were close to 20lbs. Big fish for sure, watch your fingers!

The albacore run has not really started for surfcasters, though there are a select few reporting surf catches. Meanwhile, the boats are reporting both bonito and albacore. Hopefully this will improve for surf guys.

NY WIR 10-13-08

There is a good blend of action in the back bays, and now on the ocean front. The productive areas change from one day to the next, but some inlet areas have been pretty consistent. Look for the bait coming out.

Montauk surfcasters are having a banner year.

Although very crowded at times, I maintain that some of the business owners up there are experiencing reduced revenues as many people have cut back on discretionary driving. It's important to support these business people, from the coffee shops to the charter captains. Remember that tipping is appreciated by those who work hard to maintain your interest and loyalty.


On the offshore front, the tuna bite has been inconsistent. However, there have been some very favorable yellowfin catches in the last few days, which brings hope for a good fall bite to many people.

Now is a beautiful time to be fishing - magnificent sunrises, peaceful nights, mild breezes, relatively mild temperatures.

Granted, we will see more bass as the water temps decline a bit, but they are out there now, if you have the patience and fortitude to search for them.

We will soon be experiencing the effects of the full moon, which causes many people to feel fishing is not worth it now. Not true. Even though there is some phosphorescence in the water, and it is difficult to plug with the brightly lit sky, a good fisherman will adapt to these conditions. He or she will use lighter plugs, minimizing hardware and terminal tackle connecting their plug to the line.

If all else fails, clams are a great option. They catch fish more consistently at more times of the year than almost everything else, including the hottest plugs. Be flexible, and you will do OK. Catch em up!

[fishjay]

fished moco last nite. 45 bass from 24" to 41" on bombers.

The 41" fish which weighed in at 18 lbs was caught by all 3 of us.
OFFC member 3 (youngest) hooked the fish then got a big tangle and OFFC member 1 (OLdest) had to help. it was dicovered that the line had broken at the reel and the only thing hold int fish was the tangle. #1 then wrapped the line around his hand and together with # 3 proceeded to back the fish out of the water. When the fish got on the sand #2 grabbed it and finished the landing.

It sounds crazy but things like this happen to us all the time.

Where were all those younger hot-shot fishermen? Stopped for coffee and donuts on the way home, little energy refreshment for the OFFC.

[cowherder]

I was out there too, Monmouth county one of my best days ever! I was going to leave around dark, slowed down a bit. There were so many people fishing it was crazy. Some of them left, and it started up again. 5 bass to 34", all released,no blues. All on magdarters. I thought I was never going to get into a run of bigger fish. Thanks to all the guys here who gave me advice.

[DarkSkies]

It sounds crazy but things like this happen to us all the time.

Where were all those younger hot-shot fishermen? Stopped for coffee and donuts on the way home, little energy refreshment for the OFFC.

Great story, wtg, felt like I was there. I could imagine that story about the big bass happening as you told it. You could have your own surf fishin show. Bill Dance ain't got nuttin on you guys.;)

Soem of us younger guys punked out last night. The one night I was shot out, and hit the sack early, I miss the action.

Hey, you guys walk a lot of sand many days in search of fish. Glad ya got into them, nice action, great report. :clapping: :thumbsup:

[clamchucker]

Short action SH today, caught 3 small bass on swimmers right before sunrise. After that a few bluefish were caught as they ran bait into the wash, blues were very small, at most 4lbs.

[yardvillejimmy]

Best action I had in a long time last evening in MoCo. Landed about 11 bass using bombers. Caught a 41 inch bass with the help of my other two friends.

Had twice as many hits than fish landed.

Lost the biggest one which tore drag like a rocket. Just as I was about to land the fish a wave splashed sand on my Penn reel and the drag jammed. The line snapped. Lost the fish with my favorite bomber still in its mouth.

Still one terrific night.:HappyWave:

[fishinmission78]

Got the :skunk: at IBSP today, couldn't even hang a bluefish. Seems like all the hot action is on moco, you guys must have made a deal with the devil.:D Maybe its time for a road trip, nice catches!

[clamchucker]

Fished the sunrise in moco this AM. Bait was scattered, not much at all. Beach was lined with anglers. I managed an 18" fluke on a bomber, didn't see any bass or blues caught.

[wish4fish]

Some bass last night in MoCo. 4 to 29", all released on lime, and yellow, bombers, very light taps. Full moon funny,lol.:kooky:

[clamchucker]

4 shorts in the current this morning at SH. Clams were the ticket.

[fishjay]

fished nomoco last nite. no luck.

did catch a 20" fluke. it was returned

[surferman]

fished nomoco last night came up with 1 one bass a little short and one blue.

[DarkSkies]

Fished moco last night, various spots. Started out on the top of the outgoing for weakies in the back with pink fin-s. No luck, but they are there, boaters are getting them, a boater showed me some this morning.

Then switched to the front, winds forecast for 10-15, but gusts were twice that, pushing up a lot of rollers onto shore. This should have been great for fishing where I was, but it was dead. Only 2 other crazy people out where I was.

Made a change of plans and went into the back to avoid the wind. A friend was back there earlier, said it was dead, he went home. When I got there, it looked dead, but I saw bait in the water. 2am - Rigged up with one of my 12" needles, wire leader in case bluefish around. First cast was such a perfect one, that needle cast a mile with the wind at my shoulder. Got it into the current, 10 secs later had a nice hit. I set the hook hard, and the fish took off.

No head shakes like a big bluefish, this fish just stayed deep, and steadily took line. After almost a minute, I see the I am about to be spooled. I know this fish is moving with the current, and things don't look good. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't turn this fish, or even pump up the rod a bit to gain some line.

With limited options and the line almost to the end of the spool, I decided to tighten down the drag a bit. Line popped soon after, and I lost the fish and one of my favorite custom needles.:(

As it slowly sunk in that I lost what was probably a decent bass, I was disappointed in my efforts, thinking I could have done better.

I pulled in fish 14-16 lbs with that rod and 50lb braid, was always able to turn them. I pulled a 30 in this spring with that rod, but not in intense current. This fish was different, stayed low and deep, kept pulling drag, I could not turn it, and didn't have enough line to let it tire itself out.

I would conservatively estimate that fish to be a bass, somewhere around 20 or slightly bigger. No huge prize, but big enough compared to all the rats we are getting lately.

After that adrenalin packed experience, I got another fish on my 3rd cast, but it became unbuttoned. I spent 2 hours after that casting without a tap, that was it.

Always try to learn from my mistakes. Here's what I feel I did wrong:

1. Didn't rety my rigging when I got to the new location. :beatin: Had been fishin the ocean for an hour, sand is abrasive, even to braid. I did check the strength and line for nicks, but apparently not good enough.

2. Didn't have a shock leader. When we were catching big bass on the jetties in the spring, I always use 50# mono for a shock leader, helps with the rocks and the strong runs of bigger fish. Here, I have been eliminating all extraneous attachments, even teasers, in an effort to cast far. Other people are getting fish in closer, but I am finding my biggest fish come at the end of my longest casts, and sometimes hit within 30 seconds of that cast, that's where the strike zone is, for me.

3. didn't have enough line. I originally filled that reel with almost 200 yards of PP braid. Sacrificed some the other night at Montauk, figured I was ok with about 300-350 feet. that's not enough if you run into a big fish, you need some extra line to let it tire itself out. So this was something I knew about, and should have tried to address. (Braid is expensive, and I am trying not to go crazy with fishing expenses, trying to budget my $$)

Oh well. Live and learn. The sting of losing that fish bothers me. Wonder what the OFFC would have done in a situation like this?:D

[clamchucker]

nomoco this morning early. Somewhere south of SH. 5 bass to 27 1/2 on clams before sunrise.

[wish4fish]

pluggin at sandy hook 4-6pm. Weird stuff, lol, used a teaser, no bass, but got 4 herring on the teaser. had to fish a cove to find a spot out of the wind.:scared:

[DarkSkies]

Also fished today. Took the day off b/c I thought a bite would develop from all the windy conditions and turbulent surf. Started off in moco, very rough surf, picked one of the highest rockpiles in the area. Near slack tide, outgoing, yet 3/4 of the jetty was still covered in water.

I saw some birds feeding on small bait near the end, decided to make the walk out there. Even with korkers, it was a little hairy, so I took only a few steps at a time, watching the waves.

I was able to cast for a while, but the spot I really wanted to cast from had too much water rushing over it. It created a perfect rip, though, and I knew some fish would be at the end of it.

As I moved closer to that spot, a rogue wave was a little higher and stronger than I expected, and I decided it was time to head back.

I want to state for the new guys out there that I only felt comfortable doing that because the tide had turned, and it was outgoing. I have fished that jetty many times before, in the blackness of night, and know it well.

Even so, a guy who was watching me out there came to talk to me as I was leaving. He was worried, and felt better when I told him I knew that jetty well.

Nonetheless, there are many guys in the cemetary who thought they could beat Mother nature. Healthy respect for the ocean and strong moving water is a very good part of an outdoorsman's mindset.http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon14.gif

I hit a few other places, but didn't get any fish, or even taps, today. Learned some new fishing techniques and a few strategical things from some people I met in the daylight today. Will be trying them out soon.

[wish4fish]

moco 6-9am, 5 small bass to 26" on white storm, white teaser. some hit in the wash. they have been coming to this area for 9 days, funny to see all the guys waiting for 'em. hint - they are not always in the same spot, they move, lol.:D

[DarkSkies]

Moco sunrise till 11:30, tough bite this morning. Went out front at first, the wind was howling. Could only make short casts, kept moving to where it was more sheltered. Ran into 2 fly guys on the way, they got 2 shads using sinking flies. They said shad, maybe they meant herring?

Seemed like the fish want subsurface and bottom offerings with this full moon. Been talking to a lot of guys who are getting them on white storm shads, or metal diamond jigs and Point Jude style tins dragged along the bottom.

After nothing on the subsurface swimmers, I threw a bucktail/pink fin-s, and a white teaser. Managed 2 bluefish 8-10 lbs on the white teaser. Made sense, because around 11am I saw the first bait of the day - tiny rainfish or spearing no more than 1/2" big. Nothing after that, though I tried for 1 1/2 hours more up to the beginning of the outgoing.

A cool thing I saw out of the corner of my eye today:
Around 9am I noticed a huge swirl and splash about 20' to the left of me in the water. A second later a bird comes out from that swirl and sits itself on top of some wood, with a wet head. It wasn't a cormorant, much smaller, white bird with kind of a black head. so I'm wondering if anyone here ever saw a big bass or bluefish eat a bird? I know muskies and pike have eaten small ducks, but never heard or saw of this in salt water.

Too fast for me to really process, that's the best theory I could think of . Whatever it was, it was pretty cool.

[wish4fish]

man it was sick fishing this morning, lol, same area as yesterday. :scared: bait pinned in front of the pocket, all bass my brothers! got 13 between 22-36" from 530 - 7 am, sometimes it was almost a fish on every cast, lol. wind and waves were sick. used metal and bucktails with teasers.

[DarkSkies]

Wish4, I checked out that action, I probably fished near where you were. I talked to a kid who said he had 50 before sunrise, all bass. He had blue outergear, waves were crashing over his head, but he was catchin. :clapping: Was that you exaggerating on the beach,or was it someone else? :rolleyes: :D

My report:

Very good fishing in the surf this morning. Most of the bass action was before sunrise. I got a decent one a little shy of 21#. caught on custom blurple magnum bomber with green teaser siwash for rear hook. Weighed at Jack's surfside, I'll be eatin bass for dinner tonight.

Also got some blues between 10-15#. white Tsunami shad with teaser (didn't hit the teaser, though many fish were crashing small bait), and my old reliable 12" needlefish for some others.

You needed something heavy to punch through the wind, or else time your casts to the few moments in time when the wind died down. Wind and surf were unreal, I saw one guy standing in 2' of seafoam.

Mostly a dark bite for the bass, blues take over after sunrise. But fish are chewin, fall fishin at its best.

[wish4fish]

nah dude, wasn't me, i only got 13, but most were 28 and over, some sick fishin. :scared:i got an orange grundens top, if you're ever fishin that spot stop and say hey.

[DarkSkies]

This kid was hardcore, that's why I thought it was you. He jumped down off a rock to talk to me, and a series of 8 footers crashed over where he was a few seconds before. But he didn't care, he was high on the fish.:thumbsup:

[wish4fish]

yeah, same with me, lol. didn't want to leave. should have been surfing those waves.:dribble:

[cowherder]

Wish4, I checked out that action, I probably fished near where you were. I talked to a kid who said he had 50 before sunrise, all bass. He had blue outergear, waves were crashing over his head, but he was catchin. :clapping: Was that you exaggerating on the beach,or was it someone else? :rolleyes: :D

My report:

Very good fishing in the surf this morning. Most of the bass action was before sunrise. I got a decent one a little shy of 21#. caught on custom blurple magnum bomber with green teaser siwash for rear hook. Weighed at Jack's surfside, I'll be eatin bass for dinner tonight.

Also got some blues between 10-15#. white Tsunami shad with teaser (didn't hit the teaser, though many fish were crashing small bait), and my old reliable 12" needlefish for some others.

You needed something heavy to punch through the wind, or else time your casts to the few moments in time when the wind died down. Wind and surf were unreal, I saw one guy standing in 2' of seafoam.

Mostly a dark bite for the bass, blues take over after sunrise. But fish are chewin, fall fishin at its best.

Holy crap, man, that is a beautiful fish! I thought about fishing today, but gave up when they said the wind would be over 25mph.:scared: wtg, man. :clapping:

[SharkHart]

you guys did great, congrats. I chose not to take a chance with the front and fish the back friday night. i nailed bass, shame they were 15-20" :) one "slot" and a weakie with alot of work just to find that, time to take the show out front.

[fishjay]

Dark Skies;

Good Fish Congrats. you earned it

we are happy for you

[hookset]

Glad to see someone who braved those winds got a catch. Great Fish DS.

I went out for 2 hours got :skunk:.

[bababooey]

My report - stayed home, watched ESPN, grabbed some brews.:plastered:

Seriously, a friend was out in those conditions. Once he saw the surf, quickly returned home, and told me it was crazy. :scared:

Nice fish, Dark.:clapping:

[LennyD]

Nice fish Darkskies!
You earned it!!!:plastered:

[DarkSkies]

Dark Skies;

Good Fish Congrats. you earned it

we are happy for you

Man, I get the official seal of approval of the offc??? I can now die a happy man. :D

Seriously, much respect for you guys, you taught me a lot. You guys are like the surf ninjas of the fishing world - slick, silent, and you know how to find fish, especially to nail bass when every one around you is getting bluefish. Sometimes I think you guys could pull a bass out of a rain puddle.:fishing:

[DarkSkies]

you guys did great, congrats. I chose not to take a chance with the front and fish the back friday night. i nailed bass, shame they were 15-20" :) one "slot" and a weakie with alot of work just to find that, time to take the show out front.

SharkHart, congrats on the weakie, I'm still working the western RB to try and get one, so far no luck, but I see boaters nailing em. I know they're there, and the bass know it too.:wow:

Bass in the whitewater, in the dark, you are a great fisherman in your own right, pm me if ya ever wanna fish moco, bring korkers.

[fishinmission78]

Nice fish, Dark. :clapping: