NJ Fishing Reports for the week of 11-17 to 11-23-08

[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 11-17-08

Folks, another good week in the surf. I would characterize this week as peaks and valleys. If you were in the right location when the fish came through, you were very happy.:) If not, you spent a lot of time waiting and wondering.

Island Beach has been productive this week, and very rewarding for some who happened to be there when the activity was at its peak. Unfortunately, the action is not predictable. I can say that those who made it a point to be there before sunrise every day had better opportunities. There was also some sustained action in the daytime.

Last week there were better chances of catching in Monmouth County. Tomorrow it may be an entirely different area. That's why we call it fishing, not catching.

Game Plan: I would suggest for those who want to increase their chances in the next coming weeks, you have a specific game plan to find your quarry. Have at least 3 locations in mind when starting out your excursion. If one is dead, make the effort and move to the next. I know it's tough, especially if you are using bait, but it is a discipline you must get yourself accustomed to if you want to succeed.

As you get yourself used to moving around, you will learn to rely on yourself and your developing instincts as a surf fishrman, and not relying on the cell phone network of many armchair fishermen.http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon3.gif

Another positive development, as I mentioned earlier, is that the bite is somewhat trending toward the afternoons and late afternoons. This will become more apparent as the weather gets colder and the water temps drop even more.

NY WIR 11-17-08

There is still good activity along the south shore of Long Island, though the storms in the past week have made a mess of things, with lots of weeds to contend with.

Look for clear patches of water, the rougher the better. We may be seeing the last push of bigger fish making their appearance form Montauk on South. It's time to concentrate your efforts now if you want that bigger bass.





A deadly presentation during this time of year is the live eel, rigged dead eel, or eelskin plugs. They allow you to fish lower in the water column where the bulk of the fish are holding. Whether fishing inlets or roaring current, the eel is a versatile tool in the surf fisherman's arsenal.

We have several threads here about eels, do a search. Or, there are some great books out there by Zeno, DJ Mueller, and others that go into detail about tips and techniques on using eels.

Take advantage of whatever time you have, bundle up, and get these bigger fish while you can, as the smaller ones have already started to filter into the mix. - bunkerjoe

[fishinmission78]

There was a decent bite of schoolie bass before sunrise at IBSP. I got 6 to 22" on a t-hex and teaser combo. The bite did slow a little around sunrise when I left. Fish were out past the bar.

[vpass]

Fished nomoco from 11:00am to 3:00pm. water was stained brown, but it did clear up a bit by time I left. I did catch 1 Bass around 18 inches on a cripled herring. I did drop a Hickkory shad. As I was leaving did see some fish busting way out. hopeful a new batch fish moving in the area. I will be out there again tonight.

[vpass]

Fished NoMoCO last night the whole outgoing tide. Moved twice, got 1 bass in each spot. The second spots lots of bumps. The bass are smaller the past few days. The 2 bass I caught last night were about 18 inches. :embarassed: Hoping for a new wave of fish soon. I might start heading south.both fish were on the bomber. I was using teasers also.:(

[clamchucker]

I made it down to Island Beach yesterday for the afternoon bite. There was a fair amount of action, though sporadic. I managed 4 bass to 25" on ava and white teaser. All fish were out past the bar. I would agree with vpass's statement, the fish do seem smaller the past few days.

[voyager35]

Fished nomoco last night 11:30 - 2:30. Lots of bumps, one short. Hope tonight will be better.

[pinhead44]

Fished nomoco last night 11:30 - 2:30. Lots of bumps, one short. Hope tonight will be better.

Thought youre a boat guy? Slumming with the surf rats?:D

[voyager35]

I'm close to shutting everything down for the season, but not yet. I'll invite ya on if you'll pay the fuel bill for the day and bring the food and beers.;) Sometimes it's easier to grab your gear and walk the suds, no cleaning and scrubbing when you get home.

[wish4fish]

fished SH today before the sun came up, one small bass on a bucktail pork rind combo.

[SharkHart]

North Ocean county today, bass were active at first light but didnt hang for too long, got a few. Looks like further south was better. Heard some action came back at noonish for the tide change where i was. had a couple before light in the back in a different area.

[clamchucker]

I think it may be turning onto a late day bite, guys. I went back out yesterday afternoon. OC had a few hotspots. I fished north of the park in a few places. 15 bass on avas and teasers. The fish were mostly at the end of the furthest casts, no evidence that they were there. I wish they were closer. Some younger guys were hooking up on almost every cast. The bass were on the small side, biggest 23". I'm leaving soon for some more.

[wish4fish]

man I am so sick of the moco blues, lame water 2 days n hardly any fish. hit occo this morning before the sun, land of the amusement parks. not too many, only 4, but at least it was action! biggest 23" on needles, sandeels got stuck on my hooks 3x, so they must be thick. oc is the place to be.:D

[cowherder]

I fished at SH from 5-7am. It was cold.:scared: Got 2 bass to 25" on a chicken scratch bomber and teaser setup right around 7. There were a couple bumps in the dark, but i couldn't hook them.

[LennyD]

MOCO last night, fished the incoming tide, got about 6-8 short, one was
27 3/4, lotta bumps. had 2 hr sleep b4 work.:boring:

[voyager35]

Yesterday was a day where the grass looked greener on the other side. I took the day off. A buddy and I decided to walk the shores of moco and do some bass hunting. We scored early with a few light colored schoolies to 24", chicken scratch bombers.

What made me wish I took the boat out was the amount of birds, bait, and fish 1/4 mile offshore. There was action for over 5 miles, all offshore. We watched it like drooling dogs as we tried to maneuver through various spots, hoping it would come in. We each got 2 more fish during the day on metal and teasers, and then a few more at sunset, chicken scratch again.

The mother lode eluded us, and it didn't seem too many boats were on them either, other than a few lucky guys. Sadly, I wasn't one of them. :embarassed: It was still a good day out, and better than working. However, it caused me to second guess the plan for the day, should have taken the boat out. That's fishing.

[wish4fish]

fished the hook from 4:30-6:30 this morning, 6 bass on a black bomber, biggest was 26". i think a new body of fish is comming through, these were fat.

[clamchucker]

Island beach area yesterday 2-6pm. The action was a lot slower where I was. It seemed a little slow even for the guys using clams. Things started to pick up around dusk. 4 bass to 25", ava jig and teaser.

[vpass]

Fished NoMoCo from 5:30am to 9:30am. Birds were working. I got 2 Double header of blues, and bass. Bass were around 24 inches, and the blues were around 12 pounds. Many people on the beach, some got into the action. Used ava, and teasers.

[fishinmission78]

Ibsp sunrise, 3 bass, biggest 24". Ava and white teaser, bite slowed after sunrise. cold and snowy.

[fishinmission78]

Hit the park for the sunrise bite, should have stayed home. Man was it cold! :skunk:

[clamchucker]

Saturday afternoon at central Monmouth 3-5. I pulled in 2 small bass on a chicken scratch mambo minnow. The hits were minimal. There were flocks of gannets and gulls diving at different places in the area, but they never came quite close enough.

[cowherder]

Hit the hook this morning, beautiful sunrise and wind not that bad. I feel like a wimp, but I could only handle an hour. too cold, maybe 24 degrees.:eek: Bomber and teaser. :skunk:

[Mike O]

Fished SH Sat. morning from around 4am to 8am very, very, cold NW winds. I only saw 3 other people fishing besides myself. I did not see anyone catching anything, myself included. There was literally ice forming on my waders and the bail roller on my reel. I'll get em next time.

Mike O

[LennyD]

IBSP this morning, 2hrs into incoming, nothing, 2 hrs into outgoing, by the1st light lotta birds, hooked up 2, lost them as well. some idiot guy with a boat ran into a huge pods of fish right front of us, than they were gone:2flip::kooky:

[vpass]

NoMoCo, tons of bait. caught a dozen Hickory, 3 bass, and a Blue. The bass were Rat size to about 24 inches. Fished from 6:00am to 9:00am. got all fish on teasers, the Blue hit a crippled herring.

[Monty]

NOMOCO this morning 8:15 to 11:15.
Missed 2 hits on a pencil, lost bass on HH cream rip runner and caught this short on the plastic teaser.
It was cold, but was very enjoyable being out there. The lack of a strong wind made it very bearable (that and the thermals, 3 sweat shirts and dry top).

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