NJ fishing reports for July 16-31, 2009

[DarkSkies]

Important when registering on our site -- use an active email address so you can activate your account to be able to post.

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.
More discussion on this:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ead.php?t=3763 (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=3763)

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.






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

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/misc/progress.gif

[wish4fish]

too many hours for some stupid bloofish! but i did have fun finally. :kooky:last nite i was throwing bunker chunks, small pieces cause thats the way the bluefish like it lately. i went out early i was bored, so i waited 4 hours for the first fish, and they they started hitting at the top of the tide, incoming around 2am. got 8 fish to 11#. as soon as it hit slack, and for the outgoing it was dead.

[clamchucker]

A few small fluke at the park today. Gulp and bucktail with a sandeel teaser. I also got 2 shad on the teaser, early AM.

[surfwalker]

Started out around 3am, out front, hot. Hardly a breeze, and it changed direction quarterly. Water a little off color and warm, small breakers at your feet. Not a tap in the dark on anything thrown, with/without teaser. First light picked up some small blues on pencils and metal. Switched over to Flukeing for the walk back, the shoulder was acting up. Got a few 17 inchers on gulp teaser. Then hooked up to a cow nose ray about 15 feet out. Before I could react it had taken too much line(just re-spooled last night, new braid). I got it turned around, but it was way out and then dove to the bottom and buried itself in the sand. Couldn't budge it, even taking the tension off it didn't help. Cupped the spool and then the leader snapped at the leadhead, didn't lose any braid. I hate seeing those things around, let alone hooking one, I get no enjoyment out of them. After that I did not get another tap by Fluke. My buddy the Osprey was doing pretty good most of the morning, kept me entertained as I was reeling in blanks. 'an that's that.


Happy Trails

[DarkSkies]

Same thing in the back of the bay, SurfWalker, small bluefish tearing up the small bait. But there are bigger blues and creatures cruising like submarines just out of reach sometimes, find 25' of water, hard current, juvenile baitfish on the edges, and ya got yourself some big gators. And the peanuts are getting bigger, bass and bluefish are starting to take advantage of that at night, but sporadically, no pattern. Might have to hit 10 spots to find em.

One of the misconceptions a lot of people make is when to stop fishin the ocean and start the hunt in the back bays. For the most part, the water is too warm back there. The end of July and beginning of August is the prime month to start hitting the back bay spots. Most people won't venture back there till September because there are a lot of places where the fish aren't. After awhile, it becomes too much of a chore to find them, and they give up. That's understandable, because as I said it's not consistent. This is the time of year when current and massive baitfish concentrations pay off more than any other combination. One without the other won't work, we need both, and that's what makes it so frustrating.

Nice job on the cownose, lost a rod and reel last year to one up there when I turned my back for a minute, baaaaad mistake! :beatin:

I'm gonna call you the "cownose whisperer" from now on. :laugh:

[surfwalker]

Dark, keep those rays. I would rather stick pins in my eyes, get a** rash, or pull out nose hairs with a tweezer than hook up with them.

[clamchucker]

Fished the park early this morning. Blackfish are in season again, I got one on the incoming on green crabs, by the inlet. Shad are around too.

[wish4fish]

Then hooked up to a cow nose ray about 15 feet out. Before I could react it had taken too much line(just re-spooled last night, new braid). I got it turned around, but it was way out and then dove to the bottom and buried itself in the sand.

Happy Trails

i wonder if that ray would have been a different story if you got it in a yak, dude. maybe he would have towed you all over the place, kewl.:cool:


i got:skunk: last night, and:skunk: again this morning. and when i was drivin home i smelled a:skunk: someone run over, so i got:skunk: 3x lol:wheeeee:

[clamchucker]

Another blackfish on green crabs this morning, incoming. It was foggy but burned off quickly.

[DarkSkies]

After a hiatus from fishing that lasted way too long (starting to get the withdrawal tremors ;)) I fished a few spots this morning from 4-6am. There was a slight N/NW breeze which stiffened up a bit after sunrise, not bad. Nothing in some of my favorite spots, plugging. Had planned to use bait but was only out for a quick scout of things. I did have some crabs left over and got a small blackfish near some rocks, still swimming. I felt if I set up earlier with some bait, I would have done better. I'll try to give it more time the next time out.

My main goal was to scout some areas I haven't seen in awhile, back bay. I did find lots of peanuts in some places, they're still small, around 1". Was going to dive in and film them but the bay water got a little murky with the NW wind this morning. Next time.

The peanuts were not everywhere, but were concentrated in a few spots. I seem to remember more in those areas last year. Also saw some spearing, but didn't find the other bait I was looking for. We'll see how things shape up in the next few weeks.

[Monty]

Fished bay side this morning, 3:00-930, missed a hit early, then a couple cocktail blues, then got into a few nice choppers. They would not hit a popper this morning. Lots of fun watching the top water swimmer wiggle slowly then see the water EXPLODE..
Here's a couple pics of R-P's plugs:


7377

7379

[DarkSkies]

Fished 5-8am, different spots. Found some bluefish after sunrise, some up to 8-10#, nice fight. Like Monty said, they would not hit pencils, even my "go-to" Ace baits spook. Slow swimmers were the ticket. That seemed a little unusual, but ya gotta go with the flow. I didn't use any teasers, just the swimmers. No real evidence of any bait around. Beautiful morning. :fishing:

[bababooey]

We fished the back bay and the front yesterday for fluke. Had some peruvian spearing and gulp. Started bay fishing early, last of the incoming, only 2 fluke 17 1/2". then we made it out to some lumps about 1/2 to 1 mile off the beach, ocean county. 3 keepers to 21", the peruvian spearing won out over the gulp this time. Lots of smaller fish, and 2 small seabass. Nice bluefish Monty, we didn't see any yesterday for some reason.

[DarkSkies]

Tried for a marathon session last night, fell short of the goal. My ambitious plan was to cover 30 miles of shoreline, quickly eliminating the dead spots. Well the first 5 spots I hit were dead, so it got a little depressing.;)

At the first area, I made it on the water before the end of the incoming, and worked that, slack, and part of the outgoing with artificials. Left the bait behind. It was a good move because the water was sterile. I thought it would be cloudy from the day's storms, but it was clean and clear until about an hour into the outgoing, when I left for lack of action. The lack of small bait there was appalling, couldn't find even one small sign.That's the time you have to have the sense to leave a place for another, guys.

So I left. The lack of a moon made the tide higher, current harder, and things a little eerier and spookeir than usual. Hardly anyone was fishin lat night in the places I hit. There was also a lot of phosphorescent jellyfish when I first started out.

Another stop for coffee and cream cheese bagels at the Quik-E-Mart, and I was ready to go again. Something either happened with the day old bagels, or from me handling some old clams I had and within an hour I was pukin in a few different colors.:upck:
That kinda put a damper on the evening. I was done for awhile, decided to catch some z's.

Back up again at 2:30am, fished a few more spots. Ended up throwing artificials in one area, got one nice hit on the 3rd cast on a squid profile swimmer, no hookup. Spent the next hour trying to coax a fish out of that water. Just when I convinced myself it was time to bag it, that there was no bait around, some bait did come by. Gave it another shot for 1/2 hour, and was at the point of almost nodding off when a fish crashed on some bait about 20 feet out from where I was.

So even after giving it a shot after that, I was done. The fish know when I'm there and when I'm leaving, they mock me. :2flip: :don't know why: :laugh:

[bababooey]

Something either happened with the day old bagels, or from me handling some old clams I had and within an hour I was pukin in a few different colors.:upck:



Dark, are you eating the bait again???? You know you can get a half dozen raw clams at one of the raw bars at Seaside, lemon on the side, around $7, botulism not included. Just saying, dude.;)

[storminsteve]

Dark, are you eating the bait again???? You know you can get a half dozen raw clams at one of the raw bars at Seaside, lemon on the side, around $7, botulism not included. Just saying, dude.;)

:ROFLMAO:Can't you ask them for a little botulism on the side if you give them a tip? Sorry to hear about your puking problem, dark. I save my puking for the bluefish trips when the seas are rough. 4 footers and I'm blowing chunks whether I want to or not. I figure the captain should give me a discount as I am bringing my own chum.:D

My fishing report--- I fished Sandy Hook after work today, boy the rangers are all over the place now. You see tire tracks where they never were before, I guess that's a good thing. The surf was a little rough and the wind funny so I took a longer walk than I usually take. 6 fluke on bucktail, porkrind with a green gulp teaser, 5 sea robins as well. No keepers.:burn:

[Rickman]

Central MoCo. Flukin in the surf. 5:30-8:00 - 4 fluke 10-16 1/2 in, dropped 3 more. Andrus smilin' bill with and trailer with 4" white gulp pogy. Tons of mussels in teh water. Good to be out though for the first time in a month.

[chas527]

fished s. h. yesterday morning. not even a sea robin. nothing not evin atap. tried for fluke and blue fish.

[storminsteve]

chas, I'm no genius, the smartest thing I do is fish where the moving water is. I have also noticed when the tide is near slack, the catches stop. jmo

[captnemo]

We did well outside the RR and SH channels today, Roamer and Earle. The best fishing was early on when we had a great drift with the outgoing. Most sizable fluke were caught in only 8-15' of water. Gulp shrimp on the dropper loop and bucktail with squid strips were the ticket. 35 fluke to 24", 4 keepers. Later on the wind kicked up and we decided to call it an early day.

[surfwalker]

Early am-9:30am. NW wind about 6mph. Surf pretty big, off color, warm. Some weed, incoming. Strong, good currrent. Not a tap in the dark. My habitual yearly seagull in the braid at first light, came outta nowhere. At 7am picked up a 29" Bass on Ava007/chartreuse hackle tail hook, loaded with sea lice, otherwise chunky and a welcome sight. At 7:30 picked up a 26" Bass on Ava007/redtube tail hook, clean. Sometimes I get lucky. On the walk back it looked like the bait guys were just cleaning weed off their rigs.

Happy Trails

[cowherder]

2 bass in a trip, one being a keeper? In July? Great catch! How were you fishing the Ava, slow steady retrieve or erratic. Were you dragging it or swimming it in the middle?

[LennyD]

Nice, surfwalker.
Its good to see some bass being caught!
I haven't done any surf fishing lately, if i have a chance i go out with my kayak to RB for fluke.
For those who is looking for some cocktail blues, they are in the bay crashing on small bait.I think peanut bunker, but not sure.
Just throw small metal and you gonna be hooked.:)
Pretty soon im gonna put some time into surf fishing. So dont you guys think im all outta here. Fall is my favorite surf season. :fishing:
See you guys out there!

[surfwalker]

cowherder, Right place/Right time. Casted parrallel to the beach, contact with the current, slow, off the bottom.

[clamchucker]

cowherder, Right place/Right time. .

That's one of the biggest factors in fishing that you can't be taught. You have to learn it on your own. Nice catch surfwalker.
I fished the park today from sunrise till about 8am. the water was off color, and weedy. I managed 2 short fluke on a thin bucktail rig, no gulp. It was just too much with the weeds. It was a beautiful morning, however, and a great day to be alive.

[voyager35]

Congrats, surfwalker. I went out for Fluke and got 3 tiny ones, and a mess of sea robins. The swells were a little big today. Hey a day of fishing beats any day at work, right?

[Mike O]

Fished SH early this morning. Once again caught 2 fluke on artificial. I also came upon a disturbing thing. 2 dogfish just laying on the beach, apparently caught buy a couple of guys I spoke to a little later that were camping on the beach. I noticed the tent and rods in holders about 25 or more yards from the water line. What I did not see were the lines in the water. Needless to say I got caught on 1 of the lines with my line. I did not see anyone tending the poles so I just assumed they were asleep in the tent. I yelled back to ask if there was a line in the water and I guess woke one guy up. He walked down to me half asleep apoligizing and remarked that there were dogfish all over the place. My point here is if your not going to keep it, release it. And if you are going to sleep on the beach don't leave lines in the water. Sorry for dragging this on, but I just get PO when I see stuff like that.

Mike O

[Monty]

Mike, that is one of the things that I hate about fishing SH, seeing all the dead fish left by the skum bags. Thanks for the report.



Fished SH early this morning. Once again caught 2 fluke on artificial. My point here is if your not going to keep it, release it. And if you are going to sleep on the beach don't leave lines in the water. Sorry for dragging this on, but I just get PO when I see stuff like that.

Mike O

[finchaser]

2 trips 40 miles out 14 bluefin and 6 yellowfin to 61 pounds

[Monty]

Did some pluging bay side early AM. Trip was cut short by the lightning. Lost one fish, water looked nice. Last year not one outing was effected by lightning. This year two of the last three trips have been skrewed up. Frieken weatherman........... urghh.

[DarkSkies]

Monty at least you were out there and gave it a shot. :thumbsup: I got up early to come down and try to find you, rain was pounding the house, and I fell back asleep. Glad to hear ya had some action. :HappyWave:

Surfwalker, talk about a needle in a haystack, you nailed an elusive July keeper. wtg!

[DarkSkies]

2 trips 40 miles out 14 bluefin and 6 yellowfin to 61 pounds


Ya went for tuna :drool: and ya didn't call me??? :beatin: Maybe no one ever told ya, but I contribute my share to all expenses on any trip I'm on, I'm a great 1st mate, and I clean every boat I go on so it looks brand new after the trip. ;)

Sounds like you did great on the bft, I had heard that the yelllowfins were more abundant. What other kinds of bait did you see out there?

Were you just trolling for those, or did you get any on the chunk? Any dolphins in that close, bulls or chickens? 40 miles is close! Near the GH, Arrundo? or were you in the Bermuca triangle and an undisclosed location? A friend went out of CM 2 weeks ago but they said it was just heating up, a little spotty. Either way, great catches! :clapping:

[DarkSkies]

Fish on the bottom. I only had 1 1/2 hours to fish this morning as I got a late start and had to get some other things done. I fished in the ocean from the bottom of the tide and part of the incoming.

I remembered surfwalker catching the bass on the Avas, and remember in years past I would often get them near sun-up in the summer by dragging avas on the bottom. Back to basics, that's what I did. One bass, maybe 26", around 7, ava with green tail. There was also a flurry of bird activity about 1000 ft offshore around this time. Only lasted a few minutes, could have been bluefish, or shad, but they never came in.

There are still a few bass around. Thanks for jogging my memory, surfwalker. :thumbsup:

[GeoffT]

Late report somewhere in MoCo...a few keeper bass and a couple blues on plastic and wood swimmers between my buddy and I one night over the weekend. My bud also caught a 12.5# weakie, a nice surprise. All on outgoing.

At one point, I had a fish hammer my schoolbus bomber and rip off line for at least 10 seconds, rod bent completely double, before it came off after finally cranking the reel once. The bomber came back with no mark or missing hook so I believe it was a 20+# bass - in fact, I'm sure of it. My suspicions were confirmed when less than an hour later, another angler nearby hauled in a 20+# bass - on a bomber, of course. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the fish I lost. :(

[DarkSkies]

:clapping: wtg, Geoff. Catching a bass in July that doesn't come from a boat or bridge is like finding a needle in a haystack. Catching a weakie that big? Maybe like finding the Holy Grail or the Loch Ness Monster. ;) I had to speak up for another guy I know somewhere else, he caught that 56" bass 2 weeks ago, and some people on the site questioned it.

For the most part, the bass are far north. But, as you saw the night you were out, Geoff, there are a few good nights. I know of a few others being caught as well, some decent fish that can be measured in #, not ".

I think the old adage 'You gotta put in your time" doesn't necessarily apply here. You could put in your time 10 nights in a row, and get nothing. Then a lucky one or 2 guys will have some action on the 11th night, and then maybe nothing until the 18th night. As most people have seen, there is no clear pattern.

IMO isn't just a case of "right place, right time" as some have said here. It's a case of being lucky enough to be there when fish are there, and then using your skill to get one. Although somewhat discouraging, I like those odds a little better. There are places I could always hit night fish at last year, and I have come up empty handed this year more times than I can count.

And then you have that ONE night when everything comes together, and you are the only one there because most guys have decided that it isn't worth it. :kooky:

Peace, serenity, solitude, and a 5% chance to catch a bass, priceless. :D

[chas527]

fished s.h this morning 7 small fluke 1sea robbon 1 sand shark 1star gazer. alot of fun .water was beautiful.

[GeoffT]

Thanks, DS. He was getting fish all week in that spot as lots of bait, including bunker, was holding them there. But another friend tried it this morning and found the place lifeless. So fish and bait have moved on elsewhere. At least I had a good shot at them before they did. :thumbsup:

[storminsteve]

Thanks, DS. He was getting fish all week in that spot as lots of bait, including bunker, was holding them there. But another friend tried it this morning and found the place lifeless. So fish and bait have moved on elsewhere. At least I had a good shot at them before they did. :thumbsup:

Here today, gone tomorrow.:lookhappy: Sounds like someone had a good night, contrats on the great action. I fished SH from 5-8 tonight on the outgoing. Got some short fluke first on gulp, and then some robbins and a skate as the tide bottomed. It was a little breezy, but the surf wasn't bad, just no real fish around. Great sunset, one of the clouds looked like a mushroom cloud.

[cowherder]

Moco from 4 to 6am today, outgoing tide. I was hoping that the storms from yesterday might bring some bass in so I had one pole for fresh clams. The other one I used a 1/2 oz bucktail and pork, and a green gulp for a teaser. I got a 27" bass on the clam right around sunrise. Then I got 2 small fluke on the gulp. The ocean wasn't that bad, but it was amazing on the way there how many trees got hit by lightning yesterday. Some places looked like a hurricane came through there were so many trees down.

[fishinmission78]

The ocean wasn't that bad, but it was amazing on the way there how many trees got hit by lightning yesterday. Some places looked like a hurricane came through there were so many trees down.

cowherder I thought the same thing to myself on the drive in to the park. Lots of insurance calls will be made today. The news reports said that the lightning part of the storms was the worst they have seen in years. Something about 5000 lightning strikes/hour, that's a lot.
I fished Island Beach last night, there was a big SE swell, you needed 10 oz to hold, and even then it wasn't always working. Only managed one small shark.

[wish4fish]

been hitting some nice blues back in the bay for sunset fishing, not every day, its a coin toss. today they came in eating the peanuts an hour after the tide started to go out, but they were really small, got a mess of em on short poppers.

[surfwalker]

On the walk at 4-4:30am til 10am, out front. Wind felt like ESE-8-10mph( I've never done very well in this wind). Constant breakers/close. Water a little off color. Overcast/cloudy/some rain. Water warm(it's July). Outgoing. Saw no bait. Pretty fast current. Nothing in the dark, with/without teaser. After first light, teeny Bass on a 3 1/2 inch popper in the trough, dropped it in the wash, that was it. Picked up two Fluke, Gulp teaser, just the right size for Ritz crackers.

Happy Trails

[chas527]

fished s.h. yesterday morning . nice morning after the storm. no fish just sea robbins.

[DarkSkies]

Nice goin Surfwalker, I could have come lookin for ya this morning, I bet we weren't too far apart.:HappyWave:

Chas, it seems fishin up that way is tough now, no consistency at all, unless you consider catching sea robins consistent.;)

I fished the ocean this AM. Got a late start, that's ok, but bad for the eel fishin at night I wanted to do. Storms were bad. I met a fly fisherman coming out, he shared some good intel about Cape Cod. Seems like the place to be right now, thanks. And you didn't miss anything by leaving early. Nice to meet ya. :HappyWave:

Not much to report, fished 6:30-9:30 AM. Started with clams and live eels, that was the original game plan from the night before.

One very nice hit on the live eel at 7:30. I'm having a conversation with myself a few minutes before this - said, Man WHY are you fishin eels in the daytime, no one catches fish with eels in the daytime! :kooky:

A few secs later, I had the nice hit, let go of the line, counted to 5, and set the hook. Seemed like the fish was on, it took drag for another 5 secs, and then it was gone. Eel came back without any teeth marks on it.:don't know why:

Put another live eel on and fished that with a sinker, bouncing bottom like the other one, but no results.

Thr clam pole got hit around 7:50. It wasn't a great hit, probably small fish, no hookup.

Continued to try various rubber baits and bucktails, and mid-level swimmers until I decided to fluke. Got one small one on a pink zoom on leadhead/ with gulp teaser.

Then I was mugged by a grandfather and his crew. There was no one up or down the beach within a mile of us, and he and his family set up 50 feet to my left. :huh: I tried to have a nice conversation with him, said that the current was strong, he and the kids only had 1/2 oz sinkers for their spearing setups, and I predicted our lines would get tangled.

He thanked me, said he was fishin that exact spot for 30 years, it would not happen, and continued to seine for bait. They got some spearing fresh from the wash and could not catch anything other than one sea robin. Felt pretty bad for the guy, so I ended up leaving. If you can't get fluke with the natural bait that's around, that says there aren't too many of them where you are. Saw some boats in the area, they seemed to have similar poor luck as they fished the last of the outgoing.

Someone said the bay water was in the 80's, ocean temps had to be in the mid 70's, not the greatest for bass, but something liked the eel. Next time will be at night.

[captnemo]

. If you can't get fluke with the natural bait that's around, that says there aren't too many of them where you are. Saw some boats in the area, they seemed to have similar poor luck as they fished the last of the outgoing.




Dark, I might have somewhat of an idea of the general area you have been fishing. In my experience a lot of fluke now are near inlets or river systems, and not concentrated in the ocean. That grandfather you mentioned would have done better to go to the Highlands and rented a boat from there, and drifted near the bridge and river. We had a good day in Sandy Hook bay yesterday. Weather conditions looked dark at first, but they eventually cleared up. The two of us caught 48 fluke and 4 keepers to 5.5lbs. All on bucktail and chartreuse gulp minnow combo. Most of the fish were caught on the outgoing, and it slowed down quite a bit after the tide change.