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View Full Version : NJ fishing reports for Oct 1-15, 2009



DarkSkies
10-01-2009, 04:57 PM
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

DarkSkies
10-01-2009, 05:01 PM
C4charlie you won the plug in the September random drawing!:clapping: :thumbsup:

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.

If you struck out or got skunked, it would be helpful to hear that as well. Anyone who posts a report can win a plug even if they got skunked! :skunk::D


This month we're giving out plugs from Ace Baits.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...splay.php?f=83 (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/forumdisplay.php?f=83)

PM me your info so I can send it out. Thanks for posting and helping to make this a great site! :clapping:


http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6338&thumb=1&d=1238964999 (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6338&d=1238964999)

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6340&thumb=1&d=1238965622 (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6340&d=1238965622)


http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6339&thumb=1&d=1238965319 (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6339&d=1238965319)

DarkSkies
10-01-2009, 06:17 PM
I did a whirlwind tour of Monmouth and Ocean counties last night. Checking out some intel, scouting at low tide. Back to some spots I haven't been to in a while. Also had a chance to meet up with someone I look up to and is all about old skool fishin. :HappyWave:

There was tons of bait in the back, not much in the front at the places where I fished. Hit it up for awhile, nothing there either, except small bluefish feeding on small bait.

Hit a few places in each county, I was most impressed wtih the gin clear water in Ocean county. Got out past the bar to some deeper cuts, throwing needles and teasers, and some smaller swimmers.

Not a tap in either county, total of 5 areas visited. The night started out with a promising W/NW wind, which then diminished as I fished the beginning of the flood starting around 12:30. The ocean was flat as a lake and the moon was bright, a little too placid for a good bite in that area.

Caught a few Zss in the van, and then back at it again at 5:30am, plugging some very flat and calm water in the ocean. Lake Atlantic.

Got one bluefish med size around 8# near first light. I was throwing an ava007 with orange tail and teaser, fish hit the ava. Fished a little more until I was running out of time, had to get to work. Another guy hooked up with a decent bluefish and I wanted to stay, but work prevailed and I didn't win the lottery yet.:D

7778

7779

7780



There was some bait in the surf line and birds started to work the bait. I really wanted to spend more time. :drool: Hey that's fishin!

buckethead
10-02-2009, 08:29 AM
Fished SH last night 6-12. It was a little cold out there. I ended up with one skate.

c4charlie
10-02-2009, 09:26 AM
C4charlie you won the plug in the September random drawing!:clapping: :thumbsup:


Those Ace Bait spooks are deadly. I get more fish interested in that plug than any others. I lost one recently and I was so bummed. Excited to be the winner! Thanks Darkskies.

OK, My report...

Decided to hit the inside of NOMOCO from 10-3. First cast with a bucktail and rind and fish bites it but it is a big bluefish which slices through the 50lb mono like butter and bye bye bucktail. Then I thought I was cursed for the rest of the night. Finally a couple hours later in a different spot, hookup on the bucktail. Didn't measure but it was barely under keeper size. Very healthy fish. Then had a couple misses on the Ace Bait spook and a couple bumps but that was it as far as catching. Fished with a very experienced angler that says that it is nothing like it use to be. Can I go back to the 70s or even the 90s would work for me. Probably 90s would be better because it would be pretty difficult for me to hold a surf rod being a newborn or toddler.

Tight Lines.

I also went out on Wed night and got a skunk. Had one on for a while and a couple misses. They liked the redfin that night.

My favorite way to catch a fish is on a bucktail in heavy current so I was really happy to catch one in bleak conditions last night.

yardvillejimmy
10-02-2009, 10:44 AM
Fished OC Thursday evening. Couple of bumps using teaser rig. No fish. Definitely a poor start to fall fishing season.

yukon
10-02-2009, 01:32 PM
Thought I'd change it up a bit and hit sunrise. Planned on getting on the sand by 4 which turned out being 6. I've never been a morning person. I think I'll stick to nights... 42 degrees outside. Felt good.

MoCo outfront 6 - 8am - One short Bass. Ocean was a lake. Went North and then in the back to see if anything was getting steered up but all was quiet. I got it on the new 6in vision sand eel with the 5in hollow eel as a teaser. I was throwin a shad for awhile then switched and first cast got him. Not sure it was the sand eel but what the hell I'm going with it.

clamchucker
10-02-2009, 04:24 PM
Got a few small fish in the OC surf this AM, mostly on the teaser, 3 small weakfish and 6 hickory shad. Bring the kids or grandchildren out in the morning and bring your freshwater rods, they are great fun for kids to catch.

lostatsea
10-02-2009, 04:35 PM
A friend and I were fishing nomoco yesterday from 5-7pm. We hit a nice run of blues 8-12lbs, using metals. No visible signs of bait working or fish feeding. We each got about 5 and lost many more, lots of fun.

vpass
10-02-2009, 07:59 PM
Yesterdays report, fished NoMoCo from 5:00pm to 8:00pm. Water was flat, and crystal clear. There was some small bait around. I caught 1 Fluke about 21 inches, 1 Shad, and snaged a skate. shad on teaser, fluke on a schoolbus bomber.

stripermania
10-02-2009, 08:45 PM
Water was flat, and crystal clear.

You got that right! I ended up with nothing.

DarkSkies
10-03-2009, 01:18 AM
Fished in front of the SE weather pattern tonight, 7:30 - 11:30pm. Started in the back. The wind was blowing SE at the time and starting to build. The turbulent water was behind me. It was easy to cast a mile, but the fish were not where I thought they might be.

Went through plugs, swimmers, spook, needlefish, jigs, rubber and bucktails. Even set up a rod with bunker, got one weak runoff on that. My only other catches were Mrs Jellyfish and Mr Seaweed. Fished the first 2 hours of the ebb at that spot.

7784




Decided to make a move about 20 miles away, another place in the back. At the 2nd place the tide had just started going out. I fished almost the first 2 hours of the ebb there as well. At least at the 2nd place there was some bait, spearing and mullet, and some small fish busting on the surface. Threw the same variety of offerings as at the first place, on a teaser rig with a white teaser. Nothing happening until I got a hit on a blue/clear/silver jointed bomber about 10 minutes before I left, and dropped the fish.

With all the bait evident, I felt the 2nd place might turn on later, but didn't feel like making it an all nighter, so I cut it short.

The wind was most intense near the beach. At times while driving I was a few miles away from the surf, and it didn't seem windy at all. At the 2nd place, the wind eventually turned to a hard South wind. I remember monster bluefish being thick in these back areas last year for weeks at a time! I really miss that action. :drool:

yardvillejimmy
10-03-2009, 08:18 AM
Fished MoCo out back with two friends Friday afternoon into dark. :skunk:

basshunter
10-03-2009, 02:30 PM
LBI this morning, a little windy and hard to fish. Had trouble holding with 8oz. I figured it was after the rain, so I used clams and sandworms. One dogfish on the clams. One bass 32" and a few fluke on the sandworms.

cowherder
10-03-2009, 04:46 PM
I fished sandy hook from 9-12 today, skunkola. I did see some birds working far out but they never came in.

porgy75
10-03-2009, 05:16 PM
Fished the SoMoCo area 1:30-4:30 today. The water was rough, and some of it was dirty. It was nice when the sun came out, though. I got one short striped bass 25" on bunker. Thanks for all your help guys!

gjb1969
10-04-2009, 01:15 AM
well i have bin fishing a place most guys wont fish the water has bin clear but there has bin no big fish at all just small snappers and very short bass a few ling the only thing good i saw was lots of mullet if i had a cast net i would have bait for days but i had a day on the water just wish i had my small motor to put on my boat in the spot were the bait is but i can wait to get it done hope the bigbass show themselves soon:fishing: tite lines and good fishin to all

Mike O
10-04-2009, 08:07 AM
For one reason or another I have not been getting to go fishing, but finally did early Sat. morning @ SH. Got 2 nice keepers within an hour of each other. Released 1 and kept the other for the table. As per usual they both hit the teaser ahead of metal near the bottom. When I opened up the belly of the fish I kept the last couple of meals seem to be small crabs. Hope everyone has a good fall season.

Mike O

DarkSkies
10-04-2009, 11:39 AM
For one reason or another I have not been getting to go fishing, but finally did early Sat. morning @ SH. Got 2 nice keepers within an hour of each other. Released 1 and kept the other for the table. As per usual they both hit the teaser ahead of metal near the bottom. When I opened up the belly of the fish I kept the last couple of meals seem to be small crabs. Hope everyone has a good fall season.

Mike O

WTG Mike, nice catch! Every time there is a full moon the shedder crabs loom on a bass's menu. Crabs and mantis shrimp are abundant forage right now. That's one of the reasons bait guys are starting to pick up a few decent sized fish. Nice to hear the metal and teaser combo picked ya up a few. :HappyWave:

DarkSkies
10-04-2009, 12:13 PM
Pebbles and I went scouting in a lot of the popular Moco areas last night, and some of the less popular ones. Surf, sand, rocks and whitewater, I wish I could tell ya's that fish were jumping all over, but the fishing was somewhat lacking.

Also lacking was the participation, hardly anyone out there. That's a blessing sometimes, but we couldn't help feeling a lot of people have given up on the fall run so far.

Sure there are lots of diversions, like the IBSP and Seaside tournaments yesterday and today, the opening of hunting season, and the funniest diversion we saw all night.... a short drunk guy who thought he was 7' tall fighting at a wedding reception at a popular hangout, being dragged out of the place by his women friends, and finally falling on his girlfriend and hurting her ankle. :argue:

The people were all dressed formally, and it almost felt like they were filming a movie. It was comical, or sad, depending on how you looked at it. :don't know why:

Anyway, conditions were perfect, a mild S wind building to about 15mph, gradually lessening to a period of dead calm, and a shift to the W when we packed in for the night.

We fished and scouted from 8:30 - 1:30AM. I had high hopes for the full moon blowout tide, and the moon brightness wasn't even an issue. It remained obscured by clouds for most of the night, and as mentioned, there was plenty of clean white water to stir things up.

As we visited all the places that were in full swing for holding night bass at this time last year, we found a lack of life and bait. We still fished each spot like it held a trophy anyway, sometimes you never know. Needles, darters, bucktails, shads, bombers with teasers, we went through all the fall presentations.

There were some places where the white water was so fishy looking I didn't want to leave and move on, but sadly they held no fish, not even the small schoolies that were so abundant. We kept moving, and met some cool people along the way.

The fly fisherman who was trying so hard to entice a fish at that inlet, serious in his concentration. Nice to meet ya and share some stories when ya took a break. :HappyWave:

He and another guy were workin the current intensely with different presentations, neither got a tap. It also inspired me a little, talking to him I found this guy drives 4 hours (one way) from Pa for EACH TRIP! He fishes for a few hours, and then drives back again. I doubt most of us have to drive this far for just for a chce to pursue our love of fishin.

Hat's off to you dude, we who live closer should have nothing to complain about on the nights we get skunked. :cool:

We also met the Kang family, fishing for blackfish. They even brought the little ones along. They caught a small dogfish and the children were fascinated. The littlest boy was scared at first, and after he got over some fear he said: "Hey I want to catch some more!" :thumbsup:

7785

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There is still bait by the bridges and rivers, and that's where we found the most hardcore club guys and die hard fishermen. Yet even with all the meat they were putting in the water, they came up empty handed for most of the outgoing.

We moved around some more, and continued to downsize our offerings until we were throwing tiny plugs in the 3" range with teasers. Pebbles managed the best success of the night when she got a fish to explode on the tiny swimmer she was throwing, but missed the hookup.

:clapping: to her anyway, she's making me proud with her patience, diligence, and desire to fish more and more white water. What more could a guy ask for? :heart: When she catches a bigger fish it will not be because of me, but because she puts in her time like everyone else. :thumbsup:

We left around 1:30. A quick visit to another hotspot on the way home confirmed that those guys weren't producing with clams and bunker, even by dropping it on the fish's heads. :huh:

It was a beautiful night out, when many people seemed to have taken a vacation from fishing. It seems the bulk of the fish are on vacation in Mass. right now as well. ;)

surfwalker
10-04-2009, 03:08 PM
The past few early morning walks have not given any indications of honey holes being found by me. This mornings full moon was not a problem, being covered by clouds and thick fog. The dark produced nothing on anything thrown and a lot were thrown-with/without a teaser. First light has been my time for hits and hook ups. Few small Bass on small black over silver plugs, nothing on teasers for me (good job MikeO). Loaded with bait, good current and active water, but the Albies musta went to church and the Bass shut off at sunup(like they had to be somewhere else). On the walk back, there were many, many bait guys, like some one told them that we were killing the Bass at this spot, most were fishless. I don't know how some of the solo guys keep track of all the rods they bring. The water is still warm, better days have to come. The walks are still always looked forward to.

clamchucker
10-04-2009, 06:36 PM
I knew the Park would be crowded with the Governors cup today, so I fished a bit above it. A few small weakfish on a diamond jig, 007, and white teaser. Also 2 hickory shad, 5-7am. As surfwalker said, the water is still very warm. I would estimate it was in the high 60's.

SharkHart
10-04-2009, 08:17 PM
My partner was late so we missed sun up but i thought we'd get a boatload of fluke again on the teasers and stuff but even that was flopped, I picked up 3, we switched to tog and got about 15-20 shorts in PP.

Things always seem to go into a Lull early Oct, in September the water goes down a smidge and a few residents wake up and bite lures, feels like the start, you get a few cool days, feels like fall, you feel ready for the run, they it dumps out until some blues get active around the 13-15th of oct most years, then the bass wave usually comes 10 days after or so, This is tradtional the time of year i run to Montauk to get get fish but there is none there!

fishinmission78
10-04-2009, 08:32 PM
Things always seem to go into a Lull early Oct, in September the water goes down a smidge and a few residents wake up and bite lures, feels like the start, you get a few cool days, feels like fall, you feel ready for the run, they it dumps out until some blues get active around the 13-15th of oct most years, then the bass wave usually comes 10 days after or so,

I was out in OC in the fog this morning, got a few spike weakies, and there were tons of snappers perfect bait size. Livelined a few, nothing. Put a few in a big livewell I carry around, used them tonight in my ace in the hole spot in the back of BB, nothing.:don't know why: What a waste. I hope you're right about some decent fish being around the corner. A lot of my friends are putting up fluke reports. Sorry, I was interested in fluke reports back when we could keep them, now not so much.

c4charlie
10-05-2009, 09:27 AM
Fun weekend for us. Thought I was going to kid tourney on Sat and then Governors on Sun. Once I got down Sat, I found out the kids one was postponed to Sun. So we fished IBSP on Sat and the kids tourney on Sunday in Seaside Heights.

My big story is that my 3 and almost 5 year old caught their first ocean fish solo this weekend. 4 hour tournament, they took a total of half hour break for lunch and a snack or two. Rest of the time they were holding the rods and somehow managing to feel the bites and hook up and land 7 small blues and 1 fluke mainly on mullet rigs and clam. Very proud of the little guys. We were using mostly 3-4 oz of lead until the end when we put on 5. That is a lot of work for two little guys. Didn't see any other kids that young as dedicated. Funny when you see the parents fishing for the kids that are playing in the sand and do the hand off once the fish is caught. I would say that is fine but when it is a kids tourney, the kids should hook the fish. I casted for them and then handed off the rod and it was 100% them from there on. Very proud of the little guys.http://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/images/smilies/graemlins/clapping.gif

I caught some small blues and my first ever weakfish on 1oz T-hex.

They want to go back next weekend. Not sure what will happen when the fish are bigger.

buckethead
10-05-2009, 09:29 AM
Oc county last night. Got 1 weak fish on a deadly **** and 2 hickory shads.

DarkSkies
10-05-2009, 11:23 AM
We weren't complete fools last night, but at times felt like it. G and I started the night with some scouting in the back. I wanted to net some fresh mullet for bait. They came by in nice size schools a few times but I missed the drop with the building S wind. Then as we were leaving they came by again. It was like they were mocking us. :embarassed: And again, the moon wasn't a problem, as it was obscured by clouds for most of the time we were out there.

On the plus side, there are still a lot of mullet around in the back bays. They're getting bigger, along with the spearing.

Hit a few more places with the dropping tide. Ended up where a lot of bait was coming through, and the fish started to actively feed. We found smaller offerings were needed and kept downsizing, using teasers as well.

The fish were non-committal with the artificials, light hearted hits and half-swipes. It was frustrating. No one else was doing much where we were, and we swung at and missed a few.

Halfway through the ebb, we decided to hit the ocean. As we were leaving, a few nice schools of mullet came by. We could see they numbered in the hundreds, but they remained just out of reach.

We plugged the ocean for awhile with needles, teasers, and some other swimmers. Building W winds made our casts seem like Superman casts. No hits out far or in the trough, and we called it a night at 3am.

DarkSkies
10-05-2009, 12:05 PM
My big story is that my 3 and almost 5 year old caught their first ocean fish solo this weekend. 4 hour tournament, they took a total of half hour break for lunch and a snack or two. Rest of the time they were holding the rods and somehow managing to feel the bites and hook up and land 7 small blues and 1 fluke mainly on mullet rigs and clam. Very proud of the little guys. We were using mostly 3-4 oz of lead until the end when we put on 5. That is a lot of work for two little guys. Didn't see any other kids that young as dedicated. Funny when you see the parents fishing for the kids that are playing in the sand and do the hand off once the fish is caught. I would say that is fine but when it is a kids tourney, the kids should hook the fish. I casted for them and then handed off the rod and it was 100% them from there on. Very proud of the little guys.http://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/images/smilies/graemlins/clapping.gif

I caught some small blues and my first ever weakfish on 1oz T-hex.

They want to go back next weekend. Not sure what will happen when the fish are bigger.

Charlie, I've met your family and your boys. They are great at the fresh water thing, but I know you had concerns about them in the salt and the bigger fish. All valid concerns as any good father would have.

You're a good Dad. You give them responsibility and challenges one step at a time, and try to teach them the ethical way to do things. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

As for the tournament and the parents.. too many parents want their children or win at any cost, even to the point of doing the work, or fishing for them.

How much sweeter the victory when the children do the work on their own, with the parents guidance. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon3.gif You're teaching them things that will build character and last a lifetime. Good for you and them, they're lucky to have such a good Dad.

(And you'll be able to use that as consolation when both of them beat your saltwater records, maybe sooner than you think!! :laugh: ;))

Sounds like you all had some great times, good story. :HappyWave:

chas527
10-05-2009, 12:54 PM
fished nomoco this morning 1 striper just before day light 26 inches.saw lots of birds working way out.also saw big splashes all around mite have been albees.

GeoffT
10-05-2009, 01:33 PM
No fish here in NJ so it's time for me to make another northern excursion. Going this Thursday through Saturday. :HappyWave:

A friend of mine went to this historic bass hold a few weeks ago and caught 91 bass over 3 nights. :clapping:

He hopes to get this lucky again with me along but I'd be happy with a few fish.

finchaser
10-05-2009, 01:35 PM
Out front this AM 5-8am

1) 26" bass on a teaser
12) blues to 10# on one of my tin squids

LennyD
10-05-2009, 02:02 PM
yesterday evening MOCO, nothing, my friemd picked up a small weaky on needlefish, then I tried the back bay, same there, nada.
I personally don't like full moon.
also yesterday went to the bay to net some bait, got some nice size mullet, snapper blue.

luv2fsh
10-06-2009, 09:55 AM
I would first off like to thank DarkSkies for introducing me to this excellent forum! updated daily with everyday fisherman always willing to lend out a tip or two is incredible... I met dark at another forum and truly a great person (even though havent officially met yet) so thank you for all your fishing expertise and im sure there will be more to come!!!

anyhows let me add a reports:

Decided to start my fall fishing season up this past weekend and got the big old skunk-a-roo... went out sunday morning out front north side of SH... decided to try the pluggin scene so I went out with poppers, metal lipped swimmers and diamond jigs.. a buddy of mine makes his own poppers and swimmers so i bought a couple and decided to try it out... im a bait and cast kinda guy but i have always heard that catching a cow on a popper or swimmer is an excellent sensation... heck catching a cow on bait or lure im sure feels incredible but the fishing gods did not shine down upon me on sunday... warm and foggy and water wasn't cold at all (prob mid 60's or so) and after a full moon maybe had something to do with not catchign anything... after gettin kicked out of NB (rangers needed to close down the parking lot for some race that was going on) i had to drive down a bit to another parking lot and decided to fish for another 2 hrs or so... caught a stargazer on my diamond jig but nothin else hit... other fisherman had the same luck with the exception of a small fluke or skate that occasionally would hit their lines... So i dunno what to make of this fall season just yet... felt awesome to be out there but when u get skunked with no action at all kind of makes everything that much worse... is bait the way to go right now or is pluggin the right way? i am planning on heading down sat to SH and give it another go... anyhows tight lines fellow fishermen/fisherwomen :fishing:

fishjay
10-06-2009, 10:58 AM
fished OC late yesterday. one blue about 12 lbs on a popper

DarkSkies
10-06-2009, 11:12 AM
I would first off like to thank DarkSkies for introducing me to this excellent forum! updated daily with everyday fisherman always willing to lend out a tip or two is incredible... I met dark at another forum and truly a great person (even though havent officially met yet) so thank you for all your fishing expertise and im sure there will be more to come!!!

... So i dunno what to make of this fall season just yet... felt awesome to be out there but when u get skunked with no action at all kind of makes everything that much worse... is bait the way to go right now or is pluggin the right way? i am planning on heading down sat to SH and give it another go... anyhows tight lines fellow fishermen/fisherwomen :fishing:


Hey Luv2fish, welcome! :HappyWave:

As for your comments, I think this fall is a bit different than the past few falls. There is a place in the ocean not far from where you fish where the action was incredible, on a daily basis, for the last 2 years in a row. There is another place where we were catching monster bluefish, and some bass, with some regularity, at night for the past few years. That action usually began around the beginning of Sept.

There are places in Ocean County where for the last few years you could set your watch by the fact that you could hit them up at certain night tides, and always score a few fish.

It's different this year, as mentioned in another thread,
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?p=24598

Some people don't like to use bait, they like the thrill of making the right presentation and nailing a fish with artificials. That's a fantastic strategy, but sometimes it doesn't work. Those are the times I fish bait. The biggest fish over the season are usually pulled in on one kind of bait or another. You can make your own interpretation of that.

I still plug because the feeling of a fish hitting your presentation is addictive for me. I need that feeling on a regular basis, need it!

Glad to have ya aboard, look forward to finally meeting ya one night out there, tight lines. :thumbsup:

LennyD
10-07-2009, 08:11 AM
Last night hit NOMOCO beaches, 3 different locations, at the first location after dark only 1 strike a blue took my needlefish, at the other location :skunk:
Then by high tide went to RB hoping maybe by the creek i'll find some action, and i've got :skunk: again.
Lately fishing is not good for me.
This weekend i'll be up in Montauk, i'll let you guys know what is up there.
As i hear not really promising, but a true fisherman cant give up. I dont rely on reports, im trying to find the fish on my own, but if i hear something i always keep that in mind.

c4charlie
10-07-2009, 12:58 PM
Because of the winds last night, I decided to cutoff the teaser which I think was probably a bad idea. Got about 6 bumps, 2 hookups and landed only one nice and healthy fat 26" fish landed in NOMOCO. From what I could tell, fish were in every spot I hit last night but the conditions with the wind made it tough keeping the lure in the strike zone. Mag darters and bombers and needlefish were the lures they were interested in.

Saw a very nice 35" fish landed and some other stripers from others who were out. All action was out front. Saw some nightime blues caught as well. I hit some spots I don't usually fish and they looked real good as far as beach structure.

Stayed out way too late until 3am.:boring:

DarkSkies
10-07-2009, 01:11 PM
Last night hit NOMOCO beaches, 3 different locations, at the first location after dark only 1 strike a blue took my needlefish, at the other location :skunk:
Then by high tide went to RB hoping maybe by the creek i'll find some action, and i've got :skunk: again.
Lately fishing is not good for me.
This weekend i'll be up in Montauk, i'll let you guys know what is up there.
As i hear not really promising, but a true fisherman cant give up. I dont rely on reports, im trying to find the fish on my own, but if i hear something i always keep that in mind.




"....a true fisherman can't give up." Even if being out there causes him to question his own sanity? ;) :thumbsup:

That says it all right there, man. When you think you should call it a night, but a voice in your head keeps telling ya there's a bass around the next corner, the next cove, pocket, or seam, just one more cast.... :kooky:

You didn't miss much by going home last night, we were all over the place trying to put a catch together. The reality didn't live up to the great expectations we had. Hey, that's fishin! :HappyWave:

DarkSkies
10-07-2009, 01:29 PM
Last night I was supposed to go to the weaklfish meeting in Toms River. Had to work late and the van was sputtering. I figured I had to change the spark plugs before driving any distance, and I missed the meeting. I was so mad at myself. :beatin:

I changed the plugs, muttering like an old crazy fool. Meanwhile a friend was fishin all day yesterday chasing fish. He wasn't successful, but let me know that sand eels and peanuts were stacked up on the beach. :drool:

JoizyBass was out fishin, so I sent him there. Within 15 minutes he had 2 bass, one a decent 14 or so, about 35" on a mackerel pattern magdarter. He was fishin the last of the flood.


Since I already missed the meeting, I felt I should get out while the water was still clear and before today's 30+mph winds muddied it up. Met him as he was driving home, took a pic of his fish, and hit the sand. It seems he had the hot hand for the night. :2flip: ;)

Sorry the pic is a little blurry.
7806



I worked the water anyway and met a few guys there with the same idea. Bumped into C4 and we decided to try one more area where we figured the bait would be stacked for the ebb. There wasn't much bait evident, and the right to left sweep, along with building seas and a strong S wind, made it hard to present our offerings. At most you got 30 secs in the strike zone.

Every fisherman loves a challenge, so we tried anyway with heavier needles to punch it out there, along with teasers, bucktails, and rubber mullet with lead heads.

I was absentmindedly finishing one cast and concentrating on a walk down the beach for the next cast when I got hit by a decent fish. Pulled drag, but I allowed too much slack with the waves and failed on the hookset, dropped the fish. It was a GOOGTASTIC move, any Goog would be proud. :embarassed:

We were set to leave for somewhere else, but we decided to stay. Then C4 hooked and dropped a fish, so we stayed a little longer. Eventually we realized it was not as happening as we thought for the outgoing, so made a move to another place. Tide wasn't right for that spot, so we moved on.

Ended up on another beach, looking for a lee from the wind. It was halfway through the ebb at that time. C4 hooked and released a short fat bass, :thumbsup: I got blanked.

He went home, but I wasn't ready to give it up. Went back to another spot, still nothing doing there. Somewhere around 6am I decided to give the ocean one more shot. 150 casts later I had a medium bluefish on a 2 oz smilin bill bucktail with pork, dragged on the bottom. The seas continued to build as the tide was now coming in. Finally gave up the hunt for that one bass that would have made the trip worthwhile, and cut it short to get to work.



7807

Overall, it was still a great night to be fishin. The moon was again covered by clouds, the rain between 1:30-4:30am was only a light drizzle, and intermittent. The biggest obstacle was the wind. Otherwise it was comfortable and great to be out.

gjb1969
10-07-2009, 02:53 PM
AT LEAST U GUYS GOT FISH I STILL STRUCK OUT :clapping: SO GOOD FOR U AND C4:fishing:

fishinmission78
10-07-2009, 03:44 PM
Managed 2 bluefish this morning at IBSP, bottle plugs. The wind was intense, I got the fish by basically holding the plugs between the 2nd and 3rd rows of waves.

wish4fish
10-07-2009, 11:17 PM
JoizyBass was out fishin, so I sent him there. Within 15 minutes he had 2 bass, one a decent 14 or so, about 35" on a mackerel pattern magdarter. He was fishin the last of the flood.


Since I already missed the meeting, I felt I should get out while the water was still clear and before today's 30+mph winds muddied it up. Met him as he was driving home, took a pic of his fish, and hit the sand. It seems he had the hot hand for the night. :2flip: ;)

Sorry the pic is a little blurry.
7806





dude that bass looks a lot bigger than 14 pounds:wow: nice catch! we fished the back of rb tonight from 6-10:45 on the incoming. hit a couple of gator blues on poppers at 6, then it died down at dark. threw some clams and we got 2 bass, 1 27", 1 32". bass are on the prowl lol

chas527
10-08-2009, 01:30 PM
fished sandy hook this morning. one blue fish about 10 pounds. saw alot of bunker early.

luv2fsh
10-08-2009, 03:03 PM
fished sandy hook this morning. one blue fish about 10 pounds. saw alot of bunker early.

hopefully they will be hanging around awhile and there will be fish underneath them... im going to SH early sat morning and gonna dead stick a high low rig with a bunker chunk and a nice fresh clam... bring the plugging rod too... you gotta be in it to win it... three different meals on the menu for those cows... hopefully they show up and they show up hungry :drool:

DarkSkies
10-08-2009, 08:58 PM
dude that bass looks a lot bigger than 14 pounds:wow: nice catch! we fished the back of rb tonight from 6-10:45 on the incoming. hit a couple of gator blues on poppers at 6, then it died down at dark. threw some clams and we got 2 bass, 1 27", 1 32". bass are on the prowl lol


Hey Wish, I said that fish was around 14 because I eyeballed it, it wasn't weighed. My friend thought it was bigger. I would rather under-estimate a fish's weight and avoid the 2nd guessing comments you get sometimes when people don't believe a fish to be the size you said it was. Life is much simpler that way. :learn:

Wtg on being out in the wind yesterday. :thumbsup: Lots of people are staying home lately, empty beaches and prime spots at night. Lots of interesting catches lately way in the back where you guys fish, someone nailed an albie around 5pm.

DarkSkies
10-08-2009, 09:04 PM
im going to SH early sat morning and gonna dead stick a high low rig with a bunker chunk and a nice fresh clam... bring the plugging rod too... hopefully they show up and they show up hungry :drool:

L2F, I would get there in the dark. I think slack is around 6:30am. You should try to hit the last 3 hours of the outgoing, and the change of tide to the incoming, if ya can. A lot of the ocean action right now is in the hour after first light. After that it depends on how the bait is stacked up. That hardest thing to do is predict how the bite will be tomorrow, based on what it was 2 days ago. Bring a few different types of small metal with ya, Ava007 and some Krocodiles, also T-hex. Drag the bottom with em. Catch em up! :thumbsup: :HappyWave:

finchaser
10-09-2009, 01:42 AM
Tonight (10/8) 9 pm to 12:30 AM in the back water temp down to 64 degrees

17 bass to 30"
6 Weakfish to 19"
3 blue fish 1-3 pounds

All on lead head and Chartreuse rip tide tail all still swimming

My friend had just as many on lead head and Visions sand eel

cowherder
10-09-2009, 06:19 AM
Wow finchaser great catches, congrats! I fished sandy hook yesterday from 4-6:30pm. I got one bluefish on a Hopkins. There was some stuff going on about 1/2 mile out, small birds. I kept hoping they would come in but they didn't.

storminsteve
10-09-2009, 06:38 AM
:thumbsup: Great numbers there fin. I don't think in my best night ever I had that many bass, way to go. I got out of work early yesterday and fished Raritan bay from 3:30 till dark. There were seagulls feeding at a few places, but I didn't find much action till the tide started rolling in. I nailed 4 blues to 12lbs using a smack-it popper. The fish were on peanuts.

surferman
10-09-2009, 07:08 AM
Fished MOCO got one short and one keeper, released. Got them all on a black bomber. :)

luv2fsh
10-09-2009, 07:57 AM
L2F, I would get there in the dark. I think slack is around 6:30am. You should try to hit the last 3 hours of the outgoing, and the change of tide to the incoming, if ya can. A lot of the ocean action right now is in the hour after first light. After that it depends on how the bait is stacked up. That hardest thing to do is predict how the bite will be tomorrow, based on what it was 2 days ago. Bring a few different types of small metal with ya, Ava007 and some Krocodiles, also T-hex. Drag the bottom with em. Catch em up! :thumbsup: :HappyWave:

DS i can't say it enough buddy. Once again thank you for ur insight... we could def use more people like u... as for the hours, i didn't get my night fishing pass so i can only start fishing SH i believe after 5 am without a permit :beatin: I was planning being there at about 6 am (tackle box opens at 5 am i beleive)... well hopefully they'll hang around a bit.. got to find some of those metals your talking about.. i'll look for them at the bait shop tomorrow....

P.S. just checked tide tables looks like 6:30 low tide for SH and high is at 1:00 PM... i should def be able to catch the tide comming in around 11ish or so... i'll be out there low or high tide so i guess tom we shall see

c4charlie
10-09-2009, 01:37 PM
Not a good night last night. Stayed out until 3am, hit a bunch of spots out front and in the back. The other night I was cursing the wind, last night, I was begging for something. It didn't look good and not only did I not catch a fish, not even a bump or sign of life except for bait.

finchaser
10-09-2009, 03:07 PM
Since lunch and top of the tide ran together today I took a fishing lunch and tried where fishing was at it's finest last night :skunk:Nada except for 2 shad. Hate the south wind:2flip:

DarkSkies
10-09-2009, 03:47 PM
Since lunch and top of the tide ran together today I took a fishing lunch and tried where fishing was at it's finest last night :skunk:Nada except for 2 shad. Hate the south wind:2flip:

If you had fishing every night like you had last night you might get bored, or think you were stuck back in 1975 or something. ;) Even the best don't hit home runs every time out.

fishinmission78
10-09-2009, 04:46 PM
Hate the south wind:2flip:

Hey at least you got something. I went to the Park this morning, the wind was too much. Turned around and went to work. South wind sux.

finchaser
10-09-2009, 06:05 PM
If you had fishing every night like you had last night you might get bored, or think you were stuck back in 1975 or something. ;) Even the best don't hit home runs every time out.

I try and report the good and bad so guy's who don't live so close have an idea what to expect if they are undecided in making a trip

c4charlie
10-09-2009, 07:22 PM
finchaser, you are making me drool. Nice catches. Hope to bump into you one day! Tight Lines!!!

finchaser
10-09-2009, 10:09 PM
finchaser, you are making me drool. Nice catches. Hope to bump into you one day! Tight Lines!!!

Thanks.It could happen wouldn't bother me none. Gotta go fishin now.

yukon
10-09-2009, 10:35 PM
I covered from SoMoCo up to SH yesterday yesterday from 3 - 12pm. Mostly chunkin and throwin shads. 1 Fluke and that was it. Not too much fun but ran into a bunch of guys with some good stories and some new tid bits of info. Never saw the ocean look like a lake like that at high tide... ever! There always next time!!!:HappyWave:

gjb1969
10-09-2009, 11:05 PM
well i felt it was time to go bait fishin i am a little tired of the plug and shad thing so i pulled out the bunked chunks and some heads fished on the big river hit a few spots in my neck of the woods from 5 pm till 10 no bait no fish but i still put in my time will be back at it on sat and sun hope my luck will turn but who knows tite lines and good fishin:fishing:

DarkSkies
10-10-2009, 12:19 PM
I try and report the good and bad so guy's who don't live so close have an idea what to expect if they are undecided in making a trip

Thats one of the things that makes ya a stand up guy, Fin. :thumbsup: :D

We met a guy last week who makes the 4 hour RT drive from Pa every week during prime season. There are tons of fishermen who aren't as lucky to live a few minutes, or even an hour away, from the water. Earlier in the year we met guys who come down regularly from Rochester, NY.

The info contained in a fishing report goes a long way to helping these long distance guys. There's no shame in putting up a report if ya didn't catch anything or your results were not up to par with the usual. I do it all the time, though people may think I'm doing well because of my descriptive reports. For me, this year is tougher than it has been. There are so many places that were my "plan B or C" last year that have not produced this year. :don't know why: Sometimes we'll be out 8 or 10 hours to put a catch together of one or 2 fish, and sometimes we catch nothing but a skunk..


Honest reports are always helpful to others, if you don't let your pride get in the way of putting them up. They are enjoyed and appreciated, more than you know. :learn:

seamonkey
10-10-2009, 01:34 PM
LBI this morning from 1-6am, last of the outgoing was the best. 3 bass to 29" on a black bomber and teaser. I also got a few shad on the teaser.

cowherder
10-10-2009, 01:43 PM
I fished SH today 4-7, throwing the ava jigs and deadly *****. I got one very small bluefish, and it was driving me crazy because there was a lot of small bait around. It was very calm though, I was wondering with all the small bait weren't the big fish hungry? I did see one guy get a albacore when I got there, he was throwing a deadly ****. He threw it back quick, and said it was almost dead, but it swam away. They are beautiful fish, I hope to catch one someday.:drool:

surfwalker
10-10-2009, 03:01 PM
Started the walk around 4 this morning out front. NW wind about-8mph, till around 10am, then stiffer. Water a little off color, rollers in close, flat beyond, not much of a current. Not a tap in the dark on any plug, shad, bucktail or teaser. Around 7:30 peanuts of about 6" appeared, dimpling the water, as far as you could see, very thick, could be felt on your line and snagged on your offerings. At 8 picked up a small Bass on an Ava17 dragging the bottom slowly, without teaser. That was it. Peanuts were around for about 3hours. Few boils seen, but with so much bait around they were casual and not aggressive. Blind casted for Albies, none seen. Bait guys reported nothing. Water still warm, see what happens in the next few days after the cold front supposedly moves in.

Happy Trails

cowherder
10-10-2009, 03:59 PM
Few boils seen, but with so much bait around they were casual and not aggressive. Blind casted for Albies, none seen. Bait guys reported nothing. Water still warm, see what happens in the next few days after the cold front supposedly moves in.

Happy Trails

Surfwalker it seems like you know a lot, or at least a lot more than me. You said the water is warm. It seemed colder than it was to me, I didn't have a thermometer. That's what a lot of people have been saying about this water. With all that bait around, where are the bluefish? I only got one this morning and I was casting and casting. You would think they would be out there, in the ocean, and want to come in to feast on all that bait, but they weren't. It seems crazy to me, can you go into any more detail why this is? thanks

storminsteve
10-10-2009, 04:52 PM
Fished somoco early this morning with some bombers, teasers, and t-hex jigs after the sun came up. 3 fluke on the teasers. cowherder and surfwalker, there was a lot of bait aound where I was but nothing on them as well. Still waiting for the fall run to bust open. finchaser, you must have the hand of gold where you fish, or else you made quite a deal with the devil.;) I always enjoy reading your reports, great catches!

SharkHart
10-10-2009, 07:00 PM
good news on seeing some peanuts, im really holding my breath for a nut run this fall, tired of dragging metal i want some topwater bass! After this cold front we should see some blue bltzes then about the 22-24th i think the bass will explode, almost there!

vpass
10-11-2009, 10:56 AM
I fished from 12:30 am to 4:30am. out front, NoMoCo. winds were blowing from west to NW. I fished 2 spots. first spot was dead no action it was the last of the incoming to slack threw the bag. Second spot Outgoing tide. I saw only one other person working the same beach. I threw the bag there also. The only thing that worked was using a A17 to deliver a teaser. I was rewarded with 2 Bass 21" and a 28'' also 1 fluke that was real small. I also dropped another fish that ran like the 28 incher. Teasers are all they want right now.

Rickman
10-11-2009, 02:18 PM
A group of 6 of us fished NOMOCO yesterday 4:30 am - 2:30 pm, 1 24" striper, 3 dog fish and a stargazer that pulled my boga down to 11 #s. Had clams and bunker. Also threw poppers, pencils, BT and Pt Jude tin. The star gazer was on the Pt Jude. Fed lots of crabs though. They should be real healthy. Striper and dog fish were all around sunrise, star gazer around 7:30 and nothing after that.:boring:

Monty
10-11-2009, 06:26 PM
NOMOCO out front 5-9:30 am.
Plugged, skunk,beautiful morning...... wish it rained.
Guy I was fishing with caught a 24" striper and 2 fluke (all on teaser).
7827

GeoffT
10-11-2009, 10:35 PM
good news on seeing some peanuts, im really holding my breath for a nut run this fall, tired of dragging metal i want some topwater bass! After this cold front we should see some blue bltzes then about the 22-24th i think the bass will explode, almost there!

Peanuts are just passing by, moving south, they won't hold bass here for as long as they keep moving. What you want is sandeels - they will hold bass until January and even into February with a warming trend. And that's exactly what we want. :)

Just look what happened last year. The peanuts moved very quickly out of our area and there were very few blitzes and inconsistent at that. But bass were still here in great number through December thanks to sandeels. Think night and needles/bombers/sluggoes.

Oh yeah we have tons of sandeels now so we just need to wait for the migrating bass to get here. They're still up north - tons of them. I know for sure because I just came from up there. ;)

SharkHart
10-12-2009, 02:45 AM
noooo i want BOTH The nuts got blown out by back to back to back NE'ster last year i want fish night nap then day

DarkSkies
10-12-2009, 09:02 AM
A group of 6 of us fished NOMOCO yesterday 4:30 am - 2:30 pm, 1 24" striper, 3 dog fish and a stargazer that pulled my boga down to 11 #s. Had clams and bunker. Also threw poppers, pencils, BT and Pt Jude tin. The star gazer was on the Pt Jude. Fed lots of crabs though. They should be real healthy. Striper and dog fish were all around sunrise, star gazer around 7:30 and nothing after that.:boring:

11# Stargazer????

Rickman, I know it's hard to get excited about that catch, especially since there were 6 of ya's fishin, but that stargazer caught my eye. :wow:

11lbs? :clapping::clapping:
Many people think nothing of a catch like that, because they didn't intentionally target it. And catching stargazers ain't much fun, I'll admit. They dig in and hold like a sand spike, the more pressure you give them the more they dig.

I did some checking. The NJ state record Northern stargazer was 13lbs caught in 2000 by Jim Ludt off Cape May according to official records.

I can't be sure, and if anyone can deliver more details I would appreciate it, but it looks like he may have caught that stargazer from a boat, in the ocean. I've seen lots of reports of big stargazers lately, 8, 10s, but haven't seen one of an 11. It's possible others have been caught, most guys don't brag about how big the stargazer they caught was. :laugh: :kooky:

That's because many of us are keyed in in striped bass as the be all, and end all, of surf fishing experiences.

In my book, an 11lb stargazer is impressive, and a nice catch. It could very well be the largest reported surf caught stargazer in NJ.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Did ya take any pics of it? Post it up and I'll send ya a plug.

Sometimes, catching something can make a shared outing with friends that much better. Glad you all got to fish together. :HappyWave:

clamchucker
10-12-2009, 12:07 PM
Yesterday I got some hickory shad at IBSP, 5 on a chartreuse teaser and a 2 oz hopkins. Fish hit the teaser, and were caught on the incoming. This morning, it was slow, only one cocktail blue on the teaser. There are adult bunker anywhere from 300' to 1/2 mile out with nothing on them.

voyager35
10-12-2009, 12:48 PM
We fished the channels in RB and did some running over the the NY side yesterday from 9-4. It seemed after 2 was when we had the best action for the outgoing. We trolled Tony Maja spoons first in hopes of some bass, but kept getting hit with bluefish. To make it a little more sporting, we downsized to dual stretch 25s and had a nice day bailing bluefish 7 to 11 lbs. No bass.

Mike O
10-12-2009, 01:37 PM
Fished SH. The ocean was flat as a fart, not evan a ripple. And no bait , and no fish. I lost one of my home made broken-back swimmers on what seemed to be a dead body near the bottom. Maybe one of you guys will find it some day, less the body. That lure has caught me a good number of fish, oh well.

Mike O

storminsteve
10-12-2009, 02:14 PM
Fished SH. The ocean was flat as a fart, not evan a ripple. Mike O

Funny!:laugh: I don't know about you mike, but I have never had a flat fart in my life. They are usually room clearing braaaaaaaaaps that sound like a cross between a trumpet and a tuba. Unless you are lucky enough to be near me when I let out a SBD torpedo. Great analogy though.
I fished Sandy Hook Sunday as well, 7-11a. The ocean was dead calm with the west wind, like you colorfully described. There were so many people fishing it looked like some company was having an annual picnic.
I couldn't even catch a cold. No one was catching anything where I was except a few small skates, sea robins. The coolest thing was these huge wahoo-size things jumping out of the air and back into the water. Someone said they were sturgeon.
Did you get a chance to see that? On the way home I ran into darkskies. It was very nice to finally meet you, but if there was definition of hyper active in the dictionary, I think your picture would be next to it. How many cups of coffee did you have yesterday?:D
In all, it was a pleasure, and thank you for all the work you are doing trying to fight for the fishermen. I hope the video comes out worthwhile.:thumbsup:

surfwalker
10-12-2009, 03:05 PM
Out front. Started walking around 4am, cool, crisp with the NNE (10mph). Water was fairly clean and a lot less riled up than what I had expected (hoped for). Not a tap in the dark, first light or overcast light. No Stripes. Didn't see any indications of Albies, blind casted for awhile. Saw peanuts for 10 minutes. Just walked and casted continuously, changing often, different retrieves. Walked off around 11am. On the return walk the bait guys reported nothing. Saw one falling star. Nice day.
The sturgeon, like ss said, were very active the past few days, some in very close.

Happy Trails

DarkSkies
10-12-2009, 06:09 PM
Some people caught fish. I didn't, 24 hours of humble pie. :don't know why:
Later in the afternoon hit a RB spot. Karen caught this bluefish on a metal wobble spoon. Met her and her friend Mussa. They gave the fish to this guy, and the kids posed with it. They were there showing their visiting uncle from Korea around. Nice to meet you all! :HappyWave:




7834

Rickman
10-12-2009, 06:15 PM
11# Stargazer????

Rickman, I know it's hard to get excited about that catch, especially since there were 6 of ya's fishin, but that stargazer caught my eye. :wow:

11lbs? :clapping::clapping:
Many people think nothing of a catch like that, because they didn't intentionally target it. And catching stargazers ain't much fun, I'll admit. They dig in and hold like a sand spike, the more pressure you give them the more they dig.

I did some checking. The NJ state record Northern stargazer was 13lbs caught in 2000 by Jim Ludt off Cape May according to official records.

I can't be sure, and if anyone can deliver more details I would appreciate it, but it looks like he may have caught that stargazer from a boat, in the ocean. I've seen lots of reports of big stargazers lately, 8, 10s, but haven't seen one of an 11. It's possible others have been caught, most guys don't brag about how big the stargazer they caught was. :laugh: :kooky:

That's because many of us are keyed in in striped bass as the be all, and end all, of surf fishing experiences.

In my book, an 11lb stargazer is impressive, and a nice catch. It could very well be the largest reported surf caught stargazer in NJ.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Did ya take any pics of it? Post it up and I'll send ya a plug.

Sometimes, catching something can make a shared outing with friends that much better. Glad you all got to fish together. :HappyWave:

Dark, After releasing I thought that I should have taken a picture. I let the moment get away. My first thought was "I would look pretty silly photographing a stargazer". Of course a few minutes after releasing it I realized how stupid that move was. Although not a sport fish it was still probably one of those "Fish of a lifetime" moments. Never seen a head so big.

When I hooked up I thought that I was hung. I had just pulled the tin across a sandbar expecting it drop down. Instead it felt like a solid hangup. I pointed the rod at it, grabbed the spool and started to move backwards. Suddenly it came free or so I thought. Instead I suddenly felt like I was pulling in a 5 gallon bucket that was shaking its head and moving sideways. First stargazer i ever had to use the surf action to beach. Oh well. If there should ever be a "next time" I 'll let my googan take over and will get the picture.

LennyD
10-12-2009, 07:55 PM
Stopped in MOCO at 2 location, just for an hr each place, nada
only thing i saw is a chopped up sunfish.

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/8404/cimg0183e.th.jpg (http://img339.imageshack.us/i/cimg0183e.jpg/)

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/7699/cimg0187b.th.jpg (http://img26.imageshack.us/i/cimg0187b.jpg/)

porgy75
10-13-2009, 09:29 AM
Wow that sunfish is an awesome find, how big would you say it was? I was fishing Barnegat bay from 8-11pm because it was too windy out front. I caught 4 weakfish at a dock using sandworms. Last week I caught a blowfish too, but I didn't know what the heck it was.

chas527
10-13-2009, 01:57 PM
fished nomoco this morning . nice morning lite wind small waves. didn't get anything.through everything i had in my bag at them not a tap did see peanutbunker for about an hour,and aguy on my left hook a small bass.

ledhead36
10-13-2009, 06:40 PM
Fished nomoco from 9-2. There were peanuts jumping, big blues under them. Had about an hour of solid action, after that it was just a pick. Blues to 12lbs, caught on hopkins and krocodiles.

wish4fish
10-13-2009, 08:19 PM
hot bass bite moco, caught and released 2 to 17lbs on pencils between 4to7:30 peanuts all over woo hoo!:wheeeee:

surferman
10-14-2009, 09:07 AM
I heard the bite was on yesterday. By the time I got there late last night there was nothing.

LennyD
10-14-2009, 04:30 PM
Last night went to NOMOCO fished the outgoing for 2-3hrs, nada.
One guy next to me had a short bass, thats it.

LennyD
10-14-2009, 04:31 PM
few feet long, tried to lift the head up with some wood i found on the beach, it was heavy as a rock, could not do it.


Wow that sunfish is an awesome find, how big would you say it was? I was fishing Barnegat bay from 8-11pm because it was too windy out front. I caught 4 weakfish at a dock using sandworms. Last week I caught a blowfish too, but I didn't know what the heck it was.

DarkSkies
10-14-2009, 06:55 PM
First I want to congratulate the few anglers that got into the great action yesterday. :clapping: The bigger fish so far this fall have been few and far between. The reports I'm getting say that most guys, even the ones with years of experience, are experiencing a slow pick this fall and have to work hard for every fish. So hat's off to the lucky few that were in the right place at the right time from yesterday in the day until dark and got into some really nice fall bass, along with gorilla blues. :thumbsup:

Thanks for the phone calls and PMs, W4 and others. :HappyWave:
Unfortunately I had to work late. Some friends were out after dark tryin to find the peanuts. I heard the wind made it hard to present, sometimes up to 25mph.

G and I decided to give it a shot even though the night bite is dismal lately unless you're fishin current, structure, or concrete and steel. ;)

We fished 3-7AM, last of the flood, beginning of the ebb. As a hedge against the howling wind, we bought a mess of fresh clams and brought bait rods and plugging rods (yep it's great to travel light! :laugh:)

Hit a few spots in the back first waitin for the wind to die down a bit. G hooked and lost a fish on a teaser, he was fishin a swimmer in back of the teaser. I decided to go for any large that might be around and was fishing a 9" 2hook magumbo storm shad. :D

Went to the ocean when the wind died down, nothing on the clam rods. We couldn't even catch a skate, which is a real ego builder when you sincerely believe your clam poles are your insurance against a skunk. :rolleyes: :embarassed:

Dawn came and went with no bait to be found, despite all the hungry birds and the beaches being invaded by clear jellyfish, hundreds of them washed up along with a dead turtle.

We briefly saw a spearing or 2, and that was it.

The water was cold, clear, and frosty, perfect if we were filming a beer commercial, :D
but the needleswimmermidwaterbuckshadbigmetals produced not a tap. Made us a little jealous of the guys who can get out in the afternoons, that's when the best action seems to be.

As we left, we scouted quite a few other beaches in the area.
There were no signs of life anywhere, you would never have known of the broad shouldered fish that were dragged on the sand just 12 hours before. ;)

Nice work guys and thanks for the head's up! :thumbsup:

7966





Lessons I learned from this:
1.Fishin with me is almost as bad as fishin with Killie. Effumall, I say!:2flip: G may decide after last night's crushing defeat never to fish with me again. ;)

2. Getting skunked is no shame, it's an opportunity for a game plan analysis. Bunker swim into the wind. Looking back, I knew that the N/NW winds should have gradually pushed the peanuts offshore, while a W wind should have kept them tight to the beach. I should have listened to my instincts and stayed home, but big bass emotion prevailed over logic. :dribble:

3 Surf fishermen's Corollary: Fish can be caught when there is NO bait around, but when bait is there in heavy concentrations and it leaves the area it's more likely many of the fish will leave with them. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon3.gif
Not only did the bunker move offshore, but all the spearing and mullet we had been seeing were nowhere to be found, despite us searching in all the coves & usual hiding places. That should have been a clear signal that fishin was done for the night, and to try another day.

cowherder
10-14-2009, 09:16 PM
I decided to go for any large that might be around and was fishing a 12" 2hook magumbo storm shad. :D


Lessons I learned from this:
1.Fishin with me is almost as bad as fishin with Killie. Effumall, I say!:2flip: G may decide after last night's crushing defeat never to fish with me again. ;)

2. Getting skunked is no shame, it's an opportunity for a game plan analysis. Bunker swim into the wind. Looking back, I knew that the N/NW winds should have gradually pushed the peanuts offshore, while a W wind should have kept them tight to the beach. I should have listened to my instincts and stayed home, but big bass emotion prevailed over logic. :dribble:

3 Surf fishermen's Corollary: Fish can be caught when there is NO bait around, but when bait is there in heavy concentrations and it leaves the area it's more likely many of the fish will leave with them. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon3.gif
Not only did the bunker move offshore, but all the spearing and mullet we had been seeing were nowhere to be found, despite us searching in all the coves & usual hiding places. That should have been a clear signal that fishin was done for the night, and to try another day.

What color is magumbo?:huh:
Thanks for the lessons part, I always seem to be fishing at the wrong time or place.:burn:

finchaser
10-14-2009, 10:03 PM
Lessons I learned from this:
1.Fishin with me is almost as bad as fishin with Killie. Effumall, I say!:2flip: G may decide after last night's crushing defeat never to fish with me again. ;)

He is coming down in the AM ( KillIE) prepare for a big northeaster. After we fish and he leaves I'll fish in the back the next 5 nights

vpass
10-14-2009, 10:46 PM
I fished SH front, from 7pm to 9:00pm I caught 1 bass on a bomber about 22 inches.

finchaser
10-15-2009, 09:52 AM
Fished out front 6-8:30 AM this morning
3 bass to 33 inches on metal
4 blues 1-3 pound all on metal

All still swimming
Weather getting really gnarly

DarkSkies
10-15-2009, 10:09 AM
Fished out front 6-8:30 AM this morning
3 bass to 33 inches on metal
4 blues 1-3 pound all on metal


All still swimming
Weather getting really gnarly

:clapping: Outstanding, was Killie with ya or did he stay home? ;)

finchaser
10-15-2009, 11:09 AM
He was there and had 2 bass to 29" and 2 blues all still swimming

DarkSkies
10-15-2009, 12:36 PM
WTG Killlie! :clapping:

We all like to bust on Killie, but he's one of the most gracious, and generous, guys you'll ever meet. :thumbsup: :HappyWave:

He loves to fish, but lives so frikkin far away most of his time was spent sleeping on his boat after the long drive down. :ROFLMAO

And his marketing genius is second to none... how many people could invent a fishing club that has no formal structure or membership, no tourneys or official meetings, yet it's one of the most popular clubs out there? T-shirts from this club are in such high demand I think Killie had to make a second printing.

It's more fun than being in the procrastinators club. ;)

BTW, if anyone ever needs T-shirts, stickers, banners, or promo items made for any kind of club or organization, Killie's the man to see! :clapping: ya can contact him through his e-mail here or through Finchaser.

Effumall!!!
Who wants to fish in a mall anyway? :laugh:

amboyangler
10-15-2009, 02:58 PM
Out back yesterday at the end of the incoming tide. Got my first 2 bass of the Fall run and so did my buddy. He got the first fish after 20 minutes of us being there. Next, we get a double hookup which felt great since it symbolized the beginning of a new season. My first fish was a 30 inch runt and would have kept him for the grill but he had some kind of weird white parasite over his tail so I set him free. My second fish took off like a madman and reminded me why it is that I fish when he bullied me for about 10 minutes and made my drag sing, putting my 17 pound test mono to the test. Fish was 38 inches. Didn't weight it but felt between 20 and 25 pounds. All fish were caught on fresh bunker out back in a 2 hour span. Would have kept fishing but the woman wanted me home.

SharkHart
10-15-2009, 03:00 PM
nice fish buddy! I think you saw sea lice on its tail, fresh from the ocean.

clamchucker
10-15-2009, 03:06 PM
Very nice fish amboyangler. As shark said, they might have been sea lice. It's a common thing when you get a new run of bass in. I fished in Moco from 5-9am today. The rain got worse as it got later, and the surf was kicking up. The bass and blues were feeding on peanut bunker. There were some very big bluefish. I got 3 to 16lbs, and one bass around 19 or 20 on A47diamond jigs with the chartreuse tail. All released.

finchaser
10-15-2009, 04:25 PM
Very nice fish amboyangler. As shark said, they might have been sea lice. It's a common thing when you get a new run of bass in. I fished in Moco from 5-9am today. The rain got worse as it got later, and the surf was kicking up. The bass and blues were feeding on peanut bunker. There were some very big bluefish. I got 3 to 16lbs, and one bass around 19 or 20 on A47diamond jigs with the chartreuse tail. All released.

Very nice:clapping: I'm going out again now

amboyangler
10-15-2009, 04:56 PM
Thanks guys. I thought about them being sea lice but they were white and big. The size of my thumb. Didn't know they got that big.

finchaser
10-15-2009, 05:14 PM
Thanks guys. I thought about them being sea lice but they were white and big. The size of my thumb. Didn't know they got that big.


those sound like sores that cause fish handlers disease, lice are like the size of brine shrimp

gjb1969
10-15-2009, 07:56 PM
cool dude i am glad u got the fish i will be out ther when i get over this stupid bug i got it sucks thats why i dont like it when it gets cold:burn:but tite lines and good fishin dude :fishing:

amboyangler
10-15-2009, 08:23 PM
those sound like sores that cause fish handlers disease, lice are like the size of brine shrimp

they were not sores but living organisms squirming around. should have taken a pic... very weird stuff that I saw.

SharkHart
10-15-2009, 09:07 PM
Sea lice?

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll194/SharkHart/121207sealiceDRlg.jpg

voyager35
10-15-2009, 09:43 PM
:clapping: Nice catches fellas, it looks like some bigger fish are finally here.

captnemo
10-15-2009, 10:18 PM
Amboyangler, did any parts of the fish look like this?
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=4708 (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=4708&highlight=mycobacteriosis)
How about any of these pictures?

amboyangler
10-16-2009, 01:17 AM
yup definitely looked like the second pic with the ruler... was about 4 inches and looked just like that... I always thought sealice were black from looking at pics

http://www.marlab.ac.uk/FRS.Web/Uploads/Images/SealiceFull01.jpg

good to know that they come in different colors