NJ fishing reports for Oct 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

[storminsteve]

I fished yesterday from 4-8am with clams in somoco. 3 shorts to 27 1/2" and a 26"fluke. Boy would I love to have taken that fluke home for dinner! :burn: It got a little rough, had to use 8 oz to hold.

[wish4fish]

hit it up from 6:30 to 8 in the back clamming today, we got 4 small runts, one was 28" on the incoming, water isnt bad but its windy:scared:

[DarkSkies]

Hey W4, ya went home too early, someone weighed a 20 or 27 in a while ago. :wow: ;)

Fished early this morning, from 5-7. The ocean seemed unfishable, the winds were a steady 20 with stronger gusts. Fished the back, I found lots of clean clear water on the incoming. No fish despite moving several times with the tide. Bucktails and rubber on the bottom in the dark, metals once the dawn came. No visible bait, still the water was very fishable.

Hit the front to check it out again, met a guy fishin 2 rods, clam and worm, holding with 8oz. His wife was in the car, safe from the weather, but he was out there in the 10+ foot waves. And he wasn't a young kid either. Rack one up for the old folks! I bet he gets a fish today! :clapping: :thumbsup:

[surfwalker]

Out Front. Started walking this morning, early darkness, nothing. First light/full light-nothing. Wind NE/abt.17mph-steady. Water was off color, steady big waves constant. Bucktails/metal-with/without teaser. Nice inside trough, the outside trough was just out of reach. Nice active water, but strong, strong current, no weed. Peanuts(5") were pushed up at one spot, no takers. Walk/cast till around 10am-shoulder was shot. Very few people bait fishing that I passed-had nothing. No Stripes.

[Monty]

Surfwalker and Dark, were you guys on the same ocean? I'll head out back early AM, lots of reports of flooding and beach erosion. Is the water to muddy (dirty) in the first 50 yards of ocean?

[DarkSkies]

Monty, the ocean water is dirty but fishable with bucktails, heavy metals, and clams. First 100' is churned up, and there is significant erosion in the lowest areas. Lots of flooding today in NoMoCo. Many places had boats and water even with the bulkheads.

I was using a Hopkins with white tube today for a bigger profile than the avas. The bay water is less discolored. More bass were caught in the back with clams after I first reported, near that place you and I hit in the early spring. A friend of mine got one 32" halfway through the ebb. I heard most of that back action was on bait today.

The places in between the bays and ocean are where the clear water is, on the flood tide. People were still out fishin today. I took some video, will try to have it up tomorrow.

PM report:
Pebbles and I decided to visit some friends in S Jersey. Stopped at a few places up north first. The surf had died down a little from the morning, but still gave the few surfers trouble getting out, big swell.

After the visit, we set out to explore some places we had never fished before. As we were driving down to SJ, the weather up N looked like it was clearing, but the weather in the S got worse. At one point we thought there might be a funnel cloud forming, and the winds were turbulent and howling, all different directions. Checked out some beautiful sedge areas, and stopped to fish for some breaking bluefish. In the 5 minutes it took to gear up and get to them, they were gone.

Met a guy who fishes there a lot, he clued us in on the best tides down there. Very grateful for the intel. :thumbsup: :HappyWave:All 3 of us fished together for 15 minutes until the rain got worse and he left. We continued on as the sun went down to check out some more sedge areas. Beautiful water for the late fall, I'll be back there soon. :heart:

[c4charlie]

Just got back and had a night that took some effort but finally got a couple stripers 28" and 27". No visible bait or fish feeding, heavy winds, some rain and some fun. Moved locations a couple times.

Finally figured out how to get them to come out of hiding. Heavy bucktail with a 7" forked tail pork rind. I just http://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/images/smilies/graemlins/heart.gif catching fish on a bucktail.

Took home the keeper which my son is going to be so thrilled to have a striper on his Birthday!!! Looks like he is going to have two feasts tomorrow. Birthday party lunch at an awesome restaurant with 30 guests and then we'll be having the striper for dinner. For my little guys, it is an adventure, they watch the entire cleaning/filleting, they want to see stomach contents. The whole nine yards.

Time to get some sleep. http://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/images/smilies/graemlins/cwm33.gif

I did go out a couple other times in the past week with nothing to show including two nights ago trying to clam out front with the extreme winds. Found a couple more new spots this week which I am also thrilled about.

[Pebbles]

Rich took me out last night down in Ocean County. The wind and rain were whipping. I can't ever remember having such difficulty casting. I seemed to have no control. Needless to say I was just as unsuccessful catching anything.

[LennyD]

Just got back from Montauk,
Weather wasnt too bad up there, yesterday managed 5 bass 2 keepers 28" & 29", kept one.Sat morning was sunny and the sun was out most of the time till noon, no rain or high wind.
by this am weather turned nasty withs rain and high winds.

[Monty]

Fished in the back, 1:45 -9:30 am. Picked up 1 striper around 20" on a rupper teaser. That was it, never saw the water so high. It looked great (current, choppy, rainy, windy), but no action other than the short. When in the wind, it was brutal.
Heres a good pic of the teaser I use most of the time:
7874

[finchaser]

way to go:clapping: gotta give ya credit 8 hours in that weather for a fish

[gjb1969]

:clapping::fishing:good job

[DarkSkies]

Monty's hardcore, we fished in the spring and the waves were high for the bay, water was in the 50's and it was coooooold! Monty never complained, we just kept casting like madmen and getting pounded by the spray, all for 1-3# bluefish. :kooky:

WTG, man. :thumbsup:

[Monty]

Complain?? I had a ball out there.
I kept thinking this must be normal fishing, we both can't be nuts.:kooky:


Monty's hardcore, we fished in the spring and the waves were high for the bay, water was in the 50's and it was coooooold! Monty never complained, we just kept casting like madmen and getting pounded by the spray, all for 1-3# bluefish. :kooky:

WTG, man. :thumbsup:

[DarkSkies]

Pebbles & I set out this morning around 11am and fished to 7pm. I felt for sure this would be a killer day. Bass have been caught in the RB and the ocean, strong NE blow holding the bait back in protected areas, everything was set for a wild day of fishin. :lookhappy:

We started out in the bay, hit a few spots, clammed for awhile. At first the wind had died down, then it started up again. A few decent bass were caught early on clams. We hit a prime sedge spot, not a tap for an hour on fresh clams as the tide remained "stuck" in the back.

The winds were whipping in the bay, mid 30mph and temps in the 40's. Pebbles has her own waders, and some gear. I think she has to get the cool chick of the month award. We had to move 3X before we finally found fish. What other girls would put up with that? :heart::thumbsup:
7921



I also plugged with Roberts rangers and small metals, as there was a steady procession of birds picking at very small bait that was getting pushed into the shoreline.

Made a move to some other spots. Found another place with birds eating tiny bait, plugged that for awhile. Nothing there but bait and building wind and rain.

As the wind got worse, we looked for someplace that would give us a lee.

I knew the poor girl was cold, I had been dragging her around for 2 hours in 40 degree weather, many walks to and fro, with the hopes of finding fish. I found a promising spot, let her take a short rest from the wind in the van.

I casted heavy bucktails and rubber for awhile, and the 9" magumbo shad. Nothing. There were about 2 dozen cormorants very busy diving, which told me this was possibly the place to stay.

All of a sudded medium sized bluefish started breaking water. I was motioning for Pebbles to get over to where I was, she couldn't see me. :wow: Ran to the van, got the gear, and we were back at the water in no time. Tough to cast with the wind without getting hung up on structure. The wind was blowing from the E up to 35mph, preventing the tide from going out, so the sweep was tough. Not much time in the strike zone, but the breaking fish were enough to energize us big time!

I noticed a guy about 100 feet away and told him to come over and work the breaking fish with us. He got one and dropped it shortly after. Realizing the problem we were having with the current, I ran back to get some heavier bucktails. I had given Pebbles a 3 oz Krocodile to use, she nailed a short bass on her 3rd cast. :clapping::clapping: Her first bass this year on artificials. :thumbsup:

7920



I ran back to join them, and we casted for the next 1/2 hour. The fish sounded, and we couldn't locate them again, though we tried.

We eventually moved to a spot where the tide was different, but that was dead. We realized all the action was where we originally stopped, and set back to fish it at a different angle.

We brought down the bait rods with us. I set them up with clams and bunker, as she casted various plugs. One other guy was there, said he did well with storm shads yesterday. We gave him some space and worked that water. He left a while later. It's easy to get discouraged when you kill them the day before and the action is slow the next day. We felt the action would turn around and stayed.

It didn't. :(

Just before sunset there was a nice runoff on the clam rod. I missed it and lost the fish. That was it for the night.

We called a friend on the way back to get a back bay report. I call him the King of the back bay. This guy is a ghost you never hear about and will only know him if you're out bait fishin a lot.

He reported fish up to 38" in the last few nights on clams. No pattern to the bite, some on the ebb, some on the flood. This guy fishes 4-6 hours every night during the prime spring and fall seasons, sometimes all night for one bass or hit, so it ain't easy.

For those who have an interest, he says the ones he kept had empty bellies... a new wave of migratory fish. He called me an hour after our first conversation and said he lost a fish 48"+ right before high tide. :bigeyes:. Leader broke as he was guiding her in. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon9.gif Sometimes clam fishin can pay off, I guess. ;) :thumbsup:

With all these baitfish that been have pushed back, IMO all hell will break loose once we're set up with a W wind pattern. Could be tomorrow or the next day. All I know is it will probably happen in the daytime, when I'm at work.

People talk about the temp needing to be low enough to provoke good feeding patterns. I'm tellin ya's the time is now, temps of the bay and ocean has dropped to the 50's. :drool:

[DarkSkies]

I didn't get to answer these from the reports first part of the month. StorminSteve was great to meet ya out there. Try to get out as much as you can in the next 2 weeks. :HappyWave:

Cowherder, the answer to your question there is no "magumbo" storm shad. It's basically a white/chartreuse 9" monster storm shad with 2 hooks. Because they're expensive, I've been saving them for when the bluefish start to clear out and I know bigger bass have been around. Now's the time to use stuff like that and big bucktails. Can't catch bigger fish if you're not knocking directly on their door. ;)

Here's a pic:

7877

[vpass]

Dark, Great report. I will be out there tonight from 9PM to about 9am going to fish both stages of tide. I'm dieing to get out there:drool:

[yukon]

The Plan (way before a noreaster came into play)was to go down Sunday afternoon and fish SoOcCo thru Monday night. Reports didn't look good but what the hell. We had the pass from the wives and the day off. Well that changed quickly after we got down and walked over the dune. Never saw anything like it before. What a wild scene. Plan B. The back. Never fished in the back in SoOcCo and we got the skunk. Found some good current but no bait = no luck.

5:30 - 9am with our 4 dozen clams:D. We we're able to hold with 8oz but never had a chance of getting it were it needed to be. So we packed it up and went back north.

Finally wound up outfront NoMoCo 12:30 - 5:30pm and started the Clam-palooza all over again. First cast within 30 sec... I think the clam musta hit em on the head. Fish on. 26in fatty.

We fished hi-lo's with 7/0 circle hooks with 4oz (really) You could see the clear line and the mud line. We had clear water by low tide.

Overall 2 keepers and 8 schoolies bet 24-27in. :plastered:All released. My buddy who hasn't gotten out in ages had one on with some shoulders. Took a huge run but got off.:don't know why:

Best part was I put the rod in the spike for a quick minute and forgot to engage the baitrunner:o. We always hold the rod and this proves why... I hear a "hey yo..." from a guy pluggin. My buddy starts runnin and I see my rod going in the drink.:eek: My friend is flying to catch it and slides like he's going into third base... He grabs the rod, sets the hook and hands it up to me... Funniest **** I've ever scene. Thanks Ole:clapping:

Will post some pics and some video hopefully tomorrow.

[DarkSkies]

Pebbles and I hit up the back bay and ocean tonight from 5-9:30PM for the last of the flood. The place where she got her bass yesterday was unaccessible, so we moved to a few other spots. We did find a newer spot with potential at certain tides, plugged for awhile, nothing.

Then we worked several more spots, ending in the ocean. Didn't see a lot of bait around. One thing I did notice was that several beaches in Nomoco, in addition to being pounded by the northeast weather, now have large stretches of sand bars along most of the water.

This makes it critical to re-do your scouting at extreme low tides, people. There were some places where I waded out to the bar at flood tide level, yet I was in less than 1' of water. If you are not aware of this and fishing an area without an outsuck, you're wasting your time. Only you can do the work to help yourself eliminate the unproductive water. :learn:

No action for almost all of the stops until 5 minutes before we left our last place. I set Pebbles up with a floating needle and a teaser combo, and she got a hit on that. Meanwhile I worked bucktails, shads, and rubber to water that had little bait, no action for me.

Some people did ok using clams today, but even with clams it's a slow pick.

We couldn't resist being out again, so we gave it a shot anyway. The water was actually pretty clear, and in the high 50's. Pebbles loves the white water and the power of the ocean, especially after a storm. She's turning into a good surfcaster, I'm pretty proud as she learns new things every time. :thumbsup:

There wasn't even a hint of the brutal wind that reigned supreme all weekend. It was a perfect night to be out, though not many were fishing even the old reliable spots.

[DarkSkies]

Best part was I put the rod in the spike for a quick minute and forgot to engage the baitrunner:o. We always hold the rod and this proves why... I hear a "hey yo..." from a guy pluggin. My buddy starts runnin and I see my rod going in the drink.:eek: My friend is flying to catch it and slides like he's going into third base... He grabs the rod, sets the hook and hands it up to me... Funniest **** I've ever scene. Thanks Ole:clapping:

Will post some pics and some video hopefully tomorrow.


Aaaah the famous third base slide....:D I've been there myself. Bait fishin gets boring sometimes, but you better be ready when the action happens or you'll get :beatin:;)

WTG, glad you guys got some fish. Clams are bringing in a decent amount of fish right now. :thumbsup:

[buckethead]

Your are right dark, there are new sandbars all over the place. I'll have to spend time looking over my spots tomorrow and get caught up with the change.

Went out last night first out back than ocean side. The current was running fast and I had trouble holding bottom.

Decided to plug for a while but again as Yukon said by the time you cast out the plug was well past you in the current.

Ending up getting nothing but enjoyed the cool night with no wind.

[luv2fsh]

buddy of mine went out fishing in montauk this past weekend and got skunked but he saw lots of big bass being pulled out all around him (first time fishing so maybe he wasn't doing something right) anyhows maybe they will be making their way down soon... havent been out in like 2 weeks... gonna try to head out this this weekend if weather holds up... :fishing:

[Monty]

Yukon, Great report:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:





Overall 2 keepers and 8 schoolies bet 24-27in. :plastered:All released. My buddy who hasn't gotten out in ages had one on with some shoulders. Took a huge run but got off.:don't know why:

[fishinmission78]

Fished Ibsp from 5-8am, incoming. 3 bass, 2 were 24", one was 30", clams. Big sandbar today. I was holding with 8 oz.

[vpass]

I was out last night from 6pm to 12am. I fished many spots in NoMoCo back, there was no bait around. Went to the front and :eek: the beach changed alot., like the Dark said.

There is a sand bar that runs to whole lenght of many beach. I waded out about 40 ft and casted A17 to deliver a teasers. I was alittle nervesw since I don't know what i'm walking into. I worked 2 beaches with the same sand bar issue.

I drove a few miles and found a beach that is alot easer to fish, but I seen no bait. I got the big :skunk: last night but it was great being out. Later on today I should be scouting my spots to see if they are fishable. I will head out after painting one of the bedrooms.

[chas527]

fished nomoco this morning. 1 short on metal.didn't see any bait around.

[cowherder]

. I had given Pebbles a 3 oz Krocodile to use, she nailed a short bass on her 3rd cast. :clapping::clapping: Her first bass this year on artificials. :thumbsup:

7920



:clapping::clapping::clapping:Pebbles, Monty, Yukon, and Fishinmission, grats on the catches! I remember my first striper, which I caught with the help of you guys. I am glad to see you get some too, that first bass is a great feeling! I hope to get some clams and get out there tomorrow.

[finchaser]

Pebbles, Monty, Yukon, and Fishinmission congratulations

OCCO This AM 6-9 had 3 bass in the 26" range all on PO-JEE tin no bait in wash.

Water still off color and has dropped to 54 from 61 on Thursday. I think this has put most fish off feed as it dropped to quick and moved bait off the beach in my area as birds continue to dive about 1/2 mile off. Boat guys reported to shop that there is lots of bait fish under it but no takers . Another gale is forecast for Saturday:(.

[yukon]

Here are some pics from Monday. Started in SoOcCo in the rough surf and ended up in NoMoCo with some sun and fish. I like it when a plan comes together... Not gonna be able to get out again till next week but I do have a trip this weekend to Mosquito Lagoon, FL for some Redfish and hopefully some Tarpon:dribble: Hope to be able to share some pics when I get back...:HappyWave:

[jigfreak]

Went out back last night from 7 - 11. The current was pretty rough. Threw out some poppers and got one small bass.

[c4charlie]

Left work early and went out with my boys and wife in the daytime. Decided to head to SH instead of IBSP. Did some clammin' and pluggin'. Nothing during the low tide and beginning of the incoming except for a couple skates. Decided to take a ride to a bay spot that is usually good on the incoming. Found out day is not the same as night. Then took a look on the inside and showed my little guy some neat spots. Too bad we did not get to see any activity.

They had a great time playing in a new trough created by the storm oceanside that may be real good at high tide.

[yardvillejimmy]

Fished OC yesterday late afternoon. One 24" bass on a school bus bomber.

[vpass]

I hit NoMoCo from 5 to 10am. Got the :skunk:. There were some bait around. Saw one of the cormorants pickup a sandeel about 4 inches. I also saw fish breaking, but no takers.

I was talking to a guy, he was saying that they are going to pump mud from the river next week on to all of MB. Any one hear the same? I hope he's wrong.:eek:

[clamchucker]

Fished the park yesterday with clams, and a plugging rod. One bass 23" in the late afternoon on clams. I got 2 small blues on tins around 5pm, no visible bait or fish working the water in front of me. Today I was fishing at dawn and managed 3 bass to 27" on clams.

[finchaser]

:fishing:Today invited to do the boat thing before work, 7-10 am, the sudden drop in water temp has pushed the bait and fish off. Had 15 blues to 12 pounds and 3 bass to 14# all gorged on Sand eels. All caught on jigs in 50 to 60 feet of water all released.

[cowherder]

I fished 4 to 7 pm at Sandy Hook. I got 2 bass on clams, and had to walk far to get them. They didn't hit hard, but like yukon said, I was glad to be close to the pole so I didn't miss the hits. they were 22" and 27.5", I really wish that one was another 1/2"; I will get a bigger one next time. :wow: Finchaser that's a great catch with all those fish, how far off the beach would you say you were?

[DarkSkies]

Nice catches guys. It saddens me to hear some of you guys out there for 8 hours at a time and you come up with one or 2 bass. Some of you are spending that time, have 30 or 40 years of fishin experience under your belt, ya know how to catch fish, and they just ain't there in great numbers. :huh:

And fishin with clams, which should be a no brainer, isn't always a guarantee of success. Slow fall season so far, at least in my opinion. As a result, less people are fishin, which is what I used to hope and dream about. Who wants elbow to elbow fishin anyway? that's like fishing in the mall, effumall. :laugh:

I can offer some encouraging info. The bait is slowly filling in again. :lookhappy:

I have to reiterate how the beach structure is different, though. What you thought you knew in terms of good beach now no longer exists in many cases. There is a lot more unproductive water, and therefore it's critical to do low-tide scouting. Fishing the wrong stretch of beach, you might as well do a crossword puzzle for all the good it will do you. :don't know why: Find the cuts and outsucks. The day bite should develop again, keep the faith. :thumbsup:

[finchaser]

And fishin with clams, which should be a no brainer, isn't always a guarantee of success. Slow fall season so far, at least in my opinion. As a result, less people are fishin, which is what I used to hope and dream about. Who wants elbow to elbow fishin anyway? that's like fishing in the mall, effumall. :laugh:

In the fall when there on sand eels,spearing and rain fish most of the time they could care less about clams it doesn't match the hatch. agree on the slow fall seen this happen many times before storm after storm they pass offshore nothing for them to feed on along the beach. Clammers get small resident fish as they are doing this week.

[SharkHart]

2 night report for SNJ back bays:

Tues was still a little dirty but found willing bass at every stop I made, finished with 18 bass BUT 14 fish were 17" to 20" but i did get 4 fish 27-32" all on pink zooms, guys i was with were into fish too

Weds night better water and more bait present but shockingly the bite crashed, only managed 2 rats with 4 stops and other did equally poor too, maybe the high pressure front :don't know why:

[finchaser]

:thumbsup:Way to go on Shark. I fished the back last night no bait or fish :skunk:just really dirty water.

[skinner]

Fished out back using swimmers and shads, got :skunk:

[vpass]

I fished most of the out going last night and caught 1 micro fluke on a teaser:ROFLMAO. Any way I tried everything. I fished 2 ocean beaches in NoMOCo. and 1 Spot in the back.

[SharkHart]

There is a little buzz going on in south NJ below AC of lots of fish outside the EEZ. I agree that the storm pushed bait off and cooled too rapidly inshore. First wave going by....While i was cringing before that storm forecast, many guys were cheering it on, because the tackle shops and some charters have so many guys drinking the kool aid that storms stir up a bite (i.e "sell clams")

[DarkSkies]

the tackle shops and some charters have so many guys drinking the kool aid that storms stir up a bite (i.e "sell clams")

Good point and an interesting perspective, Shark. Storms sometimes push the bait out of the surf zone. Clams also get broken up. Naturally, tackle shops sell more clams, unless the surf guys are smart enough to grab up a few (without breaking the law of course ;)) from the beach and put them on ice.

You wouldn't believe the e-mails I've been getting telling me about the "hot clam bite". If it was truly a hot clam bite, you would be able to go almost anywhere there is decent water, throw the clam, and in a half hour or less have a tug on the line.

Instead it seems to me to be a "structure specific clam bite" where clams replace the previously abundant bait that (temporarily) gets washed away from the surf zone.

I ask myself if people are getting bass because of the clams being so irresistible, or it being a case that many of them have empty stomachs and clams are something easy to find and suck up? They are following certain migration paths, and throwing clams in these pathways is a good choice. Of course they are also eating crabs and mantis shrimp at this time, which are less affected by storm cycles.

BTW, congrats on the fish, you seem to have the hot hand this week. I think you posted something about the action near the 22nd. I guess keeping a good log pays off. :clapping: :thumbsup:

[DarkSkies]

And fishin with clams, which should be a no brainer, isn't always a guarantee of success. Slow fall season so far, at least in my opinion. As a result, less people are fishin, which is what I used to hope and dream about. Who wants elbow to elbow fishin anyway? that's like fishing in the mall, effumall. :laugh:



In the fall when there on sand eels,spearing and rain fish most of the time they could care less about clams it doesn't match the hatch. agree on the slow fall seen this happen many times before storm after storm they pass offshore nothing for them to feed on along the beach. Clammers get small resident fish as they are doing this week.

The wisdom in your posts can't be learned by reading any book or article Fin, it comes from the school of hard knocks. As always, I appreciate you sharing it with us. :HappyWave:

[chas527]

fished sandy hook. this morning. bought some clams nothing not a tap.water was really high.didn't see any bait in water' did see a couple of blue fish caught.

[surfwalker]

Out front, this morning. Plugged darkness, first light, full light(10am). Nothing in the dark. Dropped a little Bass in the wash and had another hit at first light (Deadly). Not a tap after that till 10. Saw not a lick of bait, birds, cormorants or a ripple/rise anywhere. Picked up a 26" Bass at 10am(musta been lost) on a Crippled Herring on the walk back. Water clean. Nice sandbars/troughs with out flows.

[DarkSkies]

Saw not a lick of bait, birds, cormorants or a ripple/rise anywhere.

Well we definitely must have been in the same ocean today then Surfwalker. ;) :HappyWave: Congrats on the bass, if we were giving trophies out today for surf-caught bass on artificials you would be first in line! :clapping:

Last night I got a late start but was psyched anyway. Fished 11-3am, incoming and outgoing, few places. First stop set up with clams and and eel, 2 rods. I had some company, one of the parties out there pulled in a decent bass around 12pm. He was bouncing eels. I had mine on the bottom with a light sinker. I was so close to where they were, but not quite. :burn: If only I had webbed feet, or the place was safe to skish, there were some nice fish. Still, even those guys had a slow pick.

That bite died with the change of tide, and I set out for some other places, working presentations on the bottom and mid-water column. There was finally some bait coming around, I was hopeful. Some larger mullet and peanuts being chased by small bluefish, However, even that was sporadic and the pods were small.

Not a tap on the artificials, rubber, or bucktails. Gave it up around 3am to get some sleep in the van. Back at it again 6:30- 7:30am. Worked the back and front. The sand eels that had been close by in the ocean 24 hours prior mysteriously disappeared again.:don't know why:

Here's the part where the reports say...

Oh what a beautiful sunrise, great to be out, blah blah blah. :kooky: :rolleyes: :plastered:

Well I set out last night to get just one fish and failed. Not only did I fail but saw a fat one caught just beyond my reach. So eff the sunrise, I was out to stick a fish!!! :2flip: :laugh:

The ocean was so calm, and the winds were almost non-existent during the night, that it looked like Lake Atlantic again. Still there was some deep water in the ocean as the tide came in, and no signs of bait, birds, even cormorants, like Surfwalker said. It was like God came along and poured a huge bleach bottle into the ocean, totally devoid of life in the near-shore area.

Road trip to Montauk can't come soon enough. ;)

[zev]

sometimes going against your better judment pays off. last nite incoming around 830pm. water was flat, good tide. i knew there was fish there but they werent biting on a couple diff kinds of storm shads, bunker, pearl, chartruese..so i went digging in the bag and found a blue/clear bomber i never caught anything on before and still hadnt changed the hooks and split rings outtve. couple shorts to 24" and then it was the dead sea out there. still waiting on the bigger fish to come into my areahttp://img132.imageshack.us/img132/2831/october2109.jpg

[buckethead]

Nice going Zev. It's always good to try something new.

[hookset]

Spent a few hours in SH 5-9pm. Hooked a 28" on a shad.

[skinner]

Fished eels and needlefish out at 4-7 this morning in MoCo, I was lucky to pull in two shorts on the white teaser. Looks like another storm is coming in.

[c4charlie]

Nice night last night after a rough start and a lot of wasted time at SH. Got 9 bass, all between 23 and 27" except for one little guy who was splashing around in the shallows. Fish were feeding on sand eels. Got 7 on the incoming and then switched to the fly rod thinking the fish would come in closer with the outgoing. That did not happen so I went back to plugging and picked up another 2. They liked the mag darter the best but also picked them up on bombers. Decided to take off the teaser when I saw the fish splashing and feeding at the far end of my cast. I also missed some and had a couple come unbuttoned.

Took a few pics of the first ones. During most of the incoming had entire beach to myself. So where are the bigger fish?

79998000

80018002

8003

[surfwalker]

c4-nice-your reports and pics are looked forward to and appreciated.

Happy Trails

[gjb1969]

good fish man :clapping::fishing::thumbsup:

[DarkSkies]

Zev, WTG on the strategy. I guess you're back from vacation. How was Europe, any hottie pics you would care to share with us? :naughty:

WTG C4 with the hot hand! :clapping: :thumbsup: You, and a lot of us, have had too many unproductive trips lately. The sandeels being back are a good omen.

Where are the bigger fish?
I saw someone pull in a 25# class or better bass the other night, bouncing eels. They were just out of reach of me, unless you had webbed feet. :D With smaller fish come the bigger ones. The bigger ones are there, I know you've seen them when you stand on the precipice of the dark side. :eek: But do ya walk over the line to grab them up? Ain't that easy, cause they come and go with the tide, and we're bound by the limitations of being on land. ;)

Still, not a bad night, 9 bass is something to be proud of no matter how you look at it. Would have been nice to hit #10 on the fly rod, but it seems the better bite was on the incoming last night. Great catch!

I couldn't make it out in time, was over the bridge and had to turn back to take care of an emergency. Fished 2-4am. It was very calm and fish moved a little offshore. Back at it again from 6-9am this morning, throwing rubber, bucktails, metal, and needles. The dawn was calm, but the seas gradually started building with the wind, which was steady in the 20's. Went up to SH where I saw an unusual amount of people throwing bait, none catching. It was like they were all sent there based on a report, or lack of, somewhere else. I left the park and hit a few spots on the way home. At one place in the back I tried some different presentations in deeper water, but the fish were not there.

Got into a few conversations with people where we tried to talk about patterns. The night bite had petered out, trending toward a late afternoon bite. Now with the sand eels we may have a decent bite night bite again, but the fish move with the tide. At least it gives people more hope. The one major thing I noticed is the bigger bluefish are now scarce in the back, so you won't be wasting your money on eels, if you're dunkin em. The key is how to get eels to move along the right way. It's a lot easier if you're not on the land. :D

[vpass]

I was out front from 11am to 1 pm casting Ava 17, and teaser. There were Birds working offshore. I had seen a spray of Sandeels. I also seen a short caught. I had a fish on for a moment. The ocean started to build to a point that was not safe. I drove a few miles to fish the back. I fished the back from 1:30pm to 4:30pm. There was no bait seen, but a group cormorant were diving, to far to see if they succeeded in catching there query. I moved around to other spot with same results.

[finchaser]

Today NOMOCO 11 am to 12pm 1 bass 31" on a lead head and riptide tail lives to fight another day.

[yardvillejimmy]

Fished back of SH with a friend yesterday afternoon. Same story too often this fall, caught nothing but the :skunk:

[DarkSkies]

Fished back of SH with a friend yesterday afternoon. Same story too often this fall, caught nothing but the :skunk:

Yeah, but years of fishing experience taught you guys to hit it up. There should have been fish moving through there, it was a great lee from the wind. Every other place was being battered by the building E/NE winds and seas yesterday. The fact that there were no fish there.... :don't know why: :huh: At least ya gave it a shot and were out tryin. :HappyWave:

[cowherder]

Great report and pics Charlie! I fished Sandy Hook with clams this morning. The waves were big and I tried from 7-8am, but it seemed pointless. :skunk: I think the wind is now from the southwest or south, it was blowing down the beach. Oh well, maybe it will be cleared up by Monday.

[wish4fish]

last nite 8-2 moco. 7 bass to 30" on clam hi lo rigs, holding with 8 oz. the wind sucked.

[skinner]

Glad to see someone is catching fish. I fished yesterday AM from 9-12. The wind and the swell were terrible in my opinion. The water was brown. I used fresh clams, got the skunk.

[surfwalker]

Out front. Fast walk this morning(5-9am). WNW/NW-abt.13mph. Water fairly clean. Overcast. Plugged from the outter bar. No bait seen. Four Bass-one darkness, 3 full light. One keeper(released), one short, two micro. Two on 2oz Crippled Herring, two on Monty's tube teaser. All in very close.

Happy Trails

[LennyD]

Fished 2 hrs into the outgoing tide MOCO, water still dirty, i knew clam was the ticket today but dont like to sit down for hrs, so i just used artificials and live eel. No takers.
Went home, got a Halloween costume and a nice Porterhouse stake. :)

[SharkHart]

did the boat thing today but I first took a few casts at first light on the beach and missed a bass and got one short time, though it might be a slam fest on the boat but onley managed a few blues. insane bait readings and a good amount of diving gannets of ortlely-SSP kept waiting for the action to get hot but it never did

[Monty]

Out front this AM, 5:00 t0 10:00.
Water looked great, I picked up the skunk.
Fished wit a friend who picked up two bass (21" and 26") on a teaser.
Lots of white water.
8025

8026

[vpass]

I fished this morning from 12am to 7:00am. Had 8 fish on landed only 4. all about 25 inches. all fish caught between 12am and 3 am. Bite shutdown when the wind started blowing. all fish were caught on Needlefish. Finally got some fish.:D

[Mike O]

Fished SH 4 bass, 1 keeper and what I'm pretty sure was a bluefish. Cut me off right at the swivel, right where the teaser ties to the main line. The swivel was still tied to the main line, just lost the rig.

Mike O

[c4charlie]

Fished last night for the entire incoming. Caught 20 bass total from 24-32 inches. At least 5-6 keepers. Fished 2 different spots. Picked up 8 in the first spot which I fished with my buddy in some crazy conditions.
There was a bit of a lull and with the water coming in and it became dangerous so decided to go to a different spot with a new friend who is a Paisano like me. We should have gotten there at least an hour earlier. Each of us picked up another 12 fish and they were even larger than the first location. It was a place I have never fished and I really liked it. Funniest was when Tony hooked up with a "20-30 pounder", drag screaming like crazy fought the fish for at least 10 min. During the fight, I decided to go get my camera to take a pic of the "Large" fish before it was released. Get back with the camera and fish is finally landed. Turns out to be a 28" fish with a black bomber foul hooked on the side. No camera or phones last night until that point because conditions were very wet especially in the first location. Tony was nice enough to take a couple pics of me with a fish I kept. Thanks! http://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/images/smilies/highfive.gif

I stopped at 20 because I had to go home and get some sleep but the fish were still biting as long as you know how to coax them and stay in contact with the lure. All fish on plugs: mag darter, bombers, xrap, sluggos, megabait.

It was one of my favorite nights of all time. http://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/images/smilies/biggrin.gif AND it does not get much better with the conditions: tons of white water, lots of fish, ton of shooting/falling stars, good company and it was like 50 degrees.

[vpass]

Wow c4, WTG. :thumbsup::thumbsup:it was beautiful last night. your right about the white water, and shooting stars. I'll be other again tonight.:drool:

[gjb1969]

good for u guys :fishing::thumbsup::clapping:

[storminsteve]

I stopped at 20 because I had to go home and get some sleep but the fish were still biting as long as you know how to coax them and stay in contact with the lure. All fish on plugs: mag darter, bombers, xrap, sluggos, megabait.

It was one of my favorite nights of all time. http://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/images/smilies/biggrin.gif AND it does not get much better with the conditions: tons of white water, lots of fish, ton of shooting/falling stars, good company and it was like 50 degrees.

Great catches c4charlie, and an even better report. Looks like you found them good, nice work.:clapping:
I fished SH this morning from 5to7a. Throwing a sinking needlefish, I managed 3 bass to 28". The hits were close to first light, nothing much after that. It was a good thing to plug a bigger fish on the end of the line.

[fishinmission78]

Ibsp today 6:15-9AM. 5 stripers on clams, biggest was 30".When I first got in there it was a little hairy, coming back not so bad as the tide was close to low. I aired down as low as possible. Be careful out there lads there isn't much room for error and some of the trails are deeply rutted.

[captnemo]

We trailered the boat south today to get in on some bass action. It wasn't as great as I heard, but we still pulled in 4 bass to 19. Kept one for the family, great day out.

[cowherder]

Wow, some amazing catches fellas!:clapping::clapping: I am going out tonight, hope to have some luck as well.

[plugaholic]

We trailered the boat south today to get in on some bass action.

Go south young man, yep it's off the hook.:wow:

[DarkSkies]

Funniest was when Tony hooked up with a "20-30 pounder", drag screaming like crazy fought the fish for at least 10 min. During the fight, I decided to go get my camera to take a pic of the "Large" fish before it was released. Get back with the camera and fish is finally landed. Turns out to bea 28" fish with a black bomber foul hooked on the side. ! http://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/images/smilies/highfive.gif

I stopped at 20 because I had to go home and get some sleep but the fish were still biting as long as you know how to coax them and stay in contact with the lure. All fish on plugs: mag darter, bombers, xrap, sluggos, megabait.

It was one of my favorite nights of all time. http://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/images/smilies/biggrin.gif AND it does not get much better with the conditions: tons of white water, lots of fish, ton of shooting/falling stars, good company and it was like 50 degrees.


Great story and honesty. I think if there are any among us who haven't foul-hooked a fish thinking it was "the big one", we're either delusional or lyin'. :laugh:

And though some may say 20 is just a number, maybe a lot of people don't know how many nights you're out there for 6-8 hours at a time with little or nothing to show for it. So many times I come across you working different rockpiles, and you say you're going home. Then an hour later I see you decided to hit "one more spot" before turning the keys for the long ride home. The famous last cast blues.

Great catches C4 and all of ya's, it's finally starting to feel like fall. :bigeyes: :plastered: :fishing: :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[SharkHart]

OC 2 fluke :rolleyes: then swithced to the bay at dark took a 35" a 30" and shortie at the end of the outgoing in the bay. Same place had a 30" last night, the general sizes this fall seem pretty good so far.

[vpass]

I was out last night for the incoming 9 to 2 am NoMoCO. I fished 3 locations out front. Threw the Bag. not even a bump. Caught the big :skunk:. I figured with last night action, and East winds there would be more fish in the surf.:( :kooky: My arms feel like they're going to fall off.

[chas527]

fished somoco last night with clams.got 2fish one was a keeper 29inches but fat.current was strong had a hard time holding bottom even with 5 onces.

[storminsteve]

Moco from 4-8 am. 2 bass, one 24", one 29", needlefish. The wind wasn't very nice this morning, mother nature was angry.

[cowherder]

Sandy Hook morning fishing from 3:30 to 7AM. One bass 29 1/4" on a black needle. I had the teaser on but no bumps on that.:don't know why:

[porgy75]

Wow nice catches guys. I fished oc before sunup today and only got one micro 22" bass on clams. Sounds like you are getting some nice ones.

[bababooey]

mother nature was angry.

like an old man returning cold soup to a deli?:laugh:
Pn3YrA2aBrA

[c4charlie]

Just got back from a fun night fishing with Yukon. Got 3 bass, one was barely a keeper. Too bad ocean did not cooperate because fish were around, just hard to keep contact. Fish came on blurple superstrike needle and XRAP. Unable to use lighter lures. Thought conditions would get better but they worsened. Did get some bumps on my Fixter needlehttp://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/images/smilies/graemlins/heart.gif and I really was impressed on how well it stayed in the current with the huge south to north sweep. Goal for next time is to stick one of the fish on it.

Haven't caught a fish on a needle in a while so I was happy. http://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/images/smilies/smile.gif

Got a taste of how it feels to be a bass in the wash all night with waves and swells crashing all around.http://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/images/smilies/graemlins/cwm31.gif

[vpass]

Fished MoCo from 6PM to 12am. started out at spot #1. Few fishermen out, heard of one schoolie bass caught on a shad. Threw and lost blurple needle:burn:. Also used shad, bucktail, and swimmers.

Moved to spot #2. There was 2 fishermen working the surf. They were doing a steady pick of bass useing black sluggo teasers, which I didn't have. I was glad they were catching, it kept me motivated. The surf was huge with a strong current, that would sweep the plugs right back on the beach. I started using a A27 with FinS teaser which held better. I had a few good bumps, but caght the :skunk:.

[fishinmission78]

Fished the park this morning till 8:30, 2nd half of the outgoing. 3 bass on clams, 2 runts, one 30". 8oz to hold.

[storminsteve]

Moco from 9-11pm. There was a strong sweep out there and I had trouble keeping it in the strike zone. I was using needlefish and heavy bucktails.:skunk:

[clamchucker]

2 day report. Tuesday northern ocean county. 9-noon, incoming. 5 bass to 32", ava27 with green tail was the ticket.
Today the water was harder to fish. One small bass, incoming, 2 oz t hex. There is a big swell out there with a strong sweep into the troths. The winds are intense. Be careful folks.

[SharkHart]

look at this freaking little poacher!

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll194/SharkHart/bird-bass.jpg

[bababooey]

^Hey where's the DFG? In a 3rd world county they would throw both of them on the stove. Use the fish for stuffing, throw some hot sauce on the whole thing.:drool:

[finchaser]

Ocean county Monday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon as the NE kicked in, all the bass you wanted to 34" on metal now that it's here in force :skunk:can't believe people pray for this S---. Fish, bait and gannets moved off again

[c4charlie]

Friday and Sunday was good too. As soon as we start a pattern, it ends.

Charlie

[LennyD]

Last night MOCO outgoing for 2hrs.
1 @ 29", 1 lost and few bumps.
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/1438/cimg0207.th.jpg (http://img442.imageshack.us/i/cimg0207.jpg/)

[skinner]

like an old man returning cold soup to a deli?:laugh:
Pn3YrA2aBrA

Seinfeld fan?:D
7-10pm ocean county. The waves were big and there was a lot of white water. Decided to throw some clams, managed 2 shorts to 27". The wind turned around from the west. I think when the surf lays down it should blow up again.

[fishinmission78]

Seinfeld fan?:D
7-10pm ocean county. The waves were big and there was a lot of white water. Decided to throw some clams, managed 2 shorts to 27". The wind turned around from the west. I think when the surf lays down it should blow up again.

Well it didn't lay down as of this morning. There are still NNE gusts and big surf. Fished the park 7-8:30, was throwing 2 and 3 oz diamond jigs to get out there. 2 bass to 28", long casts.

[yukon]

Got out on tues with C4. Good times. Perfect fall night. Pouring rain, rough seas with plenty of white water. I was away for about a week and saw some good reports so I could care less what the conditions where I was getting out.
Second cast with a black needle hooked a Schoolie. Next couple of fish were bigger same needle.

Then the plan came together... About two weeks ago I rigged some eels for the first time. Far from perfect but I did a ton of research and they looked fishable. There was no way I was going out and not giving them a shot.

Having never fished rigged eels I assumed I was not in the best conditions but what the hell. Tried it with no weight and that obviously didn't work. Added some weight to get it out there and did a few sweeps and bang nice keeper on. Made a couple of small runs and with the strong surf made for a great fight. Pics stink but its the best I could do.

So I'll be rigging some more this weekend and looking into some better techniques. (if ya have any tips let me know or send me a PM) I do have to say I'm hooked on em.:D Pretty easy to rig, store and carry. Use em over and over.:thumbsup:

[wish4fish]

:thumbsup:dude the rigged eels are awesome how much weight are u using to keep them down in the strike zone?
i fished last night with my cuz 6-9 outgoing backbay. we were getting some nice ones on clams, last night :skunk:

[Monty]

Yukon,
Nice, great post!
Great when things like that work out.


I do have to say I'm hooked on em.:D Pretty easy to rig, store and carry. Use em over and over.:thumbsup:

[vpass]

Nice going Yukon, Nice fish. using rigged eels will get you bigger fish.

I tried rigged sluggos in the back with out success. hit the front and got 2 bass to 28 inches. The keeper still swimming. The surf was real big, and dangerous. I had to be :kooky: to attempt to fish it, but the bass were there. got them on A17.

[yukon]

:thumbsup:dude the rigged eels are awesome how much weight are u using to keep them down in the strike zone?
i fished last night with my cuz 6-9 outgoing backbay. we were getting some nice ones on clams, last night :skunk:

I used a 3oz on a 3 way with about 30 in leader to get it far enough out and down knowing it was going to sweep since it was so rough with a slow retrieve. It worked for one fish but still need to work on it.

[DarkSkies]

I used a 3oz on a 3 way with about 30 in leader to get it far enough out and down knowing it was going to sweep since it was so rough with a slow retrieve. It worked for one fish but still need to work on it.

Sounds like you ran into an obstacle and like any good fisherman adapted to overcome it. Great report and pics. Rigging eels ain't brain surgery, but it ain't that easy either. Congrats on a job well done. :clapping:

Another thing guys sometimes do to streamline things instead of the 3-way is put a 1 oz egg sinker in the eel's mouth and sew it shut. Or you could use an old fashioned eel tin or eel bob, a super-SEKRET technique practiced by only a few old-time sharpies, Fin being one of them. ;) :HappyWave:

There's also a guy up that way where you were. I call him Bob the eel guy. He has no need for the internet and moves around in the shadows of the night, slinging dead eels for the last 3 months of the year. Almost always nails a keeper at night, even on those nights when you swear there ain't any fish around. :don't know why:

If you ever bump iinto him drink up every piece of advice he tells ya. Truly nice guy. :thumbsup: WTG on the eels, Yukon.

[finchaser]

OC this afternoon 3-5pm 4 bass 28" to 30" all on heavy metal and teaser all released.

[surfwalker]

Couldn't get a tap this morning out front, used metal/teasers, just put footprints in the sand. My friend picked up two shorts, quarter mile from me, one on Kastmaster, one on teaser.

[finchaser]

Sounds like you ran into an obstacle and like any good fisherman adapted to overcome it. Great report and pics. Rigging eels ain't brain surgery, but it ain't that easy either. Congrats on a job well done. :clapping:

Another thing guys sometimes do to streamline things instead of the 3-way is put a 1 oz egg sinker in the eel's mouth and sew it shut. Or you could use an old fashioned eel tin or eel bob, a super-SEKRET technique practiced by only a few old-time sharpies, Fin being one of them. ;) :HappyWave:

There's also a guy up that way where you were. I call him Bob the eel guy. He has no need for the internet and moves around in the shadows of the night, slinging dead eels for the last 3 months of the year. Almost always nails a keeper at night, even on those nights when you swear there ain't any fish around. :don't know why:

If you ever bump iinto him drink up every piece of advice he tells ya. Truly nice guy. :thumbsup: WTG on the eels, Yukon.

Rigged sluggo's work too
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6551&d=1241886779 (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6551&d=1241886779)

[zev]

i was beginnign to lose hope for this october in my local river. my spot just hasnt been producing anything but shorts, real short. tonite i started the outgoing at a old spot i havent caught at since my 1st river striper ever. tide was too strong and just as i was about to leave, i got hit by a little guy. i decided to use that mojo and bring it back to my regular spot. as i walked up to the spot i was contemplating changing from the baby striper bomber to a blue/clear one for the shorts. i decided to wait it out and casted. as i was retrieving, a nice splash 5feet in front of me made me slow down the final 10 feet of retrieve to a crawl. once it got in the shadow line it got crushed and the flat water turned into a washing machine. this brute was putting up a nice fight for a few mins but i neve let him get to far away from me. 33" 13lbs. i love the fall again!
http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/4375/cimg1052j.jpg

[DarkSkies]

Fished last night with G and later on ran into C4 and some others. We started in the back for the 2nd part of the ebb. Water was getting skinny, but we found a spot with clean water with some small spearing. We were there for a few minutes when fish started breaking water. Soon after G dropped and lost a fish on a teaser. They were small fish, weren't sure if they were small bass or large hickory shad. It was nice to see topwater action. It only lasted a few minutes more, and then we cut out of there to hit the ocean.

Ran into C4 there. We all went out and gave it a shot in the 8' oncoming swells and big surf. Given that the tide was almost out, we didn't think it would be that bad. We were mistaken. :laugh:

The NE wind had shifted to a light E, but the offshore weather was pushing in some occasional rogue waves. There was also a very strong right to left sweep. You only had a few seconds to keep your presentation in the strike zone. We were using needles and heavy bucktails. That whitewater was sweet, :dribble: but I don't think anyone got even a tap.

After awhile we decided it was useless and moved to some calmer water inside. Some of the sharpies ;) :HappyWave: fishin out there were sayin it will be ideally fishable and back to golden status by Sunday. They're right, sharpies usually are. :D

In the meantime there are fish passing by in the ocean every frikkin day now. Doesn't mean we're going to catch them from the surf. If you can't stay in the strike zone at night, you don't have a chance at them.

However, the migration is halfway done. There's a big body of fish past CM already. Every day more and more pass by our shores on their way south. What that means is if you live in Harrisburg Pa, stay home till the fishin is on fire. Otherwise I'm gonna be out there every chance I get. Big heavy metals work during the day, like ava27 and ava 47, monster Hopkins, and the big t-hexes.

To continue the report, none of us guys wanted to give up. G and I hit some places up while C4 worked some different spots. G and I ended up bait fishin and using heavy jigs, eels and clams. Only problem with the clams is they were sitting in my fridge for awhile. Handling them was like sticking your nose in a baby's diaper. :upck:

The eels were fresh and feisty, though. We were basically fishin the bait on the bottom as the tide moved toward slack. I also had one free drifting without any weight. It got hit about 15 minutes after we started eelin'. It was the stupidest hit, the line started dancing, then moving out slowly. I never set the hook because I knew it wasn't a big fish, couldn't feel much weight. What probably happened is that the 14" eel, one of the bigger ones I had, was toyed with by a 18" bass that couldn't figure out a way to eat it.
Nothing to write home about, that was all the action we had at that spot.

It's usually all about what's the bait in the water. Last night the bait we saw was very sparse.

Tried one more place before the ride home as the tide started coming in. Nothing but lost jigs and shads there, it wasn't the greatest night for fishin. :don't know why:To be out there wasn't bad at all though. The wind slowed down to nothing before it shifted to a light N/NW.

I think the next time we go fishin, G will be buyin the clams to make sure they're better than "diaper fresh". :laugh:

[DarkSkies]

Nice fish Zev. Nice belly. :thumbsup:


http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/4375/cimg1052j.jpg

[c4charlie]

Fished last night from 9-1, tried out back, inside and out front. Not one tap. Water is colder in the bay than the ocean. Wading out in breathables all the ay to waist was not too fun. Ocean was rough. :scared:

[SharkHart]

the surf was huge last night in the evening skunked switched to the bay at night and picked up 9 fish 20" to 28"

[storminsteve]

G and I ended up bait fishin and using heavy jigs, eels and clams. Only problem with the clams is they were sitting in my fridge for awhile. Handling them was like sticking your nose in a baby's diaper. :upck:

I think the next time we go fishin, G will be buyin the clams to make sure they're better than "diaper fresh". :laugh:


Funny *** ****. Reminds me of the Jackass episode poo diaper.:ROFLMAO
http://www.jackassworld.com/videos/1614164/195746

[clamchucker]

Ocean county 12:15 - 5 fresh clams. I managed 4 bass to 26", and one at 30". 10oz to hold. The wind changed in the afternoon muddying up some of the water.

[SharkHart]

Surf is still rough, OC out front picked up a 29" ish lost another decent one then I think the water pushed me back too far to each them. I personally dislike constant E winds and big white surf. Alot of fish are there hard to get to them. Few clam ballers had keeper fish

[voyager35]

Fished the channels on the NJ side of Raritan bay early this morning with bunker and eels. The outside report was too snotty. We did ok in first hour of fishing before first light, 2 bass to 30" on the eels. After that it slowed down and the tide was against us.

[finchaser]

OC today out front 4-6 pm 5 bass to 31" on 3 ounce deadly ****
also 2 fluke 1 went about 3#
My partner of the day had 7 bass to 33" on 3 ounce metal

We had them 3rd day in a row as soon as wind went south and current changed south to north, shut fish down like some one threw a switch. South wind and current:2flip:

[fishjay]

fished OC late yesterday 2 bass 26 and 28" on ava and teaser.

tough surf. my partners went golfing and TV watching

[basshunter]

Fished somoco from 3-7am, lots of churned up water, but some of the pockets were ok. I was throwing a pt jude black tin with a black teaser. 3 bass to 27 1/2", all on the teaser.

[LennyD]

Late report from thursday.
MOCO, water was way too dirty (brown), fished 2hrs high and outgoing, :skunk:
Water needs to clean up or u have to sit down and fish with bait to be able to get fish!!

[surfwalker]

Out front. 4:30am-10am. Steady SSW wind. Sweep not too bad. Nice breakers over the outter bar. Long casts needed until the water dropped and I could wade across the trough. Some bait seen in the inner trough. Water surprisingly clean until low, then coffee color. 8:30am-two consecutive casts-2 short Bass- in the trough (nice, clean, slim, 1-bl/wh-Eddstone teaser, 1-Ava17). The other 6 million casts were to remind me how much my shoulder still bothers me. Still an enjoyable morning for me.

Happy Trails

[wish4fish]

The other 6 million casts were to remind me how much my shoulder still bothers me. Happy Trails

hey dude no pain no gain, at least you gottum we got the skunk today. thu nite we fished outback with clams near some mud, 1 bass 32". last nite same place nothing.