NJ fishing reports for December 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

[DarkSkies]

** It seems I neglected the plug giveaway for Oct. Sorry 'bout that! :embarassed: Later today I'll announce a winner for Oct and Nov.

Buckethead you won the plug in the October 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]

October 2009 - winner is Buckethead.

November 2009 - winner is Clamchucker.

[finchaser]

This AM in OC 11 bass to 31" all caught on AVA with bucktail and teaser gotta love west/ northwest
All still heading south

Tomorrow SSE:2flip:

[buckethead]

:clapping:Congrats finchaser, I was out this morning too from 7-8 in oc, not a touch on the avas or anything else.:skunk:

[fishinmission78]

Fished the park 5-8AM. Managed 4 bass to 27" on small Ava007s.

[finchaser]

:clapping:Congrats finchaser, I was out this morning too from 7-8 in oc, not a touch on the avas or anything else.:skunk:


Thanks had them from 6:30 to 7:30 very short lived

[yardvillejimmy]

Fished MoCo with OFFC. Good pick of bass from mid aternoon till dark on bombers, megabaits and mambo minnows. One 12 lb. bluefish.

[yukon]

Fished MoCo last night 7 - 12. Got one big old blue on a redfin. He went nuts pealing drag when he got hooked and tail walked on the huge lake in front of me and jumped about 5 times. Pretty cool.

I also got 5 nice hits on the top but nothing hooked up.

I hadn't been out in a week so I was happy with a bend in the rod.

[clamchucker]

2 days, one small bass at the park yesterday on a diamond jig with a green tube.
Today, nothing.

[voyager35]

Late report, we went slightly N out of the BI Monday morning. Hit 2 decent bass up to 34" trolling white shad rigs. Then the bluefish started hitting and we went to jigging 4oz jigs. 3 bluefish to 30" and 24 dogfish. I don't want to hear anyone say the dogfish are in trouble, you can have all the ones we caught yesterday.

[storminsteve]

Fished somoco 6-7:30am with needlefish and a black bomber.:skunk:

[finchaser]

Fished this AM in OC nada for me and many others:skunk:

[DarkSkies]

I had a feeling the bass would be feeding last night before iit got worse. The conditions on the beginning side of the bad weather were good, and the water hadn't got too roiled up yet. Bass were chowin on sandeels. Fish were caught after dark up to 30, with mostly smaller ones under 8, but the bass were on the feed.

I had to work late, didn't make it out there till 10:30, fished the ebb till 12. Couldn't throw a sluggo b/c the wind and waves were building. Went to a heavy needle and got one short. Called it a night at 12 b/c there were no other hits or bumps and the water was becoming unfishable.

Slept in the van, back out in the AM. There were birds, small bait, and feeding bass for at least a mile where I was. Problem was getting out to them.

Swells were every 5 secs in duration and waves were 8' high early on. There was an intense sweep from S to N which karate chopped you at the knees if you tried to wade out, and pushed me back 10' twice even as I leaned into them with all my weight.

However, the water was pretty clear, it seems the SE didn't dirty things up too much this time.

Decided to wait for awhile, shot some video, met some sharpies who fish every day, got some good stories to bring to you people. :thumbsup:

7967106

Back out at 9:30 as the tide went out. Fished to 10:30a. By then, the waves had diminished to 5', cut down by the building strong W winds. :wheeeee: :bigeyes: The sweep was still strong, most guys were only fishing from the surf line. AVA47 or 27 minimum was the ticket to get your presentation in the surf zone.

A few bass were caught, definitely a slow pick of smaller fish, but the action continued under the bright sun. I hooked and dropped a fish and had to leave for work. It kills me to have to leave fish like that. :burn:

Congrats to the guys who stuck it out in the rain and were crazy enough to fish last night ahead of the strong SE winds and swell. :thumbsup: Some nice fish were caught, and lost, last night. That's fishin. :fishing:

If you can find working birds you should be able to find fish today. Quite a few guys gave up after only a few casts and left. It takes some effort to work for fish in an effed up surf with a dangerous sweep. If I was fishing today, I would fish the last 3 hours of the ebb. If you only have limited time, tomorrow might be easier when the swell gets cut down. If the sky clouds up, the fish could chow all day. No promises here, only possibilities.

[fishinmission78]

Fished above the park Wed 2-6pm. Scattered bass to 27", managed 3, 2 oz t hex.

[jigfreak]

Fished oc this morning 6-7. Like dark said the sweep was strong. It was basically unfishable. I tried something different with bucktails, but even a 4 oz couldn't stay in the zone very long.

[finchaser]

This morning 6:30 to 8 AM OC 14 bass to 31" all on AVA with red tail the key was, no teaser and fishing in between the sets,fish were not in the turbulance

[SharkHart]

I did some hunch fishing and i paid off big time, went a bit further south then usual, first stop picky 7-14lbs on very small minnows, picked a few, second location had a million bunker with large bass crashing them, couldnt believe my eyes. snag and drop produced some nice fish to 22lbs, dropped quite a few with smaller snags, my june tackle isnt with me, but there are no rules on bunker anymore be prepared, alot of misse hits too. All in the dark

[finchaser]

I did some hunch fishing and i paid off big time, went a bit further south then usual, first stop picky 7-14lbs on very small minnows, picked a few, second location had a million bunker with large bass crashing them, couldnt believe my eyes. snag and drop produced some nice fish to 22lbs, dropped quite a few with smaller snags, my june tackle isnt with me, but there are no rules on bunker anymore be prepared, alot of misse hits too. All in the dark


Very nice:clapping:

[buckethead]

Headed out early this morning. Came into some fish big time. had lots of excitement with catch and release for about a half hour. Too bad for me the cell was ringing and home was calling.

[yukon]

Got out today from 9 - 12. Got into some good action. Lost count after a dozen. Lots of bait and birds working all morning. Only one keeper but most were decent size shorts with a few rats. Of course I wish I was bringing in 15#'s but hell it was fun to have some constant fish. And it beat working.. well i did answer a few emails in between fishing. I love technology:D!

A few good signs. Walking out I saw a bunch of guys leaving. Asked one guy if the bite died and he said "nope you'll catch some fish' then first cast fish on. Everyone that was out and I mean everyone:eek: were very cool. Plenty of space because the fish we're stretched out down the beach. Talked to a bunch of good people just having a blast. Ran into one guy Tom from Piscataway (shoot me a PM if your on the boards)

I was fishing a green redgill teaser and switched in between Ava green/red/yellow. All produced but not as much as the vision sand eels. As soon as I switched to that it was fish after fish.

As I was leaving it started to get a bit crazy. Some dip ***** started moving and taking apart no parking barriers to get a spot, they tried to pull out stakes to park where every they liked... Come on now! :beatin:

[vpass]

Fished OC from 3pm to 6:30pm. water was dirty. I had one bump before dark then nothing. Got the :skunk: following me.

[DarkSkies]

I did some hunch fishing and i paid off big time, went a bit further south then usual, first stop picky 7-14lbs on very small minnows, picked a few, second location had a million bunker with large bass crashing them, couldnt believe my eyes. snag and drop produced some nice fish to 22lbs, dropped quite a few with smaller snags, my june tackle isnt with me, but there are no rules on bunker anymore be prepared, alot of misse hits too. All in the dark

You do realize you're one of the few people in NJ today who got into fish that size?;) :clapping:
Say it ain't so, Shark is fishin wit bunkah??? :scared:

You might need to change up vehicles once in a while now. I was told there's a $5000 bounty for anyone who can shadow ya long enough to find ya fishin. :laugh: :HappyWave:

WTG man nice fish. :thumbsup:


]Everyone that was out and I mean everyone:eek: [/B]were very cool. Plenty of space because the fish we're stretched out down the beach.
As I was leaving it started to get a bit crazy. Some dip ***** started moving and taking apart no parking barriers to get a spot, they tried to pull out stakes to park where every they liked... Come on now! :beatin:

It was like a who's who of NJ surfcasting out there today. Members from every club and county converged on that spot after an internet report told them to run up there because fish were only being caught on the "red X" :don't know why:

I saw the black SUV that decided regular parking spots were for nerds and decided to make his own space. :beatin:
[EDIT: I sometimes may not mention peoples names, but today a report came in and the caller asked me if the guy above was CharlieK. If one person had this perception, maybe others might have it as well. :don't know why:
I saw CharlieK that day, and he was not the guy who decided to create his own parking spot.
CharlieK is a truly generous angler who I and a lot of anglers admire and respect, and I can assure people it wouldn't even occur to him to do something like that. Just wanted to clear that up. ]


It was an absolute circus of people streaming in and out of there all day like there were 40# fish to be caught :wow: while as you said most were small bass 18-24" with a few larger ones thrown in the mix.

Great report and beautiful pics though, I wish all reports could be that informative and upbeat. Looks like you had a blast, I must have just missed ya. :HappyWave:Thanks for sharing. :thumbsup:

[DarkSkies]

Got a late start today in Nomoco after I shot the latest west wind wally video.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=5418&page=3


Got out to the sand around 11:00 and started casting metal. Where I was it seemed things had slowed down a bit from the spectacular first light bite of double digit catches. Fish were at the furthest end of the cast. Some people got discouraged, while others were hitting them steadily. As the day got sunnier, you really had to work for the fish.

I managed one in 45 mins on an Ava17 with green tail.

Some people described it as a fish on every cast, I think that was a slight exaggeration. I honestly felt it was a slow pick for the bulk of the day, except for dawn and dusk. Ran into Chas527 who got into some fish earlier. :HappyWave:

There were fish running through the surfzone all day, and a good line of sandeels spread through several miles of shoreline. I would say 95% of the fish were 18-24" with a few larger ones thrown in, as Yukon said. Some people hit exceptional numbers, as many as 60 for guys who fished 14 hours with only an hour break for lunch. Some nicer fish, up to 15#, but only a few of those as well.

All the heavy hitters from the NJ surfcasting world seemed to be there.

Boy, word really travels fast on the internet. :rolleyes: :beatin: I also noticed that Ellen and the Ron Muccie crew were there, and Ellen was outfishing some of the guys again, though I didn't get a chance to drop by and say hello. :HappyWave:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=5385

After I did some old-time fishermen interviews, I ran into the OFFC and we decided to fish away from all the crowds.

We fished from 2-8pm. In that time the OFFC had the hot hand and its members landed 15-25 bass apiece, pure bass no bluefish. I was the low man on the totem pole, only managing 5 more for a total of 6 for the day. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon11.gif

These guys are the Mambo Minnow Masters! They proceeded to school all the young pups on the beach as they outfished them 3:1 with these little yellow pieces of plastic. I was humbled as I watched them get hit after hit. The great thing about today was not only the catches, but the action. Even though I didn't have great numbers, I and the others had great action. :lookhappy:

The best action started around 3pm after slack as the tide started coming in. Fish were busting on sandeels (sporadically) but it was still cool to see. There were tons of em in a line down the beach about 50-100 feet out. Bass and the occasional hickory shad would crash them, one at a time.

Around that time we stopped using metal and catching fish on plastics, mambos, and bombers. Tried magdarters, needles, and 9" sluggos, and xraps, couldn't buy a hit with one of those. All the action was on those cheap, simple, plastic lures. What worked in the PM was the slowest retrieve then. In the morning it seemed the fish wanted a faster retrieve.

Then Albanyguy came down to join us, and this emmeffer banged a shorty on the first cast, yellow schoolbus bomber! :2flip: :HappyWave:

For a guy who hits the salt 3x/yr, he's a quick study and a fast learner. I found him to be very competent and adaptible to the changing conditions and tide. I had a good time meeting him for the first time and introducing him to the OFFC. Glad ya got some too, ya done good! :clapping:

The mambos produced great action for us. I got one larger bass close to 28" on a black bomber as it got dark. The great thing was the bite continued through the dark. Fish were stilll hitting when I left, and were feeding sporadically though the night, all because of those sandeels. :drool:

I would imagine if conditions stay the same, tomorrow's bite could be good as well. Because of the internet spotburn :2flip: you can expect 300 people in one mile of beach tomorrow morning. The thing to remember is, the fish are up and down the beach. We moved to avoid the crowd, and still found fish.












The tenacity of the OFFC continues to amaze me. These guys were like fishin maniacs :viking: with more energy than guys half their age. I'm priveleged to fish next to them. They were still casting when 90% of the young hardcore surf guys had left the beach for the night. I left them still casting because I had to come home and post this report.

I hope the weather holds for tomorrow, but strong winds are forecast. Could turn things off like a faucet, you never know.

In all, it was a great day of different stories, meeting people and friends, and a good day fishin. :thumbsup:

[SharkHart]

tonight tried to get lighting to struck again and although there was some thunder i got :skunk: but my friend did get two nice mid teen sized again on bunker. Lots of bunker early. Made the mistake of watching bass thrash on bunkies about too many times about 150 yards away, my instincts said run them down but we thought there going to come to us. I finally went after them picked my spot ready to cast and a bass came zipping through the pod dead in front of me easily in range, i cast out snagged a bunky very fast and THEN, snag, snap off with more rigs 150 yards away. Shortly there after the thousands of bunker all went quiet and away and vanished. Tonights lesson was I should have got on my horse and went after them cause you dont know when the window will close.

thurs
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll194/SharkHart/12-4-09-bunker-bass.jpg

[fishjay]

Fished with the group in the hot zone today. We caught bass in a slow steady pick for most of the day and into the night. guess we caught 20 fish apiece on ava'a, mambos and bombers. The plugs being our favorites. fish were from 20 to 27 in.

Good to fish with DS again and we accomplished our goal and lasted as long as him. See even old guys can fish long hours when the bite is on.

[Pebbles]

Those are some great reports and pics guys. I'm sorry I am missing all the action. Congrats to all on their great day of catchin.:HappyWave:

[finchaser]

This Am 6:30 to 8:30 caught 4 bass all on AVA, looks like NE has pushed them into deeper water again

Oh yes Killie made a guest appearance and caught 2 bass and 2 shad.

[buckethead]

Everyone had a banner day except me! I got :skunk:. Don't know what I did wrong. Hopefully when I go out early this evening I will get something, even a blue will do for me.

[albanyguy1]

Left Albany @ 3:30AM to try to hit just before high tide. First stop was OC where I quickly picked up 2 shorts - one on vision eel, the other on ava w/ flo green tail. Only one other bump and then bite stopped. Didn't see any others hook up while I was there. Hung out during the afternoon, enjoyed a fine cigar, eventually hit the NOMOCO just after dusk and met Dark Skies. Good pick of fish, many hits, several unbottoned's, and I think about 8-10 fish (stopped counting after 6). Last two were big fatties, but just missed the keeper mark. Caught them on bombers, vision eel, one on yellow teaser. Got really good last 45 minutes before I left -two nice ones landed by sharpie next to me; one 12lbs (I have it in my cooler) and another even bigger one.

Got home about 11:30pm. Last half hour was a bit rough, though.

I am happy to say I was able to hit the suds 3X this year and each time I caught fish and decent weather. I try to learn from each trip something that will make the next one better. This trip I learned: that, (1) from now on, I will take just one rod out to the beach, and store an xtra reel in my back pack; (2) replace all the treble hooks on my plugs with xtra sharp trebles and bend down the barbs - I would rather lose a few fish than lose precious fishing time trying to get those impossible hooks out. It also will help me get the fish back in the water faster, which is just as important; (3) carry a smaller plug bag. Since I only get down a few times a year; I have almost all my tackle in my bag. Too heavy. I will bring all my stuff with me, but next time take another, smaller, plug bag to the beach.

Well, that's it for me until next June. Tight lines, merry xmas and a happy new year to all!

[LennyD]

Nice pictures Yukon!
WTG!!!

[vpass]

I fished from 4:30am to 10:30am. I caught 18 bass from 16 inches to 24/25 inches. The bass that were caught In the dark, were caught on blurple needle fish. The Bass stop hiting the needle as soon it got light out, then they were on Tins. I only caught 2 on the teaser. I wanted to make 20, but was chilled to the bone, I had to go.

[gjb1969]

way to go guys:clapping::fishing:

[cowherder]

I fished from 4:30am to 10:30am. I caught 18 bass from 16 inches to 24/25 inches. The bass that were caught In the dark, were caught on blurple needle fish. The Bass stop hiting the needle as soon it got light out, then they were on Tins. I only caught 2 on the teaser. I wanted to make 20, but was chilled to the bone, I had to go.


Hey vpass great catch! I fished 3to6:30 in nomoco, got 5 bass on a black bomber and 2 on a black superstrike needle with a red tube teaser. They were all small the biggest was 22 inches. I got one hit on the teaser but no fish on that? Do you have any idea why they didn't want the teaser today?
yukon, those pictures are great, what camera are you using?

[vpass]

Do you have any idea why they didn't want the teaser today?


I imagine it has to do with the size. The needle that I was using was 7.5 inches. I heard that they wouldn't touch 4 inch or 9 inch sluggos, but would hammer the 7 inch sluggo. I was getting most of my bass near top of cast. and reeling reel slow about 1 revolution to 1/2 revolution a sec. I would get hit 2 to 3 times before I got hookup. I thing the north winds maked a belly in the line has someting to do with that. By the time I was able to set the hook it was to late due to slack.:)

[jigfreak]

Ocean county, the birddog shift, 5-8am. 4 bass to 30" on a 2 oz t-hex and black teaser dragged across the sand. It seemed like it turned off early this morning, I thought the rain would keep guys away and bring more fish.

[Monty]

Nice catches!!
Great pics Yukon.

[cowherder]

I imagine it has to do with the size. The needle that I was using was 7.5 inches. I heard that they wouldn't touch 4 inch or 9 inch sluggos, but would hammer the 7 inch sluggo. I was getting most of my bass near top of cast. and reeling reel slow about 1 revolution to 2 revolution a sec. I would get hit 2 to 3 times before I got hookup. I thing the north winds making the belly in the line has someting to do with that.:)


Thanks vpass!

[vpass]

Thanks vpass!


I edit my last post. I ment to say 1/2 to 1 revolutions a second. If I want faster I wasn't hooking up. Good Luck. Weather permitting I will be out there tomorrow maybe alittle earlier.:drool:

[wish4fish]

nomoco loco banged em before first light today it was a good bite in the dark, 11 shorties on a black needle and then it slowed downn and i went home and banged again:naughty:

[DarkSkies]

Nice catches guys! :clapping: :thumbsup: Once again I'm the low numbers guy, that's ok I'll take what I can get. ;)

Work got in the way, didn't get OTW till 8:30. Saw the picket lines and wanted to try someplace else, so I moved around lookin for working birds.

Found a place where there were birds and only 5 guys working a mile stretch of beach.. peace, room, and fishin, what more could you ask for? :D

Went out to the suds casting an ava27 with green tail because the winds were building and I had mono line. Not a touch. Meanwhile the guy next to me was nailing em on every 2nd or 3rd cast. Switched to a 17, still not a tap.

Vpass was done where he was, and joined me to rack up some more fish. Congrats on the great numbers bro! You've been putting in a lot of time and frustration, you definitely made the right moves today. :clapping: :thumbsup:

However, the phantom maniac metal madcaster next to me schooled us both, and was high hook for the whole beach. It was a humbling experience. He had me thinkin I must have forgot how to fish. :huh:

After getting over the embarassment of having him:beatin: us all, we realized it was the way he was working the metal. It wasn't where he was standing, it was his magic retrieve, a little different than the usual. I'm not gonna describe it out of respect to him, he certainly got mine and that of the other fishermen today. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Paying attention to that, without staring at him like too much of the goog that I am :bucktooth: helped me to focus better and get into the groove.

When you see a guy nailing fish after fish and you're both on the same relative piece of water... ie, no difference between the structure he's on and you're on, you have to be humble enough to assess what the hell you're doing wrong for that day. :don't know why:

Sometimes it's a fast retrieve, even at night, that will cause the fish to inhale your presentation. Sometimes it's another subtle variation. Or when plugging, keeping your plug moving so slowly it's ALMOST standing still, but not quite.

Resisting what could be a learning experience because of ego is just plain ignorant. I'm glad I happened to be fishin next to him. It's the same thing when you're standing next to Finchaser, or the OFFC, when they're throwin and outfishin the other guys 4:1. (Do ya hear that Killie? ) ;)

It ain't the spot, it's the guy fishin the spot. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon3.gif

Vpass managed one more bass tryin to reach 20. I cheered him on as we got pounded by the rising tide and cold, but it was not to be.

I got 2 bass by wading out to the extreme edge of a rounded bar that came to a point. Biggest was 26". Got them on a thin profile 2 oz sandeel jig that Chas527 gave me the other day. Chas, I did catch 2 bass on that jig, they do work when the wind is building and you need to punch it out.. :HappyWave:

It reminded me of the Jrods jigs I had left at home. They would have been perfect missiles for a NE day like today. :thumbsup:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=3590

Monty will tell you they cast like a rocket, he got a spring bass of 20 or 22 with an extremely long cast using Jrods jigs.

And long casts were needed today, until the tide filled in. The birds were spread out over a mile, way out of range, but there were pods of bass coming by randomly. It was fun, but the building NE winds and waves weren't.

Being as far out as I was, I took the brunt of the wave action. Even though I was standing in knee deep water, I had to take a 3 point linebacker stance after some of the 3 second duration double set waves pushed me back and sent me swimming for a while. :scared:

Hypothermia can happen quicklly out there. I love being out there, but it was a little dangerous on the outer bar. I want people to understand a building fall NE isn't as agreeable to catching numbers of fish as a hard NW, because you can't present as well.

The highest individual numbers I heard of today were in the 30's for people who fished hard before dawn and stayed. The highest individual numbers reported to me yesterday, with the nice W wind and bait in close, were in the 70's, of bass caught and released. What does that tell ya? :learn:

I worked the water till 11:30 for another hour after vpass left, really trying for just one more fish, but it didn't happen.

In all, it was a nice degree of activity for a building noreast pattern. The waves weren't bad as far as swells go, but the 3 sec duration was tough.

Today would have been a perfect day to fish a little above or past the swell from some rocky areas. Unfortunately, the fish weren't stacked up on the rocks like they were on the sandy beaches.

Yep, I did "scout" those areas on the way home. ;)

[killie]

This Am 6:30 to 8:30 caught 4 bass all on AVA, looks like NE has pushed them into deeper water again

Oh yes Killie made a guest appearance and caught 2 bass and 2 shad.

that was 3 bass (the one I lost right in the wash) and 2 shad, but who's counting :rolleyes:
Charlie.... not a touch :laugh:

[DarkSkies]

... but who's counting :rolleyes:


Ya told me on the phone that it was even, Now you're bowing down to the OGB old grouchy bassturd? :eek: What are the real numbers, fess up!

[killie]

nah, he mighta got me by 1 striped one, but we can't forget the 2 shad so actually, I'm ahead :)
fish are fish, they all count

[yukon]

It wasn't where he was standing, it was his magic retrieve, a little different than the usual. I'm not gonna describe it out of respect to him, he certainly got mine and that of the other fishermen today. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:



I don't think describing the retrieve would be disrespecting him at all. I think that's one of the best things about this site. Getting tips from those who learn something new or see something that can make others increase there catch.

[yukon]

yukon, those pictures are great, what camera are you using?

You wont believe this but when I'm fishing I use a free camera I got years ago. A little canon powershot A410 3.2 mega pixels.

My other camera is a Canon 20D but I never take it fishing. I've been doing photography for over 20 years. Best advice I tell everyone especially since digital came along is to take at least 2-3 shots of each picture with each one a little different (angle/zoom/perspective). Then when you download you find 3 different versions. I might take 50 pictures to get 10-15 quality shots.

[vpass]

Fished NoMoCo this morning from 4:30am to 5:30am. water seemed dirty just about every cast I had leaves, and branches fouling my plug. Then my hands got wet, with the wind whipping from NNW to NW at 30 my hands felt like they were going to fall off. I gave up went home to get some sleep. :skunk:

[DarkSkies]

Fished with the OFFC for a short while today, 5-6:30pm. We had a hard time getting in the groove. The good thing is that 98% of the guys went home at 3. :thumbsup:

I think they had a short and some missed hits until the grouchiest OFFC member :HappyWave: got a fat 29" bass in the dark on a bomber. :laugh: :clapping:

I got :skunk: but had a chance to check some more of the beach that got changed by storms. There are some nice cuts and depressions that will continue to hold fish as they pass by.

Fish were scattered, but some bigger fish in the teens were caught at dusk.

Vpass, you're right about that cold, the water is like ice. :eek: The only saving grace was the light W wind at dusk. You had much worse wind when you were fishin at 5am.

I waded out to some deeper spots to find where the depressions were and my fingers were frozen. Yesterday when I shot that video in the water after you left my words were slightly slurred because hypothermia had started to set in.

It's a good idea to recognize the signs of hypothermia. Be careful out there guys and girls.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=2018


Here's a video I shot of some gannets diving in OC today. IMO this video sucks! http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon13.gif The herring were too far out to get a clear focus. Don't waste your time watching past the 40 sec mark.

8024424

Some might be interested to know that there are herring or similar sized bait just offshore in large quantities, and more moving inshore every day. Nuff said. ;)


West wind Wally! :2flip: :bigeyes:
Sun report is post #48. I changed the title after all the PMs asking me to make it easier to find.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=5418&page=5

[GeoffT]

NoMoCo 8:30-10:30 PM. 8 bass to 28" on a short black Salty Bugger needle and 6" black over red sluggo as a teaser. Light W wind, water like glass and still stained but fish were willing and ready.

Oh yeah, I also snagged 4 skates, one of which went 13.5 pounds.

[DarkSkies]

It wasn't where he was standing, it was his magic retrieve, a little different than the usual. I'm not gonna describe it out of respect to him, he certainly got mine and that of the other fishermen today. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Paying attention to that, without staring at him like too much of the goog that I am :bucktooth: helped me to focus better and get into the groove.



I don't think describing the retrieve would be disrespecting him at all. I think that's one of the best things about this site. Getting tips from those who learn something new or see something that can make others increase there catch.

Good point you made there, Yukon. :thumbsup:

The reason for a community like this is to help people by focusing on the "how" and not "where". :learn:

However, sometimes subtle distinctions have to be made. Here's why:

Nowhere on any of the main internet fishing sites was there a report from a guy who stated that he caught over 20 bass in an hour on Sat.

Based on that, I'll make the leap and say that this was probably a guy who isn't interested in reports. I meet people like that every day, people who love fishin but have no use for the internet.

There are quite a few guys who have pulled mid 20's fish and larger out of the NJ surf this fall that live by a code of secrecy. They learned surf fishin a trick or 2 at a time, mostly by trial and error, and put in years, and not months or weeks, to get the skills they have today to pull large when everyone else is catching schoolies. Some actually hate the internet and what it has done to fishing and the learning curve. I have to respect that. :thumbsup:

So if he's not a guy who would share his hard earned technique with the world, I have to respect that too.

I have alliances with a lot of groups who would be very happy if all internet fishing sites blew up simultaneously. A lot of these people trust me, and I do whatever I can to maintain that trust.

In fact, most of the times when you see me posting up complaining about spot burning or some irritating thing that fishermen did and could cause trouble for the rest of us, it's because I usually receive several phone calls about it from guys who will not come on and post.

So I do it for them. I'll take the heat for those rants even though they didn't originate with me, no problem. Someone has to speak up sometimes, I don't mind playing that role.


As for me, you know by reading my reports and the overwhelming detail (I get paid by the word :D) that I'm glad to show people what I did to catch, or the lessons I learned from when I didn't catch.

I try so hard because I want to share my travels with those who read the reports. I want them to feel that they were there alongside me as I describe the experiences I have in the world of surf fishin. And that info I share freely.

Hope this cleared things up, because I didn't want you to think I was ignoring the point you made. :HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

NoMoCo 8:30-10:30 PM. 8 bass to 28" on a short black Salty Bugger needle and 6" black over red sluggo as a teaser. Light W wind, water like glass and still stained but fish were willing and ready.

Oh yeah, I also snagged 4 skates, one of which went 13.5 pounds.

13.5 frikkin pounds? :wow: :viking: I hope whoever you were fishin with caught more skates than that, otherwise you're the skate king of the week! :laugh:

WTG on the night fish, and the informative report. :thumbsup:

The weather reports said no wind tonight. It seems the guys who can withstand 30deg temps could have a nice Christmas. ;)

[DarkSkies]

Then Albanyguy came down to join us, and this emmeffer banged a schoolie on the first cast, yellow schoolbus bomber! :2flip: :HappyWave:

For a guy who hits the salt 3x/yr, he's a quick study and a fast learner. I found him to be very competent and adaptible to the changing conditions and tide. I had a good time meeting him for the first time and introducing him to the OFFC. Glad ya got some too, ya done good! :clapping:





Left Albany @ 3:30AM to try to hit just before high tide. First stop was OC where I quickly picked up 2 shorts - one on vision eel, the other on ava w/ flo green tail. Only one other bump and then bite stopped. Didn't see any others hook up while I was there. Hung out during the afternoon, enjoyed a fine cigar, eventually hit the NOMOCO just after dusk and met Dark Skies. Good pick of fish, many hits, several unbottoned's, and I think about 8-10 fish (stopped counting after 6). Last two were big fatties, but just missed the keeper mark. Caught them on bombers, vision eel, one on yellow teaser. Got really good last 45 minutes before I left -two nice ones landed by sharpie next to me; one 12lbs (I have it in my cooler) and another even bigger one.

Got home about 11:30pm. Last half hour was a bit rough, though.

I am happy to say I was able to hit the suds 3X this year and each time I caught fish and decent weather. I try to learn from each trip something that will make the next one better. This trip I learned: that, (1) from now on, I will take just one rod out to the beach, and store an xtra reel in my back pack; (2) replace all the treble hooks on my plugs with xtra sharp trebles and bend down the barbs - I would rather lose a few fish than lose precious fishing time trying to get those impossible hooks out. It also will help me get the fish back in the water faster, which is just as important; (3) carry a smaller plug bag. Since I only get down a few times a year; I have almost all my tackle in my bag. Too heavy. I will bring all my stuff with me, but next time take another, smaller, plug bag to the beach.

Well, that's it for me until next June. Tight lines, merry xmas and a happy new year to all!

It was a pleasure to fish with ya, you're the kind of angler who adapts quickly, no probs when ya come down again, I'll be out there.

That was a well-written and informative report, WTG. :thumbsup:

[Monty]

Fished sunday morning 5:00 - 10:00, NOMOCO. Only managed 1 small striper on the rubber teaser, smallest bass of the year. Lots of birds working a few hundred yards out.It was a wee bit chilly out there

[yardvillejimmy]

Fished NoMoCo Sunday afternoon with OFFC. Two fish caught near dark. Birds working during the afternoon. Saw a few fish caught but for us beyond our cast.

[GeoffT]

13.5 frikkin pounds? :wow: :viking: I hope whoever you were fishin with caught more skates than that, otherwise you're the skate king of the week! :laugh:

WTG on the night fish, and the informative report. :thumbsup:

The weather reports said no wind tonight. It seems the guys who can withstand 30deg temps could have a nice Christmas. ;)

Thanks. I figured this time of year, there aren't too many guys willing to brave the freezing temps and wind so safe to post a report. :2flip:

Nope, I was the skate king. :embarassed: :moon:

[fishinmission78]

They learned surf fishin a trick or 2 at a time, mostly by trial and error, and put in years, and not months or weeks, to get the skills they have today to pull large when everyone else is catching schoolies. Some actually hate the internet and what it has done to fishing and the learning curve. I have to respect that. :thumbsup:

So if he's not a guy who would share his hard earned technique with the world, I have to respect that too.

I have alliances with a lot of groups who would be very happy if all internet fishing sites blew up simultaneously. A lot of these people trust me, and I do whatever I can to maintain that trust.



:clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping: :thumbsup: One of the best speeches you have ever given.

Sun, fished the park, 5 short bass to 25" 5-8am, ava and redgill teaser.
Today, 2 bass to 32" 5-7am, same setup.

[Chapin521]

13.5 lbs you're the skate king of the week!
NMC yesterday...Nah Bud....:o As you can see from the pic I think i have to wear that dubious distinction. I had no scale but this skate was real HEAVY, I estimate about 15 lbs.I don't know much about skates but i believe i snagged it by one of its reproduction organs :eek: .Ouch! Fighting against the west wind didn't make it any easier. The bugger put one serious bend on my rod and took every bit of 25 mins to land. Had this happen to me twice. Should have seen the crowd that assembled thinking i might of hooked unto a 20 lber. Guess i wasnt the only one fooled.:ROFLMAOThe second one got snagged on its tail. Did manage to have a pretty good day with the bass as well, including a double! Most fish on the teaser.

[storminsteve]

nomoco yesterday 5-10am, the cold made me think it would be a good way to torture prisoners.:scared: 8 bass to 25", AVA17 and white teaser. I moved a bit when the bite slowed at one area.
Chapin, the first pic has your boot in the bottom of the pic near the skate.
Unless you're a midget, that skate looks pretty big. That would have been great to see a pic of the crowd watching as you wrenched it in. Great pics yukon and chapin.:thumbsup:

[lostatsea]

Great pics yukon and chapin.:thumbsup:

what he said, nice pics! Fished ocean county 6 to 8 this morning. It was cold but with little wind it was bearable. Layers are key. Managed 3 bass to 34". The one biggest one came before sunrise. Black sinking needle, chartreuse teaser.

[finchaser]

They learned surf fishin a trick or 2 at a time, mostly by trial and error, and put in years, and not months or weeks, to get the skills they have today to pull large when everyone else is catching schoolies. Some actually hate the internet and what it has done to fishing and the learning curve.

:clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping: :clapping: true true no bunker snags in those learning curves

[finchaser]

This am OC 5 bass to 29" all caught on a silver thing tied to the end of the string.:D Make that an AVA17 with my special dyed burgandy tube tail fished high in the water in between wave sets.

[Pebbles]

8024424



When are you getting those editing lessons from sharkhart?:D:kiss:

[chas527]

fished sh this morning 3 small bass on a 17 with a green tail. nice morning light wind calm water. saw one keeper cought on clams.

[jigfreak]

occo 6-7am, 2 oz t hex :skunk:

[vpass]

NoMoC0 from 4:30pm to 6:00pm. I had one bump on a sluggo, and I snagged a huge skate with a needle. There was no birds working, but i did see some sandeels.

[paco33]

MoCo 3:30 to 5:30pm. I fished a mambo and then a purple bomber, water was very quiet.:skunk:

[fishjay]

Fished ocean co. yesterday afternoon from 2 to 6. Managed 5 small bass on plugs. great conditions but not many fish.

DS remember 14 lb.

[DarkSkies]

This am OC 5 bass to 29" all caught on a silver thing tied to the end of the string.:D

Thanks for the report. What I really want to know is, were ya wearing waders or did ya go and get yourself a pair of Timberland boots and a double shad rig, and if you will be trying that combo anytime soon? :laugh: :HappyWave:




DS remember 14 lb.

Thanks for the reminder, I'm lucky to have the OFFC to nag me. :thumbsup: ;)





Fished this morning Nomoco 5:30-6:30a. Had a short window before I had to get on the road for work. It was cold and wind was blowin from the W/NW.

Got one small 22" bass on a black bomber in the dark. Moved to another spot where there were a few anglers lined up. It seemed to be a slow pick there as well. I left so I wouldn't be late, but there were sandeels out there, and birds were just starting to work them.

Again, not trying to start an alarm here. It seemed like a very slow pick of small bass.

[finchaser]

This AM SOMOCO and NOOCCO:skunk:nada saw and heard of nothing caught no signs of life as in fish, birds also very little bait for a 10 mile stretch. The sundails and skates are here in numbers which indicates the bottom is cold

Miles and miles of bunker moving south 1/2 mile off at warp speed thank god. My friends in boats said nothing on them but an occasional bluefish. The school streched from Spring Lake to Normandy Beach.

No fish to the north either except small bass at the hook schooling up to go up the Hudson. The fat lady may be about to sing especially with tomorrow's blow and then the cold front.

[fishinmission78]

Fished occo 7-8:30, metals & teaser:skunk:

[chas527]

fished sh this morning 730 to 10 nothing . did see birds working far out.

[storminsteve]

Somoco from 6-7:15 this morning, one short bass on a black needle fish, fish was maybe 20", half as big as the plug.

[lostatsea]

Fished occo 8 to 9 am:skunk:

[Chapin521]

Had the day off from work decided to fished various spots in RB and NoMoCo. No even a tap.:skunk:

[vpass]

Fished NoMoCo from 4:00pm to 5:30pm. It was like the dead sea. There was no life out there. :huh::(:skunk::plastered::plastered::plastered:

[yukon]

SFZ arnd 10:30 got two shorts on both sides of a jetty in the pockets once the water came in. Redgill teaser with a SS needle and the next on a vision sand eel. Wind really hit arnd 12 and it was all over. oh yeah they were on small sand eels as you can tell form the fat belly..... Keep getting them snagged on the treble. Was surprised I didn't get more.

[yardvillejimmy]

Fished OC with OFFC Tuesday afternoon. A few shorts at dark on mambos. Had to be on the "X"

5 fish caught by fishjay on a black mambo.

Wind picked up on the tide change and shut it down.

[DarkSkies]

(Hot off the presses!! Hey guys and girls Finchaser's about to come on here and pronounce today is the end of the striped bass season for 2009. He was out with all the sharpies today, Amtrack Bob and the other legends. They fished for hours. No one got a touch.
The only thing they got was some questions from a MRFSS survey taker.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=5494
Don't ya's listen to him. :kooky: We all know the next wave of fish "from the North" :rolleyes: will bring the last wave of 30# bass. OR the next NE pattern will bring them past us, despite the cold, dirty water that's hovering near 45, with the back bay waters already in the mid-40's. Don't listen to him, don't drink the Kool-Ade!!! :eek: ;) )


Fishin conditions for Thurs...water cold and dirty.

A few small fish were caught today at SH and IBSP, along with one at 8#. These fish were reported at every tackle shop in the area so it would look like there are more fish than there actually are. :D

Conditions look a little bleak. I'll still be out there tryin, along with Fin and some other shadow people, but things aren't lookin too promising. :(

[hookedonbass]

Sh this morning 6 - 9am :skunk:. Are sure the season is not over?

[vpass]

(Hot off the presses!! Hey guys and girls Finchaser's about to come on here and pronounce today is the end of the striped bass season for 2009. He was out with all the sharpies today, Amtrack Bob and the other legends. They fished for hours. No one got a touch.
The only thing they got was some questions from a MRFSS survey taker.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=5494
Don't ya's listen to him. :kooky: We all know the next wave of fish "from the North" :rolleyes: will bring the last wave of 30# bass. OR the next NE pattern will bring them past us, despite the cold, dirty water that's hovering near 45, with the back bay waters already in the mid-40's. Don't listen to him, don't drink the Kool-Ade!!! :eek: ;) )


Fishin conditions for Thurs...water cold and dirty.

A few small fish were caught today at SH and IBSP, along with one at 8#. These fish were reported at every tackle shop in the area so it would look like there are more fish than there actually are. :D

Conditions look a little bleak. I'll still be out there tryin, along with Fin and some other shadow people, but things aren't lookin too promising. :(

I'm going to try Saturday anyway.:D I guess I'm def. I see a fat lady saying something.:2flip::2flip:

[finchaser]

today:skunk:cold dirty water

I'll try again in the A of M but it's not looking good especially with this cold front that's about to pounce on us.

[killie]

it's over

[storminsteve]

8604

[chas527]

it"s over for me till spring.

[DarkSkies]

Yes, people, the last wave of big fish did come almost to the beach today, more cannonball style crashing on the abundant inshore herring!! Bass???
No, bluefin tuna, AGAIN, in 48 deg water 1/2 mile offshore of OC


There's a great site run by Rutgers, coolroom.com. After all the predictions about the fall's end, I went there and checked out the temp charts. I'm putting up the most recent. Remember these are surface temps as calculated by satellite.

What I got from reading them is that the water in all the back bay areas, Del and Chesapeake included, is trending down to the mid-40's. Obviously it's slightly warmer in the Del and Chesapeake bays than it is in the Barnegat and Raritan, but only in the deeper channels. The flats or shallow areas all appear to be the same, the pinkish colors which show 48 deg and lower.

If you look closely at the maps, the thinnest concentration of the pink shading is near SH for Monmouth county, and Ocean County centered around slightly above Island beach. So you might have bands of water that are 3-5 degrees higher in these areas.

These maps are in chronological order as they came from the satellites, ie. the 2nd identical pic was taken at a later time.

Delmarva...notice the bluest water is at the mouth of the Chesapeake. This tells me the water where the CBBT is, is probably 5-8 degres warmer than in the back of the bay. That's a great enough difference to concentrate the bulk of the bigger fish in that area. :drool:

8626

8627


NJ/NY Bight.. notice in the first pic the pinkish bands are smaller the closer you get to SH or IBSP.

8628

8629

Otherwise the water is very cold and dirty from the SE blow, putting fish into more sluggish behavior. Some fish were caught today, but not many. Anyone fishing in this cold deserves :clapping::clapping::clapping:

As we get closer to the 45 deg mark the fish will become even more sluggish and could only be spurred to activity on sunnier days when the top part of the water column gets a chance to rise maybe a 1/2 degree.

You can't expect much more of a rise than that from the ocean, which takes both a long time to cool, and heat up. :don't know why:

Pick your days. 2 extremely sunny days could be that little boost needed to get the fish a little more active. As fish become more sluggish and the bait leaves, clams and sandworms become optimal choices.

And sources tell me there are still a few small pods of fish and small bait (spearing, sandeels) off LI, so we could have one magic day or afternoon left. :lookhappy:

However, I think the thoughts where some guys are predicting a giant new wave of bigger fish are unrealistic. I could be wrong, but everything depends on the temp and small bait levels now. If those variables change for the better, you could pull in a fish, or a few. ;)

Again, this is not absolute, I would be happy to hear of people catching fish elsewhere. I'll be out in places other than those, just to try to prove it to myself at the right time and tide. And there are the guys that can catch fish all months of the year because they are very aware where the highest inland temperatures are. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon3.gif However, if you were in Las Vegas and betting your paycheck, I would caution that the odds are stacked against you, except for people like Finchaser and some other nuts out there. :HappyWave:

What this means is that most people have packed it in. I know a few people who just can't stay away from the water, so we'll be tryin anyway.

There's nothing like being on the beach on a sunny winter day, tryin to catch that last fish. Whether we gettum or not, it's good medicine to be out there, at least it is for me.;)

[gjb1969]

cold i dont care stinking cold i will still fish :kooky:i am lieing through my teeth this cold sucks but i dont know if i will stop fishing i got the bug to bad:eek:

[storminsteve]

Fished somonco from 7-9, last of the outgoing. Water was very skinny, was fishing near an inlet to find something deeper. Fished an ava17. Birds diving offshore about a mile out.:skunk:
Oh, and it was cold!

[cowherder]

SH 8-10am, no signs of activity where I was. Diamond jig and teaser, zilch.

[cowherder]

8604


http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=8604&thumb=1&d=1260496120 (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=8604&d=1260496120)

I think I heard her singing today.:(

[fishinmission78]

Fished the park yesterday goose eggs, today for an hour at 8:00. One tiny bass on a 1 oz ava, water was like a lake. Birds offshore, didn't look lke too many fish under them.

[DarkSkies]

Great effort on the part of the guys who were out there. Not many signs of life today, and the temps of the Barnegat and Raritan bays went down to the mid 30's, a 10 degree drop in 2 days.

That's significant. Fish won't be active anywhere near that icy cold water. It might be time to play the fat lady song, or take a road trip to Va. :(

[yardvillejimmy]

Fished OC late Saturday afternoon. Perfect conditions. A few missed hits near dark.

Has not been a year for the late day bite.

[DarkSkies]

Against the advice of the sharpies, I fished today from10:30-11:30 in the ocean. Rain was just starting to come down, the ocean was like a lake. Wind was forecast from the SE, but where I fished was shifting from the S to the SW, and still fishable.

The only positive thing about the S wind is that I took some classic pics early this morning for the winter blues. My fingers were freezing as I tried to do some trick panoramic views with the camera. As the S wind came, the temp went up, and it was a breeze to take the pics. The lighting and water consistency were a photographers dream.

As for fishing, the conditions were great for that as well, except for the lack of fish.

I did mark a few gannets and gulls diving nearshore, but too far off. The only boats for 15 miles around were clustered up on a piece of water about 1/2 mile from the beach. I counted 9 private boats. It seemed they had a very slow pick, though it did look like some fish were caught.

I got nothing except the exercise. :skunk: It was still great to be out. There should still be a few small schoolies around, but with the BB and RB temps in the mid-30s as I mentioned, everything is moving S fast or schooling up to move into the Hudson for the winter.

Reports of bait schooled up in the morning will have that bait 20 miles S by sunset. :plastered:

If you're not addicted to bass like some of us are, there are still some good days out there if you look for the sunny ones, as mentioned previously. Even though huge schools of herring have moved S, there are herring and shad in the major inlets, and in the deeper harbors.

On a sunny cold day where the kids are screaming to get out of the house :argue: you should be able to take them to the deepwater dock areas or the inlets around high tide, throw some sabiki rigs, and have a blast with the shad and herring.

8630

Ling and whiting have been filtering into the wash in the past month or so, though they're scattered. Hardly anyone is fishing for them. :don't know why: If you can't stand being away from the salt, light tackle, a hi-low rig with small hooks, and pieces of clam, mackerel, or fresh cut up sand dab will give you some action around the top of the tides.

Otherwise, the fat lady is singing loudly. Will someone put up a pic to make it official? :lookhappy:

[jigfreak]

Fished occo yesterday from 6am to 8am. Conditions were nice, a lot of other guys were out there trying. No fish on the beach I fished at.

[finchaser]

There are no more waves every where north of us is finished fishing.The ones at the hook are in between the channels about to go up the Hudson.
Friday and Saturday fish came out of the Mud hole chasing herring and booked south except for small resident fish and some stragglers.

IMO the Fat lady has sung

[stripermania]

agreed nada

[wish4fish]

its over dudes i didnt catch 1 fish in the last 4 times out:burn:

[DarkSkies]

Fished last of the outgoing today and part of the incoming. With the mild balmy weather, up to 50 degrees, and no wind, I felt there would be a window. Only problem with that window is I was fishing here in NJ, and the window I was jumping through should have been in Virginia! :rolleyes: :D

I picked the ocean spot based on concentration of gannets. There was a line of them about 2 miles long diving over scattered pods of small herring. Though they were at least 1/2 mile offshore, the place where I set up had plenty of loons diving in close, and was a deeper hole than the rest of the beach. There was also a concentration of boats 1 mile offshore. Looked like they had a very slow pick, if any were caught at all.

The water was dirty and cold, I wasn't optimistic. Tried metal, vision sand eels, bucktails, swimmers. When I started, the surface was like glass. Gradually, a SE swell built up as the wind shifted S/SE, and I took some waves overhead. Good thing for wet weather gear.

8661


The pause that refreshes, mid 40 degree water over the head.

8662


The air temp was still very warm, it was a great day to be out. Eventually I realized I was fighting a losing battle, and called it quits. As I left, it seemed the gannets were coming closer, and the loons multiplied before my very eyes. :eek:

They were mocking me. :2flip:

Fat lady music seemed to be drifting over the tops of the SE swell...;) I don't think Al Ristori will be putting out his usual late fall column anytime soon telling us that the small schoolies are now here and will be here for the next 2 weeks.

[DarkSkies]

There are no more waves every where north of us is finished fishing.The ones at the hook are in between the channels about to go up the Hudson.
Friday and Saturday fish came out of the Mud hole chasing herring and booked south except for small resident fish and some stragglers.

IMO the Fat lady has sung


http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=8653&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1260793949 (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=8653&d=1260793949)



Yes the fat lady has sung! I just got yelled at by OGB, he said the fat lady has sung for 4 days, my bad. :embarassed: :beatin: :D

[SharkHart]

The one thing im sure of is next year on that other website guys will say they had lots of bass into January after everyone quit, I hear it every year, its one of the many online badges. so wouldnt that mean they be killing them now :naughty:

[finchaser]

The one thing im sure of is next year on that other website guys will say they had lots of bass into January after everyone quit, I hear it every year, its one of the many online badges. so wouldnt that mean they be killing them now :naughty:


True true

[storminsteve]

next year on that other website guys will say they had lots of bass into January after everyone quit, I hear it every year, its one of the many online badges.

Its an online badge to say you caught lots of small schoolie bass in winter?:huh: Glad I don't need that kind of applause.
I fished somoco from 6:30-7:30 this morning, heavy needlefish in the dark, diamond jig after first light, no action.

[clamchucker]

I have been under the weather for a spell but am now feeling better. I fished the park yesterday from 6-9am for the outgoing. 6 short bass on metal. Today I got 2 to 26", diamond with green tube. This weather is as good as it gets for the winter, folks. There are some small scattered fish but as some of the others have said. these are table scraps. The water was clearer with a big swell.

[jigfreak]

ocean county 6 to 7:30. Ava with teaser, zip.

[fishinmission78]

One short this morning, occo. Metal.

[LennyD]

FYI
This was just on sunday, as u can see the shore is just right there.
Big bunker was moving through so did the Big bass as well.
They still going by our shore, just gotta be there on time, but who am i kidding
its been 2 weeks since i last went down, but this weekend i'll give a try once more!

[finchaser]

This AM 6:30 to 8:30 ran into some stragglers had 4 bass 24" to 31" first fish since Fridays mornings 34" bass when it was really cold.
Don't want to mislead anyone you really have to work for what's left of them, there are no gimmes.

[Simp]

Don't want to mislead anyone you really have to work for what's left of them, there are no gimmes.

I like having to work for them because it weeds out the guys who don't "really" want to be there.

[DarkSkies]

FYI
This was just on sunday, as u can see the shore is just right there.
Big bunker was moving through so did the Big bass as well.


WTG, Len, nice fall fish! :thumbsup:


This AM 6:30 to 8:30 ran into some stragglers had 4 bass 24" to 31" first fish since Fridays mornings 34" bass when it was really cold.
Don't want to mislead anyone you really have to work for what's left of them, there are no gimmes.
:thumbsup::thumbsup:



I have been under the weather for a spell but am now feeling better.
Good to hear that you're feelin better, Happy holidays to you and your family. :HappyWave:

[jigfreak]

occo from 6-8, one micro-short on a red gill teaser. The ocean is looking good, someone please invite some more resident bass into the wash.

[buckethead]

Out this morning 5-8, thought fr sure I could catch something. Saw some birds in the distance but not close enough in.

[porgy75]

Sandy Hook 7-8am boy was it cold! I was casting a metal diamond jig with a green tube, one oz with vision sand eel teaser. The water was calm, and did I mention how cold it was? I got the skunk. There were a few guys at the spot. None of them caught anything either.

[jigfreak]

and did I mention how cold it was? I got the skunk.

X2, same report for occo, I fished from 8-9.

[finchaser]

Fished this AM with 6 friends spread out over a 3 block area. Nada except for iced line rollers and what looked like little snow flakes coming off the braid yep that was ice too. No one reported anything being caught today in over a 7 mile strecth of beach when we compared notes at a local shop.

Will give it a try in the morning again :don't know why:but if the weather is correct a northeaster with heavy snow for Friday night into Saturday night will be the grand finale to 2009

[Pebbles]

Finchaser Rich asked me to let you know I am scout #2. :HappyWave:

Yesterday afternoon to early evening I scouted a good part of Monmouth county. We saw one fisherman who caught nothing and a few loons diving on bait.

[storminsteve]

Fit nomoco 7-8am, metal no teaser. I asked myself what I was doing out there as there were no signs of life other than a few birds diving around 7-7:05. I did get to see a great sunrise. The best part of the trip was returning to my heated car. Heat is better than catching a cow when you are that cold. This guy wanted to come along, and I kicked him to the curb as I left the parking lot. :kicknuts:

[finchaser]

Fished this morning like yesterday 7 of us in different locations only difference it was much colder 16 degrees result was the same NADA for all of us it's over. The Northeaster /snow storm :scared:will provide the grand finally to send the stragglers south as the water temperature plummets.



http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=8787&stc=1&d=1261091523




I'm done for 09 :(

[finchaser]

Finchaser Rich asked me to let you know I am scout #2. :HappyWave:

Yesterday afternoon to early evening I scouted a good part of Monmouth county. We saw one fisherman who caught nothing and a few loons diving on bait.


:wow:Your a hell of a woman I look forward to meeting you:HappyWave:

[storminsteve]

8808

8809








That's all, folks.:(

[wish4fish]

i like mine better, she keeps it real, yo.:drool:

[buckethead]

Does anyone think there are any fish out there or did they move on after the storm?

[gjb1969]

who knows all u can do is try if u dont get a fish at least u gave a shot thats all u can do i say go for it u mite get lucky :thumbsup:

[baitstealer]

i like mine better, she keeps it real, yo.:drool:

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=8810&stc=1&d=1261248516



That is absolutely disgusting!:upck::upck:

[fishinmission78]

Does anyone think there are any fish out there or did they move on after the storm?

You might get a couple here and there, have to pick your sunny days. I read a report where they said the buoys at the cm rips and at lewes read 37degrees, that's mighty cold for bass.

[LennyD]

Does anyone think there are any fish out there or did they move on after the storm?

according to these guys they are still here, this was today!

[storminsteve]

:wow: Wow Lenny that looks not too far from the beach.

[LennyD]

yes, i wish i could go down one more time, but next spring i'll get them on my kayak!:dribble:

[cowherder]

I hope I can join you and Dark next year Lenny. I am looking at a kayak for the spring because I am sick and tired of seeing those fish out of reach!

[hookset]

I heard some small bass where being caught in OC close to shore. Went down today to see if I could do some catching but came up blank.