Catch and release thread

[DarkSkies]

I fished last night, most of the ebb.
Beautiful conditions.

Made 5 different stops this time.
Lucked out at the first stop with a short bass on small rubber within 5 minutes.

Ran into someone who drives 80 miles (each way) once a week, to get to our NJ beaches. He fishes eels, and his dedication so impressed me I dropped my Rumplestiltskin usual unsociable night attitude :laugh: and we chatted for awhile...
I think those of us who can fish a lot or live closer to the beach (it takes me about 45 minutes to get out to a fishing spot, very grateful for that) sometimes don't understand how precious our NJ waters are, and how valued they are by people who don't live in the area......

We had both been saying that we hadn't seen short bass for awhile, only larger sized fish, and yet each of us got one in the next half hour. Maybe coincidence, maybe something else, but I was glad to see a few around after they seemed to have disappeared in early April.

I dropped one fish on a ML swimmer, (fishing the ML plugs of Speedy, Killie, and Bill from Alloway in rotation now that the bunker are around, and I lost my original Surfstix swimmer :HappyWave:to a high teens fish in the early season.....


In the next few hours the best I could do was one more fish on small rubber, small legal bass.
All fish still swimming. :fishing:










Highlight of the night....
I'm trying to listen to feedback from Porgy and others who say I've been a bit crabby lately....:moon: and am trying to be a bit more positive....so here goes....the false dawn was so beautiful, the rays of orange and purple light were awe inspiring......:kooky: :laugh:


And I did get to see a really cool motorcyle chase on the way home...speeds over 100 mph on the parkway.....young kid tried to outrun a trooper and finally saw the error of his ways......at one point I thought he would be killed he was going so fast.....not a good idea to try to outrun a police interceptor in the daytime.....glad it didn't turn into a tragedy....

(How's that for brightness and sunshine, Porgy? :HappyWave:)

[jonthepain]

the glass is always half full for DS rofl

[jonthepain]

sometimes don't understand how precious our NJ waters are, and how valued they are by people who don't live in the area......



Move to Raleigh. Then you'll understand.

[DarkSkies]

Fished the ocean last night. Trying to economize on time spent, fished the highest part of the tide, 3 hours.

When I got there the wind was blowing a steady 15mph SE....eventunally it minimized to under 10, making presentation easier.

Fished 5 different locations.
Water and swell were beautiful.
Water was clear and the mild SE swell looked promising.
However, there weren't many fish around.

One lucky bass for me on rubber, no other action at all.
Fish was caught 1 hour before 1st light.

Fish was a small keeper, around 9#, released.










******
Monty your report has so many levels of awesome. :clapping: :thumbsup:
I know how hard you have been fishing in your marathon sessons.

You earned every one of those fish, Many Congrats. :clapping::clapping:

[DarkSkies]

the glass is always half full for DS rofl


Not anymore Jon...guys like Monty are telling me I :waaah: too much.....maybe some self-analysis is needed....:ROFLMAO

[jonthepain]

what you need is another couple of cords of wood

[DarkSkies]

*******
Fished last night, some of the flood this time.
The optimum time to fish is a little off this weekend as the tides are either too early or too late...but I had to get out there and see the ocean again.....

No real bass activity on artificials to speak of.
Managed one bass, around 10#, on small rubber, released.
Also dropped another one on rubber.
The activity was scattered and came at different locations, around 1 hour before sunrise.

[jonthepain]

That'll work!

[DarkSkies]

what you need is another couple of cords of wood


:moon: If we take in any more cords, I'll have to store em on your property in N, Carolina.....

How much wood can ya fit on a redneck's property, not including the beds of the pickup trucks that won't start?.....:scared: :kiss: :HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

I'm in this ridicules Bluefish streak (and Striper slump :don't know why:).


That's ok, bro, I think you're catchin more fish per hour than any of us.....:drool:

(Except for that Grouchy Basstard Finchaser,,,,,)
:laugh:




*********
2 night report.....slim pickens out there in terms of bass.....

Fished Sun night, 4 hours, 3 stops, best I could do was one dropped bass, rubber.

Mon night, fished 6 hours, ebb and flood, 2 small keepers, released, rubber.










Many of the internet heroes and chest-beating fishermen :viking: have given up on the night artificial bite.....as there are only a handful of NJ places that have any numbers of bass available to land based anglers....and most of the others have either none, or the fish are very scattered......

Finding forage in the area can change this equation in your favor, otherwise, it's hundreds of casts, blind casting,,,,for these scattered fish.

If there is a pattern to it, I haven't found it yet.....most of my fish are caught when my mind is wandering from the numbness of wondering if I'll be able to find one or 2.

The fishing is going back to the way it used to be at night before the heroes hyped up action that most of us were not seeing....I'm fine with that.....just wanted to let the folks out there know that it ain't easy to catch bass at night lately unless you're raking crabs or throwing bunker heads.......

Don't get discouraged if you are out there and not catching.

The fishing will settle into this summer pattern as approx 80% of the bass available to shore anglers are now in the MA/ Block/ Rhody/ LI Sound Area.

[storminsteve]

Nice work dark.

[DarkSkies]

New Moon in June.....


Fished last night, 6 hours.
I knew I had to be out there, as mentioned it was the first night of the new moon.....
Conditions were perfect, but someone forgot to tell the bass.....
Every year this time I get a few 20# by blind casting at night....with the warmer ocean temps now the majority of bass have moved further North...and what's left for the Land Based Anglers (Artificial bite) has been pretty dismal...


Nonetheless, a good surfcaster has certain times of the year, where you know you just HAVE to be out there.....:drool: Thie June New Moon is definitely one of them.......

I was pumped full of energy as I set out enthusiastic and optimistic.....despite moving several times, 4 hours later I had nothing, not even a tap......

My surfcasting sessions are pretty intense,, I give it all I have till I find fish....and last night was so discouraging I was almost out of steam, dejected, and kind of crabby that the fish just weren't there in any numbers......














Then I remembered a Googan I know, by the name of Geoff T,,,..;) :HappyWave:
He got some decent fish earlier in the week, and I made some calculations to see if I could fish where he was.....

Most folks don't know, that Geoff, a humble kind of guy, :laugh: is actuallly the inventor of the Windows System..... Bill Gates of Microsoft bought him out at the early stages. Geoff doesn't like folks to know this,,,,,he maintains a regluar 9-5 job, but is actually sitting on billions of $$ of Microsoft stock......:whoo:

This fortuitous acumen has allowed Geoff to fish in some very unusual places and opportunities...I had some inside intel that Geoff had a private fish pond built in Raritan Bay, for his NJ surf fishing needs......

This private pond consists of hundreds of striped bass, from 15-45lbs, which are available any time Geoff wants to make the run to fish NoMoCo.....there is a secret walkway to this pond, guarded by a crusty old troll of a man....and if you don't know the password, you ain't getting in to fish it......


I brought the old man some specialty beer, fudged the password,,,and he let me in......

I was amazed at the bass that were out there in that warm, dirty water.....:drool:




1531115312





After taking the long walk....I eventually managed 2 bass around 17# on Killie's ML swimmer.....copy of a Gary2 slim...


Dropped a smaller keeper on rubber.

I was back to being pumped up again....isn't it funny how a few fish can help change your mood? :learn:

[clamchucker]

Good job dark skies.

[cowherder]

Awesome reports dark. I think you are one of the only surf guys catching keeper sized bass right now. Keep up the catching and releasing.

[DarkSkies]

Awesome reports dark. I think you are one of the only surf guys catching keeper sized bass right now.

Cowherder, thank you for the kind words, but I'm not completely comfortable with that.


In the network of guys I share intel with, there are so many, that are so much better than me.
Guys like Finchaser, Surfwalker, Old Farts Fishing Club, etc, can run circles around me in terms of their skill set.

There are several dedicated anglers we know who are now catching fish to the low 20's, at night, by either raking crabs or fishing bunker heads or eels. Though most of the fish do tend to leave our area in the summer, there are still a few that hang around.

But......how many guys will fish 5-8 hours at a time at night, just for the chance at one larger bass? :don't know why:

Most folks feel it's not worth it, and the lack of participation in surf fishing in NJ right now is evidence of that.



Plus, this season, with the exception of the Winter Bite and early Spring Herring Bite....has so far, shaped up as an overall down season for many of the guys fishing from land....it has been discouraging for a lot of folks...I can feel that in their frustration when they PM and text me for advice...and anyone who knows me knows that I am outspoken against the internet heroes who hype up the bite......I understand why John of Betty and Nick's does it, he has to sell bait and gear...that's the nature of his business, to get guys down there, whether there are fish or not.......

Anyway, don't want this to sound like a whine or Monty will come in here and lambast me,,,,,,:beatin: :HappyWave:but land- based fishing this year, in NJ, is nothing near where it was just a few short years ago.....

I know they are catching big bass from the boats, and they should be.....anytime you can pilot a boat into the middlle of feeding fish you should be able to catch a few....but usually, all fishermen, boat and land based, are able to participate in the bass fishery,,,,,and this year (with a few notable exceptions) the land based guys seem to have gotten short changed,,,,









The older I get the more compelled I feel to be honest about how things are, for most of us...and maybe that is too much honesty, because I know at a certain point, people don't want to hear things like that.....

So I'm trying to be more positive, and I want to thank you for having the incentive to start this thread, :thumbsup: to show folks there is an alternative to harvesting every bass you catch,......

[Monty]

But......how many guys will fish 5-8 hours at a time at night, just for the chance at one larger bass? :don't know why:

Most folks feel it's not worth it, and the lack of participation in surf fishing in NJ right now is evidence of that.
Anyway, don't want this to sound like a whine or Monty will come in here and lambast me,,,,,,:beatin: :HappyWave:but land- based fishing this year, in NJ, is nothing near where it was just a few short years ago.....
The older I get the more compelled I feel to be honest about how things are, for most of us...and maybe that is too much honesty, because I know at a certain point, people don't want to hear things like that.....

So I'm trying to be more positive, and I want to thank you for having the incentive to start this thread, :thumbsup: to show folks there is an alternative to harvesting every bass you catch,......

:HappyWave: Rut-row, here we go again..:laugh:..:HappyWave:

Regarding others feeling its not worth it to fish, good for us, more empty beaches and jettys for us at the hours we enjoy fishing.
As the bass population dwindles at least we can fish the beaches alone.
Great thread, thanks for all the C and R!!

[DarkSkies]

Regarding others feeling its not worth it to fish, good for us, more empty beaches and jettys for us at the hours we enjoy fishing.
As the bass population dwindles at least we can fish the beaches alone.



It's already in full effect, Monty....last night was Sat night, a night when you usually see a half dozen or more guys out....didn't run into anyone till I saw an old-timer at the beach at 6am, walking his regular beat, fluking.....

It seems 90% of the surf guys have given up on night fishing for bass already.....
Each and every one of my bass lately has been a lot of work, blind casting,. and been caught with no discernible pattern to help me when I come back the next time.....:fishing:




*********
Last night....
Got out later than I wanted, missed the alarm.
Had 2 hours to fish.
Knew the fish would be scattered so I moved along at a quick pace.

Hit 3 locations.
Dropped 1 bass at the first one on small rubber.

Managed one small keeper around 9 lbs on small swimmer at 2nd stop, released. (note the Daiwa did nothing for me last night though with the conditions it was the first one out of my bag.)








3rd stop was close to first light. Managed a few small blues on small swimmers. This activity where I was only lasted 15 minutes. These were the first bluefish in the ocean this year for me..... I'm a little behind Monty in that Dept. :HappyWave:

Then it seemed all the bluefish in the area left to go harass the endless schools of bunker which were just out of surfcasting reach. No matter, all of it was happy bunker and any action I noticed was over by 6:15 am.

[storminsteve]

Nice!:thumbsup:

[DarkSkies]

Great reports guys. Getting out and fishing while 90% of the fishing world has given up on the surf bass night bite, great effort, proud of ya's. :clapping:


Mon PM -
I couldn't fish the marathon session I usually fish...but the ocean was calling me....
The swell was good, water clearing up. What drew me out there, as others mentioned, was the W Winds.....always a good pattern and hard to find consistently in the Summer, when the S and SE winds seem to prevail, no matter what the forecast.

I fished hard, moved a few places, not all held fish.
Managed 5 bass to 8#. released.
All on small swimmers.

I know a lot of guys won't be excited about this, but I am....:) these areas had held bigger bass, but extremely scattered...a friend of mine calls it the "ones and twos NJ Summer curse" :kooky:to signify the traditionally slow summer night artificial bite......

But because of the small bait, some bass have set in as possible summer residents....
Or, they got pushed out of the bays and rivers with the hotter water......

Not exactly sure what the story is, or if they are simply following the now abundant forage types,.....
Sand Eels,
Squid
Grass shrimp...
Peanut bunker...
and some smaller forage I didn't yet get a chance to identify.












The keeper size fish hit very sluggishly, possibly due to less oxygen content in the surf zone,....(If anyone wants to start a thread about oxygen content and levels of bass activity, it would be appreciated)




But overall, I had a blast.....

All fish released.






Caught fish Tues night as well, over a broader range of shoreline....more on that when I get a chance....:fishing:
















*******
Fin WTG on the bass, blues and weakfish......that's the best news I've heard from that area for quite some time...:thumbsup:

[DarkSkies]

Great reports guys. Getting out and fishing while 90% of the fishing world has given up on the surf bass night bite, great effort, proud of ya's. :clapping:


Mon PM -
I couldn't fish the marathon session I usually fish...but the ocean was calling me....
The swell was good, water clearing up. What drew me out there, as others mentioned, was the W Winds.....always a good pattern and hard to find consistently in the Summer, when the S and SE winds seem to prevail, no matter what the forecast.

I fished hard, moved a few places, not all held fish.
Managed 5 bass to 8#. released.
All on small swimmers.

I know a lot of guys won't be excited about this, but I am....:) these areas had held bigger bass, but extremely scattered...a friend of mine calls it the "ones and twos NJ Summer curse" :kooky:to signify the traditionally slow summer night artificial bite......

But because of the small bait, some bass have set in as possible summer residents....
Or, they got pushed out of the bays and rivers with the hotter water......

Not exactly sure what the story is, or if they are simply following the now abundant forage types,.....
Sand Eels,
Squid
Grass shrimp...
Peanut bunker...
and some smaller forage I didn't yet get a chance to identify.












The keeper size fish hit very sluggishly, possibly due to less oxygen content in the surf zone,....(If anyone wants to start a thread about oxygen content and levels of bass activity, it would be appreciated)




But overall, I had a blast.....

All fish released.






Caught fish Tues night as well, over a broader range of shoreline....more on that when I get a chance....:fishing:
















*******
Fin WTG on the bass, blues and weakfish......that's the best news I've heard from that area for quite some time...:thumbsup:

[DarkSkies]

Monty, I'm beat, but to me it's worth it. :kooky: :HappyWave:
Fin ya grouchy basstid! good to see you finally getting some good bass numbers. :clapping:
Some people may have noticed the negativity...and that's because we're used to catching fish here....we don't need the internet or facebook reports, if they're there we can catch em....:fishing:


Finchaser fishes twice a day sometimes....Despite not having my car right now, I'm still out there 2 nights a week, at least, to try...as I have said over and over, you can't catch fish sitting at home in front of your TV or computer screen....but lately, it really has been dismal....





I know and have fished with folks who travel far to get to our NJ beaches,,,,and I don't think it's fair, or accurate to hype a bite....it costs some folks upwards of $50-$100, gas, tolls, etc, to come to the NJ surf to fish....and if they really don't stand a fair shake at getting some fish....they should at least know that, in honest and candid terms....

Fishing is so bad at Island Beach now that the tackle shops are raving about the 1-2lb bluefish...:huh:
Even the fluke that surf guys have come to depend on are few and far between.

I know some of those guys in the shops, and I understand,,,,,they really need to bring customers through the door or they will go out of business.....I just don't see the logic in creating a "fever" to get out there and fish when realistically, 90% of the guys who go out to try will not be able to find a few fish.....

This is further evidenced by a review of most of the interrnet Saltwater fishing boards...for the most part, where the majority of the surf Striped Bass reports have dried up.....:fishing:

[DarkSkies]

Tue PM...a few more small Bass.......

After the previous night's action, I was a little encouraged. I planned to spend more time, had some great expectations.In the end I caught fish, covering 20 miles of coastline to do it. I stopped at 8 locations, 3 of which produced fish.

However, one of the places produced great action, at one point a fish or hit within every 5 casts....for summer fishing, that's fantastic, even though the fish were schoolies.

First started near an inlet, where I noticed a lot of fish feeding. Quickly determined they were hickory shad. Changed up to add a small teaser and I got one every few casts. After a half dozen I knew it was time to press on as there were no bass or blues in the mix.

About these shad:
They are a lot of fun to catch, sometimes called "Jersey Tarpon"
They have a strong smell, I think stronger than herring.
They will hit very small plugs and small metal aggressively.

However, a teaser may be the best way to catch a lot of them. They frequently feed on very small bait and that night, it was smaller than 3". Either grass shrimp or rainfish. A 3" redgill produced results, but if I were to have downsized I believe I would have had them on almost every cast. They were very active in the feeding.


Some younger fly fishermen came by. I told them the fish were "in the seam". At first they didn't understand what I was talking about but gradually understood as I showed them. I hope they got some after I left.





Moved on to other areas I felt would be productive. When fish are scattered and the temps are high, for me it becomes a numbers game to try to put the puzzle pieces together. Lately, it's like you're opening a new puzzle every night, and the conditions, parameters, and location change.
It makes it a real challenge. I can understand why a lot of guys quit or resort to bait fishing as a way to at least get something on the end of the line.


Continued on fishing, pushing it and pushing it, till I had no energy left.
At the 2nd to last stop I found aggressive action, as mentioned getting a strike or fish within every 5 casts.
This lasted for about 1 1/2 hours of feeding activity.
I believe they were feeding on small bait that has recently moved into the surf zone, as these fish were definitely not there last week.......














Total for the night (all released)
6 bass, 2 legal sized to 9#.
5 bluefish -
6 hickory shad






Some observations:

Note the bluefish were actually harder to catch than the bass in the dark---the bluefish are smart enough to nudge the plug, realize it's plastic, and then turn away, while the bass are not.

The smaller bass were aggressive, but the keeper sized ones were halfway in before they actually fought. It was like they are affected by the lower oxygen content in the water.

This is similar to what I experienced in the Winter when the water temps went down close to 40 and the Bass were almost comatose.

That tells me I can hypothesize when the ocean waters are calm, I will probably have little chance at catching night bass....IMO you need some sort of an offshore swell to get these fish more active....hence the reason why some guys with bait are still catching bass....

All the bass and blues were very skinny, like they were starving.
Looked like fish that had gotten blown out of a river, inlet, or bay, definitely not migrating fish.

[rockhopper]

Wow great reports, inspiring!
Here is one from the north shore.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPU_Bl3iSQU&feature=player_embedded

[williehookem]

Awesome thread. This guy released a 40lb bass today. his wife got mad but he got her some fluke instead. :clapping::clapping:
This came from noreast.com. Don't know if it is ok to post here. If not please delete.
To top it off, he saved a kitten before going out. Good mojo for him!:thumbsup:



The report
George and I went out this morning and as we headed down the canel we heard a cat cry.

We looked around and found a female cat hanging over the bulhead and looking down in the water. There was a kitten hanging on for dear life with its head just above water and he was tucked deep underneath the bulkhead. George Steared and I was able to get the kitten back to her mother soaken wet. They ran off and the mother gave us a look back before ducking around the corner. Felt great to give an animal another chance at life.

15328

Headed out to the reef and it was a nasty ride out there. We dropped some baits down and caught a couple of fish before I started to turn green. Now I was cry for help. We headed back in only after being there for about 20 minutes. I was able to get 2 keeper fluke both at 21 inches inside the bay. I laid them on top of each other and they were twins.

Headed back into the ocean to a much calmer seas. George Landed a 47 1/2 inch Bass weighing in at 40LBS. Beautiful healthy fish. Quick picture and a weigh in and back she went. Diana (Georges wife) wanted him to keep it but he explained that the smaller ones are better tasting and these are the breeders that help keep the stocks high. I dont think she liked that answer.

We thought about going to the reef again but it was way to hot out and we headed in. Back at the dock a boat next to Georges was taking on water and needed to be taken out so he went and told the front office and they are in the process of taking care of it. All in All a great day out there.

[Monty]

To top it off, he saved a kitten before going out. Good mojo for him!:thumbsup:

Gotta like that, and the release of that Bass is great.

[cowherder]

^ Yeah he saves a kitty and catches a cow in the same day. Like Superman! Great stuff thanks for sharing.

[DarkSkies]

Great posts guys, keep up the good work. :HappyWave:


Mon night....
I felt the conditions would be better, had to be out there as the new moon is approaching.

I would characterize it as a slow pick as there was no heightened period of activity.

Blind casting with the magdarter produced some fish, and some misses as well.
The swell was as big as the other night, but duration of 8-9 seconds made it very fishable.
Had to move to a few places to accumulate a total of 4 bass to 28", released.

Nice night and weather, steady W wind.

[CharlieTuna]

Nice job guys.

[DarkSkies]

The pressure was on last night as there are only a few days left till the end of the month....so far, at least one legal bass every month of the year, and many more small fish. The goal is to catch and release one legal bass on artificials every month of the year.
Last night's report:














[Fished the whole tide last night.
Wanted to make it a short trip, didn't quite work out that way....:kooky:

After 2 hours into the trip, I had no action at all on plugs.
Some of you guys had done well earlier. :HappyWave: I figured I could score some bass on plugs on the 2nd shift.,...wrong....

2 hours of no action throwing plugs.... and I changed the game plan.
Started throwing bucktails. There's a reason for that, explained in the turd ferguson thread.
A few minutes into it, at location #5, the bucktail gets smashed and the fish makes a run for England...:d
Hit so hard I thought it was a bluefish. :viking:




Took another hour of bucktailing (at still another location) to get the 2nd fish, about 1/2" bigger than the 1st. I had planned to keep one if I got a legal bass. Or release it, to fulfill the challenges of the above goal. This one had red lesions (Myco) so it was released in a flash. Maybe the next one I'll keep and eat, haven't eaten fresh bass in a while now.......

15 minutes before I was going to leave, started throwing the Daiwa again, trying to get some top water action.
This time it was the SM...and I did drop 1 fish as I frantically cast over and over like a machine.


Total for the night, 2 bass landed, one legal, both released.]

[buckethead]

The pressure was on last night as there are only a few days left till the end of the month....so far, at least one legal bass every month of the year, and many more small fish. The goal is to catch and release one legal bass on artificials every month of the year.
Last night's report:



You made the august numbers by the skin of your teeth, dark. :moon: :HappyWave: Good job,
Got 2 keepers this morning, released.

[storminsteve]

Nice going buckethead

[surferman]

Fished moco from 4-7am, outgoing tide. got one striper 35" and 16lbs. Clams, released. I was useing a circle hook and it was pretty easy, hooked in the corner of its mouth

[DarkSkies]

^^WTG surferman. :clapping:



Despite all the mullet streaming down the coast, the last 24 hours has been pretty tough for some of us fishing artificials.....

I was out in the ocean last night fishing mid tide, the ebb. Good water, manageable surf. It was raining and if I closed my eyes I could imagine I was fishing in another isolated state...as there was no one around where I was fishing.....

The sound of silence from the solitude was awesome......:)


The only thing that was a little irritating was the duration. Waves crashing every 5 seconds makes it tough to plug, You may not be spending a lot of time in the strike zone...especially at night...so I alternated between heavy swimmers like xraps and bucktailed it.

The fishing was great and inspiring....
The catching part...well that was poor....


I finally managed one 30" bass about 10# after 5 separate stops. Released.
No other action for me.

[cowherder]

Very nice DS!

[skinner]

Way to go.

[DarkSkies]

Found a pocket of migrating fish in the ocean last night......
14 bass to 15#.........lots of fun......


What worked for me...
Bomber
Daiwa DSM (small version of SP)
Mag Darter
Storm thunderstick saltwater version.....



What didn't work.....
X-Rap (despite some of ya's doing well on it few days before)
Rattle traps
Surface bottle plugs
Bucktails and grub
Bigger shads
Finchaser rubber



Fish seemed to be on a migrating path just beyond the last breaker.
After awhile I realized they were 1-3' down, where I was.....
They weren't very aggressive, I had to aggressively hook them, and missed quite a few......
Many of them were small and skinny with a few larger ones in the mix.......












Still lots of fun....
When I lost them at that location, went to another one.....

Met up with an old timer I haven't seen in about 2 years,,,he has an area he fishes every morning.....so we set out to fish together.....
We got hammered by the waves.....as the N/NE ( Where is that Freaking Monty the NE wind lover! :2flip: :moon: ) as the N/NE, mostly North...... built the surf up to such a size that the waves were coming at 5 and 6 feet....

Most guys would have packed it in...but as I figured he knew his area. we fished together for a little bit till neither of us could take it....
We fished right into the wind, it was pretty insane....hoping a few bass would be in the front pocket.....
And it was pointless, crazy, but fun at the same time...especially to see a 70 year old man out there in those conditions giving it a shot.....:headbang:

He came to his senses, left, and I still stayed,,,,bucktailing,,,finally managing a skate of around 10lbs.....(Monty Googan award) :bucktooth:









Total:
4 bass were keepers to 15#, released.
The rest were small and skinny.....
The level of activity was pretty intense,......;)
Fish were coming by in waves. an intense period followed by a slow period

[storminsteve]

Great job ds

[buckethead]

This morning, managed 2 bass to 22# on little neck popper.Both released.

[cowherder]

:clapping: fantastic, buckethead!

[hookset]

Nice job on catching up to them buckethead. No moco in the afternoon. It seems that everywhere I went I just missed them. Finally one bass about 33" on Daiwa around 6pm, released.

[buckethead]

Picked up only one this afternoon, SS bottle plug. 18# released.

[Monty]

Congrats on the C and R guys. Buckethead nice reports, that SS popper is one of my favorite plugs. I probably caught more fish on it than any plug.

[DarkSkies]

24 hour Monty Marathon......:laugh: :HappyWave:

Round 1....
Started out last night in the dark....some friends got fish on swimmers...By the time I got out the tide was coming back in, and the duration had changed from 12 secs to 4 secs....not that safe, kind of dangerous...I got a little wet and called it a night.

Slept in the vehicle nomad style......
Up at dawn to fish with light E winds....perfect water that hasn't been dirtied by the pending storm....This white water was so beautiful that Monty might have an apopleptic jumping fit if he were allowed to see it in the daylight..:drool:....Decided to take the day off from work as I figured Thursday would be the last decent fishable day before the swells get bigger and the weather starts to turn.....

It was going to be one of those "no sun" days. I had high optimism..fished a few places,,,no activity at all.

Around 10 am ran into a good fishing buddy, haven't seen since the Spring....

We were among a group of a few other guys standing around talking about when the fish might turn on....along with Charlie K...up from IBSP....(always a pleasure, great storytelling)...:HappyWave:...and half of NJ's fishing clubs seemingly converged on Monmouth county.....

My fishing buddy said "I'm not standing around, let's fish!" :headbang:

We set out to a beach where no one was fishing, just watching....
Within 15 minutes we saw some action develop as my friend choreographed the action, accurately depicting each stage of the blitz that was about to happen minutes before it actually did (more on this in another thread)..

We fished hard, pencils, and each managed a few large bluefish, 15# class.

Some of the online reports touting these fish as 15# and bigger had me skeptical. :kooky:
After today, I no longer am...these are the biggest, thickest, bluefish I have seen in the ocean this season....:bigeyes:.many of them monster gorilla blues, direct from offshore haunts, coming in to fatten themselves like footballs on the abundant peanuts...

Blitzing action lasted for 1 hour as the tide dropped to slack, then shut off.

After the tide turned, action started again for a bit, about 45 minutes. This level of activity has been going on intermittently for the last 3 days, making a lot of folks happy....and this level of solid activity will likely end with the pending storm on late Fri or Sat.....

Moved to another location, found fish again...but this was short lived.....





















Round 2.....
Took a food break....after that did some scouting.....I found no activity, at a few places....
Finally managed to find some peanuts that were being pinned in to the surf zone....

At the start of this there were about 10 guys. By the time it ended we numbered about 30 spread over 1/4 mile of beachfront...not that bad as everyone was pretty respectful to each other, very few crossed lines, and guys courteously moving when someone got into a bigger fish.....

The mix was about 75% bluefish and 25% bass.....

At times the action was unreal....fish at our feet within 20' casting range, or right in the wash, or at most a half cast out.....the carnage was intense,,,it was a bad day to be a peanut bunker.......

I really wanted to take pics and video but didn't want to lose that time. The way the bite has been it's like a game of musical chairs....you don't know when it will stop.....so fishing intensely was the goal of every guy there....and we all worked together.........ran into a few sitemembers as well.....:HappyWave:


What worked......
Pencil poppers...
ML Swimmers...
Snag and Drop (as others have said guys snagging and dropping outfished others about 3:1)
Bucktails ( I started bucktailing after a younger guy in the group nailed 3 fish in 5 casts bucktailing )....I think he was probably high hook with around 40 fish landed and the biggest bass in that area for the day....around 22#. :thumbsup:



The fish bit through slack tide, and into the dark (about 1/2 hour into darkness).
lots of fun and screaming drags....
Managed 15 bluefish to 15#, and one low teen bass.. (bass released)

I tried to keep it going by making some moves to different areas for a few hours in the darkness...but couldn't raise a fish....and finally had enough as I felt like I got run over by a truck....

I have enough stories and characters met in these 24 hours to last all Winter......
Congrats to all who caught fish....and the sportsmanship and courtesy I saw out there today.....:clapping: :thumbsup:

[clamchucker]

Very nice effort guys. The bass between 15 and 25 lbs are our future.

[storminsteve]

Very nice effort guys. The bass between 15 and 25 lbs are our future.

For sure clamchucker. Was thinking about keeping one yesterday but a lot of them were fat breeders. Want to see them make more babies. I had 2 nice bass to 20lbs, released. Metal lips and poppers. And those bluefish were insane! One after the other and it seemed like they kept getting bigger. I think I had at least 15, lost count when I had to rety twice after they swallowed 2 swimmers and kept running.

[cowherder]

Awesome guys just awesome!

[DarkSkies]

There are some very nice fish around right now...the opportinity is there even if you swing and miss. If you work hard enough it could be the fish of a lifetime....

With that in mind I set out last night to target some.

I usually fish alone, but last night some of us had a plan to target some bigger ones. We changed the plans several times as different things developed.
Two in the group drive 2 hours to get to where we fish, every time, and I was more concerned about him and his friend getting fish as they don't get to fish as often as we do.....:thumbsup:

With that, they started at point B...I started at Point A...not to far from them, each of us trying to target fish that would be following bunker.

They struck gold....
I stubbornly refused to find them, instead believing I would find numbers where I was....

I did manage one (barely) legal bass, ML swimmer, released. A lot of work for that one fish,...no other action at all for me...

Met up with another friend later on, 2 hours after the action had died. We felt we could find some fish anyway, and fished hard all night.
Nothing for either of us despite some promising signs. :don't know why:

The fish are always a bonus...but one of the things I groove on when I'm out there are the conditions.....the things that make you drool as a surffisherman when you are out there....fishable clean water, good winds and tides, decent swell, not too big, not too flat......








Last night was one of the most perfect nights for surfcasting yet....the calm before the storm....
I'm sick right now with a bad cold.... and was suppoosed to be taking it easy...but as is my pattern, pushed it till I dropped and had to crash for 2 hours.....

The opportunity is here, now, and has been for the last 5 days.....
These perfect conditions will be smashed into smithereens after this storm......

[finchaser]

Very nice effort guys. The bass between 15 and 25 lbs are our future.

Maybe before it's too late the idiots who are lined up to weigh there 2 fish and then leave them at the shop for who ever wants them so they can go kill more will realize this. The club guy's especially who get a point a pound so they can be angler of the year, this AM 5 fish over 15# were left at a shop. Then the really funny part is the people who take them take a picture so they can lie that they caught it :2flip:

THE BASS ARE DOOMED if this continues

[cowherder]

Maybe before it's too late the idiots who are lined up to weigh there 2 fish and then leave them at the shop for who ever wants them so they can go kill more will realize this. The club guy's especially who get a point a pound so they can be angler of the year, this AM 5 fish over 15# were left at a shop. Then the really funny part is the people who take them take a picture so they can lie that they caught it :2flip:

THE BASS ARE DOOMED if this continues


I dont understand why you would keep a fish if you don't want to eat it. what a waste!

[jonthepain]

,,,it was a bad day to be a peanut bunker.......



post of the week

[DarkSkies]

Sat PM report....3/4 of a Monty Marathon....

Spent the whole day in Monmouth County taking pics of some of the damage and some landmarks near and dear to us surfcasters.
Met a lot of good, and some slightly deranged :cool:, people as well. It seems everyone wanted to come down to the water to check out the affects of Sandy.

Also touched base with some surfcasters I haven't seen since the storm. Confirmed the AM 1/2 hour bite, and PM 1 hour bite, if there is any.
The biggest problem with Monmouth County right now, relative to catching fish, is that with an 8 degree ocean temp drop in the last 8 days has made the bass very sluggish for the night bite. They do not seem to be feeding aggressively outside the above mentioned windows.

After talking with a few hardcore surf nuts I know, I felt the lack of bait in the surf for that area was not that promising.















Decided to take the long hop South for more promising water.

I was happy I did, First cast at 7PM, 2 hours into darkness, dropping tide, I was into a bass on the SP. :headbang:
Dropped it. Hoping I wouldn't have the "1st cast curse" for the night.

5 minutes later I landed another bass, short fish.

Within the next half hour, I landed 2 bass 12 and 13# class. All on the Daiwa.


Bumped into someone I know....we each had action at that location.
We both noticed the fish were hitting sluggishly, and you really had to concentrate on the hookset.
A missed bump was a lost fish for good, they would not come back for it.
The energizing thing is you could not tell by the bumps if they were 26" or teen fish....all fish hit the same....

Once you drove the hook in they would become energized and put up a fight, often getting more energized the closer they got to the surfline.....that made it pretty exciting.......:)

The challenging part was there was no pattern to it as there was no bait around.....these were migratory fish running down the beach as part of the migration....all clean ocean fish that came in from offshore.

It seemed to us that the fish were coming by in pods at a time....we could have 5 minutes of activity, followed by 1/2 hour to 1 hour of nothing at all. Once we discovered this we kept at it compulsively.

Eventually it completely died at that location, and we moved elsewhere to where the cuts were better. I was further encouraged by this as we saw spearing in the wash, lots of them. 3-5".

After each dropping another bass, dozens of casts, blind casting, Daiwa SMs (smaller version) and bombers, he left. I stayed for another 2 1/2 hours because I believed with all that bait there would be bigger fish in the mix, eventually.

Not getting action on the smaller plugs, I switched to a (Bill from Alloway) Big ML Swimmer, yellow.
Within a few minutes of doing that, I got a barely legal bass on that. He was covered by myco so I got it back in the water quickly.

Dropped one more fish in that time, and ended my night after I had a nice one minute battle with an estimated high teen fish on Bill's Custom Swimmer. (thank you Bill! ) :HappyWave:

I lost both the fish and that swimmer. You could have heard my despair from a mile away.
Very disappointed in myself at losing that fish. Most won't believe you if you can't land a nice fish like that, as you have no proof....
(Other than being an eternal googan) :laugh:

As I said, it was a very slow pick, but to me, having all that level of activity for the possibility of bigger fish, for a 7 hour period, was definitely worth it.

I was going to stick it out till the sunrise, but I got wet. The fog coming in and moist cold air eventually got to me, and I had to end it without giving it the full "Monty Marathon" treatment.....:whoo:

After I lost that fish, I retied, gave it another 50 casts, and I was done, barely making it home for the long ride, having to sleep on the side of the road.









******
Nonetheless, that's the kind of fishing that excites me most....not a great bite, but where you can work hard and expect some results, averaging 1 fish per hour.....

These were all fat migratory fish, no skinny ones in the mix, even the schoolies....and the fish I lost pulled enough drag to get me to spend the gas to get down there again.......:drool:

Total:
7 bass to 13#, released 4 legal fish.
Missed way too many, and some were hooked in the head, one in the eye.

Conditions:
Surf< 1 foot swells. Water relatively clear on the ebb, clouding up later on for the flood.
Air temps 42 degrees, water 52..
Wind < 5mph S/SE

What worked:
Daiwa SP, SM
Bombers
ML swimmer, later on, deep in the night.

I went through my bag to change up plugs every few minutes.
The magical mag darter did not produce at all on this trip.
Same for rubber, even rubber that matched the spearing.
Same for bucktails.

It seemed where I was, the fish were feeding/traveling in the top 1/2 of the water column.
Any small profile plug that matched that 3-5" spearing profile should have produced, but unfortunately last night, they did not.





********
Some of the best things I have learned over the years, is that it doesn't matter what worked yesterday.
A good fisherman pays attention to what is working right here, right now, and changes up his profile and presentation until he finds that combo. :learn:

[Monty]

^^^^^^^^
Awesome report Dark. Thank you.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

That type of fishing outing sure would/should give someones spirits a lift.

[finchaser]

No white water where I fished this AM but did get a bass that was 14# who was out for a swim with it's son of about 20 inches both are still swimming.

[finchaser]

This AM from 5 to 7 released two bass 9 and 11 pounds both caught on jig head and rip tide mullet in chartreuse again no white water and flat as a lake.

[finchaser]

This AM in the fog I had 1 bass 12 pounds released we had no other action and saw no other life.fished 5:30 to 7:00 water temp is dropping quickly there was skim ice as I drove over the Beaver Dam

[storminsteve]

I released one tail pincher keeper yesterday, clams.

[DarkSkies]

Tue PM report...
Was looking for the needle in the haystack fish.....something a little bigger than the small fish that have been in the surfline lately.
I have gotten legal fish every month this year....it's been tough some months....during July and August I fished an average of 30 hours to get a legal fish. :kooky: for December, was wondering if I would be able to find one with all the small fish around....

I had a hunch, based on past logs, and some things that are going on now with different temperatures.
Many nights I play my hunches, and fail miserably...this night my hunch proved right.....

The biggest obstacle was the South wind...forecast to shift to SW....but it was a steady S all night....very rarely do you get ideal conditions lately....the other times I was out the conditions were perfect but the fish just were not there at night......

After about 15 minutes of casting swimmers, no action, getting slightly discouraged again. The last few times I was out at night I did poorly. Only a few small fish over the course of several trips.
I switched to rubber shads and nailed a fish close to legal size. This gave me the motivation I needed. I had been definitely feeling down about my night fishing trips. That activity continued for the next 1 1/2 hours.

I had one fish every half hour, no other hits or misses.
Nice clean migrating fish.
The fish seemed to be just beyond the last breaker.



15875

15876
Managed 3 bass to 11#.
Released all.
Biggest fish came on a bottle darter, the other fish came on shads. First time for me, that I have gotten fish on shads, since the Spring.
A good time, I was happy. :cool:

I continued to fish for another hour after the bite died, hoping for another fish...not to be.
Still not having enough sense to go home, I went to another location...water was much dirtier here. Fished for another 2 hours with no action at all. Finally called it quits at the end of the tide....
let's call it a Monty Mini Marathon.....:laugh: :HappyWave:

[finchaser]

This late afternoon 2 keepers to 9# and 3 shorts all on plugs all still swimming.

[DarkSkies]

Thu PM....
The shift in a weather pattern sometimes turns on the surf bite...
That did not happen on Wed PM as Fin and I set out to find some bass in the surf. It had turned cold in the low 30's, little windy, and we both fished with gloves.
2 hours of our best efforts, not a tap for either of us. :don't know why:
It was dismal., but the company was enjoyable....:fishing: :thumbsup:

When He went home. I made one more stop...one short bass on a Tsunami bomber copy (with rattles).






Fri PM.....
Real dissatisfied with the inconsistent bite up North...
I made the drive to lower Ocean County....seems the bite may be a little better there as they have small amounts of sandeels in the surf....

Fished all night in the rain for a true Monty Marathon......9 hours....

Managed 14 bass to 28"...all fish released.
The 28" was the only keeper, but others were close.
Nice fish although they were skinny.

What worked:
Tsunami creamsickle colored swimmer
Storm Thunderstick ( when the wind kicked up after the tide change)
Mag darter.....


Fish were very light hitting,
I had to wade out on a bar to get them at low tide.
Didn't think to bring my dry top. Once the tide started coming in I got wet, soaked to the skin.....
There was no way I would stop fishing,,,,just suffered through it.....:headbang:

When you get wet and the water is colder you run the risk of cramping.....

The fish were very light hitting, and may have been pursuing herring in the area.
If you did not set the hook hard you would drop them......

Still, it was a lot of fun to play with that many fish......:fishing:
I dropped a few more, not that many.

[finchaser]

This morning 5:30 to 7 AM 1 keeper 33 inch around 15# also 2 shorts 18 and 27 inchs all released. One of my friends had a nice 35" fish that he kept and 4 shorts he released

[finchaser]

This morning 5 to 7:30 AM had 2 keepers 8# and 11# also 7 shorts all on rubber all released

[finchaser]

This morning 6 to 8AM released 5 bass to 28" all on rubbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbba

Dark must be tired after his 60 hour marathon he didn't even tell how he tracked me down and mugged me yesterday

[nitestrikes]

Nice going guys.You are getting some nice fish. It is just about over on the SS, a few small rats here and there.

[DarkSkies]

Sat AM...
I was rousted from a sound sleep at 2am by the local police....they were "worried" that I was ok....:rolleyes:
I never mind when they check on me....all good since in my sobriety I'm not doing anything in a drunken stupor that could get me into trouble.....:cool:

They did me a favor, my secondary alarm clock...if they didn't wake me I would have missed the feeding window.....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8561-Discussion-FEEDING-Window-and-What-it-Means-to-Land-Based-Anglers&highlight=feeding+window

Got ready and made it down to the water for low tide. This enabled me to wade out to the bar......

It took awhile, but eventually the bite developed.
The fish were extremely sluggish.....at these water temps they are almost comatose at night.

For example, bass usually hit on the front treble....all my bass were hooked on the rear one.....
Daiwa SM (smaller version of the SP) was the best producer. Things that had worked other nights did not work last night......not a touch at all on rubber...

As mentioned with a cold water night bite...the fish were very lethargic. My biggest fish of the night bumped the plug so lightly it felt like it sometimes does when a school of bunker goes by at night.....

It was a blast as she woke up and started pulling drag......:bigeyes: haven't had that happen in a while.....
Note to Finchaser....:moon: there were no bunker where I was in that surf....possibly herring, though......;) :HappyWave:




I missed an embarassing number of strikes. Once I got into a groove and began to see how these migratory fish were passing through the area (farthest end of the cast) I started hooking up and landing them better...........

It was a lot of fun, best sizes of fish and level of activity I have had in over 2 weeks......:headbang:


Total:
Managed 7 bass to 35" and 15+lbs.....
2 were legal, released one, kept one......



Eventually I had to leave the surf because the tide came rushing in as I was out on the bar.
I then went to another beach that I had found activity during that part of the tide....but got nothing at all there......packed it in around sunrise......A good night of steady action while it lasted.......:headbang:

Pic of the nicest fish of the night.....

15898



15899


15900


Conditions....
Air temp 43, about 12 degrees warmer than the night before....
Water temp 47
Swell, 3', and reported duration of 9 secs....the bad part of this was with the intermittent period swell., the duration was closer to 4 secs,,,,which really hampers your presentation....

[vpass]

I didn't fish much this year nor did I take many Pictures. All fish caught this year were released.:)

1596515966

[DarkSkies]

Finally caught some fish....and it's all thanks to Finchaser and his Finchaser weather service....:thumbsup: :HappyWave:

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?6421-Finchaser-seminar-series

He and the old Farts in Castaways B&T in Point Pleasant
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5299-NJ-small-business-spotlight-November-2009-Castaways-Bait-amp-Tackle-Point-Pleasant

have every recent bite analyzed and plotted out on a super sekrit computer program....those basstids really know.....:HappyWave:
I now get weather reports 3x/day... I get the special discounted rate for knowing what brand of chocolate cupcakes that old grouchy basstid likes the most....:moon: :laugh:

[DarkSkies]

Fri Pm - Monty Marathon.....1-4-13


It was the best of the weekend, and the best bite in a very long while....:drool:
As Fin and the other old farts pointed it there was probably a large body of fish that got pushed out of the Mud Hole and Shrewsbury Rocks by the recent frigid temps.

Those temps, coupled with the frigid bay waters, put the biggest body of fish that was here 2 weeks ago back in the Hudson/NY Bight Estuaries or on their way to the Chesapeake areas. There were no numbers of fish in the area since that. As discussed in the Striped bass migration thread...

Here...
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5149-S-amp-A-Education-Series-Understanding-FALL-back-bay-bait-migration-and-fishing-patterns&highlight=striped+bass+migration

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7174-NJ-s-resident-bass-why-have-they-abandoned-us&highlight=striped+bass+migration

Those fish that were here in Dec drastically thinned out.
Yet, hope springs eternal in the mind of the surf fisherman...and I was out there...
Hit or missed fish every 10 casts,,,,,the number of missed fish was pretty embarassing to me as I missed a lot more than I usually do....with the water temps hovering around 42 degrees, other than the end of day these fish are extremely sluggish.....

What I discovered was the bigger fish hit the softest, with the schoolies being most aggressive,,,,so if you missed a light bump you would never know if that fish was large or not, and they would not come back for it....

But what a night it was, seemed to be wave after wave of late migrating fish. :fishing:




Those of you I shared the details with, be grateful because due to unusual interest and internet heroes I am not putting as much effort into the details as I normally do.....Just want to say, as nicely as I can, that there are fish out there....put in your time and you will catch some.....:thumbsup:

Am also taking minimal pics as well...sorry I enjoy the bite too much and have since realized the bite is sometimes is so specific and limited, that if you miss the 30 or 45 minute feeding window you could miss most of it.....

I am very grateful to have been out there for that action because the robustness of that night has since diminished....
Special thanks to the Old Grouchy Basstard Finchaser....really wish you could have joined me out there, pal. :kiss: :HappyWave:

Some pics
15982

15983

15984

15985

Totals:
6 fish before dark,
26 bass to 11# later....
6 legal fish, kept 1 released all others,
Lots of fish came close to legal size as well.....it was a night of great action that I will remember for a long time...
Total fish 32....


Conditions and What Worked:
Wind - W/SW
Air - 35 dropping to 28
Water - 43 dropping to 42

What worked...
Bucktail was the winner before dark, 1/2 oz small profile with grub
Later it was Tsunami Swimmer, light colored plugs, Mag Darter, and ML swimmers

[DarkSkies]

Sat night 1-5-13 Monty Half Marathon

Within the first 15 minutes I could tell it would be a bit different....fish bit differently, they hit different offerings than before, and it was like I had to work for every single one...if I didn't feel they were there I could have given up, but instead played it like a chess game....targeting each fish by teasing them to hit, and moving several times.

As I experienced last year, the places that were golden the night before were barren this night, so I had do a lot of travelling. The fatigue and extra effort required to get those fish finally got to me. Passed out in my car and missed what was probably a limited morning bite. Got to one place and managed one last fish on a small storm shad.

Some pics:

15986


15987



Totals:
4 fish before dark,
13 bass to 13# later....
3 legal fish,... released ,
1 small bass on shad at sunup

Total fish 18....


Conditions and What Worked:
Wind - W/SW
Air - 35 dropping to 28
Water - 42 dropping to 40

What worked...
Bucktail was the winner before dark, 1/2 oz small profile with grub
Later it was Mag Darter, and ML swimmers, and a few fish on Tsunami eels, and light colored bomber

What was interesting that the plugs that I did well on the night before, did not produce this night....I really had to tease these fish into hitting.

[DarkSkies]

Nice going Vpass....I know last year was an off year for you because of other issues.....you have always been a wealth of info and insight both for me and members here...and I thank you for that and your efforts to promote conservation. :clapping: :HappyWave:

I hope and pray that this year will be a better one for us all....

[cowherder]

Very cool job on the releasing and the catching vpass and dark.

[Monty]

Very cool job on the releasing and the catching vpass and dark.
^^^^^
What cowherder said :thumbsup: :HappyWave:

[buckethead]

Picked up 12 bass tonight to 15#. swimmers. All released

[finchaser]

this am 6:30 to 8 released 2 bass 8# and 11# both on chicken scratch SP minnow

[DarkSkies]

Tuesday 1-8-13
Monty Full Marathon.....

After Sunday's (1-6) trip I was kind of let down....:whoo:
Couldn't figure out if the larger bass had left....or if they just got spread out more....
Note, there are now bass being caught in the surf between Monmouth Beach and LBI)

Well Tuesday's trip did not disappont....great action.......

In all fairness there were some long periods where there was no action at all.
Had to make 8 separate stops on the route to find these fish, but they were aggressive and full of fight on topwater....









Totals:

23 bass to 13#.... ...
4 legal bass, released.
Half the fish were 26" or better....if you fish a lot you know this is an exceptional ratio.

Total fish 23....


Conditions and What Worked:
Wind - W/SW - Steady, 20mph
Air - 42 dropping to 40
Water - 42 dropping to 40

What worked...
ML Swimmer, White Bomber, bucktails


Pics -


16001



I noticed that out of the 23, about 4 or 5 had stripes that were out of alignment. Have seen this sometimes, but not with 20% of the catch. Thought it was worth mentioning here.

16002

[finchaser]

tonight 4 to 5 pm released 3 bass 24,26,29 all on 7/8 ounce Mega Bait. the 26" was the strangest bass i ever saw 1/4 of the way up from the tail was black scales like a black fish really strange.

[buckethead]

Last night. Picked up 5 to 11#. Swimmers and bucktails. All released.

[buckethead]

Picked up 6 to 10# tonight. Swimmers and bucktails again, what they wanted. Outgoing tide. Water cleaned up nice. all released.

[storminsteve]

Nice going guys!

[vpass]

Nice going guys!

X2 :thumbsup::thumbsup: By time I could get out it will be to late.

[finchaser]

I fished today from 3:30 to 5:00 PM and released 7 fish between 24 and 29" all on a Guides Secret Mucho Minnow.

[BassBuddah]

Way to go.:thumbsup:

[seamonkey]

Good thread keep up the good work!

[vpass]

I fished today from 3:30 to 5:00 PM and released 7 fish between 24 and 29" all on a Guides Secret Mucho Minnow.

I never heard of the Mucho Minnow. I did a search and It looks real good. You don't need to upgrade the hardware.

Fin, have you been fishing that lure a long time? how is it compared to the other plugs. Might get a few.

[hookset]

Awesome finchaser way to go. I fished 3-4:30. 4 bass to 8# on swimmers, released. It's a lot more nipply today than it has been.

[finchaser]

Fished last hour in and 1st hour out released 4 fish to 30" all on yellow swimmer my friend had 6 other friend 3 again water still dirty going to try and get tomorrow in

Question is where is the Googan MARATHON man:moon:DS that would be you:HappyWave:

[finchaser]

Thanks leadhead I follow years of patterns I've logged and put in lots of hours. It was a slow year for bass compared to other years well under my yearly average .Remember I fish mostly everyday when conditions are right and only report catches. Been at this close to 50 years started when limit was 10 fish at 18 inches and seen it all never thought I'd see a decline as fast as this especially with this YOY average at .89 losest ever.

[DarkSkies]

Sun Report Finchaser Style :moon: :HappyWave:...Short and Gruff........:ROFLMAO
Fished Monty Half Marathon....

16 bass to 11#....
3 were legal. Released 2 of those, kept the smallest.....
Lots of the fish were fat and feeding well.
Had to make them hit the plug, worked hard for every one, except for a few spurts of activity.


One pic......



Conditions and What worked
Air - 35 dropping to 27
Water - 43 degrees,42, 41, 42 **
Daiwa SP and Bomber accounted for half of the fish....


Shot a new West Wind Ralph Video.....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5418-West-Wind-Wally-thread-a-SHOWDOWN!-NE-vs-NW-fishin-PARENTAL-ADVISORY/page16


https://vimeo.com/57882873









******
Congrats to all out there and putting their time in.....
As Fin mentioned, and I discovered during this trip, they are very close to shutting down for the artificial bite.....this pending cold spell could shut them down and cause some to move elsewhere on the migration trail....

[finchaser]

Thanks for the praise guy's. If i counted all my skunks in 50 years it would cause the average person to be discouraged and take up golf. Especially back in the moratorium days which were headed for again at a faster rate. IMO the fat lady sang today beach is snow covered and the inlet temperature on the incoming tide an hour ago was a tad over 38 degrees The Atlantic City surf also reported 39 down from yesterdays 41.Also with the temperature not going over freezing till next week and more snow for Thursday into Friday.

[buckethead]

Managed 14 bass to 15# this AM, out front. Wind was blowing but fish were right in the wash. 6-8am. Most were short, 2 keepers, released, bucktail and pork.

[buckethead]

Thanks for the praise guy's. If i counted all my skunks in 50 years it would cause the average person to be discouraged and take up golf. Especially back in the moratorium days which were headed for again at a faster rate..

Agreed. Thanks for the words of caution finchaser. Wish folks would listen to them before it's too late.

[cowherder]

Nice going buckethead!:clapping:

[albiealert]

:clapping: :clapping:

[Monty]

Managed 14 bass to 15# this AM, out front. Wind was blowing but fish were right in the wash. 6-8am. Most were short, 2 keepers, released, bucktail and pork.
Nice :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[buckethead]

Fished some sod last night picked up a 15lb bass on a swimmer. Released

[storminsteve]

nice job guys!

[storminsteve]

Capt Al ristori reported this yesterday

Capt. Vinnie Vetere, of Katfish Charters in Great Kills, reports that a friend of his trolled a striped bass in the 50-pound class today before releasing it to spawn next month. That was a big surprise because, despite the great volume of bass in Raritan Bay, there haven't been any of the 30-pounders that are usually abundant at this time.

[nitestrikes]

^^ Well-done.
Fished last night in a bay area. 3 keeper bass to 37" small plugs, released. Good luck to all the stripersandanglers fishermen out there this year. Bass are around go get em.

[DarkSkies]

Getting behind in my trip logs so here goes....

1 Sun PM - 5 hour trip.
I was determined to catch a fish somewhere, in the hours leading up to the noreast pattern, which we have discussed extensively here.
Made 7 stops. Each one of the stops should have produced at least one fish. They did not, Lots of dead water.
Redeemed myself 1/2 hour before the end of the trip with one short bass on bucktail and white grub, ocean fish.





Mon PM 4-22 - against my better judgement I went out there. Found a cove in the back bay where I thought I could hide from the wind. I was wrong as it was too intense and I got sandblasted in the bay for a few hours. There was nowhere to hide in that area. Still, with the water temps not having dropped yet, I felt there could be some fish.

Managed 3 bass to 14#, all legal fish, all released. Could not find the pattern or the bite I was looking for, all random fish, hundreds of casts. Big swimmers were the only thing I could get out there in that fierce wind.

16892






Tue PM 4-23
Water temp had dropped 10 degrees, which gave fish lockjaw for the artificial night bite.
The winds died down a bit later on, and finally shifted W/NW, a welcome relief.
Threw small rubber, managed 2 fish to 13#, both legal, released.
Again, no pattern, hundreds of blind casts, fished 4 hours.

took a few pics, will post when I get a chance....:fishing:

[DarkSkies]

Getting behind in my fishing reports.

4-23 Wed
Scouted a few places back and front. Lots of dead water.
Found a good solid bite in the western bay where bunker were schooled up with the wind pattern.

6 hour trip
Managed 9 fish....10 to 17lbs.
There was solid action for 1 1/2 hours, the rest of the time I had to work hard for each fish.
All on small bomber type swimmer.
All the hype out there about the expensive swimmers Daiwa, big wood, etc, etc.... and I caught these fish on a $5 plug......:headbang:
All released

16904
16905








4-24 Thu
Had some business in South Jersey.
On the way home I fished some unfamiliar water.
Fished 7 hours total.
3 bass to 9lbs, all legal, but some were skinny.
all on small swimmer.
All released.


16906








**********

[albiealert]

Nice job on the c&r ds, your hand in the one pic is bleeding. Did you stick yourself again? :HappyWave:

[Monty]

Nice job on the c&r ds, your hand in the one pic is bleeding. Did you stick yourself again? :HappyWave:
^^^^
What he said, great C and R.....Whats with the hand? You post that pic just for attention? Trying to get "Goog" attention?
Gotta hog all the Googan attention? :wheeeee:

[DarkSkies]

Albie, thanks for the kind words.....:moon: :HappyWave:

^ Monty, not trying to steal your thunder again, really, I mean it.....:scared: :ROFLMAO
I want you to be the StripersAndAnglers Googan of the Year....as long as you want that title.....:laugh:

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8090-I-win-the-googan-of-the-year-award&highlight=googan+year


That night, was a good night for me....
I was close by 3 other sharpies, one of them being a famous pro-staffer and prolific facebook poster.....none of them caught a fish till I was on #7 and they started to mimic what I was doing.....
I debated keeping this to myself, as I have been trying to behave myself lately....the meds are working real well....:rolleyes:

But last night, someone pointed out the pro-staffer is constantly on Facebook, bragging nightly about his fish catching skills....

The latest post from him....
"It's 2AM, do you know where the fish are...I DO!"

To me that is just ego satisfying chest beating....there are no helpful hints or advice for the new guy in those words......just an attempt to be an internet hero and have everyone think you are the best of the best....when in reality you are a guy who will stop at nothing, to be the one with the biggest fish, even if it means you have to lie about it....http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon13.png







As I said, I debated going forward with this story.....

But I did rip up my hands pretty bad that night as there was a solid bite....
I wouldn't use my light as these Pros were about 200' away from me and not catching.

I was laying on the ground of the mud flats and the sides of the creeks to handline the fish in at times so I would not attract attention with the splashes.....The sharpies were chatting like magpies, and I tried to time my fish landing so it would be masked by the loud chatter of their voices.....
In doing that and not being able to clearly see the fish I was unhooking I screwed up a few times. My hands looked like I was in an episode of "Saw" and just started feeling better today....

They eventually did figure out the pattern.....but my big question is why couldn't they figure it out, without copying my actions?
When you are a self proclaimed internet fishing pro you should be able to figure out a pattern by yourself.......:learn:

All right, I have probably said too much on this issue.
I want to move forward and not mention it here anymore....

So I bashed up my hands trying to hide the fact that I was catching some nice fish....
the few pics I took were at the end, when I got 2 more and was getting ready to leave as I got mugged on both sides....

After all, it took me decades to figure out some of these patterns....and most often I have to work hard for each fish I catch......some nights are still very difficult for me....but the beauty, to me, is finding that pattern, or if there is none., finding that one larger fish, that no one thinks is there.....

[DarkSkies]

1. You can accept that explanation...or the alternate explanation,
2. that I am a Googan, continually trying to steal Monty's thunder,....
Whatever floats your boat....It's all good with me.....:HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

4-28 Sun PM - 7 hour Monty Mini Marathon...
I was out there last night ahead of the building SE forecast for today.
Winds were not bad at that point. It did seem that the S wind made the water colder and diminished the artificial bite, at least for me.

Stopped at many promising areas ocean and bay.
Fished all levels of the water column.

Lots of dead water.
4 1/2 hours into it, I had no success at all, not even a tap.
Decided to move way into the bay flats where I was hoping to find some water that was a bit warmer, and some shelter from the building S wind that was forecast through the night.

Blind casting countless times saved the night for me....
Managed one 15# bass. Released.








on a small swimmer - The kinds I am encouraging the new anglers out there to try, in this contest.....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?9001-The-Surfwalker-Challenge-Do-you-Follow-the-Herd-or-Lead-your-Own-Way

Dropped one other fish....lots of effort for small amount of fish...but that one fish, made it all worth while, to me. :)

[cowherder]

Awesome report dark good job!:clapping:

[cowherder]

1. You can accept that explanation...or the alternate explanation,
2. that I am a Googan, continually trying to steal Monty's thunder,....
Whatever floats your boat....It's all good with me.....:HappyWave:

Haha yes please dont take the title away form monty I loved montys hook in hand story. Keep em coming, gang!

[Monty]

I was laying on the ground of the mud flats and the sides of the creeks to handline the fish in at times so I would not attract attention with the splashes...
In doing that and not being able to clearly see the fish I was unhooking I screwed up a few times. My hands looked like I was in an episode of "Saw" and just started feeling better today....



Haha yes please dont take the title away form monty I loved montys hook in hand story. Keep em coming, gang!

:HappyWave:

Mud wrestling striped Bass (and I think the Bass held its own)......... In all seriousness, great report Dark, great catching :HappyWave:.

[finchaser]

1 bass 9# and 6 blues in the 6 to7 pound range all on school bus SP minnow all released fished from 1 to 3 pm lunchtime.


BBB don't give him anymore ideas

[hookset]

I was laying on the ground of the mud flats and the sides of the creeks to handline the fish in at times so I would not attract attention with the splashes.....The sharpies were chatting like magpies, and I tried to time my fish landing so it would be masked by the loud chatter of their voices.....
When you are a self proclaimed internet fishing pro you should be able to figure out a pattern by yourself.......:learn:



Loved the story ds. Unfortunately that is the way a lot of guys fish today, little groups like girls going to the bathroom together. Then when one catches a fish they all post it on twitter of fb so the posse can come running. Clueless, I agree.

[hookset]

Nice going gents. Picked up 4 bass to 14# plugging tonight on the incoming tide, all released. Slow undeliberate hits, seemed a little sluggish.

[hookset]

Picked up 4 bass to 14# plugging tonight on the incoming tide, all released. Slow undeliberate hits, seemed a little sluggish.

[J Barbosa]

Here is a little tease for you guys and gals:


What happens when your fishing a few days after the full moon and have a nice tidal flow over the flats but not too strong.
Now make that tide a little later in the night to help curb some of the crowds.
Sprinkle a chance of light to moderate rain to further thin the crowds and provide some good cloud cover.
Now add at least a few acres of big bunker and just a few blues to keep you on your toes.


35lb bass with a gut ready to explode
28lb bass
2 bass both right around the 20lb mark


The two of us also had a good number of 10-20lb sized fish. All big fish swam away unharmed after being weighed on the boga.


The night started out slow but once we figured out the bass only wanted heads spoon fead to them the action heated up pretty quickly.


These fish were in close, with the exception of snagging bunker we did most of our casts from knee deep water until the tide really moved out.

[ledhead36]

Outstanding report Jbarbosa! We were fishing clam last night and got some nice ones. Didn't do as well as you though, you crushed them. And on releasing so many big girls as well. We kept our first 2 fish around 29". Released the bigger ones that came in later. As the tide came in the bass got bigger. Picked up an even half dozen to 41". Quality over quantity. All keeper size. You are the king for last night though. :thumbsup:
sounds like you had some fantastic action. congrats!

[finchaser]

Way to go JB

[cowherder]

Awesome action fellas!
:clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping: on the catch and release!!!!!!!

[Monty]

Awesome action fellas!
:clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping: on the catch and release!!!!!!!
^^^^^^
What cowherder said, Awesome!

[DarkSkies]

Great catching and releasing people.....I don't like to preach about it because there's nothing wrong with eating striped bass.....
It is nice to see some of the younger folks starting to look at the big picture though.....:HappyWave:



PM April 29 - 3 1/2 hour trip
Fishing, for me, was very slow last night on artificials...as hookset mentioned the fish seemed a little sluggish for that artificial bite...whereas the other night they were very aggressive, last night they barely hit the plug at times. My one fish hit the back treble. Dropped/missed a few others as well.

On a no-name swimmer, nice chunky bass, ready for the spawn, #15, released.





Back to swimming up the Hudson.....
16921

[vpass]

Awesome JB. You got me :drool:

Nice going guys

[hookset]

Pretty work, fellas.

[DarkSkies]

*^ Striperhunter that water sure was dirty yesterday. Congrats for getting out there in less than optimal conditions and putting the time in for those fish. I'm a little confused, how long were you out there? Almost sounds like a Monty Marathon to me. :thumbsup: :HappyWave:


Finchaser....you know I'm going to mug ya for those bluefish one of these nights.....make sure you have a clothespin handy for your nose when I come knocking...:scared:..would rather have insane bluefish action than mediocre bass action any day........glad ya got into em.
Maybe today you won't be so damn grouchy....:laugh: :kiss: :HappyWave:











************
Report 5-1 PM
Took a little nap after a hard day's work so I could get out there on the right tides and still be able to function today. Man I'm getting old, had to pop 3 advils when I got up to go out there at night.

Same lack of pattern again, it seems in some areas the back bay fish have thinned out. Others, where the bunker are thickest, are producing, but I am finding more dead water than ever this year....just a general lack of bait and small forage fish, other than bunker.....and colder water almost everywhere, by the time I get out there.

Managed 2 bass, 15 and 17#.
This time I kept one to eat (smaller one, first one caught). I feel cold water bass, before they start gorging on bunker, taste a little better. Released the other. Both fat chunky fish, put up a decent fight, blind casting small swimmers.

No other activity at all for me.....no misses, nothing. This was the only activity of the trip, despite fishing in 2 separate areas and slogging through the sedges on the flats each time I decided to move.

16924

[buckethead]

4 bass to 29" last night buck and pork, released.

[J Barbosa]

I started fishing last night around 2am with my brother and a friend that lately seems to bring bad fishing with him and the ability to shut down even the hottest bite.

Since I had plenty of eels we had no problems finding the bunker right away and plenty of it...its funny how that works sometimes.

A few minutes into fishing my brother lands a 12lb bass on a head. I wanted to keep one fish to eat tonight and this one would be perfect but we decided to release this one thinking the fishing was going to be red hot until morning like the past two trips. It turns out that was the only bass we saw on one of our lines.

I got two eels bitten off by blues and then just switched to chunks. We did have some action with small blues throughout the night.

We called it quits around 6am and left some small blues biting. The plan was for my brother and I to meet my dad and a family friend up at the hook for some bait soaking. I got there and my dad didn't bring any of my big surf sticks so we were underguned for the strong swell. We did manage to catch a blue and one small bass.

[finchaser]

Today 5 to 9AM 3 bass to 31 inches and 12 bluefish 3 to 8 pounds bass on plugs blues on metal all released

[storminsteve]

Wow finchaser you are on a roll! Congrats!
Fished sandy hook bay this morning got 9 blues to 10lbs on bunker chunks. I had to leave or probably would still be catching them after the tide turned. Lots o fun mean and nasty!

[finchaser]

1 Bass and 35 blues all released to fight another day

[baitstealer]

:clapping:Awesome finchaser you are on fire!

[DarkSkies]

:clapping: Outstanding report OGB.
Still looking for the bigger blues, last night the ones I found were at most 1-2lbs. Coming down to mug ya again, keep your clothespin handy for your nose. :moon: :kiss:




*********
5-4-13 PM report
My primary target for the night was bigger bluefish. Got down to the bay after dark and hooked a small one on the first cast. They did seem a little picky and I got a few more by downsizing my swimmer to 4".

They seemed to be on the top feeding on small forage.
Finchaser and JBarbosa confirmed that the rainfish are starting to show up, thanks. :HappyWave:

It was a slow pick and I only managed a handful.
I had a full agenda last night and my goal was to keep moving to see what areas held which forage and fish.
The biggest thing I noticed is there seemed to be more bunker at some of my stops.
I hate when they are the dominant forage and there are thousands of them for every bass as it makes it tough for me to catch them on artificials.

Last night, with the bass spread out, but an occasional bass blowing up on bunker out in the distance in the bay, I had the sense that if only I tossed a head I would be into some nice fish.

I don't want to toss heads, the artificial thing is my addiction.
Sometimes, to be honest, it is a very lonely and painful place to be, as others are bailing bass and blues on bunker, and everything you throw, just isn't good enough.

I have been around the bunker schools at night long enough to get a sense of how the fish feed. Eventually you may catch a bass on artificials, but there is no real pattern for me when the fish are not in a frenzy...it is just hours of blind casting.

About 5 minutes before I was scheduled to make to move to somplace else, I caught and released a nice 16 lb bass on a big swimmer.
Spend an additional 2 hours after that trying to duplicate that catch, not a touch.

[J Barbosa]

I fished with my dad and a good friend of ours from around 7:30pm to 1:30am. There was some lightning off in the distance the whole night. I was worried we were going to have to pack it in early but luckily it stayed far away until we were on the road.



I left the fly rod home and went back to the chunking setup. I brought a snag/plug rod with me and messed around with the smaller blues as the sun went down. About an hour later the bass started showing up, it was a little slow at first but it really picked up on the outgoing. We had steady action all night fish ranging from 12-18lbs.

I found an acre of bunker on our fist and only stop and that made snagging them ridiculously easy. There was also some big swirls on those bunkers and fish under them :wheeeee:


Before anyone asks...the boga is leashed to my belt, LOL!

This 18lber was released and we kept two smaller fish for the table.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7360/8727072095_1f5c7639aa_h.jpg

[DarkSkies]

5-10-13 PM trip
3 bass to 12# last night. 2 were legal, all released.
Also a few bluefish to 5#.


**A friend living several hours away was supposed to come out and fish but he never made it up here.




Had to fish all night for them. 7 hour Monty Mini Marathon. :HappyWave:
Fished through the rain, taking a 1/2 hour break as it was most intense and the lightning got a little hairy. :scared:
There was an eerie calm out there last night between the rain...

I first debated on when and where because it was Fri, thought it would be too crowded. Picked a popular bay bluefish spot as I was counting on there being less night crowds. By the time I got out there it was deserted.

The first fish were a few bluefish, very aggressive on small plugs.
As the tide changed the bunker started loading into that cove, with bass and bluefish blowing up on them.
At that point it became very difficult for me to catch bass on artificials...went through almost everything in the bag, very little activity.
Knowing that when that happens, you will be hooked up instantly if you only were to toss a snagged bunker, chunk, or head, it was a little depressing, and humbling. My plugs were constantly bumping bunker and they only wanted the real thing.

I kept at it and changed my position relative to how the schools were moving.
Hours of blind casting. All bass fell to big swimmers. Missed quite a few as well. The bass were just not as aggressive on artificials as the bluefish, but I kept at it.
Last fish of the night was the short fish, caught on Speedy's swimmer. :drool:

16962
16963
Rarely take pics of short fish any more. I wanted to show folks the plug. and it was kind of nice to catch it on one of Speedy's plugs. :HappyWave:
If you look at the plug pic you can see it is dressed with a Surfstix teaser as well. :HappyWave:

Thanks for the joint effort, guys. Yep, your stuff does work. :thumbsup:









** BTW the short fish hit the hardest.

This is what frustrates me when I miss a bump out there at night. Those have been the largest fish for me, and generally with the colder water bite we have had on artificials, once you miss that fish, it's my experience that it rarely comes back, You sit there kicking yourself at what could have been. With the action on artificials coming so few and far between, you have to resolve to cast hundreds of times more for the next adrenalin rush.

Worked a demanding job racing against a deadline that day. By the end of the night I was like a punch drunk fighter, staggering in my steps. Barely made it to my car. Slept in my car for 4 hours.

When I got up, I tried searching for some daytime artificial action for bluefish so I could call Pebbles down, but it seems for that area the best bite is end of day and in the dark. The cold wind was also honking from the S by then at a steady 20mph. Oh well, I tried, Pebbles. :kiss:

[storminsteve]

great job fellas!

[surferman]

I fished a cape may beach last night from 7-10pm. Got 2 nice stripers on clam one 30" and one 38" and about 20lbs. Kept the 30 incher released the 20 pound one.
16990

[Monty]

Sunday AM, love catching them on top, released after the pic

17021

[albiealert]

Nice healthy fish! How big was it?

[DarkSkies]

A great Catch and Release story, here......
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?9022-Catch-of-a-Lifetime-Story-and-Pics

[robmedina]

Practice is exactly what I need. Tonight I went out. was fishing with clams and bunker. I rigged one of my rods with a bucktail but I wasn't quite set up. I should have used my 9 foot rod but it was rigged with bait and in the water, so I used my 11' rod but ...well just not right. I did manage one 34 -1/2" striper though. Released to fight another day.1704317044

[Monty]

A 30 inch Bass C and R this morning.
SP Minnow, long cast, definitely needed the SP for the distance.

http://rocksimpson.com/images/2013_5_28_SB.jpg

[nitestrikes]

Got some nice fish to 26lbs the past few nights in the back bays. All on metal lips. All released. all about the bunker. They are thinning out now and I don't see the bite continuing at the level it was. One can always hope, though

[J Barbosa]

Got some nice fish to 26lbs the past few nights in the back bays. All on metal lips. All released. all about the bunker. They are thinning out now and I don't see the bite continuing at the level it was. One can always hope, though
Agree...I have noticed they are thinning out in the back. I had some of my biggest fish and best fishing of the year in 2011 around this time.

[Monty]

Released this bass this morning, caught on a Big Don Metal Lip

http://rocksimpson.com/images/2013_6_2_SB1.jpg

[storminsteve]

Awesome Monty!

[albiealert]

Nice job monty!

[hookset]

monty good going.

[cowherder]

:clapping:Awesome!

[cowherder]

I found this on another site thought it was great and positive. Congrats to the anglers! :clapping::clapping:


Catch-n-Release Magic Aboard "Shakedown" on 6-4-13 (lots of pics)


17154 I saw the predicted wind shift to the West for Tuesday late afternoon/evening; I knew that it was going to be the perfect formula for nice seas and rolling bass. I invited my good friend, Craig, and his brother, Jeff, to join Johnny and I for an after-work hunt for big bass aboard my "Shakedown."

I ran us left out of SRI, and we immediately started hunting for bunker from the beach all the way out to 50' of water. I was pissed when we exited the inlet to find the wind was blowing in a now-typical 10-15 S/SE blow. Of course, the ocean was choppy which made spotting bunker that much more challenging. Even more maddeningly, the ones we found were spread out rather than clustered together when we found them. Luckily, I was able to collect about ten baits and Johnny added a couple more by snagging them.

With a dozen baits in the well, we made the run north to the Rocks. I figured we would simply replenish our bunkers if needed. There were a few boats in the area, but I really didn't see any bait or fish marks that looked promising. I decided to work back South looking for something better. Made a few drifts in areas where I have marks from previous trips, and finally I had a great run-off on a livelined bunker between Deal and Ocean Grove. I "set" the circle hook and immediately passed the rod to Craig for him to land the 1st bass of the night which was a fat 23-pounder. I quickly lip-gripped her into the boat for a couple of pics before we turned her loose. 1 for 1 WOW, this is gonna be great!

I then hooked another one shortly after that one that was a beast. This fish took the bunker and started streaking off my drag like it wasn't there. When I finally stopped the fish and turned it, she streaked for the horizon once more and snapped my 30# braided mainline. !@#$%^& !!! I was sick that I missed a fish that I knew was real monster. O well, 1 for 2 isn't too bad, right?

The good news is that just about the time we found a few fish, the wind shifted and laid down to make the waters much more readable and fishable. I put us on a couple of stellar drifts that had us smack dab in the middle of water that I knew would hold some fish. Eventually, I had a bass blow-up on a pencil popper, and it came tight. I fought the fish for about 30 seconds when I felt that sickening feeling of the plug being shook from the bass' mouth when it was rolling and slapping on the surface. S.O.A.B .. Now, I know 1 for 3 is definitely not good.

Rather than continue our drift toward the few boats that were setting up to our North, I chose to re-set our drift to the South away from the crowds. The decision to "stick and stay" once again showed that I chose the right piece of ocean real estate. We had a few bass come up lazily around the boat, and from that point on, we put on a bass catch-n-release clinic. We had non-stop run-offs and fish hooked for the bulk of the evening right into dark with fish on surface poppers as well as live, dead, and YES ... EVEN FROZEN DEAD week-old bunker. I am proud to report that every fish we caught on bait was caught using a 10/0 in-line non-offset circle hook & every one was hooked in the jaw or corner of the mouth ... CIRCLE HOOKS WORK & I'VE GOT THE PICS TO PROVE IT!

At the end of the night, we had caught & released over 20 big, beautiful bass highlighted by the 47-pounder that I caught on a popper. I honestly thought my big fish was going to let me break the coveted 50 mark yet again. But sadly, just like the my biggest one that I caught w/ Hammer4reel last year, this one was only 47 and some change. Close, but no cigar. Still a great fish, and I hope she grows up to be someone's 70-pounder some day.

It was another magical evening and night enjoying what can only be described as a truly WORLD CLASS STRIPED BASS FISHERY right here practically on my doorstep. I feel blessed to be able to participate in this fishery every Spring; I enjoy taking others out to show them how to enjoy it in a responsible, sustainable, and ethical manner. I am sure that Johnny, Craig, Jeff and I will remember this trip for a long time as we truly had a magical evening. Getting to hook, fight and release these magnificent fish is truly a rewarding and satisfying experience; knowing you are doing your part to do it in a way that tries to insure it can continue long after you are gone is a huge part of the enjoyment for me.

[DarkSkies]

Frank and his 48.5 lb fish....
Yes it was caught in a blitz...but the latest one lasted less than 20 minutes.....only a handful of fish were caught...and this was the biggest.....

He could have entered the Reel Seat contest with it....won a VS 200, or the CTS rod.....
He could have entered the Berkeley Spring Tourney run around the same time.....Hundreds of $$ in prizes....
There are still some tackle shops that have certificates of a few hundred $$ for the biggest Surf fish of the year....and this fish would have had a clear shot at #1......



17190

He could have weighed it in for a video weigh in...
or several tackle shops, and paraded it around on the internet......on every website and facebook surfcaster group out there.......

But some quick pics were taken. and he decided to put this big girl back in the water quickly.......













Outstanding job, Frank..........on the fish of a lifetime.....:clapping: :clapping:
and the release........:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[robmedina]

^^^^^^^^^^^:clapping::thumbsup:

[SharkHart]

I was there for that, they blitzed 2-3 casts out sliding north, and stopped short of a cove , he was south which i got to as he landed it, was just a 3 random blind fish which is a little better then a blitz :) he had some big time prodding to weigh it in, someone said that thing must be 40 lbs, I said I think its close to 50, i thought it was toast but he kept reviving it and off it went. it actually broke the line as he grabbed it.

[Fishman]

It takes alot of self control to throw a fish that size back. There are many guys who would have to weigh it in at the local tackle shop. They need the fame and desire to have their pictures plasted all over the walls. :thumbsup: for throwing her back to let her breed the next generation.

[DarkSkies]

^ Glad to see you got in on that action, Shark......




June 13.......
Big blues to 15#.....
Bass to 14 #.....
All released......
Bass and blues on big swimmers....

17202

17203

17204

[DarkSkies]

June 19 PM trip,
Monty Marathon...8 hours....

This was a trip where I was targeting night bluefish...some larger ones had shown up, coming in at the end of day to crash bunker schools...
I had been to the water earlier that day...worked it for 1/2 hour....it was totally dead....


As I was leaving I noticed a few distinct pods of bunker that were "shaping up" and moving in....
I ran into California Tom aka Tom Lynch and some of his crew...Tom had come down to film some of the insane bluefish action....
They were waitiing, too, and we were all of the opinion that something would happen...we were just not sure when.....

It was a good night for monster bluefish...
If you go to Tom's site....(I think it is angryfishTV.com...or something like that....) you will see in May 2013 he took some real graphic shots of big blues crashing bunker. His lens captured the frenzy, with bunker flying out of the water to get away from the giant sets of teeth that were chasing them.....

That night, after work,,,I returned and fished all night.....


















Got some nice fish from that Monty Marathon effort.......
(I didn't find the big blues, that time,,,,but some pesky stripers showed up..:rolleyes: ..so I had to stay for awhile and have some fun....:wheeeee: )

17294

17296
17295
Total for the 8 hour trip..
8 bass to 19#...released....
Lost 2 nicer ones.....due to googan error..
And 3 bluefish to 4#....
All on big swimmers.....

Once that sun got bright ALL ACTION ended.... even the bluefish action. :(

[DarkSkies]

June 22 2013 - Early AM - 3 hour trip.....

Started out with good expectations...went back to the well-known bluefish and weakfish bay spot to see if I could find the bigger blues at night....
I failed at that, but did manage to land a 6# weakfish, my first of the year....she was beautiful, had not seen them in long time....quick pic and release.....

17297

on a small swimmer...(old and ugly, see the Surfwalker thread...)
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?9001-The-Surfwalker-Challenge-Do-you-Follow-the-Herd-or-Lead-your-Own-Way


The rest of the night went downhill after that...........my bail spring broke and I was not really participating any more no matter how hard I triied....it was too much of a pita.....so I cut the trip short and called it a night early, no other action for me...

[DarkSkies]

June 27/28 PM/AM trip:

Weather conditions forced me to re-plan my night. The wind and swell were bad, so I found an inlet where I could get a little lee and the wind wasn't so daunting.


17303

17304

17301

17302
Total:
6 bass to 10#,,,,3 small blues - 5 hour trip
All bass were fat and had been feeding well.
2 of the bass were legal, kept one to see what they were eating., released the rest.....


Mostly on plugs..one on bucktail.....and then when I was getting ready to leave, one nicer fish dropped, on rubber.

[DarkSkies]

July 1 AM trip

Fished 5 hours, flood tide.
Most of the fish came in the first 2 1/2 hours.


17307


17306

Total:
Managed 3 bass to #14, released.
All on rubber.
No hits or misses other than that.
That lasted for about 45 minutes. All downhill for the rest of the trip.









***********

^^Finally posted the pics...sorry I got a little behind...

June bass to 19#.
July bass to 14#....

All released except for a few I kept to see what was in their stomachs.....

[finchaser]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9YOVuEQugE&amp;feature=youtu.be

[robmedina]

People **** and the government sucks- simple as that!

[DarkSkies]

It almost seems too simplistic....but maybe folks may understand something better, if it's in video format...thanks Fin. :thumbsup:

[plugginpete]

very true thank you for sharing

[BassBuddah]

:thumbsup:Thank you finchaser. You remind me of the activism and the passion that Willy Young has. I hope you continue to have the energy level to keep posting these.

[storminsteve]

finchaser thanks for posting.

[clamchucker]

We also need to manage each species as it relates to the other. To not do this lets one get out of hand. One example is the dogfish. It is one of the biggest fishery management mistakes made recently. They should have figured that the spiny dogfish were not only recovered they were decimating the groundfish populations.

[finchaser]

We also need to manage each species as it relates to the other. To not do this lets one get out of hand. One example is the dogfish. It is one of the biggest fishery management mistakes made recently. They should have figured that the spiny dogfish were not only recovered they were decimating the groundfish populations.

Very true but it is there greatest success story next to striped bass

[cowherder]

^^^^^Dogfish is the greatest success story? That was sarcasm right? They are a menace! btw thanks for sharing the video. Catch and release so there are more for tomorrow.

[finchaser]

^^^^^Dogfish is the greatest success story? That was sarcasm right? They are a menace! btw thanks for sharing the video. Catch and release so there are more for tomorrow.

nope serious as a heart attack

[J Barbosa]

Makes too much sense.

At this point in NJ we need to reduce the bag limit to one fish and maybe also introduce a slot size.

Also the weakfish should be a zero bag limit.

[buckethead]

At this point in NJ we need to reduce the bag limit to one fish and maybe also introduce a slot size.

Also the weakfish should be a zero bag limit.

agreed especially on the zero bag limit for the weakfish.
Fishing tonight. Slow pick of blues and then 2 bass to 10lbs, still swimming

[finchaser]

Nice reports all


Nice action, I am guessing Dark was not within 20 miles :HappyWave:

you are 100% right

This morning 5 AM to 7 AM released 11 bass between 14 and 27 inches caught on jig head and pink finesse as they were goring themselves on rain fish

[hookset]

Picked up 7 bass to 29" tonight. Released all.

[ledhead36]

Welcome to the asylum surfrob. Look forward to your posts. Fished the bay tonight from the top of the tide to a little after dark. A few little bass and weakfish. All on clams and pieces of spot. We did get one keeper at 29". First keeper of the fall it was sent back for good luck.

[ledhead36]

Welcome to the asylum surfrob. Look forward to your posts. Fished the bay tonight from the top of the tide to a little after dark. A few little bass and weakfish. All on clams and pieces of spot. We did get one keeper at 29". First keeper of the fall it was sent back for good luck.

[J Barbosa]

Nice Leadhead!

I was out yesterday afternoon into Dark (quit around 8:30pm) and ran into some good company.

I managed two shorties both fat but one was round. Has two other fish that were on for a few seconds before popping off and at least 12 hits/misses. Water was a bit stained all of my hits came on a rattling plug after jerking it. There was no interest in the teasers yesterday out of all the fish I saw caught none came on a teaser. Tough conditions (still a decent sized surf) felt like I left some key plugs behind in the car but I kept getting hits so I didn't want to walk back.

[finchaser]

:thumbsup:

[finchaser]

3 bass this AM to 33" all on lead head and chartreuse shaker tail my friend had 2 to 34" all action was from 5:30 to 7 am

[finchaser]

This morning 5:30 to 7:30 released 2 bass 26" and 31" inches both caught on a jig head and Rip Tide 5" chartreuse tail

[finchaser]

Played the same stage of tide tonight as this morning 5:30 to 7:30 and released 19 bass to 27" all on 1 ounce jig head and 6" chartreuse silk shaker tail. Fish shut off as soon as it was totally dark.

[finchaser]

Fished the same place this AM adjusted a little for tide 6 to 8 AM released 11 bass to 24" all on jig head and a new tail by AAT that I am testing which worked well but are on the fragile side IMO. On a sad note fish are getting thinner by the tide due to less bait day after day.

[J Barbosa]

Fished for a few hours this evening.


South wind is really blowing making it hard to fish out front.


I managed one bass around 27" on a DSM minnow and my brother got a smaller bass on one of my teasers along with a hickory.

[jigfreak]

Didnt like that moon last night either vpass. We need some cloud cover or rain. Managed 2 bass to 12#, bucktails. In the back. Still swimming.

[storminsteve]

Well i couldnt find them last night the blow out water and bright moon probably didn't help. Got one short. I did hear of very good mid day action on friday to the north.

That only thing that seems to counteract that moon is when there is a good wind giving the water a little chop.There must have been a good bite fri because I got some good numbers thur night. 23 fish to 28" on ava and redgill. Most were around 23-23". Some were fat but some were skinny like finchaser said. Isn't that strange how one moment it will be skinny schoolies and the next it will be fat footballs. Strange fall so far. Still, happy to get some fish. finchaser I agree most of my fish thu came between 5"30-9pm. slo pick after that.

Fished last night and only one fish go figure

[Blazin420]

New here but recognize screen names from a few sites..Seems things have been picking up this week..176391764017641Got out last night w/my bud Dave from 730-130am...Decent night for us.. between the 2 of us we managed 11 bass,2 weakies and a hickory..I landed 5 bass and the 2 weakies..1 of which was a nice 19in fish the other was a spike about 14in...All shorts on the bass the biggest went about 25in..They hit the usuals Visions,SP,needlefish and teasers..Bite was steady from 8-10pm then it slowed but ALOT of short hits..Thats when i told my bud there was weakies around and sure enuff next few casts i land a weakie..Moon was covered most of the night but popped out around 12am..Nice night out with some fish to make it better! Pics of the 2 better sized bass and the weakie!

[Blazin420]

Wednesday night found a few better sized fish landed 7 biggest 2 went 33in and 36.5in...Big one hit a SP in the wash and the other a Yozuri Mag Darter1764217643

[finchaser]

I know they don't count but been doing the boat thing and catching bass to 25# and blues to 22# all released. The big school that was off Seabright pulled out yesterday most went through the mudhole and a scattered bunch we followed down the beach. Some of the faster head boats and charter boats are fishing off Jones beach on another larger school of mostly slammers and bass have to see which way they go.

[Blazin420]

Thanx Darkskies!! Glad to be here! As for the ball busting,Its all good i can take some good ball busting anyday!! Im an easy going guy so no worries..But i can dish it out pretty good my self jsut a FYI :D ...As for your last post..Im with ya the #s of bass are definitly down and somethings gotta give>>>Dont no about anyone else here but im a big C(catch)P(photo)R(reaalese)guy...Ill take one just keeper size fish a year the rest swim away safely!

Ill be out tonight looking to feed some hungry fish and take there pics :D

[cowherder]

Nice going guys! Capt Al Ristori got a 50 pound bass and released it! I think it was on Sunday here is his report:


The big body of striped bass was 35 miles east of Sandy Hook yesterday, but some may have moved into local waters today. I fished with Pete Connell of Avon on his Pursuit from Belmar as we wrestled with huge bluefish up to 20 pounds, and I was surprised by a striper that hit a Run-Off 5.5-ounce Hammer Jig and bottomed out my 50-pound scale before being released. Connell kept a 33-inch striper that was full of sand eels.

[finchaser]

They came with the front this AM 6 to 8 AM released 27 bass to 28" all on jig head and salt and pepper riptide fish were clean with sea lice. will try same tide this afternoon. My counter part had 21 a little west of me.

[storminsteve]

Awesome report finchaser you are on a roll!:clapping:
Congrats on the releases as well.

[buckethead]

Took the day off to fish. Got into some nice teen bass and blues in NoMoco this morning on rubber and bucktails. All released. Went back tonight and it seems the fish moved on. Picked up 3 bass to 26" on a sluggo.

[finchaser]

this morning 6 to 7:30 released 9 bass to 28" all on jig head and AAT tails in Mean dine color. Major bite going on now in 70' water Rattle snake area

[J Barbosa]

Fished for a few hours post dark today. All the action came on the top three hours of the outgoing again. Still tons of spearing around and bass swirling on them.


I spent a lot more time throwing shads today after seeing a 18lber caught yesterday; we didn't catch as many bass but the size average was a little better today. These fish are hungry really inhaling the shads.

My brother got 7 bass and I got 5 today all shorts again.

Did see a 43" caught and released today.

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2821/10547833076_8bdb57c25f_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/10547833076/)


http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5476/10548057703_b555465f23_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/10548057703/)

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5473/10547870324_12a0876013_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/10547870324/)


http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3723/10547826075_e0356fd315_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/10547826075/)

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3807/10548056933_71e2d90cda_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/10548056933/)


http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3680/10547825515_d45c253f2c_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/10547825515/)



http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3782/10547831186_f197b0d841_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/10547831186/)

[finchaser]

This AM 6:00 to 7:30 released 14 bass to 29" all on jig head and Salt and pepper Rip tide tail NE pushed in lots of bait could have had a banner morning but lost the tide

[buckethead]

Good going fellas. Fished nomoco from 3-6am. 5 bass to 12lbs. Released.
Bucktail and pork took some. Shad took the biggest.

[J Barbosa]

Outgoing tide again...lots of bait around and more importantly stripers to chase the bait :)

I saw tons of spearing, some big peanuts and small mullet (?).

Stuck to the bigger swim shads; I didn't get as many shorts (they were around) as the previous trips but was rewarded with 2 keepers including this fish around 18lbs.

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2893/10567327205_483e66e991_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/10567327205/)

Where did my 6" shad go? :)

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3813/10567599353_b423d5d169_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/10567599353/)

Also got this 32" bass

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2810/10567327085_d852032f38_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/10567327085/)

All fish released

[Blazin420]

I was out there again in the wrong spot. I did catch a short about 24 inches around 9pm on a Shad. I did see 1 other fish caught. fished from 6 to 10pm. So far the worst Oct. I could remember. Hope it get better.

Nice going JB.:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Very nice John WTG!! Het Vpass were you fishing NoMoCo??I think i was next to you if ya were..Saw a guy get a fish about 9pm and i had 1 about 30 mins before that..

[buckethead]

Good to see you finally had a chance to get out ds. I had a good afternoon in moco. Picked up 10 bass to 30". Sweep was strong but the fish were there. Buck and pork. All released.

[J Barbosa]

Good to see you finally had a chance to get out ds. I had a good afternoon in moco. Picked up 10 bass to 30". Sweep was strong but the fish were there. Buck and pork. All released.

Nice ^.^

My brother and I were out last night.

I had a small bass follow me in but didn't commit until it was too late so a skunking for me.

My brother caught this bass and had another one of similar size on for about a minute that hit at our feet and then popped off after a lot of splashing around. Released as usual.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3787/10624834593_c77e557168_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/10624834593/)

[cowherder]

:clapping:Jigfreak I think it's part of the rules when you join there is only a minimum of one actual report allowed every 50 pages. You nailed that one spot on!
Great reports. finchaser jbarbosa and dark you guys are out in every kind of weather. The wind was bad last night and sounded like a hurricane coming this morning. Congrats! I am headed out tonight hope to find some of those fish. Thanks for the tips.

Wanted to chime in too and say how much I learned from you guys. I kind of like the bickering between finchaser and dark, and some of the other guys here. You learn something and at the same time you ask yourself if they are really as crazy as they sound!
Fished nomoco yesterday afternoon till 8pm. Picked away at bass on a ava and redgill combo. 7 bass to 28 1/2, released. Went back this morning, got 2 bass but it was like the opening day of trout season. Someone must be shouting on the internet about the bite there because the difference in guys yesterday and this morning was astounding. You would have thought vanstall was going to be there and giving away free reels!

Nice fish gents!

[surferman]

Great pics and reports!
Tony Maja posted that a fishing couple caught and released a 54# bass on one of his spoons. Awesome!:clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:



"Congadulations to Alan and Kathy Leschke of waretown landing and releasing a 54# bass on a MAJA SPOON.
Keep up the good work!


Tony :thumbsup:"

[buckethead]

Got out this morning. Sandeels all over. Picked up 3 to 16# on rubber eels. Released.

[finchaser]

this AM 3 bass to 11 1/2 pounds all still swimming

[Blazin420]

Nice going finchaser and mike o! Hope to see some bigger bass soon. My bud was out last night in another spot and did pretty well on shads. Blazin I was surprised to see the bass I got. They were very close last night, One hit within 2 feet from me almost peed my pants.:scared:
Posting from my phone gearing up to go out now God please keep me from the skunk!
Got out tonight 5-10pm..Not a banner night but did manage to shake the skunk from last night..Picked up 2 1 short on a mambo minnow about 630..The other was a nice healthy 36incher he hammered a sand eel colored SP minnow right in the wash. Looked to be 16-17lbs got her about 730..After that nothing had a few light hits but nothing came tight..Same here Steve that big girl Slammed me at my feet was not expecting it to be that big!!17704

[SharkHart]

Felt good to get some fish tonight, got 2 nice ones out front 17 and 11ish, my largest teaser fish. got 8 more in the bay most to 22" one @ 25" I also found a huge mass of peanuts in the back with weakies going wild on um, so wild they were picky got a few, but they shouldn't be here.

[surfstix1963]

Stayed home today not dealing with the weed w/ theses southerly winds I think the end is near for NY IMO unless you want to play with schoolies.Working on some BM Cowboy Slopeheads today.

[jigfreak]

So excited to verify that there not extinct yet.

Funny stuff JB. lol. I agree. Fished last night out front. Wind was lousy but died down around 2am near end of tide. Picked up a 29" bass on black ss needle. still swimming. No other hits at all. sharkhart and blazin outstanding reports.

[hookset]

^^ Same for me sharkhart been out twice this week with not even a sea robin to show for it. Took the day off from work today and got out early. Jumped around a few places and finally managed 2 to 21lbs. released. Saw a young kid release one around 25. Close to the top of the tide. I was throwing bucktail and pork but rubber eels were getting them too.

[VSdreams]

Wow you guys are really getting some nice fish kudos. I went out after work and fished at MOCO. One bump on a rubber shad no fish. Didnt see any other fish caught there either. come on NW winds!

[jigfreak]

Nice going blazin and albany at least you beat the skunk. I fisned oc last night from 8-1am and picked up one bass 30" on a black needle, released.

[DarkSkies]

Went to bed last night at 8pm so I could get up and fish the night tides. Felt like I was 8 years old again....:rolleyes:
Made it down to the water. Conditions were fantastic, fishing was terrible....
After 4 hours and 5 separate stops, finally managed a solid 15# bass on small swimmer, released.

Once the wind shifted N/Nw after the tide change, it all went downhill and I quit beifore sunrrise. There were no other hits or misses...lots of dead water.

Still, it was a great November night (50 degrees, not windy, beautiful water, light precip) to be out there....:fishing:

[buckethead]

Fished all day today. Long day. 7 bass to 19lbs, all keepers. Smallest was 11lbs. Nice fat fish. all released. Got on various - bucktails in the dark, pencil poppers in the morning, when there was a lot of peanut bunker. Picked away the rest of the day until an hour before dark when there was a short bite as well. Fish later on were on diamond jigs with red tail. The wind was brutal and not kind. Eventually wasn't so bad. Lot easier to deal with when you are catching. Lots of fishermen on the beaches today.

[storminsteve]

:clapping:bucket great job way to tough it out! The wind was howling all day you must feel like an icicle!

[Monty]

Fished all day today. Long day. 7 bass to 19lbs, all keepers. Smallest was 11lbs. Nice fat fish. all released.

Great report, some real fall fishing.

[Blazin420]

WTG Buckethead!! Thats a good day right there! Your right about catching in the cold..When your catching it aint so cold..But get skunked on a cold day and you think you standing in a freezer with no clothes on haha..

Also nice job J on avoiding the crowd and still catching fish well done bud!! Planning on getting out tm night i really hope that skunk doesnt folow me for a 4 time...

[hookset]

nice going fellas. c&r a 32" bass today. pretty fat they are stuffing themselves on sand eels.

[buckethead]

2 keepers to 11# this afternoon. still swimming. on diamond jigs.

[cowherder]

Way to go! I got one 29 incher tonight. released

[clamchucker]

released 5 fish to 17 pounds this morning. Diamond jig with green tail and teaser

[Monty]

released 5 fish to 17 pounds this morning. Diamond jig with green tail and teaser
Great report CC. Congrats on releasing them. :HappyWave:

[surfstix1963]

Nice going all,have a great fall run NY is done for pretty much but the last couple times I went a sandeel teaser did all the catching with a green or red tube diamond jig sometimes red out fished the green especially under darker conditions.The bigger fish have been hitting larger plugs when the shad are around.

[clamchucker]

Nice going all,have a great fall run NY is done for pretty much but the last couple times I went a sandeel teaser did all the catching with a green or red tube diamond jig sometimes red out fished the green especially under darker conditions.The bigger fish have been hitting larger plugs when the shad are around.

Thank you all. surfstix is absolutely correct with his recommendations.

[buckethead]

13 bass to 30" this afternoon. All on plugs, all still swimming.

[Monty]

13 bass to 30" this afternoon. All on plugs, all still swimming.
Nice report. Sounds like a very decent outing.

[J Barbosa]

Nice

[buckethead]

Fished the atlantic ocean yesterday until sunset. Managed 17 bass. What worked was metal and teaser, and small plugs. Fish were mostly smaller but fat and aggressive. As I said most were very small, up to one keeper at 30", still swimming.

[DarkSkies]

^^

WTG, John and crew.....:HappyWave:


It seems 4-19 to 4-20 AM was good in a few places, for anyone who found bunker schools in the bays that night....there were some decent larger bass under those schools....


181631816418165

Pics above are courtesy of TCB Crew......bass to 44"....they didn't have a scale with them and released some of the biggest fish. They estimated the 44" at 30lbs....a solid fish.....:thumbsup:

[cowherder]

Wow some great catches there congrats!

[surferman]

Nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[J Barbosa]

Fished the same area last night.

I brought out my chunking sticks and the 60lb boga...a sure way to ensure I would only catch small fish.

Between the three of us we caught about a dozen bass in the 20-30" range including one 27" ALS tagged fish.

All fish came on the incoming tide last night, action stopped around slack tide and not even a tap on the outgoing.

All fish released :HappyWave:

Double header from last night:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7413/13974301983_05d5dc0c06_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/13974301983/)

[J Barbosa]

Nice fish TCB

[hookset]

Nice going fellas. Awesome double header jb. Good to see some of the bigger fish getting released pre spawn.

[jigfreak]

Great work guys. Fished the back waters of ocean county last night. Good weather and not too windy. 6 bass to 29", megabaits and zooms, released.

[ledhead36]

gw hunter you have to hold the rod. The small hits were prob eels or bunker. Dead sticking is the way to feed the fish not catch em. Ditch the clams and use bunker from now on. We had a good nightt. Bunker came in and some nice stripers. Fish to 21lbs. 8 fish between the 3 of us all keepers. It was hot for 2 hours and died down as the bunker left. Kept the smallest 3 fish 10-14 lbs. Put your time in and you will catch. We fished for 7 hours last night.

[albiealert]

Still no herring or bunker but the stripers are starting to get more active. Fished a river this morning the start of the outgoing tide. Picked up 4 stripers to 30" all released. Was tossing the daiwa sp.

[madcaster]

Fished RB outgoing managed 2 bass with bunker chunks ...one 13 lbs didn't have time to measure it ...wasted to much time walking it to the beach ...just weight it and released it ...had to spend so time to revive it ...swam off ....took surf stick out with me and it work as design ....second fish I unhooked in the water and took a pic then released ...no stress to the bass 18205

and no stress for me ....I grab the line and then place the rod in the surf stick ...this now give me both hands to work with .....easy unhook ...camera is right there ...fish was out of the water less than 3 min

I haven't water proof my scale yet ..so It stayed on the beach ....but it has a spot on the surf stick

[cowherder]

Awesome catch madcaster and great on the release!

[hookset]

Picked up 4 bass to 31" tonight on bucktail and pork. Released

[storminsteve]

Released a 34" bass last night. Caught on bunker my first keeper of the season. Fat and looked like full of eggs. Hope she makes some more.:thumbsup:

[hookset]

madcaster great report and stinky waders cred. blazin nice catching. dark what can I say if the legend (or smelly waders) fit, wear it.:HappyWave:fished the back in moco last night. managed two bass to 13lbs released. Buck and pork. Fish hit hard.

[jigfreak]

Some decent action in the back tonight. Picked up 5 bass to 16# on ml swimmers.Top of tide incoming and two hours into the out. All fish were over 28", All still swimming.

[porgy75]

Great report jigfreak you got me hopeful! Good to see the reports here are no nonsense- no chest pounding- no look at me photos- without any description at all of how they were caught. When I see a photo on the internet without any description of the conditions or what was used I think its just bragging. Too many egotistic "selfies" posted with no details at all. I may not be as good as some of you sharpies so things like time of tide and what they were caught on are helpful. thank you sir. I fished nomoco in the rb last night. Incoming tide and dirty water in the bay. Winds were from the west and it was real nice out. Unfortunately the skunk followed me home. Fresh clams were the weapon of choice

[hookedonbass]

Jigfreak nice going and the same on the c&r. Fished nomoco this morning before work. No one else on the beach. Tossed shad, and bucktail with white worm. Only had an hour to fish, 6:30- 7:30 am. Water wasn't that bad where I was fishing. Some pieces of wood on the sand but other than than not too bad. Should clean up great by tomorrow and water seemed warm to me. Oh and I got blanked. Nice morning on the beach though

[buckethead]

Nice work jig. Fished the ocean in moco this morning. It was a little rough and dirty as mentioned but should clean up in one or two tide changes. Worked buck and grub to no avail. Back at it again soon.

[Blazin420]

WTG Jigfreak..Im contemplating hitting outfront after work tonight..Gonna be plugging..Thinking maybe some bass cashing in on those broke up clams in the wash..we shall see...Plus got some new pluggage i wanna try out..any of you guys no if i can by the night pass at the hook after 5pm wont get down till around 730...I no its open till 10 but i tend to fish well past 10

[buckethead]

Fished the surf in moco this morning with positive results. From 5-7am the action was pretty good. Picked up 14 bass on a 3/4 oz bucktail and grub. These were mostly small fish. Only one was over 28". All released.

[buckethead]

Jbarbosa that was funny. Fished the surf in moco this morning with positive results. From 5-7am the action was pretty good. Picked up 14 bass on a 3/4 oz bucktail and grub. These were mostly small fish. Only one was over 28". All released.

[hookset]

Thats good news gents. way to go and congrats. I went out to fish the moco oceanside this afternoon but it was a little too windy. Gave it a try for an hour. Nothing for me. Still good to be out there the salt air is the best medicine.

[surferman]

Nice going guys! Fished the db today it was windy and not that great. One 25" bass on bloods. Fed the crabs with the rest of the worms they are out early this year.

[madcaster]

Fished RB last night outgoing ....bunker chunks ...no wind ...water calm ....lighting flashes north of me ....2 keepers 35 and 331823018231182321823318234 both released ...still swimming .....caught them back to back ....nice fight on both of them

[cowherder]

Awesome reports madcaster and monty! wtg on the releases as well!

[surferman]

Nice work thanks for the report.

[finchaser]

this AM 5-7 released 6 bass 22 to 31" all on jig head an d shaker tail

[finchaser]

4 bass 12 to 16 pounds , my friend had 8 bass to 21# all on swimming plugs plus we had a handful of blues all at first light all blind casting no pain in the a_s bunker around

[buckethead]

Fishing mission I certainly agree with that. This spring has been poor and a continuation of a downward decline. Happy to see the bluefish because the bass are just not there. One here one there and that's it. Picked up a 31" bass this morning in moco. released. bucktail and white grub. That was the only action for me.