NJ fishing reports for May 15-31, 2010

[DarkSkies]

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

Please post fishing reports here.......as little or as much detail as you want to give.

Please note: NO SPOT BURNING! Posts burning spots will be Edited or DELETED!
Some veteran fishermen have put in years developing and learning about certain spots.Some of these spots can only handle a few guys at a time. We are losing enough access as it is, due to the unfortunate behavior of a few selfish people. No sense in making it worse.

For some areas, it would be wiser to say:
OutFront (Ocean) OR -- OutBack (Bay) -- if you feel too many people will figure out what you are talking about. "Spot burning" also could involve mentioning something specific only to that area. If you do this, your post may be edited, or deleted. Remember that thousands of people could potentially read these posts. You don't want to be fishing next to ALL of them at the same time!


IF you are fishing an area that is NOT residential, being vague is less critical. For example, it's acceptable to say (Any)Park, or (Any)Bay, or mention a specific state park that has loads of parking and can handle the crowds.


If you are unclear on this concept, ask yourself:


If I name this place on the internet, will it be too crowded for me to enjoy tomorrow when people hear I got 30 fish here today?


If the answer is "Yes", then you should probably not be so specific.
More discussion on this:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ead.php?t=3763 (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=3763)

We post these reports so our community will have a sense of what is working, what is not. We want to show people how to catch fish, rather than where.Even if you struck out or got skunked, it would be helpful to hear that as well.

If you have any additional details you would like to share - weather conditions, tide (incoming, outgoing, ebb, flood) water temps, bait present, or other mention of techniques or plugs used - feel free.






Some acronyms -

SH - Sandy Hook
NoMoCo - Northern Monmouth County (below the hook to Shark River Inlet SRI)
SoMoCo - Southern Monmouth County (below SRI to Manasquan Inlet)

OC - Ocean County
IBSP - Island Beach State Park
LBI - Long Beach Island

AC - Atlantic County
AI - Absecon Inlet
CISP - Corson's Inlet State Park
CMC - Cape May County
CMR - Cape May Rips
GEI - Great Egg Inlet
TI - Townsend's Inlet

RB - Raritan Bay
BB - Barnegat Bay
CB - Chesapeake Bay
CBBT - Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel
DB - Delaware Bay

[DarkSkies]

Fished for the last 24 hours.

Don't have any big bass to weigh in at a tackle shop, but met some new people and had a blast with the people I was hanging with. :HappyWave:

The fishing varied. At times it sucked, at times it was so great I thought I was out tuna fishin.

I'm fishing more and will have to learn to abbreviate the reports some. So here goes...

- Last night fished OC in search of some fish to be had in the dark on artificials. The wind was tough. Even though I found some spots that had grass shrimp, the spearing were strangely absent from the area, no fish. Finally managed a small bluefish on a storm shad. That was it for OC.

- Made my way up to Moco. Made bait but never used it, kept it on ice.
Fished a few places artificially. Managed a few small bluefish on storm shads after moving several times with the tide.

- As dawn approached the building SW made fishing the ocean the best choice for me. Ran into some people from Maryland :HappyWave: who told me the fish had left the Cheasapeake, and they came to NJ to fish. They managed some scattered bluefish around 7am trying storm shads and Hopkins, and fly fishing.
It got slow after that.

- I headed for some bay fishing. After scouting a few spots, and seeing the insanity in jetty country, I made my way to the back bay area and found some monster bluefish. First cast on a bucktail I got bit by a nice bluefish, lost it. 2nd cast managed a monster blue around 14#, maybe 39". Lost at my feet, great fight. :thumbsup:

- Called Finchaser, I wanted him to see the size of some of these freakish blues. He came up and we met "S" who fishes there every day. "S" said he had bluefish up to 18# yesterday. :eek:

-An 18# bluefish draws my attention every time. :dribble:We spent a few fun hours fishing together playing with the bluefish. We landed a few, lost and played with many more on bucktails and shads.
All in the middle of a bright sunny day. :lookhappy:

- The thing about these bluefish is that it took an average of 5 minutes or more to bring in each one. The closer they got to you the angrier they got. The drag-screaming runs are still playing in my head. The rods were bent so much you would have thought we were fighting little tuna. :drool:

-I feel like I went to a reunion of hard-core bands Biohazard and M.O.D, and was in the mosh pit for a few hours. The kind of tired where every muscle in your body aches so good. :naughty:

- Fantastic action with good people. :thumbsup:

I don't regret not sitting on a jetty with a lawn chair all day (pics to follow) waiting for God to drop the fish from the sky. :ROFLMAO
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=6613&page=2




The only thing that could have made it better would have been if Killie would have made it down to fish with us. He's promised to fish with us so many times, and let us down... :(
Maybe one day he'll show up, boy will we be lucky! :laugh: :moon: :HappyWave:

[rip316]

Great report Dark.

[fishinmission78]

2 day report, early morning fishing, incoming. IBSP. Yesterday one bass 17# on a pencil popper a little after sunrise. Bunker were in and out. Today 2 bluefish on metal, no bass.

[storminsteve]

SH 5-8am, some bluefish, SS littleneck popper. Great report Dark looks like you are geting in on some good action.

[bababooey]

Found some bunker outside of BI yesterday, about 40' of water. A good day, fish up to 31 pounds. They're here guys catch them up!

[jigfreak]

Fished some moving water places last night, rubber, bucktails. A few small blues, hard finding a bass. Might have to make a road trip up to moco.

[cowherder]

Nomoco 7-10, one bass 27 1/2" on clams. A guy next to me had a nice 38" bass that he said he got on clams at sunrise.

[SharkHart]

couple of runts for me last night and one keeper sized I had to voluntarily cut off because i couldnt land it off some dangerous rocks :rolleyes:

[vpass]

Fished from 3am to 8 am SH. Got the big :skunk:. Had one Blowup on a popper. Hoping to get out later.

[surfman1980]

Bunker came in with Big Bass this afternoon in Dover:bigeyes:

[DarkSkies]

^^ Yup I heard some things ;) hope ya did well today Surfman. BTW welcome aboard! :HappyWave:

[fishinmission78]

Bass bonanza yesterday in OC. Snag and drop bunker, they were schooled up and nervous, then the fun began. Bass to 30lbs, fun fishing.
This morning only managed 3 bluefish when the sun came up, metal.

[cowherder]

I fished the Hook from 6 to 8 today, clams and bunker. One bluefish on bunker, and the skate and sea robin blitz is on, they seem to be everywhere.:scared:

[vpass]

fished the hook from 9pm to 1:30am. I was the only soul out there, till 1 am. It seem everyone else know there would be no fish there.Only 2 bumps on a bomber. I did snag a skate otherwise I got the big :skunk:.

[basshunter]

Fished moco areas near an inlet, and the inlet. Fished 9-2 with tins and poppers. The summer crowd is here already, hard to find a spot, too many people. There didn't look like it was much bait in the water at all. Nothing doing for me.:skunk:

[voyager35]

RB both incoming and outgoing today. We set out early AM to find bunker. Only managed a few. When we were done with those we used some old ones we had in the cooler. Blues to 15#, bass to 21#, bunker chunks. We had to run to the NY side to find the bulk of our action. About 1/2 mile from land.

[bababooey]

Another good day off the shores of ocean county, bass to 30pounds in 40'. Catch them up folks. Please don't take them all.

[Monty]

I guess I relieved you.
Fished from 1:45 to 7:00.
Through wood, metal and rubber.
A couple hits, could not hook up, skunkaroo too :d


fished the hook from 9pm to 1:30am. I was the only soul out there, till 1 am. It seem everyone else know there would be no fish there.Only 2 bumps on a bomber. I did snag a skate otherwise I got the big :skunk:.

[cardoc765]

So i worked om the Eagle Friday night, saturday morning and evening trips.
got a good report about bass hitting jigs. So we headed out nomoco area and found huge bass rolling around at the top and eating rain fish. 2 hours later we were done and doing c&r with 25 to 30 pounders. A boat with 19 guys on it limited out and only had 3 blues in the mix. Smallest bass was 18# and the pool fish was 30#. Most of the fish were between 23-27 pounds. And I thought mrs cardoc and I got big ones this year so far. One guy on the boat, no matter how much i tried to teach him how to cast his line and work the jig couldn't get it. Seeing he had not caught a fish, we moved to follow the school. As we stopped I immediately saw the bass rolling. I called the guy over to me and told him I wanted to get him a fish. So he gave me his pole and on the 3rd cast I hooked a nice 30# bass which also won the pool. After that, he felt confident and did what he saw me do and got 2 more on his own. 1 was c&r.

Saturday, was quite a bit slower. Found fish in the same area we were the night before but couldn't get them to eat. Wind against tide and all, shut their mouths. Put on 6 bass and 6 blues on the morning trip on clams. The evening trip, we went back to where we were again Friday night. Found the fish and got them to eat, even though they were being picky. Ended the night clamming and put on a total of 7 or 8 bass to 26# and 6 blues.

Makes me feel good to share what I know with others. Especially when they haven't caught a fish. Got more working coming this week. I on the other hand, haven't had me time on the water. But that's ok, I will get it in.

[rip316]

I am so happy for you Cardoc. That was some trip you guys had. Glad you had a good time doing what you love.

[yardvillejimmy]

Fished OC yesterday evening using swimming plugs with another member of the OFFC. Great conditions. Did not see a fish caught.:skunk:

[chas527]

fished sh this morning 630 till 1145 . got two keepers on clams,one was 29 1/2 the other 281/2,both nice strong fish.

[rip316]

Fed the crabs last night RB. Should of called the Hillstrand family from deadliest catch. They would have made a killing.

[DarkSkies]

Congrats to all the guys who are catching. :clapping:

Finding the bigger fish from the surf has turned into a game of musical chairs. You hope when the music stops there will be bunker being harassed in front of you. For now, make no mistake, that's the surest way to catch a bass over 25 from the surf.

Hit OC last night, plugged some beaches, came up empty.

Back to Moco hopeful for a morning bite. Plugged a few rocky areas, water was beautiful, but dead on the beginning of the flood.

Did some scouting. The only bunker I could find were at 2 areas in moco, about 1/4 mi offshore. Boats on them but the boats were spread out. Some kayakers out there too. Hope someone got some nice fish. We guys in the surf sure didn't, even the bait guys failed to hook up where I was.

Headed back home, tried to find some bigger bluefish to wash the skunk :skunk: smell off. Only managed 2 smaller ones, bucktail and curly worm. Even the boat guys who were searching for bluefish didn't seem to find a consistent bite.

Water was calm, like a lake, or your cousin's swimming pool. :D

One noticeable thing to me was a distinct lack of small bait in the ocean and bay areas I visited. That bait is the glue that keeps the surf action more consistent and brings bluefish in... in turn calling in bass to scoop up what's left. The bay areas in Southern NJ are full of these smaller forage fish. We have them, but not to the extent that they do, and our surf zone is usually filled with them by now.

Bunker drag the bass and big bluefish to or away from an area like a vacuum. We really need more schools of small forage fish to move along the surf line, or it will be a continuous loop of cars and SUVs driving back and forth looking for the scattered bunker schools.

[buckethead]

Nice report cardoc. I was fishing SH late last night caught two blues, 8 lbs on bunker.

[jigfreak]

One noticeable thing to me was a distinct lack of small bait in the ocean and bay areas I visited. That bait is the glue that keeps the surf action more consistent and brings bluefish in... in turn calling in bass to scoop up what's left. The bay areas in Southern NJ are full of these smaller forage fish. We have them, but not to the extent that they do, and our surf zone is usually filled with them by now.

Bunker drag the bass and big bluefish to or away from an area like a vacuum. We really need more schools of small forage fish to move along the surf line, or it will be a continuous loop of cars and SUVs driving back and forth looking for the scattered bunker schools.

Nice report dark, "bait is the glue"? I could never write like that, you definitely make them worth reading.

I'll add to the skunks, got totally blanked tonight, OC out back.

[finchaser]

Cliff Notes

Today OC 6:30 to 8:30 PM 5 blues 3 to 6 pounds all on jig head and rubber 1 small bass came unbuttoned

Side note Bunker and cell phones Suck

[yukon]

Back to Moco hopeful for a morning bite. Plugged a few rocky areas, water was beautiful, but dead on the beginning of the flood.

Did some scouting. The only bunker I could find were at 2 areas in moco, about 1/4 mi offshore. Boats on them but the boats were spread out. Some kayakers out there too. Hope someone got some nice fish. We guys in the surf sure didn't, even the bait guys failed to hook up where I was.



Hey Dark,

I just came across this report thought i'd share it. Looks like those bunker found there way onto the MoCo beaches after lunch.

As you said it proves its all about the timing....

----

The water was flat calm at the MoCO surf today at 1:00 pm. Except for the fact that it was BOILING as far as the eye could see with HUMONGOUS fish.

The largest was 42 inches and an estimated 30 pounds. In addition there were bluefish that measured 35 inches and an estimated 20 pounds! It was truly amazing and lasted for a couple hours. There was one other guy there and he was fishing with bait. I had it all to myself. Because of my recent success with so much fish, I did what was right and threw all of my fish back to bite another day. I must have caught 10+ bluefish all in the 15-20 pound range (this is unheard of for bluefish - they were the largest bluefish I had EVER seen) and 2 really nice bass in the 25-30 pound range. All fish caught on a big, cheap ***, metal spoon (Krocodile imitation - $3 at K-Mart) and the largest bass was caught on a sand eel plastic with a wire leader. So much for bass being leader shy.

---

[rip316]

Congrats Yukon.

[yukon]

Congrats Yukon.

Sorry guys if I didn't make it clear. That report is not from me although I wish it was. I saw it on another website and after reading Dark's report thought I would share it to reinforce what darkskies was saying and what I've learned year after year after walking up to the beach always 30 min after a blitz that it's all about timing and cell phones:rolleyes:

[cardoc765]

Having worked a couple days on the boats now, I really see what Dark means about the bait. Areas where there was no life on top of the water there were no fish caught at all. Once we found bait then we go fish to hit. Unless you have the ability to create a chum slick and draw them in, it's not gonna happen. We have found bait on the fish finder hanging lower in the water column, and no hits because the fish were not feeding. That is where weather, tide, wind, and pressure come into play.

When i was younger, i used to think "nice day, let's go fishing" and hope to catch fish. But it's more than that if you want to be successful. However, like Dark said if you find bait you are bound to catch a fish. There are plenty of cows out right now, it's just a matter of finding where they are. If you see bait boiling chances are you'll get one.

[cardoc765]

Was at a local tackle shop with RIP a week ago and came across a rod they had resembling one of our members.

[rip316]

For some reason I can't see Fin throwing that yellow bannana looking thing.

[DarkSkies]

Hey Dark,

I just came across this report thought i'd share it. Looks like those bunker found there way onto the MoCo beaches after lunch.
As you said it proves its all about the timing....

----

The water was flat calm at the MoCO surf today at 1:00 pm. Except for the fact that it was BOILING as far as the eye could see with HUMONGOUS fish.

-

Yukon it can drive ya crazy sometimes, if ya let it. :kooky:
I marked that pod early in the morning, took pics of the boats in it, but they didn't look like they were coming in. I felt if it was gonna happen, it would be late afternoon. So hard to predict, it's like a game of musical chairs.


SI saw it on another website and after reading Dark's report thought I would share it to reinforce what darkskies was saying and what I've learned year after year after walking up to the beach always 30 min after a blitz that it's all about timing and cell phones:rolleyes:

That used to kill me, getting to the scene 30 minutes after the action and see people walking home with 30's and 40's. :drool:
You're right on the $$ about the cell phones. Although we rant about them, and guys like Finchaser, the OFFC, Clamchucker, Surfwalker, and others here used to get them back in the day by virtue of being out on the sand all the time. They fished every day when they could, so it was inevitable they would run into them sooner or later.

Fast forward to modern times. We have made use of every technological advancement to make fish catching easier.

Yet, there's still a fair amount of luck, and timing, involved. You really have to be in some sort of a cell phone loop or in a club to get into these fish consistently.

It's frustrating as hell sometimes, but that's the way it goes, that's fishin. :don't know why: :fishing:

BTW, there was another spurt of action at 7pm, about an hour of big fish caught in the surf in that general area, I missed that too. :beatin:


Having worked a couple days on the boats now, I really see what Dark means about the bait. Areas where there was no life on top of the water there were no fish caught at all. Once we found bait then we go fish to hit. Unless you have the ability to create a chum slick and draw them in, it's not gonna happen. We have found bait on the fish finder hanging lower in the water column, and no hits because the fish were not feeding. That is where weather, tide, wind, and pressure come into play.

When i was younger, i used to think "nice day, let's go fishing" and hope to catch fish. .But it's more than that if you want to be successful.

I think you hit the nail on the head with that one Cardoc. The old adage that 90% of the fish are in 10% of the water holds true when you think about the bunker and bass relationship.

As Finchaser always says, bunker draw the bass from or to an area like a vacuum. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon3.gif

You can get decent bass blind casting from a jetty, but if bunker are 5 miles N or S of that jetty with nothing in between, your chances are slim. I still admire the guys who give casting a try anyway. Too many people stand around waiting for the bunker, it's a Jersey thing. :laugh: :plastered:

[DarkSkies]

Overslept this morning when the alarm went off at 2:30. Didn't get on the water til 5:30am. I was specifically hoping to find the bigger bluefish again. The guys in the boats had a slow pick of 2-3# blues the other day, that was kind of depressing not knowing if the larger ones cleared out.

I found some, but the cold water made them sluggish. I switched to a bright yellow bottle plug and nailed a bigger bluefish after a few casts.

Action died as I fished the bottom 45 minutes of the tide. That's all I had so I wouldn't be late to work. Made a quick move as the rain started and the E wind was building. Switched to a redfin, got 2 more bluefish with a slow retrieve. The last bluefish swallowed the plug and bit through the leader. I had to wrap it up and get to work. Bluefish were 7-9# class, all were purple fish fresh from the ocean.

Even though I was looking for bluefish, I usually can pull one bass from this location around sunrise or the end of the tide. Today there weren't even any schoolies around, sad to see that.

[c4charlie]

After a fishless night out front jetty hopping and getting absolutely nothing on plugs and bait, decided to go home.

On the way home, I decided to take a peek in the back. One hour or so of fishing produced two bass 14 and 16 pounds. I also got a couple blues and a couple bite-offs. No misses last night.

I left them biting after hooking this one. I wasn't planning on keeping any but this one was hooked deep, even though I pulled the trigger in less than two seconds. May have to consider the circles again. I filleted the fish (no eggs) and gave half to my parents and half to my family. It was tasty!

11102

[DarkSkies]

On the way home, I decided to take a peek in the back. One hour or so of fishing produced two bass 14 and 16 pounds. I also got a couple blues and a couple bite-offs. No misses last night.


WTG, the rain wasn't that bad up north till morning, but it kept a lot of guys indoors. Nice catch! :clapping:




Was at a local tackle shop with RIP a week ago and came across a rod they had resembling one of our members.
We were told we have to have a new rod to fish Northbar bottle darters. Finchaser was thinking of making one just for that purpose. :kooky: I was thinking of calling it the Finchaser bottle darter rod ;) but I see someone beat us to the punch already! :laugh:
Funny stuff, Cardoc. :thumbsup:

[DarkSkies]

Today there weren't even any schoolies around, sad to see that.

After my quote yesterday, I was wondering when schoolies would be showing with any consistency for the artificial bite. This morning I found some.

Only had an hour to fish before work again. Picked a back bay area closer to home so I wouldn't be late. The tide was halfway out when I started and I had to wade quite a bit.

The exciting thing was that bass were feeding on small bait when I got there. It was intense watching them dart into the shallow water with mouths open. :cool:

First thing I threw was a big bomber, hookup on first cast, lost it. 2nd cast got a short bass on that bomber. I was having problems with presentation where I was as there were a lot of weeds. The bomber kept accumulating them as it dug down.

Switched to a Saltwater Rattletrap when I saw a few isolated bunker. Got one bass on that, but the same problem with weeds ruined half my casts. Switched to an Ace Baits bunker profile, topwater floater. Bass were pretty aggressive in attacking that, and I got 2 more on that with a slow retrieve. I sell some Ace Baits here, and I wanted people to have an honest assessment of them. I like the plugs because they hold up to a lot of abuse and punishment. :thumbsup: You can bash them against the rocks or fight bluefish after bluefish, and the hardened finish holds up.

However, I don't like to put hype into the reviews. I think the reason that worked so well today was
1. Too many weeds on the bottom for other presentations.
2. Bunker were around.

While I like that plug, the catch experience I have had with it is an "On" :dribble: or "Off" :( experience. By that, I mean it's most effective when bunker are around, as it's a bunker profile. If bunker aren't around and fish aren't feeding on top, you won't catch fish on it. So it has a specific appplication for it to be a good producer. I hope that assessment was honest and candid enough for people.

Anyway, the bass were all brown rather than green, but fat and round, all short, 25-27 1/2". I didn't raise one bluefish at that spot, it was all bass. I'm thinking the water salinity was different due to the northeast rain and it pushed the bluefish further out.

The exciting thing about this morning was the level of feeding activity and bass action in the daylight. For about 1/2 hour it was pretty hectic. I saw the bass feeding, and in some cases they would follow the presentation almost to my feet before they hit it or quickly turned away. When they're feeding on natural bait sources, they're sometimes wary.

After the first half hour, the activity died as the tide ebbed. I had to cast 20 minutes for my 4th fish. I knew it was winding down at that point, but didn't want it to end.

[clamchucker]

Yukon, Dark and others, don't feel bad about being into the fish. I was into them for a few hours yesterday above the park. There were a few of us but the conditions were terrible. I had to throw an A47 diamond jig. You only had a few seconds when it was in the strike zone, but the fish were right there in the surf. I got 11 bass to 31#, all released. I am so tired from that as I don't put in the days fishing like I used to with the health issues I have had. Thinking it would repeat itself I was there this morning and the water was dirty. There were no fish. I then drove to IBSP. The water was dirty there as well but I managed a few bluefish on diamond jigs These blitzes are very sporadic and nothing like the all day blitzes we used to have. However, that was many years ago, and no one but us old folks remembers them.

[finchaser]

Yukon, Dark and others, don't feel bad about being into the fish. I was into them for a few hours yesterday above the park. There were a few of us but the conditions were terrible. I had to throw an A47 diamond jig. You only had a few seconds when it was in the strike zone, but the fish were right there in the surf. I got 11 bass to 31#, all released. I am so tired from that as I don't put in the days fishing like I used to with the health issues I have had. Thinking it would repeat itself I was there this morning and the water was dirty. There were no fish. I then drove to IBSP. The water was dirty there as well but I managed a few bluefish on diamond jigs These blitzes are very sporadic and nothing like the all day blitzes we used to have. However, that was many years ago, and no one but us old folks remembers them.

Great day good for you. Your right the blitzes of today can't compare to what we once had and will never see again

[jigfreak]

Wow clamchucker, congrats on finding a needle in a haystack.:clapping::clapping:

Fished today, :skunk:

[DarkSkies]

Set out yesterday in search of some cleaner water, or bait, after that heavy noreaster. Couldn't find much. After a few casts I spied Finchaser fishing with his new fishing friends... "S" who we met the other day, and another guy.

I went over and mugged them. :laugh: The bite died after that. :eek: Fin managed a bluefish before it turned off.

He swore I had shut off the bite, with me logically explaining it was because the tide had dropped (where was Killie during all this? ;)).

We hit a few other places to follow the tide, but the dirty water took its toll and put the hex on us. We ended up back near where we started, where I managed a bluefish on a bomber. We fished damn hard for those fish in that dirty water. No one else seemed to be lighting the world on fire with great catches last night either, even the guys fishing bunker. :don't know why:

Declaring the water officially dead, and dirty, with tons of weeds and rain runoff, he left and I crashed in my car. Up and OTW at 4am. Giving it my best, I couldn't catch a fish till 5am, a small bluefish on the big bomber.

A cool thing I saw was when a decent bass cleared the water with its shoulders and inhaled a bunker sideways, heading for the deep water like a submarine. :cool: It's definitely a sad life for a bunker. :scared:

The next fish didn't come until 5:25, when, exasperated with all the weeds and getting dressed salad on every 2nd cast, I finally put on a small metal and nailed a short bass. The sky got brighter, and the action where I was died at 5:30.

I hate sun and surf in the morning. The good bait and predator action was nowhere near the levels it was yesterday. The rainwater probably affected that as well. If it was overcast and gloomy during every day of fishing season, I would be the happiest fisherman around. :lookhappy:

Finished with a scout report of 10 miles of ocean before I gave up for the morning. The tide was approaching low, and the water in that zone looked pretty dead except for a few boats about 1/2 mile out in one area.

[finchaser]

Cliff Notes
Caught a blue on jig and rubber DS showed up killed bite

The end

[chas527]

fished sh this morning 630 thill 1100 got 4 bass one keeper 30 inches let it go .it looked like it was loaded with eggs big fat belle.must had been some storm,the beach looked pretty torne up.

[Simp]

Out front on the building Nor'Easter. 44"

http://i767.photobucket.com/albums/xx313/Simp3/DSCF0125.jpg?t=1274376144

[c4charlie]

Interesting bite last night.

Few bass to 15 pounds, lots of gator blues, all on bunker. Embarrassed to say I missed and got bitten off many more times than I caught. Fish were doing cartwheels while I was leaving this morning at 4:30am but I had a 9am meeting.

The bass were very fat and on the upper end of the weight charts for their length.

I am loving my rod I got from Killie last year that if I remember correctly Finchaser built? It is a 10ft Rainshadow with red/black wrap that can do spinning and conventional and it has some serious fish fighting abilities. By the time I get the fish close, they are begging me to take them out of the water because the leverage on the rod is more tiring than laying on the ground! ABSOLUTELY LOVING THE ROD, can't remember the model. 1089?

Not sure why I did not use too much last year. I cast sometimes and I am like, what the hell was that. Casts like a self guided missile, effortlessly.

[jigfreak]

Out front on the building Nor'Easter. 44"

http://i767.photobucket.com/albums/xx313/Simp3/DSCF0125.jpg?t=1274376144

Nice fish Simp!:clapping::clapping:
Did you make the swimmer you got it on?

[Simp]

Nice fish Simp!:clapping::clapping:
Did you make the swimmer you got it on?

Thanks. No, a friend up in Mass turned that.

[Pebbles]

Interesting bite last night.

Few bass to 15 pounds, lots of gator blues, all on bunker. Embarrassed to say I missed and got bitten off many more times than I caught. Fish were doing cartwheels while I was leaving this morning at 4:30am but I had a 9am meeting.

The bass were very fat and on the upper end of the weight charts for their length.

I am loving my rod I got from Killie last year that if I remember correctly Finchaser built? It is a 10ft Rainshadow with red/black wrap that can do spinning and conventional and it has some serious fish fighting abilities. By the time I get the fish close, they are begging me to take them out of the water because the leverage on the rod is more tiring than laying on the ground! ABSOLUTELY LOVING THE ROD, can't remember the model. 1089?

Not sure why I did not use too much last year. I cast sometimes and I am like, what the hell was that. Casts like a self guided missile, effortlessly.

I told all of you he makes GREAT rods. The distance I get on my casts is incredible.

[SharkHart]

Cliff Notes
Caught a blue on jig and rubber DS showed up killed bite

The end

Thats the quick version, Im guessing a 4 paragraph post with Bold letters and quotes and emoticons will follow :d Anyone else ever feel tired after reading a DS report?? I feel like a need a glass of Tang after them.

[DarkSkies]

Thats the quick version, Im guessing a 4 paragraph post with Bold letters and quotes and emoticons will follow :d Anyone else ever feel tired after reading a DS report?? I feel like a need a glass of Tang after them.

:2flip: :moon: :ROFLMAO :clapping::clapping:
Didn'tcha know I get paid by the word around here?
I wish I did, then I could retire...

How ya been? the artificial night bass bite is a little slow so far this year, seems like the daytime action is where it's at. Blink and ya missed it.

I'll throw a bottle of Tang at ya the next time I bump into ya. :laugh:

[yukon]

I was out today from 12 - 6 from Moco to IBSP. The bunker never came in at least where i was. There was a huge fleet of boats basically in the same spot off OC all day and from what I heard and read they had a freakin field day. 30# - 40#+ fish all day long. Acres of bunker.

If you guys have the chance I would be out on that beach at first light. It might go off somewhere...

I'm going to the darkside tomorrow off a boat but up north off LI. If I get into anything as close as what happened today I'll be a happy camper.

Another note the bunker pod split up during the day with one set going north of SoMoCo. So tonight they should regroup and stay put so we may see nirvana again...:D

This weekend should be interesting... Did someone say eels off the rocks starting around midnight:drool: And I thought last year was nutz this SH#$ is insane:dribble:!!

[chas527]

fished sh this morning 630 till 1100 5 shorts. saw some nice fish caught to my right one 37 inch an one 35 inch . all on clams.

[captnemo]

I was out today from 12 - 6 from Moco to IBSP. The bunker never came in at least where i was. There was a huge fleet of boats basically in the same spot off OC all day and from what I heard and read they had a freakin field day. 30# - 40#+ fish all day long. Acres of bunker.




Yukon it was truly a phenomenal day yesterday. We were out of the gate at 4am from the MI. There were acres of bass out there. We managed 8bass to 30# on live bunker, kept 2 for the table.
A day to remember.

[clamchucker]

I am glad to hear you guys are getting them on the boats. I have been watching that activity and people look busy out there. Congratulations. I fished the park this morning with jigs and bucktails, one bluefish.

[finchaser]

Did the boat thing 6-11AM landed some really nice bunker in the 1 pound range. Also went 4 for 6 on the bass 27#,31#,37# and 39#all were released to fight another day.
My friend had 5 to 41# he kept a 22# for his mother
Spotter plane and bunker boat arrived and took tons of bunker action came to a halt.

Black mat in bottom 2 pictures is 38 inches these are the 3 over 30#

[storminsteve]

Yukon it was truly a phenomenal day yesterday. We were out of the gate at 4am from the MI. There were acres of bass out there. We managed 8bass to 30# on live bunker, kept 2 for the table.
A day to remember.



Did the boat thing 6-11AM landed some really nice bunker in the 1 pound range. Also went 4 for 6 on the bass 27#,31#,37# and 39#all were released to fight another day.
My friend had 5 to 41# he kept a 22# for his mother
Spotter plane and bunker boat arrived and took tons of bunker action came to a halt.

Black matt in bottom 2 pictures is 38 inches these are the 3 over 30#

:drool:Boy oh boy I need to get out on a boat. Fantastic catches guys.:clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping:


I fished nomoco from 2 to 3PM, one bass 29", clams. Skates are coming in thick, guys.

[plugcrazy]

Nice catches, I worked a Sjersey bay area for 2 hours today, small poppers, couldn't raise one fish.:skunk:

[DarkSkies]

(Cliff notes for you PITA haters out there) :moon: :HappyWave:
After all the bbusting I did of him, thought it was only fair to take Rip AKA TMB AKA The Mad Banana :thumbsup: out for a night of fishing, artificial only. I made him pledge not to use bait for one night. :eek:

Looking back, we could probably have done better with bait in that cold water, but then he wouldn't have learned the lessons I was tryin to teach him. :learn:

We covered a lot of ground.
Water was cold but clean, fished the ocean, 5 hours of the ebb from the top.
We had to bust our azzes for every fish or strike.

He had the hot hand for the night as I taught him the different optimal presentations for bucktail, rubber, metal, and some topwater in various pieces of water.
He managed 3 bluefish and the biggest sea robin I have ever seen anyone pull in on a rubber curlytail. :wow: Sea robins are now infesting the waters, they're in for the spawn.

We both hooked a few more fish that came unbuttoned. The numbers are low, the fish are still sluggish in the cold night ocean water, despite fishing choice real estate. Lack of small bait and cold water was my guess for the poor results.

At the end I taught him a little about scouting some ocean spots, but surf was dead near slack low.We quickly drove to a back bay spot for some "almost guaranteed" bluefish artificial action, but the tide had dropped too much in that spot.

I think he did well. :thumbsup: He's a good student and a good listener, :clapping: even though he thought I was yelling at him as I barked instructions as to the next presentation I wanted him to use, and kept on him like a Marine drill sergeant. We moved around a lot as the fish were very scattered.

Good fishin with ya Rip, we'll do it again once the small bait is holding in more ocean areas. :HappyWave:

[cardoc765]

Took a ride on the darkside with mrs cardoc and jumped on a boat. The bite was super slow at first. Some bunker around but not many. Fish Oc and later in the afternoon the acres of bunker re-appeared like yesterday. Then it was on. I tried artificials mostly and got nothing. Changed to bait and got one good run off but stupid me i took to long to set the hook and the fished dropped the bait. Mrs cardoc however managed a good run off and then a nice 19# 38 inch baby. And hers was one of the smaller fish on the boat.

I also found something for DARKSKIES out there. Look at the pics.

[DarkSkies]

Did the boat thing 6-11AM landed some really nice bunker in the 1 pound range. Also went 4 for 6 on the bass 27#,31#,37# and 39#all were released to fight another day.
My friend had 5 to 41# he kept a 22# for his mother
Spotter plane and bunker boat arrived and took tons of bunker action came to a halt.
Black mat in bottom 2 pictures is 38 inches these are the 3 over 30#

Wow Fin that is an amazing story, 1 pound bunker? :wow: :clapping::clapping: :bigeyes: :drool:

Did you take any pics of those bunker?
How did you catch them, on lures or bait? :bucktooth:
Were the bunker mostly males, or were there females in the mix too?
Did you use any custom wood to catch? if so what was your most effective presentation? :wheeeee:
Were the bunker stacked like cordwood, or did ya have to work for them?
I want to go out tomorrow and try to catch some cow bunker. Any tips as to technique, will grappling hooks be ok or can I use clouser type teasers to get them with?
And one last question, if you don't mind...:kiss: can I find these bunker in schools, or do I have to look for them one at a time?
thanks for all your help! :ROFLMAO :HappyWave:
(Congrats on the catches, and the releases as well) :d :clapping:



Mrs cardoc however managed a good run off and then a nice 19# 38 inch baby. And hers was one of the smaller fish on the boat.

I also found something for DARKSKIES out there. Look at the pics.

Don't let Finchaser know where ya found this one, he'll scoop it up and bake it for dinner. :laugh: ;)

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=11141&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1274476924 (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=11141&d=1274476924)




Hey so what if ya missed the fish, sounds like a great day OTW anyway. :thumbsup: Congrats to you and Mrs Cardoc. :HappyWave:Congrats to all, heard of some fantastic action out there today.

[vpass]

Nice fish guys:clapping::clapping:

I fished yesterday on the bay side, and ocean side on SH from 4:30 to 9:00pm. got :skunk:. I also lost a white Afterdark metal lip swimmer when my bail closed on the cast.:burn: Only caught 2 bass on it last year. I just converted my 704Z to bailless. just need to get line for it.:)

[rip316]

Had a blast Dark. I am currently running on three hours of sleep and don't get out of work until 11pm. It was worth it though.

[killie]

went fishing this morning. ahhhh good to get out. now if I only woulda remembered to bring my fishin rod :o

[SharkHart]

tough night of pluggin SNJ, a lot of guys out, baby blues showed up in force and ruined plan A, could get a plastic through the zone without losing it , switched to black plug and i finally dropped a bass at my feet, then the first next cast scored the only landed bass of night, but it was a light heavweight contender

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll194/SharkHart/101_9487.jpg

[storminsteve]

Did the boat thing 6-11AM landed some really nice bunker in the 1 pound range. Also went 4 for 6 on the bass 27#,31#,37# and 39#all were released to fight another day.
My friend had 5 to 41# he kept a 22# for his mother
Spotter plane and bunker boat arrived and took tons of bunker action came to a halt.
Black mat in bottom 2 pictures is 38 inches these are the 3 over 30#


Wow Fin that is an amazing story, 1 pound bunker? :wow: :clapping::clapping: :bigeyes: :drool:
Did you take any pics of those bunker?
How did you catch them, on lures or bait? :bucktooth:
Were the bunker mostly males, or were there females in the mix too?
Did you use any custom wood to catch? if so what was your most effective presentation? :wheeeee:
Were the bunker stacked like cordwood, or did ya have to work for them?
I want to go out tomorrow and try to catch some cow bunker. Any tips as to technique, will grappling hooks be ok or can I use clouser type teasers to get them with?
And one last question, if you don't mind...:kiss: can I find these bunker in schools, or do I have to look for them one at a time?
thanks for all your help! :ROFLMAO :HappyWave:
(Congrats on the catches, and the releases as well) :d :clapping:

Don't let Finchaser know where ya found this one, he'll scoop it up and bake it for dinner. :laugh: ;)
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=11141&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1274476924 (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=11141&d=1274476924)



Incredible fish finchaser, and I would like to know the answer to darks question about the bunker;) is there any chance of you giving a seminar soon, let me know where and I'll sign.
(also is there any truth to dark saying that you eat white ducks for dinner?)


I fished SH this morning, 2 bass on fresh clams, 1 27", the keeper was 32". There were also lots of skates there, what a nuisance.

[storminsteve]

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll194/SharkHart/101_9487.jpg

:clapping::clapping:Awesome fish on a plug sharkheart, any idea of the size?

[basshunter]

Fished an ocean county beach from 3am till first light, tsunami shad and various plugs. Not even a bump for me.:skunk:

[lostatsea]

Late report last night I fished a moco beach with bunker and got one bass 40" on a bunker head, she is still swimming,

[SharkHart]

about 15 lbs

[cowherder]

Wow you guys are getting some nice fish! I fished SH today 4-6pm, clams, no bites other than trash fish.

[finchaser]

Incredible fish finchaser, and I would like to know the answer to darks question about the bunker;) is there any chance of you giving a seminar soon, let me know where and I'll sign.
(also is there any truth to dark saying that you eat white ducks for dinner?)


I fished SH this morning, 2 bass on fresh clams, 1 27", the keeper was 32". There were also lots of skates there, what a nuisance.

We snag the bunker reel them in and rehook on a circle hook makes for easy release.
We do not snag and drop as it injures too many fish,at the present rate these fish are being taken, bass and sites like this will be gone soon.

As for seminars I leave them to the self proclaimed experts. The guys who learned to catch bass when it became easy:huh:


I don't eat ducks

[speedy]

fin dark said you like swan pics

[Pebbles]

Sounds as if everyone is having a blast! Congrats to all on the great fish being caught. Mrs. Cardoc we still have to hook up I'm looking forward to meeting you.

[speedy]

Sounds as if everyone is having a blast! Congrats to all on the great fish being caught. Mrs. Cardoc we still have to hook up I'm looking forward to meeting you.
pebbles how is your new rod doing :HappyWave::HappyWave::HappyWave:

[buckethead]

I fished SH this morning for a while. I caught two small bass on a mag darter.

Over the years I used to keep my big bass, now I catch and release. Fin is right so many people are keeping the fish and at an alarming rate that soon there will be none left. Then they will all be crying.:waaah:

[Pebbles]

pebbles how is your new rod doing :HappyWave::HappyWave::HappyWave:

It is the best. I have not gone out this weekend. Last weekend I had a hit on my first cast but it jumped off before I reeled it in. :HappyWave:

[finchaser]

fin dark said you like swan pics

Nope I said he finds more swans than fish,that's why poor Pebbles has yet to get a fish on her new rod.

[finchaser]

:huh:Today 5:30 to 8AM 12 blues 3-4 pounds and a micro bass all on jig head and rubber. All still swimming:clapping:.



Sorry I left out out: :don't know why:

How I got out of bed
Looked at my weather station to see wind direction and speed
Decided where to fish by weather conditions
Stopped at the bagel store for an everything bagel with CC and an Earl Grey tea black no sugar:drool:
Drove 7 minutes to my spot
Missed the sunrise due to clouds:(bet you it would have been breath taking
Sniffed the air for the scent of bait
Started presenting
Knew my presentation was fine tuned when rod bent :wow:
Counted the different types of sea birds and watched there feeding patterns they don't eat bread:don't know why:DS feeds them bread wait those are swans:embarassed:
Bulls--ted with 2 of my friends about:fishing:would have video taped them waving :2flip: good morning to you but didn't have my camera.
Got rained on
Fish stopped with tide as expected time to go:HappyWave:
Took a 3 minute ride to the Ocean to see if it was still there:thumbsup:
Drove back home until later:headbang:

Wait I forgot to mention all fish were caught on a conventional rod and reel, loaded with high vis mono line
Lures were brought to spot in a plug bag:D

[speedy]

Nope I said he finds more swans than fish,that's why poor Pebbles has yet to get a fish on her new rod.
:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:: D your funny

[yukon]

I was out yesterday MoCo from 4 - 8. I saw a HUGE black drum caught with a big crowd checking it out. It had to be 50# easy.

Fish with clams and waited for the blitzes which happened but i was to far off it plus I missed it by 45 min. So I didn't hook up. I saw about 15 bass taken up to 35#s.

Yet again I was late:banghead2:..... and yet again I missed it.:moon:

So this is how it unfolded as I was about to leave. Most all the cell phone crowd had moved on. It was around 7:30. I see a big pod of bunker getting murdered about 200 yards off. All the boats were about 400 yards to the south. I'm watching in amazement as bunker are literally getting thrown though the air. All of sudden the entire pod moves to the beach FAST I'm talking in about 3 min. I start walking fast and another bait guy is there and I say check it out my friend this is gonna get interesting. About 20 people move two jetties over. The bait guy takes to the top of the jetty throwing a big yellow pencil but the pod moved 2 more jetties down and I was with my kids and couldn't keep moving. I start walking back then turn around and bait guy on top of Jetty is hooked up big time after blind casting for 10 min... Glad he got into a fish:thumbsup: I've seen some crazy blitzes but that was the most impressive. Just wish it lasted longer and I had one on the end of my line...

I did get a small blue blind casting on a pencil which the kids loved and I was a hero... Bass or no bass!! I love taking the kids fishing. :D But let me tell ya for about 20 seconds as I realized I was hooked up I thought it was it. MY TIME.... Just hanging out blind casting with a 35# hog on the end of my line then I was kicked back into reality... No wait.. this is coming in WAY to easy... Oh joy another good damn bluefish.

[Monty]

FinSkies?

:huh:Today 5:30 to 8AM 12 blues 3-4 pounds and a micro bass all on jig head and rubber. All still swimming:clapping:.



Sorry I left out out: :don't know why:

How I got out of bed
Looked at my weather station to see wind direction and speed
Decided where to fish by weather conditions
Stopped at the bagel store for an everything bagel with CC and an Earl Grey tea black no sugar:drool:
Drove 7 minutes to my spot
Missed the sunrise due to clouds:(bet you it would have been breath taking
Sniffed the air for the scent of bait
Started presenting
Knew my presentation was fine tuned when rod bent :wow:
Counted the different types of sea birds and watched there feeding patterns they don't eat bread:don't know why:DS feeds them bread wait those are swans:embarassed:
Bulls--ted with 2 of my friends about:fishing:would have video taped them waving :2flip: good morning to you but didn't have my camera.
Got rained on
Fish stopped with tide as expected time to go:HappyWave:
Took a 3 minute ride to the Ocean to see if it was still there:thumbsup:
Drove back home until later:headbang:

Wait I forgot to mention all fish were caught on a conventional rod and reel, loaded with high vis mono line
Lures were brought to spot in a plug bag:D

I fished out front this morning (4:30-9:00), threw plugs and some rubber, had one bass on, lost it in wash. My year so far in a nut shell.

[DarkSkies]

Cliff notes 5-22 :2flip: :moon: :HappyWave:

Fished all night, threw the bag.
Bunker were gathered up by the thousands.
The bunker left, taking all other bass and bluefish with them on a world tour. Got the only 2 remaining bluefish on yozuri profile after that.
Missed the morning ocean bite by 1/2 hour. :embarassed:
Waded out 1000 feet from shore in back bay area on the way home to redeem myself with a mess of big bluefish. Couldn't even raise 1. :don't know why:
Effumall.

[finchaser]

Cliff notes 5-22 :2flip: :moon: :HappyWave:

Fished all night, threw the bag.
Bunker were gathered up by the thousands.
The bunker left, taking all other bass and bluefish with them on a world tour. Got the only 2 remaining bluefish on yozuri profile after that.
Missed the morning ocean bite by 1/2 hour. :embarassed:
Waded out 1000 feet from shore in back bay area on the way home to redeem myself with a mess of big bluefish. Couldn't even raise 1. :don't know why:
Effumall.

Great report:clapping::clapping::clapping:

[Mike O]

Fished SH early this morning. Saw 2 fish on 2 seperate casts follow my plug all most right onto the beach, but could not entice them to hook-up. Very frustrating. The rangers were out there checking for registry cards. I heard from another guy they rounded up about 15 or so people fishing without them and made them leave the park. It's about time! Also saw another guy make some dude through back a short. I hope they keep up the enforcement and get some of the garbage off the beach (human garbage).

Mike O

[baitstealer]

NOMOCO last night. There was alot of bunker around last night but I could not find the fish.

[finchaser]

Tonight 6:30 to 8:30 released 11 bluefish all caught on a jig head and rubber tails.

[yukon]

Sunday night from 9 - 1:30. Tried the front from a couple of jetties which was not happening. Wind in my face with big swellls plus the water was low so I had everything going against me.

I went to the backside NoMoCo and finally got one around 30in. on a magdarter Quick pic then release.

[Monty]

Out front this morning, 4:30-8:00.
One short on chartreuse teaser.
Large quantities of white water.
11197

[DarkSkies]

Cliff notes, 5-23
Mugged the OGB because I'm the ultimate mugger.

Actually I was looking for his secret swan factory. I heard despite his grouchiness he has a soft spot for swans and occasionally throws stale rolls at them. :ROFLMAO Found no evidence of this, even though 2 hungry swans did float by. All he did was scowl at them. ;)

He caught 11 bluefish, I caught 3. He's the King of Rubber, (see post below).




Cliff notes, 5-24
Hit some rocks for a hopeful morning surf bite. Bumped into SharkHart. I was going to say hi, but he was in a heated discussion :argue:with a Sharpie surfcaster about which weather pattern is better, the hard Northwest pattern or a Noreaster. The last I saw of him, I think he was throwing the guy into the water to teach him how to swim. ;) :HappyWave:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=5418
(West wind Wally made an appearance today, video to follow)

Nice running into you and your friend. Hope the day turned out ok for ya's and that you found fish.

Conditions in the morning were tough, there was a building swell and the sets were not consistent in size, with a few rogue waves thrown in. No one seemed to want to be close to the front so I did my thing and had the front to myself until an hour later when "Jap" :HappyWave:came up and casted alongside as we watched for the rogue waves.

There were no fish or bunker though he did manage one bluefish.
Fished there from 6-7:30am.

Wasn't ready to go home so I went to the back bays. Found some bluefish to eat rubber, and one bass. 3 bluefish on rubber, and one blue, one short bass on metal. Bite died with the ebb.

The fog didn't burn off for a long time today. It was an awesome morning to be out there except for the unpredictable swell and the lack of fish.

[DarkSkies]

Nice catch Yukon, way to be persistent. :thumbsup:


.
Large quantities of white water.

Nice catch on the teaser Monty. :thumbsup: I have yet to tie a teaser rig to my barrel swivel even though I'm advising others to do it. I was out in that big swell too, it was a bit hairy.



Tonight 6:30 to 8:30 released 11 bluefish all caught on a jig head and rubber tails.

I wonder if anyone reads Fin's reports and thinks they could do as well as he does? If so, don't kid yourselves. Last night there were 3 regulars as we reached one spot we fished at. None of those people caught a fish in the 2 hours they were there.

They kept looking at him with puppy dog eyes every time he caught a fish. Finally one of the guys sent his girlfriend over to ask how we were catching because he didn't have the stones to come over and ask us himself. :don't know why:

Fin is the King of Rubber :headbang:
No shame in gettin outfished by the Finchaser Fishin Machine! :wow:
Remember that the next time he outfishes ya, Killie. :moon: :HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

The rangers were out there checking for registry cards. I heard from another guy they rounded up about 15 or so people fishing without them and made them leave the park. It's about time! Also saw another guy make some dude through back a short. I hope they keep up the enforcement and get some of the garbage off the beach (human garbage).
Mike O

Mike I feel the same way it's about time. How ya been? Call or PM me the next time you're going out. :HappyWave:


:huh:Today 5:30 to 8AM 12 blues 3-4 pounds and a micro bass all on jig head and rubber. All still swimming:clapping:.


Sorry I left out out: :don't know why:

How I got out of bed
Looked at my weather station to see wind direction and speed
Decided where to fish by weather conditions
Stopped at the bagel store for an everything bagel with CC and an Earl Grey tea black no sugar:drool:
Drove 7 minutes to my spot
Missed the sunrise due to clouds:(bet you it would have been breath taking
Sniffed the air for the scent of bait
Started presenting
Knew my presentation was fine tuned when rod bent :wow:
Counted the different types of sea birds and watched there feeding patterns they don't eat bread:don't know why:DS feeds them bread wait those are swans:embarassed:
Bulls--ted with 2 of my friends about:fishing:would have video taped them waving :2flip: good morning to you but didn't have my camera.
Got rained on
Fish stopped with tide as expected time to go:HappyWave:
Took a 3 minute ride to the Ocean to see if it was still there:thumbsup:
Drove back home until later:headbang:

Wait I forgot to mention all fish were caught on a conventional rod and reel, loaded with high vis mono line
Lures were brought to spot in a plug bag:D



:clapping::clapping::clapping: ROFL dark! If he described those words it seems like he must know you well!:laugh:


Yes Steve, Fin is lucky enough to know me, and smell me when I have been fishin for 3 days with unwashed waders. Lucky him. :kooky:

I have no words to describe the spoofs of my reports, I'm still laughing...thanks :ROFLMAO

[chas527]

fished sh this morning 6am till 1045 4 fish 3 stripers 1 keeper 291/2 .1 black fish my first of the year.nice big fish.looks like it's slowing down a little.

[DarkSkies]

fished sh this morning 6am till 1045 4 fish 3 stripers 1 keeper 291/2 .1 black fish my first of the year.nice big fish.looks like it's slowing down a little.

Chas, good observation.

You were getting blackfish earlier last year, it seems like everything is later except the bass migration. There aren't too many bass S of here, and there are waves of big girls reaching Mass and Rhody every day. I hope I'm wrong, but it seems like the great action we're having for the surf guys may last 2 more weeks, or less. After that, it may minimize, with people having to work to find fish.


5-24 pm
Fished some rocks, arrived a 1/2 hour after it died. Still fished it anyway with some of the guys who didn't mind blind casting, 7-8:30pm. Pencil first, danny near dark. :skunk:
Then hit a back bay place, bunker were roaming in pods by the hundreds, being harassed by small bluefish and an occasional small bass. I was getting ready to fish that area when a stranger came by and we started comparing that day's fishing notes. (It was ironic because a few friends and I had just mentioned him 2 hours earlier as I met up with them on the rocks...and I had mentioned him just before I left to go fishing.)

Turned out to be Jim Cousins.

Spent the next 1 1/2 hours talking about everything under the sun, and even some fishin stories. ;)
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=5236&page=5

It was an honor to finally meet ya, Jim! :HappyWave:

5-25am
Slept in the car, fished the rock country for 1/2 hour this morning after finding some bunker slightly offshore. They didn't come in while I was there, another :skunk: That's fishin.

[yukon]

Yes... I broke the rules. I took a boat trip yesterday vs the surf but I couldn't help it. Ending up catching 4 big bass up to 40# and I lost 4 more right at the boat including a monster that was easily #45+ maybe 50:dribble:

Caught on the Renegade Charter out of Pt. Pleasant with Capt. Mike Copeland. I've been fishing with Mike for 3 years now when I need to get out on the water. Always and I mean always gets us on fish.

I caught this one live lining a bunker off MoCo in 60ft waters. She crashed the bait 20 ft in front of me since I was fishing off the bow on top of the water. It was awesome.:wow: I would have 3 sometimes 4 bass follow each fish up to the boat. Truly was an amazing sight to see. We boated over 35 bass up to 40+lbs. 95% released. We switched to top waters but only one guy got one on a pencil. Tight Lines!!

[wish4fish]

thats a pig yukon nice fish!:plastered:
we fished the back this morning till 6, the spearing and shrimp were thick, bunker too, we got 22 bluefish on bunker with small hooks becuz they were small the biggest was 5 pounds

[wish4fish]

secret swan factory.
swans r gay! dont be like dark, finchaser, he chases all over for those gay swans i would like to hit them with bbs cuz they are like the geese they crap all over but the geese are worse i stepped in goose **** this morning and i wanted to choke the goose's neck!:burn:

[Pebbles]

Nice catch Yukon. I bet you're glad you chose the boat over surf.

Dark, sorry you didn't get anything. Sometimes good conversation out weighs fishing. :HappyWave:

[cardoc765]

Good to see that some of you are getting good catches. I'm happy for all who have. Been really busy last 2 weeks but I am going to try nomoco in the am.

[rip316]

Yes we are. haha can't wait.

[DarkSkies]

Marathon fishing not much to show for it.
Hit the back bay areas last night, lots of bunker being harassed by small bluefish, which meant the bunker were very skittish and in hyper moving mode.

The bugs in the back bay area are now horrendous. If the wind dies down make sure you take a bath in deet.

I managed 2 small bluefish on rubber, hundreds of casts. These bluefish were so skinny they were anorexic. Guess no one ever told the 22" bluefish you can't swallow a 14" bunker. :don't know why:


No action on bucktails or other presentations. The guys I saw fishing bait weren't hooking up. People were out fishin everywhere. Last night was a good night to have spots A, B, C, D, E, F as different options.

Slept in the car, out at the jetties for a short shot at AM fish. Swell was big and more people were looking than fishin. I got blanked blind casting a big pencil.





Finchaser's fishing secrets:
Secret #1, how to get fish from a boat -
Please be advised when you sign up for the Finchaser seminar, :d you will receive secrets like the one below and many other valuable ones. Instead of going out there and putting your time in and getting blanked occasionally like the rest of us, an afternoon at one of these upcoming seminars will guarantee one thing...

that you're a seminarian! :ROFLMAO

The Secret:
I saw a few boats off jetty country this AM.
Found some boat activity in 2 places, but didn't look like much was being caught.

Peering into my binocs, who do I see but one boat circling and making tighter and tighter circles? I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Finchaser out there on that boat. :wow:

I could see him through the binocs. He was yelling at the water and waving his arms. I'm a pretty good lip reader, and as I watched, it seemed he was saying:

"OK you damn fish, jump in the boat. I am Finchaser, and I command you!"
I'm not sure, the sun glare was in my eyes a bit, but I think after I saw him do this I saw one fish jump in that boat!

There ya have it, one of the Finchaser fish-catching secrets revealed. ;) It's his birthday today, hope he catches em up. :thumbsup: :HappyWave:

[cardoc765]

Fished nomoco with RIP this morning from 5:30 to 9. Within 15 mins of fishing i started getting hits and managed 2 blues. Shortly after RIP got a nice 36" bass. I'll let him tell how we landed it and show the pic. Great to be back out and had loads of fun once again. We are good for Monday RIP.

[yardvillejimmy]

Fished SH yesterday with the OFFC late afternoon into the evening with artificials. Not even a hit. :skunk:

[rip316]

This is too funny. My rod gets nailed. Fish instatnly comes to the surface. I know it's a bass. Nice fight but, the decent size waves make landing that fish a little tuff. I get the fish in close three times to the point of the wash as I am trying to wait out a wave to push the fish up on the beach and not lose the fish. Finally I get the fish to surf onto the beach but, as the wave starts to go out the fish is laying there as Cardoc is trying to get his hand around the fishes neck. That wasn't working. You could see the look on his face when he realizes this is a nice fish. Not wanting to lose it he jumps on the fishes back holding for dear life. The wave subsides and he brings the fish up on the beach. Nice job Cardoc. Had a blast as usual. All fish were caught on the last of the incoming. Outgoing did not produce a hit. We were the only guys getting action.

[cardoc765]

Realize the size of the fish ????? :scared: My butt. You know i'm married. Married guys don't get it much as we know. Once I saw that hot beautiful girl I mounted her. And not on a wall lol lol lol. Now you know why she had that big hump in her back. :wow::wow::wow::ROFLMAO:ROFLMAO:ROFLMAO:ROFLMAO:RO FLMAO Thanks for gettting me a new girl RIP

Here's the pic of my new B* * * h

[rip316]

Am I that ugly you cropped my face out of the pic. lol I see a little snail trail by her jaw.

[c4charlie]

Yesterday, took my kids on the boat to some backwaters and they nailed 3-5 pound blues for 3 hours or so with bunker.

Then my buddy Jim and I fished and we had blues on plugs and then on the fly until it got dark which was a lot of fun. I am new to fly fishing and those were my first bluefish on the fly.

If you think blues eat or go for any lure all the time, you are dead wrong. Once the grass shrimp started, the fish decided that they would not go for any fly, plug or even bait. We had one fly that worked a little but we wound up getting bit off.

We moved and found bass doing the same but after hours of casting to them, not one take. For the fun of it, I decided to put a pretty fresh bunker head out there and they still were not interested. Awesome to be a part of it but it does not get more challenging than that. If it was not a perfect dead drift translucent grass shrimp on the surface, the fish were not interested at all.

After the torture, both of us were talking about going back for more tonight. I have been doing research all day and hope to tie something up to try after work.

[rip316]

Good luck c4

[c4charlie]

Thanks...

Oh yea, My older son got a 17" fluke as well. My little three year old hooked and fought a bunch of the blues, all by himself. The little blues can sometimes be more difficult than the bigger ones to hook on a chunk but the little guys have A LOT of freshwater experience so they know when to set the hook. The older bro helped him with the rod at times. We went down to just one rod because the action was pretty much non stop. You got to love double hookups but it can get a bit crazy with 3 and 5 year olds. My wife was awesome as usual helping out as well!

[bababooey]

Realize the size of the fish ????? :scared: My butt. You know i'm married. Married guys don't get it much as we know. Once I saw that hot beautiful girl I mounted her. And not on a wall lol lol lol. Now you know why she had that big hump in her back. :wow::wow::wow::ROFLMAO:ROFLMAO:ROFLMAO:ROFLMAO:RO FLMAO Thanks for gettting me a new girl RIP

Here's the pic of my new B* * * h

Humping the big girls, shouldn't you guys be doing that at night under the cover of darkness? Thats what I did when I humped the big girls, and could walk out on them under the cover of darkness. Oh wait we're talking about fishing here.:naughty: nice catch!

We were fishing out of LEI today, I made a guess that the bass would be south and totally blew it. Got a few blues on bunker. Can't wait for fluke season to open. We had some spearing for the heck of it and did some drifts, C&R. There area few nice ones out there already.

[Monty]

Fished ocean side from 4:30 to 7:30 this morning. One small Blue on a chartreuse teaser.
Nice sunrise without11204 the fog.

[storminsteve]

Fished somoco from 5-7am, incoming. The ocean was pretty big and scary. I was using a bucktail and porkrind, one bass 29", also got a sea robin. Dark you are right I think the sea robins are spawning the one I got had a huge belly.

[lostatsea]

OC early morning, clams and bunker, 3 skates. Great sunrise pic Monty.

[storminsteve]

Finchaser's fishing secrets:
Secret #1, how to get fish from a boat -
Please be advised when you sign up for the Finchaser seminar, :d you will receive secrets like the one below and many other valuable ones. Instead of going out there and putting your time in and getting blanked occasionally like the rest of us, an afternoon at one of these upcoming seminars will guarantee one thing...

that you're a seminarian! :ROFLMAO

The Secret:
I saw a few boats off jetty country this AM.
Found some boat activity in 2 places, but didn't look like much was being caught.

Peering into my binocs, who do I see but one boat circling and making tighter and tighter circles? I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Finchaser out there on that boat. :wow:

I could see him through the binocs. He was yelling at the water and waving his arms. I'm a pretty good lip reader, and as I watched, it seemed he was saying:

"OK you damn fish, jump in the boat. I am Finchaser, and I command you!"
I'm not sure, the sun glare was in my eyes a bit, but I think after I saw him do this I saw one fish jump in that boat!

There ya have it, one of the Finchaser fish-catching secrets revealed. ;) It's his birthday today, hope he catches em up. :thumbsup: :HappyWave:

Did he by any chance have a staff to call the fish in like Moses did?:d
6aPGpifWiXo

[rip316]

c4 that's pretty cool that your wife helps out. Mine just sits there and makes me and the kids bait her hooks for her and just sits there and fishes leaving me to deal with the mayhem.

[basshunter]

I decided to go to SH this morning before I hit work. Fished 4:30 to 6:00 tried using some bucktails but got skunked.

[SharkHart]

Me and my friend had some great days off, sunday to Weds produced a wide variety of fish and tactics

sunday -- NE wind and some choppy water produced a couple Bass each on the beach to low thirties, a few blues 6-7 took a lot of water to the face and mouth, some bozo cast with his bail closed while i had a low 30s 10 yards from the rocks and made no attempt to untagle it, when i lowered my rod to try to untagle the NE waves put my fish into the rocks, would have let it go anyway but wanted the $20 plug :o made a quick trip after dark and a late dinner to the barny bay to see if smaller bass were still there, we found 2lb blues working then a few rat bass, then surprisingly a 8-9lb bass for each of us. To bed at midnight or so.

Monday-- up at 4:30 back to the beach to find heavy fog and big rollers from NE and some kinda offshore swell, unfishable. to the tackle shops for supplies, back in the afternoon session, action became red hot with more bass to low thirties, and unbelivable spectator action was the mobs ooohed and ahhed watching bass blast bunkies out of range at various times, knuckle heads and cell calls prevented epic landings. we backed off after the biggest lowlight yet, my friend was fighting a 32 and another "angler" put a pencil through his waders and into his leg and had no pliers to remove it , still fighting a fish my friend requested another angler rip it out fast and he did, if it wasnt the shin and a meat area we would have needed the ER, boat next day so we left the madness.

Tuesday-- Insane Sea bass action, limit catches to mostly 3lbs, we each managed a cod 5-7 lbs, a first for us and this was inshore (3 miles) we had a few tog mixed in too to continue the mixed bag, the afternoon switched to live linging for bass, the bunkies started to spread out and the bite had was slower for sure but we picked up a few bass each to 30lb. 11 hours on the boat and the effects of last few days were setting in, I had sore everything and felt like I fell down stairs and this is only one month removed from running a triathlon, which apparently didnt help for anything. life isnt fair

Weds-- I just had a bad feeling the bass bite was dying so slept in, Mid day we decided to see if the fluke (C&R) were around in the squan river, Fished by land-- too lazy to buy bait we used gulp, Took a while but once the tide went to the last 2 hours of the outgoing, we got a bite going. killed a sea robin for bait and the bites doubled. We hooked up with about 10 but a lot we dropped. My friend got a 17" kingfish on a gulp shrimp to really round out the mixed bag week. I skipped the afternoon beach bass session because word was spreading of a dead bite for the boats.

[rip316]

Nice report Sharkhart. Manasquan river was paved with fluke last year. Only problem was the keeper ratio. With back to back trips last year with 5 people on the boat each day we caught easily 250. Most on gulp. The first day i had 40 alone wit hthe new pennt shrimp and chartreuse minnows.

[DarkSkies]

Great multi-trip report, Shark. :thumbsup:
The only thing you left out is where you threw the East wind surf sharpie guy into the water. :laugh: ;)



Cliff notes, 5-24
Bumped into SharkHart. I was going to say hi, but he was in a heated discussion :argue:with a Sharpie surfcaster about which weather pattern is better, the hard Northwest pattern or a Noreaster. The last I saw of him, I think he was throwing the guy into the water to teach him how to swim. ;) :HappyWave:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=5418
(West wind Wally made an appearance today, video to follow)

Nice running into you and your friend. Hope the day turned out ok for ya's and that you found fish.

[DarkSkies]

A few more details this time.

Went down to OC to mug Finchaser for some birthday fishin. As he indicates below, he was tired from fishin for ghost fish all morning. I'm glad to hear he was tired, I thought he was avoiding me because of my smelly waders. :upck:

I fished a few areas. Ended up with no fish, but I did check out a back bay area where the bass were rolling on grass shrimp. Unfortunately there was a dispute between homeowners and fishermen. I left as the police came.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=6671

Later on, hooked up with Angelo, a 70yr old friend with health problems. He was dying to catch some night bass, so I met him and a flyfishin buddy of his as we set about to try for the artificial bite.

The fish were there but you had to work for them. We both missed a few as we fished the 2nd half of the ebb. We started catching fish when we slowed our presentations down and fished the smallest swimmers.

The fish, once they hit, were exploding on the surface. I missed a decent bass between 15-20 when the line broke and I saw his head smilin at me before he went under. I was using my 8'stick with 12# test, a perfect back bay rod when there are small fish around. but not enough to hold something bigger than schoolie size.

I finally managed a bass around 13, and 31". He left to go home after that, I went somewhere else and scored a small bass on a storm shad.

Overslept in the car this morning, I was shot. Managed to do some scouting in jetty country, marked 2 potential interesting areas, then went to work.

[finchaser]

Boats don't always score:skunk:

Against my better judgment as conditions seemed wrong for yesterday. I went on a friends boat we broke the inlet at 5:15 AM and fished a 1/2 a day until 5:30 PM
Checking out bunker school after bunker school from Manasquan inlet to Elbron and back and some areas 2 maybe 3 times. Didn't catch or see a fish caught on any boat. Most of the day we didn't mark any thing but bunker. The bunker were so thick in spots you could drop straight down and snag no cast needed.

May be too much bait and not enough fish after another year of useless slaughter of big fish.:(

Before I forget for the past week the bunker bait boats have been catching so many bunker its amazing they stay afloat and their's still an enormous amount around ,not counting the bays and rivers and past the 3 mile limit.

Well got to go, don't want to sound like Dark.:HappyWave:

[Monty]

Bayside this morning 5:00 - 9:00.
One small Bue and one Striper.
Both on the Eel Punt Popper.
Also lost a Striper on a Danny (lost more fish this year than all last year, I forgot how to fish:huh:)
11208

[chas527]

fished sh this morning ,4 bass 2 keepers 1 281/2 second 32inches.nice fish keep one.cool morning froze my butt off.fished 530 till1130.got them on clams

[storminsteve]

Nice fish chas, 32". I got one today, 28 1/4", nomoco, bunker.

[fishinmission78]

Got a few blues this morning at IBSP to 10lbs, metal.

[chas527]

fished sh this morning 6am till 11 . got 5fish 4 stripers and 1 fluke. 2 stripers were 28 an 28 1/2 one 27 one 26.fluke was 16 1/2. all on clams.

[DarkSkies]

Good to see some got out with the impending bad weather. :thumbsup:

******************
Went down to OC to mug Finchaser and Killie last night. It was too much for the Fish Gods.

Finchaser was the only one in the whole area to catch a fish while Killie (for the whole 37secs that he fished ;)) and I got skunked. :skunk:

Still, it was nice to see Killie as I understand he only gets out to fish 2 or 3 times a year. :laugh: :HappyWave:

Besides the Fish Gods, apparently Poseidon, Greek God of Storms, was not happy as within a 1/2 hour the Skies turned Dark :d and rain was upon us.

Kille decided to head home. I felt we could outfox the stom, and that it would minimize (Rich's famous words when fishing in bad weather...)

We went to the OC back bay area where the night before a fisherman threatened to throw a brick through a homeowner's window. I knew bass were there feeding on grass shrimp.

We waited for the rain to stop and witnessed some amazing lightning action in the sky. :eek: Wished I thought of it to take the videocam out, it was awesome. :cool:

Once it stopped we were OTW and casting, making sure to find another spot away from the angry homeowners.

It was tough fishin as the fish were feeding on grass shrimp periodically and the water was a little murky. We had some action, a few missed hits in the murky water.

In the end I managed a 32" bass, about 14#, released. Fin had a quality fish on, but it came unbuttoned with his crushed down barbs. We each had a few others that we dropped.

I think the murky water affected the action and it would have been better without the storm. Shrimp profiles and fly reels would have been killer :thumbsup: but we still did ok with small plastic swimmers.

Fished the last hour of the flood, and an hour of the ebb. Action seemed to die on the ebb and we called it a night.

Good fishin with ya Fin and Killie, we have to nag Killie to come out at least once more when he gets a reprieve from the Warden. :ROFLMAO ;)

[yukon]

I was out scouting from 4-8 moco never found the Bunker. Waited for rains to stop and fish the back after finding the bunker but only got blues.... till next time.

[DarkSkies]

...but only got blues.... till next time.

Hey Yukon, sometimes the blues ain't such a bad thing. :HappyWave:
Last night I heard 1 bass, around 22, was brought in from under those blues. Today I confirmed it was 2 at 22, bunker chunks. Ya never know what ya might find hanging around some hungry insane bluefish. ;)

[bababooey]

Besides the Fish Gods, apparently Poseidon, Greek God of Storms, was not happy as within a 1/2 hour the Skies turned Dark :d and rain was upon us.

Kille decided to head home. I felt we could outfox the stom, and that it would minimize (Rich's famous words when fishing in bad weather...)

;)

Why all the references to dark skies, we should call you "happy skies" and be done with it.:moon: :d
Cn5Wa1p9ouE

[wish4fish]

me an 2 buddies got 19 blues to 11lbs in rb last night the rain and lightning sucked but the bunker was there and they were on it. the funny thing was we used small pieces of bunker they didnt want heads go figure. my friend got a bass too it was 38inches and 22 pounds, it was a fattie!:wow: dark u shud of come down when i called u call me we will be there tonite at the same place.

[finchaser]

Good fishin with ya Fin and Killie, . :ROFLMAO ;)


I get mugged ,no problem but having Killie and Dark in the same place caused a storm of almost biblical proportion but it was fun. :rolleyes:

Time to take the weekend off and stay out of the way of the weekend warriors:(.

[c4charlie]

Caught some blues on the fly and a 32" inch striper the other night. I have finally solved the grass shrimp dilemma with my own fly pattern. Will post in the fly tying forum once I take some pics. First catches on a fly that I tied! Had a huge bass blow up on my fly last night as well and my buddy Jim is getting action with them as well.

We would have killed them if we were on the boat last night, the bass were a bit farther than we could cast and not in areas that we were able to wade to. I can see myself getting a kayak soon.

Took the kids to Lake Surprise in the Watchung Reservation yesterday in the daytime and the kids caught a bass and sunfish, I had the same but they won the family tournament since they had more and bigger fish than me. I was fly fishing. My older one got the bass on a rapala which was different than the usual bait. There were some very picky fish yesterday. They followed all of the lures and flies in but would rarely commit.

I also have caught my first two carp this week. The carp were only a few pounds but they are awesome fighters!

Lots of fun for sure!

[Pebbles]

Why all the references to dark skies, we should call you "happy skies" and be done with it.:moon: :d
Cn5Wa1p9ouE


Yep that's him. :ROFLMAO

[Pebbles]

I get mugged ,no problem but having Killie and Dark in the same place caused a storm of almost biblical proportion but it was fun. :rolleyes:

Time to take the weekend off and stay out of the way of the weekend warriors:(.

Somehow I have become a weekend warrior:don't know why:. I'll be out tonight.

[rip316]

Wish4fish. would u mind giving a hint on where you were fishing. want to hit rb this evening with my 9yr old son.

[captnemo]

We fished the back of raritan bay yesterday, directly offshore of staten island, about 20 feet of water. We used live bunker for bass to 25lbs. Most were in the 18-25lb range. We kept 2. There were also a few roving schools of big bluefish where the bunker were thickest. We did best by fishing the edges.

Rip we saw bunker pods and bluefish at several areas, though they did seem to be concentrated in the back there by the Raritan river. I imagine you should try there as we saw guys on shore catching lots of big bluefish. Hope you get your son into some fish, that's what it's all about, tight lines.

[DarkSkies]

but we missed it. :embarassed:
Pebbles and I fished last night, 1-5:30am. Fishing the ebb, the best I could manage was 2 small bluefish using small swimmers. The tide dropped and we moved around to find better water.

We did find some water that was filled with bunker, but not much action underneath.

Went to another place to fish the first light bite, but couldn't get anything going there, maybe because of the boat traffic.

Also wanted to mention that in the beginning we bumped into Monty who was out there as well. When he heard we forgot to bring teaser rigs, he threw a couple at us. :HappyWave: Helluva guy, that Monty. Thanks man, glad to hear ya stuck around and got fish. :thumbsup:

[rip316]

Thanks Captnemo.I want you guys to know that I was not trying to get spots off of you guys. I know all the reg. areas in the back already, I just did not want to waste time with him scouting. Ended up not even going.
Fished nomoco this morning from 5am til 10a.m top of the flood. 2 short bass and a crapload of robins. As the tide kept getting closer to full the bite got better. Lot of shorts caught all around.
Rangers out there in force giving tickets to 2 seperate groups with short bass and over limit. Also handing out tickets to a few guys who didn't register. That made for a very exciting morning between the crapload of muggers and the tickets being given out.

[Monty]

My weekly Sunday AM outing was great this week.
Met Pebbles for first time.
Chatted with DarkSkies.
Caught nice Blue on a 14 inch Hogie.
Caught a couple smaller Blues on a Rip-Plugger swimmer and a SS popper.
Caught ~28 inch Striper on a Salty Pencil I assembled/painted and clear coated the past couple of days. Inspired by Surfstix in attempting to assemble/paint/finish a couple Salty kits.
No boats or surfers inter feared with my fun (frieking miracle).
Had a bunch of hits throughout and did not loose any fish that I had on (another frieking miracle).
11321

11322

11323

[buckethead]

Fished the backside from 4:30 to 6:00 this morning. I had two keepers on metal and both of them went swimming back.

[surfwalker]

3-9am-front-plugs. Nothing in the dark. First light-one short on a popper. Getting too crowded for me. Dead stickers pulled some keepers, but very sporadic.

[speedy]

My weekly Sunday AM outing was great this week.
Met Pebbles for first time.
Chatted with DarkSkies.
Caught nice Blue on a 14 inch Hogie.
Caught a couple smaller Blues on a Rip-Plugger swimmer and a SS popper.
Caught ~28 inch Striper on a Salty Pencil I assembled/painted and clear coated the past couple of days. Inspired by Surfstix in attempting to assemble/paint/finish a couple Salty kits.
No boats or surfers inter feared with my fun (frieking miracle).
Had a bunch of hits throughout and did not loose any fish that I had on (another frieking miracle).
11321

11322

11323

W..T..G......:clapping::clapping::clapping::clappi ng::plastered::plastered::plastered::plastered:.BR O

[DarkSkies]

WTG on the persistence, Monty! :thumbsup:



Nothing in the dark. First light-one short on a popper. Getting too crowded for me.

Surfwalker, talked to one guy last night who had 2 short bass on artificials, he confirmed those first light comments. It seems to me there's a point to that as well. People have been catching fish in the dark on artificials, but after a lot of effort.

It seems for now the first light bite is a better than the night bite, unless you're fly fishing grass shrimp patterns at night. I try to reason things like this in my head all the time, talked with Jim Cousins at Giglio's this morning to get his take on it.

There is bait galore in the back bays, rivers, and some ocean inlet areas at night. We were saying that there might even be too much bait at times. The times I've been getting fish are when the bait becomes more sparse and thins out a bit. That's what seems to work for me. Maybe others have different experiences. :don't know why:


I fished last night last hour of the flood, first hour of the ebb. Late tides. 1 short bass and small bluefish on small plastic swimmers. Both fish on the incoming. There were bass all over popping on grass shrimp for awhile. The bite seemed slow, even for the bait guys. (Yet I did get a pic of a guy who got a 21 last night, slack tide, bunker head)

[voyager35]

We launched yesterday for a 2-10pm trip out of point pleasant. We found bunker shortly after getting out there, and managed bass of 20, 27, and 31lbs. Kept the 20 as it was bleeding heavily. The action was short lived and we didn't have much success after that. Moved to the north a bit for some fluking and managed 2 keepers 19 and 20", many shorts, gulp. Still a great day on the water.

[DarkSkies]

Rangers out there in force giving tickets to 2 seperate groups with short bass and over limit. Also handing out tickets to a few guys who didn't register. That made for a very exciting morning between the crapload of muggers and the tickets being given out.

Very glad to hear that Rip. There are scores of guys complaining about this on the internet. I have to wonder to myself how many complain about it in a post but never manage to make that call, or don't have the incentive to try and open their mouths and let people know they won't stand for it.

Yet there was one lady yesterday who had enough. She was disgusted and called and made the report. She probably didn't belong to an internet fishing site, she is just one person who got so angry at what she saw she wasn't going to take it anymore. :burn:

Good for her. :clapping::clapping: :thumbsup::thumbsup:
I hope that more people will follow her example and take the time to get involved.

Remember, if you're only ranting about it on the internet and not doing anything else, it's possible you're part of the problem. :learn:

[wish4fish]

we only got 4 bluefish last nite the bite really sucked, some of the fish were so small we thought they were bunker, rip we were in the back bay by a marina.

[rip316]

Gotcha. Thanks wish4fish. I never ended up going.

[DarkSkies]

Went out with G last night, fished the last hour of the flood, first of the ebb. The heavy rain hours before made us lean toward the incoming.

When we got there bluefish 6-10# were busting on bunker. The frustrating thing is the bunker were moving so fast. One minute fish were exploding on them10 feet away, the next minute they were 100 yards away.

Looking back, we would have been better using chunks. We didn't bring bunker, and snagging them was improbable as they were moving so fast. We met one guy out there, he was yelling at the fish as they came in and out.

It was tough. G hooked and lost a nice fish on an Ace Bait bunker profile big swimmer. Small swimmers weren't producing. With all the spearing around as well, he figured a spearing profile rubber bait would work, and finally nailed a bluefish around 7# using that.

As the bunker moved out they took the predators with them.

We moved to another area where we had been catching bass, popping on grass shrimp, with small swimmers.

That area was dead water for the time we fished it. Couldn't manage to raise one fish on artificials. Called it a night after that. Hey, that's fishin.

[cardoc765]

GReat to hear that the rangers are not just checking anymore, they are actually ticketing. I have made a point of putting the phone numbers in my phone so next time I see poaching I will be the one calling.

Yesterday was a blast for me. We had 3 guys with their kids (5 in all) ranging from ages 5 - 7. The kids had never been on a boat before in the ocean much less fished for bass.

I set up 4 rods and dead sticked them. The dads agreed the kids would do all reeling in. First stop within 10 mins a nice 32" bass was reeled in by the oldest of them (FIN). I coached and helped hold the rod. Once i was sure the fish was hooked well I let dad help him. The look on his face and joy he had was one for the books. Afterwards he thought he was the fisherman of the day and none of the others could do what he did. Later we had another 30" bass hit and one of the girls was near the rod. I set the hook and handed it to her and asked dad to help hold the rod. She was so stoked she had dad text mommy all kinds of stories on the size of the fish lol. They also got to see a doggie, jelly fish, snails, and skates. It made for a fun day just to show the kids different species of fish and letting them see and touch the fish before releasing them. Reminded me of when i was their age and my dad took me out and got me hooked. He didn't know i was gonna become a maniac about fishing !!!!!

All in all, the kids had a great time. One of the girls got a lil sea sick but stuck it out and kept a smile on her face. Especially after dad allowed her to have a coke to settle her stomach and the others had to drink their juice boxes.

Haven't had a chance to get out in a week now but I will. I've had lots of fun teaching others how to fish lately and helping them catch a fish for the first time. From kids to elderly folks, it's been a blast. Nothing like seeing someone so happy after reeling in a 25# bass and it being their first fish ever.

BTW. There are several schools of bunker out front, out back, and just entering the bay. Sometimes they are not popping or being chased, but you will notice a ripple in the water that wasn't there a minute ago. My tip of the day.

[DarkSkies]

I've had lots of fun teaching others how to fish lately and helping them catch a fish for the first time. From kids to elderly folks, it's been a blast. Nothing like seeing someone so happy after reeling in a 25# bass and it being their first fish ever.



Cardoc, that was an excellent report. :clapping: :thumbsup:Informative without bragging, entertaining, and conveying to the reader what your experience was like out there, without needing 25 paragraphs to do it like some of us. ;)

I think in another life you might have been a teacher, because you do such a great job of teaching others. WTG, bro. :HappyWave:

[rip316]

Nice job dude.

[Pebbles]

What a great report cardoc. Sounds like the kids had the time of their lives. You're a good guy!:clapping: