NJ Fishing Reports for the week of 5-26 to 6-1-08

[bunkerjoe4]

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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.


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, as long as you are not overly specific about location.

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
CISP - Corson's Inlet State Park
CMC - Cape May County
CMR - Cape May Rips


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

[bunkerjoe4]

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


NJ Week in Review 5-27-08

Well folks this has been another great week for fishing, but boaters have again done better than surfcasters in terms of catching bass. This has some long-time surfcasters saying "Where are the Bass? in NJ". (Look for the thread pertaining to this)

The significant body of bunker that had been sitting in the area off IBSP has provided action all throughout the week, with some action at night in the towns above that, and the epic action on Memorial Day Monday where they had fish for about 5 hours at IBSP.

There was a sustained catch of bass to 30lbs, blues to 15 lbs, by people who threw everything they had. Fish were in hot pursuit after live bait, and weren't fussy as usual.

Bass in the middle of the day, South wind, clear water? Say it ain't so, Joe.:)

Yep, I wasn't there, family obligations kept me busy. Many who were not there will be talking about this blitz for years.

All the rules of "when" is a good time to catch a bass were broken that day. This tells us that you never know when you will fall into a run of fish like that. It's mostly luck, and some skill involved in not losing a big fish.

This body of fish could be long gone as I write this, but more fish and bunker are making their way north. Whether you or I will be there when they hit the beach is anyone's guess.

"Ya gotta be in it to win it" translates to the fact that those who are in the right place in the right time in the surf will be rewarded. Others may be disappointed, but the experience of surf fishing is what motivates many of us anyway. Catching a fish is always a plus, and is what keeps us coming back for more, but it is never guaranteed. Even the best fishermen don't catch fish all the time.

As far as bait other than bunker, larger spearing, and decent schools of rainfish, are starting to appear with greater frequency in the bays and inlets. Small herring are also being slaughtered by hungry predators. Incredibly, the first schools of baby peanut bunker have been reported swimming through the inlets, the progeny of the adults that have been here for 2 months.

If you have any spare time and want to catch a bigger bass, now is the time to plan and strategically target the best location and time, and go get your quarry! Realistically, night fishing offers you the best chance of getting a bigger bass, but please be respectful of others out there, and the lights you may use to guide your way around. If you don't have a lot of fishing experience, it's dangerous at night, particularly for those who try to catch fish in the rocky areas. Please be careful, and good luck out there.

NY Week in Review 5-27-08

Folks, the fishing in some areas on NY has been reported and documented as spectacular, but please remember there is no area that is hot all the time. There are some areas in NY that are offering incredible fishing for those willing to brave the elements of weather. However, 2 years ago some of these places had a poor Spring fishery, while other areas in NJ were experiencing a bounty.

The NY back bays and inlets are still offering good chances to connect with decent fish for those at the right place at the right time.

Not all inlets and bays are producing consistently, but notwithstanding the NJ blitzes this past week, the NY bays and inlets seem to have a more consistent body of fish available.

Remember the bigger predators show up in search of food. Especially now as the spawn is over, bigger fish will be caught as they are making their way out of the spawning areas.

Look for concentrations of bait, you will find the bigger fish not far behind. Good luck out there! -- bunkerjoe

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[clamchucker]

I was one of the unlucky few who WASNT at Ibsp Monday, joe. My question to you and others is where are the schoolies? Big bass are always preferred, but by this time last year I caught and released over 300 schoolies, This year, about 50.

[fishlipper]

Same for me, clamchucker. Last year caught schoolies almost every time out in water with current. This year, pickins very slim.

Fished the NJ side NoMoCo Tue am, got a tip about bunker. ;) No bunker when I got there. Threw out a bunker head anyway, got hit within 30 seconds in the pre-dawn, but fish was small no hook up.

Threw a plug, got bit off by a bluefish. That was it as it got light out. Many spearing in the wash, should be good fishin there, at least for bluefish, for awhile.

I missed out onthe IBSP blitz too, that's fishin.

[wish4fish]

Fished last night in the back, nothing but wind. NoMoCo in the front today. Many many small cocktail bluefish, hit metal.

[clamchucker]

Decent bluefish bite at Ibsp today. Bluefish up to 11 lbs hit metal and poppers.

[fishinmission78]

Clamchucker, I got in on the end of that bluefish bite yesterday, fish up to 11lbs, big angry gators. So many people lost custom plugs, anyone ever hear of buying some beater plugs over the winter just for bluefish?:D I also missed the Island beach blitz, gets me so mad since I am there like 3times a week.:burn: Hey, thats fishin'. Back out again, heard the boats are killin em today.

[fishlipper]

Fished Thursday night into Friday. Found some bunker, snagged some for livelining. Had one nice runoff, got the fish almost all the way in before she became unbuttoned. Also had a bluefish bite my live bunker in half as the sun came up. Throwing bunker chunks or plugs didn't seem to work, they only wanted live bait.

[clamchucker]

Went to LBI yesterday. Scores of bunker just out of reach. I got some monster bluefish up to 15lbs, tore the hell out of my gear. Later, as bunker came closer, some guys in wetsuits went out and caught some big bass, huge fish. I was inspired by the youngsters, but my days of casting when you are up to your neck in water are long gone. Was nice to see them get the fish, though. Creative fishing. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon14.gif

[fishinmission78]

Man, I was probably no more than 3 miles from you, clamchucker. IBSP and nothing but a few medium sized bluefish. This is one time the south won over the North. Hey, that's fishin.

[basshunter]

Back of RB last night, pretty dead, one skate bunker chunk, saw one other guy catch a decent bluefish, that is all.

[clamchucker]

Man, I was probably no more than 3 miles from you, clamchucker. IBSP and nothing but a few medium sized bluefish. This is one time the south won over the North. Hey, that's fishin.

fnm, I hear ya. Many times in the past 2 weeks I was 2 or 3 towns away from the hottest action. That's how the cookie crumbles.

[cowherder]

Hey, at least you guys are catching. I have made 3 trips to rb in the past week, and got the :skunk: each time. Those gas costs are really starting to add up when I don't come home with anything.

[fishlipper]

Cowherder, you have to try to find areas where bait is concentrated, and you may improve your chances. Or, find the bait, get a few, and bring it to areas where you feel the fish might be. Are you fishing day or night time? PM me for more info.

[fishlipper]

Picky bluefish :don't know why:

Fished early Sun morning, NoMoCo. Woke up late, didn't start till 5:00am. Snagged some live bunker, brought them to a place with current, but I forgot the aerator. :beatin: Spent the next 2 hours using the patented fishlipper 3 stooges hand aeration method, and changing the water every 15 minutes.

In the twilight, bunker chunks got hit, one nice hit but lost fish. As soon as sun came up, they wouldn't hit chunks anymore, nor plugs or metals. Only wanted to destroy my live baits, chomp by chomp. After they did this to 4 of em, I was done, and left.

There were some people flukin, not much action. But in one group of 3, the 2 adults had a pole in each hand like Quickdraw McGraw. They had a young kid with them, so at least they got some fish.

Still wanted some action, so went to the bay where some conditions are favorable on the outgoing. Got to the spot to find 3 other guys catching bluefish 6-8lbs, but they kept moving further out. By the time I joined those guys, we were 1/2 a mile out, and by the time I caught (& lost) a fish I had waded almost a mile out. & bluefish were only hitting on the furthest casts.

We were in it almost to our upper chests, 4 crazy coconuts desperate to catch some decent bluefish. :kooky: The bluefish here were picky too, took wire leader off, best results using a specific krocodile profile metal, then later on a guy got one on a short popper. We quit when the w/sw wind started kicking up the waves.

My plug bag is still drying out, we were practicing skishing for Montauk.http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon10.gif