stomach contents thread

[storminsteve]

So for you fellas keeping your fish, what have you found in the stomachs? Last night I cut open the stomach of one bass I kept, (released 2 bigger ones before keeping that one) and it only had 4 or 5 grass shrimp in it's stomach?:huh: Where is the rest of the bait that is usually around this time of year?
The herring was around for about 2 days, the bunker are here one day, and gone the next. I would have expected to find some worm or such in this bass's stomach, but only the grass shrimp (and one tiny crab about 1/2" long)
Any of you other guys seeing this or are you finding other things in their bellies?

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[rockhopper]

If you don't mind some other feedback, we were fishing the Hudson and got some keepers today. They had herring in their bellies because there is a lot of herring up there. If your bass only had a few shrimp he must have been starving! Maybe they just got there where you were fishing and was rooting around in the bottom for any food at all and that's what he found?

[DarkSkies]

Interesting points that you bring up Steve, and very valid. There are some areas where bunker are highly concentrated. You'll find larger fish under these schools. But many of the other areas have a scarcity of small bait, it just ain't there as of yet.

I posted these comments in the NJ bluefish palooza thread:
"
I'm not talking about the bunker, which some seem to focus on to the exclusion of everything else. It's all the small bait, bay anchovies, spearing, scads, pollock and juvenile groundfish, etc, that have paved the bottoms of our inlets, marinas and tidal rivers in the past. That bait is just not there to an extent that it should be, right now. Again, that could change any day, and in some cases in South Jersey, the inlets and back bays are filled with these baitfish.

The old adage, find the food, find the fish, rings true here. :learn:"

The "intensity" of the clam bite I have been hearing of and seeing, together with your examination of the stomach contents, tells me that these fish are very hungry, and are not always successful at finding food in large quantities (as of yet).

As some others have mentioned, the bluefish being here, and chopping things up where pieces are left on the bottom, benefits us all as bass will begin to feed more regularly and have a reason to stick around for awhile. Otherwise, as the waters warm (or perhaps even before that) they will move North early in search of more food.

Good thread, guys. :thumbsup:

[seamonkey]

Wow, thanks for the info guys.

[paco33]

This was in the stomach of the bluefish I got this morning. Maybe it is a herring or a small baby weakfish? About 3" long, so I think it was too big to be a peanut bunker.

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[williehookem]

That looks like it could be a herring.

[surfstix1963]

Maybe the bait is not there in heavy concentrations yet but when the water cools even a couple of degrees they may put off the feedbag so that could be why the stomachs are empty or just plain expelled it when they were hooked either way front or back.

[surferman]

I found this on a website that is about LBI fishing, so maybe there are small herring around?


"Odd aside: As folks clean fluke (and blues) they're occasionally finding small bunker. I'm half wondering if they're not actually seeing small semi-digested herring. As I've noted before, this is the time of year that huge balls of small (unidentified species) herring are around. I just don't know how peanut bunker would be in the mix this time of year. "

[fishinmission78]

Id say herring.

[ledhead36]

We got some nice bass the other night to 29lbs on whole clams. They ate the clams but their bellies were full of 9" bunker. Go figure.

[Pebbles]

Ick!!!!!!!

[DarkSkies]

This was the only thing in the stomach of a bass I cleaned the other night....

[DarkSkies]

Crabs on the rocks, anyone?......
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[williehookem]

That is amazing that they will eat crabs. Even with that hard shell. Their stomach acid must be pretty strong. Cool.

[DarkSkies]

... Even with that hard shell. Their stomach acid must be pretty strong. Cool.

Willie, the secret to what you see it that they were soft shell....(on the new moon) ;) :HappyWave:
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Some pics of the bass' stomach I kept the last week of Dec.....
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[dogfish]

whiteleggers

[jigfreak]

I kept 1 fish, this was inside it. The crabs were almost 4".
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[jigfreak]

The bait we talked about last time is no longer there. Instead herring were on the menu, so the swimmer you see in the pics accounted for the action....

Yo dark, you still in the game?
Coming out this week? Take a look -

[DarkSkies]

wtg on paying attention. :fishing:
Yeah, I'm still in the game JF,

Did some scouting last time I was out.......you have mail.... :HappyWave:

[jigfreak]

They were still eating these last week, what an amazing run.

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[crosseyedbass]

Cool!

[ledhead36]

Nice to know jigfreak, thanks for the info.

[ledhead36]

This was in the belly 3 weeks ago. Lately they have had nothing in them at all. Cant figure it out.

[DarkSkies]

In the stomach of the bass last night.......

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3 peanuts, some slim eel like creature (about 8" long, 1/8" wide, and some small spot or spearing)

[paco33]

Sure you didn't find any dissolved poop in there?:scared: :HappyWave:

[buckethead]

From the keeper bass I got yesterday

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[storminsteve]

Awesome pic buckethead. I wonder how many of those are around now for them to eat?

[finchaser]

Squid are usually in fish that have crossed the mudhole from long island to NJ

[buckethead]

Squid are usually in fish that have crossed the mudhole from long island to NJ

that's what I was thinking too but wasn't sure. Thanks for confirming.

[baitstealer]

This was in the belly of the striper I got May 3. Does anyone have an idea what they were, and why the bass would eat the weeds on the bottom too? thanks


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the left pic is the sea weed and the right pic is the small things it was eating. The skeletons were about 2" long.

[finchaser]

look like parasites on the right

[DarkSkies]

I kept one of the legal bass I caught on 6/28. These were the stomach contents. Small fish 4-5" long.


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[J Barbosa]

Check this fatty out...39" and 26-27lbs on the boga.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3780/10936235375_622be6cb3e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/10936235375/)

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2819/10936235225_30490fb7ab_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/10936235225/)


Someone call fish and game this bass has has a real taste for short blackfish and he is way over the legal limit.


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7454/10936294196_9b26f8c9cc_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/10936294196/)

We counted 9 blackfish and five peanuts.

All this and he still inhaled a plug DEEP!

[baitstealer]

Someone call fish and game this bass has has a real taste for short blackfish and he is way over the legal limit.


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7454/10936294196_9b26f8c9cc_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/10936294196/)

We counted 9 blackfish and five peanuts.

All this and he still inhaled a plug DEEP!

Very cool, is that one of the blackfish on the bottom right corner?

[Monty]

We counted 9 blackfish and five peanuts.

All this and he still inhaled a plug DEEP!

Wow, awesome bass JB. A real pig.

[storminsteve]

:clapping:Nice fish JB!

[ledhead36]

Fished the back last night and there were blues all over. There were hundreds of bunker at a time passing by. Kept the only bass of the night 33". Also a few blues. What was in the belly? Chunks of bunker and bunker head. Didn't take a pic but they are gorging on this bunker. I bet before the end of the month someone gets a 20 pound bluefish from land. Demon eating machines they are.
jbarbosa pretty cool stomach contents pic thanks for sharing.

[i bd fossil]

not reporting for this year. But last season my wife lost a big striper to a breakoff . 3 days later a fellow fisherman returned the shad lure she lost in the fish. We should have stayed, he caught it about 1 hour after she lost it. 37 inch FATTY

[seamonkey]

That was nice of him to return your lure it could have been your fish! What a cool story and even cooler that your wife was fishing with you.

[i bd fossil]

Yes, it would have been a nice catch. My wife and I go fishing together all the time. I hate to admit it, But she is a MUCH BETTER fisherman than I am.

[J Barbosa]

Found about half a fluke in the belly of a 6# bluefish.

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Might not look like one but it is definitely a fluke.

[fishinmission78]

Nice pic they also eat the baby sea robins and any other baby baitfish around. Damn eating machines those bluefish are. They can chop up 20 baby fluke in a matter of minutes.

[fishinmission78]

Didn't take a pic but the fish I got this morning had a belly full of sandeels and 2 bunker. They be here.

[ledhead36]

Kept a 29" bass last night. Long and skinny. The belly was completely empty. these fish are just starting to come out of suspended animation and feed.

[rockhopper]

They finally hit our shores last week. It's a beautiful sight to see when they are washing up on the beach. These are the stomach contents someone posted on the net. Delish!

[fishinmission78]

Peanuts are king right now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF5bksxINrI

[fishinmission78]

Heads up, the striper I kept last night had two squid and one adult bunker in its belly.

[hookedonbass]

awesome. I didn't even know squid came in close to the beach this time of year. Thanks for sharing and congrats on the catch.