NJ fishing reports for May 2011...www.StripersandAnglers.com

[DarkSkies]

NJ fishing reports for May 2011...www.StripersandAnglers.com (http://www.StripersandAnglers.com)




NJ fishing reports for May 2011...www.stripersandanglers.com (http://www.stripersandanglers.com/)
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:
Out Front (Ocean) OR -- Out Back (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]

_Surferman,
you won the plug in the April random drawing!:clapping: :thumbsup:
PM me your address so I can send it out to ya!




We post these reports so our community will have a sense of what is working, what is not. We want to show people how to catch fish, rather than where.

If you struck out or got skunked, it would be helpful to hear that as well. Anyone who posts a report can win a plug even if they got skunked! :skunk::D


This month we're giving out plugs from Ace Baits, or something similar.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...splay.php?f=83 (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/forumdisplay.php?f=83)

Thanks for posting and helping to make this a great site! :clapping:


http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6338&thumb=1&d=1238964999 (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6338&d=1238964999)

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6340&thumb=1&d=1238965622 (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6340&d=1238965622)


http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6339&thumb=1&d=1238965319 (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6339&d=1238965319)

[DarkSkies]

Fished last night.
Got skunked in not just one, but 2 states! :skunk: :wheeeee:
Lots of fun with psychotic fishermen in between.... :kooky:
Details to follow if I get a chance. :fishing:

[Monty]

Fished this morning 2:00 till 10:00. Skunk-a-roo-skie. Threw lots and lots of rubber along with some wood and metal.
One of the areas I fished had Bass caught on clams an hour or so before I got there. They would not touch artificials.
Thinking of changing my signature to Mr Skunk, or King Skunk...maybe The Skunkster.... :idea: Skunkmeister.
I am pretty sure I am embedded in my longest consecutive cast marathon without catching a fish in my life. Heck, I am thinking if I get a solid hit now it will scare the daylights out of me and I'll drop my rod and reel.
Still having a great time out there....but I definitely have developed a complex....:wheeeee:
Log book for 2011 will be a real easy read:
Lots and lots and lots of casts in real good looking water. One HUGE Skunk.
Zero impact on Striper and Bluefish stocks :thumbsup:

[kevnmary]

Monty
Sorry I didn't call or meet you (actually after reading your report I'm not that sorry) I was cleaning trout until 10:00pm and was just too tired to make it out. I slept late cut the lawn and packed my truck for a trip down tonite. Planning on fishing 8:00-12:00, going to stay on the inside.

[gjb1969]

dont feel bad i have started off just like last year no keeper bass no blues monty so u are not alone :eek: u will get into some bass

[wish4fish]

dudes i got the skunk last nite too it wasnt so bad tho cuz we had some real life skunk in the middle burnin the bud lol:bong2: monty lots of nites we fish and it sux so wat we just keep tryin and the the next nite its awesome. dont give up u are a good dude and u will catch soon enough:thumbsup:

[Monty]

Planning on fishing 8:00-12:00, going to stay on the inside.
Was no bait (unless you call clams bait), in the area I fished, best of skill to ya.


dont give up u are a good dude and u will catch soon enough:thumbsup:

dont feel bad i have started off just like last year no keeper bass no blues monty so u are not alone :eek: u will get into some bass
Thanks guys, I have a great time if I catch or don't catch :lookhappy:. Just love getting out there. The area I have been fishing really hasn't had much (any) bait around when I have been there (my choice). I'm going to expand the area in the next few weeks. Been a long time without a bent rod. I have been a notoriously bad April fisherman. Over the last 5 years I have only caught a couple times in April.....Just noticed its May Day, well when I left my house last night it was April......Need sleep .

[hookset]

Thanks guys, I have a great time if I catch or don't catch :lookhappy:. Just love getting out there.

:clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping: That's what it's all about, why can't more guys think that way?
I have been out for the last 2 nights, no bass, but a few big bluefish to 10lbs, all on bunker chunks, RB

[chas527]

fished this morning 2 small bass an a blow fish havn't cought one off the beach in years. cold breeze this morning.

[kevnmary]

I hit a couple of spot in the RB last night. Fished from 8:00-11:00. I threw wood and rubber and didn't even get a tap. Plenty of guys throwing chunks and snot and I didn't see any fish for them either. Is it me or are there alot of snags in the RB? Everytime I was fishing rubber or a diver I was getting hung up on things. I actullay lost a jig when my 30lb flouro leader snapped on a snag. Whats on the bottom of that bay?

[DarkSkies]

Kev, nice report... at least ya tried. :HappyWave:

I know that bay intimately, but I can tell you it changes every year. To be on top of your game, scouting has helped me tremendously. And I ain't talking about scouting for swans and geese. :kooky: :laugh: Some would think that's all I do, but the reality is, I put much of my confidence in my scouting trips.

I know where the fish are at certain times. Intel really helps that along. ;)
But what if they move over 1 mile from where they were, or move a few towns away? :huh: I'm constantly asking myself "why" this is happening, and what factors (wind, tide, and presence of bait varieties) are most likely causing this.

I can also tell you the RB has been a vast wasteland for me this year. Some of my "Hail Mary" spots have been devoid of small bait, other than grass shrimp, thus far for long periods of time. There were some nice winter spearing around 3 weeks ago, Their presence held the fish in one area for 6 days, that was a sweet fishery for a lot of guys, bait and artificial.

Conditions change all the time. Despite calling it a vast wasteland, the RB/NY Bight area is still one of my favorite places to fish. :thumbsup: It's potential to hold fish is tremendous, as long as there are varieties of forage fish other than bunker in a particular area. As finchaser and others have said, bunker act like a vacuum in some areas. They draw big fish to them like a vacuum, and suck them out of that area when they leave.

How I deal with all of this:
I'm moving around a lot more, picking up a fish, staying for awhile, or having no action at all, and moving quickly when I see that's the case.

How I deal with the snags and obstacles:
I scout like a fiend every year, like it's my first time. I scout after major storms to see if there are any changes in cuts, valleys/sloughs, and creek mouths. When you find a productive drain/creek mouth, if you're pitching to the top of the sandbar at high tide, likely you are wasting your time unless you have previously scouted and really have an understanding where the drop-off is. Fish are likely to stack up there in strong tides.

I also know where most of the tires, shopping carts, and cables are, because I have lost many a jig to them. It's in my best interest to make mental notes of any new ones each time.

When I do this:
Usually at the end of my trip. Let's say you fished the whole tide, the water has dropped out, and the activity has come to a screeching halt. Do you just bag it and go home at that point? :don't know why:
I don't - I selectively try to learn even more by walking out in the bay to areas I normally can't reach. This is killer during new or full moon tideshttp://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon3.png and something I would recommend to anyone who wants to increase their catch numbers. Please be aware that during moon tides, the bay can flood quickly and you can run into trouble if not prepared. Do not ever make the mistake of thinking of the bay as one flat bowl with gradually decreasing depths. There are countless trype of structure as described above.

So when I say I try my best to get to know the bay each year, I can say that with confidence because I've put a lot of work in. I've seen that certain tides (ebb or flood) seem to be most productive, and fish that knowledge until I notice those conditions changing. Then, I change my assumptions and game plan accordingly.

It's nice to have someone tell you they caught fish somewhere, follow up on it, and get fish too. But to me, the real challenge is being able to find them, or hypothesize where they went, or hypothesize why they aren't aggressively hitting artificials (currently because the water temps dropped too quickly in the last few days)








Thanks for the informative post. Even if you don't catch, posting time, tide, and conditions is extremely helpful in allowing others to fill in pieces of the puzzle at times. And don't let anyone kid ya, Kev, it is a puzzle.

Anyone who claims they're catching all the time, is lying to boost their ago. There's nothing wrong with getting skunked....
(Although today I went to the trophy store and am pleased to announce I ordered a first ever Stripers and Anglers "King of the Skunks" trophy if Monty doesn't catch a bass by May 20th :laugh: ;) :HappyWave:)


Hope some of this helps. It may seem somewhat long-winded, but if you had that question I'm sure some other folks had it as well. Good luck. :fishing:

[voyager35]

Fished Raritan bay yesterday, near Roamer. 9 bass to 16lbs on the outgoing tide, bunker chunks.

[kevnmary]

Kev, nice report... at least ya tried. :HappyWave:

I know that bay intimately, but I can tell you it changes every year. To be on top of your game, scouting has helped me tremendously. And I ain't talking about scouting for swans and geese. :kooky: :laugh: Some would think that's all I do, but the reality is, I put much of my confidence in my scouting trips.

I know where the fish are at certain times. Intel really helps that along. ;)
But what if they move over 1 mile from where they were, or move a few towns away? :huh: I'm constantly asking myself "why" this is happening, and what factors (wind, tide, and presence of bait varieties) are most likely causing this.

I can also tell you the RB has been a vast wasteland for me this year. Some of my "Hail Mary" spots have been devoid of small bait, other than grass shrimp, thus far for long periods of time. There were some nice winter spearing around 3 weeks ago, Their presence held the fish in one area for 6 days, that was a sweet fishery for a lot of guys, bait and artificial.

Conditions change all the time. Despite calling it a vast wasteland, the RB/NY Bight area is still one of my favorite places to fish. :thumbsup: It's potential to hold fish is tremendous, as long as there are varieties of forage fish other than bunker in a particular area. As finchaser and others have said, bunker act like a vacuum in some areas. They draw big fish to them like a vacuum, and suck them out of that area when they leave.

How I deal with all of this:
I'm moving around a lot more, picking up a fish, staying for awhile, or having no action at all, and moving quickly when I see that's the case.

How I deal with the snags and obstacles:
I scout like a fiend every year, like it's my first time. I scout after major storms to see if there are any changes in cuts, valleys/sloughs, and creek mouths. When you find a productive drain/creek mouth, if you're pitching to the top of the sandbar at high tide, likely you are wasting your time unless you have previously scouted and really have an understanding where the drop-off is. Fish are likely to stack up there in strong tides.

I also know where most of the tires, shopping carts, and cables are, because I have lost many a jig to them. It's in my best interest to make mental notes of any new ones each time.

When I do this:
Usually at the end of my trip. Let's say you fished the whole tide, the water has dropped out, and the activity has come to a screeching halt. Do you just bag it and go home at that point? :don't know why:
I don't - I selectively try to learn even more by walking out in the bay to areas I normally can't reach. This is killer during new or full moon tideshttp://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon3.png and something I would recommend to anyone who wants to increase their catch numbers. Please be aware that during moon tides, the bay can flood quickly and you can run into trouble if not prepared. Do not ever make the mistake of thinking of the bay as one flat bowl with gradually decreasing depths. There are countless trype of structure as described above.

So when I say I try my best to get to know the bay each year, I can say that with confidence because I've put a lot of work in. I've seen that certain tides (ebb or flood) seem to be most productive, and fish that knowledge until I notice those conditions changing. Then, I change my assumptions and game plan accordingly.

It's nice to have someone tell you they caught fish somewhere, follow up on it, and get fish too. But to me, the real challenge is being able to find them, or hypothesize where they went, or hypothesize why they aren't aggressively hitting artificials (currently because the water temps dropped too quickly in the last few days)








Thanks for the informative post. Even if you don't catch, posting time, tide, and conditions is extremely helpful in allowing others to fill in pieces of the puzzle at times. And don't let anyone kid ya, Kev, it is a puzzle.

Anyone who claims they're catching all the time, is lying to boost their ago. There's nothing wrong with getting skunked....
(Although today I went to the trophy store and am pleased to announce I ordered a first ever Stripers and Anglers "King of the Skunks" trophy if Monty doesn't catch a bass by May 20th :laugh: ;) :HappyWave:)


Hope some of this helps. It may seem somewhat long-winded, but if you had that question I'm sure some other folks had it as well. Good luck. :fishing:


Very helpful, Thank you. It never even occured to me that there could be a bar in front of me when I'm wading and casting since it seems to be dropping gradually as I move in. One of the places I stopped last night looks great on Google maps but I probably should have kept walking around until I reached the creek mouth. I saw some guys throwing bait to the right of me and decided not to bother them, not knowing that the beach worked its way around well past them. I see today after checking the map they were working a point and there was a creek mouth past them. (I know it now for future reference). Not knowing the area its a little intimidating fishing it alone. This area also had some of the slickest mud I've had to deal with in the RB. I have this weekend to myself as the wife and kids are going to Atlanta. I plan on scouting and hopefully finding some fish on Fri, Sat & Sun. (even if I have to jump on a charter!) Thanks for the info Dark Skies!

[DarkSkies]

Hey Kev, glad to be of help.
And that mud you're talking about, holds many varieties of worms and crustaceans. Those areas should produce when nothing else will. Unfortunately the last few days have seen diminished action both for bait guys and guys throwing artificials.

Took Pebbles out last night in search of some quick bluefish action. We plugged the first place for a bit on the flood, nothing. Then made it down to the 2nd early season hot-spot, only to find a few guys walking off. They reported action with scattered blues to 12#, but it only lasted 45 minutes. Died one hour before the top of the flood with plenty of sunlight left. :huh: Definitely no consistency or hot bite yet.

She did get a chance to use her Finchaser rod, though. Cast like a dream and no fatigue on her shoulder. A pleasure to fish, thanks to Fin. :thumbsup: :HappyWave:

[cowherder]

Guys there was a clam blitz in nomoco today. The water was a little rough, so I was apprehensive when I got down there at 3pm, and just got done a few minutes ago. I got out of work early, thinking if it rains it will be bad fishing for a few days. The bass didn't care they were hungry! I got 5 bass on the incoming tide to 31", all between 28-31". I kept the first one and threw the others back. I would have never guess they would be so active on clams! It was if they had no other food to eat, darkskies maybe you are right, because I didn't see any kind of bait in the water at all. My best day so far this spring!:headbang:
There were also guys catcing bluefish here and there on bunker, or with ava jigs. I threw one for a few minutes and got a blue about 10lns, what a fight!:fishing: I would have kept fishing but had to head home to help with family responsibilities. I hate when you have to leave and the fishing is good!

[jigfreak]

threw wood and rubber and didn't even get a tap.

How big was the wood you were throwing?

[stripermania]

Last night I brought in 2 bass to 34". One was caught using my bunker bait rig, the other I was using rubber. Sometimes you have to switch things up.

[finchaser]

7 bass to 33" all on jig head and rubber tail all still alive and well

[DarkSkies]

Glad to see some of ya's got out. There's a lot of talk on surf fishing web sites about fishing Noreasters. That almost never pans out except for Montauk and beaches similar to that. :kooky:

The move to make is to fish in front of the weather pattern. Look for a window, plan when you have to be out of there with a margin for safety, and fish hard. :fishing:


Last night was one such night.
As Cowherder did his homework and noticed, the storm we had today will shut the bite down for at least 24 hours in many areas. Cold dirty water ain't good for much except dumping Osama's body into. :cool:

Fished the last of the flood tide near where some bluefish were showing up. They tend to come in on the flood this time of year. The water had no signs of life at all. Picked up a few blues to 12# using small metal, varying retrieve, dragging on the bottom.

When that died, hit a few more places. Lots of dead water. Even people with bait were getting blanked. Kept moving around. Stopped at one area I'd done well at before, a few people around, a slow pick of fish, lots of casting. Managed a 32" bass around 12# on rubber. This put me in a hyper-fishin mood, thinking it might develop into a mad-dog bite. :drool: It didn't happen that way. It remained a slow pick for the whole night, but it was action. Any action is better than none, even if it's bluefish. And the blues did show up every now and then. No sign when they came, no sign when they left, except for chopped rubber.

Casted for 2 more hours until I managed another bass 36", and about 15#. That kept me out all night, way longer than I should have stayed. The reason I told myself I stayed is that I can't leave action. That gets too compulsive sometimes. We're better off setting a limit, say 50 casts with no activity, and then bailing to get back to our real lives and families. keeping a sense of reality and normalcy. :)

There are many addictions in life. Fishing just happens to be one of them,,,,albeit a somewhat healthy one. :cool: :fishing:

[fishinmission78]

2 bass to 30" today. Island beach, 6-8a. Clams.

[wish4fish]

bigger bass are back, we got 3 to 37" tonite on bunkr they wanted small pieces go figure. all on incomeing.

[gjb1969]

well i got rid of the little fish and got my keeper nice clean fish now i hope the bigger fish stay for a while but i hope bunker show i need my yellow eyed deamons to show up

[Monty]

igot my keeper nice clean fish now i hope the bigger fish stay for a while .
Nice fish G !!

[ledhead36]

Nice fish G, congrats on your first keeper of the year, isn't it sweet!:clapping::clapping:
I fished the incoming too after work, close to low. We had to wade out far to cast and then walk back. Got one nice bass 36 1/2" on clams. Wish4fish its crazy that you said the fish wanted bunker, where I was clams outfished bunker. This is definitely a looney season, no pattern at all.:kooky:
There was a group of 4 guys to my left who slayed them. They each got 2 bass to 40", fishing big gobs of clams on a big hook, and walking out far and casting, and then walking back to shore. Oh, the hits were one and done, not as savage as you would expect from bigger fish. If you didn't have the rod in your hands you didn't hook the fish. It was windy too, rough conditions with cold brown water but the fish seemed to be there at low tide. Later on as the tide came in the bass bite slowed down and some pluggers got some blues on poppers. Dark were you out there early last night?

[DarkSkies]

G, WTG on the fish, dude! I know ya been putting in a lot of time, many different places. :clapping: :thumbsup:
Ledhead, that wasn't me. I was out in the pre-dawn hours this morning.
For the guys who got out, way to be persistent. I really thought that chocolate milk water would slow the bite down....I think it did, but some points and drains had bigger migratory bass on the prowl looking for food.





Started at 3am, made a few stops. Dead water. Went to another beach, usually some bass action when they are active. I think I missed the bass window, fishing the last of the ebb. I did see some rainfish 1-2", and some small blues harassing them. Tried different presentations. They nipped at the ends of small rubber, so I went with small swimmers and downsized until I got action. Picky bite on rainfish, missed quite a few. Managed 4 small blues to 5#. That bite died before first light.

Checked a bluefish area on the way back. It was the middle of the flood tide. A few were caught, but fishing was spotty there too. Congrats to Louis from NY :HappyWave: who's off from work this week fishin, and coming all the way down to NJ to fish the bays. He nailed a bluefish on bunker as we were talking. :thumbsup:

The water is still cold for the most part unless you're fishing a drain. As others mentioned, the bay water is still dirty as well. Bait fishin seems to be your best bet if you want to catch a bass of any size, and lethargic bluefish. :cool:

Guys throwing artificials are hooking up, but with less frequency due to the change in water temps and clarity from the rain. As said in the Turd Ferguson thread, slow and low is the way to go, unless you find predators pushing bait to the top.

[clamchucker]

Fished the park from 6-12. Managed 3 bass to 33" on clams. Kept the smallest one at 28".

[gjb1969]

thanks guys and yes it is sweet i hope i get a few more this year

[hookset]

Great reports guys, thanks for sharing. I have been busy but got out tonight in the moco surf. It was a little big and windy. I threw bucktails, one undersized bass at 25". It felt fishy but was a little too hard with the wind and surf.

[DarkSkies]

Last night was one of those nights when ya say "I'm tired, maybe I'll stay home....http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon9.png....glad I didn't. :d On the way out, I told a friend "I'm only gonna fish for 2 hours" :laugh:. I ended up fishin all night again, the whole ebb tide.

The level of bait and feeding activity was high as I walked out there. Bass and bluefish were sporadically feeding on bunker and rainfish.

Small presentation was key. The bass would only touch small rubber and the smallest swimmers I had put in my bag after I saw the rainfish the other night. The bunker were coming in close, then driftiing out. I had the best action when they were scarce. After getting some rubber chopped by bluefish I decided to work topwater plugs hard, and got some great action.

Managed 6 bass to 35". All bass were 28" and up. Also 9 small blues. Had action with at least twice that many.The small blues were focused on the rainfish too. I was hoping for the big ones that people had at the end of day.They were nowhere to be found at night. The true bass action only lasted about an hour, then slowly diminished. When you're out there, you never know how long that bite will last. I get into a hyper mode when that happens, maybe too intense for some people. However, when the bite ends suddenly and you missed out, you learn to appreciate it for what it is.

As the bite slowed, I tried larger presentations in my bag to see if there was anything else they would key in on. Most of them resulted only in half-hearted hits and swipes. Even the bluefish dropped the plug once they felt it wasn't a forage fish they were mouthing.

What was exciting to me was the level of action and aggressiveness toward artificials. Only a fellow artificial addict might be able to understand my enthusiasm for that activity. :viking: :headbang: :bigeyes: There are nights and nights where you go out, have a pick here and there, and have to move on and work for every fish. It was much easier yesterday as the water was alive with predators and bait. They came in close several times. :drool:

The most productive part of the tide was deep into the night. It seemed there were less people out and about. I'll fish that tide pattern until the weather or bait presence changes.

[bababooey]

Nice going DS! Looks like you surf rats are holding your own. I haven't even splashed my boat yet, so far behind this year. Went out yesterday late afternoon on a friend's boat and made various stops in the Raritan Bay. He bought fresh bunker as we were in a hurry and wanted to get fishing quickly. We set up on the chunk, and it was a slow pick of bass to 32". Kept 2 for the table, and we also had to deal with some monster bluefish to 16 pounds. Those devils from the deep were full of energy and got lots of blood all over the boat. :scared:They were fun though. I hope you guys are getting into them from shore because they are here. All activity was in 15-20' of water.

[fishinmission78]

Played with the tailor blues at Island beach this morning, all the small blues you could want, metal and bucktails.

[storminsteve]

Last night was one of those nights when ya say "I'm tired, maybe I'll stay home....http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon9.png....glad I didn't. :d On the way out, I told a friend "I'm only gonna fish for 2 hours" :laugh:. I ended up fishin all night again, the whole ebb tide.

The level of bait and feeding activity was high as I walked out there. Bass and bluefish were sporadically feeding on bunker and rainfish.


Amen dark, you have to be in it to win it! I think bunker were everywhere in the back bays last night. It was easy to make bait, and we still have some fresh ones on ice for tonight. Got 3 bass to 36", bunker heads. Kept 1 for the table. These were all bigger and fatter fish than they have been. I love those heads, like bass candy.

[clamchucker]

There are some pods of bigger bass coming north. I caught and released 4 this morning in the park to 34". Clams.

[surfwalker]

Out front. 5am-10:30am. Arty's produced not a tap for me. 3 shorts and 2 keepers(released) on salted clam. Blues were present, out of casting range for most of the morning.

[cowherder]

Wow great news guys! I am getting ready to go out now, hopefully I will have something to report!

[Shorelady]

Fished all day in multiple places in RB today in the yak. Blues and more blues 2-6 lb. Fluked for a while in the am and got 1 fluke at 19 inches. Great day on the water.

[gjb1969]

word of the day is bluefish:HappyWave:i got my fix big time big blues some over 10lb hey ds u should have had your yak out were i was fishing big blued just off the bottom full of fight

[Monty]

word of the day is bluefish:HappyWave:i got my fix big time big blues some over 10lb hey ds u should have had your yak out were i was fishing big blued just off the bottom full of fight
:viking: :thumbsup: Nice G, love wrastling with big blues

[DarkSkies]

big blued just off the bottom full of fight

Yup G, they have been tight to the bottom no matter what the water depth unless actively feeding on forage. Awesome action those big blues. I know ya were lookin for them. Glad to see ya found em. :thumbsup: :fishing:



************
Fished with Finchaser for the tides deep into the night yesterday. Pebbles was supposed to come along, but she hurt herself helping with the free wood we've been getting lately (any plug builders who want free blocks of 12" x 12" x 9" oak or other hardwoods let me know and they're yours, have at least 20)

We started by scouting a few areas to get a feel for what was happening. We didn't see anywhere near the quantities of bait that were around previously, a little disappointing. Didn't see any action in some of the areas we walked to to get a feel for what was being caught.

We worked the incoming for an hour at one place, not even a tap, no signs of life. Went to another beach and set up to fish the ebb. Fished the top half. It was a slow pick at times, as the activity seemed sporadic. We still managed some good numbers, albeit much smaller fish than the day before.

The problem last night, IMO, was the notable lack of rainfish concentrations that were prevalent the night before. When you have multiple types of small forage around, it seems to stimulate all the predators in an area to go on a feeding binge, and it just did not happen that way yesterday. They were feeding on grass shrimp, so small profiles were again productive. Bunker were around, and came and went in and out of the wash. Not many big fish following them, though.

We managed double digits of bluefish up to one about 8# (most were much smaller), and a few small bass. The bass activity, like last time, was confined to about an hour of feeding, then shut down as the bluefish took over.

Once Fin dialed in to where in the water column the blues were feeding, he was on fire :eek:, at times getting whacked or hooked up every cast or other cast. He easily had 30 or more bluefish. It was like watching a fishing machine in action as he dialed in. I could barely keep up with the Old Grouchy Basstard as he landed fish after fish. :moon: :HappyWave: My numbers were only half of what he nailed. It was good to see an old salt in action, though. Senior citizens throughout the country should be very proud....:ROFLMAO

We did go through a lot of rubber. Some fish were caught on small swimmers, but without the heavy rainfish concentrations, it seemed rubber was a better profile. And it wasn't really the profile, it was the presentation, as Fin discovered and exploited wisely. :thumbsup:

Some people don't think of blues as noteworthy or exciting to read about. The truth is,,,these were small blues,,,and nothing to ring bells with. However, a good fisherman learns to appreciate the table that is set before him. Last night the bigger bass were conspicuously absent. Playing the bluefish action out till it diminished was the only game in town, if you wanted a bend in the rod. So we did, and had a blast. :cool: :fishing:






As we wrapped it up, Fin predicted I would be fishin all night.:beatin: I promised him I wouldn't (It's a risky thing for a die-hard fisherman to make a promise like this.http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon9.png )

I said I would post this as soon as I got home. Turns out I faded out while driving, and had to pull in to a Parkway rest stop to crash for a few hours. I was shot. Even though that Old Fart is older than me, and at times seems older than Methuselah :laugh:, I'll bet he made it home without having to stop for "nap time" :ROFLMAO

Great fishin with ya, Fin. I had a blast, as always. :thumbsup:
We'll get more bass next time.... :)

[cowherder]

Great report Darkskies really enjoyed reading that. You take a night catching small bluefish and turn it into a cool story! At least it seems cooler than my fishing usually is. Last night I fished nomoco from 8-11pm near the high tide. Fresh clams, one skate and one striper 24". I didn't see much other than short stripers caught, and it seemed the only things that were working were clams. Some guys plugging got nada. I would take that action with those bluefish any time. Thanks for the report!

[ledhead36]

I didn't do much better guys. One 27 1/2" bass on clams, pinching the tail made it 27 3/4", threw back to get bigger.

[SharkHart]

I made a run for a back bay slam last night in the lower barnaget last night and was again reminded of a few things. I started out targeting tiderunner weakies in the one of the old spots and i casted a pink zoom for 2.5 hours without a hit, i really wanted to quit, but stubbornness kicked in and i stayed at it, I finally got a "slot" sized bass on a spot change.
Then i got my first fluke of the season just before the tide moved out, fittingly on opening day. Once the water got moving it became alive with bass, before they really started poping I got 5 bass fast, all under 20",
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll194/SharkHart/102_9980.jpg
then literally the water was exploding with a few hundred fish as far as i could see, i could tell by the pops, they were all small fish. good news Finchaser :d
Amazingly they wouldnt touch a thing, i downsized lightened up changed colors, plugged for an hour i only got one bass and a single blue casting through churning water. I stuck to them too long in fact. I thought i could hear fish off in the distance too and i was burning darkness on these finicky little guys. At 4:15 i walked about 200 yards up tide and i again found bass thick crashing the water on grass shrimp. First cast 28" er :drool: This school although not as numerous were more willing and better fish, in 30 mins I took 9 more all 24-30" I ran out of darkness and they all left once that light cracked the sky.

So about a day after i whined about too many fish going wide a serious school of bass came in late, many small but a size a lot of people are glad to see. I really never seen that many fish in a small area like that. literally hundred of those smaller guys, was quite a sight and sound hearing those fish blast bait
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll194/SharkHart/102_9979.jpg
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll194/SharkHart/102_9982.jpg

[storminsteve]

I made a run for a back bay slam last night in the lower barnaget last night and was again reminded of a few things. I started out targeting tiderunner weakies in the one of the old spots and i casted a pink zoom for 2.5 hours without a hit, i really wanted to quit, but stubbornness kicked in and i stayed at it, I finally got a "slot" sized bass on a spot change.


Anyone who can fish for weakies for 2.5 hours without a hit and doesn't get discouraged is hard core in my book. That's an inspiration, dude! Congrats on the back bay slam. I haven't heard of a lot of people catching fluke at night, you got skills, great report. Dark and Finchaser really enjoyed reading yours to. - But Dark, maybe you get tired because you type all those long *** reports.:laugh: And taking a nap because you were too tired to drive home??:huh: I suspect you will be part of the old farts club soon if you are not already there. I hope everyone had a good day today and got a chance to spend with Mom, if she is still alive.
My report- I was out last night for the incoming, got skunked big time. No hits on freshly snagged bunker, and there was enough bunker there to fill a tractor trailer. Maybe too much bunker? Oh well, next time. Tight lines to all.

[Monty]

Nice report Dark and SharkHart,
I fished from 1:30 to 9:00 this morning. Maybe a few bumps in the dark....Sunrise I finally caught a fish (first of year, 1 pound Blue, finally get rid of that 2011 :skunk:) ......Picked up 4 small blues and a short bass. Teaser, rubber and metal. Bass/Blue Double. Missed a few hits. Had a great time and was relieved to finally catch a fish (might have been 30 hours of casting without hooking up :wheeeee:).
http://rocksimpson.com/images/2011_5_8_Double.jpg

[hookset]

Finally got rid of that skunk Monty, nice!!!! Double header is awesome!

[gjb1969]

way to go monty:fishing:

[DarkSkies]

See, Monty, how a decent night of fishin can make a difference in one's outlook? Now I gotta give that skunk trophy to someone else! :laugh:
WTG, bro, ya done good with the teaser. :thumbsup:

Nice reports everyone, informative, helpful, upbeat, glad to see guys out there and hitting it hard. :fishing:

[seamonkey]

Congrats on the catches guys! Sharkhart that was a great report congrats on the slam! I fished a cape may beach last night, using clam and bunker. Got one skate and 2 doggies. Is there a grand slam for junk fish? The water still seemed cold. It was a nice night to be out but was hoping for at least 1 small striper.

[chas527]

fished sh this morning 6 till 1pm 1 skate 1 sea robbin didn't see a striper caught.

[SharkHart]

thanks! but it was a near slam, no weakie, tried but they are extinct

[chas527]

fished sh this morning 630 till 1pm one bass but it was a keeper 291/2 long an lean did'n see another bass caught on the whole beach.

[DarkSkies]

no weakie, tried but they are extinct

Not exactly, but they may as well be. You give it your all to bend the rod with a few large weakies each year, :thumbsup: and the showing has been dismal so far....they ain't exactly being helped by the gillnetters who have been pulling in the 12-16# breeder weakfish in the last 2 weeks and selling them at the Co-Ops for 20c/lb.


Fishin report:
Had an hour to fish this morning, fished 4-5am. Only had time for 1 stop. The bunker were gone. The grass shrimp that had been plentiful temporarily vanished, not one to be seen in the water. No other bait at all in the water, which seemed colder than it had been.

Not a tap, royal skunk. Worked all levels of the water column with various presentations.

[hookset]

Late report, I had off from work this week and have gotten into some nice bass. Finally some good fishing! Monday I fished the afternoon in moco, 5 bass to 23pounds, pencil poppers. Tues same general area, 3 bass to 19lbs on a swimmer right before dark. Yesterday I got 1 bass 32" and a mess of medium blues to 10lbs. Bass on poppers and blues on metal. There was a lot of weeds around yesterday, not so many the other 2 days. All bass released except for a few blues I kept for the neighbors.

[c4charlie]

I still am looking for my first fish of the year on a plug. I fished a good 6 hours last night (covering lots of ground) and about the same number of hours over the weekend and not a tap. Got excited reading about the posts of guys taking some nice fish on big plugs on night. I tried a lot of plugs and big soft plastics in good looking water but nothing. I am going back to fishing bunker which has been pretty consistent for me. I thought I would take a break on Sun and take the family to Round Valley for some fishing fun. Thought that would break my skunk from Fri/Sat. We saw at least 200 fish all over the place, bass, trout and sunfish. Did everything possible to get them to bite and they were the most uninterested I have ever seen fish. Was from the boat and brought plenty of lures, worms, flies over their heads and not one sniff. Actually, my older son did get one hookup but the bass got off. It was a real sight to see though, lots of big fish cruising around the shallows and lots of schools. Even the sunfish could care less. I told my kids to pretend we are not there to catch them and to just enjoy being able to see them in their natural environments. They still tried but no success. Even my home pond where we always catch bass hasn't produced any LMB for us. A bit of a bad streak that will hopefully change soon. Got spoiled early in the season doing a lot of catching, now I am just fishing!

[clamchucker]

We saw at least 200 fish all over the place, bass, trout and sunfish. Did everything possible to get them to bite and they were the most uninterested I have ever seen fish. Was from the boat and brought plenty of lures, worms, flies over their heads and not one sniff. Actually, my older son did get one hookup but the bass got off. It was a real sight to see though, lots of big fish cruising around the shallows and lots of schools. Even the sunfish could care less.

c4charlie, this time of year some varieties of freshwater fish are in spawning mode. When this happens they become less interested in hitting what you are throwing unless you target them on their spawning beds. I don't fish fw that much any more, but when I did I saw guys fishing the beds for them. I could never approve of that and never did it. So be patient and things should change soon. Good luck.

I got some small blues in the BI yesterday.

[chas527]

fished sh this morning 6 till 1230 not a tap .saw one small bass caught on whole beach. water was rough needed at least 5onces to hold bottom.

[surfwalker]

Out front. 5am-10:30am. One short Bass on metal early on. Some weed/constant waves. SE wind came around 9:30, along with it came intense weed, left. Clammers had a very slow pick of shorts plus one just about keeper. More people than I thought were there.

Happy Trails

[storminsteve]

Awesome report hookset! Even nicer that you released those bass.:clapping::clapping: Got blanked last night, bunker and clams.

[xtreme_visions]

Fished with clams & bunker from 3pm to 7:30pm. No luck! Seen 1 guy catch a small bass. Water was rough and seaweed was a problem.

[DarkSkies]

Hey, xtreme visions, at least ya tried. You'll gettum next time. :thumbsup:

[xtreme_visions]

Thanks dark. Sure hope I do! Will be doing some night fishing today. I will keep you posted & again Thanks for everything.

[seamonkey]

I fished an atlantic county beach this morning, fresh clams. I had 2 rods and was holding one. Got 2 bass to 33", 3 dogfish, and one skate. I was using 6 oz sinkers, but I had to keep repositioning them a lot as they kept moving around and the ocean was a bit rough. I guess striped bass like it when it is rough. The problem is, dogfish like it too!

[jigfreak]

Fished some structure in the back last night, it basically sucked. Gave it my best, it was a weird bite. A few small blues on rubber.

[fishinmission78]

Island beach this morning, water was dirty and weedy, not a touch.

[vpass]

My first trip out this year. Fished NoMoCo this afternoon last of the income thru mid outgoing. had a few hits on rubber shad. Got 1 bass about 22 inches. I also snagged a Rainfish. Did see a few xtreamly small bass in the 14 to 16 inches caught near the rainfish schools. I hope there is alot of them, been a few years since I seen them that size :thumbsup:good for our future.

[xtreme_visions]

Fished from 10pm-1am and nothing. Me and a buddy both had 2 poles out. Used bunker, clams, diamond jigs, spoons, poppers and nothing! Good amount of people fishing the area and did not see anyone catching

[captnemo]

The fish are there guys, but they are just offshore. We fished the Shrewsbury Rocks area this morning. All the bass 28-34" you could want, white tsunami shads.

[bababooey]

^^ He's right there is a big band of fish in 30-60' of water.Now if some of you surfcasters would just put on a wetsuit and skish out there:kooky: maybe you would get some.:o

[vpass]

Went to SH and fished the mid incoming to the start of the outgoing. Birds working on schools of bait off shore. The blues would move in for a moment for us to get a shot of hooking up. I caught 2 Fluke on Bucktail and FINS in pink. Got 2 shads on teasers, 2 Blues on A17, and a short Bass also on A17. Many hits.

[xtreme_visions]

Fished from 5pm-10pm with 2 friends and none of us caught anything @ 2 locations. Bunker, clams, metals. Alot of people fishing but did not see or hear of anyone catching

[storminsteve]

Me too xtreme, the skunk was on the loose! Didn't catch anything, and didn't see anyone catch in the 4 hours we fished last night.:skunk:

[xtreme_visions]

We did catch a few garbage bags! Ended up filling 1 of my own up to kill some time. Hard to enjoy myself with garbage around me.

[Monty]

Fished this morning from 1:30 to 10:30, managed 1 short bass on a loaded redfin (first fish I have caught on the redfins I loaded this winter). Couple really big downpours last night. Was a fun night out.

[Mike O]

I also got the skunk early Sat. @ SH. Maybe next time.

Mike O

[madcaster]

I went to my local beach for a fishing tournament with my daughter. There were over 50 people fishing and only 3 very small blues caught. I had one hit I think:huh:.I didn't catch any thing .:skunk: Fishing etiquette didn’t show up at all:kooky:. But I always expected that:rolleyes:. I found a large garbage bag on the beach and we filled it up in minutes with trash.

[fishinmission78]

Some nice fish came into the surf this morning,OC. a bud and I got 7 to 31# on pencils. We each kept 1. A few blues mixed in as well.

[cowherder]

Wow great catch! Right place right time. Looks like you hit it right, yesterday and today were probably the best days to be out there weather wise.

[gjb1969]

i fish all day on saturday i got one rat bass but i had a good time some of my buddys are getting up with good fish i got one good pic will put up later tite lines guys and good fishing

[chas527]

fished this morning 630 till 12 got 2 small bass lo.st a big one in the wash.foggie early than about 9 the wind changed and it got cold.not many people on the beach this morning.

[voyager35]

Nice catch fishimission. For you other guys they are just offshore. We had 10 bass sat to 28lbs (released all but 3), jigging about 1/2 miles off the beach in monmouth county. The bass are moving north en masse, solid bait readings out there as well.

[c4charlie]

I was out last night searching for bait or any life. Went to a lot of spots and could not find anything. I really wanted to fish bait last night to go back to my winning ways of earlier in the season. Instead, I plugged a few RB spots for a few hours and not one tap.



I went to IBSP on Saturday with the kids and only skates were on the menu. Did get to see some nice fish on the tail end of a mini blitz on the way out. Fish were just outside with a fast dropping tide. I had the mindset of bait and was not prepared having left my far casting pencil popping rod at home. I tried with what I had but no luck. I even put a couple heads out there after everyone left and nothing.



I went to SH late last week and fished many hours with nothing to show.





Haven't had such a bad streak in a long while. Good thing I managed to catch some freshwater fish in between with my little guys or I would really be going insane. The fog was nice last night and the kids actually liked reeling in all of the skates.



Is it fall yet?

[clamchucker]

Fished the park this afternoon between rain showers. Released 3 bass to 38" and quite a few blues to 36". They moved in closer for the incoming tide. The action was sporadic but the fish were there. The surf was big, metals seemed to work for me and a few other folks. I was using 3 and 4 oz diamond jigs with green tails.

[ledhead36]

Don't feel bad charlie. I fished a good spot last night that had yielded some nice bass and came up empty. The reason is the police have closed it down and we had to fish shallower water. I am ready to throw some mexicans rods in the water but I will talk about it on another thread.

[DarkSkies]

The weather hasn't been the most friendly to surf fishermen. The surf has been nasty and big. Congrats to all who are getting out there anyway and giving it a shot. :thumbsup:
WTG on the releases, Clamchucker. :clapping:

[finchaser]

past 2 nights 6 -9pm 5 bass and 17 blues all released largest 15 pounds, all on lead head and DOA

[wish4fish]

hey findude awesome catch! everyone else is home watchin the tv in the rain and u r out there slaying the fish!:headbang:

[hookset]

Congrats guys- I fished a moco inlet tonight on the incoming tide and caught a big skunk,

[chas527]

fished this morning 6till 11 4 bass 2 keepers one 32 inches one 29 . beach was a mass look like bunches of straw all over.current was strong you needed at lest 5 onces to hold bottom.

[basshunter]

Fished an ocean county beach from 5-8am, incoming tide. There was lots of weedy stuff in the water. Needed 6 oz, and that wasnt really holding, it got washed around. That was ok because I had to clear my bait of weeds often. Got one 30" bass and a skate on clam.

[DarkSkies]

I was out there before ya were, Chas. :HappyWave: Fished the pre-dawn hours, few different areas. Congrats on your persistence, and hooking up. :thumbsup:

Found lots of straw in the water as you did. Tried to move to find places where it was cleaner water. I did find them, but also a distinct lack of bait where I fished. Found life in the darkness at 1 of the 6 places I stopped at. Water temps were perfect but with the lack of bait (couldn't even find the grass shrimp that are usually around) it made the artificial bite tough. Working all levels of the water column, I dropped 1 fish on a small swimmer as I raised it and barely hooked it for a second in the deep fog. That was it for me.:skunk:

I did have a great time fishing places I normally couldn't get to, away from prying eyes. I knew the rain runoff would be strong and wanted to find water that had higher salinity, so I stayed away from the usual drains and concentrated on cove and point areas where there might be less debris.

The moon tide was extremely low and I was able to wade out until I couldn't see the land any more. Visibility was about 30-50' in front of you, very eerie. A kayak would have been able to more efficiently cover the water, but the lack of visibility would have made it too dangerous. There was no one fishing in a boat out where I was, and the silence was intense. :drool:

Even though I got blanked, last night in the fog was one of those nights where I've had great success before. And the fog, well it was calling me, I don't know any other way to explain it..... :D :cool:

[finchaser]

That was a full moon tide last night oh great white leader

[DarkSkies]

That bright moon was virtually invisible where I was, o great grouchy basstard! :moon:
The fish were also invisible. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon11.png
And some people who threw snot did catch a few fish.
I coulda, but I didn't.....much happier throwing them small plastic jib jabs and looking foolish while the sharpies were tossing clams....:laugh:

Got a lot of scouting in walking all over creation on those low full moon tides :lookhappy:
And almost got crapped on a few times by some overhead geese that lost their way in the fog....I bet you would have been happy to hear a geese crap story, especially if it landed on my head, though.....:laugh: :kiss:

[bababooey]

..I bet you would have been happy to hear a geese crap story, especially if it landed on my head, though.....:laugh: :kiss:

I would be happy to hear such a story, even happier if you had filmed it!:ROFLMAO

[vpass]

almost got crapped on a few times by some overhead geese that lost their way in the fog....I bet you would have been happy to hear a geese crap story, especially if it landed on my head, though.....:laugh: :kiss:

I got crapped on by a pelican on the Angler pier Fort Lauderdale. From head to toe. I saw it coming,:embarassed: Pelican Dump and and a gust of wind blow it on me in a even spray. I even tasted it. :upck: Rushed home to take a shower

[storminsteve]

I almost pissed myself when I read that, guys. vpass, I salute you for surviving the Pelican Dump! Even better, I salute you twice for having tasted it :upck:and having the guts to come on here and admit it! :clapping::clapping: Holy crap that was funny!:laugh:

[clamchucker]

2 bass to 31" in the park today. clams. There were a lot of weeds and you had to check your bait frequently.

[clamchucker]

3 keepers in the park, and one short bass. Released the biggest, kept the smallest at 28", the last one I caught. The weeds were there again.

[stripermania]

Nice going clamchucker, I fished nomoco from4-7 on the incoming tide and caught 2 undersized bass on clams, released of course.

[fishinmission78]

Island beach early today, had to get to work, fished till sunrise. A few cocktail and medium blues on metal.

[c4charlie]

No more skunk, finally!

I caught some blues and a 17lb striper on Thursday night! Took the kids out to RV today and the bass were biting. Nothing big but kids had a blast. Some nice 9-10" bluegills were also in the mix which are always fun.

Charlie

[Monty]

Fished this morning from 1:15 to 10:00. Picked up a short bass and a Blue in the dark on Tsunami Holographic Shrimp (fished as a teaser). Then on sun up caught ~20 blues (~1-~5lb), they were blasting spearing for a good couple hours. A couple doubles in there. Also got a short fluke later in the morning. Most caught on J-Rod metal. fisherman in boats came in to close to guys fishing on shore and also ran through the middle of feeding fish and other boats, regardless, had a great time out there.

[storminsteve]

Great reports guys! I took a road trip to IBSP yesterday. Seems I missed a lot of the bass action, but did get 2 bass to 27" using clams. It looked like the guys in the boats were into some fish, too far for us to reach.

[voyager35]

Fished various hot spots in the RB and NY Bight yesterday from noon till 7, most of the outgoing. Trolled spoons at first and then set up with some clams. One blue on the spoon, 1 hungry bluefish on the clam, no bass.

[DarkSkies]

Sat night, late report...fished the top of the ebb tide to the bottom, various places. Started in the back bay, lots of moves, lots of dead water. At one place I found scattered life, small to medium bluefish. They were popping on grass shrimp every 5 minutes or so, along with a few small bass. Anyone who brags how easy bluefish are to catch should fish with me at night when I target blues, you would have a humbling experience. The best I could do was one bite-off on rubber.

In desperation I searched for a wooden casting egg speedy had made for me. :HappyWave:

Set that up with an exact replica of a grass shrimp someone gave me, attached to an 18" leader, and worked it. They wouldn't touch it. A few other guys out there gave it a shot for about 2 hours, with no one hooking up. Night blues can frustrate the hell out of ya at times. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon11.png

Ended up at the ocean before dawn, working various swimmers, bucktails, rubber, and then poppers at dawn. The surf had been a little rough in jetty country, straignt E a constant 15mph. I knew that would lead the bunker out of the surf zone but wanted to give it a shot anyway. Got some nice cold water in the face, good wake-up with that bracing water. :laugh:

When I turned around to leave at 6, there were 11 vehicles sitting there watching me, waiting to pounce on any action. Only 3 guys made it out there to give it a shot.

This always amuses me in jetty country. If you spend the time and gas to get down there to fish, why not fish? :don't know why:

Granted, you may not have a high probablilty of nailing a spring bass in the absence of buinker or other bait, but the opportunity is there....:learn:

Big fish are passing through in the ocean now...a surfcaster has at times less of a chance than a guy in a boat or a yak, but it's still opportunity....and all ya need is 1 quality fish :drool: to make your day. :thumbsup:

Now's the time to get out there and fish, people.
There ain't much left in the migration line S of Cape May, so get out there and put the time in. :fishing:


Congrats to the guys and gals who are getting out there and at least trying....

[VSdreams]

Fished moco today in the rain, it wasn't that great of a day to be out there. I did get one short bass on clams and 2 big skates. Maybe one day in the future we will have contests for catching the biggest as there are so many.

[cowherder]

Congrats to the guys and gals who are getting out there and at least trying....

Well you are not the only one to get the skunk dark I went with clams today after work to SH the surf was big so I had to find a place on the back of it. I dunked them for an hour and got zilch. Way to go Charlie and Monty!

[cowherder]

Tried again this morning at SH with clams. One skate in the front on clams, and then got a few bluefish on an ava around sunrise, 5-8am.

[chas527]

fished this morning 6 till 12. 2 small bass 1 sea robbin 4 skates. know one on beach 2 days in a row.where is everybody.

[finchaser]

Today 4 bass 21 blues all on metal all still swimming

[speedy]

nice going bro

[surfwalker]

Nice finchaser.

Out front, today, 5am-10am. Not a breeze/hot. Plugs/metal-few small blues. Saw no bait. No Stripes.

[finchaser]

1 bass 3 blues today all on metal will try again in a little while morning and day bite is causing an all out slaughter for the boats. Wish the bunker would go some schools are over 5 miles long. When will the boaters learn the dumpsters are eating well,this one they can't blame on the commercials

[stripermania]

I had 2 bass on a black darter early this morning. One was 28 the other was 32. Both went back in the water.

I agree with you finchaser. The boats are coming in and taking what they can get. Same old story one day their will be nothing left.

[fishjay]

The OFFC was out yesterday in Mom. Co. and found the bunker which was found by the bass. caught 25 bass from 20 to 26 lbs on poppers. sorry for the offc member who would rather plant trees than fish.
a fun time was had by all after many frustrating trips.

[DarkSkies]

I got out last night, met up with that grouchy basstard Finchaser. :HappyWave:He's been getting good numbers away from the blitzes by fishing every chance he gets. Last night I brought the black clouds with me. :rolleyes: By the time I got there it had diminished to a slow pick of night bluefish and the occasional bass, one fish for every 100 casts on small rubber and small swimmers.

Steady E wind throughout the night, and some problems with weeds. No bait visible in the water. We did have one fish spit up a juvenile pollock. Should have taken a pic, but we tossed it back. For guys interested in matching that profile, search for pics of a scad here, the pollock is somewhat similar. Small rubber will fit the bill.

Tough fishin, but the company was good. :thumbsup:







sorry for the offc member who would rather plant trees than fish.
a fun time was had by all after many frustrating trips.

And he's gonna burst a blood vessel when he reads this! :laugh: :clapping::clapping:
He told me y'all were cutting back on fishing and taking up golf. :scared: I know the trips you guys made this year were frustrating as heck, one of the slowest seasons ever for you since the moratorium.
The level of action isn't even close to what it was just 5 short years ago....and the tackle shop heroes have quadrupled in number. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon13.png

Only a small % of people even think about fish conservation.... when the bunker are around the primary focus is on getting that 40 or 50# bass. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon9.png

Yet you guys persevered, and for those who don't know ya, can outfish 90% of the young pups on the beach, casting long after everyone leaves the beach for the day....WTG on finding some well-deserved fish! :clapping: :thumbsup:

Outstanding report, way to find the fish. Not everyone scored yesterday. :clapping: :thumbsup:

I guess the member who plants trees won't be selling his gear on e-bay just yet....:laugh: :cool: :HappyWave:


Congrats to everyone who got fish yesterday, and more congrats to guys who threw their fish back. :clapping:

[hookset]

Got out in moco Wed afternoon. It was organized chaos, and I saw some monster fish caught. I landed 5 to 24 pounds on pencil poppers, all released to fight another day. All fish had sea lice on them.

[seamonkey]

Fished a CM area beach from 5-8 today. Clams and bunker, got 2 bass to 35", one skate, and 5 dogfish! It's dogfish heaven down here!

[clamchucker]

Island beach for the first 2 hours of the incoming. Managed 1, 37", clams.

[bababooey]

:clapping::clapping:Wow, awesome fish fellas! I'm coming with my binoculars!;)

[DarkSkies]

:clapping::clapping:Wow, awesome fish fellas! I'm coming with my binoculars!;)

:moon: :2flip: :HappyWave:


*****

Fished yesterday where the rocks are.
Some nice bass were caught, not nearly as many as the day before when the OFFC and others had a banner afternoon. I'll post pics when all this madness ends in a month or so. The action was very scattered, and most fish were caught blind casting.

I got nothing during that time, but based on how close the fish had been, I set up near dusk near the tip of one pile of rocks. I knew there was at least one quality fish out there with my name on it. Casted about 3 hours on the ebb with not a touch. Kept trying different profiles.

[**Note- I met some kid "J" (with the missing VS bail screw) on the way out there, we talked a bit about using small profiles for bigger fish. :HappyWave: Contact me at the e-mail at this site and I'll give ya some advice on how to fish this particular set of rocks and some more specific info. :cool:]



Finally connected with a decent bass on a small mid-level swimmer. Brought her in, she was around 40", 22#, nice fight, pulled some drag. :d She was a beautiful migratory fish, fresh from the deep. I took a quick pic and had to get close to the water to release her, so I got a little wet. The water was cold, clean, and felt refreshing. :drool:

It was a nice night with building S wind, lightning at a distance inland, casting with my back to the wind. I was the only surfcaster out there. :kooky: Apparently everyone else but me got the memo that fishing when bunker are around turns off at sunset. :rolleyes:

Gave it another hour to see if it was a lone fish or not. Dropped one more before I called it a night, similar mid-level swimmer.

[captnemo]

We tried several areas in Raritan Bay yesterday afternoon, managed 3 bass to 34" on clams. A few small bluefish on diamond jigs as well when we found them blitzing on the surface.

[jigfreak]

Dark I got in on that bite yesterday but I was there earlier, had to motor out of there at 4o'clock. One bass, 25lbs on the nose, released. You wouldn't believe the yahoos out there, guys in shorts and sandals. These googs won't learn till someone gets hurt or cracks their skull open. And the parking was nutz.

[storminsteve]

Wow those are some nice fish guys! I'm trying to make it there this afternoon.

[fishinmission78]

Island beach 4-6a, high water, one 33" bass on a bunker head.

[cowherder]

Awesome reports fellas. Dark I saw that pic in the catch and release thread, the head is huge!!!

[SharkHart]

Vacation week, not a ton of bass as I hoped but i did get a few to 29lbs, surf and boat, and some smaller ones under 30" in the bays, I left the hot area to the north to go meet some friends in SNJ only for it to blow up big time that day, Had a mad dog boat bite only problem was cleared the inlet at 8pm, thats the breaks!
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll194/SharkHart/102_0067.jpg

[DarkSkies]

Awesome reports fellas. Dark I saw that pic in the catch and release thread, the head is huge!!!

Cowherder that fish was a guppy compared to some I've seen this week. ;)

************


Fri report -
A bunch of us were out looking and trying for fish yesterday. We all came up blank except for one big fish caught very early in the morning. Shorelady took the day off from work and gave it a shot in several areas. :HappyWave: Shark was out there too, along with several hundred of the best of the best in NJ. I ran into the OFFC around 6:30pm. There had been bunker in tight, some promising possibilities, but it never shaped up into a remote chance where anything was available for us surfcasters.

We all gave it a shot anyway, and came up empty handed.

There's an old grouchy basstard I know :kiss: who predicted the bite would not develop because of the building S/SE wind. He's only been fishing for 50 years, why should we have listened to him? :huh: :laugh:

Turns out he was right on the $$. It did look promising at several points throughout the day, though, and the best I can explain is we had to be there to see it for ourselves.

I didn't see the boats killing them either where we were,. or at several other locations. I did realize the Holiday weekend had begun when there was a boat that was 500' away, tunes blasting full volume. You could hear every lyric to the Grateful Dead song they were playing. :kooky: Gotta love the yahoos out for the big weekend. :laugh:

I finished up by presenting Yardville Jimmy from the OFFC with an official certificate signed by us designating him as "proficient in tree planting and gardening, 1st degree." :ROFLMAO We all had some laughs over that. Maybe the ball-busting will encourage him to keep fishing in the face of the dismal seasons we've had in the past few years. :moon: :HappyWave:

In all, some good times BSing with good people, but no fish. On the way home, I made a quick stop to fish 1/2 hr in a back bay spot that sometimes holds fish. The water was a coffee/tea combo, filled with lettuce and weeds. Made me appreciate the beauty of fishin the ocean, and its cold clean water right now.

Good luck this weekend all. Try to be kind to the yahoos out there. There was a fistfight on a rockpile on Thur. We don't need any more of that for the non-fishing public to see.

[surfwalker]

Yesterday. 5am-11am. Out front-plugs/metal/poppers. Teeny weeny blues, all you could catch. Sporadic schools of bunker, felt, not seen, un harrassed. No Stripes. Gonna see if Yardville Jimmy needs some help planting trees.

[Mike O]

Fished SH early Sat morning. Noticed that the ranger station has moved to the front of the park and also noticed it kept a lot of people off the beach until well after sun-up. I guess a lot of anglers are not paying or cannot afford the 50 bucks! Anyway, as far as I can see, they did not miss anything. I saw lots of bunker with nothing under them and most just a little out of casting range. Needless to say I got the skunk.

Mike O

[porgy75]

Hey Mike don't feel bad. I fished SH from 3-6am today. The mosquitoes were terrible! Next time I am bringing a gallon of that bug spray. I got the :skunk: too!

[jigfreak]

Fished the beginning of the outgoing last night, OC, structure, 1 almost legal bass on jig and fin-S. Not a lot of bait around.

[Monty]

Fished out front from 3:30 to 8:00 this morning. One Bass ~26 inches on a NorthBar Bottle Darter just after fog rise. Lost another short in the dark. :)

[xtreme_visions]

Fished sh yesterday from 9am till 2pm. Nothing for me but my uncle caught this 1 around noon on a clam. Took a quick pic and released. 27"

13512

[DarkSkies]

^^ All right, Xtreme, you're up to bat next. :thumbsup: If you guys can get to the beach before sunrise, all the better. :HappyWave:


*************

Took Pebbles out tonight to try to get her into a drag pulling bass. The bite was spotty and scattered except for a few crowded areas. We didn't feel like fighting the crowds so we set up away from them. Blind casting caught all the fish. None for us though. I was kind of proud of the hopping she did on different rocks, where do ya find a woman willing to do that? :heart:


Highlight of the trip for us was seeing an 11 year old kid blind casting his heart out trying for a bass. He hooked into one, mid 20's class, and brought it in to the rocks. I was on the front, and was going to help him bring it up, but thought his Dad or someone in his family would help him. We didn't know he was fishin by himself, with his Mother watching a safe distance away. :HappyWave:

So another guy went to help him, and dropped the fish on him. :beatin:
I'm sure he felt bad about it. The kid took it in stride and casted like a madman for another one. At the end of the night, he and I were the only ones still casting in the dark. Apparently he didn't get the memo either that all the cool guys stop fishin when there are no longer bunker schools to throw into. :rolleyes:

The attitude and enthusiasm of this kid was refreshing. He was getting it done with about a $100 setup, :thumbsup: in contrast to the guys who go out there with $1000 or more worth of gear. :clapping:

We chatted with his Mom for awhile as he still fished in the dark, not wanting to give up. He fishes every chance he gets and is already casting like a seasoned pro. She said he wants to be a surf guide or somehow be involved in salt water fishing for a living.

His name is Jordan. He's 11. Frikkin fantastic that someone that young has such a burning fever to catch fish. :clapping::clapping:

Remember his name.
I fully expect him to have a surf caught 40 or 50 under his belt by the time he's 16. :fishing:

Nice meeting you folks! :HappyWave:

[surfwalker]

Early am, plugs. Not a tap on anything thrown. Could the rain come down any harder this morning? Bait guys - skates, dogs, robins - tons of 'em.

[Monty]

Bayside this morning 2:00 to 7:00, 4 small blues, very slow morning, was nice out, lightening every 15-30 minutes, weird, no clouds.

[jigfreak]

The kid took it in stride and casted like a madman for another one. At the end of the night, he and I were the only ones still casting in the dark. Apparently he didn't get the memo either that all the cool guys stop fishin when there are no longer bunker schools to throw into. :rolleyes:

The attitude and enthusiasm of this kid was refreshing. He was getting it done with about a $100 setup, :thumbsup: in contrast to the guys who go out there with $1000 or more worth of gear. :clapping:



Good for him, we need more kids like that to get into the sport. I'll keep an eye out for him.:thumbsup:

[storminsteve]

. Not a lot of bait around.


No Stripes. Gonna see if Yardville Jimmy needs some help planting trees.

i might join you in that tree planting brigade Surfwalker. This was my third time out in the ocean, not even a bluefish to show for it.:skunk: It sems the bluefish are concentrated around sandy hook and not south of there? Jigfreak, I didn't notice any bait this morning either. I fished a jetty in moco., 5-8am, around the high tide and outgoing. Threw poppers, big plugs, little plugs, etc, not even a bluefish for my efforts. It looked like the dead sea out there.

Dark really enjoyed that story about that kid., hope he gets into some big fish soon, he definitely sounds obsessed!:thumbsup:

[DarkSkies]

It sems the bluefish are concentrated around sandy hook and not south of there? Jigfreak, I didn't notice any bait this morning either. It looked like the dead sea out there.
Dark really enjoyed that story about that kid., hope he gets into some big fish soon, he definitely sounds obsessed!:thumbsup:

Steve, glad ya enjoyed the story. You will be hearing more and more about this kid each year, mark my words.

As for the bluefish, they're offshore and in the channels, bay channels, and inlets, but many suurf spots don't hold bluefish this year.
Why? Lack of small bait would be my first guess. The forage fish are the glue that holds everything together. Without them, the action can be pretty dismal. As for the bait in the ocean, right now inshore there are some juvenile fish like pollock, grass shrimp, crabs, and squid. We need more varieties than that to keep a bluefish bite going. And there are quite a few folks who feel a surf bluefish bite will bring the bass in more consistently. I would definitely agree with that.



*******
Fishing report Mon-

Went to the ocean to try to find an afternoon bite, it never developed.

Went to the back to fish the 1st hour of the ebb. No action at all except to be swarmed by mosquitoes and no-see-ums.

Returned to the ocean to fish the rest of the ebb, on the same rockpile I was on the other night. The surf was big, with a strong set of 4-5' waves evey 2 minutes. These prevented me from going to the front and fishing a nice rip current. I had to settle for fishing the side. The same pattern as the other night.... tonight it only took 2 hours of casting for the first fish. Got 2 more bass after that in the next hour on small swimmers.

Originally I was bucktailing the big surf, but switched to swimmers as the tide went out. The fish fed on the dropping tide. 2 fish were legal, 28-30", one was short, all still swimming.

I don't know if the flood tide was productive, as the big surf continued to be a problem, I finally made it to the rocks I was on the other night but had to back off after 15 minutes as the offshore swells built up. I was the only person on that rockpile, and was not comfortable with the waves crashing chest high over some of the rocks.


Still a nice night to be out, and good to see that some bass were hungry. :fishing:

[chas527]

fished this morning 630 till1130. 4 big sea robbins, didn't see any bass caught. saw some small blue fish .did see a small school of bunker swim by.lots of birds working but to far out.

[SharkHart]

Dark i was wondering if you were out there Monday, I did some morning fluking on a party boat for 9 shorts. They hit well in small patches where they lumped up over large dead spots. Lots of doggies being caught too. I headed out to the surf zone looking for big bass afterwards. after a while i had a nice strike on my pencil and the fish missed, i stopped it and the fish took it down, i set the hook....noo not enough weight, it was a blue. As i was bringing it in i saw more churning the water, i got another and few missed strikes and just like that they moved out.

Thursday looks real sweet if this forecast holds :)

[DarkSkies]

Dark i was wondering if you were out there Monday,Thursday looks real sweet if this forecast holds :)



Fishing report Mon-
Went to the ocean to try to find an afternoon bite, it never developed.

Returned to the ocean to fish the rest of the ebb, on the same rockpile I was on the other night. The surf was big, with a strong set of 4-5' waves every 2 minutes. These prevented me from going to the front and fishing a nice rip current. I had to settle for fishing the side. The same pattern as the other night.... tonight it only took 2 hours of casting for the first fish. Got 2 more bass after that in the next hour on small swimmers.


I'm surprised to hear you got a bluefish Mon, SharkHart. They have been notably absent from the ocean, near-shore. They're in the inlets, yes, and offshore, but hardly any reports from the surf other than at the edges of the fish highways.
You were one of the few people who got artificial action in the surf later in the day Monday.
And yup, I agree, some W/NW winds are needed, but Thu PM I'll be in LBI for the Beach access meeting.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7696-Beach-access-issues I'm asking as many of you who can make it there, to please show up. Don't count on the other guy to get it done....








Tue PM report:
Went to the ocean, was dead tired from last night so just looking to fish a max of 2 hours. I scouted a few places, set up on some rocks. Gave it a good shot for 2 hours, the surf calmed down a bit from yesterday. Too bad I didn't do a little more scouting, apparently I missed the fish on the red X today. :beatin: Lesson learned on the benefit of scouting several areas before you set up for the end of day.

Hey that's fishing, and congrats to all who were there. :thumbsup:

I did get to meet Chris and his son Yanni, who's 7. :HappyWave:Dad Chris takes his son Yanni fishin every chance he gets, and Yanni has been surf fishin with his Dad since he was 5!

We were the only ones on that paricular rockpile as the sun set. Everyone else gave up long before that.

Yanni has been to Montauk with his Dad last year, and this year his biggest bass is 25#, nailed last Weds afternoon. :clapping::clapping: :thumbsup:

Look forward to hearing more stories about this kid. He's only 7, and loves to fish. :fishing:

[jigfreak]

fished moco tonight, got some bass on pencils. 8 keepers to 24lbs,released.

[stripermania]

Heard fishing has been good so went out tonight from 5 to 8 in moco. Used a pencil and caught 2 bass to 30". C&R is the way to go now a days.