StripersandAnglers yearly coastwide fish stock assessment, state of the fishery [Archive]

DarkSkies

06-26-2011, 11:12 AM

Delaware Bay Assessment, Spring 2011
It's well-known that the rips at the mouth of the Delaware Bay, or the "Cape May Rips" or simply "the Rips", produce good numbers of fish in the Spring and the late Fall. This happens as fish are coming in the Delaware to spawn in the river, and also as migrational fish come up or down from the Chesapeake Bay area,

This year, the fishing was good, but again a disturbing trend of less big fish caught than in recent years. There were less 50's caught. It seems the 30-40lb fish is becoming the new "50". In some cases, the 25lb fish are more prevalent than the bigger ones, when you look at overall reported catches.

Delaware River
Although some scientists don't consider this stock statistically significant, instead preferring to concentrate on the Chesapeake and Hudson stocks, there are a lot of people and businesses who depend on guys coming in and targeting these fish. The targeting is done during and after the spawn, though fishing is partly closed for bass during the initial spawn period. I'll refer here to the middle areas of the river, Phila to Trenton. It is here that most of the spawning activity takes place.

This year, there was about 2 weeks of very good action, beginning the first week of April. It petered off dramatically after that. Some also said the herring numbers were down. I saw that myself, as I was down there a few times, just watching the flotilla of boats. Some herring were caught. As little as 5 years ago, that herring fishery was vibrant and robust, with people lined up at various points along the shore catching them. Now, the numbers of herring have also decreased, prompting an eventual closure next year for herring fishing, and limits of 10/person this year.

Some would argue that it's all about the bait. With less herring in the river, less bass will be following them. In this particular instance, I would agree with that assessment. You can also blame the Spring rains, to some extent, which definitely affect this fishery. Water temps, turbidity, and flow affect it as well. Female striped bass need precise conditions to spawn and have their fry hatch at a good rate. Some may argue that those conditions did not all come together for 2011. To an extent, I would agree with that as well.

Remember that every year is different. You can't always have optimal conditions for a spawn, it's up to nature how that pans out.

What I'm trying to do here is highlight any trends that may be occurring, relative to the years 2005-2008, when recruitment was higher, and said to be the first years that any type of decline was noticed, statistically, or ancedotally.

DarkSkies

07-01-2011, 07:54 AM

Cape May beaches, South Jersey beaches, and back bay Assessment 2011 (Cape May to Avalon)

The Cape May Rips assessment was contained in the Delaware Bay Assessment. I think for consistency I'll keep things that way, As for the surf side, Cape May to Brigantine offers some early surf action around April and the beginning of May when the bass hit the shores on the Northern Migration. Most of the surf fish are caught with clams or bunker. Most of the back bay fish are caught on artificials.

On the surf side, there were quite a few fish in the 20's weighed in at the Absecon Bay Sportsmen Center and some other area shops.

The surf and back bay bite did take some time to get into gear this year, due to the cold winter we had and all the runoff.

This was generally the case for the whole area of LI and NJ, so instead of repeating it, I'll just state here... that the early spring bite was affected by colder water and cold water runoff in many areas.
Other than the usual "first of the season" bass that holdover in Oyster Creek and some other warm water areas, the NJ Spring back bay bite didn't really get into swing until around the 3rd week of March this year.

I don't believe the actual numbers overall were any better this year than previous years. If anyone has concrete data to disprove that, please help us out by posting it.

As for the South Jersey back bay areas, it's generally known that there are some decent numbers of resident fish that hold there over the year. There are even some guides that specialize in light tackle artificial, and fly fishing, for schoolies, and do quite well from Avalon to Wildwood.

I believe these "resident bass" are truly mostly year round resident fish, for the following reasons:
1. Less fishing pressure in these SJ waters.
2. A unique combination of estuaries and creeks which are only accessible by kayaks, guys on bridges, or small agile boats able to fish the flats.
3. A unique combination of forage. These areas are the first to report the standards like spearing, grass shrimp, rainfish, and killies. Whatever bait you start hearing about in NJ, you will usually hear the reports from this area first.
4. A diverse variety of predators, from fluke, blues, bass, kingfish, spot, triggerfish, sheepshead, rudderfish and other tropicals, and even some of the last remaining weakfish that aren't extinct. :kooky:
5. This can all make for an exciting and interesting fishing outing at times. You never know what you will catch in these SJ waters. True, sometimes you have lots of dead water. But if you study the area well, you can usually figure out where fish may be holding.

DarkSkies

07-01-2011, 08:21 AM

Atlantic County beaches 2011 Assessment, Avalon to Holgate

This area is unique in that it contains the Great Bay, another significant estuary which connects to lower Barnegat Bay.

Some of the first early-season bass are usually reported here in the Graveling Point area where the Mullica River dumps out into the bay. The Mullica River also offers some early season action with resident bass as well, and action later in the season with some almost extinct weakfish.

The thing that makes this area stand out most, IMO, is the existence of Graveling Point. This area is sometimes used by bait shops and internet sites as a frame of reference for the overall fishing action, In other words, if it ain't happening at Graveling, it ain't happening at other places yet..:laugh:

That's a good benchmark, but not always accurate. There are some who would argue that there are a dozen other early season spots better than Graveling. I would tend to agree with that. However, they aren't as well-known as GP. I'm not looking to anger any fishermen by posting them here. I'm trying my best to speak in generalities here, only referencing specific areas when needed for the assessment. :fishing: :HappyWave:

The other big focus in that area is where the bay meets the ocean, Little Egg Inlet (LEI). The rips here at this ever-changing inlet are simply known as "white water" by those in the know. It's here that a lot of early-season migratory fish are caught as they move N in search of food after the spawn, also a great fall fishing spot.

**This year, 2011, saw mostly poor fishing for bass in LEI. Around the 3rd week of May, guys started catching bigger bass. However, the ones who were, were travelling to Barnegat Inlet (BI) and North to get bass in the bunker blitzes. This was the first year in quite some time that not many large fish were caught (or reported as caught) in the LEI rips.

Overall, the guys who fished there regularly in the Spring did not generally report that this was the "best year ever". Here's a statement from one well-known Captain:
"I know north has been on fire but the south has been slow as ****." http://www.thebassbarn.com/forum/images/smilies/thumbsdown.gif

**********
Ocean County to Monmouth County bunker blitzes seemed to be the only place to consistently catch very large fish this year.

The state of NJ has a coastline that's 130 miles long. The fact that the majority of the biggest fish caught in 2011 were taken in a 25 mile range from LBI to Monmouth Beach, with many of the other coastal areas being "dead zones" for bass.... that's a dismal season, no matter how you look at it. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon9.png

BassBuddah

07-01-2011, 02:08 PM

Great idea, I admire your energy dark.

Don't forget LI. The bait is here, but other than the fish schooled around the bunker, the numbers are down. I only have a few fish in the 20's this year, while last year at this time I had 8 fish to 35, all caught on night on eels or artificials. I am still hoping for some good nights at Montauk to get the numbers up.
This year you have to be right on the fish when they are there. One night it's a bonanza, the next night it's like the dry oceans of Mars. There are less and less big fish around. I don't know how people can not recognize that. Thanks for doing your part to raise awareness. I hope you and your girlfriend have a great 4th of July.:HappyWave:

DarkSkies

07-06-2011, 08:29 AM

LBI frontside enjoyed a fairly decent spring run if you were fishing the bunker pods from a boat or the surf. Chunking bunker or snag and drop worked for most of these fish, although a few were caught with pencil poppers.

I believe fish to 49# were caught from the surf, as registered in the Spring LBI tournament.

I don't believe they registered any 50's from the surf, although a few were caught slightly off the beach by boaters.

The surf in LBI never really got into gear with any consistency for smaller bass, or big bluefish. Most of the bass were caught among the bunker schools. Other than that it was slim pickings.

It's been said that the big bluefish have been feeding offshore (5-50miles off) on the abundant bait (sand eels) that usually comes closer into the surf zone. This year 2011 that did not happen for the Spring run, and there is still some hope things will be different for the Fall. The normally abundant small forage (spearing, rainfish, etc) did not show up in the surf and jetty lines until June. This was about a month later than it usually shows up, and seemed to be the case for many areas in the NJ surf.

DarkSkies

07-18-2011, 12:56 PM

Barnegat Bay, Barnegat/Manasquan Inlets, Manasquan & Toms River, PP Canal, etc....

The back side of LBI, docks, marinas, bridges and sods, traditionally produces some good early season fishing. This year the Spring waters remained cold for quite longer than usual. This probably contributed to a difference in the catches back there. I and a few others have traditionally done quite well starting in mid-March to the end of April with small bass. Traditonally the "resident" fish that have wintered at Oyster Creek start to spread through the bay as the temps warm and the small forage, chiefly spearing and grass shrimp, begins to be more prevalent.

This spring, that fishing was poor, with less numbers per trip than in past years. There were several trips where I didn't mark any early season forage at all, and eventually I turned to other areas to fish. I do have contact with some anglers who did OK in the back of LBI, but the feedback I heard from them was that fishing numbers for bass on artificials and bait at night were down from the past. It was so poor that around mid-April, some of the most active LBI fishermen left LBI to search some rivers and creeks for better action.

Of course, some nice fish to 20# and larger were nailed bayside this spring. Fish that big usually come from bridges and similar structure. The guys who fish these structures regularly, claim that the fishing has been pretty inconsistent even in those areas. And, as mentioned in the Toms River assessment, there were some early schools of schoolie bass roaming the bay.

Toms River-
Toms River actually out-produced a few other spots in that general area this year. The bite held for a few weeks. What was interesting about the Toms River bite was that there was an abundance of schoolie bass 10-20". These bass were conspicuously absent from many other areas, and it was a glimmer of hope to see them active in that area.

Barnegat Inlet -
Once the water warmed up a bit in late April, the bluefish action was pretty predictable. Fish were feeding on the incoming tide to high the majority of time, and guys who were there at the right time enjoyed some good bluefish action. However, the action was with mostly smaller blues, as the monster blues people were accustomed to seeing at this time remained offshore. Bass action in Barnegat Inlet for those who fished from the jetties was sporadic, and some might have said it was poor, save for some nights when the switch was turned on. This inlet traditionally produces a good number of smaller bass to the mid teens in the spring. I don't see where any reported catches this year equaled the numbers of years past.

** Caveat...as with all areas, there are many folks fishing other than ones who report to tackle shops. I know this, and have tried to develop an extensive network of guys who fish frequently and have no need for the internet. So, in these assessments, I am taking to account both the posted reports and the ones of guys who never post, but provide me with intel.

Admittedly, not as scientific as it could be, but I hope these anecdotal short assessments will help to give folks out there a clearer picture of fishing as it actually is for the areas they fish in.

Manasquan Inlet, Manasquan River, and Point Pleasant Canal -
There are folks I know who fish these areas every day, in season. They fish from a boat or from the rocks, or from the pockets, or from the bulkheads on the sides. This year, they were pretty consistent in their grumblings...that this has been the worst year in their recent memory for spring fishing.

These grumblings came even from guys who were fishing live herring, aka bass candy. Some of these guys would fish the inlet or canal for weeks at a time with herring. Logs from past years would show that these guys had hammered striped bass consistently around these times using herring, and artificials. This year, less than a handful of nice bass were caught by those drifting herring in these back areas.

The same "late spring" conditions of cold water that affected other areas also came into play here, and should be noted for consistency. Also, the forage numbers were way down. Large numbers of bait didn't show up till mid-May. Even then they were not holding to any particular area, merely passing through. When the numbers were large, there were times guys got good numbers of fish in these areas. More often than not, guys did poorly in spite of all the hours put in.

There are a lot of charter boat captains, and others, who claim the NJ striped bass fishery is as strong as it ever was. Here's the simple truth...if the guys who are fishing live bait, herring, are not getting numbers of fish like in years past, in areas that have been consistently productive in that time frame, this is an indication of a serious problem. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon3.png

You put a live herring in front of a bass, and it is genetically impossible for the bass to resist that herring. That's why so many guys have grown up on the herring bite. If the fish are there in numbers, you are almost guaranteed a fish.

But what if the fish are not there, in numbers.....? :huh:

albiealert

07-18-2011, 02:21 PM

Great idea DS, it seems you have really done your research.
When you get to the Ct part of it, just know that it seems our fishing is in dribs and drabs. I never catch fish with the same consistency from one year to the next. Maybe if i was out there more I would. I do tend to agree with your premise that there are less small fish around, though. And the thought that there are not that many catch and release tournaments around is a sad thing for me to accept. Not many people are talking about conservation where I fish, and that's too bad. Thanks.

DarkSkies

07-19-2011, 08:44 AM

Great idea DS, it seems you have really done your research.
.

Albie, although I'm pretty thorough with the research I do, I wouldn't be able to pull it together without the people who are willing to talk to me and share info. Some of the old-timers here have helped me the most in terms of seeing the big picture. They deserve a lot of the credit for the assessment I put together here. :clapping: :thumbsup: Without them, it wouldn't be nearly as comprehensive as it is. :HappyWave:

I'm just the reporter of current events, the chronicler of data. My mission is to paint a picture that is so clear that it will be easy for all to understand. So without naming a slew of names, thanks to you all. :clapping: :HappyWave:

finchaser

07-19-2011, 08:58 AM

boats aren't even getting Albie's and bass fishing is like it use to be before the moratorium, they are on the decline. collapsing fast, time to sell all my sh_t

skinner

07-21-2011, 03:49 PM

time to sell all my sh_t

What would you do if you sold it. play golf? From the posts of yours I have read, you don't seem to be the sort of guy who likes golf (not that there's anything wrong with that, I don't play golf either):d

finchaser

07-21-2011, 10:02 PM

What would you do if you sold it. play golf? From the posts of yours I have read, you don't seem to be the sort of guy who likes golf (not that there's anything wrong with that, I don't play golf either):d

Your right i don't play. Golf is for guy's who can't catch fish

DarkSkies

07-22-2011, 10:58 AM

^^ Vintage Fin, shoots from the hip, no diplomacy needed! :laugh: :clapping:

**********
Island Beach State Park, N to Manasquan Inlet

I thought about putting Island Beach State Park in a separate category. It is a region unto itself, with the Barnegat Jetty, Sedge Islands and sodbanks in the back, and quick access to the channels of the Barnegat Bay that can hold fish on all but the hottest or coldest days.

Generally speaking, the structure at Island Beach is shallow, sloping, with ever changing cuts, bowls, and outsucks. This differs from some of the structure slightly N, around Mantoloking to Point Pleasant, where the beach structure is generally a little deeper.

For simplicity's sake and to treat this whole area as a reqion for ongoing assessments, I will be talking about this as one whole area. Barnegat Inlet to Manasquan Inlet.

To begin with, the elimination of the bunker boats that had been crowding inshore was hailed as a victory for fishermen, and it was.

It may not have been the ultimate victory for the biomass, however. A higher % of large bass are now caught in the Barnegat to Monmouth Beach stretch than at any time in past NJ history since the moratorium That allowed the migrating schools of bunker to wander leisurely following the beach line, and for migrating bass and gargantuan bluefish to seek out these plentiful schools at random times during the day. The fishing became so good that NJ's spring run "along the beach and jetties" became legendary. People from many surrounding states, and from as far away as Canada, come to NJ to fish the spring striped bass bunker blitzes.

The fishing is truly legendary, and can be exceptional, when the fish are feeding on these bunker. One of the issues is that during this time, the chances of getting fish any other way is reduced as all the bigger fish in the area are drawn to these bunker schools.

Island Beach has for a few years been in the forefront of this action. The starting gun for this activity usually begins around Mothers' Day. It's been so consistent that you can set your fishing calendar by it......

Unfortunately, this year, that fishing, also known as the Mothers' Day Massacre, never fully developed at IBSP.http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon9.png

In the weeks after that, it really didn't come together for that area either, save for some sporadically productive blitzes centered more around Seaside and parts North of that.

There was a well-publicized blitz on a Monday in June. If you were there you would be telling a different tale, of fish after fish in the 40# class being taken by surf guys and boaters alike....along with a few other memorable dates. Some 50# bass were taken close to the surf line, and by guys with kayaks and in boats.

Realistically, when taken into a complete perspective, the fishing for IBSP was much poorer in Spring 2011 than in previous springs. So much so, that hardcore fishermen known to be at IBSP at those times in the past had to leave their fishing grounds and travel to chase the fish, both on land and by boat.

In all fairness, there could have been several reasons for this....

1. Structure has changed. The sloping beaches of IBSP have been hammered by coastal storms in the past. There is now a 2nd sandbar throughout most water in the park that is wider and more extensive than in the past. This makes it harder for the fish to come closer during all tides. There are still some great cuts and highways. Those in the know who fish there regularly will tell you that the productive fishing "spots" are way down in proportion to total beachfront.

2. Bass Migration has shifted... Bass follow bunker. It's not brain surgery. You could make the argument that bass were not following bunker, and were offshore feasting on the sand eels and other forage. This has happened in the past. However, bunker are a great protein snack for the biggest bass and can be the easiest to eat when schooled up by the thousands. Bass will traditionally follow bunker over other, smaller forage. Just ask any charter capt as he targets bass in the bunker schools.
I put this possibility out there, but if the migration has truly shifted, more people would be talking about it. I don't see this as a realistic possibility.

3. Bait Migration has shifted... What I mean by this is that other than bunker, bait has been notably absent from much of the NJ surf this year. The sand eels that are usually abundant are offshore, from 3-50 miles out. They usually make their transition into the surf zone in the early spring, and the early to mid-fall. This hasn't happened to any reasonable extent in NJ this year. It HAS happened in LI S Shore beaches, and to a large extent on many of the N Shore beaches. Them not being available in the NJ surf could be merely a seasonal abberration. This is also mirrored in othet small forage fish, which didn't show up in the NJ surf in large numbers until June this year.
Out of all the explanations here, this lack of surf bait is one that I'm most wiling to accept now for the lack of consistency in NJ surf fishing for the first half of 2011. I know in my heart that the bass have declined as well, but want to leave no stone unturned in the quest for accuracy here.

4. We have become more efficient at catching big bass..from the Internet to better electronics, and cell phone chains where 75 guys can show up within minutes of finding big bass in a particular surf area.... :kooky:we have become more efficient at finding and harvesting these big bass.
There are no stats as to how more efficient we have become, that would be hard to quantify. Some look at reported catches to see how many bass are being harvested. I can assure you, there are many more fishing than the reports you see on internet and tackle shop sites. Many guys catch fish and have no interest in reporting it, ever.

5. More people in the sport...There are more people fishing salt water, either via surf or by boat, than at any time since the moratorium. Even if the majority of these don't catch fish, many will.

6. Maybe the answer is in the shrinking biomass... If any of the above possibilities don't fully explain it, then we are left with this possibility. There are those out there who would claim that this statement is totally untrue, their bass fishing is better than it ever has been....but the majority of folks I talk to claim the opposite. :learn:

DarkSkies

08-05-2011, 12:52 PM

I have fallen behind on this thread. Other things have kept me busy and I slacked off. :beatin:

After Fin let me know of the ASMFC ruling not to make any changes now until another assessment (at the urging of Tom Fote of the JCAA) .....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7882-JCAA-claims-striped-bass-are-NOT-overfished-or-down-in-numbers...

I now know I must push on with these assessments.

As opposed to the "scientific" assessments, these are anecdotal assessments, gathered from my fishing results and the hundreds of fishermen I've met and talked to out there. The average fisherman who talks to me has been fishing 20 years or more, so I feel there is some breadth and weight to these assessments.

I could have broken this down to the Shark River Inlet as the halfway point, but decided not to. For consistency I will continue to report this way.

***************
Fishing from MI to SH for the first half of 2011 followed part of the usual pattern where the fish showed up when the bunker were there. Before that, isolated quantities of bass were caught on clams and artificials. This seemed to be a slow season to start because for the longest time the ocean temps stayed close to 50.

Beginning the 2nd week of May, and ending with the last week of June, this time span of 6 weeks is arguably the most productive for NJ surf guys, as the temps rise and bunker schools migrate along the surf. This is the time when anyone and everyone has a shot at a 50lb surf caught bass. in fact, several bass over 50 were caught from the surf in that region this year, the biggest I saw recorded was 52#. :d

There are some who will say this was the BEST surf season ever for NJ big bass in that time period. I would tend to agree with that statement.
Some would also ask me...Dark if you agree with that, how can you say the numbers are down? :don't know why:

A few points....

1. The bass were highly concentrated, save for a few "epic" :rolleyes: days when they were distributed through both ocean and monmouth counties. This concentration meant that if you were on the "red x" as the OFFC :HappyWave: has coined the term, you were into big fish. If you were 1 mile away, you were wondering where the fish were. :huh:

2. This great concentration of larger fish was a similar pattern of catches right before the moratorium was instituted in 1982, and as such, parallels can be drawn.

3. Although some fish in the 50's were landed, there was a notable lack of fish in that year class, and in the year class for 20lb fish and under. Surf fisherman after fisherman was marvelling that these were among the biggest fish they had ever seen, such were the glowing reports on the internet sites and gained from my personal interviews.

4. I believe there were also less 50 lb fish caught this year than at any time since guys have been getting fish in the NJ surf during these blitzes. It was said that the 30lb bass became the "new 50", because that was the year class that the majority of fish harvested seemed to represent.

5. So, if we are wiping out the 50's and the 40's, and there are a noticable lack of fish under 20#, this might indicate to an astute observer that there are certain year classes of striped bass, that are poorly represented. They are just not there.

This is not scientific, but scientific ASMFC historical evidence does tend to support a disparity in certain striped bass year classes. And, although not scientific, the reports and data I used to make my assessments here are from hundreds of fishermen, many who fish several times a week. Most of these guys were happy with their catches this Spring season, yet,,, many of them grumbled that they had to run farther and hit more locations (whether by boat or surf) to find the fish that in previious years had been described as like "fishing in a barrel of big fish".

That wasn't the case this year, with the exception of some of the charter boats that were able to dial into about 2 weeks of very consistent action as the fish seemed to be holding on some patches slightly N of Manasquan Inlet. all the way up to MB.

And now we'll mention Sandy Hook as a special case. Fishing Sandy Hook for years, it's one of my favorite places. This year, with the exception of a few good weeks in the early Spring when clams were king, and a week when bunker dumped out of the bay, the fishing has been terribly inconsistent. It's nothing of the sort that it was even 3 short years ago.

One of my long-ago mentors, who fished Sandy Hook almost every day during the season, for decades, has now abandoned Sandy Hook in search for better structure at beaches South of there.

Summary:
For the majority of guys chasing the bass, the big bass were few and far between except for a very productive 2-3 week period.

Even the "bunker pod strategy" used by many boaters was at times ineffective.
At times, there were miles of bunker, up to 12 miles in area, of bunker, with no bass or bluefish under them.

Anyone who wants to talk about how the bass are not under-fished, would be hard pressed to completely explain the above lack of bass under those miles of bunker.

Some might point to the water temps as the reason for absence of bass toward the end of June. During most of the time when the bunker pods were without any bass on them, the ocean temps were in the low to mid 60's. These temps are at the point where they are starting to become warm and naturally cause the bass to seek out cooler water. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon3.png

However, certainly not hot enough to push the whole biomass of bass north, if there was food to be eaten here. :learn:

DarkSkies

08-23-2011, 08:32 PM

I don't know how many people appreciate my page-long dissertations in this thread. :scared:

I'm trying my best to present these mini-assessments to help folks understand the big picture. I feel if they have no knowledge of the areas I've been to and fished, it becomes hard for them to form an opinion.

Therefore, I try to be as detailed as possible. I want them to have this information before they decide whether striped bass are overfished or not.

I want folks to see that these are not just the rantings of "Chicken Littles" or "Conservation Zealots", :kooky: but matter-of-fact observations from people who fish a lot. :fishing:

I don't want to lose the reader with overdone assessments, though. These things need to be brought up, but sometimes too much info can overload folks' brains :argue: and they turn off..... http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon9.png

In hopes of keeping the interest stirred, in some posts I'm going to ask folks who specialize in those areas to give their assessments. I hope you will bear with my wordiness and try to learn something here.

DarkSkies

08-23-2011, 08:39 PM

Raritan Ray, Raritan River, Twin River System, and NY Bight

Lord, I'm so behind on this thread,, time to get crackin before it's time to write the assessment for the 2nd half. :laugh:

Raritan Ray, Raritan River, and the Twin River System

It's well-known among fishermen that Raritan Bay and the deeper channels leading to NY Bight are staging grounds for a lot of NJ/NY resident fish. Some small ones don't make the yearly migration till they reach a certain size, feeding on the crabs, shrimp and mollusks off the piers, pilings and rocky structure.

These resident fish, while fluctuating in number, are cause for concern in years when they are not abundant, because they can be either --
anecdotal supporters of NMFS YOY figures, or show that the figures are incorrect.

I'm mentioning this because for 2 years in a row, the smallest bass have been absent from the Raritan Bay area, compared to the numbers we are used to seeing.

I know they are there, I can catch them in a yak from places you would not think of looking. And the hundreds of bait fishermen along the banks can confirm as well. However, the numbers are dwindling, I don't have a scientific reason why. :huh:

Early Spring Raritan Bay fishing is temperature dependent. This year it got off to a late start because we had a harsh winter with a lot of runoff.

Early season bass fishing in this bay is primarily a bait fishery.
By several accounts of those who fish for bass regularly, the numbers of bass were down.

The "bright spot" was the bunker. :rolleyes:
Those who know how and where to find the bunker in their usual places managed to find bass up to 25lbs, a few larger, but most from 10-20lbs. These were mixed in with bigger bluefish, as is usually the case.

Bridge fishing for big bass
I'm going to do something here I don't usually do, to prove a point, and hope it doesn't backfire....

Some of the biggest fish come from the bridges, because they are the highways the fish must use to traverse the rivers. Traditionally, when the clubs have their spring tourneys, the biggest tourney winning bass will come from a bridge deep in the night when bait is present.

That didn't happen this year.
Why?

In part because there were access issues caused by some selfish people, who were warned by the police, and then allegedly proceeded to file a formal complaint alleging they were racially discriminated against.

For the most part, bridges had less fishing access, and less fishing man-hours, put into them this year, unless you fished from a boat near them.

Even with all that drama, I know some folks who still managed to put in some serious bridge time, whether on foot or by boat. Live eels, rubber, bunker, the standard presentations that get it done from those bridges and have given them trophy fish in the past.

Hardly any trophy fish (any fish over 30lbs and up) was caught from a bridge area in the spring.

Ask most hard-core bridge fishermen how good their Spring catches were,,,, and if you can get an honest answer out of them, they'll say.... "This Spring at the bridges sucked, where are the fish?? http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon8.png"

The rest of Raritan Bay and the NY Bight, up to Breezy Point

Many bass winter over in the deepest channels. Unfortunately, there is limited access. A guy who can pull a 20lb bass regularly from a deepwater area during his lunch hour, because he has access in that restricted area, is not going to talk about it with the NMFS or on a phone survey. But he will talk to me, and scores of folks do as long as I promise their anonymity.

They are not getting the big bass from the deepwater channels like they have been. They are still catching, but the best stories I've heard happened 3 years ago, and longer.

In the areas where there is public access, Great Kills, for example, the lack of larger, fat healthy bass this Spring over 20lbs was dismal.

There are always exceptions. I know of a few 55+ class bass that were caught right off Great Kills this year in a channel. I would assume there are some more, unreported, every year. There are a few "sharpies" who target and catch big bass in this area every year, and you will never hear about it. There are also a few kayakers who have gotten in the middle of the schools at low light and landed some fish up to 30#.

However, the numbers are not there.... not like in previous years.
Without trying to overwhelm folks reading this, Great Kills and the NY Bight is a very special area to me. It's the area where the world record weakfish was caught in May 7, 2008 by Dave Alu with Rich Swisstack guiding.

If you fish a lot, it's definitely one of your early season hotspots.
In 2008 and the years prior, almost every night there would be a few fish landed on the beaches from 25-40lbs.

How many times did this happen in Spring 2009?
2010?
Spring 2011? Virtually none http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon9.png

Where have these big bass gone?
If they are not overfished, why would they not be there feeding on the bunker, which are never too far in the Spring from Great Kills?

Schools in the thousands, plenty of food for the biggest bass to eat, and yet not many bigger bass to be found under those schools. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/smilies/don't%20know%20why.gif

I bring this up because it's a crucial rebuttal to folks like Tom Fote and others from the NMFS and ASMFC who say there is no evidence of overfishing for striped bass......gents, feel free to take yourself to any of these areas for a span of 2 weeks deep in the night around high slack tide.

See for yourself, the guys just aren't catching any numbers of fish or big fish from them anymore....

No scientfic data is needed for this assessment. Those who fish a lot just know it to be true, because they see it happening in front of them. They are out on the water more than most, and it's plain as day to them. :learn:

DarkSkies

08-23-2011, 08:48 PM

I appreciate all feedback on this thread.
Your opinions, reflective of your experience, will help to make this as accurate as possible. Thanks.

DarkSkies

08-23-2011, 08:49 PM

Some people are afraid to discuss the realities.
They feel this is ammunition for NOAA to eventually shut things down, as they have done for other fisheries.

Although I would not like to see this happen, and would still fish despite any ban they put out there, I feel if we are not decribing things as accurately as possible, it's not possible to see the big picture with any clarity.

ledhead36

08-23-2011, 09:25 PM

I'm mentioning this because for 2 years in a row, the smallest bass have been absent from the Raritan Bay area, compared to the numbers we are used to seeing.

. And the hundreds of bait fishermen along the banks can confirm as well. However, the numbers are dwindling, I don't have a scientific reason why. :huh:

There are also hundreds of illegals, asians, mexicans, russians, fishing docks, piers and bridges and keeping every striper they get their hands on, that may have something to do with it too.

jonthepain

08-23-2011, 09:59 PM

around here, the illegals take everything they can possibly get with their cast nets, and mama cita cleans it and puts it in a bucket the second they drag it on shore.

they tell me it's a cultural thing.

they've wiped out just about everything around here, and the authorities don't do a dam thing.

surfstix1963

08-24-2011, 08:11 PM

If it's like NY they never show up for court anyway or they play no speaka the english no I.D. to even write a summons what they need to do is impound all their fishing equipment every single day or just arrest them.

jonthepain

08-24-2011, 09:08 PM

yup

but when they get out obama will just give them a pat on the back and a free college education

and oh yeah free food stamps free medical care etc etc etc

baitstealer

08-27-2011, 08:11 PM

Thank you for all of that dark skies I learned from reading it. You really know a lot about different areas.

DarkSkies

09-01-2011, 01:45 PM

You're welcome, baitstealer.

What I'm trying to do is paint a broad picture here.

It's not convincing enough to tell the average fisherman that the numbers are down. If a guy fishes almost every day, he will know that. But most people don't, and tend to see threads like this as propaganda or agenda-driven.

Although I obviously have very strong opinions on this subject as striped bass are more than just a fish to me... I want to try to present all of the things I have seen and learned on this subject to all the folks out there who doubt this.

I know this may not be completely accurate.
If anyone has any corrections or differing opinions, I welcome them.
Thanks for all the help, people, and special thanks to all those old crabs and old salts :laugh: :HappyWave: who have been the inspiration compelling me to undertake a project this size. :clapping:

DarkSkies

09-01-2011, 01:45 PM

Some of you may have heard of RJ.
Bob is one of the most knowledgable people I know on the topic of bass fishing in the Hudson.

He's a member here, but we lost touch.
I was in contact with him in the Spring, but lost touch again, my fault. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon9.png

I'm going to get in touch with him, and ask if he might share his assessment with us.
My assessment and his may be different.

4 million bass allegedly spawn in the Hudson each year. I and a lot of folks I know, no longer believe that number is accurate.

However, RJ has decades of fishing experience on me, and he truly cares about striped bass. On top of that, he's a helluva writer, story-teller, and I hope to see a book by him published one day now that he's retired and has more time. :thumbsup: :HappyWave:

Hopefully he will agree to post his assessment. :fishing:

** We're now working our way up the NorthEast Coast.
When we get to Rhode Island, I will be asking our member JustEd to post his assessment. He has fished for bass since he was 5 and has a unique background doing this thing we love.
I hope we'll be lucky enough to have him post his thoughts on fishing in his home state for Spring 2011. :thumbsup: :HappyWave:

DarkSkies

09-01-2011, 01:46 PM

Hudson River Striped bass assessment Spring 2011

* This space reserved for RJ. :HappyWave:

*****************
RJ has graciously posted his perspective. I thank him for all the time he spent doing it. Even though I may not agree with all of it, he has more knowledge of the Hudson than I will ever have, and we are lucky to have him post here. Thanks RJ!

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8076-Hudson-river-reprise&p=53949

DarkSkies

09-01-2011, 01:46 PM

Rj 2

DarkSkies

09-01-2011, 01:47 PM

Rj 3

DarkSkies

09-02-2011, 12:59 PM

Jamaica Bay, or JBay, is another one of my favorite places to fish early in the season.
It's nestled amidst one of the most populated areas on the Eastern Seaboard, and has it's share of pollution, crime, and voodoo sacrifices. :scared:

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?3797-What-s-with-all-the-animal-sacrifices-in-Jamaica-Bay&highlight=jamaica+bay+voodoo

Yet, the fishery is outstanding, truly world class, at certain times of the year.
Bunker start filtering in there in early March. Although the bass season doesn't open till April, the bass are following the bunker and predators fill that bay after the long winter.

It's so outstanding that the annual Spring JBay kayak tournament has produced some fat bass, giant bluefish, and even some trophy weakfish, for the last few years, consistently.

This was the first year that the fishing for that tourney was a bust. Some decent fish were caught, but I don't recall reading about any kayak tourney fish weighing more than 30#.

In all fairness, this was a harsh winter and rough spring. The waters took longer than normal to warm up. There was also an unfavorable weather pattern the weekend of the tourney. These poor results could be directly attributable to that. :learn:

However, I don't believe there were any 50lb class caught this year in Jbay by shore fishermen, kayak guys, or boat guys.
There were some nice fish caught in the high 30's. In fact a few friends were out on yaks and got a 38# bass one morning, that was great for them. :HappyWave:

However, as I tried to point out on one message board, where are the 40's and 50's? :don't know why:

Some answered me defensively, saying they had not just shown up yet. I don't mean to argue with people when I raise these issues. I am just trying to state the realities that we are faced with.

And the truth of the matter is that while some capts will tell you they had an outstanding season in JBay this year by searching for fish under bunker schools, most of the "big" fish they caught were in the 20# class, with a few exceptions.

This causes great concern to me and some others who discuss this obsessively.
If the largest bass are being less represented in the catch ratios here, in what is arguably the best forage fish nursery in the region....where are they? :huh:

I don't have fancy stats for anyone reading this, just years of experience, feedback from others with more experience, and these anecdotal assessments I'm offering to you folks here, one section at a time.... http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon3.png

jonthepain

09-02-2011, 01:57 PM

[/B]On top of that, he's a helluva writer, story-teller, and I hope to see a book by him published one day now that he's retired and has more time. :thumbsup: :HappyWave:

I hear that

clamchucker

09-02-2011, 10:09 PM

If the largest bass are being less represented in the catch ratios here, in what is arguably the best forage fish nursery in the region....where are they? :huh:

darkskies the answer to that question is that there are less large bass around. They were not here in numbers at IBSP this year. A few associates did well off of Deal and Spring Lake, because all those bass were concentrated on the bunker. The truth of the matter is that every year we are killing more and more big bass because those are the trophies people want to have pictures of. I am not completely sure killing all the big bass is helping the fishery to decline, though. It is the fish in the 20-25lb class that are the best breeders. I think there might be a good number of those around, but it is hard to get a handle on this with pinpoint accuracy.

To follow along on your theory, it is possible that because there are less big bass around, folks are now over-harvesting bass from the 20-25 pound classses, and this is not a good thing. If allowed to continue at this rate, I estimate striped bass stocks will be at 1981 levels within 5 years or so from now.

The thing that we need to protect the most is our prolific breeding bass which are from 32-40 inches, on average.
This is why I strongly believe we need a slot limit with both sides clearly defined.
For example, you should be able to keep one bass from 28-31".
Or you should be allowed to keep one over 40 inches. At no time should you be allowed to keep both sizes, even on the party boats.
This would ensure that these best breeders are protected, and we would not see a decline in year classes like the ones you are talking about.
I have been following this thread and not gotten involved because I feel you are doing a good enough job at raising awareness. Keep up the good work and please do not get discouraged. The information you are putting out there seems fairly accurate from the areas I know and have fished. Thank you.

DarkSkies

09-03-2011, 11:19 AM

To follow along on your theory, it is possible that because there are less big bass around, folks are now over-harvesting bass from the 20-25 pound classses, and this is not a good thing. If allowed to continue at this rate, I estimate striped bass stocks will be at 1981 levels within 5 years or so from now.

The thing that we need to protect the most is our prolific breeding bass which are from 32-40 inches, on average.
This is why I strongly believe we need a slot limit with both sides clearly defined.
For example, you should be able to keep one bass from 28-31".
Or you should be allowed to keep one over 40 inches. At no time should you be allowed to keep both sizes, even on the party boats.
This would ensure that these best breeders are protected, and we would not see a decline in year classes like the ones you are talking about.

Thanks for that, Clamchucker. I completely agree.
We need to protect the striped bass that have the most fecundity. ie "most prolific breeders", and they are those in the size range you pointed out.

There seems to be a lot of agreement on this from people who have fished before and after the moratorium. Finchaser, the OFFC, Surfwalker, and others have said similar things in the past.

I think when people are sitting down at the table to figure out what's best to continue the strength of the biomass, your suggestions should be at the top of the list.

I'll continue to talk about the decline of the biggest bass moving forward as I finish my coastal assessments for the year. I'll do this because I feel people relate more emotionally to a decline in bigger bass...

But you're right, that will not save the numbers overall. It's much more important to protect the bass in the 32-40" class.

Therefore, I'll probably come back and reference your words here as needed. Thanks for the kind words and for sharing your perspective. :thumbsup:

DarkSkies

09-12-2011, 04:55 PM

I'm really trying to move this thrread along and finish the Spring 2011 Assessments before i have to post up the fall results....:beatin:

This will include all of LI except for Montauk.

Montauk is a special case because of it's location and history.

The South Shore can be compared somewhat to the NJ shore area with some slight distinctions.

1. They don't have nearly as many jetties as are contained in NJ which is where the NJ fish are traditionally caught in the Spring.

2. Access is more regulated with State Parks taking up much of the shoreline there.

To begin with, most LI folks I talked to were happy with the LI spring run. The boat guys were very happy, the surf guys a little less...

What happens is after the bass leave NJ in June, they usually follow a path to the Fire Island/ Moriches area and sit there for a while following the bunker schools. They eventually move as the temps go up, and the bunker moves N, although those generalizations aren't always absolute nor mutually exclusive.

The reason for this thread is to raise awareness.
I believe I can say with some accuracy that less big bass were caught from the surf of LI in the Spring of 2011 than in prior years.

There was only a smattering of 40's, and I believe a surf caught 50 or 2 was weighed in.

This year the bunker seemed to linger longer than usual, but as the bass became less "available" it seems charter Capts turned to fishing for thresher sharks to fill the gap.

DarkSkies

10-22-2011, 07:39 PM

As I mentioned in post 31, RJ has posted his perspective on the Hudson. I think it's an interesting read, and anyone who would like to learn more about striped bass in the Hudson should check it out.....

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8076-Hudson-river-reprise&p=53949

storminsteve

10-22-2011, 07:52 PM

Very thorough, guys, good job.

seamonkey

01-12-2012, 11:42 AM

Dark, I wondered if you were finished with this Spring assessment yet and would be starting on the fall. I would like to weigh in with mine for Ocean City and South NJ-

I know most of you northern guys had a great fall, but for those of us who fish Ocean City and south of that it was terrible except for some action in the Cape May area in December.
I had a poor fall but don't have as extensive a log book as some of you guys do. I did catch some nice bass but had to drive up to LBI and IBSP to do it. Here is a post put up on another site referring to our area that I thought spelled it out remarkably well-

"Worst last fall/spring/ and current fall/winter in recent history. 3 years ago this time I caught over 75 fish, with 14 keepers. This year I put in more time and got 1 hit all fall on a bunker tail, and pulled in a 37 inch/18 lber and other than that got an 8 incher on a hopkins as that was only hit I got on a lure all year. happy for those who got on some, but awful year for catching fish here.. "

BTW I want to thank you for the work you did putting this together. I check all the internet sites out there and want to tell you this thread is one of the most comprehensive ones on what it actually happening out there. Some of the other folks extolling the virtues of the NJ fall run seem to have been fishing for 5 years or less. How can you form an opinion of "trends" if you only have 5 years under your belt. I have been fishing the ocean city to cape may (and also Delaware Inlets and AI) for over 20 years. Our fishing has steadily declined. Some of us think it is the beach replenishment, and others have seen the sizes and numbers come down. I truly feel the bass numbers are down and have had to drive to get to them where before I could just fish our local beaches.

I see you are having a great/ fall winter as well, and wondered how that fit in with your persective now that you guys seem to have those fish. Or you could put it in another thread. Whatever, I would really like to hear what you and the other great minds here think, as I believe there is a lot of hype out there when it comes to fishing NJ.

Also, hope you don't mind my saying this, and no disrespect to your site, but you really should consider becomeing a saltwater writer. You seem to do a lot of investigating and research in the things you write. You try to back up a statement by referring to someone with a lot of experience who says the same thing. Your talent for doing this should be shared with more of the SW world, and not just here. I read where you say you are burnt out from doing this, but you can tell by reading your posts that you are a guy who passionately cares about what he writes and has a good deal of integrity where the truth is concerned.

You would be a great writer, freelance or contract. If you ever write a book I will buy it. Please consider it, and thanks for trying as hard as you do.

DarkSkies

06-03-2012, 10:05 AM

^^ Seamonkey somehow I must have missed your post when you posted it.

Thanks so much for the kind words. I'm on track to write, it's part of my long term goals, but it will not be on how to fish or where to fish.....I've lost a lot of respect for the guys who sell out all the spots for a few sheckels, and there are legions of guys in the surf world who feel the same way.....

Time to get this back to the top agiain...

a less than average season for many of the areas covered here. I'll be talking about them one by one as I get time.....for now, remember that a boat that can get itself in the middle of a few 30-50lb bass does nit signify the health of the fishery......and a Captain who states that the fishery is stronger than ever, either has been fishing for less than 10 years, or is doing a disservice by putting that mis-information out there....

As always, thanks for reading, and thanks for the kind words...much appreciated...:HappyWave:

DarkSkies

06-03-2012, 10:11 AM

Chesapeake Bay, Spring 2012

The bass fishery this year was very good for about 2 weeks. Other than that, many regulars in that area tell me they did not get the numbers of bass they traditionally do...and that there were a lot of disappointed folks who had higher expectations, only to get a sad dose of reality...

These are boat people, folks, who have the ability to get into the middle of the action, and still had trouble finding bigger bass consistently....

Additionally, the overall tourney standings were the poorest they have been in years....with winning aggregate sizes down from past years.....

Food for thought, people...

finchaser

06-03-2012, 03:45 PM

The end is near they are going down hill much faster this time around i don't think an accessment will help little late for that.
Special thanks to the guy's in the bay with there little hooks that gut hook fish but keep the numbers up. A special thanks goes out to the snag and droppers who are all pro's now using this no brainier way of decimation by keeping 2 qand 3 fish day after day. Most of them concider the spring as there bass season because they can't catch one anyother way.

Most short fillet keeping the tail section because these big fish eat and taste like sh_t from feeding on bunker just like blue fish

cowherder

06-03-2012, 10:14 PM

It seems like all we will have left is bluefish.:(

finchaser

06-04-2012, 09:01 AM

Yep just like the 80's for about 20 years or so

DarkSkies

01-28-2013, 12:31 PM

I'm going to try to finish this Assessment for 2012....
I let this lapse as other things in my life do have priority....but I'll try to get some of the Qualitative data I collected finished by the end of February.....

What's important is these are not random opinions by me on a soapbox, but a compilation of hundreds of critically honest observations by Captains and Anglers...all along the East Coast, who I have been fortunate enough to meet and remain in contact. I'm very grateful for their opinions as these are the folks who fish more than most.....

And absent quantitative data, or data that is sometimes flawed or skewed (look at the recent dispute in the Seabass assessments and biomass calcs)

I would submit that this Qualitative method of gathering and presenting assessments of hundreds of anglers...is as accurate a picture as you wll get at this time....and can been seen as a compelling indicator of
1. Trends
2. Concerns
3. Rationales
4. Critical Field Observations

Many thanks to all who have been a part of the accuracy in the Qualitative observations in this thread.......:thumbsup: :HappyWave:

DarkSkies

04-20-2013, 03:09 PM

^^Sadly, it seems this year they are in less concentrations than they have been. (so far)
If you are fishing an area they normally stop at on the migration highway, you are likely to do well.

What I have seen and am hearing so far is there are a lot of other areas that are dead water.

This could be partially due to lingering affects from Sandy...
They are in an area for a night or 2, and with no bait to hold them move on quickly..
As of the beginning of the week, there aren't many varieties of bait in most of the northern bays, other than bunker and worms....

Southern bays are a bit different....holding spearing and some other small forage....

The Spawning Areas...
Every year there are reports of big fish C&R in these areas....
There are a lot of strong opinions on this kind of fishing, so if ya's want to discuss it please feel free to start another thread on that...:thumbsup:

1. Chesapeake Flats fishing....
started about 10 days ago with some decent action....since then it has been spotty.....even night fishing with plugs which has traditionally yielded the biggest Spring fish. A few large were reported. I've received reports from some of the area's best anglers...guys who in the past said catching multiple 40# class fish in a night was a given......

Some are saying the flats fishing has been declining for the past several years.
These same guys are reporting that those fish have not been there in numbers this year.....
Why not?

2. Delaware Bay and Flats fishing....
The activity in this fishery ramped up within the last week. Nonetheless many of the anglers out there who are reporting double digit catches are catching quite a few of those fish in the 10-22" range....small YOY and 2nd year schoolies,,,,great to see them, but where are the bigger fish?
Again, I'm well aware of some of the bigger fish...I have the pics sent to me....but as far as quantity of big spawning Delaware stock fish...guys are already grumbling and asking where did they go this year?

3. Hudson River and Flats fishing.....
They are still catching small fish up there.....with an occasional 20# thrown in....but my point is, the big bass up to 60# that normally are swimming up the Hudson this time of year have not yet been sighted or documented.....Even by the guys who are fishing the lower Hudson, and NY Bight.

(Right now the NY Bight should be filled with millions of bass, if one were to truly believe the specious argument that the Hudson stock is composed of 4 million striped bass)........:rolleyes:

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8346-where-are-the-bass-in-the-Hudson-this-year
The anglers fishing those mentioned areas would be the first to see the bigger fish before they make the long trek up the Hudson, and they haven't....

**I know there are folks who claim to be experts on this,,,,saying that the colder winter slowed things down a bit....set the clock back.......I'll buy that argument, to an extent....and am stilll trying to be optimistic.....but if these fish are not in the bays in the numbers that they have been, not in the canals, inlets, and river mouths.......

Where are they?

** Yes there have been some ocean fish following schools of bunker and herring over the past week, but they are there one day and gone the next....which to me indicates no real concentration of bass.....This worries me greatly.

more on that in this thread here.......

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7784-StripersandAnglers-yearly-coastwide-fish-stock-assessment-state-of-the-fishery
food for thought, folks....:learn:

DarkSkies

04-20-2013, 03:09 PM

******

DarkSkies

05-09-2013, 08:46 PM

Delaware Bay 2013

DarkSkies

05-09-2013, 08:47 PM

Some of this I may eventually reference in the StripersAndAnglers state of the Fishery thread......
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7784-StripersandAnglers-yearly-coastwide-fish-stock-assessment-state-of-the-fishery

A member called me today. This is a guy who has decades of experience and has fished for bass for many years before the moratorium and still fishes when he can get out there........He has a good friend who is a Cape May Charter Capt....I'm paraphrasing here, what his Capt friend told him about the 2013 Striper run in the Delaware Bay......

"The 2013 bass run in the Delaware Bay has been the worst Spring fishery in all the years I have been fishing that bay.
The bass just were not there in numbers. Some have blamed the cold weather and the winds which made fishing difficult. There has been some good fishing above the Commodore Barry. As for the lower bay it has been terrible.
We have had to entice our clients who normally want to bass fish, with wreck fishing trips, or we would have had no income. "

DarkSkies

05-31-2013, 11:31 AM

Posted 5-9-14

3. Once again, the striper biomass doesn't need saving. It's as strong as ever. SAVE THE WEAKFISH!

1. Dark, Please delete any reference to me in the OP.

2. Sorry, if I disagree but like you said Facts are Facts and

3. I completely disagree much of what you say and really would not like to be associated with your opinions here.

4. Right on schedule the Raritan bay bass have arrived in full force.

Ya know Capt Paul, I really tried to have an adult discussion with you here....but you bring no facts, figures or credibility to the table. We all make mistakes, none of us is perfect. I was hoping you would have time to reflect on your answers and possibly review them in light of doing just the simplest research.
However, you have done none of that, so let's let the chips fall where they may....leaving me no choice but to memorialize you and your most ignorant statement.

1. You continue to make statements which not only are ignorant, but arrogantly myopic. Too lazy to even do some basic research. Then, when someone challenges you on your lack of knowledge, you want to be excluded from further comments. How does that work, Paul?

2. You continue to state "facts are facts", and offer nothing in return to support your "facts".
You haven't offered any log stats to support your claims.
You haven't offered any logic or personal experience to back your claims.

3. You disagree, but offer nothing to support your position that "the striped bass are healthier than ever" @Capt Paul Goins, April 2014.
You must think that most fishermen out there are stupid.

4. The Raritan migratory fish that you talk about arriving in "full force" were nowhere to be found before April 17...you and your fellow Capts, along with scores of shore anglers trying for them, found limited success before that date........
A. What happened to the thousands of resident bass that are caught in the Raritan bay and NY Bight each year, before the migratory fish show up?

B. What happened to the robust Jamaica Bay fishery that is usually on fire, this time of year, before the fish go up the Hudson......it is inconsistent right now, compared to past years....so poor (as of this date) that NY guys who normally fish Jamaica bay are coming over to NJ to fish......

C. How have your logs shown that the striped bass are healthier than ever?

1. I'm all for conservation and have stated several times that I think we should go back to some sort of slot size to keep the striper population strong.

2. But by no means is the Biomass is any kind of trouble.
Now a guy goes out and gets skunked and he believes fishery must be in trouble.

Again, Capt Paul, I hesitated before posting this.........
Wanted to try to find your motivation for stating your position, without doing any research at all...so I took some time, and researched your posts......could find nothing in there supporting your claim either.

As I said, we are all ignorant of some things, we all make mistakes.....but your arrogant ignorance, on top of being too lazy to do basic research, tells me either you just figure because you can call a friend when bass are feeding on bunker and catch fish.....folks might feel you are truly a great captain.....

The best Capts, (maybe JMO) are ones that can find bass, when they are hard to find,....
a. a Capt who fishes all day and scratches out a few fish, when no one else is catching,......or the bass are not that thick.....deserves more recognition than
b. someone who gets that success from a cell phone call

The more I read of your posts, and arrogance to at least look beyond the limited waters that you fish....the more I come to the conclusion that
1. You are closer in attitude to someone in Group b above, or...
2. You have a financial agenda that you won't talk about in trying to convince folks here..... that there are more fish, than there are.

Either way, without taking the incentive to do basic research, and arrogantly proclaiming the same thing over and over.....your credibility suffers greatly.
And your unwillingness to offer even the most basic facts or your log stats, or anything at all....to support your claim, may work with your friends here, in this Raritan bay forum....but takes away from your credibility each time you make this uninformed statement.
On other forums on the internet,.and on BassBarn, seasoned Capts are talking about what they are seeing.....and not one Capt is making the arrogant denials that you are...unless he has a hidden financial agenda.....

**Further, this arrogance shows you have limited knowledge of
1. Striped bass migration
2. Forage migration and any shifting patterns.
3. Spawning behavior and how to pattern it to figure out where fish might be during this time.
........which any good Captain, and many Captains on this site, are well-aware of.

DarkSkies

02-27-2014, 08:46 PM

****

DarkSkies

02-27-2014, 08:47 PM

***

DarkSkies

02-27-2014, 08:47 PM

DarkSkies

02-27-2014, 08:47 PM

DarkSkies

02-27-2014, 08:48 PM

******

DarkSkies

02-27-2014, 08:49 PM

*****

DarkSkies

04-23-2014, 07:29 AM

*****

DarkSkies

04-23-2014, 07:30 AM

DarkSkies

04-23-2014, 07:31 AM

This is another thread I have fallen woefully far behind on. I need a few hours to put my notes from seasoned anglers and capts out there. The bulk of this assessment is the general consensus of the best of the best, that I have been fortunate to interview.

I have been noticing a general decline for the last 7-8 years. I've learned my opinion is less important than that of seasoned and veteran anglers, who to me are infinitely more compelling in their statements.

Incredibly, there are some with commercial interests out there, who claim all the material presented here, is nonsense, that the striped bass population is healthier than ever. As I type these words, the same myopic group is creating havoc on several internet sites as they bully and berate anyone who is willing to disagree with that.

In 2014, at least some more people will be willing to listen.
Will try to get back to this soon, hopefully have the latest feedback wrapped up by the Spring run. :fishing:

buckethead

04-24-2014, 01:22 PM

I have been noticing a general decline for the last 7-8 years.

Incredibly, there are some with commercial interests out there, who claim all the material presented here, is nonsense, that the striped bass population is healthier than ever. As I type these words, the same myopic group is creating havoc on several internet sites as they bully and berate anyone who is willing to disagree with that.

:fishing:

I agree I am seeing the same thing. There bass population is in serious trouble. If you can't see that maybe you are better at understanding golf than fishing. Or you face a $$ loss when the limit is changed to one. Just my .02

porgy75

04-26-2014, 11:39 AM

I learned a lot reading. thanks for posting it.

DarkSkies

05-08-2014, 10:20 AM

*****

DarkSkies

05-08-2014, 10:20 AM

****

DarkSkies

05-08-2014, 10:25 AM

I'm so far behind in this I'll never get it finished if I don't do a little at a time.
For now, I'll have to start with the current status, and work my way backward.
Thanks for the kind words people, but please remember most of these assessments are not mine....they are a composite from interviews I do every year, with hundreds of seasoned anglers........

That's why I tell folks....if you don't like my opinions, or me, I'm OK with that.....:thumbsup:
but this asssessment is not about me....it's what hundreds of fishermen are saying.....I'm just the one laying it all down in easy to understand format....

** Please remember that any of these posts are subject to updating/revisions as more info becomes available and I pull more interviews from the notes I took. Please feel free to add if you can contribute here to help us come up with the most accurate accessment possible.
If you want your comments or observations to be included as part of this assessment and are not a member here, feel free to e-mail me any time.
As always, thanks for reading......:HappyWave:

DarkSkies

05-08-2014, 10:35 AM

Chesapeake Bay Spring 2014......(March - July)

By most accounts, the spawn was not great compared historically to other years.....the most common responses I heard from Capts and seasoned anglers was the cold Winter affected the early movement of the fish into the river spawning areas.......

Those who were fishing around the time of the spawn (remember that Maryland now has a closed season in the Bay during the time frame spawning is most likely to occur) have told me that they felt the fishing was slow.....

1. It seems to them that less large bass (Citations) were caught and recorded this year....
2. And there was concern among some of them that there are gaps in certain striped bass year classes.

Down in that area, they also reported a lot of smaller fish...which is something we have not seen as much up North...more on that in the

"NJs resident bass why have they abandoned us" thread...
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7174-S-amp-A-Education-Series-NJ-s-resident-bass-why-have-they-abandoned-us

** Remember that with the 2011 year being relatively good, we should be seeing greater numbers of small bass, coastwide, because of that.....however, 2011 is one solid year class, and not a specific indicator of the relative health of the striped bass fishery.

DarkSkies

05-08-2014, 11:05 AM

Delaware Bay/River Spring 2014 (March - July)

This is another area where the majority of seasoned fishermen I interviewed were concerned about the colder Winter and the affect it would have on the spawn.

For a review on striped bass and optimal spawning temperatures, read here:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?3649-Striped-Bass-thread

According to various sources who were fishing then, spawning in the Delaware river began anywhere from the 3rd week of April to shortly thereafter.....some have said to me the spawn is of shorter duration when the water is colder. By that they mean the spawn can last only a week, as opposed to warmer times, when it can last 3 weeks or more.

In any event, most of the seasoned anglers I know who fish the Delaware agree the 2014 spawn for that Delaware stock is already over....

2 interesting things of note....

1. Notable decline in action on the migratory route: Even during the spawn, in past years there were enough bass traveling along the Coast in migration that Cape May beaches would yield some bass, even smaller ones......

For 2014, most of the folks I know who fish the Cape May area have had a poor spring so far. These key areas have started to light up in the past week, as some bigger bass have been caught. These are the Delaware fish that are done spawing and making their way "around the bend" for Cape May and Atlantic County anglers to get a chance at catching.
They are probably mixed in with Chesapeake bay stock, which have been done with their spawing for over a week now and are making their way north as part of the yearly migration.

2. Notable # of Delaware Bay females still full of eggs:
Some of the fishermen I talked to were still catching fish to 30# in the lower bay as of a few days ago. The bait of choice for some of these fish was bloodworms, they wouldn't touch anything else in certain areas. That was probably because of the high amount of worms in those areas, the traditional bay flats areas.

**What was interesting was that a few different sources told me that these fish (the ones that were kept) had not spawned out, and had bellies full of roe.

To me, this is one possible indicator that the optimal # of fish did not spawn this year. I don't think the river temps ever reached 68, and there were few days they were above 60.
This may be anecdotal, but I feel the results of this year's spawn will translate to a poor YOY for the 2015 surveys...

Only time will tell if I'm right on this. However, it makes logical sense to me, based on the lower water temps and lesser days when they were optimal for spawning.

DarkSkies

05-08-2014, 11:12 AM

South Jersey Spring 2014 (March - July)

Here, we are referrring chiefly to SJ back bay action.....Atlantic and Cape May counties

a. Characterized by a good number of smaller fish (sub legal, 10-27")
b. The folks I know were out regularly catching these smaller fish since about the 3rd week of march (this excludes Power Plant fish, which IMO are an anomaly and don't belong in a coastwide assessment....every year fish are caught at power plants in the Winter)

c. This would indicate a pretty solid resident population for the SJ bay and river areas. This is markedly different from what folks are experiencing in NNJ Bays and river systems.

d. Every year, with the exception of Sandy's damage, South Jersey bays seem to hold more small forage, and come alive more quickly after a harsh winter.
I don't exactly know why this is, but have received enough feedback on it that I feel it's worth reporting.

e. Also, due to extensive beach replenishment, many of S Jersey's beaches on the oceanside do not hold nearly the numbers of bass and other gamefish they used to. Anglers are forced to prowl the back bays looking for structure or waiting on the migratory Spring and Fall runs on the ocean beaches.

DarkSkies

05-08-2014, 11:30 AM

Manahawkin and Barnegat Bay and Ocean areas Spring 2014 (March - July)

I think it's fair to say these back bay areas are very good estuaries. Claims have been made about agricultural runoff affecting water quality and fish population in the Barnegat Bay. I will agree to some extent. When I was a kid, friends and family took us out for many trips on that bay, and I remember it being full of life.

Is it the same way now?
Absolutely not.......I feel that breached inlet at Mantoloking Bridge, if allowed to remain the course, could have helped to clean up Barnegat Bay to what it once was....but there were too many logistics and real estate issues involved, for that to happen....

However, it's interesting to note that as I understand, they still haven't closed the Fire Island, LI, breach.....
Perhaps an indication that letting nature taking it's course, is sometimes a healthier alternative than fighting it......Also exemplified by the ACOE's futile and mis-guided approach to stem beach erosion by covering jetties and fighing Nature on a yearly basis.

Back on topic.....
It's still a (relatively) good estuary system.....
Can and does hold lots of forage in the sedge and creek areas...

1. This Winter, even the power plant bite didn't turn on consistently until mid-March....probably a function of them not running the cooling towers...which in turn did not concentrate the fish as tightly as folks were used to.....

2. The rest of that giant bay area, has produced some early season fish of size.....
I have friends who report to me, catches of bass to 30#, every year in key bay areas other than the power plant....
This year, they have seen nor caught nothing even approaching fish that size.......

As for the old-timers, many of them have been fishing the bay and inlet areas twice daily for bass, since the season opened, and they haven't caught any fish worth mentioning until about 10 days ago....the last days of April....

My question to the folks out there......is
Why Not? :huh:

DarkSkies

05-08-2014, 11:43 AM

Shark River Inlet and shark river... Spring 2014 (March - July)

I can't remember if I put this separately before, but it merits discussion......
Shark River inlet and the river system behind it used to hold tremendous quantities of bait, and as a result a lot of predators.....
I fished there as a kid.....you were never disappointed with the small fish you could catch from the inlet....all food for bigger fish...the inlet there used to hold baby blackfish by the hundreds.......

It has changed in recent years with dredging results....some claim it's nothing like it once was......
I'll agree...but still feel we should talk about it......

So far, the flounder season got off to a lukewarm start...but that's not enough of a current fishery to base an assessment on....

**I'll come back and fill this in when I get a chance.....

DarkSkies

05-08-2014, 11:51 AM

Shrewsbury/ Navesink River and Sandy Hook Bay Spring 2014........(March - July)

Another once great area.... that used to hold fish year-round because of the western boundary of the Earle Naval Pier...And the Southern boundary of Sandy Hook

1. Some of the biggest fish in the area used to come from the bridges......things have changed since then....
2. Even the guys in boats, drifting worms and bunker for 2014, have not had the traditional early success that used to happen in that river system.......

3. The rivers would be populated with small bass for most months except the coldest winter months.
4. Old timers have told me of limited numbers of bass spawning in the back of the Navesink, a few decades ago....

In recent years, (for those who have been fishing the river system for more than 5 years) the bass action has dropped off considerably, except for the nights when the massive schools of bunker move through...

There have always, always....been schoolies around for a good bucktailer to catch......
In recent years that has changed.....old timers have trouble catching a few schoolies....other than times when the rivers are filled with the largest schools of bait...

**If bass are so abundant, you have to ask yourself....
WHY? :don't know why:

DarkSkies

05-08-2014, 12:00 PM

Raritan Bay and NY Bight, including RB estuaries (Raritan River/ Hackensack River system, Arthur Kill, Staten Island) Spring 2014 -
(March - July)

I know this area better than many of the other areas I have fished, simply because I grew up fishing these places as they were closer. At different times I have probably walked and sunk, in most creeks and mud bogs in that area trapping killies and digging for tape and other worms. I would be embarassed to report the number of shoes I have lost wading around out there in the muck, and close calls I had when I couldn't get out of the mud.....
I have been fishing that area aggressively and consistently for the last 25 years......from boat, kayak, and land......

There are others who have more experience than me, and I defer to them when I need to learn more...such as the old timers who sparked my interest with numerous examples of bass spawning in the Raritan river decades ago.......

The Assessment Spring 2014:
(Note, the observations below are generalizations based on my experience, observations, and interviews with hundreds of anglers)
There is always a case where someone's experience doesn't fit what generally happens. Not looking to argue with anyone here....just looking to educate and raise awareness.....of what most seasoned anglers are (generally) seeing......

1. Later start - Later start to season because of colder Winter. This harsh winter probably damaged a lot of the early season forage population, but not as bad as 2013, when forage damage from Sandy was more marked and severe. I believe in 2013, grass shrimp didn't show up in many places until June. As of this date in 2014, there are very few grass shrimp and spearing in the usual places. They are there in the shallowest estuaries, but many of the other places are barren.

2. Dirty Water Bass - The early season is traditionally marked by anglers catching resident fish, which winter over in the Arthur Kill and other deep water ports of the lower Hudson river. You can ID these fish because they (usually) have a darker color and look "muddy" at times....hence the name "dirty water bass" and other names they have been called.
Every year, these bass are (generally) caught first by land anglers as the fish wake up from lethargy and start to roam the shallow water flats. These fish are available by the thousands.

In 2014, the numbers caught in this area, were only in the hundreds...
Boat anglers and others didn't start catching bigger fish regularly until April 17, 2014...
If the bass are so healthy, Where were these resident bass that are there every year?

3. Shallow water - Anglers usually start catching these (early) resident fish as the mud flats on the southern side of the bay heats up, near clam beds where the worms become active. For most years that (generally) means that the Southern side of the bay heats up first. The Staten Island and northern areas are generally closer to channels and deeper water, which (generally) means the bite turns on later in that deeper and colder water.

4. Find bait and find fish - any of the above general observations can be negated by large quantities of bait. In the spring it's usually large pods of bunker. To this day it amazes me that so few have an understanding of the bunker, or how they behave, other than asking others where to find them. When you begin to understand them better, you begin to see how it's all inter-related. We had an unusually warm winter back in 2011 when bunker were in some of the bays and harbors in February. Generally, they don't migrate from the south that early, but by March and April you can find them if you are willing to move around and look.

Generally, they come in with the flood tide, and leave with the ebb. The bunker you see are migrating as well. The ones you see today might not be the same ones you saw yesterday. Bunker also sometimes sit in deeper water in the channels and marinas, and only rise to feed when conditions are optimal.

I am amazed at the amount of times I'm out there crossing the channels in a kayak, and the bunker are just beginning to rise to the surface (boat traffic can also put them down). A Captain will blow right by me with binocs, looking for bunker, not realizing he just passed by the mother lode when he crossed that channel.

As mentioned, bass will follow large schools of bunker. If there are only a few big bass under them you might never know those bass are there. Hence the complaint from many who go out for a day of fishing "Well we saw all these bunker pods but nothing under them, very frustrating"

** A. Also, if there is an exceptionally large body of bunker, fish will follow them anyway, and the previous observations don't always apply, because the action is then dominated by the bunker.
B. When a large body of bunker leaves an area for the night, it tends to draw out most of the fish with it. Another frustration experienced by Capts and all fishermen. Understanding this, and fish behavior, is key to predicting where they could be the next day (Hint - bunker usually feed into the wind)

DarkSkies

05-08-2014, 12:59 PM

5. Structural changes and fish location changes - this is so important I decided to put it by itself. Many folks out there are resistant to this logic, instead falsely using it as being the reason for "seeing the most bass I have ever seen!"
Hint - the bass are now more concentrated, in a lesser # of areas. :learn:

Why?
A. Sandy's storm devastated some bay estuaries. Some shoreline and creek areas still have not recovered and are devoid of life.
B. Many creeks that used to hold small forage and had clam beds a short distance from the mouth now have these clam beds covered by silt, which has greatly decreased the worm and clam beds in the bay.

C. Old Orchard Lighthouse and Sandy destruction - This was a significant event. If you are a seasoned fisherman or Capt you know why. The destruction of the lighthouse immediately distributed those rocks throughout the area, increasing the surface area and structure by up to 300%.
This area was traditionally known by most Capts to hold fish, and the bigger fish that came into the bay.
The old pattern was that, for weeks at a time after the spawn., bass would come down the Hudson, and sit and feed at old orchard before moving on. Sometimes they were there for weeks at a time. Many of the bigger fish above 30# came from this general area.

Since Sandy, this area has become prime hunting ground for bigger bass.

The pattern has shifted to one where they now show up, Before, and After, the spawn.
They are not always there, and no one is guaranteed a fish....but if you know and understand fish behavior, you would see that with the decreased % of other areas that have traditionally held fish....this Old Orchard area would
rise to the forefront.....more crabs, sea bass, black fish, and other forage fish than ever before....divers will confirm this.....the area is loaded with bait for most of the year.....

**And...it is part of the pattern that has changed and allows some mis-informed folks, to think there are more bass, when closer observation reveals that not to be true.....

If you only fish from a boat, you know the names of usual places that hold bass and other fish in Raritan Bay....
* Flynns knoll and Romer shoals (clam beds)
* Old Orchard (up to 300% in structure area since lighthouse was destroyed)
* Round Shoal, and the entrance area to the Arthur Kill
* Mount Loretto and the shipping channels that graze the SI shoreline there
* Great Kills Harbor and the bass waiting a short ride outside.....(and sometimes in the harbor itself)
* Navy Pier to Keyport / the Belford clam beds and other clam beds in that area (The Navy pier will often hold fish when they are scarce in other areas. The channels are the gateway into the bay for migrating fish....the clam beds in that area can be confirmed by a conversation with any commercial clammer.)

There are a few more...but my point is this....a good Capt knows when these areas are most productive, and why...
Anyone who wants fish from a boat, you know the names of usual places that hold bass and other fish in Raritan Bay....
A good Capt, if they concentrated on those areas mentioned above, and fish are in the bay area....would most likely catch one, if they really worked the above areas thoroughly....
Someone who claims there are more bass than ever before, without recognizing the changes mentioned..... is either:
ignorant, arrogantly in denial, or has a hidden financial incentive to mis-represent the status of the bass #s to folks out there.

To Recap, for the RB/ NY Bight area (generally speaking)

1. Less shoreline structure and feeding area since Sandy
2. Higher concentration of the same fish in the areas that do hold food, with some becoming more prominent than before.
3. Offshore migration theories hold no water here, as fish must enter the bays in similar ways every year and travel the same routes to spawn.
4. Notably less quantities of larger fish. (the 20# bass has become the new "Large" Bass)
5. Significant gaps in year classes of other sized fish.

buckethead

05-08-2014, 02:42 PM

Well done Rich. comprehensive and informative. I agree 100%. The only thing I would add is if you can't see some kind of decline you are probably a newbie or as you mentioned have an agenda. Lots of Captains are against any change in the regs so I don't think any would agree with what you are saying. Don't let that intimidate you. Very good assessment. Thank you.

voyager35

05-08-2014, 03:07 PM

Nice job ds. Another thing to ponder is you don't see many big girls caught lately. those 40 pounds and above. Also check the chesapeake tourneys there were not many very big fish weighed in this year. There is definitely too much pressure on the bigger ones.

Monty

05-08-2014, 08:51 PM

Great posts Dark, thank you.

williehookem

05-09-2014, 09:27 AM

Very informative thanks for posting. Any thoughts on LI for 2014?

fishinmission78

05-10-2014, 05:52 AM

I have been noticing a general decline for the last 7-8 years. I've learned my opinion is less important than that of seasoned and veteran anglers, who to me are infinitely more compelling in their statements.

Incredibly, there are some with commercial interests out there, who claim all the material presented here, is nonsense, that the striped bass population is healthier than ever. As I type these words, the same myopic group is creating havoc on several internet sites as they bully and berate anyone who is willing to disagree with that.

In 2014, at least some more people will be willing to listen.
:fishing:

Seeing that down here dark. The island beach spring run is nothing like it used to be and the fall run seems to start later and later every year. Don't worry about the rest you are always going to have the d-bags out there that spread the BS. Thanks for the honesty

BassBuddah

05-10-2014, 05:18 PM

Very informative thanks for posting. Any thoughts on LI for 2014?

I can give the Montauk assessment if you want. Montauk had been great about 15 years ago. Sustained blitzes and large consistently caught deep in the night. If you put in your time on the sand beaches you would score some nice bass. Ususally 30-40#. Anything smaller wouldn't even get a nod from the regulars. Then about 5 years ago that all changed though it was declining for a while. The spring run was short. The fall run started later every year. Last good one with bigger fish was in 2011 will have to check my logs but pretty sure. Last year there was about 2 weeks of good fishing at the montauk beaches before it shifted to moriches and the moses beaches.

All of the montauk boats were running there. Large gaps of coastline where there were only small schoolies or none at all.
You're doing a good job dark keep up the good work. The scientists at the ASMFC really are clueless. Political motivations are strong.

finchaser

05-10-2014, 07:55 PM

At the most resent meeting it has been deemed by government that STOCKS ARE NOT IN TROUBLE and the 2 fish limit will stay in effect in 2015 with adjustments to size only. Main issue is elimination of bonus tags because of charter and head boat abuse. No one monitor them do to budget cut and then again no one sends them in because of this. Problem is how to keep tag quota from going to commercial in other states as we are a game fish state here in NJ.

So all these posts are now basically useless until reassessment around 2016/2017. If stocks drop below the Menendez line in the interim the fishery will be shut down or adjusted accordingly with out any intervention. Period end of quote so move on.

DarkSkies

05-11-2014, 09:40 AM

At the most resent meeting

1. it has been deemed by government that STOCKS ARE NOT IN TROUBLE and

2. 2 fish limit will stay in effect in 2015 with adjustments to size only.

3. Main issue is elimination of bonus tags because of charter and head boat abuse. No one monitors them do to budget cuts and then again no one sends them in because of this. Problem is how to keep tag quota from going to commercial in other states as we are a game fish state here in NJ.

4. So all these posts are now basically useless until reassessment around 2016/2017.

5. If stocks drop below the Menendez line in the interim the fishery will be shut down or adjusted accordingly with out any intervention. Period end of quote so move on.

Fin, I don't have to tell you...that what you posted is not true [Stocks not in trouble] ......(I know you and others your age know differently) and agree the ASMFC statement is politically controlled....I get your sarcasm here.....but I'm surprised you have given up so easily, though.....

1. The ASMFC has been discussing concerns about a decline since 2009.
The latest wrinkle to this saga, is that they are counting on one year class, the 2011 strong YOY numbers, to save this fishery.
It ain't gonna happen that way...they are playing a game of Russian roulette, gambling with a notable decline, hoping that one year class will pull the entire fishery up.......

4. For the last 5 years the ASMFC has been coming up with excuses as to why not to change the regs....
Yet for this year their target discussion was a 31% reduction in harvest.....

5. If the SSB biomass declines one million pounds more, the ASMFC will be mandated to declare they are overfished...... as I highlighted in your post.
(It's my contention that with the poor statistical calculations they use to extrapolate SSB, we could be at that number right now, and not even know it)

They wouldn't be even discussing a 31% harvest reduction, if there wasn't a problem with the bass stocks....

So for years you have been ranting to me about the corruption and political maneuverings...
ranting about how corrupt and politically subservient the ASMFC is...
How corrupt Tom Fote is....
And how misguided the JCAA has become (You should know you were one of the original founders)

And now you want to recommend for us all to lie down like dogs, and take the beating? :huh:

Sorry pal, no can do.....:don't know why:
A. The old timers I'm talking to are still complaining about a decline in bass numbers...
B. I see it yearly as well.....
C. I don't care what any one else does....or says......
I'm staying the course here....and will continue with this Yearly Assessment...:thumbsup:

You can give up...if you want.....:HappyWave:

DarkSkies

05-11-2014, 09:50 AM

I've been in countless of these threads/arguments across the internet, about what folks are seeing. It's been my experience that anyone who would claim that there are not less bass....

1. Often has a hidden agenda
2. Has a financial incentive for doing do
3. Has a political reason at the ASMFC, or is bowing to pressure from Commercial and Party Boat/Charter interests

This is just but one comment, of many, that I run across regularly........(from a LI fisherman)
and my response......

"Interesting year, no bass inside, no bass outside, no fluke, only blues.

It's usually the bass first, then the fluke then the blues"

That's because the bass biomass has shrunk drastically.

I have been noticing this in my trips for the last 5-7 years...
Some deny this, but if the SSB biomass declines one million pounds more, the ASMFC will be mandated to declare they are overfished......

For the last 5 years the ASMFC has been coming up with excuses as to why not to change the regs....
Yet for this year their target discussion was a 31% reduction in harvest.....

They wouldn't be even discussing a 31% harvest reduction, if there wasn't a problem with the bass stocks....

Food for thought..........

cowherder

05-11-2014, 11:00 AM

Sorry pal, no can do.....:don't know why:
A. The old timers I'm talking to are still complaining about a decline in bass numbers...
B. I see it yearly as well.....
C. I don't care what any one else does....or says......
I'm staying the course here....and will continue with this Yearly Assessment...:thumbsup:

You can give up...if you want.....:HappyWave:

:clapping: Thanks for the effort ds!
finchaser please don't tell us you're giving up. I have read so much you posted over the past years and learned from it. When you give up its like the communists have won.

dogfish

05-11-2014, 12:00 PM

And now you want to recommend for us all to lie down like dogs, and take the beating? :huh:

Sorry pal, no can do.....:don't know why:

This is the dark I remember. Colorful and crusty as ever.:HappyWave: Keep up the good work.

finchaser

05-11-2014, 01:34 PM

There will be no reduction in NJ or else where as in their eyes stocks are fine along the entire striper coast. In NJ it will remain at 2 fish undetermined size seems 1) at 24 to 28 and 1) over 34 or 36" is rumored. Bonus tag is a major concern and should go in 2015 that is all that is undecided. Then the next assessment and input will be in 2016 or 2017 until then it is what it is. They have made their decision so everything you have posted above is interesting but useless. To recap 2014 will stay the same and minor changes will be implemented in 2015 so no one gets to keep more than 1 fish over 34 or 36 inches per day.

Saddens me but that's how it is, you will be preaching to the choir

Monty

05-11-2014, 04:59 PM

finchaser

05-11-2014, 06:40 PM

No - bonus tags are going in 2015. The prolific breeders in the 28 to 36' size will all be spared to breed and sustain the fishery like last time you get to keep 1 smaller and then you can only keep the second if its over lets say 36" with a 2 fish max bag limit

captnemo

05-20-2014, 09:28 AM

buckethead

05-27-2014, 10:06 PM

Dark thought you and the folks here might appreciate reading this. Spot on imo.

Capt. John McMurray

Admitting this is without a doubt bad for business, but let me be frank: The striped bass fishing so far this spring just sucks. Yes, I’m still able to put guys on fish, and out of the eight trips I’ve done this season I’ve had a handful of “good” days, but it’s been ******* hard. A lot harder than it used to be. A lot harder than it ever should be.

We can try to blame it on this year’s weather and what appears to just be a “late start.” Yet given the steady downward spiral we’ve seen over the last several years, the later in May it gets the more it becomes apparent that this is pretty much the new “normal”. Even if we are a month behind, we still should be seeing lots more fish. Maybe it will get better, but I dunno man…

There are indeed some isolated bodies of fish around, but there is very little if any consistency anymore. You may find a few fish in a particular spot and be on them for a couple of days, but rarely more than that. Used to be, if you were on ’em, you were on ’em, usually for weeks.

I can already hear some people howling about the small body of fish in Raritan Bay, which everybody and their mothers have been knocking the **** out of. I can’t even bear to go over there anymore. But there simply is not the distribution of fish you would see with a “healthy” stock. Even just a few years ago, when you had good fishing in Raritan, you would also have good fishing from Jamaica Bay to Western Long Island. That’s just not the case anymore. It’s a huge bummer.

I used to hit the alarm clock every morning during the season and hop out of bed with a sense of anticipation because I knew there was a reasonable chance that we would have good action. Most of the time we did. It was an ego boost to effectively and consistently put anglers on fish. They thought I was good. I thought I was good.

Now, when that alarm clock starts buzzing at 3:30 a.m., I have to force myself out of bed. And the stress of putting anglers on fish, anglers who pay me a lot of money to do just that, starts even before I can get caffeine into my veins. It’s just not that fun anymore man. Over the weekend one of my best clients, who sensed the obvious anxiety, suggested I get a prescription for Xanax. I laughed out loud, but perhaps he wasn’t kidding.

I got into this business because, well, because I just loved striped bass fishing. I would have given up anything and everything to do it, and, as my sordid past indicates, a lot of times I did just that. Sounds kind of pathetic, but I built my life around striped bass. Now it’s disappearing before my very eyes… And it f’n hurts, man. All while a couple dozen jokers sit around a table in a stuffy room in Alexandria and make excuses to avoid taking action.

Getting the play by play at last week’s Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission striped bass board meeting via text while I was getting skunked on the water was disheartening. So, let’s talk a little bit about that meeting. While I’ve covered it in other posts, I should provide a just little background here without getting into too much detail.
David Bailey with a nice striper. Photo by Capt. John McMurray

David Bailey with a nice striper. Photo by Capt. John McMurray

Last year a new striped stock assessment, using up-to-date data and better science, was peer reviewed and released to the public. In short, it recommended new, lower fishing mortality “reference points.” In other words we should be killing fewer striped bass every year. I know, right? Duh! It also made clear that the “spawning stock biomass” is continuing to decline and that it will almost certainly fall below the threshold that defines an overfished stock – if not this year then certainly the next. (Note: striped bass has not been deemed “overfished” for more than two decades.)

In case you didn’t get that, unless we reduce fishing mortality significantly – like right now – we will likely be “overfishing” and the stock will be “overfished” as soon as this year. Pretty damn clear what the right course of action is right? Not if you’re a commissioner …

Instead of accepting the assessment results and taking action the moment they were presented, ASMFC did its typical ******** and moved to further analyze (read, delay). It tasked technical folks to write two addenda. The first would simply propose accepting the newer/best available science and the new reference points (e.g., the lower fishing mortality target) presented in the assessment (why the hell they’d need an addendum to do that I don’t know). The second would propose management alternatives that would get us to the required reduction, which appears to be approximately 30 percent by the 2015 fishing year.

So, back to last week’s meeting. These two addenda were finally presented to the commissioners, and there was the usual BS about how such a reduction would be too drastic and would hurt the fishing industry too much. What about my/our industry? It’s unquestionable that the light-tackle industry is beginning to suffer due to a declining striped bass fishery. Not just guides, but also all those manufacturers of 8- and 9-weight flyrods, light spin gear, soft plastics and plugs, as well as those who sell them. I haven’t done the research, but I have to imagine that there are fewer Bass Assassins, Slug-Gos, etc. sold. I know that I’m certainly not making orders like I used to. And the plug manufacturing industry? Those guys really must be taking a hit, because the surf fishing has just sucked for the last couple of years. Surf fishermen are losing access to this fishery very quickly. Ask any surfcaster who made the annual pilgrimage to Montauk last year how it was. Expect a lot of expletives in their response.

Back to the meeting. There was talk about how the decline is just a “trend.” I should note here that it is quite true that the decline is not entirely due to fishing. We’ve had about a decade of average to well-below average spawns in the Chesapeake or, perhaps more accurately, bad conditions for recently spawned striped bass survival (with the exception of one good year class in 2011). From what I understand, it’s been pretty bad in the Hudson also. This is likely climate related. There was a comment at the meeting that reducing fishing mortality isn’t going to bring those poor year classes back. Well, of course it won’t! But it will help protect those weaker year classes by not exposing them to excessive fishing mortality. It just seems like common sense that when the stock is experiencing a downward trend, no matter what the ultimate cause is, you’d want to reduce pressure on it. But that ain’t the way a lot – I believe most – of ASMFC commissioners think.

It’s interesting that there wasn’t really all that much talk of the viable alternatives themselves save the “slot limit” option, which I wrote about a few weeks ago. Even then it seemed like the discussion was more about how to game such a limit to maximize harvest rather than making a real good-faith effort to seriously reduce fishing mortality to the point where it might actually make a difference.

What I found most irritating was the motion to achieve the fishing mortality reduction in three years vs. the originally intended one year – in other words, incrementally ratcheting down fishing mortality until the target was achieved in 2017. That is complete crap, man. Just more delay with a fishery that needs decisive action now, before we get into even deeper water and I end up having to sell my boats.

And, as an aside, the striped bass management plan requires managers to end overfishing in just one year. But the ASMFC commissioners apparently ignored that technicality.

We were assured at the last two meetings that they would achieve the fishing mortality reduction in 2015, and a lot of us felt like even this was an unreasonable delay given they could have taken action in time for the 2014 fishing year – before overfishing occurred and before we had an overfished stock.

Of course the motion to drag out the harvest reduction passed and will be considered as an option in the addendum when it goes out to the public (presumably after the August meeting). There were other options that will be added to the document before it goes out to the public, each one a seemingly new and creative way to delay or weaken any real effort to prevent the stock’s further decline. Most of it is difficult to understand stuff that will make your head spin, but trust me on the intent. Reading between the lines, it all looks like more analysis/more delay.

Given the conversation that took place last week, I’m gonna be damned surprised if they agree on anything constructive that will benefit the striped bass stock (not to mention businesses like mine who depend on it) by the 2015 fishing season. These guys couldn’t even agree to use the best available science (e.g., the reference points from the benchmark assessment) without doing a darn addendum and putting it out to public hearing first. By the way, they were supposed to do this back in February (see At ASMFC Last Week, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly) but then had some sort of convoluted conversation about how it should be put off until this meeting (last week). Yet they still didn’t agree to put it out to public comment! Seriously man… it would be funny if it wasn’t so F’n infuriating! Maybe they will put it out in August, but at this point, delay seems to be the best way to maintain the status quo and allow overfishing. Sad, but I’m afraid it’s true.

Of course, striped bass, or any species that the ASMFC manages, isn’t bound by the same sort of firm rebuilding goals and deadlines (specified in the Magnuson Stevens Act) that federally managed species have to comply with. If they were, the best available science (aka the new reference points) would have been accepted as such without question. Regulations that would achieve a 30 percent reduction and prevent overfishing and an overfished stock would have been promptly put in place, certainly by the 2014 fishing year.

But that’s obviously not happening now, precisely because the ASMFC has the “flexibility” to delay, delay, delay. And that’s exactly what they do. As a result, the great majority of stocks they manage are in pretty bad shape.

So why are parts of the recreational fishing community asking for that sort of flexibility in managing federal stocks!? Yeah, yeah… I’m not gonna harp on that again, as I’ve done it in post after post, but it really is ridiculous, especially since the recreational sector benefits from the sort of abundance that comes from rebuilt stocks. Instead there are people out there who are willing to **** it all away over stupid red snapper, which only a small fraction of anglers fish for anyway.

At any rate, striped bass continues to tank, and I’m pretty damn sure that all these substandard trips I’m running, along with the ever increasing skunkings, is gonna crush businesses like mine. Meanwhile the national “conservation” organizations that claim to represent recreational fishermen promote “flexibility,” which sells guys like you and me down the river so narrow special interests can benefit. It’s pretty ******* depressing. Maybe I should add Prozac to the Xanax prescription.

Yeah, I know this is somewhat of a rant (if you want a more rational description of what’s going on I suggest Reading Charlie Witek’s blog: ASMFC Shows Us Why Even Striped Bass Should Not “Be Managed Like Striped Bass”). But I’m tired and disappointed. At the fishing, at the managers, at ASMFC, which is supposed to represent the best interests of the public but which so obviously doesn’t, at those recreational fishing organizations that used to be the “good guys” who seem to now be dumb enough to promote just the sort of flexibility that is messing up my striped bass fishery. (Note: It’s kinda funny that they are using striped bass as an example of successful management, which should tell you that they just don’t know what the hell they are talking about.) I’m tired and disappointed at myself for not just canceling my charters and going down there last week to at least try and convince some of those people that this decline is real and that it’s affecting a lot of people, like me. Something must be done … soon. And it can’t be a half measure. I’m gonna do my best to make it to the August meeting. Stay tuned..

In the meantime, please call or email your commissioners. Insist that they stop dillydallying and making excuses for delay. You can find their contact info here: ASMFC commissioners.

nitestrikes

05-30-2014, 02:13 PM

^^^Good read by McMurray. Thanks for posting that. Here is something similar. Don't know if you folks have had a chance to meet Rich Troxler. I have, and he is all about fishing, and analysis. Has decades under his belt. Good stuff he recently posted on the internet:

"Look at the Big Picture and Trends
"it's the big picture and the trends that have been developing that are interesting and disturbing. There are always going to be some bass to catch, the question is how many and how widespread. The last 4-5 years it's been the sand eels that have drawn every fish in the area to them. We had them 2 years. Jersey had them 1 year. We had some last year, but other than that, we don't have anywhere near the distribution of fish we had in the late 90's.

If you were fishing back then, then you remember that in the fall the bay would be loaded, the inlets would be loaded, the beach would have fish in every hole. Up north they'd be beating on them, Jersey, Del Marva, everywhere would have fish. I didn't / don't fish Montauk, but you couldn't help but hear about the catches there, the white bait runs in Sept, the late season herring.

It's been a slow taper off ever since. And the data that's available to everybody online supports this. I still keep in touch with a lot of my fishing contacts up north (not just on LI) and they all say the same thing. Fewer bass to catch, fewer small bursts, shorter runs, complete no shows on traditional, dependable bites. Same thing down here from those who I have engaged in conversations with. Throw the log out the window because it's basically catch where you can now.

Sooner or later (and it's going to be sooner) it's going to happen. The ASMFC will have to flip the idiot switch, and when that doesn't work they're going to have to shut down the fishery, cross their fingers, and HOPE that a year class survives to rebuild the stocks off of. Instead of being proactive and managing the trends as they occurred, the ASMFC has sat on it's ***, year after year, stared at a single point on a graph, given in to special interests, and done NOTHING but provide lip service. It's incredible how stupidly this resource is managed

To your initial question, ALL of the data available has pointed to decreasing stocks and bad recruitment since 2000 or so. The numbers were still above threshold (the idiot switch I alluded to in an earlier post) but all the data pointed to a decline, and nothing was done. You can't keep taking and not replenish, and as there has been very bad recruitment from the Chesapeake stock which makes up roughly 3/4 of the biomass, it's simple math. And as I stated, just because you caught some good fish last year doesn't mean anything, anymore than me getting on some good bites and managing to put together some numbers would. It's coast wide that people need to consider, not just a small isolated sample.

As for your question "Why do we think there are a decline in fish stock numbers?" We don't think, we know. The data shows this very clearly. By next year we will most likely drop below target and they'll start messing with the regs then. My point is WHY WAIT SO LONG! The data has been pointing to this for a while now. Manage the resource based on what the data tells you, not what suits special interests.

And as for 2 fish a day, you had far less people fishing bass back in the day, as compared to now. Over the last decade bass have been pounded very hard, especially when the regs on other fish have driven 6-packs and party boats to fish for them in order to make a living, and I have nothing against them for doing it. This is So not a comm / party boat / rec fishing argument, this is my angst against ASMFC.

The answers are in the data, as well as the proof being in the pudding. In the 90's the entire coast was raving about how good the fishing was, and it was. The entire coast is not raving anymore, just little isolated pockets where the fish pass through. Got sand eels, then you'll have some bass. I always like to point out that during the height of the bass collapse in the mid-80's Block Island had a run of big bass that has never been matched. There were 19 fish over 60 weighed in 3 weeks time, and more 50's than got counted. But that didn't mean the stocks were in good shape. So the real point is that you have to put all the data together and look at the trends they show and manage from the trends. You have to look at the whole range, not just one individual or one location."

nitestrikes

05-30-2014, 02:17 PM

Additional feedback coming from a different guy who only fishes boats:

"Hi Guys, boating angler but I come in peace. I have been following this thread and felt compelled to add to it.

About 6 seasons ago a friend invited me out on his small boat to fish Moriches inlet. I had been out of fishing (former surf rat/tin boat owner) for close to 15 years as working nights made it impossible.

My friend employed tactics I could relate to. Drift fishing at night with artificials only. 99% of our fishing centered on an East/West rip located at a spot we could fish comfortably in his (and soon my) small boats. (no where near the mouth)

For the past 6 years it was mostly 1 cast drifts as working non-productive spots were a waste of time. Moving from East to West along this rip we would eventually find fish in the short tide window (2 hours max) this rip would produce. If the Rip refused to give up a fish we could usually find them in another hole or cut.

I could take almost anyone out, hand them a rod and put them into fish. I expect many not to believe what I’m typing however with no witness (we had the inlet to ourselves most nights) I don’t blame you. This is not bragging, this is an effort to show how good the fishing was. I am no expert.

Fishing off peak weeknights, and staying away from the full moon tides we were nearly invisible. We fished alone till the hordes of eel draggers showed up each fall. Even then we usually doubled their numbers concentrating on the rip while they drifted the entire inlet.

If the fishing were still good I would not be writing this. Purely for selfish reasons as my small boat doesn’t take kindly to the massive wake many larger hulls make blasting through the inlet. Or worse yet having to play dodge the anchored dummy is no fun either. Most would agree my fishing partner would excommunicate me for giving up “our” spot and “our” tactics.

Point of all this is up till Sandy and the breach our numbers grew. When I tell you we had better then 400 fish (seasonally) I don’t say this to brag. Rather I say this to show just how “good” the fishing was for us. (just to note our numbers were GROWING not falling each season, just a FYI. I say this as I agree the stocks are down.)

We weren’t hogs either. Many nights were catch and release. Other nights we would “split” a fish between us and it was always a “slot” fish. I’ve seen my Partner release fish to 50lbs, myself to 43. I think the smaller ones taste better anyways.

Since the breach @ Moriches and the complete topography change of the bottom (bye-bye East to West rip) the fishing has been awful for us. 15 Fish total last May-June and if not for the sandeel run in the Fall we would have never reached our measly number of 150 fish, give or take. We joked 2014 couldn't be any worse.

This year IS worse. Dozen or so trips to the inlet and not a tap. (discounting bluefish)

I know my area was affected via the storm in a lot of ways others were not, however I find it hard to believe (or comforting!) so many others see the same exact thing as us.

I’m all for a limit, 1 fish 36”s and that’s it."

buckethead

05-30-2014, 02:54 PM

Good points made above NS. It seems that instead of being pro active we are drifting towards an after the fact solution. This despite feedback from a lot of folks. When they finally move for the change I fear it will be too little and too late and not enough.

hookset

05-30-2014, 03:10 PM

If it is taking so long to get things done that are so obvious I'll bet some of the people on the asmfc have to be taking bribes.

DarkSkies

06-19-2014, 09:29 AM

Very informative thanks for posting. Any thoughts on LI for 2014?

Willie, haven't had time to do the LI Assessment area-by-Area...but from all the contacts I have there, fishing has been poor.
For the first year in many, even the boat guys are complaining.
Some are catching, this is true. But generally speaking, as of a few days ago...the LI boats that usually fish for bass this time of year are still fluke fishing...
Even the best surf fishermen, are complaining of lack of bass in the areas they usually are found......

DarkSkies

06-19-2014, 09:33 AM

This is a response I posted to someone I know who fishes both the NS and SS of Long Island regularly.....

Still slow as molasses for me and everyone I talk to. What do you think might turn this thing around?

Just keep at it persistence will pay off.

IMO it's not a question of persistence.

They're all dead, or at least many of them are.

1. The charter and private boats hammer them with "legal limits PLUS BONUS Tag" whenever possible.

2. In NJ we have charter capts who drum up business by advertising they had "Limit++ Trips" filling fish boxes up with 3 bass per man when the fishing is good.

3. There was a recent High Point tourney out of LBI - scores of entries, only 7 bass weighed in.

4. Another one, the Berkeley Annual spring surf tourney - I know the guys who got the top half of the leaderboard positions...and half of the fish in the tourney came from exactly one area in NJ... many other areas of Jersey are not yielding quality fish.

5. Another Example- Monmouth Beach Cartoppers Tourney - June 2014
Spring Lake Live Liners 83 Points
Asbury Park Fishing Club 36 Points
There were no other weigh-ins.

To put this in perspective, each pound was worth one point....the total points for the contest were 119.....meaning out of all the clubs involved, fishing all the holes, cuts, points, inlets, and back bay sloughs they know very well, and have caught countless fish from before....
The best of the best, the old salts from these clubs....some with over 60 years of fishing experience....could only manage to find and catch,
119 lbs of fish.....for the whole weekend....

To me....that says a lot....about the reality of how poor our striped bass fishing (from land, and Overall) is, right now...

6. Jamaica Bay, which each year has yielded scores of bigger fish in the 40 and 50 class, did not produce those bigger fish this year to the extent that it has in the past....(despite being one of the most fertile estuaries in the NY Bight area.)....

7. The SS LI boats which normally fish for bass are now fishing for fluke (as of a few days ago) because there are currently not enough bass concentrations to make a trip worthwhile (with the exception of the small charters that are catching in the lower NY Bight and outside of Jamaica Bay at night...)

8. Montauk Capts just started catching bass, but the numbers and quality are down - look how many of them who usually fish for bass are advertising fluke trips...or combination trips....

9. What's the solution? ....let's all take a road trip up to MA and the Canal?...
Well. I have friends who fish at night regularly up there....and they claim this is the worst year ever for them....
"The bass are just not there" is what they are telliing me....And anyone who has gone up to the canal...has seen that for themselves, first hand.....

These bass have been hammered too much, from too many states..and it's not the fault of the netters.....the fault for this one,...lies squarely on the shoulders of the recs....and the ignorant and uniformed out there who continue to claim....

"There is nothing wrong with the striped bass fishery!!
It is as healthy as ever!!!
I will continue to take my full limit each and every time. It's my right to do this, even if I am catching 40 pounders!!!!"

The arrogance and apathy of the present day fisherman is doing us in....too much denial out there....

Meanwhile the ASMFC plays political doublespeak, says the striped bass are not "overfished", but has slated reductions for next year, as we are within 1 million lbs (SSB) of them being mandated to shut down the fishery.......

Sorry for the long winded rant...
But many out there....are just not aware because they only fish one little area...

I'm still catching bass at night...but am working harder than I ever have to get just one or two.....
I have dozens of locations that should produce for me this time of year...and now have only consistently been able to find bass at a few....

IMO this will not end until some out there, look beyond the areas they fish...and try to see the big picture....
1. Gaps in striped bass year classes.
2. Significant dead zones for those who fish the surf..
3. Miles of bunker and forage fish, with no bass on them...the guys who loudly shouted "We must save the BUNKER!" forgot to mention that we are also over-harvesting bass, beyond a sustainable limit....
4. The people talking about the large bodies of bass beyond the 3 mile limit are also ignorant...what they fail to realize is that a certain % of bass will and have always taken that path.....looking back 5-8 years, we had bass in greater numbers both beyond the 3 mile limit, and abundant in inshore locations as well.

5. What has happened is the biomass has shrunk, and folks are now seeing large groups of bass tightly concentrated. which is a similar parallel to conditions before the moratorium.

To learn more about this - do a Google search for:
"Honey the striped bass are shrinking"

"m&m theory striped bass"

Thanks for reading., folks...
Best of luck this season...http://www.noreast.com/discussion/images/post_icons/thumb.gif

buckethead

06-19-2014, 10:53 AM

No need to apologize for the rant, DS. It's all true. Friends of mind just came back from a Block Island trip. They caught fish but said it was a slow pick. I wonder if the folks who say the fishery is healthy were all put together in one room, maybe they could tell us where all the fish are. Because they certainly are not where I and all my friends are fishing. The stock is now closer to collapse than it ever has been. I fished those years I should know.

nitestrikes

06-19-2014, 09:45 PM

you are spot on with your analysis. There are tons of bunker just off the South Shore right now. Not very many bass under them. The striper reports have gotten better in the last few days particularly from debs to moriches, but not by much.
Thanks dark for doing all the categorizing and keeping it real. It is appreciated. Here is a report from today - you folks can decide if he had good fishing or not -

"When out on my friends boat today and fished Debs Inlet for the first time. We woke up at 430am but didnt get out to 745 and had a late start. We broke the inlet and it was windy and choppy out. It was hard spotting the bunker pods but we managed to pick out a few. Then it cleared up and the ocean became as flat as a lake. There were bunker pods all over the place. We livelined, through chunks under and around the pods, and threw plugs on the pods but you couldnt hookup. We tried many different pods but none of them were schooled up and didnt look like there was any fish on them. After going on the pods we anchored outside the inlet a the end of the incoming and chummed and caught loads of sandsharks, couldnt hold it down long enough before they took it. Had a really nice run off but the line snapped\, probally a bluefish. After that we trolled umbrella rigs and fished some more pods for nothing. At the end of the day we saw loads of dolphins swimming all over the boat. Saw atleast 15."

rockhopper

06-21-2014, 09:39 PM

Another thumbs down for the south shore. I can't catch a striper to save my life! This might give you an idea how bad it's been here.
"all the Captree PB are fishing state channel to the west. No reports mean no fish !"

DarkSkies

06-27-2014, 09:28 PM

Estuaries and Estuary Systems and their importance to our fisheries.....

Folks have heard me talk about Estuaries.....which by my definition are back bay nurseries, for forage and smaller gamefish.....this is where they grow up and spend most of their young lives......

Great South Bay, and Jamaica Bay, are 2 examples of the largest and most diverse estuaries in that area.
The Meadowlands and Newark bay areas are one NNJ estuary.
The Raritan River back creeks and coves and marsh areas beyond the river is another.
Shrewsbury and Navesink river back areas are another.
The Barnegat bay and back bay creeks and coves are another.
The Ocean City river and back bay marsh system is another large one.
And the Wildwoods/Cape May area has another system of marshes and back bays that is another.

There are others, but the ones named above are some of the most notable and largest for our area....

DarkSkies

06-27-2014, 09:35 PM

Folks have heard me talk about Estuaries.....which by my definition are back bay nurseries, for forage and smaller gamefish.....this is where they grow up and spend most of their young lives......

Great South Bay, and Jamaica Bay, are 2 examples of the largest and most diverse estuaries in that area.
The Meadowlands and Newark bay areas are one NNJ estuary.
Hudson River and creeks and marshes of the NY Bight are another.
The Raritan River back creeks and coves and marsh areas beyond the river is another.
Shrewsbury and Navesink river back areas are another.
The Barnegat bay and back bay creeks and coves are another.
The Ocean City 3 river system and back bay marsh system is another large one.
And the Wildwoods/Cape May area has a system of marshes and back bays that is another.

There are others, but the ones named above are some of the most notable and largest for our area....
and the Long Island Sound, with it's rivers and bays that empty into it...is one of the most robust Estuaries on the East Coast...

DarkSkies

06-27-2014, 09:39 PM

Western Sound 2014 Spring Assessment.....

Had a sobering conversation with a friend today....
Many know him on the internet as "Cheech".....since fishing together we have become good friends, and we often keep in touch not just to share intel,, but to shoot the breeze....
Today he called, to get a read on how we are doing in Jersey....he is having his worst season ever.....

A little background on Cheech....
a. He primarily fishes the sound via kayak....but has fished all over in his yak....the guy is a marathon bicyclist in incrediible shape, has no fear of fishing opportunities...fishes via yak every year early in the season on the Hudson, mid season all over the Western Sound, and at Montauk in the fall.
b. He knows how and where to find fish, and usually has no problem catching them from a yak.....his reports are noted on the internet as he is the guy catching double digits of bass, when others are catching few or none.....
c. He's happy targeting smaller bass in the Western Sound. Many don't care about bass that size because you can't bring them home. For years. the western sound has been a kind of nursery for these smaller bass....
d. He keeps extensive logs, and is probably one of the best local sources for determining the health or our future bass fishery...as the small bass he is catching today....are the 30# fish of tomorrow......

A little background about the LIS, and its bays....
(see the info on Estuaries I posted in the previous post)
I feel fishing the LIS is a good guage for the health of the fishery.
As long as I can remember, there have always been good amounts of bass in those waters.
Although the bays can be shallow, the channels are deep, 50' or better in some areas....many a night I have been out there on a new moon, fishing on my kayak, and heard the thump-thump of big diesel engines of the commercial shipping traffic that moves through there regularly.

The point is....that in many bays, the bass move out completely for the late spring and summer....
In the LIS, bigger/smaller bass still stay around, and you can catch them if you understand their seasonal movements.

DarkSkies

06-27-2014, 10:01 PM

Cheech's comments and logs:

Cheech knows all this, and when to move, and where, for example he kayaked in Ct this week, looking for where the bass have moved to....
His yearly results, as reported by and courtesy of Cheech -
(noteworthy is that as he is fishing by yak, he only fishes 70 times a season, on average, and the number of trips he's taken has remained fairly consistent through the years mentioned. A good scientific basis for comparison.)

2011 - 500 bass
2012 - 300 bass
2013 - 150 bass (he was hoping it was an aberration due to Sandy)
2014 (thus far, his season half over, he has less than 25 bass)

This is from a guy, who on certain days, could catch 20-25 bass/DAY on his yak, just trolling the T&W.....and now he's at less than 25, season being half over...doesn't look good....
I should also note that the waters of the LIS are perfect for a T&W presentation....few other waters in our East Coast area compare to the clarity and structure they have on the bottom there....I have caught fish to 20# at night just trolling the T&W around structure there....it is literally a kayakers paradise, as (most) folks do not fish at night there...

He did remark on the amount of bunker......the LIS has more bunker than they have ever seen.....
But as I mentioned in a previous post....it's the same in NJ....miles of bunker, with not enough bass to eat them.......

And....there doesn't seem to be a lack of porgy or other bottom fish, they are having a banner year catching porgies.....

We are harvesting bass at a rate, that is not sustainable.....
This is evident with bigger bass.....as every year I notice more gaps in year classes.....

However, as we were discussing today, 2011 was a banner year for bass recruitment (successful bass numbers being born)....
In theory, that part of the Western Sound, a giant Estuary, should be loaded with juvenile bass.....
Not as evident to shore fishermen,....but when we kayaked, we could always find them.....
And yet......Cheech is not finding them this year....despite plenty of food for them to eat.
It's been so bad, that he called me to talk about it......and brainstorm on what we think might be happening......:learn:

**My best assessment, is that the numbers, overall, are so bad, that they are even below what the scientists are saying.....
That's the only explanation that makes sense to me...
We need to look at the overall picture, Coastwide, to get a sense of how bad things are...

Anyone with any other theories, or who is noticing things up there, feel free to chime in....
Thanks for reading...:HappyWave:

DarkSkies

07-12-2014, 01:44 PM

There are some ugly debates going on elswhere......
Willy Young. surfcasting legend and striped bass activist.... is getting hammered.....the same group of malcontents, with hidden commercial agendas...is trying to discredit every word he posts.....
So today I took a few minutres, in support...
Just realize that some of these arguments can be brutal....the language that caused my response here....is derogatory and antagonistic....you might want to know that when reading my words.....

These are part of the obstacles we face,,,,
I want the folks out there to know, that no matter how many begin to open their eyes and see how bad striped fishing really is...there will always be a few with hidden agendas. who will make a lot of noise to try to "prove" how healthy the fishery is......
Thanks for reading.....

1. Most people recognize that the stocks aren't what they were a decade ago. They've come to this conclusion either by the data that is readily available, or through tangible experience, or both. And when I say "most people" I mean 90+ % of people who have been fishing for a while, up and down the coast, not someone who is new to the fishing and has managed to catch a couple of fish.

2. That's a very small part of the BIG picture. There are always going to be some fish around and those who know how to catch them will usually ferret them out, both from boat and surf. This, of course, includes the comms. They are good at what they do, have the facility to locate and get on the fish and fill their quota. There are still enough fish for that, but that's still not the BIG picture.

.
3. So just because the comms found fish off shore, or BrianNY or Pablo have been on some big fish on the bunker schools for a couple days in their boats, or a friend of mine had some fish in the 30 lb class from the beach, doesn't mean a thing in the BIG picture.

4. These events are isolated incidents and have to be measured against the average, the BIG picture. Until people are ready to step back and look at the BIG picture then this will just keep going on forever, to the detriment of the fish we all love to catch. It's in ALL of our best interest, comm and rec, to expect better management techniques, up and down the coast. Better management benefits EVERYBODY in the long run!

So do you want to be "right", or do you want to solve the problem?

Oh, I forgot. There is no problem.;)

I am quoting what Rich said, because I think it is a valid and reasonable assessment.
It comes from a very experienced angler, one who doesn't have a hidden agenda. His only interested is in being as fair and honest as possible, about his observations.

Thanks Rich....always enjoy your thoughts and posts. http://forums.noreast.com/discussion/images/icons/icon14.gif

DarkSkies

07-13-2014, 03:48 PM

I posted this today and thought some members would like to read it....

The biomass is not only in decliine, it's in serious trouble,, make no mistake about it. It may not have reached the critical threshhold exactly yet.
The last time I checked the SSB was only about one million pounds away from the ASMFC being mandated to make drastic changes.

1. They are counting on one year class,. 2011, to make up for all these gaps.
The overwhelming response of veteran anglers is reasoned, well-worded, and informative. A person with reasonable years of experience can see the decline.

2. The argument that the bass have all moved to offshore migration is flawed as well.
For months, acres of bunker sit inshore of LI and NJ. The same with sandeels.
Up to 20 miles at a time, is full of life, bunker, sandeels.
Bunker are among the easiest fish for striped bass to eat, The largest amount of striped bass should be directly under this bunker as opposed to being offshore. Additionally, a certain % of bass have always migrated offshore, with the overflow (when the stock was healthy) being caught inshore and in key feeding areas.

3. Yet, only small patches of our LI and NJ coastlines now hold fish during the season. This is a drastic change from 5-8 years ago, not just something that is attributable to Sandy.
I would ask our members to remember the Fall 2013 great bass fishing off the Moriches/ FI area...great fishing yes, but many other areas of LI and NJ were barren at that time...so barren that a few Jersey head boats were making that 50 mile trip, each way, to catch striped bass.

4. The only persons disputing the problems we are having with this shrinking biomass,, are those who somehow have a commercial or ancillary interest in the regs remaining the same.
Or, they do not have a lot of experience under their belts, and believe the hype spewed out here by the trolls.
Even seasoned Capts, men with decades of experience, are now publically admitting that there is a problem.

There have been some well- reasoned observations in this thread as well....from Rich, from guys who fish the surf.....and also from guys who fish from boats....I think it's pretty balanced, the observations that there are less bass out there.....it's been my experience as well, during the last 5-8 years.....as I travel up and down the Coast to fish for them during the season.

The members mentioned cite ASMFC stats like proud schoolchildren,http://forums.noreast.com/discussion/images/icons/icon13.gif knowing full well the ASMFC actions are more tied to political and special interest groups, and not fully concerned that there is a crisis looming right in front of us.

5. The bass are just not there, in numbers that they were 5-8 years ago. I say this from personal experience. In season I fish for them up to 5 nights a week, travelling all over to follow these fish during their spring and fall migrations.

Thanks for reading. http://forums.noreast.com/discussion/images/icons/icon14.gif

DarkSkies

11-24-2014, 06:47 AM

I have to add to this for the 2014 Fall Season Coastwide.....will come back when I have a chance...if anyone wants to post your thoughts in the meantime, I would be grateful for the opinions....thanks....:HappyWave:

surfrob

11-24-2014, 03:01 PM

"3. Yet, only small patches of our LI and NJ coastlines now hold fish during the season. This is a drastic change from 5-8 years ago, not just something that is attributable to Sandy.
I would ask our members to remember the Fall 2013 great bass fishing off the Moriches/ FI area...great fishing yes, but many other areas of LI and NJ were barren at that time...so barren that a few Jersey head boats were making that 50 mile trip, each way, to catch striped bass."For the past 2 months, if you weren't fishing in North Jersey, it was as easy catching a striper as catching lightning in a bottle (just ask Ben F about that)

Yet, we had some charter "captains" claiming the striper stocks were fine, no worries! Yeah, ask the rest of the charter fleet how that worked out. If you weren't in the back hitting up the local resident bass, then it was a big zero.

Yes, we had the usual lone cows come through, and those big catches were posted by every bait shop in the county, but they were far and few between

fishinmission78

11-25-2014, 09:09 AM

Yet, we had some charter "captains" claiming the striper stocks were fine, no worries! Yeah, ask the rest of the charter fleet how that worked out. If you weren't in the back hitting up the local resident bass, then it was a big zero.

Yes, we had the usual lone cows come through, and those big catches were posted by every bait shop in the county, but they were far and few between

I have the weeks marked down in my log when the big fish have hit the beach in the past. that really didn't happen this year. I understand jetty country and beach replenishment but there has been no replenishment at island beach and they have passed us by with the exception of a few good nights near the inlet and some dawn and dusk bites. The numbers are definitely down. Those captains that are saying that, they can't prove its fine. They are lying through their teeth.

DarkSkies

04-30-2015, 08:30 AM

Early Spring Recap
May is usually a great month for fishing for a lot of us.....some observations so far.....

1. For Northern NJ and the Raritan Bay bite....there was activity....but no consistent 2-4 weeks of activity of small to larger bass like there usually is...(the holdover bass that winter in the Arthur Kill and NY Harbor areas) before the Hudson bass showed up about 10 days ago.....

2. The bass that wintered over in the BBay seemed to spread out in April, and were available at a few early season locations....along with some drum and bluefish....

3. From the feedback I got from friends who were fishing on April 1...the fishing in the bays in the Southern Counties (Atlantic to Cape May) was a little better and more consistent....

4. As I have been explaining to the folks out there....the fish that showed up in Raritan Bay seemed to be very concentrated in certain areas....and feast or famine in others....
(this is a pattern that could indicate a shrinking biomass, explained in several threads here)

5. The fish that were supposed to spawn did not yet spawn in some of the usual places....Although the Delaware biomass and fishery is said to be strong...the fact that these fish....(with specific locations imprinted in their brains) did not spawn in certain areas....gives me great concern....

6. I'm also getting preliminary feedback that the 2015 Chesapeake spawning activity was not as great as anticipated...and was another very late spawn, relative to the other years.....

**It seems everything is off this year.....the cold Winter has been blamed....and that is likely true, to some extent....Spawning is very dependent on water temps...But is that the complete explanation? :huh:
I am not sure......:don't know why:

The above are not only my observations...but anecdotal reports from a few dozen veteran anglers that I regularly talk about some of this stuff with.....

Although I am not a scientist...I have been on this earth long enough to recognize patterns....or discern when they are changing.......

DarkSkies

04-30-2015, 08:31 AM

It's the time of year to start adding to this thread......If anyone here has observations that they feel would help us going forward...please feel free to share....
I will be adding observations as I get more time...
Thanks....:HappyWave:

DarkSkies

05-30-2015, 09:49 AM

Late Spring Recap
June is usually a great month for fishing ...some observations so far.....
(I'll try to post this in the S&A State of the Fishery thread when I get a chance)
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7784-StripersandAnglers-yearly-coastwide-fish-stock-assessment-state-of-the-fishery

1. The Northern activity in the Raritan bay/NY Bight.... (as had been predicted)....petered out as the Hudson Bass went up the Hudson to spawn....by some accounts it was one of the shortest-lived spawns in recent years....By May 16 bass were moving downriver.....and as of this date have moved on quickly.
Although some have remained in the RB/ NY Bight...in the usual areas....A large % of bass are now in the Western Sound....along with giant bluefish.....following the vast schools of bunker.

2. The BBay bass and blue action seemed to wane in consistency....but the inlets, and anywhere the bunker are...still seem to hold some solid fish.........

3. Weather is probably a big factor in that action, or more importantly the specific pattern....South and SE winds the last 2 weeks have brought the surf in Ocean and parts of Monmouth counties down to as low as 46 in some areas......It seems fish are being trolled out deep...also some action in that early pre-dawn window in bunker schools......but no one is jumping up and down and calling this the best year for bass ever......

4. Chesapeake/Delaware Bass.....The naive optimism of some puzzles me.....I recently was sent some internet comments about how most bass are "still" down South....

In some examples these are specific, concentrated cases..........what has happened is there are some usual hotspots....from Assateague Island to the Atlantic County NJ Area...where the bass will gather and feed for a short detour on the northern migration.
This year...many of the inshore hotspots seem to be where highest concentrations of bunker....and squid....have been found....
Bass have held in Southern NJ for far longer than they usually do.....again due primarily to high forage concentrations

Nonetheless, Chesapeake and Delaware bass are already being caught along the SS of LI and out east in Montauk.....
It seems some of them are again bypassing Central Jersey and migrating across the Mudhole,.

5. Chesapeake Bass.....2 weeks ago.....Pebbles and I were at a conference in Va Beach.....We came back over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge....20 miles of bridge, and not one striped bass was being caught....all the locals had turned their attention to Drum...
It was a sobering thought to me...that the vast Chesapeake....had been (emptied) of bass....

I'm sure a few could have been caught by some of us at night from the bridge pilings.....but the lack of striped bass was shocking....I sent some of you texts to remember that fact the next time a Charter Capt boasts there are "more striped bass than ever".

6. Striped bass can move quickly on their Spring and Fall migration.....documented as much as 10-15 miles per day......I have gotten so many comments this year..."Well we crushed em there yesterday and today it's like the dead sea".....
It's difficult to predict where they will be from one day to the next...when they are constantly moving....

7. Beach Replenishment......Dirty Water.....Loss of forage

The beach replenishment, and disruption of good bottom, has definitely changed the pattern of bass and other species hugging the beach on their migration....

However...to those who would say those bass have all simply moved offshore....I ask them to explain the presence of giant bluefish....in the very surf the striped bass are absent from....:learn:

No matter how you look at it....beach replenishment has changed some things for the worse...and it will be a long time before things revert back to how some of us remember...

Something to think about....http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon3.png

DarkSkies

05-30-2015, 10:54 AM

The Jamaica Bay striped bass fishery....2014-2015

I have been following and formally documenting this fishery for 8 years now.
(and slightly longer than that...with informal reports from others....)

This is how robust it used to be...years back.....
The bay would go dormant during the winter...as many bays do.....

2 significant developments:

In the Spring....even before the NY striped bass season would open....

1. There would be fish caught in the bay area beginning in March.....
As the NY Harbor fish awoke from their suspended animation...they would venture out of the frigid waters of the Hudson....and into the nearby fertile waters of Jamaica bay....
I have often described Jamaica Bay as a world class striped bass fishery....the scores of creeks and lagoons carved out of its edges provide a nutrient rich forage base for many predators.......many varieties of bait fish thrive in that bay..

I have fished and kayaked Jamaica bay..some of its most isolated areas...and had a chance to meet some of the area's best fishermen......
I remember when I first got to know Elias....I think back in 2008.....we were out there at different times on the flats....sharing intel.....sometimes fishing pre-season....(catch and release) just to see if the bass were coming in as usual......

For the past 2 years.....these fish have not been there pre spawn...in the numbers they once were.....
So sparse, that for the early spring...until after the Hudson spawn is done....Eli has been coming over to NJ to fish......

The same pattern happened this year....Jamaica Bay is now filled with bass...but what happened to the bass that used to be there in March and April?

(Again, keep in mind that this winter was terrible....one of the most severe in a long time....)
But that does not account for the fact that for the last 2 years....this pattern of these bass being absent...has started to develop.....

2. The 40 and 50 lb bass of Jamaica Bay- where did they go?
I only have to go back 5 years in my logs and observations to see a distinct shift in the pattern and size of fish caught....
5 years ago....every week someone would report catching a 50 during prime season after spawning.....
and sometimes in the month of April as well....

I ask the readers here.....how often has that happened in recent years?
Within the confines of Jamaica Bay, and not out in front of the Hudson River?

Rarely....

This concerns me...as it should you....
When the numbers of bass are less......
a. we notice gaps in certain year classes...
b. and gaps on the edges.....

Food for thought.....:learn:

seamonkey

12-20-2015, 10:33 AM

Thanks for this thread. Some feedback for the delmarva area I found on the net-
Seems IRI and AI are mostly dead this fall. Makes me wonder why.

"The fish at Assateague are not there and that is where most of the board members fish. More than sixty days fishing this fall not a single striper. It was not unusual to have a 40 fish fall season (35-50 inch) in times past....but not in recent memory. I shall not re-hash the many theory's about why this is so, but it is fact."

"I fish IBSP and north 2->3 days a week Sept to Thanksgiving. Then I'll pick rats until it gets too cold. One evening we had a nice pick of 26->30 inch fish. I got 3 a buddy got 5 and another buddy 1. Two other guys next to us did the same. That was the entire season for me. My buddy fished maybe 10 other days. He picked one 18->20 inch fish a few times and a couple blues. Boats had a better shot and did OK.
I've been at it since I was 20. I'm also 67 now. In the 80s & 90s there were blitzes every 3->4 days. Most lasted between 1 to 4 hours. Some lasted almost all day. The beaches were litered with bait that beached itself. On Columbus day we would drive to Sandy Hook and almoat always catch Albacore. Lots of them.
The Epic NJ bass blitzes this fall lasted between 5 to 30 minutes. I would guess there were about 5 of them. I haven't seen a bluefish blitz for about 10 years.
What's left of those NJ stripers are entering Del area now. Hopefully they'll come close for you."

captnemo

01-14-2016, 09:41 PM

Nice write-up on the Hudson Stock today by Capt Al Ristori on his nj.com blog.

After watching too many spawning-size striped bass gaffed in Raritan Bay during the unprecedented summer bite there in 2014, I wasn't too confident about whether the Hudson River stock would once again provide us with striper fishng much better than most other coastal states. Fortunately, with N.Y. still protecting those bass due to concerns over PCB contamination, the Hudson linesiders came through for us with flying colors.

The Raritan Bay spring fishery didn't get off to a good start as there were few early schoolies to be caught clamming in the back of the bay -- but an abundance of bunkers eventually led to fine action with larger bass. When I fished the bay along with Nellie Greer of Bethlehem Pa. on Chuck Many's Ty Man out of Gateway Marina in Highlands on May 4 we ended up with a release total of 50 stripers up to a 34-pounder plus two of the just-arriving bluefish.

Those blues complicated the striper fishing, and when we fished the bay two weeks later it was a problem to release only 13 bass among the hordes of choppers from Ty Man. The blues were then a problem for all in the Manhattan Cup on May 15, though I was fortunate to release stripers of 32 and 38 1/2 inches fork length while fishing aboard Tom Adami's Just Enough from Great Kills in a contest where I'd rarely had any luck with stripers on the boats I was assigned to over the years.

The Hudson River came through on my birthday trip despite a forecast of rain and northeast winds. Many ran up there on June 1 and quickly marked fish that we anchored on to chunk bunkers. The Ty Man total for Many, Greer, Greg Prestosh from Pa., and I was 27 stripers up to 28 pounds with only seven blues. While there was flooding in Newark, we never had more than drizzle a few miles away.

The biggest surprise of the early summer was the discovery of a body of exceptionally large stripers off the mouth of the bay. Capt. Vinnie Vetere, of Katfish Charters in Great Kills, was one of the first to discover those bass that provided him with his first 60-pounder while another 60 was boated and several anglers also broke into the 50-pound club by being at the right spot when those bass turned on to live bunkers briefly around dusk. During the one evening I fished there with Ty Man, Many weighed and released a 44-pounder for me before reeling in his 43-pounder -- and then it was over.

Though the summer striped bass fishery in Raritan Bay wasn't up to the previous year's standards, Many always managed at least schoolies -- and usually some large bass as the Hudson River stock bailed us out after another spotty ocean fishery on bunker schools with the coastal migrants.

The fall fishery started off in mid-October with big bass under bunker schools along the Shore such as we had wished for in the spring when it was usually lots of bunkers but few bass. Many anglers had their best striper days ever as those coastal migrants fattened up for their long journey to spawning grounds in Delaware and Chesapeake bays -- often hitting popping and swimming plugs or shad lures as well as live bunkers.

That didn't mean the Hudson River stock wasn't also storing up fat for the winter. There was some great action on live bunkers in the back of Raritan Bay all the way back to the Outerbridge Crossing where one afternoon there were bunkers flipping from one side to the other and every one snagged was quickly inhaled by a large bass.

That set up fishing for the Hi-Mar Striper Club 40-hour Tournament on Oct. 24-25 when I joined Many and his crew (Greer, Dave Donahue of Readington, and Matt Calabria from Hazlet) on Ty Man to fish both the river and bay to win with a two-bass total of 71.6 pounds -- both of which were released after the weigh-in.

On Nov. 5-6, the same crew stayed in the Hudson to fish the Staten Island Big Bass Shootout where we released 175 stripers up to the winning 31 1/4-pounder that was also released.

It took some time for the school striper run to develop. On Nov. 18, Capt. Hans Kaspersetz and I ran down the beach with Sheri Berri from Baker's Marina on the Bay in Highlands after a northeaster only to find not a thing for Joe Blaze and Dave Cheli from Brielle before a call from the Sea Hunter out of Atlantic Highlands got us into a massive showing of birds diving over stripers up to 31 inches feeding on peanut bunkers off Atlantic Beach.

Those fish didn't get to the Shore quickly, and we were worried that the lack of sand eels would result in them moving on. Fortunately, the peanuts held them -- and swim shads became the hot fall lure. Bluefish were also abundant during the schoolie casting, and I got a big surprise on Dec. 5 when a 26-inch, 7-pound long-out-of-season fluke hit my Tsunami shad off Ocean County.

Instead of leaving quickly, big blues got even more aggressive as sea herring showed up in December. Casting pencil poppers to jumbo blues off Sandy Hook on December 12 with Mark Roy on his Century 31 from Raritan Marina was a rare thrill. Though those fish seemed to disappear, there was an even more unusual end to the year when surfcasters got into a blitz of both stripers and big blues in Ocean County after Christmas.

http://www.nj.com/shore/blogs/fishing/index.ssf/2016/01/jerey_shore_fishing_looking_ba.html#incart_river_i ndex