NJ fishing reports for July 2011...www.stripersandanglers.com

[DarkSkies]

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



NJ fishing reports for July 2011...www.stripersandanglers.com (http://www.stripersandanglers.com/)
Important when registering on our site -- use an active email address so you can activate your account to be able to post.

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

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

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


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


If you are unclear on this concept, ask yourself:


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


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

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

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






Some acronyms -

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

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

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

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

[DarkSkies]

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




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

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


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

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


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

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


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

[stripermania]

Fished ocean county last night, trying for some big sharks. No deal, just one small dogfish and one big monster skate about 15lbs. bunker

[cowherder]

Sandy hook, 5-6:30am. 2 short fluke on gulp. Used metal avas too but didn't see any bluefish where I was fishing.

[porgy75]

Fished Sandy Hook last night from 6:30 to 9:00 looking for fluke. Caught one but too short.

[buckethead]

Back Bay early this morning. I thought I could get some bass. I was wrong!

[c4charlie]

Took the family to IBSP yesterday. I picked up a Tsunami Airwave 8ft for my older son and paired it with a small spheros. His first saltwater plugging setup.

I got him a bucktail with some gulp and we covered a bunch of ground. Salps were in the surf which made it annoying. Couldn't find any fish or sign of life until we walked a while then got a couple hits on one retrieve. Fluke took the gulp and did not get the hook. I was using a 3" mullet. Got one more hit and that was it. Wish my little guy would have gotten something, he did well practicing his cast. It was more of a family fun day and kids had a good time making water tunnels and getting washed over the sand break by waves. They were laying down just waiting for the waves and there was a big one that made them fly up and over about 15ft. They are little so they went airborne like sliding up a ramp. It was funny. Good Times!

[finchaser]

Did the boat thing Saturday to catch the weather window, 50 miles off seas were great as was fishing - 2 yellow fin tuna, 13 bluefin tuna and 1 dolphin. There was no shortage of slammer bluefish either (as many as you could catch) but we kept them at bay trolling 8 knots.

[DarkSkies]

^ I benefitted from the benevolence of Finchaser and one of his good friends Sat as I was on that trip. :HappyWave: I'll just 2nd what he said, except to say he minimized how exciting it was, just a bit. :bigeyes: The numbers he reported give no justice to the action we saw. :cool:

We really had to work for the fish. I have no doubt that if I wasn't with these 2 experienced old farts :laugh: we would have had the same dismal reports that the majority of other boats had on Sat. (the "extreme" hot bite was on Fri, one day before we were there)





Here's a candid report on the real action, as opposed to all the charter captains out there who are hyping it up...

1.There is a limited morning bite, until they go down to around 100' or so, and sit there until ready to feed again.

2. Trolling is tough, and hard to find a pattern. Guys like Fin and his friend are able to find fish because they key in on the smallest differences in current, water, and bait that most guys wouldn't think twice about. And, as they explained, ya can even learn something from the birds out there. ;) Whether they are active or inactive, different behaviors can give you subtle clues. And these 2 guys were constantly looking for clues as we trolled countless miles for hours and burned over 250gals of fuel. Also, it's hard to admit that the old grouchy basstard Finchaser has better eyesight than us mooks younger than him. His eagle eyes could spot the smallest object as far as 1/2 mile away, without binocs!

3. The "new" method of chasing the scallop boats ain't all it's hyped up to be. Despite the edited video reports out there and the reports hyping up how great :kooky: this "new" type of offshore fishing is, we saw with our own eyes how slow things can be. We saw dozens of boats literally mugging every scallop boat the second it stopped. Guys jigging and throwing bait within 20 feet of the discharge chutes and nary a soul with a fish on.
Friday and yesterday morning were a little better for this, and some did catch, but the bite, and that specific style of tuna fishing, is about as exciting overall as sitting on the bayshore in March waiting for a 32" bass to come along and hit your clam rig. (And about as consistent, as well)

4. The bite starts up again, dependent on when the fish want to feed. If you're there when they do, you are into great action. Hiowever, we saw a lot of people who went home yesterday without ever getting into action with even 1 fish, after paying $2-300 each for a charter.

5. It seems more rewarding to find your own fish. That's what we did, breaking off from the fleet. After trolling for hours with no success other than a 60# yellowfin and a few dolphin, this culminated in 45 minutes of frenzied action at 4pm when at times we had 3 rods hooked up with bluefin (C&R) at once. We had schools of them 50' below us circling the boat several times during this period. This allowed fish to be caught not only on the troll, but we got to jig some as well. :drool:

6. There is no shortage of big bluefish. As Fin said, they are offshore. the heaviest concentrations seem between 3-40 miles, where the sandeels are. When we first started trolling (too slowly) we had the first gator bluefish hookup within 30 secs, and (I timed it) the 2nd hookup with 2 bluefish at a time, within 1 1/2 minutes. As Fin said, we had to keep it at 8 knots and above to avoid them.

7. There are no shortages of bunker. From the time we broke the inlet to about 5 miles out, there were acres of bunker, each pod full of thousands, with not one fish on them.

8. Tuna fishing is a rich man's game. It's costly to do it a lot. Years ago, I used to be out there every 2 weeks, on the tuna hunt. The sad realization of how much this costs in the long run led me to abandon the insanity. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon9.png However, I never forgot the passion and the excitement of a trip, and the priceless adrenaline that runs through ya when there is a fish on...:fishing:

So it is with much gratitude and appreciation that I thank these 2 old farts for their thoughtfulness in taking a "yahoo" like me out there for a very exciting offshore trip. :clapping: :thumbsup: :HappyWave:


I'll post up another thread, titled "Tuna Tales, separating hype from reality", complete with pics, when I get a chance. In the meantime, I am most grateful for these 2 guys who yesterday showed me some old fashioned ways of getting tuna, and having a hell of a time while we were at it. :HappyWave:

[storminsteve]

old farts :laugh: [/B]we would have had the same dismal reports that the majority of other boats had on Sat.

Looks like the old farts really do know how to stalk and catch fish, then?:cool:
Nice report dark, seems you all had a fantastic time. Wish I could have been out there.

[DarkSkies]

Looks like the old farts really do know how to stalk and catch fish, then?:cool:



Steve. I use that term jokingly because they're the best. :thumbsup::thumbsup: With a minimum of 110 years fishing experience between these 2 friends, it was a pleasure and honor to fish with them both.

The subtle nuances of things they looked for to find fish was a true learning experience for me. I thought I had experience tuna fishing because there was a time I used to go often. After fishing with these 2 I saw there was so much more to learn that day, and I did.

They have more stamiina than guys a lot younger than them. They consider a "half-day trip" to be from sunup to sundown. :laugh:

They are relentless in their pursuit of fish, and will stop at nothing until they find them. Of course, Fin barks instructions like a drill sergeant when you're on the boat with him ;) but it was a privelege to be on that boat and fishing with 2 of the best. :thumbsup:

The "new" :rolleyes: method of chasing the scallop boats can work at times, and that has to be exciting for some. But it doesn't always work due to many circumstances.

I read a dozen reports of guys were out the same day we were, couldn't find fish on the troll, and saved themselves from the skunk by being at those boats. However, for me, I found it to be extremely boring, waiting for the exact moment the fish will turn on. :banghead2: And..a little dangerous as some guys were fishing less than 20 feet from the scallop boats. Early morning before we got there, quite a few fish were hooked and lost because some of the guys hooking them didn't have enough sense to move away from the fleet and any potential obstacles as soon as they were hooked up. :beatin:

I found trolling to be a lot harder than that. It has its boring moments as well. A lot of boring moments until you find the fish. But you are also changing the spread until you find the pattern that works. And that pattern changes every day . You have to be willing to modify according to the conditions and bait. I found that to be the most challenging of all.

These guys were relentless, and it paid off. They don't always catch tuna, but their thinking patterns usually bring them to fish. And the way Finchaser rigs up, the strongest rigs, leaders, and swivels, crimps, line, etc available, they hardly ever lose a fish due to "user error".






What worked that day:
1. Green machine bird for the WWB line.
2. Cedar plugs
3. Purple Zucker chains custom rigged by Finchaser.
4. Spreader bars from Reel Seat Bait and Tackle-. This was the first time I got to see the quality of Dave's work in the offshore game. His spreader bars have a good reputation among the offshore crowd, but I had never really seen them in action and catching fish. On Sat they were like magic, and pulled more fish than any other profile. :fishing:
Of course, we had to change things up quite often. In the AM, chartreuse was the color for the spreaders. Late afternoon, the hot color was purple with silver flash.

And again, the best gear means nothing if the guys running the lines don't have a lot of trolling experience. Some guys troll for an hour or 2 and give up because they don't catch.

Fin and his friend had the energy to do whatever it took to get those fish to hit, relentless in their pursuit of the strike on the troll. They had more energy than me. I was so excited about going I couldn't sleep the night before, and was caught napping on the job several times. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon11.png :laugh:

Just an all-around pleasure and privelege to be around these 2 knowledgable old salts. I'm still playing the tapes over in my head, where we had dozens of tuna following the boat, as we played a hooked fish. Words are not enough to describe how awesome it was to see that, and the whole experience. :clapping:

[fishinmission78]

Great report dark, let us know what worked, thanks. Fished Island Beach hit and run after sunrise today, few small blues in and out, metal.

[finchaser]

DS this is a Striped bass forum get over it and report on bass. The only reason we went for tuna, is because we had to stop bass fishing as the snag and drop professionals declared bass season over:ROFLMAO.The bunker boats took all their precious bunker,even though there are presently still more bunker around than there ever use to be. It has nothing to do with the 75 degree water and the bass (whats left of them) moving north.

[jigfreak]

^ Some of those professionals and guides couldn't catch a fish without finding them in the bunker blitzes. When was the last time you saw them out plugging or jigging for bass when pickings were slim? They putb their clients into the easy fish. When there are no more easy fish they quit. Dark and Finchaser, boat fish don't count.:2flip: :laugh: Enjoyed the report anyway. Dark it looks like you need some kind of energy drink to get as motivated as Finchaser is. Sleeping on the job? Sleep when yer dead, shame on you.:beatin:

[Monty]

Fished this morning bayside 1:30 to 8:30. Caught a small blue on a teaser around 2:00. Then I demonstrated my fish"missing/loosing" skills. Had two solid blow-ups rod bending hits on a loaded red-fin and lost them. Had a bunch of hits on 14" Hogy (2 cut in half, other hits a few solid rod bending no damage to Hogy) but could not hook up. Couple hits on metal lip/teaser combo with no hook-ups. Then at the turn of the tide it shut down completely. Could not raise a fish with a pencil. Fun time with somef action in the dark.

[Mike O]

Well I finally gave in and fished SH using bait for the first time in many years. As soon as the bait hit the bottom it was fish on! Dog fish the biggest about 5 feet out of the 4 I caught. Those things really peel off line. Using 12lb. line those things were fun to catch. All released. I hear they make pretty good tablefare. Any truth to that? If so the next time I might give them a try. Oh yeah, no bass or blues, but a few searobins at sun up.

Mike O

[chas527]

fished the hook this morning a couple of small fluke an afew sea robbins. did see about 10 or more dolfins swim by,boy they were big.

[captnemo]

The bunker boats took all their precious bunker,even though there are presently still more bunker around than there ever use to be. It has nothing to do with the 75 degree water and the bass (whats left of them) moving north.

I agree, more bunker now than I have ever seen, and only an occasional whale or thresher running through them. The bass are mostly in cooler northern waters with the exception of a few south of the VZ.


Dog fish the biggest about 5 feet out of the 4 I caught. Those things really peel off line. Using 12lb. line those things were fun to catch. All released. I hear they make pretty good tablefare. Any truth to that? If so the next time I might give them a try. Mike O

Mike you can eat dogfish but have to bleed them as soon as you get them in. This is also recommended for shore fishing. Otherwise they put out urine and other toxins through their skin as they are dying, and the meat will stink.

[Mike O]

Thanks cap. I always gut and bleed anything I'm going to eat. I will be especially careful if I decide to keep a dogfish if given the opportunity. I certainly do not want to eat any fish p**s. Do you happen to know what the regs are on dogfish, size or limit?

Thanks,
Mike O

[finchaser]

Thanks cap. I always gut and bleed anything I'm going to eat. I will be especially careful if I decide to keep a dogfish if given the opportunity. I certainly do not want to eat any fish p**s. Do you happen to know what the regs are on dogfish, size or limit?

Thanks,
Mike O


None

[vpass]

I hear they make pretty good tablefare. Any truth to that? If so the next time I might give them a try.

Mike O

Mike, they are great eating. I had them before and I would eat them again.

[wish4fish]

i mite have to try that i went to sh tonite and fished bunker. got 2 dogfish and threw them back, they were like 5' long so maybe next time i will keep them

[ledhead36]

Fished nomoco from 6-8am, 8 short fluke on gulp with gulp teaser.

[xtreme_visions]

:fishing: FISHED A INLET FROM 7-11PM LAST NIGHT..ALOT OF BAIT FISH JUMPING. CAUGHT A FEW SHADS ON TEASERS MONTY SENT ME..THANKS MONTY! HAD FUN..NEVER SEEN/CAUGHT 1 OF THOSE BEFORE. THEY WERE REALLY GOIN FOR THOSE TEASERS! NEXT TIME I HOPE MY REPORT IS ABOUT CATCHING MORE THEN BAIT :kooky:

[DarkSkies]

NEXT TIME I HOPE MY REPORT IS ABOUT CATCHING MORE THEN BAIT :kooky:

Hey xtreme, the shad you are talking about some might consider "bait", but on the right light tackle setup you won't find a more fun fish to play with. They hit like bluefish, don't have the teeth blues do, are very aggressive and will hit teasers or even small plugs with smaller hooks.

They are also known as jersey tarpon. A friend got one last year that was over 5#. He tossed it back not knowing there aren't many recorded in the record books.
Check out this thread on records for smaller fish.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5146-What-s-the-biggest-fish-you-caught-when-targeting-other-fish&highlight=hickory+shad+record

Those shad will run through the inlet as long as bait is around and it isn't too hot, otherwise they'll be gone. They like access to deeper water, so you (usually) won't catch them on the bay flats.

You will get them at SH, though, late summer and into the fall, anywhere they have access to deep water. And they tend to like current, that's where you will find your best concentrations.

So get your light gear out, bring your girlfriend, and you'll both have a blast!
Wait till you hook into one and it starts jumping. :drool: :cool:
How many fluke, seabass, or tog have you seen jump out of the water?

And if ya get one bigger than 1lbs 12oz (IGFA record, there is no listed record as of yet for the NJ books), your name could be in the record book. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon3.png

[xtreme_visions]

Yeah they were alot of fun to catch..nice fight and alot of jumping!

[wish4fish]

got sum bass on the incoming last nite in the bay the bunker were getting smashed. funny thing is we threw bunker and nothing. we had clams with us and used them and got fish, i got a 33" bass my friends fished all nite and they got 3 bigger ones and sum shorts it was all bass no bluefish crazy **** cuz the bass r usually gone by this time thought the bay was too warm for them
13743

[storminsteve]

:clapping:Nice dude! No one else is catching bigger bass right now. I got your text, maybe I'll meet up with you tonight if I can get out of the house.

[hookedonbass]

Way to go wish4fish. Clams over bunker, crazy!

[ledhead36]

Nice catch w4, pure bass no blues, sounds like you hit the lottery.:thumbsup:

[storminsteve]

Hooked up with wish4fish and friends last night for some bass action on clams. We got 11 bass to 35", 6 keeper size. I kept one around 29", he and friends kept 3. Can't figure out why they are hitting clams over bunker, but that's what is working so I'll roll with it. All on the incoming tide, Raritan bay.

[porgy75]

Wow that is a fantastic report storminsteve, I guess some bass are still around. I fished the inlet at Island Beach this morning on the incoming tide. Got a mess of small snapper blues on small metal. Kept 10 and will fry them up. Also saw a guy catch 2 triggerfish on clams. I will have to try that next time though I heard they ae hard to clean.

[finchaser]

Hooked up with wish4fish and friends last night for some bass action on clams. We got 11 bass to 35", 6 keeper size. I kept one around 29", he and friends kept 3. Can't figure out why they are hitting clams over bunker, but that's what is working so I'll roll with it. All on the incoming tide, Raritan bay.

Because bunker taste like sh_t I guess:):HappyWave:

[storminsteve]

:HappyWave:Hey finchaser I want to learn how to fish like the master, and learn all the tricks of your old farts club, as dark so diplomatically puts it.:laugh: If you were there last night with us you would have had 22, there was action every 10 minutes or so except for the beginning and the end of the tide. Although I threw storm shads and bombers, they would not touch anything but the stupid clams. I mean, the bunker kept coming in and out, and everyone fishing bunker heads or pieces got blanked. Clams were the only thing that worked. Any idea of why that might be? (other than the bunker taste like crap:rolleyes:)

[wish4fish]

yeah steve that was great we crushed em! too bad it had to rain last nite and it killed the bite, suxxs we got the skunk.:skunk: u cant have great fishin every nite tho

[Monty]

Fished this morning. First went out front. Worked around a few rock piles from 1:00 to 3:30 and had no action. Water felt a lot warmer than 2 weeks ago, saw zero bait. Headed bay side and fished from 4:15 to 8:15. Was lots of small and tiny bait around. Missed a fish first cast, ended up with 3 bluefish, biggest around 3 pounds. Two on pencil and one on a teaser. Missed a few hits. Was fun.

[finchaser]

Did our Tuna Clubs ladies tournament fluke to 6# and blues to 14#sorry to say there is very little life along the beach we had everything in 50 to 90 feet of water or 1 to 3 miles off. Inside 30 feet was dead saw a few small pods of bunker the blue fish didn't even bother with, they went after the anchovies and sardines was very strange but so is this entire season.

[DarkSkies]

Fin, congrats on placing in the tournament. A 14# bluefish is a prize in my book any day, with or without the tourney recognition. Glad the ladies and kids had fun, that's what it's all about. :clapping:

To the other guys, at least you are getting out there and trying. :thumbsup: There are hardly any people fishing at night anymore in the popular locations, and no one fishing in the less well-known ones. The "easy fish" are not around anymore, and many who traditionally catch fish in bunker blitzes have given up for the summer.






yeah steve that was great we crushed em! too bad it had to rain last nite and it killed the bite, suxxs we got the skunk.:skunk: u cant have great fishin every nite tho


Yep, can't have a great bite every night, except for the fall when the sand eels finally settle in. :drool:
I think that window might be closed, Wish4. :HappyWave: Only time will tell if the bite bounces back.
G and I set out last night to try to take advantage of the bunker action in the bay. We had a good incoming tide, fished it till part of the ebb this morning.

He was fishing from shore, clams and bunker. I set out with the yak to be right in the middle of the bunker. The only problem is they weren't as concentrated as they have been, and the larger fish that were on them for the last 2 weeks, seem to have moved on from that particular area. All that was left by last night were some smaller bass and bluefish.

I chased the bunker in the channel. but never found a high enough concentration. Eventually I was able to snag and drop a few, no action. They were being harassed, though only sporadically as they were scattered and not in the tight pattern they had been maintaining. Realistically, the harassers were most likely small bluefish and bass.

Also trolled a lot of shoreline intermediate areas when I couldn't get anything going in the scattered bunker. To my embarassment, I purposely decided not to troll the T&W, working a few other presentations. Looking back, the T&W is the one presentation that might have produced, lesson learned for next time. :beatin:






Went back to shore, loaded up the kayak on the car, and joined G hoping for a sunrise bite. There was a limited period, about an hour, where we had action with small bluefish and either small bass or perch.

We did have a good time, haven't fished with G, or been out fishing,. other than on the SS Finchaser tuna trip :HappyWave:in quite some time, so it was good times. :thumbsup:

The part that sucked was realizing that....
I should have been out OTW after those fish 2 weeks ago when I first heard about them....

and forcing myself to realize (I've been heavily in denial!) that we are now in a summer pattern.

Any bass caught at night will have to be earned with sweat and blood :laugh: (unless they're following big bunker pods) They will be few and far between in our area until the small forage begins to load up in the back creeks and rivers. We did see some very small bait near shore around sunrise, somewhat encouraging as it was harassed by small blues.

However, even that bait was scattered and not showing a strong presence. If it was loaded up I would be back every night trying for the occasional bass that would be following it. I'm coming to the realization that for us hardcore bass and bluefish addicts out there, the only way to get our "fix" of bigger fish is by jumping on a boat, in NJ. or making the road trip to other venues as we hit the dog days of summer....http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon9.png

[cowherder]

Fished nomoco yesterday from 3-8pm. Using gulp mullet and jig with gulp shrimp as a teaser I got 8 fluke to 19", one being a keeper. Lots of action, and it seemed some small bluefish or something else was breaking water about 200' out.

[chas527]

fished the hook this morning '2 small fluke 10 big sea robbins.had a big blue hit my fluke rig ate the hook off.damm flys still biting.

[stripermania]

Cape May area beach today sunrise to 8. Few small kingfish, 2 nice eating size, one skate, gulp bloodworms small pieces.

[bababooey]

As the NJ bays become too hot for any bass and bluefish action, except when they're following schools of bunker, the LI Sound is at least 10 degrees cooler. The Western Sound continues to enjoy great action with bass, blues, porgies, and fluke

Yessir, Ristori is saying the same thing.

Hot waters hurt striper fishing along theShore

Gene Graman of Middletown found water temperatures up to 75 degrees at Shrewsbury Rocks this morning, and wasn't surprised that chunking didn't produce any stripers on his That's It from Twin Lights Marina in Highlands. There was just a pick of blues before Graman switched to fluking. Stops off Monmouth Beach, at Scotland, and in Ambrose Channel produced only shorts for him and Joe Greco of Ft. Myers, Fl. (formerly of Edison) -- though Carlos Rebelo of Keyport caught a doubleheader of short stripers on Gulp fished in Ambrose. There were schools of bunkers in Ambrose and off the point of the Hook, but nothing seemed to be in them.

[plugcrazy]

Fished occo beach tonite with bunker. 2 dogsharks, one big skate.

[yukon]

I saw a few comments about the water temps in our local waters being high and they are but trust me fish are being caught every night on small profile swimmers, red gill teasers and the all mighty rigged eel. Remember to fish the right wind and I like to fish the incoming to avoid the push of all that heated water out of the inlets and creeks.

I traveled north a couple weeks back when the waters around here got high and it paid off. We had some awesome nights of fishing from the rocks in water temps in the low to mid 60's. This bass was taken on a rigged eel.

I found them again the end of last week (where the boat fish don't count... yeah yeah ) but we found them in 68 deg waters having a field day on bunker pods. This bass was taken on a bunker that was cut in half 2 min earlier by a big blue. There are large bodies of bass still on the ocean side not far from us making there way further north. Time for another road trip once this moon takes a hike! Tight Lines!

Oh yeah all fish released to see hopefully another 10#s!!!

[chas527]

took the grandson crabbing on a rented boat in the naversink river .nothing like last year still managed 47 ,but most were small.

[jigfreak]

A few small bass- fished moco last night around the top of the tide. It was windy for a while. When the wind died down, managed a few smaller schoolies from the rocks to 30". Rubber and 3/4 to 1 oz jig.

[SharkHart]

Mid July is def off season for bass in NJ due to water temps. Can Bass be caught off season? Sure and just about every month of the year some can be if you bust your butt. Does it mean the run is on? Nope

Far too often on the internet guys split hairs in the name of contradiction, pointing at a few bass caught in special locations and conditions, when guys say its over they are speaking in generalities and not saying a bass can't be caught.

[storminsteve]

Far too often on the internet guys split hairs in the name of contradiction, pointing at a few bass caught in special locations and conditions, when guys say its over they are speaking in generalities and not saying a bass can't be caught.

:clapping::clapping:Words of wisdom. Happy to hear that guys are catching.:clapping: Not to take anything away from that, but like Dark and Sharkhart say there are no easy fish around right now unless you are talking about short fluke.
I want to go to Montauk so bad because I hear the water is cooler there but I don't think the surf guys are hitting anything big there yet. The hot place to be now seems to be off Fire Island, but I hear even that has slowed down and you have to be on a boat. Mostly action from thresher sharks. Man would I love to catch one from a boat!
As for NJ, if I wanted to dig crabs, put them in a tank, and toss some shedders out there I believe I would get some decent striped bass. But damn I barely have enough time to get home from work, spend time with the family, and get out there for an hour or 2.
I did fish tonight after work, 3 short fluke from the beach nomoco oon gulp and egg sinker.. A guy down the beach from me got a cow nose ray. I'm assuming. Good thing he was near his rod because the thing bent in half and almost gave him a heart attack as it started to pull the rod holder out of the sand.:scared: He grabbed it in time and fought for 15 minutes until it broke off. He thought he had moby striper. I told him my bet was on a cow nose even though neither of us saw it.

And nice fish Yukon!

[Monty]

A few small bass- fished moco last night around the top of the tide. It was windy for a while. When the wind died down, managed a few smaller schoolies from the rocks to 30". Rubber and 3/4 to 1 oz jig.

Real nice report Jigfreak :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[porgy75]

:thumbsup:Great catches guys looks like some of you are finding needles in a haystack.

[clamchucker]

I fished northern oc yesterday afternoon. Managed a mess of bluefish to 5lbs on metal. They were feeding on spearing. Today it was a little quieter. Only 2 blues at sunrise.

[plugaholic]

Thanks for the report chas, I was wondering how the crabbing was.

[fishinmission78]

Brown sharks are in, got 2 in the IBSP area last night, big slabs of bunker. We are using a half bunker at a time to keep the rays off of it.

[jigfreak]

Real nice report Jigfreak :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Yeah, well it wasn't so awesome tonight, Monty. Struck out, not even a touch.:skunk: Should have fished later in the night but I had things to do. Nice going on the sharks, fishinmission.

[Monty]

Yeah, well it wasn't so awesome tonight, Monty. Struck out, not even a touch.:skunk: Should have fished later in the night but I had things to do. Nice going on the sharks, fishinmission.

Ah, at least you where out there, its called fishing, not catching like dark says (your last outing sounded really successful to me for this time of year). I'm giving it a shot between 2:00 and 7:00 tonight/morning, whatever.

I fished from 1:45 to 7:30 and got skunkarood. Had a couple hits, even a blow up on a pencil, but could not set a hook. Wind made the outing bugless. Also either saw the most incredible shooting star at 4:04 or I'm really screwed up. Looked like a roman candle or some type of firework, blueish/purple. No way it was a fire work where it was. Nice fun time out on the water.

[madcaster]

Went out looking for blues in RB….:skunk: , I did see some small schools of bunker , not sure if anything was on them:huh: , but it did look like some thing was coming up and spooking them for a few seconds making them get nevrous. I’m still to new at this to tell whats going on. I didn’t have any plugs with me , just small metals.

[clamchucker]

. I’m still to new at this to tell whats going on. I didn’t have any plugs with me , just small metals

I fished the park this morning from 5-7:30. A few small blues on a 007 ava jig. Madcaster, what you saw could have been small bluefish harassing them. A very small gibbs popper could have worked, the ones 3" and less. You can also stock up on small castmasters and krocodile type metal for this time of year. Carry a few in range from 1/4 oz to 3/4 oz. They will almost always get a bluefish's attention even if the forage is bigger like adult bunker. The bluefish were likely nipping at the tails of the bunker. If it was anything bigger they would have been jumping clear out of the water. Try that and let us know how it works.

[stripermania]

Hit the surf early this morning looking for fluke. I got nothing, but I hope to be successful tomorrow morning.

[chas527]

fished the hook this morning 1 small fluke 1 sea robbin.flys still there.

[fishinmission78]

.flys still there.

Yeah chas527 the flies have been a problem at island beach too, I pray for a E or NE wind to keep them off, or even a steady wind. All hell breaks loose when the wind dies down, they are terrible this year.
Fished island beach from sunrise to 8am today, beginning of incoming. Got a few triggers on clams off the rocks.

[clamchucker]

Worked various spots in the park this morning. Managed a few small blues on the teaser of my fluke rigs, and 6 fluke to 17 3/4". It was very foggy early on.

[VSdreams]

Tried to see what was up last night with sharks in ocean county. We set up with 3 rods and lots of bunker and cheap cat food cans (we brought all the empties out with us)
Started throwing out the cat food on the top of the incoming tide. Fished the last hour of that, and 2 hours of outgoing. Got 2 nice brownies about 5' each with bunker on wire leader. And 5 dogfish. The doggies are a pita, they roll all over the place and try to mess up the line. Still had fun though.

[wish4fish]

havent posted in a while the back bite really sucks the water is too warm my bud did catch a 31" bass last sun nite incoming tide he had to wait all nite for it only one hit, one fish. the bunker are still around back in some spots tho, one of these days its goinig to get too hot and they will all die like they did in belford that one year

[cowherder]

Caught a bunch of fluke this morning, nomoco, all on a egg sinker with gulp mullet. Nomoco, the flies weren't that bad where I was at first, but got a little bad later on.

[surferman]

Fished some areas in back of an inlet, southern oc, last night. Very small plugs, mambos and such. Got 2 small bass to 20".

[wish4fish]

cool beans on the sharks vsdreams dude!

[hookedonbass]

Fished island beach today, most of the out going tide, from 2:00 on. 12 fluke dragging fluke and teaser, not one was a keeper. The fish are getting bigger, maybe next time.

[cowherder]

Nice report hooked on bass. The bigger fluke are there but few and far between. Stick with it if you can handle the flies, and next time you could be lucky. There are a few keepers being caught there. My neighbor got one 3 days ago.

[finchaser]

Did the boat fluke thing we had 11 keepers from 3 1/4 pounds to 7 1/2 pounds all on 6 ounce bucktails and teasers in 75' of water.

porpoises were slaughtering the beloved bunker oh well

[storminsteve]

Good going finchaser! Did you tip the bucktails with anything, gulp etc. 7 1/2 lbs is a fat fluke!
I fished nomoco 2 hours of the outgoing this morning, 9 fluke no keepers, but one was like 17 3/4". Bucktail and chartreuse gulp mullet. The flies weren't that bad as the wind was from the E/SE, very foggy. Oh, and I did get one monster sea robin that was over 2lbs, I'm eating him tonight.

[chas527]

fished the hook this morning 1 small fluke.but at least there werent any flies.

[clamchucker]

Fished the park this morning, incoming, small blues on metal. Greenheads were absent as steve said the wind has shifted. I hope we get a respite from those flies for awhile as I had been avoiding fishing because of them. It is just not worth it to get bit up for a few small fish.

[jigfreak]

Late report, fished last nite, structure lower OC, 2 bass to 28 1/2" small rubber.

[porgy75]

I went to sandy hook today and gave it a try 6to9. I was using a small gulp shrimp attached to an egg sinker. I got 5 fluke and 4 sea robins. None of the fluke were keepers but it was fun. Around sunset some bait started busting, It was small, and I think there were small bluefish under them, but I didn't get any.