Winter Fishing Thread..... [Archive] - Page 3

DarkSkies

01-10-2013, 05:59 PM

Tuesday 1-8-13
Monty Full Marathon.....

After Sunday's (1-6) trip I was kind of let down....:whoo:
Couldn't figure out if the larger bass had left....or if they just got spread out more....
(Note, there are now bass being caught in the surf between Monmouth Beach and LBI)

Well Tuesday's trip did not disappont....great action.......

In all fairness there were some long periods where there was no action at all.
Had to make 8 separate stops on the route to find these fish, but they were aggressive and full of fight on topwater....

Totals:

23 bass to 13#.... ...
4 legal bass, released.
Half the fish were 26" or better....if you fish a lot you know this is an exceptional ratio.

Total fish 23....

Conditions and What Worked:
Wind - W/SW - Steady, 20mph
Air - 42 dropping to 40
Water - 42 dropping to 40

What worked...
ML Swimmer, White Bomber, bucktails

Pics -

16001

I noticed that out of the 23, about 4 or 5 had stripes that were out of alignment. Have seen this sometimes, but not with 20% of the catch. Thought it was worth mentioning here.

16002

finchaser

01-10-2013, 06:45 PM

tonight 4 to 5 pm released 3 bass 24,26,29 all on 7/8 ounce Mega Bait. the 26" was the strangest bass i ever saw 1/4 of the way up from the tail was black scales like a black fish really strange.

DarkSkies

01-10-2013, 06:56 PM

Wednesday 1-9-13
Monty Half Marathon--

After the previous night's great action, I was pumped up again....
Those who had the experience :scared: of talking to me on the phone could feel the enthusiasm...:kooky: :laugh: :fishing:

Unfortunately the Finchaser Weather Forecasting Service said to stay home!!

Strong SE winds clouded up the water and bumped the temp down about a degree, which was all it took to put a vise grip on the bite.
I could not get out on the tide I wanted....
After a long day at work and not much sleep....so tired I had to sleep in a Parkway rest stop on the way down... I was shot.

Buckethead got the tide right though, congrats! :clapping: :HappyWave:

Visited 4 locations, not a tap or bump.
Water was colder and dirty at some of them.

I was already writing the night's report in my head....I would have to come on here and tell you folks how much I absolutely sucked....:(
and that I should forever remain in the Googan and Dillydock club....:bucktooth:

I was so tired I just wanted to quit and sleep somewhere before going home.....
Did not want to end the night with a skunk....
But made another 2 stops, and was rewarded.
First stop managed 6 bass...these were smaller bass again, nothing big....

2nd stop got 3 more short bass in the 12 minute feeding window before sunrise.

Totals:

9 bass to 25".... none was legal, fish were noticably smaller this trip out....while for the previous 2 trips I had managed to avoid the tiny bass that are around in the daytime, this trip it seemed they dominated the catch.......

Total fish 9....

Conditions and What Worked:
Wind - W - hardly any wind at all for the most of the night
Air - 47!!! dropping to 43 - one of the nicest nights for fishing in a long time....
Water - 43 dropping to 42

What worked...

ML swimmer, various bombers white and light colored.

DarkSkies

01-10-2013, 07:01 PM

I noticed that out of the 23, about 4 or 5 had stripes that were out of alignment. Have seen this sometimes, but not with 20% of the catch. Thought it was worth mentioning here.

16002

tonight 4 to 5 pm released 3 bass 24,26,29 all on 7/8 ounce Mega Bait. the 26" was the strangest bass i ever saw 1/4 of the way up from the tail was black scales like a black fish really strange.

Getting back in the game...I see....:moon: :kiss:
Ya freaking grouch! :argue:

Glad to see you are out there.....wish you would come fishing with me one night....we'll have the ambulance on standby.....:laugh: :viking:

What do you make of the fish that you saw, and the ones I saw that night? Thoughts?

vpass

01-10-2013, 08:31 PM

this am 6:30 to 8 released 2 bass 8# and 11# both on chicken scratch SP minnow

tonight 4 to 5 pm released 3 bass 24,26,29 all on 7/8 ounce Mega Bait. the 26" was the strangest bass i ever saw 1/4 of the way up from the tail was black scales like a black fish really strange.
Nice going Fin. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Total fish 23.....
And 9 from your recent trip.

You caught my 2 years worth of fish in 5 trips.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

finchaser

01-10-2013, 09:48 PM

Nice going Fin. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

And 9 from your recent trip.

You caught my 2 years worth of fish in 5 trips.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

In those 5 trips he may have surpassed the toal hours you fished in 2 years. one trip was 3 in the afternoon until 7 the next morning:kooky:

Monty

01-10-2013, 10:06 PM

one trip was 3 in the afternoon until 7 the next morning:kooky:
:HappyWave: My dream fishing outing :) :thumbsup:

bababooey

01-11-2013, 05:13 AM

hookset

01-11-2013, 05:39 AM

no one on the internet n NJ is reporting the sizes and amounts of fish are that you guys are catching on this site.:don't know why:

That's because they are internet fishermen. Fished last night before dark, incoming tide. Picked few small bass to 27". Small plugs, mambo, megabait. No wind, but colder water.
:2flip: Bababooey what kind of ******* are you? I can't remember the last time I saw a surf fishing report from you. do you even fish the surf and understand what surf fishing is about? Why would whether you read about a bite on the internet be an indication of whether it was actually happening or not? I don't get the guys who sit on their fat asses and complain, when all they are is internet fishermen. There are some nice fish out there. Get your waders on, go out there in the cold, and catch some. Stop whining like a schoolgirl.

cowherder

01-11-2013, 06:04 AM

What is the deal with you bababooey? Dark puts in long hours. He sleeps in his car to fish 2 tides. Are you willing to do that?
And he helps others all the time which I dont see you doing too often. Please just shut up and stop criticizing others. You do that a lot and criticize monty too. Don't be a d***! Finchaser, dark, and you other guys great catches keep up the good work!

Monty

01-11-2013, 06:18 AM

Even the ones with most members, the guys there are getting out and catching one or 2 fish. And you are catching 20-32 fish a night?:rolleyes: How is that possible? Come on now.

Dark does not bull shi*. He puts in the time and gets dialed in. He really knows what he is doing...he is as they say "one with the fishes".
He is probably the last person who would post a fake report about catching lots of Stripers.

fishinmission78

01-11-2013, 11:13 AM

How are you able to find fish and they aren't? I checked all the internet saltwater sites in NJ. Even the ones with most members, the guys there are getting out and catching one or 2 fish. And you are catching 20-32 fish a night?:rolleyes: How is that possible? Come on now.

Ban me if you want but no one on the internet n NJ is reporting the sizes and amounts of fish are that you guys are catching on this site.:don't know why:

Umm, bababooey, a guy just posted on another site that he got 26 this morning. It appears they have a pretty good bite going on up north. If you're that concerned about who is catching and who isn't, maybe you should get out there in the surf more often. The IBSP fishing was so stupid last year it may have gotten some of us into thinking that's all there was to fishing. I may even take a trip up north this weekend.

I don't know DS so I can't speak as to his integrity but from the posts he writes and work he puts in he does seem to be able to figure these things out before most of the others do. just my .02 thats all. And finchaser was catching a lot of fish this summer. but from what I hear he outcatches most everyone because he pretty damn good from what I am told. The numbers of guys like that will always be higher than the weekend warriors.

vpass

01-11-2013, 11:42 AM

I'm sorry but I'm calling BS on your reports dark. Either that or you have to be fishing at the power plant and not in the ocean. In the last trips out all the party boats came up with very few fish. Because of that they stopped fishing for bass for the year. How are you able to find fish and they aren't? I checked all the internet saltwater sites in NJ. Even the ones with most members, the guys there are getting out and catching one or 2 fish. And you are catching 20-32 fish a night?:rolleyes: How is that possible? Come on now.

Ban me if you want but no one on the internet n NJ is reporting the sizes and amounts of fish are that you guys are catching on this site.:don't know why:

There are many guys out there who are getting really good numbers. They are not guys that will ever get involved with the internet, and make a report, or explain how they do it. They will even lie and tell you a different area, and lower numbers to not get attention. I believe in DS, He has great character. I fished with him a few times and didn't even noticed the stench, but I might have been fishing upwind with out knowing about it.

Hey Dark keep up with the Great work, You are the Man, and keep Safe!!!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

fishinmission78

01-11-2013, 11:45 AM

And another thing bababooey. If you knew anything about fishing at the plant you would know that 5-10 a night is a great night. I have had some nights there when the season is open where I did better than that but very few. I don't want to say anything more about it as the season is closed. The only way to get numbers like that this time of year is to fish in the surf in specific locations, or take a road trip and rent a boat out of VA. If the sandeels were here we would all have fish but from what I have heard they are not. you have to adapt to catch these fish.

surfstix1963

01-11-2013, 01:13 PM

Why can't we all be friends... I will say 10% of the fishermen catch 90% of the fish Fact... because they put the time in Fact...It will cause family disruptions (probably part of my first marriage to end Fact... The reason is because you get hooked it is an addiction to some with no cure Fact... If you never reached that level you will never understand it, I don't give a crap about fishing reports to me if you follow them that is part of your problem as a fishermen and it will limit your success.This is not an easy sport it takes years to be really good at it.The Golden rule of surf fishing is to keep your mouth shut and lie that's a Fact.I'm not getting in between the two of you believe who and what you want but bashing people won't solve any issues he does put his time in and sometimes risks his life to do it like many of us he is a good generous guy, if he lies about it that's how the game works nothing will be handed to you or anybody else for that matter.Fact....

basshunter

01-11-2013, 01:30 PM

Why can't we all be friends... I will say 10% of the fishermen catch 90% of the fish Fact... because they put the time in Fact...It will cause family disruptions (probably part of my first marriage to end Fact... The reason is because you get hooked it is an addiction to some with no cure Fact... If you never reached that level you will never understand it,

:clapping::clapping:Amen dude!
There is even a thread on that here the dark side of surf fishing.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?1760-The-Dark-Side-of-surf-fishing&highlight=dark+side+surf+fishing
I dont know dark skies personally but from the information he puts out there about the tides the baitfish and the migration he seems like he is pretty obsessive about fishing. If anyone would be dialed in it would be him. Bababooey I don't remember surf reports from you either. Why don't you get out there and get some instead of complaining? The weather is beautiful, why don't you get out and just FISH!:thumbsup:

SharkHart

01-11-2013, 06:58 PM

I been down this road, if you are successful and report your catches you get attacked. In the old Tiderunner days my internet detractors eventually would try to find/follow me.

surfstix1963

01-12-2013, 09:16 AM

Surf fishermen/women are a very tight group and that's where the conversation stays within your group I can tell you I've fished with no more then 10 people in my life that shared with me and I shared with them and we all put a lot of time in finding these fish and comparing notes.No cell phones we just knew each other well and where we would be depending on conditions we also fished very specific spots at certain times.

finchaser

01-12-2013, 12:32 PM

Just a reminder DS caught 23 fish he also put in 16 hours to do it little over a fish an hour most sane people do not do this as I always say he doesn't fire on all cylinders.

With him numbers are of the upmost importance they keep him off the street and fill his ego no matter what he says.

buckethead

01-12-2013, 03:25 PM

All this hullabaloo about 1 fish per hour? Bababooey get a life. Or stop bitching and go fishing.:laugh: :fishing:
Fished nomoco this am. Water was a little dirty. 2 hours before I got the first one on bucktail outgoing tide. Picked up 4 shorts altogether.

storminsteve

01-12-2013, 03:34 PM

:don't know why:Haters gonna hate I guess. Bababooey there are fish out there. I think dark said somewhere that finchaser predicted that and why. Read the reports more you might learn something. I worked some moco stretches this morning with the sp. the surf was big and like buckethead said seemed a little dirty to me. Threw a storm shad as well. No love for me. It was real nice out though, looked like striper weather.

storminsteve

01-12-2013, 03:42 PM

I think dark said somewhere that finchaser predicted that and why. Read the reports more you might learn something.

It was the best of the weekend, and the best bite in a very long while....:drool:
As Fin and the other old farts pointed it there was probably a large body of fish that got pushed out of the Mud Hole and Shrewsbury Rocks by the recent frigid temps.

Those temps, coupled with the frigid bay waters, put the biggest body of fish that was here 2 weeks ago back in the Hudson/NY Bight Estuaries or on their way to the Chesapeake areas. There were no numbers of fish in the area since that. As discussed in the Striped bass migration thread...

Here...
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5149-S-amp-A-Education-Series-Understanding-FALL-back-bay-bait-migration-and-fishing-patterns&highlight=striped+bass+migration

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7174-NJ-s-resident-bass-why-have-they-abandoned-us&highlight=striped+bass+migration

Those fish that were here in Dec drastically thinned out.

But what a night it was, seemed to be wave after wave of late migrating fish. :fishing:
I am very grateful to have been out there for that action because the robustness of that night has since diminished....
Special thanks to the Old Grouchy Basstard Finchaser....really wish you could have joined me out there, pal. :kiss: :HappyWave:

Tuesday 1-8-13
Monty Full Marathon.....

Couldn't figure out if the larger bass had left....or if they just got spread out more....
(Note, there are now bass being caught in the surf between Monmouth Beach and LBI)

On another site they were reporting catching bass in sea isle city, and they weren't catching there 2 weeks ago. So it appears both finchaser and dark were right on the $$, and some of the first in my knowledge in calling this bite accurately. Thanks guys as always for the helpful info. And as for knowledge dark seems to be a little more obsessive than most. My best fish of the fall were due to him, and I thank him for that. Thanks for being so generous. Don't listen to the haters dark.:HappyWave:

storminsteve

01-12-2013, 04:03 PM

I been down this road, if you are successful and report your catches you get attacked. In the old Tiderunner days my internet detractors eventually would try to find/follow me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWGwaXKlZEk

Ppl get jealous when you are catching and they aren't.

wish4fish

01-12-2013, 04:09 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWGwaXKlZEk

Ppl get jealous when you are catching and they aren't.

ha ha true dat. and ds is the real deal. straight biz he yelled at me one time cuz i had a 19lb bass and i wuz sayin it wuz a 20 until he told me people wouldnt believe me no more if i hyped it up. so from me to u can believe him he shows up when the fish are there. ha ha he can smell the fish! i know he has to sleep in his car to get them we live closer to the bay than he does so we dont have to do that.

hookset

01-12-2013, 04:34 PM

ha ha true dat. and ds is the real deal. straight biz he yelled at me one time cuz i had a 19lb bass and i wuz sayin it wuz a 20 until he told me people wouldnt believe me no more if i hyped it up. so from me to u can believe him he shows up when the fish are there. ha ha he can smell the fish!

Allegedly he smells like a fish too. Or worse. Coincidence? :laugh: :HappyWave:
Fished this morning, 2 runts on buck and pork

plugcrazy

01-12-2013, 05:21 PM

This thread is great entertainment guys. You can tell when people aren't catching by all the internet fights that start to break out.

Monty

01-12-2013, 06:11 PM

This thread is great entertainment guys. You can tell when people aren't catching by all the internet fights that start to break out.
I don't think we are fighting.
I think Bababooey made an ill-advised post questioning Dark's integrity.
There are 3 things you don't question about Dark.
1. Dark's ability to find a place to sleep when he gets tired while fishing
2. Dark's ability to find a place to go the bathroom when he has to go while fishing
3. Dark's integrity

On second thought that's really only two things. Items 1 and 2 are the same place :HappyWave:

finchaser

01-12-2013, 06:15 PM

^^^^^^^^:clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping::c lapping::clapping::clapping:

DarkSkies

01-12-2013, 07:22 PM

Bababooey, I have banned folks before for personal attacks or threats.

But there are no time-outs here, either folks want to be here, or they don't. I don't have much time to babysit these squabbles unless they turn ugly or someone threatens someone else.....and you didn't do that....you were asking questions.....and they were fair questions....I don't view them as accusatory...because I feel you don't have the whole piece of the puzzle in front of you.....so no hard feelings....:thumbsup: :kiss: :HappyWave:

There are some things I can talk about here, and some I can't talk about.....but you and other folks reading this need to be aware that there is a larger world of experiences out there, other than what you read on the internet.......

There are fishermen out there who are capable of catching 50-100 fish a night, when the bite is hot....and we happen to have some of those right here..:HappyWave:..and others in the chain we share intel with.....I know as SharkHart said, jealousy abounds when you are catching fantastic numbers, but if you are good and focused on the bite these numbers and greatly higher numbers are possible......

That's why a lot of us don't weigh fish, or take countless pics of every fish posed at multiple angles...when the bite is hot you may only have 20-40 minutes of action, and like a game of musical chairs, you never know when it may stop.

If Finchaser, and some others here, could have been with me on the hottest night, when this bite first started (after having been a dead night bite for 2 weeks), I imagine Fin or the other anglers could have landed well over 100 fish in one night....that night of that Fri, Jan 4, was the best fishing I have had in almost a year...
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8168-Winter-Fishing-Thread/page51

1. Imagine a fish hooked or missed on every 10 casts, aggressive fish busting on the surface even if you missed the hookset..:bigeyes:.

2. I couldn't go into that much detail because between Finchaser and his friends, and some other friends who fish twice a day, we were waiting for that bite, and anticipating it.......

3. We made a concerted effort to keep it quiet...and did manage that for about 48 hours, during which several guys we know all caught well over 100 fish....

4. After 48 hours, word leaked out. Now, if you go on facebook, there are virtual maps to any area where larger fish have been caught....it is so blown up that they are talking about it in Doctors offices and supermarkets.
Pebbles and I went to a soup tasting yesterday in Morris county, and some of the old time fishermen there that I met had heard of it as well....:kooky:

DarkSkies

01-12-2013, 07:27 PM

As Finchaser and the old farts at Castaways B&T predicted, and in contrast to what some internet authorities were predicting, this pattern was completely different from last year.

Stormin Steve, thanks for taking the time to research and point that out. :HappyWave:

No one in the fishing world has been as accurate and insightful in predicting the whys and directions of this bite of late migrational fish than Finchaser and his crew of old Farts. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

They sit at the table at Joe's Castaways B&T every day and discuss every single aspect of what is happening at that moment, with the benefit of experience, to compare it to the multiple decades they have been fishing.....these are the guys who deserve the true credit for figuring this out......

(As mentioned, the thousands of fish that were concentrated in one area, have since spread out from Monmouth Beach to Cape May)

I'm just a foot soldier in the googan army, who happens to be relentless, once I find fish...to the point that I won't leave if I feel there is one more fish to be caught.....

And Fin is right, to an extent.....

1. This does feed our ego....
2. It's easy to catch fish when everyone else is catching.....

3. But to catch, in the middle of the night, when one night you discover what you think is a pattern..... and try to duplicate that success a night later, and find that it has shifted, or find yourself handicapped by cold water or big surf which ruins your presentation and drops your chances to catching to very small percentages......these are the challenges that I face when looking for the night bite...

4. This is the thing that some of us realize when out there....the challenge makes it like a chess game where the rules change every week.

5. Since we generally don't weigh our fish in at tackle shops, or enter contests so we can thump our chests, getting high numbers becomes part of the goal when C&R fishing......After time, you realize that even keeping one fish, will take away 5-10 minutes of valuable feeding/fishing time as you figure out where to put it safely....

.
6. Anyone can do that at 4-5pm every day....that's why we have been telling folks to fish that window..it's the easiest window right now to have some success in the surf..
If you are fishing that window and not catching, you are either doing something drastically wrong, or you need a finchaser seminar.... :laugh: :thumbsup:

DarkSkies

01-12-2013, 08:00 PM

Now that we have that cleared up, please try to play nice, people...

Most of you have realized I can't generate threads at the rate I used to, family, work, and fishing are ahead of that...and I greatly appreciate those who are stepping up to create more threads.....

This site is all about you folks, your needs, and your concerns....without you who contribute it would be nothing....and I thank you from the bottom of my heart......

As for those who stuck up for my integrity, I thank you sincerely...
Integrity is the only thing I have as a fisherman.......

1. As a general rule I underestimate the size of the fish I catch, especially the teen fish. As wish4fish confirmed I sometimes encourage others to do that too unless they are weighing it on on an official scale....

2. There are many respected fishermen in the surf community who we know not to be truthful....I get that....in fact when someone claims to have done fantastically well in impossible conditions, sometimes I get asked to go out there to see if it was possible for him to have gotten those results,....and there are times that I have caught folks being untruthful.....

3. I can say this because I know the waters I fish like the back of my hand...if something happened to me tomorrow that I became blind or crippled I could still find fish, if I could get out there....but it has taken many years to be able to put the conditions and tides together that one will find fish on..and many years of not catching regularly, to learn when it's time to move on.....

4. Folks may not realize that I often make from 5-8 different stops a night to find the fish...

5. I push it so hard when I'm out there that frequently I don't have enough energy to drive home and have to pull over somewhere to get an hour or 2 sleep. There is no half-a**** effort when I'm out there...I put all of my energy into finding the fish.....even talking takes up too much energy...

6. It's all about the quest to find that 1 fish in 1000 that no one thinks is there....

**Some of you have mentioned me being obsessive.....I have to admit to that...:kooky: :laugh:...

I am obsessive about
a. different types of forage,
b. tides,
c. presentation,
d. feeding windows,
e. duration,
f. swell,
g. water temps..
h. and logging it all.....

these are the things that allow me to catch more than one, once I find them.....

And, as Monty and others so charitably mentioned, :moon:
a. sleeping in my car or a public bathroom.....:upck:
b. Not bathing for up to 2 days at a time.....
c. smelling like a dumpster (that basstard Finchaser greatly exxagerates everything....):moon: :laugh:
d. Going with a few hours sleep for days on end..are all sacrifices I have made, to find and stay on a bite when it develops......

You're less likely to catch a bigger bass in the middle of a sunny day at high noon....than at 2am........(all other things being equal, and not accounting for bunker blitzes)..and that's what I'm looking for each trip out....

Now please try to play nice, there are fish to be caught......:fishing:

Thanks again for all the kind words, for those who responded...:HappyWave:

*************
Remember folks, it's not about when you want to fish....
It's about when the fish want to feed......

"The fish wait for no one......" :learn:

DarkSkies

01-12-2013, 08:32 PM

Report Fri 1-11-13
New Moon fishing in churned up water.....

The end of day was probably the best bite and warmest water....but I was out with Pebbles and didn't get out till later in the tide.

First stop I was optimistic because I landed 2 short fish within 10 minutes of plugging, but it went downhill after that after the water temp dropped....managed 3 more in the 45 mins....then stayed another half hour because I got one small bump (I have explained before that the bumps are usually the larger fish, schoolies are much more aggressive especially in cold water).....

Kept working different beaches, somehow I ended up running into that internet troublemaker SharkHart, ;) one of the top tiderunner C&R weakfish anglers in NJ.....:HappyWave:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XELPQpNY2Q

Between us we covered 6 different stops, only had bass at 2 of them...in the rest of the night, the fishing was dismal as we each hooked and lost a few. I ended up with 6 short bass.

Just to be clear, the last few hours before dawn only produced very limited action for each of us, fishing as hard as we could, moving constantly to try looking for that action.....it was SLOWER than a slow pick.....

********
What hampered us was the building swell and increasing duration...and the fact that it had been blowing SE for a few hours beforehand with heavy rain.....
There is a thread on that here for anyone who wants to learn.

The duration went from 9 seconds, very fishable...to 3 seconds with some double waves..basically a washing machine of churning dirty water....even bucktails did not cut it for us........if we could have waited a few hours might have gotten some more fish, but it was not really productive and we decided to call it a night......

Always a pleasure to fish with the elusive SharkHart...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9H_Mfscwfc

even though I'm anti social, http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon8.png..... I would fish with ya again....:thumbsup:

What worked:
ML swimmer, magnum bombers

xtreme_visions

01-13-2013, 02:26 PM

Been awhile :HappyWave: Without checking the tide or having the slightest clue as to what's going on out there I decided to take a trip :fishing: Tried a few plugs and some rubber with no luck :don't know why: fished 4-7pm

jigfreak

01-14-2013, 10:47 AM

5 small dinks this morning on buck and pork. Water is still dirty swell is getting a little smaller. Hardly any wind good conditions out there other than the dirty water.

buckethead

01-14-2013, 01:23 PM

Nice going jigfreak.
Fyi for you and me and anyone else who knows how to catch fish, an internet fishermen was talking about your forum on another site this morning, dark. I don't know what you did over there because your site name got censored?

The quote:
"On ******************.com, the regulars are slaughtering (oops) 20 to 30 shorts a night."

Haters are all over. The guy who was talking about you never fishes, never posts a report, and has nothing but negativity. Haters gonna hate, cause all they do is masturbate.:laugh:
My report - fished this morning and I did NOT catch 20 to 30 fish. I should just quit now.:2flip: :ROFLMAO NOT! :HappyWave:

cowherder

01-14-2013, 01:46 PM

I want to be a regular too. I don't catch as many fish as some of you here, but I have been around for some years and learned a lot. If there is a regulars club will you be taking applications? will there be trophies at the end of the year? You know, they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. People must be insanely jealous that they have fo focus on the reports instead of fishing. Get out there and fish! btw love that buckethead, haters gonna hate cause all they do is masturbate!:clapping: :clapping:

dogfish

01-14-2013, 04:21 PM

DS it appears you have a stalker. Someone capable of such hatred that 5 years have passed by and he just can't let go from you. So romantic, sounds like a gothic romance novel. He could be dangerous, especially if he has guns. You might want to notify the authorities this time, or just let him give you a BJ and be over it.:laugh:
Also a question, will it cost a lot of dough to change the site name to www.stripersandanglers (http://www.stripersandanglers) "and regulars".com?
Do I get a special discount here if I am a regular? Will there be cake and pie?:ROFLMAO
I love that you lads are catching. Truthfully a little jealous, but keep up the good work. May the regulars continue to catch.

jigfreak

01-14-2013, 04:34 PM

You might want to notify the authorities this time, or just let him give you a BJ and be over it.:laugh:
Also a question, will it cost a lot of dough to change the site name to www.stripersandanglers (http://www.stripersandanglers) "and regulars".com?
Do I get a special discount here if I am a regular? Will there be cake and pie?:ROFLMAO

^^I want in if there is cake and pie. I'll bring the beer and shots.
I know this aZZhat. He lives in ocean county. He's so angry because he can't fish IBSP any more. He is a little napoleon dude, very short, 150lbs soaking wet. We have mutual friends. He couldn't get laid in high school because he was so creepy. His brother is a cop. He wanted to be a cop in the worst way, but never made the grade. Lots of anger there but he is just a harmless creepy guy. Don't worry about him. Next time I see him I'll give him a funny look and he'll scamper away like a B**ch. Let me know if he causes any more trouble.

jigfreak

01-14-2013, 04:37 PM

On 2nd thought dark like dogfish said maybe he does have a crush on you. You should let him give you a BJ. It could be the highlight of his life.:laugh:

dogfish

01-14-2013, 04:43 PM

Hey I was only joking jigfreak. You would think after 5 years the guy would have other things to occupy his time. buckethead, a long long time ago, when dark was the defender of truth and justice on the internet, there was a fall from grace. Alas, dark was no longer to sit at the table of good and plenty. So he packed his bags, moved to Beverly Hills, struck gold, and that's the story.

bababooey

01-14-2013, 05:10 PM

:( Mea culpa for the accusations. I hope I didn't add any fuel to the fire here. I usually quit fishing in November, and you guys are mostly correct I don't surf fish that much. If I can do it from the truck it makes a lot more sense. Climbing the beaches and jetties, hardly ever. And certainly I would never fish in the freezing cold that some of you surf nuts do.
I did some research this time. Al ristori mentioned this surf bite. And for you to get mentioned on another site, dark skies, well that's just a lot of recognition that you guys do know where and when.:thumbsup: Some folks apparently are jealous. I hope I didn't have anything to do with that. Again, my apologies, and sorry if I ruffled any feathers. It seems some of the members here are about 1 week ahead of the others in terms of finding the fish. Keep up the good work and I would be glad to buy any of you a beer any time.:HappyWave:

bababooey

01-14-2013, 05:17 PM

A long long time ago, when dark was the defender of truth and justice on the internet, there was a fall from grace. Alas, dark was no longer to sit at the table of good and plenty. So he packed his bags, moved to Beverly Hills, struck gold, and that's the story.

I have a better story, here you go:

The action begins with DarkSkies and his fellow rebel angels who are found chained to a lake of fire in Hell.

They quickly free themselves and fly to land, where they discover minerals and construct Pandemonium/ www.stripersandanglers.com (http://www.stripersandanglers.com), which will be their meeting place.

Inside Pandemonium, the rebel angels, who are now devils, debate whether they should begin another war with God.

Dogfish suggests that they attempt to corrupt God’s beloved new creation, humankind.

DarkSkies agrees, and volunteers to go himself.

As he prepares to leave Hell, he is met at the gates by his children, Bunker and Porto-John, who follow him and build a bridge between Hell and Earth.

In Heaven, God orders the angels together for a council of their own.

He tells them of Dark Skies’s intentions, and the Son volunteers himself to make the sacrifice for humankind.

Meanwhile, Dark Skies travels through Night and Chaos and finds Earth.

He disguises himself as a GOOGAN to get past the Archangel Finchaser, who stands guard at the sun.

He tells Finchaser that he wishes to see and praise God’s glorious creation, and Finchasser assents.

Dark Skies then lands on Earth and takes a moment to reflect.

Seeing the splendor of the East Coast Striped Bass, brings him pain rather than pleasure.

Dark Skies leaps over Paradise’s wall, takes the form of a cormorant (a large bird), or a swan, and perches himself atop the Tree of Striped Bass.

Looking down at Dark Skies from his post, Finchaser notices the volatile emotions reflected in the face of this so-called cherub and warns the other angels that an impostor is in their midst.

The other angels agree to search the Garden for intruders - but Dark Skies escapes in a garbage truck. :upck:

Then he roams the land, like Mel Gibson in Road Warrior, a man without a country - :HappyWave:

(as adapted from Paradise Lost) - please remember to tip the bartenders.:laugh:

storminsteve

01-14-2013, 05:25 PM

:clapping::clapping::clapping: Awesome prose bababooey! rofl!

storminsteve

01-14-2013, 05:26 PM

The other angels agree to search the Garden for intruders - but Dark Skies escapes in a garbage truck. :upck:

Then he roams the land, like Mel Gibson in Road Warrior, a man without a country - :HappyWave:

:clapping: :clapping:Best part, lol.

buckethead

01-14-2013, 05:29 PM

It seems some of the members here are about 1 week ahead of the others in terms of finding the fish. Keep up the good work and I would be glad to buy any of you a beer any time.:HappyWave:

Only the regulars.:rolleyes:

vpass

01-14-2013, 06:01 PM

:clapping::clapping::clapping: Awesome prose bababooey! rofl!

X2 :thumbsup:

Monty

01-14-2013, 08:54 PM

awesome prose bababooey! Rofl!
X2 :thumbsup:
x3 :ROFLMAO

finchaser

01-14-2013, 10:49 PM

way to go Baba DS is out there tonight rod in one hand and a bar of soap in the other

buckethead

01-15-2013, 10:27 AM

Bababooey you should write TV pilots. The other day I wanted to smash your head. Today it's somehow all good with the saga. Only sorry you didn't put my name in it. Funny stuff. :clapping: :clapping:
Report from a "regular" - fished last night. The seas weren't that bad. Fish were around. Picked up 5 to 11#. Swimmers and bucktails. All released.

buckethead

01-16-2013, 05:34 PM

Picked up 6 to 10# tonight. Swimmers and bucktails again, what they wanted. Outgoing tide. Water cleaned up nice. all released.

fishinmission78

01-16-2013, 05:43 PM

an internet fishermen was talking about your forum on another site this morning, dark. I don't know what you did over there because your site name got censored?

The quote:
"On ******************.com, the regulars are slaughtering (oops) 20 to 30 shorts a night."

Haters are all over. The guy who was talking about you never fishes, never posts a report, and has nothing but negativity. Haters gonna hate, cause all they do is masturbate.:laugh:
My report - fished this morning and I did NOT catch 20 to 30 fish. I should just quit now.:2flip: :ROFLMAO NOT! :HappyWave:

I know this aZZhat. He lives in ocean county. He's so angry because he can't fish IBSP any more. He is a little napoleon dude, very short, 150lbs soaking wet. We have mutual friends. He couldn't get laid in high school because he was so creepy. His brother is a cop. He wanted to be a cop in the worst way, but never made the grade. Lots of anger there but he is just a harmless creepy guy. Don't worry about him. Next time I see him I'll give him a funny look and he'll scamper away like a B**ch. Let me know if he causes any more trouble.

I know him too jigfreak. Used to see him at Island Beach a lot. I'll give you a little idea of the kind of guy he is. After a morning or afternoon, the fishing often slowed down. You either leave or look for some of your friends and see what they are doing. There are a few groups. We all know each other. We talk about what we caught, if the fishing was good, bad, etc. Well, no matter how good you did, this guy would somehow have done better. You caught 9? He got 11. You had a great day and got 15? He got 19. So don't worry about haters like that, dark. they are so full of anger they are choking on it. He always had to be the top dog, and we knew he was lying. I don't know what his beef with you is but he is an oddball.

Oh, and he was creepy too, def agree.
nice going buckethead. Good job guys, catch them up.

fishinmission78

01-16-2013, 05:52 PM

3. I can say this because I know the waters I fish like the back of my hand...if something happened to me tomorrow that I became blind or crippled I could still find fish, if I could get out there....but it has taken many years to be able to put the conditions and tides together that one will find fish on..and many years of not catching regularly, to learn when it's time to move on.....

4. Folks may not realize that I often make from 5-8 different stops a night to find the fish...

5. I push it so hard when I'm out there that frequently I don't have enough energy to drive home and have to pull over somewhere to get an hour or 2 sleep. There is no half-a**** effort when I'm out there...I put all of my energy into finding the fish.....even talking takes up too much energy...

6. It's all about the quest to find that 1 fish in 1000 that no one thinks is there....

**Some of you have mentioned me being obsessive.....I have to admit to that...:kooky: :laugh:...

I am obsessive about
a. different types of forage,
b. tides,
c. presentation,
d. feeding windows,
e. duration,
f. swell,
g. water temps..
h. and logging it all.....

these are the things that allow me to catch more than one, once I find them.....

*************
Remember folks, it's not about when you want to fish....
It's about when the fish want to feed......

"The fish wait for no one......" :learn:

DS that post above says it all, you don't need to explain to anyone. And the last 3 lines more than anything else. Anyone can catch one or 2 fish. If you want more you have to be there when they have the feed bag on.

I have been reading your posts for years, when you were on the other site as well. You tell it like it is. The effort you put into fishing is obvious. I have to say if I did that I would be divorced though. I don't think I have ever read another report that goes into as much detail as yours do. I also remember when your reports were like 1000 words long too. Seems you have shortened it up a bit over the years. If someone reading your report can't gain some insight they have no reading comprehension. Keep up the good work. Don't worry about the oddballs out there. There will always be some no matter what. Happy belated New Year to you and your wife.

storminsteve

01-16-2013, 06:07 PM

Nice going buckethead!:clapping:
I'm confused about what the regulars are on this site now, it's getting too complicated.:huh: :laugh:
You have the whole subset of anglers from stripers and anglers.
You have the surf guys.
You have the boat guys.
You have the old grouchy basstards like finchaser.
You have the smelly basstards like dark.
You have the old crabby basstards like surfstix.

My mind has so many questions -
Can you be a grouchy basstard and a regular too?
Can you be a crabby basstard and a regular?
Can you be a smelly basstard, and a googan, or can you only be a dillydock if you are a smelly basstard.
What if you are a regular, and really don't like being called a regular? Can you apply for a name change so you have a cooler name, like hardcore surf guy? I kinda like that. :viking: So if I can be included with all you regulars on here, could I have the extra title of hardcore surf regular? I would really like that, would be much appreciated.:rolleyes:
Maybe monty can draw a flow chart.
by the way, I fished nomoco today on the outgoing, 4 bass to 27 1/2 " on a yellow bomber. The wind was shifting to northwest by nightfall.

finchaser

01-16-2013, 06:19 PM

vpass

01-16-2013, 10:17 PM

This is great stuff.:ROFLMAO

Monty

01-17-2013, 06:12 AM

I'm confused about what the regulars are on this site now, it's getting too complicated.:huh: :laugh:
You have the whole subset of anglers from stripers and anglers.
So if I can be included with all you regulars on here, could I have the extra title of hardcore surf regular? I would really like that, would be much appreciated.:rolleyes:
Maybe monty can draw a flow chart.
by the way, I fished nomoco today on the outgoing, 4 bass to 27 1/2 " on a yellow bomber. The wind was shifting to northwest by nightfall.

Congrats on the Bass SS. Congrats to all getting out and enjoying the fishing:thumbsup:

In my opinion I believe that there really are not many (if any) members here who are not "regulars".
No offense, but you are all pretty much "out there" :kooky:, .
One way of looking at it may be if you look at the general population of this country and you would consider your self irregular (pretty much everyone on this site I do believe :HappyWave:, I have met a few of you too..... ) that would make you a regular here.
Similar people tend to hang together....A good thing :wheeeee:

DarkSkies

01-17-2013, 06:35 PM

I thought this issue would play itself out, and we could put it behind us.....maybe not....:kooky: :rolleyes:
I really do appreciate the kind things you folks have said, means a lot.....:HappyWave:

I know you are just trying to be honest....and I thank you for that...
But really, I don't need anyone to defend me from anyone.....
I have no one to fear at night when I'm out there, except the raw power of the sea....

My days drinking and drugging almost got me killed several times.....
My fishing expeditions have put me on the edge of life and death more than once....

I'm not going anywhere, unless King Neptune really wants me....
Part of the reason for not bathing regularly is the delusional hope that if the sea ever swallows me up....she might spit me back because of the bad taste....:laugh:

Please, folks, I know you mean well, but please try not to concentrate on the haters out there....
As SharkHart explained, the better you do with your catches, the more that will not be happy...it's the nature of the game.....no real bother to me as I'm having the time of my life out there.....:fishing:

The one thing I have learned being around all the dysfunctional people that I have been, in life.....is that hating someone takes real effort.....it is a toxic poison, like a cancer, that can eat you up inside......Jealousy is an ugly thing, there's a reason it's one of the seven Deadly Sins.....

So instead of a response from you folks next time (although it is appreciated), please instead try to think how miserable it must be, for one human to hate another human being, for years and years.....

Instead of insults or anger, please consider having some empathy...
If you can pray for that person.......:learn:, God will bless you in many ways......

******
Thanks for reading, folks.....
There are a lot of good fishermen here......
Many much better than me.......:thumbsup:

Let's try to keep the negativity in the trash where it belongs....
And focus on fishing and having fun.......:thumbsup: :fishing: :HappyWave:

DarkSkies

01-17-2013, 06:40 PM

Mon PM 1-14-13 Skunk report....:skunk:
Coming off the new moon tides, I had to be out there....
Unfortunately the winds were pretty harsh when I was out...N/NE steady 20...great winds when you're fishing the SS of LI. but mostly terrible for surf fishing in NJ.....

I battled the winds for a long time...
First 2 places I stopped at were unfishable because of it....

Got one light bump on a plug at next stop. .Spent an hour trying to get some action going at that stop...
As I have explained in my reports, the lighter the bump the bigger the fish in a cold water bite....so I was pretty mad at myself I missed this fish...my only shot of the night......:beatin:

After 2 1/2 hours I was done, called it an early night.....

******
West Wind Wally/Ralph vid from last year

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZfSXgVO5INk#!

DarkSkies

01-17-2013, 06:55 PM

Wed 1-16-13 PM trip slightly better.....Monty Mini Marathon

After hearing the Finchaser weather report 4 times :scared: throughout the day.....
I decided against advice of the old basstid to go out anyway....the conditions last night were the best they will be for the next week...had to see for myself.....have also lost 15lbs in the past month due to all the energy I expend out there hunting for these fish....

StorminSteve and Buckethead, nice catches, good effort to all those who were out...:thumbsup: :HappyWave:

A few short bass.....
Managed 4 bass to about 10#.....
What's significant about that is that the 10# bass was only 27"...the freaking thing was as round as a carp.....nice fish, nice fight....

Also significant is that these fish seemed very sluggish to me.....
Very light hits, and there was a very low level of activity...only had 2 more missed fish.....

It seemed I found these fish because I hit them on the head with what I was throwing.....
just random casting, over and over.....

Took 5 hours and 6 stops to catch those fish....
So if you're a reasonable person, and not :kooky: like me.....:rolleyes:
You might want to consider fishing at the end of day, 4-6pm....

Anyone who is good can manage to catch the number of fish it took me 5 hours to catch, in a much more civilized manner, and with less effort, in the time frame we keep mentioning.......even the clam bite seems best end of day now....as friends who are fishing clams seem to get their bigger fish during that time frame as well.....:learn:

I took one quick pic of the 10# bass to show a little of how fat it was...the pic does not do it justice, this fish had been eating well....:fishing:

16020

Conditions and What worked
Air - 42 dropping to 40
Water - 44 degrees, steady (took temp readings at 2 locations)
Bomber, bucktails

finchaser

01-17-2013, 08:01 PM

After following Darks advice from his last weeks marathons I guess Dark was right any one can catch fish in the afternoon at the end of the day but only real fisherman can stay out all night to catch the same amount or less. So I fished today from 3:30 to 5:00 PM and released 7 fish between 24 and 29" all on a Guides Secret Mucho Minnow. I can't wait to be a real fisherman.

DarkSkies

01-17-2013, 08:07 PM

but only real fisherman can stay out all night to catch the same amount or less. So I fished today from 3:30 to 5:00 PM and released 7 fish between 24 and 29" all on a Guides Choice Macho Minnow. I can't wait to be a real fisherman.

Took 5 hours and 6 stops to catch those fish....
So if you're a reasonable person, and not :kooky: like me.....:rolleyes:
You might want to consider fishing at the end of day, 4-6pm....

Anyone who is good can manage to catch the number of fish it took me 5 hours to catch, in a much more civilized manner, and with less effort, in the time frame we keep mentioning....

:laugh: :clapping: :moon: :kiss: :HappyWave:
Like I said ya grouchy basstid....if ya want fish that 4-6pm window should fit the bill.....I want solitude more than anything else....I know it doesn't make sense to most, but the solitude to me is priceless......

(And I told ya you would catch, if ya went out this afternoon......no one catches fish like Finchaser.....can you imagine how well you would do if you were out fishing all night just like when you, Joe, Russ, and the other old farts were out there, for days at a time? :dribble:)

Glad to see ya got some fish, ya Gloom and Doom sourpuss.......:thumbsup: :HappyWave:
It's fun....some of these ain't that small......you need more fun in your life, ya grouchy basstid.....maybe I'll have to come down and sleep in front of your house to drag ya out there with me.......:ROFLMAO

PS - would you mind if I took a shower in your driveway? :scared: :HappyWave:

finchaser

01-17-2013, 08:28 PM

We only fished for days in tornaments when we were in Stevens Surfsters as we numbered 39 and Asbury had over 150 guys. We never lost to them

I have fun in my life I read your marathon reports

Solitude and respect for other people sinuses

Now get off the computer it's marathon time you've got to catch another one of your storm windows .The wind chill is gonna be in the teens and rain is here and sleet in the air, you will have solitude

Don't forget your soap mother nature is providing free showers tonight

storminsteve

01-17-2013, 08:40 PM

After following Darks advice from his last weeks marithons I guess Dark was right any one can catch fish in the afternoon at the end of the day but only real fisherman can stay out all night to catch the same amount or less. So I fished today from 3:30 to 5:00 PM and released 7 fish between 24 and 29" all on a Guides Choice Macho Minnow. I can't wait to be a real fisherman.

:clapping:Haha lol sounds like you have him figured out to a T!
Great reports guys. I fished nomoco on the outgoing this afternoon from 4:30-5:30. 2 short bass on the SP. Temps dropping getting cold out.

Finchaser remember before you are a real fisherman you have to be a "regular". Only the regulars here catch 20-30 fish. :ROFLMAO like you guys mentioned I think those numbers of fish are long gone. But we still have a few fish here, thank god. Good luck guys! Funny stuff. you guys should have your own youtube channel.

finchaser

01-18-2013, 06:01 PM

hookset

01-18-2013, 06:13 PM

Awesome finchaser way to go. I fished 3-4:30. 4 bass to 8# on swimmers, released. It's a lot more nipply today than it has been.

cowherder

01-18-2013, 06:15 PM

Wow finchaser great job! Also kudos to getting out there in the freezing cold.

Monty

01-18-2013, 06:18 PM

5 of us fished today from 2:30 to 5:30 and released over 50 fish. I was the only one that didn't have double digits releasing 9 to 31" all caught on a mega bait fishing from 3:30 to 5:30.My friend led the pack with 16 to 33" all on plugs. The water was 42 degrees when we arrived and 39 degrees at the bottom of the tide the beach was frozen.

I fished 3-4:30. 4 bass to 8# on swimmers, released. It's a lot more nipply today than it has been.

Congrats on the fishing guys, great reports :thumbsup:

vpass

01-18-2013, 08:17 PM

Wow, you guys are getting them good.:drool:

finchaser

01-19-2013, 04:10 PM

Fished a little earlier today because of the blow out tide which would cause no water at slack low late this afternoon.The water was like mud from the SSW at times gale force wind managed 3 bass to 27" water was 40 degrees all caught on yellow plugs.

ledhead36

01-19-2013, 10:58 PM

West Wind Wally/Ralph vid from last year

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZfSXgVO5INk#!

5 of us fished today from 2:30 to 5:30 and released over 50 fish. I was the only one that didn't have double digits releasing 9 to 31" all caught on a mega bait fishing from 3:30 to 5:30.My friend led the pack with 16 to 33" all on plugs. The water was 42 degrees when we arrived and 39 degrees at the bottom of the tide the beach was frozen.

Fished a little earlier today because of the blow out tide which would cause no water at slack low late this afternoon.The water was like mud from the SSW at times gale force wind managed 3 bass to 27" water was 40 degrees all caught on yellow plugs.

:clapping:
Dark, love those wally videos keep em coming.
Finchaser you really have had a good year. You always seem to find fish, even when it's freezing out. Way to go.:thumbsup:

cowherder

01-20-2013, 02:56 PM

Awesome catches guys! I finally got out there this morning. It was real windy out but sunny. Picked up 5 bass to 25". nomoco. Bucktail and pork rind. Thanks for the reports they will help when it goes into a deep freeze tomorrow and none of us wants to go out there. Brrrrrrrr!:scared:

jigfreak

01-20-2013, 03:37 PM

Last night :skunk: today did better 5 shorties, some fat. Rubber.

Monty

01-20-2013, 03:44 PM

It was real windy out but sunny. Picked up 5 bass to 25". nomoco. Bucktail and pork rind. Thanks for the reports they will help when it goes into a deep freeze tomorrow and none of us wants to go out there. Brrrrrrrr!:scared:

5 shorties, some fat. Rubber.

Nice catches :HappyWave:

finchaser

01-20-2013, 04:48 PM

Fished last hour in and 1st hour out released 4 fish to 30" all on yellow swimmer my friend had 6 other friend 3 again water still dirty going to try and get tomorrow in

Question is where is the Googan MARATHON man:moon:DS that would be you:HappyWave:

buckethead

01-20-2013, 06:08 PM

Nice going fellas. Fished 3:30-5. The wind seemed to be dying down a bit but some extreme gusts. Thank the Lord it was mostly West with some northwest mixed in. Got 3 bass, all runts, on the vision eel. As the sun went down got one a little bigger on the bucktail and curly grub. Still no keepers but good fun.

finchaser

01-20-2013, 09:57 PM

way to go guy's ^^^ on getting them. I don't know after this week snow Monday and Tuesday then a northeaster with snow Friday and Saturday

finchaser

01-20-2013, 10:11 PM

Thanks leadhead I follow years of patterns I've logged and put in lots of hours. It was a slow year for bass compared to other years well under my yearly average .Remember I fish mostly everyday when conditions are right and only report catches. Been at this close to 50 years started when limit was 10 fish at 18 inches and seen it all never thought I'd see a decline as fast as this especially with this YOY average at .89 losest ever.

DarkSkies

01-21-2013, 12:55 PM

storminsteve

01-21-2013, 02:46 PM

Wow you guys are crushing it! wtg!

finchaser

01-21-2013, 05:18 PM

Did role reversal today and listened to DS and got the:skunk:figuired give it one last try the water was between 39 and 40 light south wind and snow showers. Ran into Al Ristori and fished the last 45 miniutes with him , he told me today was a bust everywhere even the clam guy's struck out.

But I'm sure captain insano DS will be on an all nighter to prove the world wrong in teen wind chills

storminsteve

01-22-2013, 08:06 AM

Sun Report Finchaser Style :moon: :HappyWave:...Short and Gruff........:ROFLMAO
Fished Monty Half Marathon....

16 bass to 11#....
3 were legal. Released 2 of those, kept the smallest.....
Lots of the fish were fat and feeding well.
Had to make them hit the plug, worked hard for every one, except for a few spurts of activity.

One pic......

Conditions and What worked
Air - 35 dropping to 27
Water - 43 degrees,42, 41, 42 **
Daiwa SP and Bomber accounted for half of the fish....

Shot a new West Wind Ralph Video.....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5418-West-Wind-Wally-thread-a-SHOWDOWN!-NE-vs-NW-fishin-PARENTAL-ADVISORY/page16

https://vimeo.com/57882873

"Only googans and dillydocks eat fish, especially googans amd darkskies."
Haha classic. Thanks for the WWR perspective.:clapping:

******
Congrats to all out there and putting their time in.....
As Fin mentioned, and I discovered during this trip, they are very close to shutting down for the artificial bite.....this pending cold spell could shut them down and cause some to move elsewhere on the migration trail....

Did role reversal today and listened to DS and got the:skunk:figuired give it one last try the water was between 39 and 40 light south wind and snow showers. Ran into Al Ristori and fished the last 45 miniutes with him , he told me today was a bust everywhere even the clam guy's struck out.

But I'm sure captain insano DS will be on an all nighter to prove the world wrong in teen wind chills

:HappyWave:Hey finchaser you can't win them all. At least you were out there trying instead of waiting for others to catch and then running out there. It must have been cold yesterday. How do you guys put up with it?

baitstealer

01-22-2013, 08:22 AM

Yeah these reports are awesome. x2 what storming steve said. You are hardcore to be out in the cold and you can't catch them from the couch either so thanks for the reports and colorful pics and videos. finchaser always enjoy your reports and a little jealous of how often you are able to fish, thanks for sharing.

finchaser

01-22-2013, 04:25 PM

buckethead

01-23-2013, 09:23 AM

Fished yesterday afternoon. Cold as he**. Bucktail and pork for 1 1/2 hours that was it for me. one runty bass, but fat. Moco

buckethead

01-23-2013, 09:23 AM

Thanks for the praise guy's. If i counted all my skunks in 50 years it would cause the average person to be discouraged and take up golf. Especially back in the moratorium days which were headed for again at a faster rate. IMO the fat lady sang today beach is snow covered and the inlet temperature on the incoming tide an hour ago was a tad over 38 degrees The Atlantic City surf also reported 39 down from yesterdays 41.Also with the temperature not going over freezing till next week and more snow for Thursday into Friday.

Always enjoy your take on things, finchaser. Thanks. I think we are headed for a moratorium as well. Too many guys out there with their heads in the sand. Anyone who talks about conservation or lower numbers is viewed as Chicken Little running around claiming the sky is falling. Well it is falling not just in pieces but chunks at a time. I don't understand why some guys refuse to acknowledge.

clamchucker

01-23-2013, 09:40 AM

Thank you wholeheartedly for the reports. Have not been getting out there like I used to. I appreciate the enthusiasm, camraderie, and banter here. Glad to see some are still out and having a good time. Be careful in this weather. A small mistake can lead to tragedy.

storminsteve

01-23-2013, 09:18 PM

Colder than a witches T** out there!!!:scared: who is still fishing besides buckethead? Bueller Anyone? Finchaser did you pack up all your gear yet?
Dark are you out there? You have been strangely quiet today. Hope you aren't sleeping in your car to catch the bite, lol, unless you have anti-freeze in your veins. So did anyone else get out there? I am a wimp with this cold. And man enough to admit I don't want to go out there unless someone comes on to say they are slaying them,:laugh:

DarkSkies

01-24-2013, 12:16 PM

Dark are you out there? Hope you aren't sleeping in your car to catch the bite, lol, unless you have anti-freeze in your veins.

Steve, not advisable to sleep in your car in these temps. You could end up on a slab in the morgue.
I feel bad for all the homeless folks out there this time of year. Although many of them have issues created entirely by them, IMO they are the forgotten people, and some of them are War Vets who got messed up on drugs or alcohol and abandoned treatment. Some of them will surely end up dead if this cold weather continues.

********
Fishing report - Another Nail in the NJ Surf coffin for January....:(
Yep I was out there last night, 2 1/2 hours in the cold. :scared:
One of the reasons was to get an accurate water temp reading. I don't trust any of the ones being reported on the internet now, and most of the old timers I know who do take water temps have stopped fishing.

I already knew the temps were down, but Sun night was such a productive fishing night for me that I thought there might be another window.
Wishful thinking.....slightly delusional, yes...but I had to give it a shot. :kooky:

Painfully cold at times. The only thing that made it bearable was gloves, hand warmers, and the noticable lack of wind, from 0-2mph at most throughout my trip.
Only made 2 stops and was glad for the time in the car in between to warm up a bit. More layers than I usually wear, it made movement tough.

It was cold enough to take your breath away.
The ocean was like a lake, cleaner than it has been in weeks.
Could not raise a fish, find a fish, or get any kind of fish action despite working the whole water column.
My temp readings confirmed what I knew in my heart...the bite that started like gangbusters the weekend of Jan 4th, and produced triple digits of fish for some who were able to recognize and take advantage of that window., and the few waning ones after that, has halted to a grinding stop.

Conditions and What worked
Air - 15 dropping to 13, wind less than 2mph
Water - 38 degrees, 36 degrees (took temp readings at 2 locations)
Threw everything that made sense and had worked fairly consistently for me....not a tap. :skunk:

DarkSkies

01-24-2013, 12:32 PM

The bigger striped bass that were around that first explosive weekend, have moved on.
There were a few in the high teens that some of us were getting.

Summary of my trips:
(although the last one on Sun was pretty exciting)...

1. Reflect a lessening mass of larger bass,
2. a decline in forage to hold these fish,
3. water temps that have had the bite teetering on the brink of shutdown over the last 3 weeks..
4. to the point that they have dropped over 5 degrees in the last 4 days of this cold spell.

As Fin and some others have said here over and over....This has pushed many of the initial late migrators South from our area, and with this continued prolonged bitter cold will continue to push any bigger bass to warmer water that has more forage than they have found here.

IMO the Fat lady has sung on the great bite that some of us were able to take full advantage of. :whoo:

I'm probably taking a week off from fishing and may give it another shot because I just have to get out there, can't stay away for too long. When I go back I expect to only find the smaller fish. Somehow I can't get happy over catching and releasing 14-16" babies, especially in freezing weather.

That's just me, others may feel differently.

finchaser

01-24-2013, 01:19 PM

Manasquan inlet was 36 today on incoming
Metdikonk River frozen over
Beaver dam Creek frozen over
Point Pleasant Canal boat basins frozen mini icebergs floating down the canal

Now stay home Googan(DS) it's over before you slip and fall off one of your frozen rocks,if you can't stay away get a chaise lounge and sleep on the beach

Also anyone who is targeting the babies in this weather puts them into shock most die no matter how fast you think you get them back into the water proven fact

DarkSkies

01-24-2013, 02:50 PM

^^ To the folks reading the above, most don't know that he and I do this for sport....he insults me, I insult him....he yells at me....one big happy family.....:kooky:

But I really do need your help, people.......

He is driving around now in his SUV. looking for places to fish....he just sarcastically invited me to a place he saw, that had ice chunks floating in salt water.....:ROFLMAO I know he wants to be out there.....he's real grumpy unless he fishes at least once a week.......:argue:

So here we have The Finchaser Challenge.....

Many of you remember when I fished with him in his van, after an all-nighter.....the smells were bad, and he had to use air freshener to clean that van so his girlfriend wouldn't be sick........:upck:

The Prize......
1 Free afternoon fishing trip with FINCHASER! :bigeyes:
He'll share some of his techniques, and give ya pointers, and maybe find some nice bass for ya......
All in one winter afternoon.......February or March.......
Better than a seminar.....all for FREE....

How to Enter
1. You must have PM priveleges........

2. PM him with the # of air freshener products he needed to clean his van, after I sat in it for an hour.
3. Don't be afraid to take a wild guess.
4. You can PM him as many times as you like.
5. Put "Finchaser Challenge" as the heading of the PM so he'll know it's from someone who really wants this fishing trip.
6. If you catch more fish than he does he'll buy you a slice o pizza.

Operators are standing by.......:laugh: :HappyWave:

cowherder

01-24-2013, 03:14 PM

Funny stuff. Haha if you catch more than he does he will buy you pizza? Win-win! I know you guys joke around a lot but you should put on a seminar one day. I would definitely go. Finchaser if you really want stripers right now maybe we could organize a road trip to Virginia? Way to get out there dark too cold for me!

finchaser

01-24-2013, 04:04 PM

He's delusional all this cause I called him a Googan for fishing last night he can't get it in his head there gone

porgy75

01-24-2013, 04:12 PM

I hope I am not out of line for asking this. I read elsewhere a guy said the fish are in limbo and they will be here all winter. Another guy said the ocean temperatures were 45 degrees and said the bass would be around all winter. How is it you are saying the fat lady is singing and they are saying they will be here? How can the ocean temperature get to 45 degrees in one place and you with the thermometers are saying it is 38 and less. That is a big difference isn't it?

jigfreak

01-24-2013, 04:27 PM

Ocean temps haven't been 45 degrees for weeks. He is probably getting his temps from the internet. The last time I was out it was 42. The bass are not in limbo that is the dumbest thing I ever heard. Maybe last year. This year they have been passing through since Sandy. That first weekend in Jan was over the top. Finchaser and ds described it the most accurately I have seen anywhere. The only thing different I would say is I think the migratory were mixed with resident fish as some were light some were dark. Some had full bellies and some didnt.
Porgy you should read some of the threads here. Do a search on striped bass migration you will learn some stuff.

bababooey

01-24-2013, 04:51 PM

I read elsewhere a guy said the fish are in limbo and they will be here all winter.

The bass are not in limbo that is the dumbest thing I ever heard.

So you're saying it's not possible for fish to be in limbo?:whoo::HappyWave:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efvzPNVl5Jk

finchaser

01-24-2013, 07:09 PM

finchaser

01-24-2013, 07:20 PM

today Barnegat bay frozen and remember saltwater freezes at 28 degrees

SharkHart

01-24-2013, 10:16 PM

My rule has always been 3 straight days never above 30s is bad bad bad, guys are on Facebook saying they will stay all winter too :) like Colonel troutman said to Rambo.............It's over johnny!!!

lostatsea

01-25-2013, 08:09 AM

Wow a frozen Barnegat Bay! The ice boats will be out soon. Guess the fat lady is here to stay. Thanks for posting finchaser.

buckethead

01-25-2013, 08:48 AM

I hope I am not out of line for asking this. I read elsewhere a guy said the fish are in limbo and they will be here all winter. How is it you are saying the fat lady is singing and they are saying they will be here?

My rule has always been 3 straight days never above 30s is bad bad bad, guys are on Facebook saying they will stay all winter too :) like Colonel troutman said to Rambo.............It's over johnny!!!

I agree sharkhart. thanks for the right on opinions finchaser. ds thanks for the effort getting out there. Fishing the salt in 13 degree temps is a little off the charts for me. I think I am done till the Spring.

5 year Timeline for becoming a successful Facebook or Internet fisherman:

Year 5 - sit on bucket, catch bass on clams. Only go where the fish are thickest in spring and fall. Base all your fishing on fishing reports and following them.
Year 4 - sit on bucket, catch bass on clams, find bunker pods in spring, catch a few 30 lb fish in spring blitzes with your pencil popping skills or snag and drop.
Year 3 - after 2 years of sitting on bucket, become curious about throwing plugs and artificials other than a bunker blitz. Learn how to throw diamond jig at fall Island Beach Blitz. Catch 200 fish doing that. Start reporting on the internet and facebook about how you have been killing them for years at Island Beach in the fall blitzes. Make one trip to Montauk in October. Catch 25 fish. Start reporting on your epic fishing at Montauk. All of a sudden, having been up to montauk one time during a blitz, you become an expert on montauk and fishing in general.
Year 2 - the striped bass become harder to catch on artificials because there are less. You go back to catching fish on clams because you don't want to fish at night and it could be dangerous. You have fair success with clams when the water is cold or fish are hungry. Clams are the way to go you tell everyone.
Year 1 - Start your own Facebook page, claiming you have been fishing for almost 10 years :kooky: and have fished all over (Doesn't going to Montauk once or twice count?) Start making fun of other fishermen who you claim are less than you. Read everything you can about fishing on the internet, rather than putting in time on the water to learn different skills. Tell everyone you are crushing all the bass everytime you fish. You never get skunked. You are too good to get skunked.

You have finally arrived - you have become a facebook fishing expert.:rolleyes:

storminsteve

01-25-2013, 11:43 AM

I agree sharkhart. thanks for the right on opinions finchaser. ds thanks for the effort getting out there. Fishing the salt in 13 degree temps is a little off the charts for me. I think I am done till the Spring.

5 year Timeline for becoming a successful Facebook or Internet fisherman:

Year 5 - sit on bucket, catch bass on clams. Only go where the fish are thickest in spring and fall. Base all your fishing on fishing reports and following them.
Year 4 - sit on bucket, catch bass on clams, find bunker pods in spring, catch a few 30 lb fish in spring blitzes with your pencil popping skills or snag and drop.
Year 3 - after 2 years of sitting on bucket, become curious about throwing plugs and artificials other than a bunker blitz. Learn how to throw diamond jig at fall Island Beach Blitz. Catch 200 fish doing that. Start reporting on the internet and facebook about how you have been killing them for years at Island Beach in the fall blitzes. Make one trip to Montauk in October. Catch 25 fish. Start reporting on your epic fishing at Montauk. All of a sudden, having been up to montauk one time during a blitz, you become an expert on montauk and fishing in general.
Year 2 - the striped bass become harder to catch on artificials because there are less. You go back to catching fish on clams because you don't want to fish at night and it could be dangerous. You have fair success with clams when the water is cold or fish are hungry. Clams are the way to go you tell everyone.
Year 1 - Start your own Facebook page, claiming you have been fishing for almost 10 years :kooky: and have fished all over (Doesn't going to Montauk once or twice count?) Start making fun of other fishermen who you claim are less than you. Read everything you can about fishing on the internet, rather than putting in time on the water to learn different skills. Tell everyone you are crushing all the bass everytime you fish. You never get skunked. You are too good to get skunked.

You have finally arrived - you have become a facebook fishing expert.:rolleyes:

:clapping::clapping: Wow buckethead that was harsh! Loved it! Wonder how many guys ears are ringing today? You would not believe how specific they are on facebook. Every detail about the report. GPS coordinates, even. Dark and some of you others who are against spot burning would blow a gasket if you saw some of these and their posts. Unbelievable.

seamonkey

01-25-2013, 07:49 PM

Dark you are crazy for being out in that cold be careful! Finchaser thanks for the iced up bay photos.
I don't know if any of you are interested but they are still catching stripers in delaware. Last week the water temperatures down there were 46 degrees and there were a lot of spearing around. I caught 3 stripers. One of them was a keeper at 31". Nice healthy fish on storm shads. Some were caught on avas with green tail too.

buckethead

01-26-2013, 11:49 AM

I just checked the raritan bay temperature on the USGS site. 28 degrees.
Took a ride to the ocean this morning because I was bored. Not a soul out there. The ocean temperature was 34 degrees. Fat lady in full effect. Even whiting are a little slow to hit at those temps. Does anyone remember frostfish and picking up whiting on the long branch beaches in the winter?
seamonkey thanks for the heads up I might take a ride down there. Congrats on your fish.

16058

finchaser

01-26-2013, 01:24 PM

Sure do we were talking about that this morning in the shop even the part about bushell baskets before spackle buckets . Most people can only read about it at least we got to live it.

Sea monkey water down there this week in in the upper 30's

vpass

01-26-2013, 03:11 PM

Even whiting are a little slow to hit at those temps. Does anyone remember frostfish and picking up whiting on the long branch beaches in the winter?
Is the Whiting population getting better? do you think the whitting will ever return to what they once were?

buckethead

01-26-2013, 03:42 PM

^^^I don't think we will ever see whiting in any kind of numbers. They are mostly an accidental catch with ling now. Some better catches out of Ma and RI. If you are on any kind of groundfish trip the whiting might account for 5% of the catch, rest is ling, cod and other species. I think the draggers continue to hammer the whiting numbers. Even the smaller fish that they throw back and end up floating dead on the water. Maybe finchaser could shed some light on that.

I remember when I was a kid and my Grandpa and I would go pick them up off the beach in Long Branch. A lot of folks would do that back then. The fact that not many remember actually doing it shows you how quickly they forget. Folks can't even remember what the fishing was like 10 years ago let alone 40. I hope that answers your question vpass, those were good times for me. gone forever.

finchaser

01-26-2013, 04:10 PM

what he^^^said it sure is sad my son is 40 and barely remembers it

vpass

01-27-2013, 10:59 AM

Sad Thing about the Whitting. I do love eating them they make great tasting soup. If we don't watchout the Stripers will be in the same boat as the whiting for next generation of fisherman.:soapbox::burn::waaah:

DarkSkies

01-28-2013, 12:02 PM

If we don't watchout the Stripers will be in the same boat as the whiting for next generation of fisherman.:soapbox::burn::waaah:
Absolutely vpass......thanks for making that point..:thumbsup:...I know you have been fishing for them your whole life, since you were a kid.....

The educatlon of the younger anglers out there is a critical part of the process......
There are some of the newer guys in their 20's starting to understand...and seeing the benefit of C&R...but the thing about C&R fishing is you can't push it on anyone...nor should you try...
...the best way to reach people is through education.
We try our best to do that here....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5854-Catch-and-release-thread

There are a core group of fishermen who refuse to believe there is anything wrong with the bass stocks.....
Such as the ones that point to the Hudson YOY 2011 # as proof of a strong biomass....

What folks need to understand is that the most important stats are not a single YOY tally....but the trendiing upward or downward of stats as taken over a broad time frame, like a 5-10 year period.

And when you look at it as an aggregate of YOY stats in combination of what it harvested, over a minimum period of a decade or more....
It's hard to argue that the bass stocks are as healthy as they were...because overall, there has been a decline.....

Most importantly, as the old timers here keep stating over and over....
We are harvesting at a greater rate, than the bass are being replaced......
This is the critical trend that we need to help the folks out there understand...before it really is too late......:learn:

DarkSkies

01-28-2013, 12:23 PM

Absolutely vpass......thanks for making that point..:thumbsup:...I know you have been fishing for them your whole life, since you were a kid.....

The educatlon of the younger anglers out there is a critical part of the process......
There are some of the newer guys in their 20's starting to understand...and seeing the benefit of C&R...the thing about C&R fishing is you can't push it on anyone...nor should you try...
...the best way to reach people is through education.
We try our best to do that here....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5854-Catch-and-release-thread

There are a core group of fishermen who refuse to believe there is anything wrong with the bass stocks.....
Such as the ones that point to the Hudson YOY 2011 # as proof of a strong biomass....

What folks need to understand is that the most important stats are not a single YOY tally....but the trending upward or downward of stats as taken over a broad time frame, like a 5-10 year period.

And when you look at it as an aggregate of YOY stats in combination of what it harvested, over a minimum period of a decade or more....
It's hard to argue that the bass stocks are as healthy as they were...because overall, there has been a decline.....

Most importantly, as the old timers here keep stating over and over....
**We are harvesting at a greater rate, than the bass are being replaced......
This is the critical trend that we need to help the folks out there understand...before it really is too late......:learn:

Because of the trends I was seeing, 2 years ago I decided to document Coastwide what was happening with the bass stocks...broken down by regional observations, with a bi-annual assessment period.

Admittedly it's a crude attempt....as there are no scientific data points that would allow scientists to accept it as valid........
but folks reading it should know that somehow, over the years, I've managed to meet and befriend hundreds of fishermen who fish regularly......

This thread, which attempts to qualify this decline on an annual basis.......is the result of hundreds of conversations every year, with fishermen who fish regularly, and have been fishing for decades.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7784-StripersandAnglers-yearly-coastwide-fish-stock-assessment-state-of-the-fishery&highlight=yearly+bass+assessment

DarkSkies

01-28-2013, 12:27 PM

From our thread, "Striped Bass have never been healthier"

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...Been-Healthier (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8690-The-Striped-Bass-Have-Never-Been-Healthier)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Cc8bCOOfFs4

This is just a paraphrase of what Bill Wetzel is saying........

**I agree with it all, as I have seen it, and every year have to try to explain to guys who are new to the sport, why the fishing they are saying is "Epic" at Montauk is but a mere shadow of what it was, just 7 short years ago

Bill Wetzel.....
"There are thousands of sandeels at Montauk in the Spring, thousands of them......
Fluke blitzing on them, all over, but not one bass.....
This is a common occurrence......
A smorgasbord of fluke, sandeels, bait...but no bass........

This summer, there was tons of bait on the North and South shore, no small bass on them....
Some blame the water temps....F*** that! I take the water temps every time I go out, and it was not the temperature...

I'm out there all the time, 40 hours a week, and I know what I see....If striped bass are so healthy how come they haven't expanded their range?
Guides in Maine are quitting there are so few bass there they can't make a living from them...

Last year fishing at Montauk was terrible...this year we got some nice fish, true, but where were all the smaller bass? ..7 years ago it was a no brainer to catch numbers at Montauk"

DarkSkies

01-28-2013, 12:50 PM

Additionally, the other threads you see listed below, are some of many here that try to educate folks who may not know, understand, or may only have been fishing a few seasons and may not have this perspective....

1. Candid conversations:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7755-Candid-conversations-with-fishermen-about-striped-bass

2. Striped Bass have never been healthier?
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8690-The-Striped-Bass-Have-Never-Been-Healthier

3. Back Bay and Bait Fishing and Migration Patterns
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5149-S-amp-A-Education-Series-Understanding-FALL-back-bay-bait-migration-and-fishing-patterns

4. Where are the Striped Bass?
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?760-Where-are-the-Striped-Bass&highlight=where+are+the+bass

5. Honey the Striped Bass are Shrinking!
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8450-Honey-the-Striped-Bass-are-Shrinking-How-to-Recognize-the-Signs&highlight=where+are+the+bass

6. www.StripersAndAnglers.com Coastwide Bass Assessment
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...***+assessment (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7784-StripersandAnglers-yearly-coastwide-fish-stock-assessment-state-of-the-fishery&highlight=yearly+bass+assessment)

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 with. I'm very grateful for their opinions as these are the folks who fish more than most.....:thumbsup:

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

finchaser

01-28-2013, 07:56 PM

DS 615 to 618 IMO should be in the conservation corner thread

DarkSkies

02-05-2013, 08:51 AM

^ thanks for the feedback, OGB...but folks are more likely to read it here....copied the posts to the CC thread as well.....:HappyWave:

*********
Late report....
Fished 2 hours Sat night....

There have been some very brief windows to catch the small fish that are left. The larger fish that some of us were catching are gone from all the legal areas.
I wanted to get out earlier, but Sat was a 14 hour work day to catch up on a lot of things I had put aside to go hunt after the fish when they were there.....some who are jealous of that often don't realize the hours we put in, or the other prices we pay, to go after the fish when the bite is hot......:learn:

The dark side of fishing thread here is an illustrative example of that.......

Sometimes, even though you know it will be a waste of time, it's good to get out there anyway.....
The solitude to me is a big part of that package of what it means to me to get out there for a few hours.....

It was damn cold, but not as cold as the brutal temps the last time I fished a week ago, 12-15 degrees.
Comparatively speaking, it was mild, "only" 27-25 degrees out. :kooky: :ROFLMAO

The great thing is there was no wind at all. This made it manageable. Not a soul fishing either along 10 miles of beachfront.
Water was crystal clear. 1" of snow everywhere.

I knew I didn't have a shot in hell at catching, but just going through the motions, casting and retrieve, was enough for me.
The beauty, and the solitude, under the waning moon, was all I needed to get my fix.....:cool:

Fished 2 locations, didn't have the energy to fish any more....there was no activity for me whatsoever.
Did not take the water temp till I was ready to leave, as I already knew it was too cold for the fish.....

Final water temp - 38degrees, crystal clear water.....

**Death comes to the surf zone at those temps and below.....
(Actually, below 42 you really don't have a shot of catching bass on artificials, and below 40 your chances even of catching on bait or worms are less than winning the lottery.....):)

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8748-Death-Comes-to-the-Surf-Zone

The forecast weather for the next 10 days isn't promising.....even friends who have fished clams in the last week have not really had any action.....

Ocean temps are pretty stable this time of year and take a very long time to increase or decrease, absent a storm system.

As previously mentioned, the limited windows are at the end of a very sunny day or 2, when the shallower water can warm up to the 42 degree range. Although possible, that's not likely going forward in the next 2 weeks...

I'll probably give it a rest for a week or so, get the work done that I put off for so long.....:( and maybe give it a shot during the last weeks of Feb.

storminsteve

02-06-2013, 08:26 AM

25 degrees, 12 degrees dark you are a madman.:HappyWave: Its over johnny. I'm hanging it up till March 1.

finchaser

02-06-2013, 09:08 AM

^^^as did 99% of the veteranshttp://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/smilies/don't%20know%20why.gif but the Googans like DS push on.

vpass

02-06-2013, 06:14 PM

lostatsea

02-08-2013, 02:23 PM

^^^Same here, I'm going to wait to Mid March to start up again. Might Fish Bait in My old Spot that is known to give up a few Cows every Year. Will have to fish Bait which I haven't done in 10 years at least.

Bass stop hitting lures when thewater drops below 40-42. The Stripers Metobolism slows down so much that there might be days between feeding, when below 40. I read that Bass could tolerate water temp between 32 and 92 Deg. and optimum Temp is between 55 and 70 Were the stripers grows the fastest. Below 40 is a waste of time for catching one, but I could understand getting out anyway to enjoy the Surf. it all good.:thumbsup:

I want to thank you for the knowledge you are sharing here. It is obvious to me you guys really know the stripers. This gets confusing to me some times because other people are saying the stripers are still here. Over and over they keep saying this and still no one is catching.
When you guys catch you seem to do pretty well so you must be dialed in to when they are here and when they are not. The one thing I would like to ask you with all due respect is how do you get to know so much? I am not asking you to reveal your secrets, but if you could share a little about how you know when and when not to fish that would be appreciated. Some of the other internet posts I am reading are so confusing and seem to have no substance. I mean no one talks about water temps to the extent that you are talking about them on here. So I would tend to believe what you are saying. Thanks for the help. Also for the informative posts. Have learned so much just from these winter fishing posts alone.

hookset

02-08-2013, 02:42 PM

lostatsea you have to know who to listen to and who is full of crap. Betty and Nicks site was saying on Jan 24 there were still bass being caught north of Manasquan. Another tackle shop swears bass are still being caught on clams and metal and teasers. I don't know where these bass are being caught.

This has been a plug bite this winter. Hardly any fish for me on metal. I have been fishing from seaside to sea bright for the fall and winter. My last bass was around feb 2d and that was a runt. Caught on a plug. It was sunny that day and I was fishing at 4:30pm right before sundown. The water temp was exactly 42. that is the minimum I have caught striped bass at. I know because I took the temperature when i got there. Before that my last bass was on Jan 21. There was someone else saying the water temperature was 45 degrees. It hasn't been that temp since the end of December. Anyone can read from a book or an internet site. If you really want to know you have to be out there fishing. I fish about 200 days/nights a year so I know.

The facebook reports are total fabrication as well. Guys talking about the striped bass being suspended, and sleeping. I tell you what you facebook idiots you find me a 13lb bass in the ocean right now from the jetties and I will give you $5000. Most larger bass right now will come from the power plants or are more than 3 miles offshore. Nothing but small runts left in the ocean. I think finchaser and dark mentioned it the big bass can't take the cold. Any body saying anything else really doesn't know what they are talking about. vpass by the way, nice breakdown of when the bass will and will not hit. I agree.

storminsteve

02-08-2013, 02:56 PM

There was someone else saying the water temperature was 45 degrees. It hasn't been that temp since the end of December. Anyone can read from a book or an internet site. If you really want to know you have to be out there fishing. I fish about 200 days/nights a year so I know.

The facebook reports are total fabrication as well. Guys talking about the striped bass being suspended, and sleeping. I tell you what you facebook idiots you find me a 13lb bass in the ocean right now from the jetties and I will give you $5000. The only larger bass right now will come from the power plants. Nothing but small runts left in the ocean. I think finchaser and dark mentioned it the big bass can't take the cold. Any body saying anything else really doesn't know what they are talking about. vpass by the way, nice breakdown of when the bass will and will not hit. I agree.

:clapping: Internet fishing, gotta love it! Right from the safety of your cozy chair you can throw down with the best, all you need is a computer and google! I have learned from the guys here to keep a log. Finchaser talks about it all the time. Now if I was only part of his cell phone chain I would be a sharpie! Vpass great observations.

finchaser

02-08-2013, 05:43 PM

John and Tommy from those 2 shops are both nuts if there were fish around trust me I'd be out there . John believes his want to be INTERNET hero's and Tommy is going out of business and trying to sell stuff. The 3 shops I repair and build rods for haven't heard a report of fish from the surf from there regulars since 1/24/13. Every morning I have coffee and or breakfast with some of the top guy's from the Shark River Surf Anglers, Asbury Park Fishing Club ,Berkley Striper Fishing club and Spring Lake Live Liners fishing club and all is quiet. Every Saturday this time of year about 20 of us meet for breakfast and not one of us has heard a peep from any one or any of the shop we hang at. Oops forgot Al Ristori he joins us most weekday mornings and he has had nothing reported to him either

As far as log books that is one of the most important things to become a consistent catcher of bass with out a phone call or blitz. I had kept a paper hand written one until 1997. I purchased an electronic program for the computer in 1997.

Since then I can tell you every bass,bluefish,weakfish and tuna that i've caught where when on what etc.etc.etc..

I also log when the bass leave making it a waste of time to fish for them and except for last year when they really didn't it's been in December .There are 3 other years in January.

My meaning of a waste of time to catch is when you target the 12 to 16'' fish that are left putting added stress on them and sending them into shock in the frigid air to prove to people on the internet you can catch a fish.

baitstealer

02-09-2013, 01:36 PM

^^^Very informative finchaser and you other guys thanks so much for sharing that.

cowherder

02-09-2013, 03:05 PM

^^^Very informative finchaser and you other guys thanks so much for sharing that.

X2!!:HappyWave:

finchaser

02-09-2013, 06:46 PM

thanks

dogfish

02-16-2013, 09:49 AM

I guess the fat lady finally sung on the stripers you guys were catching.:moon: Well it was a great run while it lasted. Still officially jealous that you had decent fish that late in the year. Or should I say early in the year. January fish. Congrats to all especially finchaser and dark you wracked up some impressive numbers

cowherder

02-17-2013, 03:49 PM

They sure did wish I could have caught 1/4 of that but Sandy messed us up in NJ. I had one or 2 good nights at sandy hook before the storms hit and that was it other than a few fish. Hope all of us have better luck in the spring. If not follow ds and fc !:HappyWave:

DarkSkies

11-27-2014, 11:32 AM

As of Dec 1 the reports will be (gradually) switching over to this thread....thanks.

DarkSkies

08-06-2015, 11:41 AM

Trip down memory lane...back to 2011...:fishing:

DarkSkies

09-22-2015, 07:44 AM

When they were committing suicide he ^^^^ fished now that you have to work for them no where to be found:huh:

ACF, the newest breed.....:boring:

Ouch!
Yep, I don't fish a lot lately, you who know me know why.....:2flip: :moon: :kiss:
Let's go back to those 2 Winters.....when the fish were here...and "committing suicide"...as you tough guys like to say.....:kooky: :ROFLMAO

1. It was a night bite for the bigger fish....

2. Scores of fishermen were fishing the 2 hours before dark, catching smaller fish..and then went home. A handful of us were part of the 2nd shift, every night.......starting at 12, and ending up at 4am.

3. I was missing sleep at least 5 nights a week to find those fish...... severely sabotaging business and personal relationships to be in on that bite.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?1760-The-Dark-Side-of-surf-fishing

4. Every night the bite was different....at times I would have to climb on and off up to 8 jetties to find them.

5. The best and biggest fish were centered around the tips of the jetties...there was a lot of areas where the fish just weren't.....

6. Eventually a lot of people heard about it....Rich Swisstack even came out one night.....I think he got a fish close to 30#...the largest fish were few and far between.....

7. Despite the "chatter" about how great that bite was....very few were out there...
There were the same guys you would see every night....Nick from Luna Lures...Sergio, and a few who will remain anonymous......You had to work your *** off if you wanted a big fish......

8. There were nights when it was brutally cold...I logged catching fish with air temps as low as 17 degrees, when it was so cold if my hands were out of the gloves for a few minutes it was painful.....had to wear layers and layers of protection on those cold nights....Let's not forget the cold Winter W/NW winds common at that time of year...

9. Hopping from rock to rock with a moving tide ain't that easy....I got wet or fell in more than once....:bucktooth:

10. If it was so easy.....how come only a handful of us were out there??.....:huh:
Eff you tough guys!....:laugh: :kiss:

Yup........
Easy fish?....:burn:
Arm Chair fisherman?....:kicknuts:
You basstids! :beatin:If it's so easy.....Come fishing with me on the jetties one night.....:2flip: :moon:

Oh...I just remembered..:whoo:.....there are very few NJ beach jetties that hold big fish anymore....:( :HappyWave: