NJ Fishing Reports for September 2012 www.StripersAndAnglers.com

[DarkSkies]

today 6 to 7:30 released 14 blues and 1 bass all on white bucktail and chartreuse tail. I was also mugged by DS, who fished down wind of me:clapping:


You really don't understand the nuances of fishing until you fish with this old grouchy basstard. Normally he out-fishes us by 2:1...that morning it was more like 6:1....

My report...fished the ocean in the north for a few hours...
Best I could do was one short bass and one dropped bass, on the SP (conditions are now prime for the SP, will talk about that later)

Not happy with these results, I went down (uninvited) and mugged that grouchy basstard.

We each managed a few small blues., but he dominated us all in numbers, and after everyone had left, just me and him still fishing, managed to pull the only bass of the day out of the salt.

[DarkSkies]

Fri night report -
Fished the ocean for a few hours....prime conditions, but a noticable lack of bait where I was.
Worked a few stops.
Only one bump all night.

Went down to mug finchaser there...Tried an early morning run before the vacationers and swimmers got there.

No one was there, no fishermen, no finchaser, anyone, it was like your own private beach at that time.
Fished for 1 1/2 hours, not a touch.

Time to go home, I'm feeling like the biggest loser for traveling an extra 50 miles to get into some bluefish, that weren't there....

Gave it a shot for 5 more minutes.
Started catching.
Landed 15 blues 4-8lbs...dropped at least twice that many.

The action was incredible and the aggressiveness was off the chart.
These are all bluefish fresh from offshore...purple, yellowish sheen of the offshore fish.

I'll go into more detail when I get a chance...

[finchaser]

I don't fish on holiday weekends,you should know that

[DarkSkies]

I don't fish on holiday weekends,you should know that

Really missed ya being there...:(.
It wasn't the same without your yelling and shouting insults at people....:laugh: :HappyWave:
The word dillydock (copyright Russ Binns) wasn't mentioned once....:p
And one of your posse came down after everyone called it a morning. He got the biggest bluefish he had had in 2 weeks, on a freaking tiny fluke rod....He was fighting it forever and I thought he would get spooled...he was happy....

[Monty]

Fished this morning 1:30 to 9:30 bay side. Picked up a spike Weakfish around 2:00 AM on a wood darter. Then around 4:30 a just short Fluke on a teaser. A few hits and misses, was a nice outing (no blood, no crowd where I fished). Water was very stained in the area I fished last, been that way for a good month+ now (at least when I'm there), algae maybe. Got some practice working wood darters in the light, hopefully will help in the dark.

[DarkSkies]

NJ fishing reports for September 2012. ..www.StripersandAnglers.com (http://www.stripersandanglers.com/)

NJ fishing reports for September 2012...www.stripersandanglers.com (http://www.stripersandanglers.com/)
Important when registering on our site -- use an active email address so you can activate your account to be able to post.

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

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

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


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


If you are unclear on this concept, ask yourself:


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


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

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

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






Some acronyms -

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

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

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

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

[DarkSkies]

Fishinmission78,
you won the plug in the August 2012 random drawing!:clapping: :thumbsup:
PM me your address so I can send it out to ya!




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

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


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

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


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

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


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

[DarkSkies]

Pebbles had off today and she hasn't been fishing with me in a long time. We set out on the hunt to try and find some back bay bluefish action for her.

We got to one promising area and started throwing rubber. Within a half-hour there were blues crashing bait on the surface. It became apparent plugs would get more fish so we switched over. It looked to me like it was pure peanuts flying into the air, running for their lives....another fisherman there said it was mullet....whatever it was, 3-5", it wasn't a good day to be a bait fish as hundreds of blues crashed them and chased them back and forth across the water. :scared:

Since there was only one type of forage and there were so many of them, it was tricky to tempt them with artificials....but if you kept casting you eventually hooked into em.....

The activity was fantastic, :headbang:lasting for around 1 1/2 hours.Fish busting all over the surface, dozens at a time, savagely attacking the bait.
The catching part was just average, but still a great way spend an overcast morning where it was impossible to fish the ocean.....

:cool:

Pebbles out-fished me 2:1...catching and releasing 8 blues to 6#. :clapping::clapping:
Chartreuse and bright color plugs worked the best.

We had action from several more. The challenge was to get them interested in the artificial, timing the cast as they were blowing up on the surface.
I did lose some time helping her land and release, but the girl can catch, and needed no help at all in that Dept.
:heart:

We both had a blast. Great way to spend a few early morning hours on Labor Day.














Highlight of the day.....
A Dad and 4 boys with him, fishing hard, helping them get fish, and unhooking and taking pics of each boy and his fish. Despite those interruptions, this Dad and his boys out-fished all there. I think they said they got over 2 dozen.....
:fishing:
These days the younger generation seems to be turning away from fishing.
There are countless studies out there, calculating the value of fishing each fisherman brings to a local economy....


I would say that based on the smiles those boys had on their faces, and the hoots and hollering, that each bluefish they caught today...was priceless....These kids were the true champions today...great to see them getting into it and the enthusiasm......:clapping::clapping::thumbsup::thu mbsup:


Congrats to that Dad and his boys on a great morning, and all working together and having a blast. :HappyWave:

[porgy75]

Great reports guys! I got skunked today. Went to moco this morning and it was like a washing machine. Tried fluking with gulp and bucktail. I used a 2 ounce and got knocked all over and gave up after an hour. Good catches.

[cowherder]

Pebbles out-fished me 2:1...catching and releasing 8 blues to 6#. :clapping::clapping:
Chartreuse and bright color plugs worked the best.
I did lose some time helping her land and release, but the girl can catch, and needed no help at all in that Dept.
:heart:

We both had a blast. Great way to spend a few early morning hours on Labor Day.














Highlight of the day.....
A Dad and 4 boys with him, fishing hard, helping them get fish, and unhooking and taking pics of each boy and his fish. Despite those interruptions, this Dad and his boys out-fished all there. I think they said they got over 2 dozen.....
:fishing:
These days the younger generation seems to be turning away from fishing.
There are countless studies out there, calculating the value of fishing each fisherman brings to a local economy....


I would say that based on the smiles those boys had on their faces, and the hoots and hollering, that each bluefish they caught today...was priceless....These kids were the true champions today...great to see them getting into it and the enthusiasm......:clapping::clapping::thumbsup::thu mbsup:


Congrats to that Dad and his boys on a great morning, and all working together and having a blast. :HappyWave:


2 best paragraphs in the report right there! Kudos to you guys. I saw it raining and figured it would be worse at the shore, didn't go.

[wish4fish]

ha ha ds got outfsihed by a girl, lol! we were out last night around high tide, threw peanuts we netted in the harbor. we got 3 weakfish all short, 1 blue about 28" and 4 stripers the biggest one was 28 1/2". fished from 7 to 1 in the morning.

[storminsteve]

Pebbles had off today and she hasn't been fishing with me in a long time. We set out on the hunt to try and find some back bay bluefish action for her.

We got to one promising area and started throwing rubber. Within a half-hour there were blues crashing bait on the surface. It became apparent plugs would get more fish so we switched over. It looked to me like it was pure peanuts flying into the air, running for their lives....another fisherman there said it was mullet....whatever it was, 3-5", it wasn't a good day to be a bait fish as hundreds of blues crashed them and chased them back and forth across the water. :scared:

Since there was only one type of forage and there were so many of them, it was tricky to tempt them with artificials....but if you kept casting you eventually hooked into em.....

The activity was fantastic, :headbang:lasting for around 1 1/2 hours.Fish busting all over the surface, dozens at a time, savagely attacking the bait.
The catching part was just average, but still a great way spend an overcast morning where it was impossible to fish the ocean.....

:cool:

Pebbles out-fished me 2:1...catching and releasing 8 blues to 6#. :clapping::clapping:
Chartreuse and bright color plugs worked the best.

We had action from several more. The challenge was to get them interested in the artificial, timing the cast as they were blowing up on the surface.
I did lose some time helping her land and release, but the girl can catch, and needed no help at all in that Dept.
:heart:

We both had a blast. Great way to spend a few early morning hours on Labor Day.














Highlight of the day.....
A Dad and 4 boys with him, fishing hard, helping them get fish, and unhooking and taking pics of each boy and his fish. Despite those interruptions, this Dad and his boys out-fished all there. I think they said they got over 2 dozen.....
:fishing:
These days the younger generation seems to be turning away from fishing.
There are countless studies out there, calculating the value of fishing each fisherman brings to a local economy....


I would say that based on the smiles those boys had on their faces, and the hoots and hollering, that each bluefish they caught today...was priceless....These kids were the true champions today...great to see them getting into it and the enthusiasm......:clapping::clapping::thumbsup::thu mbsup:


Congrats to that Dad and his boys on a great morning, and all working together and having a blast. :HappyWave:

Dad fishing with kids doesn't get any better than that, I agree. Glad you and the missus got fish too dark. I bet you have a spot for every weather condition. Good deal.

[gjb1969]

way to go on the fish ds and i am glad to see pebbles haveing a good time fishing and out with u:thumbsup:

[chas527]

fished the hook this morning .water was rough had a hard time holding bottom.got 1small fluke 3sea robins on peanut bunker.

[ledhead36]

Fished the bay last nite it was brown like coffee. Ons short bass and some weakies on peanut bunker.

[cowherder]

Hey guys at least you are catching congrats! Looks like peanut bunker is the way to go to at least get some fish now.

[DarkSkies]

dark. I bet you have a spot for every weather condition. Good deal.

My spots weren't so great last night Steve....:skunk:

I fished the ocean for 3 hours, a few stops, big surf., "long period swell" (search this site for "groundswells and other terms"....)
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7984-Stripers-amp-Anglers-Education-Series-groundswells-and-other-terms&highlight=groundswells

The conditions where I was pushed me to throw bucktails, not a tap.
I was so tired from all the running around at the end I probably lost 5lbs...was covered in sweat and the stench of skunk....:laugh:

Tried to redeem myself looking for back bay bluefish in the pre-dawn hour...downsized the bucktaill to a lighter one. Only raised one fish as I was absentmindedly reeling in and it was just at the surface.....that was all the action I could manage for all those hours...

So sometimes, even if you have your fishing all planned out like a drill sergeant...the fish just ain't there in numbers (if you want to throw artificials)

The water is still warm, ocean has gone back up to 75 degrees. Bait guys are catching fish...but not me....last night was humbling.....

Hey, that's fishing....:fishing:

[SharkHart]

First night trip since May, SNJ looking for the weakies, Wind was more then called for and was an issue, could get small offerings down. But i managed to miss two real early that gave me some confidence, then i finally got one, made a short move and saw one smaking bait on surface got em and it was a nice one around 5lbs on a penny shrimp. turned out to be only one in this small hole . I lost them until 2 moves later on the outgoing tide then found a thick school gobbling peanuts. Hard to get more then light love taps and they only reacted to Shrimps. I landed a few saw a few nice ones and dropped about 15 due to the light hits. I thought i hooked a real nice one that turned out to be a 6lb bass. Good to see them back.

[storminsteve]

5lb weakie great catch sharkhart. Good to hear the penny shrimp was working. I was beginning to think the only way to get them was with peanut bunker.

[Monty]

Real nice report Sharkhart. Congrats on a nice Weakie and Striper.

[finchaser]

5lb weakie way to go my friend and welcome back

[storminsteve]

5 lb weakie is the Shizz-nit Shark hart. That is a big fish for a weakie. About how long was it?

[jigfreak]

5# weakfish, niiiice.:clapping:

[cowherder]

Wow a weakfish that went 5 lbs?:bigeyes: Maybe not a trophy but certainly a lot bigger than the 13" spikes they are getting. Way to put in your time SH!

[SharkHart]

Thanks guys, 25" , I was fishing under some lights, saw another same size sitting inches under the surface, didnt hit, others were on the smaller side. ANother guy is getting 3-5lbs in that area too, so the comeback is on, I could see them just under surface, waiting then wacking and hauling off a peanut at time, and one of those birds that drags its feet and flys inches over the water must have saw them too and the bait was circling for a while, he almost had a tragic end with some power pro but flew free.


Another oddity which has been going on for last few seasons is the lack of 10 inch blue fish in the back bays (lleast down snj), some years back when weak fishing was strong I almost hated to go out due to the all the chomped plastics we'd go through, alot of spots were like a buzz saw until mid Oct. I ran into thick schools of mullet at one spot then the peanuts and not one blue. Just goes to show how fish patterns are constantly shifting.

[Monty]

Fished this morning ocean side from 1:00 to 10:30, El Skunko. Hit three spots. First spot nothing, didn't see any bait. Next spot lots and lots of bait moving south, in close, didn't see anything on it. Third spot saw what looked like False Albacore. Most of the time was about 275 yards out, Had one brief shot at them (came within 50 yards for maybe a minute), and missed. Was like a lake out there almost. Water was stained early on and seemed to be cleaning up as the morning got later. Was real nice out, humidity gone. Great being out there.
http://rocksimpson.com/images/2012_9_9_Sky.jpg

[DarkSkies]

Hey at least ya tried...some prefer to sit their Azzes in front of a computer screen and wait for someone to tell them the beach is loaded with fish...you were out there, looking and working it hard....
And I have to tell ya although I'm still laughing about Steve's comments, your white water sunrise pics are among the best I've ever seen.....:drool:.thanks for sharing, Monty. :thumbsup: :HappyWave:

[storminsteve]

Great report monty, love that white water. It would have been a little more authentic if you were swimming around like a dolphin, though. Maybe next time you can get a passer-by to take a pic as you frolic in the surf line.:laugh: :HappyWave: (just kidding) The table is set and we should start getting them real soon.

[finchaser]

We should call him WWM for white water monty:HappyWave:

[Monty]

We should call him WWM for white water monty:HappyWave:
:HappyWave: It was actually a little disappointing. If I'm going to fish for 9 1/2 hours and get the :skunk: I would prefer it be with a real angry surf. It was really calm out there, StorminSteve had a bad surf surf forecast :beatin:. Only a few strong swells that tried to push me around a bit and only a couple waves that exploded in my face. Water was pretty sandy but was cleaning up pretty quickly. I couldn't even find any impressive white water to fish or take a pic of :don't know why:. Wind was westerly for the early AM (Knocked the surf down pretty good), was out of the north east when I left.

[vpass]

I Finally got out today. I was fishing the back hoping for some weakies only to get my rubbers torn up by snappers. Got the :skunk: with the weakies, but did land a few snappers. Lots of bait around. Did see a few schools of 6 inch mullet get wiped out by netters.

[chas527]

fished the hook this morning .strong breeze but 3 onches held bottom. got 16 blue fish kept 4 four supper. on mullet.also got aload of sea robins.there was bunker all over.

[DarkSkies]

I Finally got out today. I was fishing the back hoping for some weakies only to get my rubbers torn up by snappers. Got the :skunk: with the weakies, but did land a few snappers. Lots of bait around. Did see a few schools of 6 inch mullet get wiped out by netters.

^^ At least ya got out there...V. :HappyWave:
I know you haven't had much time to fish lately...must have felt good to wet the line....:fishing:



*******

Fished the ocean for 2 1/2 hours last night....
The swell had been cut down by the day's wind....as mentioned, but still a little menacing at night....I fished the top of the flood....so it seemed to build near the top....

This was a long period swell...see our thread "groundswells and other terms"
to learn more.....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7984-Stripers-amp-Anglers-Education-Series-groundswells-and-other-terms


There was also a true west wind....this is good news because for much of the summer the pattern has been S/SW...not terrible, but not great either...this true W/NW...if it holds, should set us up for some more consistent fishing.......
Of course, YMMV, if you can't find bait there will usually be no fish....

I found this to be true when after I was done in the ocean, I tried to sneak in Finchaser's private pond for some sunrise bluefish...unfortunately the water was too dirty, he forgot to have the filters cleaned, and I got blanked at that location...not a touch.....
:don't know why:

**********









The last trip I made, there was no activity in the ocean...this time I would say it was a slow pick...managed 2 short bass in the 3 stops I made....MagDarter, and bucktail got those fish.













Highlight of the night...
Also got one nice sized stargazer on the bucktail....:bucktooth:
I understand some different languages, so as I was releasing the fish I swore I heard it talk to me.....:kooky:

"Do you know a guy name Monty?"

Me: Why yes, I do.

"The one who takes all the pictures and lets all his fish go?"

Me: Yes, that's him! ;)

"Well me and my brothers and sisters are going to be blitzing next Saturday night, do you think you could get him to come out here and catch and release us all?"


Me: Well...I'll give it a try!



So Monty....not only did I do some scouting for ya....
I got ya all lined up for a Stargazer Blitz, next Saturday night....
It was the least I could do...to help you out of that skunk :skunk: pattern....
:laugh: :HappyWave:


Catch em up! :fishing:

[hookset]

Nice work guys, got one albie about 7lbs yesterday in o county. DD got it, they were in close for about 15 minutes in the afternoon.

[finchaser]

DS I'm sure you were wet, next time kiss the stargazer good bye it will add to the numerous shots of lighting you have taken to the cranium:wow:further explaining your insanity

[rip316]

DS I'm sure you were wet, next time kiss the stargazer good bye it will add to the numerous shots of lighting you have taken to the cranium:wow:further explaining your insanity

Lmao

[DarkSkies]

DS I'm sure you were wet, next time kiss the stargazer good bye it will add to the numerous shots of lighting you have taken to the cranium:wow:further explaining your insanity


Yeah, yeah, i know, more times than I can count I have slipped and landed on my back or back of my skull....one of these days it's gonna split open like a coconut and then they'll have to feed me oatmeal for breakfast luch and dinner.....:o What can I say, at least I'm happy doing what I love, and know I can't do it forever.....



I tell ya, you guys are the best, always offering helpful advice.......:rolleyes:
"good luck to kiss a stargazer..." :moon: :HappyWave:












Congrats on the albie, hookset. :thumbsup:

[finchaser]

this Am 1 bluefish 6# after a week of non fishing should have stayed in bed

[basshunter]

Hey finchaser you cant knock it out of the park every time. At least you got one. I was out last night nomoco 6-8pm looking for fall bass. There were a lot of little blues and baitfish, not one bass. I would have loved it last night if there was some siz pound bluefish.

[finchaser]

I know i'm just over tired and grouchy to day:HappyWave:

[storminsteve]

I know i'm just over tired and grouchy to day:HappyWave:

Well dark calls you an old grouchy basstard all the time, maybe he has a point.:p I think we all have our grouchy days. I know I do.

[jigfreak]

Grouchy keeps away the googs and dillydocks. Good deal.
Fished moco tonite, 2 bass on plugs. One was short, one was 18#. Mullet all over. Love those mullet running at nite.

[Monty]

Fished moco tonite, 2 bass on plugs. One was short, one was 18#. Mullet all over. Love those mullet running at nite.
Jigfreak, nice Bass, largest I have heard caught locally lately, and on plugs :thumbsup:

[DarkSkies]

Grouchy keeps away the googs and dillydocks. Good deal.
Fished moco tonite, 2 bass on plugs. One was short, one was 18#. Mullet all over. Love those mullet running at nite.



Outstanding, Jigfreak. :clapping: :thumbsup:
Find that mullet and you can find a bigger fish...it's like winning the lottery....

There were surf areas in Ocean and Monmouth Counties yesterday that held so much peanuts and mullet the waters were black....unfortunately, there really are less bass around as that didn't always translate to anything substantial for the guys casting to them.

As you showed, there are some bigger bass coming into the mix....the thing is to position yourself in a place where the bait is thickest.....Great work, for those who are out there and trying....:HappyWave:














Knowing about those bait balls yesterday in the ocean, at night I set out to try to intercept a bigger fish or 2....
Fished some of the areas where the mullet had been the thickest, moving along the Coast...

3 hour trip..
5 separate stops in all....
By the 3rd stop I began to lose confidence. No action at all for me as I worked all levels of the water column.
2 more stops and I was done. It was so poor that I couldn't even manage to scare up a stargazer..

Googan central....:bucktooth:
When the fish are there, your whole body is energized, even if ya just land one...
When they ain't...it becomes an uphill struggle that you aren't likely to win....

Last night....coming in 8 hours after the bait was there, different tide, was one of those nights.
I only fished 3 hours....
Toward the end of the trip I was plotting a move 15 miles north or south of where I was, thinking with such a location change, I would surely find some fish....
But I ran out of energy....

I left without even waiting around for the first light bite....there are times I feel I have exhausted all possibilities for the area I'm in...last night was one of em...hey that's fishing....:fishing:

[cowherder]

At least you tried dark. jigfreak fantastic job on the bass, nice fish! Fished nomoco last night, was casting a light bucktail in the current. Towards the end of the outgoing tide. Got 5 small weakfish and then it stopped at slack.

[finchaser]

Tonight released 6 blues 1 was about 9# and 4 bass 5 to 7 pm all on rubber salt and pepper riptide mullet on a jig head

CH way to go on the weakies
Jig nice 18# fish :clapping:

:waaah:marathon man you know who you are

[storminsteve]

Great going guys. I fished nomoco after work today. Intense action on the cocktail blues. Lost count after a few dozen, small metal and also plugs but it was easier to unhook them on the metal. Also got a few weakfish on the small plugs right at dark. Small bait running for thier lives all over. It was pretty cool.

[finchaser]

This AM 2 Bass released on white Berkley Havoc mullet on a jig head

[DarkSkies]

Steve and all the others who have been out hitting it hard,,,,
congrats on the outstanding effort...:clapping:

There are plenty of guys here who are catching and not reporting here, but I have gotten your pics and reports. Thanks, keep up the good work.
You can't catch fish sitting at home in front of the TV or computer.

[DarkSkies]

** note, Finchaser's reports....he's in bad shape....

See the thread on taking the old grouchy basstid fishing....he needs your help, he really does....:laugh:

[DarkSkies]

Yesterday I took Pebbles fishing after work.
We wanted to hit the Finchaser pond ;) and try to target some of the 9-10# bluefish.

Unfortunately we were there at a bad tide stage and there was no real activity.


Pebbles outfished me, showing the whole world what a true Googan I am. :bucktooth:
(I think part of it is that I talked to Monty that morning on the phone....I think that WW GOOGAN's skunk :skunk: tendencies was somehow transmitted over the phone....:wheeeee: )





Actually she is a good and patient caster, and sometimes has the touch that others just can't duplicate.
If I got her over her fear of rocks, she might out-fish me there as well. So damn proud of that girl.:heart:


We didn't catch any bluefish, but she got chopped by one on rubber, and dropped another on a plug we switched to when it started to get dark.
(Even though I suck, I did give her one of the best producing plugs for that area...Crystal Minnow, so she would have an advantage, as she doesn't get a chance to get out that much anymore....)

The bait was around, peanuts and mullet, but in much smaller quantities, not enough to provoke blitzing conditions.
The strong South wind didn't help us much in that area either.

The mullet is really starting to move out of the back bays, much quicker than some folks are predicting.














There are 90 days left before the fall fishing will start to shut down.
There is no guarantee we will have a repeat of last year's unusually robust Winter.

The time to fish is now.
Whether you catch or not, the opportunity is there. :fishing:

[buckethead]

"There are 90 days left before the fall fishing will start to shut down.
There is no guarantee we will have a repeat of last year's unusually robust Winter.

The time to fish is now.
Whether you catch or not, the opportunity is there." :fishing:












:thumbsup:Amen brother, I hear you.
Got some albies this morning, lots o fun. Crippled herring and hopkins. nomoco

[hookset]

Awesome buckethead. Thanks for the intel.

[basshunter]

Way to go bucket head!:clapping: :clapping:

[vpass]

Got some albies this morning, lots o fun. Crippled herring and hopkins. nomoco


Nice going Buckethead, I tried for them yesterday but they never showed. I try for them again tomorrow.

I did get some small blues. I did see a few small weakies like 9 inched long. look like next year might be a good year for weakies.

[finchaser]

Did the boat thing today with 2 newbies what a day
Spanish mackerel
False albacore
weakfish
bluefish
20 keeper fluke to 6#

I called the surf shop I fish out of to give a heads up to my friends and within 20 minutes all the guys who were at the shop were into everything but the fluke. I suggested they bring kast masters and Hopkins in 1 and 1 1/2 ounce size as these in my book are tops for Albie's and Spanish when they are feeding on rain fish and small peanuts always out fishes small Ava's. This went on for an hour or so until the weekend warriors arrived at full throttle. Fish were from 25 feet to the beach.

We are not believers in light leader and the super small metal BS, which is the main reason why most surf guys always say I couldn't reach them lures are too small and light.

[rip316]

Nice Pops, real nice.

[ledhead36]

:clapping:buckethead and finchaser way to go. I have been getting some medium blues and small bass back in the bay but not too great. The bait back there is way greater than the number of fish we are looking for. Mullet, bunker, small bunker, rainfish, it is loaded. All the harbors, by the jetties, and mostly snappers chasing it. we need that bay to cool some more

[bababooey]

Did the boat thing today with 2 newbies what a day
Spanish mackerel
False albacore
weakfish
bluefish
20 keeper fluke to 6#


20 keepers you da man! Great catching.

[Monty]

Pebbles outfished me, showing the whole world what a true Googan I am. :bucktooth:
(I think part of it is that I talked to Monty that morning on the phone....I think that WW GOOGAN's skunk :skunk: tendencies was somehow transmitted over the phone....:wheeeee: )
If I got her over her fear of rocks, she might out-fish me there as well. So damn proud of that girl.:heart:
I did give her one of the best producing plugs for that area...Crystal Minnow, so she would have an advantage,
Great to here Pebbles got out and did some fishing, sounds a little like you are making excuses about her out fishing you....Man up!!!!!
Maybe I passed the skunk to you.......:whoo: Rut-Row


Got some albies this morning, lots o fun. Crippled herring and hopkins. nomoco
Great report, congrats on the Albies!

Nice going Buckethead, I tried for them yesterday but they never showed. I try for them again tomorrow.

I'll be out there too, saw some last Sunday, will hope for another shot in the AM.

Did the boat thing today with 2 newbies what a day
Spanish mackerel
False albacore
weakfish
bluefish
20 keeper fluke to 6#
Awesome Finchaser!!!

[DarkSkies]

Yer right Monty...time to man up with some humility....
I suck...and she's the best....:clapping: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

don't know what I would do without that girl...:heart:
And she puts up with me, doesn't hassle me when I disappear fishing for hours at a time....


Thanks for keeping it real..bro.....:kiss: :laugh: :moon: :HappyWave:


Congrats Finchaser, and also for helping the newbies out....you would probably have doubled the catches if you were just fishing for yourself...


And for the record, in case anyone is counting the 20 fluke.......there were probably 4 people on the boat Fin was on.....:HappyWave:

[Monty]

Yer right Monty...time to man up with some humility....
I suck...and she's the best....:clapping: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

don't know what I would do without that girl...:heart:
And she puts up with me, doesn't hassle me when I disappear fishing for hours at a time....
Thanks for keeping it real..bro.....:kiss: :laugh: :moon: :HappyWave:

Dark :HappyWave:, ya don't suck, we (at least I have), have learned more from you about fishing artificials and catching bass than from anyone else (thanks!!).
I just really enjoy it when Pebbles out fishes you (and I know you do to :thumbsup:). :moon: :HappyWave: :wheeeee:
I think your thread (Help?-Old Grouchy Opinionated, Ornery, Obstinate, Cantankerous, Curmudgeonly, Crabby,needs fish!) inspired Finchaser to try to catch all the fish in the North Atlantic Ocean today :idea: (he almost did),

[DarkSkies]

^^ Au contraire...my friend...sometimes my skills are on fire, other times I can't catch a fish to save my life...:bucktooth:
The thing that gets me an eventual fish sometimes is my persistence and compulsiveness.

But Pebbles, when she comes out, is a good surfcaster in her own right....and I'm so proud to see her catch. :thumbsup:
I don't mean to say this the wrong way, but I caught a lot of fish in my life..fresh and salt...one more bass for me, doesn't make much of a difference...when I'm out there with someone else, having them catch fish is more important than my fishing...and I'm glad to see them get into fish....

I appreciate the kind words about the things you've learned here...but as in any group on anglers, there are a lof of guys here who are good, and dedicated, and unselfish about sharing....here, and many who aren't on the internet, who have taught me some valuable things....

I never want to lose sight of that....
And am grateful for the old timers and others here who are so unselfish in sharing their knowledge and tips....


And you, Monty, even though I make fun of your Googan ways...:laugh: :HappyWave:
I remember there was a time, some years ago, when the albies weren't even that thick....they were hard to catch....and you managed one...in an area where they are hardly ever targeted.....

To me, the true measure of an angler's skill, is to be able to catch fish in an area where people don't think they are...:learn:











While you don't always fish where the fish are.....;)....
Your skills at reading the water, and having the discipline to keep trying...put you at the top of this field...of the fishing we like to do most...in the surf with the waves crashing.....JMO of course.....

White Water Monty is the perfect name for ya! :cool:

And you are one of the most generous guys I know...several fishermen here have benefitted from your unselfish tips and generosity in other ways....your love for fishing is true and pure....:thumbsup:










Some kayakers I know have been getting nice bass, fluke, weakfish, big blues, and albies just out of reach of surfcasters....the fish are there.....just gotta have faith they will come in...or be there when they do....
Hope ya had a good trip this time....

[buckethead]

Hey dark you are rough but all the old guys on the jetties used to be that way. I started going out there when I was 18. None of them would talk to me for months. I tried to stay out of their way and learn some things. Monty I remember on another site when you got a huge albie. I think you have a different name there but I recognized the pics. Its hard to catch sometimes, hours of fishing for nothing.
Thats what I have to report today. Spent a few hours casting metal in moco, looking for albies and bluefish. Bigger waves crashing on the beach, some small bait, limited birds, no fish for me.:skunk:

[Monty]

Fished this morning from 12:45 to 11:00. Fished out front. Couple bumps in the dark, nothing, worked a good mile of beach. Sun up and I don't think I ever saw so many bait fish. Worked a few areas of the beach, but settled south side of a rock pile. Seemed like every 15 minutes a pod of small bait fish would go by. Some of the pods looked they were being harassed a little, most not. Only managed one small blue on a crippled herring. Did not see any Albies or large fish messing with the pods. At 9:30 headed north and stopped at two spots, first had a few pods of bait fish, nothing on them. Next one I saw a couple of swirls/thrashes in a pod of bait, open beach, no crowd, so got the rod and gave chase, could not hook up. Had a great time, cooler weather was awesome. Decent sun rise. I saw so many pods of bait I was mesmerized. On the way back home on the parkway it seemed like I could see the pods sometimes on the road, and when I close my eyes I see pods of small bait :kooky:.

Water was hot, was changing a plug in the dark and the plug that was in the water actually felt hot.

http://rocksimpson.com/images/2012_9_16_SR.jpg

[captnemo]

Beautiful skies monty. Boat report. Today we got a late start. Got out past the hook and steamed south. Managed a few keeper fluke on bucktail and gulp. Also one weakfish around 6 lbs, released. Just for the hay of it we put an umbrella rig in on the way back off of Sea Bright. We were about 1 mile from land. Hooked up with some nice blues in the 6-11lb range. Nice to see them in so close. All in all a good day of fishing. Lots of small bait in shallower water.

[captnemo]

Some kayakers I know have been getting nice bass, fluke, weakfish, big blues, and albies just out of reach of surfcasters....the fish are there.....just gotta have faith they will come in...or be there when they do....
Hope ya had a good trip this time....

The bigger blues were pretty close to the surf today, only one mile out. Hope you guys get into them too.

[storminsteve]

Thanks for the news capt!

[gjb1969]

i need some bigger fish the small blues and bass are now just getting old now little fish after little fish plugs have seen very little use since spring:burn:

[Mike O]

Got out early Sat. morning for the first time in awhile. I was a little unprepared for the weather got cold and left before I normally do. Managed a very small dogfish that hit Monty's black teaser (thanks Monty)but that was it. Get em next time.

[DarkSkies]

Hey dark you are rough but all the old guys on the jetties used to be that way. I started going out there when I was 18. None of them would talk to me for months. I tried to stay out of their way and learn some things.

There are old timers I know,,,who if you were disrespectful or mugged them,,,they would throw ya in the water...can't say much more in detail while some of them are still alive...but that's the way it was...
Maybe it's just me, but I like that concept of learning little by little...no one ever got good at anything by studying from the internet...and asking a few questions....the best path to knowledge, in anything I've done. has been by hard work, determination, and effort...

The best lessons in life, I have learned this way...and it's sad to me that some aren't willing to work, to learn, in the society we now live in....:don't know why:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5479-How-hard-are-you-willing-to-work-to-learn&highlight=work







We were about 1 mile from land. Hooked up with some nice blues in the 6-11lb range. Nice to see them in so close. All in all a good day of fishing. Lots of small bait in shallower water.

Thank you for the report Capt. :HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

Great effort to all those getting out there. Some bigger fish are starting to mingle with the bait, but in truth they are few and far between....My philosophy when out there, is that you never know what is swimming at the end of your cast...that's what makes it exciting....





Picky Bluefish at night.... :kooky:

There are those out there who claim blues are the easiest thing to catch....
When they are crashing bait during the day...maybe so....
But at night they can be very picky particularly if the forage is small bait and you are targeting them with artificials.....

Based on the reports of larger blues, Pebbles and I took a ride down to MoCo last night to scout for some of the bigger bluefish.

We fished both sides of the tide at the top, an hour on each side.
Strong new moon tide in effect.
The flood wasn't that productive where we were. Although we did mark bait, no real numbers of fish seemed to be in the surfline.

We kept at it, switching different profies, working the water column.
Finally some bluefish started appearing after the tide turn.

They were feeding on small bait....
The breakdown was probably 5% mullet, 95% spearing and rainfish...

There were many things that did not work for us at that location..big swimmers, swimmers over 4", rubber, bucktail, teasers, etc...
Even the Daiwa SP only got one swipe from a fish.

Finally settled into a routine, where we cast black bombers, over and over, under the Dark Skies. :D :fishing:

Doing that we each managed to raise a few and landed one each. Same size, around 6#.


She had a blast. Very proud of that girl and lucky to have her for a fishing partner at times. :heart:

I was glad to see some signs of life in a previously spotty saltline. I think it could still remain that way, for about a week or so, until the temps drop just a bit more and fish start to gather at some of the usual fall areas.

[DarkSkies]

Fished this morning from 12:45 to 11:00. Fished out front. Couple bumps in the dark, nothing, worked a good mile of beach.

Sun up and I don't think I ever saw so many bait fish. Worked a few areas of the beach, but settled south side of a rock pile.

Seemed like every 15 minutes a pod of small bait fish would go by. Some of the pods looked they were being harassed a little, most not.

Only managed one small blue on a crippled herring. Did not see any Albies or large fish messing with the pods.

At 9:30 headed north and stopped at two spots, first had a few pods of bait fish, nothing on them. Next one I saw a couple of swirls/thrashes in a pod of bait, open beach, no crowd, so got the rod and gave chase, could not hook up.

Had a great time, cooler weather was awesome.

Decent sun rise. I saw so many pods of bait I was mesmerized.

On the way back home on the parkway it seemed like I could see the pods sometimes on the road, and when I close my eyes I see pods of small bait :kooky:.

Water was hot, was changing a plug in the dark and the plug that was in the water actually felt hot.

http://rocksimpson.com/images/2012_9_16_SR.jpg


I have to call this an outstanding report....you not only talked about the fishing but the kinds of things you paid attention to out there....
It's the paying attention to all of these things, that helps us become better fishermen, IMO...and the experience and time fishing helps us better arrange this daily puzzle that we call fishing.....

Glad ya had a good time, Monty... and thanks for the intel....:HappyWave:

[rip316]

Jesus, I think the two of you should get a room.

[bababooey]

fished off of sri yesterday. Got some nice fluke but the keepers were barely over the limit. 15 fluke 4 keepers. Gulp and gulp teaser. We also found some bigger marks in close and jigged with ava 27s on the way back. Stuck some gators over 12lbs that way. It has been a while since I played with those bluefish. You guys can have them, my arms are sore today. Most of the fish were in tight to the beach even the blues from 15-25 feet of water. Hope you surf nuts get into some of these blues so they are not in the way for us who want to catch some real fish, the fluke.:laugh:

[surfwalker]

Sunday am report, plugs, out front. Lucked into a short Bass at first light, Bass Assasin as a teaser, in close. Nothing in the dark. Could see small Bass getting tossed around in the breakers at my feet. Plenty of bait going south, unmolested. Walked and blind casted for Albies, nothing visible, no luck. The morning's weather was ideal and comfortable, was very much enjoyed.

[DarkSkies]

Fished last night, part of the ebb, in the back. Steady NE wind pulled me out there. The pattern of that stiff NE has worked well for me in the past in some back bay areas.
Not last night, though. Planned a 2 1/2 hour trip....cut the trip short by one hour....there were no real levels of activity nor fish feeding at any levels of the water column where I was....the water was still messed up a bit from the rain...

Did manage to briefly raise one fish on black bomber,,,,lucky fish.
Lots of bait, the table is set.

[fishinmission78]

Island beach this morning, incoming. There are a lot of blues in the surf on the mullet though it can get sporty. I threw metal for 1/2 hour no takers. Tossed out a few mullet halves and immediate action. Small blues, hot on that mullet. Left them biting.

[cowherder]

Nice going fishing mission!

[buckethead]

Good sunrise action in moco, Managed 2 bass to 32" heaving ml swimmers into the wind. You didn't have to heave far as the surf was black with mulllet. About 1/2 hour after sunrise the blues took over, blues up to 7lbs all you wanted. This was a bad day to be a mullet.

[storminsteve]

Nice!!!!!!!

[Monty]

This was a bad day to be a mullet. Great report buckethead.

[buckethead]

Thanks guys btw the keeper bass (2) were released. The coolest thing is after the 2 hours the surf went back to just a rolling surf The fish moved off somewhere. Total lack of action after that. Even the deadstickers got nothing. Doesn't make sense because the tide was coming in and they should have been closer. as a lot of us know and say hey thats fishing.

[finchaser]

This AM released 2 bass both on jig head and Havoc tail

[storminsteve]

Nice finchaser! I picked 10 small bass last night in nomoco. All on a bucktail with 4" white grub on the incoming tide.

[hookset]

Kudos on finding some fishable water fellas. I went to the ocean last nite and the rollers were big. Tried some back spots but came up empty handed.

[buckethead]

First light has been better for me hookset. Got 2 at first light this morning. As soon as sunrise happened it was over. Needlefish in moco. The blues came in again. Played with them for awhile on buck and pork. Then "poof" - all over all evidence swept away.

[porgy75]

Awesome reports and info guys! Out this weekend and hope I can catch some fish too.

[finchaser]

Way to go SS and BH had 1 7# blue this am on a bucktail

[Monty]

Awesome reports and info guys! Out this weekend and hope I can catch some fish too.

What he ^^^^^:thumbsup: said, I'll be out there Sunday early AM.

[fishjay]

OFFC; After having to place one member on the diabled list due to a GOLF injury, the remaining 2 decided to go back to an ancient method and went bait fishing for bluefish in ocean county . We had steady action with blues up to 3 lbs for 5 hours. May not have been the monsters DS looks for but it sure was fun to have the pole bent

[finchaser]

This AM 3 bass and 4 blues all still swimming all on jig head and rubbbbbbbbbbbbbbbba

[surfwalker]

5am-10am, out front. One short Bass, Fin-s teaser. 6:30am-8am, small blues, every cast on poppers. Plenty of bait seen, in the wash. Blind casted for Albies, no hits/none seen.

[DarkSkies]

In search of Fall Night Gators......


According to my logs they come inshore early Fall every year for us surf and back bay guys to play with....they were a little late this year...

So far only that grouchy basstid Finchaser :moon: :HappyWave: has been able to get them with any consistency....

And it's true, I have been jumping all over looking for them, like a crack addict. :o

Not much bluefish success other than the daytime blitz Pebbles and I got into a few weeks ago on a cloudy Labor Day, and a frantic bluefish filled morning about a week before that.


2 nights ago I got blanked, despite looking in several locations.....

But last night I found some......

Not exactly as big as they have been in years past,,,but still, some drag pullers up to 10#.

Took 1/2 hour to hook the first one....and a slow pick after that....

They were feeding on the bottom on small bait, either shrimp, crabs or rainfish,,,,
There were schoolie bass and weakfish feeding on the rainfish and spearing close to shore, but these bigger blues would not come in...

They seemed to be concentrated in a "seam" where the water was just a little deeper.










Picky Bluefish...
Very challenging to catch at night (on artificials)...Because of what they were feeding on at that location...
They would not hit big plugs.
They would not hit 5" plugs, even the "never-fail" :kooky: SPs or SMs.

They did hit mid level swimmers no bigger than 4", small rubber (yep the Finchaser magic rubber worked this time), and small light bucktails.
I dropped an embarassing # of fish before I realized this.

Going back to my googan roots....sometimes it takes a while for me to dial in, as I frantically search for the profile or presentation that will be the one that saves me from the skunk...:bucktooth:



Managed 6 angry, tail walking blues to 10#...
The action died after about 2 hours. Moved to a location with similar conditions, but could not find them again. and was done before sunrise.

[SharkHart]

Can anyone top 15 bass last night :wow: Well they were all 12-18 inches though :D, some of the smallest bass i ever seen but thick, good sign for future. They were actually picky lol. lots of JR pops on the surface I was looking for weakies in ocean county, found none or i coulda had a slam. Pulled up two fluke under the same bait. The bass were the same size as schoolie weakies so why was i disappointed hmm. Seems that the weakie schools are staying on the souther end of the barny mostly. I moved about 6 miles and found the same bass there so the little guys are thick.

[Monty]

OFFC; We had steady action with blues up to 3 lbs for 5 hours.


This AM 3 bass and 4 blues all still swimming all on jig head and rubbbbbbbbbbbbbbbba


5am-10am, out front. One short Bass, Fin-s teaser. 6:30am-8am, small blues, every cast on poppers.



Managed 6 angry, tail walking blues to 10#...


Can anyone top 15 bass last night

Congrats guys on the great reports! :thumbsup:

[DarkSkies]

OFFC; After having to place one member on the diabled list due to a GOLF injury, the remaining 2 decided to go back to an ancient method and went bait fishing for bluefish in ocean county . We had steady action with blues up to 3 lbs for 5 hours. May not have been the monsters DS looks for but it sure was fun to have the pole bent


IMO too many guys put on airs about catching bluefish...I agree the snappers can be a pain...but the cocktail ones you guys were catching can make or break a day of fishing....and if you want to introduce kids to fishing baitfishing for blues is one of the most reliable ways to get them interested in the game.,..

Glad to see you Old Farts...back in the game again....good start to the fall... :fishing: :HappyWave:


And congrats to everyone else who's putting in their time and at least trying....:thumbsup:

[porgy75]

Awesome reports! Well I got out and tryed this morning. It was a rough surf in mo co at 7am. There was a lot of bait around. I was casting and casting, nothing doing for me and the guys at the beach. Then it started the blue fish came in chasing after the mullets and it was game on! We all got a few. I was throwing an ava 2oz with yellow tail. I got 3. The biggest one was around 9lbs and it was feisty! I am glad we got them because it didn't last long but it was awesome just the same. The fall is here and the fishing was fun! Go out there and catch them guys! They are here!

[jigfreak]

2 bass to 13# last night, a few blues as well. Rubberr.

[surferman]

Fished ocean county from 4-7am, outgoing tide. got one striper 35" and 16lbs. Clams, released.

[cowherder]

Fantastic! I fished in nomoco around the same time as you surferman. The blues came in a little after sunrise. Got some nice ones on a diamond jig. I wished it would have lasted longer but it was cool to see and the birds were happy too.

[dogfish]

Leave those juvenile strpers alone. When you folks get tired of playing with the runts the Ditch has had some good action in the last week.:moon: :HappyWave:

[storminsteve]

Fished No Moco tonight 5-8pm. The word must be out on the internet because it looked like the daytona 500. The bluefish are all over though. Moved a bit south of the chaos and got small blues till I was tired. Lots of small bait in the surfline. All fish on metal and teaser. If you guys are out there tonight be careful the waves were getting bigger.:scared:

[DarkSkies]

I went looking specifically for the bigger blues last night. Had to wait a while for the rain to stop. I got out there and saw it affected the back bay water a bit. There were still small bass and weakfish occasionally feeding in close but not like the night before. The quantities seemed diminished.

Still, gave it a shot and managed 5 blues on small plugs.

These averaged 6# each, a lot smaller than the night before. They seemed to be out in a little deeper water as well. Still picky about hitting the plugs, but during an aggressive feeding period of 1/2 hour, the action was better than the night before. Missed quite a few. Could have probably done better with a small bucktail as these fish were all feeding on small bait.

Nonetheless, still had fun. It was a challenge to get them to hit artificials at night.

Eventually that bite died. Moved to another location, no bluefish action at all, and limited amounts of bait.

[jigfreak]

:skunk: for me.

[eltosoro]

Found some bass for the first time in a long while. Out front before false dawn I was surprised I was alone with all these great reports. Third cast woke me up with a nice surprise that went 35" (released) - haven't had a fight like that in awhile! Managed 2 shorts and as many drops in the next 20 minutes and it shut off like a light. Fish at the end of the cast on a sp minnow and a yellow bomber. Saw some peanuts around. Home before anyone was awake at home.

Nice work DS and others .... getting it done.

[cowherder]

^:clapping: Nice report eltosoro! And btw welcome to the site! released as well, good deal!
I fished nomoco this am got one blue on a diamond jig. What a difference a day makes.

[Mike O]

Fished early Sat. morning SH was into some small blues @ dawn, birds and bait all over the place. I even managed to hook into some very large herring, biggest I have ever seen. During the darker hours of the morning their was one guy catching small bass. Seemed like every 3rd cast or so he was hooking up. I spoke to him later and he said they all were hitting a darter. He didn't move from that spot and thats where all the bass were. I was only about 25 yards to his right, but I could not hookup. My action only started a little before dawn. All small blues and herring. When the crowd started coming their were a lot of small fluke being caught. BTW most of my hook ups were on the teaser.

[Monty]

Fished ocean side this morning, 1:00-10:00, one area, but miles of it. Caught a short striper on Mag-darter around 4:30 (just as it entered the white water). Then only one small blue a little after sun-up. Could see some small bait being harassed for about an hour after daylight. Was a little breezy out there for awhile after the sun was up.
Also around 3:00 I "caught" another wacky fish. Its been a real weird year fishing so far for me.

http://rocksimpson.com/images/2012_9_23_fish.jpg
No idea what this was.

http://rocksimpson.com/images/2012_9_23_surf.jpg

[storminsteve]

Awesome report Monty. You beat me. Just finished in nomoco got one blue on a teaser. What the heck is that fish? Maybe a blowfish though the stripes throw me off. Dark should give you an award for that, don't ever remember seeing a fish like that on this site before. Nice job. Beautiful sunrise surf pic.

[buckethead]

Nice menagerie you caught there dude. Looks like a striped burrfish aka spiny puffer.
You can kiss them for good luck. They will not shock you like a stargazer. That way maybe you will catch more next time.:laugh:

Some info -
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=striped+burrfish&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=616&tbm=isch&tbnid=UGOumO2d7i78SM:&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Striped_burrfish&docid=_ddWLstQqm_LxM&imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Striped_burrfish_(Chilomycterus_schoepfi).jpg/220px-Striped_burrfish_(Chilomycterus_schoepfi).jpg&w=220&h=147&ei=dY9fUNqwBtDI0AGplYHQBg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=134&vpy=125&dur=78&hovh=117&hovw=176&tx=106&ty=66&sig=101099915795517379898&page=1&tbnh=117&tbnw=167&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:97


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Striped_burrfish

[buckethead]

Nice fish eltosoro. Everyone else catching 20" bass and you nail one that size. Good going. Nothing for me this morniing. Fished before dawn and it seemed like a dead zone where I was. Have to shift the strategy.

[ledhead36]

Eltosoro nice going! Quality fish! I fished the back bay yesterday 10-2am right near high tide. Only one 27" bass on peanut bunker. They are thinning out. The fishing is changing back there. Monty you are the king of the crazy fish. That is some freaky looking thing. In the back bays it is crazy too. Last week some guys I know were catching croakers and small baby drum. In NJ in Sept go figure.

[hookset]

35" is a very nice fish guy! wtg! Monty nice pics that is a crazy looking fish!
MikeO wasn't SH crowded?

[DarkSkies]

Fished ocean side this morning, 1:00-10:00, one area, but miles of it. Caught a short striper on Mag-darter around 4:30 (just as it entered the white water). Then only one small blue a little after sun-up. Could see some small bait being harassed for about an hour after daylight. Was a little breezy out there for awhile after the sun was up.
Also around 3:00 I "caught" another wacky fish. Its been a real weird year fishing so far for me.

http://rocksimpson.com/images/2012_9_23_fish.jpg
No idea what this was.

http://rocksimpson.com/images/2012_9_23_surf.jpg




You guys are much better than me at identifying fish...

I thought it was a bababooey fish....:laugh:

I don't know about an award for Monty..with all the Googan awards he's racked up lately I don't know that his head can handle any more.....:rolleyes:
Nice, Monty...at least ya got some fish,.....:thumbsup:


Nice effort guys....
They are not there all the time...
but 10 days ago there weren't any numbers of these fish at all...and now there are...
albeit not every day and every location.....it takes hard work to find them at times...

Good job to all who are getting out there...can't catch them from the couch.....
:fishing:

[bababooey]

You guys are much better than me at identifying fish...

I thought it was a bababooey fish....:laugh:




My feelings are very hurt.http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon9.png
Said in my best Jerky Boys voice.:ROFLMAO

[buckethead]

^ Maybe you should sue:HappyWave::laugh:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IsDeY3puRE

[eltosoro]

Thanks guys. I got lucky, but took advantage of a sweet opportunity! DS taught me a lot this spring and it was nice to feel that pull. Hit it again after sunset managed 5 more from 22" with a couple just in keeper range. The one I would have kept had the red spot so they are all swimming. Fiesty fired up bass. Green over yellow teaser had the first two with an sp and yellow bomber taking the bigger fish. Gorgeous night out with that moon.

[Monty]

Nice menagerie you caught there dude. Looks like a striped burrfish aka spiny puffer.
You can kiss them for good luck.
Thanks for the link, not kissing that fish.....Striper maybe.

Hit it again after sunset managed 5 more from 22" with a couple just in keeper range. Fiesty fired up bass. Green over yellow teaser had the first two with an sp and yellow bomber taking the bigger fish. Gorgeous night out with that moon.
Another great report Eltosoro, :thumbsup:.

[chas527]

fished the hook this morning 15 3lbs blue fish and 1 small fluke on mullet.

[DarkSkies]

Nice, Monty...at least ya got some fish,.....:thumbsup:



They are not there all the time...
but 10 days ago there weren't any numbers of these fish at all...and now there are...
albeit not every day and every location.....it takes hard work to find them at times...

Good job to all who are getting out there...can't catch them from the couch.....
:fishing:



These words were ringing in my head last night. I made a night trip to the water. My primary target was the bigger bluefish, but I had to wait for the part of the tide where they would feed.
So I hit the surf trying to coax a few bass to come hit my plugs...

I found it tough...2 hours into it I only had a dropped fish.
People talk about the water still being warm. I agree that is true...but my logs show small schoolies have been pretty abundant by the 2nd week of September, every year. True, you have to wait till October for the bigger fish, but these schoolies have been action you can count on.

I want to qualify my statement I made earlier. Even though more numbers of bass have shown up as opposed to 10 days ago, there are many previously productive areas that are not holding fish. With all the bait around, they should be holding more fish, than they are. As a result when anyone reports catching more than 10 bass there is a resulting internet stampede.
(at least on the weekends) :rolleyes:

Fishing places other than those, is hard work, and for me it's still a slow pick.

Now that I clarified that...and have tried to convey to the folks out there...not to feel so bad if you ain't catching....
I can tell you it's a great time of year to be fishing..

As Monty, eltosoro, and others said, it's real pleasant to be out there because in many areas you are the only fool fishing at night.....the feeling of solitude is tremendous for me....and powerfully soothing...:cool:


Bass -
It was my 5th stop of the night, only one fish raised and missed to show for it.

To be honest I was pretty frustrated. Every place I stopped at should have held at least one fish this time of year.

Finally found some bass, 2 bass that would have been legal if you're a "tail pincher" ;)
I don't count those as legal bass in my stats, but they were still fun to catch.

Both on the MagDarter.

I found the surf to be rough deep in the night. A mid period swell had developed, with a set of (5) 6-foot waves coming about once every 2 minutes....
See the thread here "groundswells and other terms" if you want to learn more about it....
IMO folks should study these swells and the environment they're fishing at night...it's real easy to get caught off guard when you're pre-occupied with catching....:d







End of trip- Singing the Blues....:drool:
I cut the ocean side trip short and left way before sunrise. I managed to make it to the back bay in good time..and had about 45 minutes of feeding action with some larger bluefish. 7 blues to 8# on swimmers. They were feeding at different levels this time and a little less picky as some mullet, which had been absent the previous 2 trips, showed up. Because of that, the bluefish took a variety of topwater swimmers, but all small, 4" and less. And they were still a little picky about hitting the plugs, still a challenge to catch. :cool:

The bass were fun, but for me the bluefish were the highlight...I look forward to them every year, and was pretty disappointed last year. Barring bad weather or heavy storms, these bigger blues could be around until all the mullet finally move out. Good times.

[DarkSkies]

Chas, glad you got those blues. :HappyWave: I see you finally found some mullet. ;)

When I scouted some water on the way home the previous trip, I found none, and was a little disappointed.

The thing that is driving most of the better fishing right now is larger schools of mullet. Although this may seem obvious to some, I say that to indicate that there is a good chance that if you can't find mullet in any larger numbers you may not be able to find fish. The rainfish and spearing are important as well, but in my experience the fish become a little more picky with only these 2 types of small forage... I'm always happier when there are more varieties in the forage mix because it gives you a better chance of catching them on artificials.

15 bluefish, though, that's a nice morning's catch, nice job. :clapping: :thumbsup:




Monty, don't quite know how you manage those Marathons. Your last trip was 1-10:30....9 1/2 freaking hours! :headbang: Even if you take out a 1/2 hour break, allow for some bathroom breaks, and some time for snacks and water, you're still fishing 8 hours at a clip...
When I'm out there and can't find fish in 3 hours or so it gets depressing..yet you still push on....
Often all we need is that one fish to get re-energized...but you....hours at a time without one fish...in pursuit of the needle in the haystack fish...I salute ya. :thumbsup: :HappyWave:





Etosoro....thanks for the kind words....I met ya last year, and truth be told I really wasn't feeling sociable when I first saw ya come around...but one night, when it was 27 degrees out,,,,and the fishing was pretty slow (yep we actually had some slow nights during the Winter bite....:rolleyes: )...we both probably wanted to leave....because it was so cold....

I remember you left first, because I was so stubborn in trying I wanted it to be that way....:d
But not before you gave it an extra half-hour, casting with me like a madman, as we were trying to get some numbers in a bite that never really developed that night...yet we were determined anyway....:thumbsup:

I think at one point during that extra half hour I made the mental note in my head that I would try to help you.....
I remember yelling at you one night..you told me there weren't any fish at that one stop....and I told ya to change your retrieve and ya hooked up instantly....:clapping:...so I do tend to yell at folks and bark commands...because I really want to see those who try, and are not willing to give up...get some fish..,..


I mention that example above not to embarass you, because your skill set and determination are what catch you the fish...not me...I am glad if my words, and barking, helped in any way....

The point I'm trying to make, is that I realize I help people less out there now...the guy you help today who promises to keep his mouth shut,,,,isn't really keeping his end of the bargain if tomorrow he shows up with 3 friends, and the day after that they show up with 4 more friends....and as soon as I realized you weren't like that....and willing to work hard to learn....I knew it was ok.......










**There's a thread here...."How hard are you willing to work..to Learn" that is about guys like Monty, you, and some others that I am glad to be able to help, just as many others have passed down bits and pieces of valuable knowledge to me.....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5479-How-hard-are-you-willing-to-work-to-learn&highlight=hard+work

So congrats on those fish....and prove to yourself one night...take some other chances at other places in that area....and you will realize how valuable a resource one or two places will be...on those nights when you can't seem to catch a fish anywhere else....

Glad to have met ya., thanks for your discrete reports....
And best of luck this season.....:HappyWave:

[hookset]

The point I'm trying to make, is that I realize I help people less out there now...the guy you help today who promises to keep his mouth shut,,,,isn't really keeping his end of the bargain if tomorrow he shows up with 3 friends, and the day after that they show up with 4 more friends....and as soon as I realized you weren't like that....and willing to work hard to learn....I knew it was ok.......










**There's a thread here...."How hard are you willing to work..to Learn" that is about guys like Monty, you, and some others that I am glad to be able to help, just as many others have passed down bits and pieces of valuable knowledge to me.....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5479-How-hard-are-you-willing-to-work-to-learn&highlight=hard+work

...:HappyWave:

Gospel. :thumbsup: Loose lips sink ships. dark, I read your report and felt like I was on an adventure. Or a long train ride, lol.:HappyWave:

[fishinmission78]

Nice reports guys. I have been catching smaller bluefish at Island Beach on mullet. Mornings. Today got a 30" bass but other than that it has been mostly bluefish and trash fish.

[finchaser]

Chas, glad you got those blues. :HappyWave: I see you finally found some mullet. ;)

.






Monty, don't quite know how you manage those Marathons. Your last trip was 1-10:30....9 1/2 freaking hours! :headbang: Even if you take out a 1/2 hour break, allow for some bathroom breaks, and some time for snacks and water, you're still fishing 8 hours at a clip...
When I'm out there and can't find fish in 3 hours or so it gets depressing..yet you still push on....
Often all we need is that one fish to get re-energized...but you....hours at a time without one fish...in pursuit of the needle in the haystack fish...I salute ya. :thumbsup: :HappyWave:

Hopefully he doesn't grow up to be you marathon man:huh:

[DarkSkies]

Well, Chas, you're still the bluefish king for the week, :thumbsup: but I'm gaining on ya! :rolleyes: :HappyWave:

Managed 14 bluefish to 10# last night in the back bay flats.
The action was exhilarating. If you're an action junkie like me you can probably understand that.
Some can't understand the desire to specifically target bluefish...

That's OK too...most folks know I have some screws loose to begin with...:kooky: :) I did have a blast trying to hook these fish as they were very picky.

The thing that changed last night was the flats were filled with mullet, so many that the bluefish were extremely picky...many many hits, very tough to hook on artificials at night...If you were fishing fresh mullet you could have probably caught enough till your arms couldn't take it any more.

They bumped the plug and let go as soon as they realized it wasn't natural.... turned away. There is such a thing as too much bait present, and last night was one such night. The good thing was the fishing window was expanded as they fed on the mullet through most of the ebb.
So instead of hitting the ocean for bass afterward, I stayed put and had a blast.

A site member wanded into the water where I was. I was a little grumpy thinking I might have to be pleasant and a charming conversationalist for a change. :kooky: I don't look forward to conversations when I'm out there, the solitude is the thing for me,,,,and when the fishing is good, that's important too, You never know when it will stop, like a game of musical chairs. :learn:




Nonetheless, we both had a good time as we were frustrated together. We missed many more than hooked. But that level of activity, can be a fun thing tool
Fish again hit small swimmers.
This time they hit top water because of the mullet.
It seemed the 6" and larger plugs were toxic to them. Just for fun I went through a lot of plug profiles. Very little activity on anything 6" or over. The action sweet spot still continues to be around 4" for the plugs I'm throwing at them. Bombers have been the best producer. Lots o fun, good running into ya. :HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

Hopefully he doesn't grow up to be you marathon man:huh:

As always thanks for the kind words ya Grouchy Basstid. :moon: :2flip: :kiss: :HappyWave:

[eltosoro]

Nice work last night DS ... sounds like a blast. I couldn't connect last night other than a possible bump or two. It was a quick trip but I stuck it out an extra 30 minutes just thinking about DS hollering at me to "change the profile", "get it lower in the water column", "slooooooooow it down dude!" Still a nice big swell out there making nice whitewater but I'm guessing the bait wasn't as thick as it had been. Still a gorgeous night out there!

[DarkSkies]

It was a quick trip but I stuck it out an extra 30 minutes just thinking about DS hollering at me to "change the profile", "get it lower in the water column", "slooooooooow it down dude!"

I think in some states that hollering can actually be qualified as mental abuse. :o :laugh:

I know I'm harsh with people sometimes....but that's the way I learned a lot of things....getting yelled at...there weren't too many things patiently explained to me when I was growing up....

I thank you for the kind words, but as I said previously, it's your persistence that will get you those fish...
and that's something that some folks have, and some don't...you seem to have good amounts of that quality, eltosoro....your parents must have instilled that in you when you were growing up....good for them.,...and you....:clapping: :thumbsup:

[DarkSkies]

Back to the fishing....it's been my experience where the mullet are thickest the bass focus on them...if you are at a place that was on fire the night before, and there are no mullet, not even a few....it's gonna be tough to even get that one bump.
That can be very frustrating.

I think it's also appropriate to say here that I'm noticing a lot less fish around. It used to be very easy for me to find bass at night. Now I know more than I used to, and am still killing myself at night to find a bass or 2....

I don't buy what some people say about the water still being warm. Although the migration has not really started, even in the "fish highway" areas the catches from the surf are down this year.

Montauk never really had a good spring surf run this year. The fall run last year wasn't that great by historical standards.

The Mass Canal, another indicator of overall health of the fishery, produced fantastically this Spring for some guys I know who fish there. The chief complaint some of them are telling me is the inconsistency, even during the "hottest" bites.

Some friends just got back from fishing there. Although bass to 35# were caught 2 weeks ago and there were a few days of good fishing, my friends did poorly up there....and these are guys who are not new, some of them live for fishing....

Tomorrow may be different, guys may start bailing 30# fish both at Montauk and the Ditch....
but most of the guys who go, and fish the right tides at night, are catching schoolies and teen bass...

To me, that doesn't indicate a healthy fishery overall...
And it's also supported by the fact that some of us still have to work very hard for a few bass at night, unless we have pods of bait in front of us...










It didn't use to be that way....
A lot of folks seem to have forgotten that 6 years ago the fishing was much better.
8-10 years ago the fishing seemed twice as easy as it does now....

You can atttibute some of this to temperature, forage concentrations, and seasonal variations...as some do.,..
but I'm seeing less bass overall., and am working harder to catch a few than I ever did....

Food for thought....people..even though I probably turn folks off when I write paragraphs like this...I feel these things need to be said...so we don't lose sight of how good it used to be just a few short years ago....

More reading on this, in this thread here.....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7784-StripersandAnglers-yearly-coastwide-fish-stock-assessment-state-of-the-fishery&highlight=striped+bass+assessment

[rip316]

Fished 2 monmouth county jetties Tuesday evening. First jetty had loads of bait with decent size bluefish on them. Threw small swimmers, metal, needlefish and poppers. Had a couple boils but that was it. Very difficult fishing as the wind was really stiff out of the South.
2nd jetty was void of life when I was there but I did here of a guy saying he got a really nice 15lb bluefish out of the pocket. Probably would have caught if the wind wasn't as strong as it was. Water was also stained.

[finchaser]

This AM released 14 bluefish 5 to 7 pounds all on bucktails with chartreuse twister tail

[rip316]

This AM released 14 bluefish 5 to 7 pounds all on bucktails with chartreuse twister tail

I hate you. Hahahahha. Just kidding Pops.

[finchaser]

thanks appreciate it^^^^^^^

[DarkSkies]

I hate you. Hahahahha. Just kidding Pops.

I know you're just busting the Grouch's ballz, but the truth is he's a fishing machine....he can outcatch most guys fishing from land...and his friends who have boats all want him on board for the tourneys they fish...

The subtle things he does, from many decades of experience, are just little things, but they pay off....:learn:

So when ya read he got 14 fish, or 22 fish, or 25 fish,,,there's a little acronym called YMMV....Your Mileage May Vary...;)









********
The Old Grouchy Basstid,,, and the (Less) Old Grouchy Basstid...

Fished with the OGB last night looking for some bigger bluefish.
The mullet we were looking for were few and far between, as a result there was no sustained bite.

We each managed a handful of larger blues to 9#..... and a short bass, the only bass of the night....
Of course, he outfished me. :thumbsup:...as it should be......Always an education watching the Grouchy Basstid, and hearing the stories, tons of stories. :learn:

We fished small plugs, mullet and spearing profiles. It was humbling to see even the Mighty Finchaser had quite a few missed fish :( as these bigger blues do not seem to be as aggressive hitting plugs at night when the primary forage is small bait.

He also got chopped a few times fishing rubber, but no hookups.
As I mentioned, these bigger blues are very picky and fishing for them at night with artificials, for me, is more challenging than fishing for bass right now.

If you were fishing mullet you could probably fill a wheelbarrow with these bluefish, but not with artificials....

The fish fed for about an hour, and that was it...
Always a pleasure to have the opportunity to fish with one of NJ's best old school surf pros....:HappyWave:


After he went home I went to the ocean to try to find a bass or 2..
Wrong stage of the tide, bottom of a full moon tide...I wan't optimistic. Even less optimistic as I couldn't mark any bait at the places I stopped at...as I said, wrong tide stage....

Still, I have to be out there during the full moon.
No mater how much experience you gain, there is always more to learn.

Full moon scouting at night.....It gives me a chance to see what has changed and poke and prod looking for different kinds of forage.

Made 4 separate stops, fished all levels of the water column,,,,not a touch for me.

[finchaser]

Ran into DS last night caught around 8 blues to 9 or 10# and a lone bass all released, all on plugs, oops forgot to match the profile. Was a fun night just as long as I kept DS down wind of me.:scared:


Fished this AM released 2 bass and 6 blues to 5# all on bucktails which had a bad hair day and are bald.

[porgy75]

Ran into DS last night caught around 8 blues to 9 or 10# and a lone bass all released, all on plugs, oops forgot to match the profile. Was a fun night just as long as I kept DS down wind of me.:scared:


Fished this AM released 2 bass and 6 blues to 5# all on bucktails which had a bad hair day and are bald.

If they had a bad hair day am assuming they hit the buctails real hard? That is amazing that they are such savages in the daytime and so picky at night. nice catches guys!

[storminsteve]

Haha great going fellas. I gave nomoco some time before work this morning. Surf looks pretty good and fishable. Fished from 4-6am on the incoming tide. Only one blue on a small ava.

[buckethead]

Caught the skunk this am in Mo Co.

[chas527]

fished the hook this morning .7 blues 2 small fluke 8sea robins.all on mullet.

[finchaser]

This evening released 5 bluefish 5 to 7pound all on SP minnow then DS arrived and shut the down bite :don't know why:

[vpass]

This evening released 5 bluefish 5 to 7pound all on SP minnow then DS arrived and shut the down bite :don't know why:

DS, your stench must be the reason the fish stop biting. let me know where you be tonight so i'll hit a different location.:ROFLMAO

[finchaser]

This Am 1 bass and 13 blues to 7# all on buck tail and chartreuse tail

[Monty]

This Am 1 bass and 13 blues to 7# all on buck tail and chartreuse tail

I'm guessing without Darkskies?
Congrats on the fish.

[finchaser]

you guessed right

[DarkSkies]

This evening released 5 bluefish 5 to 7pound all on SP minnow then DS arrived and shut the down bite :don't know why:

:2flip: :moon: That's it....I'm resigning from my job as the official Finchaser Royal Fish Unhooker......:laugh:
I was going to respond to these comments one by one... (even you, Vpass? :whoo: )......

But am too tired from work, fishing, sleeping in the car, work, and going out fishing again....as I will be tonight for the Harvest Moon....which should push large amounts of mullet into the ocean...into the jaws of death of predators.....:drool:


So if ya's wanna take more shots, feel free....knock yourselves out......:HappyWave:...and thanks for the laughs...you guys are great.....:clapping::clapping: :thumbsup:

[finchaser]

Marathon man and his under study WWW chase death predators under the Harvest moon :don't know why:

[DarkSkies]

This evening released 5 bluefish 5 to 7pound all on SP minnow then DS arrived and shut the down bite :don't know why:

You forgot to mention I'm the only one who pulled fish on a bucktail.....:moon: :kiss:
And it was a weird bite...less than 1/2 hour of activity and a different tide.....

Have we mentioned how picky these bluefish are at night, that even the Mighty Finchaser has been challenged? ;)

So we tried our best....thinking the dirty water from the rains yesterday turned them off.
also there was not much bait around other than the spearing and rainfish at that time. So I feel we were lucky to manage the few we did, still a lot of fun anyway. Some of those bluefish are feeding well and are very round already.

Fished a few more places, came up empty handed.









Slept in my car. Got up at 6am trying to find a few fish before work.

Found a cove in the bay where there were mullet by the thousands.
Ever hear of "too much bait"? That was the case this morning. It took awhile for the activity to develop. When it did there were mid sized bluefish exploding on mullet. It was like a day at the Ancient Coliseums where there was death and carnage everywhere.

Unforunately these bluefish were too keyed in on the mullet..
2 other lost souls, and I tried to catch these bluefish for a ridiculous amount of time. No results with many different small profile plugs or rubber or the smallest bucktails.
We even threw the tiniest of poppers., which work in the ocean, to no avail.

It was real humbling to see dozens of fish crashing these mullet, to know we couldn't interest them in artificials....yet if you were fishing freshly netted mullet you could have filled a wheelbarrow with these fish.....:kooky:



The others did the reasonable thing, and gave up. I kept at it, and finally there was a window :rolleyes:...15 minutes where they fed on artificials.....
Managed one bluefish on 1/2 oz bucktail with twister tail.,...3 more, for total 4 picky bluefish to 7# on Daiwa SM...and then the bite shut down for good....

A large number of these mullet should make the push to the ocean this weekend....
Conditions will be terrible, as they are now......
But the mullet will still be moving....
If you can find some cleaner water you have a shot at them....good luck, all. :fishing:

[finchaser]

Yea for Marathon man still king of the googans good luck tonight in the SSE wind

[storminsteve]

Fished nomoco last night out going tide. It was overcast, foggy, dreary, definite bass water. Someone forgot to tell the bass tho. Small bait in close. but only one small blue and some hickory shad for me. Bucktail and teaser.

[rip316]

Fished MOCO this morning from 630 until 730. I was about 30 miles North of Darkskies. lol. Pretty good action this morning for just about the entire time i was fishing. 3 to 7lb bluefish had mullet pinned to a jetty and mullet running for their lives. i had 7 blues to about 6 lbs all on metal. Deadly ****. Everyone fishing near the jetty scored. the guys fishing 100 yds away from the jetty got the skunk. I felt bad for the guys staring at me as i hooked fish after fish as I have been on the other side before. Defintely felt like fall this morning with the cool air and the 50 guys on the beach.

[DarkSkies]

^^ Yeah you out-fished both me and the OGB..imagine that....:whoo: :d :clapping: :thumbsup:


Nice going, glad to see a boat googan get some fish....:kiss:
Glad you were able to keep your nose out of the air long enough to fit in with the lowly surfcasters.....:laugh:
Maybe now we can get bababooey to drag his lazy aZZ out there for some fall fishing....:scared:









Despite all the mullet streaming down the coast, the last 24 hours has been pretty tough for some of us fishing artificials.....

I was out in the ocean last night fishing mid tide, the ebb. Good water, manageable surf. It was raining and if I closed my eyes I could imagine I was fishing in another isolated state...as there was no one around where I was fishing.....

The sound of silence from the solitude was awesome......:)


The only thing that was a little irritating was the duration. Waves crashing every 5 seconds makes it tough to plug, You may not be spending a lot of time in the strike zone...especially at night...so I alternated between heavy swimmers like xraps and bucktailed it.

The fishing was great and inspiring....
The catching part...well that was poor....


I finally managed one 30" bass about 10# after 5 separate stops. Released.
No other action for me.







When I left the ocean I still wanted some more fish action.....
Went looking for some feeding bluefish, nothing for me....

Still not satisfied... I slept in my car outside the Finchaser Private pond and Resort....
Got up and saw they were fishing already....
Not even having the courtesy to knock on my window...:2flip: :moon: :laugh:

(Rip you were lamenting about missing out on good times and conversations with OGB.)..well you're mistaken...the only conversation..... is to blame me when the bite dies, otherwise we're all about fishing hard...there is no polite conversation..... or tea and crumpets....:ROFLMAO


We all gave it our best...but the fish and bait were not really there in numbers....
I got nothing....
I think Finchaser was high hook with a few bluefish...and this was basically during a 5 minute window of feeding....after which things shut down completely....


So congrats for the effort, Rip, and all those who were out there trying....:clapping: :thumbsup:
Rip, I'm gonna ask Monty to make you a "Beware Boat/Bait Googan" sign..
Surfstix can put some tied bucktails on it...and Speedy can paint it some cool colors....and Madcaster can trick it out with some wild modifications.....
.if that's ok with you......;) :HappyWave:

[Monty]

3 to 7lb bluefish had mullet pinned to a jetty and mullet running for their lives. i had 7 blues to about 6 lbs all on metal. . Defintely felt like fall this morning with the cool air and the 50 guys on the beach.
Congrats on the fish :HappyWave:.
50 guys on the beach...wow.



Maybe now we can get bababooey to drag his lazy aZZ out there for some fall fishing....:scared:
LOL, better chance of Rip fishing a marathon session without falling a sleep (and we know the odds of that :laugh:)



Despite all the mullet streaming down the coast, the last 24 hours has been pretty tough for some of us fishing artificials.....
I was out in the ocean last night fishing mid tide, the ebb. Good water, manageable surf. It was raining and if I closed my eyes I could imagine I was fishing in another isolated state...as there was no one around where I was fishing.....
The sound of silence from the solitude was awesome......:)

:HappyWave: With the cooler air temperatures its a great time to be on the water fishing, feels like fishing weather. Looking forward to a nice marathon session in the AM.

[surfwalker]

This morning, 5-9, out front, plugs/metal/bucks- not a tap. Saw no bait. Saw no action at all.

[vpass]

I finally managed one 30" bass about 10# after 5 separate stops.
DS, nice going I forgot what a 30 inch bass looks like. I wish I had your energy.


3 to 7lb bluefish had mullet pinned to a jetty and mullet running for their lives. i had 7 blues to about 6 lbs all on metal. .

Nice going Rip :thumbsup::thumbsup:



I fished further north. Lots of rainfish, some mullet. I hooked into a few cocktail blues and lots of large snappers and hickorys. I did get a short bass on a yellow polaris popper. Had afew strikes and misses. I watched the flyfisher, hook hickory after hickory. It was great to be out this morning.

[cowherder]

Great reports guys at least there are some fish. That is weird how all this bait and not many bass. maybe like finchaser says we have killed them all.:don't know why:

[fishinmission78]

Fished ibsp this morning. Lots of traffic. Chunked mullet for blues 1-4lbs. Good action on the last hour of the incoming.

[finchaser]

About time you scored RIP congrats

Fished this AM had 2 blues both released was mugged by DS he slept in his car what a surprise when I arrived and he did fish down wind from us.

[rip316]

Hit the same spot as I did this morning. Again, the blues didn't disappoint but not quite the activity as this morning although we did have a few double headers on metal with a teaser. Deadly ***** again. Was able to fish with my good buddy Cardoc. Been a while since he's been out with me and he was more than happy to land some fish. We are also very thankful to have rods built by Finchaser. I have never been able to get the distance in the past as I do now. Thanks Pops. Now guys stand there and stare at me wonderin how I get it out that far.

[rip316]

@monty and dark, I can sleep on the hardest of sand. Next time I pass out on the beach fishing with you guys just put a do not disturb sign by my feet so I can some rest. Lmao. To all that do not already know, I did pass out on the beach after the marathon 9hr quest with those 2 guys. Lol. Also, for the record I did have to drive darks car one morning after fishin just so he wouldn't stop on the shoulder of the parkway so he wouldn't get out and do jumping jacks just to stay awake. That would have been a sight for sure.

[SharkHart]

Was out a long time tonight, I knew the outgoing was going to be the play but i gave the end of incoming a go anyway. Tons of bait but I went two hours with only an oyster cracker to show for it :scared: I missed two weakie hits and an acquaintance got 2 weaks so waited em out for the outgoing. 40 mins into Outgoing like a flip of a light switch, weakies started dancing all through the bait and snappers were chomping away too. Started to get a good amount of hits rotating between 4" pink, Shrimp and gulp minnows. The dance turned into churning dimpled water with peanuts, rainfish and game fish flying everywhere, was a constant orchestra of sounds too, wild kingdom stuff. I finished with 3 bass and about 25 weakies and dropped even more then that amount from the short strikes. Many hits tonight hard to come tight, if i drifted a shrimp without even reeling or twitching I could feel them munching away at it as it bounced along the bottom. Was a great time :thumbsup: Barny bay bite

[finchaser]

Nice catch there my friend^^^

This AM 7 blues to 6# all on bucktails

[Monty]

Fished ocean side this morning 1:00 - 10:00.
Beautiful night and surf.
Worked a good couple miles of beach.
Around 3:30 with a 14" Hogy I hook into a nice fish. Takes drag and I some how loose it.
5:30 I catch a ~12 inch bass on rubber teaser.
Sun up, lots and lots of bait. See a couple fish go air born.
Around 9:00 while working an area with tons of small bait a bunch of Albies pop up 10-20 yards out, they work the small bait, on my 4th cast, with a fast retrieve of a Pojee I hook up, Strong Fast Run, line coming off spool and then its off after about 20 seconds. No more hook ups.
Was a fun outing, great weather......So I now can't land a fish over 12 inches. Unreal :beatin:
Maybe my drag was to tight on both fish:don't know why:...Googan Move. Dark with the elections coming up and this seasons events, looks like I'm giving you a run for President.....You need to do one of those fall asleep in the porta johns or something to steal my momentum:HappyWave:. Can't believe I lost both those fish...:kicknuts: :)
http://rocksimpson.com/images/2012_9_30_SR.jpg

[rip316]

Nice to see you had a good time. I hate losing what feels to be a nice fish, your mind will drive you crazy wondering what it was on the end of the line.

[finchaser]

Nice to see you had a good time. I hate losing what feels to be a nice fish, your mind will drive you crazy wondering what it was on the end of the line.

Would bet on a fish,but always hoped for a mermaid

[DarkSkies]

Fished last night for an embarassing #of hours.

*(See Monty Marathon, for once I think I qualify) :laugh:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?1877-fishing-terms-dictionary/page5&highlight=monty+marathon


Good tide, water, duration, everything perfect. Made 6 separate stops this time, working a larger area than I usually do as the NJ ocean fish this September seem so scattered and random. I can't even report a missed fish, not a tap as I worked all levels of the water column.

Done before sunrise, went looking for night bluefish. Could not find them either.
Slept in my vehicle, recurring theme.....:rolleyes: because I just ran of energy and could not make it back home driving safely.

Was kind of crabby when I got up....not willing to go home with those results.
I poked and prodded every nook and cranny of the bay on the way home, trying to find if the mullet were still around, as I saw none in the ocean at night.
And there should have been...

Could not find mullet, but I did find very small bait emptying out of a creek. Looked like they were getting hammered by snappers. Made some casts anyway and found some bigger bluefish at the end of my casts. Very picky.... they would not hit my smallest plugs, 3" poppers, etc. Ready to give up till started getting action on the smallest rubber and lightest jigheads I have, so light that it was hard to pitch them the distance needed.

Ended up with 8 bluefish to 7#, lots of fun, in the mid-day sun. :cool:

[DarkSkies]

Was out a long time tonight, I knew the outgoing was going to be the play but i gave the end of incoming a go anyway. Tons of bait but I went two hours with only an oyster cracker to show for it :scared: I missed two weakie hits and an acquaintance got 2 weaks so waited em out for the outgoing. 40 mins into Outgoing like a flip of a light switch, weakies started dancing all through the bait and snappers were chomping away too.

Started to get a good amount of hits rotating between 4" pink, Shrimp and gulp minnows.

The dance turned into churning dimpled water with peanuts, rainfish and game fish flying everywhere, was a constant orchestra of sounds too, wild kingdom stuff.

I finished with 3 bass and about 25 weakies and dropped even more then that amount from the short strikes.

Many hits tonight hard to come tight, if i drifted a shrimp without even reeling or twitching I could feel them munching away at it as it bounced along the bottom. Was a great time :thumbsup: Barny bay bite

All the new guys take note...this is an example of an extremely well-written report...tells general area, what he used....and the descriptions he used, sights and sounds, really put me as the reader right alongside as he was catching..... :thumbsup:

You may not know that SharkHart has started doing some writing recently....I think it shows here in this report....and I think it generates a sense of enthusiasm for whoever reads it. Thanks and glad ya got into that great action. :HappyWave:









Nice catch there my friend^^^

This AM 7 blues to 6# all on bucktails

Finchaser fishin on a Sunday? :scared:
Do you have to pay the gatekeeper of the private pond overtime? :rolleyes: :HappyWave:




Would bet on a fish,but always hoped for a mermaid

Yup, my bet as well, a Mermaid for Monty... sounds like a movie title.....:d
















Really though, Monty...outstanding report....as I read that I kind of felt that I was there when ya hooked that albie.....
So you didn't land it...big deal.....
You were one of the few guys to catch them one year when they were scarce...and in an area where not many were looking for them....
And it seems you repeated that this morning......

WTG, proud of ya! :clapping: :thumbsup:


(As for that bass ya lost on the Hogy,,I can't help you from reverting to your googan ways.....;))

,Finchaser has a hook sharpening service....he sharpened hooks so sharp for one tuna trip the guy blamed a lost tuna on him....imagine that....:kooky:...PM him, he might be able to help ya out....:ROFLMAO

[storminsteve]

^Thats great you had bait for that time monty. I had it in front of me for about 15 minutes this morning in nomoco. one small blue and one hickory. Also saw some big horse bunker, that was strange.
Awsome reports guys. Based on some of the things I read I thought the mullet would be all over but they were not. does anyone think there are a lot left in the back?

[rip316]

I helped a friend yank his boat out from Seaboard Marina. That marina is all the way toward the back of the creek that leads toward keyport harbor. It was around 9pm on sat night and there was bait popping all over the place back there. Sounded like it was raining at some points. Plenty of bait still waiting to make a move and still plenty of time for the water temps to drop. To me, it looks like its shapin up to be a good fall. Patience fellas.

[finchaser]

Slow morning no bait released 2 bluefish 4# on bucktail

[Mike O]

Late on my report. Computer issues. Early sat morning SH 1 bass 27" 8lbs. still swimming.