NJ Fishing Reports for November 2012....www.StripersAndAnglers.com......

[madcaster]

Fished a few stops in the Hook today:skunk: it was good to get out . News trucks all over the place
Sea bright had sand piled up at acess points
Waves wern't that bad :HappyWave:

[Monty]

Congrats finchaser thanks for the heads up! bababooey why don't you lay off monty. I think he is a GREAT fisherman. He is funny too and has some of the best pics on here. No one is perfect. Could you fish for 10 hours at a time without getting tired or making a goof? I for one enjoy the stories he posts up.:clapping:
:HappyWave:
It's all in good fun, thank you for the compliments, I enjoy bababooy's humor. I never take anything serious, if I can get a few laughs at my expense its good. Hook in the back happened in cranking wind, one of the times a guy walked by and started talking to me, made sure I faced him the whole time, didn't want him to see the hook in back, would have felt silly.

Fished this morning bayside, 2:00-4:15, was told area closes at 5:00 am so had to cut trip short.. Found some nice white water and lots of wind, lost a nice fish on speedy's chartreuse BD after it took some drag, had it in close, water was turbulent, lost it....urghhh. Then on a gold Danny caught around a 32 inch blue (miracle I landed it). Was a safe and fun trip. Took a ride and looked at the ocean, its very dangerous, wind is cranking. Have a feeling this is going to be a terrible storm at the Jersey coast.

Pics of the ocean here: http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8645-Hurricane-Sandy-Thread-Getting-ugly-stay-home&p=62987#post62987

[SharkHart]

I just posted this below on facebook......The think that stinks about the next 5 days being a wash is that I cut my time down from being an hour late to the blitz down to 15 mins late, I would have those bastards eventually. I fished like a million hours between friday evening til dark sat and got 1.5 fish.

Time to keep it real- Where's todays reports?? I dont mean just here, all of internet guys couldn't wait for storm to hit and to be on the jetty with it blowing @30 with waves crashing over the head, BIG weather BIG Fish out front,.......log and learn :)

[madcaster]

Fished route 36:skunk: Water was dirty
Snagged a stop sign ....:naughty:
saw some bait by a gasation but nothing on them :huh:
Jigged a alley way .. some fast moving water .. nothing
thought I saw a swirl ...might have been a drain
:HappyWave:

[storminsteve]

Madcaster did you try using bucktails? Fish might be on the bottom lol.:laugh:

[buckethead]

Fished route 36:skunk: Water was dirty
Snagged a stop sign ....:naughty:
saw some bait by a gasation but nothing on them :huh:
Jigged a alley way .. some fast moving water .. nothing
thought I saw a swirl ...might have been a drain
:HappyWave:

:clapping: Good try madcaster. I hear clams is the way to go in a noreaster. Next time try trolling a clambrella rig down Rt 36. You will catch.

[vpass]

Hope everyone is doing OK, lots must be out of power as its been quiet.

Glad to see your OK. Hope you maded thru this with out any issues. Just got my power back alittle earlier today.


I hope all of you are safe, and ok. can't wait to all of us being back to normal.

[Monty]

Dark and Finchaser are without power otherwise doing OK.

[speedy]

Dark and Finchaser are without power otherwise doing OK.dark /rip are ok talked to them today dark said fins ok and yes i am still here lol:plastered:
hople all are doing ok and are safe

[SharkHart]

Hope its not too soon to talk fishing, But i figured minimally I d be putting my truck through $10 worth of tolls I packed no food or drinks like i usually do, and bought locally, and even topped off the gas locally , I headed to Ocean city which was less affected then some areas, was on the bay side which is totally fine without any restrictions and life seems to be going normally there with many people out and about, the areas seem to be powered up.

The surprise I didn't expect was an incredible bite, I didn't know what to expect from the storm but the fleet was in big time. Mostly small but fat fish to 26" but a few to 30", many the former "slot" size, Mad stupid total numbers I won't even say. The crazy part was many many wouldn't hit, would pop on bait and not hit the lures. Fishing gets your mind of the troubles, and i don't know for certain what this will mean for other areas, but the fall run was on where i was.

Soon as everyone gets back to normal, life might include some stripes ;)

[vpass]

Hope its not too soon to talk fishing, But i figured minimally I d be putting my truck through $10 worth of tolls I packed no food or drinks like i usually do, and bought locally, and even topped off the gas locally , I headed to Ocean city which was less affected then some areas, was on the bay side which is totally fine without any restrictions and life seems to be going normally there with many people out and about, the areas seem to be powered up.

That's great Shark. There is nothing wrong with it. As long as we help out those in need and we are not selfish. The sooner that everyone gets back to normal the better, that how the economy gets started again, and that is our way to relieve the stresses we are all going thru. I'm worried about the beach access from sandy hook to LBI. I'm even looking to Long island far rockaway area also. If the fall doesn't happen I will head north and do some cod fishing this winter.

[Monty]

That's great Shark. There is nothing wrong with it. As long as we help out those in need and we are not selfish. The sooner that everyone gets back to normal the better, that how the economy gets started again, and that is our way to relieve the stresses we are all going thru. I'm worried about the beach access from sandy hook to LBI. .

What Vpass said, great to see you got into some great action Sharkhart.
I agree Vpass, just might not be anywhere to fish.
If that's what it is so be it, what ever is best to help the people who were effected by Sandy.

[SharkHart]

If things don't improve up north as this fall progresses, i'm open to meeting guys down south.

[chas527]

finely got power yesterday.now its snowing like crazy what next.hope everyone is ok.

[storminsteve]

Hope its not too soon to talk fishing, But i figured minimally I d be putting my truck through $10 worth of tolls I packed no food or drinks like i usually do, and bought locally, and even topped off the gas locally , I headed to Ocean city which was less affected then some areas, was on the bay side which is totally fine without any restrictions and life seems to be going normally there with many people out and about, the areas seem to be powered up.

The surprise I didn't expect was an incredible bite, I didn't know what to expect from the storm but the fleet was in big time. Mostly small but fat fish to 26" but a few to 30", many the former "slot" size, Mad stupid total numbers I won't even say. The crazy part was many many wouldn't hit, would pop on bait and not hit the lures. Fishing gets your mind of the troubles, and i don't know for certain what this will mean for other areas, but the fall run was on where i was.

Soon as everyone gets back to normal, life might include some stripes ;)


Awesome report shark. I want to try to get out fishing just to wet a line. Dont care if I catch or not. Glad everyone is checking in and ok. I have been texting back and forth with dark he still doesn't have power yet, seemed a little down in the dumps today. Hang in there brother! Can't be long now.

[SharkHart]

Well my bite survived a hurricane but not a Noreaster, got out last two nights only to find a few rats and searched some other near by areas to find nothing but dead water all around. The large numbers of bass I saw a week ago were flushed from the Bay.

[DarkSkies]

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

NJ fishing reports for November 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]

Hookedonbass,
you won the plug in the October 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]

I just posted this below on facebook......The think that stinks about the next 5 days being a wash is that I cut my time down from being an hour late to the blitz down to 15 mins late, I would have those bastards eventually. I fished like a million hours between friday evening til dark sat and got 1.5 fish.

Time to keep it real- Where's todays reports?? I dont mean just here, all of internet guys couldn't wait for storm to hit and to be on the jetty with it blowing @30 with waves crashing over the head, BIG weather BIG Fish out front,.......log and learn :)





I think this storm permanently shut up the guys out there who talk about the great Noreaster fishing.....
Now that that part of the run is just a memory, that week leading up to the storm was some of the best Fall action for a lot of Jersey surf guys.....Some who were able to get out there and spend the time when it was happening got numbers of fish into the triple digits.....many of them much bigger than legal size...and blues the size a lot of us surf fishermen had not seen since the Spring....high teen blues, bass to 40# right in the surf line.....

What more could you ask for in the absence of a strong sand eel presence?
It was heaven, solid pattern of fishing throughout the whole Monmouth County area for almost 2 weeks...and the Noreaster killed all that.....

(It did bounce back briefly for a morning after the storm...that Sat morning where a few nice fish were caught)...but the 2nd noreaster wiped those fish further South as well.....

There are still fish to the North, but I think it's safe to estimate that more than 50% of the migrating biomass is now past Monmouth and Ocean Counties, and concentrated in the Cape May, Delaware Bay, to the Cheapeake areas....


















Great call, as usual, Shark.....
You really nailed that with accuracy....:clapping:
Hope guys learn from this.,...if not I'll have to resurrect West Wind Ralph to get medieval in his next video. :laugh: :kicknuts:

[DarkSkies]

A few nights of reports....

1. I fished a devastated area a while ago, and felt bad about it...
Only fished a few minutes as I fished in the shadow of properties that were destroyed, and within view of police spotlights.....
I did it because I have to be out there,,,,but a few minutes was all it took for me to feel guilty......

Have since come to realize that there is nothing to feel bad about, going fishing.....

Some of us need to be out there.....fishing for us, is as important, as the air we breathe......:fishing:
No need to feel guilty about that......and the tackle shops really need customers as they begin to make their way back to normalcy.















2. Fri PM trip -
Fished Monmouth County.....some areas are accessible, some not......I made 4 separate stops, lots of effort required. Air temps were around 36 degrees, water around 52. There was a west wind around 10mph, reminding me of the winter bite of 2011. The biggest problem was I couldn't find any bait in the water no matter where I looked.

4 1/2 hours of hard work, for one small schoolie, on a bomber.

I thought about waiting around for the sunrise bite but from the walking I did I was exhausted. Later on I realized that there is a 1/2 hour bite now at sunrise. Jack's Surfside shop weighed in a 15. Kicked myself for having missed out on that, but 1/2 hour or hour at a time is just not my style of fishing.,.....it's not enough for me.....

[DarkSkies]

Sat PM report....3/4 of a Monty Marathon....

Spent the whole day in Monmouth County taking pics of some of the damage and some landmarks near and dear to us surfcasters.
Met a lot of good, and some slightly deranged :cool:, people as well. It seems everyone wanted to come down to the water to check out the affects of Sandy.

Also touched base with some surfcasters I haven't seen since the storm. Confirmed the AM 1/2 hour bite, and PM 1 hour bite, if there is any.
The biggest problem with Monmouth County right now, relative to catching fish, is that with an 8 degree ocean temp drop in the last 8 days has made the bass very sluggish for the night bite. They do not seem to be feeding aggressively outside the above mentioned windows, unless there is a lot of bait in an area.

After talking with a few hardcore surf nuts I know, I felt the lack of bait in the surf for that area was not that promising.















Decided to take the long hop South for more promising water.

I was happy I did, First cast at 7PM, 2 hours into darkness, dropping tide, I was into a bass on the SP. :headbang:
Dropped it. Hoping I wouldn't have the "1st cast curse" for the night.

5 minutes later I landed another bass, short fish.

Within the next half hour, I landed 2 bass 12 and 13# class. All on the Daiwa.


Bumped into someone I know....we each had action at that location.
We both noticed the fish were hitting sluggishly, and you really had to concentrate on the hookset.
A missed bump was a lost fish for good, they would not come back for it.
The thing is you could not tell by the bumps if they were 26" or teen fish....all fish hit the same....

Once you drove the hook in they would become energized and put up a fight, often getting more energized the closer they got to the surfline.....that made it pretty exciting.......:)

The challenging part was there was no pattern to it as there was no bait around.....these were migratory fish running down the beach as part of the migration....all clean ocean fish that came in from offshore.

It seemed to us that the fish were coming by in pods at a time....we could have 5 minutes of activity, followed by 1/2 hour to 1 hour of nothing at all. Once we discovered this we kept at it compulsively.

Eventually it completely died at that location, and we moved elsewhere to where the cuts were better. I was further encouraged by this as we saw spearing in the wash, lots of them. 3-5".

After each dropping another bass, dozens of casts, blind casting, Daiwa SMs (smaller version) and bombers, he left. I stayed for another 2 1/2 hours because I believed with all that bait there would be bigger fish in the mix, eventually.

Not getting action on the smaller plugs, I switched to a (Bill from Alloway) Big ML Swimmer, yellow.
Within a few minutes of doing that, I got a barely legal bass on that. He was covered by myco so I got it back in the water quickly.

Dropped one more fish in that time, and ended my night after I had a nice one minute battle with an estimated high teen fish on Bill's Custom Swimmer. (thank you Bill! ) :HappyWave:

I lost both the fish and that swimmer. You could have heard my despair from a mile away.
Very disappointed in myself at losing that fish. Most won't believe you if you can't land a nice fish like that, as you have no proof....
(Other than being an eternal googan) :laugh:

As I said, it was a very slow pick, but to me, having all that level of activity for the possibility of bigger fish, for a 7 hour period, was definitely worth it.

I was going to stick it out till the sunrise, but I got wet. The fog coming in and moist cold air eventually got to me, and I had to end it without giving it the full "Monty Marathon" treatment.....:whoo:

After I lost that fish, I retied, gave it another 50 casts, and I was done, barely making it home for the long ride, having to sleep on the side of the road.









******
Nonetheless, that's the kind of fishing that excites me most....not a great bite, but where you can work hard and expect some results, averaging 1 fish per hour.....

These were all fat migratory fish, no skinny ones in the mix, even the schoolies....and the fish I lost pulled enough drag to get me to spend the gas to get down there again.......:drool:

Total:
7 bass to 13#, released 4 legal fish.
Missed way too many, and some were hooked in the head, one in the eye.

Conditions:
Surf< 1 foot swells. Water relatively clear on the ebb, clouding up later on for the flood.
Air temps 42 degrees, water 52..
Wind < 5mph S/SE

What worked:
Daiwa SP, SM
Bombers
ML swimmer, later on, deep in the night.

I went through my bag to change up plugs every few minutes.
The magical mag darter did not produce at all on this trip.
Same for rubber, even rubber that matched the spearing.
Same for bucktails.

It seemed where I was, the fish were feeding/traveling in the top 1/2 of the water column.
Any small profile plug that matched that 3-5" spearing profile should have produced, but unfortunately last night, they did not.





********
Some of the best things I have learned over the years, is that it doesn't matter what worked yesterday.
A good fisherman pays attention to what is working right here, right now, and changes up his profile and presentation until he finds that combo. :learn:

[jigfreak]

:thumbsup: Way to get back into the saddle dark. you're right, nothing to feel guilty about. When you need to fish you need to fish. Straight up.

[seamonkey]

Nice going ds!

[storminsteve]

Awesome effort.:HappyWave: Good to hear fish are around.

[jigfreak]

5 bass to 27". Pig and jig. They were on small bait. Bite died at dark.

[vpass]

Nice going DS, and
jigfreak.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[plugcrazy]

good job fellas!

[DarkSkies]

I wanted to give thanks to all who were able to post while Pebbles and I lost power for 13 days. :clapping: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Fin got his back, but when I last spoke with him he had no internet as of yet. The connections down there got wet and there were some intermittent problems.

You have all suffered a great deal. Some of ya's have risen above that, and even with your own problems, have gone on to help others, families and friends. For that you are to be commended, :clapping: and don't be surprised if I mention it in another thread.

Chas, Madcaster, and quite a few others, I was really worried about ya's when I couldn't reach ya's by phone. Glad to hear you were ok and finally speak with ya's.....hope I didn't use too much of your cell phone battery life....:laugh:

There is tragedy all around, and much rebuilding needs to be done. If anyone reading this has some spare time, I urge you to think about volunteering and helping others less fortunate. You will be truly helping someone in need and making a difference. There are a lot of folks who are underinsured or had no insurance and I will try to help some of those, one by one, going forward.
















*****
As to the fishing, glad ya's enjoyed the reports.
I tried to lay all the details out there so folks would have an idea of how is is right now.

**Just remember that there are still areas where it is very dangerous to fish, and quite a few are still restricted at night. If someone went out, hurt themselves, and then decided to blame the town, that could ruin it for us all. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon13.png :beatin:


Will try to take pics next time if the bite is not so sporadic.

There is something I have said here a few times....

"Fishing is the tonic that energizes and refreshes the soul...." So if you really feel the need to get out there, and you have done all you could to help others, you don't need to feel guilty about it.....and the tackle shops need your business now more than ever. As I am writing this, some of them may not survive till next year.....it's that serious for them. If you know of any that are open please post up in that thread I started.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8663-NJ-Tackle-Shops-Who-s-Open

Thanks, all, and glad that you are all safe. :HappyWave:
Will talk about some of the sad tragedies in the Sandy thread when I get a chance.

[cowherder]

Awesome catches guys at least you are trying.

[surferman]

I fished a beach in cape may today, 2-4:30 incoming. Clams. 4 dogfish and one short striper.

[buckethead]

Thanks for the report surferman. They're getting them in the rips. Maybe after this weekend you will have better luck.

[SharkHart]

The I must be crazy report-- drove all over to find 8 small bass in snj, 7 of them 20-22" and one around 26" muddy high water and more coming, right now its like rage, rage against the dying of the light, wishing i didnt save all these off days for fall!

[finchaser]

I wanted to give thanks to all who were able to post while Pebbles and I lost power for 13 days. :clapping: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Brave woman her sinuses must be shot to spend 13 days with you in an enclosed area:upck::HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

2 nights of fishing hard....mixed results
I'm lucky enough to get the Old Grouchy Basstard Weather Report....3 times a day, whether I want it....or not.....:laugh: :kiss:
The grouchy weather forecast said not to fish till Tues...as the ocean would be unfishable.

Basically, unless you're fishing clams, the fishing with artificials is poor right now....and the night bite is even worse....
Fishing with clams, however, you could get into some stable schoolie action.
but with the forecast for Sat and Sun looking ugly, I had to get out there ahead of the slop.
(Weather Window)









Wed PM
Fished both sides of the tide in the ocean, 2 hours. The NE/N winds were tough, steady 15-20, terrible fishing conditions.
Gave it my best but I knew the OGB was right, not worth the time. :skunk:


Thu PM
Back at it again. ocean side.
The winds died down to 5mph and less. The swell was 3.9', duration 11 secs.....I had to get out there. :drool:

Fished the top and most of the ebb
Fished 2 hours in one area, not a touch. Water was murky but fishable.

Made one more move.
Gave it my best, wasn't working there either despite working all levels of the water column.
About ready to give up, I started half-heartedly throwing the SP.


**Note, usually I don't throw the SP in big swells, because IMO it doesn't work as well. Things like bottle plugs, mag darters, bucktails, rubber, and big swimmers are much better producers.

After about 15 mins, hooked and landed a 13# bass on the SP.
That got me pumped up. Same sluggish pattern as few days before, no drag pulled until it was partly in and then came to life. :headbang: These fish are very sluggish for artificials.
Kept at it for another 2 1/2 hours, one dropped fish (I was asleep at the wheel) on a Storm Mag Thunderstick.

Got home before sunrise.





15799

15800

I kept this fish because I'm dying to see what they're eating now, and sometimes that's the best way to tell.
Nice fat fish.

[DarkSkies]

^^ Hey the grouchy one is back!
Missed you and your grouchy insults....:2flip: :moon: :cool:

Glad to hear ya finally got internet access again, Fin.
(Fin has been learning little nuances of the Indian dialect the last week as he has been plunged into internet darkness again, with Comcast tech support in India giving him every excuse in the book....) :kooky:

Are they giving ya new lines yet, or just the patches?.....:HappyWave:







*******

The I must be crazy report-- drove all over to find 8 small bass in snj, 7 of them 20-22" and one around 26" muddy high water and more coming, right now its like rage, rage against the dying of the light, wishing i didnt save all these off days for fall!

I feel the same way, Shark....there is a very limited bite at night in most places. You really have to have the tide and time dialed in to get a fish,. and even that changes from location to location. Cold dirty water doesn't help the artificial game at all. As a result most will give up. Congrats....8 is still an outstanding number for the night bite no matter how you look at it. :thumbsup:

[storminsteve]

Shark and Dark I think you are some of the only guys fishing at night right now. Getting it done, Very nice to see striper pictures. Forgetting what they look like. Be careful and safe. I read where a guy got a ticket for trespassing in deal.

[ledhead36]

Awesome effort guys. Fished the back of the raritan last nite 6-9. 2 bass one 26" and one 29", clams.

[DarkSkies]

Fished last night, mid tide, one hour in the cold and freezing wind was it for me.
Water was around 52 deg in the ocean.
Air temps 38.
The killer was the wind, steady 15mph N, with sustained gusts to 20.
Bad for presenting artificials, bad for fishing.
Not a tap for me. :skunk:

[finchaser]

It's a daytime bite now^^^^^^mostly on metal

[Monty]

Fished this morning ocean side 1:30-8:30, big time Skunkaroo. First time out since Sandy.
WOW.
Only fished about a 1/2 mile of beach, intended to work a mile or two but didn't. The beach structure looks a lot like it used too (years ago) with the rocks uncovered and sand movement.
The waves were 2-5 feet, mostly on the low end, but frequency was every 6-8 seconds and they were relentless. Tons of white water. So the white water rushed the beach at a fast rate and casting over the breaking waves into a real fast north to south current made plugging difficult. Threw lots of 1 1/2 and 2 oz bucktails.
Felt very different being out there this trip. Seeing the amount of sand moved, some destruction and some big rocks that were moved I could not help imagining how big and powerful that surf had to be to do what it did. Made the outing strange, ended up fishing the area I am most familiar with instead venturing further.

Was great getting out there, looking forward to next trip.
Had white water up the wazoo.
http://rocksimpson.com/images/2012_11_18_ww.jpg

[ledhead36]

Don't know how you can stand up in that big surf for all those hours monty. you are the whitewater king.:kooky:

[storminsteve]

Thats why hes called Whitewater Monty. Great report, way to go. Lucky you didn't get washed away in that surf. Nice pic tho.

[vpass]

Monty, Great report. at least you got out. I can't wait to hear the sounds of the crashing surf. fish would be a plus.

[finchaser]

No white water where I fished this AM but did get a bass that was 14# who was out for a swim with it's son of about 20 inches both are still swimming.

[cowherder]

Awesome reports guys. At least you are trying and catching some nice bass. Its so nice to see pics of bass again thanks for posting.

[cowherder]

Monty the white water pic looks like it is about 100 yards of white water.

[storminsteve]

Good job. Fish pics are a great nice to see. Like vpass said the catching is a bonus. Would be great just to get out there and wet a line.

[jigfreak]

way to go. catching teen fish never gets old.

[bababooey]

dark and finchaser how the heck are you guys getting stripers that size when everyone else is catching 20" bass? Whats the secret, are you soaking clams in bunker oil?:laugh: :HappyWave:

[buckethead]

^ I think they are using the hybrid clambrella rig, clam around the outside, bunker head in the middle.

[baitstealer]

No white water where I fished this AM but did get a bass that was 14# who was out for a swim with it's son of about 20 inches both are still swimming.

Nice!

[DarkSkies]

dark and finchaser how the heck are you guys getting stripers that size when everyone else is catching 20" bass? Whats the secret, are you soaking clams in bunker oil?:laugh: :HappyWave:


^ I think they are using the hybrid clambrella rig, clam around the outside, bunker head in the middle.

Bababooey, Buckethead nailed it. :) Ya have to keep the clambrellas towards the bottom when the surf is rough. :laugh: :HappyWave:
Honestly, it ain't easy....there are very few fish around. and the ones that are are more likely to hit clams....the pursuit of surf bass right now with artificials is more of an obsession. The only guarantee is the longer you're out there, the colder you'll get.....:learn:

[finchaser]

This AM from 5 to 7 released two bass 9 and 11 pounds both caught on jig head and rip tide mullet in chartreuse again no white water and flat as a lake.

[DarkSkies]

the fish were hitting sluggishly, and you really had to concentrate on the hookset.
A missed bump was a lost fish for good, they would not come back for it.
The thing is you could not tell by the bumps if they were 26" or teen fish....all fish hit the same....

Once you drove the hook in they would become energized and put up a fight, often getting more energized the closer they got to the surfline.....that made it pretty exciting.......:)

The challenging part was there was no pattern to it as there was no bait around:learn:


Still noticing the same things, very sporadic bite, scattered fish, low amounts of bait, and sluggish swipes at the plug......You miss that hit, and that could be your one decent fish of the trip.......

Mon PM -
Fished 3 hours. Windy, lousy NE wind, air 40 degrees, wind NE steady 15, wind made it hard to present.

After 2 hours I knew any fish I would get would be a "Hail Mary" fish.....as there was no action at all. A little later I had one fish on the SP and dropped it. :beatin:Fatigue had set in and I messed up....once a googan always a googan......:laugh:
I therefore blew my only shot in the night at a decent fish.








Wed PM - Thanksgiving Bass.......

Conditions -
Air temps 38 deg, wind 10mph NE steady.
Water around 52. Cleaning up a bit.

Pebbles and I are mostly off the power grid now that we have a wood stove. Thanks to advice from Jonthepain and Speedy, :thumbsup: we're heating her house with wood, but burning a lot of it......had to get up at 2am to re-stoke the stove, and thought I would make a quick run down to the water.

Fished 1 1/2 hours, ebb tide.
Wind ramped down a bit and the water cleaned up slightly.
Still couldn't see any signs of bait, but as I fished in a pocket a pretty large bass exploded about 10 feet from me....

That got me pumped up, and 20 minutes later I had a schoolie.....
Not a great fight, but still nice to catch. I was grateful to have a bass on the end of the line for Thanksgiving. :cool:

1582015821



It had one of those circular tags on it. (ALS?) Hate those tags, I feel they're more hazardous than the straight ones....

Cleaned it up a bit, quick pic,
** Normally i don't take pics of small fish but some of ya's asked me to....
and back in the water to get bigger.....:fishing:

That was my only action for the trip.

Fish was caught on a ML swimmer.

[SharkHart]

Crushed small bass to 28" in SNJ last night. In horrible muddy high water, after 5-7 days or so of that i have to wonder what it would have been like with clean water.

[storminsteve]

Wow guys awesome great reports! I'll be out there somewhere this weekend. Hope to have a report to add.

[porgy75]

Way to go!

[jigfreak]

Well done.

[cowherder]

Finchaser, shark and dark awesome! Great catching way to put your time in. thanks for posting the pics dark. It's been so long since I have seen a bass I was beginning to forget what they look like.

[cowherder]

Fished this morning ocean side 1:30-8:30, big time Skunkaroo. First time out since Sandy.
WOW.
Only fished about a 1/2 mile of beach, intended to work a mile or two but didn't. The beach structure looks a lot like it used too (years ago) with the rocks uncovered and sand movement.
The waves were 2-5 feet, mostly on the low end, but frequency was every 6-8 seconds and they were relentless. Tons of white water. So the white water rushed the beach at a fast rate and casting over the breaking waves into a real fast north to south current made plugging difficult. Threw lots of 1 1/2 and 2 oz bucktails.
Felt very different being out there this trip. Seeing the amount of sand moved, some destruction and some big rocks that were moved I could not help imagining how big and powerful that surf had to be to do what it did. Made the outing strange, ended up fishing the area I am most familiar with instead venturing further.

Was great getting out there, looking forward to next trip.
Had white water up the wazoo.
http://rocksimpson.com/images/2012_11_18_ww.jpg

Great report monty love the white water pic.:drool:

[finchaser]

This AM in the fog I had 1 bass 12 pounds released we had no other action and saw no other life.fished 5:30 to 7:00 water temp is dropping quickly there was skim ice as I drove over the Beaver Dam

[storminsteve]

Awesome Fin sounds like all nice fish you are catching. Fished nomoco today from 1-4 incoming tide. The waves were pretty big. Beautiful sunny day out there but not many fish. Saw a guy fishing clams pick up about 5 shorts. I fished bucktails with a chartreuse grub. One bass at 22".

[buckethead]

Nice going finchaser and storminsteve.

[finchaser]

SS I'm not out front

[surferman]

Great job finshaser you are getting some real nice fish. I fished Brigantine yesterday with clams near high tide. Surf was rough and you needed 10 oz to hold. 2 dogfish and one skate. Fished from 3-5pm.

[paco33]

I give you all credit for getting out there. I have pretty much packed it in. Was thinking of hitting a party boat but it seems even that action is slow. Hoping for a better season next year.

[finchaser]

Thanks guys getting a few here and there, but remember when I don't post it's the :skunk:as I fish mostly every day at least 5 days a week and sometimes twice a day. This has been a very slow year for bass and now Sandy which will impact us for many years to come.

[SharkHart]

Back to the scene where i had over 20 on weds plus another spot where people been catching and i took the skunkeroo, not one hit all night.

[cowherder]

Not looking good guys. I fished nomoco today with clams thinking I would get at least 1. Skunked! Fished 1:30 to 4pm no bass only 2 small skates.

[Monty]

Fished this morning 1:30-11:00 out front. Two skunks in a row for me now. Really enjoyed trying to catch fish this trip. The water at times was calm, other times had a nice chop. This was the first time I really was able to fish all the new structure (worked a good mile or two of the beach), was fun even without any action. Saw a few swirls 200-300+ yards from the beach. Water was stained big time. Great weather, wind was not an issue and only had one issue with the almost "frost bite hand" (10-15 minutes of "OUCH" and all was better....not catching fish=not very cold hands......), otherwise I was extremely comfortable. High tide did not seem very high, wading out to a sand bar was easy around high tide. Still a few pieces of wood out there (be careful). Was planning on going again tomorrow, but may be a day or two away as my shoulder is a bit fatigued from all the casting.....
Decent colorful sunrise:
http://rocksimpson.com/images/2012_11_25_SR.jpg

[DarkSkies]

Fished this morning 1:30-11:00 out front. Two skunks in a row for me now. Really enjoyed trying to catch fish this trip. The water at times was calm, other times had a nice chop.

That's what some of the rest of us are seeing as well, Monty. IMO the season is winding down. Back bays are to the point where some of them are freezing over with skim ice. If you find pockets of bait you could find some fish.
If not...you're talking about the same limited bite at dawn and dusk......:fishing: :HappyWave:



Fri PM report....
:skunk: I really tried to make an effort to cover some ground as some friends were coming in from out of state to fish. They are no strangers to extreme conditions and just wanted to be out there. Tried to pre-fish a few places we might hit, and got blanked at all of them. It was cold and miserable there at night with the winds and big surf. Gave up after 2 1/2 hours.







Sat PM report.....limited action....2 short bass....
It's pretty well-known that LBI has been producing some fish. My friends came from out of state to try to eel the inlet from the rocks on the ebb tide. This is usually a good strategy and has produced fish to the 30#s in the past.

3 hours of eeling for them and throwing artificials produced nothing. Conditions were tough.....they fished that inlet with 25mph W winds at their backs.
(Air temps from 40-36)

They came a little further north to meet me. I wasn't optimistic, but,.......the hardcore surf guys that they were....were still optimistic...not beaten down yet...so we set out to get them some fish.....2 of the guys were younger and don't fish a lot. To us, it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things if we get skunked when the fishing is poor, that comes with the territory. However, I thought it would be a blessing if we could manage at least one small fish for the newer guys.

After another 2 hours of us plugging, there was nothing.
They were finally ready to make the long drive home. Hope to see them again when the fishing is better. :HappyWave:
I have to give them :thumbsup: for giving it their best....these guys don't know the meaning of the word quit...and know how tough it is at times......

I fished for the rest of the ebb, and had an hour window when I saw a scattered amount of bait in a pocket.
Managed one short bass on the Daiwa SP, and an hour later another short. That was it for me.






Sun PM - :skunk:Went out a little earlier hoping to fish from the top of the ebb. Stopped at some of my best producing areas....all of which have consistently produced in the past......Not a touch for me in 4 hours of fishing the ebb. Water was cold and dirty, around 51. (Air temps from 40-35)

On Sat we saw some evidence of the water cleaning up in some areas, but this is really not the case overall.

The swell has dropped substantially. It's perfect for fishin....:fishing: but not for catchin......:don't know why:

[storminsteve]

Fished this morning 1:30-11:00 out front. Two skunks in a row for me now. Really enjoyed trying to catch fish this trip. The water at times was calm, other times had a nice chop. This was the first time I really was able to fish all the new structure (worked a good mile or two of the beach), was fun even without any action. Saw a few swirls 200-300+ yards from the beach. Water was stained big time. Great weather, wind was not an issue and only had one issue with the almost "frost bite hand" (10-15 minutes of "OUCH" and all was better....not catching fish=not very cold hands......), otherwise I was extremely comfortable. High tide did not seem very high, wading out to a sand bar was easy around high tide. Still a few pieces of wood out there (be careful). Was planning on going again tomorrow, but may be a day or two away as my shoulder is a bit fatigued from all the casting.....
Decent colorful sunrise:
http://rocksimpson.com/images/2012_11_25_SR.jpg

Thanks for the reports dark and monty. Gotta be in it to win it right? :viking:
I fished nomoco yesterday 2:30-5. Broke down and brought some clams at jack's. Got 6 bass but they were all short. One was a tail pincher keeper but didn't feel like dealing with it. All released. Was just out for a nice afternoon, and sick of getting the skunk plugging. The surf looked good but dirty as mentioned.

[hookset]

Gotta be in it to win it right? :viking:
.

Amen storminsteve. I usually keep at it till the end of December and will try to do the same this year. Fished somoco from sunrise to 8am. 2 runts on a sandeel type teaser. Small bait busting far out. Too far to see what it was.

[Monty]

Fished this morning same area as yesterday 5:30-9:00. Water still stained, a little clearer than yesterday. Ocean very calm. Had a fish hit a yellow needle fish around 6:30, big swirl....I missed it, I have reflexes like a rock.
Then finally caught a fish....not a bass.
Was great being out there, without battling the big surf it was almost relaxing.
Bunch of fish hitting small bait, they were not bass.
http://rocksimpson.com/images/2012_11_26_F.jpg

[ledhead36]

Nice hickory shad monty at least you are catching. It has shut off completely in the bay. May take a ride to the ocean this week dying to catch something.

[jigfreak]

Had a fish hit a yellow needle fish around 6:30, big swirl....I missed it, I have reflexes like a rock.


Dude you should ask Santa to bring you a portable hook sharpener for Christmas.:rolleyes:
At least you beat the skunk ola. Cool teaser

[storminsteve]

^^ Hey I thiink Montys ok he just has to learn to use bigger hooks! Or a stinger harness.:laugh: :HappyWave:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH4agXZWxHo

[jigfreak]

Moco yesterday till dark, Small bait, 4 bass to 30" on ava with chart. tail. Hickory shad around too. Ocean was like a lake.

[Monty]

Moco yesterday till dark, Small bait, 4 bass to 30" on ava with chart. tail. Hickory shad around too. Ocean was like a lake.
Nice. :thumbsup:
I fished Tuesday morning out front 5:30-10:00.
Nothing for me.
Had birds working some bait 100-150 yards out for a good 30 minutes. Got out onto a sand bar but still came up a good 20 yards short (wind switched to the east didn't help). Enjoyed fishing in the weather, my favorite (drizzle, cool, some rain, little wind, chop in the water, (exhilarating conditions). Took Wednesday off, may give it another go in the AM Thursday.

[storminsteve]

Fished nomoco 4-6 this afternoon. 3 bass on clams from jacks. Biggest 30", released. Fish hit light had to hold the rod.

[finchaser]

This AM 1 fish on metal released water temp was 43 out front

[DarkSkies]

Gotta give you all credit for trying :thumbsup:.....even the grouchy basstid is out there casting away.......:HappyWave: hoping to get a few casts in before he gets sat on by the Fat Lady......:laugh:


Late report....
Tue PM

Was hoping that the swell would lay down a bit after the previous day's storm....it didn't, but had to see for myself.
It was kind of a long period swell
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7984-Stripers-amp-Anglers-Education-Series-groundswells-and-other-terms&highlight=long+period+swell
9-10 waves at 3 secs duration, :scared: followed by about a minute of calmer water.....somewhat fishable during that time, but tricky.

The water was dirty and I knew any fish would be a Hail Mary fish......
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?1877-fishing-terms-dictionary/page5&highlight=hail+mary+fish

Most of my trips lately, i'm looking for that bigger fish, the solitary fish that is swimming along on the migration route...the one fish among hundreds of smaller ones....needle in a haystack.....I know the chances are slim but I don't care....have to be out there giving it a shot.....

I failed on Tues night, not even a tap.
The winds had died down to 5-10 NE. and after the tide turned they shifted to W/NW...very fishable winds and a pleasure to be out there.
I just felt, that for artificial fishing, the surf was a bit too churned up at that time.....


Conditions:
Air temp range - 40-35
Water - 50
Wind 5-10 W/NW by the end of the night.
Fishing - good for fishin, poor for catchin....:fishing:

[seamonkey]

I fished below brigantine this morning, clams and bunker. 6-8am. One skate, other than that el skunko!

[dogfish]

..even the grouchy basstid is out there casting away.......:HappyWave: hoping to get a few casts in before he gets sat on by the Fat Lady......:laugh:



That's not necessarily a misfortune....there are some fellas out there who willingly have this done to them;) :scared:

[bababooey]

^^ So what are you implying, that fat ladies do more than sing?
Are we talking about face sitting, or just the generic trampling and smothering types here?
Are fees involved or is this all done gratis? Enquiring minds want to know.:laugh:

[dogfish]

I don't know bababooey you seem to have the knowledge and specific terms down pat. All I was saying is that there are fellas out there who like to do certain things with fat women. And willing to pay for it. Care to share some more?:lookhappy: I won't be fishing again untill May and was a little bored today.

[Monty]

Fished this morning out front 3:30 - 10:30.
Was real nice out, surf looked very fishy, lots of real nice structure to fish, very bright night/morning.
Had a couple bumps on metal lip plugs and missed, then saw a bass swirl and miss a yellow metal lip about 15 feet from me. This was all in the dark.
As the sky started to light up the water looked great. Was fishing a broken jetty, had both sides to myself.
I have not caught a Striper in 7 weeks (6 skunkings in a row, longest streak I can remember).
It looked incredibly fishy.
I was thinking how difficult its been for me to catch a bass over this period.
How many fish I have missed lately.
Thought that I may get a PM from Dark saying that I am now only a member of Anglers.com
I was fishing without a teaser, wanted to catch a bass on a plug... The pressure got to me and I put a teaser on.
First cast north side of rock pile, lots of white water a Striper around 18" hits the teaser and I finally caught a Striper...
Couple casts later same side of rock pile I catch another short striper on a Big Don yellow metal lip plug.
Other side of the rock pile in front of it I got another short on a yellow needle.
Caught a short around 8:30 on a cream/pink rubber shad in the wash.
And missed a fish on the yellow needle around 9:30.... back to normal....
Was lots of fun, real nice morning, was nice to make the trip home without that stinky smell for a change :)


What a relief, was developing a frieking complex :wheeeee:


http://rocksimpson.com/images/2012_11_29_SB_N.jpg

[storminsteve]

The pressure got to me and I put a teaser on.
First cast north side of rock pile, lots of white water a Striper around 18" hits the teaser and I finally caught a Striper...
Couple casts later same side of rock pile I catch another short striper on a Big Don yellow metal lip plug.
Other side of the rock pile in front of it I got another short on a yellow needle.
Caught a short around 8:30 on a cream/pink rubber shad in the wash.
And missed a fish on the yellow needle around 9:30.... back to normal....
Was lots of fun, real nice morning, was nice to make the trip home without that stinky smell for a change :)


What a relief, was developing a frieking complex :wheeeee:


http://rocksimpson.com/images/2012_11_29_SB_N.jpg

Hey at least you scored. When the great scorer comes to judge against your name, he cares not if you won or lost, but how you played the game. Awesome report Monty. I have not been using a teaser that much and have recently backslided to using clams because it seems there are so few fish out there. Your report got me all pumped again! Way to go! When you haven't seen stripes in a while and you know you are trying, you feel deficient like you forgot how to fish. Way to get back at it. Great report and pic.:HappyWave:

[finchaser]

^^ So what are you implying, that fat ladies do more than sing?
Are we talking about face sitting, or just the generic trampling and smothering types here?
Are fees involved or is this all done gratis? Enquiring minds want to know.:laugh:

They fish too this is one of killies ex girlfriends

[GeoffT]

Herring and sandeels are here. Another body of fish up north is on the way. Hopefully they'll collide. Here's hoping December could be good. :)

[buckethead]

They fish too this is one of killies ex girlfriends

Sweet Jesus where did your get that pic finchaser. She could eat me for breakfast and still be hungry.
Or feed a village of starving babies.:pig:
Fished moco from 3-5. 3 shorties on small ava with tail. Some birds working far out but too far to reach. Didn't see fish breaking though, was probably just a ton of bait.

[cowherder]

Fished this morning out front 3:30 - 10:30.
Was real nice out, surf looked very fishy, lots of real nice structure to fish, very bright night/morning.
Had a couple bumps on metal lip plugs and missed, then saw a bass swirl and miss a yellow metal lip about 15 feet from me. This was all in the dark.
As the sky started to light up the water looked great. Was fishing a broken jetty, had both sides to myself.
I have not caught a Striper in 7 weeks (6 skunkings in a row, longest streak I can remember).
It looked incredibly fishy.
I was thinking how difficult its been for me to catch a bass over this period.
How many fish I have missed lately.
Thought that I may get a PM from Dark saying that I am now only a member of Anglers.com
I was fishing without a teaser, wanted to catch a bass on a plug... The pressure got to me and I put a teaser on.
First cast north side of rock pile, lots of white water a Striper around 18" hits the teaser and I finally caught a Striper...
Couple casts later same side of rock pile I catch another short striper on a Big Don yellow metal lip plug.
Other side of the rock pile in front of it I got another short on a yellow needle.
Caught a short around 8:30 on a cream/pink rubber shad in the wash.
And missed a fish on the yellow needle around 9:30.... back to normal....
Was lots of fun, real nice morning, was nice to make the trip home without that stinky smell for a change :)


What a relief, was developing a frieking complex :wheeeee:


http://rocksimpson.com/images/2012_11_29_SB_N.jpg


Great report monty you finally got some fish! Awesome it is nice to see them hitting needle fish and teasers too! Cool pic. I may try either tomorrow or Sunday.

[jigfreak]

Grats on breaking the skunk monty. Got 2 runts tonight before the sun went down, metal. fish slow and low.

[surferman]

Fished LBI yesterday, incoming tide. about 4 to 6pm. Two shorts on a diamond jig with green tail. Then two more on rubber shad when it got dark.