NJ Fishing Reports for May 2013....www.StripersAndAnglers.com [Archive]

DarkSkies

05-01-2013, 07:59 AM

NJ fishing reports for May 2013. ..www.StripersandAnglers.com (http://www.stripersandanglers.com/)

NJ fishing reports for May 2013...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. 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.

1. 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 there today?

2. 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)

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. :fishing:

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
CISP - Corson's Inlet State Park
CMC - Cape May County
GEI - Great Egg Inlet
TI - Townsend's Inlet

RB - Raritan Bay
BB - Barnegat Bay
CB - Chesapeake Bay
DB - Delaware Bay

DarkSkies

05-01-2013, 08:18 AM

Baitstealer,
you won the plug in the April 2013 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)

wish4fish

05-01-2013, 08:25 AM

fished last nite to 1am 3 small runts and some small bluefish on snot.

buckethead

05-01-2013, 08:36 AM

Worked a few places on the incoming tide yesterday. 2 bass to 12# bucktail.

finchaser

05-01-2013, 10:29 AM

1 bass and 1 blue this AM both still swimming

madcaster

05-01-2013, 07:28 PM

Fished a few hours on icoming tide in the RB. Nothing going on . Every where I went was empty ...you could tell everyone went to SH

finchaser

05-01-2013, 08:12 PM

5:00 to 7:00 PM 17 blues to 14 pounds all on metal all still swimming

storminsteve

05-01-2013, 09:12 PM

Fished nomoco today after work. Glad to be back in an old familiar place. The ocean was a little rough so I made a bit of a move to some calmer water. Picked up 5 bass, 3 on bucktail and worm, and 2 on a rubber shad. Biggest was 27" lots of fun. Last of the outgoing.

storminsteve

05-01-2013, 09:15 PM

5:00 to 7:00 PM 17 blues to 14 pounds all on metal all still swimming

Finchaser that is a hell of a report your arms must be tired! I want those blues please send some up our way. I saw 2 small blues caught tonight that was it.

ledhead36

05-01-2013, 09:38 PM

Fished a few hours on icoming tide in the RB. Nothing going on . Every where I went was empty ...you could tell everyone went to SH

madcaster hope they all stay at sandy hook. there are still some nice bass around. got 3 keepers to 36" last night. Kept the first one he was around 29" let the other 2 go. Bunker came in thick and was throwing heads. Also one blue around 8lbs. That one came on clams till I switched to bunker heads.

striperhunter

05-02-2013, 03:43 AM

Fished ibsp 3am-11pm howling east wind dirty water with clams 1 keeper and few shorts.

DarkSkies

05-02-2013, 07:58 AM

*^ Striperhunter that water sure was dirty yesterday. Congrats for getting out there in less than optimal conditions and putting the time in for those fish. I'm a little confused, how long were you out there? Almost sounds like a Monty Marathon to me. :thumbsup: :HappyWave:

Finchaser....you know I'm going to mug ya for those bluefish one of these nights.....make sure you have a clothespin handy for your nose when I come knocking...:scared:..would rather have insane bluefish action than mediocre bass action any day........glad ya got into em.
Maybe today you won't be so damn grouchy....:laugh: :kiss: :HappyWave:

************
Report 5-1 PM
Took a little nap after a hard day's work so I could get out there on the right tides and still be able to function today. Man I'm getting old, had to pop 3 advils when I got up to go out there at night.

Same lack of pattern again, it seems in some areas the back bay fish have thinned out. Others, where the bunker are thickest, are producing, but I am finding more dead water than ever this year....just a general lack of bait and small forage fish, other than bunker.....and colder water almost everywhere, by the time I get out there.

Managed 2 bass, 15 and 17#.
This time I kept one to eat (smaller one, first one caught). I feel cold water bass, before they start gorging on bunker, taste a little better. Released the other. Both fat chunky fish, put up a decent fight, blind casting small swimmers.

No other activity at all for me.....no misses, nothing. This was the only activity of the trip, despite fishing in 2 separate areas and slogging through the sedges on the flats each time I decided to move.

J Barbosa

05-02-2013, 03:11 PM

Fished from 10pm last night until 6am this morning.

Only two small 5lb blues got in our way http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

Once we snagged enough bunker we started catching a lot of nice sized bass consistently. We had multiple double headers of 15-20lb sized bass. We lost track on how many we caught but nothing over 20lbs. Most fish caught were around 15-18lbs. I seemed to cull out all the smaller sized fish today.

I live lined a bunker as the sun was rising and got the smallest bass of the night around 30". LOL

What a way to start May!

Now for the ugly: I made three stops in the bay including where we caught the bass the other day and it was DEAD before making our final stop.

Finchaser, I can't wait to get on some monstor blues.

ledhead36

05-02-2013, 03:25 PM

chas527

05-02-2013, 04:20 PM

fished the hook this morning' . 1 small bass an 2 skates but it felt good to fish there again.

J Barbosa

05-02-2013, 04:31 PM

Way to put in the time John! I was on the graveyard shift last night too tossing the heads. 5 bass to 40". As you said they were all keeper sized. Kind of worries me not to see small ones though. 2 weeks ago it was the clams now the bunka head is the crack that they want.
Have to give it to you for the 8 hours of fishing, your *** must have been dragging at work today.

Between Monday into Tuesdays all nighter and last nights marathon I was a walking zombie this morning; I am feeling much better right now after a nap at lunch time. I wish I did not have to work, I would be out tonight and would have been out Tuesday night as well. I spent a lot of time trying to snag bunker last night as thats all I could get the fish to take and that took a lot out of me. I tried to plug for a good bit of the incoming with nothing to show for it. With the action as hot as it was on the outgoing I feel I could have plugged a few fish if I really wanted to.

Leadhead, on Monday the fish wanted heads and we were only getting hit consistently on heads. Last night I was fishing mostly heads and I was catching less fish and smaller fish while my buddy was using small 1-2" chunks and he litteraly pulled out 3-4 fish in a row that were cookie cutter 18-20lb (boga) fish. :bigeyes:

Can't afford to make it back out tonight and keep my job.

I don't know how you do it Ledhead. I wish I had Dark's insane energy levels sometimes. :headbang:

Just wanted to say that all of my fish were released. Please consider releasing these breeders that are feeding on bunker and instead take some smaller 30" fish from the surf. As Dark mentioned they usually taste better

hookset

05-02-2013, 05:02 PM

Nice job fellas. When everyone else is leaving you are heading out.:thumbsup:

hookset

05-02-2013, 05:05 PM

Between Monday into Tuesdays all nighter and last nights marathon I was a walking zombie this morning;

Sometimes we call it the 2nd shift. Now in honor of John we can call it the zombie shift.:clapping:
Yup those bass just don't bite like that in the middle of a sunny day unless you are on a boat or kayak or they are blitzing the surf on bunker.

finchaser

05-02-2013, 05:12 PM

9 blue fish to 8pounds all alive and well

buckethead

05-02-2013, 05:43 PM

Yup those bass just don't bite like that in the middle of a sunny day unless you are on a boat or kayak or they are blitzing the surf on bunker.

They used to, and not too many years ago at that. Spring blitzes of bass and blues, no bunker needed. Miles of fish along the nj coast. Miss one group and you could just drive to another. We used to find them by driving up and down the beaches. No cell phones. does anyone remember that? Nice catching, gang.

jigfreak

05-02-2013, 05:51 PM

^^ Hah bucket you may as well ask them if anyone remembers laughter. ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZB4hPyPR2M

Those tales of bass and blues in daytime blitzes without bunker might as well be fairy tales. No one remembers those, old man. :HappyWave:

Nice going fellas.

madcaster

05-02-2013, 05:58 PM

Did a lot of fishing and no catching today ...fished Rb . Did a lot of walking as well ....saw some cocktail blues caught on bait ...that's it

Got to love Power pro .snagged about 100yards out with a ava ....found a stick to rap the line around and pulled (hard)and it can lose. got the ava back in and the hook was straighten a bit. Got it back

finchaser

05-02-2013, 06:17 PM

cowherder

05-02-2013, 06:56 PM

So true will never see those days again

You wonder what it is about folks that they can't see the hurricane comeing before it hits them.
I took a quick trip to the hook. One short bass on a shad, felt good to be there again!

DarkSkies

05-03-2013, 01:38 PM

Got up early this morning to fish the tide I wanted pre-dawn. Unfortunately it did not produce bass or anything else for me.
Smelling like a hobo, I went and mugged Finchaser and his pals who were nailing bluefish cast after cast on the beach. By the time I got there bite slowed to slow pick....(maybe I shut it down...:bucktooth: )
Still managed to find 10 to 6#.

They were sluggish in the cold surf, slow and low got them, metal, bucktails, etc.
The building NE wind eventually made it unfishable for all of us. They decided to leave as soon as the wind got gusty, smart choice,,,,
I left a little after after I made it to #10.....

Tell me again, how the NE pattern makes for epic catching for NJ fishermen in the surf? :huh:

DarkSkies

05-03-2013, 01:42 PM

They used to, and not too many years ago at that. Spring blitzes of bass and blues, no bunker needed. Miles of fish along the nj coast. Miss one group and you could just drive to another. We used to find them by driving up and down the beaches. No cell phones. does anyone remember that? Nice catching, gang.

^^ Hah bucket you may as well ask them if anyone remembers laughter. ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZB4hPyPR2M

Those tales of bass and blues in daytime blitzes without bunker might as well be fairy tales. No one remembers those, old man. :HappyWave:

You wonder what it is about folks that they can't see the hurricane comeing before it hits them.

So true will never see those days again

Just a few years ago we had days like that, catching bass and blues in long lasting spring-time blitzes....
The OFFC is out fishing today and reminded me of that today, how things are so different than they were, just 8 short years ago.....:(

buckethead

05-03-2013, 02:13 PM

4 bass to 29" last night buck and pork, released. Gents you are right I fear the good days are behind us forever. Jigfreak who are you calling old look in the mirror you aren't so far behind.:HappyWave:

finchaser

05-03-2013, 03:59 PM

This AM between 5:30 and 7:30 had some where around 30 bluefish from 3 to 7 pounds. Bucktailed until it was light enough to throw metal all still alive and well. A very fast bite died when Dark Cloud (DS) tracked me down and arrived on the scene.

baitstealer

05-03-2013, 05:44 PM

I fished sandy hook this morning on the outgoing tide and got a 32inch striper using clams. I let a bigger one go last week so I kept this one. It was very fat. I cleaned it and saw the strangest stuff in its stomach maybe you guys can help me identify it? I will post in the stomach contents thread. Thanks for all the pointers and reports you guys have posted it really has made my fishing learning worthwhile!

Dark thanks for that great plug you sent me. I hope to use it to catch a cow!

J Barbosa

05-03-2013, 11:02 PM

DarkSkies

05-04-2013, 11:07 AM

^ JB, ya might want to fish some rockpiles with them when the swell dies down a bit. Better hurry before the bluefish start to get thicker, though.
Your mother must be in a class by herself not to give you grief about live eels in the refrig. I tried to hide some dead rigged ones in Pebbles' refrig once....although she is very cool as well. :heart::cool:..I did get some grief about it when she found them......:scared:

******
Fishing 5-3-13 PM
Wanted to hit the ocean again after the morning action.
I got there and the swell was too big with a short duration.
Bad conditions, makes presentation ineffective for more than a short time..... even with bucktails.

Gave it a shot for a while in the dark. IMO when the swell drops surf fishing with artificials will be better.
There are a couple other places where you can hide from the swell but I didn't feel like making the hike.

Tried 2 places in the bay, too many crowds for my liking on a Fri night....called it quits on one of my shortest trips recently, 2 1/2 hours. Not a touch for me working all levels of the water column.

ledhead36

05-04-2013, 11:44 AM

Hey ds it's fishing not catching, right?:HappyWave:
We couldn't find any bass last night, blues to 8# on bunker and clams. I hate the way the tides are set up this week.

ledhead36

05-04-2013, 11:46 AM

I hope some bass find these before my mom does. If she finds them first they are getting skinned and fried.

Going to sleep for about an hour and then heading down.

I have a hard time embedding images from the iPad.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/8706575096/

Awesome Mom award.:thumbsup:

fished the hook this morning' . 1 small bass an 2 skates but it felt good to fish there again.

I am heading to the hook either sunday or starting to hit it regularly after that. Thanks for the report chas!

seamonkey

05-04-2013, 11:49 AM

Fished the db this morning with clams. Outgoing tide. Nothing but a dog. Hope the bass didn't pass us by.

J Barbosa

05-04-2013, 02:35 PM

I started fishing last night around 2am with my brother and a friend that lately seems to bring bad fishing with him and the ability to shut down even the hottest bite.

Since I had plenty of eels we had no problems finding the bunker right away and plenty of it...its funny how that works sometimes.

A few minutes into fishing my brother lands a 12lb bass on a head. I wanted to keep one fish to eat tonight and this one would be perfect but we decided to release this one thinking the fishing was going to be red hot until morning like the past two trips. It turns out that was the only bass we saw on one of our lines.

I got two eels bitten off by blues and then just switched to chunks. We did have some action with small blues throughout the night.

We called it quits around 6am and left some small blues biting. The plan was for my brother and I to meet my dad and a family friend up at the hook for some bait soaking. I got there and my dad didn't bring any of my big surf sticks so we were underguned for the strong swell. We did manage to catch a blue and one small bass.

hookset

05-04-2013, 05:59 PM

Oh snap that bass looks like a bunker John!:laugh: :HappyWave:
At least you had some action last night. Congrats on the c&r. I was at in nomoco early today and the swell was bad. Kept moving to the n till the water got a little calmer. Little flurry of activity picked up a 27" bass on bucktail and then the blues started. Got a few of those as well. Saw bunker early with nothing on them.

fishinmission78

05-04-2013, 06:08 PM

Fished island beach for the incoming tide. Big swell needed 8 oz to hold. One bass a hair short of legal, clams.

finchaser

05-04-2013, 08:32 PM

19 bluefish to 7 pounds all on metal all released

finchaser

05-05-2013, 10:49 AM

Today 5 to 9AM 3 bass to 31 inches and 12 bluefish 3 to 8 pounds bass on plugs blues on metal all released

storminsteve

05-05-2013, 01:23 PM

Wow finchaser you are on a roll! Congrats!
Fished sandy hook bay this morning got 9 blues to 10lbs on bunker chunks. I had to leave or probably would still be catching them after the tide turned. Lots o fun mean and nasty!

fishinmission78

05-05-2013, 02:23 PM

Fished the park today it was tough even for 8oz. No fish

J Barbosa

05-05-2013, 02:38 PM

I fished last night from 3am until 8am. Since I didn't bring any eels with me the bunker were real thin. We only managed to snag two all night. We caught nothing today, not even a bluefish.

I think I'm going to take a few days to relax and then maybe bring the fly rod out for some bluefish. I've been wanting to do that all winter. I got some Bobs bangers ready to go.

Monty

05-05-2013, 02:56 PM

Fished bayside this morning 1:00 -10:00, Picked up a short bass on a rubber teaser around 4:00, then 3 Blues on pink jig and Megabait. fish were around 25 inches. Also added my first Fluke of the year also on the Megabait. Plus missed a few hits. Not a banner morning but some action and it was fun.

basshunter

05-05-2013, 04:38 PM

Nice going on the blues guys. Fished a cape may back bay spot this morning, close to the beach but a little calmer. One blue and one skate, clam.

cowherder

05-05-2013, 06:50 PM

Finchaser you are on fire! Like a fishing machine. congrats great catching. And the releasing on the bass. I fished SH this afternoon on the incoming tide. Windy in the ocean so I wandered into another spot. As I was walking to where the water was another 2 guys were walking fast. I started walking faster and noticed they were walking faster too. It was like they were in a race to beat me to the water lol. Turns out they wanted to join their group of 3 other guys so no one could get in on their territory. They were catching all bluefish. Imagine how nutty it will get when the bass blitzes are here. You can recognize these guys because they all look the same. Aquaskins jackets, mak bags and vs reels., all running past me to catch 4-8lb bluefish.:ROFLMAO
I caught some bluefish too on metal but it seems the people using bunker were really racking them up. Still a lot of fun, the blues are hungry. Thanks for the heads up Steve!:HappyWave:

J Barbosa

05-05-2013, 07:55 PM

cowherder

05-05-2013, 08:09 PM

hookset

05-06-2013, 09:32 AM

What got me even more was they were all clique-ey and it was bluefish! All outfitted with the latest gear like they were going toi go skishing at montauk lol. I mean we are talking bluefish here for pete's sake! Since when do you need a surfcasters uniform to go catch some blues?:kooky:

All the cool kids have the best gear for fishing dude. Get with the program.:rolleyes:
I have to laugh when I see guys fishing the first 2 weeks of the season in raritan bay with the finest gear money can buy. As you said a VS has to be part of that. Throwing clams with a VS to catch small rats and the occasional 20. Nothing wrong with buying good gear but some of these new guys would dress that way even if they were fishing for snapper blues. Nowadays beating your chest about what you caught, seems to be more important to some folks than actually getting out there fishing and having a good time. The idea of fishing is so polarized to some that there are guy who won't cast a line if there are only bluefish around. Or guys on boats whos reports state that "yeah we couldn't get away from those pesky bluefish". What happened to the spirit of fishing? Sad.

I fished the bay last night, plugs and bucktails. Caught a few blues to 8#, some good action. That was all she wrote. Would like for this E wind to die down before the fish leave our area.

hookset

05-06-2013, 09:39 AM

This is a group of mostly younger guys who fish 5 deep at times. Some of their behavior this spring has been a little questionable. How can fishing in a self created crowd be fun?

Never understood the need to fish 5 deep. Like opening day of trout season. When I see the little cliques out there they remind me of girls going to the bathroom at a night club together to chat. I like fishing when it's you against nature, or maybe you go with a good friend.
Fishing with a group or 5 or more? I call them Girl Scouts. Someone should revoke their man card.

finchaser

05-06-2013, 11:03 AM

1 Bass and 35 blues all released to fight another day

baitstealer

05-06-2013, 11:05 AM

:clapping:Awesome finchaser you are on fire!

captnemo

05-06-2013, 06:44 PM

We had a good day sunday trolling bunker spoons off of the sandy hook area. 11 fish to 21lbs. The 2 of us kept one each about 12 lbs. The fish are there gents they may not be there for that long.

seamonkey

05-06-2013, 07:19 PM

Fished cm beaches twice this weekend it was very slow. One 25" bass, and I almost got the garbage fish trophy lots of big dogfish and skates the only thing missing was a sea robin. Hope things turn around soon.

J Barbosa

05-06-2013, 11:04 PM

I tried with the fly rod from 6-9pm. There was plenty of small 2-3lb blues busting on spearing at the surface. They were within my casting range for a while and to my left and right and at one point even behind me. I couldn't get them to take a Bobs banger or my own clouser ties. These are my first ties ever and I tied them with way to much bucktail. I don't feel that bad because the bunker chunkers weren't getting many either. I saw a nice weakie caught.

Casting into the night really helped me improve my casts. I was forced into feeling the line load rather than watching my loops.

finchaser

05-07-2013, 01:21 PM

this Am from 7 to 10 too many blues to count almost every cast was a fish for the first 2 hours

DarkSkies

05-07-2013, 07:17 PM

:clapping: Outstanding report OGB.
Still looking for the bigger blues, last night the ones I found were at most 1-2lbs. Coming down to mug ya again, keep your clothespin handy for your nose. :moon: :kiss:

*********
5-4-13 PM report
My primary target for the night was bigger bluefish. Got down to the bay after dark and hooked a small one on the first cast. They did seem a little picky and I got a few more by downsizing my swimmer to 4".

They seemed to be on the top feeding on small forage.
Finchaser and JBarbosa confirmed that the rainfish are starting to show up, thanks. :HappyWave:

It was a slow pick and I only managed a handful.
I had a full agenda last night and my goal was to keep moving to see what areas held which forage and fish.
The biggest thing I noticed is there seemed to be more bunker at some of my stops.
I hate when they are the dominant forage and there are thousands of them for every bass as it makes it tough for me to catch them on artificials.

Last night, with the bass spread out, but an occasional bass blowing up on bunker out in the distance in the bay, I had the sense that if only I tossed a head I would be into some nice fish.

I don't want to toss heads, the artificial thing is my addiction.
Sometimes, to be honest, it is a very lonely and painful place to be, as others are bailing bass and blues on bunker, and everything you throw, just isn't good enough.

I have been around the bunker schools at night long enough to get a sense of how the fish feed. Eventually you may catch a bass on artificials, but there is no real pattern for me when the fish are not in a frenzy...it is just hours of blind casting.

About 5 minutes before I was scheduled to make to move to somplace else, I caught and released a nice 16 lb bass on a big swimmer.
Spend an additional 2 hours after that trying to duplicate that catch, not a touch.

finchaser

05-07-2013, 08:32 PM

Tonight 5 to 8 pm 20 blues to 7# all on metal all still swimming

madcaster

05-07-2013, 08:35 PM

Fished rb incoming for a hour 6 to 7pm....caught one blue on top with a needle, saw a lot of blues caught on bait.

hookset

05-07-2013, 08:37 PM

Nice fellas, fished the back tonight 1 hour before sunset, few blues on the sp.

DarkSkies

05-08-2013, 05:12 AM

5-7-13 PM report

Fished 4 hours...before the rain and through the rain. Targeted some back bay areas that were protected from the building E wind.
Made 3 stops.
1st stop dead water.
2nd stop there were probably some decent bluefish...dropped 2 fish on small swimmer.
3rd stop fished for 2 hours without any action at all. Finally nailed a bass 11# throwing a big swimmer in the rain. No other action after that.
Kept this fish.

I want folks to realize that although some of us try to promote C&R because of the state of the biomass... there is nothing wrong with eating striped bass. Smaller bass this size are great eating. :)

Also, I got some intel about different kinds of forage showing up and really wanted to see what this bass was eating as well. :fishing:

cowherder

05-08-2013, 07:05 AM

Awesome reports guys have to get out there soon and get me some more blues!:viking:

Mike O

05-08-2013, 12:04 PM

Got the blues last night in RB on bunker. Not much size to them, but quantity made up for that. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come. Good luck to all and have a good season.

madcaster

05-08-2013, 08:41 PM

Fished were I was told too ..RB. . to crowed to get to the action. managed 2 blues. next time I'll put my waders on and try to get in line:HappyWave:

vpass

05-08-2013, 10:18 PM

Fished from 5 to 8pm. I casted the bag and found what they wanted. Caught 1 fluke about 16 inches, 1 bass around 20 inches, 2 blues around 18 inches.:ROFLMAO I was hoping for a weakie for the grand slam. With all the plugs and plastic I carry the fish only wanted 4 inch shads reeled in really slow. They were right on the bottom.

finchaser

05-09-2013, 11:03 AM

This morning 5 to 8 PM released 15 bluefish all 3 to 8# worst day in 2 weeks but I had an excuse was mugged by DS he tracked me down again

DarkSkies

05-09-2013, 08:04 PM

5-8-13 report PM
Last night I overslept and missed most of the tide. Got up and realized I would only have at most one hour of good water, made the drive anyway.
Got to the bay, and conditions seemed different, water a little colder.
Dropped one fish, missed another, big swimmers. That was my shot for the night and I blew it.

Decided to move one county down and went and mugged the OGB. He and the old farts have been crushing the bluefish, up to 50 a trip. All good things come to an end, and maybe my visit brought the Dark Cloud....:(
It seemed even the bluefish were sluggish, and we had to work hard for each one, with 5 minute spurts of activity and then you had to try a different presentation. Fish were caught on bucktails, metal and rubber.
I managed 13 to 7# (had to stay till the last bluefish left the area to get those numbers) :bucktooth:.

I think the OGB was high hook among all his pals. The grouchy basstid can throw a piece of rubber unlike anyone else. :HappyWave:
Always a pleasure and honor fishing next to the OGB and the other old farts in his crew. :thumbsup: :cool:

finchaser

05-09-2013, 08:12 PM

thanks for the kind words, but the slow fishing was due to the south wind . Even the head boats had a slow day today. Can't crush them everyday at least most of them are still alive.

madcaster

05-09-2013, 11:33 PM

Fish RB managed a few more blues ....some good gators. camera was full didn't get a pic of them 16950 I was able to take a pic of this thing a snagged ....needle fish ?

J Barbosa

05-09-2013, 11:45 PM

I fished from 3-10pm with the fly line in deep moving water. Small blues to about 5lbs but not for me. My casting is not holding me back as I was well within range but I believe the full floating line was. My buddy was catching all of his blues down deeper. I am going to put the fly rod away for a few days and will pickup a sinking line sometime next week after doing some research. On the way home I made four spots in the bay looking for activity and just saw the same thing....small blues everywhere.

hookset

05-10-2013, 01:06 AM

My buddy was catching all of his blues down deeper.

Fished the bay from 6-9pm incoming tide. Few blues to 5lbs on metal. They were coming on the end of the longest casts would not come in closer for some reason even at dark. Was using ava oo7 with green tail and dragging/slow jigging it. JB as dark and others have said they have been hard to hook on artis. Dudes throwing chunks are catching them regularly. Very frustrating.
MC that is a needle fish or gar as they are sometimes called down south. Good sign sometimes bass will follow them. More signs of food showing up there were small blues breaking on rainfish right before dark.

buckethead

05-10-2013, 01:25 AM

Nice. I fished the surf in somoco. Sunset till 1am. 4 small bass on bucktail and pork rind. Tried plugging and got one bass on the sp but it barely nudged the plug. Water felt pretty cold but it was clean. madcaster that is a needlefish.

dogfish

05-10-2013, 01:40 AM

I. I am going to put the fly rod away for a few days and will pickup a sinking line sometime next week after doing some research. .

Try a sinking line. Early season up here it takes a long time for the water to warm up. The fly guys do pretty well with sinking lines.

basshunter

05-10-2013, 10:51 AM

Try a sinking line. Early season up here it takes a long time for the water to warm up. The fly guys do pretty well with sinking lines.

Good call dogfish there is a local guy the average angler he was reccommending that too and said the fish were on the bottom lately.
"The fish are low, and sinking lines with Clousers taking the mixed bag of fish the last couple of days. "

basshunter

05-10-2013, 10:55 AM

I fished the beach in occo from 4-5:30 am the last of the outgoing and the slack. Conditions were beautiful and the surf looked great. Snagged one skate tossing a diamond jig. I was excited for a sec because I thought it was a nice bass as it was pretty big about 10 lbs. Then I realized it was a skate and was like :don't know why: At least I avoided the skunk beautiful sunrise out there.

porgy75

05-10-2013, 11:24 AM

Went to sandy hook and fished the ocean side last nite from 6-8m. It was nice out and the surf was not too bad. I was throwing pencil poppers at first no takers. Then I was throwing a 2 oz krocodile spoon and got 2 bluefish to 3 lbs. Feisty little creatures and a lot of fun!

DarkSkies

05-10-2013, 12:00 PM

Last night one almost legal bass in monmouth county on a big swimmer. Missed a few others and for the first time in a while had some limited feeding activity. Fun but frustrating as the fish were very sluggish and tentative.
Went down to ocean county and mugged Finchaser again for the bluefish action. :)
He again dominated the field as he had or missed fish on his first 3 casts. I landed one on my 2nd cast. Then, just like that, after a scant 10 or 15 minutes of limited activity, the bite died before sunrise...and the fishing window closed....

Fish were caught to 12 lbs but it was a contest of wills (or insanity) to stay and cast for the waning amounts of bluefish running through the surf zone there......

Fin left and one of his slightly addicted friends and I kept bucktailing, saying we were leaving, only to get sucked in for another 15 minutes at a time when we missed a fish. :beatin:

The bluefish were the most sluggish as they have been this season.
It appears that over-hyped bite, great while it lasted and allowing Fin and the Old Farts to get numbers in the hundreds....is rapidly slipping away...until conditions change or new fish come in from offshore.....

When people say how easy they are to catch,,,,,,you would be chastized if you saw all that we were doing this am to try to catch just a few on artificials....
They are still taking bunker, but for the demented anglers who want to purosely make it hard on themselves, try catching double digits on artificials when the water is cold....it was humbling to see surfcasters with decades of experience rummaging through their surf bags every few minutes to try to hit them with something that they would attack aggressively....when you have a dozen grizzled surfcasters, weather worn hands and faces, knowledge of the ages, fumbling trying to catch "the easiest fish to catch in the book", you know the water must be cold or they are staging to go somewhere else as those numbers there 2 weeks ago have dwindled......

Hoping things will turn around this weekend for some of you anglers out there....they are a blast to catch....bluefish on the flats are probably a better bet than those in the ocean now...but a few sunny days could change all that......They are out there, catch em if you can,, tons of fun......:fishing: :HappyWave:

finchaser

05-10-2013, 09:07 PM

tonight 5:30 to 8pm 26 bluefish to 8 pounds all on metal all released

hookset

05-10-2013, 11:34 PM

26 very nice finchaser. Spent a few hours hiding from the wind. Picked up a few blues on bucktails and a 27" bass nomoco.

J Barbosa

05-11-2013, 03:07 AM

Monty

05-11-2013, 07:53 AM

I fished with my dad and a good friend of ours from around 7:30pm to 1:30am. About an hour later the bass started showing up, it was a little slow at first but it really picked up on the outgoing. We had steady action all night fish ranging from 12-18lbs.

Great report! Sounds like an outstanding outing with your father and friend.

SharkHart

05-11-2013, 02:05 PM

I feel like Last man standing targeting Weakfish, I found a decent bit before the wind lightening and rain cranked up. Landed 4 between 23-28" missed a lot of short stirkes. They were at the end of my cast, once that wind got going it was a killer. All on ever present pink zooms on a dead crawl .

DarkSkies

05-11-2013, 09:40 PM

5-10-13 PM trip
3 bass to 12# last night. 2 were legal, all released.
Also a few bluefish to 5#.

**A friend living several hours away was supposed to come out and fish but he never made it up here.

Had to fish all night for them. 7 hour Monty Mini Marathon. :HappyWave:
Fished through the rain, taking a 1/2 hour break as it was most intense and the lightning got a little hairy. :scared:
There was an eerie calm out there last night between the rain...

I first debated on when and where because it was Fri, thought it would be too crowded. Picked a popular bay bluefish spot as I was counting on there being less night crowds. By the time I got out there it was deserted.

The first fish were a few bluefish, very aggressive on small plugs.
As the tide changed the bunker started loading into that cove, with bass and bluefish blowing up on them.
At that point it became very difficult for me to catch bass on artificials...went through almost everything in the bag, very little activity.
Knowing that when that happens, you will be hooked up instantly if you only were to toss a snagged bunker, chunk, or head, it was a little depressing, and humbling. My plugs were constantly bumping bunker and they only wanted the real thing.

I kept at it and changed my position relative to how the schools were moving.
Hours of blind casting. All bass fell to big swimmers. Missed quite a few as well. The bass were just not as aggressive on artificials as the bluefish, but I kept at it.
Last fish of the night was the short fish, caught on Speedy's swimmer. :drool:

16962
16963
Rarely take pics of short fish any more. I wanted to show folks the plug. and it was kind of nice to catch it on one of Speedy's plugs. :HappyWave:
If you look at the plug pic you can see it is dressed with a Surfstix teaser as well. :HappyWave:

Thanks for the joint effort, guys. Yep, your stuff does work. :thumbsup:

** BTW the short fish hit the hardest.

This is what frustrates me when I miss a bump out there at night. Those have been the largest fish for me, and generally with the colder water bite we have had on artificials, once you miss that fish, it's my experience that it rarely comes back, You sit there kicking yourself at what could have been. With the action on artificials coming so few and far between, you have to resolve to cast hundreds of times more for the next adrenalin rush.

Worked a demanding job racing against a deadline that day. By the end of the night I was like a punch drunk fighter, staggering in my steps. Barely made it to my car. Slept in my car for 4 hours.

When I got up, I tried searching for some daytime artificial action for bluefish so I could call Pebbles down, but it seems for that area the best bite is end of day and in the dark. The cold wind was also honking from the S by then at a steady 20mph. Oh well, I tried, Pebbles. :kiss:

DarkSkies

05-11-2013, 10:21 PM

SharkHart and JBarbosa, outstanding effort..:thumbsup:..had a feeling you guys were going to be out in that sloppy weather......:HappyWave:

SharkHart

05-11-2013, 10:30 PM

One of last nights beauties, love the head shakes! Was warm enough that i DID NOT need any yellow gloves or anything

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll194/SharkHart/601019_646345498715566_438409365_n.jpg

DarkSkies

05-11-2013, 10:50 PM

Was warm enough that i DID NOT need any yellow gloves or anything

Ya can bust my balls anytime, Shark.:moon:..:laugh:...I wear the gloves because when I have a good night my hands have been getting ripped up....and it's become a habit from the winter....
I have been working with cement on some jobs, and that cement getting in cuts, burns a bit....but feel free to carry on with the ball busting...all good bro..... :HappyWave:

I have not taken the time to target weakies this Spring., and they are making a bit of a comeback, albeit smaller than you or some of the other die-hard addicts are used to...A friend got one 28" the other night, hours of casting for that one fish...

Many are catching them by accident...but to target them....and catch 4 in a night is beyond good, it's outstanding.....
If you know the patterns, they are there...very nice work.....:thumbsup:

Some of SharkHart's past tiderunners.....Ya gotta admit, he does know weakies.....:HappyWave:

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

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

storminsteve

05-11-2013, 11:48 PM

Holy crap shark those are some huge weakfish!:bigeyes:
Barbosa and dark nice catching too. I fished nomoco from 8-11:30. the blues hit small diamond jigs before dark and then ss littleneck poppers after dark. still no weakfish for me yet nice work guys!

surferman

05-12-2013, 12:28 AM

Fished a cape may beach tonight incoming tide. Got 3 stripers to 35 inches they were all big and fat. Kept the smallest it was 29". Used clams and bunker the bunker got the bass clams got me skates.

basshunter

05-12-2013, 12:32 AM

Great report surferman send them up our way. I fished from 3-11pm in ocean city and got skates sea robins and dogfish. Was tossing clams and bunker too.

hookedonbass

05-12-2013, 12:45 AM

^^Junk fish round robin. You cant win them all at least you caught.

J Barbosa

05-12-2013, 02:56 AM

Fished from 9:30pm to 1am with my brother. It was definitely slower than last night.

We each landed one keeper bass. I also had a decent 15-20lb sized bass that popped off the hook a few feet from shore.

finchaser

05-12-2013, 10:56 AM

This morning 5to 8AM 2bass 26" and 32" plus 3 blues to 9 pounds all released bass on the school bus SP minnow

DarkSkies

05-12-2013, 02:39 PM

Fished from 9:30pm to 1am with my brother. It was definitely slower than last night.

I would agree with that statement, John, very slow for me as well. At least you scored some fish. :thumbsup:
I fished all night, one missed fish, that was it for me. :skunk:
Slept in the car, did some scouting on the way home. The back bay water seemed a little dirtier than it has been.

finchaser

05-12-2013, 03:04 PM

I would agree with that statement, John, very slow for me as well. At least you scored some fish. :thumbsup:
I fished all night, one missed fish, that was it for me. :skunk:
Slept in the car, did some scouting on the way home. The back bay water seemed a little dirtier than it has been.They call it run off

DarkSkies

05-12-2013, 03:18 PM

^^ Thanks for that clarification, o Wise One....:moon: :rolleyes:
I was poiinting it out, as not to give you the opportunity to say it was because I was fishing and taking a shower at the same time....:kiss: :HappyWave:
(I took a shower before I left to go down there....):)

Still waiting for Monty's report, rumor has it he got more numbers than any of us.....:thumbsup:

storminsteve

05-12-2013, 03:45 PM

Well at least some of you caught fish good deal! I fished nomoco from 6-9 am. The incoming tide it was perfect conditions but very windy. Someone forgot to tell the fish. Threw shads, bucktails, metal and sps, skunk-a-roo!

Monty

05-12-2013, 03:47 PM

Fished this morning Bayside 1:15-10:30.
Had my first top water action of the year with some blues and that was lots of fun.
Managed 7 blues and a large sea robin. Had a double of blues on a Surfstix teaser and and a spook. Plus had a couple blow ups and misses on the top, missed a couple hits on the Hogy and had some rubber trimmed.
Water was a bit murky (from the run off :HappyWave:), awesome weather and a great time out there.

storminsteve

05-12-2013, 03:51 PM

^^^^^Wow great report sounds like fun. That double header must of been awesome!

cowherder

05-12-2013, 04:05 PM

Yeah doubleheader great action Seemed dead where I was too I fished SoMoCo from sunrise till 7. The waves are getting smaller but it doesn't seem to be fishy down there. Got blanked

DarkSkies

05-13-2013, 10:49 AM

5-12-13 PM report

Based on last night's dismal results tried to time the trip a little differently so I might be fishing a better part of the tide.
Yep, it was substantially better....almost epic, even....:rolleyes:
This time I missed 2 fish, instead of 1....:beatin:
Maybe by the next time out, I may even catch one....

Feeding activity, IMO has diminished for me....
More bass now spawning in the Hudson....dirty water, and a drop in temps yesterday, air temps dropped 15 degrees, and water temp where I was dropped 5 degrees....

Still will not give it a rest, will try to get out there every chance I can...
It won't be long before the fish are all at Montauk and folks will be wondering why they're not here....The time to fish is now...:fishing:

finchaser

05-13-2013, 10:54 AM

this morning 5 to 7 am released 3 bass 33",29",27" all caught on green wind cheater

jigfreak

05-13-2013, 11:15 AM

Dont feel bad ds going through a slump myself. Threw the bag last night goose eggs. Finchaser you are still on fire nice going.

storminsteve

05-13-2013, 11:36 AM

I fished with my dad and a good friend of ours from around 7:30pm to 1:30am. There was some lightning off in the distance the whole night. I was worried we were going to have to pack it in early but luckily it stayed far away until we were on the road.

I left the fly rod home and went back to the chunking setup. I brought a snag/plug rod with me and messed around with the smaller blues as the sun went down. About an hour later the bass started showing up, it was a little slow at first but it really picked up on the outgoing. We had steady action all night fish ranging from 12-18lbs.

I found an acre of bunker on our fist and only stop and that made snagging them ridiculously easy. There was also some big swirls on those bunkers and fish under them :wheeeee:

Before anyone asks...the boga is leashed to my belt, LOL!

This 18lber was released and we kept two smaller fish for the table.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7360/8727072095_1f5c7639aa_h.jpg

One of last nights beauties, love the head shakes! Was warm enough that i DID NOT need any yellow gloves or anything

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll194/SharkHart/601019_646345498715566_438409365_n.jpg

I was looking at these pics and reports again great work fellas.

Finchaser I agree with jigfreak you have the hot hand, incredible record so far. Monty I am jealous of all those bluefish they have been tough to catch. You all inspired me to get out of work and head down to the shore early today. Hope to find some blues at least will report back later.

VSdreams

05-13-2013, 11:46 AM

Nice reports gents way to put in your time.

ledhead36

05-13-2013, 12:03 PM

Add me to the skunk report. We fished the bay last nite 9-1am and very slow. One small bluefish on bunker. Finchaser you are the man.

finchaser

05-13-2013, 12:14 PM

Thanks guy's but not really the man my partner had 4 today

chas527

05-13-2013, 04:40 PM

fished this morning 3 bass 1 keeper 29" ,3 sea robbins two skates.

cowherder

05-13-2013, 05:12 PM

Nice going chas.

J Barbosa

05-14-2013, 11:06 AM

Fished last night from 9:30pm to 1:30am with my dad.

That wind never died down...I didn't really realize how cold it was out until I got back into my car for the night and had that bone chill. Vampire wind

We only caught a short and a small blue…

I had to take a picture of this guy last night. This was only the second short bass that I have seen in about three weeks. The first short was out front and about 6" big. That says something about the state of our fishery…

16977

jigfreak

05-14-2013, 11:11 AM

Yeah I'm not seeing a lot of shorts either jb. Had one night in the back with a double digit catch of them. They disappeared after that. I know things are different since sandy but these are resident fish you can always find a few. When you cant you scratch your head and wonder if they took a last minute vacation to Disney.
Fished last night in the back. It was cold and windy, nada.

buckethead

05-14-2013, 09:08 PM

Fished nomoco from 5-8pm. Tossing SS littleneck poppers and bucktails. Some good bluefish action to 12#,

DarkSkies

05-15-2013, 09:05 PM

Nice work people....buckethead I NEED those bluefish...they are very late this year.....Keep us posted...thanks....:HappyWave:

5-15-13 AM report...
Overslept so only was able to make it out for the 2 hours before sunrise.
This time I did much better..:rolleyes:..I actually dropped a fish instead of missing the bump....that was it for me...small swimmer this time....where I was, the bunker seemed to have thinned out, and the water was so dirty it looked like someone was pumping raw sewage into the water. Did seem like it warmed up a bit, though..

One of these nights, I may actually catch a fish, and learn some more about that surfcasting stuff.....:bucktooth: ;)
.back at it again soon,,,,:fishing:

DarkSkies

05-15-2013, 09:14 PM

Some nice fish have been caught in the last 2 nights by friends who were able to find bunker tightly schooled up......:HappyWave:

16979

16980

DarkSkies

05-15-2013, 09:16 PM

Nicer bluefish......
16983

buckethead

05-15-2013, 09:28 PM

DS you will get your fix soon. Same bat time same bat channel tonight before dark, nomoco. They were a little bigger this time up to 15#. Voraciously attacking everything you threw at them. All over the water column chasing bunker. All artificials. My arms are tired I'm too old for this. Lots of fun though.

cowherder

05-15-2013, 09:40 PM

Awesome news can't wait to get on some of those big nasty demons!!!!!!!:bigeyes:

hookset

05-15-2013, 09:51 PM

Fished the ocean in moco 7-9. Windy as hell. Skunk followed me home.

finchaser

05-16-2013, 11:40 AM

One blue fish yesterday morning and Ditto^^^^^last night and this AM:skunk:

DarkSkies

05-16-2013, 03:01 PM

Fished the ocean in moco 7-9. Windy as hell. Skunk followed me home.

One blue fish yesterday morning and Ditto^^^^^last night and this AM:skunk:

Last night was my 4th skunk in a row.
I could be catching some bass tossing heads but every year before this have been able to catch fish in the areas I'm fishing, on artificials....at least a few at each place.
There are so many areas of dead water it's remarkable to me.
If you find bunker schooled up you will have a fantastic night in about 5-10% of the locations out there....

But what about the other locations, the ones that have always held fish?....that are now dead water.......
I don't like fishing crowds and have always been able to find a few on my own....this year has me questioning my skill as an angler.....fishing hours at a time for a few bumps, or one or 2 fish....

(Did get 2 bumps on Speedy's Swimmer...thanks Speedy...:HappyWave:)

Part 2...
Turned it into an extended morning....the humiliation of 4 fishless nights in a row was gnawing at me.....
No fish for me because I really am a dillydock but don't want to take that crown away from Monty just yet.....:laugh: :HappyWave:
Did help a young guy with the catch and release of his fish of a lifetime...:thumbsup:......story to follow.....

storminsteve

05-16-2013, 03:54 PM

Can't wait for the full report! Don't leave us hanging ds!:HappyWave:

SharkHart

05-16-2013, 07:51 PM

i ll upstage Dark... We had a GREAT bite, My fifth cast I nail a mid teen bass as I am unhooking my 17 yr old cousin is fighting his first fish awhile and telling me its big but i can't tell based on his word, it got close and i had a bad look before it went to its side and thought it was a teen fish, I flipped on my light and saw a true pig with him about to slide it up the wash with the rod, i quickly grabbed the leader just as the water washed back. I grabbed its lip to lift it and it didn't clear the ground on my first effort, ive done this before and its a great sign, this thing was estimated 31-32lbs His personal best.. Im unhooking it and asked him what he wants to do with it, without a hitch he said let it go. We snapped a quick pic and off she went. The rest off the night would be too stupid to say how good, I know some guys are having some tough outings. 2 friends joined and we all cleared 25 lbs:plastered: (just by a little) this was a artificials bite and they are moving up the coast. Felt good to touch a real bass again, Sandy aftermath I never cleared 30", and I got maybe 2 that size, Lock and load everyone

jigfreak

05-16-2013, 08:43 PM

ive done this before and its a great sign, this thing was estimated 31-32lbs His personal best.. Im unhooking it and asked him what he wants to do with it, without a hitch he said let it go. We snapped a quick pic and off she went.

Good mojo for your cousin sounds like a good one.:thumbsup:
Nice.

fishinmission78

05-16-2013, 10:52 PM

Nice catches gang. fished island beach from 6-8pm incoming tide. No dice.

J Barbosa

05-17-2013, 07:03 AM

Good stuff guys :thumbsup:

I fished yesterday from 5-9pm and we had great bluefish action nonstop at some points...regret leaving the fly rod in the car.

storminsteve

05-17-2013, 05:22 PM

Nice going jb, I fished nomoco this am and got a few they seemed energized all on metal.

madcaster

05-17-2013, 10:14 PM

Fished RB ..past 3 days ...zip o :skunk:. can't find blues any were in my part of town. I guess I will have to go east. :naughty:

fishinmission78

05-18-2013, 09:50 AM

2 day report. Fished Ibsp yesterday after work. A mess o blues to 7# on metal. Fished today 6-8. One short bass on clams, no blues.

DarkSkies

05-18-2013, 10:08 AM

5-17-13
Fished 2 hours before sunrise, nothing.
Then I went to a back bay spot that usually heats up with bluefish. The other day it was dead. This day it was productive because overnight bait had moved in, spearing or rainfish.
Managed 15 bluefish to 12# hooked and lost others. Lots of fun. Best action lasted for about an hour and then the activity waned as the tide dropped.

You could still get them if you waded out. In the end it seemed I was wading out almost to the point where I was going to get my waders wet to get some more fish.
Toward the end of the bite Vpass came along and we caught a few fish together. :fishing:

Reading the water,
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?9014-Vpass-Helps-the-new-guys-And-other-thoughts-for-Saltwater-Fly-Beginners

he determined that the fish were shifting, so we moved a bit and picked up a few more. The bright sun really was the kiss of death for that bite, along with colder water coming in on the flood tide.

Still, nice to get out there and run into V...I know he works a lot and doesn't get many chances to get out there...
Also ran into the OFFC as I was leaving,,,,nice to see all of you again and reminisce how good fishing used to be just 8 short years ago....best of health and good luck wishes for the Season. :HappyWave:

storminsteve

05-18-2013, 10:30 AM

Great report dark I hope those big blues are here to stay! I hit up nomoco again today and had some blue demon action. Got 8 the biggest was 9 pounds all on metal.

seamonkey

05-18-2013, 10:46 AM

Fished a CM beach this morning 5-9am. Nuttin but dogfish and one skate. Clams and bunker.

Mike O

05-18-2013, 12:17 PM

Fished SH early this morning. Got 1 bluefish on a popper speedy made for me. Thanks Todd. Actually it hit my teaser, but the popper was what brought the fish to my teaser. On a bad note, the insert on the large guide fell out and broke in half on my St. Croix rod. What a bummer. Sent it back already. I hope they do the right thing, that rod is only 3 years old. It cost me plenty just to ship it back and I think I will be paying for the shipping back to me! Not such a good warranty policy. Just have to use my old Daiwa rods til I get it back.

J Barbosa

05-18-2013, 12:56 PM

Fished last night starting just before midnight until 10am this morning. We were in the bay from 12-5am and I caught a 16lb bass and a buddy got a 8lb bass + one small blue. Decided to move and try the surf and we found what seemed like miles of small bluefish blitzing just outside of casting range. They did move in and out and we had some fun with them on light rods. Also tossed some of my leftover bait from the night trip to see if any bass in the surf where willing to cooperate...conditions felt very fishy.

This female crab is lucky I'm to lazy to steam just one crab although I am having withdrawals from OLDBAY.

cowherder

05-18-2013, 03:51 PM

Cool looking pic john. Is that a blowfish next to the crab. Were you using bunker or clam? I fished the ocean in moCo sunrise till 8. I think it was the last of the outgoing tide and the water was very skinny. casting out as far as I could I got 2 blues to 5 lbs on poppers.

ledhead36

05-18-2013, 05:32 PM

good reports gents. Would like to find some big bluefish. All we are getting is ones in the 1-2lb range. Chunked last night with bunker and ran out of bunker with the small blues. Steve give me a 9lber I will be happy. John way to keep at it and stay on the fish. I went and tasted some old bay just now can't wait till we can get into some serious crabs! I may make a location change tonight we'll see.

basshunter

05-18-2013, 06:26 PM

I fished lbi with bunker chunks from 3-5:30. 2 stripers one was 27" the other was 30". Put the small one back kept the keeper. 2 blues and 4 skates, One of the skates was pretty big.

ledhead36

05-19-2013, 09:23 AM

Well I made a location change and not much to show for it. Last nite fished the bay with bunker chunks from 11-4am. Picked up a handful of small and medium blues. Would have been happy with the bigger ones still not showing up. Not much food in the bays except for bunker. Strange year.

hookset

05-19-2013, 09:32 AM

Bay temps went from 66 yesterday to 58 last night, NE/SE wind is like pouring castor oil on the water shuts any fishing down. One short bass last night on shad moco in the back.

J Barbosa

05-19-2013, 09:36 AM

surferman

05-19-2013, 12:06 PM

I fished a cape may beach last night from 7-10pm. Got 2 nice stripers on clam one 30" and one 38" and about 20lbs. Kept the 30 incher released the 20 pound one.
16990

finchaser

05-19-2013, 01:49 PM

2 bass this AM on plugs both released,like hookset said water has dropped and will continue to do so with the SSE winds predicted for the next few days

Monty

05-19-2013, 02:04 PM

Fished this morning 1:15-9:15 bayside.
Had some blue action in the dark but only landed 1 about 4 pounds on a teaser around 2:30. missed a few fish.
Then between 6:00 and 9:00 caught a dozen between 20" and 28" on needles and spooks.
Last two fish were Stripers ~24 inches (pencil) and 32 inches (Spook). Missed a bunch, lost a couple. Great fun in perfect fishing weather, the water was great.
All fish released. The top water action was a ball. The skinny blue/white spook was clobbered by the bass and the Blues definitely preferred it by a wide margin.

cowherder

05-19-2013, 02:29 PM

Awesome report monty you finally got some great fishing in congrats! I figured wrong today and thought they would be in the ocean with the outgoing. It was nasty and windy. I tried with an ava27 but no dice. Skunk city. Should have tried the bay on the way home. Bad fishing when surf is rough like that. Thanks for mentioning the temps hookset and finchaser it did seem to be pretty cold today.

DarkSkies

05-21-2013, 08:38 AM

5-20-13 Monty Marathon

AM - Got to the beach late, missed the best part of the tide.
First cast saw some active bait and casted towards it, 5lb bluefish on that cast. That became the first cast curse, not another fish for 2 hours when I managed 3 more, all on metal.

Kind of dissatisfied with those results, I stopped on the way home at a back bay area that is known for holding early season bluefish. It had been dead every time I checked lately.

It was so far back in the bay I didn't have a lot of hope.

But the fish were there, and in the next 2 hours managed 11 to 7# on various types of metal. Funny how they wouldn't hit poppers....hey that's fishing....
Nice action as I missed a few as well, lots of fun.

PM - decided I wasn't finished and spent the next 5 hours at night looking for bass. Not a touch for me.

SharkHart

05-22-2013, 06:25 PM

mini vacation over :( They are headed north catch em up!

17040

jigfreak

05-22-2013, 07:52 PM

pretty work SH. Send em up north we're in a holding pattern now. Fished oc tonight, bad wind and water buck and pork skunk city for me.

madcaster

05-22-2013, 09:42 PM

Fished SH ...5 to 8 hit a few spots :skunk: saw some bunker swimming around that's it.

DarkSkies

05-22-2013, 11:22 PM

5-21-13 Tue PM
Fished the bay for the ocean bluefish that had started showing up on Mon. Ran into a few sitemembers out there. :HappyWave:
We all gave it our best but apparently couldn't even put a bluefish catch together. :bucktooth:

JB was furiously working the fly rod, a sea robin saved him from the skunk. :cool: His little bro was high hook and managed 2 bluefish on metal. :thumbsup:
V and I got nothing. The water seemed dirty and filthy from the rain. The amounts and sizes found the day before just were not there.

After that I fished the ocean for 5 hours, working all levels of the water column. Surf was a little rough but fishable. . No action at all for me. Still a beautiful night out there...great to be out and working the water.

robmedina

05-22-2013, 11:26 PM

Practice is exactly what I need. Tonight I went out. was fishing with clams and bunker. I rigged one of my rods with a bucktail but I wasn't quite set up. I should have used my 9 foot rod but it was rigged with bait and in the water, so I used my 11' rod but ...well just not right. I did manage one 34 -1/2" striper though. Released to fight another day.1704317044

finchaser

05-23-2013, 09:00 AM

this AM 5 to 7 Am released 3 bass and 7 bluefish all on jig head and rubber shaker tail

SharkHart

05-23-2013, 01:25 PM

Oh man Im back in the office where my emails exceeded 200 :scared: but something from the one day's blitz conditions keeps replaying in my head over and over, thinking about that plug drifting to the near 45 degree postion, all but stop the reeling, twitch twitch TWAP Something about knowing your going to get slammed. The other great part was the hook set, teen fish immediaty ran The mid 20s held their ground in the current for a good 5 secs on the set, if I didn't feel them bash it you'd think it was a snag, so dialed in knowing it was a good fish. This was the bite I had been waiting for a long time, my best ever, and somehow I pulled it off before the crowds arrived eventually. Like my buddy said a few days earlier on his best day, you just sit there laughing. When I pulled a 30" weakie out of the bass I literally was luaghing out loud. I had two rip the hooks off the SP minnows which also was very amusing at the time but not so funny later. Although I changed out those hooks I kept the split rings, I'd advise changing them now of course. Im sure everyone else hears it, mostly from girls why why why do you have to go out again, for me it was all about knowing the plug was presenting right twitch twitch SLAM, that will keep me burning gas and sleepless moving forward.

basshunter

05-23-2013, 01:31 PM

basshunter

05-23-2013, 01:39 PM

storminsteve

05-23-2013, 02:42 PM

Awesome report sharkhart truely jealous. It looks like your hand was run over by a truck.:headbang:

porgy75

05-23-2013, 03:45 PM

Really great news wll be out there this weekend fighting the crowds and hope to get some fish. Good luck to everyone.

porgy75

05-23-2013, 03:46 PM

mini vacation over :( They are headed north catch em up!

17040

WOW!:bigeyes:

cowherder

05-23-2013, 06:24 PM

Nice going sharkheart sounds like you crushed them!
I fished nomoco this morning from 5-7 incoming tide there were some blues there. Had fun with them on metal.

Monty

05-23-2013, 10:39 PM

Nice going sharkheart sounds like you crushed them!
I fished nomoco this morning from 5-7 incoming tide there were some blues there. Had fun with them on metal.

What cowherder said, sounds like you were in the Striper Zone sharkheart
cowherder nice job with da blues.

J Barbosa

05-23-2013, 10:51 PM

Shark,

It sounds like you had an incredible week.

Be careful of infection! If the wounds burn when you wash your hands your at high risk for an infection!

I know someone who almost lost their hand over a small infected cut.

SharkHart

05-24-2013, 01:11 PM

I used SP Minnows. i could have used other plugs or even shads i think would have worked, but the SP tight waddle was good with the way we were catching them at the barely reel and angles.

Yes the hands burned, the second night I only got a few luckily lol. I once before got jabbed by the dorsal and my finger was swollen good for 3-4 days from whatever bacteria on it.

I got so tore up from bigger fish taking those smallish SPs straight down though. A little dangerous but several times just pulled the trailer hook downward under gill, then lifted the leader and plug through the mouth. I detached the plug twice through the gills. They were fine but that razor blade under the gill gets you good. But if anyone does not know that trick, its much faster sometimes, just careful with the trebles.

As if its not already clear, the biggies have arrived to the north and I love a good NW for the surf :heart:

DarkSkies

05-24-2013, 05:58 PM

5-24-13 Report
Started way before sunrise in a back bay area that has held some blues and weakfish.
Not a tap in the darkness, working all levels of the water.

finally some bluefish action started. very small blues.
3 1/2 hours for 5 fish, painfully slow pick on metal.

Eventually the action turned on, and in the next 2 hours after that managed another 21 for 26 total. They also got a bit bigger to 5#. Was hoping some of those bigger ocean blues would still be around that far back in the bay but no such luck. Still, it was a lot of fun. A hardy few of us had great action..... often missing fish as they were tentative and aggressive at the same time (not aggressive enough to hit top water, though)

Ran into V, had a blast fishin with him, :HappyWave: some old timers (who out-fished all of us), and a "new" old-timer who was not catching and we kept giving him pointers till he scored a few. They weren't that easy to catch until the height of the action.
He reminded my of my Dad, now deceased. Although his words of thanks and appreciation were a lot nicer than my Dad usually was....still, it was nice way to honor the memory of my Dad, for the upcoming Fathers Day....and this new friend appreciated us inviting him to fish alongside us and us trying to help him. :thumbsup:

In all, fishing a very active (finally) bite with some good people,...with the weather keeping away the crowds (at times the wind gusts were 25mph which eventually drove us off the beach...)...Priceless....:fishing:

DarkSkies

05-24-2013, 06:03 PM

mini vacation over :( They are headed north catch em up!

17040

Are you sure you didn't have one of your friends run over your hand with a truck for dramatic emphasis here? :laugh:
Just busting....great action...the pain that ya feel, every time you move those fingers, will bring you back to that action ya had....outstanding job. :clapping:

....and I love a good NW for the surf :heart:
Yep, rolling out the new SharkHart Weather service by the end of the year.....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7727-Coming-soon!!!-SharkHart-s-new-weather-service-for-surf-guys-only-4-95-MONTH!!!

Nice action and report Shark...you find bites like that once in a great while. I can tell you folks reading his report that SH does not exaggerate...he managed to find a few nights of incredible action....and kept it quiet until it was drying up..:thumbsup:..good job....I know you did your research and homework, glad to see how it paid off for ya. :HappyWave:

SharkHart

05-25-2013, 08:29 AM

I am revising my outlook. This all can't be good for the water temps. anyone see how much they dipped?

ledhead36

05-25-2013, 10:59 AM

The rb temps dipped from 67 to 54 in the last 24 hours. 13 degrees in that time will give the bass lockjaw glad I fish bait was able to manage one 31" bass last night on bunker chunk but that was it for the night. Wind was tough. This morning I took a drive to an inlet in moco and checked it out to see what they were catching. Not much lots of sea robins. I was there early and it was still incoming so it might be different later on. Stuck my hand in the water and it felt cold! Both ocean and inlet water. I didn't have a thermometer but ti seems the same as the bay water. A site I check said 58 degrees. It seemed colder than that. I would bet both the bay and ocean are now at 54 degrees. At that temp even the fluke will not be hungry. May take a day or 2 off till the holiday crowds go home. Good luck and tight lines everyone.

cowherder

05-25-2013, 03:53 PM

Nice going guys I am trying this afternoon and hope the winds die down.

hookedonbass

05-25-2013, 04:18 PM

Fished monco ths am. The wind was not fun. Got skunked out. May go again tomorrow. sharkhart thank you for that report it was great to read.

J Barbosa

05-25-2013, 10:03 PM

I fished the surf with my brother from 12:30pm to 8:30pm.

The wind was howling and at times blowing so hard the sand would blast you in the back of your head. I have sand in places it doesn't belong!

We caught three bass. One at 31" and two shorts. Also had some small blues...there doesn't seem to be any shortage of them this year.

I am beat from casting 8 & 10oz sinkers all day.

Tomorrow: clean three sand blasted reels and post pics from today. I also have some great carp footage of them mating in 6" of water that I filmed yesterday if anyone is into that.

baitstealer

05-25-2013, 10:23 PM

^^ jb it was blowing up to 40mph today you are hardcore!

Monty

05-26-2013, 10:57 AM

Fished this morning from 1:15- 8:00, a huge El-Skunkaroo. Not a hit, saw no bait, water was like chocolate milk, was a bit windy at times too. Bumped into Dark and fished with him. Had a great time, did a bit of walking/casting, for an older person he kept up relatively well.....kept muttering something about an odyssey......
In all seriousness had a great fun time fishing with Dark :HappyWave:.

great_white_hunter

05-26-2013, 08:22 PM

Fished numerous spots in Monmouth County, not a bite. Fished from 6:15 till 9:30 am. Was working the bag at them with no success, but it was nice to get out. Gonna try my luck again tomorrow. Wish me luck.

DarkSkies

05-27-2013, 12:41 PM

for an older person he kept up relatively well[/B].....kept muttering something about an odyssey......
In all seriousness had a great fun time fishing with Dark .

5-26-13 report
Last time I checked, you were older than me....I can't help it if you still think you're 22.....:moon::HappyWave:

I think we might have to do a 12 step program with you and those energy drinks...Not meaning to be hypocritical because that's part of my secret too, but I'm thinking you should at least buy some stock in the energy drink companies you support so much...You went from the lull of a 5 hours skunk to 78rpm in a few minutes, and pushed through the next 3 hours like you were a kid of 12 in his first time at the beach......While I had hit the wall., you were running and casting a mile a minute....I finally figured out how you catch those fish at night....,you cover so much ground that even when odds are dismal, if anyone is gonna catch that stray lucky fish it's gonna be you!

Just to confirm what Monty said, it was a dismal night of catching......but the good company made it bearable...it's gotten to the point where lately the only company I am happy to have is the various wildlife you come across, the crowds don't appeal to me anymore no matter what they are catching or how big the fish are....
Monty is a little different...because he goes off into the night and does his own thing....fishing when he's around is about the same as fishing with yourself.....he's good that way...and always a pleasure to run into out there at night....:thumbsup:

Back to the report....
It may have seemed I was less enthusiasistic than he was...for good reason.......I know the water and the conditions that should be good for fish there, and in the 24 hours prior to that water had gone from fish holding, to looking like someone dumped the contents of a sanitary sewer into it.....temps had dropped more than 10 degrees overnight, and all the abundant bait had disappeared....I was seriously condidering a location change, or a move to another county, when I ran into Monty....and decided to hang out a bit, and maybe we would find some dead stuff, and a fish or 2.....

The winds were 30 mph steady all night, they did not minimize to the 10-15 forecast by Wunderground.....sand blowing everywhere...it was like a fall morning in October...we walked for a long time at the bottom of the tide, looking at new soft structure and casting for any potential lone fish....while trying to get away from the wind..to no avail.

An hour before first light we decided to retrace our steps. As the tide started to fill in we thought we would have a better shot at some fish,....we thought wrong....the wind and the dirty water was just too much to evercome...and as it got light everyone who we ran into told the same story of no action or poor outlook...yet they were out there giving it a shot.....

As mentioned, if I know 20lb bass are in the area I'm highly motivated, can cast hundreds of times for that one hit or miss...it's enough of a carrot on a stick for me. The reality of no action in the least, even a missed fish, through the night, told me it was a losing battle....
I began to wind down and think of where I was going to crash for an hour before I made the ride home,,,

Unbeknownst to me Sugar Ray Monty ;) :kicknuts:was sneaking another energy drink and was soon ramped up to 78rpm.....
I know I tend to be hyper with folks sometimes...the other day with the older guy fishing and the bluefish....I told him I wouldn't get off his case till he caught at least one....and I think I finally "scared" him into catching his first fish....

It worked out, as soon as he caught his first bluefish, with our instructions, he wanted more...but I know how hyper and animated I can be at times...looking at Monty in the same hyper state reminded me of looking at myself, in the same state.....and now there were 2 of us! :scared:

In the end, not even a missed fish, Monty Marathon of over 8 hours, no fish, but good times with good company. :HappyWave:

jigfreak

05-27-2013, 03:37 PM

Fished moco from 5-7am incoming tide. Zippo

cowherder

05-27-2013, 03:49 PM

JB you are a fishing maniac! Did you get your reels cleaned up yet? Nice going guys monty at least you got something I fished for 3 hours today and not even a bluefish! What the heck happened to them. 12-3 Nomoco
greatwhitehunter welcome!

Monty

05-27-2013, 03:55 PM

I finally figured out how you catch those fish at night....,you cover so much ground that even when odds are dismal, if anyone is gonna catch that stray lucky fish it's gonna be you!

I am proof that by making an enormous amount of casts in large area eventually one bass will strike out at the artificial......
Fished this morning ocean side from 1:00 - 7:30. Water felt cold. And caught one short bass on a rubber teaser at 1:30... Beautiful night out there, had not fished the ocean in a month, great time out there.

storminsteve

05-27-2013, 05:43 PM

Nice going monty at least you caught. and found some dead things you cur!:HappyWave:
I worked some beaches in no mo co from 7-10 this morning, big goose eggs. Kudos to you, sir. Barbosa you are a maniac too with the sand and wind congrats

J Barbosa

05-27-2013, 08:40 PM

JB you are a fishing maniac! Did you get your reels cleaned up yet?

Not yet, I am the king procrastinator as I hate taking my reels apart. My brother has been waiting about six months for me to fix the line roller/bearing on his Shimano Spheros. LOL

I think I will be okay just taking the side plates off and checking for sand around the spool. I felt some sand in one of them which is what got me a little concerned.

Here are the pictures from Saturday...note we had rain, overcast, and sun in the span of a few hours.

170781707917080

J Barbosa

05-27-2013, 08:54 PM

We decided to try for fluke out front today and the action was pretty slow.

The bigger fluke is my brothers which had 7 small calico crabs in its stomach.

17081

I saw the guy next to us pull out a BIG, STUBBY, and FAAAT fish...at first from far away I yelled over to my brother and asked him if it was a black drum. He is all excited saying its a nice striper. I go over and holly crap was this thing fat and round the picture doesn't do this fish any justice. It weighted 19lbs on a boga at only 32"!!!!

17082

Also saw a few more short bass caught.

storminsteve

05-28-2013, 08:23 AM

Nice bass jb even though you didn't catch it thanks for sharing the pic. It was fat!

storminsteve

05-28-2013, 08:23 AM

Not yet, I am the king procrastinator as I hate taking my reels apart. My brother has been waiting about six months for me to fix the line roller/bearing on his Shimano Spheros. LOL

I think I will be okay just taking the side plates off and checking for sand around the spool. I felt some sand in one of them which is what got me a little concerned.

Here are the pictures from Saturday...note we had rain, overcast, and sun in the span of a few hours.

170781707917080

haha I love these pics! You should start a fishing club with those face pics on the shirt. Fishermen anonymous, lol. Cool.

cowherder

05-28-2013, 09:16 AM

x2. John love those dark face smileys!

Monty

05-28-2013, 11:40 AM

Fished this morning 1:15-7:00.
Caught 7 blue fish, biggest maybe 3 pounds and one Striper ~30 inches.
All released.
Had lots of action, lost a few fish and missed an enormous amount of hits.
The 4 blues I caught in the dark all were on a black teaser.
The bass caught around 4:30 was on an SP minnow.
Lots of fun, beautiful night. Was bayside.

robmedina

05-28-2013, 01:02 PM

17082

Look at the size of that tail!

robmedina

05-28-2013, 01:05 PM

J Barbosa

05-28-2013, 11:42 PM

Monty, do you believe in sleeping? LOL :ROFLMAO

DarkSkies

05-29-2013, 08:28 AM

5-27-13 PM report
After the NW winds over the weekend figured I would take a chance in the ocean on the night shift. Water was clean and clear, with a little bit of chop, Fished top of the tide again.

Water temps about 52 degrees. No signs of bait or fish.
Fished 3 hours, 4 locations. No action at all for me. :skunk:

DarkSkies

05-29-2013, 08:31 AM

I am getting quite addicted to that time of night on the beach. Very tranquil.

The solitude and peacefulness of the night tides has become an addictive thing for a lot of us, Rob...the fishing may not always be better but if it does turn on you don't have to worry about someone spotting you with binoculars and 10 guys coming down and crossing lines just because you caught a fish.....to me, that solitude is priceless...whether you catch or not.....and one of the biggest things to draw us out there deep in the night... the fish are a bonus....:HappyWave:

Monty, do you believe in sleeping? LOL :ROFLMAO

The case of energy drinks he carries with him at all times kinda prevents it.....:laugh:
He's been like a man obsessed lately....leaving no stone unturned or patch of sand unfished on his marathon nights out there.....:fishing:
Good to see them paying off....:HappyWave:

jigfreak

05-29-2013, 08:43 AM

Fished somoco 8-12pm picked up one bass 11# on rubber shad. Released.

basshunter

05-29-2013, 08:50 AM

I walked a few beaches in oc last nite from 7-10. Good conditions out there a little rainy and wet but the wind wasn't that bad. One bluefish on metal.

storminsteve

05-29-2013, 09:17 AM

Nice going guys I was thinking about fishing last night but the rain stopped me. It got better later on should have went out there. Shoulda woulda coulda. Story of my life the other story is should have been there yesterday.:rolleyes:

Monty

05-29-2013, 11:55 AM

Monty, do you believe in sleeping? LOL :ROFLMAO
:HappyWave:
Sleep is highly over rated.
I have the week off, tonight will be the last of 5 straight nights out there, then my weekly Saturday night trip.
I am a bit loopy now, 2-4 hours sleep each day, last normal night sleep was Friday.
Fished this morning 1:30-7:30.
Ended up with 7 blues and 2 Bass. Largest blue around 25 inches, one double.
The bass were ~24inches and ~33 inches.
All caught in the dark except one blue. All released.
Had decent action, missed a bunch of hits again, lost a few.
Around 3:00 on a Blurple SP Minnow I hooked into what felt like a larger Bass, my braided line snapped on the initial run....
Caught the smaller bass on a 7" Red Fin.
The 33" bass on a Savage Gear Prey Minnow Purple (after the loss of the SP)
Great night again, lots of fun.

paco33

05-29-2013, 07:12 PM

:HappyWave:
Sleep is highly over rated..

Amen to that monty you have to be out there when the fish are. I have been fishing Hudson county for the last 2 weeks. Stripers to 32lbs at night. bunker heads and chunks. Sometimes they want the heads, other nights they want chunks. The fish are done with the spawn and hungry. I released any fish over 20 lbs and kept the smaller ones (legal 2 fish limit only). I don't want to go into any more detail because there is a tool bag who is posting pics and naming the exact location he got his 34" fish. that guy is real dumb and I hope he is not a member here. I posted about it in that spot burning thread hope he reads it would like to **** in his bag of bunker and dump it on his head. Clueless. Sorry no pics all my pics have too much background and I am not good at photoshopping. Put in your time and you will catch. tight lines

storminsteve

05-29-2013, 08:17 PM

paco I saw that post it was posted and thankfully disappeared. i live in hudson county and I agree loose lips sink ships. Nice report good job on the catching. Monty you too you are on a roll lately. Can't wait till the weekend when I have time to get out there.

cowherder

05-29-2013, 08:35 PM

Yeah can't wait for the weekend either. Sucks to have to work wish I hit the lottery and was rich. Nice catches gents!

jigfreak

05-30-2013, 02:48 AM

Fished somoco 11-2:30am. 2 bass 30" and 35". Kept the smallest the 17# (fat fish, quick release) one is still swimming. Rubber.

J Barbosa

05-30-2013, 04:31 AM

Fished from 10pm to 3am with my brother. I had high expectations on the night but eventually we just gave up and had fun with the blues.

bluefish
bluefish
bluefish
bkuefish
bluefish and plenty more bluefish most in the 2-5lb range.

robmedina

05-30-2013, 06:10 AM

J Barbosa

05-30-2013, 10:05 AM

what were you using?
Castnet about 2 dozen bunkers...and we used practically all of them between my brother and a friend. They were in thick I could have gotten them with the fly rod if I had it with me.

Monty

05-30-2013, 04:44 PM

Fished this morning from 1:30-6:30 bayside.
Covered lots of area, did loose a nice bass on a rubber shad.
Ended up with a couple small blues on a metal lip swimmer and spook.
Great time, warmest night of year, will now rest up for Sunday AM trip.

storminsteve

05-30-2013, 07:00 PM

nice going guys I hope to get out tomorrow.

DarkSkies

05-30-2013, 10:36 PM

Fished a mini-Monty-marathon :HappyWave:in the bay last night. 5 1/2 hours lasting into the daylight.

First 3 hours no action at all, even at dawn. Just as I was about to move to another area, a small flurry of action developed.
Managed 12 blues, all small to medium. A few of us there were very happy for that action as it seemed the bass action was non-existent there and for this dawn it was a dead zone. Also managed a 20" fluke on metal. I rarely fish for fluke as I have no interest in catching them unless they are over 25"...but I kept this one and will be eating for dinner tomorrow....

17110

Sun came up too fast today...

I prefer overcast days on the times when I'm still out there in the daylight....that's why I fish the night tides...but as mentioned, without that action from the small blues (all on metal) it would have been dismal. I'm extremely grateful those blues decided to show up. :fishing:

lostatsea

05-31-2013, 01:34 PM

Nice going ds I was out yesterday early from 8-11 in nomoco and fished the incoming. One guy was outcasting and outfishing all the others. I paid attention like you recommended and soon after that got 3 of them. They were feisty and fun! All on metal 1 oz ava with green tail,

ledhead36

05-31-2013, 01:57 PM

Big blues all on meat, chunks. Bayshore area. The bunker came in and the blues after them. Only fished one rod cause if you fished more than that you would of lost it. Big gators, 10 lbs and up

baitstealer

05-31-2013, 02:19 PM

Great news guys thank you for the info.

bababooey

06-02-2013, 06:55 PM

I rarely fish for fluke as I have no interest in catching them unless they are over 25"...but I kept this one and will be eating for dinner tomorrow....

Doesn't make sense to me ds.:huh:
You only want to target fluke over 25" do you know how rare that is except for the first 2 weeks of the season and the end?
What's wrong with a 20" fluke, that makes a great sandwich or a meal for 2. I am happy with every fluke I get over legal size of 17 1/2 inches. What is it the fight that you are looking for and a smaller one doesn't fight that much? You should try tuna some time they are known to fight just a bit more than a bass does.:rolleyes:
You surf guys have issues.:ROFLMAO

DarkSkies

06-05-2013, 07:46 PM

Bababooey, I know a few guys catching fluke almost that size now, on a regular basis....they just happen to pay attention to the fluke habits and where they like to sit....and the channels which produce some of the biggest ones.....

As for me,,,,,it's just the way I feel...the fight is more important than the species.....I've caught thousands of small fish in my life, both freshwater and salt, and after awhile you look to move on to different things.

I appreciate what you said about tuna.....
If I were rich, and money was no object, I would have the best tuna boat out there. I would live within 5 minutes of the marina I kept my boat at so I could be on the water in a moment's notice....
I would obsessively pursue tuna, all along the coast, like Kil Song does.....and go to all corners of the world to find them, trying to see which artificials I could get them to take and test all known tackle to extremes......
But alas, I'm not rich,,,,tuna is at best a once or twice thing a year for me.....
And I'll have to just dream about the fishing I could do, if only I had the $$....:)

In the meantime, if I chase after fish from land, I want to chase after the ones that will make me feel beat up after I catch double digits or more,,,,,and fluke just don't do that for me.....
Nothing wrong with catching them, though...
I have a friend who is limiting out almost every day...nice fat fluke.......to each his own.....:HappyWave:

bababooey

06-05-2013, 11:33 PM

Point taken dark. If I were as rich as Bill Gates tuna is all I would fish for as well. In the meantime, feel free to pm me the location where your friends are catching all those bigger fluke. I have some widows and orphans I will be taking fishing on my next trip.:HappyWave:

hookset

06-05-2013, 11:47 PM

Don't forget feeding the poor that's an important part of any trip especially if you are hunting for bass.

DarkSkies

06-06-2013, 12:18 AM

^ Bababooey you should know better than that.... the best fluke fishermen out there.....are tighter lipped than the hit men for the family.....;)
Those secrets are in the vault....out of respect for the years they put into it.....I think the striped bass secrets should be the same way....have to earn your bass not get it spoon fed to ya...but apparently some out there don't agree....

You should hear all the requests Fin gets for "finding fish for the kids" every time he's out on the boat.....
didn't think anyone else used that widows and orphans phrase but him.....

I see it's all the rage now when guys can't find fish....kind of like the blind guy I used to see begging in the WTC when I worked in the city...and at the end of the day he got up and walked away, without using his cane.....:rolleyes:

Good luck to ya this season, Capt. :HappyWave: