Following the Night Tides......Do You have What it Takes? [Archive]

DarkSkies

06-14-2013, 03:07 PM

^^ Fair enough, bababooey..:)..but the men growing up today, sure are a lot different when I grew up....IMO too much coddling by Mom and Dad both.....the best experiences in life I had, was when my parents let me fall down, and pick myself up.....it's hard for a parent to do that......and understandable they don't want their child to come to harm or danger....

However, my biggest learning moments, were when I went through something painful. I screwed up, and had to work my way out of it....without my parents paying for it, or coming in with hand sanitizer to scrub the germs away......

Food for thought....I'm part of a whole generation that grew up without hand sanitizer....when we got a bad gash on our knee or arm we were not driven immediately to the hospital.....at most some peroxide was thrown on it, wrapped up, and we went back outside to play....only if it got infected was a hospital in the picture.....a whole generation of us grew up, without being coddled by parents...

I was working at 13 years old, doing odd jobs to make money to buy the things I wanted to buy....
and at 16 got my first official job, peeling onions and washing dishes in a Chinese restaurant......
I don't see too many parents around who encourage their kids to work at 16 today......

Again, just my opinion...but I feel the generation I grew up in...had to learn things through sweat and blood, and we appreciated it more....that's all.....on with the stories....and thanks for your contributions here, bababooey....although we don't always agree......ya can fish with me anytime....:HappyWave:

Monty

06-14-2013, 03:43 PM

Food for thought....I'm part of a whole generation that grew up without hand sanitizer....when we got a bad gash on our knee or arm we were not driven immediately to the hospital.....at most some peroxide was thrown on it, wrapped up, and we went back outside to play....only if it got infected was a hospital in the picture.....a whole generation of us grew up, without being coddled by parents...

Again, just my opinion...but I feel the generation I grew up in...had to learn things through sweat and blood, and we appreciated it more....that's all....

Its simple.
If it don't kill ya it will make you stronger!!!

DarkSkies

06-17-2013, 10:50 PM

^ Monty would know, because his Marathon trips would crush the stamina of most normal surf guys.....:thumbsup: :headbang:
I'm glad we came from the same generation.....they don't make em like us anymore....starting to think we are the dinosaurs that are slated for extinction.....:laugh: :HappyWave:

DarkSkies

06-17-2013, 11:00 PM

About ready to move forward with some more posts in this thread.....
I've decided to break it down into 5 main areas.....

1. The getting ready, the Preparation...the aches, pains, and sacrifices some of us make,,,,the committment to be out there...while the fish are there.....and the toll it takes on our bodies.....

2. The Sights, the Smells, the Sounds...of the lifestyle....(you know I'll be focusing a lot, on the Smells....:rolleyes: :moon:)

3. The Bite, the Action.....the one fish, or the few fish, that you get to see, lose, or catch,,,,and keep you coming back again and again...until that bite is dead, and you must move on to another area...for anyone who has addictive tendencies,,,you understand what I'm talking about....you don't have a choice...you need that action....and you search for it...till you are out of energy....there are times you become Obsessed...because you know it's not guaranteed...and if you are lucky enough to find it....it could last for hours, days, weeks...but the likelihood,,,is that it may last for hours, if you are lucky.....and that's all you get.....

4. The Fish.....some of the biggest fish of the year, will be caught when the bite is strongest....and having spent time out there....if you want one....the Fish Wait for No One.....

5. The Thrill of Victory, and the Agony of Defeat......Why some of us push ourselves....
And some cautionary warnings of how it can affect your life negatively.....if you let it....Segue into the Dark Side of Surf Fishing....:learn:

DarkSkies

06-17-2013, 11:13 PM

OK. here we go folks....as you read these posts remember that I'm trying to capture a cross section of experiences, of some obsessed surf fishermen I know...I hope some of ya's can try to identify with the experiences here....good and bad...

**This is your last warning, that some of this may be uncomfortable to read...if you have a sensitive stomach or you fish in a world where everything has to be sanitary..... it's best that you turn back now...and do not continue reading.....;) :ROFLMAO

Hope that ya's Enjoy the Ride.....:drool: :wheeeee: :wow: :fishing: :HappyWave:

1. The getting ready, the Preparation...the aches, pains, and sacrifices some of us make,,,,the committment to be out there...while the fish are there.....and the toll it takes on our bodies.....

************

How many of ya's have been here before?

The alarm rings at 11pm....you went to bed at 7 just so you could get up and fish all night......your wife or girlfriend (if you still have one at this point) thinks you are certifiably insane......:kooky:
You know the tides will be perfect tonight.......and the bass will be feeding, if you can find them......

You get up as the alarm rings......and you really don't feel like it...you just spent 6 hours last night fishing the night tides....had a full day at work.....and as you get out of bed....your body aches.....

Your bed calls seductively...."Sleep, Sleep!!!!!,,,,it would be so nice to crawl back in there......and as you hear the light rain/wind rustling/ etc..outside....it's easy to convince yourself to lay down for just 5 minutes more......

But you know that if you do that....you will be toast....and sleep through to the morning....you will miss the tides...never know if the bass came in to feed...and you will play that game where you are the biggest loser, and no one else is in that world of losing, just you, isolated all yourself, as a moron, because you couldn't find the discipline to be out there on time.....:bucktooth:

As you get out of bed, every bone in your body aches....
From the Jetty Hopping
Sand Pounding
Bulkhead Jumping
Bridge stakling in the Shadow Lines
River casting
White water casting
or walking the Bay Flats, walking the oozing muck, moving from place to place with the tides.....

Any or all of that, that you did, to find the fish and the bite last night,,,,you know you must do it all over again...as there are no guarantees in fishing...

DarkSkies

06-17-2013, 11:28 PM

Your body aches so much, you immediately pop 2 advils.....just to dull the pain and you can keep moving......

You say to yourself..."Man I must be getting older...when I did this 10 years ago it never used to ache so much!" :huh:

Then you remember, 10 years ago you fished the night tides...it was easy...like taking candy from a baby, when you found them...and when you found feeding fish you could nail 15-30 a night....and some nights your numbers were 40-50.....aah....those were good times......gone as a distant memory that not many can relate to...

Now...There are less bass around....you know that because you have to work twice as hard, to put up the same numbers....

To learn more on this do an internet search for the phrase
"Honey the Striped Bass are Shrinking How to Recognize the Signs"
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8450-Honey-the-Striped-Bass-are-Shrinking-How-to-Recognize-the-Signs

You struggle to put a catch together at night...if you can find 5 decent fish..it's a good night...if you can find 10 or 20, it's an outstanding night...and you know you will not have many nights like that, this season....

But you are in the game anyway...
Can't catch em from the couch, you tell yourself......

and you are iin, balls deep, a full blown addiction....you have learned, over time, that if you really want big fish from the land...the night bite is the only bite for you...one where you have a real shot at a trophy...your personal best....and that with the big fish few and far between....you have to spend the time, when they are there....

DarkSkies

06-17-2013, 11:43 PM

Your Gear.....

Before you hit the road...you double check all your gear.....

You check your leader...if you were using it for the whole night before,,,,you either toss it, and tie on a new one...or inspect it for nicks...knowing that any small oversight, could be the one that causes you to lose the fish of a lifetime.....

At the very least, you cut your leader, cut off a yard or 2 of braid......knowing that although braid is strong, with the kind of fishing you do,,,,you may have rubbed some rocks, bridge ice breakers...or just rubbed the sand a tad too much...and that could be the weak link, that causes you to lose that big fish......

You re-tie your leader, checking all your terminal hardware,,,,replacing it if there are any doubts....constant saltwater use has a deteriorating effect on gear and hardware....and you know that, because you have screwed up before....from not paying attention.....

You quickly check all the plugs you will be using,,,making sure you have no weak or rusty hooks, weak split rings....or anything that would cause you to lose that 30lb bass that you didn't think would show up......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4fqb9hr7L0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4fqb9hr7L0

surferman

06-19-2013, 09:53 AM

Enjoying it so far ds.:HappyWave:

DarkSkies

06-20-2013, 06:19 PM

Your Gear.....

Before you hit the road...you double check all your gear.....

You quickly check all the plugs you will be using,,,making sure you have no weak or rusty hooks, weak split rings....or anything that would cause you to lose that 30lb bass that you didn't think would show up......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4fqb9hr7L0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4fqb9hr7L0

You are so obsessive that you periodically run a Q-tip, through the eye of the guide at your rod tip....making sure there is no way you will lose that big fish...
As mentioned, you double check all your hand tied leaders, knots, terminal tackle,,,,knowing that if you screw up, it will be that moment, that little mistake,,,,that will bring you clarity,,,and the agony of defeat...further reinforcing your life long struggles as a googan...and making mistakes when it is most important not to......:)

DarkSkies

06-20-2013, 06:21 PM

I mention the above to make us all aware of the fact that no one is perfect....
We try our best to be prepared, and think of all these things....
But when big fish come calling....they frequently take you by surprise.....big fish are solitary by nature....and you never know when you may get the chance to see one or feel one at the end of your line.......

So like the Boy Scout motto...
Be prepared.......:learn:

DarkSkies

06-20-2013, 06:28 PM

The Committment to be out there...when the fish are there......

In my experience, the night bite, is very different from many other bites.....it is a study unto itself....
I was trying to explain to some newer guys I met the other night...:HappyWave:...that if you want to be successful, you have to know the tide.....
You can't learn it in an hour....or expect to catch fish with only a one hour committment.....unless you are concentrating on dawn and dusk.....

The biggest fish I have found while fishing, other than the bunker blitzes, are ones that I found deep in the night...
and usually when I was least expecting one....half asleep from the lack of action....until your arm gets the jolt of a solid hit on your plug.....a real solid hit....and after you manage to set that hook hard, you feel the fish start to fight, the drag starts to sing....zinnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggg..........:drool: ....to me there is more adrenalin in that moment than drinking a whole pot of coffee....:viking:

DarkSkies

06-20-2013, 06:31 PM

As to the Committment....I have tried to help hundreds of folks over the years....some of them get it....they know the feeding opportunities are limited.....there will be one window per nght if you are lucky...if you find more than one....you have hit the jackpot......

The standard complaint of today's harried angler (family...job, social obligations, etc, etc) is "I fish when I can"
That's a great path to follow, if it is the only path that gets you out there., and you are able to get some relaxation from it....all good....:thumbsup:

However, the fish feed when they do.....the fish wait for no one....and the tides...wait for no one....
So if you are ready to take it to the next level, you have to understand that clearly......and learn to make more of a committment...to be there when the fish decide to feed......:learn:

DarkSkies

06-20-2013, 06:42 PM

"Why is that Committment necessary?
Can't I just get that info from Facebook?---there is a cool new surfcaster group I joined....they are catchng large all the time, if you believe the pics they are posting.....why I can't just go to the beach, and shadow them? Why do I need to learn all this extra stuff? It just seems too frivolous to me....too obsessive!"

This is an earlier thread I did....
"How Hard are you willing to Work, to Learn?"
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5479-How-hard-are-you-willing-to-work-to-learn
Good reading for the newer members here.....

You need to learn these things, and fish a whole tide at a time.....so you will understand how a bite develops, how and why it sustains itself, and how and why it shuts down...and what you can do at that point.....you can't learn this on facebook, an internet seminar, or even here, for that matter...the only way to learn...is to go out there....put in the time....and see for yourself.......

Usually, when a bite dies....it is about the food lessening, or stage of tide lessening...or some factor that you are possibly not aware of....but you have to train yourself to "see" when this happens, and when it wanes.......

DarkSkies

06-20-2013, 06:49 PM

"What are the Benefits, besides me investing a sh*tload of my time, with no guarantees?" :don't know why:

My answer to that is that there are no guarantees in life....

When you asked that beautiful girl to become your wife, there were no guarantees that she would say "Yes!"
When you went for that promotion at work, there were no guarantees you would get it.
When you climbed that mountain ridge to scout for signs of that trophy deer, bull elk, etc...there are no guarantees that you would find the trail....
When you tried that new path in life, unsure of every step, there were no guarantees it would work out either....

jigfreak

06-20-2013, 07:11 PM

However, the fish feed when they do.....the fish wait for no one....and the tides...wait for no one....
So if you are ready to take it to the next level, you have to understand that clearly......and learn to make more of a committment...to be there when the fish decide to feed......:learn:

Amen,dude. When its on its on and when dead is like a funeral.

seamonkey

06-25-2013, 09:56 AM

You need to learn these things, and fish a whole tide at a time.....so you will understand how a bite develops, how and why it sustains itself, and how and why it shuts down...and what you can do at that point.....you can't learn this on facebook, an internet seminar, or even here, for that matter...the only way to learn...is to go out there....put in the time....and see for yourself.......

Usually, when a bite dies....it is about the food lessening, or stage of tide lessening...or some factor that you are possibly not aware of....but you have to train yourself to "see" when this happens, and when it wanes.......

Bored at work today. Would definitely be interested in hearing about more of this. Thanks for the thread, dark

ledhead36

06-25-2013, 07:00 PM

I hope you put in a post or two about sitting on a white bucket. That can work out when there are bunker in the area and you sit tight for the whole tide. Have gotten bass up to 38# this way in the spring when they pass by.

DarkSkies

06-27-2013, 12:16 PM

^Ledhead, there's nothing wrong with sitting on a white bucket...you, me, and the guys know I did that for many years....:HappyWave:...and I always managed to find a source of bait when you ran out for the night....;)

I have a few friends like you who consistently catch large by tossing bait at night and waitiing...one such friend gets bass in the 30-40# class every year by tossing bunker heads during the right time and tide.....
He knows all too well the importance of following the night tides.....:thumbsup: :learn:

he has it down to a science and knows what week, to be in which location....we have discussions about fish migration and fishing all the time.....every year he correctly predicts when bunker will enter the bay in numbers...and he can see fish underneath when it looks like there is no activity above.....

DarkSkies

06-27-2013, 12:24 PM

He has been getting fish to the high teens in the ocean in the last 2 months on bunker heads...but the other night he called, grumbling that this is his worst year in a long time....
Also, a bunch of his fishing friends just went to Montauk, and did poorly in the surf....June has always been the traditional month when bass turn the corner at the Point...While the boats are doing OK...many have not noticed that their "split trips" are a relatively new phenomenon because you can no longer catch bass all day at Montauk...even in a boat...if that doesn't say the numbers are down., I don't know what does.....:don't know why:

There is another thread here that talks about the decline of fish in Montauk....
or you could just do an internet search for
"Why are there no fish in Montauk right now?"
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8039-Why-are-there-no-fish-in-Montauk-right-now

Despite all the internet cheerleading by folks who say they are having a relatively good year for striped bass....I'm not.,...have to travel further and longer trips to still find bass...and am not finding the numbers I usually run into.....he told me his trips are 8 hours or more at night,,,,,all for one 16-20# bass.

He claims this is his worst year in decades....
I would have to agree with him...those are my sentiments as well...

I wonder where this year stands for you..relative to your past years of success?

DarkSkies

06-27-2013, 12:41 PM

Fishing the Moon Tides.....

Anyone who begins to develop an addiction to fishing...and starts to plan out their trips, as to which place they will be fishing, at which stage of the night tide....knows all too well the importance of the moon tide....

Every time I see someone claim, on the internet
"Well I didn't catch fish last night, damn full moon!" :mad:

If you are using that excuse, maybe you need to re-think your skill set, and ask yourself why you are not finding fish...because most likely it ain't the fault of the moon....:rolleyes:

1. You may want to blame fire in the water, phosphorescence...(a common occurrence during warmer months and exascerbated by the brightness of a full moon)
2. You may want to blame lack of bait, forage....all good reasons for fish not to be there...
3. You may want to accept that there are less fish around than there used to be, even at night,
4. You may want to consider that with all the new guys in the game today, there are less fish to go around for us all.
5. You may want to consider that weather or storm patterns have affected migration in your area...

All of the above would be valid reasons why you may not catch duriing a full moon trip...but if they are not factors...please don't blame the moon.....

DarkSkies

06-27-2013, 12:52 PM

The one caveat is that I try to be more cautious in my movements at the waters edge, during a full moon...because I know if fish are in close, they can see me,,,and my movements might spook them....

For a full moon trip, I'm most happy when there is a "full moon obscured by clouds".
The cloud cover gives me more confidence, and knowledge that if the fish are spooky that night, they will be less wary with the cloud cover...again...this is just my experience,,,yours may be different....

Fishing during the moon tides....
There are a whole host of things to get excited about.....
1. Many major bait migrations or movements occur during moon tides.
2. One needs to only briefly scan the internet fishing reports to see terms like "June New Moon" and "October Harvest Moon" as times of great anticipation among fishermen...and times of great bait migration and movement....
3. Even without a major bait migration, whatever bait that is available, will be on the move, and at a much faster rate, in the rivers, bays, ocean, and inlets and inlet points,,,
4. The rapidness with which this bait moves, tends to have it disoriented and less organized in areas of stronger current or turbulence...
5. This presents perfect ambush opportunities for predators to feed aggressively on fish that may previously have been harder to catch....
6. With the predators being more active, you, the fisherman who studies these things, has more opportunity to catch them.

DarkSkies

06-27-2013, 12:59 PM

As you get more into the game, and see fishing as a challenge of opportunities and openings, it becomes like a big strategy game.....if your strategy is correct you are a genius and will find fish when no one else seems to be able to...if your strategy fails.....you are just another loser, with a fishing addiction...:laugh:

The best of the best know this....there is a video where Bill Wetzel talks about the conditions that drive him to be out there....
He describes sitting at work...and the feeling that a particular weather pattern, will bring bigger fish to the beach.....making for the possibility of a great night ......

I have these same compulsions driving me too....

How many others out there, have felt this as well? :drool:
The times, when you know, you just HAVE to be out there.....

DarkSkies

06-27-2013, 01:14 PM

The days before and after the Moon Tides......

You will find discussions ad nauseum on internet fishing forums on most preferred moon fishing cycles.....
Waxing
Waning,
Gibbous, etc, etc......

I'm gonna simplify it all for you folks reading this...this is what works for me....
I make it my business to fish at minimum the 2 days before and after each moon tide.....
This puts your committment to fishing, to 8 nights per month....

If you're compulsive like me, you can make it 3 days before and after...which makes 12 nghts a month, that you absolutely must be out there fishing...

If you fish a lot, you will notice that the tides in between (this is why it's helpful to keep a log...) are generally less productive....
I call these "weak tide" nights because I feel that's exactly what they represent...weak tides, weak opportunity to catch fish....

Can you catch fish during these "weak" tides?
Absolutely, if there is a lot of bait around...
Whenever I am trying to illustrate a point in fishing theory, or what works for me...the absence or presence of bait., trumps all other factors... :learn:

DarkSkies

06-27-2013, 01:26 PM

So, to recap, if you want to increase your catching results, and are serious about your fishing....at the very minimum you should be fishing 8 nights a month, assuming the weather permits.....

For more discussion on this, do an internet search for:
"Let's talk about Full Moon Surf Fishing (and New Moon as well....)"

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5279-Let-s-talk-about-Full-Moon-Surf-Fishing-(and-New-Moon-as-well-)

**This is an important point....the weather will sometimes blow your plans to shreds....you need to accept that as part of fishing....,there is no sane reason to be fishing in a lightning storm, beginning of a severe noreaster, or when a dangerous storm is building, or right after....no point in fishing any conditions that may affect your safety...too much foolishness and macho posturing on the internet about fishing in hardcore conditions...there is nothing hardcore about it, if you don't come home to your wife or family......http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon3.png

dogfish

06-27-2013, 05:42 PM

The days before and after the Moon Tides......

I make it my business to fish the 2 days before and after each moon tide.....
This puts your committment to fishing, to 8 nights per month....

If you're compulsive like me, you can make it 3 days before and after...which makes 12 nghts a month, that you absolutely must be out there fishing...

If you fish a lot, you will notice that the tides in between (this is why it's helpful to keep a log...) are generally less productive....
I call these "weak tide" nights because I feel that's exactly what they represent...weak tides, weak opportunity to catch fish....

Spot on ds. Simply making a shift to all moon tide fishing would probably put more large under your belt than anything else. Expecting folks to go out and fish 12 nights is almost impossible though, you must be dreaming.:laugh: I do this when the weather lets me though so I must be as crazy as you. I hate when the weather keeps me from the water.

DarkSkies

06-28-2013, 08:54 PM

Yep, dogfish....It's unreasonable to assume everyone else is as addicted to this, as I am..;)..but I know there are some of us out there....hope you are having a good year up there.....:HappyWave:

DarkSkies

06-28-2013, 09:02 PM

Fishing a Barometric pressure drop......

I have related on here, over the years, that I have a good friend who is a fanatic about this....

1. Some believe this strategy will pay off,
2. some believe it is just unproven theory with too many variables to hold consistently..

I believe about half of each statement above, holds to be true....in my experience...

There are a lot of variables....for sure...
The most extreme part of the barometric pressure drop is usually during the worst part of the storm, making fishing unsafe, and dangerous....I don't want folks reading this to think it's ok to fish during those times...because generally, it's not...remember that no fish is worth your life...

However, Fin and others have pointed out, that right before the bad parts of a weather system starts to build, the fishing can be fantastic as the fish "put on the feedbag" before the storm....

If you are aware of this, as a possibility, and are seasoned enough to figure out where you may be best protected when fishing....this can prove to be an opportunity....or not...but please remember, there is no fish worth your life....every year some fishermen die because of foolishness thinking they could get in some good hours of fishing before a storm...please don't become a statistic.....your family needs you....:learn:

jigfreak

06-29-2013, 11:55 AM

porgy75

06-29-2013, 07:05 PM

ledhead36

06-29-2013, 07:47 PM

He claims this is his worst year in decades....
I would have to agree with him...those are my sentiments as well...

I wonder where this year stands for you..relative to your past years of success?

Not so great for me this year either dark. Some good weeks in march and april but may went downhill. There is also a lot of algae in the bay on the edges. Almost like a red tide but brown. I am envious of guys with kayaks because they can get out deeper.

DarkSkies

07-08-2013, 01:17 PM

All good advice ds but as dogfish said to expect guys to put that level of time in is unreasonable. I already do that have been concentrating on fishing the moon tides hard for years. For the average joe fishermen most guys were raised in a generation that changes the TV channel every 5 seconds. To expect someone to spend 8 nights a month dedicated to fishing like we do is unrealistic. They won't do it. The average guy wants to go out on a Sunday, in bright sunlight, and bring home a cooler of fish. Not very likely from the surf. The night time or fishing dawn and dusk is the only time you will see those types and numbers. I do repect you for trying to help people tho.

That may be true jigfreak but this advice is all new to me. I am not as advanced as you guys are and apprecciate learning it. Thanks ds.

Jigfreak I appreciate your thoughts and agree.....
Some friends blasted me privately and said I am giving too much away here....my point is that to learn these things....you have to want to learn it...as you and others did...for example tonight is the new moon.....and with the heat, and lack of reported fish from the surf, there will be very few people out fishing tonight, as well as tomorrow night, or last night.....

It seems the more and more I do this, I see that people don't want to make an effort to find fish unless they read on the internet that someone caught one.....and there are those, who hate the internet, and will never report a fish for that reason.....I understand all these perspectives...and agree that it seems the hotter the temps get, the less people that will make the effort.....

Porgy, thanks for your feedback as well. :HappyWave:

DarkSkies

07-08-2013, 01:19 PM

Meanwhile, if you understand temperature differentials and bait migration, you can still find a fish or two....I mentioned this to a friend who recently fished all night, for one 13# bass.......

"The biggest sense of achievement is not when everyone else is catching fish in a blitz..it's when you catch one or two, on a night when it seems they are not around...."

It's a real sense of accomplishment to find one,
when others think there are none.....:learn:

DarkSkies

07-08-2013, 01:27 PM

Not so great for me this year either dark. Some good weeks in march and april but may went downhill. There is also a lot of algae in the bay on the edges. Almost like a red tide but brown. I am envious of guys with kayaks because they can get out deeper.

Thanks for the perspective, ledhead.....
Have noticed that as well..the algae seems to be setting up earlier this year. We have had a block of weather uninterupted by major storms.....
Although some folks hate those storms, I feel that regular bad weather can help to keep life in the bay longer and with more variety.

For example....
1. It took an exceptionally long time for the Raritan Bay and NY Bight to heat up this year....the guys who were crowing about the fantastic bass action should check their logs for the past 5 years VS the bay temps then and compared to this year. I logged lower average temps this year....bringing optimal conditions for the bass to stay in numbers as long as they did......

2. There are other discussions that are now blaming the bunker boats for bass not being here...but what folks should focus on is that for the past 2 years some of our bays and oceans were filled with bunker schools, with relatively less bass being under them as compared to 5 years ago....

3. I often tell folks the bite is temperature driven.
By that I mean that every year I document reduced catches in my own log, as water temps change, and bass seek better water north or south, depending on stage of migration we are at.....

4. The one caveat to this, is that "bait trumps all"....
there have been times when bass shouldn't be in an area because of the too high or too low temps...yet they are there.....bait is the one factor I have seen that frequently overrides other factors...........relative to whether you have a shot at catching fish or not....

DarkSkies

07-15-2013, 02:09 PM

"The biggest sense of achievement is not when everyone else is catching fish in a blitz..it's when you catch one or two, on a night when it seems they are not around...."

It's a real sense of accomplishment to find one,
when others think there are none.....:learn:

The other part of the Equation here, is the Failure part....
There will be times when you are out there....and no matter what you can't find a fish....Even more depressing than hooking that one fish and losing it....is the work you put in.....a full night of fishing, 3-7 hours, and you just can't buy a hit, anywhere.....

To me, that is the most depressing....but if you really love fishing, it's not a total loss....
1. It can be an opportunity to look at what you did during the night....and ask why the fish were not there..
2. It can be another opportunity to look at bait patterns, and ask yourself if there are likely to be fish in another area where there is more bait around.
3. It can be another opportunity to look at your log and see what temperatures the fish have been most active at....what patterns are you seeing?

DarkSkies

07-15-2013, 02:10 PM

**Remember.....if there are tons of bait in an inlet or back bay area, and the water temps are consistently holding in the high 70's....there is a lesser likelihood of you catching bass until those temperatures moderate downwards a bit....

If there is an algae bloom in the back bays, fire in the water,or other adverse conditions....these all will affect the bite, and where the fish will be sitting and moving through....these are all factors to think about, on nights when you can't find activity....

DarkSkies

07-15-2013, 02:10 PM

***

DarkSkies

07-15-2013, 02:10 PM

****

DarkSkies

07-15-2013, 02:11 PM

About ready to move forward with some more posts in this thread.....
I've decided to break it down into 5 main areas.....

2. The Sights, the Smells, the Sounds...of the lifestyle....(you know I'll be focusing a lot, on the Smells....:rolleyes: :moon:)

....:learn:

Now for the fun stuff.......please be warned that if you have a sensitive stomach, now is the time to turn back...do not go any further....:rolleyes:

DarkSkies

07-15-2013, 02:11 PM

The Good Smells.....let's get that out of the way first......before I get into the bad ones....:scared: :laugh:

1. The smell of bunker in the bay or ocean at night......the slight scent of cucumbers, or heavy fish smell, that tell you they are there......if you have been doing this for a while...you don't need to see them flipping.......you can Hear them.....or Smell them....:thumbsup:

2. The Smell of Freshly caught fish....baking in oll, garlic, butter, and spices, wrapped in foil, in the grill.....:drool:

3. The Smell of the Night.....the jetties, inlets, bulkheads, ocean beaches, trails with honeysuckle, the cactus pears, the smell of rocks and dirt on the cliffs overlooking some ocean vistas, the smells of the night.....that only linger for a second or two, before they blend in with the dozens of other smells, and become indistinguishable,,,,,

4. The Scent of Salt Air...it has a definite scent....a Freshness.....the breeze that breathes life into you, as you are tired, and don't want to push on any further....it is the Breath that refreshes.....and wakes you up...when you are getting drowsy and all of a sudden you are brought back into reality as a nice fish hits your line, makes it's first run... or smashes your plug...and almost jolts your arm out of its socket.....

5. The Smell of the Sea.........
There is no smell like that of the sea....ask any Sailor, Merchant Mariner......Capt who is on the water a lot.....or Fisherman who spends many nights a year out there.......some of us may take it for granted....but the smell, the scent....has a subliminal attraction for a lot of us.....and there are many who could not bear to live too far away from it....for too long...

robmedina

07-15-2013, 08:48 PM

4. The Scent of Salt Air...it has a definite scent....a Freshness.....the breeze that breathes life into you, as you are tired, and don't want to push on any further....it is the Breath that refreshes.....and wakes you up...when you are getting drowsy and all of a sudden you are brought back into reality as a nice fish hits your line, makes it's first run... or smashes your plug...and almost jolts your arm out of its socket.....

5. The Smell of the Sea.........
There is no smell like that of the sea....ask any Sailor, Merchant Mariner......Capt who is on the water a lot.....or Fisherman who spends many nights a year out there.......some of us may take it for granted....but the smell, the scent....has a subliminal attraction for a lot of us.....and there are many who could not bear to live too far away from it....for too long...

You got that right. It has ruined me from freshwater lakes and rivers. On vacation we went down to Jim Thorpe and I watched the white water rafting company launch and went down to the bank after they left. The Lehigh river was terribly smelly. I figured up that far in the mountains the water would be more pure, but nope. Made me miss the ocean all that much more!

rockhopper

07-17-2013, 09:33 AM

Lets talk about the smells amen. Hope you have a section on rotten bunker and how you left it unfrozen on the back porch and how your girlfriend told you never to do that again!:beatin: Because I did that!

DarkSkies

07-21-2013, 10:07 AM

^^ Rockhopper, been there done that, no shame in admitting.....:HappyWave:
I once had maggots hatched in a hole in the back of my Suburban because some chum spilled back in a door panel when I was driving around and the chum bucket toppled over. :upck:

***********
The Smell of Sweat...........and the Stench of Old Sweat...

Sweat, depending on it's age, can symbolize many things...
hard work....
physical workout...
sex.....:)
pure determination to get a job done......

When we see it at the point of creation, it can be sexy, fresh, new......
like when you're at the gym, and the hottie 2 machines away is doing a workout...covered with sweat, and you're trying not to drool.....(I know Pebbles reads these posts.....:HappyWave: ..).there could be another whole section on how to "not" notice beautiful women on the street when you are walking hand in hand with your sweetheart....good thing to remember if y9u want to stay in the relationship you're in....

But fresh sweat can be sexy...:pig:
We see it in the gym...
Hot babes with glistening bodies.....
We see it on TV....
We see it on the beach......and TV commercials......

That's because.....
It's fresh....glistening,,,,and hasn't had the time to develop into something that has a smell,,,,just yet.....;)

DarkSkies

07-21-2013, 10:10 AM

So while fresh sweat can be healthy....sexy...fun.........

We now come to the stench....of old sweat......
You know what I'm talking about....the stench that smells like a bag of onions that you left in your truck for a week....
The stench of old sweat....or overnight sweat, 2 day old sweat....enough to make you gag.....

When the bite is good, and you are out fishin for 2 days at a time.....bathing can become a secondary priority.....
And the stench of stale sweat....can surround you like a cloud of putrid death....:ROFLMAO

dogfish

07-23-2013, 01:21 AM

When the bite is good, and you are out fishin for 2 days at a time.....bathing can become a secondary priority.....
And the stench of stale sweat....can surround you like a cloud of putrid death....:ROFLMAO

Bathing can be secondary? Gee I'm waiting to see how you will top that. If I ever come down that way to fish with ya I'm bringing a clothespin.:scared: :HappyWave:

robmedina

07-23-2013, 11:20 AM

Sweat, depending on it's age, can symbolize many things...
hard work....
physical workout...
sex.....:)
pure determination to get a job done......

When we see it at the point of creation, it can be sexy, fresh, new......
like when you're at the gym, and the hottie 2 machines away is doing a workout...covered with sweat, and you're trying not to drool.....(I know Pebbles reads these posts.....:HappyWave: ..).there could be another whole section on how to "not" notice beautiful women on the street when you are walking hand in hand with your sweetheart....good thing to remember if y9u want to stay in the relationship you're in....

But fresh sweat can be sexy...:pig:
We see it in the gym...
We see it on TV....
We see it on the beach......and TV commercials......

That's because.....
It's fresh....glistening,,,,and hasn't had the time to develop into something that has a smell,,,,just yet.....;) You got issues Bro!

nitestrikes

07-24-2013, 03:36 PM

We now come to the stench....of old sweat......
You know what I'm talking about....the stench that smells like a bag of onions that you left in your truck for a week....
The stench of old sweat....or overnight sweat, 2 day old sweat....enough to make you gag.....

When the bite is good, and you are out fishin for 2 days at a time.....bathing can become a secondary priority.....
And the stench of stale sweat....can surround you like a cloud of putrid death....:ROFLMAO

Go to montauk on the last day of a 3 day bite. hitting the bathrooms you have to walk pretty close to the next person walking in or out of the entrance. Have smelled some really rank fishermen out there. The smells can get pretty bad.

DarkSkies

07-25-2013, 03:05 PM

Bathing can be secondary? Gee I'm waiting to see how you will top that. If I ever come down that way to fish with ya I'm bringing a clothespin.:scared: :HappyWave:

What can I say dogfish? :laugh: :HappyWave:...the fish wait for no one....and the way things have been lately they are there for a while, and then gone...tough to find a pattern in many cases.....I'm clean and neat for work, but on the weekends those become secondary to finding and staying on the fish, and trying to find fish where others are not.....;)

You got issues Bro!

Rob, we haven't even begun to scratch the surface of all the issues I have......:laugh: :HappyWave:
I told you people this would be a no holds barred, candid thread......

There are lots more sticky issues that will be explored in this thread......
* Dealing with foul smells...
* The bite is hot and you have to take a crap, what do you do, where do you go?
* Accidentally crapping your pants or waders from drinking too many energy drinks at one time....:upck:
* Accidents and spills, falling on a jetty or inlet rocks, smashing your head or knees, getting bloody, wrapping up with a bandana, and going back to fishing....hooking yourself, ripping it out, to get back to the bite quickly.....

* P***ing into the wind or (for anyone over 45) taking a leak during a bite, where you don't really care if you p*** on yourself a little bit, because it's a good bite....and then hours later, after repeating several times,,,,you realize you smell like a bum in the Bowery....

I know I'm not the only one who has ever experienced the above.....
On another website I helped to start, there is a thread called "The New Browns" all about a friend who was fshing at Browns at Montauk...drank too much coffee....and really had some rumblings which later translated to an epic explosion......I'll leave the rest of the story up to your imaginations....:scared:..
The one thing I can say, is all through my fishing obsessions., that I'm extremely lucky to have a woman like Pebbles, who still puts up with me....:heart: :kiss:
Before I spend time with her, I'm pretty diligent about cleaning up and scrubbing so I smell and look presentable, but even so, I'm lucky to have her in my life......:learn:

Go to montauk on the last day of a 3 day bite. hitting the bathrooms you have to walk pretty close to the next person walking in or out of the entrance. Have smelled some really rank fishermen out there. The smells can get pretty bad.

Yep, someone who gets it, and has been there......:thumbsup:
I've been there too, nitestrikes....after fishing for 2-3 nights at a time,.....some prety foul smells start to surround us...and I've walked past some guys entering that Montauk bathroom that have the stench of swamp A** folllowing them like a cloud....sort of a cross between the stench of a back bay at exteme low tide....and the stench of dead things rotting on the beach....with the less offensive stench of old fishy smells mixed in....

DarkSkies

07-25-2013, 03:39 PM

I told you people that this thread would be honest, it would be real.....
I know some of ya's have been in the same position as nitestrikes.....:HappyWave:
This thread will be unlike anything you have ever read on the internet before....and it's all true.....:cool:
So it's the last warning, that if some of ya's have sensitive stomachs, turn back now.....:laugh:

jigfreak

07-25-2013, 06:23 PM

There are lots more sticky issues that will be explored in this thread......
* Accidentally crapping your pants or waders from drinking too many energy drinks at one time....:upck:

That would be a tad sticky and not in a good way. If I were you I would always make sure a stiff breeze is blowing when you are fishing near someone.

albiealert

08-17-2013, 09:59 AM

^^ :laugh: Yep DS sometimes the level of detail you go into is above and beyond. Enjoy the threads anyway, keep em coming.

DarkSkies

08-22-2013, 03:16 PM

^ Glad I could entertain ya's.....:HappyWave:

Fishing night tides in the summer.......
Many have given up on fishing for bass, weakfish, and blues....
You will have a lot of room in the places you seek fish at....

One negative of not having a lot of fishermen, is that the kids are out of school, home from college....the night fishermen are replaced by partiers on the beach...drunks drinking at the inlets.....the smell of stale, rancid urine becomes part of the night air in certain popular party spots.....
Littering of beer bottles, pizza boxes, fast food garbage...bonfires and sex on the beach......so if you do get into decent fish there will not be many who wlll pay attention......

You have it all to yourself.
I think Monty has mentioned this several times....good night, not another soul out there.....because it is a challenge to find the few fish that remain and have not moved North to cooler water and more food....but they are there if you are willing to put in the time......
To me, just being out there and not running into crowds, is part of the reward....:fishing:

DarkSkies

09-06-2013, 12:02 PM

Fishing night tides at the Change of Seasons.......

Many of us who are addicted to fishing, though we will admit that fishing from land has its slow periods during the Summer, don't mind because it's time to spend with family, get projects done....and try to take a little break from the part of the year that pulls a lot of the most hardcore fishermen away from famiily time, and out into the night.....

The end of Summer, beginning of Fall, is when that slow period, begins to gradually change....
At first, it's imperceptible....
Those of you who spend more than one night a week fishing, will notice it first....

The crispness in the air...
The cooling down of the hot air at night....
Shorter days, and length of sunlight....will start to signal the baitfish that they need to move, that and and gradual temperature drops are what we look for....

Also, the slow understanding that the dirty, stagnant water that a lot of us were seeing, in some areas choked with algae and not supporting as much life as it could.....will soon be energized and re-charged with the Fall storms.,....

And Fall storms,. though they can be irritating, and an inconvenience,,,,,are tolerated, because we know they do bring life......
They allow the back bays, which had at times become stagnant with algae, jellyfish, etc....to be flushed out, especially on the full and new moon cycles....

They cause the bait to concentrate in certain areas,.either to hide from the intense weather, or to seek cleaner water in channels and certain harbors....and start to school up, making them easier for predators, and night fishermen, easier to find....

DarkSkies

09-06-2013, 12:19 PM

Next up.....
I'll talk about the Sept Harvest Moon....and what the New and Full moons mean to those who fish the night tides at this time of year.....

We have some threads directly relating to that....for now...

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5279-Let-s-talk-about-Full-Moon-Surf-Fishing-(and-New-Moon-as-well-)

Also, with the moon tides, these are great opportunities to scout structure wherever you fish, and see what has changed....
Blow Out Tides and Their Importance to Fishermen (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8284-Blow-Out-Tides-and-Their-Importance-to-Fishermen&highlight=moon+tides)

I'll fill the rest of this in, when I get some time....:HappyWave:

DarkSkies

06-11-2014, 09:31 AM

...the fish wait for no one....

I try to hammer this theme through, whenever I run across someone who isn't catching.....
Also want to point out that no matter how much you plan, or try to figure fish out......the behavior the next night could be something completely against the norm. When you find that, you have to adapt, and roll with it.

I talk all the time about how bunker come in with the flood tide, leave with the ebb....
Last night that pattern didn't hold, and they were there by the thousands, on a part of a tide they should not have been, and not where the prevailing winds should have put them........

I caught fish because of the bunker....easy fishing
And when they left they took all the fish in the area with them......

Nonetheless, when the tide changed, the fish came back, now feeding on the abundant shrimp...harder fishing....high activity....but a lot harder to tease these fish into hitting artificials.

My fishing was eventually ended by the building E wind.....(curses to that wind pattern)....
Overall, a fair night of catching., but a great night of activity.........

Something I typed yesterday to help someone out....thought it fit here for the fishing I was doing......

**Low tide Strategies.....

Generally speaking.....without giving up too much in terms of specific spots....

1. My low tide areas that produce best, are areas that tend to concentrate the fish in a particular area......This is where low tide can be an asset...

2. Sometimes the window is small because you will have to do some wading to get to them...this is true for back bay or inlet spots where there may be some deeper areas/sloughs, out there....and wading is the way to get to them.

3. Be especially careful on sandbars, at night, and during moon tides....if you do get into fish you have to have the discipline to leave them feeding, because you getting back safely is the priority.....people die every year because they lose sight of this in pursuit of bigger fish.....some sad stories surface every year....so be careful.

4. Always have a plan B in case you have trouble getting back...know your limitations....If you really start to explore in detail as you begin to see the opportunities (often fish will be holding just on the other side of a sand bar, and it is pure adrenaline on the nights when you manage to find them)

5. As you learn more and are willing to expand your skill set,,,,you really should invest in a wetsuit....much safer.....at the very least a good wading belt...remember no fish is worth your life.....

Hope this helps, good luck....

DarkSkies

06-16-2014, 11:15 AM

I have to give up some :thumbsup: :thumbsup: for Monty.......he is like the surf fishermen's version of the Borg....will cast a 1000 times until he gets a fish....
It doesn't matter if they are there or not....his philosophy is that even if there is only 1 stray fish that night....we wants to succeed by catching it.......:headbang:

My experience is a little different....I have become so jaded by the good bites I have been fortunate enough to find at night...that if I'm out there on the right time and tide,,,,I can usually tell within 15 minutes whether it will be a good night or not....and lately have had enough sense to call it a night, when I'm fishing by myself....because I know I can always come out in a day or so when things might be a little better.......

**If I have a sense that the fish (should) be there because of a particular food source, I'll try much harder...

I usually push for the marathons, if fishin with someone else.....because it then becomes all about them getting a fish....
My trip with Monty the other night was one of those marathons....
He can only get out one night a week to fish.....
He makes use of every minute of that precious time....

And is as hard-core a surfcaster as I've ever run into.....
Even though his trips are fueled by energy drinks....:HappyWave:
He really doesn't know then meaning of the word "QUIT!".......:fishing:

DarkSkies

06-16-2014, 11:21 AM

Member striperbites got this mid-May...probably 25+lb class.....as a testament to how bad fishing was, he was out fishing almost every night, and didn't get another bass till almost 3 weeks later.....Still a very nice fish caught from the surf at night, on artificials......:thumbsup:

Pics courtesy of striperbites. :HappyWave:

18527

DarkSkies

06-16-2014, 11:21 AM

18533

18534

Some fish I've been getting at night....mostly blues to 7#,,,and one bass.
The bass hooked in the back wasn't an accident....I also got a bluefish in the back like that....they were feeding on small bait....it seemed they kept missing it as the strikes were more reactionary than aggressive...

Fish seemed to be focused on the Surfstix teasers as the tail hook. :thumbsup: :HappyWave:

Most of my rear hooks have been changed to singles for ease of release and minimal injury.....
Unfortunately that one bluefish hit so awkwardly he got stuck in the eye....I took some time to get that hook out, so hopefully he wasnt blinded.

1852918530
18531

18532

DarkSkies

07-15-2014, 12:27 PM

Some of my night tide trips from the last weeks of June.....
Fishing last weeks of June 2014
Estuary fishing..... back bays, and alternating between bay, inlet, jetty and ocean bites....some bait around, I have been chasing after it as it moves from place to place.

6-18-14 AM
Fished 2 hours.
2 short bass, 8 small blues.
18651
The bass hit a swimmer, and light bucktail with cabelas eel. I took the pic of this small bass to illustrate that.
Bluefish hit bucktail and metal. Misssed quite a few as the fish were tentative and focused on small bait. Pretty good action for 1 1/2 hours.

6-19-14 AM
Fished 3 hours.
One 9# bass, released. 15 small blues, poppers and mag darter. The blues were real aggressive....lots of fun seeing them smash the top water plugs. :bigeyes:

6-20-14 AM
Based on the good action from the night before....Fished from the dark into sunrise, no action at all. 5 hours. N wind blowing all night. Hate that freaking north wind for NNJ!

6-22-14 AM
Fished 4 hours
13 small blues , one short bass, multiple locations.
Blues hit poppers and very small bucktail.
Bass hit hopkins shorty.
** Am seeing more small bait around, though most places are still not holding any reasonable bait population. Today I noticed rainfish and shrimp that they're feeding on. There are also some very small baitfish fry (1/4" to 1/2" in the water)

6-23-14 AM
Based on the good action from the night before......Fished 4 hours, no action at all. Bad wind and rough water again.

6-24-14 AM
Fished 3 hours total, one 12# bass on swimmer, one bluefish on swimmer.
Left and went to another location. Got another 5 small blues on poppers. All fish released.

6-25-14 AM
Fished 2 hours, back bay. 9 small blues, poppers.

6-26-14 AM
Fished 2 hours, back bay. 3 small blues, poppers.
Moved to the ocean for another part of the tide.
Found lots of bunker, Snagging them every few casts, high concentration. Some others were snagging and dropping with no success.
18652
I was snagging them while trying to work a northbar bottle. No fish for any of us. Got chased off the beach by the pending storms and lightning.
The wind also kicked up too,, was lots of white water, but no fish.

6-27-14 AM
Fished 2 hours back bay, 5 small blues, poppers.
SouthEast wind was building and up to 20mph as I left the bay to go to the ocean. Because of that I bagged the trip and went home early.

6-28-14 AM
Fished 1 1/2 hours back bay, 4 small blues, poppers.

6-29-14
Took one night off. As luck would have it, that one night a friend out there fishing artificials (who fished the whole night) did pretty well. This is one of the things that drives the compulsion ...:kooky:...... the "no rhyme or reason" to the pattern fishing we try to do.

The fish have been so scattered that unless you're out there every night you can't consistently catch them. Drives me absolutely nuts. On the other hand if someone only fished once or twice a week, it's easy for them to mis-calculate that there are no bass left.
What is left, is the dribs and drabs, the remnants of a late Spring bite, still hanging out in the area and tight to the bunker schools at night.

6-30-14 AM
Fished 3 hours, one bass -- 24 # -- on Northbar bottle, released.

18653

18645

It was the only fish on artificials that night. Lots of bunker around, but no indication of bass under them. Was getting discouraged at the lack of action and tremendous amount of bunker.
Went through many different profiles and presentations. At one point I was bouncing a light bucktail on bottom. Getting hit regularly but not able to hook any of these fish. My best guess is that a lot of croakers or spot had moved in that night. Fish with small mouths. I was puzzled by these small fish and why they could be there in so many numbers that night, but they were. And no reasonable amounts of bass (or bluefish) chasing them, other than the one I got. Was very happy with that one bass, she put up a nice fight.

Monty

07-15-2014, 01:26 PM

^^^^^^^^^^^
Awesome reports Dark.
Congrats on the Bass and Release :thumbsup:.

jigfreak

07-16-2014, 03:06 PM

Good deal ds puttiing in the time in and still finding em.

cowherder

07-17-2014, 09:31 PM

Wow you are hardcore fishing all those nights in a row! awesome catches I'm jealous. Even better on the releases. Good job!

ledhead36

07-19-2014, 04:00 PM

^^^^^^ It's all lies you couldnt possibly be catching -no one is catching stripers right now.:rolleyes:
All good brother. w4f said he thought he saw your ride the other night. Sneaking around in the back. If we see you out there, we may have to prank you. Like throw stones in the water. Stuff like that. I won't give it all away, but you will know when we find you again. I'm giving a friendly heads up so you dont come out of the water and try to drown us. The fellas would really like you to stop by one night. You know where. Congrats and be careful there are some sharks out there that far. :HappyWave:

DarkSkies

07-20-2014, 11:03 AM

Fish seemed to be focused on the Surfstix teasers as the tail hook. :thumbsup: :HappyWave:

Most of my rear hooks have been changed to singles for ease of release and minimal injury.....

Just a reminder to crush your barbs if you know the fish to be active at night....or if fishing by yourself....
A few weeks ago, Monty asked me if all the barbs on my hooks were crushed....
I kind of half-heartedly answered......"Well a lot of them are....;)"

About a week and half ago...had some bigger blues at night...previously not all my tail hooks had the barbs crushed...
Before I went out....for some reason I had the foresight to take a few extra minutes with tackle maintainance ...:thumbsup:....and crushed down a few more barbs on plugs I would be using......

This was fortunate....because one of the first fish I caught was close to 7#. Once hooked it got real angry...tail walking, jumping out of the water like a tarpon.....:headbang:
I really should have played that fish a little longer....the bite is limited at that location and I was only thinking of getting the fish released and back on to plugging again....the fish thrashed enough to put a hook through my thumb....
Once I released the fish, the reality of my situation crept in....

I was far out there.....isolated area...far from any kind of help or assistance....
Walking back to shore and returning would have taken 15 minutes out of the night's fishing....with the way the tide was that night....
The feeding window might be over when I got back.....
(post #38)
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?1877-fishing-terms-dictionary%2Fpage2
I was grateful I had crushed that barb on the tail siwash....
Without thinking twice, quickly ripped it back out, the way it came in.....:viking:
It started to bleed a lot....hurt a bit as well....

I was all alone on the flats.....
Blood dripping from my thumb into the water...
Some sharks with teeth being caught out that far.....:scared:
I quickly ripped up a bandana I bring along, applied the strip as a tourniquet....band-aids I carry were not enough to stop the bleeding....
And I went back to fishing. :) :kooky:

This is a pic I took of it at home....a few days after it started to heal......peroxide applied daily....

18654

Monty wanted me to post a pic of the bloody thumb...:laugh: :2flip: at the time, it was a littlle hectic....no time or thoughts for a pic...
I can't get in the way of Monty's Quest to win Googan of the Year again....:laugh:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8090-I-win-the-googan-of-the-year-award

So many worthy examples on his trips out there....:cool:
(post 42...Bloody Skunk)
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?1877-fishing-terms-dictionary/page3
So I hereby disqualify myself from that contest......and any voting.....:HappyWave:

Be careful out there, people....
Especially if you fish isolated areas by yourself at night....like I do.....:learn:

** Thanks for the kind words as well, folks.....:HappyWave:
These fish are a lot of fun to catch, for me.....
I am happy as a clam out there at night....catching some schoolies......bigger bluefish....and the occasional bigger bass.
It's a lot of work and effort...but a challenge as well....
When the feeding windows
(post # 38)
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?1877-fishing-terms-dictionary%2Fpage2
change weekly, and you have to fit the pieces of the puzzle together......it makes it kind of difficult at times....to me it's all worth the effort.....Fishing the Night Tides.....:fishing:
To the mooks that I haven't seen in awhile...I will try to stop by and see ya's soon...:HappyWave:

robmedina

07-20-2014, 11:35 AM

Dark- sorry about the finger- look at the bright side- if you had to hitch hike you would be easier to notice.

I don't go on or in the water at night- but I am considering taking my yak out with you at night- there is no way I am shark bait with you around!:HappyWave:

J Barbosa

07-20-2014, 12:05 PM

That doesn't look that bad...a bloody picture would have been better.

How do you like that Kuzia style bucktail jig?

Monty

07-20-2014, 05:33 PM

This was fortunate....because one of the first fish I caught was close to 7#. Once hooked it got real angry...tail walking, jumping out of the water like a tarpon.....:headbang:
I really should have played that fish a little longer....the bite is limited at that location and I was only thinking of getting the fish released and back on to plugging again....the fish thrashed enough to put a hook through my thumb....
Once I released the fish, the reality of my situation crept in....

I was far out there.....isolated area...far from any kind of help or assistance....
Walking back to shore and returning would have taken 15 minutes out of the night's fishing....with the way the tide was that night....
The feeding window might be over when I got back.....
(post #38)
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?1877-fishing-terms-dictionary%2Fpage2
I was grateful I had crushed that barb on the tail siwash....
Without thinking twice, quickly ripped it back out, the way it came in.....:viking:
It started to bleed a lot....hurt a bit as well....

I was all alone on the flats.....
Blood dripping from my thumb into the water...
Some sharks with teeth being caught out that far.....:scared:
I quickly ripped up a bandana I bring along, applied the strip as a tourniquet....band-aids I carry were not enough to stop the bleeding....
And I went back to fishing. :) :kooky:
This is a pic I took of it at home....a few days after it started to heal......peroxide applied daily....

18654

Monty wanted me to post a pic of the bloody thumb...:laugh: :2flip: at the time, it was a littlle hectic....no time or thoughts for a pic...
I can't get in the way of Monty's Quest to win Googan of the Year again....:laugh:

Resorting to Googan Chumming for Blues.....:headbang:

You sure there is no bloody pic??? A waste of blood without a pic.
First S and A hooked body part of the year and no hook in flesh pic....:huh:

DarkSkies

07-21-2014, 12:19 PM

- if you had to hitch hike you would be easier to notice.
I don't go on or in the water at night- but I am considering taking my yak out with you at night- there is no way I am shark bait with you around!:HappyWave:

In the last 6 months you have been one of the best free advertisements for having full amounts of car, homeowners, and life insurance, pal.....:scared:
I'm not so sure that being around me is more dangerous than hanging with you...:HappyWave:

I know I push the limits when I'm out there.....probably too much at times....
If it makes ya feel safer to point out how wacky I am...feel free..:thumbsup: :thumbsup:..and thanks for the laughs...:thumbsup: :HappyWave:....I really do appreciate the ball busting.....I can't tell ya how many laughs I got out of reading that post...:laugh:.:clapping: :clapping:

That doesn't look that bad...a bloody picture would have been better.
How do you like that Kuzia style bucktail jig?

Someone who pays attention.
Yes I like the Stan Kuzia style bucktails very much. IMO they have a nice sink rate when fishing deeper water and a nice roll to them.

You sure there is no bloody pic??? A waste of blood without a pic.
First S and A hooked body part of the year and no hook in flesh pic....:huh:

I can't bring myself to steal your thunder...given your history....I know a few big time screw ups are in store for ya before the end of the year....
and I am looking forward to each and every one.....complete with pics....I have to say when you post something that's bloody...it really stands out..:thumbsup:.....we should have an award here just for bloody pics.....
So many worthy examples on Monty's trips out there....:cool:
(post 42...Bloody Skunk)
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ctionary/page3 (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?1877-fishing-terms-dictionary/page3)

It's so refreshing to post about my harrowing experiences out there....and some mooks are telling me there wasn't enough blood in the pic ;) . Thanks for keeping it real, people.:clapping:.....I appreciate the ball busting....next time I'll try for a deeper hookset and bigger holes so there is more blood. :2flip: :moon:
Thanks for the laughs...you guys are the best....just what I needed to pull me out of my slump....:thumbsup: :HappyWave:

** Thanks for the other fishing comments as well...
I put that time in...because it was worth it to me......
Some 20# and bigger fish were scattered through the bunker schools,,,,those were the targets for us.....
In the last 2 weeks it has changed drastically.....
Mostly bluefish....occasional bass....all for a lot of effort.......

The latest obstacle is fire in the water....
It has returned and is plaguing many bay areas.....
I spent the last 2 nights, presenting to fish, in water that was filled with these dinoflagellates....
and filled with bait as well.....very frustratng.....

Fire in the water is a real problem when fishing artificials.
I may have to re-think my strategies for fishing at night....
Maybe even take the kayak out to get far away from the shoreline and into the deeper channels...

DarkSkies

07-21-2014, 12:29 PM

Some more night tides pics.....

This is a friend from Delaware......fishes every chance he gets, when he's not working....All pics courtesy of him....:HappyWave:
His new addiction is bunker heads...before that it was live eels at night...as he travels the Coast to put himself where the biggest bass are feeding at night......
Note the size of the hooks he is using......

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=18661&stc=1http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=18662&stc=1

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=18663&stc=1

He sent me some pics of bass he was catching Cape May area...in June....
long after everyone else had given up catching larger bass down there....he was getting bass to 30#...at night,,,,by fishing up to 8 hours at a time...

(and if he was lucky...... was only catching one of these nice fish, per trip) all on the night tides......:fishing:

baitstealer

07-21-2014, 05:29 PM

Wow nice fish - that is a monster hook! Looks big enough to catch a shark.

ledhead36

07-23-2014, 09:54 AM

....he was getting bass to 30#...at night,,,,by fishing up to 8 hours at a time...

(and if he was lucky...... was only catching one of these nice fish, per trip) all on the night tides......:fishing:

Thats what its like in March in the rB. No one wants to get off the couch and go out there in the cold. We still manage to find some 20 pounders though. You have to put your time in. Awesome striper. congrats to the guy from Delaware.

DarkSkies

07-24-2014, 01:41 PM

Another good night for a NJ friend fishing the night tides.....
He hunts big fish exclusively....he was very disappointed this year because he spent countless hours early season looking for bigger fish.....many 8 hour nights out there with nothing....We've had many conversations how the fish are not available in numbers like they used to be for us.....

He did have some good nights.
Most of his fish were caught within a 30 night period from May-June....
And every one of them had to do with large bunker schools passing through....
The latest of his big fish......mid-June.....he had a 1 1/2 hour window to catch these fish....after that the activity was completely dead...
He got 3 large fish to 35# in that short window.

18673

I got there a little late for the party....and as a result got nothing.
All fish caught on bunker heads....he released the 2 largest, and kept this one, about 30#.

buckethead

07-24-2014, 02:22 PM

That's a quality fish there, congrats to your friend.

DarkSkies

07-25-2014, 02:45 PM

Thanks for the feedback, people. Remember that this is like finding a needle in a haystack....lots of hours needed to be put in, to be on the beach when these fish rolled through......
Here's a summary of my night tide reports for the first 2 weeks of July...
If you look at the 2 weeks prior to that on the previous page, you can see a definite difference in the quality and quantity of fish. The latest night menu is mostly scattered blues...with a few occasional bass thrown in.

You never know when those conditions will change for the better....even if just for that night.....hence the push to be out there as often as I can....:fishing:

7-2-14 AM
Fished 3 hours, managed 6 bluefish to 7#.
Nice to see blues that were somewhat larger.
Initially, I was getting frustrated, no fish on any of the usual plugs. Finally went back old-school and started throwing a black magnum redfin, slow retrieve. Under the new moon darkness that seemed to be the ticket, (though I was throwing other black plugs, with no results)

18676
** Sometimes it is what it is, and figuring that out.....is one of the biggest challenges the surfcaster faces at night. There were no bunker around at all, and all the small fish that were nipping at the bucktail the other night were gone.

7-3-14 AM
Fished 2 1/2 hours. 5 bluefish to 6#... black bomber. One bass 13# on rapala swimmer, All released.
Bunker were around this time, but the little mystery fish were not.

7-4-14 AM
Fished 3 hours. 4 bluefish to 5#. 2 bass to 14#. Small swimmer. All released.

7-5-14 AM
Fished 2 hours. Wind was from the N, and kind of strong, steady 15-20mph.No fish at all.
**(North wind in NNJ is my least favorite wind)

7-8-14 AM
Fished 2 hours. Fished hard, some bunker around, not a touch from a bass. Finally a small bluefish on a black redfin. Very happy as that lone fish saved me from the skunk.

7-10-14 AM
Fished 3 hours, bunker around. No action at all. Skunk
Did run into an old time mentor I hadn't seen in 20 years. We spent the down time talking about the way things used to be, and how easy itwas to catch fish at night.....almost year round in NJ.
Sadness crept over me like a dark cloud. :(

7-11-14 AM
Fished 2 hours in the ocean. 4 hours total.Scattered bunker around. Great conditions, wind slowly shifting to NE pattern. Still no bass to be found (for me). Lots of small bait. Spearing 2-3" Tied a teaser on and caught a hickory shad.

On the way home, I was frustrated at the time and effort I was putting in, and the very spotty results of the last few days. Stopped at a back bay spot that had held some bluefish for me. Water dirty and weedy. Had to wade out very far. The possibility of meeting up with a brown shark was in the back of my mind.
Tried small bottle popper. Only raised 2 fish in 1/2 hour. Almost ready to give up after running through all the small plugs I had, not a touch.

Put another popper on, this time a sinking popper, with a teaser.
(Brand: Monty Super Special Tube Teasers) :HappyWave:
That setup got me 2 bluefish in the next hour. Was very happy to have that teaser. Without that teaser there would have been no success that night.
What was also notable is they hit the teaser, in front of the popper, in the dark, cloudy sky, at night, preferred that over the popper.
The popper I believe..... just had the effect of drawing scattered fish to the area I was casting in.
Total ...one hickory shad....3 small blues, all on Monty's teaser. :HappyWave:

7-13-14 AM
Fished 3 1/2 hours.
Got out too late to fish the ocean and the winds weren't what I was looking for. Settled into some back bay flats fishing. Found some fish in the first few minutes but the pattern was different than 2 nights before.

That night, they all hit the teaser, only the teaser. This trip they would not touch it. I finally settled into a routine where I pissed off each and every fish to get it to smash the popper. The action was pretty good, with long periods of inactivity. Seems like they were coming into the flats and feeding in small groups.

18678

18677

Note the Surfstix teaser tail hook that got these fish...thanks Surfstix! :thumbsup: :HappyWave:
Managed 10 blues to 6#...missed at least twice as many.

What was exciting:
1. The size was notably bigger (we're still talking about small bluefish here, but some were fat from feeding on the small bait, up to 6#), There were no real small ones, with the smallest going around 3#, and the majority closer to the larger size.

2. These bluefish, once hooked, went crazy, tail walking and jumping out of the water. Even some of the ones I missed.... Were spectacular misses....incredible top water savage strikes in the dark....very high adrenalin level for me.
When people talk about how easy bluefish are to catch, I challenge them to catch 10 bluefish in a night on artificials, when they are scattered, and the only thing that calls them in is your skill at presentation..

3. It was damn hard, I worked for every fish......Also notable is that this is a pure night bite.Even with overcast skies, all activity turned off an hour before dawn.

7-14-14 AM
Couldn't fish the ocean as the winds were not favorable.
Went to the bay instead. When I got down to the water, there were some lightning storms forecast on the radar. I geared up to go out, after having looked at the pattern. Thought better of it when I saw the big lightning coming my way. Decided to go back in the vehicle and wait it out.
Fished 2 hours as I waded out and looked for some fish.
Within 5 minutes I knew it would not be the same as the night before. Kept at it for 1 1/2 hours and could not even raise a fish with a popper. Finally 1/2 hour before I was set to leave I managed 1 small bluefish around 5# on a popper. There were fish sporadically feeding around me but nothing like the night before.

My thoughts --
1. The winds muddying up the bay water has the effect of scattering the bait and greatly affects the fishing. Also the water seemed a little colder than the night before. In my experience a temp drop of as little as 5-7 degrees can shut the activity off as well. The end of day bay temps are much higher. I believe that's why I have been having a bit of success doing this fishing deep in the night.

2. The current colder ocean temps have caused some fish to stay behind that in warmer water. I noticed this the other night when I ran into thousands of spearing in some bay areas and marinas. When I got to the ocean the ones that should have drifted out with the tide, were not there.

7-15-14 AM
**[I want to caution anyone reading this who's thinking of fishing at night.......that you need to understand and be dialed into the weather.
I obsessively check 4 weather sources before I head out. Some of ya's have gotten calls from me asking what's forecast on the radar. Lightning on the beach can kill you in an instant Every year another fisherman, swimmer, or surfer dies from lightning....
So please be careful out there....
Any time I feel nervous, I hold off for awhile and take a nap till it's over....being a tough guy when lightning is forecast...could be the end of your life.]

There were intense thunderstorms predicted for early evening. Got down to the water and it was pouring. I had looked at the radar pattern and wanted to time it so I was heading out as the last one was past me. Thunderstorms were way too intense. Took a nap.

When I woke up it was too late to fish the original place, so I had to drive somewhere else.
Got out on the water, it was beautiful....ocean not bad...not too roiled up at that moment...I was very optimistic about catching..
Fished 1 1/2 hours. That was the window for that night..not a touch for me.
I think the storms scattered some of the bait that was around, and it may need 24-48 hours to re-group before the fish are actively feeding at night again.

jigfreak

07-25-2014, 03:42 PM

Lightning on the beach can kill you in an instant Every year another fisherman, swimmer, or surfer dies from lightning....
So please be careful out there....
Any time I feel nervous, I hold off for awhile and take a nap till it's over....being a tough guy when lightning is forecast...could be the end of your life.]

Good point you don't want to mess around with lightning. It's very unpredictable. Nice reports dark.

seamonkey

08-01-2014, 02:16 PM

Had to wade out very far. The possibility of meeting up with a brown shark was in the back of my mind.

That brown shark is more than a possibility. Dark I don't know exactly which bay flats and channels you are fishing but the sharks are in the bays. Here is a pic of a striper that got bit in half by a shark! He was fishing in the back of brigantine. Some guys were recently discussing having caught bull sharks in the past from the bulkheads of LBI. They are among the most unpredictable and nastiest of all sharks. I really enjoy the stories and reports but please be careful out there dude!
18707

Monty

08-01-2014, 03:40 PM

^^^^^
Wow, great pic. Thanks for posting that.

DarkSkies

08-02-2014, 12:06 PM

Seamonkey thanks for the warning. I have a friend who yells at me every time I go out there. He keeps saying it's only a matter of time.
There are some sharks where I fish. Friends who were fishing bait all had their wire leaders sliced through about 2 weeks ago.
I'm aware that the Manasquan Creek attack of 1916 was the work of a bull shark.

The thing about most sharks is they are attracted to movement, blood, and bait smell. Once I'm out there I try not to move around too much. Don't carry bait with me, and whenever possible try not to bleed into the water. ;)
I know people who skish who take much bigger risks. Just Ed, Jake Freeman, and Frank Blasko are some of the most hardcore skishers out there. :HappyWave:
Of course we don't want to forget the Godfather of Skishing, Paul Melnyk. :thumbsup:

Take a look at some of these threads. These guys take much more risks than I do.
The life of a skisher (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5920-The-life-of-a-skisher)
skishing? (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?3462-skishing)

Thought some would like to see the skisherman videos again.
Frank and Paul really ramp up the shark encounter risk level, bobbing around there at night with wetsuits.

http://vimeo.com/37779521

The trailer....dedicated to the exploits of Paul and Frank....:HappyWave:
Warning, graphic language...if you are easily offended, don't watch......

http://vimeo.com/8912991

**I have consistently shared my experiences that bass are not around in numbers that they used to be, I and some others are really pushing it during the night tides to catch some fish. I want folks to understand it's not that easy, and that we do take precautions to try to minimize the danger.

As for me, I try not to think about sharks. put them out of my mind while I'm out there....
If I focused on the danger, I would never be able to successfully fish some of the places I do.....
The reality of it is....except in the cases of bull sharks....many of our local shark species are much more wary and afraid of us, than we are of them.

I have been wading the flats at night for years and have yet to run into a dangerous shark.
Thanks for the words and thoughts, they are appreciated..:HappyWave:

Monty

08-02-2014, 05:51 PM

[/B]As for me, I try not to think about sharks. put them out of my mind while I'm out there....
If I focused on the danger, I would never be able to successfully fish some of the places I do.....

I don't consider sharks a danger to surf fishing, even when wading out far.
Has there been any shark "events" with surf fisherman?
Lightning is dangerous, current and drop offs, soft sand and jettys all dangerous.

J Barbosa

08-03-2014, 01:03 PM

I am more worried about getting hit by a boat when wading or on a kayak in New Jersey...

In fact a few people have almost been hit by boats running aground while fishing the tip of Sandy Hook at night the past few years.

I haven't heard any close calls with sharks recently.

DarkSkies

08-03-2014, 05:12 PM

In fact a few people have almost been hit by boats running aground while fishing the tip of Sandy Hook at night the past few years.

John.....Vpass is one of em....:HappyWave:..when people talk about "that guy who almost got killed by a boat at Sandy Hook"....his close call comes to mind....
(post #18)
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?1985-washed-up-boats-on-SH

surferman

08-03-2014, 05:52 PM

I hope no one takes this personal. For the guys who fish a lot and also the ones that skish what do you do to prevent swamp a**? Must be a lot of moisture in the crotch area. I know when I am fishing for more than 3 hours I get all sweaty and funky. How do you deal with that if you are out almost every night? do you have 5 pairs of waders or 5 wetsuits? That could get real expensive.

DarkSkies

08-04-2014, 09:31 AM

Surferman, Finchaser may have 5 pairs of waders. :HappyWave:All neatly organized and hanging upside down in his garage on special hangers. The man has every single thing in his life organized and categorized. You wouldn't believe the amount of dyno label maker sticky tape he goes through each week. ;) For the rest of us, we have to make do, with one or two pairs. My gear gets wet, a lot. My body as well.

I can't answer for the skishers out there, but one thing that has helped me greatly is cornstarch baby powder.

18712

I'm dumping that in my crotch every time I go out there. Also have a small container in the milk crate where I keep my surf gear in case I need it. Without that, I think your personal parts could get moldy. ;) Hope that helps.

J Barbosa

08-04-2014, 10:46 AM

The water is over 70 degrees in the bay right now.

Get a pair of swim shorts, a t-shirt, and some sandals.

fishinmission78

08-04-2014, 11:08 AM

^^^^ Aren't you the guy that was talking about the horseshoe crabs tickling your toes in the spring? No offense meant but no thanks to the sandals. If you tried that at island beach the critters would eat you alive. Skeeters no see ums and black flies here. Biggest in NJ. You would have so many welts on your legs it would look like chicken pox. I guess you don't have to deal with that. You don't know the agony you are missing. The sedges at night can be brutal. Try to fish here one day with those clothes. I bet you will buy a case of Off before you do it the next time.:whoo::HappyWave:

bababooey

08-04-2014, 11:26 AM

^^^^ Aren't you the guy that was talking about the horseshoe crabs tickling your toes in the spring?

Hey didnt you ever hear of the phrase different strokes for different folks?
Some like to see women trampling bugs. Some like horseshoe crabs. Maybe its a fetish or something. Leave the poor guy alone.

J Barbosa

08-04-2014, 11:28 AM

Certain winds make the bugs intolerable up here too but I bet those sedges are a great breading ground.

There is a favorite spot of mine that I know holds some bass through the summer...god help anyone who tried to fish it during the summer. The mosquitoes are brutal and there are too many ticks!

cowherder

08-04-2014, 01:10 PM

I'm dumping that in my crotch every time I go out there. Also have a small container in the milk crate where I keep my surf gear in case I need it. Without that, I think your personal parts could get moldy. ;) Hope that helps.

Well robmedina said you were old so I'm going to add to that and say you are using the powder to prevent getting old and moldy!:laugh: :HappyWave: j/k thanks for the reports its good to see you are still getting bass and blues you are really working for them.

DarkSkies

08-05-2014, 09:45 AM

^ Cowherder maybe I like being old and moldy. ;)
One consolation....no matter how old I get, the OGB will be older.....moldier, and grouchier. :HappyWave:

DarkSkies

08-07-2014, 02:56 PM

Being able to fish a bite, at a moment's notice....

I'm not talking about blitz fishing here....but the fishing when a solid bite develops..
Some folks are able to drop what they're doing, and in some cases drive a hundred miles, or several states away...to find fish that are not in the usual areas....
The Cape May/Atlantic County area bite earlier this summer, where most of the Berkeley C&R tourney winners came from, is but one example.....

During the last 2 weeks, a bite developed in a state North of us.....
I first heard of it about 2 weeks ago....I can talk about it now because it's fair to say it's mostly played out....only the locals have a fair shot at the isolated pockets of fish that remain.......

I just couldn't rush up there...I don't have that kind of committment-free luxury in my life...
However there are some people who can.....and do...being able to travel at a moment's notice...
And that's what makes the difference...sometimes it's just one or two nights of good fishing....

The list of out-of-staters up there read like a "Who's Who" list of the surf fishing world....A friend, one of the best fishermen I know...
recently went up.....he only had 24 hours,,,,and got nothing....while another friend had double digit fish to 30# the night before.....
That's part of what I mean by the insanity of this all....:kooky:
And the reality that we are seeing less fish around....lack of a sustained pattern to plan your fishing by.....
forcing people to gravitate toward bites like this.....

I got feedback that although this bite wasn't highly publicized on the internet....the fishing was shoulder to shoulder....
That's not my kind of fishing.....:viking:..and for that reason I wasn't in a hurry to get up there......

It has become, for some, a mad rush to jump in the car or truck, to get to the one shining area that month, where there is a good bite....if you miss it your numbers for the year will suffer.

**Just thought I would share...the ridiculous attempts some of us will go through to get into some decent fish.....:learn:
It really ain't that easy lately, to catch bigger fish from land....
If some folks can't look at this, and see how bad things have become, for most of us...creating frenzy conditions whenever a decent land-based bite develops..then they will never understand how far down, the quality of fishing for bass has fallen in the last 8 years....

DarkSkies

08-07-2014, 03:34 PM

Reports last 2 weeks of July 2014...quick note....if you review the other sets of 2-week reports....you can see some declining trends...

7-17-14 AM
Took previous night off because of heavy rain. When I got down to the water tonight it was still messed up. Dirty water bay and ocean side. To make matters worse, there was a stiff N wind. Not that great for bass fishing with artificial in NNJ. Fished 4 hours, no action at all.

7-18-14 AM
Hit the bay first. Water still dirty but lots of forage life. I waded to a sedge area and as I shone my light on the water noticed aquarium like activity.....spearing, small snappers, mullet, and some funky fish about 6" long that I swear was a lizardfish. All milling around.

Additionally, the small fry fish that I mentioned 2 weeks ago are now about 1" long. Still cannot identify them, but they are there in certain areas by the thousands.
After I got tired of getting bit by bugs, I left those sedges. I could raise no fish, wrong stage of the tide apparently.

Went to the ocean. The N wind kicked up and dirtied the water in surf zone.
Managed one short bass on small swimmer after a lot of effort. There was bait around but conditions not optimal. Fished 5 hours total.

7-19-14 AM
Fished 4 hours total. Bay for 1 hour. The water was pretty dirty. I had a feeling within the first 5 minutes out there that it would not come together. Gave it my best shot. There was an abundance of bait, but no fish feeding on it. My best assessment is the
1. dirty water put them off,
2. coupled with the lower salinity water from the rain which pushed the blues out further into the bay channels or ocean.

** [I also did not mention that for the previous weeks the bay was filled with fire in the water "dinoflagellates"......leaving a visible trail every time I tried to plug. Putting that together, it made sense why poppers were the best choice. They disturbed the trail and disrupted the calmness, maybe being the only artificial the bass/ blues would hit.
As of this night's trip, and after the heavy rains, the fire in the water appeared to be gone. ]

Went to the ocean, ran into an old timer I know. We fished for 3 hours . Fished hard with small profile plugs and teasers. Again, there was a good amount of bait in the surf zone, but the water was dirtier than usual. He missed 3 bass, and I hooked into one small bluefish on an SP.
90 years of fishing experience between us.. and that was the best we could do.
Some nights when you miss a fish they will come back, but not this night. It was a little frustrating how spooky those fish were in that dark murky water.

Again, my best assessment was that the
1. dirty water made it difficult for fish to find our plugs. The fish couldn't seem to find the abundant bait either.....no real surface feeding activity
2. or they were more scattered than we thought.
Just one of those nights.

7-21-14 AM
Fished 5 hours total, no fish or misses.
Bayside for 1 hour. Water cleared up significantly and lots of bait around. However fire in the water has returned. Couldn't even raise one fish on popper.

Went to ocean, ran into one of the old timers.
We fished hard for 4 hours. Lots of bait.....spearing, lizardfish, and pipefish.... but still some residual fire in the water. No fish feeding on them at all.
Nothing for either of us.

7-25-14 AM
4 hour trip. Got invited to fish with some old timers. :HappyWave:
Steady pick of 5-7# bluefish as the tide came in. Lots of fun and laughs fishing with the old farts. Amazingly talented fishermen, with some insanity mixed in.

After that I went to the ocean. Conditions had been promising with bait starting to show up. This was in stark contrast to a few weeks ago with the cold water and notable lack of bait, or crabs being the solo forage.

All that has changed in the last week......spearing, rainfish, and some other species visible in the surf line in some areas.
The problem was the North wind. It had been forecast as a steady 7-10. Once again Wunderground was off on the prediction. It built to a steady 20MPH. This makes presentation tough for many NNJ beaches.

Ran into a friend, we gave it our best bucktailing the rough surf. Could not overcome the effects of the strong wind, and left after an hour.
No fish for either of us on North wind.

DarkSkies

08-07-2014, 03:36 PM

7-26-14 AM
5 hour trip. Went to the ocean. Stiff SW wind blowing 20mph steady. Pretty decent conditions but no bait in the water as there had been. After about an hour the water in front was filled with bunker. Tossing big swimmers and things that had produced in similar conditions produced nothing except bunker hitting the line.
Finally out of frustration, I snagged a bunker on the north bar bottle darter. Let it sink to the bottom and fished it. Did this twice with no results. If there were any fish in that bunker there were very few of them. 1 1/2 hours with no action at all.

I was tired but not willing to go home with the poor results. Stopped at a place way in the back, an early spring spot that I had recently ignored, assuming it was too warm and filled with fresh water….for bluefish.

Within 5 minutes I knew the fish were there. Fish on the 2nd cast and almost every cast thereafter. Manipulating poppers to **** them off.
Managed 12 blues 4-8#.
They were angry and aggressive when hooked. The numbers for the night only tell half the story.

At one point the action was so aggressive they busted the side hook from my popper, leaving me with only a siwash tail hook with crushed barb for safety. For each cast they would aggressively attack the popper several times. I was missing the hookups with the single hook, or only hooking them briefly. They would return again and again to “kill” the popper, with incredible topwater action that could be heard but not seen under the new moon dark skies.

The action lasted for about 1 1/2 hours and then shut off completely. For reasons I’m still pondering, they disappeared from that area.

I left and went home, fully satisfied with the high action for that trip. The memory still gives me an adrenalin rush as I’m typing this. Haven’t had that level of activity in the back bay for several weeks now. Very surprising to see it at that stage of the tide, but appreciated nonetheless.

**This is part of what I mean by “patterning the bite”. They were there on a stage of tide when they should not have been, and left when they should have been there in greater numbers, with bait in the area. I have been out there often enough to have a good handle on when they feed and don’t feed. Yet, no matter how much I try to analyze it to make it easier, each time is different for me. Any pattern that I find does not usually last more than 2 nights, IF I am lucky.

7-27-14 AM
5 hour trip
After last night’s fantastic activity level, I wanted to return to see if it would repeat itself. It did not. The conditions, - wind, tide, water temps, and water clarity……were perfect….but what was missing was the bait….
I knew within 5 minutes that it would not be the same as the night before.
I bumped into Monty. We were casting poppers at first and couldn’t raise a fish. He went on to throw big rubber snakes (Hogys and Surf Hogs) He lost one fish, and landed another one , solid, fat, 8# blue, nice fish. Put up a great fight tail walking and tarpon jumping. . I was very happy to see him get that fish, as that was the extent of action we had.

(You would have never known the fish were there the night before that.)
Dead water..... I fished poppers and swimmers for 5 hours, could not raise one fish. One missed hit on a magdarter. That was it for me.

**When it’s easy to catch, you tend to get a little spoiled. The true test of a fisherman’s perseverance is the ability to press on, and catch that one fish, when they are not really thick in an area.

Monty did that last night. :thumbsup:
Since he only gets out once a week, I was glad to see him hook up. The look on his face as he fought that fish, was priceless.
Funniest part of the night was when I was lamenting the lack of action, saying "Sorry... I wish I would have manufactured some more fish action for ya, but things were really slow tonight”….within seconds of saying that, a few feet away from him, a nice fish swirled out of the water on a small piece of bait….

Kind of ironic, but funny, when he started calling me the “bluefish whisperer”.
Hey pal….that was totally random…..and the only evidence we had throughout the night of fish feeding at that location……
That’s why they call it “fishing”,
And not “catching:.......

Still, I’m proud Monty got into some action, because the fishing was tough. :thumbsup: :fishing:
That fat bluefish was every bit of 8#.

Some thoughts/ observations........
1. Even for someone like me who is out there more often than most....the larger predator feeding activity at night in the areas I fish has declined, and the fishing as well.

2. What I'm seeing, for the most part.... the bigger fish are consistently tight to bunker schools. Any night of great activity has those bunker as the central success factor for me. There have also been times when bunker is all over with relatvely few fish under or near them. You can't know what kind of night it will be, until you are out there fishing.

3. More recently, there have been bigger disappointments.

4. There are more bait varieties lately. I was out in one area the other night, and large snappers were busting on small bait all over. Unfortunately the larger bluefish and bass I was looking for never showed up. I'm also seeing larger spearing, and some mullet up to 6", but in select areas.

5. These gaps in action are causing me to take a few days off between trips, concentrating on the new and full moon cycles, which have been more productive.

6. I also key into certain wind pattterns. When they happen I try to get out whether I feel like it or not. Other wind patterns will not really produce for me this time of year, and are a big factor on the nights when I stay home.....

hookset

08-07-2014, 04:57 PM

DS you are putting your time in. Much respect. I wouldn't fish shoulder to shoulder either. The hell with that.

DarkSkies

08-24-2014, 12:39 PM

Report first 2 weeks of August, 2014

8-4-14 Mon PM
1 hours fishing, 3 hours scouting.
Returned bayside because the wind was right, and I had an appt that put me in the area. Tide was perfect, but bait was lacking. No action at all.
Spent the next 3 hours scouting various bay spots that hold bait this time of year. There were some places that held lots of bait. Spearing to 4” and mullet to 6”.
Didn’t see peanut bunker in the usual places, though they are around. Peanuts seem to be highly concentrated in just a few areas right now.
I found areas that should have held bait, that had none.
**Finding and monitoring all these areas is key to success for the end of summer bait build up and predator feeding.
Didn’t see one person fishing in all the stops I made.

8-6-14 Tue AM
Didn’t feel like fishing, but the favorable SW wind pattern dragged me out there.
Fished 2 bayside locations. First location had snappers all over the place (far out) feeding on small spearing. Not one fish raised in that area.
2nd location had some spearing, but water was dirty.
Managed a decent flsh in the first 5 minutes, but dropped it.
No other activity at all.

The wind shifted (earlier than predicted) to a hard NW of about 20mph. It made this shift within 15 minutes after I started to walk off the bay flats. This could have spelled disaster for someone in a kayak out there at night. Suggestion, if you are going out, look at the forecast from several sites. Wunderground, while it’s often good for predicting trends,. Is often off when predicting shifts to NW.
You can really get in trouble out there if fishing alone, like I do, and not aware of the wind conditions ahead of you.

3rd skunk in a row for me. May give it a rest for a few nights before the next trip out.
Felt I had to be out there because there is a N/NW pattern for the next few days which will dirty the bay and IMO worsen conditions for fishing artificials. Along with predicted rains, it will probably affect the fishing that I like to do.

**The thing about being dedicated to fishing, is when the conditions are optimal, like they were last night, you know you have to be out there, whether you feel like it or not. The bad conditions usually screw fishing up for a few nights, even with multiple locations available.
You know….when you NEED to be out there….and you make the sacrifices to do it…:learn:

DarkSkies

08-24-2014, 12:46 PM

^ Thanks for the kind words, hookset. :HappyWave:

Some Thoughts/ Observations:
What I have seen this year, is that if you are not out there a lot it's tough to see any small semblance of pattern that might develop. I'm lucky to sometimes find a pattern that may last for 2 nights. If you can only get out once/ week, there is only a slim chance to see that.

** One thing to note is I change my strategy nightly depending on wind and weather conditions.
Bad weather is not enough to stop me from fishing. The strategy that's worked best for me this year is to find the highest bait concentration in any area and fish in the middle of it. When I don't do that I'm usually disappointed and catch nothing.

** Another thing to note is the lack of small bass in many NNJ areas, Friends who fish South Jersey and other areas are still catching small bass at night. In NNJ there are many areas that are just not holding decent numbers of bass.

The other night I fished with an old school veteran surfcaster, one of NJ's legends.
90 years of saltwater experience between us.
Between us we could only come up with 5 medium bluefish. We were grateful to catch those fish.

We both remarked that there should have been some small bass where we were, as we were fishing an estuary. And there weren't.

So if you want bass in NNJ on artificials at night during the summer, there are a handful of areas where you have a shot at catching one.
We are purposely trying to avoid those areas, and seek fish in less traveled areas.

What we are seeing is discouraging, and further resolves my affirmation to keep educating the ignorant and arrogant folks, who claim the striped bass population is as healthy as ever. :learn:

Thanks for reading. :HappyWave:

J Barbosa

08-24-2014, 10:57 PM

Way to put in the hours. :thumbsup:

I also want to note that if a person can't handle 20mph winds in a kayak they shouldn't be out there at night period.

Blazin420

08-25-2014, 08:06 AM

..Lots of snappers around forgot my snapper zapper at home...duh....Also alot of what looked like spearing in the wash..May get out tonight for a bit..

Blazin420

08-25-2014, 08:34 AM

Nice reports DS like john said way to put in the time...I had one of those"i no its the RIGHT conditions and i HAVE to go "nights on Friday and i was rewarded for my efforts with a nice 27in and a small bass with a few misses...Even if its crappy,windy,rainy whatever if its the right time get out there and FISH!!! It is crazy the LACK of small bass around this year....Friday night were the first stripes ive seen since May

DarkSkies

08-25-2014, 11:35 AM

^ JB thanks for the kind words. It used to be a lot easier for me to catch decent numbers of fish. Tossiing a storm shad at any beach or river could usually produce a few small bass without much effort. We would go to areas of high bait concentrations on a summer night and hear bass popping all over. Now that just doesn't happen that often. Some feel I'm being over-zealous with my preaching, but I remember how easy it used to be, when I knew a lot less about catching.

Good point about the spearing Blazin, and congrats on finding some bass. :thumbsup: I have been all over the NY Bight area in the last few weeks, harbors, inlets, rivers, etc.... seeing which types of bait are in which areas. I'm finding mullet and peanuts, and sometimes adult bunker. IMO these mullet and peanuts are nowhere near the quantities that we had back in 2006 (which was probably an exceptional year).

There are some areas that hold a lot, but many areas hold few or none. People ask about the mullet run. With the limited areas they are in now, I'm not so sure it will be a great mullet run for the NY Bight/ Raritan area. Other areas further South are full of mullet. Friends are netting a lot, and it may be a good year for those areas.
For the NY Bight area..... for some reason things seem slightly different to me this year (so far).

Of course. that could all change in the next 2 weeks as bait will play a musical chair pattern in various harbors and marinas...... also depending on the weather patterns. The only way to track it and get a sense of where to be is get out there and scout.

**NOTE:
The bait I'm finding in the most abundance is adult spearing 3-5", tiny glass minnows (about 1-2"), snappers (6-12") and some medium to large needlfish (4-12").
Teasers should be a part of the night for anyone fishing with artificials, and you should not be without at least one needlefish in your bag.
Things are starting to get exciting, but you will not see that unless you are out there putting your time in. Good luck to all. :HappyWave:

jigfreak

08-25-2014, 12:43 PM

If they gave out PHDs in bait knowledge you would qualify dude. Right on I agree and thanks for sharing. I think the mullet will leave early way before the bulk of the bass get here. Just my .02

DarkSkies

09-06-2014, 06:48 PM

^ Jigfreak, thanks for the kind words. It has become so spotty lately that I won't stop moving until I find a concentration of bait. So many areas that should have fish this time of year, are not holding any.
The full moon is on the 9th, 3 nights from now. The mullet are already on the move. I think you made a wise prediction there. ;) :thumbsup:

Fishing reports last 2 weeks of Aug 2014 -
Note: I probably could have done a little better, if I was out there more often.
I had a lot going on and just didn't feel like fishing.
I will say that for the first week of Sept, the fishing has gotten a bit better, but you have to put time into finding them. There are no consistent areas, even the better known ones.

Simply put....
Bait = Fish

8-17-14 AM 4 hour trip
Hadn’t fished in 2 weeks. Lots of issues. I had to drag myself out there to clear my head. Fished 4 hours, 5 locations. Not a tap.

Highlight of the night........ helping a Columbian tourist and his hot blonde girlfriend try to find her cell phone they lost at the beach.
They were both drunk. Honestly I only helped them because she was so hot. Helping them made me miss a critical part of the tide at the first stop. When I’m fishing, the tide is the most important thing, As I said, they were lucky she was a hottie.Sorry I could not find her phone for her. :(

8-21-14 AM 3 hour trip
Fished 2hours, only managed one small bluefish on rubber shad. Got chased off the beach by the lightning.Slept in car for 2 hours. Back out, no fish.
Decided to try my luck at crabbing. By wading the flats with a net I managed 2 dozen in 1 hours. Not bad for my first attempt at crabbing in 15 years.

8-23-14 AM 3 hour trip
Got down to the water, E wind was blowing steady 20mph, Had to find a lee from the wind. The rain from the previous 24 hours had effed up the water salinity and the abundant small bait was not there.
Decided to try crabbing again. I believe the water salinity changed the scene for the crabs as They were not abundant. Had to do a lot of walking. Ended up with a half dozen for an hour’s walking.
Scouted all the back bay places I know that hold bait, on the way home. It’s not that great as less than half of them had any notable quantities.

8-29-14 AM 7 hour marathon
Feeling bummed out, in no mood to fish.
A friend called and dragged me out. We got on the water late (my fault). Wind was ok but water was a little dirty.

We did a lot of walking bayside, fishing several outsucks and inlet areas. Dirty water and no real amounts of bait evident other than snappers. Remember, I’m not picking these places at random. All of them have held bait and fish this time of year, in past years.

Finally found a place with some bait, ebb tide. No fish for a long time until I started wading out far, First cast I decided to throw a loaded redfin for the first time that night. I was not really paying attention. As soon as it hit the water a bluefish, 8lb class, crashed out of the water, swallowed the plug, and ripped through the leader, all in the space of 3 secs. I was speechless, and pissed off at the same time.
How could I have missed that fish, and not been ready? I yelled at myself, telling myself it would probably be the biggest of the night, and it was.

My friend came out to where I was, and we had short lived action for the next 15 minutes as the tide rapidly dropped. He hooked a few, landed one. I hooked and landed one and missed 2 others.
The bite then died to nothing, We kept moving out further, but the fish had left the area for good.

Tried another place to finish the night off, but the water was extrememly dirty there. My friend got nothing. I stopped to go crabbing. Walked previously productive flats with a net, with no results. Something about that dirty water changed the crabbing there. I’ll go into more details in the winter,

Highlights of the night:
1. A big owl was watching us at one place, from 20’ high in the trees. It was cool and spooky as there wasn’t much moonlight. That’s one of the bright spots that can make a bad trip bearable. :bigeyes:

2. Sad thing – we found a handicapped seagull flopping on the beach. Thought it might have line caught in it, so we examined it with a towel to hold it steady. Turns out – it was a one legged sea gull that had broken it’s wing. He told me to wring it’s neck and give it a quick death. I decided not to, maybe it would recover.
The sad thing – when we got back it was gone, - maybe a fox or coyote got to it, we’ll never know.

jigfreak

09-07-2014, 04:16 PM

^ Jigfreak, thanks for the kind words.
The full moon is on the 9th, 3 nights from now. The mullet are already on the move. I think you made a wise prediction there. ;) :thumbsup:

Your welcome, and yes they are.:fishing:

DarkSkies

09-19-2014, 12:22 PM

Fishing reports first 2 weeks of Sept 2014 -

9-1-14 AM 4 hour trip, 2 bluefish
Last night, the beginning of Sept, I fished with a friend, and he left early. It was extremely dead at that stage of the tide.
As the tide started going out, I got some action. 2 small blues on a small swimmer. In between that the action was slow. I threw out a 12” sluggo and on the 2nd cast it got chopped right behind the front hook.

Highlights of the night:

1. A horseshoe crab tried to hump my wading boot. The water was slightly murky. The first time I recognized it and kicked it away with my boot. Within 2 seconds something was back humping my foot again. Since I know they are slow moving, I didn't realize it was the crab being pushed by the current.

I almost jumped out of my skin as I got hit the 2nd time in the inky blackness, overcast skies. I probably let out a high pitched scream as well. A few minutes later I'm berating myself for getting spooked by such a harmless creature. What a freaking goog I am sometimes. :bucktooth:

2. More bird stories...ya just can't make this stuff up, it is so bizarre....

a. 2 nights ago we find a distressed seagull. We examine it to possibly help cut line that was entangling it. Turns out there was no line at all. It was a one legged seagull, probably losing the other leg to a big bluefish at one time. It's main problem was a broken wing which really cut down on mobility. My friend who was there that night told me we should wring it's neck to put it out of it's misery before an animal got to it and ate it.

I thought about it, but didn't have the heart to do it....thought it might have a chance to recover.
When we got back that night to where we left, it was gone.....we assumed an animal had attacked it and carried it away....

Last night, on the way to the water.....we saw that damn seagull again!!....miraculously it had survived........and it's wing had healed a bit so it could hop and fly short distances again. Amazing....ya just can't make this stuff up.

b. Another wounded bird....on the way from one place to another on the flats....we found a wounded sea-bird...it looked like it had a giant fish, or stick protruding out of it's mouth....held it down for examination, tried to remove the "stick", found out it had broken it's beak, probably on a high speed dive into the water chasing fish, or something like that.....
We checked it over, decided there was nothing else we could do, and let it go.....my friend went to fish in another direction, and this bird tried to land on him twice (he's a very big guy, the bird must have mistaken him for a bulkhead piling).

Did I give my friend any sympathy when this happened????? .....Nope........laughed at him in my loudest laugh......gave him a new name...the "Bird whisperer" :ROFLMAO

9-8-14 AM 5 hour trip
Fishing and crabbing, back bay.
Made the first stop to fish, full moon tides.
Water from the full moon tides (new moon tomorrow) was filthy, weeds, sawgrass and kelp type weeds. Difficult for artificial presentation. I have fished this area before and caught fish at this time of year. However, this night, there was very little bait. Fished for 45 mins because of the strategic importance of the area, not a tap.

At this point, I knew it would be more like than work than fishing, but didn’t want to give up (sometimes it’s better to pack it in and save your energy, but I failed to heed that common sense voice in my head – googan mentality overcame me!)
It was almost low tide. Drove to another spot, fished for an hour. It was promising, some bait and fish breaking, but that quickly died. Not a touch for me.
I had my crabbing gear stashed – decided to make the best of it and crab.

Managed a dozen large crabs. The previously productive area was “crabbed out”. See definition in fishing terms definition. Probably walked a total 2 miles on those flats to get those crabs.

Highlight of the night – As the wind was blowing 20 mph straight E, it made for an interesting concentration of bait. Many spots held no bait, but the nastiest and weediest areas of the sedges held thousands at a time. Mullet occasionally running through… and I spooked them with the searchlight. That searchlight also attracted thousands of 3-5” spearing, 1-2” rainfish, and a few schools of baby peanuts, 1-1/2”.
These baitfish would concentrate around my lit up area. There were so many it was like being in a giant aquarium. There were times I couldn’t see the bottom for crabbing because of the thousands of baitfish attracted to the light.

Unfortunately, that light drew many of them to their deaths, as a few dozen 2-4lb cocktail blues moved in and started crashing them beyond the shadow lines.
It would have been pointless to fish this area because of the heavy weed growth. A fly fisher would have been in heaven, though, and would have done well.
I’ve said this in my reports several times now. When the predators are highly focused on these small baitfish, you can often only get their attention away from the largest concentrations, and with exact presentation –

What’s that? ……Teasers…unfortunately this would have been impractical in that weedy sedge bank water.
Still, it was awesome to watch these predators feeding so heavily, and not be able to do anything but just watch as I looked for crabs. I wish I had a video camera with me sometimes to bring some of these sights to the readers here, but often that footage would be too incriminating or specific. So..I’ll have to settle for writing these descriptive accounts and hope that the terms and phrases I use convey the great things I get to see out there at night.

9-15-14 PM report

After the ASMFC meeting JB and I (raced ) down to the back bay water to see if we could find some fish.
** Note of caution….if anyone of ya’s decide to fish with him, he’s a good kid and good fisherman…but a terrible driver…..he just can’t keep up! :scared: ;)

We made 4 separate stops on the flood tide…found beautiful clean water, with scattered schools of mullet and small snappers 5-7”.

Although conditions were ideal, there were really not a lot of fish around….Each stop we made was a good time for that type of flood tide, and we still got skunked anyway…..Worked all levels of the water column with rubber and plugs.
That’s why they call it fishin not catchin
…Although I mostly fish alone, I enjoyed the company….:thumbsup:
Would fish with ya anytime JB…:HappyWave:.....but ya gotta learn to drive a little better….:rolleyes: :laugh: :fishing:

** Note…Since that trip….conditions and amounts of bass and bluefish have improved significantly..though I feel the fishing is still very inconsistent and you have to move around a lot to find some….

DarkSkies

10-11-2014, 09:40 AM

Thought for the week.......(this is from BillW, but as I found out in conversations with some of ya's this week...it can also apply to fishing....);) :HappyWave:

Willingness to adapt.......
Do you have to "hit bottom" to have that willingness....:learn:

storminsteve

10-12-2014, 02:30 PM

OK Rich I'll take a stab at this!
Is this a deep willingness like the willingness to adapt to something like a gender change?:laugh: :HappyWave:
Or are we talking about willingness to change it up when out fishing at night?

DarkSkies

10-13-2014, 08:32 AM

Monty

10-13-2014, 01:58 PM

Some of you people must eat Froot Loops for breakfast....:laugh::moon: :HappyWave:
This was about someone I know who has been a little stubborn, wanting to do things his way only, to catch fish.
IMO he's a great fisherman, just a little stubborn.....:)

So the question was designed to prompt possibly him or others to think about what we do, when the fishing we like to do....doesn't always work.....
What are we willing to do.....to Adapt?
:thumbsup:Thanks for your responses.....

First time I actually was in the presence of someone catching decent Bass on Bucktails while it was hopeless throwing anything else.
Was a very good lesson, seeing it, living it. Has much more of an impact than being told about it, especially since my tendency is normally to take the opposite side and try to be different.
So bucktails are invaluable artificial, will always have a few in my surf bag from now on.

Blazin420

10-13-2014, 03:00 PM

This season has taught me to adapt with the changes that have happened the past year,or couple years...Alot of guys including myself get stuck in there routine,Go to spot X on this tide,Go to the other spot at this time...And when that doesnt work AT ALL and you rack up a ton skunked trips its time to ADAPT to the changes...Its tuff to do IMHO..You get so used to the normal stuff/spots working you almost get lazy(im a example for sure)..So when me and my bud set out the other night to a "new"spot we havent fish it was a way of adapting and trying something out of the norm for us...Granted we didnt catch there but thats not the point...I get it now and i am totally willing to keep adapting with the way the fishing is..Especially if it gets me some action that i would have never had...My next "adapting" will be to FISH AND LEARN the backbays..I have neglected that fishery for ever except for the early spring...But as i get older im starting to understand how stupid it was of me to not take the time to learn it..Instead Id go to the same old spots that have yeilded me very little this season instead of scouting and learning about the back...Thanks as always Dark for a solid thread!!

seamonkey

10-13-2014, 03:04 PM

DarkSkies

10-23-2014, 08:30 PM

Seamonkey....we're all learning....when I think I have learned everything there is to learn.....it's time for the long dirt nap.....:) :HappyWave:

Something I wrote about the one that got Away.....
The One That got Away...
(I think some of us can apply this analogy to the Women in our lives, as well....:) )

I've landed some nice fish in my life, but I think it's the ones that got away....that keep me out there...and have motivated me to be more careful and deliberate when I'm out there at night.....

Sometimes it's hard...you're out there for hours at a time.....
Action is slow.....and your mind tends to wander...you start to daydream aboout the big fish that don't appear to be out there that night.....

And all of a sudden.....
WHAM!!!!!!! :whoo:
You get hit by a fish that tries to pull your arm out of it's socket....
You fight it for a bit, a second, a few seconds...or a minute....
And for some reason it comes unbuttoned....:(
That, people.....is pure adrenaline.......more addictive to me than crack.....and the thing that keeps us coming back more and more....for just one taste...just one hit...praying to King Neptune for just one more Drag-Screaming run......that we need so bad.....:drool:

surfrob

10-24-2014, 10:44 AM

the "coming unbuttoned" thing is the one that drives me crazy.

I remember early in my striper days I hooked into a fish which, judging by the size of others coming up on the beach, and the size of the tail that took my top water plug, would easily have been my PB to this day, having it come unbuttoned in the wash due to inexperience. I keep wanting that fish and time back as I replay it over and over in my head "keep control of the head, keep tight in the wash, sharpen hooks next time, blah blah blah"

aaaaaaaughhhh.

Another fish which would likely have competed with this one must have just been nicked on the edge of the lip by the treble on my bottle plug.

aaaaaaaughhhh.

"praying to King Neptune for just one more Drag-Screaming run......that we need so bad.....:drool:"

I keep telling myself it will only take one good fish to make my season.

storminsteve

10-24-2014, 06:50 PM

And for some reason it comes unbuttoned....:(
That, people.....is pure adrenaline.......more addictive to me than crack.....and the thing that keeps us coming back more and more....for just one taste...just one hit...praying to King Neptune for just one more Drag-Screaming run......that we need so bad.....:drool:

the "coming unbuttoned" thing is the one that drives me crazy.

I remember early in my striper days I hooked into a fish which, judging by the size of others coming up on the beach, and the size of the tail that took my top water plug, would easily have been my PB to this day, having it come unbuttoned in the wash due to inexperience. I keep wanting that fish and time back as I replay it over and over in my head "keep control of the head, keep tight in the wash, sharpen hooks next time, blah blah blah"

aaaaaaaughhhh.

I keep telling myself it will only take one good fish to make my season.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-LqPslmsKY

Listen to the Zzzzzzzzz! in the video above.

Yes all you need is one! Unfortunately I haven't got a big fish this year. In the Spring every time I went to moco to fish in the afternoon it was either dead or they said "you should have been here yesterday!" I got some real nice blues in the sandy hook area in the spring and lost a few monsters. They just took off like tuna.

As for the stripers about 15 years ago I lost my fish of a lifetime. I was fishing a beach at night, new moon. the tides were perfect and there were peanut bunker around. I was using a rattletrap and bouncing it up and down in the surf. I wasn't paying attention and got slammed! The fish took drag for a good 10 seconds before I could set the hook. Like you said my hookset was bad and I lost that fish. I still think of it and how big she could have been. She is my white whale!

DarkSkies

03-04-2015, 10:08 AM

I'm bumping this to the top so one friend and member here....:HappyWave:....can see that it's important to get out and fish the windows I was talking about.........:fishing:

DarkSkies

06-23-2015, 09:57 AM

I'm going to start adding to this thread when I get a chance.....as mentioned above...with the overall bass fishing being so poor and inconsistent....it's critical to figure out the best feeding and fishing window.....(other than dawn and dusk)

That may be all you get for one night...or maybe even for a series of trips....

Fishing from June 12-17.....2015

6-12-15

Fished the night tides bay and ocean for a few hours with Pebbles. Covered a lot of ground. 3 hours of fishing hard. Not a tap for either of us. What I did notice was lots of areas that held no life or bait at all. Am starting to notice a small amount of grass shrimp, spearing, and very small baby fish (1/2" long) in some specific, localized areas. More on that as it develops.

6-15-15

Fished the night tides, bay and ocean again....this time solo...4 hours of fishing. Met up with a friend later on. He had limited success earlier on but by the time we met up, that sporadic bite had dried up completely.

Observation-

Each and every place I have been stopping at,. is the prime spot for that stage of the tide. Over the decades I have caught many fish at these night locations, without really trying that hard.

Now, that I am out there, I am noticing very limited and specific bites. Highly concentrated, and appallingly limited in duration.

6-17-15

Fished bay and ocean, covering lots of ground. 5 hour trip. Targeting bass and bluefish. Very poor activity in the dark. Only managed one cocktail blue at 4:30AM on black popper.

The one area I ended up at was slightly encouraging, because I saw spearing 4-5" and those small 1/2" baby fish in the water. Occasional fish popping on them.

Motivated by that, I started working hard to put a catch together. Managed 9 more bluefish to 7# for total of 10 for the trip.The thing is, these fish were very scattered and reluctant to hit the popper, (and they wouldn't hit anything else).

Very frustrating, but at least there were fish there. Averaged 25-35 casts for each fish or missed strike. Once they missed it they would not come back again.

Overcast morning and slight drizzle made for almost textbook perfect conditions, but as mentioned the catching part was a lot of work.

Once the rain came down heavier the bite died completely and I went home.

My "best" results for the year thus far....I was very grateful to have that action and find those fish. :fishing:

DarkSkies

06-23-2015, 10:14 AM

As for the stripers about 15 years ago I lost my fish of a lifetime. I was fishing a beach at night, new moon. the tides were perfect and there were peanut bunker around. I was using a rattletrap and bouncing it up and down in the surf. I wasn't paying attention and got slammed! The fish took drag for a good 10 seconds before I could set the hook. Like you said my hookset was bad and I lost that fish. I still think of it and how big she could have been. She is my white whale!

Steve, the way things are now.....we may get very few chances at bigger fish....fishing artificials in the middle of the night...it hurts when you lose a nice fish...especially when you realize that might have been your one shot....
but it does keep us coming back.....
Even though many give up when the fishing is hard...there is still a chance of catching that one fish.....someone said needle in a haystack..and I agree......that's enough sometimes to motivate us to get out there given the right conditions...:HappyWave:

This season has taught me to adapt with the changes that have happened the past year,or couple years...Alot of guys including myself get stuck in there routine,Go to spot X on this tide,Go to the other spot at this time...And when that doesnt work AT ALL and you rack up a ton skunked trips its time to ADAPT to the changes...

Blazing great advice you gave here.......:thumbsup:
Folks...he is successful because he gets frustrated at doing the same old thing.....he knows where the fish should be...but with limited numbers, they just aren't......
So if you want any success at all....you have to be willing to either
A. travel long distances to where there is a decent bite....
B. or Adapt your trips, or fishing..to the specific windows and conditions that may exist....for the time you are fishing.........:learn:

1. When it's the middle of the summer and you find fishing tough..
2. Or the middle of the winter and you're bored....
Anyone who wants to learn more.....and challenge yourself to think differently....
Would be well-advised to go back and look over some of the things blazing and other members say in this thread......:clapping:
There is a lot of good advice besides mine.........

For me, learning is a never-ending process....
And I think any angler that has that perspective...will do better overall.....:fishing: :HappyWave:

seamonkey

06-23-2015, 10:49 AM

Great tips and suggestions guys, thanks!

VSdreams

06-23-2015, 11:12 AM

fellas good advice. dark that looked like a ss littleneck popper you were using? custom color?

DarkSkies

06-24-2015, 09:25 AM

^ VS.... that's not a little neck. It's similar in size and profile though. I like the Superstrike line of plugs. However, generally when I fish I try to use no-name brands and plugs made by friends......just to prove it's not always the most popular plugs that will get the fish....

More of that in the
"Surfwalker challenge" here...
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?9001-The-Surfwalker-Challenge-Do-you-Follow-the-Herd-or-Lead-your-Own-Way

That plug I was using I got at a flea market for about $1...with a batch of other plugs that no one wanted...
The VS hooks on it and HD split rings put on by the previous owner were probably worth more than that plug...
And it was the only plug in my bag that would catch for me, that trip.
It's plastic molded, solid, heavier than wood...and sinks a bit when retrieving.....

Sometimes, when fish are picky...I find a heavier plug that sinks a bit....is more effective than a wood one that floats.....:learn:
As for color....that's the way it came....
I tend to favor bold or bright colored plugs for overcast days or cloudy water....

feel free to add to that thread if you have any other questions about bargain bin plugs that catch fish.......:fishing:

DarkSkies

06-27-2015, 11:49 AM

I like the night tides this week...and with the full moon tides coming into play next week.... had to be out there last night......

6-26 PM trip-
5 hours
Two short bass and 7 bluefish to 10#.
Blues hit popper in the dark....bass hit loaded redfin... (Thanks to Monty for hooking me up with a few...:thumbsup: :HappyWave:)

Admittedly the bass have been scarce.....they seem to be concentrating the night feed in very few areas....
As mentioned the feeding window is so small now it is "ridiculous" as Monty likes to put it.....:don't know why: :HappyWave:
Miss it by 1/2 hour and you find nothing.....

Last year the patterns were more reliable.....
This year the effect of overall decline of bass biomass seems more evident than ever before.....most of the boats targeting bass have turned to fluking......despite abundant bait in some areas...easily reachable by most boats or kayaks...
And about 95% of the shore anglers have given up on bass at night...rarely have I seen more than one other angler out there on my trips.....
I'm not even seeing the numbers of baby bass that "should" be there by virtue of good YOY results...

What helped me with the bluefish is bunker...
And a few other forage concentrations, as mentioned.....
I have not been able to find any sizes when there were no bunker...
The fish are still scattered...unless you are able to fish deeper water somewhere...so I've had to work for them...

But I have noticed...for me......

1. When water quality diminishes....the artificial bite diminishes...
2. If there are no large bunker concentrations at night....the likelihood of catching....for the places I am fishing....goes way down......:fishing:

DarkSkies

04-08-2016, 09:58 PM

Back at it again. I started my 2016 season the night of the Sandy Hook NMS meeting, have been fishing steadily ever since whenever I get a chance.......

What I have found so far, is that if you do find find fish, you need to make it your business to exploit that opportunity....don't take it for granted that they will be there tomorrow....because they probably won't be...

The fish that we are finding on the edges....seem to be fast moving...what one Capt catches today, is often a different batch than was here yesterday....for shore bound anglers, that is even more critical.....

I'll post my reports here, when I get a chance....good luck to all those who are fishing....
Remember, blink and you might miss these fish....:learn:

DarkSkies

04-08-2016, 10:00 PM

Fishing Reports Spring 2016

March
3-16 Wed PM
Fished a few places after the proposed SMS meeting. A wide range of water depths were probed, nothing.

3-23 Wed PM
Same routine. The water had warmed up a bit so had to be out giving it a shot. Full moon tides and past log entries drew me out there. Friends doing real well fishing clams and worms in various places. Strictly tossing artificials, still no action for me.
Did some scouting of early season estuaries and nurseries. Lots of bait being built up, particularly spearing, and freshly born grass shrimp. This might set up to be a good year.

3-30 Wed PM
Same routine. Was discouraged because some of the bait guys I ran into, said that even they were doing poorly. Time to expand the area I'm fishing in and make more stops.

3-31 Thu PM
3 bass to 28", released.
First bass of the season.

Back out again. Didn't like the wind so slept in my vehicle for a while. Got up a few hours before dawn, wrapped up in some old blankets. It was cold but wind had died down a bit. Got to the water, first cast was into a feisty bass, just under keeper size. Thought it would be great, but I assumed wrong. Had to work for these fish. Spent the next 2 hours wading and moving, trying different strategic hiding places. Managed 2 more, all on mid level swimmers. Could not buy a hit on rubber or bucktail. Bite died at the first hint of gray light.

DarkSkies

05-10-2016, 09:55 PM

April 2016

4/1 Fri PM
17 bass to 14#, released.
Encouraged by the previous night's results, was out and hitting it hard. Water still cold in some spots. Friends in boats and yaks were starting to catch on artificials. Also, started noticing a big build up of bait in certain areas.....
more spearing, grass shrimp, and encouraging quantities of herring.
I knew it was time to be out there, whether catching or not. If you miss it....... that will be the night that everything went off, and you would never know.
Such is the burden...... of being a compulsive fisherman.:)

The spots that held some fish the previous night didn't hold anything. I felt the water there was colder so went looking for water that was a few degrees warmer.
That seeemed to be the key. Whenever I found slightly warmer water and high bait concentrations, I found a few fish feeding. Finished the night with 17 fish to 14#.
Covered a lot of miles to find these fish.
Pretty good night for an early spring trip, and one of my better nights, that early, in a few years.

DarkSkies

05-10-2016, 09:55 PM

4/2 Sat PM
15 bass to 12#, released.
Winds had been a problem, but there was no way I was not going. Got down to the water and they were howling. Only a few places offer a lee, so I had to find one. Once I did, continued to find fish on artificials. Mostly 25-32" bass, no real small fish like some others had been finding.

All fish fresh and clean. light in color. They definitely were not here 2 weeks ago in these numbers.
My theory is these are the fish some of the boat guys are finding, and they're coming up to the flats to feed at night, chasing herring, bunker, and spearing.

The problem with that theory...... is there are a lot of fish all the way up in the Hudson already. With them staging in different areas, there's no telling how long the decent fishing will last...few days...or few weeks...it's a coin toss.

DarkSkies

05-10-2016, 09:56 PM

4/4 Mon
Winds got bad, effed things up a bit.Out trying hard, nothing at all.

4/5 Tue
Same thing with wind and cold. Bay temps dropped substantially the past 5 days, not expecting much. Had to be out there anyway. Within 5 mins, knew it was going to be a repeat of the night before. Gave it a good try for 2 hours, and then went home early.

4/6 Wed PM
The bay temps started to go up a bit, so I knew I had to be out there. Worked a large section of the flats.Wind was calm at first but began building. Moved several times.Nothing at all.

4/7 Thu AM New Moon Tides
Slept in my vehicle, hoping for activity. Got out there, wind was howling a steady 25 mph with stronger gusts. Finding a lee from the wind is so important in cases like this. I know I have talked about that before.

When you have a fishing addiction, this becomes 2nd nature.
You just do not accept going down to the water and not being able to fish. You always have not only "Plan B",but Plan C, and Plan D, when the weather or winds are not conducive to fishing where you originally wanted to.

Again, nothing at all.

lostatsea

05-11-2016, 01:24 AM

Your having a great season would love to catch that many in a night. finchaser fishing farm?

7deadlyplugs

05-11-2016, 12:09 PM

cowherder

05-11-2016, 02:45 PM

Nice job dark. Way to put your time in.

clamchucker

05-12-2016, 06:04 AM

Well done. Always enjoy your informative posts.

DarkSkies

05-16-2016, 11:38 PM

Thanks for the kind words people....
A few words on posting and content.....

I have been spending all my spare time on the water....this should have been addressed long ago.....

1.
2.
3.
4.
I think it's fair to say, that I give folks a lot of leeway when it comes to posting opinions, and protecting your first amendent rights to your opinions...but I have received too many complaints about the angry posts lately.
For the first time, angry posts will be deleted.

There will be no warnings. If your post is deleted, ask yourself what in your behavior or personality causes such angry outbursts, and ask yourself what other site would allow you to post some of the angry rants I have previously allowed to be posted here.
If you still can't figure out and aren't willing to act like an adult, feel free to post elsewhere....
I just don't have the time or energy to deal with anger issues anymore....
And answering the complaints has taken away from my family and fishing.....That stops today...

Praying that some of you, will find peace in your lives....without the angry rants...
Thanks for acting like adults. :thumbsup:

As always, if folks have anything productive to add to this thread...to help the new guys out there...feel free....

DarkSkies

05-16-2016, 11:43 PM

4/8 Thu PM
There was some sun today, so I felt it would be worth it to go back down after work to try to find some fish.
Got out there right after the rain. It wasn't that bad, and water had warmed up a few degrees. Unfortunately, the wind started howling with the tide change, and all was lost for the artificial bite where I was. A few fish were caught on bait. That was encouraging, but didn't seem that great. Gave it an honest try for 2 hours and called it a night.
Nothing for me.

** I really feel the severe temperature drop the last few days has hurt the chances of getting them on artificials. Friends in boats are getting them, but they are also finding they need to move around more. These early season bass are moving quickly, and making a few stops along the way.
Intercept them in the channels,. or when they come up on the flats to feed, and you "May" have a bonanza for a few hours.
Miss that feeding or fishing window, and you have nothing.

DarkSkies

05-16-2016, 11:48 PM

4/9 Sat PM
Had to work on a Sat. As soon as I was done got out looking for night tide fish. It was very windy and poor conditions. Made a few stops and have to say it was uncomfortably cold. Made a few casts at each. Did not really find the conditions I was looking for.
Still, made some notes for the log, and went home early. Complete skunk. not even a missed fish.

**Preparation and Planning:
When I got home, I spent the next 2 hours mapping out the area I had been at just before.
I hadn't fished it in a while and was looking for the most strategic stops along the route.
Even though I didn't catch anything that night, next time I would be better prepared, with a schedule set to move through the area with the tides.

4/10 Sun PM
Planning paid off. With all the scouting I did you would have thought I would be happy. Tired of not finding fish, or just a few. A lot of bunker were schooling up and I wanted to plan some better options as mentioned. Went to bed early, fell into a stupor, almost missing the tides. Got up like a shot from a cannon, and set out deep in the dark.
Hit a few spots in the back. Struck out at 3, 4th one was a success.

Landed 14 bass to 18#,
All legal sized.
Kept 1, put the others back.
all on swimmers.

The action was exceptional, compared to the poor fishing I had encountered the last week.
Lasted until about 1/2 hour before first light, and then gradually shut off.

surferman

05-17-2016, 12:13 AM

Nice going!

DarkSkies

10-21-2016, 11:59 AM

Thanks. Just for sake of comparison, my best successes lately have been fishing the full and new moon tides for the reasons mentioned in the "moon tide fishing thread".

Some quick numbers....
-August to Sept - new to Full, to new moon tides - 51 bass, all smaller fish, night tides during these cycles
-Sept- Full moon - 22 bass, 2 nights of fishing. These were small, but 3 fish legal size in that number.

-Oct new moon - 2 nights fishing, skunked both nights. This was mostly due to my stubbornness in not wanting to fish where other groups were clustered up. I fished many of my usual spots, finding multiple crews at each location. Shifted goals to less popular areas. I was unwilling to abandon my strategy of finding fish in unpopular spots with no crowds, and as a result I failed.

** I posted those numbers not to brag but to let others know if you pay attention to seasonal patterns you can find a few fish. For the cycle where I managed the 51 bass I was fishing hard. Every night during the desired moon cycle, I was out there. Some nights were better than others, and I still failed in some of my predictions. As others have mentioned, fishing was very inconsistent for me, even when I thought I had a good bite and it would continue for days....things gradually petered out...the searching and changing different locations was constant and intense...I don't think a lot of others would have thought it worthwhile...with all the hours I put in for those fish.

**The solitude is more important than catching to me most nights, so I accept the good and the bad....
Just had to change it up a bit, and in the last few nights of the Oct full moon have been catching again. Full reports in the night tides thread,
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?9061-Following-the-Night-Tides-Do-You-have-What-it-Takes
when I get a spare moment....

hookset

10-21-2016, 01:08 PM

Nice, fish now report later. Makes sense, congrats on the catches.

nitestrikes

10-24-2016, 10:50 AM

Well said. I have read so many excuses for not fishing lately, too windy, don't want to miss the football game, dirty water, et cetera. the only way to catch fish that I know is to go out there and fish the tides. some days are good some days not so good. You will definitely catch more fish standing in or near the water than sitting on the couch.

DarkSkies

11-21-2016, 10:27 AM

Thanks for making those points, people.:HappyWave:

DarkSkies

11-21-2016, 10:35 AM

Holding pattern.....
I was talking about this 2 weeks ago..haven't had a chance to post about it till now...

Simply stated...the fall run as many people think of...is different this year for several reasons...
One of those reasons is the tremendous amount of bait and larger bass sitting in a few places in the NY Bight.....

I'll come back when I have a chance and explain in greater detail...

DarkSkies

03-03-2017, 02:27 PM

Your having a great season would love to catch that many in a night. finchaser fishing farm?

Sorry I did not see this till now.
The "great" season is debatable. I recently went back over some of these reports, and my personal stash of fishing pics, along with the log.

I didn't fish the finchaser fishing farm last year. I missed out, and purposely stayed away from some of the hotspots everyone else was gravitating to.

A few hundred fish for the year.... I believe I could have tripled my numbers if I ran from hotspot to hotspot. I say this because some friends of mine easily doubled or tripled my 2016 yearly numbers.

However....I did find satisfaction in finding fish where most other people were not......rarely did I have to deal with crowds...
I didn't always catch fish on my trips....but the solitude...with the exception of the day trips....was priceless...
Thanks for the kind words, and best of luck to you and everyone else this year. :thumbsup:

DarkSkies

03-03-2017, 02:40 PM

** I slacked off on posting these for a long time.

1. Part of the reason was delayed reporting, being less willing to share. Now that all the time has passed, I'll start posting again, as time permits.

2. Another part was work kept me away. For too long fishing had been the priority, and it negatively affected my life and relationships around me.

3. Today, I still get a higher level of adrenaline when I know the time and tides are right for an area I want to fish at night, and I can't get out there because of responsibilities. Bill Wetzel mentions that in one of his videos. I have the same apprehension. I know when I should be out there, instinctively.......... If I can't make that window, I still am disappointed at the opportunity I missed.

For the new guys, with any report, if you're looking to learn....when you instinctively start to know "When" you should be targeting fish in a certain area, and "Why"......that will be one of the biggest puzzle pieces.....

It's not important as What or Where fish are being caught....as to some of the learning experiences....if anyone wants to learn, and can read some of the subtle details I try to convey about time, tide, fishing windows, and feeding windows.....you could learn a lot.

Good luck to all. I believe things will be a lot better this Spring, and will try to get out more, to take advantage of it. :HappyWave:

DarkSkies

03-03-2017, 03:02 PM

4-11-16 PM trip.
I must have timed the tides just right.
First stop - nothing.
2nd stop was definitely better. Hadn't been to this area for a while, so it essentially a scouting trip. Was into a fish on my first cast, and then pretty good action for the next 2 hours.
All fish were larger, smallest was 27"
Managed to land 9 total to 19#.
Kept 1, released the rest.

Notes-
I missed or dropped at least that many. The bite was tide dependent and died as the tide slacked. Their aggressiveness and willingness to hit swimmers pumped me full of adrenaline. The water temps where I was .......were only about 43 degrees, so that might have accounted for some of the missed hits. Nothing mattered...except those fish. Bite died before grey light in the AM sky. One of the nicer 2 night successes (this and April 10) I had......in a while.

seamonkey

03-03-2017, 03:57 PM

Nice reports dude tks for the share.

DarkSkies

03-04-2017, 09:42 AM

Thank you.

Why the night tides?
Years ago when I first made the transition from fishing bait to artificials, it was hard. I failed so many times. A key mistake I made was that I assumed because I caught fish on bait in the daytime I could do the same thing with artificials.

That eventually worked out, because there were a lot more fish around back then. However, I still remember my failures, and being so discouraged that I was just about ready to quit using artificials.

I started fishing at night and it became a little easier, but it was still a very slow and tedious learning curve.

Although I didn't know who they were at the time, I met some of the old timers that I talk about, some of the most bizarre and intense people you would ever want to know. They really weren't that friendly at first, and I grew to understand and respect that.

DarkSkies

03-04-2017, 10:32 AM

Even though I had some help, I was still determined to learn on my own.

I was out on the jetties and inlets at night, losing plugs, falling into holes, bashing my head as I fell. I fell so many times, even with korkers, that I'm surprised I never got a concussion.
I'll try to talk about the dangers of jetty fishing in another post.

This has been part of a continual learning process for me. Every year I try to learn something new.

For any of the new guys reading the posts, if you're not doing as well as I did on some of the reports I share, remember that it took me a long time to get there. There are still periods of time where I'll have one or two good nights, try to continue the pattern, and fail for several nights after that. If you read the timeline of my reports you'll see the good with the bad.
That's all I have for today.

CharlieTuna

03-04-2017, 01:21 PM

Well-said. That's 1 of the quirky things about the old saltys. If you're looking to use them for spots most are savvy and it won't happen. Get to know them by showing up a few times and putting your time in. When I lived in Jersey the old saltys that hung around in Giglios would sometimes throw me a crumb or two. It took awhile to get to them to talk though.

fishinmission78

03-05-2017, 08:59 AM

You're spot-on about helping people. The idea of helping and sharing information ruined Oyster Creek. never have I seen so many people fishing there as in the last few years. All thanks to the internet and FB. I help my family, cousins, or close circle, and that's it.

hookedonbass

03-06-2017, 10:00 AM

The honesty is refreshing. Some of the reports I've read over the past year, you would think the guy scores all the time. Because that's all you see is I caught this, I caught this. You never hear about their skunks. thanks for sharing.

7deadlyplugs

03-06-2017, 10:11 AM

X2. I'm not much of a writer, so I appreciate your style. It's almost like you're hunting for the stripers. Keep them coming

fishgutz

03-06-2017, 02:07 PM

No need to apologize for late reports, totally understood. Thank you for sharing them anyway. Wish the bigmouths fishing the CCC would do the same. I won't be catching stripers until late April when the herring are around. So this is a good temporary fix for me.

DarkSkies

03-24-2017, 10:12 AM

Thanks for the kind words people. They are appreciated. I'll pick up where I left off.

4-12-16 Tue PM trip
Repeated tactics from previous nights. Still caught fish, but action not as robust. Worked twice as hard for a lot less fish. No missed hits. Fish caught on big swimmers.
Managed to land 5 to 11#, all released.

Factors that may have affected the night's action:
1. A lot less bunker around.
2. Water temps dropped just a bit.

storminsteve

03-26-2017, 01:18 PM

Nicely done thanks for sharing.

DarkSkies

05-26-2017, 10:30 PM

Thanks for the kind words, people. **Remember all these reports were from last year......I'm posting them just to give the new guys out there a sense of my thought process, and the time I put in, if I thought the fish were active.......

4/13 Wed PM
Tried the same tactics and presentations, found a very slow pick.
Managed to land 2 to 8#, released.

4/14 Thu PM.
Not happy with the dismal results from the previous trip, went out earlier, before sunset, to try to get some fish with poppers. I felt water was too cold, standard rules for throwing poppers is the water has to be mid-50s.
The other morning I saw a guy get one bass, after tossing a popper for about 45 minutes, so was eager to try.
2 hours, only managed 2 short fish.
Tried an area I haven't yet tried this year, away from the crowds. Just grateful it worked out, and I can go back there when the bait loads up.

buckethead

05-27-2017, 11:48 AM

I admire your persistence, Dark.

DarkSkies

11-03-2017, 02:43 PM

Thanks for the kind words folks. Still posting these, albeit delayed, in hopes of showing some of the new people out there....the persistence it takes...and the learning process...if anyone is still interested in learning and failing...and learning...to learn and understand patterns.....and catch fish...on your own....the old fashioned way.....(which used to be the only way)...it still works for me and a few other old-timers I know.....:thumbsup:

DarkSkies

11-03-2017, 03:05 PM

4/15 Fri PM
Great trip. Took Pebbles out there with low expectations, turned out to be a great trip. Clipped on a NB bottle darter for her to throw....she was casting her Finchaser rod..made for easy casting of that larger plug......
We casted for about an hour with no activity at all. She kept asking me.....Are you SURE the fish are here??....lots of guys casting....no one is catching!.....I grumpily told her to keep casting :argue:...as the incoming tide and conditions were just coming together......

All of a sudden it turned on :headbang:....like someone turned on a light switch...at 2am in the morning...
She got her PB bass, 27#, caught and reeled in herself with some coaching from me.
(She also got another larger bass, around 20#.)

It was quality over quantity. Between the 2 of us we managed 8 bass to 27#.
My largest was high teens. Smallest fish was about 7#.

The nicest part of the evening is Pebbles out-fished everyone who was there in that spot. The "sharpies" were drooling all over themselves so as not to ask "what" exact swimmer she was throwing,. Afterwards, when one of them let us use his genuine boga to weigh the fish, we saw it was close to my original eyeball estimates....#27....a very nice and fat fish.

Since it was her PB, we kept that one to show her kids, and released the rest.
Great night, made even better by "the one girl"...... out-catching all the guys on that beach., including me!
Very proud of my sweetheart. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

She's holding the pics of her largest..which she kept to show her sons........Released the others..in the teens and 20's...a good night for us......and memorable night together..... because she listened to me to stay persistent....and it paid off.

** Disclaimer....Once she got into the routine of catching..:fishing: I told her to keep on doing what had worked for her......She outfished in numbers and size, all the other guys on the beach that night....(including me)....
Just goes to show you don't have to be Pro-Staff, with 1000s in gear, to catch nice size fish......

**Fishing lesson 101.23 -- it's not the Gear that catches the fish, it's the fisherman/woman using it. :thumbsup::thumbsup: