NJ Fishing Reports for May 2014.....www.StripersAndAnglers.com

[DarkSkies]

NJ Fishing Reports for May 2014.....www.StripersAndAnglers.com (http://www.stripersandanglers.com/)

**Important when registering on our site -- use an active email address so you can activate your account to be able to post.

Please post fishing reports here.......as little or as much detail as you want to give.
Please note: NO SPOT BURNING. Posts burning spots will be Edited or DELETED.

** Since Sandy and the rebuilding/Beach replenishment, a substantial amount of Fishing Access has been lost. The ones who want to fish, are now crowded into less places, particularly the popular ones.
Please use common sense, when describing where you were fishing. :learn:

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

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

3. If I name this place on the internet, will it be too crowded for me to enjoy tomorrow when people hear I got 30 fish there today?
If the answer is "Yes", then you should probably not be so specific.
More discussion on this:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ead.php?t=3763 (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=3763)



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












Some acronyms -

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

IBSP - Island Beach State Park
LBI - Long Beach Island
AC - Atlantic County
CMC - Cape May County


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

Mecca.....Montauk

[DarkSkies]

Here we are, the first week of May.....and except for a few scattered reports.....no real amounts of bluefish.....
Many feel this colder winter put things off a bit....I agree.....
I know most don't care about blues...like to grumble.....but they sure do give kids, families and anglers a helluva lot of fun.....
As many know the bigger ones come from offshore, while the smaller ones migrate up the coast.......

More on that here.....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8378-Stripers-amp-Anglers-Education-Series-Understanding-Bluefish-Migration






It was only 8-10 years ago that you could find schools of taylor bluefish and striped bass right in the surf.... hot on schools of early season rainfish, herring and shad as they followed these forage fish up the coast....and the racer blues would hit the bays like clockwork, either on or before April 14........This was part of the early Spring patterns that you could count on yearly.

I had lots of good times introducing kids to the sport of fishing by taking them to get those racers.........
I still anticipate and look forward to them every year..........
Monty's thread for more info.....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?9391-Bluefish-2014

Meanwhile, migratory Hudson bass finally showed up in northern NJ bays around April 17...with a few (though less than usual) resident bass around in the weeks before that............
These threads go into further detail about migratory bass, resident bass, and the yearly patterns....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8379-Stripers-amp-Anglers-Education-Series-Understanding-Spring-Bass-Migration-for-NJ-NY

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7174-S-amp-A-Education-Series-NJ-s-resident-bass-why-have-they-abandoned-us


Weakfish have also been making an appearance here and there.....

In my experience, though bass and weakfish have shown up in some coastal areas......there is (generally) only a limited window to fish for the Hudson bass before they head up river....and then a bit of a lull as we wait for the other migratory fish to make their way up the coast......

Hence my excited anticipation for the downtown blues....(surfwalker term :HappyWave:)........
If you love to fish....for the sake of fishing.....they put a bend in the rod and a smile on your face......



Best of luck to everyone.....it's May and there are fish around......:fishing:

We have a lot of new members and traffic lately.......
If some of ya's have questions feel free to ask away in this thread by Surfstix....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?9370-Newbie-Thread

Please remember our restricted fishing access bottlenecks if you want to post a report.....thanks....:HappyWave:

[jigfreak]

Fished the back this morning. Last of outgoing (water dirty) and one hour of incoming. Water was still dirty feels like it will take about 2 tide changes to clean up. Nothing for me. Any one remember the movie the fog?
Check this out-
http://www.surfchex.com/manasquan-web-cam.php

[madcaster]

my log book in my head says that I've caught blues already ....no signs yet

[cowherder]

Hence my excited anticipation for the downtown blues....(surfwalker term :HappyWave:)........



my log book in my head says that I've caught blues already ....no signs yet



^^^^^^ O Lord please give me some downtown blues. They will be here by this weekend or I'm buying a 50 gallon container of blood from the cow processors in Newark to dump in the bay! just kidding but come on already!!!!!!!!:plastered: Thanks for the report jigfreak at least you tried. Surf looks gnarly.

[bababooey]

Yep that would be a great idea dude.:kooky: :HappyWave:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pvib20XWewg

[plugcrazy]

haha great video. Put me in for an order of those downtown blues. Its time.

[seamonkey]

Loved that blood.
"shark lifeless eyes, black eyes like a dolls eyes - doesn't seem to be livin, the ocean turning red"
Classic.

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

[paco33]

Thanks for the conditions report jigfreak. I feel the same way the bay should be almost back to normal by Friday. Watch the full moon high tides if your on the sod banks out there you could get stranded.

[Blazin420]

My first blues of the year came on April 24-25 last year with eveything being late this year i say another week or 2 before we see them..It should be getting cleaned up by Friday and fine by Sat/Sun...Ill be out there this weekend

[jigfreak]

Some decent action in the back tonight. Picked up 5 bass to 16# on ml swimmers.Top of tide incoming and two hours into the out. All fish were over 28", All still swimming.

[hookedonbass]

Jigfreak nice going and the same on the c&r. Fished nomoco this morning before work. No one else on the beach. Tossed shad, and bucktail with white worm. Only had an hour to fish, 6:30- 7:30 am. Water wasn't that bad where I was fishing. Some pieces of wood on the sand but other than than not too bad. Should clean up great by tomorrow and water seemed warm to me. Oh and I got blanked. Nice morning on the beach though

[buckethead]

Nice work jig. Fished the ocean in moco this morning. It was a little rough and dirty as mentioned but should clean up in one or two tide changes. Worked buck and grub to no avail. Back at it again soon.

[Blazin420]

WTG Jigfreak..Im contemplating hitting outfront after work tonight..Gonna be plugging..Thinking maybe some bass cashing in on those broke up clams in the wash..we shall see...Plus got some new pluggage i wanna try out..any of you guys no if i can by the night pass at the hook after 5pm wont get down till around 730...I no its open till 10 but i tend to fish well past 10

[chas527]

fished the navy pier last night 2 bass 1 351/2 inches the other 33 1/4. warm night .no bunker swimming last night.

[hookset]

Nice scores chas and jig. Jig wtg on the releases. blazin don't know if you fish sandy hook a lot so here goes. Since sandy they moved the guard shack to the front. New brick bldg. on the left by the toll barriers. It used to be that you needed a check or money order to buy the pass. Now in the daytime you can buy the pass with cash. Think that ends at dusk or with the end of day shift change. So either at 5:30 or so. I could be wrong on that. If your going down there 7:30 you prob need to bring a money order. Can get from quik chek on the hill. Check out the new blond hottie who works quik chek at night she is an 8 out of 10 good eye candy. Hope this helps and tight lines.

[Blazin420]

Haha thanks Hookset ill get a MO and check her out..

[seamonkey]

Fished cape may this morning. dirty and full of junk. Fished clams. Skunk a roo.

[ledhead36]

Went to fish last night at the place where the body was found. dont know why I bothered the body being found didn't scare any fishermen away. There were about 50 guys out there and maybe 5 of us spoke English. Made a move to a less crowded place. Water was dirty and yoo hoo colored. Lots of debris. Managed 2 bass to 30" on incoming tide with clams.

[Blazin420]

Nice leahead!! 30# thats a great fish!! Better than me I decided to change it up and avoid the crowds..fished out front managed 2 small fish and some missed hits..At least the 2 I got came on a black/purple teaser I tied...

[Monty]

Managed 2 bass to 30# on incoming tide with clams.
Congratss on the nice fish.

[ledhead36]

Sorry to disappoint you guys. I was half asleep and hung over when I typed that. That was 2 fish to 30". When I get a 30 I will be a little more enthusiastic about it. Maybe even use a smiley or two. I haven't done that well with bigger fish this year. There are just not too many of them to go around. My .02

[madcaster]

fished RB on incoming during the late afternoon ...2 hours ....bunker chunks ....no bites ...water still brown and cold ...didn't see any other fish caught ....1822618227

[Blazin420]

Sorry to disappoint you guys. I was half asleep and hung over when I typed that. That was 2 fish to 30". When I get a 30 I will be a little more enthusiastic about it. Maybe even use a smiley or two. I haven't done that well with bigger fish this year. There are just not too many of them to go around. My .02

Haha understandable!! I was gonna say pretty calm report for getting a 30#er lol good job any way!

[J Barbosa]

Haha Ledhead!!!! I kayaked last night and got a 26 and had a few other hits that never connected.



















26" <-- lol

Water was still very stained and brown with debris floating out there. The fish were there and wanted to feed but I think they just had too hard of a time finding our plugs. Had we bait fished I'm sure we could have caught double digits each. Fish were coming up to the kayak and swirling next to us kept scaring the crap out of us.

[buckethead]

Jbarbosa that was funny. Fished the surf in moco this morning with positive results. From 5-7am the action was pretty good. Picked up 14 bass on a 3/4 oz bucktail and grub. These were mostly small fish. Only one was over 28". All released.

[surferman]

Nice going guys! Fished the db today it was windy and not that great. One 25" bass on bloods. Fed the crabs with the rest of the worms they are out early this year.

[surferman]

fished RB on incoming during the late afternoon ...2 hours ....bunker chunks ....no bites ...water still brown and cold ...didn't see any other fish caught ....1822618227



Now this is what I'm talking about. The db is usually this brown color. Some times when I am out there I think of what it must have looked like 150 years ago. I bet a lot cleaner then

[madcaster]

Fished RB last night outgoing ....bunker chunks ...no wind ...water calm ....lighting flashes north of me ....2 keepers 35 and 331823018231182321823318234 both released ...still swimming .....caught them back to back ....nice fight on both of them

[Monty]

Fished RB last night outgoing ....bunker chunks ...no wind ...water calm ....lighting flashes north of me ....2 keepers 35 and 33 both released ...still swimming .....caught them back to back ....nice fight on both of them

Congrats on the Bass MC, Awesome pics!!!!

I fished last night bayside, 1:30-8:30.
Finally got rid of the skunk (5th time out...).
Caught the top fish at 2:30 on a teaser, then at 3:30 on a 4" plastic plug I caught the short bass. Lost another shortly after on same small plug. Then around 4:30 I got the Fluke on a 5 inch plastic plug. Very nice night and felt great being out there, felt like a miracle to finally get a bend in the rod :lookhappy:.
Threw larger stuff, a lot, but nothing.

18235

[cowherder]

Awesome reports madcaster and monty! wtg on the releases as well! monty that fish in the top pic what is that is it a herring?

[Monty]

Awesome reports madcaster and monty! wtg on the releases as well! monty that fish in the top pic what is that is it a herring?
I thought so, figures first fish of the year for me and its a freaking oddball:huh:.

[fishinmission78]

Fished island beach early am. 2 micro bass on a stubby needlefish and teaser combo. Both hit the teaser. Saw gannets working way out but didn't have binocs. Maybe they were on bunker or herring but could not tell for sure. Next time I'll bring bunker or clams. Not much other action while I was out. Still a great morning to be on the beach. Nice going madcaster and monty.

[surferman]

Nice work gents thanks for the report.

[J Barbosa]

Nice job Madcaster & Monty.

Blurry pic doesn't help to id it but I don't see the blue tint found in river herring. Body looks a little big for herring and the river herring are way up the streams right now getting ready to spawn.

Are you familiar with hickory shad Monty?

[Blazin420]

Nice job catchin fellas!! I would say some sort of shad for sure by the pic..Like J said not much color to it unlike herring..

[basshunter]

Yeah maybe a hickory shad. Did a search and came up with this thread. Didn't know they came in this early?
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?2236-Differences-between-herring-and-hickory-shad&highlight=herring+hickory+shad

[finchaser]

body shape, and tail looks like a blue back sea herring or bunker to me definitely not a shad no spots and wrong shape tail

[Monty]

body shape, and tail looks like a blue back sea herring or bunker to me definitely not a shad no spots and wrong shape tail
I have caught Hickory Shad before and this did not look like one.
That's why I thought it was a herring. I have a pic from last week of a dead thing with no head. I thought they were similar, posted here
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?2236-Differences-between-herring-and-hickory-shad&p=78530&posted=1#post78530

[DarkSkies]

First 2 fishing trips of the year....
May 2, late night tides
May 4, late night

I'm embarrassed to say these are my first 2 fishing trips this year....can't remember the last year I started fishing this late in the season....life has thrown some curveballs and really gotten in the way of fishing.....I just don't have the time.....

The dominant forage now in North Jersey haunts seem to be bunker.....I knew I had to get out there, just to see if I could find any other forage...That's all important to a sustained and reliable Spring fishery..(Congrats to Monty for always finding the most unusual types of fish in an area).......:HappyWave:

On May 2, I could hear bunker in the distance.....along with a very scattered # of bass feeding on them.....
Fished 2 1/2 hours, 2 locations.....worked all levels of the water column, nothing for me at all.

On May 4, fished the back as well....short 2 hour trip...
Heavy sustained NW winds 25mph....water was not bad...perfect temps......
As opposed to the other night, the bunker numbers were substantially less......the water seemed dead but I worked it thoroughly anyway because those general areas should produce at least one bass this time of year....

** Although I searched thoroughly, I could not find any other forage....spearing, grass shrimp, herring, etc....in the areas I fished....









I see a lot of internet blaming of the water temperatures for the reason why the bass won't bite, or the NNJ artificial bite/ (clam/bunker bite as well) is not that (consistently) reliable this time of year.....I disagree.....conditions have been perfect for almost 2 weeks now......bass are being caught in the daytime on the Raritan Bay flats on artificials.....In my experience, there is no reason for lack of a consistent artificial night bite, other than lack of fish....

Meanwhile I have friends who own kayaks who are doing well on artificials daily....no need for them to lose sleep fishing the night tides....
There are also certain areas that are consistently giving up a few small bass at night....crowds are already forming....so for now I'll fish the less traveled areas.....

And friends tossing bunker heads who are catching nicer fish up to 26# at night....taunting me daily for not fishing bunker heads....:moon::kooky::HappyWave:

What can I say......I must love punishment......:rolleyes:
I tried to explain the challenge, and disappointment sometimes, of fishing artificials to someone I know.....I don't know if they understood the passion in my voice, or thought I was :kooky: as well.....

**I would like to report that I missed a fish, or felt some kind of action on those nights...
however, not a touch for me, in my first trips of the season.....
I remain hopeful......will try to get out more....but pulling less of the Monty marathons I did in the past......
This is the time of year that I really look forward to the night bite and the explosive action.........still optimistic......and ya can't catch em from the couch.....:learn:
Good luck to all.....:HappyWave:

[ledhead36]

Don't feel bad rich. We didn't do that hot last night. clams and bunker 2 micro bass. The bunker that were in front of us and coming in every night moved on. That's the way the cookie crumbles. As for bunker heads why fight it bro? You used to fish bunker all the time. You brought us bunker and clams when we ran out. I know you know how to snag bunker. Fresh bunker has that bloody appeal that fish cant resist. Bigger fish want meat. Whatever works for you, buddy.:HappyWave:
Glad to see you got out there.

[ledhead36]

Congrats on the Bass MC, Awesome pics!!!!

I fished last night bayside, 1:30-8:30.
Finally got rid of the skunk (5th time out...).
Caught the top fish at 2:30 on a teaser, then at 3:30 on a 4" plastic plug I caught the short bass. Lost another shortly after on same small plug. Then around 4:30 I got the Fluke on a 5 inch plastic plug. Very nice night and felt great being out there, felt like a miracle to finally get a bend in the rod :lookhappy:.
Threw larger stuff, a lot, but nothing.

18235



Monty its hard to tell from the blurry pic as jbarbosa said. That looks like herring tho. No dot on it that would id it as a bunker. I looked at the other pic you posted where the head is chopped off. That pic looks like a bunker. The yellow tail is a dead giveaway. Ever see bunker packed tight in schools? You can see the top of the tail coming out of the water its yellow. Nice going on the catching, madcaster as well. madcaster you are on a roll lately hope it keeps up for you.

[buckethead]

body shape, and tail looks like a blue back sea herring or bunker to me definitely not a shad no spots and wrong shape tail


Monty its hard to tell from the blurry pic as jbarbosa said. That looks like herring tho. No dot on it that would id it as a bunker. I looked at the other pic you posted where the head is chopped off. That pic looks like a bunker. The yellow tail is a dead giveaway. Ever see bunker packed tight in schools? You can see the top of the tail coming out of the water its yellow. Nice going on the catching, madcaster as well. madcaster you are on a roll lately hope it keeps up for you.




dark good to have you back in the game. I find that fishing relaxes me. Hope it does the same for you. I agree with your assessment about less fish.

Fished moco this morning from 6:30-7:30. Flat calm seas out there and not too enticing. Picked up one little guy on bucktail and white grub. monty I agree with finchaser and ledhead I think that fish you caught in the top pic is a herring.

[SharkHart]

I spent my last two outings targeting Weakfish but came up without any, fished in poor conditions but my hopes of a strong spring run have dropped out. Two heavy rains about a week apart may have played a part on the spawn. Sea isle had some freaky wave of Weakies in the back going back to mid April. They usually come in two waves with the second wave mid or late May down SNJ, so holding my breath for some. One of the nights I switced to bass on the outgoing and found lots of twenty inchers and 22" looked huge!

In a weird spot right now, No Ocean Jig fish like last few years, No early Graveling Point run which has maybe never happened, no Blues but May 5th :scared: Except for the Raritan bay system which I myself rarely fish seems to be the only game in town along the whole state and thats no bueno. Big bass should hopefully start up exiting the rivers , if not Im getting ready for fluke

[jigfreak]

Fished moco from 6-9. 2 short bass, and one 6 lb bluefish. Skinny as hell, spring racer. All caught on SP.

[storminsteve]

Nice job jigfreak I was beginning to give up hope!! YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!:plastered: :headbang: :bigeyes: :headbang::dribble: :viking: :thumbsup:

[Monty]

Fished moco from 6-9. 2 short bass, and one 6 lb bluefish. Skinny as hell, spring racer. All caught on SP.
Finally!!!:thumbsup:

[Blazin420]

Nice job jigfreak! Im headed outfront this afternoon! Time to up the leader and throw some old poppers....And get my soft plastics destroyed :)

[finchaser]

4 this am between 18 and 27 inches all on X-rap 12

[basshunter]

Awesome reports fellas! Fished mo co between 7-10 caught 2 shorties on rubber shad.

[Blazin420]

Nice job Fin..Fished outfront from 4pm till 9pm last night...9 small bass biggest went 20in..7 came on a yellow teaser(glad I tied it this am http://www.stripersurf.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif )..2 on a BT with a curly tail on it...And for those who have been waiting.......Like jigfreak said...The yella eyed demons have ARRIVED!! Landed 1 that was about 5lbs he hit a mag darter....Ill admit I missed there fight http://www.stripersurf.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif....Saw a few other bass 1 was keeper sized caught and 2 or 3 other blues that were choppers!! Had to be 8+lbs!!!End of the outgoing was key and when that NW wind kicked up so did the bite...Fun night!! pic of the blue

[chas527]

fished the navy pier last two nights nothing, one hit that was it .fished the hook yesterday morning nothing,one small tap.

[finchaser]

this AM 2 bass and 4 bluefish all on mucho minnow

[buckethead]

Nice going finchaser you did better than me. Braved the ocean from 6-7:30am. Bucktail and grub the water certainly was fishy. Cold with E/SE wind in your face and montys favorite whitewater. good bass weather. Only managed one little guy.

[cowherder]

Fished moco yesterday 7-8:30pm. Nabbed a few small blues 2-4lbs right before dark and then it turned off. buck and pork rind. Thanks buckethead all your catching on the bucktail inspired me.

[finchaser]

this AM 5-7 released 6 bass 22 to 31" all on jig head an d shaker tail

[storminsteve]

finchaser outstanding work you are really batting them out of the park! I fished nomoco this morning. 3 blues on SP no bass. Birds working way out far couldn't see what they were diving on.

[basshunter]

Nice job finchaser if I could ask are you doing better on the incoming or outgoing?

[finchaser]

Nice job finchaser if I could ask are you doing better on the incoming or outgoing?

Thanks 1 hour each side of slack

[ledhead36]

Good going finchaser seems you have the hot hand lately. We fished the bay last night with bunker heads chunks and clam. got a few small blues to 7lbs. and one short striper. Even got a small bluefish on the clam. They are all skinny racers and hungry.

[hookset]

finchaser nice job. I fished moco last night and got into some good blue action. A dozen to 14lbs. skinny and long up to 35". Mostly on Crocs and small metal. Also dropped what was probably a mid teener bass on a gibbs popper. Nice to see them hit topwater.

[robmedina]

Well first and foremast- my report- 3 skates and 1 spiny dogfish.

Now the long part- I had been promising my fishing Mate 2 years to take the yaks out. Well since I got my new Jackson and really enjoy fishing from it, I obliged his request to head out front yesterday.

We got to the surf just about high tide. The waves looked pretty big and the fog was ungodly. I was scared to death I have to admit! I have a fish finder that has a chartplotter. I also took along a handheld GPS unit as well just as a back up. We launched in the surf. My Mate flipped heading out but I was fortunate enough to make my way through the breakers without incident.

Once we were out there it was pretty rough but we went out to 26' deep water and were marking fish so we dropped anchor and fished with clam. I was on edge the whole time. I could not see land at all. I could hear the waves crashing on the surf.

Every time we anchored I would make a way point just to be able to check that we were not drifting with the anchors. That went well.

Mike yells out "DOLPHIN" I look around and I see it. It is about 50 feet from us. On one surface breach I heard him blow air out of his hole. I am thinking to myself. Hmmm, just one dolphin.... then about 2 minutes later 3 huge dolphin jump straight out of the water about 100 feet away. It was awesome and frightening at the same time. They were obviously corralling bait so I was worried that they may not see us (more particularly me) and breach ontop of me or quite close- especially while on anchor.

Yeah I know I am a big chicken- I have major respect for the sea and the extremely deadly creatures that inhabit it. To me- sitting on a kayak on the ocean fishing is much like sitting on the ground in the Serengeti hunting.

So after 3 hours we head back in. Once thing we immediately notice is that the waves are quite larger now. So I prayed for help! I was in 10' of water and these huge waves were breaking right in front of me. I was worried about flipping over in anything other than 2-3 feet deep. I saw the large wave break in front of me , so as soon as it broke I paddled hard to get in before the next wave. Well the next wave came up and pushed me forward a little bit ....ok, I'm good...keep paddling.....another wave broke in front and now I was in 3 foot of water....I start paddling hard but the out flow of the wave is dragging me backwards and the next wave starts to push me forward. I hesitated to see which way my bow was going to turn so I could counter steer. The boat starts to go right, I should have stabbed my paddle on the left but I ended up putting it on the right which helped turn me. Mistake #1 and then I allowed the wave to flip me over. Mistake #2 I should have leaned into the wave and it would have pushed me in.
So I am flipped over in the wave in about 3 feet of water. I get up and try to turn my kayak over and another wave crashes on me. I get up again and with a great burst of energy I flip the kayak over in one swoop and then a wave grabs it again and takes it close to the beach and then tries to suck it out again in the outflow. I grab it and hurriedly pull it to dry land.
The amazing part is I lost nothing!. not even my bag of clams that in-between my seat and the yakattack black pak crate.

What a sigh of relief to have made it in. It could have gone horribly worse. Of all the days to follow through with a promise, yesterday should not have been one of them. IF I did not have the chart plotter it would have been impossible to make it back to the exact location we launched from.

well, there is my longwinded fishing report!

[jigfreak]

.

The boat starts to go right, I should have stabbed my paddle on the left but I ended up putting it on the right which helped turn me. Mistake #1 and then I allowed the wave to flip me over. Mistake #2 I should have leaned into the wave and it would have pushed me in.
So I am flipped over in the wave in about 3 feet of water. I get up and try to turn my kayak over and another wave crashes on me. I get up again and with a great burst of energy I flip the kayak over in one swoop and then a wave grabs it again and takes it close to the beach and then tries to suck it out again in the outflow. I grab it and hurriedly pull it to dry land.
The amazing part is I lost nothing!. not even my bag of clams that in-between my seat and the yakattack black pak crate.

What a sigh of relief to have made it in. It could have gone horribly worse. Of all the days to follow through with a promise, yesterday should not have been one of them. IF I did not have the chart plotter it would have been impossible to make it back to the exact location we launched from.

well, there is my longwinded fishing report!

I see that you were aware of your mistakes so I won't be too hard on ya. Everyone dunks sooner or later. Yours could have been more damaging. Glad you had peace of mind to keep it together and make it back. Chartplotter was very smart. Too many yaks get lost in the fog. I remember last year the coast guard had to rescue one or two of them off ocean county. Another tip try to tether yourself to the yak so if you get separated you can get back on.
That was still a great report even though you didn't catch much. The adventure comes through in your words. Thanks for posting it.

[cowherder]

Awesome report rob! Felt like I was there. Thank you for sharing.

[basshunter]

Rob that was a fantastic report. You caught a few, almost crapped in your pants (i would have if that was me!) and made it home to fish another day. That was awsome reading about the dolphins. I think their higher intelligence keeps them away from kayaks and plugs and bait that we throw. Not sure though.
I wouild have been nervous if they came that close to me in the fog as well. Thanks for sharing.
My report- fished ocean county this morning, near island beach. It was foggy and dreary. Got one short bass on a teaser. Looking for the blues I heard about but could find none. Not too many fishermen out there in the fog.

[robmedina]

Not too many fishermen out there in the fog. LOL thanks guys! You know whats funny is that the guys that were surf fishing where we came in at were amazed to see 2 kayak emerge from the fog. One guy comes over and tells us were are some crazy sob's and I say to him in a british accent- "This isn't englad is it?" LOL!

[surferman]

"This isn't englad is it?" LOL!
Love that response. Way to bust balls. Glad you were safe out there. Another guy almost didn't make it. I think he was kayaking up in the raritan bay. Be careful and thanks for the report.

[finchaser]

Was test swimming the new Seahunt plug from Japan this morning. I was in the back mind you I was not fishing and caught a 7# blue and 24" bass in like 6 casts.

Great plug and at 133mm and 29g it can out cast an SP minnow hopefully they will be out soon.

[buckethead]

Nice work finchaser. Good report rob glad you are safe. Smart man to have a chartplotter. At minimum the kayakers should have that or GPS in the fog.

Yep blues are definitely here. Hit the front in moco this morning. It was foggy and the water was a little discolored. Shifting around to a SW wind. Went with chartreuse grub instead of the usual white one. Slow retrieve, outgoing tide produced 2 small bass and 2 blues. I'll be switching over to pork rind with the little choppers around.

[cowherder]

Blues are here got into some good bites in the bay last night. 5-7:30pm. They hit poppers and kastmasters. Lots of fun!

[cowherder]

Was test swimming the new Seahunt plug from Japan this morning. I was in the back mind you I was not fishing and caught a 7# blue and 24" bass in like 6 casts.

Great plug and at 133mm and 29g it can out cast an SP minnow hopefully they will be out soon.



Thanks for the review any pics of the seahunt?

[plugcrazy]

blues -nice! Thanks for the report.

[storminsteve]

No more blues cuz the blues are here. Just what I was waiting for thanks for the reports guys.

[finchaser]

Thanks for the review any pics of the seahunt?

I'll take one and post it


We all caught blues this AM pretty much steady for 2 hours

[Monty]

Fished bayside this morning 1:30 - 9:00
Beautiful night to be out, action was ultra slow for me.
Managed my first Blue of the year, a little over 20 inches on an SP Minnow around 4:30 but that was it. A few hits and misses around that time.
Had a great time out there, shoulder slowly getting back in shape, good progress today :)
Also saw that raccoon again.....

[robmedina]

^^^^^Glad to hear the shoulder is doing good Monty!

[finchaser]

For Cowherder

[storminsteve]

Also saw that raccoon again.....

You are sucking wind with the dead things dude! Has to be dead for it to count bring a bb gun next time lol.
Actually I'm feeling a little bad I'm having trouble finding dead things too I fished today and couldn't find anything but clams that another fisherman left on the beach. Hope I can locate something soon or you will leave me in the dust monty.
I found some fish today solid blues but no bass. Fished moco from 6-9. There was a large amount of bunker moving down the beach. Got one blue on a bucktail but decided to snag and chunk looking for some bass. Nada on the bass. The chunks provided steady action though. Stopped counting after 15 blues. They were nice size all from 20-29". I hope in another few days they will hit poppers in the ocean and maybe some bass with them. I love me some downtown bluuuuuuuues!

[storminsteve]

finchaser that is a sweet looking plug how much are they going for and when and where will they be available?

[finchaser]

Should be $15.00 I'll get back to as when more are available

[Blazin420]

That is a sweet looking plug Finchaser...Id be interested in getting one for sure...Fished yesterday afternoon...Bunch of blues and a double header which was fun other than 1 of them shredding my Vision....Found 2 small bass about 18in...And saw a beauty of a weakie caught probably about 8-9lbs!! Bunker came in thick but couldnt get anything the hit my offering there were some blow ups in it but nothing for me....Once it got dark action stopped fished till 1030pm....Did get some practice in with the flyrod earlier on the afetrnoon but caught on the spin rod..

[finchaser]

34 inch bass and many blues 7-12# range

[J Barbosa]

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5280/13982685157_8edac46760_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/niAV9z)
Snagged this herring(?) in between snagging bunker last night (targeting bunker).

Fished out back the past three nights over 19 hours total. Got some bass to around 22lbs and bluefish all mixed sizes for me but none over 10lbs. Did see one brute bluefish easily over 15lbs get caught.

Action has been good in small 1-2 hour windows and a slow pick outside of those windows.

Incoming tide has been key for us, outgoing = 0 fish for us all three days.

Friday night we did well towards the top of the incoming. Saturday night we did best around the middle of the incoming. Last night was a little slower due to some mental health issues and a feisty raccoon that got my brother running scared. We did have most of our hits come at low tide last night.

[DarkSkies]

Fished 5 hours last night....both sides of the tide.
Moved quite a few times. Found lots of dead water.

Could only manage fish on rubber. The places I stopped at were kind of dead. Only a few produced.
Bottom half of water column.
Managed 3 medium bluefish and one baby bass on rubber dragged slowly on the bottom.
It was the size of the smaller shads JBarbosa uses....:HappyWave:

so for now...we'll call it the JB rubber....:thumbsup:

[chas527]

fished the hook this morning got short strippers and 22 blue fish, bunker all over.

[Monty]

Friday night we did well towards the top of the incoming. Saturday night we did best around the middle of the incoming. Last night was a little slower due to some mental health issues and a feisty raccoon that got my brother running scared. We did have most of our hits come at low tide last night.

Great report JB.
Seems like the herring are scattered about the bay a bit. Is that normal for this time of the year?

Was that raccoon on a sled like the one Madcaster took a pic of?

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=18270&d=1399676348&thumb=1

[Blazin420]

Nice job John!!

[fishinmission78]

Nice job gents. Had a good morining in OC. Walkiing the beaches and following the bunker. Picked up double digits of bluefish 6-10 lbs along the beach. They were feeding on bunker as far up and down as you could see. Pencil popper or bucktail worked for most of us. Tried metal they only wanted something big or with hair on it where I was My arms are tired. Some real nice bluefish were caught. All released. Didn't see any bass brought up.
monty glad to hear you healed up and are fishing again. i remember reading about that.

[bababooey]

fished the hook this morning got short strippers and 22 blue fish, bunker all over.


Hey chas did you by any chance take any pic of those strippers? I have got lap dances from some tall ones but never from a real short one like a midget size.:pig:
Just kidding, nice reports fellas.

[DarkSkies]

Took Pebbles out tonight for her first trip of the year. We had some pressing problems we had to deal with first. By the time we got to the water a strong S wind changed the conditions. We went elsewhere and spent 2 hours working the tides seeing if we could find a fish or 2...nothing for either of us....good night out....no goog mishaps this time.

Congrats to all who were able to be out at the right time and place....some good action coming together now and some fantastic bluefish action for those who don't mind fishin for em. I will target big blues every time when faced with a choice of comparable size bass, but that's just me.....
Good luck to all....:HappyWave:

[ledhead36]

Glad to see you and pebbles got out dark. Can't hit a home run every time. You can have those blues the big ones are fun but the little guys get annoying after awhile. Fished the bay with bunker last night. Only one bass 28" kept for dinner, Lots of little blues hitting bunker chunks. Bunker came by in the dark on the incoming but no big bass on them. There was a cool cinder worm hatch for anyone who is into that. Maybe some of you fly guys could get out there and try. for me it seems to slow the fishing down because the bass are slurping the worms and don't want much else.

[hookset]

Nice going gents. madcaster great photoshop! Thanks for the cinder worm report ledhead

[finchaser]

This 5 to 7 AM 1 bass and 8 blues all on lead head and shaker tail. My side kick got a few weakfish in the 6-7 pound range all still alive and well

[madcaster]

fished rb last night ...income to high...just plugs ... started at my beach ...zip-o ...moved to a spot on my route ....zip-o ....hit the next spot ....bucket of blues on the beach ....had one hit ....missed it ....saw blues caught on bunker ...them died down ...move to the next spot ......managed one chopper ...first for 2014 18284

[cowherder]

Nice bluefish madcaster. great to hear the big ones are around. Is that one of your needlefish you got him on?

[hookset]

Nice going on the blue madcaster. I got into them tonight too. Went to fish the ocean after work. Took one look at the surf and winds and said hell no.
Went to the back bay. Lots of ppl out there. The action was slow and steady. They were all over. Blues from 5-12 pounds. Some tail walkers it was pretty cool. Got em on bucktails and metal. Wanted to get one on popper but no dice. Oh welll no matter, Im a happy camper.

[seamonkey]

Awesome to read about those gators thanks for the report!

[finchaser]

5 to 7 pm 1 bass and too many blues to count between 5 and 10 pounds all on metal

[fishrich]

Two of us fished OC late afternoon till about 8:30. Caught a lot of bluefish from 3 lbs to 10 lbs. Caught a few on bucktails when we first started, the rest we caught on metals.

[porgy75]

Wow awesome reports guys! Can't wait to get out there and try my luck.

[madcaster]

fished RB ...first stop was a bust .....second spot .....hit the mother load of blues .....hit he beach 2 other guys walked in with me ...had this section to are self .....blues every cast ...me third cast I get the mother Fnnn wind in the spool ??? ....that I lost over 100yards of line ..... have the surf stick there to lean my rod on help a lot while I removed line ...so if I want to make the long cast ....I'm down to the mono backing .....the knot going trough the eyes is freaking me out ....going to snap off any cast now .....I didn't have my waders so I was stuck to the beach ....it was fine for the first 15 fish ...as more people came in to create the picket line ...I was now the odd man out ....my fish keep going into the guy in front of me ....so it wasn't fun any more ...so I packed it in ....I kept 5 for my vegie garden 182971829818299after all that I had to come home and burry them

[finchaser]

this morning 5 to 7 am again too many blues to count all 5 to 12 pound

[jigfreak]

Nice work gents.
Fished moco tonight in the back. Non stop blue action till dark. metal, small rubber, and small plugs killed it. A few on poppers as well. Some bluefish I saw were over 15lbs. I managed about 20, 6-13lbs. Great action seems they have invaded everywhere. Get em while you can theyre lotto fun.

[baitstealer]

Wow one week ago they were nowhere and now they are every where. Awesome reports hope it stays till the weekend!

[plugcrazy]

Awesome reports guys. Fished ocean county this morning from 6:30-7:30 incoming tide. Got a bunch of blues from 2 to 7 pounds. Big surf all on ava 27 with green tail.

[finchaser]

once again too many to count 5 to 7am 8 to 12# blues all on poppers today left them busting

[surferman]

Outstanding reports on the bluefish guys. I wish we had them like that in south jersey. We do see them in the inlets chasing bait and in the fall chasing mullet but nothing like you guys from up north are reporting. To catch blues like that from the shore or the bay, one after the other, up to 15 lbs? That would be intense. Thanks for sharing I am living through these reports. The dbay bite has slowed down a lot. Time for me to hit the ocean side at cape may. Will try to have a report this weekend.

[ledhead36]

Fished the back last night it was a bluefish pallooza. These are some fat spring bluefish not the April skinny racers. The must of been feeding on the bunker for awhile ever since they came in from offshore. Or maybe they followed it inshore because some of these bluefish are pigs. To 16#. Was fishing bunker all night but it was like they scared the bass away. Then at 3am at the end of the tide I got a 33" bass, Kept for dinner.

[seamonkey]

I am soooooo jealous reading how you guys are crushing those gators. May have to drive up to island beach for sat or sunday. Does anyone have any idea how long they might be up there?

[madcaster]

fished RB last night ...went right to last spot ....crowd of people waiting for it to happen ....got out and threw plugs on incoming ...after a hour or so ....few blues where caught ....me zip ...wasn't far enough down the picket line to catch ....left that spot and the crowd ...went to a new spot ....walked out ...3 guys bait fishing ....all hooked up ....first cast I hooked up and caught about 15 blues ...biggest 7lbs ...broke in the new scale ....I was all by myself ....catching ......they didn't want surface plug ...they would hit several time .but couldn't hook up ...metal was a sure bet ....tried different plugs just to see how they would do ....did a lot of videos...but the mist was messing with the lens ...had waders on ...but did not need them ...stood on the shore

[cowherder]

madcaster you said metal was a sure bet. For the back bay do you feel the skinny metal like diamond jigs works best or have you seen more guys have success with the crocodile type metal. You sound like you are really dialed in bet you are glad you have all those needlefish for these bruisers! thanks for the reports will be out very soon!

[finchaser]

South wind shuts down 3 day blue fish bonanza 5 to 7 pm 1 fish

[fishrich]

Two of us fished OC from 5pm to 8pm. Found a pick of 3 - 5 pound bluefish and two short bass. All fish were caught on bucktails tipped with plastic worms.

[madcaster]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4iSHvPi7Ko&amp;list=UUvbufyDq_UA3KL6I7iweNqQ&amp; feature=share

[J Barbosa]

John takes picture of the biggest bluefish he has seen inshore.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7363/14195268031_df6984119b_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nCosCx)

Bluefish takes revenge by stomping on one of John's favorite rods.
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2932/14011791947_d606a0a8ff_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nmb6zM)

Nonstop for hours yesterday every other cast. Walked off the beach with most guys still hooked up.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5578/14198379105_421989c2c6_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nCEprK)

[madcaster]

there is a saying ....we think where catching big fish until we bring a scale .....I've been weighing some of these gators ..only to find out that there only 8lb's but still in the 30" area ???

took a walk just this morning to see how my beach is ....bait guys caught a few on bunker ...I found a nice empty section all by myself again ..caught 8 on a garbage needle ...have to edit the video to post

this is the time of year where I don't have to buy bait ....bunker left all over the beach ....garbage was every where and it's not even the week end yet ...found 2 bait knifes .....lots of fishing line nest ...I picked those up ....

[madcaster]

1831818319did take a pic of two

[Monty]

John takes picture of the biggest bluefish he has seen inshore.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7363/14195268031_df6984119b_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nCosCx)



Awesome Gorilla Blue and Avid!!

[SharkHart]

18320 I finally stopped a rough patch with bad condition and no fish where they should be on certain dates, targeting big bass in SNJ exiting spawning seems they are a week or so behind schedule or thinner. off last few days but today and tuesday were just washed with weather, but had a dozen bass 13 to 22 lbs sandwiched between those days

[vpass]

JB, seeing your Pictures are killing me. Been trying to get out for 2 weeks now. Might have a window tomorrow and Sunday in the early AM. Now that is a fish to catch on a Fly rod.

I've been living through everyones post. Nice going Guys keep it up.

[jigfreak]

JB, seeing your Pictures are killing me. Been trying to get out for 2 weeks now. Might have a window tomorrow and Sunday in the early AM. Now that is a fish to catch on a Fly rod.

I've been living through everyones post. Nice going Guys keep it up.

Nice fish fellas. jb nice fish what did that weigh high teens? vpass get out there if you want some blues. Got 25 to 16lb yesterday. moco . Jigs and metal.

[finchaser]

south wind is gone and again too many to count up to 133 all on bucktail and twister tail and all still swimming

[cowherder]

Awesome fish guys. shark did all those fish come on plugs? nice! jbarbose did you weigh that bluefish its the biggest one I have ever seen from the surf and even makes your reel look small. great catch. I fished the back bay this morning from 6-8. Caught a mess of blues from 4-9 pounds all on ava jigs. Wonder if there are spearing around as the guys where I was fishing were all using avas too. Went back and fished from 6:30-8:30 and caught some more. These bluefish are fat does any one know what they are eating besides the bunker?

[cowherder]

Finchaser you got 133 in one time? I have to come fishing with you. You must be the master of rubber that's outstanding. All rubber or were you throwing metal? I was using avas today and got them but not nearly as many as you congrats.

[buckethead]

P:icked away at blues all day today. Some nice ones out there.
Saw about $2000 worth of tackle, leaders, hooks, rubber (why do folks use expensive shads or vision eels when the blues are here?) pencil poppers, metal spoons, other metal, and bucktail jigs donated to these larger ones that just came in from offshore. Visited a few tackle shops and the owners were very happy. making money hand over fist. Good for them they need it. Great for the local economies as well. jb that is a true gorilla I was wondering what it weighed as well. sharkhart outstanding work on the bass 98% of the catches now are bluefish

[seamonkey]

drove to nnj this morning to fish for the bluefish I had been reading about on facebook. I thought they were pretty hard to catch. Got 10 on metal. I had a few biteoffs as well. Had some questions about using metal leaders. will post in the other thread thanks guys

[baitstealer]

Outstanding reports gentlemen. I fished an inlet in ocean county for blues yesterday and got some on diamond jigs. There were a lot caught. I was happy to see them again.

[robmedina]

nice reports. I do wish I could get into some blues! just been in the right places at the wrong times. Oh well that's why they call it fishing!

[SharkHart]

Awesome fish guys. shark did all those fish come on plugs? nice! jbarbose did you weigh that bluefish its the biggest one I have ever seen from the surf and even makes your reel look small. great catch. I fished the back bay this morning from 6-8. Caught a mess of blues from 4-9 pounds all on ava jigs. Wonder if there are spearing around as the guys where I was fishing were all using avas too. Went back and fished from 6:30-8:30 and caught some more. These bluefish are fat does any one know what they are eating besides the bunker?

All plugs for me SP and Yozuri Mag Darter, some guys down the beach caught some on chunks. Little differnt then up north there apperas to be some herring exiting the spawn grounds with the bass so they want the plugs. In the dark a few surface crashes and even behind us once in the dark.

[J Barbosa]

Nice work shark hart. :thumbsup:

I weighed a 16lb blue on Saturday for someone and I believe mine was slightly bigger so I'm going to say safely 16-18lbs.

Fished Saturday and Sunday and had more bluefish of the smaller 8-10lb variety. :heart:

Highlight of the weekend was seeing both Darkskies and Pebbles hooked up to big bluefish at the same time.

[chas527]

fished the navy pier last night.two big stripers one 38inches the other 36inches.4 big blues beween 14 an 18 lbs all on bunker.

[DarkSkies]

^I can confirm what Chas, JB, and others here are reporting......there have been some incredibly large bluefish caught in the last week. It does seem the reports of the largest ones are declining a bit.....and it seems some small blues have moved in...we weren't seeing many under 7# a few days ago.....
But make no mistake.....Although it's hard for some to believe...the weights you see being reported are real.....

The actual 18# bluefish may be few and far between...
However, at the end of every day, I'm getting a pic or text that someone has landed one.....17....18...16....lbs....we haven't seen bluefish this size from land in some time.....
Now is the time to get out there and fish for bluefish.......if you consider yourself a true fisherman.....
1. The fight
2. The bulldogging
3. The drag screaming runs of the bigger ones.....
4. The unholy demonic stare those yellow eyes can give you, even when they are spent and exhausted from the battle...yet still ready to chomp one of your fingers off should you be so foolish to take them for granted....
5. Pound for pound, one of the most aggressive and best fighting fish we have on our shores.....a worthy adversary in the arena of battle, for sure......
6. Compare the fight of a 15# bluefish to a 15# bass.....to me, there is no comparison...the giant bluefish wins, hands down. :headbang:


As mentioned, it seems like the overall numbers and sizes were consistently bigger just a few short days ago....but if you understand tides,

feeding windows,
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?1877-fishing-terms-dictionary/page2&highlight=feeding+window
(post #39)

and are wiling to work for them, an experienced fisherman can catch 100 in a full day (24 hours) of fishing...
If you want a shot at one of these 15-18# giants....now is the time to try....there is no guarantee they will be here tomorrow........

Good times, to all who are out there, and having a blast catching....:HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

Multi-Day report.....
I don't know how to compress this into a few sentences....I had a great time fishin the last few days.
I knew this might not last, so I took advantage and was out there every chance I had...ran into some of ya's out there...:cool:... and fished with some of the legendary old-timers.....good times and laughs all around.....:thumbsup:


Wed 5-14 PM
Pebbles and I took a pm trip to a strategic beach looking for blues and bass.....I think the week of May 12, 2014 should be recorded in folks' logs as when these giant blues from offshore started showing in numbers at more than one place.....(historically about a month later than usual)
We fished for 2 hours, in the dark all action had dropped off to nothing...bucktails, rubber, and plugs...
I managed one short fluke, Pebbles dropped 1 fish....eerie pea soup fog everywhere was the best part of the night.....





Fri 5-16 AM to PM
18 hour Monty Marathon
Started at 3 Am, finished at 9PM .....


My 2nd cast of the night, bucktail and white grub, resulted in a drag screaming run, fish in mid to high teens, on the bottom, bass or very large weakfish......I was unprepared for that fish, and dropped it. It really doesn't matter when you tell folks about the fish that got away.....because you have nothing to show for it.....
It wasn't a trophy...but a mid to high teen fish is always fun for me to catch.....and I failed big on this one....

Kept moving around, managed 7 big bluefish before dawn, on bucktails and rubber.
Bluefish are a lot harder to catch

on artificials at night...
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?9046-Artificials-for-Blues-at-Night

In my experience.they are much less aggressive.... and picky.....unless there is a lot of bait in the area....

After 2 hours sleep in the car and breakfast recharge at WaWa...
I was back out.
I took the day off to fish, as I felt the action would be getting better.
Managed another 27 bluefish to 14# during the day....none under 7#.....almost half were 10# or better.....the runs and fights filled me with adrenaline.....

Most of the fish were caught bucktailing...During the hottest part of the action, I had a naked bucktail (attacked so many times it had no hair). I tipped that jig with a piece of pork and still had good action and caught fish.

At one point I was fishing next to a noted old-timer......we had fish every cast or so...Realistically, that action usually only lasts a short while, and changes with the tide....but we had a blast fishing next to each other anyway.....provided some running commentary entertainment, and helped some new guys get into their first monster bluefish, teaching them how to throw metal effectively.... (one of the new guys got his biggest ever bluefish from land, 13#)

All day rainstorms were predicted, they never happened.
Bluefish action slowed with the tide change.

I decided to gear up, try a few places as it was windy and I was looking for a lee.
Didn't bring my night light with me as I would only be there 1 1/2 hours....had a "better" place I wanted to fish as the tide started moving....

**Goog mistake...if out at the end of the day, always have your night light with you, as you can't know in advance if a good bite will develop.

Only managed one nice blue around 12# on crocodile spoon....getting discouraged and ready to leave...
Very windy the whole time, steady 20mph, pending rain........
Around 6:30pm rain started coming down...not bad at first....

Eventually I was in the middle of the storm, winds up to 35mph...rain blowing sideways in my face...had to assume a 3 point football stance while casting to stabilize and get my presentation out there.......

Decided to throw a Madcaster short needlefish to punch out further into the wind....in the 40 minutes before dark I caught 8 nice sized blues on that madcaster needlefish. They were rolling on it in that rough water and would come back to hit it multiple times....it completely energized me....I had that needlefish previously swimming at least 3x during my fishing trip, and not a touch....now they were all over it.....
Managed 8 bluefish on that needle until it got inhaled by a big blue and I lost it.

Switched to bucktail and grub and managed 4 more.

Finally quit when the rain and winds approached 35mph with no signs of letting up....
What kept me out there was the memory of an early-season trip years ago with Monty when we chased all over the bay in 25mph winds for 3# bluefish. :HappyWave: These bluefish on Fri night were up to 5 times larger.....so addictive I did not want to leave despite having to re-tie my rigs in the dark with no full moon in the cloudy sky........


Total for the trip....
46 bluefish to 15#....
If the conditions were better I believe I could have broken 100 that trip...but hey, that's fishin'.:fishing:











Sat 5-17
Took Pebbles down to get into the bluefish bite.....by the time we got there it was a slow pick.....we only managed a few, and they were getting smaller......
Moved to a few other locations but the sunny day was not helping this bite....packed it in early....made a drive to get her some new waders...






Sun 5-18
Pebbles and I were OTW at 6:00 AM.....All geared up the right way.....ran into JB, Vpass, and his friend....nice meeting ya's. :HappyWave:
I think Pebbles caught one of the first fish....

Vpass and friend had the hot hand, catching most of the fish early on....:thumbsup:
JB held his own, picking away at them....and I think caught the first fish of the morning.....:thumbsup:

The bite really didn't develop as strongly as it had on previous days....despite optimal conditions....although a little too sunny out....and water slightly cold from the previous night's wind patterns......

The fish were sluggish.....lethargically hitting at first, you really had to work for them.
Most of the original crew left, and the bite turned on a bit more at a different tide stage....
Although most of the later fish were a lot smaller.....


**Pebbles, I'm proud to say, kicked my A**....:clapping:
I managed 13 fish total to 10# for the day...some of the old timers managing substantially more....

Pebbles got less fish, but managed the biggest fish on the entire beach (artificials only) that day.....a bluefish of around 13#..and another nice one around 10#...along with a few others....working metal near the bottom....:clapping: :thumbsup:...very proud of her and her persistence......

We all had a blast in good company and some ball busting.....to those I ran into, it was nice to meet ya's. :HappyWave:

[wish4fish]

haha dark got beat out by a girl! lol yeah we bin catchin dem blues too too many to count. bunker chunks will give you all you want. bin getting them up to 16lbs some r skinny some r fat pigs on the bunker. well be moving way in the back to try some less salty water for da bass will keep u dudes posted. chas thanxx for the navy pier reports you are da man!

[robmedina]

good catchin guys (and gal)!

[storminsteve]

Wow now I know what a monty marathon is. You guys are crazy out there for 12-18 hours at a time?:kooky:
Really enjoyed the report tho, felt like I was there. Thanks

[DarkSkies]

Thanks for the kind words, people. I try to explain this all the time to Pebbles....you have to fish when the fish are there....not when you want to go fishing.....:HappyWave:



Big blues leaving the area?
Pebbles and I made time to go out again last night.....fished 2 1/2 hours from sunset to dark. Tide was good, water not that bad.......
Our first bad omen when we got there were some fishermen walking off the beach complaining about a slow pick.....

OK that's fine....as long as there are still some larger ones around...I'm still targeting them.....and am happy....:cool:
We worked all levels of the water column, couldn't even get them to hit rubber or bucktails....
Finally a little after sunset I dropped one fish on a madcaster needle....that was the only action for the night despite tossing that needle for 1/2 hour.....

The wind made it tough to present again...so we moved on to some other places.
Total of 3 different stops......not a touch for us other than that one miss.

In my experience, when you are throwing rubber or a bucktail and can't get action, this indicates the fish are scattered, or less of them around. The blues are still there - one guy chunking bunker on the beach had one legal bass plus about 5 blues to 10#....but IMO that doesn't indicate they are thick, or not.....

They come in with the tide......and we were right where we should have been last night, at the different stages of the tide........but the fish were not.....(at least in any numbers).













So...(these thoughts pertain to the bigger blues)
1. Either the big ones are thinning out, and starting to move elsewhere (friends now getting them good in the Jamaica Bay area)
2. Following tight to the bunker (no bunker around where we were last night)
3. Starting to move out deeper into the bay (this sometimes happens when it rains a lot.) In my experience they are sensitive to salinity changes. I know Capts in the bay who are still finding big ones while fishing for bass.

4. However, after the rains on Fri, they were still there Saturday....Theoretically.... with less salinity, they should not have been.
5. The day or low light bite is usually better for these bigger blues.....and we're targeting them at dusk/ night....which is more challenging for artificials.....so I have to keep that in mind....:learn:


I hope I am wrong in my above assessment....and this is just temporary.....
You never know what will happen in this early-season game of musical chairs with big bluefish......
There are plenty of small ones moving along the Coast, and being caught from Ocean City to Belmar.....but those aren't the ones I'm targeting.....
Needless to say, I will be very sad, when these bigger blues clear out....and am hoping our lack of action last night, was just a temporary aberration.....:fishing:

[buckethead]

3. Starting to move out deeper into the bay (this sometimes happens when it rains a lot.) In my experience they are sensitive to salinity changes. I know Capts in the bay who are still finding big ones while fishing for bass.

4. However, after the rains on Fri, they were still there Saturday....Theoretically.... with less salinity, they should not have been.
5. The day or low light bite is usually better for these bigger blues.....and we're targeting them at dusk/ night....which is more challenging for artificials.....so I have to keep that in mind....:learn:





I agree with all of these. The bunker suck the fish into or out of an area like a large vacuum. Also the water has been a tad colder and the rains could have pushed them out a bit. They came back today. At least the smaller ones did. All you wanted from 3-8pounds. Moco. Bucktail and pork

[vpass]

I got out again today Outgoing tide 5 to 7pm. Seen no fish taken nor any Bait. It was nice being by the water.

[jigfreak]

Fished moco from 3:30-5 yesterday. Lots of blues on the bottom. Smaller but feisty they took bucktails and skinny metal.

[storminsteve]

Good news thanks for the intel. I'll be out this weekend looking :fishing:

[cowherder]

I'll be out too but so will the memorial day weekend crowd. It may be like opening day of trout season lol

[jigfreak]

Picked up a few short bass out front in moco before the s wind kicked in. bucktail and grub. one blue about 9# as well.

[robmedina]

last night was the first time this season I hit the surf to fish. I had a job in Far Rockaway NY in the morning and planned on getting there early to hit Atlantic beach with the fly. By the time I made it through the horrible beltway traffic I did not have enough time so I hooked up with my buddy Mike on the way home. We hit LBI mid island.
Mike was fishing with bunker and got 3 blues- cookie cutter sized -about 5lbs. Of course the wind was blowing out of the south so I had to cast backwards to keep the fly from sticking me. I tried a floating line as well as an intermediate but got no takers. It was an interesting experience as it was the first time casting a fly into the surf. I used my homemade stripping basket which helped a lot- but at the same time I found some flaws in the design.
I then switched over to bait and had one hard take but it came unbuttoned. I knew as soon as I bought some bunker the bite would die. LOL!

[buckethead]

Nice report rob. Enjoy reading your reports. You put in a tremendous effort with the fly rod. Last night the S wind was not good and I did not fish.
Fished this morning, outgoing tide around sunrise. Moco. 4 short bass on bucktail. Nicer conditions today. Wind has shifted to SW and it was a little foggy. That may change this afternoon with the rains predicted.

[jigfreak]

Nice going fellas. Get all your fishing out of your system today and tomorrow early. This weekend will be epic - for sheer numbers of fishermen on the beach.

[plugcrazy]

Caught some blues this morning to 5 lbs near island beach. Ava 27s with green tail.

[finchaser]

Finchaser you got 133 in one time? I have to come fishing with you. You must be the master of rubber that's outstanding. All rubber or were you throwing metal? I was using avas today and got them but not nearly as many as you congrats.

No the length of the new plug is 133 mm

I posted in post#71 (Great plug and at 133mm and 29g it can out cast an SP minnow hopefully they will be out soon. )

[cowherder]

OK thanks guess I wasn't paying attention. Good catching anyway it seems you really have the bass and blues dialed in.

[finchaser]

Cowherder not this week less than one fish a trip, still want to come fishing with me :HappyWave:

[storminsteve]

^^^^^^ I'll jump in line for that! Just dump the dark one and don't tell him about it. You could use a better sidekick than one who smells like porto johns lol.
(Rich if you see this just kidding! Not!:ROFLMAO :HappyWave:)
Fished moco last night. It was foggy and miserable. I must of walked 7 miles up and down the beaches. Managed one ornery bluefish about 8 pounds on a storm shad. what happened to all the blues that were around? I did a lot of beach walking and took some awesome dead pics. monty and madcaster be warned I will now be in the lead. You will have to fish overtime to keep up with me. Prepare for defeat!:HappyWave:

[finchaser]

Haven't fished with Ds in about a year.
As for the bluefish DS said he caught 46 didn't know he could count that high
When he released them they went back to the school reported foul smelling man and they got out of Dodge end of story. I have seen it happen with bass also when he is around.

[bababooey]

I have dibs on the finchaser intel hotline. $50. Word on the street is it's more reliable than the farmers almanac. Any one want to outbid me? stormin steve you're doing a lot of bragging today but I don't see the pics.:ttiwwop:

[cowherder]

^^^^^^ I'll jump in line for that! Just dump the dark one and don't tell him about it. You could use a better sidekick than one who smells like porto johns lol.
(Rich if you see this just kidding! Not!:ROFLMAO :HappyWave:)


:2flip:Steve you dirty dog. Sandbagging me in line whats up with that? I think you started your memorial day festivities early with some liquid joy juice. All this bragging about what you found and not one pic? Please - I bet you do have a connection with a dude at a pet shelter and are just going to be posting pics of dead animals dropped off for cremation. I'll be out this weekend looking for dead things. Don't know how you could have found so many all of a sudden. I haven't found any this year and did a lot of walking too. You must have walked the entire length of sandy hook. Well put up or shut up. If you don't post the pics it didn't happen!

[hookset]

Haven't fished with Ds in about a year.
As for the bluefish DS said he caught 46 didn't know he could count that high
When he released them they went back to the school reported foul smelling man and they got out of Dodge end of story. I have seen it happen with bass also when he is around.

Zing. I read that report, He fished for something like 18 hours. 18 hours and only 46, That's like 2.5 fish per hour.Sorry dark but not really that impressive. You were right about the sizes though some of them were monsters. Saw a few fat gators that friends texted. Damn bluefish over 15 lbs can anyone remember the last time we had them that big from the surf? I think there was a B&N video from around 2010 where they were thick in the spring.
Back to the fishing reports. Went out last night locked and loaded for bass or blues. Could not find either. I really do think the big blues have disappeared. Just like that, must be further out in the bay.

[jigfreak]

Re: monty and ds marathons? What normal dudes fish for almost a full day at a time. Bats in the belfry, just my .02.:HappyWave:
Fished this morning for an hour before work. OC, skunk for me.

[baitstealer]

Rofl at the reports fellas. Now like a fool I will check back here to see when steve posts his dead things pics (if there are any lol) At my desk today wishing I was fishing. Very entertaining. Good luck to every one on the start of fluke season.

[finchaser]

1 bass 31" and 3 bluefish in the 5-7# range all on rubber

[fishrich]

Three of us fished five different spots, 3-8pm, MoCo, and only managed to scare up a couple bluefish. The only good part of the day was running into Dark Skies and Pebbles at one of our spots.

[surferman]

Fished cape may this morning. Got the cape may grand slam, dogfish, skate, and small blue lol. All on bunker. No bass but a guy walking off did see a 31 incher caught before dawn.

[DarkSkies]

I know some of ya's were busting me and monty for fishing so many hours at a time......
I've tried to cut the trip hours down and will try to get out more....but for me.....when there's hope for more than a few fish.....I don't let go of the bite until it's completely dead.....even waiting out the other side of the tide to see if it will start up again.....

So feel free to bust my balls....it's in good fun.:thumbsup:
..I don't mind....I'll continue to fish the way I like.....and sleep in the port-a-johns as necessary...:moon: :HappyWave:

As for Monty.....he only gets out once a week......so it's like the prison doors open for him for a 24 hour furlough...that's all he gets before he has to go back in the dog coop...cat house.....:laugh:...whatever.........
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8032-Purr-fect-house-for-cats

Please be kind to him......something's amiss in his brain that brings him back to goog territory regularly.....:) :HappyWave:










********
Fishing report.....
Fri AM...
Started deep in the night, looking for some bigger bluefish....it appears a lot of them have moved over to the N side of the NY Bight.,....though some did hit the beaches yesterday....

6 hour trip....I fished 7 different locations...all of which have held at least one fish in the last 2 weeks.......not much activity for me at all......
Spent over 2 hours at one place because it was loaded with bunker moving on the tide.......hundreds coming by at a time....threw every artificial I had....out there in the rain and fog...great conditions but not a tap....
(I know....throw a bunker head Rich!.....:idea: ...If I had $10 for every pic of a bunker head caught bass sent to me this season, I would be rich.....:rolleyes: )

Reluctantly moved around.....
Right at sunrise got rubber chopped by bluefish...the only action for the whole 3 previous hours.

Kept moving.....finally found some limited bluefish activity with larger blues feeding on the bottom....maybe those larger shrimp that have been around....
We had about a good half hour of steady action......managed 7...then it diminished so everyone went home...however the fish were still there, I still continued to pick at them.......averaged 50 casts for every fish....

Ended the morning with 14 bluefish to 9#.......not the sizes we were getting, but nice fight still the same........Bucktail and white seemed to be the most productive for those cloudy conditions.









PM trip
Took Pebbles back to try to get her some....
Had emergency plumbing job, got a late start.....by the time we got there the bite was a slow pick...
We mutually caught our one of the night. :)


Highlight of the night was running into the Old Farts Fishin Club..:HappyWave:...sharing stories of how great the fishing used to be.....and how challenging and inconsistent it is now...still good to see their faces and see everyone in good health.......always a pleasure trading stories....and shooting the breeze.......

Disappointment of the night....despite his grouchiness at not having fished with me in over a year, I invited the OGB up to fish with us......
He was gonna bring his step son.....we really thought he was going to show....some of the old timers were excited that such a character was coming up our way....word got out......the OFFC was anticipating him showing his face as well......
And the OGB, (with legitimate reason).....was a no-show again!


The old farts fishin club were so disappointed.....as they have never met the OGB...were looking forward to it....Had travelled 75 miles just to meet one of NJ's most legendary surfcasters......:bigeyes:
Well, they caught some fish,.....shared some laughs...ball busting....good time was had....
Next time maybe Fin will be part of the laughs......:thumbsup: :HappyWave:

[seamonkey]

Thanks for the report. Wish we had bluefish that big down here. I may take a ride up there again.

[J Barbosa]

Waited out the thunder storms and Kayaked from 1am to 7am Friday night with Rui.

Signs were very encouraging at first, we saw a few signs of bunker and only one other boat out. The sight and sound of a bass trying to slurp down a bunker was enough for us to unload the kayaks and launch in a hurry.

Unfortunately we couldn't get any bass to cooperate with our plugs.

We attested that to the millions of luminous jellyfish in the water that would light up when touched by our plug or line.

The small bluefish did make a showing when the sun rose but not very many of them.

Rui managed to catch a double header on the same bomber. (Pic later)

The good news is I saw a ton of spearing.

Loaded the kayak onto the roof and went in search of big bluefish but only managed to find a small bass.

Went crabbing during the day and only managed to catch 13 keepers in an little over an hour before the heavy rain drove us away. Crabbing is still very slow by Barbosa standards but they are definitely here :HappyWave:

[plugcrazy]

Fished ocean county this morning 5:30-7:30. Right at the beginning of the outgoing tide. Got one bluefish on a 2 oz t hex that was it. Water and the waves were awesome. Thought there might be some more fish for me but no dice. May try again tomorrow. Great morning to be out and about.

[SharkHart]

Very Solid plug bite in SNJ on 16 to 22 lbish class fish last night, they were thrashing bunker on surface at times, was quite exciting. They have been on thin profile lures so we weren't quite ready , SP worked ok but they would try to mouth it and swim away slow almost like a run off, Lost as many as we caught. Uno mas tonight

[DarkSkies]

^ Those fish tend to follow the pattern every year. I remember reading you saying something about anticipating them showing up earlier. It seems they showed up about 10-12 days later this year?

It takes a lot of effort to pin down a pattern, when it's off from the year before. I know you and your crew spend a tremendous amount of hours out there. The folks I know who are catching bass consistently this year are out every chance they get, putting in insane hours....because for a lot of us there is no consistent pattern, or it only lasts for a few days before it evaporates......
Someone who catches a lot, was griping me the other day, that's the only way he knows how to ensure success, this year.

Not many are finding fish that size on artificials from land at night this time of year. Outstanding work Shark. :thumbsup: :HappyWave:











********
Fishing Sun May 25

AM
Pebbles and I were on the water early to try to find some of the bigger bluefish.....
Found them picky with artificials as usual, with not much action on the flood, and a brief flurry on the ebb.
Fished 1 1/2 hours, managed 6 to 7# between us.


PM
Pebbles and I went down again, 1 1/2 hours.
Picky as in the morning but the overall activity level was slightly better, enough to make you want to come back. I was trying to explain to someone, that for me...the action is the addictive part.....even missed fish count as part of that...because it's an opportunity to catch on artificials when by teasing them to hit.....and a challenge.......
Managed 8 bluefish between the both of us to 7#.




** We had fun, the most important part. These smaller blues are still fun to catch, but I think we got a little spoiled with that week to ten day period 2 weeks ago when the giant bluefish were around.....you never knew if the next fish would be 15# or better..... that would dump out a dozen yards on a drag peeling run....and the bulldogging these fish were doing, when fighting, was real exciting to me and a few other folks.....:viking:

I manage to run into one of the legendary old-time surfcasters each time we go down to fish for them.....guys in their late 60's to 80's loaded with wisdom and experience....yesterday we met a different one, on each of our trips......always a pleasure.....:HappyWave:

[cowherder]

sharkheart you must be a miracle worker to find fish like that congrats! I took a long walk this morning with 20 other guys. I got one blue about 5lbs on a a-27 with green tail and saw about 2 others caught. Very disappointed that the blues weren't at this spot. I thought they should have been with all the reports of bunker out there. I guess that is why they call it fishing not catching. Where are all the small stripers? Back at it next week. Hope everyone has a great Memorial day.

[J Barbosa]

Took my kayak out for a 6 hour trip this morning targeting big bluefish, wind was blowing pretty strong which can blow a light kayak around.

My brother and I had bluefish throughout the day ranging anywhere from 1-10lbs. Most blues averaging only 4-6lbs today. Managed about 4-5 of the bigger 8-10lb size on one of my homemade bucktails before a bluefish stole it.

We had to work hard for every fish as they were not stacked up in any one area. Five hours of trolling in strong wind and 2ft of chop in the bay...sometimes you get what you put into it. Soar legs and soar arms and as always a good time :thumbsup:

[J Barbosa]

Pictures from Fridays kayak trip.

Rui with a double header.
18357

[cowherder]

We had to work hard for every fish as they were not stacked up in any one area. Five hours of trolling in strong wind and 2ft of chop in the bay...sometimes you get what you put into it. Soar legs and soar arms and as always a good time :thumbsup:

Awesome report on the bluefish jb. Were you trolling anything else besides bucktails? thanks

[J Barbosa]

Awesome report on the bluefish jb. Were you trolling anything else besides bucktails? thanks

For bluefish I usually troll bombers as I get them used for $2-3 now that everybody wants sp minnows. I usually troll until we find a good concentration of fish and then I'll stop to cast top water plugs to them. Unfortunately yesterday's conditions were not conducive to top water so I used a bucktail.

That's what me and my brother trolled yesterday...bombers. I cast the bucktails when we managed to stay on one of the small schools but like I said the wind quickly pushes you off them when in a kayak.

I also troll the sp minnow when the action is slow. I find the rattles do a good job of attracting fish.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3684/14282180585_8bba83b568_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/14282180585/)

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5560/14282180655_848b82d3c4_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/14282180655/)

[finchaser]

Way to go JB

[Blazin420]

Nice John!! Cool pics too...Hope to get the yak wet soon for some flatties!!

[chas527]

fished the navy pier the last 3 night nothing but big bluefish.

[Monty]

Fished this morning with a friend from 2:30-7:30. Other than one hit he had, we had zero action. Had a great time out here, nice sun rise.

18365

[jigfreak]

Nice going jb. great sunrise pic monty. Foul weather coming in. Looks like you got the best of it before it gets snotty

[Monty]

Nice going jb. great sunrise pic monty. Foul weather coming in. Looks like you got the best of it before it gets snotty
I'll take snotty over a nice sun rise all the time. I hate sunny weather, dread seeing the sun. Dark, clouds, rain, wind :heart:

It was like fishing a freaking lake:banghead2:

[J Barbosa]

Fished this morning with a friend from 2:30-7:30. Other than one hit he had, we had zero action. Had a great time out here, nice sun rise.

18365

You always manage to capture the best sunrise pictures.

[VSdreams]

Great reports thanks for sharing. Fished ocean county this morning from 6-7:30. Threw poppers metal and rubber. One small blue otherwise it was pretty dead out there.

[Blazin420]

Finally a decent trip!! Fished MoCo from 5 till 10pm on Tuesday..stayed close to the truck in case the rain came..1st cast with a pencil I nail a 5lb blue then 3 more after that and a bunch of missed blow ups..Biggest was about 7-8lbs..Did see something fairly big roll on my pencil but missed it...Then im throwing my Yozuri Mag Minnow feel it hit the sand close in so I stop reeling to let it rise..Start back up and WHAM in the wash.Thought it was a blue but to my surprise it was REAL thick 24in flattie!!! First of the season and a beauty!! Looked about 4+lbs!!! Then another blue and to finish it off picked up a fiesty 22in bass on a mambo minnow.Had 1 other bass come off in the wash about dark but nothin else after that...Needless to say that fluke will be dinner this week http://www.stripersurf.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif....

Tried again last night and fought the NE wind for a few hours ruff and fishy looking but only managed 2 good hits on a bucktail..Decided to try the back and get out of the wind but no one wash home were i was...

[basshunter]

Hey nice catch is it tough to throw that mambo minnow when it is windy?

[Blazin420]

Hey nice catch is it tough to throw that mambo minnow when it is windy?
They can be tuff to cast on a strong wind but sometimes ya just need to get it in the wash...I LOVE the mambo 1 of my best catchers!

[DarkSkies]

Thu report 5-29
Fished the new moon tides too many hours from deep in the night into the morning for 4 cocktail bluefish. There were some nicer high teen bass and bluefish that I saw caught. These fish would only take bunker heads and chunks and were very tight to the bunker. Managed one missed fish on bucktail but these fish were specifically keyed in on the bunker.

Ended the trip with the 4 small blues on bucktail and rubber right around sunrise as the tide began to flood. Conditions were gray and overcast, very raw throughout the night, steady 20mph E/NE winds, higher gusts. I was limited in the places I could fish and had to prioritize fishing where I found a lee from it.

There's nothing wrong with that, or fishing bunker chunks and heads....thanks to all those who offered me bunker to fish with....but it's not a challenge for me to do that, so I generally try to fish artificials now. In the past, when there were more bass, I was able to pick bass off in almost any condition, with the exception being when the forage is exclusively rainfish or during a cinder worm spawn.

There has been a slight cinder worm spawn in the last few days in some areas...but that's not my assessment for why the bite has been poor for a lot of us out there......I'll finish the rest of these thoughts in the Turd Ferguson thread....











**The other thing I'm seeing regularly is that this year....the fish are so thin in the bay, river, and inlet areas...that I'm noticing a difference...
1. In the past, on a night when there were a lot of bunker, I would wait till the largest numbers of bunker thinned out....and then the bass action on artificials would seem to get a little better ......
2. This year, the concentrations of fish feeding on the bunker seems to be less. As soon as the bulk of the bunker move or start to thin out......the catching level stops.....even for the guys using bait........this was not my experience in the past........
Someone waiting long enough.......with a bunker head.....could count on a 20# or better bass coming along and catching that fish.....

Now, the level of catching, seems much more random........which to me is another indicator of less fish....

Thanks for reading.....comments welcome....:HappyWave:

[surferman]

Fished cape may this morning. 5-7:15. It was a little rough waves and needed 6 oz to hold bottom. Using fresh bunker. Got one dogfish and then had to leave for work.

[storminsteve]

nomoco today on the incoming tide 6-8am. I got one small blue and short fluke. A few others caught around me and some small fluke on metal. There were about 10 of us there and not that great. I was reading betty and nicks report and he said they are doing great down there. A bluefish on every cast or something to that effect. what gives where are the bass?

[bababooey]

^^^^^ Offshore?


18384

[wish4fish]

bababooey roflmao!!!!!!! im not finding em neither. we were catching sum nice bass about 32, 33, 34 inches like that. once these big blufish came around they took over! latly its not even the big ones dont kno where they went but its like the biggest ones r 10 pounds. they still bite thru the leaders we dont use wire. last nite it was like the big ones left too we got bothered by the 4 pounders all night until the tide started going out.
dark if u want bunker hit us up bro!! we got fresh every day. i kno u kno where to find them just snag one and catch! eff the lures too much work!

[buckethead]

Fished moco early am with bucktail. Nothing for me save a stubborn stargazer

[Monty]

There were some nicer high teen bass and bluefish that I saw caught. These fish would only take bunker heads and chunks and were very tight to the bunker.
[B]There's nothing wrong with that, or fishing bunker chunks and heads....thanks to all those who offered me bunker to fish with....but it's not a challenge for me to do that, so I generally try to fish artificials now.
Thanks for reading.....comments welcome..

Comments? OK.
Its not called fishing when using bunker. Its called Bunkering. When these guys leave their house to try to catch a bass they tell their wife, family, dog or cat, "see ya's I'm going Bunkering to try to catch a Big Bass".
Throw your plugs and enjoy the fishing :HappyWave:

Just kidding :HappyWave:

Seriously to many bass have been killed in the last few years. Better enjoy the.fishing because the catching is getting worse.

[hookset]

Its not called fishing when using bunker. Its called Bunkering. Seriously to many bass have been killed in the last few years. Better enjoy the.fishing because the catching is getting worse.

:clapping:If you stopped people from using bunker 90% of the bass charters would be out of business in a year.

[cowherder]

^^ lol Check this out gents. live bunker loser boy lol!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDuLXOXQg5s

[buckethead]

Fished moco this morning. Lots of white water and ne wind not that great for fishing. Picked up a few little bass, 3 bass and 2 bluefish. Bucktail and grub.

[J Barbosa]

Tried fishing this morning for some bluefish and came up empty...should of used the kayak and fought the wind we would have caught some for sure.

Went crabbing after with my brother and we caught about 75. Only 20 keepers and most were females that had not laid eggs yet so we released them. The other keepers were not very big...probably only had a few over 5". We usually don't even keep them unless they are over 5-5.5".

A few more weeks of warming temps and they will become much more active.

[VSdreams]

Fished up at the hook today for fluke. The middle of the outgoing tide seemed to be the ticket. Picked at them with a lot of casts. Got 4 fluke and 3 sea robins. The sea robins up there are giant and damn aggressive they must be spawning? used a double gulp rig with nuclear chicken. Most fish on the bottom gulp. The one nice fluke was 18 1/2" and I kept for dinner. The rest were real small. I am surprised they thought they would eat that piece of giant gulp. Happy to report I had only one bluefish biteoff. Wonder where the blues went?

[VSdreams]

Went crabbing after with my brother and we caught about 75. Only 20 keepers and most were females that had not laid eggs yet so we released them. The other keepers were not very big...probably only had a few over 5".

jb awesome catching on the crabs i didn't know that people went crabbing this early way to go.