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

[DarkSkies]

NJ Fishing Reports for July 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.

** 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. 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

[robmedina]

wow you are way ahead of schedule.

[DarkSkies]

Recap......(May)
D. "Spearing and rainfish have not shown up in many NNJ areas until recently....".
More about the forage here
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...shing-patterns (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5149-S-amp-A-Education-Series-Understanding-back-bay-bait-migration-and-fishing-patterns)

^Since I wrote that, things have changed a bit....there is now more small forage inshore.....
(It's still a lot less than we see seasonally at this time, as Finchaser has pointed out)

Recap...June...
Since that time.....
Friends fishing near Cape May have reported spearing, rainfish, and bunker...in the back bay and some other areas....and we now have greater varieties of forage fish in the bays, rivers, estuaries, and surf, coastwide.....
I know I've been pretty negative about the striped bass stocks lately.....because more folks I know Coastwide, are now echoing the same concerns..
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7784-StripersandAnglers-yearly-coastwide-fish-stock-assessment-state-of-the-fishery

July and August used to be months that I could at least catch a few legal bass without leaving NJ...and from land...not necessary to be in a kayak or boat.......I'm not optimistic I will find them like that this year.....

Beach bunker blitzes 2014.....some of our members here have landed fish in the surf to 44#,,,but those have been very small windows, predicated by optimal wind patterns and high bunker concentrations...even the dynamics of those blitzes have changed....I'll talk about that in another thread when I get a chance...post some of the pics as well........



















**So I'd like to move on, to what is positive out there....and for those summer months...
that will probably be the bluefish (once they are done spawning). the fluke as more of them move into the bays, which now have viable forage streams...sharks...and a healthy number of porgies, croaker, and kingfish which are now being caught off the most strategic piers, deep water bulkheads, and rocky areas. (Hint - if you're not finding them, look for signs of small bait, crabs and shrimp, they'll feed on....and change up your bait presentation to pieces of sandworms or real shrimp if you can find them cheap enough...all you need is little pieces....Some folks I know have been catching croakers in bays and harbor areas for over 2 weeks now)

My nightly fishing (and scouting) trips started to tell a tale of a lot of juvenile baitfish and a lot of very tiny grass shrimp....starting to gather up in the back bays....
Most of these fish that I'm running across now, are no more than 1/8 to 1/4 " long....only able to see at night by shining lights on them at close distance.....

Another friend and I were talking about all the bunker we have had along our Coast this Spring.....
and we think/hope there might be a tremendous amount of peanut bunker in our bays this fall....helping to attract predators....
There are already some good reports of small peanut bunker schools in the Barnegat Bay area.....
So we are cautiously optimistic about a decent fall....

In any event, things can't get much worse, for the inshore and surf fishermen, than they are now.....IMO...
And any active areas of replenishment are already affecting the fish in a negative way.....

Others I know will be making treks north to the known summer hotspots, to search for those bigger bass at night....but we have to realize the grass is not always greener on the other side....many fishermen I know in states N of us are having poor seasons when they should already be catching fish......the sad truth that some newer anglers don't understand is ....
that the fish are just not there, in numbers that they used to be....

All right, trying to keep it positive here.....so Good luck to all.....:HappyWave:

[seamonkey]

Fished cape may before work today. Incoming tide, got 2 croakers on fishbites. they were right beyond the surf break.

[hookset]

Thanks for the croaker intel guys, Mignt take some of my little cousins out for croaker and crabs in the back. Big weekend coming up together with a tropical storm. Even if you wanted to fish all the beaches wll be packed to the street with touristas. I hate jersey summer fishing. Anyone else hate it?

[cowherder]

I hate summer fishing too. not really the fishing but the tourists and the traffic. Fishermen definitely rotate to the bottom of the priority for the summer towns. All about the dollars the vacationers are spending.

[finchaser]

Fished this morning 5 to 7 AM released 2 bass to 27' and 3 blues in the 3 to 5 pound range all on bucktail and chartreuse gotcha tail

[hookedonbass]

Fished some rocks in moco today. 5 short fluke and one bluefish on the incoming tide. Gulp bucktail and chartreuse teaser. Most hit the teaser. Tropical storm arthur is def coming. You could def see a difference in the wave patterns. Forgot what its called but saw threads on it here.

[finchaser]

It's now a hurricane

Released 2 bass to 23" this am both on SP minnow

[buckethead]

Still catching bass finchaser seems you are pretty consistent at it. Way to go.

[cowherder]

hookedonbass I found something about swells maybe this is what you were talking about
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7984-Stripers-amp-Anglers-Education-Series-groundswells-and-other-terms
finchaser and hooked nice going on the catches!

[fishinmission78]

Too hot and I haven't felt like posting so I'll combine a few trips. Been at the park at night, some up and down sharking results. There has been some weed with the s winds so that is a PIA. Also the sw is not that breat because it brings the bugs out in droves. Went to take a leak last week with a very light sw and the bugs were all over. One of those no see ums even bit me on my pecker. Nasty creatures I hate them. If you could figure out a way to kill them all you would be a billionaire just from the sales at B&N and Grumpys. The sharking is one and off. Bunker chunks and heads. Mostly sand sharks aka dogfish up to 5' long. Did get one brown but he was not pic worthy only 3' long. They are here if you want them. With the bugsand the weeds not a lot of guys are fishing and the water temps have dropped with all the se winds. Might give it a try tonight if the winds aren't too bad I sometimes do ok before a storm. Good luck out there gents and happy 4th of july.

[cowherder]

Nice going on the sharks fishenmission and the bass and blues finchaser! Guess you don't have to go down to lbi to get them. I think they prefer warm water hopefully this cold water gets a few degrees warmer and I may start trying for them.

I fished nomoco this morning. From 6-9. The tide was coming in and I got 3 short fluke in quick succession on the gulp and gulp teaser rig. Then the wind started up and it stayed steady. Nothing for the last 2 hours all fish in the first half. Took a ride when I was done all the way down to Point pleasant to see what was out there. They have really started to bury the jetty area. Most everything is covered except for Deal and Allenhurst. Very sad. Also very rainy. Not too many on the beach at all just joggers on the boards. Got home and we have no rain here. Guess the beach folks suffer the most with these noreasters or storms. Hope every body has a great 4th!:HappyWave:

[finchaser]

Water down to 64 degrees from persistent south winds. Fished this morning released a bass missed one and got chopped. No you don't have to go to LBI as a matter of fact I haven't even fished the ocean this year.

Happy 4th to all

[J Barbosa]

Fished this morning off the kayaks - lots of rain, wind, seaweed, shorts...one keeper
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2896/14573370182_c43a3ccb62_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/14573370182/)

[finchaser]

Nice going JB


Water in Manasquan inlet and ocean is 59 degrees just came back from boat ride in my friends boat and gave the inlet a quick drift completely void of life didn't even mark bait.

Beaches are opened to surfers only the 8 to 9 foots seas are and honest 3 to 5 if that they are sitting on boards waiting for a decent wave.

[cowherder]

Water in Manasquan inlet and ocean is 59 degrees just came back from boat ride in my friends boat and gave the inlet a quick drift completely void of life didn't even mark bait.

.

So where do you thiink the bait goes when the water is colder? Does it move out deeper or back into the bays and rivers. Thanks
Fished moco this morning. Pretty good for fluke. Fished 6-9:30 am . Got 9 fluke on chartreuse mullet and teaser. One bluefish and sea robin. One keeper at exactly 18". Nice morning out there and wind at your back but water not that bad. JB that is a nice fluke.

[seamonkey]

Thats not bad 8 shorts to one keeper nice going.

[finchaser]

So where do you thiink the bait goes when the water is colder? Does it move out deeper or back into the bays and rivers. Thanks


Bay and river where it was warmer to start and the shallows as it warms up faster. the deep I water bottom is colder. The south winds cause swells which cause up dwelling a condition which sends the cold bottom water of the deep to the surface where it mixes with the warmer water chilling it down

[cowherder]

Thanks seamonkey. I can't seem to figure it out the other day I got 3 shorts and that was it. Maybe when the bait is running through they come in thicker. Could also have something to do with the boat traffic? I dunno I just like catching something.

[cowherder]

Bay and river where it was warmer to start and the shallows as it warms up faster. the deep I water bottom is colder. The south winds cause swells which cause up dwelling a condition which sends the cold bottom water of the deep to the surface where it mixes with the warmer water chilling it down



Thanks finchaser for sharing your knowledge. Was just wondering if the water is colder we def should have more stripers around and it seems like they all left. Or the meatmen killed them all. I cant stand those guys they are arrogant pieces of trash. Taking and taking until there are none left. I can't wait till the regulations change because then maybe some of them will stop fishing and there will be more stripers for every one.

[storminsteve]

Nice work on the stripers, sharks, and fluke gents. In North Carolina for the weekend. Catch em up and save some for me when I get back.

[buckethead]

Nice catching fellas. Good to see someone out mixing it up. I hate the tourists and usually try to take the weekend off. We have some good tides next week. Looking to get out then.

[hookset]

I fished MoCo from 5-7am. No hits, runs, errors. Flat water and the wind went offshore to the w. No signs of bait except for the small crabs.

[J Barbosa]

Saturday went crabbing with Rui...water dropped 10-12 degrees in the spot I regularly crab at. We only managed about 30 crabs in 5+ hours. On the positive side there are some nice sized crabs starting to roam the flats. <-- My favorite type of crabbing is stalking the flats with nothing but a pair of polarized sunglasses and a net.

Yesterday my dad and I went looking for some croakers, porgy, and spot. We got absolutely NOTHING not even a sign of them. This spot last year was absolutely loaded with croaker and spot all summer long...it was practically impossible to drop a sandworm or gulp on a bucktail as the croakers would not leave it alone long enough to get it in front of a fluke. This year for me no sign of then at all yet in the RB.

Switched over to fluke and got 2 small ones...

I did see lots of shrimp while wading...LOTS

Have to agree with Finchaser as the water is much colder...putting a damper on "summer" fishing right now until it warms up again.

[ledhead36]

Yesterday my dad and I went looking for some croakers, porgy, and spot. We got absolutely NOTHING not even a sign of them. last year the croakers would not leave it alone long enough to get it in front of a fluke. This year for me no sign of then at all yet in the RB..

jbarbosa they are in sandy hook bay. Downsize your bait and hooks, small pieces. Started catching them last week. Marinas and deeper water are good. Last 2 hours of the incoming was prime time. good luck. I will start crabbing soon thanks for the report.

[buckethead]

Fished moco this morning. Sunup half hour before and a half hour after. S wind was a little stiff. Tossed bucktail and small grub, Targeting bass but decided to add a small teaser. Managed one hickory shad and short fluke on teaser.

[cowherder]

the hickory shad are in moco too? Thanks bucket. well they are cool to catch and maybe they will stick around for the summer. Lots of fun sometimes they jump right out of the water.

[buckethead]

Yessir the hickories are fun to catch on light tackle. moco again. 5:30 to 7. Same setup as yesterday. One short bass on the teaser. Before I left I got one stubborn large stargazer on the bucktail.

[J Barbosa]

Thanks Ledhead,

I was fishing 20ft of water where I normally find lots of spot and mixed sizes of porgies in the summer.

I think the water just cooled down too quickly and may have slowed them down. Last year on the 4th of July I had a delicious croaker fish fry!

I'll give the croakers another try as the water is starting to warm up again.

[ledhead36]

JB your welcome.

[Blazin420]

Got out yesterday for a FULL day/Marathon trip on the water! Finally had no work and was able to spend the whole day down there..Fished from 630am till 830pm...Took a quick break fro some food and a spot change...Started out the morning with my buddy fished the first spot from 630-1230...Had some good action with the flatties i managed 17 and my bud had about 12...All about 15-16in did have 1 i had to measure that was about a quater inch short...Then around 1230 my bud wanted to hit up some jettys since he just got his Korkers and has never been out on the rocks so a little ride S and we hit the rocks...We should have stayed in the 1st spot wind was CRANKING at about 20knts out of the S which made it tuff out there..Tried for and hour or so and nada but a couple hits....So my bud headed home and around 330 i decided i wanna get some more fish!http://www.stripersurf.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif ...Back to spot A...Started there about 430... flys were a PIA but iwas waist deep so they were tolerable...Saw another friend of mine come out had a good night picking away at the fish..I managed another 14...Saw some bunker in the AM with some blues crashing them and there was LOTS of spearing around with some small 2-3in snappers harrasing them! All in all a GREAT day managed 31 fluke and prob swung and missed just as many...White swim mullets worked all day so thats what i stuck with!!...Always a good time catching fish in good company http://www.stripersurf.com/images/smilies/wave.gif ....We left at the right time the rain started jsut as i got on the GSPhttp://www.stripersurf.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[finchaser]

This morning 5 to 6:30 released 1 bass and 1 blue my friend went 0 for 4.

[J Barbosa]

Wow, first it was Rob going after Monty's Master Googan title and now Blaze is putting in the hours trying to take Monty's Marathon Man title away from him.

Seems the keeper sized fluke slowed down this past week???

I hate FLIES!!! :embarassed:

Finchaser still picking away at the bass and bluefish :thumbsup:

[ledhead36]

blazin thats a fantastic report you were on fire out there 31 fluke wow. I fished the twin rivers area in the back bay last night and it was cold and dirty. cleaner on the outgoing dirty and cold on the incoming. The croaker bite was off didn't even get 1. Someone take this south wind away and give us some more SW.

[storminsteve]

Blazing most exellent report sounds like you crushed em! No keepers but at least you had some great action. I went to nomoco last nite and gave it a try. Ik managed 5 shorts on the gulp and gulp teaser. The flies and the mosquitoes were bad beyond belief even with bug spray. The worst thing is those no see ums. There doesn't seem to be any relief in site from them. They were so bad I quit early. I know there are prob some nice fluke up there but imo not worth the bug bites. Will try the jetties next tho I hear that water ice cold! I took the water temperature and it was 62 degrees in nomoco one place and 61 degrees in another place. Don't know how much colder it can get than that. ledhead thanks for the croaker report I want to try for some of them soon. Never thought I would say this but we need some warm water!

[robmedina]

Storminsteve, are your bites welling up? My bites itched so bad that I even scraped off the skin around the bites. Seems that the bites were worse on my legs- not as bad on my arms and not that bad at all on my neck, face and head. Those no see ums suck big time!!!

I know this is a NJ reports- but just wanted to say- water temp here in FL are in the 80's. There is so much bait in the water. I got some fishbites and am catching whiting on almost every cast. I have caught saltwater catfish, a blue fish and finally last night a spot. I tried for some sharks (Spinner or black tip) figuring that since New Smyrna Beach is the shark bite capital of the world I would be able to hook into a shark- nope- nada.

Now, the other day I had a shark take my whiting as I was reeling it in- but when I am targeting them they do not want to play!

[Blazin420]

Thanks Ledhead and SS Yeah those damn no see-ums are the WORST was out last week and i swore my face was crawling...I wanted to stay and fish more but i just couldnt take it..I may take a ride after work and check out some rocks...Cause i no the spot ive been catching all the flatties at will be LOADED with bugs...Maybe the cooler water will spark some bass action...Wishful thinking:)

[finchaser]

this morning 4:30 to 6:00 4 bass to 24"

I started wearing one of these when its bad I spray the brim of my hat with bug spray top and bottom and problem goes away. they are not hot as they are designed to keep you from getting sun poisoning. They work so well the Reel Seat in Brielle stocks them.

[cowherder]

...Cause i no the spot ive been catching all the flatties at will be LOADED with bugs...Maybe the cooler water will spark some bass action...Wishful thinking:)


^^^^^Yeah wishful thinking thats for sure! I was thinking the same thing last night in nomoco while fluking. Bugs were BAD! Some bunker were bumping into my line periodically. There was not even one single bass or bluefish under neath. cold water too but still managed some flukies. Fished 6-9 and got 8 shorts. Gulp with the same for teaser. Oh and the most important thing, while I was standing in the water I saw a shark about 100' out! this was not a dolphin they usually travel in packs and go up and down. The cownose rays cruise with a fin up tho I have seen them before. This was a shark just cruising along slowly looking for some bunker happy meals. About 6' long and that fin slowly cruising along was unmistakable! At first I thought someone was playing a prank but there was hardly any people or boats in that area and that sucker was just idly cruising. I never got out of the water so fast in my life. I don't think I will be wading out there from now on. Be careful fellas!:scared:
finchaser nice going on the bass. Seems like you are one of the few guys still catching bass in NJ thats great!

[finchaser]

finchaser nice going on the bass. Seems like you are one of the few guys still catching bass in NJ thats great!

thanks

There are 4 of us most mornings my one friend had 11 today the other 3

[seamonkey]

Great news on the stripers I haven't seen one in weeks. I fished the SIC area this morning and picked up a few croakers on fishbites. Also a surpriise fight with a dogfish. It was pretty big and took 10 minutes to bring in. I hate them they will eat anything.

[surferman]

BBQ croakers with italian seasoning and old bay sounds good. Will be out this weekend and try for them thanks for the intel.

[buckethead]

Fished moco from 6-8:30. Perfect water incoming tide. 4 short fluke on bucktail, grub, and redgill teaser rig. Water is warming up slightly and was a little cleaner where I was fishing.

[baitstealer]

I fished ocean county this morning. The sunrise was incredible. I was using bunker and hoping for a big fluke, bass or a shark. Well I got a shark but it was the one without the teeth a dogfish! At least it saved me from the skunk. There was also lots of weed on my line each time I brought it in.

[J Barbosa]

This guy looks lonely in the sink all by himself...will have to catch a friend for him next time.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3842/14657803373_03bd2c8d7e_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/14657803373/)

Water in the back is really starting to warm up and it looks like the fluke are heading for cooler waters. Peanuts are in very thick in the usual areas.

[storminsteve]

Water in the back is really starting to warm up and it looks like the fluke are heading for cooler waters. Peanuts are in very thick in the usual areas.

I think I ran into some of those fluke tonight JB. Fished nomoco 6-8:30 managed 9 of them on the gulp mullet. Not one keeper though. A little windy. Still a fun time and nice sunset.

[porgy75]

Nice catching steve and jb!

[baitstealer]

Fished moco from 5-6:45 for fluke. The tide was coming in and the water seemed pretty cold. Got one short fluke and one sundial on gulp.

[J Barbosa]

I fished yesterday again and still no luck finding the elusive croaker. Its almost ironic because last year I felt like it was too hard to fish the bay for fluke because the croakers were like piranhas getting to the gulp before the fluke ever got a chance to see it.

I cast net some peanut bunker and snappers in the morning.

I fished two rods side by side most of the day. On the first rod I put a live or dead peanut bunker and placed it in the rod holder and let the wind and current drift me around.

On the second rod I fished gulp by casting it and jigging it back to the kayak.

Yesterdays results was all shorts on both the gulp and peanuts.

The gulp caught me a lot of tiny fluke all the way down to 6" or so and nothing over 15".

The peanut bunker caught less fish but they averaged out to a larger size up to 17.5".

The bad news is the dogfish have invaded the RB and really love live peanuts. My friend snapped his light fluke rod when a 5ft doggie tried to run under his kayak.

[lostatsea]

Great report jbarbosa and steve.
JB do you feel the kayak lets you get to places where larger fluke are sitting? All I have been getting lately are shorts. I fished moco twice in the last week and got shorts each time. I was using 2 pieces of gulp swimming mullet white and chartreuse. I did catch but the south wind was terrible. I don't know how you guys deal with it?

[lostatsea]

jb if I could also ask how big are the peanut bunker? thanks

[J Barbosa]

Lostatsea,

I have a love/hate relationship with the kayak. It definitely has it's advantages but at the same time it's not any easier to pick through all the short fluke and seaweed on the kayak. I think it's just a numbers game...catch 20-25 shorts for every keeper. I hate carrying the dam heavy thing around and once you unstrap it from the roof your kind of limited to fishing within 6-8 miles of the launch point.

When I first bought the kayak I had a hard time even finding the fluke in numbers. There is a lot of water to cover and not all of it holds fluke.

Once the water warms up some more and we get more bait into the surf I'll leave the kayak at home.

Peanuts...yesterday they were all mostly in the 3-5" range. This size is very hard to keep alive but can be done with some work. I threw the cast net two weeks ago and all I could find was lots of 1" peanuts so a new school must have moved in.

[DarkSkies]

Message for CHALOOTS!.......:bigeyes:

My phone died again....
I sent you a PM....most of my numbers were on that phone.....I know you check these reports every day.....so when ya see this call me at that new # I left for ya.....
(remember to leave your phone # this time - I can't call ya back unless ya leave a #)

Talk soon.....:HappyWave:

[jigfreak]

Fished after the rain last nite. Back bay structure OC. Fishing for weakies, nada. Fished in front OC this morning. Lots of surfers were out early. The ocean was a little messed up from the rain - water a little dirty. Water should clean up in the next 24 hours. Nice W and NW winds forecast in the next day. It was east this morning but I got blanked again.

[hookset]

West is best. Thanks for the conditions report.

[buckethead]

I worked some water in moco this AM. Breezy with a big surf. No dice. Maybe one or two tide changes more to clean things up a bit.

[buckethead]

The water cleaned up and it seemed a bit warmer this AM. 2 short bass and one fluke on the tsunami sand eel. moco

[cowherder]

Nice going bucket head!

[finchaser]

This morning 8 bass all on jig head and riptide shad in chartreuse water warmed up a tad but is like chocolate milk

[J Barbosa]

Nice job FC ~.~

[striperhunter]

finchaser do you fish from the surf or do you spend all your time on boat in the bay and river.Because every time I'm on this site you catch stripers. When most fisherman are not catching off the surf..

[surferman]

finchaser do you fish from the surf or do you spend all your time on boat in the bay and river.Because every time I'm on this site you catch stripers. When most fisherman are not catching off the surf..

striperhunter I am not sure but I think I remember reading something like finchasers private pond on here. So I dont think he is actually at a pond but it must be someplace where there is a lot of bait. I have also seen dark refer to him as an old salty so maybe he has mad skills. I wish we had that kind of action in cape may county in the summer like you guys in the north have. Usually when you hear of 8 summer stripers being caught in cape may its because 8 guys were fishing and caught one a piece!
Congrats on the catching finchaser that is awesome!

[storminsteve]

Ditto on what surferman said. I don't know him but allegedly he can pull fish out of a rain puddle. Finchaser great job!

[storminsteve]

Hey striperhunter. I did a search here.
He is written up in these threads in case you want to read them. supposably he used to fish for nights at a time and sleep in his car like dark does. lol.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5550-Long-Branch-back-in-time

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?6421-Finchaser-seminar-series

[seamonkey]

Fished 2 nights in ocean city. Stripers and weakfish were the quarry. Goose eggs was the catch.

[finchaser]

I don't have a boat all posts are from land unless other wise stated (from the old school of boat fish don't count that includes kayaks). I was not out front and they were all 18" to 24". First light has been key . Others were caught, my one friend had 10 and the other 6. Tomorrow will be the boat for fluke a fish you can eat and enjoy

[Blazin420]

Nice job Finchaser! I dont care how big they are still fun to catch..Last year i had them like that in MoCo out front each time i went out thru the summer...This year them seem to be non exsitent... at least for me in the area i normally fish!!

Got out yesterday afternoon for some flatties...NoMoCo had 12 fished from 5-9pm..Some that were around 17 most in the 15-16in range...Was a good bite when the water was moving once it stopped so did the action..Kind of a slow pick compared to the last few trips in this spot...Lots of bunker and small bait around with a few snappers harrasing the small stuff..Tried for them but couldnt grab any...Need some meat for the freezer ate all my fluke already!! Ill be out Sunday on a keeper hunt :)

[striperhunter]

I left out the power plant.

[cowherder]

Hey guys I finally got out this morning and fished nomoco. The beach was not that crowded with the weather. Lots of small bait in the wash maybe rainfish or spearing? You didn't have to cast that far. At first the bugs were insane. Then the east wind got a little stronger and it was ok. Fished 8:30-12. I was using a sneaky pete style rig without the spinner blade. Got 9 fluke to 17 1/2". I was using white gulp swimming mullet and the snappers kept biting the tails. So I switched to chartreuse swimming jerk shad and it was a lot better. It was fun to have them snap at the tails and not bite it off. For once I seemed to have power over the snappers. lol. Good morning on the water and lots of bait around. Hoping some other species will move in with all this bait out there. blazin great report you really seem to be the fluke master! finchaser your reports are an inspiration makes me psyched to hear there are still some bass around. thank you sir.

[seamonkey]

Heard brigantine was loaded with kingfish so I drove up there today. They are definitely in full force. Caught a mess, 16 decent ones and one croaker. All on little pieces of bloodworms. Bought a dozen and only used 6. Hold your rod they are quick bait stealers. First 2 hours of the incoming tide. Will try to get back out tomorrow and report also if I can get the honey do list finished in tme.

[hookedonbass]

Went to a popular spot in SoMoCo. Figured I would get an hour of fishing in before the surfers got there. Well the early bird gets the worm and this time they were there before me in the pocket. Low tide too so that sucked. Zilch.

[ledhead36]

finchaser do you fish from the surf or do you spend all your time on boat in the bay and river.Because every time I'm on this site you catch stripers. When most fisherman are not catching off the surf..


I left out the power plant.

Dude no offence but when was the last time you were actually out there fishing? You sound a little jealous if you ask me. From all the posts and threads that guy finchaser has on this site it seems like he is one of the saltwater fishing legends. Old and grouchy salt. You sound like you're questioning his catches. He has probably forgot more about fishing than most of us will ever know. Also do you know that the surf is not the place to be right now? Maybe for fluke but not the other fish. The back bays and rivers are absolutely stoked with bait. theres bunker, spearing, and boatloads of shrimp. I dont know where you fish. Go check the marinas at night. You can find bait at any of them. You have to look in the right places.
My reporrt, because I have not posted in a while. I have been out there fishing for croaker. 2 weeks ago it was decent then we got skunked a lot of times. Wed nitght we started catching them again in the back. This time it was harder the water was dirty and we had to find some deeper water. There is a thin line of scum and algae all along most of the shoreline. Also debris from rainwater runoff. Find water that is at least 8' deep where there are small crabs and shrimp and you got some croakers.
Last night we used the gulp bloodworms and shrimp. The real shriimp out fished the gulp. Between the 3 of us we got some decent fish. Also got 2 short stripers on the shrimp. Best time was 2 hours before HT. Good luck dude and sorry if I seemed harsh. If you want fish you have to go out and look for them. We get blanked a lot and Im sure finchaser does too.

[ledhead36]

H. Will try to get back out tomorrow and report also if I can get the honey do list finished in tme.

Yup, that dreaded honey do list. Gets in the way of our fishing.

[finchaser]

never done power plant. But I do only fish on days that end in Y

One bass this morning 27 inches. Then I went on my friends boat for fluke my only keeper out of 15 fish was a nice 5 powder which is going to be my dinner .

[J Barbosa]

Fished on the kayak yesterday targeting fluke. Caught a few shorts but not that many.

Did find the croakers however most were pretty small. Kept 3 that were around 12-16" and went back to fluke fishing. The croakers are too bony to bother with the small ones IMO.

[buckethead]

Nice job finchaser always enjoy your reports. Fished moco this morning. The swells were pretty big. Water dirtier than I imagined. No fish for me.

[Monty]

Well fished this morning from 1:00 to 9:00, bay side.
I would sum today's trip up with it was an F and F trip.
Water was murky, lost a fish on a Hogy around 2:00, swirl on a spook around 3:00.
Then at 5:30 landed around a 4 pound blue on a white spook.
Then between then and 8:30 I missed or lost over 10 fish on white Hogys and Spooks.
Hooked a few fish for 10 or so seconds and lost them, missed hits, swirls around plugs, blue chasing the spook for 30 feet and not connecting, blue jumping over the plug like it was a hurdle, you name it, I missed it. Then at 8:30 I finally catch a blue, felt nice, ended up being a double. After failing to seal the deal all those other times I catch 2....silly. Then nothing and left at 9:00.

Futility and Fun...Had a great time out there.

http://rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/2014_7_20_Double.jpg

[finchaser]

Monty welcome home:fishing::clapping:

[seamonkey]

Nice doubleheader monty. What kind of teaser is that?

[Monty]

Monty welcome home:fishing::clapping:
:HappyWave:


Nice doubleheader monty. What kind of teaser is that?
Just a white deceiver.

[J Barbosa]

The NJ report thread was just not the same without pictures of Monty's doubles.

welcome back!

[Blazin420]

NIce report Monty! And gotta love double header blues!! I was out in the AM yesterday but that NE wind made it tuff only managed 8 shorts....Took a long walk with nada but some bites...Should have stayed in the first spothttp://www.stripersurf.com/images/smilies/eusa_doh.gif ...Also tried the rocks in the early AM but water was dirty and a bit too ruff to fluke..Be back out tomorrow some where!

[DarkSkies]

The NJ report thread was just not the same without pictures of Monty's doubles.

welcome back!

IMO Monty's double headers are legendary. :thumbsup:
He was feeliing bad about his hookup ratio....it's not that easy to catch bluefish on artificials when they're focused on very small bait.....
It puzzles me how some claim all you have to do is put a hook on a spoon and they will commit suicide.....
To those folks who think it's so easy....I challenge them to catch double digits of bluefish at night on artificials...when small bait is the forage.....
It really is difficult and challenging.....
Monty's double header was an example of the insane effort he puts into it on his once a week trips....he casts like a madman in a frenzy.....so into it he's been known to trip over his own two feet....:viking:
When Monty's out there....he's really out there.....:HappyWave:
You did well, compared to what some of the rest of us are doing at night..... now that fire in the water is making it tough.....well-done. :thumbsup:

[DarkSkies]

I am not sure but I think I remember reading something like finchasers private pond on here. So I dont think he is actually at a pond but it must be someplace where there is a lot of bait.
I have also seen dark refer to him as an old salty so maybe he has mad skills. Congrats on the catching finchaser that is awesome!

I don't know about old salty....
IMO he's just old....:wow:
mad.....
moldy...and salty.....:laugh: :HappyWave:

He and the other old farts do try to key in on bait, though....they can tell you what type of bait it is...why it's probably there....and know by their logs when each type should be in each area.....:thumbsup: :learn:


I did a search here.
He is written up in these threads in case you want to read them. supposably he used to fish for nights at a time and sleep in his car like dark does. lol.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5550-Long-Branch-back-in-time

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?6421-Finchaser-seminar-series

It's not too late to sign up for the finchaser seminars....Special July and August discounts....Extra discount if you bring tea & crumpets, or an Obama poster for finchaser..... to the first seminar...;)


From all the posts and threads that guy finchaser has on this site it seems like he is one of the
1. saltwater fishing legends.
2. Old and grouchy salt.
3. He has probably forgot more about fishing than most of us will ever know.

Part 1...Yes, absolutely.........:thumbsup:
Part 2...without a doubt.......:ROFLMAO :argue:
Part 3....probably true.......:thumbsup: :HappyWave:

[surferman]

Nice reports guys. I fished atlantic county yesterday before the people came to the beach. The surf was high and the water was not too clean. Caught the skunk.

[finchaser]

All 6 of us got blanked today :clapping: nice ugly brown water thought I was in Raritan bay

[ledhead36]

^^^^^^^ Hey watch what you say about raritan bay thats my home waters.:HappyWave:
We fished last night for croakers. did pretty good got them up to 16". They were hitting clams or gulp bloodworms equally. First 2 hours after high tide seemed to be the best action then it went downhill after that. Have done good on the 2 hours before high tide as well. Rich the water cleaned up but the fire in the water you mentioned is still there. Doesn't seem to affect bait fishing or the croakers tho.

[hookset]

Fished moco for an hour this morning. Saw spearing in the water. windy as heck. Managed 2 short fluke. White gulp shad with same for teaser. Lots of snapper blues around too.

[J Barbosa]

Hey ledhead I say let him trash the raritan bay. We will send everyone looking for finchaser since he is still catching bass in July.

Nice job on the croakers too.

[cowherder]

We will send everyone looking for finchaser since he is still catching bass in July.



The nerve of finchaser to still be catching bass in July! Who does he think he is? Maybe he's too good to go fluking like the rest of us.
:) (please don't send the hit men after me finchaser I was just busting balls)
Nice going on the croakers ledhead.

[finchaser]

I'll have you know:HappyWave: I fluked on Saturday and Sunday the past weeks in a row. I love buck tailing fluke plus you can eat them. Had it again for dinner last night with my lump crab meat stuffing.

Here's a bass I released Sunday while fluking from the boat in the river.

[J Barbosa]

Sorry, boat fish don't count.

Your rules :moon:

[finchaser]

Sorry, boat fish don't count.

Your rules :moon:

Same as Kayak:moon: unless your on terra firma it's a boat fish

[J Barbosa]

Same as Kayak:moon: unless your on terra firm it's a boat fish

I think we can both agree that both kayak and boat fluke taste delicious even if they don't count. :HappyWave:

[finchaser]

I think we can both agree that both kayak and boat fluke taste delicious even if they don't count. :HappyWave:


I'm with you pal:HappyWave:

[buckethead]

Same as Kayak:moon: unless your on terra firm it's a boat fish


As long as you are not part of the snag and drop crew it's ok.:HappyWave:
Fished moco from high tide today and one hour after. Managed one short bass, and 2 fluke. One at 17". One at 22" which was lunch an hour ago. Gulp shrimp with the same teaser. There are a lot of snappers in the surf. I would recommend not using the gulp swimming mullet because they tend to bite the tails off. A fairly good amount of spearing and rainfish in the surf as well. Light northeast wind was pleasant and not bad. Overcast conditions.

[hookset]

Nice going bucket. Thanks for the report about the bait in the surf. Seems like it took a longer time to show up this year.

[jigfreak]

Fished the back last night from 8-10 ocean county. Few short bass on pink fin S.

[cowherder]

Good to hear there are still some stripers around. It can only get better from now on.

[buckethead]

I fished moco in the am. Stiff southeast wind. hookset it seems that the wind threw that bait around. It was much different than yesterday when you could see bait everywhere. No fish for me.

[seamonkey]

Wind from the south fish shut their mouth! I guess it is the same with the south east as well?

[ledhead36]

Fished for croakers last night did pretty well. We got some up to 14" nice and fat. I tried an experiment I used fishbites and my friends used fresh clams. We each got about as many. I was high hook with 2 more. I was using a high low porgy rig with bigger hooks. When you are fishing for them hold your rod they hit pretty hard. Best catches were around the first 2 hours of outgoing tide. In 8-10 feet of water.
18688

[J Barbosa]

^ Big croaker, that size is a blast to catch.

I went fishing yesterday off the kayak for fluke.


In one spot I had a lot of action literally drop and reel up a fluke but only managed one keeper there. The fish were very concentrated in some areas we would pick at a few and then in the next area they were loaded and some spots were just completely dead. One fluke spit up a lot of small shrimp.


I was teasing my brother Manny and my friend Rui since they didn't have any keepers and I already had two on the stringer. Well guess what??? My stringer came undone at some point and disappeared then I had 0 keepers and they managed to catch one keeper each so I didn't hear the end of it on the long long trip back against the strong south wind.


My brother only caught two fluke all day one being a keeper and he's talking trash to me :headscratch:

[Monty]

Fished bayside this morning 12:45-8:30.
Weird trip.
Bumped into Dark out there....
Only managed one Blue about 8 pounds. Was around 3:00 or so and it hit a Surf Hog.
Was like the Blue was on steroids, it took line and went air born a number of times, seemed to leap a solid 3-4 feet out of the water. Great fight.
Only had one other hit, Hogy bit in half.
Water looked great, nice weather.
Had a bunch of problems, think I set a record of knots for me on this trip, had a knot stop a cast and an 80 lb leader snap and lost the plug (was after the blue).
Ripped waders in two areas, ended up with 10 pounds of water in each leg.....took 5 steps on land and was like in cement.
Was taking a short break and the surf bag dumped in the sand....tide decided to advance and had to chase a few plugs down.

The other highlight was at one point after the sun came up and we hadn't had any action for hours, Dark said to me "I wish I could manufacture some action for you", within 5 seconds of saying that a decent fish swirled on something 20 feet from us. It was like he was the horse whisperer, but with fish.:thumbsup:
Of course still could not get anything, but Dark's timing on that was spot on.
So lots of laughs, one juiced Blue, lots of casts....mishaps.....bun still a very fun trip.

[finchaser]

:don't know why:Your getting just like DS with mishaps now add another 2 or 3 paragraphs to each post and you'll be there.

[DarkSkies]

Nice going on the perseverance, people....Monty, Led, John, Bucket... nice work. :thumbsup:
We're in kind of a "summer doldrums" mode where there are fish in the channels if you have a boat or kayak...and fish are in certain areas along the bays and ocean shorelines where the bait concentrations are high...but not at a lot of places in between.....

Catching fish requires patience and perseverance....and it seems many have taken the summer off....because it is hard....
So congrats to all who are out there...and working hard to find a few......:HappyWave:




************
Re: Monty's report.....
(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. :drool:
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”. :laugh:
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:
That fat bluefish was every bit of 8#.

Great running into ya. pal....fish again anytime......:fishing: :HappyWave:

[J Barbosa]

Nice job finding any bigger bluefish guys. I haven't seen one in almost a month now.

[DarkSkies]

^ John, those bluefish and the few larger bass that are left, have all been extremely tight to the bunker schools.....
These are the small opportunities that we shoot for when out there....
Last night there were no bunker schools...not much bait in the water....the weather and water were optimal..... but without abundant bait.......very tough conditions for catching......Monty, undeterrred.....managed some action anyway.......:thumbsup:




:don't know why:Your getting just like DS with mishaps now add another 2 or 3 paragraphs to each post and you'll be there.

His mishaps were "Epic" last night...

Ripped waders in two areas, ended up with 10 pounds of water in each leg.....took 5 steps on land and was like in cement.
Was taking a short break and the surf bag dumped in the sand....tide decided to advance and had to chase a few plugs down.



I'm still thinking about the image of his water-filled balloon legs on his waders when we got out of the water.....this guy can take a beating, and remain standing.....He's got the grit that Rocky had.....:clapping:....Despite all that....... he still found a fish.....one of the few out there to manage that.....:thumbsup:...and an aggressive pumped up bluefish, tail-walking and angry. :headbang:

I'm thinking it has to be part of his MO....he's a lock for Googan of the year, again..
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8090-I-win-the-googan-of-the-year-award
...I feel his antics are more entertaining than mine.....I told him that fishin with him is better than watching Comedy Central. Had a great time out there with ya, pal...despite the limited action.......:HappyWave:

[surferman]

Funny stuff guys congrats on the catching. I have never seen an 8 pound bluefish in the summer surf you guys are lucky. I fished a cape may area jetty this afternoon around the end of the incoming. There were a lot of fluke there. Got 8 shorts with bucktail and gulp white mullet. I changed it up after remembering what you said about the snappers biting off the tails because they were there in full force. After I went through one pack of the mullet I went back to my truck and started using the shads. They definately last longer thanks for the tips.

[cowherder]

Wow an 8lb blue that must of been a real rush! congrats monty. I fished nomoco yesterday from 6-9pm. Got a steady pick of fluke all were shorts. Had 11 by the time I was done. I used the gulp mullet as well. It does seem more snapper blue were around because I got a lot of nips and not hits. Maybe they were something smaller like croakers or spot. Not sure. I would like to see some bigger fluke would sure like to bring a keeper home. Still a nice night with wind at your back. Water was clean.

[J Barbosa]

Lots of bunker in the bay yesterday. Small pods all over the place...too me that means having a hard time getting your offering to stand out so good job.

[buckethead]

Wind from the south fish shut their mouth! I guess it is the same with the south east as well?

Southeast tends to dirty the water up and bring colder water in (upwelling). It also causes different conditions at different times of the year. I believe someone was explaining this in a previous thread, maybe finchaser.

[buckethead]

Nice going on the perseverance, people....Monty, Led, John, Bucket... nice work. :thumbsup:
Catching fish requires patience and perseverance....
**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:
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:
That fat bluefish was every bit of 8#.

Thank you for the nice words. I have nothing to report. Took the weekend off. Didn't want to deal with the crowds at the beach. Back at it again tomorrow. have to agree with everything you said here Rich. We all have good nights out there. It's the not so easy ones that show strength of character. How many folks are willing to stick with it in spite of poor odds. Nice catching monty. Always enjoy the reportsd and commentary.

[hookedonbass]

My bud and I fished some jetties near cape may over the weekend. Got some shorty bass and fluke using bucktail and chartreuse gulp. No keepers. Lots of small snappers around too and some other bait that looked like mullet but I never got close enough for a good look.

[hookedonbass]

We all have good nights out there. It's the not so easy ones that show strength of character. How many folks are willing to stick with it in spite of poor odds. Nice catching monty. Always enjoy the reportsd and commentary.

Great philosophy! I too enjoy your reports and stories monty. And thanks for the advice and insight as well buckethead.

[jigfreak]

Nice going on the bigger blue. Haven't seen one that size in a long time either.

[porgy75]

way to go monty all the party boats are catching the pee wee blues so your catch must have felt great!

[porgy75]

Southeast tends to dirty the water up and bring colder water in (upwelling). It also causes different conditions at different times of the year. I believe someone was explaining this in a previous thread, maybe finchaser.


Thank you finchaser and bucket head.

[cowherder]

We all have good nights out there. It's the not so easy ones that show strength of character. How many folks are willing to stick with it in spite of poor odds.


x2 really like that quote.

[CharlieTuna]

What happened to NJ in the summer. Does everyone only fish for fluke and stop fishing for other species? I was searching the internet forums trying to get a feel for what is being caught from the shore now. I am coming down to Beach Haven with my wife to visit the in-laws next week. I did a quick search to see what some catches were. Some of what I found -


Stripers are a Waste of time. Don't even bother. You may see some small bluefish but no stripers this time of year. They are here in April/May.



We're in the summer doldrums the big gators are north and all that's left is chicken blues max 3 lbs. Come september the bigguns should be appearing again.

These seemed to be from fishermen who sound like they know what they are doing. I have read the last few pages of this thread and see that you folks are still catching stripers, bigger blues, and croakers. Are you all fishing different water or is the Jersey Coast markedly different than I remember when I used to live there? I am not looking for spots. Just trying to figure out how you are still catching fish other than fluke and others are not. Trying to get a sense of what I might expect to catch fishing the beaches and bulkheads of Long Beach Island at night. If you don't want to answer here that is all right you can e-mail or pm me. Thank you kindly.

[jigfreak]

^^^^ I don't know who said what you quoted but they are clueless idiots. In NJ a lot of people don't go fishing until the internet or facebook reports tell them. They dont want to work for it. There are weakfish being caught too if you know structure and sod banks. You can get them in the lbi area with rubber and jigs at night. Nothing big mostly spikes. You won't read it on the internet because weakfish take some effort to catch as well as night stripers on artificials. I sent you an e-mail, hope it helps. Good luck.

[dogfish]

They dont want to work for it.
Come on now that is the biggest part of the bragging rights.
"We were on the water by sunrise and back at the barn by 9am with a full limit." The best advertisement for skill is to say you caught a lot of fish without really trying. Working for them says you are a goog or don't know how to catch. I have caught a few big fish this year have had to work almost all night to get them. Had to take the kayak out near some of the islands and paddle all over the place. by that definition I must be a goog as well. What happened to the values of yesterday where hard work and a reward for it were prized attributes for fishing? Where did our society go wrong by turning the concept of fishing into something like running through a McDonalds drive in. Get in, get out, get home in time to watch the game.:rolleyes:
Fishing is the coolest game out there because things are always changing. Guess some folks don't believe that any more.

[J Barbosa]

Come on now that is the biggest part of the bragging rights.
"We were on the water by sunrise and back at the barn by 9am with a full limit." The best advertisement for skill is to say you caught a lot of fish without really trying. Working for them says you are a goog or don't know how to catch. I have caught a few big fish this year have had to work almost all night to get them. Had to take the kayak out near some of the islands and paddle all over the place. by that definition I must be a goog as well. What happened to the values of yesterday where hard work and a reward for it were prized attributes for fishing? Where did our society go wrong by turning the concept of fishing into something like running through a McDonalds drive in. Get in, get out, get home in time to watch the game.:rolleyes:
Fishing is the coolest game out there because things are always changing. Guess some folks don't believe that any more.

I agree dogfish...what's the point of limiting out on 3lb fluke so you can get back to the dock early. That's just filling the freezer with expensive filets. Anyone who loves to fish would never want to head back to the dock early.

[buckethead]

Charlie there are some good choices when you go to LBI. Fluke in the surf. Brown sharks at night. A few bass and weakfish here and there from the back side. Forwarded some suggestions to you. Scout at low tide and you should get some fish. Don't let the internet get to you. There are a lot of quasi-know-it-alls out there. Without the internet they would have no validation. Good luck and wishing you the best weather and times on your trip to NJ.
I fished the last 3 mornings in moco. One hour each time. The water has gotten colder again. Managed 2 fluke on gulp yesterday. Nothing tuesday or today.

[DarkSkies]

A few people here PM'ed me and asked me if I quit fishing as they did not see any fishing reports from me lately.
Charlie you have mail. :HappyWave:

Some of ya's have gotten reports from me, especially if I know you will be out there at night. There are only a few of us who are still fishing for bass. As I said the bass are few and far between, with the most consistent action coming from bluefish at night. To me, these 2 species are still worth fishing for.....and in sizes that keep my interest.......

I try to get out there a few nights a week, and more if the activity warrants it. My June and July reports are grouped up, 2 weeks at a time, in the surf fishing night tides thread. Some folks scan only the fishing reports on some sites. Sometimes it pays to look beyond that to get a sense of what and how, others who are catching, are doing it.... . :learn:

Tremendous amount of bait now in the back bays.......
Best of luck to everyone....:fishing: