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

[DarkSkies]

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

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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. Fishing an area that is NOT residential? Being vague is less critical. For example, (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, wind, bait present, or other mention of techniques or bait/plugs used - feel free. :fishing:
Thanks, and good luck. :HappyWave:

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]

An old time mentor of mine and I were recently reminiscing about the way things used to be at Sandy Hook......and I thought I would share this......






Sandy Hook memories.....

August for me used to be a very exciting month....
When I fished fresh water a lot and snuck into many of the state's reservoirs to fish....the action would slow in August....and I would gravitate toward the saltwater bays and rivers.....

We're going back decades, when I exclusively fished bait in the salt.
I remember going to Sandy Hook....
When the "Real" Hook was there and extended out (about) 100' feet more than it does today....The channel was right at your feet.....one half-cast and you were in 30' of water....
No fancy lures or plugs needed.....

Just a seine net to seine the abundant spearing.....no fancy bucktails.....just a simple weight with dropper loop above....hook a few fresh spearing from the contractor's apron you had around your waist.....a few jig strokes in the channel....and you were into a multitude of fish....schoolie bass, small blues, weakfish, and fluke, with 1 in 10 being a keeper......

If some get irritated with my ranting here about the current state of the fishery...
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7784-StripersandAnglers-yearly-coastwide-fish-stock-assessment-state-of-the-fishery
....This is my recollection of how things used to be....15-20 years ago....
When it really didn't seem that hard to catch fish....most of us weren't concerned whether there were a lot of them or not...because of the abundance in front of us.......
This was not only possible....but easy....as long as you had fresh spearing......

No $800 reels or $400 rods or fancy gear needed....these fish were there in large amounts.....none of us had to expend too much effort to catch them....(Try catching all those species now...in the middle of a hot August day..)..from any NJ surfline.......an almost impossible feat, given the current state of things.....

I bring these memories up....
to try to share with some of the newer anglers out there....why some of us are so passionate (or Grouchy) :rolleyes: when we talk about the way things they used to be....

And to try to give the newer folks out there....
1. A sense of why we fight so hard for the access we are losing....
2. And why it's so important to counter the mis-information being spread out there...that there is nothing wrong with today's striped bass fishery.....

Yes, it is much different than what I remember 15-20 years ago....or even 5-8 years ago....
I hope some of you people out there....can get some understanding from some of the memories I share here....
For those my age, and older...it's very obvious to us...what we have lost, compared to the way things used to be....

[DarkSkies]

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....


Recap...July...
I posted the above last week.....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.

We can look at August as being either "half-empty" or "half-full".
August for me used to be a very exciting month....
The best memories I have from August, for years at a time....is that this is "the" month....beginning August 1.... I could bring bunker chunks to various back bay points and drains, at the end of day, and happily catch small to medium blues and small bass....

1. When back bays literally fill up with every kind of bait imaginable.
2. When the tiny centimeter long bait that's been hard to identify all summer long, miraculously grows until it's clearly identifiable to fisherman and predator.
3. When the predators, un-noticed by most, will come in select areas, deep in the night, to savagely attack these blossoming bait populations.
4. This is why full and new moon tides are key.....as has been explained....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5279-Let-s-talk-about-Full-Moon-Surf-Fishing-(and-New-Moon-as-well (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5279-Let-s-talk-about-Full-Moon-Surf-Fishing-(and-New-Moon-as-well)-)
5. These stronger tides push the bait out of it's safer hiding places to larger flats and channels....where the predators come in to feast on this bonanza.
6. One of the keys to understanding these is understanding "feeding windows", an important tool in any saltwater fisherman's skill set...'
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?9061-Following-the-Night-Tides-Do-You-have-What-it-Takes (http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?9061-Following-the-Night-Tides-Do-You-have-What-it-Takes)

7. And understanding temperature and how it affects feeding....in many cases a quick rise or fall of 8-10 degrees, in certain areas, is enough to turn the fishing on or shut it off completely....












For a majority of years.....
I would fish the back bays and rivers....exclusively during this period...and not go ocean side until after Columbus Day....
The folks who are waiting for the "fall run" to begin....are missing out on a large part of the fishing picture if you are not scouting back bays and marinas, and looking at what's under the lights at night........

You may not always find larger feeding fish right there...but they will appear, in the dead of night...at various shadow lines......
Finding larger predators in 10' or water or less, gives me a thrill every time....like a caveman hunting for his daily meal.......you really have to use your wits and analytical skills to dial in..:learn:..to me that's one of the exciting things about being out there at night.......

It's been said here several times that there are no guarantees in fishing...
My old friend Joe :HappyWave: also endlessly repeated "Find the bait and find the fish"....

Fishing the back bays and rivers, in August....will put you closest to achieving that goal....
Good luck to All......:fishing:

[J Barbosa]

Sandy Hook memories.....

I remember going to Sandy Hook....
When the "Real" Hook was there and extended out (about) 100' feet more than it does today....The channel was right at your feet.....one half-cast and you were in 30' of water....

I remember going out there at sunset not too long ago and it wouldn't be unusual to see 5+ boats drifting the different rips out there for bass at night with worms or eels. Now you rarely see any boats out there at night and if you do its usually during the peak of the run later on in the fall.

[DarkSkies]

Now you rarely see any boats out there at night and if you do its usually during the peak of the run later on in the fall.


You're absolutely correct on this John....
I don't know why people have given up on this fishing....my best guess is they feel it's too inconsistent, with not that many fish around. NJ party boats wouldn't be able to find enough bass to satisfy their fares so they don't go out there, unless there are......
I don't know what the smaller boat owners feel overall, I know a lot of them don't like to go out at night....`
not just here but on the LI Sound as well....In the Summer, I can drift and peddle a yak all night (on a weeknight) Mid-Sound, and rarely see anyone except for the Commercial ships.....

If you talk to the old-timers, the "Cartoppers"......they used to.....
Bring an aluminum boat on the top of a station wagon or pickup truck...or small trailer...
Launch in the rivers, go all the way out in the ocean on a calm night.....
Or launch at Monmouth Beach, conditions permitting....

Like you said, they used to drift along out there....worms or eels.....
It wasn't too hard to catch fish, and come back in with the tides and small horsepower motor....:fishing:......With some bass.....

Although a handful of smaller boats may be fishing in the dark at any time....most give up by 9PM...if there are any at all.....Most nights no one is out there.....

Another tradition that has died and gone the way of the Pony Express.......drifting worms or eels in your car-topped aluminum boat.....:(

[buckethead]

Fished this morning in moco and decided to change it a little. Fished a gulp on BT with redgill teaser. Managed 2 fluke to 17". One on the teaser other on the gulp. Low water made it tough. They have officially ruined all moco beaches. Waiting for the noreasters to drag some sand out. I hate this gov't welfare for the affluent.

Rich I really enjoyed your post on Sandy Hook. I remember that well. The carpenter aprons comment brought it all back for me.They were just the right size to hold spearing. Thank you for sharing that. Those were good times. You are right things were much easier then. Lord do I miss the real Hook.

[VSdreams]

SoMoco near the pocket today from 5-6:30am. Like bucket head said the water was real low. I think I was fishing the last of the outgoing. Lots of eelgrass in the water it really sucked. Then the surfers came it wasn't even good waves out and they were there. Have to get there early or you will get mugged by them. As I was getting ready to leave I thought I hit a snag. Thought it was a cable or something and it turned out to be a stargazer. Hit the green gulp on the bottom. Those things are a pita to bring in it felt like a bag of rocks. I guess it should be happy it saved me from the skunk though.

[seamonkey]

Good point something is better than nothing dude. Does anyone know how big stargazers can get?

[J Barbosa]

I fished NoMoCo surf from 1-8 today w/brother and friend. We had it all to ourselves practically...where is everyone?

Good action but the fluke were all shorts not really any size to them either. Will try to find some bigger ones on the kayak tomorrow AM.

Lots of snappers around.

[cowherder]

I fished NoMoCo surf from 1-8 today w/brother and friend. We had it all to ourselves practically...where is everyone?

Good action but the fluke were all shorts .


I felt like that too JB. Fished nomoco this morning from 6-8 and only 1 other guy out there. Caught a few short fluke and snappers were around. Glad I made my move to the gulp jerk shad they can't bite the tails off. Wish I could fish a little further into the channel. I know there must be some big fluke on the bottom there. IThe first hour was good then the northeast wind came and I didn't catch and got out of there before it got worse. Good luck on your kayak trip hope you find some big ones. Hope the winds are not too much for the bay.

[hookset]

Nice going gents looks like you fished ahead of the nastiness.

[J Barbosa]

Kayaked the RB yesterday with my brother and Rui. We launched around 5:30am. There was a steady rain and it was blowing 15-25mph out of the North East. Seas were 3-4+ ft in the bay...anyone who has fished the RB knows it gets down right nasty with a North/East wind.

We fished 20-35ft of water and had non stop fluke action. I must have caught over 100 fish but only managed two keepers, one 18.5 and one 19. My brother caught one keeper at 25" and Rui caught a keeper as well.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5557/14632619128_04aba61b06_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/14632619128/)


Only saw a few boats out there yesterday...about 3 party boats sailed and less than a handful of private boats. Again, where is everyone?

Also to the boat out of the RB that posts reports on a few different sites...where is your report from yesterday? I saw you out there I guess you didn't put enough meat on the deck to put up winning numbers for this tournament? A real fisherman posts all the reports or none not just the good but I guess that would be bad for future business.

[surferman]

There was a steady rain and it was blowing 15-25mph out of the North East. Seas were 3-4+ ft in the bay...anyone who has fished the RB knows it gets down right nasty with a North/East wind.



Thats interesting because in cape may a northeast wind is sometimes good for the back side. Turns the fish on big time. You were out in 3-4ft waves? You are a madman kudos to you dude! What did you catch that bluefish on were you using gulp?

[surferman]

Also to the boat out of the RB that posts reports on a few different sites...where is your report from yesterday? I saw you out there I guess you didn't put enough meat on the deck to put up winning numbers for this tournament? A real fisherman posts all the reports or none not just the good but I guess that would be bad for future business.

Thats one of the things I like about this site. Dudes are not afraid to post skunk reports. It makes it more real. I get sick of the guys who only post when they catch it makes it seem like they never get a skunk. Who is this boat you are referring to?

[buckethead]

^^^^^ Only posting when you have a great catch signifies a narcissistic personality. jmo.
Fished the first hour and half of the incoming this morning. Nice fog on the water, the waves are laying down, not bad. Managed 2 short fluke and one short bass. Gulp and gulp teaser. moco. There is a steady south wind out there so if you go out today try to find rocks or something that will give you a bit of a break from it. The fish I got were all in the north pockets.

[J Barbosa]

Some small bluefish around on Saturday surferman up to about the 1lb size. I caught a few and then I said well let me keep a few for the grill...after keeping that one they disappeared on me.

I did use gulp...I had plans to cast net some mullet in the morning but it was raining pretty good at 5am and would make it too hard to see them.

[hookset]

Nice going fellas. Good high tides around the end of the day this week. Will try to get out there and test the water. JB the last time I was out was late afternoon, great conditons and water. I fished some of the jetties. one short fluke but still had a good time. In 10 miles I only saw 2 other fishermen.

[cowherder]

Nice reports jb and bucket head. Thanks for the intel about the water cleaning up.

[VSdreams]

^^^^^ X2. I thought it would be dirty. Good to have someone who fishes a lot keep us updated thank you.

[baitstealer]

Thanks for the reports gents. I fished nomoco from 6-8 this morning. I would guess it was the last of the outgoing. Used the gulp setup like you guys recommended and got 6 short fluke and one big sea robbin. My first robin of the year. A little curious about how we had so many last year and this year they moved somewhere else?

[hookset]

Moco till sunset. Some small bait around, birds picking. Did some plugging. El skunko.

[cowherder]

Thanks for the report at least you tried! Will try to get out there after the rain. Hoping to find something besides short fluke.

[Blazin420]

...So finally got out on the kayak yesterday afternoon and found some decent action once the tide switched...Landed 18 total with 1 nice 20in keeper lost another decent fish at the yak about the same size*..Had 3 or 4 others that were last season keepers all in all a good day on the water...Lots of bunker swimming around with a couple good sprays in them..Most action was in 18-20ft of water FF read the water temp @ 76 deg....

[J Barbosa]

Nice going Blaze, I wouldn't mind seeing the 17.5" size limits again either!

[robmedina]

Blaze were you out front or in the bay?

[Blazin420]

Blaze were you out front or in the bay?
I was in the Sandy hook bay...And i agree John i wanna go back to the 17.5 regs threw a bunch back this year even from the beach that would have been in the cooler last year..

[J Barbosa]

I fished yesterday afternoon after work for two hours on a friends boat. Like Blaze reported there is big adult bunker all over the bay. Also saw lots of those luminous (at night) jellyfish all over the place.

Managed one keeper fluke, some shorts and another one that would have been a keeper last year.

Seems like more croakers may have moved in as my gulp was really getting attacked and I managed three bigger ones.

Croakers and keeper fluke came out of 30-40ft of water.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5572/14847903151_52592c670e_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/14847903151/)

Got this awesome double sided fluke. I can't remember the proper name for them?
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3848/14664343319_aa2d41b81d_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/14664343319/)

[hookset]

Nice going B420 and JB. Like the coloring on that fluke. Fished moco early morning before sunrise. One stargazer on bucktail and gulp.

[jigfreak]

Good going fellas. have to be in it to win it. jb you are prob one of the best advertisements out there for buying a kayak.

[bababooey]

2 guys fishing 3 poles since 6am. No takers. Ocean looks like a lake.
http://www.surfchex.com/manasquan-web-cam.php

[Blazin420]

I fished yesterday afternoon after work for two hours on a friends boat. Like Blaze reported there is big adult bunker all over the bay. Also saw lots of those luminous (at night) jellyfish all over the place.

Managed one keeper fluke, some shorts and another one that would have been a keeper last year.

Seems like more croakers may have moved in as my gulp was really getting attacked and I managed three bigger ones.

Croakers and keeper fluke came out of 30-40ft of water.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5572/14847903151_52592c670e_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/14847903151/)

Got this awesome double sided fluke. I can't remember the proper name for them?
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3848/14664343319_aa2d41b81d_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/14664343319/)
Nice John! Hey wait i thought you were off the GULP for the month of Aug:laugh::HappyWave:....Just kidding bud i got a couple of those double sided fluke last year...Cool to see...And real quick how do you guys fillet those croakers been wanting to try cooking them...havent caught any this year but if i do i wanna keep'em...

[J Barbosa]

Guilty August gulp user as charged...I have some alternatives I am going to bring on the yak tomorrow. My gulp stash is almost fully drained down to 1/2 quart once that ends I am done for the year.

Going to give the fluke in the surf on a fly rod a serious effort come September. I do tie a really nice clouser maybe its time to put them to use :HappyWave:

The croakers are a little bony but you can filet the bigger ones.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyds-f1Fo3w

[surferman]

Fishing Cape May county has been pretty bad nothing much to report. Finally got a little better. I fished this morniing and got 4 kingfish. Best bites were the first hour of the incoming. Used a combo of fishbites pieces and bloodworms on the same hook. You can save money that way bloodworms have gotten very expensive. 4 oz to hold.

[storminsteve]

Nice reports fellas Ill be out on the hunt this weekend. Thanks for sharing that croaker fillet video JB.

[jigfreak]

Fishing Cape May county has been pretty bad nothing much to report. Finally got a little better.

Same for me, fishing has sucked big time. Lots of weed all over. Some structure in the back, ocean county. Right around high tide last night. 2 spike weakies on pink zoom and jig. Hope some more show up as I haven't seen them at this one place in a while.

[storminsteve]

Hit up nomoco 6-8. Got a few short fluke on gulp with gulp teaser. Lots of little ones nipping at it. I changed to a snapper popper and got 10 snappers. some of them were up to 8". I tossed out a smaller one and got a crazy dogfish. The snappers and small bait were up and down the beach. Where are the bigger fish?

[J Barbosa]

Fished off the kayak yesterday from 6am to 5pm. Overall that was probably a stupid idea. Great weather and the first Saturday in a while with low winds brought out 500 boaters. Had one idiot in a small Grady White run at high speeds 10ft off my bow. You would think small boaters know how it feels to get waked but often they are the worst! The guys in the nice offshore center consoles and sport fishers are almost always respectful. I was only 100 yards from land and nowhere near the channels...

Fishing was slow to make my day worse. Caught about two dozen shorts all day and 3 large croaker.

Need the 20-30mph winds back so these guys can go back to sitting on their docks waxing their hulls.

[fishinmission78]

I hate when boaters do that. It's so inconsiderate and I believe a marine violation unless you are in a channel.
Fished the park this morning. Still some weeds. Picked up 2 small fluke on gulp chartreuse.

[fishinmission78]

This morning I was catching small snappers and livelining them out for fluke. Cownose ray came along and whomped my snapper. It was probably over 50 lbs. I saw it once and that was it. Ended up cutting the line. I haven't seen them before this week. Guess the water has been too cold for them. Be careful out there fellas.
Also got 3 fluke on the snappers before the ray came along. One keeper 18", 2 shorts.

[cowherder]

Thanks for the heads up fnm. They can really do a number on your tackle.

[buckethead]

Fished moco am near high tide. Water like a lake with light se wind. Not much life today got the skunk.

[robmedina]

fished the bay in south jersey yesterday from the yak. ended up with 4 good size croakers on fishbites. had a nice meal- but in the end 3 would have sufficed, as it is just me in the house that eats fish.
JB- I wish I watched that video you posted on how to fillet a croaker before I fillet mine, Oh well I know now for next time!

[seamonkey]

Nice going rob what depth did you get the croakers at? were you in the channel?

[robmedina]

They were in 8.5'. I was fishing with my buddy Mikey. We started fishing 3 hours before low. HE had a chum log on his kayak- I caught my first croaker right behind his kayak (hee hee) then nothing until the tide started coming back in-
I got 3 more in an hour. I left at 6:20 and as I was leaving Mikey started hooking up behind his kayak in the chum slick he had 2 in the boat when I left- he stayed for another 20 minutes after I left and landed 5 more.

to be honest I am not sure if we were in a channel- boats did seem to pass by us about 100 yards away- does that mean that was the channel?

[J Barbosa]

The croakers I have caught this year were in channels as bycatch while fluke fishing. One thing I have noticed is they have all been big!

[jigfreak]

The ne and se winds here and rain have been on and off all day. Took a ride down the beach after work and didn't see anyone fishing. Where are all the internet sharpies who rant on about how great east winds are.
You guys with the yaks may not be killing it but at least you are finding fish. When the jetties are all buried in sand I bet there will be a huge spike in kayak sales.

[seamonkey]

Thanks for the intel about the cow nose rays and croakers. Love those croakers!

[hookset]

FM I was fishing the other morning before the swells and hooked into one too. Tossing an ava 007 looking for small blues or fluke. didn't get anything but that damn ray. Be careful fellas they are out there and will take all your line on a light fluke setup.

[J Barbosa]

You guys with the yaks may not be killing it but at least you are finding fish. When the jetties are all buried in sand I bet there will be a huge spike in kayak sales.

My only regret is not getting into the kayak sales business. After Sandy kayak fishing just exploded in popularity.

[bababooey]

Took a look at the web cams the surfers own the water today. Bobbing up and down like seals. Good thing there are not too many sharks in jersey. Surf's up!

[hookset]

Where are all the internet sharpies who rant on about how great east winds are.


They're all busy taking the harbor pilot surf training seminars.
Got some runt bass in the back tonight. small plugs did the job.

[buckethead]

Nice going hook. Fished moco for an hour this morning. Some big swells out there though the surf is starting to lay down. One short fluke on gulp and gulp teaser. Winds back to offshore from the west. Nice morning.

[hookedonbass]

Hit up lbi yesterday after dinner. A bud was catching some brown sharks and let me go with him. We fished 7-11. Got one brown and three doggies. Pic of the brown. He put up a good fight and we got him back in the water quick.
18747

[hookedonbass]

They were in 8.5'. I was fishing with my buddy Mikey. We started fishing 3 hours before low. HE had a chum log on his kayak- I caught my first croaker right behind his kayak (hee hee) then nothing until the tide started coming back in-
I got 3 more in an hour. I left at 6:20 and as I was leaving Mikey started hooking up behind his kayak in the chum slick he had 2 in the boat when I left- he stayed for another 20 minutes after I left and landed 5 more.

to be honest I am not sure if we were in a channel- boats did seem to pass by us about 100 yards away- does that mean that was the channel?

Cool croaker report I like the idea of using a chum log, Did you make it or buy one from the tackle shop?

[porgy75]

NICE shark man!!!!!!!!!!!

[bababooey]

Nice brown HOB. If the swimmers only knew what is swimming around out there in close to the beach.

[cowherder]

Hooked that was awesome love those teeth. Does anyone know if there are any closer north, say in the island beach area?

[storminsteve]

Awesome sharks are in da house! Thanks for sharing and congrats.

[buckethead]

CH they are getting browns at Island Beach too. 2 hours before sunset to sunset seems to be a good time for them.

[J Barbosa]

Nice brown, any idea how big it was?

[jigfreak]

Got into a few weakies tonight incoming tide near structure. ocean county. Rubber and 1/2 oz jig

[Blazin420]

Nice reports fellas !! Thats a nice shark HOB...And hope to see more of them weakies up N soon jigfreak....Wanted to get out last night but some how i managed to get pink eye in BOTH my eyes...ughhh the man upstairs is definitly trying to keep me off the sand...2 planned trips in the past week got the kibash:burn:...Hopefully be out early tm morn for what ever wants to bite!

[storminsteve]

HOB and JF awesome catches! I fished last night in nomoco. Hardly anyone out fishing. Picked up a few short fluke before dark on gulp white swimming mullet. Then I felt some weight on the line and thought I had a striper. When it didn't move too much I knew it was a stargazer. Next time it will be a bass. The water was pretty clean and there was lots of spearing in the water. blazin pink eye sucks! I had that last summer. Feel better soon.

[hookedonbass]

Thanks for the compliments guys. I don't have a lot of experience fishing for them my friend is the shark man. May try fishing for them again this weekend. I'll keep you posted if we catch. jbarbosa that shark was about 50 inches and between 40 and 50 lbs. We had a cheapie scale no boga grip and wanted to get it back in the water quick.Those teeth were scary and I was a little intimidated by them.

[J Barbosa]

Nice batch of big crabs ready for the steamer. Old bay and sea salt :d

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3854/14917496816_e974dba325_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/photos/94721242@N02/14917496816/)

[hookedonbass]

We got another brown last night, about 40lbs using croaker heads It was pretty slow. I think because near low tide. We got the brown about 5 minutes before dark, plus a dogfish when we got there. Fished another 2 hours and nothing more. They are around you just have to work for them.
Awesome crab catch jb. Makes me hungry just looking at it.

[Blazin420]

Thanks Steve,Nice crabs John they look tasty!! Was feeling better today and finally got out today from 530am till 2pm....Was kinda slow today managed 6 flatties...Good part was 1 of them was a 19in keeper he hit what other then the white GULP on the teaser...Best part of my day was i FINALLY broke the ice with the flyrodhttp://www.stripersurf.com/forums/images/smilies/banana.gif http://www.stripersurf.com/forums/images/smilies/banana.gif ...Dropped 1 and landed a 16incher on a chartruse over yellow clouser!!! I was more siked about the 16in on the flyrod then i was the keeper...Im definitly addicted nowhttp://www.stripersurf.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif...Didnt see much else caught by anyone LOTS of spider crabs had to move at one point cause they were hooked on every cast...Fish started to hit about 2hrs into the incoming...It was a slow pick but i didnt care since i got lucky with the keeper and the fly caught fish was the icing on the cake.

[cowherder]

When is jbarbosa going to have the crabfest I'm in! Nice catches guys.
What beer is that in the pic blazin? Congrats on catching on the fly I guess they are getting really aggressive.

[Monty]

^^^^^^^^^
What he said, congrats on the catch on the fly Blazin.
JB's pics of the crabs always make me hungry for sea food.

[Blazin420]

When is jbarbosa going to have the crabfest I'm in! Nice catches guys.
What beer is that in the pic blazin? Congrats on catching on the fly I guess they are getting really aggressive.
Thanks Ch and thanks Monty...Im defintly "hooked" no pun intended with the flyrod!! And CH thats a Kona Longboard..They are delish been drinking them all summer they have a few others but the Longboard is my favorite...It may be a summer beer so not sure how much longer they will out but if you can find them get them! Brewed in Hawaii.. And also would like to good to this Barbosa "crab feast" :D

[J Barbosa]

Nice fluke on the fly rod :thumbsup:...that's the reason I got into fly fishing in the first place. Just need to put some effort into it now :don't know why:

Who carries Kona? I tried a new beer to me yesterday called Cusquena. Its a Peruvian mass produced lager, goes down easy but not much flavor to it.

As for the crab fest I'll bring some to FinChaser's party:

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?9629-Calimari-for-J-Barbosa

[robmedina]

good job with the fly rod Blazin!

[fishinmission78]

Nice catches guys. The fluke in the surf are getting bigger. Another 2 weeks and they'll start to move out of the bays and rivers, Sept is always a good fluke month for me. Too bad the season has to end so early.

[Blazin420]

Nice fluke on the fly rod :thumbsup:...that's the reason I got into fly fishing in the first place. Just need to put some effort into it now :don't know why:

Who carries Kona? I tried a new beer to me yesterday called Cusquena. Its a Peruvian mass produced lager, goes down easy but not much flavor to it.

As for the crab fest I'll bring some to FinChaser's party:

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?9629-Calimari-for-J-Barbosa
Most decent liquor stores that carry craft beers should have it...There is another one make i think called big wave which is good a bit hoppie but decent....Thanks Rob

[jigfreak]

More weakfish coming into the Barny Bay. Picked up a few more last night, spikes to 23". Pink FinS on half oz jighead near the top of the tide in the back.

[J Barbosa]

WTG jigfreak

[vpass]

Nice going Guys,

I see Blazin crossing over to the Darkside. Cool can't wait till you hook up with a nice Bass. JB, those crabs look awesome. looks like I have to buy some. My wife is busting my Balls for them. I made the mistake of show your crabs. I'll be out there soon.

[jigfreak]

Thanks. Didn't do so hot last night. Fished 3 hours into the dark. Perfect tide and water, no weakies.:skunk:
There was less bait there than there has been so that might have been a reason.

[J Barbosa]

I tried to catch some local bass last night but struck out. The wind was blowing too hard and the water was really dirty by the time I got there.

[buckethead]

Don't feel bad JB. I had a decent morning yesterday and not so good today. I was fluking yesterday in moco when I saw large pods of bunker. In the space of 5 minutes they were pushed in by large blues. I managed one about 10 lbs and dropped it in the surf when it bit through the light leader I use. Good fight for a while. After re-tying went back to fluking and managed 4 short fluke before I had to leave. Gulp on bucktail and red teaser. Today I was out, the surf looked nice from an offshore sswell, good white water and bait. Only managed one short fluke. Go figure.

[Monty]

I was fluking yesterday in moco when I saw large pods of bunker. In the space of 5 minutes they were pushed in by large blues. I managed one about 10 lbs and dropped it in the surf when it bit through the light leader I use. Good fight for a while. After re-tying went back to fluking and managed 4 short fluke before I had to leave. Gulp on bucktail and red teaser. Today I was out, the surf looked nice from an offshore sswell, good white water and bait. Only managed one short fluke. Go figure.
Congrats on the blue hook up Buckethead.
They are a lot of fun. I am hoping to run into them this Sunday AM.

[ledhead36]

Nice to hear about the blues. We haven't seen anything in the back but snappers for the last 2 weeks. I want to catch some mediums and make some bluefish ceviche.

[hookset]

Worked some back bay spots last nite before the rain. The water was pretty good but warm. Brought the skunk home with me. nice going on the bigger blue, bucket.

[robmedina]

fished the back bay under a bridge last night from 6:30pm to 11pm. Caught the last of the incoming- slack and beginning of out going. First night out this year. fished Shredder crabs. Got a few eels, doggies and a black seabass. Something was causing bait to jump out of the water so I tied on a small swim bait, I think its called a fluke. On a small hook and cast it with my super light weight spinning rod and sargus 2000 reel- cast a mile with this light action- phenomenal top water action on this thing but no takers.
Packed up and came home. Had a lone star tick that hitched a ride back to the house with me. no rain, saw lots of lightning to the west. beautiful night!

[cowherder]

Packed up and came home. Had a lone star tick that hitched a ride back to the house with me. no rain, saw lots of lightning to the west. beautiful night!

I hate it when ticks do that! The nerve of those hitchhikers.:laugh:
When you fish the back bays the ticks are all over. Be careful guys.
Sounds like a good night out anyway. I fished nomoco this morning in the fog. Boy was it spooky! Orly managed 2 short fluke and one hickory shad before I had to leave for work.

[baitstealer]

You have to be careful with those ticks because some of them have lime disease. Thanks for the report.

[Blazin420]

Fished last night from 730-1130pm...Couldnt NOT go..NE wind,good tide for this spot,New moon coming....I had a feeling it would be worth the trip..Good white water(just what you like Monty:HappyWave:) out there when i stepped on the beach wind in your face..Couldnt tell if the water was real dirty but picked up some cabbage on the first few casts..Moved down the beach and found a clear spot..And about 830 i ran into a old friend i havent seen in a while...Mr STRIPED BASS!!!http://www.stripersurf.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif ...He nailded a needle fish and gave a hell of a fight thought it was blue until i saw them stripes come out of the wash..Measured out at 27in!! Had another good whack after that then about 9 picked up another (smaller)20in in the white water on my burple teaser! Had 1 other i dropped and another good hit after that but lost the tide and by 1030 no more! Stayed another hour just in casehttp://www.stripersurf.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif ...Real good night for the recent lack of stripers this summer and ill take it for August!....Not a great pic of the 27in but i was rushing to get her back swimming....

[hookset]

Nice to finally see some stripes around blazin great report. I fished moco this morning but I didn't really fish.
Went to the surf to wet a line for sunrise. Tides are great for early sunrise fishing this week. When I got there the waves were 6' and the wind is howling E. Got myself a bagel and coffee and came home to knock some things off the honey do list. Hope this clears up soon.

[ledhead36]

Nice going blazin. We'll be out tonight and all next week fishing for croakers and porgies. The times are good for the nite bite. hoping for some bass too.

[cowherder]

Great to see some bass! congrats on the catch blazin.

[J Barbosa]

Nice summertime bass Blaze,

I fished for fluke yesterday from the kayak and it sucked!!! Worst fluke fishing all year. Had an absolute perfect drift and only managed to catch about 1.5 dozen shorts. When all the NJ headboats steam past you and head right for Staten Island on an east wind it shows you how crappy the fishing on the NJ side is...

Went crabbing this morning and caught 3 dozen. Action is definitely slowing down but some bigger ones in the mix and there nice and full.

[Blazin420]

Thanks guys!!

Hit the beach yesterday with the wife for a few hours only fished for about 2hr or so managed 5 fluke they were all pretty small biggest was about 16in...Lots of snappers around forgot my snapper zapper at home...duh....Also alot of what looked like spearing in the wash..May get out tonight for a bit..

[DarkSkies]

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

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

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




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

[jigfreak]

^^^^^ True true, there are a ton of spearing around. I'm in ocean county so we do have quite a bit of mullet. Dark your always welcome to come down you know that. Thanks for all you do. Fished some structure last night and the weakies are back. Unfortunately so are the blues. Went through a lot of pink finS. Picked up 4 weakies to 19" and 7 taylor blues near sunset and after.

[seamonkey]

Fished last week before the rain caught some kings in the surf in ocean city. Low tide and bloodworms. Maybe its just me but they seem really hard to catch this year. Nice going on the weakfish jigfreak and the stripers blazin.

[J Barbosa]

^^^^^ True true, there are a ton of spearing around. I'm in ocean county so we do have quite a bit of mullet. Dark your always welcome to come down you know that. Thanks for all you do. Fished some structure last night and the weakies are back. Unfortunately so are the blues. Went through a lot of pink finS. Picked up 4 weakies to 19" and 7 taylor blues near sunset and after.

Amazon has pink Zooms for $2.50. Practically impossible to find that color locally.

[jigfreak]

^ They had them in the wally world in manahawkin about 2 weeks ago last time I checked.

[Blazin420]

Went to the beach with the wife yesterday ...Weather was great and it was a perfect beach day...Fished in the am from 730-12pm while the wife was sleeping cause i made her get up so earlyhttp://www.stripersurf.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif ...Worked a long stretch of beach and managed 7 flatties 1 being a nice fat 19.5 in keeperhttp://www.stripersurf.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif ...Most hit the white GULP teaser including the keeper right at the drop..Had 2 take the 1oz castmaster i had on the bottom..Saw some spearing but couldnt find any snappershttp://www.stripersurf.com/images/smilies/nixweiss.gif ...They dont seem as abundant in this spot this year..Last year they were everywhere...They went back and relaxed with the wife did some swimming since the water was clean and warm...Fished a few more hrs from 3-5pm and picked up another 4 fluke 1 that i measured and was just short at 17.9999http://www.stripersurf.com/images/smilies/eusa_doh.gif ....2 would have been nice but the 1 made a nice dinner last night....Also that keeper was LOADED with crabs he ate well and still went for my GULP..Guess they just cant resist that wiggling tail!

[cowherder]

Well I went fishing bright and early this morning. It was kind of weird because I was psyched with the wind blowing and the slight chop on the water I figured it would be great and it was not. Fished the incoming in nomoco from 6-8. The ocean was a little choppy so I kept moving into the bay. Managed 2 fluke on gulp and hickory shad on teaser. Missed a few others. Best action was around sunrise. Looked around for albies but did not see any signs nor of fish feeding on the bait. Blazin those are really cool pics of the crabs they are eating thanks for sharing and congrats on the catch!

[J Barbosa]

Fished yesterday morning only a few small fluke for three hours of fishing. This sucks as late August to September is usually the best surf fishing for fluke.

Got out again this morning and the surfers were having a blast. Had either a small bass or blue on for a few seconds before losing him. Haven't seen any real signs of bait the past two days. :don't know why:

Nice fall weather we are having, ohh wait its still summer...;)

[seamonkey]

Thanks for the reports. Tried to fish ocean city and could not do it. Waves 6-8 feet and lots of cabbage. May give it another go on saturday. Have a great Holiday guys!

[baitstealer]

Fished NoMoCo from 5-7. Beautiful sunrise. Got one short fluke on gulp and teaser. The waves were big and the rip currents were bad. My bucktail did not stay out there long before it was moving sideways. Be careful if you go swimming. Not that great for fishing but it definitely felt like fall out there.
Hope all you guys and your families have a great weekend!

[wish4fish]

croakers getting bigger high tide at nite if u want more intel ask ledhead he outfishes me but im close behind.