Same here. Smallest fish all year. Has anyone seen numbers of hickory shad lately? might be more fun to target them with light gear or a flyrod.
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^^ Hookset I bet there are a crap load of hickories up at the Hook. We won't be able to fish there till next summer. Oh well.
Nice going!
Awesome reports and pics, thanks for sharing. I fished Brigantine this am with metal and storm shads, the sunrise was beautiful but no fish for me.
This late afternoon 2 keepers to 9# and 3 shorts all on plugs all still swimming.
I fished for an hour yesterday, and 1 hour today till dark. Got 2 tiny bass yesterday, and 1 tiny bass today. all on fin-s. It was great to be out.
Nice going Fin 9 pounds among tiny bass is a big deal.:thumbsup:
Thu PM....
The shift in a weather pattern sometimes turns on the surf bite...
That did not happen on Wed PM as Fin and I set out to find some bass in the surf. It had turned cold in the low 30's, little windy, and we both fished with gloves.
2 hours of our best efforts, not a tap for either of us. :don't know why:
It was dismal., but the company was enjoyable....:fishing: :thumbsup:
When He went home. I made one more stop...one short bass on a Tsunami bomber copy (with rattles).
Fri PM.....
Real dissatisfied with the inconsistent bite up North...
I made the drive to lower Ocean County....seems the bite may be a little better there as they have small amounts of sandeels in the surf....
Fished all night in the rain for a true Monty Marathon......9 hours....
Managed 14 bass to 28"...all fish released.
The 28" was the only keeper, but others were close.
Nice fish although they were skinny.
What worked:
Tsunami creamsickle colored swimmer
Storm Thunderstick ( when the wind kicked up after the tide change)
Mag darter.....
Fish were very light hitting,
I had to wade out on a bar to get them at low tide.
Didn't think to bring my dry top. Once the tide started coming in I got wet, soaked to the skin.....
There was no way I would stop fishing,,,,just suffered through it.....:headbang:
When you get wet and the water is colder you run the risk of cramping.....
The fish were very light hitting, and may have been pursuing herring in the area.
If you did not set the hook hard you would drop them......
Still, it was a lot of fun to play with that many fish......:fishing:
I dropped a few more, not that many.
You're welcome Seamonkey...fish it hard.....
It is...with all the very small fish being caught a 9# bass is considered one of the larger ones.....Seeing him work artificials is a privelege to behold....:thumbsup:
Friday was a day of "I thoughts" for me. Used up a vaca day to go on a party boat because I thought the shorts were 25-27 and i thought the surf action was dead. I also thought we would fish off Monmouth beach all day. I thought i could finally catch a fish over 30" for this fall this way. I did the marathon trip and they did stay out all day 6am to 345 we got back. Shockingly no bird life at first light, they gave up on that area kinda quickly and headed north, I assumed it be to the highlands bridge but it turns out an hour later we ended up well off Coney Island. Found some fish and birds, fast moving fish, the shorts were more like 21-24" when we got back to NJ for the last hour of fishing the action at the Monmouth Rocks area was better. We left with some good bird life going on in afternoon. We wasted 2 hours of travel time could have been used to pick at fish there. I only 5 all day my friend got about 12 with one keeper @ 29" 6 other keeps on board for 27 anglers. Shads on 3 to 4 oz heads worked for us. If you wonder if they lie on the reports :) The reports said we had limits and tons of shorts. Id say most guys got 3 to 8 fish a few may have got less.
This morning 5:30 to 7 AM 1 keeper 33 inch around 15# also 2 shorts 18 and 27 inchs all released. One of my friends had a nice 35" fish that he kept and 4 shorts he released
Just got back after fishing 2:30-5 PM in MoCo. Light variable winds. Good clean water.
Ridiculous action once the current started moving. 22 shorts and 1 keeper at 28". Numerous hits and miss. All but one on a 5" shad in bunker (that one on a Vision sandeel). They wanted it retrieved fast.
Best part about it was I was completely alone. Which is kinda hard to do on a weekend with such limited beach access nowadays. :thumbsup:
We trolled out to the Shrewsbury Rocks today. A few bass and blues to 10# on umbrella rigs. Once there we got into sporadic action by jigging a27s on marks. All small fish. They were not concentrated. Also heard on the radio of a boat hitting another while we were on the way home. We didn't see it so I don't know when it happened.
I fished nomoco today, 19 micro bass on storm shad. One bass was 23" woo hoo! The rest had diapers on.:laugh:
Finchaser way to go! you always seem to find the bigger fish.
Good going guys!
Fished the incoming tonight moco. Picked up 4 to 12#. Rubber.
This morning 5 to 7:30 AM had 2 keepers 8# and 11# also 7 shorts all on rubber all released
Finally put a good amount of time in surf fishing this weekend. There are an awful lot of short fish out there. All on metal yesterday and rubber today. No keepers.
Good for you^^^^^^
Nice efforts, all. :thumbsup:
as Shorelady and others said, lots of little fish around.
If the swell is not big you will catch em....so easy even a Googan like me can do it....:rolleyes: :laugh:
Bigger fish are the needle in the haystack fish and take a little more effort....
Monty Marathon report:
Sat - Sun.....
** Note...... edited with the gripping details of how I tracked down and mugged the OGB.....:laugh: :moon: :HappyWave:
Sat - went out for the AM Sun bite to the Southern area where I previously got action the other night.
As the tide was at the top at around 3am, I figured it would be no problem as I would work the drop.
Not that great of a strategy...wading was almost impossible as the surf, instead of receding, began to build with a bigger swell. Really a little nasty and ugly. Since I was by myself, didn't want to become a news statistic....decided on another course of action.
Went to Finchaser's front door....looking to see if I could bum a ride in the helicopter ride that brings him to better waters with bigger fish..turns out he was already out, and the helicopter driver was on strike....so I set out to find him in the surf zone....the surf in that area was a little better, except it was influenced by the
Googan Effect...when a googan/dillydock shows up and shuts the bite down.....:rolleyes:
When I showed up, the bigger fish moved offshore...and the little bass took their place....We had decent action on these small fish for about 45 minutes, until Googan #2 shows up, and the bite shut off for good...(allegedly)...
Picture this, Finchaser, one of the most competent Surfcasters on the NJ Surfline....flanked to the left and right by 2 Googans....:scared:
He said he had enough and cleared out....
I took a nap while Googan #2 didn't want to leave without catching a fish.....casted for 2 hours until he finally caught a short bass and sundial...which spurred me into action again...but the bite was really dead at that point.....all affected by the tide....
Sun report..
Found a buffet, got some lunch took a hobo shower in a nice bathroom...report in the nomad fishing thread....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...he-road-fishin
back out at it for the afternoon and night bite...
As the surf had gotten bigger and the E wind started howling, it became unfishable again....waste of time for most normal folks....:kooky:
I have a good friend who swears that any day now we'll be invaded by herring and bunker in the surf and some bay areas...some think he is delusional...but this does happen every year around this time,,certain key areas....on Fri a (few) fish were caught to 24# in an hour long bite in one of these areas......
So his logic, though seemingly insane...does have a point. Since he was working that night, I spent the next 3 hours at night searching some of our proven late season spots for signs of bunker, herring..... but most importantly the larger stray bass that we could be targeting....all I found was cold dirty water, and no bait.....
**However, this time of year, with fewer people out there hunting for these bigger bass.( as they are truly needle in a haystack fish, one out of every 1000).....you can't rely on intel....you have to be there when they are there with the bigger baits...and so far that has been extremely difficult as the larger schools that most are claiming are on there way here......are not...what I am talking about here is targeting the few teen or larger bass that are around because of some food source.... or just migrating through and touching down for a night or so.....like chasing ghosts in the night......
This morning 6 to 8AM released 5 bass to 28" all on rubbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbba
Dark must be tired after his 60 hour marathon he didn't even tell how he tracked me down and mugged me yesterday
Awesome reports guys! I fished moco yesterday. the surf was big but I used clams and 8 oz. Got 4 bass to 21". With the 8oz weight if felt funny reeling in these little fish. Will have to try to get them with the rubber shads you guys are talking about next time.
:clapping:Nice going finchaser and jigfreak! Anything keeper size seems hard to catch with all the schoolies around. dark great marathon narrative as usual.
At least you tried.:HappyWave:
come on guy's at least question how it smelt after 60 hours:upck::HappyWave:
The old Grouchy basstid doesn't know what's he's talking about..:moon: :kiss:...I took care of it all at a the bathroom of a restaurant buffet...full healthy meal and hobo shower for $16.....
post 112
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...-fishin/page12
Fished last night, 8-10pm, pocket of deeper water in moco, 1 bass 30" on bucktail and grub.
Way to punch it through buckethead! I heard the surf was big and nasty. Kudos to you for making it out there.
Finchaser, yes please describe the smell of the dark one. lol Dark, hope you are not offended by this but it was too funny not to ask about it. :upck:
A cross between a restaurant dumpster and a headboat bilge ^^^
Well the south wind:2flip: with it's swell brought the cold dirty and my 2 friends and I finally took the:skunk:after a week of good fishing.
A buddy of mine had good action this morning in MoCo. The NW wind kicked in and fish bit well, he said.
Hey finchaser you can't win them all. You seem to have a line on the bigger fish. Those 9 and 11 lb bass you were catching were giant fish compared to the fish I have seen caught in the last 2 weeks. I fished twice over the weekend in monmouth county, got 15 bass the first time, 9 bass the 2nd time, all on clams. None of them were over 21". So even though you didn't catch fish today you would be the leader if there was a contest. Nice going and enjoy the reports.
^^ What storminsteve said.
finchaser, you, sharkhart, jigfreak, dark, hookset, buckethead, storminsteve and a few others here seem to be able to catch nice fish consistently out there. You guys are an inspiration every time I read your reports whether you get the big skunk or not. No one catches them every time out or they are lying. Thanks for sharing the reports guys. I am really enjoying them when I can't fish. And buckethead thanks for the cool stomach content pic.
Was reporting the skunk to let you know I'm human too and don't always get them as i usually report just catches as i fish once or twice a day(before and after work sometimes durning lunch). I wasn't complaining ,Dark always makes it sound like i always get them. Gotta go to bed now 4:30 comes fast thank god I only have to travel 10 minutes to this weeks spot.
this morning 5 to7 AM released 5 smallllllllll bass all on plugs
I think what I try to convey to the readers here is when they see you managed double digits...that the way you fish, you're usually high hook, even among the other old farts......:moon:....so they shouldn't expect to catch the same numbers you do.....:HappyWave:
*******
Tue Report...
Weather forecast said cold and N winds....I got out there and it was relatively warm, 42, with no wind at all....
How could someone with surfcasting in their blood pass up a night like that?
High expectations.....managed 3 small bass on the Tsunami TS long Stick rattling swimmer in the first half hour.
That was at the bottom of the tide......unfortunately that was it....spent the next 3 1/2 hours casting working all levels of the water column....not another tap for me......
Probably should have realized that the water would be colder on the flood tide....with the temps down to 44 in some places these fish are close to the point where they could turn off for the night artificial bite......
**Clams and daytime fishing are your best bet if you want to catch numbers of bass now...
For some reason I keep resisting that routine.....would rather hunt for the few fish at night.....maybe I'll pick up a nicer one one night like a prize in a Cracker Jack Box....:kooky:
Maybe....being the eternal googan I am....I won't.....:laugh:
But I will keep trying.....:fishing:
Its encouraging to me to see anyone catching bass even if they are small. I have fished in Cape May county for a week now and nothing. Thought for sure I would get at least one of the bigger bay bass. I think the run is almost over.
Window in the night.....Wed PM....
The North winds in the day made it tough for some folks to get fish....some did....someone we know texted me and said they quit after 25 because they were tired of catching so many little fish and it got boring for them....I agree, unless you're fishing very light tackle for these fish it doesn't seem much of a challenge. Some of them are 10-12".
I have tried to target some a bit larger at night.....My last trip I got 3, but they were so small I felt bad catching them...
I haven't always been successful....the night bite is very elusive....many nights it's not there at all.....hours and hours of casting for no results.....
Very few larger fish around....
As Fin and others have explained it appears we are nearing the end of this Season.
There really isn't much food in the surf zone to hold these fish....most of my recent fish have been skinny, even the larger ones...the action could end any day, and next week's storm may very well be the end...
There are limited "needle in a haystack fish".......so that's why we're out there hoping for a mid teen fish or something close to it....freezing in the cold winds. and trying to pick nights when there is a better window.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...fishing+window
Last night was a pretty good window....the wind had died down to almost nothing....0-3mph.....W/NW...Because the area I fished the other night had smaller fish I changed my planned route.
Managed 6 fish at the bottom of the tide, still small, but relatively close to the 25" range....
Fish hit very sluggishly for me on swimmers. If you missed one it would not come back again.
My best producer was the Tsunami swimmer....Rubber and bucktails got nothing at all.
Had 1 1/2 hours of action where I got a fish or missed one every 10 casts or so....pretty damn good compared to the time and effort I have been putting in at night lately. :cool:
Once the tide turned, within 10 minutes the wind did as well. :( could not wade out anymore and reach the fish as the wind quickly ramped up to a steady 15, N/NE, with gusts to 20.....Air temps 33 degrees...water 48 degrees.
Got out of the water and went to another location with the wind behind me......fished that for an hour with no results,,,,packed it in early.....:fishing:
Nice going good to see the plug bite still is strong. Fished nomoco 3:30-6pm. Picked up 5 bass to 27". Mag darter and vision eel got the job done. Water is cleaning up. Best of the day was around sunset.