Re: NJ's resident bass, why have they abandoned us?
Good point. I don't fish as many places as you guys do, just a few beaches and the bayshore. Hardly any small bass this year except for March. I hope they come back.
Re: NJ's resident bass, why have they abandoned us?
This is something I posted elsewhere. Thought it might be time to revisit this thread.....
" The area from Barnegat to Sea Bright......
There are generally no bass around in that area, year round, any more.
Other areas?, absolutely have some year round populations of resident bass...don't have time to list them all, but a few...in general terms...
Chesapeake Bay backwaters, yes
Cape May to Avalon, backwaters,yes
Delaware Bay, deepwater harbors, yes
Philly, deepwater harbors, yes
Mullica River, yes
Maurice River, probably
Toms River, maybe some but clearing out to the power plant when water temps get below 45 degrees.
Raritan Bay and NY Bight, yes, mostly in the deepest harbors and channels
Arthur kill, yes
Hudson River, yes
LI Sound, and the East River, yes,
The large rivers in Ct, dumping into the sound, yes
But as to the Barnegat to Sea Bright area, generally speaking, the bass leave for the winter. There are no resident bass, in numbers, except for the isolated area of the Power plant which provides warmer water and small forage they need to feed on.
Go look for them in January-March in the area mentioned .
You will not find them, in any numbers, in that area.
Another distinction guys might want to learn about is how resident fish become migrating fish, and vice versa, and what conditions happen to cause these transitions. "
Re: NJ's resident bass, why have they abandoned us?
Re: NJ's resident bass, why have they abandoned us?
:clapping::clapping: You said it finchaser. We used to have these small school bass all over. You could get them from the inlets or sandy hook. In the beginning of the season this year I got most bass over 28". Didn't see the small ones till 2 weeks ago. Not good. We really need some slot limits or drop the catch limit to 1.
Re: NJ's resident bass, why have they abandoned us?
Great thread here. I too agree with making the limit one striper.
Re: NJ's resident bass, why have they abandoned us?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cowherder
Great thread here. I too agree with making the limit one striper.
I like the 1 bass at 36" or bigger.
That seemed to work last time (if my memory is correct).
Re: NJ's resident bass, why have they abandoned us?
I think the 36" size is good too. You would still have a chance of getting one from the surf. They would have a chance to breed a few years before becoming dinner. Win win on all levels.
Re: NJ's resident bass, why have they abandoned us?
Just to add to this....
Recap of summer fishing....
I did catch fish, so you might argue that the residents are still here during that time.
Some were, but overall I feel only very few specific areas held fish, based on what and where I was catching, in NJ.
I would agree that we do have some residents. You can dive in many deepwater harbors and find a few near rocks, bulkheads, pilings, or ships and other structure.
Is the class of resident fish large enough to be noticed, or for most fishermen to catch them?
I would say, based on my experience, compared to that of 8-10 years ago, that our numbers of resident fish have severely declined. Enough for some to make the claim that there are none.
Re: NJ's resident bass, why have they abandoned us?
Additionally, based on my observations, most of these "resident" fish leave for the summer now... they seek out cooler water. Even if that water is just 1-3 miles offshore, or somewhere else along the Coast.
Someone will always be able to point to a few fish they caught. I did catch them in the summer, but had to go to insane lengths to get a few.
There are several harbor and bridge areas in NJ estuaries where some fish can be caught throughout the summer.
IMO that doesn't change the fact that many of these fish that we used to count on being able to catch,,,,are no longer there.
And as part of educating and informing our readers and the fishing community, I thought it important to make this distinction.
thanks for reading, comments or questions always welcome. :HappyWave:
Re: NJ's resident bass, why have they abandoned us?
This is a link to a thread that talks about different flowers blooming and how to tell what fish are usually around at that time.
For the last 10 years I would know when to ramp up my fall fishing when these flowers bloomed.....
For the last 2 years, they have disappointed me...
I know there are other factors folks may point to, but I'm simply trying to raise awareness of the possibilities here...
Thanks for reading....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...-Fish-are-Here
Comments or differing opinions are welcome.
Re: NJ's resident bass, why have they abandoned us?
Also you should tell people that they were thick at the bridges for most of the year when the season was open. I dont think thats too bad to say cause we cant fish the bridges anymore because of those hispanic aholes that ruined if for everyone. It seems like those small bass disappeared from a lot of prime areas, even the Toms River doesn't hold as many as it used to.
Re: NJ's resident bass, why have they abandoned us?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jigfreak
It seems like those small bass disappeared from a lot of prime areas, even the Toms River doesn't hold as many as it used to.
This is a question for jigfreak or anyone else who knows. On another site someone was saying that the bass winter over in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers. And yet here you are saying that the Toms River doesn't hold fish like it used to. So which is closer to reality and how do we know it to be true? Thanks in advance.
Re: NJ's resident bass, why have they abandoned us?
The rivers do not hold anywhere near the numbers of bass they were holding 5 years ago porgy. Whoever made that statement either has not fished in 5 years, is using old data, or is talking out of his ***. I agree with jigfreak.
Re: NJ's resident bass, why have they abandoned us?
many were killed by clammers when gut hooked them with there small hooks in March also lets not forget the poachers and people from down Mehhico way who use the excuse we must feed our families.
Re: NJ's resident bass, why have they abandoned us?
You wouldn't believe the amount of bass that are taken each year in March that are gut hooked. They throw them in the bushes and then fillet and bbq them right on the beach so they don't get busted or they hide them till ready to leave and then backpack them out. I do think that the problem is bigger than that. People are keeping too many bass period.