December of 2005 and January 2006 we averaged 20 to 25 fish per day that run ended 2/14/06 in a snow storm
2007 ended toward the end of January
So it's been a while since they stayed this long
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December of 2005 and January 2006 we averaged 20 to 25 fish per day that run ended 2/14/06 in a snow storm
2007 ended toward the end of January
So it's been a while since they stayed this long
That is awesome. I never caught a bass in January. I will try this weekend. The weather will be warmer. Good going guys.
Fished the Ocean the night of 1/2 to 1/3...it was an exceptional night...:drool:
I decided to check out a place that a friend of mine mentioned. Neither of us had been there in a while, and I know he was kind of looking for a scouting report...I was glad to oblige...
After a long walk, I set up with a black bomber. Would have used a Diawa SM, as I was adjacent to deeper water. but the actual water I was fishing was shallower and the tide was dropping. I developed a theory after only getting 3 the other night that perhaps the fish were feeding on a different time, and feeding in water of 3' or less. This led me to choose the bomber over the Daiwa.
Great choice, I hit paydirt!
I landed fish on my 2nd, 8th, 9th, 13th, and 20th casts. Pretty damn good action. I was kicking myself for not being there an hour earlier. Wondering if they had been feeding at that stage all along.
That's the thing about this bite....it is solid, but you have to move around to find the feeding fish if you want real numbers and sizes.
If you don't find them and are not out at the right time and place for that stage of the tide... you will get dead water and it won't be revealed to you that the larger ones are there.
I find that to be a challenge, and as addictive as catching the fish.
I spend hours during the day while working daydreaming when they could be feeding, where that could be, and always have a few spots lined up in case things don't pan out at one of them...Sometimes, you just can't dial in, can't put it together...hey that's fishing..
..but when it does come together, and all your homework and assumptions pay off, its a sweet personal sense of satisfaction that drives me to be out there again and again, even when the pain from frostbite is so great I have to stop fishing for awhile and thaw my fingers in my pockets...
The action dissipated after that, about a fish stuck or bumped every 10 casts. It was a good solid hour of action. Gradually I realized I had to move elsewhere. I made that move and nabbed one small schoolie on a white/yellow swimmer at first light. Action drastically shut off after that and I called it a night.
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Look how fat this one was. I got 2 fish both around 28". One of them I estimate at 8lbs, standard size for that length. The other one was fat as a tuna and I estimated it to be around 11#.
This is the thing I was talking about in one of the other threads, that there seem to be 2 types or strains of bass mixed together in this nightly mix....the Chesapeake strain, which could possibly be the bigger and fatter fish, that have temporarily taken hiatus from the migration, and the Hudson fish, the smaller ones, the skinny schoolies that we (Exclusively) get at the end of the run every year, otherwise known as "death rats".
There are a lot of death rats around now if you are dialed into catching them. We saw an old timer catch 20 in less than an hour the other morning...he was jigging metal in a certain way...more on that in another thread...
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For the log, and the new guys.....
Mon night, 1/2 to 1/3/12...
Temps, start to finish......34-30
Wind....W/NW (mostly W, 0-10mph)
15 bass to 18#....:drool:
Action was great, dropped about 10 as they were very light hits. A bump that felt like a hickory shad could be either an 18" or an 18# bass....you had to stick them quick and hard to find out what was at the end of the rainbow.....:cool:
4 of them were keepers up to 18#, released...
Again, the 2 biggest fish of the night came on a Surfstix Purple Danny you see pictured here..
2 other keepers came on a black bomber. For some reason that simple black bomber outfished the Daiwa Salt Minnow, only managed 1 on the Daiwa....
Bass caught on Surfstix purple Danny.....
Attachment 14600
Look at the belly on this one......
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I can't claim the first 20, as a few guys I know have done much better than I have. Congrats to them and all the time they put in out there, sacrificing sleep and a normal life to be there when the fish are feeding.
These last 3 pics show a fish that was 36" and was grotesquely fat. The stomach was so round it looked like she had 2 or 3 adult sized bunker in her....
She was 36". According to the chart, a fish that size should be 16.8 to 22lbs.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...-Fishing-Links
From my personal log, a fish usually needs to be 38" to be a 20....
This fish, as fat as she was, was definitely closer to 20, than 18....
But since she went back in the water, and I dont carry a scale...we'll call it 18... I wish some of ya's could have been out there to see the belly on her....
Note the new front treble I put on Surfstix's plug in anticipation of running into some nicer fish. Good thing I did.....
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Nice work there, laddie.:clapping::clapping:
Joisy fish in January? You folks don't know how lucky you are.
Got 9 bass to 15lbs last night. As you mentioned they turned off at first light. Bomber, magdarter, redfin, all got fish. Still here. Great writing and report Dark, congrats on that 18.
dude u r on fire! thats my boy dark lurking around the night prowler with the bass wtg! jigfreeak too u r da man! no one has the cahoneys to fish now and you guys are slamming it big time!
Love that night prowler reference. And the road in this video reminds me of one on the way to the water.:cool:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW_VS...eature=related
Nice catching fellas, sure do wish I lived in Jersey right now.
Awesome, here we are a week into January and the bass are still around. Nice going guys.
Great job dark, keep up the good work ;-)
^^ Welcome, Vegas! I'm officially out of the game for about 2 nights, people, while the car is in the shop...http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...cons/icon9.png...The withdrawal is tough, I'm kicking myself for not making it out last night, as the weather window was perfect. :beatin:
Congrats to all those who are making the effort and braving the cold....
Here's your chance to get out there and get some Jan numbers in...
When I get back into the game I'll be hitting it more than ever, and working hard on the night tides,,,,so catch em while ya can, be careful, have fun, and be safe....:thumbsup:
5 bass to 27 1/2" between 5-6pm. Schoolbus bomber and the black daiwa. Moco. Dark, outstanding report. if you need a ride to the fish call me any time.
Wow you guys are really getting into some nice bass, congrats!
:clapping: :headbang:Way to keep it going dudes, you are hardcore.
The bite continues...but we only had an hour tonight....missed that afternoon window...hey that's fishing. :don't know why:
Pebbles offered to take her car as she wanted to get in some fishin time, so we made a trip to the ocean. We met up with the Old Farts Fishin Club (OFFC) who were leaving as we got there. They said the bite had slowed to a slow pick, and had each picked up a few short fat bass plugging the beach, WTG guys! :clapping: :HappyWave:
Pebbles and I moved to another location.
Gave it an hour. The building SE swell cut down on the fishable areas, the wind was mostly S, and didn't turn W till we were on our way home. Still, some keepers were caught to the teens, and mostly smaller fish in the end of day bite. It really ended about 15 minutes before we got there, and we didn't have the time to wait for it to turn around.
Still a nice night out, and it felt like Spring as the weather was in the 50's. Dozens of guys fishing at different locations, taking advantage of the great weather...but in all, a little crowded..when I get my car back I'll return to the night tides. I have a feeling some of ya's are going to do very well tonight. Catch em up. :fishing:
Came out of winter retirement looking the plug bite on the second half of the night , but it was more like casting practice for next year. I did manage to one bass early in incomming, then I went 3.5 hrs without a hit over all the spots.
I think you have to be out early in the night, then they go to sleep.
^^To me this is an outstanding report. :thumbsup: Not about the numbers ya got, but that you're one of the few out there to give it 3.5 hours when it seems like it ain't gonna happen. Last night may have been an off night but you pushed on anyway. Some are blaming it on the full moon, and give up after an hour, or in their minds only see it as an end of day bite...that's only part of the big picture out there right now...
The one night when I had fewer fish but some to the mid-teens, I threw the surfstix Danny for 2 1/2 hours without as much as a bump before a teen fish exploded on it. :wheeeee:
People think it's easy to get numbers out there, but it ain't...it's a lot of hard work....I only wish your hard work paid off for you last night, but at least ya got one..:clapping:...(hope it was worth coming out of retirement for...:rolleyes: you and Vegas should see about playing a few rounds of golf together...;) ) .Congrats and you'll gettum next time.
Great effort, thanks for the report....
*********
Some pics we took last night of keeper fish....
Mid-teens bass, nailed on black bomber. nice meetin ya! :HappyWave:
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TC and his friend were out there, 2nd night in a row, got this fat keeper among a few others...nice meetin ya's, we'll hook up in the Spring again...:HappyWave:
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And congrats to all who are out there giving it a shot...when was the last time ya can remember catching fish like this in January? :drool:
i had no luck with a black bomber on the incoming. left around 7. tried a few things
Fished moco from 3:30 to 6. Picked up 2 bass using a magdarter right around sunset. The biggest was 25", nice fattie.
Keep at it extreme. I was casting a daiwa close to sundown today, 4 to 26" in MoCo. Nice pics dark, my offer to drive you around still stands if you don't have your car back yet.
:fishing: i plan to steve. i think it was my fault i came up empty handed :huh: :learn:
Almost the same play book for me last night, too. Pebbles offered me the use of her car, I took it. Fished 4 locations in 3 hours on the flood.
Not real happy with the swell,..it was an intermittent mid-period swell..
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...d+period+swell
The thing about this swell, there was a period of 5 waves 2-4', duration 4-5 secs.
There was another period of 15-20 waves, duration 4-5 secs.
In between there was some calm water.
This would seem good as it churned up the water where I was, but the inconsistency of the swell made it dangerous to fish where I usually do, on the flood.
The new moon tide came in quickly, causing me to move a lot. In life, you gotta work with what you're given, and I just had to be out there...
Spot after spot produced no fish...not even a tap....
Finally managed some action 1/2 hour before first light. Between that time and first light I landed 3 schoolies to 24". All action where I was died as soon as the sun hit the horizon.
Not exactly the feed I was looking for, but it was action.
Another significant clue to me was where I was, bait usually all over, there was very little...
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I'm hoping this will change within the next 3 nights due to the full moon..
if not, IMO it will be back to a late afternoon bite till the water temps are too cold and the fish shut off completely.
All fish on a Daiwa Salt minnow. I worked a lot of other profiles in my bag from small to large with no action at all. Even the always popular black bomber could not draw a tap.
Results:
3 schoolies to 24".
Water temps - 47 degrees, fish hits were very sluggish..
Air temps - start to finish - 42-38 degrees,
Wind - very mild, < 10mph
I love Swiss, but he's too recognizable, that's part of his misery.
I don't need that misery and am now on radio silence hoping this night feed starts again...changing vehicles, parking in the Commuter lot of the GSP and taking my bicycle to the beach...etc... ;)
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ishing+bicycle
Come on out and look for me if you dare, I might even get ya a fish or 2...:cool:
if ya can handle the drill sergeant way we'll be moving around, that is....:moon: :laugh:
I guarantee a few trips with me, and you'll lose that 10 lbs ya been promising yourself you'd lose....for the last 5 years! :ROFLMAO :HappyWave:
way to go guys.
Phenomenal catches guys! You are all racking up some fastastic numbers. How many do you have for the last 2 weeks, dark, is it up to 60 yet?:bigeyes:
I am leaving as soon as the game is over to try some late afternoon plugging. Good luck all!
I already lost 7 lbs in the last 3 weeks moving around at night, Bababooey, so hit me uo anytime ya feel like ya need some exercise...:cool:
Last night:
A lot of guys have been complaining to me they can't catch fish on the full moon...yes, it is tougher, more of a challenge. But if the fish are feeding and the bait is there, AND you are willing to work for them, you can be successful.
I missed the sunset bite. When I got there I saw that very few fish were caught, one of them a 10# keeper by a friend, an older veteran angler, on a vision eel. Everyone else gave up at that location soon after dark, and left.
I waited for the tide to turn to ebb, worked it a bit more. Still unsuccessful, but you shouldn't leave a place that "was" productive if it's possible that the slack killed the bite, you should wait a few minutes to see if the tide's turn will make any difference...
Only had 3 hours to fish the ebb, so I kept moving.
Ended up fishing a few more locations with no activity at all. Getting a little discouraged, I decided to push on for the 5th location. It wasn't extremely cold, but the wind was picking up, NW, and I was a little burnt out.
When I got there I saw that I was not alone. Usually this bums me out, but at this point I was tired and welcomed the company. One of the guys was an old fishin buddy I haven't seen in awhile. He had been doing ok plugging from the top of the tide, no big fish, all small. Slow, slow pick, but at least it was action.
At that point the action seemed to slack off. He managed 1 more and left. I managed 1 as well, but you had to cast and cast for each fish. The levels of activity that were off the chart the previous weeks were missing. We knew that but were happy to be out there anyway.
Toward the end, I did some scouting, found some interesting things. We'll see if my findings hold true... My hands got wet and the wind kicked up again. Frostbite set in and I was done.http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...cons/icon9.png
Results and condions:
1 short bass around 22", bomber
Activity level: low, slow pick
Wind NW, intermittent, up to 10mph,
Swell: from the N/NE, lots of white water, but manageable on the ebb.
Temps start-finish: 42-31
Cowherder, if you count the last 2 weeks as consecutive weeks of a year, I landed 59 bass including the lone bass last night. You have to remember that a lot of these were small fish. Only about 12-15 of them were keeper sized, and while the biggest was 18#, that represents a lot of hours of lost sleep and cold fingers.
And honestly, I don't want to lump those numbers together like that. The 40 were caught in the last week of Dec and belong with 2011. As Finchaser so candidly notes, those are yesterday's fish....:) :HappyWave:
So for 2012, clean slate, my numbers so far for January are 19, with 4 keepers to 18# in the mix.
Still.... lots of work and sacrifices are made to be there when these fish are feeding. A lot of guys have packed it in for the year, but there are still some of us out there at night. To me, it's still worth it. ;) :fishing:
:clapping::clapping:Marathon Man^^^^^^:clapping::clapping:
AKA King Googan/Bag-O- Fish:HappyWave:
Outstanding job guys.
Good work fellas. It seems incredible that we still have bass action in January, doesn't it?
Fan-effing-tasttic!
Keep up the good work I am loving these reports and the details.
Now I am beyond jealous. The Dark, the Dark, the Dark is on fire-:eek:
Good for ya, lads. Keep it going. Remember if your fingers fall off crazy glue works good to get them back on and back to fishing.
I can't believe you guys are out in this cold. It's like carp fishing in January. You have called these fish striped carp, so maybe it's not a lot different only you are all using lures. Is anyone using biat for these fish? How about crabs?
I got out today fished till dark. I jumped on a few jetties. seen only one fish caught as the sun was setting. It was great getting out and it was my first skunk of 2012. hoping to get out again tomorrow.