Good night last night. 12 bass to 17#. Swimmers.
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Good night last night. 12 bass to 17#. Swimmers.
Nice going Jig, awesome. Water Temps in the surf is near 45 Deg. I'm curious when the bass will stop hitting plugs.
Picked up 6 bass in Nomoco around dark yesterday. Up to 32". Yozuri minnows and vision sand eels. Fun!
Vpass how many hours were you casting for? I found the fish to be very scattered. Good luck.
Wow you guys are amazing! I am living my winter blahs through you all. Check this thread every day. Keep up the good work!
Have been looking forward to the posts daily on this thread and have been enjoying them tremendously. Congrats to those having the opportunity to get out there and report back.
Happy Trails
Got my 1st bass on a plug tonight!
Attachment 14636
Nice, congrats.
Good season Rich, late but better then never and still going I'm glad to see the plugs worked out for ya anytime my friend but I think it is an A-40 not a danny lol my personal favorite metal lip I didn't want to say anything lol doesn't really matter its how you present it and I see you worked your butt off figuring out how they liked it.
thanks guys! :headbang: fished MoCo from around 7pm-11pm last night. hit a few spots. 1st spot i missed a fish the 1st 10min there then about 2hrs later hit another spot. 3-4 casts and i had a fish! :clapping: small but im not complaining. this is the 1st time i caught a saltwater fish on a plug. and the 2nd striper ive caught since i started fishing a yr ago. thanks to dark for all his advice on landing them with a plug and everything else. seen a nice keeper caught at the 1st spot to.
Ya know that was a 20# that you missed, bro! :beatin: ;)
You were there right time and tide, and the fatties were right in front of ya for a short while. The guys who left before you did didn't have the discipline to stick it out, as the hits are very scattered and take work and perseverance. The fish are very sluggish at night unless actively feeding.
When you swing and miss at a "tap", you really have no way of knowing if that fish was 20" or 20#.
I was a little tough on ya over the phone. Pebbles told me I should give ya a break. I told her...
"I'm trying to get this mook :laugh: :HappyWave: into his first bass on artificials, I AM giving him a break by being as patient as I am...".:argue: :kooky: :)
You're welcome...welcome to the world of surfcasting...
Very proud of your persistence. :clapping::thumbsup: There is nothing like a first surf caught bass on artificials for a surfcaster's enthusiasm to get amped up...to see that a little piece of plastic, wood, rubber, or metal will get a fish to commit suicide with it...I have a feeling this is the beginning of a very long addiction....enjoy, and you're welcome....:thumbsup: :fishing:
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2 night report...
Mon night was outstanding, 19 bass to 15#, biggest on Surfstix's Custom A-40 (Sorry Surf, I tend to call ALL metal lipped swimmers "Dannies", less syllables to say, and we all know how I need to cut down on the syllables and paragraphs I spew out there...:ROFLMAO )
I'll post the pics when I get a chance with an abbreviated report. I'm losing energy to post these long-winded reports when I need to spend my time on work, Pebbles, and going after these fish at night.
Those of you who got my phone reports consider yourselves lucky (or cursed...:laugh:)
Tue night... by the time I got out there I couldn't find them in any numbers...it was more of a challenge than I was up to, and I ran out of steam...http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...cons/icon9.png
2 bass to 30", the keeper was about 10#, released, and not as fat as some of the others have been.
I abbreviated a short 3 hour trip into 2 hours as my body couldn't take it anymore..when a perfectly balanced Finchaser rod, light as a feather, starts to feel like a telephone pole, you know you need to go home and rest...
I also had an impulse to close my eyes and take a rest by sitting down..where I was if you do that the rats will eat your eyeballs...:scared: that let me know it was too much and I called it a night early...
Long day at work today, hopefully back out at night, weather permitting...:fishing:
Congrats again Extreme, and all the others who pushed it to get fish.....:clapping:
hey.... tell pebbles not to worry. listening to u is entertaining. you would make a great motivational speaker :viking: :huh:
excuse my lack of enthusiasm on the phone. i tend to mumble alot and act dead :boring: but i am a wolf in sheeps clothing. long day at work and i should not have been out fishing anyway :kooky:
Dark, you missed it. Last night the bite was good early. 21 bass to 19#. Swimmers. Today it was slower in the light but kicked up a bit as it got dark and the water came in. 4 to 17#.
Hey guys super awesome reports! Dark I feel I am right there with you as you are relating the report. I would be bummed if you decided to abbreviate them but if you do I understand. You should know that there are a lot of us who can't fish this time of year and this is the only link we have to the surf. So it helps us to feel alive, please keep posting those reports and pics, please. It helps me deal with my SOB boss more easily.
Extreme visions your first bass by plugging will stay printed in your brain, congratulations and welcome to the site!:clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping:
This is a juiced up thread! I had trouble finding it, thought your surf fishing threads were closed for the winter, dark. Great job. keep hammering em you guys are truly die hards!
And extreme vision grats on the fish. Whether it is big or small it is something you fooled into hitting the plug. Be proud, go catch another and come back and tell us about it here.
Dark the master baiter crushes them. At least the bunker are safe from your hook now.:laugh: :HappyWave: I am happy for ya but jealous at the same time. You have higher numbers in the last 3 weeks than some googs have all season. That passage where you talked about the jetty rats hit home. I fell asleep on a jetty one night when I used to drink a lot. When I woke up there were rats on me. I believe those little buggers will eat your eyes as they are soft and full of protein.
Keep at it, and be careful. Don't fall off.:eek:
I am assuming all the fish you guys are catching are in Northern NJ by the clues about the extensive jetty network you talk about. This is one of the most colorful threads you have here. Extreme Visions great idea for a thread and Darkskies and you other guys thanks so much for the entertainment and the pictures! We haven't had fall fish like that for years in South Jersey. Thanks and keep up the good work!
Also, I didn't know this thread existed until I went to the NJ fishing reports, saw that you closed it, clicked on it. It said the reports would continue in this thread. When I first checked, I didnt click and figured all you northern guys were done for the winter. You should broadcast this thread and give it exposure so more of us can find it. jmo
Very good job on your first plug caught fish Extreme!
thanks guys. great group of people on here for sure! i plan to go out again this week. i retired that plug after 3hrs of use :kooky: gonna save it and maybe get a lil case for it to put under the pic.
i regret waiting so long to get in on this striper action. kept goin out for blackfish. :fishing:
The **** page is finally onto and blowing up this bite : /
Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkSkies;56160[COLOR=blue
Attachment 14648
Look how ugly that mag darter looks, it's been hit by so many fish it has almost no color left...anyone here wanna tell me how one color or scale pattern is gonna slay them over another color?
Put another way...is it the color that catches the fish...or the guy working the plug that catches the fish....
Attachment 14649
Attachment 14651
Here you can see one with a bulging belly.
Attachment 14652
For the log:
Winds start -finish: 0-10, Sw to W
Temps: 38-32
The level of activity was exceptional. The moon being obscured by clouds probably had a lot to do with that.
What worked - mag darter fished old skool style was most effective and landed the most fish. Fish were scattered and you really had to work for them. After realizing how scattered they were, I "teased" them into hitting the plug, and my hookups increased. Caught fish on both sides of the tide.
Also caught a few on black bomber and yellow and orange swimmer.
Surfstix A-40 Plug accounted for the biggest fish, around 15#. Landed one at 15#, then lost that plug when another fish in that class wrapped me around structure and I couldn't turn her.
19 fish total
4 of the fish were keepers, to 15#... all released.
1-9 to 1-10 more pics
Attachment 14659
Attachment 14658
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Attachment 14654
Attachment 14655
Tue night 1-10-12 to 1-11-12
Attachment 14660
Skinny belly.... 30" fish, about 10#
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For the log:
Temps starting -ending: 42-34
wind, variable, very light, 0-2mph
Swell - note this was the smallest swell in the last 3 weeks. Ocean was like a lake. Generally I don't like conditions like this as it tends not to be any white water where I fish. nonetheless people did well the first part of the night, and some members here did exceptionally well with serious double digit catches. Congrats to all...:clapping:
Wed night 1-11-12
Noreaster fishing.
As you all know, fishing during a noreaster sucks, and is dangerous as well.
We have a thread here where a rubber lizard yells at and insults noreaster fishermen,,,a bit salty and profane, but good fun...
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...est+wind+wally
There was a window last night that closed by 7pm, where some nice fish were caught.
Based on a conversation we had, a friend was out there giving it a try.
I was therefore "forced" to go out there to meet up with him.:laugh: :kooky: (at least that's what I told Pebbles) :rolleyes:
He's offered to go fishing with me so many times,
I've declined,and felt bad,,,so I finally made it out around 11pm. He had given it a shot, got blanked, and left....
I saw the howling wind, and took a 2 hour nap to see if it would minimize. When I awoke, it did, and there was an extremely light drizzle, winds 15-20mph. Those conditions lasted about an hour, where I gave it my best with big plugs, bottle plugs.
It really was unfishable by that time. Should have listened to the OGB and stayed home, but I also had to be out there to see for myself....:bucktooth:
Phenomenal, just phenomenal. Bass in January, and some big ones! Catch them up.
:clapping::clapping:Great reports guys, I am enjoying them so much. Hope to get out this weekend and have something to post up.
who is heading out tonight?
Love this thread. Keep those reports coming.
Well, it may about time to call it..after all it is the middle of January with an exceptional bass night bite, a freak of nature bite...:scared:... but the Noreaster and SE swell from Wed night may have killed it...
Fri night report:
The winds were howling in my neighborhood 25mph plus, so I was in no hurry to get out there...finally made it out to find it was a steady 28 degrees with winds at most 10mph..
That was good. There was still a pretty big swell left over from Wed night's weather...Thus the ebb tide was the only fishable tide IMO.
Had to move to a few places were I could present correctly.
** VPass, you were right about Swell Info. The swell duration was around 8-9secs as predicted, definitely fishable.
With water like that, the thing to do is throw big. Worked it hard with bottle plugs and darters. No action whatsoever, and the bait that I had mentioned to a few of ya's was not really there, though I did find some after scounting around..
After moving for the 3rd time, I managed a small bass on a black bomber. That was a lucky bass because nowhere else did I have any action. I have been out there a lot lately and can usually tell within a few minutes if it will be a good night. I knew last night that things were probably over for the larger feeding fish I had been finding, and that if any are caught now it will be trending to the "end of day" bite I mentioned in the Turd Ferguson thread.
That's what puzzles me...some captains and internet "experts" were talking about the E/NE as something that would stir the fishing up....in my experience all something like that does, except for limited incidents in the very early spring and summer, is shut the bite completely off...cold dirty water is good for nothing in the surf except to bring dogfish around....
Anyone who is looking for a bass would be well advised to try the late afternoon pattern I mentioned in the above thread...I may try a few more times at night because I'm compulsively driven and got a little spoiled when these fish were around...but will eventually have to accept that the NJ bass season is coming to an end until March...
For the log:
Air temps start-finish 28 degrees steady.
Wind 0-10 W/SW
Swell - SE swell, 9 sec duration
Total: 1 short bass on black bomber, no other action at all.
Dark, let's be real here it is Jan 14 and we are still catching bass so we should count our lucky stars!. Woo hoo! I got 2 this afternoon in nomoco on the sand. There were about 10 other guys there and half of us hooked up. I was using a chicken scratch bomber. The biggest was 23", and I'm stoked!
Yep, you're right Cowherder. For January 15, we should just be grateful to have any bass at all in the mix....:thumbsup: I think with some of the bigger fish I was into and the incredible action, rather than hooking them, I was "hooked" by them....:drool: ;) :fishing:
Congrats on your fish and putting in the time, it sure feels sweet doesn't it! :clapping:
Alas, all good things eventually come to en end...
and we really are transitioning to an end of day bite as I mentioned in the Turd Ferguson helps the new guys (NJ fishing) thread...and even that will soon disappear in a cloud of memories....http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...cons/icon9.png
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Fished the top 2 hours of the ebb last night. Water had cleaned up a bit. The mid-period swell consisted of a 4 wave set, otherwise the duration was a pretty stable 10-11 secs.
Fished some different areas of structure I hadn't been to in awhile....bait had been around and they should have been holding a few fish. They weren't. I was trying to stay dry, bud screwed up a bit and got one of my hands wet. :bucktooth: Had to go back to the vehicle and put the spare pair on.
I pushed on after that with still no activity. Not even a tap as I threw the mag darter and small swimmers in the yellow and black range.
It was pretty damn cold, and snowing as I left the house to go fishing.
Nonetheless, with winds at 0-2mph, how could you not be out there? :laugh: :kooky:
It was a beautiful night for January fishing, but not January catching...:skunk:
For the log:
Starting -ending temps - 28-22
Winds W/NW 0-2 mph, one of the calmest nights out there yet
Moon - Waning
Water - around 46
Fish - none.
Great time out there, though, so grateful to be fishing in January, as Cowherder said. :fishing:
The highest praise from an Old Grouchy Basstid,,,thanks....:HappyWave:
I know if you were 15 years younger you would be out there with us at night, and your numbers and sizes would have dwarfed most of what the other guys were catchin...even those with triple digits....:cool:
You and the some of the other surf greats that you fished with would have been crushing them beyond belief....in this freak-o-nature bite that probably will never be repeated in the Dec-Jan framework...it was the perfect storm of fishing opportunity (until the actual storm ruined it). Quite a few guys dedicated a lot of time to be out there when the fish were on the feed...congrats to all who hit it hard...this is definitely one for the NJ record books. :drool:
:clapping:God, you guys have had an awesome few weeks so far. So good that you may be able to sit out the Spring while the rest of us catch up and then you can slip back in in May.:HappyWave: Loved those reports. If it is really over then you have defied Mother Nature a little longer and only have to wait 6 weeks for March 1.
Thanks Hookset.
This has been mentioned to me several times by others here. It's absolutely true. The next 6 weeks will be a blur instead of a drag. Any time I get down all I have to do is put pics of the night bite we had in my head....and even the coldest nastiest days will be survivable...
Some regrets are that I couldn't get Pebbles into some fish, and we couldn't get the Old Grouch out there to get in on some of the action...but I have a feeling that come Spring he'll be fishing like a maniac...I'll be camping outside his house to make sure there are no excuses.....
^^ Umm Dark, maybe you want to check with him first. It would be a charitable thing, to camp downwind of him :upck:(if you will be living in your car like you are known to do).:laugh: btw, fellas, nice going on the catches.:clapping: Fishing in 22 degrees, I wouldn't even go out for blackfish in those temps.
^^ Bababooey, Fin is a friend, he deserves the full treatment...before I get to his house, I will already have rubbed old stinky bunker all over me. If I can find a bag of it, I will try to crush it on the ground and roll over it to get the most pungent aromas from it...
Then I'll probably pack my pockets with dead smelly eels.
If that isn't enough, I'll take some old rotten clams, rub them in my hair, and savor the stench....
How do ya think we catch fish in the early season anyway?.........
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Fished last night, 2nd shift...
A friend had called earlier before I went to sleep. . He's pretty hardcore and is out regularly in adverse conditions. He claimed lots of activity but no fish hooked or landed. I told him I might go out there and give it a shot if I could get up early enough....
Woke at 2am with the wind crashing 30mph against the house....:kooky:
It was 55 degrees out... I thought to myself...if I can just get dressed in 5 minutes, I can be at the water's edge by 3 am......:fishing:
Got down there, the wind was still howliing.
When I saw the water, I began to see the problem my friend had hooking up,...during the night a mid-period swell had developed, this one being an intermittent one with sets of 2 and 5 waves, 5-6 secs in duration, waves 5-6' high, with a calm period in between...
The wind was relentless, the spray from the waves a little dangerous....but the fish were there. They were completely absent from the first stop...had to leave and try another place...
Within 5 minutes I was into fish. It was a slow steady pick hampered by the swell. The only thing in my favor was the ebb tide....
Had to work for each fish with a missed hit or fish landed every 5-10 minutes. Fished a total of 2 hours till my hands got wet and I couldn't take it anymore...
The bait we talked about last time is no longer there. Instead herring were on the menu, so the swimmer you see in the pics accounted for the action. Extremely slow retrieve. The misses were frustrating as I missed at least twice more than I landed...I usually do better than that on the hookset, but with the swell I began to see the problem my friend had out there.... if you did get action, the swell literally pulled the plug away from these light-hitting fish. When the water is this cold, you only get one chance per retrieve. The fish will generally not come back to hit the plug again once you miss the hookset.
Nonetheless, it was solid action from fish up to 26"...and just as I couldn't take the cold anymore, lost a teen size fish on structure....Attachment 14745
After that, I was spent, and decided to call it a night.
The bite I'm looking for usually dies off around first light anyway when the smaller schoolies take over....
In all, a good night. :fishing:
Attachment 14744
Striped bass to the teens on January 18, doesn't get any better than that. :drool:
For the log:
Temps start-finish - 55 to 48
Winds - steady 20 W with higher gusts
Water temps - about 45, these fish are really getting sluggish
Fish - 4 landed to 26", missed about 10, and lost a teen fish on structure
Swell - mid-period intermittent swell, dangerous on the flood, fishable for part of the ebb
Rod: I had the Finchaser 7'3" stiffer rod, good for plugging in the intense wind, lifting fish, and getting them back quickly in the water. I started with some heavier rough water bottle plugs but got no activity on them. Had to change it up with the swimmer pictured.
** Note: in the last few times out, a different plug has been the top producer each time because of varying conditions. Although guys tout the Daiwa SP minnow as their "best producing plug of all time", I haven't caught a fish on that plug for over a week because the conditions where I was weren't conducive to that presentation. :learn:
That's one of the most exciting things to me about the night plug bite....it will not be revealed to you until you crack the code for that night....and the challenge of that, is part of the thrill of the chase....
Dark, awesome report. ^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^ great hearing your still out there having fun with the bass.