NJ Fishing Reports for October 2012.....www.StripersandAnglers.com

This morning, 5-10. Out front, bucktails/metal-niente. Big surf, pounding waves, strong current (plenty of white water for Monty). Saw nothing. Maybe I woulda had better luck looking for "headless torso's".

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Originally Posted by surfwalker

This morning, 5-10. Out front, bucktails/metal-niente. Big surf, pounding waves, strong current (plenty of white water for Monty). Saw nothing. Maybe I woulda had better luck looking for "headless torso's".

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Oh, I'll be out in the AM in it :HappyWave:

Rumor going around that as an added bonus when you purchase a ticket for the Finchaser Seminar you get a free pass to Dark's "How to locate headless torso's seminar". With specific, cutting edge information on securing and setting up the perimeter. :HappyWave: Hi Dark.....suspense....:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by surfwalker

Maybe I woulda had better luck looking for "headless torso's".

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Et tu, surfwalker?......:cool: :laugh: :clapping: :HappyWave:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Monty

Rumor going around that as an added bonus when you purchase a ticket for the Finchaser Seminar you get a free pass to Dark's "How to locate headless torso's seminar". With specific, cutting edge information on securing and setting up the perimeter. :HappyWave: Hi Dark.....suspense....:)

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You engineering types are all the same, with your slide rules and parameters of perimeters.....:scared:
I know if it was you that found that Monty....the torso would have been carefully protected like at Fort Knox....

1. You would have found some way to move it without disturbing evidence (engineering types are good at that)
2. You would have used some kind of math involving vectors, current, wind velocity, and load factors to figure the perfect path to bring that carcass undisturbed to the highest point of land beyond the mean high tide there......
3. Calculating mean, standard deviation, and median points of tide before you set out on your task....:moon: (and correcting for any outliers).

4. Your perimeter would have been clearly defined, using the straightest pieces of driftwood and bulkhead pieces you could find, marked on the top by clamshells for contrast, and having 4 distinct plover signs (instead of my one) that you would use to mark the outward edges of the "crime scene".

5. Further, by the time the rangers got there, you might have set up a CSI like crime lab scene there, :rolleyes: using cell phone technology and the latest apps to compare and contrast bone structure of humans and at least 10 different animals of that size.....
(BTW anyone watch that TV show Bones, great drama...) :cool:

6. Then, if it did turn out to be a dead body, you would have photographed that torso at every conceivable angle, and had each shot clearly lableled, for presentation and inclusion into the police case files..... ;)

Is White Water Monty his only skill set?...nope....he can turn into Inspector Gadget on a Moment's notice.....:clapping: :thumbsup:

How do I know this?
Because I've seen your plug bag...if you had that plug bag and were marooned on a tropical island, you could last for 5 years before rescuing with the assortment of plugs in there......:ROFLMAO







Me?
I'm just a simple, stinkin, Googan......:bucktooth:

Who had to get to work that day...and am glad I corralled the Old Timer into watching the carcass until the Rangers got there....
We've since become good friends....it's amazing what the old timers see, that the young folks are too busy to look at.....:thumbsup:






Thanks for the laughs, guys.....hope you liked my Monty characterization...it's highly exaggerated, all in fun....:HappyWave:
Ya ever run into Monty out there...you could learn some things....about perimeters.....:laugh: :kiss: :thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by Monty

Rumor going around that as an added bonus when you purchase a ticket for the Finchaser Seminar....... :HappyWave:

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Tickets for the Fall Finchaser Seminar are going fast.....I have designated Rip316 as the official Greeter and Googan Table Coordinator....:laugh:
Monty and Surwalker will be setting up a table, with a perimeter, :HappyWave: to guard the cash receipts (last minute walk-ins are welcome) :thumbsup:









Some highlights of things on the menu...this will be unlike any Finchaser seminar in the past, as this time he will give tips on how to catch bass, that are not overfished or over-harvested. :rolleyes:





Some past highlights:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...seminar-series

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...h-back-in-time

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ARDS-out-there


sandeels...I want to be clear that a lot of reliable intel comes from Finchaser and the Old Farts he hangs out with...if a fish is caught anywhere in NJ and it's decent sized, they know about it within hours.....
And they also have been the most accurate, of any source, on the internet or not, in describing what is happening with the sandeels out there.....

No rumor, innuendo, hypothesis, .....they are the definitive source for what is going on with sandeels as they have many connections in just about any area of fishing you could think of....just wanted to point that out for those who think they might use Finchaser's words, and predictions, as their own........:HappyWave:


http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?5035-All-about-sandeels-and-needlefish/page2&highlight=sandeels













We are truly lucky to have some of the folks with that caliber of knowledge, and experience, posting here......:clapping: :thumbsup:

I hope folks realize that many of the ideas for my posts about the state of fishing today, VS the state of fishing in the moratorium, have come from such old timers as Finchaser, Surfwalker, the Old Farts Fishing Club, JonthePain, Surfstix....and many other old timers who graciously share their knowledge here :thumbsup:..... (or met on my travels,) to try to help some of the new comers understand the big picture...........I for one am truly greatful for that, and hope the new guys can learn from these Old Salts....and Grouchy Basstards....:fishing:

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Originally Posted by DarkSkies

Is White Water Monty his only skill set?...nope....he can turn into Inspector Gadget on a Moment's notice.....:clapping: :thumbsup:

How do I know this?
Because I've seen your plug bag...if you had that plug bag and were marooned on a tropical island, you could last for 5 years before rescuing with the assortment of plugs in there......:ROFLMAO
Me?
I'm just a simple, stinkin, Googan......:bucktooth:

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:ROFLMAO
Dark, don't try to out Googan me, I have some big Googan moves left in that surf bag. :HappyWave:

Congrats to the guys getting out there, reports seem lately to have been very mixed.

Fished 2am to around 8am, skunko for me. Saw a few guys get a couple of shorts. Looked like they were using rubber slugo's could not quite see. Not much bait action where I was. I was talking to a guy and he said there were some monster blues right where we were earlier in the week. Yeah, that is because I was not there! Get em next time.

I was out between 8pm to 2 am. The pattern that developed 2 weeks ago took a break last night. I end up walking a few mile and ended up with 2 shorts. I'm pay the price for all that effort today. I almost didn't make it back to the car. I Was exhausted. I forgot to mention, I didn't see no bait.

Fished this morning 1:30 to 8:30 Bayside. King size Skunk for me. Water a bit stained, saw very little bait around, fished big area, nothing doing. Liked the conditions, I just stunk the place up. Great being out there, wish it would have rained, cool night and breezy.:) No sunrise (was facing the wrong direction).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by surfwalker

Maybe I woulda had better luck looking for "headless torso's".

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Post of the week

Boat fished today and it was exactly what i expected, Blues. Decent amount of birds but just scattered fast moving pods of blues Saw no boats take any bass. Got a few rats after dark from dry land. Its a few days away from the big POP

fished the hook this morning.bunker all over; with big blue fish after them.did manage 4 but lost 3 hooks. all on bunker that i caugth.

Nice efforts to all those who are getting out there.....

I fished last night, another Monty Marathon..... :kooky: :HappyWave:

Both sides of the tide, 20 miles of beachfront.
I was telling one of the members on the phone that I wasn't quitting till I found some bass.....and that it would probably take me at least 10 stops to do it...


I did find some bass...

and a bitter dose of reality not just coming from me, but from a few old timers I met on some of my stops, who were fishing some places along the migration highway to try to avoid the crowds at some of the most obvious and publicized areas......

I usually am not too friendly at night, but was a little less cautious as these fellow surfcasters I ran into had decades of experience....

We talked about the hype about the sandeels that do not exist right now in NJ, the denial that this is the 3rd week of Oct and the fall surf fishing has been extremely spotty, and that the places for access are dwindling, and that no one really seems to care...because of the allegedly large body of bass that will hit NJ within the next few days....and we will all forget these things, as soon as a few bass are caught.......:kooky:
















I managed one short bass each at stops 4 and 6. making 9 total stops for the night.....
Both on mag darter, and both "lucky fish".

In each of those areas...... working the whole water column I was not able to get any other action at all.

Quit before sunrise to start work on time.
The ocean, swells, surf, stars, shooting stars, and the fishing was perfect. You couldn't have asked for better conditions. :drool:


Highlight....there was an awesome shooting stars show for most of the night.....:clapping: :thumbsup:





A small sprinking of nicer fish have been caught from the surf in the last week, 1 out of every 500 so far. :kooky:

A few of us were out there looking for those fish, and failed. The highest numbers with the guys I touched base with last night were 4 schoolies, going to insane lengths and fishing all night to get those fish.....

Decades of experience, looking, poking, prodding, cuts, banks, edges, rips, current, outsucks, pockets, corners, etc...and the best we could come up with was some starving schoolies.

Yet, people are chattering on the internet about when the 40's and 50's will be here....not understanding that these fish come by in pods at a time....and if there is a storm, bad weather, unfishable conditions, etc,,,,those fish are long gone by the time we are out targeting them the next day...moving very fast this year on the Southern migration......
With the exception of Moriches and the Fire Island areas....and as of this weekend that bite is starting to dry up there as well.....



I wish I could be more optimistic, I hate posting a report with all this negativity.....:don't know why:
But this is what I am seeing out there......and I have to be honest about what I see and hear from others as they share their frustration.....

I don't know how a new guy wanting to learn bass fishing with artificials for the first time could not get discouraged by all this....
Last night I fished places I hadn't been to in weeks, and caught fish....while my sure-fire places that always produce were devoid of life....


Finchaser was out in the boat yesterday searching all day for bass.....burning insane amounts of fuel, only to mangage a few bluefish.
Fin is like a bulldog....if there any bass in the area he can smell them, that's why he's so in demand by his friends who have boats....
And yesterday, collectively, a lot of capts could not find fish......

I say this because there is a lot of anticipation of the bass that will be "coming down the pike".
We know about those bass. We are out fishing for them.

Some of the old timers I know, fish 2 and 3 times a day/night for them.

If they were there in numbers, or consistency, they would find them....and I am hearing the same mantra over and over again from them...."We are not finding them with any consistency."


OK, rant over....
I know folks don't like to read negative things like this....but it is part of the reality we currently face...and I'm not willing to minimize or sugar coat the fact that the best of the best are out there looking for bass right now.

The majority of these dedicated fishermen, are not finding any fish of size, other than the needle in the haystack fish that put me out there last night.......

Will try to be more positive in my next report, but I feel my first obligation is to be honest....no matter how distasteful it is to read my words here....and these words, are echoed, by some of the most dedicated surf fishermen I know, right now......

Food for thought, folks....thanks for readiing....:HappyWave:
















*******
Just an FYI - Chas has been fishing a long time, and has the right idea......:thumbsup: :HappyWave:
When fish are scattered you have a better shot at them in a boat, or if land based, by fishing bait,,,,as several others I know are now catching bass with clams and bunker.......

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Originally Posted by SharkHart

Boat fished today and it was exactly what i expected, Blues. Decent amount of birds but just scattered fast moving pods of blues Saw no boats take any bass. Got a few rats after dark from dry land. Its a few days away from the big POP

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I know you keep detailed logs and put in more time than most salt maniacs.....:HappyWave:
I'm really hoping you're right on this one......

The biggest body of bass that was holding in the Moriches to Fire Island area has moved West as of yesterday.....
A lot of them have been jumping through the Mud Hole, and offshore.....casual fishermen may not be seeing these fish......

Last year I was catching mid teen and a 25# bass on Oct 13 and the 10 days directly after that....
And for years my catches have followed a pattern of bigger bass by the 2nd to 3rd week of October...

Some of the reported catches in the last week were by guys fishing for bass in the EEz,,,which is another whole can of worms....http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ons/icon13.png
















I just hope the guys who are land based, or fishing inshore from boats get a good shot at them.....:thumbsup:

WHAT?!?! Santa isn't coming this year!?!?! Have faith ,its merely 10/22 The Red X is exactly where they should be and should be on the calendar, Last year 10/23/11 I had bluefish in the exact same spot as yesterday with only one Bass.

They are coming.

Dark I have a new name for you and finchaser, the gloom and doom team.:laugh: :HappyWave: Just kidding. Thanks for the honesty, it is dead on accurate for my fishing this year. We will have one or two nights of great fishing, and then it dies out big time. Even nomoco has petered out. It seems like we are all waiting on the fish. My question if we have to do so much waiting and the boats cant even find them every day it makes me scratch my head about them being a big mass of fish.:huh: All I see is a few groups here and there and then they vanish.

Facebook fishing groups are a buzz with the prospect of hurricane fishing and all the BIG bass they are gonna get if it hits:kooky:

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Originally Posted by SharkHart

Facebook fishing groups are a buzz with the prospect of hurricane fishing and all the BIG bass they are gonna get if it hits:kooky:

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assh_les

Fished last night from 11pm to 4:30am. I took both my flyrod and plugging stick. I caught a 25 inch bass on the flyrod around 12am on a MV baitfish Fly that I tied earlier, before my trip last night. It's been a year since I used the flyrod, and Years since I use it at night. You learn so much about casting timing and using feel of the rod loading before your next false cast and shooting cast. I was casting better at night then the day. I had many good hit that I screwed up on setting the hook. one hit stripped line from my wet finger, I'm really pissed about that hit. I switched to the plugging stick and caught a bass about 20 inches on a shad. There were other fisherman fishing near me and I only saw 2 fish caught. I seen some rainfish shower in front of me that the only evidence of bait that was around. It was a great night out and can't wait to use the flyrod again.

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Originally Posted by vpass

Fished last night from 11pm to 4:30am. I took both my flyrod and plugging stick. I caught a 25 inch bass on the flyrod around 12am on a MV baitfish Fly that I tied earlier, before my trip last night. It's been a year since I used the flyrod, and Years since I use it at night. You learn so much about casting timing and using feel of the rod loading before your next false cast and shooting cast. I was casting better at night then the day. I had many good hit that I screwed up on setting the hook. one hit stripped line from my wet finger, I'm really pissed about that hit. I switched to the plugging stick and caught a bass about 20 inches on a shad. There were other fisherman fishing near me and I only saw 2 fish caught. I seen some rainfish shower in front of me that the only evidence of bait that was around. It was a great night out and can't wait to use the flyrod again.

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Great fly fishing report vpass. You can't win them all. At least you got a few. Ds the fishing is definitely different this year. You get shots at fish a few hours at a time. I miss the nights of fishing at the Hook when you could catch fish all night.
I was in nomoco this morning casting before sunrise. Nothing happened till around low tide, after it started moving in again. Then all hell broke loose. Bigger bass pushed adult bunker close to the beach and there were some nice ones. Managed 2 to 22# on little neck popper.Both released.

Thanks for the reports, will try to get out this week before the storm. buckethead, congrats.

tonight 5 to7 pm released 2 micro bass both on rubber water down to 58

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Originally Posted by buckethead

I was in nomoco this morning casting before sunrise. Nothing happened till around low tide, after it started moving in again. Then all hell broke loose. Bigger bass pushed adult bunker close to the beach and there were some nice ones. Managed 2 to 22# on little neck popper.Both released.

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Nice job on catching up to them buckethead. No moco in the afternoon. It seems that everywhere I went I just missed them. Finally one bass about 33" on Daiwa around 6pm, released. During the morning I had heard Dennis and Judy on 101.5 talking about them. So Judy a woman who doesn't even fish was the spotburner of the day. lol.

Thanks steve. Picked up only one this afternoon, SS bottle plug. 18# released. Lot o terrified bunker around.

fished yesterday afternoon around the bunker schools. ended up with one bass just shy of being a keeper on storm shad. lost a few after a decent fight. the bite stopped when it got dark. The guys that were snagging and dropping were hooking up instantly. The bass wanted nothing else but live PB.


Fished this morning around the bunker schools. This morning was nothing but blues, mostly 4 pounders. I did hook a high teen blue that finally bite through my leader in the wash. The big blue gave an awesome fight.

Went out from 4pm to 7pm. used shads and xrap. Hooked 1 bass just shy of being a keeper. seen 1 other fish caught. didn't see any PB were I was.

tonight fished the river 18 bass and 2 bluefish all released all on jig head and rip tide mullet tail in chartreuse

24 hour Monty Marathon......:laugh: :HappyWave:

Round 1....
Started out last night in the dark....some friends got fish on swimmers...By the time I got out the tide was coming back in, and the duration had changed from 12 secs to 4 secs....not that safe, kind of dangerous...I got a little wet and called it a night.

Slept in the vehicle nomad style......
Up at dawn to fish with light E winds....perfect water that hasn't been dirtied by the pending storm....This white water was so beautiful that Monty might have an apopleptic jumping fit if he were allowed to see it in the daylight..:drool:....Decided to take the day off from work as I figured Thursday would be the last decent fishable day before the swells get bigger and the weather starts to turn.....

It was going to be one of those "no sun" days. I had high optimism..fished a few places,,,no activity at all.

Around 10 am ran into a good fishing buddy, haven't seen since the Spring....

We were among a group of a few other guys standing around talking about when the fish might turn on....along with Charlie K...up from IBSP....(always a pleasure, great storytelling)...:HappyWave:...and half of NJ's fishing clubs seemingly converged on Monmouth county.....

My fishing buddy said "I'm not standing around, let's fish!" :headbang:

We set out to a beach where no one was fishing, just watching....
Within 15 minutes we saw some action develop as my friend choreographed the action, accurately depicting each stage of the blitz that was about to happen minutes before it actually did (more on this in another thread)..

We fished hard, pencils, and each managed a few large bluefish, 15# class.

Some of the online reports touting these fish as 15# and bigger had me skeptical. :kooky:
After today, I no longer am...these are the biggest, thickest, bluefish I have seen in the ocean this season....:bigeyes:.many of them monster gorilla blues, direct from offshore haunts, coming in to fatten themselves like footballs on the abundant peanuts...

Blitzing action lasted for 1 hour as the tide dropped to slack, then shut off.

After the tide turned, action started again for a bit, about 45 minutes. This level of activity has been going on intermittently for the last 3 days, making a lot of folks happy....and this level of solid activity will likely end with the pending storm on late Fri or Sat.....

Moved to another location, found fish again...but this was short lived.....





















Round 2.....
Took a food break....after that did some scouting.....I found no activity, at a few places....
Finally managed to find some peanuts that were being pinned in to the surf zone....

At the start of this there were about 10 guys. By the time it ended we numbered about 30 spread over 1/4 mile of beachfront...not that bad as everyone was pretty respectful to each other, very few crossed lines, and guys courteously moving when someone got into a bigger fish.....

The mix was about 75% bluefish and 25% bass.....

At times the action was unreal....fish at our feet within 20' casting range, or right in the wash, or at most a half cast out.....the carnage was intense,,,it was a bad day to be a peanut bunker.......

I really wanted to take pics and video but didn't want to lose that time. The way the bite has been it's like a game of musical chairs....you don't know when it will stop.....so fishing intensely was the goal of every guy there....and we all worked together.........ran into a few sitemembers as well.....:HappyWave:


What worked......
Pencil poppers...
ML Swimmers...
Snag and Drop (as others have said guys snagging and dropping outfished others about 3:1)
Bucktails ( I started bucktailing after a younger guy in the group nailed 3 fish in 5 casts bucktailing )....I think he was probably high hook with around 40 fish landed and the biggest bass in that area for the day....around 22#. :thumbsup:



The fish bit through slack tide, and into the dark (about 1/2 hour into darkness).
lots of fun and screaming drags....
Managed 15 bluefish to 15#, and one low teen bass.. (bass released)

I tried to keep it going by making some moves to different areas for a few hours in the darkness...but couldn't raise a fish....and finally had enough as I felt like I got run over by a truck....

I have enough stories and characters met in these 24 hours to last all Winter......
Congrats to all who caught fish....and the sportsmanship and courtesy I saw out there today.....:clapping: :thumbsup:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DarkSkies

I have enough stories and characters met in these 24 hours to last all Winter......
Congrats to all who caught fish....and the sportsmanship and courtesy I saw out there today.....:clapping: :thumbsup:

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Awesome report Dark, congrats on the great action. Gator Country :HappyWave:

Yesterday afternoon, Moco, fished from 4pm til 6pm. Cauht the biggest bass of my life. 38" beaitiful bass. Red and white popper. Thought it was a big blue at first as I have never had a bass that big on in my life. When I saw the fin I freaked out. Took my time and landed her perfectly. I was shaking I was so nervous. Multiple bass and monster blues. Went home ehausted but very happy. Fin, the rod is perfect. Tnx. Sorry I didn't find Darkskies out there. Next time Rich. Tnx.

Your probably better off not finding him lol Nice fish

Sorry I have not posted for awhile. I have been fishing Island Beach state park. When the mullet were here we caught bluefish every day. Since they left it as been dead. That all changed yesterday. We had 2 hours of great bluefish blitzes. They are eating adult bunker, peanut bunker, and rainfish. Pencil poppers or bucktails or diamond jigs. Yesterday I had 12 over 10 lbs. Today they were even bigger. I had 20 over 15 lbs. They are a lot of fun but too much for an old man like me. I may be back there after the storm if there are any fish left. Go out there and get them if you can. The fights are igreat.

Darkskies, vpass and finchaser I have enjoyed your reports. Darkskies I can tell by your writing you take a lot of enjoyment in catching fish and sharing with others. It is nice to see you help all the folks you do. If you ever come down to Island beach look me up. We talk more than fish because the fishing has been so poor lately. Bluefish are tremendous fun to catch when they are big. Many of my fishing friends will not fish for them. Their loss. Finchaser I feel we are both getting older. We may not have too many years left on this earth. I remember you had some health problems and it seems you have overcome them. I am glad to see another Sr Citizen out there and out catching the young bucks. Many young folks have given up on fishing and that is too bad. Rip316 I dont know if you are young or old but congratulations on your personal best fish. Remember that catching is only part of the whole experience. I could tell you about the many times I have taken my granddaughter out and she has been delighted to be out there fishing with her grandfather. That is part of the true joy out there, showing others what fun it is. Vpass I really enjoy your reports as well especially the ones where you fly fish. Fly fishiing is a challenge in itself, but when the bait is small like the rainfish is is a way to match the hatch. and so rewarding if I might add.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DarkSkies

24 hour Monty Marathon......:laugh: :HappyWave:

Round 1....
Started out last night in the dark....some friends got fish on swimmers...By the time I got out the tide was coming back in, and the duration had changed from 12 secs to 4 secs....not that safe, kind of dangerous...I got a little wet and called it a night.

Slept in the vehicle nomad style......
Up at dawn to fish with light E winds....perfect water that hasn't been dirtied by the pending storm....This white water was so beautiful that Monty might have an apopleptic jumping fit if he were allowed to see it in the daylight..:drool:....Decided to take the day off from work as I figured Thursday would be the last decent fishable day before the swells get bigger and the weather starts to turn.....

It was going to be one of those "no sun" days. I had high optimism..fished a few places,,,no activity at all.

Around 10 am ran into a good fishing buddy, haven't seen since the Spring....

We were among a group of a few other guys standing around talking about when the fish might turn on....along with Charlie K...up from IBSP....(always a pleasure, great storytelling)...:HappyWave:...and half of NJ's fishing clubs seemingly converged on Monmouth county.....

My fishing buddy said "I'm not standing around, let's fish!" :headbang:

We set out to a beach where no one was fishing, just watching....
Within 15 minutes we saw some action develop as my friend choreographed the action, accurately depicting each stage of the blitz that was about to happen minutes before it actually did (more on this in another thread)..

We fished hard, pencils, and each managed a few large bluefish, 15# class.

Some of the online reports touting these fish as 15# and bigger had me skeptical. :kooky:
After today, I no longer am...these are the biggest, thickest, bluefish I have seen in the ocean this season....:bigeyes:.many of them monster gorilla blues, direct from offshore haunts, coming in to fatten themselves like footballs on the abundant peanuts...

Blitzing action lasted for 1 hour as the tide dropped to slack, then shut off.

After the tide turned, action started again for a bit, about 45 minutes. This level of activity has been going on intermittently for the last 3 days, making a lot of folks happy....and this level of solid activity will likely end with the pending storm on late Fri or Sat.....

Moved to another location, found fish again...but this was short lived.....





















Round 2.....
Took a food break....after that did some scouting.....I found no activity, at a few places....
Finally managed to find some peanuts that were being pinned in to the surf zone....

At the start of this there were about 10 guys. By the time it ended we numbered about 30 spread over 1/4 mile of beachfront...not that bad as everyone was pretty respectful to each other, very few crossed lines, and guys courteously moving when someone got into a bigger fish.....

The mix was about 75% bluefish and 25% bass.....

At times the action was unreal....fish at our feet within 20' casting range, or right in the wash, or at most a half cast out.....the carnage was intense,,,it was a bad day to be a peanut bunker.......

I really wanted to take pics and video but didn't want to lose that time. The way the bite has been it's like a game of musical chairs....you don't know when it will stop.....so fishing intensely was the goal of every guy there....and we all worked together.........ran into a few sitemembers as well.....:HappyWave:


What worked......
Pencil poppers...
ML Swimmers...
Snag and Drop (as others have said guys snagging and dropping outfished others about 3:1)
Bucktails ( I started bucktailing after a younger guy in the group nailed 3 fish in 5 casts bucktailing )....I think he was probably high hook with around 40 fish landed and the biggest bass in that area for the day....around 22#. :thumbsup:



The fish bit through slack tide, and into the dark (about 1/2 hour into darkness).
lots of fun and screaming drags....
Managed 15 bluefish to 15#, and one low teen bass.. (bass released)

I tried to keep it going by making some moves to different areas for a few hours in the darkness...but couldn't raise a fish....and finally had enough as I felt like I got run over by a truck....

I have enough stories and characters met in these 24 hours to last all Winter......
Congrats to all who caught fish....and the sportsmanship and courtesy I saw out there today.....:clapping: :thumbsup:

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Dark you described how it went down yesterday better than I ever could. Felt like I was right there fishing beside you as I read that. ;)
I had 2 nice bass to 20lbs, released. Metal lips and poppers. And those bluefish were insane! One after the other and like you said it seemed like they kept getting bigger. I think I had at least 15, lost count when I had to rety twice after they swallowed 2 swimmers and kept running. That was a great group, fish were walked off the beach but a lot were released. That dude bucktailing was slamming bass almost every cast. Great pleasure to fish with total sportsmen who get it. You da man, thanks for all.:HappyWave:That was ground zero yesterday for sure.
Rip316 congrats on your pb bass, any pics to share? Was looking forward to finally meeting you. Dark lost some fishing time waiting for you to show up in the lot he said you ended up fishing close to where we were.

Man I am so jealous I had to work this week. You guys suck! Just kidding congrats on the fish and rip316 congrats on your pb fish! I think you all got the best of it. Surely the fishing won't be this good when the storm is done?

Awesome catching!

Great going fellas.

Fished yesterday morning first light to 12 noon. Walked on the beach looking for bunker, water was like glass. as I just noticed the PB there was eruption of large amount of white water.:thumbsup: I cast just pass the eruption and hooked up instantly. after a long run:drool: i landed my largest bass this year 23 pounds on the boga.:wow: I ended up catching another 3 bass from 13 to 18 pounds. the 18 was weighted on the boga others were approximated. A boat came in super fast and ran over the school of bass. The bass were put down and was not able to locate them again F'ing Boats.:burn:

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Originally Posted by storminsteve

Dark you described how it went down yesterday better than I ever could. Felt like I was right there fishing beside you as I read that. ;)
I had 2 nice bass to 20lbs, released. Metal lips and poppers. And those bluefish were insane! One after the other and like you said it seemed like they kept getting bigger. I think I had at least 15, lost count when I had to rety twice after they swallowed 2 swimmers and kept running. That was a great group, fish were walked off the beach but a lot were released. That dude bucktailing was slamming bass almost every cast. Great pleasure to fish with total sportsmen who get it. You da man, thanks for all.:HappyWave:That was ground ze







ro yesterday for sure.
Rip316 congrats on your pb bass, any pics to share? Was looking forward to finally meeting you. Dark lost some fishing time waiting for you to show up in the lot he said you ended up fishing close to where we were.

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Steve, i wonder if we were actually fishing the same stretch of beach. You mentioned Dark being a little south of you and i know exactly where Dark was which was a little south of me as well. The action you described and bass walking off the beach was actually what i saw. Just wondering.

Picked a few bass today to 21#. Poppers. Some gigunda bluefish as well. Lost some stuff, tough conditions. Fish hungry anyway,

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Originally Posted by vpass

Fished yesterday morning first light to 12 noon. Walked on the beach looking for bunker, water was like glass. as I just noticed the PB there was eruption of large amount of white water.:thumbsup: I cast just pass the eruption and hooked up instantly. after a long run:drool: i landed my largest bass this year 23 pounds on the boga.:wow: I ended up catching another 3 bass from 13 to 18 pounds. the 18 was weighted on the boga others were approximated. A boat came in super fast and ran over the school of bass. The bass were put down and was not able to locate them again F'ing Boats.:burn:

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Great report vpass, congrats. Some nice bass around now. I hate when the boats put them down. Idiots.