Right on, maybe those are the guys who never got attention in school or at home. Why else would you want to bring a lot of strangers in where you are fishing? Thanks Turd! :HappyWave:
Printable View
^ You're welcome.
Last night's S wind dirtied up the water a bit in the ocean. Think about that if you're fishin plugs at night, what colors are good to overcome this obstacle? http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...cons/icon3.gif
Some reporters, outdoor writers, and fishing guides have been at the beach within the last 24 hours. It's only a matter of time before Al gets wind of it and puts the story up.
I give it 48 more hours before the whole NJ population of salt water anglers decides to take a drive and sample the acclaimed fishin. :lynchmob: :viking:
Enjoy the solitude while you can. Remember the chaos we had last year in November when a website posted hourly updates of who was catching what, where, and with GPS coordinates. ;) :don't know why:
^^^ You nailed that prediction ds, 3 minutes after you posted that he posted on his daily blog. You must be psychic.:d
I hate that just when surf action gets good, it has to be promoted and publicized. And you can never tell Al anything that he won't blab to the public. He doesn't know the meaning of the word secret.
^ What can I say, Jigfreak? ;)
The man has to write for a living, and part of that is talking about locations where they're catching fish. That's one of the things that keeps me from selling my writing skills for magazine or news fishing articles. :beatin:
That's part of what they want you to deliver, and I'm not sure I could do that.
**************
Surf update 10-29
If using rubber, is the jig too light or too heavy? Dragging on the bottom is as bad as being on the top. Many sandeels spend their lives about 6" from the bottom. Think about that as you make your presentation.
If those are around are catching and you're not, what are they doing differently? Often it's a slight variation in retrieve between yours and their retrieve. Figure it out, and you'll hook up.
Today a friend presented me with this dilemma. In going over what he was using, we figured out his leader was too heavy. Unless you're fishing rocks or specifically targeting bigger fish at night, a lighter leader is fine for daytime fishing and smaller presentations and fish. Try it and see the difference. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...cons/icon3.gif
Metal, not just for Motorhead fans...
Metal seems to be gaining an edge in the daytime over rubber now, but don't overlook throwing metal at night, as has been mentioned here by others.
Last but not least.....
Be willing to experiment with your presentation if you're not catchin.
This morning the usual presentations weren't doing it for me, I then got 3 fish in a row on a yellow dressed bucktail.
I feel when all the stats become known, the Tue and Wed of this week may come to be referred to as the "you should have been there!!" nights for the 2010 NJ surfcasting season. ;)
It's all downhill from here on after. :(
Tremendous fishin right now, and tremendous disappointments as well. Many guys are putting in their time and getting :skunk:. The only consistent pattern I've seen so far is that fish are around when bait is heavy. However, just because bait is heavy doesn't necessarily guarantee you'll catch, OR that fish will be in that location. Figuring the time, tide, and stage of tide might be helpful during a normal fall surf season, but this season so far has proven to be anything but normal.
Those who spend a lot of time fishin will get more fish, or more quality fish. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...cons/icon3.gif
An hour or 2 fishing here or there, unfortunately for the way the good bite has been, will not cut it. You not only have to position yourself where the fish are likely to show up, but be adept enough to recognize what the best presentation for that night is, based on weather and tide patterns. Good luck people. I hope the action continues. :fishing:
For those guys throwing metal,
green and white seem to be hot tube colors for the last 2 days. :thumbsup:
Fast retrieve.
Tackle shop owners and some people are blaming the full moon for the current lack of numbers of fish in the NJ surf. Don't believe the hype.
The complete total biomass of striped bass for the E Coast now centers on a body of fish between Montauk and the Delaware Bay, with a few exceptions. The fish haven't shown up in numbers in the Chessy yet, only some dribs and drabs.
That means the entire striped bass E Coast population is now concentrated between Montauk and the Delaware Bay. A straight-line nautical distance of about 100 miles, give or take a few. Anyone who has the exact distance feel free to post it up. :cool:
The biomass is shrinking.
This has been gov't documented and I'll post more in another thread when I get the chance.
I'm posting this here because when you read the tackle shop reports and the justifications why there are less fish, please be aware that...
"It's the full moon"
"We need some whitewater"
"We need some more sand eels in the surf"
These excuses are merely masks for the real issues. Learn to read between the lines. Don't just believe what I say. Educate yourselves. There are many members here more seasoned than I who have been saying the same thing for years.
I wonder if people will start listening now...or if it will take another mediocre surf season to grab peoples' attention? http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...cons/icon3.png
Herring are here, in the surf and in the inlets, and just out of reach at times.
Remember that... when you throw Avas and can't get a hit. Match the herring profile and you should hook up, wider metal, slim poppers, and herring profile swimmers.
Tiny schoolies are also here.
We're nearing the end of the season. Not much time left, catch em up.
Dark. I was wondering how these statements compare with each other, as I read them as being contradictory. On one hand, it seemed like you said it was a good surf season. In the post underneath that, you say the biomass is shrinking. I can tell you there is a tremendous amount of bait and bass and bluefish within 3 miles of the surf.
How is it possible to have 2 totally different perspectives with both of them being accurate?
Lostatsea, apologies for the late response to this. I wanted to do it when I had a chance to sit down and go into some detail.
First of all, We need more people to ask questions like that.
Part of my response can be seen here, in the "Where are the striped bass" thread
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...4400#post44400
or in Finchaser's "Decline of bass" thread
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ecline-of-bass
The explanation lies in the so-called M&M theory on page 7 or 8 of the first referenced thread.
Yes, this was a good year for some surfcasters.
There was a night during the week of Oct 13 when some bass to 46# were landed on a north jersey beach, all on artificials, over 100 keepers total for that one beach. That's an unusual catch for surfcasting at night with artificials in NJ. So that's why I mentioned it. The guys who were there that night will remember it forever.
And, there have been so many big fish landed on bunker in an Ocean County surf area during the last half of Oct and half of Nov that I imagine this year will be a year for the record books with those catches.
Yet, those aren't the only 2 areas in NJ that should hold fish.
By and large, the surf bite has been sporadic, short-lived, and concentrated around only a few key areas this year. A reasonable explanation could be that there are less fish on the edges, according to the M&M theory.
On a boat, you can always find fish in the middle of any concentration.
Realistically, the surf fishermen are the first to tell if there are less fish because they fish on the "edges".
I hope this explained it somewhat. Review those threads I linked in here. Then, if you, still have questions, feel free, ask away. Thank you for asking an interesting question. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ons/icon14.png
As Finchaser and others have said, the afternoon bite is shaping up as the time to be out there. The surf temps are dropping. Any sunny day will give them a slight bump, and spur a finite afternoon bite. At times that bite will only be an hour before dark, but it's better than nothing. :fishing:
^^Yup.:)
^^ Stripermania, here's some light reading for ya! :HappyWave:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...e+are+the+bass
There are a lot of opinions on the correct answers to your question. Each answer can be disputed. Many of our theories are based on scientific numbers that are at best, guesstimates.
Some say the fish are all offshore, making them less available for the surf guys.
Others cite anecdotal experience that their surf catches have been steadily declining, and the biomass is shrinking.
I met such an old timer on the beach yesterday. He's not an internet guy, he only cares about fishing, and his immediate circle of friends and experiences. He told me this is the worst 2 years for surf fishing, on the whole, for him since the moratorium in 1982. That says a lot to me. :learn:
Let me know if you have any more questions after reading the thread above. We have several more threads here like that. Just do a search on "striped bass biomass" or "striped bass decline", etc, here. Feel free to PM me any time, or post any further questions.
Talk to any of the old timers who fish every day, and you'll begin to get a clearer picture.
Some thoughts about using artificials at night right now.....from the NJ fishing reports thread
"there are juvenile bass feeding in a few places where small bait has appeared, but this is often just out of reach. Some kayakyers I know have been doing well. Again, it's still hit or miss. And the guys I know slinging bait have complained it's slowed down in the last 2 nights. The water temp has dropped, but the overall trend pattern is still rising.
Like FnM said, it makes sense to put the time in now while a lot of people aren't crowding ya.
The end of a sunny or warmer day, right before dark, would be the best chances of someone catching on artificials at the early spring places. But that all depends on the tide. Last night best tides were later at night."
More bass are coming, into the bays where we all fish. :fishing: The inconsistency is frustrating, but certain segments of the waters have awoken. There are some quality fish around now. If I didn't have to work, I would be out there every chance I could in the next week.
Be aware, this doesn't mean bass are all over the place. But they are concentrated, in certain areas throughout N and S Jersey. As soon as the temps get more uniform, this may no longer be the case as these bass move elsewhere in search for food. Just some "food for thought", people. :cool:
The window is open.....
FYI Good conditions throughout the night and into the false dawn. HT at around 4:30AM tomorrow. Once the sun starts shining again, this window could close....