Attaboy Steve! Nice!
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Attaboy Steve! Nice!
Wow can't believe you guys are still catching fish! Am enjoying these reports, keep it up!
Got a mess of em tonight, 14 to 17#. Some real tiny runts in with the fat boys. Looks like they're gearing up with one massive meal. All on rubber biscuits. Dark hope you're out there, half the surfcasting world is. Catch em up brother.
:fishing: 4 tonight for me! all shorts but **** i have only caught 2 the entire year i have fished saltwater. and i got out there several times a week for months at 1st. they were hitting hard :headbang: tried a few spots.
boats are ok (i just sold mine last fall,) kayaks are a lot of fun (i've got 3,) but surf fishing is the ultimate.
there is just something about it.
Just for the record, I hear things are STILL dead in Montauk.....:HappyWave:
:clapping: :thumbsup:WTG, bro...proud of ya!.....keep at it and try to keep putting that time in....we still have a shot at some bigger fish....
Jigfreak, outstanding numbers...:clapping: and for the rest of ya's, great effort. :thumbsup:
Mick, ya spent $1500 on all those trips to Montauk. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...cons/icon9.png
You gave a tremendous shot in the arm to the Montauk economy...
Last year ya guilted me into a Block Cod trip...
(Even though ya guilted me into it, I had a blast and am grateful.....):fishing:
So WHY can't I guilt ya into coming down here for some fishin in Jersey Montauk Style??...:drool:
Don't you owe it to yourself to get in on the action too?
There's still time to get into these fish....guys are dismissing the bite as a "schoolie bite"...you saw the pics I sent ya...call me! :HappyWave:
Fished the last 5 hours of the ebb, first of the flood...
There were some nice fish caught until around 7pm....knowing that, I really wasn't looking forward to any crowds I might find on a Sat night...so I procrastinated and made sure I got down there after 12am....
There was no one around, they were all gone by then...
I knew it could be tough, but I didn't care, would rather struggle looking for fish (that could be comatose in those night water temps) than stand next to 15 guys like it was opening day of trout season.....http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ons/icon13.png
The night bite was real tough, some GROUCHY BASSTARDS would say it's not worth it.
I had to move 5 times till I found bass at the 6th stop...but I did manage 3 bass on rubber, a black bomber, and a Daiwa SM. There were some other hits on rubber, but in that cold water (44 degrees) the fish were basically comatose....you had to hit them right on the head to get any response at all...
Attachment 14812
First light and sunrise was much better...managed 7 more on rubber for a total of 10 to 29".... There was a flurry of activity for about an hour, died when the sun pushed up from the horizon....
Got mugged by a guy at 5:30am. The thing was, he asked politely if he could come up and cast on my right...that's exactly the same thing I do when I'm out there....and it works like a charm...because 95% of the guys fishin out there wouldn't even think of offering that common courtesy....:beatin:
I found out he's friends with a site-member here....we became fast friends as he gave me his opinion of the internet http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ons/icon13.png, fishing with 500 other guys at the "Epic" Island beach metal bite http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ons/icon13.png, internet fishermen, http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ons/icon13.png, and guys who dismiss this bite as "not worth it because it's only a bunch of schoolies"..:2flip:.. We caught fish in sync until the bite died.
I agreed with him completely, and his numbers prove his dedication....mid 400's, to 24 1/2#, since Nov 25, without once having driven to IBSP. :bigeyes:
Like Extreme said, the fish are much more aggressive in the day and the end of the day...the 29" one I took these pics of jumped out of the water like a frikkin bluefish when I set the hook....:drool:
Kept that one for the table, no fish for the C&R thread this time...
My new friend. getting double digits most times out...said: "I'll take this action any night or day of the week!"
I couldn't agree with him more....
**Just to be clear, catching double digits ain't that easy and requires a lot of work and determination in the cold weather...but to me and a few other guys it's apparently worth it...
Nice meetin ya! :HappyWave:
For the log, and the new guys:
Air temps start-finish: 45-35
Water temps 44
Wind: SW at first, shifting to a steady W 10-15mph
What worked: different things work for me at different times. Last night I had to cycle through almost every profile I had to achieve success, getting fish on a black bomber, Daiwa SM, and a rubber eel. Gradually I realized that it was not about what I was throwing, it was about hitting those sluggish fish right on the head. The rubber did produce the most action and the most missed hits, as it most closely fit the profile of the sand eels that are now abundant.
It's more about how you fish it, than what you fish, though...and as usual when it's difficult to catch numbers of fish, presentation is the key to the puzzle.....The guiy I met did quite well on a beat up, crappy looking bomber he was using....IMO right now anything that mimics a sandeel or a crab will cause the fish to strike, when you find them, and if you present to them the right way.
Fish caught:
10 to 29", brought the 29" home for the table.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...isc/pencil.png
thanks dark..i owe it all to u for getting me into fishing plugs instead of using bait and standing around with my **** in my hand catching the big :skunk:
the down side to the night was the bulb in my brand new headlamp blew out after 5min of use so i had to run to the car and grab a flashlight which was not fun to use. will b prepared with extra bulbs next time incase that happens again.
hope the fish hang around for atleast another week :fishing:
always carry an extra light in your bag it could save your life getting off a jetty in the dark
Darkskies it sounds like you are having the time of your life. I used to fish on the rocks and inlets and had some real nice fish from those times. Unfortunately those trips are too many years ago as that has been too dangerous for me to attempt any more. Enjoy it while you can and thank you for the colorful reports and your advice helping the new guy. xtremevisions good job on your bass on plugs. There is nothing wrong with catching fish on bait. However, catching on plugs is more of a challenge and will cause you to expand your horizons. Congratulations the folks out there still catching. I am very much enjoying these reports.
thanks clam. baits cool and all but boring :boring:
got a chance to head out today after work for a few hrs. tide was very low, water was very still. managed a short the 1st 30min there. lost another 1 shortly after to a pesky rock.... along with my black/purple bomber that i told myself i was gonna save because i got my 1st striper on a plug with it. :burn:
I would like to thank dark for meeting up with me tonight and giving me some great advice and a few things to play with :HappyWave:
:fishing:
^ You're welcome, Xtreme...:thumbsup: Ya can't get too attached to plugs out there at night, bro, because eventually you'll donate them to King Neptune...;)
That's why fishin cheaper plugs is the best strategy...:learn:
Like Xtreme said, the water was low at the end of the day. Fished 2 spots before I ran into him, no action. We fished an additional 2 spots with 1 bass for him, only one bump on a rubber eel for me.
Even at mid tide, it took forever for the water to come in...
I had thoughts that after the sun today the fish would be more active... they weren't. :don't know why:
At 44 degrees, the water temps are about 1 degree from the fish shutting off completely...hopefully the next few sunny days turn things around...
The good thing about it is... it cuts down on the participation...people hear how they crushed them a few days ago, come down to the ocean, give it a shot for an hour, see it ain't so easy or consistent,. and decide they've had enough of Wiinter bass fishing...so hopefully the next time the activity ramps up there won't be crowds of people there...
I'm not done yet...Till next time....:fishing:
Hey grass hoppers what did you expect heavy westerly winds cause blow out tides and hold water offshore, out going is cold water only warmer water will be on the incoming. This time of year you need a better plan than the sun is out I'm going fishing.
No ones says you can't fish right through spring, you will have no crowds,only the catching part will su_k.
:skunk:Same results for me too last night, guys. Not a touch. Like you said, low water and slow moving tide didn't help any either.
Thanks for the words of wisdom ya Grouch! :moon:
We did fish the incoming. first 3 hours, had some water where we were but it was like Lake Atlantic out there. There should have been a few fish, even some runts, as opposed to the dead water....I really feel the temps are finally trending dangerously close to shut the Horn of Plenty off. That could turn around with a few sunny days, as the bait and fish are in sync right now. IMO it could go either way as the fish are still "stuck in time" and could be released from that loop any day.
Even though you preach against that evil white water...:scared:...last night there was none at all to knock food around, and we could have used just a bit of it....
**Or,,,,as the Raritan Bay and NY Bight have gone up 10 degrees in the last 10 days, that could have been enough of a bump to send some of these fish back into the channels and the lower Hudson where they normally belong...
Lately, each time out, although double digit catches are possible, we are seeing less and less fish...
I'm still not sure about that, but wanted to state it here first as part of the pattern you, the other old timers, and I have been discussing privately the last 2 months...before some outdoor writer decides to write an article saying he "discovered" this abnormal pattern....:HappyWave:
Sun means really nothing if the air temp doesn't stay above the water temp especially at night when clear skies create radiational cooling of the water sometimes seen as as what is referred to as sea smoke on windless nights. Combined with strong winds which have a natural cooling effect,very similar to wind chill. The last 2 hours of the incoming and first 2 of the outgoing usually produces the warmestwater temperatures. Fishing the beginning of the incoming this time of year usually drops the water temperature from the water rushing up on the cold beach and rocks which are sometimes frozen pushing bait and fish off the beach.
IMO this abnormal pattern has to do with the dredging kind of a natural chum slick combined with above normal water temperatures is what is responsible for holding the bait and fish in that one area.:HappyWave:
:skunk: :burn::banghead2::mad: like they say "always go with your gut feeling" i told myself all day at work i was not going out tonight but i did :kooky:. hit 2 diff spots with no luck. used bombers and tried some rubber dark gave me last night.
tomorrow is another day :2flip:
^^ Someone has to give ya some tips on fishing rubber, Bro..:fishing:
I tried over the phone last night but was a little pre-occupied...:)
..if ya ask nicely, I hear Finchaser might be amenable to coffee and some snacks,,,and a cheeseburger or 2....make it a top priority before the window closes....
Praise the Lord and pass the rubber...that's all for now.. I'll try to post some more details around 11pm tonight.....:cool:
:don't know why:from master-baiter to condom fisherman and he advertises it:huh:^^^^^^
^^^^^^Maybe he has a rubber fetish.:ROFLMAO
He can't get away from the masterbaiter title thats for sure.;)
Fished last night, picked up 4 to 26". They are not as concentrated as they used to be, but still around. Rubber biscuits did it again.
^^ You guys have waaaaaay too much time on your hands, imagining me dressed in rubber.....don't I smell bad enough as it is? :laugh: :moon:
The bite continues to get tougher....
Had to make it down to a shore area tackle shop to get some more rubber, so I tried to look for a place to fish for the sunset bite....
It was tough --What had been a nice sunny day suddenly turned to crap as the S/SE wind kicked up with the afternoon tide change. Things went downhill quickly in terms of available areas to fish.
First stop had been a great producer of fish for a few days in a row...
As soon as I got there I knew it wouldn't work. Proper presentation was almost impossible in the big swell and waves...there were no sets of waves, it was a constant SE swell with duration of 3 secs, virtually impossible to fish.
I thought about where I could fish that would protect me from that a bit, and set out to that location. I arrived in the dark at the end of the ebb....
I started catching fish on rubber almost immediately,,,,had 3 short bass landed within the first 10 minutes...:wheeeee:
Kept at it for the next 1 1/2 hours for a total of 7 bass to 27".
The water was cold, SE didn't help it any...but they were slamming the rubber like it was their last meal.....:drool:
Attachment 14824
There aren't too many times when the fish are that aggressive...I always tell people when you have action like that, you should fish it out till it dies...You never know if it will repeat itself tomorrow,,,,and so far, 2 days later, it hasn't. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...cons/icon9.png
For the log, and the new guys...
Water temps - 44
Air temps beginning- end: 65-48
Surf, SE swell with constant 3' waves, 3 sec duration...some of the absolute worst conditions for presenting correctly....
Fish - 7 bass to 27"
(I know some people will get mad at the next sentence,. but I'm so confident it could have been a good night, I'm kind of mad at myself for leaving.,...at the rate I was going, double digits were easily within my grasp, with bigger fish at the end of that lottery)...
Family committments forced me to leave...
Hey that's the way it is sometimes...but I still regret leaving that bite....http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ons/icon11.png
Bait - the forage mix has shifted, now it's sandeels, mackerel, and herring. This shift has caused the fish to be more scattered. There is no real strong pattern to this bite, other than some subtle ones a few guys and I have discovered....the key to success is determination, stamina, and the ability to keep presenting, over and over again....:fishing:
Thu AM....
After Tuesday's great action I was eager to get down there again while things lasted.
Overslept, missed the tide I wanted....I knew going down there I would have limited opportunity as it was almost sunrise....I decided to make the run anyway....
I arrived, grey skies and rough water, colder, still churned up...
The sun didnt really show itself, that was good...
but where I was the fish didn't show (for me) either.
Hey, that's fishing....:don't know why: :fishing:
For the log: water temps 44, air 48, breezy from the NW :skunk:
************
Thu PM, Fri AM....
Fished 4 hours in the dark...2 short fish on swimmers.
Missed a quality fish on a big swimmer. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...cons/icon8.png
Went to sleep in the car,,,,wearing my stinkin clothes and gear...is it any wonder I and the car smell so bad?? :laugh:
Got up to fish one hour of the pre-sunrise bite, managed one short bass on rubber....
Water had been cloudy the previous night from the NW, was now starting to clean up a bit....
For the log:
Water temps 43....I think these are some of the coldest temps I've ever gotten a bass on artificials.
Fish: 3 fish total to 25".
Air temps- 45-35
Winds- Steady 15mph made it a little uncomfortable to fish all those hours...had to take a few breaks to thaw my fingers....I've fished nights as low as 23 degrees so far, but with no wind...this night was one of the more painful ones to endure with those constant winds....
It would have been more bearable if there was more fish action, but as mentioned, with no real forage to concentrate the fish, they are random...if you want em you have to work hard...:learn:
A friend of mine was out there for the end of day bite which never developed for him...he went to a popular area, which was like a ghost town...he said, "Rich if this place was so hot what happened to all the fishermen that were coming here and posting on the internet?"
My answer....that's what internet fishermen do...they stay home till guys report they are crushing them, then come out in droves.....meanwhile the fish don't know if the air is cold or not...it's all about the water temps....
As Fin, I, and some others have pointed out, below 43 the fish will be there, but (usually) shut down for the artificial bite....and we're at that critical junction.....IMO it could go either way...but I'm not ready to give up, just yet....;) :fishing:
:clapping::clapping:Wow dark skies you are a fishing machine! That's 10 bass and february just started! Thank you so much for these reports. I am really enjoying them.
Thank you Baitstealer,. but I want to clarify any fish out there now require lots of work and effort....
(Still worth it to me....)
And the report for the 7 fish was the last day of Jan, so for the month of Feb I'm only up by 3 so far....:cool: :fishing:
Glad ya enoyed reading. I have been getting some nice PMs and E-mails as well. Look forward to bringing these reports to you guys as long as my fingers can stand the cold,,,:HappyWave:
Im ready for war this weekend dark! :kooky::viking: plan to hit a few spots sat afternoon/night and sun morning. Heres a photo to show you the size of those crap fish ive been catching. But atleast im catching finally! :dribble:
Attachment 14835
Dark, the reports are great, it's obvious you are a madman. :headbang:Will you be barking at the full moon next week?
I hit it tonight from 5-7:30.I was one of 2 guys when I got out there. 1/2 hour later there were 12 other guys lined up like opening day of trout season. None of us caught a thing. Moved to another spot and still caught nothing. I used bombers and the daiwa. Dark would you mind PMing me about your swimmers and the rubber you were using? Thanks and good luck out there. :HappyWave:
Nice fish extreme, any fish in January or February is nice.
Oh boy! 12 guys! :kicknuts: i might wait until the games on to fish now
Man, you are such a grouchy basstard! :scared: :clapping:
The fish weren't too small to prompt your friend to make a trip to areas he usually doesn't fish, the other morning, was it? :kiss:
And you know, these small fish, aren't the ones we're targeting...because we've talked about it....:moon:
I am sorry, ya know if you were 20 years younger I would be at your house every night, howling at the moon till ya came out fishing...I really miss fishing with ya.....but ouch! please don't dismiss the action as not worth it.....as quoted above, one of the reasons I'm out there at night is to get away from the crowds,....I know you can understand that, and you clearly know the other reason....:cool:
Love ya anyway, ya basstid! :HappyWave::fishing:
We'll be fishin in March, no matter what happens in your life.,...you won't be able to get rid of me till ya come out at least once and show these young punks just how fast a pro like you can accumulate double digits..:thumbsup:
See ya then....
Glad you ^^^^caught fish. If I were 30 years younger I would not spend a whole night in 25 degree weather to catch 3 shorts. You make fun at us old timers most of which can put up the numbers fishing patterns in a matter of hours. Learn to fish smart not long. Guy's as in my friends are still catching more from 3:30 to 6:30 and eating a hot meal, showering and sleeping in a warm bed. The bigger fish are gone there are very few teens around granted and will be less now that the water is so cold. Your going to burn yourself out on 15" to 20" fish:beatin: for a possible look at me INTERNET report I caught a keeper .:HappyWave:Also give up with the pictures your sending these poor little fish into shock while you play Walt Disney. It would be a scary:scared: thought but it would be like me pulling you out of your house naked throwing you on a frozen rocks, having you lie there as I took off gloves and fiddle around to get my out camera to take your picture. We all know what a short bass looks like. Want to impress people and prove your theory of being our all night on your quest for a big fish. Catch one take a picture for proof put it in your black bag and take it home to eat. There now thats GROUCHY.
Forget about the fishing do you really want to see a pic of ds naked on the rocks?
As for the player, don't hate the player hate the game.:ROFLMAO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nr0q28M5nI
Got a few bass tonight, 4-6:15 pm, bombers. Biggest was 23".