NJ Fishing Reports for July 2012....www.StripersAndAnglers.com

NJ fishing reports for July 2012. ..www.StripersandAnglers.com

NJ fishing reports for July 2012...www.stripersandanglers.com
Important when registering on our site -- use an active email address so you can activate your account to be able to post.

Please post fishing reports here.......as little or as much detail as you want to give.

Please note: NO SPOT BURNING! Posts burning spots will be Edited or DELETED!
Some veteran fishermen have put in years developing and learning about certain spots.Some of these spots can only handle a few guys at a time. We are losing enough access as it is, due to the unfortunate behavior of a few selfish people. No sense in making it worse.

For some areas, it would be wiser to say:
Out Front (Ocean) OR -- Out Back (Bay) -- if you feel too many people will figure out what you are talking about. "Spot burning" also could involve mentioning something specific only to that area. If you do this, your post may be edited, or deleted. Remember that thousands of people could potentially read these posts. You don't want to be fishing next to ALL of them at the same time!


IF you are fishing an area that is NOT residential, being vague is less critical. For example, it's acceptable to say (Any)Park, or (Any)Bay, or mention a specific state park that has loads of parking and can handle the crowds.


If you are unclear on this concept, ask yourself:


If I name this place on the internet, will it be too crowded for me to enjoy tomorrow when people hear I got 30 fish here today?


If the answer is "Yes", then you should probably not be so specific.
More discussion on this:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ead.php?t=3763

We post these reports so our community will have a sense of what is working, what is not. We want to show people how to catch fish, rather than where.Even if you struck out or got skunked, it would be helpful to hear that as well.

If you have any additional details you would like to share - weather conditions, tide (incoming, outgoing, ebb, flood) water temps, bait present, or other mention of techniques or plugs used - feel free.






Some acronyms -

SH - Sandy Hook
NoMoCo - Northern Monmouth County (below the hook to Shark River Inlet SRI)
SoMoCo - Southern Monmouth County (below SRI to Manasquan Inlet)

OC - Ocean County
IBSP - Island Beach State Park
LBI - Long Beach Island

AC - Atlantic County
AI - Absecon Inlet
CISP - Corson's Inlet State Park
CMC - Cape May County
CMR - Cape May Rips
GEI - Great Egg Inlet
TI - Townsend's Inlet

RB - Raritan Bay
BB - Barnegat Bay
CB - Chesapeake Bay
CBBT - Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel
DB - Delaware Bay

MikeO,
you won the plug in the June 2012 random drawing!:clapping: :thumbsup:
PM me your address so I can send it out to ya!




We post these reports so our community will have a sense of what is working, what is not. We want to show people how to catch fish, rather than where.

If you struck out or got skunked, it would be helpful to hear that as well. Anyone who posts a report can win a plug even if they got skunked! :skunk::D


This month we're giving out plugs from Ace Baits, or something similar.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...splay.php?f=83

Thanks for posting and helping to make this a great site! :clapping:


http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...1&d=1238964999

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...1&d=1238965622


http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...1&d=1238965319

A little late with the reports....unlike that OLD GROUCHY BASSTARD FINCHASER, :2flip: :moon: :argue: :HappyWave:who has a guy in a helicopter take him to the Sekrit Spot where the most fish are, I'm just a poor surfcaster, :laugh: destined to roam the surf aimlessly at night...in search of a few fish on artificials....:fishing:


Fri night.....
3 short bass, 8 bluefish to 8#....actually more excited about the bluefish then the bass, it seems some bigger bluefish are coming in the surfline at night to feed....and they are picky as hell, so whether some want to recognize it or not,,,,,8 of the larger ones deep in the night is something I consider an achievement......

They are truly picky, feeding on very small bait now, and are also as sluggish where I find them, as the bass were at 43 degree temps in the winter......

The 8# bluefish was halfway in before I realized it had any weight to it...and then it finally decided to tailwalk and pull some drag....it doesn't get much better than that, in NJ, for summer doldrum fishing for blues and bass. :cool:

Yep, it was another marathon session.....

Embarassed to admit it took me 5 hours to generate those numbers....all for a 1 hour period of feeding activity...the action is what kept me pumped as I had a hit or miss on every 5 casts or so during that period...and if you are an action junkie you might be able to appreciate that,,,,,I just haven't had action that robust for more than a few trips now...and as the small forage fish have moved into the surfline a few fish are coming in to feed at night.....

Sun night....

After Friday night's robust action I was eager to get back out...unfortunately I missed Sat night, was too wiped......but hit it hard again on Sun night....

I had taken a long detour at sunrise Sun morning to scout out some different areas. found a lot of small bait and felt if I came back at night I could do well...

Drove the extra miles to the southern area first thing Sun night....not even a tap.....I know, hey, that's fishin..but I was sorely disappointed anyway...:mad:










A good surfcaster,when faced with adversity or declining conditions, is always looking for his next move and trying to think about the forage and where the fish will be feeding....
The way things have slowed down, a lot of folks I know are already making the trips to MA or MTK....I really don't feel like making that time committment just yet....and the fuel and tolls factor into it as well....so I'm trying to make NJ my science project, poking and prodding every corner of the state to find some fish on artificials at night.....

When you're successful, the adrenalin, and action, is addictive...
but when you fail despite good analysis and planning, it's a big letdown.....:bucktooth:

Googan Central......:laugh:










So on Sun night, 5 hours into the trip, extra miles on the car, I had not even a tap....totally disappointed, running out of steam.....

I sat in the car before I made it to the next stop......asking myself what the hell I was doing? :don't know why:....I really had no more energy left and told myself it was a losing battle...and despite that got out and pushed on...I was so tired I had to push one foot in front of the other....it really was daunting as I told myself I should just quit....but I pushed on anyway....

And when I finally set up to cast, on the 10th cast I was into fish....:drool: it's amazing what a little action can do for your spirit, when you are down in the dumps.....and these fish energized me....

The one thing I didn't mention in the previous report is these fish are very sluggish, for me, at night...a standard retrieve only produces bumps or missed hits. When they miss it they generally do not come back again....and this night, there was a pretty constant swell, which made presentation very difficult,,,you had to time your casts, and "tease" the fish to get solid hookups....

Nonetheless, at least there were fish...haven't been so happy to find bluefish in a while...and the same thing...1/2 hour of feeding activity this time., 5 bluefish to 7#, before the bite shut off completely.....









Just wanted to add that these bigger bluefish only seem to be feeding at night in certain areas,...some friends have gotten them up to 10#. Again, to me this is fantastic news considering the sizes most folks have been getting....and they are tough to catch ,,,despite all the people out there talking about how easy blues are to catch,,,,that is not the case at night...and for me, they are very picky for the artificial bite. One of the reasons for this is probably the small forage, another the high water temps.....


What's working
Fri night the Daiwa SM (not the SP) was good as this smaller profile was what they seemed to want...
Alhough the crappy Mag Darter, with no color left in it, that I used to tease sluggish fish in the winter, was the winner in terms of bigger fish and the only presentation that the bass hit....

Sun night the Mag Darter was the only thing that got any action for me...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DarkSkies

When you're successful, the adrenalin, and action, is addictive...
...

---

Amen to that Dark! I want to thank you for helping me to dial in last night. The fish were right where you said they would be. I would never have thought they would be in that zone. I picked up 3 bass. One almost a keeeper. all released. The daiwa sp did the trick. Like you said they would be, they were right past the last breaker, no more, no less. I had to go home early hope you got into em too dude. Thanks again. It was good to catch some bass in July.:fishing:
:HappyWave:

This morning 4:30 to 6:30 AM released 3 bass to 32" and 8 blues to 15# all on jig head and rip tide mullet had to quit do to thunder storms only fished do to pending bad weather keeping Benny's at bay

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DarkSkies

3 short bass, 8 bluefish to 8#....actually more excited about the bluefish then the bass, it seems some bigger bluefish are coming in the surfline at night to feed....and they are picky as hell, so whether some want to recognize it or not,,,,,8 of the larger ones deep in the night is something I consider an achievement......

Yep, it was another marathon session.....

Embarassed to admit it took me 5 hours to generate those numbers....all for a 1 hour period of feeding activity...the action is what kept me pumped as I had a hit or miss on every 5 casts or so during that period...and if you are an action junkie you might be able to appreciate that,,,,,I just haven't had action that robust for more than a few trips now...and as the small forage fish have moved into the surfline a few fish are coming in to feed at night.....

---

Quote:

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Originally Posted by storminsteve

I picked up 3 bass. One almost a keeeper. all released. The daiwa sp did the trick. Like you said they would be, they were right past the last breaker, no more, no less.
:HappyWave:

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by finchaser

This morning 4:30 to 6:30 AM released 3 bass to 32" and 8 blues to 15# all on jig head and rip tide mullet had to quit do to thunder storms only fished do to pending bad weather keeping Benny's at bay

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Great report Dark, sometimes if you fish 4 hours with nothing and then catch a few, those fish caught make ya feel better than if ya caught all night. Persistence and your skill pays off, and besides fishing is fun.....at least its supposed to be (those guys who stand around waiting for fish to appear, what fun is that....I digress).

Storminsteve and Finchaser congrats on the catching, nice Blue (15 lb) great to see the bass catching in July.

I can't wait to get out and fish a little this weekend, it can't get here quick enough.

Got one bass last night, tossing the crab.;)
13 lbs. Great reports guys. Dark I read that report and I was sold. You have the talent for making even something as mundane as catching sunnies interesting. You really should look to make some bucks from it. Good read.

Yes I second what bucket head said. Very interesting reports dark skies. I wish I could say as much and I appreciate the effort you put into them good job. I fished the park for a few hours this morning. I waited the rain out and in between had some bluefish. You can get a lot of them now if you use a small type teaser about 18" in front of your metal. Hickory shad as well. That is good news about the bigger bluefish. So far I have not seen them down here. They are all around 1-2lbs.
I am a bit concerned about the lack of larger fluke in our surf here. This is a very poor year for ocean county so far. I hear it is different on the northern beaches.
Happy 4th of July to all the stripers and anglers members and their families. dark my best to you and your wife.

ds get on up here and stop playing with the schoolies, it ain't mannerly.
All you joisey guys suck anyway can't catch a fish without a bunker blitz from what I hear.:laugh: We dont get many bunker up this way, have to get em with some plugging. The bite is good now dark, not next week not in august, Come on up. You can sleep on my couch on the porch. That way it won't smell too much, and the couch is old.
And:moon: to all you joisey guys.

Got one bump on a popper early Sunday, then got rained on and called it a night. Hey dark, thanks on the winning plug. I need all the help I can get. I hear that they are still getting some bluefish action in the bay off the beach with bait. Any truth to that?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mike O

Hey dark, thanks on the winning plug. I need all the help I can get.

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Mike you don't need that much help, you're a good fisherman.....if you shift your fishing times to fish more darkness and deeper in the night you might be surprised what you see....
And make sure you hold on to your rod as there are big rays and sharks out there now if you are fishing with bunker...:scared:

The area you fish has very warm water now...the 100 degree days aren't helping it much...
The fluking in the Bay area is exceptional this year
If you're still interested in bluefish there should be a bit of a lull for the next 3 weeks as a lot of the larger ones have left the inshore area to spawn now.....

Friends and I were getting them to 10# at night just last week in the ocean, but I haven't got a touch from a bluefish at night in the last 2 visits out..so I can safely say the surf action from the larger ones should be winding down a bit until the spawn is over.


When you go fishing in August, contact me via PM and I'll send you to a few places in your area that the bigger bluefish move in at the top of the flood...and the peanuts that are around now will be on the menu....it's a great way for a Dad to spend a few hours fishing with his kids and have some great night time bluefish fun....these will be areas where the tide is so specific, if you are more than 2 hours off, you won't see the action....

Contact me toward the end of the month and I'll try to put ya into some good bait and small plug action with the bigger blues....they follow the same patterns every year the peanuts are thick....Good luck...feel free to PM me any time...:HappyWave:

"Dark I can't catch bass on a Full Moon"

That statement was made by someone I know in the Winter.
Blame the heat...the algae...
The fact that 90% of the bigger bass are now in the Block/LI Sound/MA area....

But don't blame the moon...

I was out Tue PM....
The night before the July 4th Holiday...
It was hard to find bass and I covered a lot of ground, but my results were better than usual....
9 short bass, not one bluefish.....

The swell was still pretty steady but minimizing...
Lately I look at the swell report, and won't go, if it's bigger than 4', 5 seconds duration...
Or smaller than 1.5',,,,because either of these conditions do not usually produce numbers for my trips...

With the fish being very scattered, I'm picking up a lot of "1's and 2's",,,where you only catch one or 2 and have to move on till you find them again....lots of walking...I lost 7lbs in just the last 2 weeks alone...

What worked:
The Daiwa and Magdarter both worked, but the Magdarter had an edge in producing # of strikes.
At one point I had solid action for an hour.
Were it not for googan error I could have a decent pick of fish into the double digits, but I did lose some fishing time...:bucktooth:

Wed PM report....

Encouraged by the action the night before, (I would classify it as fantastic for this time of year given these high ocean temps....)

I was out the next night......


And this is why it becomes so difficult, and so many guys give up searching for bass, and settle for the relative ease of fishing for fluke.......

All the activity I found the night before, was not evident at all....
This despite the full moon tides, and some scouting I did, letting me know it was time to be out there again.....




As mentioned, a good surfcaster learns when it is to his advantage to exploit the conditions that will bring him fish.....and returns as many times as he (or she) can when the action is good....




I was so confident of certain conditions producing some bigger fish than the schoolies that I promised to Finchaser and another serious Surfcaster friend of mine, that during those tides I would pick up a fish of 15 # or better, on Artificials.....fishing those tides........

And, googan that I am, I failed.....:whoo:
Moral of the story,,,,never never tell someone about a fish you are going to catch ahead of time :beatin:



















I did get a teen fish, 13# and 33".(released)..but it took me all night to catch....
and it did not meet the size of the fish I thought should be there.....
Additionally, I was predicting some good action from larger fish in my hypothesis for that night's fishing...
based on scouting, real-time research, and trends from my log....and the bite I was predicting never happened....hey that's fishing....:don't know why:

As Fin commonly says, you can't catch fish that aren't there....:learn:

And I want folks reading this out there to know...that 98% of people have given up bass fishing at night, because there really are so few fish around....

If you really love it., and surfcasting means something to you, and have the stamina to put in a marathon session, sometimes it's real rewarding to catch just a few bass, or the one teen bass that no one imagined was there.....along with the solitude...to me that is priceless.....:fishing:



Action....there were no missed hits at all that night...that was the only hit, only fish,,,,all on a mag darter.

** Want to thank all you guys for the funny comments and encouragement. :HappyWave:

Some of the posts in the last 2 weeks were fantastic, really made me laugh...wish I had more time to respond but this has been the traditional time for me to fish hard. When guys start talking about road trips to other places, there have always been a few bass for me and a few others out in NJ at night,,,,

As it becomes almost impossible, and even good bites shift in area from night to night, you have to be half-insane to want to still fish for bass....:kooky:

To me, it beats the alternative to a long road trip....
In the next month I will be gearing up the yak for some LI Sound night trips,.,,,but in the meantime this fishing is a lot closer, and I feel, more of a challenge....provided you have an appetite for 5 hour energy drinks....:laugh:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DarkSkies

At one point I had solid action for an hour.
Were it not for googan error I could have a decent pick of fish into the double digits, but I did lose some fishing time...:bucktooth:

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I can't even imagine that, action for an hour. I am lucky to find them biting for 5 minutes and then they stop biting. What is the googan error you were talking about? btw great job on the fish. Seems like you and finchaser really put in the time and are finding them, way to go.

^ Baitstealer, things to remember...

1. We absolutely know the water we fish in. If there are bass there we can find them. Sometimes it's not so easy.... as the high temps have pushed most bass and bigger blues out of our area. I try to be clear about this without being negative, but feel it's important not to mislead people....it really is pretty tough to catch a bass right noiw...most of the bass left are "table scraps" with a few quality ones mixed in...
You won't see these fish at all unless you are fishing where the highest concentrations of bait/forage are, and even then, some of these catches are "lucky fish" 1 or 2 at a time.

This time of year, the best best for catching bass is using bait...clams, bunker, crabs, eels. It is extremely challenging to catch them on artificials, and as a result most guys have given up the pursuit.

Hope this helps and honestly lays the reality out there......:HappyWave:













2. Googan error...has come to mean a lot of things on this site....
For Monty it could mean hooking himself in the hand, casting into a tree, 50 miles from the ocean....:laugh: :HappyWave:





For me, it could mean something like...
Doing a faceplant on sand or water when I'm so tired I should be home and not out fishin...
Getting a wind-knot that takes 1/4 hour to straighten out, losing valuable fishing time..

Or drinking so many 5 hour energy drinks that somehow I end up shatting my pants.and have to wade in the water half-naked to get everything cleaned up again...:scared:..:blackeye:
(And people wonder why I only fish at night....)
Or losing a fish to structure...

Funny stuff dark, I san see why you fish alone, as well.:laugh:

I fished nomoco for an hour around sun up. Few small blues. Seems they are getting smaller and smaller.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DarkSkies

2. Googan error...has come to mean a lot of things on this site....
For Monty it could mean hooking himself in the hand, casting into a tree, 50 miles from the ocean....:laugh: :HappyWave:

For me, it could mean something like...
Doing a faceplant on sand or water when I'm so tired I should be home and not out fishin...
Getting a wind-knot that takes 1/4 hour to straighten out, losing valuable fishing time..

Or drinking so many 5 hour energy drinks that somehow I end up shatting my pants.and have to wade in the water half-naked to get everything cleaned up again...:scared:..:blackeye:
(And people wonder why I only fish at night....)
Or losing a fish to structure...

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:HappyWave: :ROFLMAO :huh: :ROFLMAO

Fished this morning ocean side 1:30 - 8:00, lost 30 minutes to lightning.
Caught everything I was trying not to catch...2 short fluke, 1 Searobin and about a dozen teeny blue fish.
Caught on Magdarter, 5" Hogy, Crocodile and Teaser. Water did not feel real hot, was a good time, great to be out there (no bugs, not hot). Missed a bunch of hits (solid one on the Magdarter :beatin:), small bait around, looked like about an inch long.
Never went more than 30 minutes without a hit, had not been ocean side in over a month, was fun, one five hour energy drink plus one Red Bull (did not dump in my pants or the ocean :thumbsup: :HappyWave: )

http://rocksimpson.com/images/2012_7_8_Sun_rise.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Monty

Water did not feel real hot, was a good time, great to be out there (no bugs, not hot). Missed a bunch of hits (solid one on the Magdarter :beatin:), small bait around, looked like about an inch long.
Never went more than 30 minutes without a hit, had not been ocean side in over a month, was fun, one five hour energy drink plus one Red Bull (did not dump in my pants or the ocean :thumbsup: :HappyWave: )

http://rocksimpson.com/images/2012_7_8_Sun_rise.jpg

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Awesome report and picture Monty!:drool:
I fished last night, somoco
did not crap my pants (Dark you are waaaaaaay out there sometimes).:kooky: :ROFLMAO Don't know if I would have the stones to post all that up even if it did happen, but you sure do know how to find fish. :thumbsup:
I picked up 2 shorts on the mag-d.
Good to be out there. The heat died down and it felt like early fall.