NJ Fishing Reports April 2017

NJ Fishing reports for April 2017 -

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/forum.php

Short and sweet......

1. Post your fishing reports here.....
2. Be as specific as ya want....but remember the *limited access....If you don't enjoy fishing next to 40 new friends at night in a 200 foot section of beach,"think" before ya post.....

3. Location
Out front....
out back.....
or the County...

further details on the first page of any past S&A monthly fishing reports.

4. Moderation...
I rarely have time to moderate these threads.
If something needs to be addressed, and you are a contributing member.....please PM me or send an e-mail via the report post button.

**Thanks for your cooperation and for being such a great group!

Early Spring Recap......

Bunker are still on the radar this year, more than ever.
These bunker are both a blessing and a curse. They seem to concentrate all the fish in one area, around them.

There are a few encouraging signs out there:
1. The forage varieties still remain varied and abundant, but not in all areas.
2. lots of little striped bass from the robust 2011 and 2015 YOY classes.

#2 above has become a prominent feature many have been noticing last year and this past Winter. Small 2nd through 5th year class striped bass seem to be everywhere.
Although I try to keep up with the Coastwide striped bass populations, thanks to a few hundred contacts I've met over the years, I need to add to it, that this is the first time I have felt some positive signs in a while.....
The robustness of these small fry year classes does look well for the future of the fishery....
a. given the fact they need a couple years to reach maturity,
b. and folks don't lose sight that there are serious gaps in many of the breeder class years...

I go into more detail in the yearly StripersAndAnglers Coastwide stock assessment
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...of-the-fishery

Positive nonetheless...and something to be happy about....:thumbsup:

In the meantime, if you're out there on the water on a boat, or just fishing some isolated area at night from land...in bad weather... please be careful and safe. God Bless all.

Anyone getting flounder yet?

^^^^^ Heard of a few caught down by the marina at keyport. When I stopped by there tonight no one was catching, though I did see some bunker.

Finally got out fishing the RB. All the reports were encouraging. The rain had me thinking it might be a waste of time. Went anyway. Fished clams on my pole in RB from 5-9. Got one short striper right around sundown. At least I avoided the skunk, quickly released. Thanks for all the info.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bababooey

Anyone getting flounder yet?

---

A buddy of mine has been getting a few at the northern end of barnegat bay.

Friend had 22 yesterday where he ^^^ all off land

Picked up some stripes last night, OC in the back. For some reason it felt like they were off, was better last week. they are still there if you want to work for them.

Fish the back in rb from 7 to 9. It was the incoming tide and nothing happened for a long time. Then around 8:45 I got a striper on blood worm. It was 27 inches, first striper of the season, chunky little guy. Released to fight another day. Saw a few others caught but not many. Nice to get out there.

Nice. Was worried about the rain and didn't go. Hanging in there does pay off.

Lol fish are already wet. Nice going man.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bababooey

Anyone getting flounder yet?

---

This time of year shark river used to be the ticket. I have gone out and did well in march. That was using a lot of chum. Used to be a lot of flounder there. Haven't seen much reported lately. Wonder what happened to them all.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by fishinmission78

Lol fish are already wet. Nice going man.

---

Hah good one!

Fished the bay for three hours, one little striped pajama man on a rattle trap. The conditions seemed perfect. I was hoping for better but hey I'll take it.

Good going. I have fished the ocean a few times this week. Nothing consistent for me.

Way to put your time in.

Nice effort.. Moco in the back on the outgoing tide yesterday and got the skunk.

Out ahead of the rain yesterday evening. a slow pick, the 3 of us did okay. A few shorts, and one keep each.
Quit at 1:30 a.m. clams did it for us. Bunker were in and out all night as well.

Gnarly conditions today. Took a walk and made a few casts anyway, nothing.

Gave it a go in the big D 2 hours after work. The water was high and dirty because of the rain. Got two Perch that was it. Will probably try again this weekend. The fish are there guys you just have to be there when they are biting.

nice. Got to be in it to win it!

First trip of the season today in Raritan Bay. Could only fish from 4:30 to 6:30am, and around 6 it did peter out at high tide. We did best an hour before slack jigging the channel with rubber shads. stripers of different sizes, biggest 30". The fish finder looked good, I think this weekend will be a good one.

Good going Capt catch em up.

Nice thank you for the intel.

Bay area till sunrise. A few minutes before I was packing up they started biting. Caught one short striper and missed another one. Was using the smallest rubber shad I had and bringing it back slow. The water felt cold to my hands.

It seems like a lot of the striped bass are out deep where the birds are. I fished last night in raritan bay. Saw a couple small stripers on clams. Lots of guys in the one spot I went to. Some of you guys were catching on lures so I tried that. Bubkus. Managed one skinny short on a clam. I have seen some fat ones though. This weekend I will try a few more spots. Good luck to you all.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by captnemo

First trip of the season today in Raritan Bay. Could only fish from 4:30 to 6:30am, and around 6 it did peter out at high tide. We did best an hour before slack jigging the channel with rubber shads. stripers of different sizes, biggest 30". The fish finder looked good, I think this weekend will be a good one.

---

Nice going if only I could cast out to the channel maybe I could catch like that too. Will try a few different places this weekend. Thanks for sharing.

We fished the channel because sometimes they stack up there feeding on the herring and bunker. As the water gets warmer they should spread out through the whole bay. The smaller ones will be at the creek mouths feeding on the spearing and small forage. The largest ones tend to stay in the channel or deeper water and may come in chasing the bunker at night. You are on the right track, just keep at it and fish around high tide. Good luck.

Good advice congrats on the catching. Seems like there is a nice body of fish coming up the coast off of Monmouth County. Looks like within a week all hell is going to break loose.

Windy as hell last night the fish didn't care. Clams and bunker, some decent numbers, about 10% keepers. They're out there, boys.

Good going, bud. I took the late shift last night. Outgoing tide in the bay. Got 2 small ones with small plugs. I did get a giant whack that shook me up and startled me. Must have been at least a nice keeper, it felt like a 20 pounder. The fish that got away are always bigger than we thought though. I missed the hook set so I'll never know. I was so startled I coughed, that's the part where I crapped my pants a little. Wrote the details in the most embarrassing crap story thread. There are definitely some nicer fish out there. Hit so hard it felt like a blue. So far haven't heard of any other blues caught though. Wishful thinking. Might try to go again tonight to find the fish that beat me.:banghead2:

Nice try and report. Better luck next time (sans the pants crapping)

Fished rb 7-9:30. One decent striper on clam. 25 incher. I think it was close to high tide because the bunker were all over constantly bumping into my line. I think there are lots more bunker than stripers out there.

Gave the ocean a try for sunrise. 2 shorts on bucktail w white grub.

Good going guys spring is finally here.

Spring stripers finally in the Delaware. Few shorts yesterday afternoon as the tide was coming in. Also two catfish up to 24 inches. Some friends of mine catching some bigger ones at night. All on Bloods. I will be fishing more this week and try to report more

Nice to hear you guys are catching in other areas

Pretty decent night late last night, clams n bunker, the stripers are getting a little bigger.

Way to go!

I have to get better in my timing. Fish the bayshore last night. As others have said, bunker were around. I got one short striper on clam. Saw a few other small ones caught. This was around high tide.