Why are there no fish in Montauk right now?

Y'all probably figured out my answer already, but I'll try to lay it out for you, step by step.

I met an old timer the other morning, we were talking about the lack of bass and big bluefish in the NJ surf so far..... He's been catching, but it's been very spotty for him. The guy has 50 years of experience, so I would think he knows how to catch a fish or 2....:)

He said to me:
"If there are no fish in the Montauk surf, and fishing is this slow in NJ, where are they???"

The answer to that prompted the idea for this thread.

I'll fill it in as I get time...:fishing:

Isn't that the thing that guys always say, "there are no fish in Montauk" even when there are? Dark are you trying to throw us off here?:rolleyes: The boats are catching them I have been reading the reports, so are you referring to the surf or what?

Tis the season to be on the Lazybones diamond jigging in the Montauk rips the fish are in the rips and hitting fairly steady your best shot is early morning or the night tides in the surf otherwise jump on a boat.The bait is heavy in the rips damn I wish I could be there I love squidding out there it is the one time of the year I want to be on the boat rather than the surf.When you hit em its just non stop craziness at it's best.Capt. Mike and his crew are top notch no BS professional crew if you want to know whats up in the boat reports his wife Kathy is the one to listen to.Sorry for the plug for Mike but I don't want people going on the wrong boat I have once when his boat was full there is a difference between catching and not catching some are willing to try harder and yes you do have bad days on his boat also but thats fishing.Leave the spinning rods home they are not welcome on the boat if you never done it before its a blast talk to the mates his daughters(Serena and Rebecca) mate sometimes if Serena doesn't have a charter for her boat Lady Bones all the mates are more than willing to give instruction on casting and the technique of squidding.I know after 3 years of not being out there I will be a little rusty I had my reel all tuned and ready to rock maybe next year.:fishing:

I don't know a lot about Montauk but I do know it is called the Mecca of surf fishing. A few of my friends were there 2 weeks ago and got one fish between all 3 of them from the surf. So yes I am curious, why is the surf action so bad this year? My friends said they always score on their trips up there and have been making the same trip near the end of Septtember for the last 10 years. What is different about this year from the last 9?

Montauk is far and a lot of gas. I am catching fish where I live near Brooklyn.

We used to go out every year for our anniversary in Sept.

10 years ago the surf seemed to be mobbed with bait and the surf fishing was much better.

we recently saw the last 5 years the bite getting later every year so we have gone as late as Nov.

I like it after Columbus day and the hotel rates drop the bait is staying off the beach.I generally diamond jig & the amount of fish when out on the boats are incredible sometimes

The other issue in Montauk is everyone seems to focus on the lighthouse which is mainly a nighttime bite. when everything quiets down the bait hides.
the fish look for the bait there are many places that are producing steady action but no one looks for them drive around and get familiar with Montauk all sides of it

their are so many little spots. the locals are not going to tell you where they are catching forget about it.

many overlook the sand beaches they provide better daytime action I have had bad boat days too and then you find out the fish were on the beach all day.

Things Happen It may be the Mecca but its no different then anywhere else if your just putting a day in you better be pretty damn lucky.

You need to put your time in there just like anywhere else. theres more to Montauk then the lighthouse.

Well said^^^^. Forget the lighthouse and Turtle Cove unless it is deeeeeep into the night. Even this time of the year and with a good tide, there is plenty of room then. I favor the sand beaches during the daytime and the rockier areas at night. Put in your time, the fish will be there.....most of the time. If you don't catch, you have still fished some fabulous water. Better than raking leaves.....

Thanks Mick I hate raking leaves too lmao

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Originally Posted by mick2360

Put in your time, the fish will be there.....most of the time. If you don't catch, you have still fished some fabulous water. Better than raking leaves.....

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No offense meant but I feel that phrase is a little over used. Friends of mine have been hitting it up regularly. Very little bass action, even at night, until this Weds when it finally blew open. So the fish are around now with some regularity, 5 weeks later then they showed up last year. And I know about the two 40+ bass on Paulie's site.The thing is, there were 400 guys up there fishing that weekend and that's the best that came out of it.

The boat action has been good, the the surf action has sucked. Are YOU catching fish of any size at Montauk right now (before Weds) If you were to call that a hot bite, or even any kind of bite at all with 400 guys fishing, imo that would be delusional.:kooky: Just my 2 cents, of course.

Montauk report yesterday from another site, any questions?

"Fished montauk today. I don't know whats going on, but montauk has been DEAD. From the town beaches , to ditch plains, to caswells, to camp hero,scotts,the weed bowl,north bar,stepping stones,shagwong,fort pond bay,and nappeuge.... saw a few schoolies, i caught a few blues today. Thats it"

SC, NO offense taken. I drive five hours to hit M. My perspective is much different than that of an Island guy who gets to fish there at his whim; my bad, I should have made that clear. There are times when I make the drive down for the weekend and catch little but blues. I sleep a little and then hit the rock beaches at night. These can be long shifts. But I learned from watching the night guys and my rate of hook ups have improved. Just trying to give my perspective.

When I'm lucky, I get to M five times in the fall. I'm no expert but I work at it, apply what I've been told and learned on my own and once in awhile, one trip out of my five, I get lucky and get into some lights out fishing. I'll never weigh a fish at Paulies. What happens on the rocks stays on the rocks (he don't need my photos, I buy enough plugs there. Do I need 'em? Not really. It's an illness.).
Reports or not, I'm heading down next weekend and praying to the bass Gods for a good trip.

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Originally Posted by stripercrazy

No offense meant but I feel that phrase is a little over used. Friends of mine have been hitting it up regularly. Very little bass action, even at night, until this Weds when it finally blew open. So the fish are around now with some regularity, 5 weeks later then they showed up last year. And I know about the two 40+ bass on Paulie's site.The thing is, there were 400 guys up there fishing that weekend and that's the best that came out of it.

The boat action has been good, the the surf action has sucked. Are YOU catching fish of any size at Montauk right now (before Weds) If you were to call that a hot bite, or even any kind of bite at all with 400 guys fishing, imo that would be delusional.:kooky: Just my 2 cents, of course.

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Thats exactly right it was a very poor start to the surf seaosn and on the internet guys love to split hairs and if oneeeee bass is caught among 400 guys love to come on and say oohh nooo the run is ON 1 sey twosey were caught at night.

When i asked this question about 2 weeeks ago if anyone knew of a bite Mick u implied you were nailing lots fish and i should make my own reports, but im callign shennigans cause truthfully it sounds like you offering your opinion and you haven't been up there. A surf club i know of got one bass between 8 guys last week, the way i see it is a saved 400 miles until it gets better, Like Joe Friday would say .....Just the facts!

Sharkhart, I posted in the last week in September that I fish Montauk in October and November. Re-read the post.

Shoot me a PM. I'll be there next weekend hoping to 'make my own report', always happy to meet someone from this site for a tide or a cup of coffee.

I guess what I want to say is that Bass are migratory and reports are what happened to someone else yesterday. I'm going to take my chances.

I'm glad to see that we can all have different opinions without fighting. :cool:

Shark and Mick, I've fished with both of ya's and neither seems to know the meaning of the word quit when you're out there....:thumbsup: I think if you met each other on the beach, you would probably realize that you are more compulsive when out there, than a lot of guys. :fishing: I think that you would both get along, and you seem to have the same dedication, the only difference being that Mick can't fish as much because of work and family..... You both have the tendency to fish till you're ready to drop. :headbang:In my book, that makes for a dedicated fisherman, and someone who's likely to get a fish when others might not.

I feel I may have given the wong impression with the title of this thread.

Yes there are fish in Montauk.

Yes the boats have been hammering them for some time....but even with the charters, there has been a shift in the dynamics how they fish...whereas in the past it was "pure bass" charters for all 2 or 3 daily trips that they did....there has now, in the last year or so, been a subtle shift to "mixed bag charters" where they fish for seabass, fluke, or porgies, and then shift to fishing the Rips when the tide is optimal for maximum bass activity..


Let's think about this here.... Montauk, as one of the main highways for bass migration, traditionally has had more than just a "bass in the Rips" bite.
EX- when the bite dies in other states, like NJ, Del, MD, MA, etc, you know you can always catch bass somewhere in Montauk, even in the heat of the summer.....
That is becoming less and less the case now....

I ask you this......
If the bass fishing was consistently so good in Montauk, WHY have the boats shifted to the mixed bag charters?
One reason put forth is that folks want other fish besides striped bass, and that other fish taste better......
My response to that is this....
People come from all over the world to fish Montauk for trophy striped bass...
It's highly unlikely that they would come to Montauk to fish for "trophy porgies" :kooky:






**Isn't it more likely that the charter captains, noticing a decline in the overall numbers of bass, are now touting this "mixed bag fishing" as the perfect spin for the concept of "family fishing" so as to take the focus off the fact that they are in fact doing more poorly on the striped bass than they have been?


Some facts to support this...
1. I monitor the Montauk Charter boats obsessively. In the past 2 years, the average fish being reported from Montauk charter boats is in the low 20's, (at times other than the Spring and Fall blitzes) and some in the teens. The "big" fish are not being caught in the numbers of the past, even as recently as 5 years ago...and this is just for the boats..
2. The overall size, and sheer numbers of the fish in the surf tournaments has been declining steadily...

As for the surf....
Ask any old timer who fishes Montauk REGULARLY....the fish are not there like they used to be....and guys on the internet don't help it any by coming back from a Montauk trip and posting they had "epic fishing" when they had 3 or 4 hours of catching schoolie bass in the 24-28" class..... :huh:

That ain't epic fishing by any means, and if you are really of the opinion that's epic, that tells me you haven't been fishing that long.....:rolleyes:


So....
As of the last week,
YES,there are fish in the surf in the daytime at Montauk.
Yes, there are fish to be caught on the night tides....I've gotten reports of guys I know catching double digits of fish by experienced guys working those night tides.....

But, those catches above aren't likely to be attained by the average fisherman. And should not be relied on as evidence that "they're catching in Montauk, they're catching in Montauk!!!!" :wheeeee: :viking: "Run on up there, it's on!!!!!" :rolleyes:


The reason I created this thread is to try to illustrate to folks who don't know, that Montauk, the mecca of saltwater fishing, has had declining catches of larger fish for some years now...and to raise some possibilities of exactly why this could be happening...


The distinction between the boat and surf fishing is important here....
1. Many of the old timers will tell you that the surf fishermen get the "overflow" of bass and predators in the surf, during the spring and fall migrations.
2. For places like NJ, we have had a shift in our surf fishing. It's gradually declined in the last 5 years. This could be because of a shift of striped bass to offshore migration on their way to Montauk and points North. However, if there is a shift in the quantity of fish caught in the surf at Montauk, this cannot be explained merely by referring to the offshore shift, as Montauk has always been in the center lane of the migration highway......
3. Fish not being there in numbers for the surf guys, it's not an accident, late season, or merely a temperature thing....it's more likely than not, an indicator of an overall decline...
4. I tend to be long-winded when I'm passionate about something....I hope this thread has been an education for some here, as I have tried to make it as interesting as possible...


As always, please be aware that these are my opinions. Although there is strong anecdotal evidence backing my statements here, I would love to hear someone who has a different opinion, explain that opinion and tell us why...in this way we foster learning and awareness at a higher level.....

Additionally, if any charter capts have logs to disprove what I'm suggesting here, IE if you have log books with striped bass catches documented to prove you are catching more bass, and bigger ones, than you were catching 10 years ago in Montauk, then by all means please share them with us....

Thanks for reading, folks. :HappyWave:

Thank you for your honesty.

Yes, There are no fish to be caught in the Montauk Surf. Last weekend! But Columbus Day Weekend - According to everyone I spoke to last weekend, the crowds fishing the beaches clobbered a ton of fish. Paulies girls said they almost ran out of everything in the store. The girl at the Montauk Bake Shop said the whole town smelled like fish. My weekend was a blur of wind, rain, and a ripping tide aong the southern beaches that took any lure, any weight EAST almost faster than you could turn towards the Point.

Mike O, a visiting Brit with 15 years of fishing Montauk in two and three week bites, is the only one I know who caught a keeper (31" Striper). He's one of those wet suit craizies who thinks standing on a rock out front is the only way to catch fish. The other four Brits, myself and Mick and his wife all found no joy in the surf at MP last weekend.

I hope they will connect before they head back across the pond in early November. You too Mick. I'm back "Down the Shore" and will be giving the North End Beaches (Sandy Hook to Asbury Park) and the Shrewsbury and Navesink Rivers my best shot. We are hearing about a little bass action
and the water is turning cooler.

We have had mullet pods schooling south along the beaches for more than a month with very little predation evident. The cooler nights should move other bait species out of the tribs and on around the tip of Sandy Hook. November has always been the best month to connect with fish inside and outside, from Sandy Hook and then along the Jersey Shore beaches.

Montauk is the East End and its beaches face South. Sandy Hook is the North End and its beaches face East. Montauk responds well to N and NE winds, and the Jersey Shore responds best to West and Southwest winds. The East End and the North End are just short of 200 miles apart. Four hours in the dark of night, using Staten Island, the Brooklyn Beltway and Sunrise highway.

I did it last weekend on 25.3 gallons round trip. Atlantic Highlands to Montauk and back without a fill up. My 5.3 L, GMC pick up has a 26 gallon tank and the fill up in NJ cost 83.20 at 3.25 a gallon when I got home on Monday. Add the GSP, OBC and VN road &bridge tolls and your looking at a $100.00 bill to roll either way. My low fuel light came on as I entered NJ on the Outer Bridge Crossing from SI.

Mick I'll call you when the large ones arrive. We have a sandwich shop here in Highland, NJ, that has a breakfast burrito for $4.00 that will make you knees go weak and put your weight loss program on hold.

You East Enders have my condollences on the $4.00 a gallon gas prices.

Bass are on the decline this is how the crash started last time and there are millions more guy's fishing for them now. Dr. Lubchenco with Nobama's blessing , closing down almost ever thing else has all head boats pursuing them in the spring and fall. We need new regulations ASAP.

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Originally Posted by finchaser

Bass are on the decline this is how the crash started last time and there are millions more guy's fishing for them now. Dr. Lubchenco with Nobama's blessing , closing down almost ever thing else has all head boats pursuing them in the spring and fall. We need new regulations ASAP.

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finchaser Striped bass are not endangered. The red flag number for us to become concerned is 37.5 million. The species is currently in excess of 60 million. A moritorium was declared in 1985 when the coastal assessment hit a mere 5 million striped bass. ASFMC was created to turn that number around. in 1996 by use of a coast wide approach and lengh limit enforcement the stock estimate was declared fully recovered at 40 million fish.

The striped bass assessment committee is meeting in 2 weeks to make decisions on striped bass technical committee recommendations for management of the species. One of the most important decisions that will be made will be a to implement harvest restrictions on known striped bass spawning grounds in the Albamarle Sound/Roanoke River, Chesapeake Bay tributaries and the hudson River by 50% or more. A move in that direction in the Hudson River will derectly impact recreational fishing on the Hudson from March to June, 2012. It won't affect head boat or commercial fishing because there hasn't been any of that kind of activity in the freshwater tidal portion of the Hudson River north of Bear Mountian in 4 decades.

Trying to make headboats the enemy is a waste of time and effort. They are not the enemy and their customers are folks like us.

Trying to tie the can to Obama's tail on fishing issues is pure pie in the sky political smearing. I don't like him or his policies, but I exercise my comments on his record on a political forum and not a fishing forum.

I am what you would call a conservative, old white man who hasn't voted democrat since I voted an absentee ballot for John F. Kennedy in November, 1960. I was sitting in the belly of a US Navy LPH Carrier off the coast of Siagon, RVN while there was a SVN Paratroops coup attempt going on. My Marine battalion was the Assualt BLT for Fleet Marine Force, Pacific at the time. The SVN Navy and Marines put the coup down in a week, so we didn't have to go in and kick paratrooper *** that week. The dems haven't put up anyone qualified since JFK. JMHO.

RJ
I agree with you and appreciate what you did for what's left of this great country.

The Obama part comes from all the fisheries shut down by Dr. L who was hired by him, (knowing her ties to PEW)these closures add to depletion not accounted for in the equation putting more pressure on the bass.. Most of her staff came from Pew and other tree hunger organizations. I can't stand him either.. I AM NOT POLITICAL SMEARING his already tarnished image and record just stating facts to making sure people who voted for him, know he is not the fisherman's friend. . Just last week the RFA asked Obama to replace her and her staff because they are ruining fishing for everyone trying to implement his fish shares program which practically destroyed fishing in the UK. I can't imagine buying shares to catch and keep fish can you ?
This is part of their master plan. I also go to all the meetings.:HappyWave:

Good man, Bob. He's not going to cut the hugger's loose. We need to get a strong ABO vote rolling for November 2012.

Anybody but Obama.

RJ aka Mr. Bob due to my lenthy time on the planet.

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Originally Posted by RJC

RJ aka Mr. Bob due to my lenthy time on the planet.

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RC aka Mr. Bob do to my lenthy time on the planet I know the feeling:thumbsup:

Some interesting perspectives here, thanks for all the different viewpoints. :thumbsup:


I wanted to break down some definitions for here and other threads,. will add to this post as I get time.....


Endangered -

In Danger-

Declining-


Overfished -

Overfishing-

Add

Not Endangered


Not Over Fished.

Over Abundent

Impacting Major food sources

Fished the drop on the sand beaches....zippo. Then my BIL, Will, nails a couple od schoolies on the long rod. Hey Will, :2flip:

Is dead on the beaches I'm having my coffee as I type nice water no fish no bait for that matter.Slow might be a night bite the rips are holding decent fish alot of blues and some nice size bass from a very good source.Sux being here and not fishing maybe I'll start boat fishing again.Whats going on out here 7-11's salivars is closed gonna be Manhattan soon.

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Originally Posted by RJC

Not Over Fished.

Over Abundent

Impacting Major food sources

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Can you explain this then? I don't know the answers, but only fish for them when all you guys out there report the blitzes. Otherwise, when I take my kids out on the boat, we have a better chance of a successful day if we target fluke or bluefish, My .02



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, MARCH 24, 2011
PRESS CONTACT, TINA BERGER, 703/842-0740

ASMFC Atlantic Striped Bass Board Initiates Addendum to Reduce Fishing Mortality


Alexandria, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board has initiated development of Draft Addendum III with the goals of reducing striped bass fishing mortality (F) up to 40% and further protecting spawning stock when it is concentrated and vulnerable. The addendum was initiated in order to allow managers to promptly respond to the results of the stock assessment update in the fall if necessary. Provisions of the addendum, if passed, could be implemented prior to the start of the 2012 fishing year.

The Board’s action responds to recent trends in the fishery and resource, including a 66% decline in estimated recreational catch from 2006 to 2009; a 25% decline in estimated striped bass abundance from 2004 to 2008; and lowered recruitment in recent years. Additionally, states in the northern extent of the fishery have expressed concern over decreased availability of striped bass as a result of the diminished water quality in the Chesapeake Bay during the summer months that may also contribute to increased prevalence of mycobacteriosis in striped bass.

Draft Addendum III will propose a range of fishing management measures including, but not limited to, adjustments to commercial and recreational minimum size (for jurisdictions outside Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River), reductions in annual coastal commercial allocation, reductions in recreational bag limits, revisions to the target F rate (for Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River), and reductions on fishing for striped bass in known spawning areas during the spawning season by at least 50% (for jurisdictions bordering the Hudson River, Delaware River, Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River).

The commercial and recreational fishery is currently managed through Amendment 6 to the Striped Bass Fishery Management Plan. The Amendment, passed in 2003, allocates the coastal commercial quota and set a two fish bag limit and a 28 inch size minimum for the recreational fishery, with the exception of the Chesapeake Bay fisheries, Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River fisheries, and states with approved alternative regulations.

The Draft Addendum will be developed for preliminary review by the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board in August. For more information, please contact Kate Taylor, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at ktaylor@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

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Originally Posted by surfstix1963

Is dead on the beaches I'm having my coffee as I type nice water no fish no bait for that matter.Slow might be a night bite the rips are holding decent fish alot of blues and some nice size bass from a very good source.Sux being here and not fishing maybe I'll start boat fishing again.Whats going on out here 7-11's salivars is closed gonna be Manhattan soon.

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Surfstix, Beach looked awesome this morning. Damned fish didn't get the memo. Going to keep trying next couple of weekends. Water still seems warm enough to swim in, not that this is any real indicator but I'm hoping a couple of degrees will school 'em up. Lots of guys walking around shaking their heads but saw some positive guys coming in off the night shift.

I have mixed feelings on the 7-11; great for that early am cup of coffee but chains are rarely a good thing. :scared:

Mick and Surfstix, hope you get some nice tans while you're up there, not much else happening except the weekend drink specials....and that doesn't do guys like us much good, Mick. :HappyWave:

Got a report today that some NJ kayak guys went up there and did poorly. If you can't catch large amounts of fish in a kayak or boat, they just ain't there in numbers....

And if they're not there on Oct 23, with little more than 6 weeks left to the season....where are they?
Canada? :huh:

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Originally Posted by finchaser

This is also the first really successful year class since 2003, and it comes at a time when most signs have indicated the fishery was in real trouble

This is certainly a positive development for striped bass, and while this boost to the population is something to look forward to, it is also important to consider these points:

2.It will be 8 years before this year class will be 28 inches long and legally available to the coastal fishery. Long before then all but a few remnants of the 2003 year class, which provides most of the current coastal catch, will have died of old age. Current coastal commercial quotas and recreational harvest are clearly excessive considering the gap that exists between the 2003 and 2011 year classes.

Some states, especially those with commercial fisheries, will see this year’s Young of the Year survey as a solid excuse not to reduce fishing mortality on striped bass.

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Guys, thanks for the responses on this. I realize everyone who posts in this thread cares abouit striped bass, every single one of ya's.
Although we may not agree on all the points, I feel the point I highlighted above is one of the key ones I wish people would realize. One year does not a fishery make. The fishing at Montauk is the worst it has been in years. Fish are in the Rips and Block Island/Plum Gut/The Race, but the existence of those fish does not "prove" that the numbers are healthy.

Over and over again, it's been drummed into my head that the fish on the edges, beaches, sedges, rivers, and points, are a better indication of the health of the fishery because those are the fish that make up the variation in the statistical spread as it's calculated.

Can you really count 36 million fish?
Absolutely not.

As RJ correctly points out, there has to be some accepted statistical method of assessing the size of the biomass. We have to accept some standards.

I agree, but feel with all of the evidence we have before us, the system of assessing the numbers of these fish is flawed. I would go as far to say that I feel it's broken, but some would argue with that.....

And I'm not looking to argue here, just to understand...

Why veteran anglers who fish 5 days or nights a week can't seem to connect with the fish like they used to...

Why the best of the best in the fishing clubs in NJ and LI have not been able to consistently catch fish at Montauk this fall, even on the night shift?

Why the average size of striped bass reported by Montauk and other adjacent area Capts has been declining... Please... I know about the biigger bass, I read the reports obsessively...but the average size is declining..with the exception of the last few weeks, many charter trips have returned with bass in the teens and low 20's..if these are the only fish they were catching, where are the bigger fish?

Why, with barely 6 weeks left in the fall 2011 fishing season, are we still waiting for the Montauk "fall run" to show some life?






There are too many variables that are melting down to dismal reports this fall.
I'm hoping that folks out there are paying attention....

Some of the early trailblazers and conservationists like the OFFC have bowed out of the politics as they felt it was too tiresome to keep explaining this over and over again.


Finchaser only has limited energy to keep his "rants" up. ;) Someday soon, he may give up the fight as sometime it feels like there are too many conflicting theories out there......All we know is, with or without science to support it, we are collectively catching less fish, and working harder to catch the ones we do....



If this doesn't give anyone reason to think about, then don't claim you tried to help when there are even less bass to catch, as we wait the 8 years for this 2010 class to mature....

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Originally Posted by DarkSkies

Why the average size of striped bass reported by Montauk and other adjacent area Capts has been declining... Please... I know about the biigger bass, I read the reports obsessively...but the average size is declining..with the exception of the last few weeks, many charter trips have returned with bass in the teens and low 20's..if these are the only fish they were catching, where are the bigger fish?

Why, with barely 6 weeks left in the fall 2011 fishing season, are we still waiting for the Montauk "fall run" to show some life?

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Well said DS. This is my worst year at Montauk in 15 years. Not only are the fish not around the obvious places like the point, they are thinly distributed, as a friend of mine calls it.
According to my logs, it is less than the 6 weeks you mention, dark, up here we only have about 4 weeks left.
Here is a report from Nov 2010 the montauk Sportfishing site confirming your statement about declining sizes:

November 22, 2010

It’s been a pretty good week, three days without wind.The herring are here, and plentiful right at the mouth of the Inlet, so the first step for most boats is to make a couple of drifts with the Sabikis and load up on them. The next step is to head on down to the Point, look for the birds, and start catching bass, lots of them. No big ones though. Just about everything is 10-12 lbs.... Except for the time just after the herring arrived, November wasn’t all that great.

babaloey - I answered your question in the Hudson River Reprise thread. Darkskies, babaloey's questions answer might have given a reason your pier and river rats are not seeing the numbers there as well. At least in their spring fishing numbers. Check it out.

2003 was a good year for Chessy Bay fish, but 2007 was the largest class year for Hudson River Tribe fish since they began to do the YOY net haul records. 35 fish per haul. The HR average over the years is 14 fpnh compared to the chessy's 4fpnh historical average. The HR contributes less, but it contributes quality fish in high numbers and a productivity level 65% higher than the beat up and abused waters of the Chesapeake Bay. 2015 will ring your chimes with Hudson River fish. The Chessy Bay high you are excited about was only 11 fish per net haul. Those 35 fish per net haul out of NY will rock you in 4 years and continue to fill in the empty spaces till the "good" class year Chessy fish have any impact.

The North of Cape Cod anglers will barely see a bump in their numbers from the 2007 and almost as good 2011 Chessy "good" class years, while everyone south of Race point will enjoy relatively good years, thanks to the Hudson River Tribe in 2015 and beyond. Those Hudson River baby's summer from Race Pt. MA to Cape May, NJ. Wowzaaah!

PS the system is working. See my "reprise" thread.

Mick, we are just starting to connect with fish here on the North End of the NJ Beaches. A friend did a night trip to the rip at SH Sat. night and they boated 33 fat striped bass to 30 pounds. They kept 6. Clams and eels did the trick.

I see M has SW winds again today and tomorrow. Peanut bunker are starting to move out of the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers.

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Originally Posted by RJC

2015 will ring your chimes with Hudson River fish. The Chessy Bay high you are excited about was only 11 fish per net haul. Those 35 fish per net haul out of NY will rock you in 4 years and continue to fill in the empty spaces till the "good" class year Chessy fish have any impact.

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How can you make such rosy predictions for 2015 when the fishing sucks so bad right now? Over the last 2 weeks I watched miles of bunker schools off Lavalette, not even small bluefish were harassing them. One day last week my friends got into fish on the boats, one day out of 15. I was hoping someone in this thread would say all the bass were hiding behind a big rock at montauk, guess not. Want to sell me a bridge that connects brooklyn and manhattan too?

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Originally Posted by fishinmission78

I was hoping someone in this thread would say all the bass were hiding behind a big rock at montauk, guess not.

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Yessir, 2,500,000 of them are hiding behind the 3rd set of rocks furthest from the point. I can't figure out where else they could be either. Certainly not in my neck of the woods.

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Originally Posted by fishinmission78

How can you make such rosy predictions for 2015 when the fishing sucks so bad right now? Over the last 2 weeks I watched miles of bunker schools off Lavalette, not even small bluefish were harassing them. One day last week my friends got into fish on the boats, one day out of 15. I was hoping someone in this thread would say all the bass were hiding behind a big rock at montauk, guess not. Want to sell me a bridge that connects brooklyn and manhattan too?

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Ahh! fishinmission. You don't understand the mechanics of YOY Striped Bass collection.

The summer of 2015 the largest birthing of Hudson River strain striped bass in recorded history, will put many more fish at your Lovealott doorstep for the whole spring, summer and fall of 2015.. They will be 8 years old and about 28 inches that summer. The ladies of that class year will have deposited about 250,000 eggs each in the Hudson River in Mid May. This breed of striped bass spends their summers between the southern beaches of Cape Cod and Cape May. At the end of the summer, a large group will stage off of the NJ beaches and filter intothe Hudson River to winter over in the salty lower end at Haverstraw Bay.

Here is a reading assignment for the winter for you. Get the Ocean County library to order you this book. Fly Fishing for Striped Bass by Ric Murphy. It is a $60.00 book. But if you like it, you can probably order it used (ordered but not sold) from Amazon for half that amount.

Your probably not a fly fisherman, but if you want to understand striped bass the first 122 pages will make you an expert in the life and times of this fish. Once you read the first 122 pages. No short cuts or wanderings. (I made that mistake my self. took me a couple of years to realize the mistake I made.) Read the forward, the introduction and then the 122 pages. you will be amazed. You will astonish your family and friends with your knowledge of the finest fish in sight of our coastal environment.

In those pages he touches every second of the life of a striped bass that grows to be 55 pounds and 20 years old. He puts you inside the fish and the magnificent, functioning of its mind, body, vision and scenting. Its birth, migration experience, hunting ability, everything.

When you complete the first 122 pages, I want you to PM me and let me know how you liked it. Don't push it away. You will regret it.

PS The Hudson River has been pumping fresh, muddy water into the ocean for a month. That is slowly being adusted by the tide as we speak. I believe that huge run off even from the 25,000 sq. miles the Hudson River Watershed drains has held up our coastal fishing for at least a month. Irene and Leigh did us no favors. The peanut bunker are starting the exit the back bays. Sharpen your hooks and gird your loins.


PS - You seem to be a lot like me, so let me tell ya its got gonzo photos, diagrams, side bars, and fishing tips it would take you a lifetime to learn. :HappyWave:

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Originally Posted by DarkSkies

Mick and Surfstix, hope you get some nice tans while you're up there, not much else happening except the weekend drink specials....and that doesn't do guys like us much good, Mick. :HappyWave:

Got a report today that some NJ kayak guys went up there and did poorly. If you can't catch large amounts of fish in a kayak or boat, they just ain't there in numbers....

And if they're not there on Oct 23, with little more than 6 weeks left to the season....where are they?
Canada? :huh:

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Yup, one of the yakker's, a nice gentleman from NJ, reported nothing on the northside for Saturday. Said he planned to hit the light area pre dawn as "that's when the fish would be in." Hope he did okay. Things are grim. One fattie was weighed at Paulies. I didn't run over for the details but it was a decent fish.

I'll be back this Friday for the weekend warrior shift. Like Mick Jagger used to sing, "Tiiiiiimmmmeeee is on my side." I have to believe it , Dark. It's all I've got left at this point. :kooky:

RJC, First couple of weeks in November are free. I will have done my bit pumping cash into the Montauk economy and will be heading for NJ. As a New Yorker, I am duty bound to do 55 in the passing lane of the GSP on the way down. Let's see if we can get some of the jersey guys out for a tide with us. I hear this guy Darkskies has a nicely outfitted goog bucket.

I haven't met him, eyeball to eyeball yet. But from what i hear and see on this site and via the wonder of cel phones, Darkskies would have fit like a glove with the worm crew at Quonny Pond. We could put him between Mully and the Knight and watch the sparks fly. November eary weekends are good for me.Later I need to hunt ducks and then eat Turkey in the second half.

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Originally Posted by RJC

Ahh! fishinmission. You don't understand the mechanics of YOY Striped Bass collection.

The summer of 2015 the largest birthing of Hudson River strain striped bass in recorded history, will put many more fish at your Lovealott doorstep for the whole spring, summer and fall of 2015.. They will be 8 years old and about 28 inches that summer. :

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I am not understanding your rose colored predictions here RJC. Based on one year class? Do bass mature to full size in one year or is this a typo? If one year class is so good, maybe we can get this magical year class to promote world peace and conquer hunger at the same time. I just don't see the logic here. Let's hear about your catches, how many big fish did you catch this year? How many did you catch 5 years ago?
Upper Ocean county is a dead zone right now. One 15lb bass weighed in at B&N yesterday. The occasional small bass, miles of bunker, and the life in the ocean resembles the water after the Exxon Valdez dumped oil.