Stripers & Anglers Education Series: Understanding Spring/ Fall Bass Migration for NJ/NY

Big blues yesterday diamond jigging in the rips at Montauk on the Lazybones, as soon as the tide made up all hell broke loose with big gators NO bass.The day before big gators swimming with 18"bass they are feeding on baby weakfish in the rips right now they all were spitting them up.If it is the same case with the FEW fish that are actually taking the beach route think yellow plugs when fishing for them.I may get out but right now the good bite is out deeper.As a side note I did have some time before the boat left to check out a few spots out there in the surf for nada.

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Originally Posted by surfstix1963

If it is the same case with the FEW fish that are actually taking the beach route think yellow plugs when fishing for them.I may get out but right now the good bite is out deeper.As a side note I did have some time before the boat left to check out a few spots out there in the surf for nada.

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Thanks Stix. The 2 bass I caught last Sunday am, one on gold over yellow ss darter, other on white bucktail with yellow pork. Will keep the yellow in the mix. Congrats on tangling with some Gators.

Thanks need a few days off let the back rest up

You guys were talking about old orchard in one of the posts. Thought you would appreciate seeing what it looks like now.

2016 Winter thoughts.......

I have a feeling that a Winter bite could last in the ocean, for longer than usual this year. My thoughts about that come from the way the bait has migrated this year. There are several factors, I'll post about just a few of them for now:

1. Bunker migration - usually, adult bunker, and predators follow a general path of moving as the water temps drop.

2. Bunker numbers have increased dramatically so folks are seeing them in greater ranges than before. Also, peanut bunker are still around and in some of the back bays and rivers in NJ and NY. There are still great quantities of bait in some areas of the LI Sound. There are still a great deal of bunker, and some larger bass in NY Harbor.

3. Those baitfish..the ones that do migrate....will likely be moving South, as water temps drop to move them.
Additionally, some striped bass will move up the Hudson.
It's hard to determine exactly what group the fish belong to. I believe we are in similar conditions to late season 2011.

4. Therefore, there will be groups of predators following them (albeit scattered and inconsistent in numbers)

5. This could provide an ocean bite, for much longer than has been the case in recent past years, approaching the Winter bite we had in the 2011-2012 Winter. There are a lot of variables to these possibilities here, winter storms, weather patterns, and severe drop in ocean temps could bring this to a halt in a few days.

6. Herring. AKA Atlantic Sea Herring- for many years, folks became excited when herring came in to inlets and certain riverhead areas in Late Fall and Winter. This was pointless..... because most bass and predators were gone that late in the year. This year is different, and actually seems to be one where the abundant herring could hold some fish for awhile. Those who keep logs, should go back and search herring patterns. If we're lucky they could be repeated this year.

7. With the biomass being less, it seems there are less striped bass on the edges. There aren't enough of them for masses to move directly along the coast and deliver a bite that's as consistent as many of us remember in the past.
The blitzes that used to last for days, now last for an hour. Blink, and if you can't race to the action, you will have missed it.

8. Bait dilemma - In any case, most seasoned anglers know that there is much more bait than these lesser numbers of fish..... could ever eat. The largest masses of fish are often coming through the Mud Hole, as Finchaser and others have pointed out so many times in the past. Right now certain areas slightly offshore are filled with squid, butterfish, and other baitfish.












** All this could change in an instant, with a week or so of bad weather.

If such a bite does develop and folks don't want to telegraph it to the world, you can be selective about how you post, or post in the Winter Fishing thread instead. Regular contributors here should have no problem finding that thread. Any members who want clarification of that, feel free to PM me any time. :HappyWave:
I completely understand the limited access issues, and support those who feel the same way about limiting disclosure.
Thanks, and good luck out there. :fishing:

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Originally Posted by DarkSkies

2016 Winter thoughts.......


6. Herring. AKA Atlantic Sea Herring- for many years, folks became excited when herring came in to inlets and certain riverhead areas in Late Fall and Winter. This was pointless..... because most bass and predators were gone that late in the year. This year is different, and actually seems to be one where the abundant herring could hold some fish for awhile. Those who keep logs, should go back and search herring patterns. If we're lucky they could be repeated this year.

** All this could change in an instant, with a week or so of bad weather.

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I think this is the first year since I started fishing the salt that bass stuck around and chased the herring. What a december it was. Seen some videos of guys on kayaks livelining herring for stripers. Quite unusual for jersey? It's a shame the storms and snow came. Would have been nice to see what happened if conditions stayed the same as they did in 2011.

Thanks for sharing your comments cowherder. Sorry I didn't see this until now.

It was a great bite for some people in some areas in late fall 2015. The herring seemed to be at the center of it in some places.

In others, it was bunker driven.
The fish, up to 40#, held in some other areas for up to five weeks.
This was unprecedented for these late-season areas .....which (usually ) only hold bass for one or two weeks before they move South.
The interesting thing is the anglers from shore did better than most of the guys fishing from boats, because most boat guys didn't want to venture into these urban areas.....
and there were some risks with strong currents and other factors.







For the spring of 2016 it seems that it's all about the bunker.
If you can put yourself in the middle of the highest concentrations of bunker, whether from Shore or in a channel on a boat somewhere, most likely you will catch big fish.

I have caught most of my larger fish this Spring by doing just this.
That bite continues. Every day I'm getting pics sent to me about bass 20 pounds and up being caught from shore by anglers fishing in the middle of the bunker schools....

While some of us out there have smiles on our faces, the truth is there are a great many areas that are just not holding any decent fish.

I think that's more representative of the truth.... and something that some captains fail to mention, or gloss over in their reports.

I'll write more about this when I update the Stripers and Anglers state of the Fisheries Spring 2016 assessment.

So far this spring, I have fished key areas in four states along this striper migration route ....and I am seeing many areas with no fish at all.

Sure I caught fish, and had a decent Spring, but only by inserting myself in the middle of the highest levels of activity.
I have interviewed over a hundred anglers so far this Spring...and most of them fishing from shore are not doing that great.
Those of us who are catching good numbers of fish have been out almost every night when there was a bite.... because if you miss one night you could miss it at all.

That's just my experience ....and I will be sharing it in the Stripers and Anglers striped bass assessment thread when I get a chance.

Good luck out there people.
As always.... feel free to share your experiences and observations as well.:HappyWave:

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Originally Posted by DarkSkies

While some of us out there have smiles on our faces, the truth is there are a great many areas that are just not holding any decent fish.
I think that's more representative of the truth.... and something that some captains fail to mention, or gloss over in their reports.

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Come on now. You expect the captain to tell the truth? very few captains have met in my 61 years on this earth who tell the truth or don't stretch one fish into 20 fish.

thanks for the explanation DS. So we want to catch fish all we have to do is find the bunker schools? I've noticed over the years there have been many bunker schools just hugging the shoreline in monmouth county, and there are no fish underneath them. just wondering if you guys think that the fishing has shifted that way or if it does reflect less stripers? Thanks

I agree bunker has changed everything and not for the best. As for the bunker school question we have done better on the edges of a larger school end of day. This is from a boat in deeper water. Hope that helps.

For us it's all about the herring.