Administrator
I don't see any concrete solutions near-term, but raising awareness can always help.
So, people, what are your thoughts, comments as this applies to striped bass, and inshore and surf fishing for other species? What have your experiences been, what have you seen?
Have you noticed any trends in the last 10 years as related to the type of fishing you do and the types of, or lack of, any species of forage fish?
Senior Member
I'll give you a LI example. From the boat and the surf in our 2010 fall run, we had quite alot of baitfish at Montauk for a few weeks, mostly whitebait.
Toward the end of Oct and into Nov/Dec, there was a huge body of sandeels set up between shinnecock and moriches. The bulk of the bigger bass came from that area. They were keying in on the sandeels. Other areas like the rockaways and breezy had not much going on. Only 25 or so nautical miles distance, and it was like night and day. As the run progressed, you knew not to go anywhere other than where that hot action is, why bother. So the bait/forage concentration is key in any fishing excursion.
Senior Member
The forage fish are also important to keeping the water clear. Menhaden are filter feeders that eat up a lot of bacteria. When ocean floors get wiped out from trawlers they have no vegetation left to eat so they move to deeper waters. No inshore vegetation and no inshore baitfish are contributing to the inshore dead zones that continue to grow along our coastlines. Fix the baitfish issues and you'll see an improvement inshore all along our coastlines both in better fish and a healthier ecosystem
Enjoy the Journey
Senior Member
Well-said.Originally Posted by Doublerunner
Senior Member
As for all the small varieties of forage fish I have seen, both in the back bay and the surf, when you have a lot of the same bait you don't always have bass, like the mullet in the surf now which basically are a small bluefish soup kitchen. The best bass action I get is when the surf is loaded with different kinds of forage, killies (near inlets), rainfish, spearing, herring, and everything but bunker (peanuts are ok because they are small). All small fish like that and if it's going to go off it will. Find a place where there is no bait at all and you might as well just move on. I also include crabs in this category. If guys see no fish with tails they assume there is no bass, but bass never turn down crabs or shrimp and will eat them in the absence of anything else.
Administrator
Bump for this thread. Some of my best successes this Winter have been related to knowing exactly what the forage fish were in each area.
The more we think we know the less we find out we know, in the grand scheme of things....
A friend was fishing the ocean last week, and kept getting light hits...
It bothered him not knowing what those fish were....
I suggested they could be ling, bergalls, small seabass or whiting....
He went back the next night, with some clam,,,,.and found out they were 12-14" puppy drum,,,,,
Puppy drum in NJ in March, what are the odds?
It may seem like a freak of nature to have them here,,,but knowing what and where helps you to better target the fish travelling through that area.....
Senior Member
Puppy drum in NJ in March, what are the odds?
It may seem like a freak of nature to have them here,,,but knowing what and where helps you to better target the fish travelling through that area.....
Good detective work fellas.
Administrator
Spot on, FnM.....I'll come back to this when I get a chance.....the seasonal patterns forage fish follow are key to finding fish when it seems there are none around.
Administrator
^^ That sentence paid off big time as some herring I have been following since Dec provided the base for an all night bonanza, over 100 fish....
Haven't had fishing like that in a long time.....
Post #134
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ers-com/page14
The combination of 2 days of rain and bad weather prior, schools of herring, and the recent arrival of massive schools of bunker and spearing provided the perfect opportunity as bait was flushed out of the inlets in strong new moon tides.
Pic...
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