Well-said.Originally Posted by Doublerunner
Senior Member
Well-said.
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...
Senior Member
Cool pic, thanks for sharing.
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Those herring were striper candy. It was a great week.
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They are of no use if the fish stocks keep declining.
Cranky Old Bassturd.
Administrator
^^ This is a great point, Surf.
Seems pretty obvious to you, me, and and other guys who have been fishing a long time.....
But talk to some of the newest guys out there, and they just don't get it....
On many forums, guys talk about how there are more bass than ever before, and "NO WAY IS THE STRIPED BASS POPULATION DOWN< THE FISHING IS EPIC RIGHT NOW!"
When people make statements like this, they often aren't looking at the big picture....
We can have boatloads of forage fish, ton after ton of it swimming happily through the bays and sounds. If there are less fish to eat it, nothing about that will ever change, unless we decide to look at the numbers we harvest every year....
*******
Update - the grass shrimp population in many back bay areas in NNJ has exploded in the last 2 weeks. When you hear about guys hammering fish in one area or section, there is always a reason. Since the herring left, the grass shrimp have been a big part of the reason for those numbers of fish being there.
Although the predators are mostly bluefish, there are also bass, kingfish, and weakfish in the mix as well.
People who are uninformed talk all the time about how "fish move".
Well, these fish will not move, as long as the grass shrimp are in that area, or until the water temps go up drastically, causing them to head for deeper water.
Senior Member
Are the grass shrimp like this?
White Water Monty 2.00 (WWM)
Future Long Islander (ASAP)
Senior Member
Monty that thing is huge! I got wood just looking at it. Did that come from around here? If so the biggest shrimp I have ever seen in these parts other than the mantis shrimp.
1000 post club!
the power of selective editing -
storminsteve with the editing I did your post could now double as a reply here or as dialogue on a porn shoot.
darkskies your knowledge of forage fish is encyclopedic. For this I have to give you credit. Much better are the posts where you sleep in the porta potty though. Far easier to take jabs at you.
Administrator
^^ I think that must be one of them back-handed compliments....Gee, thanks....
It's been said I'm obsessive about forage fish. A friend said I probably had video of different kinds of spearing. (Actually I do)
If folks paid more attention to the forage, or lack of it, the pieces of the puzzle would come together that much more quickly.
Senior Member
Monty that thing is huge! I got wood just looking at it. Did that come from around here? If so the biggest...I have ever seen in these parts
^ I think that must be one of them back-handed compliments......the power of selective editing -
storminsteve with the editing I did your post could now double as a reply here or as dialogue on a porn shoot.
:
White Water Monty 2.00 (WWM)
Future Long Islander (ASAP)
Senior Member
Talking about wood is a little freaky. Back on topic. When baitfish are around and in high numbers, we generally catch more, except for when it is weird like cinder worms spawn.
Senior Member
Re: Defining bait in the water
rite on dude mullet the vwake is it! in the spring now mostly u will see bunker u wont kno unless there is lots of them but you can smell them
Senior Member
Re: Defining bait in the water
Or close your eyes. If they are in the channel you won't see or hear them usually because down deeper. When in close you can hear them at night if it's not too windy.
Administrator
Thought it might be a good time to talk about some of the forage fish. There is a cinder worm hatch....there are shrimp in the bays and some inlets the sizes of which haven't been seen in years.......Some in S Jersey have already seen spot
Just wondered what some of ya's are coming across out there.....
Senior Member
I seen them too rich. some huge mamba jamba shrimp in the bay right now. Almost as big as the little ones you get in the bags from asia. Much bigger than the usual grass shrimp.
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