S&A Education Series: Understanding back bay bait migration and fishing patterns

[rockhopper]

Where do the herring fit in in this picture?

[CharlieTuna]

Herring come in in the late fall or winter, and depending on the temperature they leave for colder water in the spring. I don't know how the bays are set up where you are rockhopper. Usually they like to hang around near inlets or harbors. So if your back bay area is adjacent to one of those, you should see them around now. I have never seen them in the shallowest bay waters though. It's usually where there is a lot of water flowing through, as they are filter feeders. They spawn in the freshwater rivers upstream from estuaries in the spring, and also in quite a few deepwater lakes or ponds that are connected to the sea.

[DarkSkies]

This is part of the fishin report for 9-23-10. I'm posting it here so people can re-visit this thread and to keep these comments as part of a historical record for NJ, and for the new folks to learn from.

Others, feel free to post as you see fit, thanks.

Fishin report 9-23-10 AM
Ocean Side:
There was an abundance of small bait in the wash and pockets, very small profile, not spearing, maybe rainfish approx 1-1 1/2" long. No mullet or other bait in the mix where I was.

After casting awhile and realizing the albies weren't showing, I switched to an ava 007 and picked up a few cocktail blues. Action died as it got brighter out, despite me making 2 more quick moves to similar areas holding bait.

On the way home I made quite a few stops to check out for myself some intel about bait that had been passed along to me. The back bay area was pretty dirty and weedy from the rains.

Again, I want to state that many back areas that held bait last year are barren this year. Spearing are in abundance in many places, I don't see much difference in that amount.
However, mullet, peanuts, etc are less spread out than last year, particularly peanuts. I did find peanuts about 3", and some 6" mullet at one of the places I stopped at. They were about a 70/30 mullet to peanut ratio, almost the exact opposite from the numbers at this time 2 years ago.

There are some places where the mullet still remain thick. I'm not so sure all will be leaving with this full moon, only time will tell.

And as for adult bunker, I can report to the anglers out there, look for concentrations of adult bunker starting to show along Jersey any day now. You won't see miles of them, but they are there, and moving South, either slightly offshore or within view of the beach.

Good luck to all fishin this weekend.

[DarkSkies]

There are some things you can count on, and some instances where they vary for year to year. Here are some of the things I've noticed lately during my fall 2010 scouting trips. I scout for bait when I'm done fishin, and am constantly trying to reason in my head "Why are the fish here, but they're not there?" 90% of the time the answer to that question is bait, they go where the food is. Scouting is a valuable use of my time because it gives me a better handle of predator patterns for that specific area and time.







Thought some of you people out there might be interested as well....

1. The peanuts are still around, but not in the quantities they were in the years past. That's puzzling because of the bunker that were off the NJ/LI coast for months this summer.

Some of the peanuts are very large right now, bordering on adult size.



2. As mentioned in the above post, adult bunker have started the southern migration and are right on schedule. My experience with bunker is that they can migrate offshore, or often they will hug the coast, sliding along during the day. At night they will slide offshore.... or slip into harbors, inlets, and small deeper holes in marinas and bays.

A few friends have snagged enough in the last few days to last for weeks, and the bunker may visit certain places regularly. Look for the numbers to start increasing in many of the deepwater harbors in the area.



I shy away from talking location because some people foolishly don't realize that will give netters a road map to find them. Netters have a sophisticated enough intel network. There's no sense in helping them to scoop all the bunker out from one spot by your "bunker location internet report". I know netters who can, and do that, regularly.

3. Sand eels are thick right now in NJ along Monmouth and Ocean county beaches. The storm patterns push them offshore a bit, but they always slide back as the water clears. IMO this bait presence will either make or break the 2010 fall season for the surf guys.

4. Mullet - they have not all left the back areas. Many predicted they would be leaving with the full moon, and they should have. However, water temps and length of day also factor into their movement. Another factor is water salinity and storm frequency. If things move along with these storms and the continuing tides, they could be pushed out this week.

5. Spot - great late-season bass bait. There seems to be a good number of spot this year, so many that many of the northern bays/harbors that never see them are filled with good amounts. They are usually around and on their way out before the big bass come down on the Southern migration. This "departure date" is not consistent, and like mullet, depends on many variables. Their very small size makes them an ideal snack-size meal for many smaller bluefish and bass that can't swallow a whole bunker.

There's a fanatic bunch of guys that dedicate themselves to loading up on as many spot they can get and putting them in bait pens for later. They know that these are the morsels that will get them the 20 -30# bass when they're here in greater numbers.







In sum:
A lot of guys stay home when it's raining. Catch up on unfinished work, etc. However a few guys who keep logs will be fishin at the places they do every year at this time, looking for some larger bass. And those bass will follow the bait.

[BassBuddah]

^Someone has been doing their homework. Guess all that scouting does pay off. Weren't you scouting for swans last year? Well-said, dark.

[cowherder]

I shy away from talking location because some people foolishly don't realize that will give netters a road map to find them. Netters have a sophisticated enough intel network. There's no sense in helping them to scoop all the bunker out from one spot by your "bunker location internet report". I know netters who can, and do that, regularly.

Thank you, I don't understand why guys have a burning desire to share this with the internet world. And then when the bunker are gone they are the very same guys that grumble.

[DarkSkies]

^Someone has been doing their homework. Guess all that scouting does pay off. Weren't you scouting for swans last year? Well-said, dark.

BassBuddah, thanks. I was gonna respond to Finchaser's post as well, but I can see he's already deleted it.

Anyway, my response was that I've been fortunate to learn a lot from the old-timers of the fishing world....Finchaser/OGB, the OFFC (Old Farts Fishing Club)...Surfwalker, Willy Young, Lilco Joe and some of the Montauk crew, some of the Sr members here, and some other old salts who I have come to know and treasure the advice they have given me.

Much of what I know today I learned the hard way through trial and error.

However, a good part of my knowledge base is reinforced and enhanced by these old-timers I'm fortunate to know.

I consider it a privelege to be able to pick the brains of people like Finchaser and the others mentioned. Their knowledge and years of experience far surpasses mine.

When you see some of my posts, the knowledge gained from them is certainly evident, and I have an eternal debt of gratitude to them.

Thanks all, for all you have done to open my eyes to many fishing issues, in the broadest possible sense. I'm just the chronicler, or reporter, here.

[finchaser]

thanks but as I say fishing with me is over rated