Stories of the NJ fall run 2011.....

[DarkSkies]

Since guys are now driving to Island Beach from 4 surrounding states....and it's no longer a secret that there are fish in the water there.... the circus-like atmosphere that's been described to me in the phone calls is so entertaining it's priceless....

Too insane for some, I completely understand that....
but I thought we might have some fun with the insanity there....


We also have some other threads folks might want to look at..
Angler/Story of the Month...
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...-Month-Contest

Fishing etiquette and manners
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...te-and-Manners

Strange but true thread....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...surf-fishermen





The behavior I am hearing about just gets more insane by the day...large scale muggings, people going into 50 degree water without waders or cold weather gear....crossed lines, lost gear...the lemming-like behavior exhibited when guys have had a poor fall season and all of a sudden they are faced with a few batches of good fish...and the chaos that results....so if ya got a story, anecdote, or amusing memory let's hear it....

[DarkSkies]

As told by Finchaser, thanks...




"There were 2 guys fishing the beach this morning, neither had waders or any cold weather gear. They were both fishing in jeans and sneakers.

One of them hooks into a fish, he sets the hook 3 times, then he reels it in a bit, and sets the hook 3 more times...

He does this 2 more times as he is reeling it in..... Reel, high stick the rod, and set the hook 3 times, each time....

(just wanted to make extra sure this wasn't the fish that got away....)

He gets it into the surf line, and because he had a "Barbie rod", about 7' long, largemouth bass rod...he couldn't get the fish any further......

So, this dilly takes the rod over his head, and pulls on it like he's one of the Seven Dwarves pulling a coal truck in a coal mine..... he pulls and pulls, with his back to the ocean, pulling a few inches at a time.....he had to have braid on or that line would have snapped with that abrasion against the sand......

As the fish gets into the wash, he still can't drag it into the surf line...finally, he manages to drag it so it's just beyond the wash, and the surf is big, waves breaking on him and the fish, and he has no waders or gear on, getting soaked with each wave breaking on the wet-line....

He goes to grab the fish, and misses.....






Then he shouts out to his buddy, also without waders, wearing jeans and sneakers in the 52 degree water........."Grab the leader, grab the leader!!!!" "Big fish, big fish!!"

His buddy goes to grab for the fish, and misses as well...more googan mistakes than you would encounter at the first day of a googan seminar.....

Finally, the guy who originally hooked the fish, being on his hands and knees with waves breaking over him, and with his spastic friend unable to give assistance,.....sees the bass making a run for freedom with one last splash with her tail...so he does a belly flop into the cold water, jumping on the bass, damned if he's gonna let his trophy get away from him, after he got soaked to the skin to get this fish in......




So they finally both get a hold of the fish, manhandle her up the beach, and when she is finally away from the waves, jump up and down, give each other high fives, shout out some caveman yells...,
take their soaked sweatshirts off, wring them out, and go back to fishing...in the 52 degree water....."












Note: I'm happy that those guys caught the fish, as it's probably the biggest fish either of them has seen in their lifetime....



that being said, they put themselves at risk of hypothermia not being aware of their surroundings, the water temps, and the risks they took being out there without the right gear....and if someone is offended reading my assessment here....I remind ya's it ain't all about looking you came from a Brooks Bros or Abercrombie & Fitch catalog...there's plenty of guys who don't think someone rates unless they're wearing top gear...but for Pete's sake, what's wrong with springing for a pair of Hodgeman neoprenes, available for $70 and up, that will protect ya on the beach, from the cold water....

[clamchucker]

You are right darkskies. They should have at least had waders on. You can get them at garage sales and online for discounted prices if you are on a budget. They should not be glorified for taking chances like that.
The crowding was unlike anything I have ever seen there today.

[storminsteve]

That is such a stoopid thing, fishing without waders. Some guys act like it's August, and we are almost in December. Don't worry about them ds, they deserve it if they get the chills or drown. I got mugged today like you wouldn't believe. When I got the 2nd fish it was pretty dead. I caught that fish and like 10 guys jumped out on the bar with me. There weren't even that many fish at that point but it's like no one wants to put any effort into it until someone catches a fish and then they go crazy.

[skinner]

Well I didn't get mugged today. There was only one other guy fishing on the beach where I was. That in itself should have told me something.Live and learn. Here is a report from a party boat off of Island Beach

"If you weren't shopping on Black Friday you had to be in your boat or buggie off/on Island Beach. I suspect there were 500+ boats plus another 100+ beach buggies. It really surprised me how many boaters have yet to winterize the boats. Naturally, there were the hot-rod boaters who had to blast through the fleet if they saw a bird on the horizon."

[vpass]

Fished this morning from 5:00am to 10:00am. Caught 7 Bass from 27 inches to about 39 inches(21 pounds on the Boga). I also snagged 2 Spinny dogfish in consecutive casts. I did drop 2 bass where one was bigger than the 21 pounder. I also pulled a seam in my waders and my left leg was taking on water. Got to go buy Goop now to fix it for tommorow.

Attachment 14405

Check this guy out with the sweat pants. He was so excited to get a bass. I could feel his energy, But I could see him get himself in trouble.

Attachment 14406

[finchaser]

Fished this morning from 5:00am to 10:00am. Caught 7 Bass from 27 inches to about 39 inches(21 pounds on the Boga). I also snagged 2 Spinny dogfish in consecutive casts. I did drop 2 bass where one was bigger than the 21 pounder. I also pulled a seam in my waders and my left leg was taking on water. Got to go by Goop now to fix it for tommorow.

Attachment 14405

Check this guy out with the sweat pants. He was so excited to get a bass. I could feel his energy, But I could see him get himself in trouble.

Attachment 14406

At least some one I know got fish. Looks like a real man (assho_e) in that photo When Dark See's this he'll try this new way to wash his feet while fishing. I guess as soon as marathon man gets back,(bet he sleeps in his waders tonight where you caught those fish this morning), we will have a December reports thread too.








A great and truthful report^^^^as always

[vpass]

I Fished this morning from 6:00am to 10:00am. Walked out to the bar and casted a black SS Needlefish. The First cast and first crank of the reel I hooked and landed a 29 to 30 inch bass. Then nothing to about 7:00 to 7:30. I thought to myself the first cast curse. Then I caught 2 more moving around jumping on differnt Bars. Did see a few individuals that were consistantly hooking up. Most bass I saw were between 25 to 30 inches. The bigger fish were missing. I'm hoping to get out a few more times this Dec. I'm back to work on Monday. Hope there's a night bite. I Might become a weekend worrior, but almost nobody fishes after Nov.

Attachment 14416

Here is another fisherman in sweatpants.

Attachment 14417

Here is a fisherman who decided to go for a swim near a cut. I from a distance knew he was going under as he was crossing to get to the bar. The water is a lot deeper near the cut.

Attachment 14418Attachment 14421Attachment 14420Attachment 14419

[DarkSkies]

As told by Finchaser, thanks...




Note: I'm happy that those guys caught the fish, as it's probably the biggest fish either of them has seen in their lifetime....


that being said, they put themselves at risk of hypothermia not being aware of their surroundings, the water temps, and the risks they took being out there without the right gear....and if someone is offended reading my assessment here....I remind ya's it ain't all about looking you came from a Brooks Bros or Abercrombie & Fitch catalog...there's plenty of guys who don't think someone rates unless they're wearing top gear...but for Pete's sake, what's wrong with springing for a pair of Hodgeman neoprenes, available for $70 and up, that will protect ya on the beach, from the cold water....

I wanted to add to this to explain why I was so judgemental here...the ocean temps have been cold enough to shut your system down within 15 minutes if you got caught in the water without protection...here's something to back that up....

MSG Dan saved a guy's life last week at Monmouth Beach...within 10 minutes of getting in that 50+ degree water, the guy was in a position where his body was shutting down, and he would have drowned....it's a real painful way to go as your instinct to self-preserve is overcome by slow, crippling paralysis..and a painful death as your lungs fill with water...and you live your last moments on earth with a ring-side seat of your own death....


Some people may think I'm over-dramatizing, but I'm stone-cold serious about cold-water safety. It saddens me when we lose a person this way, even if due to their own stupidity....

So here is the story, and thanks to Danny V for being there that day, for he is a true hero...

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...Monmouth-Beach...











********

Another thread about cold-water safety.....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...d+water+safety

Hypothermia....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...d+water+safety




I do know some yakkers and skishers who are in great shape and could survive for longer than the average person, but the truth is, most of us are not in shape like that.
Please be careful out there, folks....

[DarkSkies]

2 day report,


Thu
Fished Island Beach, AM bite, really missed out on the hottest action because I was about a mile from it. Few fish caught where I was. After 2 hours, managed one short bass on metal.

Afternoon - Hooked up with the OFFC
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ARDS-out-there..

Spent a few hours driving up and down the whole beach, action almost non-existent...the Metal Master from the OFFC managed one bass on metal (naturally! ) This old geezer landed a nice bass on his first cast! First frikkin cast! Then we rode up and down...I finally managed my 2nd bass on metal as well.

There was a short 1/2 hour period of activity right before dark, some keepers to the teens were caught, but not many.

PM. - decided to ramp up my skill set, learning different areas, and fished another beach in the park for an hour on the flood tide. Out on the bar, beautiful water, needlefish and some other profiles, not a touch....






*******
Fri - Slept in my car as not to miss the morning bite....OTW at 6am, no fish for me till 7:30. Hot bite between 7:30 - 8am. I picked the bars that seemed to have the most action and did OK, 5 bass, biggest mid teens and 34", ava with green tail outfished other profiles 10:1 today.

The bite continued to 9:30 in some areas, as the tide came in...
One last bass was caught as I left the beach at 10am. I predicted the next activity would be around the turn of the tide... good morning on the beach, and good 1 1/2 days at IBSP, met lots of good people.


Additional Details, Fri...
I was so amped up for the action today...after the paltry numbers I got Thu, I was determined to get some decent fish today....

Morning ammunition....
Bagel with peanut butter....
4 advils to pre-empt any soreness....
2 five hour energy drinks.... After drinking those, putting on my drytop and wading belt, I was ready to battle Godzilla out there...moved several times to stay on top of the main body of fish...this was a challenge, because as mentioned, the overall mass has been slowly diminshing...what remains are a few pods of fish, some nicer, to 40#, but they're very scattered, and if you want numbers you have to go and do battle with all the other Vikings on that bar...

[DarkSkies]

Smelling like Feta Cheese....

Nomad stench...
I was driving around with the OFFC in their SUV on Thur....we stopped on the beach several times to meet up with sitemembers and mutual friends....
one of these guys, as soon as he put his head inside to say hello, said...
"Gee, it smells like FETA CHEESE in here! ....Since the Old Farts take showers every day like normal people, I have to assume that it was me that stunk that bad... Oh well, when the bite is on, everything else suffers...


Nomad sleeping arrangements...
Slept in the car at BSP so as not to miss any of the bite..it was a little cold at night...37 degrees, had to wake up twice to turn the car heater on...was wrapped up in 3 blankets, thanks to OGB for the blanket he gave me, cause he knows I got some mental problems...

...

[DarkSkies]

Looks like a real man (assho_e) in that photo When Dark See's this he'll try this new way to wash his feet while fishing. I guess as soon as marathon man gets back,(bet he sleeps in his waders tonight where you caught those fish this morning), we will have a December reports thread too.

See the post above, ya grouch! (and I slept in another lot, because I worked another beach that night to learn the new structure)

A great and truthful report^^^^as always

V is one of the most honest guys out there. If anything, he tends to minimize his reports, tone them down a bit, he's as humble as they come, good people.....and if he said he lost a 30 in the wash the other day, I believe it without a doubt....

As to the reports, I was on the beach for a good part of Thu and Fri...I can tell you that other than the hot bite for the morning at IBSP, NOTHING was caught on the whole beach for a good part of the day, (even by the clammers)till a spurt of activity 1/2 hour before dark when a FEW fish were caught, and a lot of guys fishin for em....so that tackle shop with the video reports....I can tell you he hypes it up to make it sound 1000% better than it really is...

[DarkSkies]

Finally nailed quanty and quality . But it took me about 8 hours of fishing
, 19 bass to around 20lbs , I did something stupid and broke the line landing the biggie . Wanted to take a few pics, oh well, everyone in the Park seem to be walking off with nice fish was surreal scene

Another guy whose reports you can take to the bank...I kow ya fish hard bro, no hype or exaggeration in your reports or your numbers...

You mentioned about wanting to take pics, I realize that was one of the times you didn't..I faced that same situation Fri when the bite was on....there were 2 tools that dropped a hemorraging fish back into the water without even attempting to revive....I was sorely tempted to take pics of that fish...but I was focused on finally catching some fish....

I learned that when I try to document the action around me, I lose precious fishin time.... and ya can't make 19, like Shark did, when yer taking the camera out every 5 mins to snap a pic....







I met Tom Lynch out there on the bar Fri, he brought his super expensive Pro-sumer, non-waterproof camera out there to get pics of some of the insanity...

Always wanted to meet the guy, been a fan of his videos for years...but he's a fisherman and loves to fish..I realized how many fish he loses out on by taking those pics...the famous one recently posted all over the internet was taken by him...

If you get a chance check him out on youtube, I think it's called surffishingvideos as his screen ID..or search for Angry Fisherman TV...nice to finally meet ya, Tommy!

[DarkSkies]

I only took pics on the way to the bar, and at the end when I was getting ready to leave, there were times when it was actually more crowded than you see here...

[DarkSkies]

These guys

[DarkSkies]

[DarkSkies]

more

[DarkSkies]

some more

[ledhead36]

You have got to be kidding me, no way would I ever put up with those crowds. Nice pics though, now I know where not to fish. I remember Sandy hook being crowded in the last 3 years, but never as bad as it is there at island beach. Crazy stuff!

[storminsteve]

Awesome pics Dark. There were two bars that looked like that today, I was on one that was less crowded until we started catching fish, then it was the most crowded one.