Winter Fishing Thread.....

[hookset]

Attaboy Steve! Nice!

[albiealert]

Wow can't believe you guys are still catching fish! Am enjoying these reports, keep it up!

[jigfreak]

Got a mess of em tonight, 14 to 17#. Some real tiny runts in with the fat boys. Looks like they're gearing up with one massive meal. All on rubber biscuits. Dark hope you're out there, half the surfcasting world is. Catch em up brother.

[xtreme_visions]

4 tonight for me! all shorts but **** i have only caught 2 the entire year i have fished saltwater. and i got out there several times a week for months at 1st. they were hitting hard tried a few spots.

[jonthepain]

boats are ok (i just sold mine last fall,) kayaks are a lot of fun (i've got 3,) but surf fishing is the ultimate.

there is just something about it.

[mick2360]

Just for the record, I hear things are STILL dead in Montauk.....

[DarkSkies]

4 tonight for me! all shorts but **** i have only caught 2 the entire year i have fished saltwater. and i got out there several times a week for months at 1st. they were hitting hard tried a few spots.

WTG, bro...proud of ya!.....keep at it and try to keep putting that time in....we still have a shot at some bigger fish....

Jigfreak, outstanding numbers... and for the rest of ya's, great effort.

Mick, ya spent $1500 on all those trips to Montauk.
You gave a tremendous shot in the arm to the Montauk economy...
Last year ya guilted me into a Block Cod trip...
(Even though ya guilted me into it, I had a blast and am grateful.....)

So WHY can't I guilt ya into coming down here for some fishin in Jersey Montauk Style??...
Don't you owe it to yourself to get in on the action too?
There's still time to get into these fish....guys are dismissing the bite as a "schoolie bite"...you saw the pics I sent ya...call me!

[DarkSkies]

Fished the last 5 hours of the ebb, first of the flood...
There were some nice fish caught until around 7pm....knowing that, I really wasn't looking forward to any crowds I might find on a Sat night...so I procrastinated and made sure I got down there after 12am....

There was no one around, they were all gone by then...

I knew it could be tough, but I didn't care, would rather struggle looking for fish (that could be comatose in those night water temps) than stand next to 15 guys like it was opening day of trout season.....


The night bite was real tough, some GROUCHY BASSTARDS would say it's not worth it.

I had to move 5 times till I found bass at the 6th stop...but I did manage 3 bass on rubber, a black bomber, and a Daiwa SM. There were some other hits on rubber, but in that cold water (44 degrees) the fish were basically comatose....you had to hit them right on the head to get any response at all...




First light and sunrise was much better...managed 7 more on rubber for a total of 10 to 29".... There was a flurry of activity for about an hour, died when the sun pushed up from the horizon....




Got mugged by a guy at 5:30am. The thing was, he asked politely if he could come up and cast on my right...that's exactly the same thing I do when I'm out there....and it works like a charm...because 95% of the guys fishin out there wouldn't even think of offering that common courtesy....

I found out he's friends with a site-member here....we became fast friends as he gave me his opinion of the internet , fishing with 500 other guys at the "Epic" Island beach metal bite , internet fishermen, , and guys who dismiss this bite as "not worth it because it's only a bunch of schoolies".... We caught fish in sync until the bite died.

I agreed with him completely, and his numbers prove his dedication....mid 400's, to 24 1/2#, since Nov 25, without once having driven to IBSP.











Like Extreme said, the fish are much more aggressive in the day and the end of the day...the 29" one I took these pics of jumped out of the water like a frikkin bluefish when I set the hook....

Kept that one for the table, no fish for the C&R thread this time...


My new friend. getting double digits most times out...said: "I'll take this action any night or day of the week!"
I couldn't agree with him more....

**Just to be clear, catching double digits ain't that easy and requires a lot of work and determination in the cold weather...but to me and a few other guys it's apparently worth it...

Nice meetin ya!



For the log, and the new guys:
Air temps start-finish: 45-35
Water temps 44
Wind: SW at first, shifting to a steady W 10-15mph

What worked: different things work for me at different times. Last night I had to cycle through almost every profile I had to achieve success, getting fish on a black bomber, Daiwa SM, and a rubber eel. Gradually I realized that it was not about what I was throwing, it was about hitting those sluggish fish right on the head. The rubber did produce the most action and the most missed hits, as it most closely fit the profile of the sand eels that are now abundant.

It's more about how you fish it, than what you fish, though...and as usual when it's difficult to catch numbers of fish, presentation is the key to the puzzle.....The guiy I met did quite well on a beat up, crappy looking bomber he was using....IMO right now anything that mimics a sandeel or a crab will cause the fish to strike, when you find them, and if you present to them the right way.

Fish caught:
10 to 29", brought the 29" home for the table.

[xtreme_visions]

thanks dark..i owe it all to u for getting me into fishing plugs instead of using bait and standing around with my **** in my hand catching the big

the down side to the night was the bulb in my brand new headlamp blew out after 5min of use so i had to run to the car and grab a flashlight which was not fun to use. will b prepared with extra bulbs next time incase that happens again.

hope the fish hang around for atleast another week

[finchaser]

always carry an extra light in your bag it could save your life getting off a jetty in the dark

[xtreme_visions]

always carry an extra light in your bag it could save your life getting off a jetty in the dark

i hear that! getting off that jetty was no fun without a light. good thing was i fished a jetty with no holes inbetween the rocks that i could fall in so other then tripping a few times it wasnt so bad.

[clamchucker]

Darkskies it sounds like you are having the time of your life. I used to fish on the rocks and inlets and had some real nice fish from those times. Unfortunately those trips are too many years ago as that has been too dangerous for me to attempt any more. Enjoy it while you can and thank you for the colorful reports and your advice helping the new guy. xtremevisions good job on your bass on plugs. There is nothing wrong with catching fish on bait. However, catching on plugs is more of a challenge and will cause you to expand your horizons. Congratulations the folks out there still catching. I am very much enjoying these reports.

[xtreme_visions]

thanks clam. baits cool and all but boring

got a chance to head out today after work for a few hrs. tide was very low, water was very still. managed a short the 1st 30min there. lost another 1 shortly after to a pesky rock.... along with my black/purple bomber that i told myself i was gonna save because i got my 1st striper on a plug with it.



I would like to thank dark for meeting up with me tonight and giving me some great advice and a few things to play with

[DarkSkies]

^ You're welcome, Xtreme... Ya can't get too attached to plugs out there at night, bro, because eventually you'll donate them to King Neptune...

That's why fishin cheaper plugs is the best strategy...

Like Xtreme said, the water was low at the end of the day. Fished 2 spots before I ran into him, no action. We fished an additional 2 spots with 1 bass for him, only one bump on a rubber eel for me.
Even at mid tide, it took forever for the water to come in...

I had thoughts that after the sun today the fish would be more active... they weren't.
At 44 degrees, the water temps are about 1 degree from the fish shutting off completely...hopefully the next few sunny days turn things around...

The good thing about it is... it cuts down on the participation...people hear how they crushed them a few days ago, come down to the ocean, give it a shot for an hour, see it ain't so easy or consistent,. and decide they've had enough of Wiinter bass fishing...so hopefully the next time the activity ramps up there won't be crowds of people there...

I'm not done yet...Till next time....

[finchaser]

Hey grass hoppers what did you expect heavy westerly winds cause blow out tides and hold water offshore, out going is cold water only warmer water will be on the incoming. This time of year you need a better plan than the sun is out I'm going fishing.
No ones says you can't fish right through spring, you will have no crowds,only the catching part will su_k.

[jigfreak]

Same results for me too last night, guys. Not a touch. Like you said, low water and slow moving tide didn't help any either.

[DarkSkies]

out going is cold water only warmer water will be on the incoming. This time of year you need a better plan than the sun is out I'm going fishing.
No ones says you can't fish right through spring, you will have no crowds,only the catching part will su_k.

Thanks for the words of wisdom ya Grouch!

We did fish the incoming. first 3 hours, had some water where we were but it was like Lake Atlantic out there. There should have been a few fish, even some runts, as opposed to the dead water....I really feel the temps are finally trending dangerously close to shut the Horn of Plenty off. That could turn around with a few sunny days, as the bait and fish are in sync right now. IMO it could go either way as the fish are still "stuck in time" and could be released from that loop any day.

Even though you preach against that evil white water......last night there was none at all to knock food around, and we could have used just a bit of it....







**Or,,,,as the Raritan Bay and NY Bight have gone up 10 degrees in the last 10 days, that could have been enough of a bump to send some of these fish back into the channels and the lower Hudson where they normally belong...

Lately, each time out, although double digit catches are possible, we are seeing less and less fish...

I'm still not sure about that, but wanted to state it here first as part of the pattern you, the other old timers, and I have been discussing privately the last 2 months...before some outdoor writer decides to write an article saying he "discovered" this abnormal pattern....

[finchaser]

Sun means really nothing if the air temp doesn't stay above the water temp especially at night when clear skies create radiational cooling of the water sometimes seen as as what is referred to as sea smoke on windless nights. Combined with strong winds which have a natural cooling effect,very similar to wind chill. The last 2 hours of the incoming and first 2 of the outgoing usually produces the warmestwater temperatures. Fishing the beginning of the incoming this time of year usually drops the water temperature from the water rushing up on the cold beach and rocks which are sometimes frozen pushing bait and fish off the beach.

IMO this abnormal pattern has to do with the dredging kind of a natural chum slick combined with above normal water temperatures is what is responsible for holding the bait and fish in that one area.

[xtreme_visions]

like they say "always go with your gut feeling" i told myself all day at work i was not going out tonight but i did . hit 2 diff spots with no luck. used bombers and tried some rubber dark gave me last night.

tomorrow is another day

[DarkSkies]

^^ Someone has to give ya some tips on fishing rubber, Bro..

I tried over the phone last night but was a little pre-occupied...

..if ya ask nicely, I hear Finchaser might be amenable to coffee and some snacks,,,and a cheeseburger or 2....make it a top priority before the window closes....


Praise the Lord and pass the rubber...that's all for now.. I'll try to post some more details around 11pm tonight.....