NJ Fishing Reports for April 2014...www.StripersAndAnglers.com

[finchaser]

what JB said

[storminsteve]

Fished the bay tonight. Fantastic weather and I decided to be different and toss plugs instead of bait. One half heated swipe, nothing else. Last of outgoing beginning of the incoming. JB great advice. Try to tell that to the boat guys who half the time they don't bring back to re-rig they just snag and drip.

[J Barbosa]

I am glad to help when I can.

My choice of circle hooks is a 9/0 Owner SSW Circle hook (the one pictured above).

They aren't cheap at almost $1/each when buying in bulk but I have found my overall cost to be less than when I used the Gamikatsu circle hooks.

The reason being the point on the Owner will stay sharp much longer than the Gami and I don't have to replace my hook as often.

Anyway I rarely loose hooks so cost is the least of my concern when fishing. I spend $20 on gas each trip and hours of my life...why not spring an extra 50 cents for the right hook?

Another reason I like the Owner Circle is because there is a large gap between the bend and the hook point which is perfect for hooking bunker (especially the heads which I hook through the back behind the spine).

The owner circle has a much heavier wire than the Gami.

And the most important reason is I saw my hook up ratio greatly increase when I made the switch.

IMO it's not worth buying bunker in a store as it's rarely ever fresh. Snag your own and you can then guarantee it's fresh.

When you have fresh bunker it's very rigid and you only need to barely hook it behind the spine so that the point of the circle hook is always exposed. You can cast as hard as you want that spine in a fresh bunker will never pull out and a bass won't be able to strip your hook clean.

I'll take some pictures next time I go out.

I am a huge Gamikatsu fan just not when it comes to their horrible circle hooks.

Give the Owner circle hook a try and I'm sure you will be happy.

[J Barbosa]

JB great advice. Try to tell that to the boat guys who half the time they don't bring back to re-rig they just snag and drip.

I blame the fisheries management teams.

There are many fisheries where officials have required the fisherman to use only circle hooks.

I don't think circle hooks should be forced onto striped bass fisherman but the use of treble hooks while fishing live or dead bait should be prohibited.

[DarkSkies]

Jbarbosa that was a great post thanks very much for sharing that info. dark just a suggestion but when you have a post like his it might be a good idea to put it somewhere else. Like a "best of" or something like that. This guy really seems to know his stuff and it's nice that hes so helpful

Thanks, I'm way ahead of ya on that.....
I do routine maintenance to the database here....
culling stale or inactive members....
cleaning up threads....
combining threads with one or two posts with others of the same topic....
copying key posts from one thread to another, when pertinent......

Some of ya's may have noticed it seems like you "double post". That does happen sometimes, as I have asked some members here to do that....I appreciate when you post in more than one pertinent area, it really helps me spend less time on maintenance....but when ya's don't.....I simply C&P your post to the appropriate area........

My goal has always been to have this site as streamlined as possible, with relevant links and threads that go deep into detail explaining a fishing concept or technique......I'm grateful for the seasoned fishermen we have here......I know the readers appreciate them as well.....so I'm constantly striving for us to do better and have things easy to find for the new guys out there......













**For example....John's bunker rigging post and others relating to it were copied to the following threads:

1. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...-Newbie-Thread
(started by surfstix)

2. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...aren-t-catchin


If any of you have a suggestion for making threads easier to find and more searchable, PM me any time.
Also, feel free to tag the threads you start, with the appropriate tags as well.....that would be helpful...

** I decided not to do a "best of" for the following reason....usually those threads are stickied to the top....and it's my experience that sticky threads, are often ignored by the readers.......
Any other suggestions....feel free to let me know.....

[DarkSkies]

We have had a noticeable increase in traffic the last few months.....giving me confidence that folks like the way things are around here......
For those new guys, or those who want to learn a little more to polish up your game.....here are some threads of seasoned anglers here, you can rely on for various things.....

Feel free to ask questions in those threads at any time....
These members have been fishing for decades and have given great advice in the past....
(and if ya want to bust their balls....feel free to do that too....all in good fun......)

Finchaser
(OGB - no explanation necessary...one of NJ's living Saltwater legends....and never politically correct....don't ask him questions if you're a new age sensitive male or your feelings bruise easily..... )
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...-Ask-Finchaser



Monty
(any question about being a goog....he's your go-to guy) ....I really am just busting his balls here.....Monty is about as hard-core as a surf fisherman can get.....he doesn't know the meaning of the word quit.....we have taken several members out with us on a nightly trip, only to have them lose energy and fall asleep on the beach before the night is over.....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...monty-(aka-WWM)


Surfstix
(Crabby old Basstid....but full of wisdom and fish catching advice)
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...5-ASK-Surfstix


Surfwalker
(Another seasoned old salt....fished before and after the moratorium
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...d-your-Own-Way


Vpass
(Old-School fisherman, great for fly fishing or other advice...truly a very humble guy...)
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...-Fly-Beginners









or...if ya have questions about Conservation....or want to be entertained....feel free to post a few for me.....a simple goog with a white bucket....
1. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...rvation-Corner
2. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...s-the-new-guys

[storminsteve]

finchaser -don't ask him questions if you're a new age sensitive male - lol!

[storminsteve]

Fished the bay last night (or tried to). The NW wind was brutal gave up after an hour on the incoming tide, Skunkola. Water was turning into choc milk. Clams and bunker might be the way to go for the bay guys for the next few days. Good luck.

[buckethead]

My goal has always been to have this site as streamlined as possible, with relevant links and threads that go deep into detail explaining a fishing concept or technique......I'm grateful for the seasoned fishermen we have here......I know the readers appreciate them as well.....so I'm constantly striving for us to do better and have things easy to find for the new guys out there......

You and Pebbles do a great job here Rich. I don't mind sharing what I know. I would be glad to buy you a beer some time. Keep up the good work and don't let the naysayers get you down. I generally agree with your assessment on the striped bass and feel by the time something is done it will be too late. If only the newbies could be transported back to see how good things used to be they might get it.
Fishing report, fished moco this morning. Colder and windy but very fishable as the wind was howling from the W/NW. The water temps have gone down and I couldn't buy a hit. Will give it another try this weekend.

[wish4fish]

man were in the back last nite and it was cold! theres a lot of small stripers around we got sum. looking for that big one the cold will make em not want to eat for a while. just took a ride along the bay and its like yoohoo. time for stinky smelly clams an bunker chunks!

[storminsteve]

^^^^^^ I have to tip my hat to you and ledhead dude. You guys are out there in all kinds of weather. True fishermen. Thanks for the report. I'm still waiting on those bluefish!

[captnemo]

Trolled several limits of striped bass in the back of Raritan bay this morning. We were out there from the last of the incoming to the first half of the outgoing. The outgoing tide was better. Managed 9 fish to 21pounds. Two of us kept one bass each, 10 and 12 pounds. The water was a little discolored and the chartreuse stretch 25s worked best for us today. Most fish were in 15-20' of water. 2 of them were in 10'. I hope this doesn't appear preachy but we strategically kept the smaller fish. These stripers have yet to spawn and taking the bigger females is just irresponsible at this time of year. Just my opinion.

[chas527]

tried the hook this morning. water still to cold,.nothing but skates.

[ledhead36]

^^^^^^ I have to tip my hat to you and ledhead dude. You guys are out there in all kinds of weather. True fishermen. Thanks for the report. I'm still waiting on those bluefish!

Well like its been said here a lot, you can't catch em from the couch. We went out again last night and it was a lot better. The wind died down and we picked up 16 bass between 3 of us. Biggest was 39". Kept a few and released the rest. Fresh bunker did it. Full moon is coming up this weekend get out there.

thanks for the hook report chas. Was thinking of moving our base of operations to the hook over the weekend because of the crowds but we might stick around the bay area for a little longer. The bunker are really starting to load up in some bay and rivers now.

[Blazin420]

Fished the back tonight with my bud 7-11pm I managed 6 fish 5 shorts 3 of which were tiny lil guys..1 was decent around 24-25in and 1 nice keeper that went a little over 31in..Bunker was thick managed to snag a few and thats what the keeper took at almost dead low..We were about to pack it in when I saw a little movement in the rod and WHAM.released her safely for good mojo since it was my 1st keep of the spring.Tried some plugs but I think the water was just a little to dirty to get them to take a plug...My bud managed 1 short and a few swings..was tuff with all the bunka hitting the lines..

[ledhead36]

Nice going blazin. We fished the back last night as well. For some reason we only got small fish this time. Biggest was 20". Either its feast or famine. Not like it used to be.

[jigfreak]

Fished the back in ocean county last night. Rain got worse later in the night. Finally left at 3am. 8 schoolies all runts. Rubber and jig.

[robmedina]

just read a post on another forum which shows Russ Allan's data that Striped bass is NOT in danger and the regulations are working!!! YEAH!!! now we can all go out and catch all them bass.....

[buckethead]

Rob, I read Russ Allen's presentation. I disagree. They are counting on the 2011 year class to make up for all the gaps in the bass now. Not feasible or do-able. That's one of the reasons they are changing the limit to 1 by 2015. Imo it can't come soon enough. Right now Raritan bay has a lot of bass as they are gearing up to make the run into the Hudson. These bass are all around 15-25 lbs. Further evidence of gaps. I think finchaser or dark has talked about this before and it's something I see every time I fish.
Report, I fished moco before the rain. Managed 5 small bass on bucktail and grub. Outgoing tide. Fish were on the bottom with a few bunker.

[robmedina]

Rob, I read Russ Allen's presentation. I disagree.

I was being sarcastic, lol! Yeah Russ Allen is full of crap!