New Jersey fishing reports for April 2009

[gjb1969]

well were to start wind sucked cold sucked no bait around at but we kept fishing we had a few small bumps no hook ups had some bunker hit our lines gave us false hopes but it was ok we got out and fished hard it just needs to warm up for me the cold i just cant enjoy fishing in my knees just cant take that anymore once they go its over no one can say we dont fish hard 14 hrs of fishing in the cold hardcore crazy yes love what we do yes hey dark we got go down to a few spots in cj and sj let me know tite lines and good fishin to all

[amboyangler]

well were to start wind sucked cold sucked no bait around at but we kept fishing we had a few small bumps no hook ups had some bunker hit our lines gave us false hopes but it was ok we got out and fished hard it just needs to warm up for me the cold i just cant enjoy fishing in my knees just cant take that anymore once they go its over no one can say we dont fish hard 14 hrs of fishing in the cold hardcore crazy yes love what we do yes hey dark we got go down to a few spots in cj and sj let me know tite lines and good fishin to all

couldnt have said it better myself lol... it was some good exercise for me.... damn back spazms were killing me though

[storminsteve]

Fished the back of Raritan Bay tonight, the incoming tide. I got one short bass on clams about 2 hours after dark, nothing else, no other hits all night.

[gjb1969]

well its a start keep going the big girls will come

[zev]

1st keeper of the season 2nite! black bombers on the incoming. wind was pushing the water on top but no current. then the wind stoped and the current started. just as i was thinkin to myself"its now or never" 2 in a row. 1st was 24" and the next a 28". i thought i would be into fish after that but it didnt happen.

[DarkSkies]

no one can say we dont fish hard 14 hrs of fishing in the cold hardcore crazy yes love what we do yes hey dark we got go down to a few spots in cj and sj let me know tite lines and good fishin to all

couldnt have said it better myself lol... it was some good exercise for me.... damn back spazms were killing me though

Amboy, the DS weight loss plan has officially started! I chunked up over the winter and will lose about 15lbs in the next 60 days just by walkin at night to different spots. I think we could get ya to lose 10 without too much trouble.

You guys put in some crazy hours that day, the fish just weren't there like they had been. Now you have some new places to try when the conditions are right. The new moon should bring some good results, don't give up hope.

[DarkSkies]

1st keeper of the season 2nite! black bombers on the incoming. wind was pushing the water on top but no current. then the wind stoped and the current started. just as i was thinkin to myself"its now or never" 2 in a row. 1st was 24" and the next a 28". i thought i would be into fish after that but it didnt happen.

WTG man, congrats!! I know you put in your time. People may not realize that you're fishin a lot more than you're catchin, always tryin out new spots and doing the legwork. That pays off on nights like last night, you deserved that fish!

As for a sustained bite after you caught those, most of the stuff Ive been hearing is a fish here and there lately. I would be suspicious of a report where someone said they pulled in fish after fish, double digit catches, unless they were fishin a channel from a boat, or in a back bay area where temps were higher than all other places, or bass were feeding heavily on bunker or herring.

Zev, do you have a rough estimate of the water temps where you were last night?

[cowherder]

Beautiful fish Zev! I like the bombers but didn't know they would work now, I thought the water had to be hotter. I guess I have a lot to learn. I fished rb this morning, some bunker came in and I snagged one and chunked it, but nothing happened. That's fishing!

[zev]

water temps by me are 50-51-52 depending on how the day went; sun, rain, overcast....

bombers have never let me down. i changed colors wen one isnt working and i can usually dial them in. still havent caught one on the pink or chartruese bomber tho. been stickin with black a salts, blurple long A, yellow a salts. the only time i will go smaller is wen i use a 5" swim shad by storm or tsunami in bunker pattern or green

[hookset]

wtg, Zev!

[surfwalker]

zev, nice ones, on plugs- nice. Threw some salted clams as I walked out front this morning. Constant waves, stong current, heavy undertow, water seemed a little off color. Wind was out of the west, maybe 7mph. Water felt cool, but it's almost there. Saw nothing at all caught, me-Nice Day.

[hookset]

Nice fish zev, hardly anyone is catching fish on plugs now, you must have the magic touch!

[paco33]

I fished 2-5pm today in Raritan Bay, fresh clams . Beautiful day, healthy looking fish zev.

[plugaholic]

Out front today, LBI area. The waves were a little rough and I thought I might clam up a striper or 2. No dice, however it was a sunny day. It was a great chance to be out. Zev, that's a nice fish you got.

[surfwalker]

Did the walk this morning out front. Picked up 4 Bass on pearl shad, nothing on teaser. Quite a few hits, light, lethargic. One was a little over 28 in. All looked nice and healthy, great to see. Most of the bait people were pulling in skates.

Happy Trails

[DarkSkies]

That's shad-tastic, man!! Nothing like a shad for early season bass, WTG!

[storminsteve]

Great to finally hear a report from the surf side, surfwalker. I fished this morning in the back of raritan bay, one small dink on clams, barely felt the hit. I guess they will be soft hitting until the water warms up? I checked the water temperatures on the raritan bay gauge on the front page here. They're up to 57 degrees, can the blitzes be far behind? Have you heard any reports of bluefish blitzes yet, anyone?

[wish4fish]

rb 2 shorties before sunup 1 at 3am, 1 at 5am, slow bite, clams

[LennyD]

took my kayak out today, tried various locations, NADA!!!

[SharkHart]

late report- got out thursday night in cnj backwaters, after a slow start found them popping good with 95% out of casting range but i did pick 5 fish, slots and a keeper, missed 2 more next stop. At least for me i am finding better fish this spring then last year, many slots and a few keepers with very few schoolies or rats which seemed common last few springs. they cant all be cows ill take it.