NJ fishing reports for November 1-15, 2009

[DarkSkies]

Important when registering on our site -- use an active email address so you can activate your account to be able to post.

Please post fishing reports here.......as little or as much detail as you want to give.

Please note: NO SPOT BURNING! Posts burning spots will be Edited or DELETED!
Some veteran fishermen have put in years developing and learning about certain spots.Some of these spots can only handle a few guys at a time. We are losing enough access as it is, due to the unfortunate behavior of a few selfish people. No sense in making it worse.

For some areas, it would be wiser to say:
OutFront (Ocean) OR -- OutBack (Bay) -- if you feel too many people will figure out what you are talking about. "Spot burning" also could involve mentioning something specific only to that area. If you do this, your post may be edited, or deleted. Remember that thousands of people could potentially read these posts. You don't want to be fishing next to ALL of them at the same time!


IF you are fishing an area that is NOT residential, being vague is less critical. For example, it's acceptable to say (Any)Park, or (Any)Bay, or mention a specific state park that has loads of parking and can handle the crowds.


If you are unclear on this concept, ask yourself:


If I name this place on the internet, will it be too crowded for me to enjoy tomorrow when people hear I got 30 fish here today?


If the answer is "Yes", then you should probably not be so specific.
More discussion on this:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ead.php?t=3763

We post these reports so our community will have a sense of what is working, what is not. We want to show people how to catch fish, rather than where.Even if you struck out or got skunked, it would be helpful to hear that as well.

If you have any additional details you would like to share - weather conditions, tide (incoming, outgoing, ebb, flood) water temps, bait present, or other mention of techniques or plugs used - feel free.






Some acronyms -

SH - Sandy Hook
NoMoCo - Northern Monmouth County (below the hook to Shark River Inlet SRI)
SoMoCo - Southern Monmouth County (below SRI to Manasquan Inlet)

OC - Ocean County
IBSP - Island Beach State Park
LBI - Long Beach Island

AC - Atlantic County
AI - Absecon Inlet
CISP - Corson's Inlet State Park
CMC - Cape May County
CMR - Cape May Rips
GEI - Great Egg Inlet
TI - Townsend's Inlet

RB - Raritan Bay
BB - Barnegat Bay
CB - Chesapeake Bay
CBBT - Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel
DB - Delaware Bay

[clamchucker]

Somoco this morning, 6 bass to 32" on the outgoing tide, most of the bass hit a sluggo teaser. The waves are laying down, it's fishable.

[finchaser]

Had Killie join me in OC this AM from 5:30-9 south wind gone water laying down and the fish turned on the feed bag

I had 13 bass 27" to 33" all on metal and teaser including a double header of teen agers

Killie had the hot hand over 25 bass all on metal and teaser

We dropped many more,all were released to fight another day.

There was nothing in the dark

The clammers got nothing

[SharkHart]

Nice work Fin, I was in OC too think i picked a bad spot, bass were popping pretty good 5-10 yards from max cast, a few wandered in and they were a good class of fish also but i only got one.

This could be the best fall in years devolping, the conditions are the only thing keeping this from epic, i cant remember the last time seeing this many 27-34"s for fall

Should be illegal to set up clam lines when bass are on sand eels

[voyager35]

Trolled some deeper channels in RB from 5-10a today, incoming and outgoing. A mess of 10+ blues and 2 bass to 18. We trolled white shads. On the way back we found some birds, under them were small blues and bass. Had a good 15 minutes of surface action casting slim metals. They were on small bait.

[storminsteve]

Killie had the hot hand over 25 bass all on metal and teaser

And I thought I did great with 7? Great catch killie! I fished in oc from 6-10. Managed 7 bass to 31" on a t-hex and sandeel teaser. This was great fishing, for once. I saw a lot of other guys hook up. The bite gradually petered out as the tide went out. Sandeels are there and the bass are eating them.

[finchaser]

. Sandeels are there and the bass are eating them.

Don't want to be the bearer of bad news but I went back to the same place that for a week I've had at least 4 keepers per trip including 10 this AM and got the no bait,or fish to be had. All the sand eels were gone. same results for 11 guy's I know that fished in the area

[vpass]

I was out front fished for about 1 hour. I had to try. I'm back to work for a 1 1/2 weeks. I'm then on Vacation for another 3 Weeks. Can't wait.

[LennyD]

Fished OC tonight, incoming 4-7pm. Only managed one fish by sundown 31" Bass,few taps here and there. As soon as the moon came out behind the clouds they stopped biting, my bud. Got 4 bass all short.

[SharkHart]

had a nice bite going after my dinner break 7-8pm on bombers, the dead north wind kept getting heavier couldnt cast or present too well, if a got off a good cast and it swam ok id get some hits, landed 5 to 29" missed a few more. not one took the teaser. before dark was slow, dropped one possible teener size fish on a needle. Few post above I talked trash on clammers so of course I see about 7 caught by 3 guys in a flurry before dark, so yeah maybe the sand eels pulled off some.

[buckethead]

Went out yesterday morning got two short on metals in moco.

[finchaser]

This morning 5:30 to 7:30 am OC out front

I had 2 bass 10 and 15 pounds both on AVA 37 with bucktail hook

My partner of the day had 3 bass to 8 pounds on AVA 27 green tail

They are all alive and swimming

Dark Skies hope you caught something after I left had to go to work

[DarkSkies]

Sometimes, after you have been fishing for 50 years, you know where to find the "Red X". Other times, you may have been fishing for 50 years, have found the red x for 49 years, and have one year where you just can't find it no matter how hard ya try.

Is this a reflection on your skills as a fisherman? As I mentioned in other threads, absolutely not.

The bite this fall season had shifted from the day to the night, and from one town or county to another, sometimes overnight. It has also shifted from one where guys can count on artificials, to one where if they're not using bait, they get blanked. Guys are extremely frustrated when this happens. These things change from day to day. The biggest thing I noticed this fall is lack of a consistent pattern.

Everyone's amped up over the fact that x number of fish, of x size, were caught at x beach, So they think it's a safe bet to show up there tomorrow, when everyone gets blanked.

There are some patterns that have developed, but nothing that can be relied on. I'm fortunate enough to know some of them, and even that hasn't kept me from getting skunked.

Last night G and I fished for 14 hours. We weren't greatly successful at the fishin. We went from Gotham City to Sin City to test the bay and ocean fishing for ourselves. We hit so many new places I still don't have them all in my head. We wanted to prove the bay fishin was not dead, and it isn't. Using fresh bunker, we got a 36" monster eel and lost a small bass. However, pickins were slim in the bays in the 12 stops and 200 mile round trip we made.

We checked out some great new lighted areas that had bait, no fish, hit many inlets with live eels, fished key spots with bucktails and rubber, no action at all on the eels. The eels looked so good I wanted to eat one. Bass didn't.

The toughest thing was the building wind, which kept us looking for places with our backs to it. Juicy, choice places produced nothing except a few light and missed hits.

As first light came, we anticipated a great bite in the rough surf as we saw birds feeding a few casts off the beach.

A few guys did well this AM. Some like Fin, did exceptionally well.

The surf was pounding, waves were 6-8' at times, strong rip current, strong L to R sweep, necessitating ava 37 or 47 as a minimum to stay in the strike zone.

It was incredible water, the kind they talk about in all the articles written about fall noreaster surf fishing. Unfortunately, many guys gave up after giving it their best. At each new place we stopped, guys were leaving, saying "Don't bother it's not worth it".

And for many it wasn't, except for the talented guys exactly on the red X.
The bite was specific, if you were 2 miles away you missed it. We would have as well if it weren't for Fin, and even then it was fantastic for only about 1/2 hour before we got there, and a slow pick after that.

Still, it was great fishin that whitewater, 3 rows of waves breaking at a time. I fished it until 8:30 when it started to rain, and 80% of the guys had left. I still believed fish were there. You could see the birds running along a line about 100 yards out where small bait was.

If you could cast 100 yards into 20mph winds and big relentless surf and keep your metal in the strike zone for more than 20 secs, you could have had hundreds of fish. Most guys were lucky to get one or 2 fish. I gave it my best shot but ended the morning bite empty handed.

What a difference a day makes. Those who killed them on Sun had nothing to show for it today. Some persistent guys, like Fin and others, caught some nice fish. That's fishin in the fall in NJ.

Being in all that white water felt like moshin in a Black Flag show. The reason for this long-winded report was to congratulate those who did catch, and remind others that this fall bite is very thin, sometimes location specific, and can change from day to day. If ya don't catch, it has less to do with your fishing ability, than whether you were on the red X or not.

So don't feel bad if your fishin sucked for a day, or a week. Just get out there and fish hard, I mean it when I say the run is more than half over.

We will still see some decent fish, but IMO the next 2 weeks will be the best of it. After that we'll probably have to be happy with 14-24" surf caught fish, with an occasional larger one. That bums me out, so now is the time, rain or shine.

There is no endless supply of bass. If you read beyond the fishing reports here, you might agree the fall runs are starting to feel the strain put on the bass.

The clock is ticking, catch em up. (and release with care if you can)

[DarkSkies]

Had Killie join me in OC this AM from 5:30-9 south wind gone water laying down and the fish turned on the feed bag

I had 13 bass 27" to 33" all on metal and teaser including a double header of teen agers

Killie had the hot hand over 25 bass all on metal and teaser

A lot of people don't know the Killie story here. He's a great guy, and it's kind of a tradition to say when he comes down the fishing will turn off. Yet on this day with Fin, he made the right decisions that allowed a bunch of fishermen to catch em up, and good.

I'll let Fin tell the story if he wants, but for now will say that it wasn't like these guys just walked into fish. It took them a while that day to figure out the killer combo, and Killie was the guy who made the observations.

Great fishin, man, WTG!

[Monty]

Sunday morning fished NOMOCO from 5:30 to 10:00. Had decent fish on briefly, lost it, one other solid hit missed and landed 2 small fluke.
This morning ocean county, WHITE WATER, fished 6:00 to 10:00. Caught 8 stripers between 24" and 28 ". 7 on the rubber teaser One on the Ava 37. I love fishing in this stuff. Like dark said, you have to be in the spot where they are. My cousin got a 32" striper on chartreuse teaser and a 10 pound blue on an Ava.
Great time fishing these last two days, great looking fun to fish water.

Here is the surf.


Here is the teaser.

[gjb1969]

a$$ mud and a dam big a$$ eel that was a trip i will soon not forget hey dark how is the finger i bet u wont do that again i am going to start work on the eyes on the rod i want to kill the buzzards luck so i am doing the work in a hour or so i need a bass this is killing me !!right place wrong time what is going with this carma hates my guts for some reason i guess i will just suck it up and just say my fishing is done till it get warm i cant buy a bass blue not evan junk fish its bin that way to long for me and its getting old fast and more

[fishinmission78]

Very tough surf today. I fished 5-7, threw all my heaviest metal and bucktails. The north wind made it impossible not to have a bow in your line.

[DarkSkies]

a$$ mud and a dam big a$$ eel that was a trip i will soon not forget hey dark how is the finger i bet u wont do that again i am going to start work on the eyes on the rod i want to kill the buzzards luck so i am doing the work in a hour or so i need a bass this is killing me !!right place wrong time what is going with this carma hates my guts for some reason i guess i will just suck it up and just say my fishing is done till it get warm i cant buy a bass blue not evan junk fish its bin that way to long for me and its getting old fast and more

Cmon man it ain't the end of the world. Fishin definitely does suck this year compared to all the great years you guys had. Don't sell your gear yet, there are still some stank azz swamps we have to check out searchin for those toothy eels! What a goog I am.

Sunday morning fished NOMOCO from 5:30 to 10:00. Had decent fish on briefly, lost it, one other solid hit missed and landed 2 small fluke.
This morning ocean county, WHITE WATER, fished 6:00 to 10:00. Caught 8 stripers between 24" and 28 ". 7 on the rubber teaser One on the Ava 37. I love fishing in this stuff. Like dark said, you have to be in the spot where they are. My cousin got a 32" striper on chartreuse teaser and a 10 pound blue on an Ava.
Great time fishing these last two days, great looking fun to fish water.

Here is the surf.


Here is the teaser.

Great video and effort Monty. Not too many guys were willing to stick it out yesterday. (You left out the part about how you were so far into the surf you got knocked on your azz, but still got up and fished again to get those fish) Some of the guys were standing as far away from the big surf as possible, which made long casts all that more difficult. There were some fish in the wash, but even for them you needed big sideways casts to counter the wind and riptide. You're a little too modest sometimes, bro.

There's something about a video. Pics are great, but a video brings it all to life, you can almost smell the ocean. That teaser is killer too. Thanks for posting it up.

[cowherder]

Some of the guys were standing as far away from the big surf as possible, which made long casts all that more difficult. There were some fish in the wash, but even for them you needed big sideways casts to counter the wind and riptide. You're a little too modest sometimes, bro.

Hey Dark I'm one of those "right at the edge" guys. I have waders but have to confess when the waves look like they're going to crash on you big time, I back down like a little girl! Some of us have to make it back to our families when we are done, so we can't get washed away. Those side to side currents are strong, and I'm not real great at dealing with them. Please don't make too much fun of us.


Finchaser and Monty, great catches! Somoco from 5-7:15am. The waves were pretty frequent but the wind wasn't that bad. I got 2 bass to 26" on a Ava27 jig with a red tube at the end. Monty that's a nice video of the surf. May I ask you about that red teaser, it looks like those herring or mackerel tubes. Where do you buy them?

[finchaser]

Killie great guy but known to shut down any blitz or turn weather really bad on his arrival. An example last year in the middle of a 8 hour blitz, I give him a heads up as he lives 1 1/2 from here. He arrives gets out of truck steps on to beach and all goes dead.
He surprised me and 15 of my close friends this AM. No one caught a fish my first along with others in 7 days. General comment was if they knew he was coming they would have stayed in bed. If looks could kill I wouldn't be making this post.

These back to back Northeasters and the people who pray for them . No bait ,fish or birds.

These storms had the major schools in 70' of water last week now there gone too.