The Ocean in a lot of NJ areas is in the low 50's. Bass are usually active and aggressive at that temp, but last night I found them to be very sluggish, just bumping the plug. Lots of things that didn't fit a pattern last night. Several fish hooked in the head, quite a few missed fish, and once you missed the hookset they would not come back for it.

My best assessment of this behavior is that with a temp drop of around 8 degrees in 1 week, that has been a shock to their system. You might not notice that if on a boat and come across actively feeding fish, but for the surf bite absent large quantities of bait, these bass are a challenge to catch right now, at least for me......

Remember if you are out fishing at night it's a lot different than the day bite. You may only have one or 2 shots at a fish. If you blow it you might just be telling your friends about "the one that got away" instead of having actual proof.

I know this because........

I was that guy last night......