Stripers still around

[robmedina]

Looks like (from the boat guys posts) that stripers are still around. Not the schoolie ones, but some decent sized fish.

[Fishman]

The problem is that there are not nearly as many as one thinks. The decline of the bass is so evident yet fisherman keep putting their heads in the sand about it. One day they will be blind sided when a moratorium on the bass is put in place. Then they will all be scratching their heads wondering why.

I saw a picture the other day of a guy who went fishing with 6 buddies. The picture showed 14 big bass being kept. Plenty of fish Rob? Not at that rate.

[surfstix1963]

And it is coming sooner then one thinks.I'm not against keeping one for the table but there is no need for more then that unless you have a family of 10 or so.These guys are selling them illegally there is no way you need to keep all the fish every time you are out, this is everyone boat and surf guys.We will all be jerking our gerkins soon been there once looks like history will repeat itself.

[robmedina]

I know what you guys are saying and agree. I was actually saying the migratory fish are still around. I figured they would be gone by now. AS for me, I am going to target my friend the dogfish. At least I can make some money off the tagged fish, LOL!

[DarkSkies]

I know what you guys are saying and agree. I was actually saying the migratory fish are still around. I figured they would be gone by now. !

Rob, i have been estimating that 75-80% of the migratory bass have passed us by now.
This knowledge came from Capts and friends who fish for them up and down the Coast, and was developed from dozens of real-time conversations with these folks who fish every day for bass. I want to folks out there reading this to know that I do not claim to be an expert....,

However, I'm good at putting data together, and piecing similar conversations together with these folks, to try and come up with some kind of real consensus, as to where we are at, in different stages in the migration.

Being as accurate as possible is important to me....
It causes me to wince, when less than 2 weeks ago some well-known Capts were saying they were waiting for the bass to be done with the spawn, and they would show up "Any day now"...and then, a few days later, abandoning their striper trips and advertising fluke trips.....

I realize Capts have to fill the boats....they can't be completely candid at all times....but on the other hand...a little honesty goes a long way......some of the Capts I have spoken with regularly have admitted (with the exception of the few great weeks in the Raritan Bay fishery) this is the worst striped bass season ever for them..it saddens me that some aren't willing to admit that publically......

[DarkSkies]

Back to the bass...and the Spring migration........
Based on conversations with folks who fish every day, it seems to some of us, that the bass did not follow normal migration patterns this year.....


1. Some of the big schools that had been so easy to find in the past, were replaced by smaller pods of bass, and smaller pods of bunker....for some reason this is the way things developed in some areas.....

2. It also seemed to some of us, that the bass weren't moving along the Coast, in the same way they had in years past.....again, smaller groups, odd migrational habits, where the bass would linger in one area longer than in the past, while others moved on more quickly, bypassing other areas.

3. Hurricane Sandy....definitely had a play in the way we are seeing some of this migrational shift....as it has changed structure, holes that used to be deep and hold schools of bass for weeks at a time,,,,,sloughs, and many areas of beachfront that used to be more receptive to bass migration....are no longer......Some back bay and river areas, that a lot of us counted on, where bass used to come in and feed, before moving on,,,have been covered by tons of sand, resulting in slow rises back to the level where they can support the smallest marine life.....What has been left has been the clam bed areas. As predicted, bass held in many of those areas for a time, giving guys the opportinity to have some great fishing.



4. Food and Forage....
I am obsessive about looking for and finding different kinds of bait when I am out there..knowing that the more forage I find, the more the likelihood will be of bass staging in certain areas for awhile.....

a. The normal small marine life, grass shrimp, crabs, crustaceans. etc. had its numbers severely diminished by Sandy., and in many areas has only started to come back to levels where you can see them. Despite weeks of looking for grass shrimp at night...I only recently started to see them....this is bad...for everything in the fishing food chain feeds on these shrimp and other small creatures.

When you hear about a back bay bite somewhere, (other than on bunker)...you can assure yourself that for some reason it's because that area has a higher concentration of small forage.

b. Many areas did not have good herring runs this year...The ones that did, were ones where a good bite developed....many of the rest have been barren wastelands....

c. The jetties that I know and love have been barren wastelands as well. and have only recently come to life (I have explained that to some of ya's, but may try to go into more detail when I get a chance...the death, of the most minute life on the jetties this winter...has been fascinating to me. and something I documented every time I was out there....

d. Bait migrational patterns have been different....in many cases the largest amounts of bait (other than bunker) have taken the offshore route, and the fish have followed them......





5. Striped bass numbers.....
Some folks said if only we were to save the bunker the striped bass population would be as strong as ever. What they didn't account for, was we were harvesting more than ever before.....
This has become evident last year, and most evident this year, when we have plenty of bunker, but guys are scratching their heads, asking where the bass are.....




Finchaser has a simple answer......"We killed them all"

Whether folks want to believe that, or not., this is the first year in a declining few, where people are publically starting to question if there are as many bass, as some claim there are.....
You have good fishermen going out every day, with decades of experience, and many are not finding bass. other than in the middle of (some) bunker pods...
Not trying to beat a dead horse, but any discussion of striped bass migration must take this possibility of declining numbers into account...

[SharkHart]

Traditionally the big bass run make their last stand off Monmoth beach and inside area of Shrewberry rocks and often are thin there when the run is in full effect IBSP to Long Branch. Well right now that was their last known position. I had have to guess few skirmishes or random small pods here on out.

Even though I did well with nicer fish this year it was all in super spots, no random pop ups which should happen, didnt even hear of any like that.

[DarkSkies]

Even though I did well with nicer fish this year it was all in super spots, no random pop ups which should happen, didnt even hear of any like that.

I know you keep extensive logs, Shark, try to be where the bass show up every year, because of it, and spend a lot of time on the water..

I appreciate your opinion about the bass being concentrated in certain spots/areas...there have been some cases where if you are off a mile or 2 when looking for them, you will not see anything happen at all.....and this is what worries me most.

1. no consistency,
2. the lack of activity along a whole area when a beach finally turns productive......


** Some have talked about the bass being all offshore this year.....
When you are counting bass that allegedly number in the millions, and not seeing anything inshore...this also speaks poorly of the general health of the fishery. In years past the guys fishing from land could count on at least a few, fishing that way, as those bass were part of the overflow, indicating a healthy biomass....

With the lack of fish along our shorelines,. or being concentrated in only a few areas....A few streets at a time, or one inlet one week, another inlet the next week, is a troubling indication of the poor health of the fishery....there are too many spots in between where there are no fish at all...thanks for your perspective.....

[DarkSkies]

The positive side to all this., Rob, is even though a majority of fish are in the Rhody/MA/Montauk triangle now....there is still enough of an uncertainty, that you, or I could find few bass at the beach, on any given night, as long as these ocean temps hold around 60 degrees. IMO these ocean temps are slightly lower for this time of year.








IF bait moves in, in certain areas, we could have a bite till the end of June in those areas. The disappointing part of my experience, is that when bait starts to fill in in a certain area, and I find it...by the next night it is usually gone......


Thanks for noticing the things you do,,,Rob....paying attention like you do, will make you a better fisherman in the long run....

[porgy75]

I know what you guys are saying and agree. I was actually saying the migratory fish are still around. I figured they would be gone by now. AS for me, I am going to target my friend the dogfish. At least I can make some money off the tagged fish, LOL!

Hey I am glad to hear that too. dark and sharkheart you have to give us guys some hope! Without that there is nothing. rob what do you mean by making money off tagged fish. They give you money for reporting dogfish tags? Get outta town!

[buckethead]

Back to the bass...and the Spring migration........
Based on conversations with folks who fish every day, it seems to some of us, that the bass did not follow normal migration patterns this year.....

I am obsessive about looking for and finding different kinds of bait when I am out there..knowing that the more forage I find, the more the likelihood will be of bass staging in certain areas for awhile.....

a. The normal small marine life, grass shrimp, crabs, crustaceans. etc. had its numbers severely diminished by Sandy., and in many areas has only started to come back to levels where you can see them. Despite weeks of looking for grass shrimp at night...I only recently started to see them....this is bad...for everything in the fishing food chain feeds on these shrimp and other small creatures.

When you hear about a back bay bite somewhere, (other than on bunker)...you can assure yourself that for some reason it's because that area has a higher concentration of small forage.

b. Many areas did not have good herring runs this year...The ones that did, were ones where a good bite developed....many of the rest have been barren wastelands....

c. The jetties that I know and love have been barren wastelands as well. and have only recently come to life (I have explained that to some of ya's, but may try to go into more detail when I get a chance...the death, of the most minute life on the jetties this winter...has been fascinating to me. and something I documented every time I was out there....



d. Bait migrational patterns have been different....in many cases the largest amounts of bait (other than bunker) have taken the offshore route, and the fish have followed them......





5. Striped bass numbers.....
Some folks said if only we were to save the bunker the striped bass population would be as strong as ever. What they didn't account for, was we were harvesting more than ever before.....
This has become evident last year, and most evident this year, when we have plenty of bunker, but guys are scratching their heads, asking where the bass are.....




Finchaser has a simple answer......"We killed them all"

Whether folks want to believe that, or not., this is the first year in a declining few, where people are publically starting to question if there are as many bass, as some claim there are.....
You have good fishermen going out every day, with decades of experience, and many are not finding bass. other than in the middle of (some) bunker pods...
Not trying to beat a dead horse, but any discussion of striped bass migration must take this possibility of declining numbers into account...

Yes, could not agree more with these 2 points.

[robmedina]

rob what do you mean by making money off tagged fish. They give you money for reporting dogfish tags? Get outta town!

http://na.nefsc.noaa.gov/sharks/dogfishpress.html there are some things you need to do to redeem the money but they pay out up to $100.00. Trashfish.....yeah right! Treasure fish!