bass blitz!

[cowherder]

Last night I went to shark river inlet to watch the water go out. The herring must have been thick because I saw a lot of dark circles under the bridge lights. I had heard about them being around but I thought it was just BS. sure enough they were there. What I didn't expect was the other blobs that were shadowing them. In the shadow lines of the bridge as I walked from one side to the other I could see these big shapes that looked like submerged logs. I immediately thought they could be bass. The water is too cold for bass though. What were these log like creatures doing sitting at the edge of the shadow line on the beginning of the outgoing tide?
I soon had an answer when the tide picked up and the herring started to move. About every 5 minutes you would hear a CRASH and then one of these logs would break water as it snatched a herring. I sat there with my mouth open for a good 10 minutes, and then ran to my truck to get my rod.

[Monty]

Well?.....You go to the Darkskies "How to post on message boards" seminar?

[cowherder]

I had wanted to try some new plugs that I brought with me. One of them was that new bass-o-rino that monty was talking about.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...824-Bass-Oreno
I put it on the crazy alberto clip and tossed it out there in the current.

Since the inlets are closed I went to the front and fished the open ocean. All of a sudden a large splash alerted me to something BIG trying to eat it. I swung and missed and boy was I mad! So I tried again for another 10 minutes and not much success. As luck would have it I ran back to my truck and got a snag hook. I was on the north side of the inlet and casted from the T where the light is.
The herring were so thick I feel them scraping my hook on every cast. They must have been pouring out of the inlet into the open ocean with the outgoing tide.
Finally I managed to snag one, and let it sink to the bottom. No more than 30 seconds later it was game on! I thought I was going to lose the fish but I held on and let the drag slow her down. When I finally got her to the rocks I lifted her for a quick pic and released. She weighed 22 lbs on the boga!

What do you think guys, does she qualify as a respectable fish for January? Take a look at the pic!

[cowherder]

Well?.....You go to the Darkskies "How to post on message boards" seminar?

Man you are a tough one! Exactly one minute after I post you are asking where is the next one? Tough crowd here. the lack of fishing must be driving us all crazy.
As for dark, I don't think anyone can take over that style. Each thread he starts is like 5000 words long before anyone else can get a word in edgewise, lol! Sorry dark someone had to say it! I do miss your threads and rants though hope you are OK.

BTW has anyone talked to him lately? He has been strangely absent. Did he take a fishing cruise to Australia or something? We miss you DS!

[jigfreak]

What do you think guys,

I think it's a little early for an april fools joke. I'm sitting at home bored out of my mind. Just poured another shot of JD. If I drink one more I might actually believe your story. Good try dude keep em coming.

[surferman]

Hey true or false I was leaning toward believing it. Its very cold out and you would think the only bass are at the power plants. Every once in a while you want something to be true. Nice job man if jig didn't speak up I might have fallen for it. You should write stories because that one was definitely entertaining. In your reports you are like that too. You bring an enthusiasm to them that I enjoy reading.

[DarkSkies]

Sorry dark someone had to say it! I do miss your threads and rants though hope you are OK.

BTW has anyone talked to him lately? He has been strangely absent. Did he take a fishing cruise to Australia or something? We miss you DS!

5000 word posts? Word in edgewise? Haven't you all noticed many of my posts are now down to 500 words or less? ....Someone once claimed I got paid by the word....if that were true I could have retired by now....
Fishing cruise? Not much time or funds for that at this point in my life, but it was a cool thought....maybe one day I can.....
Thanks for the kind words.
I'm saving my rants and energies for the fisheries management meetings, folks. Working on some access issues behind the scenes with some other groups who are committed to getting things done . I've learned that the real work gets done by people willing to show up, push for change, and work together to make a difference.

Other than that, I've barely had time to keep the spammers and lurkers off the site. That takes up a bit of time. You all may have noticed spammers never seem to get through to post any more. That's no accident, takes work on my part. I don't know why this site has become so popular with spammers, but thanks to them our numbers are rising.

After that and a full plate in my real life, there's not much left in the tank at the end of the 18 hour days for me.
I thank you all for behaving yourselves.

And the creativity seems to be on the rise too.
Keep up the good work, people. It's appreciated. Whatever it takes to get through the Winter doldrums, use your best judgement. Carry on........Hoping for better prospects for us.....May God shine some mercy down on those of us who need it most.......

[finchaser]

Very nice Cowherder enjoyed the read as you didn't use 5000 words with meaning less info putting me to

[DarkSkies]

^ It's the OGB, in rare form as usual.....

Older than Methuselah,
And saltier and crustier than the Great Salt lake.....

It seems that somehow, my rants were missed.....
Go figure....

How ya been, ol grouchy?

[fishinmission78]

Great story enjoyed it. You should write for on the water lol. thanks

[cowherder]

Thank you fellas! I figured you could use something to lift your spirits up! DS you know I was just kidding. The place isn't the same without you thats all I wanted to say. I used to love those clashes between you and finchaser they were epic!

[finchaser]

I wasn't kidding

[VSdreams]

Doing my part to contribute to this thread. Feeding frenzy on bread crumbs

[wish4fish]

its too cold for the bass they wont chew in cold water like that. sum bass r always following herring and bunker around so it was a good story good job man

[hookset]

Funny stuff CH. Enjoyed it, good read.

[baitstealer]

Awesome story dude. And no powerplant was mentioned. keep em coming!

[jigfreak]

Some Island Beach blitzing action I found on youtube. Pretty cool footage.

[plugcrazy]

That was wild. Here is part 1 of that guy's 2 videos. Lots of peanuts on the beach.

[albiealert]

Never saw blitzes like that. Maybe I have to drive to NJ next fall. Thanks for sharing. It really gets the excitement going to watch the activity.

[fishgutz]

We have them in the canal at specific times in the spring and the fall. Mostly herring, squid, mackerel and baby pollock though. Thank you for sharing though the go pro video was real clear.