If you are lucky enough like I am to live a good golf ball drives away from the beach then you should be out scouting your favorite salty waters. Although the winter was long and drawn out, spring has started and one day the fish will just show up.
As the water temperatures raise and the bait, bass and blues make their annual move don't get caught off guard and not ready. If you haven't gone through your gear, get going. Start looking at the tide and moon charts and plan your strategy. Take a drive down to the beach and note the changes man and Mother Nature have and continue to make along the Jersey Shore.
In the above pic I was down there just as the tide started to ebb. Where would you fish? Where is the water holding? Where is the structure? All of this sand that has been pumped up onto the beach has started to get pulled back into the ocean. It settles off the beach and travels with the currents in a northerly fashion. The changes in beach structure are staggering.
The rivers and back bays have started to warm. The USGS gauges are now running above 40's, some days near 50. These areas haven't changed as drastically as things have out front, so there it's more waiting for the temperatures and fish to arrive than keeping up with all the physical changes.
Fishing is more than just wetting a line and catching a fish.....you have to start thinking like a fish. So put your time in and get down to the water and get your striped bass thinking cap on.