On my third cast I went tight. It was a good fighting fish, but it felt different. I had worked the plan I had made in my head and reflected on deep in the unconsciousness of my sleep. Two-handed rod, popper and big bunker fly offering, tip of the groin, first light, and big bass patrolling the tip.
I had to make my way back to the beach and while looking down and keeping the rod tight while I walked I saw, to my horror, what it was, one pissed off and strong big bluefish. I had predicted that may happen on yesterdays post, and, I guess be careful what you fear. Oh, my fly I thought. But
somehow someone upstairs was on my side because while it was chomped down hard on it I was able to get it out without donating too much material and released it. Back out on the tip I made the same cast
had another slashing strike, same story. I laid off it for a bit enjoying the sunrise thinking the blues may move along and waited for the bass to show up. I went back at it and had a sweet bassy swirl behind
the tandem set-up without committing. By then the fleet off boats had set up just north of the Shark River Inlet. (One thing I can say is I can't remember ever seeing that many boats stacked up near the Shark River and Manasquan Inlets. I heard it was the same over off Rockaway and Long Beaches in New York.) I had stuck to my plan but questioned if I should pick up and go. What if they had bass on the beach? But I stuck to my guns and continue to cast and retrieve. The boats started to move north and
and I thought perfect, I'll just be right here when the bait and bass show up. Well, wishful thinking. Soon the boats started to peel off and head north. They stopped on the bunker pods in front of me but really zoned in on a town above me. It was truly a boat hatch and the sounds of the horns blaring from the party boats came after several minutes of drop and see fishing. The boats were on the move in and out, up and down, and some on the gas heading south. I took a walk and headed north on the beach and found the boats in tight. It's funny, we wish we were out a bit and they push in to be on the beach.
I decided to do what we do in what we call fall run striped bass fishing. Fish for a bit, look around, get the vibe and either stick or split, and do more looking and moving than actually fishing. It wasn't a a long drive down to where the boats were stacked up.
I talked to some other anglers who worked their plan and fished this spot, nothing doing except one guy caught a short bass. From the looks of it most of the boats were on bait. I did see the net get dropped down on a party boat while I was on the groin tip.
As I turned to leave I heard the Queen Mary hit the horn and turn and motor south. Once up on top I turned and paused just to make sure nothing had happened while I had my back to the water as I walked
off. For me it was time for breakfast and my spot has been Bagel Talk in Neptune. I can't rave enough about it because after four hours of fishing each morning that egg and cheese on an everything bagel
scooped out and toasted goes down with ice cold milk like I can't even tell you how good it is. On my way south into Ocean County I stopped by Tom Lynch's Angry Fish Gallery but I was there before he
opened the shop. I made my first stop just south of the Manasquan Inlet. There was the same boat hatch below the Mansquan Inlet as there was up in Monmouth County. That can't be fun.
There was a guy all geared up and he told me he'd been there for about an hour. When he first pulled up and came over the dune he had bass blowing up, "You could have had them on that fly rod", but he hadn't geared up yet. By the time
he got back it was over. And that's fall run striped bass fishing, at least when the big fish are stiffing on the bunker pods which run north to south a few hundred yards off the beach. Every now and then, if you're lucky and happen to be there, they push that bunker up on the beach. I decided to suit up and walk the beach just hoping they would do it again. One my way south I was approached by a guy, a kinda strange guy, who wanted to show me a bass "that I'm thinking of taking home". Well it was a
fine fish, was that is. My first thought was "Dude, what are you talking about?" as this fish had been dead for a day or so. The fish measured in at 48 inches, which puts it about 45-50 pounds. These are the
fish we talk about when we talk of F, which is fishing mortality. You see that 9% recreational fishing mortality can be true especially when anglers don't know how to properly catch, photo and release. And, while I'm all about beach fishing, the boats really are doing a number on these fish. Just look at some of the bass on the deck, being vertically held, and reeled in from the deep or way behind the boat. No good
The wind started to come out of the south with a little gusto and I had a feeling it wasn't going to happen. Now that's not to say it didn't somewhere along the Jersey Shore, and maybe even at places where I stopped, but it just felt like the day was over. So it was a stop in Brick where I saw the
Queen Mary was still working the beaches now in Ocean County. They traveled some miles today trying to get their fares on fish. I checked their report from today and it seems like they had them good out right out of the gate and by the time they got me to, both in Monmouth and Ocean County it had
slowed down. But, one thing it tells me, is that this time of year, if you want to be on big fish, with any consistency, you have to jump on a boat. One thing I saw from the Queen Mary was a lot of kerplunks as the bunkers hitting the water after the Captain pulled up and hit the starting-gun horn.
Before I called it quits I headed to Seaside Park just in case and found it quiet. It was a nice day on the beach before the south wind picked up and plenty of people were out enjoying the weather. There wasn't as many beach bound anglers in Ocean County as there was up north. Maybe they come out for the evening bite, or evening watch and wait.
I had an appointment down in Lacey meeting up with a super nice guy who purchased the radar off my Jones. It'll help because I can flip that money back into it and hopefully be ready to get out a few times next month. It's really on my 2023 bucket list.
As I made my way to Lacey I came across the Shady Rest and stopped for a bite and beer. Like the earlier bagel, the fried fish sandwich and a Guinness hit the spot just when I needed it to. While enjoying lunch Bob's old videos were on a continuous loop. What was interesting was watching his video of a bluefish blitz on IBSP. And that is how my day went full circle, bluefish at first light in Monmouth County and bluefish on the big screen in Ocean County.
