I don't mean to be a Danny-downer but here it goes. "Ah, the sand eels are here". But are they really? Just in time for the first push of big migratory striped bass we have sand eels on the table. Sand eels? In October? Oh, that's not good. At least for the shore based fly rodders.
Sand eels, or sand lances, are baits that we love to see. Either the clouds of tiny ones in June on Martha's Vineyard or on Block Island or the larger ones we see late in the fall and early winter along the Jersey Shore. Perfect striped bass snacks that are easy to replicate with flies and easily thrown with the fly rod. Again, forget the boats. Drive around, look for birds,
find bass on top, or take a peak at the screen to find them deep with bass in and around them. But standing on the beach in October waiting for them to be pushed in? Good luck with that.
These days there are bunker around. Adults out front and peanuts in the back. The Raritan Bay has bunker, and bass, on them along the Jersey and New York sides. At times the bunker are being sprayed out of the water which can make locating bass that much easier. But those are bunker, and the push out front hasn't began yet. And we'll see when and where they begin their beach-hugging migration south.
Take a quick peak at your favorite social media platform these days and the plethora of photos of 30, 40, and 50 inch striped bass is easy to find. There's a good mix of fish out
there now and it can be easy pickens for the Captain and crew when they find them. The only problem is, and you'll definitely see it this weekend, is the boat hatch that will occur and surely make finding them unbothered difficult. But let's go back to the beach.
Sand eels are burrowers. They spend most of their time vertically in the sand but do travel in clouds from place top place. Striped bass can either catch up with them in transit, or root them out from the sand. When the sand eels are on the beach it can bring in the bass and bring out the fishermen. We saw this in 2011 in ISBP. That's more of a later thing, these early sand eels stay off, way out of range of the Ava's with teaser throwing spin fishermen, and for the fly rodder....well forget it.
When it gets cold, and late, we find the push of "normal" sized striped bass travel down the beach chasing white bait, peanut bunker, and sand eels. That's when those football shaped 30 inch fish bring out the kid in all of us. But that's not happening now, or at least not yet.
In 2011, and other good sand eel years, they stayed for weeks. And then either they move, or the bass continue on their journey south and we are left waiting for that next push of fish, or a new bait to move, drawing bass into the beach. But remember, the beaches and the structure on the beaches has changed. There's no ecosystem there anymore. The sand, or whatever you call it, was taken from deep donor sites offshore and pumped onto the beach, and not every swimming critter likes to call that home. That's why in the fall everything is on the move. Three days ago it was lights out boat fishing, yesterday it was a grind.
So what to do? Well, go fish. But if you're thinking you're going to do that long walk to the False Hook or to the end of the North Jetty and find big bass rolling on sand eels within 500 feet of the beach? Well, I don't think so. Will a guy with an 11 foot rod throwing metal or a needle with a teaser attached catch a 40 inch fish? Yes, they will. But if you plan on throwing your favorite sand eel pattern within 30 feet of where your wader boots have sunk into the beach scarp, be prepared to be disappointed.
Yes, the sand eels are here. They are out in 30-50 feet of water mostly hugging the bottom until they're attacked from below and pushed to the top where the bass and birds have them trapped. If you carry binoculars, which you should in the fall, you'll be able to see it unfold 2,500 feet off the beach. Maybe you'll hook up with one of the small resident bass that have awoken from their summer hibernation or catch a migratory straggler that ventured into the shallow water. But, I'm just sayen', don't get your hopes up.
If you want a shot at the sand eel bite, and not following the boat guys who fish during the day, hit the beach at night or at first light. That's when I feel I have the best chance. Now in 2011 the bite lasted way into the middle of the day, but again, that was late fall, when we had good beach structure, and plenty of bass around, that stayed around.
This push of the first big fish will be a here and gone. Last year there was a reported "Savage" sand eel bite going on, like this one, and Leif and I went out on October 27th,
HERE, to get into them. Same story as this year. Sand eels way off the beach and not a tap off the sand. See you out there at some point.
