11.18.14 "Be forewarned"......

.......striper fishing as you know it might just be over. Just my opinion, but I really have to wonder. Looking back at falls past, and even the rest of this year, things are definitely different. Blame the reduction in bass numbers, a change in migration patterns, a change in bait migrations and timing, beach replenishment, or just cyclical events that keep us guessing each spring and fall.

                              

     Today I was up and out before first light. Kind of blistery conditions on the beach with temps just about 30 degrees, even lower with the wind that was blowing over 25. No signs of birds, bait or bass which has become the early morning norm. Again, these are my results as there are anglers out there picking a bass here and there along the Jersey Shore.....but this isn't normal.

     Outside of bass on bunker during the spring it was a poor season. Summer was non-existant as far as early morning "popping" of resident bass along the beaches. The fall has been a disappointment, outside of a few days to a week of bass blitzing on bunker. What was interesting was that some of those beach blitzes had bass chasing butterfish and spike weakfish.....rather than a strong showing of peanut bunker.
     This early summer Marthas Vineyard was slow. Montauk this fall was great if you are an albie angler outside of a late but short flurry of bass in early October. On the Jersey Shore we had a slow mullet run that was squashed by a few nor'easters that disrupted that action.

Now.....we wait and hope for sand eels......

There is always a panic when the fishing goes dead. Will the bass pass us by? Will the bait show up? And one of the most important things, for surf fly rodders, is having bait that that holds bass within our range. The bunker and other bait fish are on the move. Sometimes they travel near the beaches while other times they get pushed in by the bass and the blues. Just because, if and when, the sand eels arrive, there's guarantee it will make for a good sand eel bite.

IBSP Fall 2011

     I think back to Island Beach State Park in fall 2011. It was, well, cliche, but "epic". The sand eels and the bass were they for a solid week to two weeks. The surfcasters and the boat guys had the best fishing, and taking, ever. It was good for the flyrodder, but a lot of times, depending on the tides and surf, it was mostly a spin-throwing-metal over the sand bar time fishery. Even this time last year,

IBSP November 19 2013

exactly to the day, there was a steady sand eel bite going on down south. You can read that blog post HERE. But this is a different year.....and we are either behind schedule or it just may be one of those "things" that happens and we won't have them around.

                   But not to be a danny downer....it is still early and there is still hope.

     I checked into Stripers Online and saw a thread discussing "interaction" between boats and surfcasters. Since I was talking about IBSP I wanted to share this photo that was posted, I can't give credit to the image maker because it has been shared around so much. I guess desperate times call for desperate measures and the party boats have been nearly beaching themselves to get on the fish.

     As far as "hope" and the rest of the fall season is concerned. There are still bass in the bays and the rivers. I got a call from a friend last week who is an Ironworker working on a north Jersey bridge that spans an urban river. He said there was an all out blitz of bass on peanut bunker that lasted for hours. Another friend who guides had a steady bite of bass on flys and spin tackle "in the back" so maybe on the next moon we'll see a late bait run out front, hopefully followed by the bass, if they aren't planning to go up into the Hudson for the winter.

In the meantime.....you have to hold onto hope, and just fish. Looks like temps will be back up into the 60's next week, which will at least be easier on the fingers in this 30 degree weather.

11.15.14 I wondered where everyone was today....

     Started out this morning at dawn on patrol for signs of bait or bass. I was surprised to find the beaches and empty outside of the usual faces I see each morning.
     Today I saw the above picture posted on Facebook taken by my friend at Island Beach State Park. Yes, there's a better bite going on down there, and the word is out. Its the Berkely Striper Club's annual Catch and Release Tournament so the crowds at the park were extra heavy. There's bunker down there and more bass than up here so the crowds were plenty. I wonder how the guy at the right of the frame made out fishing 30 feet behind the line at the waters edge.

     On a different front as I was leaving the beach I noticed a trophy buck in a yard a block from the beach. He was a ways off and I made an image with my iPhone to send to my brother who is out as much as possible in the deep woods looking for a big buck. Well this chap is a keeper as I stopped counting his points at 12. There's always deer around here with all the large parks and golf courses to call home- but this beast is the biggest I've seen in the backyards to date.

11.14.14 Lots of driving up and down and waiting and watching......

     Drive, stop, and look.....drive, stop, and look, and drive, stop, and look. Looked like the dead sea out there at first light, and early afternoon, and then a ton of life way off the beach as a plethora of birds were tight and on the move.....thinking it might have been bluefish chewing through bait making lots of pieces easy pickings for the birds. Chilly this morning but later in the day was nice as it warmed up a bit and the wind kicked it down a notch.

11.13.14 "Out in the Cold Rain and Snow....."

                         

     Gave it a go just as the "Polar Vortex" brought the low temps and some nasty weather. Couldn't but help to think of the Grateful Dead song "Cold Rain and Snow" as I jumped from beach to groin in a few towns. Had the incoming tide and good looking water but found no takers on a black Kinky Muddler. I did meet up with a guy that caught three shorts on a black Bomber, so maybe the offerings have to be on the bigger side and sent out a ways from the shore. I wonder how this front will effect things....hopefully soon all that bait out back will make its way out front and along the beach.

11.11-12.14 Nice to be "off the grid" for a few days.....

Lackawanna River brown trout

     Love the Jersey Shore in the heat of striper fishing but its also nice to step away for a few days. Really I only lost a day as I fished Monday, had off yesterday, and today's pea soup fog in the New York Bight area had most boats on stand by. Hope to get back to the beach in the morning.
     The Scranton area has always held a special place for me. About 17 years ago we purchased a vacation home in a place called Big Bass Lake. It was a perfect get-a-way place. Not too far nor too close and the gated community was safe and secure between visits. It had a few lakes loaded with fish for the kids, outdoor and an indoor pool, ski and tubing slope and all the nature a kid could want to catch or see. During those times I discovered and came to love the Lackawanna River near Scranton, Pennsylvania. I would get up early and travel there to fish while we were on vacation. Always trying to leave so I would be there when the kids woke up, but that didn't always happen. At times my oldest son Ryan would make the trip with me and the below pic is one of my all time favorites.

Ryan and I, about 2002

     I love returning to that area and making the ride out on Route 80 and then north on Route 380 always brings back great memories. As with anything its amazing how much things appear to always change. Scranton has changed too. I remember when Lackawanna Ave was filled with vacant buildings big and small just before the mall and Steamtown. The Lackawanna Station is still there and one of my favorite restaurants, Carmen's, still operates in the once bustling waiting area.
     I usually jump right on Route 6 heading to Olyphant, Jessup, or Archbald anxious to see if the brown trout are hungry but I enjoy taking the city route and driving through downtown and the University of Scranton before taking Main Street which parallels the river.
     A stop for me is always Cousins Convenient Mart for food and gas before making the walk on the Lackawanna Heritage Trail along the river. I am amazed how much development has occurred around the river. When I first started going there the river was kind of second class and the houses on it depressed. My favorite access points on High Street are still there, but only if you know them and act respectfully in traversing them.
   
As an angler I love having and fishing "home waters" and enjoy finding new and great places to fish. And although life brings plenty of changes along the way and places we used to frequent become less familiar, it is nice to return and be filled with great memories of good times from the past.

11.10.14 Nothing showing out there this morning.....

     Nothing out there for me this morning as I got out before first light and worked a sand eel and Kinky Muddler fly up and down a single groin and the beach. Took a high perch to see if I could find any bait or signs of a bass but there was none.
      Gonna be off the grid till Wednesday just in time for the Polar Vortex to drop the air temps down into the twenties. Hopefully it will only last a few days so I can feel my fingers as I retrieve my fly.

11.09.14 Nice to see some visiting blog readers hook up....

      I got a call on Friday from blog reader Graham looking for a little "encouragement" for his planned striper fishing this weekend. Graham and his brother Evan were hitting the Jersey salt for the first time this year, the second time they have saltwater fly fished. They are orignally from Kansas and Evan was visiting his brother who is attending graduate school in Pennsylvania.
     I told him what I had been experiencing lately and pointed him to a few locations that may serve them well. Between them one fish was caught and by the look on Evan's face one was all that was needed.
     I'm seeing smaller baits around and tonight I fished and snagged spearing that was in the pockets. No fish for me but it getting that fishy feeling again and I think soon we will have a solid sand eel bite, mostly occurring during the night and before first light.

11.08.14 Lake fishing out there this morning.....

                      

     If a striped bass, or even a bait fish, so much as farted in the water this morning you could have seen it a mile away. Started out before first light just to see if my call of starting later yesterday was a bad move. Didn't see any bait or bass as first light arrived and the only thing I did see was guys perched up and down the groin tips casting plugs without a tap. Heard late last night a few good fish were caught for those anglers braving the 30 degree air temps. It was definitely late fall like weather out there this morning as the temps were in the low 30's which was a change from the nice toasty warm bed I left hoping to find a fish.

11.07.14 Nice and long but slow day out with Christina....

     Had Christina out for a long day of striper hunting and fishing. Started out after first light on the start of the outgoing tide. I wanted to start after the big moon water subsided a bit but in the end I don't even any plan would have worked. We put a lot of miles on the truck and on our feet looking for signs of bait and bass.
     This is the second time we have fished and the next time we WILL get into some fish but the groundwork has been laid, all we need now is some hungry fish. In between our search we had a nice lunch at Brennan's and a coffee break at DD's. In the end we found her favorite spot down south and were able to creep out to the end of the sand bar and fish fishy water as an occasional gannet would dive off the bar.
     Last week we had a lot, a mean a lot, of fish pass through the Jersey Shore and now we need more fish to pass and the sand eels to show to keep the fish around and within a fly rods reach.

                                

11.06.14 Had a great new fly fisher out today......

     For those of you that remember the stories from this blog I'm sure you'll remember when I met Zachary last year. Zach and his Dad were out fishing in Asbury Park almost a year to the day and under similar conditions. I watched as Zach caught and released a monster fish, much to the chagrin of the "harvesters" that were on the groin that morning. You can read the whole story HERE.
   

     I told Zach and his Dad that if he ever wanted to take up fly fishing then the first lesson was one me since I was so impressed that he released that big bass. Well today I had 15 year old Zach out in crummy conditions for his introduction to fly fishing. We went through the basics and jumped into the surf and then on the rocks throwing small and big flies with intermediate and sinking line set ups. It's really fun watching new fly rodders start and be engaged and ask questions along the way.

     Zach has started tying already and we are already making plans for additional outings. Hopefully we'll see some consistent bass fishing and not this bass-on-bunker, or other baits, blitz fishing that we've been seeing along the Jersey Shore.



                            

11.05.14 A tale of two sides......

     Got out this morning hoping for the best. Real fishy looking water with nice wave action and sweep
on the south sides of the groin. A strong sweep isn't always bad if you know how to fish it. It's kind of like casting upstream and letting you fly get down to where the fish are. Only problem for me today the fish weren't there.
     With a south wide anglers like to cast with the wind at their backs, but that's not always the fishiest water. A 50 foot cast to the north side might appear appealing, but your 20 foot cast directly into the wind and into the slop may be more productive.
     You have to think like a bass, and not like a fly fishing casting master.

11.04.14 Back to snag and drop fishing, at least where I was......

     Love that we are back to light early in the morning. Headed out before sunrise and found conditions as I left them yesterday. Flat calm seas with no signs of fish. Unlike yesterday the beat I was on had pods of bunker passing in front, albeit far off, the groin tips.
     I joined two spin guys who were anticipating a bunker pod to get within range to tempt up a bass on their topwater plugs. The boat traffic was light but one solo boat did see what we saw and they set up perfectly ahead of a nervous pod. We watched as they snagged and dropped and soon the gaff was readied and three bass came over the gunnel.
     I fished near the beach end back to fishing structure and moving water. I still threw a bunker fly but will make the switch today downsizing to a more peanut bunkery or sand eel pattern. But, I will keep that go to fly close by if I need it.

11.03.14 Boorriinnggg........(Boring)

     Afternoon. Just before slack high. Pretty boring out there.

11.02.14 Good day if you're a surfer, not a fly rodder....

     Post blow, well kind of on the end of the blow, things were looking kind of Yoo-Hoo-ish out front. Swells had the surfers happy although I got the sense that wave action wasn't exact;y what they were looking for.
     Heard from some friends who toughed it out that the sand eels are in in big numbers. Guys throwing metal were snagging them on almost every cast. Hope that a couple of tides will clear things up a bit.
   

11.01.14 What a difference a day makes......

     Really cranking out thee today. Big difference from yesterday. Have to say I am kind of glad, with the fish hitting the beach on a Saturday after the word is out would mean a ton of dead bass. I gave it a go picking pockets but nothing to show for it. Saw a few guys huddled up throwing bucktails landing a few small bass. It might take a day or so for this to clear out, tomorrow the surfers will be in their glory with big swells on the way.

     So if you're looking to "match the hatch", the stripers and blues were on butterfish and squid and small weakfish and or bunker. The picture below was taken by StormR pro-stafer Chris Buchta, who has probably caught 500 bass this fall in Jersey alone.

10.31.14 I will always remember Halloween 2014......

     Epic. Amazing. Any word you want to describe it would work. I finally had THAT day. The best day of striper fishing I have ever had. Halloween October 31 2014 will be a day I will remember for a very long time. 

                        

      I started out before light on the rocks. The wind had shifted NE and created lots of waves and whitewater. I fished fishy water without a bump. I left again a little dejected, but I had become used to it. I stopped by Asbury to see if anything was doing and it was more of the same. I ran into Judy who was standing with her kayak crew and I voiced my frustration with fishing for me as of late. I hadn't caught a bass since September 16th. It was getting old. 

     I decided to bite the bullet and head north to a place where the fishing has been real good. Lots of fish and lots of guys. They said the fish had been coming in and they were sometimes in the wash and within fly rod distance, so I went. Now this stretch isn't my favorite, long beaches without groins or breaks leaving sweeps left and right which are tough with the fly rod. 

     This mornings NE had the water moving left to right and as soon as I got to the beach I knew I didn't like it. Guys up and down hooked up, dead bass on the beach, and no rocks in sight. 

     A few guys I knew said the fish had just come through and were heading south so I picked up and went to the birds. I settled in and fished trying to get my fly over the waves breaking at the bar. The birds were over the bait, which was butterfish and small weaks and or bunker, and guy after guy hooked up. I got frustrated again, and soon left feeling that this just wasn't fly rodable or I just couldn't get it done. 

     As I traveled towards my house down Ocean Ave I called a friend Bob and let him know the fish were in the places I had visisted. He had been fishing there the last few days and had caught it when it was good. I made a left on a popular stop and pulled to the water.......and then it got good........

     I said, "Bob, how come I can never catch it when these fish are up on the beach?".......and then I looked up.......and said......"Bob, I don't care what you are doing, get here, there are fish blowing up in the pocket." Before I hung up I asked him to not call anyone, asking "Please just let me have this for a while." 

And I did.

     I was so excited I let a cast go from the top of the wall and retrieved in.....nothing.....second cast.....I saw the mid teen bass blow up on my fly, I was in, now I had to get down to the beach. 

From then on for about 45 minutes I landed bass to 20 pounds. It was surreal. There was one other guy on the other side of the groin in just about as much glory as I was. I continued as the bass chased

the bait practically onto the beach in the pocket. I think my longest cast over the next hour or so was 30 feet. The fish had the bait on the run and they went up and around the groin and back into the pockets on the other side, we just kept moving with them and hooking up, again, and again, and again. I lost as many as I landed, lost meaning good solid chases and turns or missed hook ups. I was in heaven.

     Word must have got out because guys started to show and dead bass started to hit the sand......I had my taste of heaven being all alone and now it was different. I decided to leave them biting to go find my own fish, again. I finally had a good case of bass thumb, one just like the spin angler sharpies have had for weeks......I was proud of my thumb. 

     In the end I landed 16 bass to 25 pounds (41 inches) and left there shaking before heading back to my home spot where I put one more back into the water. I have to thank Andrew Warshawer from Andrew's Custom Flies who sold me the fly I used today. I went out today with one rod and one fly and they served me well all day.

     Between all my stops and all the guys and I saw I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with how many fish went back into the water. Yes, there were bass taken, but I didn't see one person leave with two fish, and a lot of big ones went back. I will say, it is disturbing how many fish I have seen being caught and kept on the boats. I think the surf guys get the whole striped bass "problem" and are taking active steps to do their part to help save them. 

I hope to experience what I did today some day in the future, even if its in a year or two, it was that good. 

10.30.14 Quick trip out before heading back to even ground.....

     Had Steve out for a half a day trip. Started out with wind against tide and sloppy conditions looking for bunker and any signs of bass or blues. Drove around a bit before heading across the pond and settling in on tons, I mean tons, of birds working over a rip that had a mix of blues and schoolie bass mixed in. Worked it for a while before the slop and chop won out over Steve's stomach and legs.
     We called it an early day and hope to get out another time in slightly better conditions. It was a tough morning, not only for a first time saltwater fly rodder, but even for someone who enjoys fly fishing in a washing machine.

10.27.14 Hate the stand around and wait bunker blitz fishing......

     It feels like spring out there, and looks like it too, both on the water and on the beach. Tons of boats, tons of adult bunker, and tons of anglers out standing around and on cell phones.
   
And, like they say, 'If you can't beat them, join them."

     This morning I sat with some friends as we watched bunker pods passing north to south along the beach. Boats were out in full effect and we commented on each's tactic as they approached a pod, and cursed them when they cut off the bunker from the guys on the end of the groins.

     With a NW wind, flat seas, and gin clear water....its pretty much a wait and see kind of fishing opportunity, especially with the fly rod. There were three good fish caught, and released this morning, a 21, 25, and 29 pounder, all on snagged bunker. Kinda hard to compete with that throwing a Kinky Muddler on a fly rod.

     I made my way out to a groin when the crowds had dispersed waiting for the bait to move in and get caught up in a pocket but that never happened. Either way it was a beautiful day, even though my skunk continues, with my last bass caught was September 16th. That's over a month less the 9 days I was at Montauk, I'm ready to go tight real soon.

10.26.14 The first good push of bass has arrived......

     Got out this morning after sunrise and was surprised to see I was late for the party. Bunker for miles left to right, tons of boats right up on the groins, and anglers dotting just about every rock tip you could see.
     So there's life here now, actually it showed this week, with most catches coming for those taking the long walk up north. But today it started to spread down the Jersey Shore. Now, don't get your hopes up just yet if your a fly fisherman. Its mostly a large bunker bite with most snagging and livelining bunker for big bass, spring bass, 20-30 pounders. For me it was throwing flies near the bunker that was traveling into the rocks, but without a bite. I saw a few cocktail blues caught but no bass. A little north this morning a 35 pound fish was taken from the rocks on a snag-and-drop bunker.
     I looking forward to the smaller bait invasion which will pull the bass onto the beach. Also the west-northwest wind needs to swing around, and then things should get interesting.