12.15.21 Spent the night swimming with the (bait) fishes.....

                                  

 

     So, yes, I called it. Done. Finished. However, a few things changed my mind getting me to take the hour and 10 minute drive east and north. 52 degree air and 49 degree water temperatures, and solid reports of fish, a lot of fish, in the area. Boat guys, several, reporting 100+ fish day yesterday, a large percentage of them keeper sized. Now, I know boat fish don't count, but they are an indicator that they "are still here" and maybe they just might come out of the deeper channels and feed. So after a hard days work why not. 

     So there's no chance of wondering where I was, I went to Perth Amboy. No spot burn guys. I could have went to Belford, Sandy Hook, Sea Bright, Long Branch, Deal, Manasquan River, ect. If you read here then you are in the know. Now you may not know that one little alley that leads to a spot for one, but you know the general area, or at least you should. 

     Started the night blind casting a popper. There was no wind, it was 1-1/2 hours into the ebb tide, and the water was flat. If there was any action anywhere in the water column you would have seen it. So I went with the popper hoping to raise something, nada. Then I went to a Ugly Ass Fly, then had a Snake Fly tied off the back before making the move. Surprisingly I was the only guy out, until I moved. 

     This was the most anglers I have seen out fishing all fall. Spread out, doing there thing, plenty of room to walk and cast. So again, no sign of subsurface activity, or anything on top. Not a swirl, blow up, sound. Well the only sound was the sound of the rod-tip bells going off when guys got a bite or reeled in a fish or to change out their baits. And the yells of a pair of kayakers fishing the deeper channels after they hooked up, once I heard, "Thats a good fish". 

     As I walked the beach I found many bunker, not peanuts and not jumbos, but the 6-9 inch variety. Funny how you go from peanuts to bigger bunker in a few weeks time. As I walked I would stop and try and talk to some guys, but the language barrier for almost all prevented easy conversation. Two guys let me take a picture of a pair of keepers they had just caught on what looked like tape worms, long ones. 

     I saw five fish caught, all keepers, four on bait and one on a shad, the last released back into the water. So as the tide dropped I found myself walking away from the pack and onto a shallow flat which took me way out past the fishing piers. As I walked and blind casted I looked and saw what I thought was bait swimming around me. I took off my flashlight and readied my camera and when I turned it on I 

saw tons of bunker swimming untouched in the shallow water. So then I thought well maybe the big fish are patrolling the outer portion off the flat, and surely you would see some sign of predation, but that never happened. 

     I took a long walk west and then back, and then north, looking for signs of life with about an hour left in the outgoing. I was tempted to stay for the incoming but I was happy for what I learned and what I saw. There is so much more to learn about these fish and their habits and migration. It's not just the crashing of the fish that I like, sometimes its just finding them and putting their puzzle together.

     While I haven't been able to get in on the crazy bite in the bays and rivers this fall due to my boat issues I have been watching, and learning, and will offer my thoughts, which some people may already know, in and upcoming post. 

12.13.21 Closing another chapter.....

 

     Selling my 1995 GMC Yukon Denali, $5,000, in order to get boat fixed....you can see the listing HERE

12.07.21 Nice last outing of the year for me, I'm really done...

      While on the beach early this Am I heard the fat lady in my ear.....'It's over for you bud". And she is right. I would never suggest that anyone not fish, but for me, I think its over. With the boat down and who know what the future holds there, and being left to fishing the beach, I'm not seeing it. Yes, the Raritan Bay and waters that branch off it are still giving up fish, fish that most likely won';t be heading to Virginia this winter. They will stay and eat and stay low or go north to deeper holds. I'm not feeling a solid sand eel bite nor herring, well they may come, doubt it,. but there just won't be fish there to meet them. soon the micros will move in, maybe, and satiate the hardcore anglers braving the cold. And cold, the water felt cold to me today, like mid to high 40's. Surf forecast says its 51, with a possible range of 49-53. 

     So it was Leif and I hitting IBSP for my last go. Started at Betty and Nicks for breakfast which hit the spot. A little chat John next door and we came to the same conclusion....is it the bunker that has changed this fishery? And not all for the better? More on that later. 

     We made our way into the park and onto the sand heading for the inlet. West honking wind, with no protection, made it feel like 28 degrees. We watched and listened to some nice Christmas music and then were rooting for the guy who made his way out to the end of the jetty where the only birds in the area were, hovering over the rip. When he came back he said there was nothing under them, just birds being birds. 

     I predicted one fish between us and Leif delivered when his UAF was hit in the corner pocket inside the jetty. We stayed for a bit watching from the truck before it went a little sideways, a little pause, 

a little deep, and then stuck. Luckily I brought all the stuff you are supposed to bring. I was aired down to 18, but let some more out and a combination of shoveling, and jacking, and a little extra lumber from another guy and we were free. 

     We went on the look out for life but found none so we looked for fishy watering found that. Left to right sweep was in effect, but if you positioned yourself right it sometimes helped rather than hurt. 

     The wind kicked down a notch and the sun came out which made for a nice day, just no fish home. Its amazing how it cleared out in a day. Last Monday following Thanksgiving, fish all over the place. I went Tuesday, dead, and pretty much dead ever since. There's been fish caught up at the Hook, and here and there points going south, but the good bight now is south of AC and in Brigantine. 

      We started the day at B7T's and ended not there. A couplee of BLT's and the ending of a good effort, and for me a good year. Done, finished, caput. I'll be counting down the days to pitchers and catchers, no really, the opening of the Raritan Bay and Delaware River March 1st, when the hunt continues. 

12.05.21 End of the season is approaching if not here....

     Thought the above thing was funny so I wanted to share. Fat lady is definitely warming up, but it depends who you talk to. Boat guys still finding them, beach guys find them and very quickly a few are caught and they are gone. Hearing about some sand eels but I haven't seen them. The fish that re being caught, 20-26" are fat, not like football fat, but eating. 

     This morning the above memory popped up on Facebook, you can see that post HERE. It was from 10 years ago and I had fished ISBP. It was the year of legendary fishing, sand eels in and so were the guys in stupid numbers, so many they closed the park. I enjoy fishing IBSP from time to time and really enjoy driving the beach. I hope to do that again before the year end is up. Quit #2 is coming real soon, and this one may stick. 

     And just for fun yesterday between drying coats of paint on my house I ran down to the Delaware to see if I could tempt up a fish trying to get one last meal in before retreating to deeper and warmer waters. Seagulls were all perched on top of the bridge, no sign of sand eels up here, but it made me think about March and April, when the migratory fish move in, males chasing females, big females chasing shad and herring. Can't wait till next spring. 

 

12.03.21 Maybe a few weeks late here...

     I know, I'm probably 2-3 weeks late back here, but it was a good trip. Been awhile since I've been the area the original Lenape Indians named "Ompoge", which means "level ground". I got up there just before the flip of the tide, saw some bait, some birds hanging and awaiting some action, and a few boats near the confluence of the Arthur Kill and the "start" of the Raritan River. Its funny, and I think about

this alot and shoot the shit with Leif, why are we so creatures of habit that we have to fish the same spots most of the time. Yes, time constraints do play in, but there are so many fishy spots in New Jersey that produce consistently, this area being one of them. It was a hot few weeks back here as the bass were

chowing down on peanut bunker, but with the migration and the season change with dropping temperatures things have slowed down. Those fish are either making their move south, heading up the Hudson to West Point, or hunkering down for a long winters nap in the very, very deep channels around the New York and Raritan Bays. 

     I tried a few spots and luckily with the ebb tide and west wind the waters edge were safe with a pair of Boggs rubber slip ons. I saw a few boats do the scout thing around the NJ Transit bridge but they came and quickly left as they mustn't have marked anything. 

     Like they say, "You don't know unless you go" and I am glad I took the one-hour each way drive to see. 

 

12.02.21 The Three Amigos got busted.....

     Poaching. A problem. Happens all over the world, and New Jersey isn't an exception. From the banks of the Hackensack to the Raritan to the Delaware to the Manasquan to the Great Bay, if there is an opportunity to catch and keep fish people will do it, some even if it is illegal. 

     Striped bass are a valuable commodity, always has been, that is why there is a commercial fishery in most states, not New Jersey, and anglers, from gill netters, to seiners, to hook and liners, catch and sell striped bass. In Jeff Nicole book, Caught, he talks about how guys would catch fish on Long Island and drive them to the back door of restaurants in New York to sell them illegally. 

     Poaching is also popular for the thief that wants to take home fish for dinner. That goes for the lone angler looking left and right stuffing a 17-3/4 inch fluke into his backpack in July, see more HERE, the charter captain fishing over the three mile line keeping fish, or the Three Amigos listed in this realize from the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife. 

     Feliciano, Rivas, and Rodriquez, drove 125 miles one way, over 2 hours, on a hot August night with the intent to catch and keep and haul back to Allentown and Bethlehem PA as many striped bass as they could catch and stuff into coolers and plastic bags. And this wasn't the first time for Rivas, he did this in 2015. 

     During this haul the officers got three bad guys and 46 undersized striped bass. If you are in the know of the Manasquan River then you know about where and how many fish school up in the mid to late summer to chow on the white bait that is growing in what is like a nursery in the Barnegat Bay and Manasquan Rivers. Its not easy access and fishing, but outings can be productive on the right time and tide, usually in the dark when the boat traffic is less and the bass aren't worried about getting a propellor driven over their heads. 

     These fellas paid fines of $2,512, $2.012, and only $3,012 for the repeat offender Rivas. I won't get into anything political, but I find it funny that when you apply for a fishing license or permit in the State of New Jersey they ask if you are in good standing and have to complete the Child Support Certification. If you are not, you breaking the law, and cannot have the privilege of hunting and fishing. But if you are arrested, charged, and convicted of a crime against wildlife they don't ask or investigate if you may be in violation of any other laws in this state or country....I don't get it. 

     And in keeping with my new favorite hobby, I went online and purchased my 2022 Bech Buggy Pass for IBSP. I was going to go down there for first light this morning, leave at 0330 and be back at 10 am, but after looking at the S/SW wind and just talking myself out of it I decided to stay home. I hope the anglers that went were rewarded. They say there's a ton of bass arriving in Raritan Bay or the ones that are there are moving out, not really along the beaches in good numbers, but the boats are finding them chewing on top out a ways....sand eels? I think so. Head boats suing Ava's to jig up fish usally means its sand eel time, and it is. 

     As far as the IBSp bit, it lasted, it ended, and the fish have moved sauté to now LBI and points south like Atlantic City. We'll see what happens, its gonna be a few warm days with the southish wind before it goes W/NW over the weekend into next week, with good AM tides.