TUESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2004

Well ummm, it looks like the frigid weather and the snow have run just about everyone off the beaches and off the water. The only thing I can report is that there are a few reports of frozen fishermen catching a few shorts and rat bass from both the surf and inshore. Yes I know that there are still schools of bait out there but no one has picked any decent bass from them. Right now at 4:15 AM the weather service reports that the official temperature is 12°F but feels like 2°F. The weather forecast for later in the week, Friday and Saturday is for temperatures as high as 59°F! Of course that includes rain showers! Sunday will be in the mid 40's but clear. IF the winds and tides are favorable for your spot and you don't mind some rain then I would say go fishing on New Years Day. If the wind direction is southerly or from the southwest stay home and watch the Rose Bowl parade.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2004 CHRISTMAS EVE

No one is fishing and no one is working. Fishing is just very slow although I'm sure that Santa will give someone a big bass over the weekend. It always happens every year! The weather is supposed to moderate next week and many of us will have several days off. Pick your day based on the weather forecast (wind direction) and hit the beach!
Merry Christmas

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2004

I only know of two crazy, I should rephrase that to dedicated, men who were out fishing yesterday. One was Captain Jim Freda who advises:

Despite the cold blustery winds and temperatures bass were still everywhere yesterday from Seaside south, no boats were out but the birds were thick as far as the eye could see. Those on the beach had plenty of small bass but nothing big, but so what, the rod was bending.

This isn't over by a long shot, with the warmer weather predicted for the next several days and the week after Christmas it looks like bass will be around but will the fishermen? Don't pack it up yet, some big fish may just show up again! Stay out there and catch some for me, I'm off to Florida with the family for some fun. Have a great and blessed Holiday season to all! Capt Jim

The other dedicated man was Bob Ragati, who hit Island Beach State Park.

As you can imagine,conditions were pretty brutal today. Went over about 10:30, wind NW about 25 mph, temp 10° degrees, wind chill -10° .Anyone out there today should have thier head examined....Err my appointment is at 3:00 PM.

Got on at Gillikens,and headed down to the inlet. Only saw one other idiot besides myself out there. Sand was frozen,and the water was shrouded in sea smoke,and brown as coffee. Not a lot of surf,but lots of white caps.There were some birds dipping into the surf near the bathing beach,so I did make 2 casts, and that was enough for me!

Not much going on till about 1/2 mile north of the inlet. Then the birds started to appear. There were a LOT of them, maybe 200 to 300 yards off, and they were activly working, but with the whitecaps and sea smoke, I couldnt tell if something was blitzing or just bait. They stayed that way all the way to the inlet and there were even more working at the mouth of the inlet. That leads me to think that it's not over just yet. If conditions moderate a little, I think there just might be one more push before they really head south. The birds were working the same way they were during the blitzes last week, though with the wind it made the flying diffcult for them I would imagine. Maybe those who havent hung it up yet will get another shot!

So is it over? Those reports are conflicting but I think the bass are still here and we will have more opportunities to bag some good sized bass in the coming weeks. Just look at this photo from Captain Jim Freda's Fishfinder from Saturday the 19th. Oh, by the way, they caught bass up to 33 poounds!

I do think we're going to see more fish being caught from the LBI surf and further south. For southern NJ and Delaware the real problem may be winter weather.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2004

"All Quiet on the Eastern Front" - The wind has shifted around to the east, the barometer is "Fair" at 30.34 and falling, the water is flat calm and clear as gin, the fishing has shut down! No blitzes so far today and doubtful they're going to happen. Fishing is very slow, frankly poor. Just had a telephone report off the beach, the birds are out hunting but going in circles! Give me a break though, I wrote here on Tuesday that a wind shift "...may shut things down...." One consolation is that with these fair conditions, sunny and temperatures in the low 40's one can at least feel comfortable while getting skunked!

Check out this weather forecast, looks good for the weekend but for sure Monday it will be great!

Friday. Partly cloudy in the morning. Mostly sunny in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 40s. West winds 15 to 20 mph.
Friday night. Mostly clear. Lows around 30. North winds 10 to 15 mph.
Saturday. Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 40s. East winds around 5 mph.
Saturday night. Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 30s.
Sunday. Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of rain. Highs in the mid 40s.
Sunday night. Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of rain. Lows in the mid 30s.
Monday. Mostly cloudy. A chance of rain and snow in the morning. Then a chance of snow in the afternoon. Windy with highs in the upper 30s. Chance of precipitation 50 percent.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT, 11:30PM DECEMBER 15, 2004

Comments from Captain Jim Freda:

"Well, I guess I spoke too soon about the beach in my last update as out of nowhere we had big bass appear on the beach on Monday and it has lasted for the last three days. Bass are mixed in larger sizes and the best right now are into the mid twenty pound range The action has been from Mantoloking (NJ) south with Island Beach really on fire, an early Christmas gift that we are all glad to have. Every winter we always talk about this happening in our seminars at the shows that we do and now it is! We don’t have to only think or dream about it. This is for right now a “December to Remember”. Outside it has been a bail'em kind of day-everyday-in the last three from the boats. Large bass chasing herring on top!!! Stay out there!!! "

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2004

I seem to recall a thread in the NJ Fishing Forum titled something like, "It's Over," which was actually quite interesting but dead wrong. SS/Insider Blitz Report issued this AM:

"Multiple Reports: Striped Bass into the +20 Lb size are blitzing on herring today along the beaches and close inshore from Island Beach State Park north into Brick. These fish are following schools so they are not stationary and all reports say the herring are moving from south to north. Wind is out of the NW at about 10 mph and the water is flat. You will probably not see bass busting the surface, but you will see them swirling right below the herring and of course birds are hovering over any schools. I'm told that the bass are hitting anything! Plugs, tins and flys. "Guesstimates" are that this could go one all day so if you can get out, do it! "

This is the second day in a row of really good fishing for good sized bass. The wind is forecasted to continue to blow out of the North West through Wednesday, shifting to the South West on Thursday. That may shut things down so take this opportunity. Yes it's cold out there and will be colder on Wednesday but the water temperature is warmer than the air and a "man's gotta do, what a man's gotta do" or some such bull.

Can you imagine what would happen if the herring work their way all the way north into the restricted waters off of Great Kills? Doubt that would happen but we would certainly see some epic fishing!

Bull is an apt description of any fishing reports you may be reading about Montauk. They are whacking quite a good number of good size bass each day and the boaters are doing extremely well. I can't give you a specific location at the Point but you need to be prepared to work the north and south sides as well. I thinks its pretty much "over" on the North Shore but the South Shore of Long Island is still doing well. The better areas are closer to NYC.

Overall, New Jersey is always the place to be bass fishing in December. That's a fact that been proven for years and years.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2004

Sorry but I can neither confirm or deny the Blitz being reported today (12:33 PM) by Betty and Nick's B&T at Philadelphia Avenue in Lavallette.

Here's a report and analysis from Captain Jim Freda of Shore Catch Guide Service covering this past weekend. Followed by a beach report by Bob Ragati from earlier this morning:

"Well, Friday's blow really set us back again as the water was unsettled but fishable on Saturday and Sunday from the boat. On both days however it was tough to find a fish even though there was bait present and water temperatures were still the same at 49.5 degrees. This has been the pattern in the last month as every time we get a blow at this time of year it shuts down the action and takes several days before it rebounds. Did the bass move out of here south in one day or did they move east?

That's a tough question to answer definitively but is what we ponder each and everytime this happens. I do have however confirmed reports from my sources of plenty of big bass and blues taken out by the Klondike on Saturday (illegally since it is beyond three miles and I am not advocating this by any means as we must and always operate within the letter of the law). However it provides information to digest and ask. Were these fish that moved east due to Friday's heave and blow or were they new fish that have moved down from the north and stayed offshore as a resut of the storm? As I said I don't think we can answer this question for sure. It could also be a combination of both. I do know for sure that no fish if any were caught inshore by five boats, myself included, on Saturday or Sunday that worked a 20 mile stretch of ocean. Good food for thought.......

This was also interesting on Saturday,....boaters that did go out of the Manasquan Inlet Saturday morning had a big surprise when they came back into the inlet around mid-day as a hard outgoing moon tide ran right into the oncoming swell and jack up breakers at the mouth of the inlet. Conditions were just about as bad as they can get and caused any boats that were thinking about getting out to turn around. The problem was for the boaters that were trying to get back in.

Several boats broached as the incoming heave caught up to their transom and lifted them up and drove them down into the trough of the swell. Luckily no serious mishaps resulted even though it was a precarious situation for everyone trying to get back in as the tide was running out.

The surf also had a big swell on Saturday and was for the most part unfishable but settled on Sunday but was still discolored with very few fish to report. Small bass where present on Sunday with greatest concentrations to the south of the Manasquan Inlet from Seaside down.

With what we are seeing out there right now (tons of herring on Sunday)I think there are plenty of fish still left to come by, we just need for some consistent winds from the west-northwest and no major blows for things to set up again. It may however be over in the surf except for small bass as the pattern right now has the bulk of the bait and fish out from 30-55 feet of water when they are present."

Surf report from Bob Ragati:

"Hi Bob, Went over about 0815 this morning, just after high tide, wind W about 10 mph,slight surf, cloudy. Was getting lots of hits on clams like yesteday,but all I managed to beach was a large skate. Wind kicked up to about 20 mph West and it started raining, if it was 40 degrees warmer, it would have reminded me of a summer thunderstorm!

Birds started working about 1/4 mile out about the same time, about off the bathing beach. For about the next hour,they hung in the area,slowly moving north, but the closest they got to the beach was maybe 250 yards out. Was pretty frustrating as you could see fish breaking through the binoculars. When I left, about 10:30, they had moved further out and were about off Seaside. The only other thing I saw caught was a short by a guy north of me when I was driving off. Also tried plugs and metal,and got nothing. There were several guys following the birds trying artificials also but didn't see any of them get anything either. Maybe the larger ones move in at night, but nothing but schoolies during the day, a lot different than last fall."

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2004

The surf is full of bass, mostly shorts and slot fish. They're all over the place, out on the south shore of Long Island, inside the Bight and from Sandy Hook south. That's the bad news for surf fishermen but for boaters and kayakers it's bonanza time. Right now, just offshore this morning in the Manasquan area schools of bass into the upper "teens" are attacking huge schools of herring. I'm told it is a slaughter of epic proportions and most of the action is on the surface.

Conditions this morning are ideal, little wind and calm waters. This afternoon there will be a major change which will probably shut things down until Saturday:

Thursday afternoon. Cloudy. Rain likely by late afternoon. Highs around 50. East winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent.
Thursday night. Rain. Heavy at times. Lows in the lower 40s. East winds 10 to 15 mph.
Friday. Cloudy with rain likely. Highs in the upper 40s. Gusty east winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent.
Friday night. Cloudy. Rain likely in the evening. Tapering off after midnight. Lows in the upper 40s. South winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60 percent.
Saturday. Mostly cloudy and breezy. Highs in the lower 50s. Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph.
Saturday night. Mostly cloudy. Lows in the mid 30s.

Please note the wind direction and speed in bold above. That wind direction and increased speed does not bode well for good fishing conditions in New Jersey on Friday. While all that sounds very negative the overall conditions, especially the water temperatures are ideal which means the herring and bunker will still be around which equates into bass feeding on them. We should continue to have some spectacular fishing, at least for boaters. Surf fishermen just have to pray that the herring schools will move or be forced close inshore. Then it will be every man for himself!

SUNDAY NIGHT, DECEMBER 5, 2004

It was a slow weekend for surf fishermen throughout all of the northeast but the boaters had a fabulous two days of some of the best bass fishing of the Fall. No reports of huge fish but big numbers of "teenagers" were caught and released. Boaters off of Montauk and Rockaway scored large catches as well as fishermen here in New Jersey who enjoyed some phenomenal blitzes off of the Hook, south of Manasquan and off of Island Beach State Park on Saturday.

Take a gander at the image from the Fishfinder below and note of the time of day! Those are baitfish at the surface and bass below.

The bait, peanut bunker, rainfish, sandeels and herring are all mixed in but unfortunately are now offshore. Captain Jim Freda advised:

"...bass were thick just off of Island Beach State Park in the boats from 20 - 50 feet of water. Had just about 100 fish today with the largest at 11 pounds all on chartreuse and white marabou clousers.

Every bass taken deep today was spitting up peanut bunker, so they are going right by the beach on the outside. On the surface there was herring everywhere. Rainfish also mixed in. 30-50 feet of water. That’s a long cast from the beach. Nothing big yet but there is so much bait around this isn’t over by a long shot. Water temps 51.5 degrees today."

He also said, "We should see some incredible fishing in the next two weeks if we don’t get any big blows or darn south wind. Unfortunately it looks bad for this week. We’ll have to wait it out to see what develops when the bad weather is over."

In case you missed it "Bluesrule" posted this in the NJ Fishing Forum on Saturday the 4th:

Hello all, Just wanted to say that I was out on a kayak today off Lavallette/Ortley/Seaside and there were fish everywhere. I had two, I swear, two double headers (teaser and metal), stripers 24 up to 32 inches. Swarms of birds, surface action etc. The one fish I kept was full of intact peanut bunker. Total for the day was 10 stripers, and one bluefish. Maybe it isn't over after all. Granted, I was out on a boat, but it was a little boat and I wasn't that far off shore. Just thought I'd let you know. Jim

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2004

Thanksgiving TURKEY. That's the best description of the fishing over the holiday weekend. It was a big turkey even for an accomplished "fishaholic" like Captain Steve Byrne (First Class Charters) who wrote:

It's been tough going since Thanksgiving Day. The Wednesday before was awesome, with bass feeding in the Reach Channel. In just a couple of hours I had sixteen bass in the boat. Unfortunately, that was the last I saw of them. Since the holiday I have been all over Raritan Bay, and things do not look good. I spotted a seal back near the South Amboy Light, and more over by Hoffman and Swinburne Islands. That's one sure indicator that the water is getting cold.

Bright spots? Well, schools of bass were under the birds near Coney Island and Breezy Point Friday afternoon. I was in the area Saturday and there was some bird activity, but it was not a blitz by any stretch of the imagination. Saturday afternoon at Sandy Hook looked like the boat show at Raritan Center. Hundreds of terns were diving, screaming, and picking bait from the water - all within an easy cast from the surf. The only problem was that there was no fish under the bait. Fifty boats chasing schools of bait, and not a single fish caught.

I was at the Hook this morning and there was plenty of bird activity in the pocket - for about two minutes. We had one fish on, but dropped it before we could see what it was. The birds were right at the surf line, and the bite was sporadic at best.

I heard of some bass out east of Riis Park, following schools of herring. Some casters are jigging herring and live-lining them for good size bass. Opportunities for surfcasters are limited though.

One last bright spot comes from a fellow surfcaster who lives on the east end of Long Island. After an email from me lamenting the poor fishing he replied, "Plenty stuff heading your way." That's all it takes to give me hope.

Reports off the beaches this morning are only of shorts but many of them were around and there was a lot of action for baitfishermen. Here's an email that came in at 11:45 AM:

"Your goddamn high low rigs drove me crazy this morning. The water was full with short bass and they were doubling up on the rig. Everytime I got a hit and started to bring the fish in another fish would hit the rig. After 5 doubles I stopped wasting clam on both hooks and just baited the top hook. I was running back and forth between two rods, wore me out. I'm too old for that shit. I fished through the tide and finally got a couple of slot fish. Where's my 50?"

My response was simply, "Fish and she will come."

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2004

The sixth email Blitz report was sent out this morning but it didn't really slow down, the blitzes at Island Beach are still going on. From what I'm hearing and Jim Freda confirmed the action right now is between Sandy Hook through Island Beach State Park. Primarily in the early morning hours. Now if you are dragging yourself to the beach at 10:00 AM and there's no action please don't blame me. Earlier in the day several regulars were hauling bass out of "the Pocket" like there was no tomorrow. Not "shorts" and "slots" but +34 inch keepers! Island Beach has been the most consistent location but blitzes are occuring in the north as well, Spring Lake, Sea Girt, Manasquan, Sea Bright, Asbury, --

This has been an extraordinary Fall so far, great bluefishing for surf fishermen and fabulous bass fishing for boaters. If you are a boater, grab your charts and get thee to the Shrewsbury Rocks! The fishing there has been astronomical, completely insane, dozens and dozens of bass being caught on practically any plug or fly. Further south in the Little Egg area all the prime fishing has been close inshore with surf fishermen basically picking up bluefish. South of there towards Ocean City its been sloooow when compared to the action in the north.

Montauk finally lit up with both bass and blues but no where as good as here in New Jersey. They were good sized fish at Montauk mostly blues with action from early morning until around noon. The south shore of Long Island continues to be "spotty."

Bad news, Joe Lyons advises that in Rhode Island and eastern Connecticut its getting close to being "over"......

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2004

"Hit and Run" - That's what the bass and blues have been doing for the past several days, attacking baitfish where they can find them and then moving offshore quickly. For surf fisherman its been frustrating to see real blitzes just offshore out of reach. The boats are chasing the birds and the surf fishermen are chasing the boats, Exxon-Mobil is the big winner!

Yesterday the fishing did switch back on and it was okay but not great or consistent. I receive phone calls and emails from numerous "network associates" each day and in spite of several excellent reports of short term "action" there is nothing that qualifies as a legitimate blitz that would make it appropriate for me to send out an email.

Island Beach is loaded with fishermen this morning, lots of boats just offshore from the bathing beach section but they split after 40 minutes. Then the bass and blues came close inshore and there was a flurry of good action but guys the bass were all shorts! There were a few good sized blues, 6 to 8 pounds, but no "Go-Rillas" reported (WARNING - For IBSP Permit holders - Don't even try to get onto the beach at A-7. If you come north from A23 the water is washing over the tracks and the "Grand Canyon" south of the Judges Shack claimed another truck this morning).

White or light colored Storm Shads remain very consistent but good luck if there are a lot of blues. You can add a small egg sinker to your leader and then use a light colored Bomber to get into the feeding zone. Try poppers if the fish come in very close! In the late afternoon and evening switch over to dark colors.

Further north the same story and out on Long Island as far as Montauk, all the reports are small bass with mixed blues, frustration but enough action to keep everyone interested.

Captain Steve Byrne Reports as follows:

"Bass fishing continued at a snail's pace for most of the week, with the exception of occasional blitzes. Most fish caught were in the 22 to 27-inch range, but larger fish are mixed in - you just have to keep working for them. Eels took a steady pick of bass to 25 pounds, but these fish are holding in deep water south of the Verrazanno, out of surfcaster's range. If you fished from the Belt Parkway you would want to be in the area just north of Bay 8th Street. The bass are half a mile from shore.

Sunday morning I was out on the boat and hit Hoffman and Swinburne Islands, followed by eight jetties and sets of pilings along the south side of Staten Island. My efforts yielded a big fat zero in the fish department, so I headed for deeper water. Buoy 14 in the Raritan Reach channel was alive with birds and bass, and I followed the school as it hop scotched toward shore. After an hour the fish split into two groups. One headed for the general vicinity of Arbutus Avenue while the other appeared to make a move to Seguine Point. I managed eight bass on shads; two of the fish were in the low teens.

Monday I had two anglers on board, and we began our trip right outside Great Kills Harbor. Birds were working, but they didn't seem overly enthusiastic. After fifteen fishless minutes, we headed for the Reach Channel and found the bass under the birds again. This time, the school headed for Old Orchard Shoal and continued east before breaking up around 9AM. The two anglers released sixteen bass up to 28 inches, all on shad or diamond jigs. Once the action died, we headed to the Jersey Reef for blackfish. I did not spot a single school of active fish the entire way. The Hook was quiet, as was Flynn's Knoll, Romer Shoal, and the beach south of the Hook.

For now, it looks like the fish are staying close to deep water. The bass I took home Sunday was loaded with fifteen mantis shrimp, one calico crab, and a single peanut bunker. Those shrimp are keeping the fish where they are. When the shrimp disappear, the bass will have to search for new food sources. That may be when we see significant numbers of bass hit the beach."

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2004

Feast or Famine" That's an apt description of the past several weeks. Since the great fishing action on Thursday evening and on Friday the worm turned and it has been dead slow. Sure you can catch bass but the pickings are few and majority of fish are simply "schoolies" and "rats" neither of which are legal.

From what I'm hearing many people are becoming "distraught" that the migration may be "over" or will happen "offshore." Inshore or offshore know one can predict but it is not "over," by any stretch. There are still very good sized fish feeding on the south shore of Connecticut, Long Island Sound and more importantly in the harbors and estuaries. Water temperatures in the greater CT, NY & NJ area remain around 53° to 54°F which are optimal and will keep the bass in our waters.

The weather and tides from the New Moon last Friday have re-shaped the bars and sloughs on many beaches. Island Beach has had significant changes and 4x4 beach access is still subject to being shut down on the incoming high tides. That makes for a "pleasant congregation" of fishermen from A23 to the inlet. The weather forecast through Friday is good, partly cloudy and/or sunny, daytime temps in the upper 50's and light winds. Saturday there is a 30% chance of rain so the best we can do right now is hope that it's as crummy as last Friday when the fishing was spectactular! Sorry the next New Moon isn't until December 12th.

UPDATE - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2004

I know the weather is bad, the fishing conditions are tough but the fishing is good. Yesterday afternoon there were numerous random bluefish bltizes along much of the shore, Spring Lake was a zoo as was much of IBSP for much of the day. I guess I should be selling white shads! Better yet are more reports of bass, here is one from Long Beach Island:

Yesterday afternoon and early evening, going into the high tide, ... caught many blues and bass (lost count--12 or 15 of each, maybe) ... 3:00 to 6:30. On plugs and on bunker. The blues were 32-35 inches, the bass mostly slots about 24 - 25 inches, but a few 36 inchers were also caught. At one point... fish on two rods ithat were in sand spikes and a fish on a plug. Just after that had two 32-inch blues on one plug. The bite stopped on the slack tide.

Luckily the wind switched around to the Northeast and as long as it blows any way except southerly the fishing should be good. Tonight is the New Moon on the upside of that fishing should improve even more and Sunday looks like it will be a "perfect day." Remember pack light and think "mobile."

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2004

Shock and Awe - From the Hook and Raritan Bay to Manasquan to Brick and "the Pocket" someone threw a switch on Wednesday and the bass went beserk all day and into the evening hours. One guy caught and released twenty bass out of "the Pocket" at Island Beach State Park and he wasn't alone. I'm not talking about schoolies or slot fish, these were FISH! If you are not familiar with that location don't jump in your car and head for the park, it's not easy to get to unless you have a 4 X 4 with a permit. Otherwise it's +1 mile hike down the beach, then if you want to fish from the jetty (best) you need the proper safety equipment or your odds of visiting the ER at the Community Medical Center of Toms River will soar.

I'm sure that by the time you read this both the Hook and the southern section of IBSP will be packed, even though this is just a pre-liminary report. If you are off for Veterans Day and you don't have to go to the Mall, spend the entire day fishing!

UPDATE: IBSP is packed and the Pocket is crammed. Word gets out pretty quick, don't blame the internet, everyone has a telephone. It sounds like its slow today, more people than fish. Kind of doubtful that the Pocket will light up the same way as last night if the wind and surf stay calm. Winds are no more than 5 MPH blowing from the southwest. Bad but with no moon and high tide at 6:00 PM, the time between 5:00 and 8:00 PM tonight who the hell knows what is going to happen.

Captain Steve Byrne's summary of the past several days is worth looking over, all the way to the end:

Well, the wind finally calmed down enough to get out Sunday morning, but my results were less than spectacular. Drifting eels at the Hook attracted nothing but bluefish, so we moved down the beach and jigged under the birds. Again, it was all blues, and they were surprisingly small for November.

A report of early morning bass at Norton's Point was enough to pull me away from the bluefish. We still had enough of the ebb to make a decent drift, but once again it was all bluefish. One last move over to Fort Wadsworth produced yet another dose of the toothy critters.

Monday morning featured a steady 25-knot blast from the northwest, but on outgoing water Raritan Bay was very fishable. From Keyport Harbor over to Keansburg the sky was filled with birds, and my hopes soared. A few casts of the diamond jig and my feet were firmly back on the ground again. That's right, more bluefish. Live eels in the Raritan Reach Channel produced even more bluefish.

Okay, so small bluefish are still plentiful. Stripers are hard to find locally, but there is hope. South-facing shores of Staten Island are hosting an ever-growing population of small stripers that are willing to jump on your four-inch shad jig. More importantly, there is plenty of bait in Jamaica Bay. Both juvenile and adult bunker are keeping bass happy in J-Bay, and anglers are live-lining some decent size stripers. There are also reports of large schools of bass further west, with fish to 36 inches reported near Jones Inlet.

To me, the last two sentences mean two things. First of all, we have plenty of stripers to the east that have yet to enter our area. Second, if one bay is loaded with bait, it's a fair bet that similar conditions exist in other area bays and harbors. Great Kills Harbor appears to be nearly devoid of bait, but the area around Keyport Harbor is playing host to a load of baitfish.

It looks like we are heading for one of the latest seasons in recent memory. Keep the rods ready and some hot coffee in the thermos. It looks like bass for Christmas.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2004

The past week has been great, key word there "past," fishing has slowed down significantly, don't ask me why, but we can assume that there are fewer schools of baitfish about. Perhaps they've run out into deeper water or run back up into the the rivers for some cover. Or maybe the bluefish slaughtered millions and the pickings are getting slim. I am being facetious, no panic, please. This report out of Island Beach State Park, wind NNW at about 15 mph, water temperature 54°:

"No bait, no birds working, even the boats weren't out. It was like someone threw a switch and sent everything away!"

This is just a lull, honest! Will there be more blitzes like last week? Who knows? Odds are that they will occur again but odds also are that they should begin to peter out as the water temperatures drop. I'm referring to bluefish Blitzes NOT striped bass fishing, that WILL get better.

Actually its relatively "quiet" all along "eastern front" since Monday. That includes all of the New York Bight, South side of Long Island out to Montauk and most of New Jersey. I'm not taking the rods off the top of my truck though, they're going to stay there for quite awhile yet. My wife doesn't even complain about that after all the years of making her drive around Princeton. You should go fishing, unless of course you are only interested in bluefish blitzes.

Most reports are primarily stating that bass are hitting better early in the morning, you need to be fishing BEFORE civil twilight (gray sky). If you can only get out in the afternoons or after work, fish through at least the first hour after full dark but don't waste time if the tides are not in your favor. Slack water usually means dead water.

The best strategy for "blitzes," as an example, is to go light. Start out at the lower end of Sandy Hook and work your way south stopping off at various beaches for a quick look for birds, boats AND fisherman! Unless of course you're part of a "CBN," .........Cellphone Blitz Network.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2004

I was out today with Ragman at IBSP but I know we both arrived too late. Bass are being taken very early, between first light and dawn for the most part and on most beaches. I went today for blues but didn't manage to arrive until 10:30 AM, no action. We fished around A2. By 12:30 Rags had to leave and the best I could manage was a crab. In spite of the fact that I felt like hell, a stomach bug or maybe Ebola, I moved down south of the Judges Shack (A12) and picked and released a chunky slot bass using clams. As I drove south between A7 and A23 I saw a few guys gutting bass they had caught. None of the fish were big, low to mid teens at best.

By 2:30 the wind was blowing the rain horizontally, into my right ear. Soaking wet, cold and nauseous, I quit and headed out. As I approached the turnoff to cross the Mathis Bridge I was debating with myself whether I should run up to north a bit to check a couple of beaches in Lavalette and Mantoloking but it started to rain cats and dogs, plus my stomach was doing somersaults so I headed for the the bridge. I learned tonight that at that exact time a massive bluefish blitz was occuring on the Lavalette/Ortley beaches!

That's a combination of Bad & Dumb Luck on my part. From what I hear there weren't too many people around and there were some real chopper blues up to 15 pounds for the fortunate and very wet fishermen.

No one can predict when and where these ocean beach blitzes are going to occur so I don't feel so bad, my guts are still churning though.

I don't claim to be a meteorologist but the weather report for at least Friday does not look good for fishing.

FRI
NW WINDS 25 TO 30 KT WITH GUSTS TO 40 KT. SEAS 5 TO 8 FT. 

FRI NIGHT
NW WINDS 25 TO 30 KT WITH GUSTS TO 35 KT...BECOMING W 20 TO 25 KT. 
SEAS 5 TO 8 FT.  SUBSIDING TO 4 TO 6 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT. 

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2004

Two Blitz reports in two days, not too bad! Not only has the Highlands and the Pipe at Sea Girt been hot but there was also this from Captain Jim Freda:

"Insane blizes of blues yesterday afternoon from Lavallette down to Gillikins, sizes varied from 2 to 10 lbs, expect the same today."

Why now and not last week, here's an explanation from Captain Steve Byrne:

"A solid week of northeast wind made for some big changes in the marine environment. The comment heard most often this week was, “The bait is all gone!” Well, not quite. Hordes of peanut bunker don’t just evaporate. They made a move to the back bays, and up the rivers. Water temperatures in Raritan Bay took a dive over the past week. While the lower temperatures should help trigger that fall impulse to fatten up, the bass may be in a short-term funk because the drop came so rapidly.

Friday morning I found plenty of fish in the Raritan Reach Channel. Getting them to bite anything was another story. I tried jigging, trolling, and drifting eels, all to no avail. It was the same story inside Great Kills Harbor, where I found plenty of life in the deep holes in back of the Harbor, but no fish willing to take my offerings.

Bass to 30 inches are taking bunker chunks at night in the harbor, and pluggers are finding fish along the open beaches. The key is to fish at night. The fall run often offers plenty of daytime action, but right now the bass are keeping quiet during the day.

The one blitz report came from the back of Jamaica Bay Friday morning, where the bass were actively feeding on peanut bunker. Two casters worked the fish with flies, bucktails, soft plastics, swimmers, and poppers. Three hours of casting yielded nine bass to 8 pounds. "

What has clearly happened is that the baitfish are on the move out of the bays and estuaries and the bass and blues are on a feeding frenzy. This is why the Pipe at Sea Girt "exploded" today, the baitfish came out of Wreck Pond. Sure there are going to be areas of lousy fishing but this week looks like the same period as 2003 when there was tremendous fishing throughout much of NJ. If the weather and winds remain good I have a "gut feeling" that we will have some fantastic fishing in and around Sandy Hook in the coming days. That's not a promise, just a "semi-intelligent hunch."

The word is out so you can expect a lot of company on the beaches during the day. Montauk Point is naturally getting a lot of pressure but most catches are happening well after dark. I wouldn't classify Monatuk as "hot" but I'm pretty sure the fishing is better than is being reported.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2004

Tuesday I wrote "...we have to hope the bass will go on a good feeding spree now. That's usually what occurs after a storm or unusually rough seas." and its happening now north to south. A few very good sized bass in the 40 pound range have been taken by boaters but the majority of fish from the surf have been "schoolies," "slots" and fish in the 28" to 32" range. Most of the action is taking place early in the morning, Tuesday and Wednesday nights have been less than okay. Between the lunar eclipse last night and the Full Moon it doesn't look "promising" for tonight.

With the decent weather we are enjoying, the winds light and variable plus the Tides favorable for the mornings, you must go fishing. Friday right through Sunday looks good! With that said just keep in mind that some Bait and Tackle shops reports are at times as "effusive" as a high school cheerleading squad.

Everyone in "the network" is watching the weather and wondering if the coming days will be a repeat of past years when the fishing exploded around Halloween. Several guys think that migration this Fall is running weeks late and we may have the more "traditional" bass migration action around Thanksgiving. While I can agree with that logic I also see that the water temperatures are falling into the mid to high 50°F range right now with Atlantic City reporting 56.8°F. We need the water temperatures to come down to no lower than 50°F during November to see normal migration patterns. If it drops lower than that the migration will occur offshore in deeper water.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2004

I don't know what to write and I certainly don't want to bullshit you. The past weekend right through Monday was awful. Not because there were few fish being caught but the weather was totally uncooperative. The wind and surf made things next to impossible from Massachusetts, down through Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and right here in lovely New Jersey. Island Beach State Park was a mess, the water was right up to the dune lines but that was the same story on parts of Long Island as well.

The meterologists certainly blew the weekend weather forecast. The wind and water has calmed down today so the only thing I can honestly print is that we have to hope the bass will go on a good feeding spree now. That's usually what occurs after a storm or unusually rough seas.

I think we can expect a lot of small bass to rush in to feed during the daylight hours with the bigger fish showing up late in the day or early morning. Wednesday looks like the best day of this week for fair weather fishing but I would hold out till Thursday or better yet Friday when it will will have a full cloud cover.

Yes I know this is a pitiful fishing report but you want the truth, right?

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2004

Short and sweet - GO FISHING! Its still pretty ugly outside and access in some areas is difficult due to winds and tides, the surf is still rough, it just looks bad but GO FISHING! The weather forecast shows that the winds are going to continue to come out of the Northeast and may make fishing tough but that makes for good Fall fishing. If the winds calm down over the weekend the bass fishing should improve even more. Any known place that holds baitfish is the place to be right now. As an example the outlet pipe for Wreck Pond at the border of Spring Lake Heights and Sea Girt (Mapquest) is a key "baitfish spewing forth into the ocean" location because the bass and blues will move in to hit them as the run out of the pipe. That is a known "spot" so expect "company" and work south of the pipe due to the wind direction.

For New Jersey - "Jetty Land" from Sandy Hook south, as a good general rule work any of the small jetties, hard on the north side but don't walk away before testing the south as well. Bass hang out at the tips of our crumbling jetties all Spring, Summer and Fall. With the wind pushing the baitfish they will move in closer. I'm getting "mixed" reports out of Sandy Hook which my gut tells me that fishing may be far better than people are admitting. Like Sandy Hook is some kind of "secret spot."

I'll wager that the only person who could get space to fish "the Pocket" at Island Beach State Park between today and Sunday would have to be the President of the United States. That area is going to be packed. Same thing with Graveling Point but please be super careful, don't drown yourself walking in an area you are not familiar with.

At Montauk Point even the President would need the help of the Secret Service to get a rock, that place is really heating up. Even right below the lighthouse they are banging good sized bass. If you can't get a rock right at the Point try moving north first and then falling back to the south as the winds die off this weekend.

Rhode Island and the south shore is good, do not believe any reports that you may have read that "it's over" in Narragansett Bay. There has been very good bass fishing at Barrington Beach. Also good on the south shore, some damn big fish at Central Beach in the Charlestown area. Fly fishermen are even doing great so although this can't be classified as "consistent" or massive blitz's if you live nearby GO FISHING!

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2004

Okay the weekend wasn't Tony the Tiger "Grrrrrrrreeeat" but it was better than most past weekends. October is always better than September and November is always better than October. In spite of what you may have heard or read elsewhere there were not widespread incidents of major bluefish and bass blitz's or everyone catching fish. Fish were caught here in New Jersey but the weights and quantity were not spectacular.

Captain Steve Byrne, pictured above, was out on Saturday and sent in this report.

"I found a nice bunch of bass on my way home today. This was 32 inches. I fished with a friend and we had about ten fish in an hour. His biggest was about 37 inches. We caught them on bombers, shad jig, and poppers. They were very fussy, despite the fact that they were on the feed. Action took place in front of Great Kills." (Staten Island)

The fishing was actually better up north in New England with some good sized bass (+30 pounds) taken in Rhode Island and out on the Cape. All of the reports I had were that those fish were taken on cut bait and live eels. If you fish the Cape without live eels at night you are wasting your time!

A buddy of mine is fishing the Marthas Vineyard Derby, along with +3,000 other people, and he reports that it has been a "good" year but very difficult. I believe the top bass weighed in so far is around 47 pounds but it was taken from a boat. He also reports he is running out of money, the Vineyard isn't a place to go if you are on a tight budget.

Again the best place right now is Montauk. There were several high 30 to low 40 pound bass taken over the weekend but I doubt that that is going to happen today!

Fishing today would be miserable and even a little dangerous, especially at Montauk. It won't be much better anywhere else along the Northeast coast. The weather is forecasted to improve later in the day but on Wednesday the wind forecast is that it will shift around to ENE and blow at 10 to 20 MPH. Plus there is still a 50% chance of rain. Mmmmmmmmm I think I would wait it out before committing to a trip on Wednesday. Perhaps late in the day or better yet early on Thursday. On the other hand the National Weather Service forecast looks horrible:

COASTAL WATERS FORECAST...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
1018 AM EDT TUE OCT 19 2004

SANDY HOOK NJ TO FENWICK ISLAND DE TO 20 NM OFFSHORE AND DELAWARE
BAY 

ANZ450-451-192200- COASTAL WATERS FROM SANDY HOOK TO MANASQUAN INLET NJ OUT 20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM MANASQUAN INLET TO LITTLE EGG INLET NJ OUT 20 NM-
1018 AM EDT TUE OCT 19 2004

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY

THIS AFTERNOON
E WINDS 20 TO 25 KT WITH HIGHER GUSTS...
BECOMING NE. SEAS 4 TO 6 FT. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.

TONIGHT
NE WINDS 20 TO 25 KT WITH HIGHER GUSTS. SEAS 4 TO 7 FT.
A CHANCE OF RAIN. 

WED
NE WINDS 20 TO 25 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 KT. SEAS 4 TO 7 FT. 
A CHANCE OF RAIN. 

WED NIGHT
NE WINDS 20 TO 25 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 KT. SEAS 5 TO 
8 FT. A CHANCE OF RAIN. 

THU
NE WINDS 20 TO 25 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 35 KT. SEAS 6 TO 10 FT. 

THU NIGHT
NE WINDS 20 TO 25 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 35 KT. SEAS 6 TO
12 FT. 

FRI
NE WINDS 20 TO 25 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 35 KT. SEAS 6 TO 12 FT. 

SAT
NE WINDS 20 TO 25 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 KT...BECOMING SE
AND DIMINISHING TO 10 TO 15 KT AT NIGHT. SEAS 6 TO 12 FT... 
SUBSIDING TO 5 TO 9 FT OVERNIGHT. 

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2004

Get out there and go fishing this weekend. Several reports received last night and this morning that it may be the beginning of the run. Of course bait is getting fish but light colored Bomber Long A's, yellow over white and solid yellow are taking bass early in the morning. No reports of really big bass but this weekend does look good if you want to get the fever. :)

From Captain Steve Byrne
The striper scene is still relatively quiet, but if you’re motivated, you can scrape up some bass before dawn. Once the sun comes up, the odds of finding stripers in the surf go way down. As I noted in my last report, bass and blues are keyed in on small bait, and that fact has not changed. If you have access to a marina that will let you fish at the dock, find the peanut bunker and you will find the fish. I witnessed a few all-out bass blitzes over the weekend, and all of them took place in and around docks. The fish look to be anywhere from 4 to 10 pounds, and they are not afraid to go shallow. I mean really shallow.

Sunday morning I was out on the boat with my son Steve, but before we pulled away from the dock he managed a nice 26-inch bass on a live peanut bunker. Our live-line rig could not be simpler. A barrel swivel to the main line, a few feet of 50-pound-test, and a 3/0 Gamakatsu hook. Oh yeah I almost forgot – the peanut bunker! Pass the hook right through the dark spot behind its eyes. Toss it in and hold on. If it doesn’t get hit in a few minutes, check to see how lively it is. If you don’t have a cast net, you can snag the little bunker with just about anything. A bare treble hook will do, or you could always run a swimming plug through the school at high speed. That will usually snag a bunker or two.

One more thing; many anglers fall into the trap of thinking that they will always see fish crashing if they are feeding. That is simply not true. If the peanuts are making that “pfzt” sound on the surface, there is a good chance that gamefish are lurking beneath. Fish may be actively feeding with nary a swirl, boil, pop, or crash to give away their presence.

In addition to marinas, baitfish are congregating around jetties, storm sewer outflows, boat ramps, and piers. These are all good locations to target in the wee hours. Bombers and 4-inch shad jigs are my favorite lures in these situations. Bucktails will be equally effective.

Some bass are starting to show in the rips at Sandy Hook, but if anyone is really locked in on them, they are keeping it very quiet. Drifting worms or eels in the dark is the way to go, and if you have the Yankee game on the radio, your chances of finding fish automatically double.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2004

"Fair to Middlin" is the best anyone can say right now. Water temperatures are around 64 degrees and the water is very clean which is not really great for fishing. Blues and bass are popping up in mini-blitzes at random locations in the early mornings, BEFORE sunrise but there is no consistency to these events which makes it difficult to predict where they will appear next. I can only suggest you go to your "spot" early or at night and work it for a few hours. During morning hours you will have to be a bird watcher and be prepared to take off after them.

No reports of big bass congregrating or bushwacking schools of bait, even Montauk has slowed but that place is never dead. Most of the blues are still on the small side and most of the bass being taken are slot fish to upper 30 inch range.

Have had reports of bass being taken at night at Sandy Hook on both bait and lures. Report from the oldest and most experienced member of the SSc network in the Brick area of four bass on Wednesday. Four striped bass in the morning right before full sun up. All four fish were over 30 inches and were caught on High Low rigs with clams.

Black and Purple over Black Bomber Long A's have been working at night off the North Jetty and at "the Pocket" at Island Beach State Park. The rest of the beach has been a "slow pick" but the fish are present and being taken.

And here the story from Captain Steve Byrne, unedited.....

"Still pretty quiet. I caught a 100-plus pound Bluefin Tuna Friday. 30# test, no leader, no belt, no leaning the rod against the rail, no shit.
It took about 20 minutes, maybe longer. A few times, I thought the fish might pull me in - for real. I have bruises on my thigh from the rod butt. You know the groove that they put in the butt of boat rods so they don't twist in the holder? You could see it in the bruises.

It took two big guys half an hour to bring up a 70-pounder. I put the pressure on my fish (after it burned a few layers of skin off my thumb) and when it surfaced, it made their fish look like a midget. Those boys looked at me like I was from another freakin' planet. You can only keep one BFT, so we broke mine off boatside."

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2004

First thing to report is that I'm out in eastern Ohio today, in the middle of Amish country. The nearest saltwater is due east about 500 miles. Nevertheless, between email and the cellphone I have been in touch with about 75% of "the network."

Unfortunatley I have no great news to report. The fishing has been fair for this time of year with tons of bluefish in the surf. Most of them are in the 3 to 5 pound range with 8 and 10 pounders mixed in. Albies are still around but less than reported last week. Striped Bass fishing remains steady along the New Jersey shore but no specific area is more productive than another. The best fishing is north to south, the lower Hudson River is good. For northern NJ fishermen, if you have not tried the Hoboken pier now would be a good time. Just make sure you bring a net or gaff so you can actually "beach" your fish.

South along the Union Beach, Cliffwood Beach areas the night bite and early morings have been better than any daylight fishing.

Around Sandy Hook and further south the fishing is about the same with slot bass and reports of fish up to 38 inches being picked, mostly on bait. Clams and bunker chunk still rule.

The best fishing right now is out at Montauk, the south side and Turtle Cove have been the most consistent locations. Casting eels and bucktails have been the best methods.

I hope everyone received the first StriperSurf Insider Blitz Email last night. If you din't get it then I may have an invalid email address in the database. Check your profile!

It's getting better and better, all over the place with some of our network reporting a great day on Wednesday. As long as this weather stays fair and the water relatively calm it can only get better. Friday through Sunday looks great! There are bass, blues and albies all along much of the shore, Sandy Hook has been especially good. One of our regulars here at SSc was at the Hook and reported that Wednesday was his best day for surf fishing so far this year, six bass to 36" and 15 blues to six pounds. He was using a Smokey Joe pattern Bomber Long A and a Salty Bugger 1¼ oz popper. He was out there from 3:00 to 7:00 PM, right after the wave of albies came through but reports he saw an albie caught on a School Bus Bomber Long A, throw out the rule book!

Further south all along the shore, Spring Lake/Sea Girt, Mantoloking, Brick, Lavalette, Island Beach, LBI and Brigantine are all reporting that fishing picked up. Some very good sized bass but the majority are still in the 25 to 40 inch range.

Out on Long Island and especially Montauk the bass fishing has improved as well. Mornings and even afternoons have been good but the night hours are still the best though and the south side of Montauk has been great. Just remember that Montauk takes some time to learn and there is a "code of conduct" for acquiring a rock.

My buddy Mark, up in Rhode Island has been doing well during the day, he eschews bait fishing and specializes in poppers and swimming plugs. He reports that white and yellow plugs are working well and tins with bucktails have been good for albies. Mark loves albies!

One of the best things about StriperSurf Insider to me is that the main contributors are all good friends, good fishermen, good writers and most of all men I respect. A new contributor joining this week is Captain Steve Byrne who lives in Staten Island. Steve was an early member of StriperSurf and one of the best fishermen I know. I especially enjoy fishing with Steve because like me he does not believe in the "rulebook" and also because he lives and breathes for fishing. Best of all Steve is one of those special fishermen that can always find fish AND catch them. He's so good that I expect that he will start chartering out of Great Kills on Staten Island this Spring and he will be very successful. Even from here in Princeton, in south central New Jersey I can be at his boat within an hour's drive and its just minutes from there to get out into some prime fishing grounds. Steve is very knowledgeable about the entire New York Bight with his own network of contacts so his contributions for Insider should be top notch. Here is his first report and more are on the way.

Captain Steve Byrne - NY/NJ - Raritan Bay - Staten Island - The New York Bight - Lower Hudson & East Rivers

When Bob D'Amico approached me about writing for this E-Zine, it didn't take more than a second to reply in the affirmative. After he explained the idea behind it, and said who was involved, what could I say besides, "Okay." Bob asked me, "Does that mean yes?" When someone asks if you want to be part of a project that has the writers/anglers associated with this one, the only possible answer is YES.

I have a passion for fishing, writing, and stripers. What better fit than this? So thanks Bob, and again, my answer is a resounding yes. I will report locations of bass, bait, and water conditions, as they become known to me. When bass fishing is slow, I'll say so and let you know about alternate piscatorial pursuits.

Small bait. That's the straw that is stirring the proverbial drink right now. Peanut bunker, finger mullet, spearing, and even some butterfish are providing a feast for the predators in our water right now. I even left out a few others, like young and not so young-of-the-year snappers, porgies, and weakfish. It's a fair bet that where you find the bait, you will find the fish not far behind. And where can you find the bait right now? That's easy.

Every harbor, bay, creek, and river that empties into Raritan Bay is stuffed with forage fish, and if you spend some time on the water, you will have your shots at some bluefish and maybe, a chance or two at some albies.

I cut through the back road of Great Kills Harbor Monday morning on the way to the boat, and I was forced to stop. Bluefish had the peanut bunker pinned against the back wall of the harbor, and the fish were flying into the glow of false dawn. It was about 6:10AM and a dozen anglers there already there, almost all of them throwing poppers into the melee. I jumped out and zipped a 007 diamond jig into the mass of fish, and was fast to a 7-pound chopper. The schools of fish moved around fast, sounding for a couple of minutes and then popping up a hundred yards away. Big Randy Moccia was there, and I invited him to come along on the boat.

We headed out of the harbor - against Randy's wishes - but I assured him that we would find more fish outside. Plus, fishing the bay offered a better shot at false albacore. The first school of fish we encountered featured small fish, in the 2 to 4-pound range. Continuing towards Old Orchard Light, we came across another pod of bluefish. These fish were from 7 to 9 pounds, and we caught two each before they disappeared. The lighthouse was quiet, but there was a nice rip forming around it, so I suggested Randy might try throwing a plug at the rocks. On his third cast, the line started screaming off the reel. After five minutes of under and around the boat, I netted the 8-pound albie and put it on the deck. Here's the kicker: The fish hit a Yo-Zuri Darter that was clipped to a big snap swivel at the end of an 18-inch black wire leader; so much for 8-pound-test and fluorocarbon leaders.

After another unproductive fifteen minutes, we headed back to the harbor and beat up on the bluefish. It was so good, I even threw the popper. Here's my thinking on the use of plugs in general. If I can catch fish on a lure with a single hook, that's they way I'm doing it. It is not only easier and safer to handle a fish with one hook in its mouth, the release is also quicker. That means better survival rates for the fish I release, and it also means that I can get back to fishing that much faster. But I have to admit, it's nice watching a plug getting slammed every now and then.

As for our beloved striped bass, things are a little slow at the moment, but not to worry. It seems like anglers have the conversations every year. "The bass should have been here by now, I hope it happens soon. Maybe they are going to pass us this year." The truth is that stripers generally do not appear in big numbers in and around Raritan Bay, until the middle of October. Give or take a few days. When the false albacore and bonito disappear, and the porgies take a powder, the bass will be here. You can bet on it.

Captain Jim Freda - October Outlook

October should be a good month to hit the beach or get out in the boat because we will be in the peak of our mullet run and our false albacore run during the beginning of the month. We will also start to see peanut bunker and bay anchovies build up inshore as they move out of our backbays and rivers to round out the month. As a result more and more stripers will show up in the surf while the false albacore will spread all throughout both Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

Dropping air temperatures will be a real plus this month as this will chill down our back bay waters more quickly than the oceanfront and this cooler water will push out along the beach on the outgoing tides. As water temperatures drop striped bass and false albacore will be stimulated to feed. Therefore look for increased activity around the time of any of these approaching cold fronts this month.

Isolated blitzes of bass will be common along all of our beachfronts. The duration of these blitzes will vary, as sometimes the bass will be in and out quickly. If you are in the right place at the right time you will cash in on bass that will range in size from five pounds to twenty-five pounds. You can also expect bluefish to crash these baits at anytime and range in size from three to twelve pounds.

For stripers your best bet will be to fish the low light hours early in the morning or just before dark. For false albacore wait for the sun to rise in the sky with late morning being one of the most productive times. To imitate mullet try the four or six inch Storm Wildeye or the new Tsunamis soft plastic bait in the pearl color. The one-ounce Polaris popper in white is also a proven producer. Since stripers attack pods of mullet from below this white color is what the bass will see and emulates the white underbelly of the bait. If smaller baits such as anchovies dominate then small bucktail teasers tied two to four feet ahead of a swimming plug will nicely imitate these smaller baits as draw strikes.

When you go down to work the surf also look for visible signs of peanut bunker in the water in front of you. Concentrate around jetty pockets, a hole or trough, or a cut between two bars than runs perpendicular to the beach. When these baits are subsurface they can be spotted by a water color that is darker in appearance when compared to lighter surrounding hues. When on top they are easy to spot, as they will make good amounts of surface commotion.

Snagging a peanut bunker will a small treble hook and allowing it to sit in the school will be the most productive method to catch striped bass when the peanut bunker are on the scene. When using artificials the pearl color Storm Wildeye shad in four or six inches is an excellent imitation to use to emulate peanut bunker. Cast it out and retrieve back slowly allowing it to move up and down in the water column. Small Danny plugs, Mr. Bunker rattletraps, and kastmasters will also be effective. The Smack-It Jr. popper by Stillwater Lures in white or yellow is an excellent popper to cast into the pods of peanut bunker. As it smaller size nicely matches the profile of the bait.

You can also try fishing a 1/4-1/2 ounce white bucktail down deep below the school jigging it slowly. Bass will think it is an injured or stunned bait. Also if you are moving around looking for fish don’t hesitate to go back to an area later in the day that you tried earlier. The change in the tide has been producing different results.

If big bluefish enter the picture and crash these baits you will need to add a six to eight inch piece of wire to your offering to prevent a bite-off. There are a number of different kinds of tie able wire products available on the market today or you can use the old single strand wire or pre-rigged wire with inline swivels.

Raritan Bay will also come alive this month as plenty of bass and bluefish will be taken in these waters also. Peanut bunker will stage here until they move out and big bass and blues will be on them. Best times to fish the bay will be during the week when boat traffic is down.

On the offshore scene look for the Mud Hole to light up with larger bluefin tuna this month as 60-100 lb fish will be available. Setting up and anchoring while chunking with butterfish will produce results. Trolling will also remain good with squid spreader bars and daisy chains. Further inshore you can expect to find smaller bluefin in the 15-20 lb class.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2004

Overall from the North Shore area of Massachusetts, south along the New England coast, Long Island, New Jersey and coastal Maryland the main word is DARK. That means late at night, during the "midwatch" and before civil twilight are the hours that are the most productive and you should be fishing. If you are not able to fish, at say two in the morning, you must get to your fishing spot while its still fully dark and be prepared for fishing as soon as the sky begins to lighten. After sun up your chances will drop dramatically unless you are focusing on bluefish or albies. In fact it may be near impossible to avoid roving schools of small to medium sized bluefish that are feeding on the tons of peanut bunker that remain in shallow water.

For these bluefish you should be using metal ("tins") with a single hook and small poppers. The latter are ideal for any schools of albies which have been invading inlets as well as cruising shallow water close in to the beaches. If you can net some of the peanut bunker then try livelining them on a high low rig or just a hook tied to 50 or 60 pound mono. Buddy of mine has been banging bluefish right inside his marina, in fact he even got into some albies with tins and never had to "put out to sea." If you are skeptical then take a close look at these pictures. That's Shore Catch Guide Service's, Darin Mulay fishing the Manasquan Inlet (NJ) and that's an Albie he is holding!

Water temperatures remain relatively high for this time of year. That may mean that the Fall migration will be delayed since the baitfish stay in shallow water longer. Bass, Blues and Albies will hang with them trying to load up for the winter. On the other hand, (there is always an escape clause in a fishing report) the mullet run this Fall has not been as big as previous years and they are the prime food being targeted by bass now.

The Hottest Spots Right Now
For Long Island it's no surprise, Montauk, "bucktail paradise" but this is still a prime location for casting live eels and our contacts have been scoring consistently during the night and extremely early in the morning with them. Last night wasn't good but tides and winds were not favorable. Same goes for the south shore of the Island, pretty slow but dead night and eaaaarly mornings are better.

In New Jersey, Sandy Hook, the surfcasting platform that sticks out into the New York Bight, has been very hot and very cold. It's actually been the most consistent location in the last few days and appears to be getting even better. Inside the Hook, the bay side has been the better spot with bass up to 25 pounds being taken on both bait and plugs. Bluefish and Albies are also running in the Navesink and close inshore. The Albies can be frustrating, any tin with a bucktail or if you are a flyfishermen, the Surf Candy pattern has been the the best fly to use. Very reliable fisherman reported catching and releasing a +/- 20 pound bluefish on a plug.

"Live Feed" for today - all along the shore the conditions have declined, fishing at Island Beach State Park today is miserable. Winds are blowing hard from the north, 15 to 20 mph and the surf is rough. Strong North to South current requires at least 6 ounces of lead for bait fishermen to hold bottom. Sunrise was the best with a few "slot bass" and decent sized bluefish caught on clams at Gillikins. This morning "the Pocket" at the North Jetty was holding schools of mullet but they were not "under siege" by any gamefish and fishermen were striking out.

This report will be updated on Wednesday. The Thursday "edition" will be expanded with more information for the Raritan Bay and Sandy Hook area. Of course IBSP too!

Joe Lyons - Rhode Island, Block Island Sound and Narragansett Bay

Hello and welcome. I'd like to thank Bob D'Amico for asking me to be a contributor to Striper Surf Insider. I think this is a right time for an E-Zine centering on surfcasting and I suspect it will be a success.

Along with never-before-on-the-net articles, I'll be posting fishing reports and conditions for Rhode Island. The focus of my reports will center on water conditions, bait movements, and the general trends of striped bass and bluefish within Rhode Island and Block Island Sound and Narragansett Bay.

I will be honest with respect to what I know and have heard - this means that sometimes, I will be reporting that the fishing is bad.

Here goes……

Along the open-shores of Block Island and South County, the wind and rain associated with the remnants of Ivan has disrupted the Rhode Island surf scene somewhat. Though the cold front that followed the tropical low pressure system served to quickly moderate the surf level and cleared the suspended silt from inshore waters fairly quickly, it has also appeared to clear the bait out as well.

I just got back from an overnight fishing trip to Block Island and with the exception of few half-hearted bumps on eels on the island's west side - island fishing was disappointing. Though the water looked great, the bite at several usually productive spots was very poor. Sand Eels and silversides - the island's primary fall baitfish - were only sparsely evident. Indeed, the most reliable fishing was inside the Great Salt Pond where chopper blues and large school stripers have been taking soft plastics at New Harbor.

Inside Narragansett Bay on the other hand, fishing is very good with large bluefish and keeper bass around the points and coves along the Warwick and East Greenwich shoreline. Poppers, metal and soft plastics have been working - along with just about everything. The fish appear hungry and aggressive with the beast fishing occurring when a high tide corresponds with sunset or sunrise.

Interestingly, surfcasters who have been scoring fish during the late summer and early fall have reported that the color white has been red hot. White Dannys, Habs Needlefish, Tattoo Sea Spooks, along with white poppers and mother-of-pearl Bombers have been out producing most everything. Even during the new moon of September, when I would typically reach for my darkest offerings, white worked much better.

The general consensus is that migration is somewhat behind. Typically, I would advocate fishing the Charlestown and Westerly shore the first week of October, but not so this season. The fish have certainly not dropped out of Narragansett Bay as of yet. In the short term, look for Narragansett Bay and the lower bay areas of Point Judith and Jamestown to continue to provide the best chances at better fish and for fishing action to pick up along the south shore after the first cold nights of early fall.

NOTE from Bob: I receive quite a bit of email from people who are either new to striped bass fishing or want to learn how to become better fishermen. If you feel that you could use "some improvement," whether its for spinning, conventional or fly fishing you should contact SHORE CATCH GUIDE SERVICE. I'm not sure how many open dates they have available for boat charters but this is a great time to book a "Beach Charter." I don't want to come off as "over the top" but these men, are the best guides in New Jersey and you can learn a lot from them. Think about, a Beach Charter is not expensive!