SFD295 Posted August 25, 2018 Report Share Posted August 25, 2018 Maybe it's just me, but it seems like the black sea bass behavior has changed over the last few years. The traditional way to catch them has always been bottom fishing with bait around structure. However this summer especially it seems that they've become more of a mid-water aggressive predator fish species. My last few outings on the south side of the Cape I've been catching them on large plugs and soft plastics meant for stripers and blues. Yesterday they destroyed my savage sand eels. It seems that the larger ones are the most aggressive taking lures. Got myself a 19" fish on the aforementioned sandeel, and I was fishing over sandy bottom in about 50' of water. No structure to speak of. All I can think of is that the previously overfished population is making a huge comeback given the recent commercial and rec limits placed on them. This maybe forces the fish to change their behavior in response to dwindling forage on the bottom? This year especially has been a great summer for BSB for me, I'd limit out on every trip if I kept them all. And on medium tackle the big ones put up quite a fight. Anyone else observed this change? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccb Posted August 25, 2018 Report Share Posted August 25, 2018 I have getting them on Yozuri’s for the last 4or5 years. I have got Fluke that way also. They come right off the bottom and grab it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chemikillz Posted August 25, 2018 Report Share Posted August 25, 2018 I cant comment about behavior changes. I did grab 3 nice keepers today on the south side. 2 of them were a double keeper hookup. I was in 40’ of water using a 2oz blue spro and a glass minnow silicone skirt teaser both tipped with gulp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HugeDinghy Posted August 26, 2018 Report Share Posted August 26, 2018 Assuming conditions allow, it’s really hard to beat a 2 ounce hoggy heavy metal jig. You can’t even hit bottom without hooking up. Pretty much all I do for them anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angler #1 Posted August 26, 2018 Report Share Posted August 26, 2018 Having fished for sea bass some time both from shore and from a boat , We have seen changes over the years , however not so much as to how we catch them , but where we catch them now. We have used,diamond jig, bucktail jigs, rubber imitation, live black eels , crabs, sand eels, squid [in some cases whole not pieces] spoons and an array of special experiments with both color and size of hooks. WE find once they get locked on to a specific size and color that appears like what they want we help them out with our own versions At time a slow sinking offering is better then something that simply drops to the bottom. and other times you need to bounce it on the bottom fast. We very seldom use more then two ounces in weight , no matter how many feet of water we fish in, which during part of the year has been close to 100 feet on one side and only a few feet at other times. [That is when using the lighter [less then 2 ounces works the best, off course with the right coloring they are looking for. Understand that when we fish on them we are looking for only the larger males [or blue head] In another time any fish that was less then 5 pounds was released , now it is not the same when working to find the larger fish in a pod we may be fishing on.Fishing for sea bass can be very rewarding and at the same time one of the best tasting fillets in the ocean Life member M.B.B.A #509 Life member Izaak Walton Fishing Association Life member Cape Cod Canal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikez2 Posted August 26, 2018 Report Share Posted August 26, 2018 I had one chase a jig to the surface in a breachway in RI. I 've never fished for them. Had trouble identifying it at first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyCrabby Posted August 27, 2018 Report Share Posted August 27, 2018 We caught one trolling for bonito at 6 knots on Saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angler #1 Posted August 27, 2018 Report Share Posted August 27, 2018 3 hours ago, PaddyCrabby said: We caught one trolling for bonito at 6 knots on Saturday. At times they can BE VERY AGGRESSIVE IN NATURE and they do like to come of the bottom in some areas and hang around the mid water area , depending upon the depth of the water Life member M.B.B.A #509 Life member Izaak Walton Fishing Association Life member Cape Cod Canal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccb Posted August 28, 2018 Report Share Posted August 28, 2018 Lots of small ones around right now. A good sign for days to come . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topwatercowboy Posted August 29, 2018 Report Share Posted August 29, 2018 I was fly fishing the south side last weekend and got to talking to a guy who had just come in on a kayak. He was saying small black sea bass were fighting to get to the poppers before bluefish did in about 15 feet of water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shake-n-Bake Posted August 29, 2018 Report Share Posted August 29, 2018 My personal experiences have been that early summer they mostly bottom feed, waiting for something to come by, but around this time they are super aggressive. I often catch them while targeting albies. I have seen groups of big males chasing my tin back to the boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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