Jump to content

Conservation conversation from Fishing reports for December 2019

Rate this topic


JerseyMike609

Recommended Posts

Half the people complaining about shorts wouldnt take a keeper home anyway,Last week in Monmouth County fish were hitting ever cast but people still complain! The last few months all I've heard is how decimated the stock is but for some reason people still seem surprised theres not a fall run like there used to be! I havent had any amazing days fishing this fall but I have had 2-3 pretty good ones and until all the States start taking this fishery seriously what do you expect?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Hook 62 said:

Keep taking pictures of the small ones  because that's all we have left on the beach. Not complaining  just saying . Happy to catch any fish at all. :wag:  a frustrating year at best. 

It puts a lot of unnecessary stress on the fish for you to get your pic... Just saying.

"Russian War Ship.. go f*#k yourself"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After last year and 17, catching a lot of fish this fall was great it was fun etc. but when you reminisce about all the small fish and hardly any keepers it is really tough to fathom exactly why there are all small fish on the beach. Too few of fish out far to push bait in. All the bunker in October had zero to a couple fish in miles of bait. Zero marks on maybe 20 diff schools of bunker my buddies and I kayaked around to. I’ve lost a couple bites that felt like good fish but even on a couple night binge where I was in great bites of schoolies, very few keepers if any. It’s even hard to believe guys catching 30” fish with these clubs like Sudsy says not getting any fish, other dude saying a 29” is biggest in his club, zero weigh ins, it’s like guys have eyeballs that are used to 22” fish and when they get that 26” it’s a 30”. I did the same thing - my buddy and I had an every cast bite in an inlet for entire tides and a fish that I got looked much bigger than the rest I called it 31-32”  ended up being 28”. It’s really that dismal. I’ve been fishing every weekend since mid oct til last weekend and I didn’t go anywhere this weekend. Sad state of affairs. And the guys saying “dude why’s everyone complaining there’s tons of fish!” Man, get real. Get real. Schoolie bites are fun, but historically this is a big fish time of year, a big bait, big fish time of year. I could drive to downtown dc and catch these size fish or 45 min away to the Chesapeake bay to get fish to ocean keeper size but it’s the lure of the unknown and the off chance for a migratory fish or several (lightning Strike situation after last couple years) that brings me up to jersey and elsewhere. I will be giving well south of you guys some shots this month and next.  Can’t wait for spring. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, JimK said:

It puts a lot of unnecessary stress on the fish for you to get your pic... Just saying.

Can't really argue with this, but I do not have a problem with it. Everyone who is out there just for C&R puts unnecessary stress on fish just for their own fun, let's be honest here. As long as someone is respectful and quick with their picture, the fish can be released fine. Anglers who target trout, largemouth bass, catfish, reds, etc all seem to be able to snap pictures and send the fish back. Just my opinion here anyways. Someone who drags their fish through the sand and keeps the thing out of water for a ton of time is no bueno though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, linesiderdemdnj said:

After last year and 17, catching a lot of fish this fall was great it was fun etc. but when you reminisce about all the small fish and hardly any keepers it is really tough to fathom exactly why there are all small fish on the beach. Too few of fish out far to push bait in. All the bunker in October had zero to a couple fish in miles of bait. Zero marks on maybe 20 diff schools of bunker my buddies and I kayaked around to. I’ve lost a couple bites that felt like good fish but even on a couple night binge where I was in great bites of schoolies, very few keepers if any. It’s even hard to believe guys catching 30” fish with these clubs like Sudsy says not getting any fish, other dude saying a 29” is biggest in his club, zero weigh ins, it’s like guys have eyeballs that are used to 22” fish and when they get that 26” it’s a 30”. I did the same thing - my buddy and I had an every cast bite in an inlet for entire tides and a fish that I got looked much bigger than the rest I called it 31-32”  ended up being 28”. It’s really that dismal. I’ve been fishing every weekend since mid oct til last weekend and I didn’t go anywhere this weekend. Sad state of affairs. And the guys saying “dude why’s everyone complaining there’s tons of fish!” Man, get real. Get real. Schoolie bites are fun, but historically this is a big fish time of year, a big bait, big fish time of year. I could drive to downtown dc and catch these size fish or 45 min away to the Chesapeake bay to get fish to ocean keeper size but it’s the lure of the unknown and the off chance for a migratory fish or several (lightning Strike situation after last couple years) that brings me up to jersey and elsewhere. I will be giving well south of you guys some shots this month and next.  Can’t wait for spring. 

 

I couldn't agree more with this post. It is the tale of 2 worlds between surf and boat. I happen to do both, in fact, I'm probably in the suds about 60% of the season, boat the other 40. What is remarkable is how different the seasons were. The boat season for this fall, I'd honestly would give it a 8 of 10. Lots of big fish in late october, followed by constant blitzes of schoolies, and just over keepers. The surf, ehh I'd give it a 5. I was fortunate to be in the right place right time this fall and get a big girl. Other than that, there was a ton of striking it out. What I'm so amazed about is the state of the ocean surf. The ocean has been synonymous with big fish for centuries. Whether it's "fish tales" or based in fact, when we think of fish over 20lbs, we often think of out front. That is so far from the truth now it's scary. One thing I'm noticing the last few years is the the bunker/bass not being in synch. August and September our waters are filled with millions of adult bunker. I mean, I saw football fields of them as summer became fall...than, they seemed to be gone. After that, the bass arrived and once again it was a sand eel bite. I don't know, that's my own observation, but it's pretty interesting. I remember falls, being able to toss the throw net in the middle of a blitz and pulling up a few dozen bunker to live line. Now it's tough to find those schools at the height of the fall run. Perhaps the timing being off keeps them away? Along with the half dozen other variables. One thing is for sure though, the boat guys need to be on the same page as the surf guys. There are probably hundreds of fisherman saying "this was a banner year, this fishery is in good shape." If they have the ear of our law makers, than this is very bad news. Because the reality is, that is not based in truth. We want to ensure a good fall run in 2030, not just next year.

Edited by joefishnj21
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, JimK said:

Maybe it's time to stop taking pictures of all the dinks.. I mean really how many 20-inch fish do I have to see pictures of.:fire:..save the photo ops for the big fish...

 

How about you take pictures of the small fish and you don't take pictures of a big fish. I don't want see a big fish hanging from your boga ever. When you have a big fish don't even take it out of the water.  

 

 

Yep two sides to every coin. 

Edited by crazybellringer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, linesiderdemdnj said:

After last year and 17, catching a lot of fish this fall was great it was fun etc. but when you reminisce about all the small fish and hardly any keepers it is really tough to fathom exactly why there are all small fish on the beach. Too few of fish out far to push bait in. All the bunker in October had zero to a couple fish in miles of bait. Zero marks on maybe 20 diff schools of bunker my buddies and I kayaked around to. I’ve lost a couple bites that felt like good fish but even on a couple night binge where I was in great bites of schoolies, very few keepers if any. It’s even hard to believe guys catching 30” fish with these clubs like Sudsy says not getting any fish, other dude saying a 29” is biggest in his club, zero weigh ins, it’s like guys have eyeballs that are used to 22” fish and when they get that 26” it’s a 30”. I did the same thing - my buddy and I had an every cast bite in an inlet for entire tides and a fish that I got looked much bigger than the rest I called it 31-32”  ended up being 28”. It’s really that dismal. I’ve been fishing every weekend since mid oct til last weekend and I didn’t go anywhere this weekend. Sad state of affairs. And the guys saying “dude why’s everyone complaining there’s tons of fish!” Man, get real. Get real. Schoolie bites are fun, but historically this is a big fish time of year, a big bait, big fish time of year. I could drive to downtown dc and catch these size fish or 45 min away to the Chesapeake bay to get fish to ocean keeper size but it’s the lure of the unknown and the off chance for a migratory fish or several (lightning Strike situation after last couple years) that brings me up to jersey and elsewhere. I will be giving well south of you guys some shots this month and next.  Can’t wait for spring. 

Were you and everyone els expecting a "good" fall run this year? Hopefully after the regulations change it will start getting better but until then it should go With out Saying there are no fish!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, JerseyMike609 said:

Were you and everyone els expecting a "good" fall run this year? Hopefully after the regulations change it will start getting better but until then it should go With out Saying there are no fish!

Absolutely not, I was expecting it to be tough to find any fish at all. After going up a few times and catching fish each time early on, I was under the impression that a good source of bait was bringing small fish in and there’s a better chance than not of having some at least keeper to 32” fish at least to come in. Or to fish the cuts, jetties etc and get a random straggler keeper. To see nothing but small fish is not only annoying as crap but it is the same song and dance of the past 3 years. In 17 during the micro bites we had toward end of November and last year the small schoolie bites, these have got to be the same fish and they are slightly bigger each year. That is one constant that is a positive. But for these fish to be almost keeper size next year or the year after, it’s gonna be interesting to fish year after year and see what the numbers will be. My guess is there will be a couple years in a row that will have some keeper action if we can get the same bait around and then it’ll Peter out. Not looking good. Sucks. There is def still time I’m not saying dude it’s over etc like dave 715 or whatever is saying with his smart alec post saying hahaha guys are throwing in the towel etc, I drove up from the DC area and to keep going hard for a maybe shot at a keeper is just not worth it to me and I’m gonna stick south. Good luck guys

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...