The Current State of Surf Fishing

[fishless]

Starting this thread to let people share thoughts on the state of the sport.  And to allow the Reports Thread carry on as it should.  So please vent here and let the folks wishing to share a report do so over there.

 

Fire away fellas.  

[bbfish]

There's just too many people surf fishing plain and simple.  The easy access spots with good bites are a given for crowds, but in the last 2 years even hard to reach spots that take a hike to get to in the middle of nights have had crowds.  Places that 9/10 nights I'd never see another soul at.  All of them, jammed with guys.  I've completely avoided the bayshore this spring, thankfully. Its just a matter of time that some of the river spots will have their access closed down.  Middle of the day a few weeks ago I saw a guy above the mean high tide line, just under someone's backyard bulkhead, whip out his d!ck, take a piss, and light a joint.  Guys essentially tailgating in a parking lot that is certainly not for public use.  Sadly there are a lot of scumbags in the fishing community, and the larger the population of the fishing community, the more scumbags.  

 

Edit for afterthought, I've certainly parked in places I shouldn't have before, many times Im generally parked and away from my car in a matter of seconds.  The guys hanging out in these parking lots, and you know who you are, should be publicly shamed. 

Edited April 19 by bbfish

[fishless]

I dont think I ever overstayed in a lot beyond a short period of time to suit up or dress down.  I dont know how ppl living near these locations do not complain.  

[adams54]

Cant really defend all the poor ettitquite. I think it's 10% of the people that cause 90% of the problems. Just like in everything else these days. The good news is theres plenty of options and ways to avoid the crowds. Might not be a prime spot. Unfortunately you just gotta pick your poison. If thats the hardest decision going on in your life right now then I'd say you're doing alright. 

Edited April 19 by adams54

[Goldy]

36 mins ago, bbfish said:

There's just too many people surf fishing plain and simple.  The easy access spots with good bites are a given for crowds, but in the last 2 years even hard to reach spots that take a hike to get to in the middle of nights have had crowds.  Places that 9/10 nights I'd never see another soul at.  All of them, jammed with guys.  I've completely avoided the bayshore this spring, thankfully. Its just a matter of time that some of the river spots will have their access closed down.  Middle of the day a few weeks ago I saw a guy above the mean high tide line, just under someone's backyard bulkhead, whip out his d!ck, take a piss, and light a joint.  Guys essentially tailgating in a parking lot that is certainly not for public use.  Sadly there are a lot of scumbags in the fishing community, and the larger the population of the fishing community, the more scumbags.  

 

Edit for afterthought, I've certainly parked in places I shouldn't have before, many times Im generally parked and away from my car in a matter of seconds.  The guys hanging out in these parking lots, and you know who you are, should be publicly shamed. 

Its the worst i have ever seen. Absolute worst.  
and i will admit in the past i parked in areas i should not have. And trespassed in other areas by myself.  Nowadays its an absolute nightmare.  
 

ive checked spots all last week from 1-2-3-4-5-6am. Every spot had people in it.  And forget the long walk spots. They are crowded too. 
and im sure you been on the boat. I took a picture on sunday afternoon before the fog rolled in.  It was incredible 

 

f to all those social media whores. And f to all the instagram builders who keep blowing up spots.  F to just about everyone

[lostinthewash]

36 mins ago, bbfish said:

There's just too many people surf fishing plain and simple.  The easy access spots with good bites are a given for crowds, but in the last 2 years even hard to reach spots that take a hike to get to in the middle of nights have had crowds.  Places that 9/10 nights I'd never see another soul at.  All of them, jammed with guys.  I've completely avoided the bayshore this spring, thankfully. Its just a matter of time that some of the river spots will have their access closed down.  Middle of the day a few weeks ago I saw a guy above the mean high tide line, just under someone's backyard bulkhead, whip out his d!ck, take a piss, and light a joint.  Guys essentially tailgating in a parking lot that is certainly not for public use.  Sadly there are a lot of scumbags in the fishing community, and the larger the population of the fishing community, the more scumbags.  

 

Edit for afterthought, I've certainly parked in places I shouldn't have before, many times Im generally parked and away from my car in a matter of seconds.  The guys hanging out in these parking lots, and you know who you are, should be publicly shamed. 

Police policing these areas would help sadly most can't or don't want to leave the comfort of their cruisers. I hate to be a rat but some of the stuff I've seen would warrant a call, but sadly I don't think they would bother to check the complaint out.

[JerseyJeb]

1 hour ago, Whaleman said:

Gents…First post here. I have been reading these forums for years, since I started Surf Fishing about 20 years ago. I am from PA and grew up a freshwater fisherman. Decided to give the surf a try and was hooked. I get down to South Jersey about 6 times a year, 2 trips specifically with friends to striper fish, others with wife and kids.  I have done lots of research and lots of asking questions to folks in bait shops and on the beach. Most fisherman I have encountered are generous with tips and incredibly helpful in giving me advice that has really helped me “figure it out”. My friends and I pretty much fish the same spots, and honestly, when we see people there we head elsewhere. Fishing in PA and NJ for me/us , has always been about not pissing off the locals and really finding our own spot where we can hang out for the day, relax and fish hard…in short , it has always been about the FISHING, not necessarily the catching. Some may call us googans, because we mostly bait fish, dead stick, whatever you want to call it, and always have beer, but we have a pretty good idea of what we are doing and always have artificials ready to go, when we want to. We are ethical and respect areas, spots and practice catch and release, we have our salt water registration. For someone who doesn’t live at the “shore”, it’s really a vacation for me/us. The last thing we want is stress. That being said, thanks to all of those who are generous with advice, It has greatly helped me and I will share what I have learned the past 20 years with anyone who asks. So if you see some PA tags in Cape May County parking lots, and you see some guys who have bigger coolers than gear bags, it may be us…just having some fun and relieving some stress. Tight lines gents. Cheers.

Personally I have no beef with tourists or people who regularly make the long "commute" to fish in NJ. More of an issue with the trophy hunters, pro staffers, and rockstars that don't ever mess with NJ in any capacity but magically show up in NJ in very select times in spring and fall to hit pressured fish and then leave. To those people, go away, it's not like you have a lack of fish in your home fisheries and you have no real interest in NJ either. 

[lostinthewash]

2 mins ago, Goldy said:

Its the worst i have ever seen. Absolute worst.  
and i will admit in the past i parked in areas i should not have. And trespassed in other areas by myself.  Nowadays its an absolute nightmare.  
 

ive checked spots all last week from 1-2-3-4-5-6am. Every spot had people in it.  And forget the long walk spots. They are crowded too. 
and im sure you been on the boat. I took a picture on sunday afternoon before the fog rolled in.  It was incredible 

 

f to all those social media whores. And f to all the instagram builders who keep blowing up spots.  F to just about everyone

We are our own worst enemies by even posting reports. It only encourages people to say hey that sounds like fun I could do that too. I say as little as possible when I do report and no pic's basically just the number of fish caught.

 

Another thing that may help is requiring people to join this and other sites to even read reports. I'm sure the number of non registered readers is at least 10 fold the registered posters.

[bbfish]

14 mins ago, fishless said:

I dont think I ever overstayed in a lot beyond a short period of time to suit up or dress down.  I dont know how ppl living near these locations do not complain.  

 

Drives me nuts man.  I'm not much of a talker, fishing or not, and I appreciate that some people use fishing as a social time, but chew the fat out on the water, not while sitting on your tailgate in a soon to be shut down parking lot.  

[fishless]

Just now, bbfish said:

 

Drives me nuts man.  I'm not much of a talker, fishing or not, and I appreciate that some people use fishing as a social time, but chew the fat out on the water, not while sitting on your tailgate in a soon to be shut down parking lot.  

Yup agree with ya.  At the most I'll show my buddy a plug I was using for a minute or two or dig out a bottle of water for a friend if they need it.  Other than that a standard protocol we all should go with is to get in and out as quietly as possible.  

[bbfish]

9 mins ago, lostinthewash said:

Police policing these areas would help sadly most can't or don't want to leave the comfort of their cruisers. I hate to be a rat but some of the stuff I've seen would warrant a call, but sadly I don't think they would bother to check the complaint out.

 

As far as river fishing goes, most of these towns are pretty affluent, and would love nothing more than a good reason to keep the riff raff surf rats out.  They don't have much else to do.  

[Goldy]

2 mins ago, bbfish said:

 

Drives me nuts man.  I'm not much of a talker, fishing or not, and I appreciate that some people use fishing as a social time, but chew the fat out on the water, not while sitting on your tailgate in a soon to be shut down parking lot.  

Have you noticed it has become a team sport more than anything?  Its not uncommon for you to see 4-5guys walking one spot

[bbfish]

Just now, Goldy said:

Have you noticed it has become a team sport more than anything?  Its not uncommon for you to see 4-5guys walking one spot

 

I'm down to one guy that I'll surf fish with.  Still looking to make cuts.  

[Surfratiam]

1 min ago, bbfish said:

 

Drives me nuts man.  I'm not much of a talker, fishing or not, and I appreciate that some people use fishing as a social time, but chew the fat out on the water, not while sitting on your tailgate in a soon to be shut down parking lot.  

100% disagree with you. 
Shut the F up on the water. Only thing worse than a chatterbox out there at 2:00 am is a chatterbox with a white light. 
I’m with Goldy on this F to just about everyone. 

[fishless]

1 min ago, Goldy said:

Have you noticed it has become a team sport more than anything?  Its not uncommon for you to see 4-5guys walking one spot

This has been the way for the last 5 yrs and more.  They walk out in squads like the avengers.