Lock the house, take your keys, and go FISH!
As much as I hate to wear out an overused phrase in any fishing report – the bite is on!
The old, “That’s why they call it fishing” mantra just does not apply these days. What’s going on at the Jersey Shore is catching…lots and lots of catching.
The big bluefish are on a marauding, diabolical, locust-like tear, carving a path of destruction from one end of the state to the other. The “Promised Land” from Manasquan down to the bottom of Long Beach Island has clouds of birds so thick that you could pick them up five miles away on radar. Pictures of sounder screens blocked out by red are all over the internet boards. Clusters of surfcasters are elbowing for position in the shallow wash that is stained with blood and bits of bait. Bluefish are feeding on the top, bass are feeding on the bottom.
Ernie at Giglio’s in Sea Bright is weighing in fish! There have been some blitzes on the sand at Monmouth Beach with anglers throwing metals and hooking up. The trick is to be there soaking some bunker and paying close attention to what the rest of the beach is doing. Have that long throwing rod rigged and ready to rip with your favorite piece of tin.
Dan at Lacey Marine in Forked River also reports hot action on the beaches on bunker chunks. The flotilla is connecting with metals like AVAs and Crippled Herring. This week’s Fat Bass photo is a 47-pound cow caught by Frank Kibelewski.
Dave at The Reel Seat summed it all up with, “Bass fishing is on FIRE!” Surf guys and boat guys are all connecting. Jigging off the boats is your best bet, but trolling sand eel rigs is doing a great job when the birds are down and you are scouting. From the beach, chunks of bunker, metal, and needlefish are all putting fish on the sand including lots of bluefish in the 8- to 15-pound range, and quality bass. Nearshore boat fishermen have reported several bluefin school sightings but Dave has herard no reports of anyone connecting.
Chris at Harry’s Army Navy says, “Go South!” LBI is the center of the action with some of his sharpies connecting in the off hours with nice-sized bass on bunker and eels.
The hottest metals he is selling these days are the ones from Run Off Lures. There is a large variety available and he is running them at 10% off this week.
There is a line to get to the scales at Fisherman’s Headquarters! This is no fish story, there were 25 fish weighed in from the surf before lunch on Wednesday. Amazing. The secret formula was no secret; buy bunker, catch fish.
OK, even I need to catch my breath a little… but here is some exciting news that has just been released. Tackle Direct has officially moved into their new 24,000 sq. ft facility at 6825 Tilton Rd in Egg Harbor Township. I was there yesterday, the place is just plain HUGE. 1/2 mile south of Exit 36 on the GSP.
Andy at Riptide Bait & Tackle in Brigantine is weighing in 20-plus pounders like crazy. Even the guys that took to the beach last night in the pouring rain were bringing in fish to the scales this morning when the shop opened before sun-up.
A little further south Ed at Fin-atics in Ocean City had just come off the beach where where he connected with a couple bass on plugs. His local inlets are producing fish on eels and bunker and the back bay “secret” spots are still good targets in low light. Togging has also been real good from land and from boats on green crabs. Excellent news since the bag limits bumped up to 6 tog per man this week.
Chuck down at Off the Hook in Cape May has the scales pretty busy as well with local charter Hands Off weighing in 7 bass to 40 pounds yesterday. The 20-foot Slough and the C&B are good starting points as the rips have been kind of spotty. From out front, there have been good reports of nice bluefish and some bass for guys pulling 9ers Rigs and Mann’s Stretch 25 Deep Divers. If bluefish is your target, the 5-Fathom Bank has been lighting up pretty good too.
Best bet for the rest of this week and the weekend… just GO! Mid-state is lit up like a Christmas tree. This is as good as it gets. As of right now, the guys from down south are just going to have to travel a little to up the odds, but as soon as the fish make the Wreck Inlet turn everything can change and all heck can break loose off any beach in the state. The weather for the weekend is looking better than it looked all week.
You still here reading….. why? GO!
Stay Tuna-ed!