|
November 30, 2003 - Jersey
Shore Salt Report
Managed to hit the salt today. The surf had a minor swell when we arrived
and laid down as the day went on. However, the water color was about
the same as the Schuylkill after a rain. Not promising looking at all.
But we managed to get into some fish. Mostly sea herring in various
sizes - up to about 20" as well as one striper. The bass was dredged
out of a nice looking seam on a pink jiggy. Lots of silversides still
around and I would guess there are still lots of bass to be caught.
We are in the home stretch so get out there.
something smells fishy? |
A fiesty late-November bass. |
|
|
November 26, 2003 - Jersey
Shore Salt Report
Tough, tough day for the salt…we hit the
last three hours of the in-coming and fished our way through the
full outgoing...with only one short to be found. Not much of anything
materialized until partway through the outgoing. Then we began
to notice schools of bait here and there. Finally one pod had
some fish on the inside edge and within casting distance. It was
then shortly there after we produced a fish. Otherwise everything
was too far out. The only bait noticed was peanut bunker - pretty
small in size and pretty tough to see when you got to spot it
beyond the outer bar. It also seemed to be hanging kind of deep
at times. Awesome visuals with 8-10 slot and larger size bass
cutting through a cresting wave.
Fish On! |
A fat late-November bass. |
|
Talkin' spey. |
|
Definitely still some fish around, you just got to put in your
time from here on out….
HAPPY
THANKGIVING!
|
|
| November
23, 2003 - UPDATE |
|
It is weather like this that keeps us fly fisherman
from hanging it up for the season. Bigger streams are a no go,
but if you search out the smaller waters you can come across some
fantastic fishing. Pictured immediately to the right shows the
effects of this unbelievably wet pattern we have been in - with
the word being it is going to continue right on into December.
This past year must have re-written the record books. The graph
located below-right shows one of my favorite streams in the area
and where it flow stands in the wake of the recent rainfall. As
you can see the ground is charged with water. Evident by the higher
cfs tapering off point. Normally Valley should be at about 20cfs,
now it is level; clean and cold at about 50cfs. AMAZING stuff!
SALTWATER ACTION
We still got some more salt action
left in us...so look for some more feedback from the NJ coast
in the few days. It seems to have slowed down some, but you never
know unless you give it a shot. It just might lead to a scene
like we ran into a few weeks ago with bait right tight to the
waters edge and nervousness everywhere. All the usual bait suspects
are still around along with a greater presence of sea run herring
which can actually be quite fun on a fly. Now is a good time to
have a seven weight rigged just in case they are around. They
really seek out the moving water and migrating eddies. I've seen
them in the past completely torment schools of spearing that were
tightly packed against a jetty. When the larger game fish are
not around, which will happen this time of year, sea-run herring
can save the day...see ya.
|
|
Anywhere you see a black dot
means the gage is reporting a record high reading for the
day. Anywhere you see a blue dot means
the reading is in the top 10%
of readings for that day.
The trend continues...
|
|
|
|
November 16, 2003 - Jersey
Shore Saltwater Action
Lots of bait showed up toward dark last night and the bass rolled in
and out in seconds...noticed two waves of fish. Just enough time to
hook up and land, then hook up again. Mostly schoolies, but some larger
boils were scene. Yellow Poppers - Bob's Bangers - on an intermediate
line were the ticket and the bass hit agressivly. Strip-strip-strip-pause.
The action should continue to be HOT! Just throw!
just outta reach.
|
|
November 13, 2003 - Jersey
Shore Saltwater Action
The Jersey Shore salt scene continues to hold strong. As of Tuesday
there was still a ton of bait packed in tight along the beaches. Especially
as the tide dropped and the bowls became more pronounced essentially
trapping the bait with nowhere to go until the tide rolled in which
enabled the bait to escape. Either way, with the bait running the beach
or packed in the bowls it was being ambushed by some gator blues. Not
many bass caught - still mostly bluefish. We will have to wait and see
what this big-time W-NW blow is going to do. Regardless come Thursday
there will be a serious blow-out-tide. This is definitely a good time
to check out the beaches to find all those deep holes in tight to the
beaches that can hold fish during normal water conditions. This weekend
we will be back at to see what the migration brings our way.
Lots of times fly fishers not familiar with fishing the
salt always ask how far you need to cast. Well, pictured above shows
you need not cast far to get into the action. This is what makes the
fall migration so great for us shore-bound anglers. The bait in this
picture is peanut bunker. You still got time so get out there and poke
around. Send us an email if you would like any helpful tips.
|
|
November 9, 2003 - Jersey
Shore Salt Recap
On Sunday FFPA along with Tony and Jerry from TCO
Fly Shop in Reading hit the salt. First light
produced some really tough conditions - a stiff north wind, cold temps
and some roughed-up surf greeted us. And other than the bright-sun,
conditions remained about the same. After a couple of hours of fishing
hard we only managed one slot-sized striper on a clouser. This was a
little dissapointing since the day before was on fire. Later in the
day on the out-going tide some nice size pods of peanut bunker began
to show. And every so often some bass would roll through them. This
definitely got you pumped. Which was a good thing, becuase the surf
was relentless and it took some pretty aggressive casting to get your
fly into the 'zone.' Persistence did pay off though in the end with
another nice bass inhaling a chartreuse popovics jiggy. Throwing the
spinning rod produced fish with greater ease. Baitfish seen - peanut
bunker, bay anchovies and silversides. For the amount of effort put
forth by the crew results should have been better.
First light bass |
Afternoon bass |
|
|
November 5, 2003 - Update
Pictured here are a couple of good color schemes to tie up
the next time you hit the bench. They are a must have in your
box as well. Popovics Jiggies are durable, especially when tied
with synthetic materials like Superhair in this case. Pre-wiring
a few of them will mean less down-time on the water. Also, another
little tip is to carry a small moustache comb to straighten
the fibers of the material. Sometimes they can get all kinked
and tangled after being abused by a few teeth.
Recently, mountain freestone action for wild browns and brookies
has been fastastic. Especially with the warm weather we have
been having. Fish might still come up for a dry or two, but
your best bet is to give a couple of nymphs a swing or even
a dry and a dropper rig. Colors, both up in the trees and on
the fish should be sweet. However, the former will be coming
to end relatively soon. This is also the time of the year where
you might run into some larger browns trying to bed up. All
we can say in this case is to just walk away. And keep an eye
out for the hunters.
Larger waterways are still on the high side - so since they
started that way, then what the hell, they might as well end
it that way. This has only got us more pumped for next year.
Confirmation has also been received that the relocation of
the roadway, from inside FEW reservoir, has indeed started.
Now hopefully sometime in the near future we can begin drawing
up a recreation plan on how to best utilize this impoundment.
For some more info on FEW and great photos go here.
|
|
|
|
November
2, 2003 - Jersey Shore Salt Report
Whatta Day!!! Thousands of blues in the trough, absolutely
shredding the peanut bunker and leaving the beach littered with flipping
baitfish was the scene this afternoon. Fall, Jersey shore blitz action
at its finest! Being able to locate baitfish is the key to the game
and the ability to find it with very few signs can be tough. Yeah, you
can stumble across feeding-frenzies this time of year, but there are
things to look for along the way to help you out. Telltale signs today
were the distant dark patches about 200 yards offshore. When the light
and swell were right, you could make out huge rafts of bait. It was
then a combo of the high tide, a very-light east wind and some pretty
big waves that brought the bait over the outer bar and in tight. Then
it was all-out crazyness. There were numerous hook-ups and beached fish.
The blues ranged from 4-9# and were a blast on the fly. So many blues,
and no bass only means we still have a while left in this season.
I would tell you about Saturday, but there is nothing
to say since it was dead! Go figure…but that is the deal with fishing
the migration. However, putting to use some observations tools can help
make the day.
|
Memories
of a Fall Blitz
11.02.03
|
The aftermath.
Click on the image above for more photos of the HOT action we
witnessed.
|
This could be the November to Remember. Blues usually
preceed the bass, so hopefully this year that is the case. Other than
the push of bass we had a couple of weeks ago we have not seen to many
large migrating schools, feasting on the abundant bait along the Jersey
coast.
Now is the time for you shore-bound fly rodders.
|
