New York Metro &
New Jersey

December 10th, 2004

Another Season Closes

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Yea…  We’re closing shop for the year…  But, there is, most certainly, still plenty of action to be had.  There was some pretty horrendous wind these last two weeks, but when the weather broke, the guys who are still at it did very well.  Me…  I think I’m done till spring.  I awoke this morning to windless conditions and what looked like a gorgeous flyfishing friendly day.  The boat had been out of the water for a week, the tide was low and ebbing, and I had a mountain of work to get done before the holiday.  But that kind of thing never stopped me before, so I made a call to the office, hooked the boat up and then realized I probably had a dead battery because I left the radio on.  My fears were confirmed when I put the key in the ignition and got that sickening “click.”  I took that as a sign that it was just plain and simple time to pack it in… 

Looking back on this year, I can’t help but think we were robbed of a good portion of the fall.  It seems the wind during Oct and Nov gets more intense every year.  And to make matters worse, the most egregious blows seemed to come on the weekends.  A real bummer, but there’s just not much you can do when Mother Nature squeezes you out like that.  Of course, being the paranoid liberal that I am, I’d first point to global climate change as a result of the shrinking ozone layer.  But truth is, the fall is the fall and the weather is iffy at best during those two critical months.  We get lucky some years, some we don’t.  Tough to accept when the wind keeps you in for three weekends in a row at a time, but it’s the way it is.  I look at it this way: the fish got a pass this year. 

The spring for most was an excellent one, with some very big fish being taken on the fly from Jersey to the New York Bight and of course Montauk.  The flats fishing this year, was by most accounts, excellent.  Unlike the fall, the weather generally cooperated.  The summer brought us some very welcome guests, although only briefly.  Anglers who jumped on the opportunity were lucky enough to get in on some wonderful inshore skipjack and school bluefin action.  While green bonito were lacking in numbers this year, the albie season, across the board, was a good one, as we are seeing more and more of these awesome fish every year.  Let’s hope the trend continues.  The fall, at least for me was an inconsistent disappointment.   Nevertheless, we had our good days…  And the herring run continues.  We may yet see some 40’s and perhaps even 50’s before everything heads south.  Offshore, the fly-guys making the run did quite well, but this year’s stiff fall winds shut them out of some of the best action.  Bluefin tuna made a brief showing off of Montauk this November, but not enough for anyone to actually hook one. 

On the conservation front, lots happened this year…  Perhaps the most prominent of event was the presidential election.  New York and New Jersey made their choices, but so did the rest of America.  People were as passionate as ever this time around, and, as most would have expected, fisheries, the environment, open space and clean water played low on the list of deciding issues.  I think we were all glad when it was finally over with, and we could get back to focusing on our flyfishing obsession.

Locally, as detailed in past columns, fishermen most definitely killed too many big stripers this year.  In fact, the stock assessment numbers for 2003 showed that anglers overfished stripers by a large margin. This year MA went to two fish and there was a commercial increase so it is bound to be worse for 2004.  Still, the ASMFC chose to take no corrective for 2005.  Unfortunate, but not surprising in the slightest.  Seems as if the ASMFC can consistently be counted on to do the wrong thing.  New York even got permission to get a two fish bag limit this year.  But that’s not going to happen if we can help it!  So, please stay tuned for notices of hearings, letter-writing opportunities etc…  It’s going to take a big public outcry to stop this from happening. 

The poaching in the New York Bight continued pretty much unabated this year.  We lost out on an opportunity to improve things on this front as the New York License proposal got flushed down the toilet after a year in the making, by folks who were just to cheap to pay for conservation.  While I understand many disagree with me here, it’s a real bummer that this thing just died the way it did.  As a result, the Marine Resources Advisory Council will let the New York State Legislature will ask that the unmet marine program needs be met by increased funding to DEC from the State's General Fund.  The chances of the legislature actually granting more money from the general fund are very poor, perhaps inpossible… So expect to see no change, and perhaps even a decrease in service.

On the offshore front, Western Atlantic Bluefin Tuna stock assessments showed an unprecedented low, while fishing pressure was at all-time high.  North Carolina still holds one of the last healthy groupings of fish during the winter, and these fish have generally been off-limits to most commercial fishing. Unfortunately, however, the commercial fleet that normally targets bluefin in New England waters is actively lobbying to re-locate its fishing effort to the waters off North Carolina for this year’s winter fishing season. They could not catch 2/3 of their allocated quota this year because there just aren’t enough around.  Let’s hope these guys aren’t successful.

The good news is that there was a bold report put out by the US Oceans Commission detailing the downward spiral of marine fish.  As a result a bill was introduced that sighted the “Fox Watching the Hen House” system of fisheries management councils as a major factor the mismanagement and decline of fish stocks.  The bill seeks to prevent council members from participating in any vote that would affect their financial interest, and will allow conservation groups and the public to play a greater role in management decisions.  If it passes it will eliminate the conflict of interest that has infected the decision-making process.  Furthermore the legislation seeks to separate conservation and allocation by having the Secretary of Commerce make decisions about safe levels of harvest and habitat protection measures based on recommendations from independent regional science and technical teams.   Let’s all just hope this bill actually goes somewhere. 

All in all, not a bad year.  I enjoyed some wonderful days on the water with some wonderful people.  I consider myself very fortunate to be a flyfisher and to have this incredible resource at my doorstep.  There is nothing quite as fulfilling as throwing a long loop at a cruising fish or a quick boil.  Except that fast hookup!  Thanks for another great season…  I look forward to heading south in search of snook, tarpon at some point this winter…  But, even more so, I’m looking forward to the continued rebirth of our local fishery next spring.  Thanks for reading!!!

Now let’s get on to the last report of the year:

Still, lots of fish under birds all along the Jersey Coast.  There seems to be all types of bait around, but the herring are drawing the large fish.  There are mostly smaller fish in Northern New Jersey and the New York Bight with some upwards of 32-inches.  Some larger fish are being spotted just following the flies, but none over 15-pounds have been hooked recently to my knowledge.  Along the entire South Shore of Long Island, reports of birds and fish have been abundant.  During many instances these fish have been feeding right in the wash.  On the North Shore there are sill bass around but they seem to be in deeper water and only accessible to those fishing jigs.  Out in Montauk, while most have packed it in for the year, the action continues with bass and herring under birds.

So, if you don’t mind the cold, don’t pack it in yet…  It’s still happening… 

And don’t forget to email me your own reports. Tight lines all.

Tight Lines!

John McMurray

New Jersey

The guys at Shore Catch Guide Service continue to hammer them from both beach and boat in Central New Jersey. Check it out:

John,

Before I get into the season recap, let me tell you how absolutely AWESOME the fishing is here in Jersey right now. For the last week we have had miles upon miles of birds and braking fish chasing everything from large herring to sand eels, peanut bunker, and rainfish. This is classic December fishing on the Jersey Shore with fish on every cast from dawn until dusk on the fly. Charters with John Yavorsky, Walter and Peter Ulicny, Bruce English and Gene Mullica; all saw 100 fish days on the fly one after another four days straight! The fish are averaging 5 to 25 lbs with the bigger stripers out in deeper water chasing herring on top, and the smaller fish in close on the massive pods of peanut bunker. Hot flies have been Bucktail deceivers, hollow fleyes, big half & halfs, and Marabou minnows. Chartreuse and white seems to be the hottest color, but frankly it really does not seem to matter as long as it is long and bright.

The good news in that this action is just starting with the herring, and as long as we do not get any really hard core storms it should even get better with all BIG fish and last right through the Christmas holiday.

On the beach the action is also firing as out beach bound guides Shell E and Darren have been spanking the fish in the wash with Bucktail deceiver flies and swimming plugs for our light tackle charters in the surf.

Overall it has been a really great season for us here at Shore Catch. We saw a tremendous bluefish fishing and a really BIG bass run this spring, including a 58 LB bass that was taken by our client Rich K. on a live bunker in 8 feet of water on June 10th. We had a great season up on the flats in April and May, sight fishing for bass and blues on the white sand flats of Barnegat.

Our offshore season started as probably the best I can ever remember on the fly, with some days on July and August nailing close to 30 school sized Bluefin on the fly and many other days of 10 to 12 fish an outing. The fall bite however was hampered by the storms, and we really never got a shot at the bigger Bluefin in the Mudhole.

The fall, welll....what can I say. Tremendous Albie fishing, BIG blues until your arms fell off, and now the grand finale -- our November and December Bass run.

We want to take the opportunity to that everyone who fished with us this year, and also that all the reel-time readers for checking in to our reports every week.

Just a few announcements, our new Book "Saltwater Fishing" A Tactical Approach is available now at www.shorecatch.com. This book was a collaboration from Myself and my partners Capt. Jim Freda and Shell E. Caris and in filled with hundreds of tactics for fly and light tackle fishing both from the beach and the boat.

We are also now booking trips for our 2005 season and at this writing are almost completely booked with only a few prime dates open. If you are interested in fishing with us for next year, please reserve now on one of our three boats or along the beaches in one of our five 4X4 beach buggies to ensure you experience Jersey inshore and offshore fly fishing at its finest! Thanks again. We wish you all a happy holiday season and look forward to being back next year.

Nice!!!

Farther North in the Sandy Hook area Captain Paul Eidman from Reel Therapy reports great late season action as well:

Hi John-

Final report? NOT>>> We are still fishin…as of this report, the fat lady that everybody keeps talking about is out on break… There are still a lot of bass East of us, so we are keeping the boat in as long as the water remains soft in the river, before ice scraping season officially begins. Bassin has been good along the outside and down the beach under gulls, with fish from 18” to over 33”. White flies seem to be working best, but that changes hourly, like the winds… Thanks to everybody that fished aboard Reel Therapy this year, we are looking forward to a short winter and a great spring season. Remember that Reel Therapy offers personalized Gift Certificates for fishing charters as well as Kayak ecotours.
Happy and safe holidays to all.

Lots of schoolies on the outside with the occasional keeper mixed in.  On some days fish are coming right into the wash to feed on abundant schools of peanut bunker.  A bit farther off the beach, fish are working schools of herring.  This is where the larger fish have been, but they’ve been much more difficult to catch.  Nothing much to report from Jamaica Bay, probably because no one’s been fishing back there. 

Captain Frank Crescitelli from Fin Chaser Charters reported that today (Thursday) Ricky Fink caught around 75 bass east of Breezy Point, all of which were fat, and just short of keeper size.  According to Frank, the fish were on herring.  Frank seems to think that this sort of action will continue well into January and that every season seems to be lasting longer and longer. 

Captain Joe Mattioli from One The Bite Charters reports more of the same:

It’s said to say but this my last report for 2004. We had Bass blitzes for hours with fish up to 12lbs.  The majority of the fish were under 5lbs but it was a blast catching fish on every cast. Half/half clousers chat/white and blue/white Were the ticket. Our highlight of the year was catching a 51.1lb bass, unfortunately it wasn’t on a fly but it was awesome to find out first hand that these size fish are in our own backyard. I like to thank you and the staff at Reel-Time for a great year of coverage and look forward to 2005!

Happy Holidays

Reel-Timer Wayne Ferferson checks in with a weekend Breezy Point report.  Check it out:

John,

Made the beach access turn at Breezy Point Saturday 7:00 AM and was
greeted by about 100 birds right off the beach. Fortunately I had my waders on and rod ready. Hooked three schoolies within fifteen minutes then no action for the rest of the day.

Also reporting from that area is Breezy Point Jetty guru David Berman:

Hi John, 
Turn around and it's December already. November went like a blur with mostly small bass and a very infrequent keeper sized prize. Yesterday was such a day, managed to finish work early, then hotfooted it out to the jetty. The afternoon was warm and relatively windless, with clear water and a decent swell going on the ocean. Hope Springs. On the walk out an suv guy informs that a spin rod angler was picking up schoolie bass in the wash at the pocket, but nothing succumbs to my casts or my fly as I work my way out on the ocean side, nothing on the inlet side either. But hope still springs as I see a spin rod flex out at the tip and see two small fish get landed and released. The swells and the foaming troughs are looking particularly fishy at this juncture, and on the next retrieve I'm connected and instead of reeling in my excess line from the stripping basket, it's shooting out the guides, and I'm pursuing a good fish torwards the tip!  A long story shortened, after a good fight and some timing of the swells a good fish comes to hand and I'm a satisfied boy. One more schoolie at sunset and hope continues to spring for the next day's fishing.   David

Western Long Island

From the South Shore Captain Barry Kanavy from Natural Anglers sent in this end of the year report:

Well boys it's that time again. I have included some flash-back photos
that sum up what a great season it's been . Every year is different,
one thing we can all depend on is nothing remains the same, like 30
consecutive days 20+ mph wind with gusts to 55 brought to you by,
"Mother Montauk" this fall. September sight fishing days with flats
covered with hundreds of big Stripers. October Albacore and Spanish
Mac's on the flats. Unheard of, you say, spend enough time out there
and eventually you will see it all. How about last week off Montauk 50
pound Bluefin Tuna eating Bluefish like potato chips. Oh yeah, and this
one really sticks out, Five charter boats washed up on the rocks in ten
days on Montauk, or anglers  jumping overboard and swimming into the
beach  in rough sea's. No, not on my boat. As the sport of saltwater
fly fishing continues to grow there will always be room level headed
Captains and anglers with nerves of steel. This coming spring Natural
Anglers will be hosting "The Northeast Saltwater Fly Fishing School"
helping all anglers take our sport to the next level. Please check out
our website, www.naturalanglers.com for tropical fishing adventures
over the winter.
don't forget to check your backing
Captain Barry Kanavy

From the North Shore Captain Robin Calitri checks in with this report:

I’ve been fishing the Cold Spring Harbor area.  There are still Bass at the Huntington Triangle but the deep water and fast currents make flyrodding tough.  Diamond Jigging works well on light tackle.  Erik Ebbesen who landed at Newark after a South African safari was treated to his first Striper on C Sic Again at buoy 11b on Friday.  On Saturday, Scot, Erik Ebbesen, Captain Todd Calitri joined me for a Montauk jaunt.  It was mayhem for about 2 ½ hours.  Bass were thick at the North Bar area.  My first  Bass was over 20 pounds. We had doubles of 34" on the fly.  Erick and Todd are full time guides at Alaska Sportsmans Lodge in remote Alaska.  Check them out at the shows.  This is my favorite time of the year!  Turkey and football Thursday, fishing Friday, Saturday and on to skiing! Have a safe and healthy off season! BASST, Captain Robin Calitri

Eastern Long Island

From the Montauk area, Captain Jim Hull checks in with this final 2004 report:

Hi John, Montauk is going off right now, it is snowing gannets that are divebombing the biggest schools of big mackeral and blueback herring that I have ever seen. These are quality 12" baits with all large bass on them. We have been out 8 times since the arrival of this bait and 3 personal bests on fly have been taken with some insane fishing. One early morning produced 2 fish that were 47", 1 at 45", 1 at 44" and 2 that went just over 40" out of 15 fish, nothing under 36". The fishing year 2004 will go down in the books as the best bass fishing year in history, hands down. We have had a phenominal year on big bass with 62 fish of 40" or better with two 48" fish and three 47" fish with numerous fish going over 30lbs. all caught casting artificials, both fly and top water, NO BAIT. It was consistent with big bass coming to the boat each week throughout most of the season. There were some memorable moments this season, vivid and indelible like the sight casted 42" fly caught bass at Sweet Pea cove on the Rock in May. The Sea Robin muggers on the pieces out front during the summer. When thousands of 7" snappers migrated past the lighthouse from the back bays and were intercepted head on by wolfpacks of big bass in September, a gaze down into the clear water revealed big bass just rolling on these hapless juvenile predators, what a scene and hey, we caught a few. Well, last report of the year, have a great off season, will talk next spring from the Rock. Pump up and reel down. Capt. Jim Hull

Wow!!!

Salty Flyrodder Joel Filner also sends us a graceful end of the year report:

As the season draws slowly to a close, there are some great memories
of fish and weather that keep reminding me what a valuable, unique,
and ever changing resource we are allowed to use in our 100 mile
radius. Beach access is key and there are a large group working to
maintain those permits and permissions over the year. And most
importantly the fishing this season was one of the best in many
years. From 8 to 10 lb weakfish in the spring, more keeper bass than
I can ever recall in one season, a normal bait pattern over most of
the summer, to the arrival of the herring and gannets at Montauk in
recent days, now ending with an intemperate blow with rain and wind.
I actually bought a boga grip to ease the hook removal from blues
whilst wading in Shinnecock Bay this spring. I hate to walk in and
out (or lose a finger).

The one guarantee of bad weather this year was for the Saltys to plan
a trip. Wind, rain, high tides, and no fish. We beat them this year
with a trip to Shinnecock that proved fruitful and Albie full for the
souls that made the 6 hours of reasonable weather before the winds
and horizontal rain came in. Breezy was definitely that.. very
breezy. But fish are still around on December 6th, maybe not too
accessible to the fly rod but the spin guys were getting fish on
Saturday and Sunday. I fished from a boat more than usual this year,
with two spectacular days with Amanda and a great day with David, and
three days in the Keys, with the weather demon squelching 4 other
local days. I watched large stripers hit a fly and a snapper blue,
leaving the water in order to seal the meal. Albies played tease the
guy on the shore with some super hits and some super sneers. 15
albies this season from the rocks at Shinnecock. A banner year. Last
year I couldn't buy a fish. Only three on and in for a fall of
frustration. No weakfish this fall, a strange occurrence as there
were many in the spring. Even the local fishermen reported no
sightings or fish. The north shore and western sound was filled with
small bass and continues to show fish, although not as regularly. All
in all a good season, and with the random weather patterns, my rods
are still rigged just in case the herring or bass or blitz continues
into Christmas. I only kept one striper and that was in Cape Cod
taken with conventional tackle. That's enough for me.

That’s it for the year… Again… Happy Holidays!