New York Metro &
New Jersey

September 12th, 2003

MORE WIND AND MORE WAVES

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Again, a big thanks to Ralph for covering for me while I was off tying the knot… I’m told that Ralph let the cat out of the bag. Yea, we all have to fall at some point but I’ll be darn if I’m not psyched about it all. It was all really great, but I’m certainly not going to bore you with it here… However, I will say that Mexico was pretty awesome and quite honestly, we were tempted to just stay… but alas, here I am, sitting in my office totally bummed out about another bad weather forecast for the weekend… More wind, another hurricane blasting up the coast and not much hope for getting out on the water.

Every time I go anywhere on the West Coast I come back wondering why I live in what many would consider to be an inhospitable environment… Cold winters, ice, snow etc., boiling hot and humid summers… The hustle and bustle of the city and the fact that many of its inhabitants are just downright jerks. I had a rude awakening when I tried to merge into traffic at the airport, only to have a cab driver give me the finger and yell something in a language I didn’t know. One certainly cannot argue that the folks who live on the west side of the coast are just a bit nicer, more laid back and actually make eye contact and say “hi” now and the. For the most part, the weather always seems just about right year around over there. Pleasantly warm in the day and cool at night. My job takes me out to the West Coast quite frequently and I always get the same “what am I doing here” feelings when I get back to New York City. But when I eventually get out on the water and turn the corner at the south side of Breezy Point to clouds of birds and frothing water, I know right away why I live on the East Coast. While the population is by all means too dense and the people can be… well… not so nice some times, you can’t really find fishing like this anywhere… The inshore opportunities for those on a beach and those on a boat are some of the best in the world… And that’s a fact! And where else in the world can you stay out all night on the town, skip sleep and grab the flyrod and head out on the water in the morning… Not many, that’s for sure. I have to admit, I do admire and most of the time, enjoy the get-things-done attitude of New York. The opportunities here are unlimited. It always takes me a few days to get back in the swing of things, but once I do, I again realize that while I may complain about it at times, I Love New York!

So enough of the rant… Let’s get on to the reports.

A crazy big swell last weekend I’m told and a lot of wind and rain and more of the same for this weekend. While the bad weather prevented many anglers from getting out last weekend, the beginning of this week offered many in New Jersey and those fishing the South Shore of Western New York to take advantage of hordes of false albacore that were feeding voraciously on peanut bunker. And speaking of peanut bunker, while many consider them to be late, they are showing up in forces just about everywhere. If the weather gets better, this fall could be a spectacular one. Some bones have shown on the North Shore and the bass fishing is slowly but surely picking up across the board. Look for increased activity as the water temperature drops. Bluefish big and small have been feeding on peanut bunker with some consistency from South to North and East to West. So far the East End of Long Island still hasn’t shown it’s colors and many anglers out there are scratching their heads and wondering why. But rest assured… It will happen soon!

Some not-so-great weather this weekend, but those forecasts certainly are not written in stone… So don’t loose hope… We have the whole fall run in front of us!!!

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

Tight Lines!

John McMurray

New Jersey

From Southern New Jersey Captain Bryan DiLeo from Iowa Fortune Guide Service checks in with this report:

Atlantic CityOcean City Report

This week was a carbon copy of the past week with great Striper action leading up to the full moon. The fall pattern seems to have began with mini blitz's of both Bass and Bluefish popping up in all the right places as well as making tears through the schools of peanuts on the flats offer up some very fun light tackle and fly action. Once again the schools of Bass seem to be traveling in larger schools of 10 to 20 fish ranging in size from 20" to 33" and tracking very predictably up on the shallows allowing multiple shots at on coming schools. Also on the flats we would come a cross larger schools of bluefish in the 3-6lb range coming up from the deeper the edges of the flats on the heels of balled up schools of peanut bunker. Mostly all Bass this week were sight fished and very willing to take on topwater flies and artificials when put in front of them in the skinniest of water offers us a glimpse of the weeks ahead. The action should continue to be on the increase especially on the waning moon and as the water cools down with the chillier overnight temps. The next 8 weeks are prime time for Bass on the flats and believe me when I say that fall is in the air and on the water.
Bryan DiLeo

Farther North in Central New Jersey Captain Gene Quigley from Shore Catch Guide Service reports tough conditions but excellent albie fishing when the wind allowed…  Check it out:

John,

Wind, wind and MORE wind - That has been the story this week. Have not been out in three days - Just before the blow however we were into the Ablies THICK, and it looked like we were having the best start to the fall albie run that I can remember. Not sure what will be after this storm. Had out Rick Verblow and his partner Chris dries during the last nice day of the week and the simply could not keep their fly in the water without an Albie hitting it. All alone with miles of busting fish -- what more could you ask for?

Looking forward to seeing everyone next week at the RedBone.

Capt. Gene Quigley
Shore Catch Guide Service

In Northern New Jersey Captain Paul Eidman reports loads and loads of albies in the 5-pound in the “ “Hook” area, with some possible sightings of bigger pelagics.  Paul suggests white and tan clousers on intermediate line as the fish seem to be hitting better below the surface.  Plenty of blues in the area also.

Lots of albies around this week when the swell sat down and the weather allowed a shot…  Richard Reagan took 14 on Monday in the space of two hours.  However, as I rudely found out today, one day they can be thick and voraciously eating flies, the next they can be sparse and balking at any offering… 

Captain Joe Mattioli from On The Bight Charters reports good action this week…  Check it out:

Hi John
 
False Albacore & Spanish Macs are in the NY Bight, fish up to 6lbs are being caught using Epoxy flies Tan/wht and olive/wht . they are feeding on tiny baby bunkers. Bass fishing is picking up and the Bluefish are all over.
I have choice dates Available!
 
Capt. Joe Mattioli
On The Bite Charters

From One More Cast Charters, Captain David Azar had an excellent week.  Check it out:

It was a great week of fishing in Jamaica Bay.  Last Thursday i spent the whole day chasing albies around the Breezy Point Jetty.  They were playing hard to get and successfully evaded my hook!  But blues from 3 to 5 pounds were plentiful throughout Rockaway inlet, and made up for my failure with the albies.  Friday morning was more of the same with albies coming up sporadically north of the BP jetty, but alas even my best efforts were not successful, but I did watch other fly-rodders hookup.  I was unable to fish on the weekend but Monday morning I was right out by the jetty again waiting for the tide to turn and sure enough with the outgoing tide the albies were coming up strong and , held to a little more stable pattern just east of the jetty,  I was able to hook 5, and watched Richard Reagan in his boat get at least as many in about 2 hours of fishing.   Today, Wednesday, I was able to escape from the office early and made a beeline for the BP jetty once again in hopes of finding those albies, instead the whole area north of the jetty was alive with crashing, smashing 5 to 7 pound bluefish!  Albert Betesh, Moses Bijou and myself were able to land about 20 of the feisty fish in an hour and a half.  It looks like the fall run is off to a fantastic start, now all we need is Mr. Pajamas to show his stripes!

Capt. Dave

Western Long Island

From the North Shore Reel-Timer Angelo Peluso reports some bonito in the area but some harsh conditions as well:

Hi John,
Slim "pick'ins" out this way and I don't mean the cowboy actor either...for those salts old enough to remember.  While the fall does bring good fishing it also brings north and east winds.  Out in this part of the Sound ENE winds of 15 to 20 bring with it 2 to 3 foot waves.  That is doubly true with all the extra water being moved about during this week of the full moon.  The fish are there but the wind conditions have made it somewhat difficult to toss about flies.  But sometimes a little persistence pays and the surprise of the week was a brace of much welcomed bonito.  As it were, they popped up, I was there, they were hungry and they ate.  They were both seven-pound fish.  There is still a ton of bait around and decent sized schools of bluefish...and a bunch of unconfirmed albie sightings.  With the weather stabilizing a bit over the next few days, I expect a few shots at the hardtails. Today (Wednesday) was a little better.  Schools of busting blues and a few small pods of sarda sarda.  I'm hoping the albies are there tomorrow! One surefire way of knowing that the greenie boys are back in town...other than seeing or catching them... is when you start to hear the frustration from the trollers about being unable to hook-up on tons of top-feeding "bluefish".  It's about to happen.  Stay well and stay into fish...Angelo

No reports from the South Shore, but word of mouth is bluefish and more bluefish with some but few albie hook-ups.

Eastern Long Island

Surprisingly, Montauk still hasn’t seen a push of false albacore yet and the bass have been thin as well.  Many guides are scratching their heads.  There are albies around, but nowhere near as thick as they are in Jersey and the New York Metro area.  Most believe that the typical Montauk Mayhem will begin any day now, and I tend to agree. 

Up on the North Shore James Wu reports albies and bonito sporadically and unpredictably thrashing the beach; scattered mid-sized bass in the rocks, tons of bait, baby anchovies, spearing, snapper blues.  All the action is before dawn through 9am.

From the Shinnecock area Captain Don Kaye from Shinnecock Guiding checks in with this report:

The week began with wind & rains which put a damper on the 'Albie' hunters. Things around the Inlet were pretty quiet except for the roar of the nearby surf, which dirtied the waters on incoming tides. However, 'wolf packs' of Bluefish didn't care about the nasty weather and began some feeding-frenzies near the high tides. Any fly or lure that looked something like a 'peanut Bunker' drew an immediate strike. The 'Blues were of good size (4-8 lbs.) and all fought savagely, took to the air, and were quickly released. When the storm winds subside later this week, things should get back to normal. Capt. Don Kaye, Shinnecock Guiding 631-7288175

Also reporting from the Shinnecock area is Salty Flyrodder Joel Filner:

This week’s excellent adventure on the Shinnecock inlet was one of
Let’s see which of the surfcasters on the outside of the jetty will go
down with this wave. Friday was fraught with high surf, dirty water,
and no real visible bait in the water. Early morning fishermen reported some success with clams on the ocean, but no real activity when the tide went out and the surf built up. Saturday was really tall surf, keepers caught on surf rods with clams before first light
up to 6:30 and then the smaller fish were taken by the daredevils on
the jetty. All small bass max 23 inches but a lot of knockovers and
retrieves of wet suited casters. Two fellows fishing with small lures
and pieces of clam filled a bucket with porgies and triggerfish. The
fly guys all watched as the wind and the surf and dirty water did not
allow for a good casting day.  Sunday morning all was well, normal
seas, no wind, still dirty water, but the bait returned, unmolested
by bigger fish or albies. Most likely Monday was a hit.....fishin
with Amanda this week, and looking for an albie or two.....

joel

That’s all for this week…  See ya on the water.