New York Metro &
New Jersey

September 26th, 2003

THE FALL HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN!

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That’s right… I’m declaring this week as the official beginning of the 2003 fall run. Good action in the flats of South Jersey. Central new Jersey exploded with albies and several bass blitzes occurred this week. Mullet came into the wash in the New York Metro area and the bass were on them good. The bays are beginning to show signs of increasing action and there are peanuts everywhere. Fat Albers arrived on the central and western North Shore hot spots and mullet and big blues and bass came close to the beach on the Western South Shore. Montauk finally came alive this week. A late start but a strong one according to everyone I talked to out there. I’m psyched!!! Headed out there tomorrow morning!

Yes… The fall is here and guess what. It’s only going to get better!!! Time to use those sick days… Get out there!

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

Tight Lines!

John McMurray

New Jersey

Good news in Northern New Jersey from Captain Paul Eidman of Reel Therapy…  Check it out:

Hi John-
The fall striped bass fishing has started! The mullet are moving out of the rivers and coves, there's loads and loads of peanut bunker throughout our entire area.The Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers, Sandy Hook bay are producing bass on flies now, mostly smaller fish but there have been a few teens taken. Bluefish are all over the place from 2 pounds to 10 pounds on topwater poppers. Still looking for Albies and Bonito whenever the weather/seas lets me. These fish usually stay until Columbus and sometimes beyond. The weather is gone now so fish when you can. I have dates available.
Quit wishin and come out fly fishin!
Paul

False Albacore are invading central New Jersey!!!  And the bass have shown strong as well.  Check out Captain Gene Quigley from Shore Catch Guide Service’s report:

John,

Its all about ALBIES down here in Barnegat this fall - MAN what a month. Despite the storms we have had great ALBIE fishing on the days we could get out. Had out Joe Quinn today and John Yavorski yesterday and the albies were just THICK - nice size fish too -- anywhere from 7 to 10 lbs. The fish have been eating small peanut bunker and Baby Angel flies have been working really well for my charters in rainbow over pearl and blue over pearl. Got into a serious bass blitz with Joe Quinn today right in the wash just inside the sand bars -- not a sole in site and busting bass for around 2 hours! Looks like the start to a classic Jersey Shore fall!

Further north, Gene’s partner, Capt. Jim Freda reports:

It’s classic right now John as its all Albies!  Had out Frank Spinelli and we ran into albies just south of the Manasquan Inlet in forty feet of water. The water wasn't clear but didn't have any brown to it.. The albies hit small baby angels with a Vengeance!!. The Albies were corralling the bait in tight pods so accurate casts were necessary to connect before the fish went down.

In the Southern Areas of New Jersey, Captain Bryan DiLeo checks in with this report:

Capt. Bryan DiLeo/ Iowa Fortune
Ocean City / Atlantic City Report

Prior to Isabel the fishing was fantastic and the good news is that nothing
has changed and things are still moving full steam ahead. The fall pattern
seems to be in full swing right on schedule 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 are regularly comingf a cross larger schools of bluefish in the 3-6lb
range coming up from the deeper the edges s 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. Also as an added bonus
this week prior to the storm we had groups of very large weakfish making an
appearance with the largest ( 10.25lbs) taken a day before the storm and
needless to say was released unharmed as all fish are aboard the Iowa Fortune. The
action should continue to be on the increase 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. Don't
forget that you can check out my daily reports from each trip on my website www.iowafortune.com.

Capt. Bryan DiLeo
609-926-5415  

That’s all for this week…  On my way out to Montauk!!!

 

The Albie fishing came to an abrupt stop after Isabel’s arrival, but a few scattered pods are being spotted here and there.  They were very difficult to impossible to catch this week.  However, with thick schools of mullet arriving, those plying Breezy Point Jetty and points west scored big on several days as bass to 34-inches, which had chased mullet in the wash.  I had the pleasure of watching David Berman expertly work the Jetty with a flyrod coming up with a 30-plus inch striped on what looked like every cast.  Unfortunately, I sat there helplessly in a boat as the swells smashed the jetty, unable to reach the productive wash area.  Plenty of small to medium sized blues in Jamaica Bay and some monsters under the bunker.  In the pre-dawn hours, the bait fishermen have been catching some pretty big bass under these schools and as the water cools I expect these fish to become aggressive enough to eat flies. 

From Raritan Bay, Captain Joe Mattioli from On The Bight Charters checks in with this report:

Hi John
 
Bluefish from 3-8lbs have been marauding schools of baby bunker in the Raritan Bay and are providing non stop action on the Fly. Clousers with a lot of flash and poppers are the choice patterns. False Albacore fishing has it's good and bad days. Striped Bass fishing is picking up with fish up to 8lbs, fish structure and rips .
 
Capt. Joe Mattioli
On The Bite Charters

From One More Cast Charters, Captain David Azar reports a definite pick-up in the action:

After Hurricane Isabel passed the fish were still there.  In fact
Saturday morning there was a small a striper blitz at the Breezy Point
Jetty.  Unfortunately the fish were too close to the rocks and with
the big swell we  couldn't get close enough with the boat, but at least they are
around.  Sunday & Monday mornings the bluefish were in good form,  busting
peanut bunker on the surface.  Jon Cole & Oscar Dono, a trout guide from
Patagonia, where there for some fast action. 
    There were also lots of striped bass around the jetty Tuesday
evening and weds morning. We did see some albies but they were, as usual,
playing hard to get.  The weather seems to change everyday, some days twice, but
things are definitely going into fall mode, and that is just where we want them to
be!  Things should only get better from here on.

Western Long Island

Reel-Timer Angelo Peluso reports great albie fishing on the central North Shore…  Check it out:

Hi John,
The week started off with the arrival of Fat Alberts...and do I mean "fat".  I think some of these fish might have stopped off in NJ for a meal of lasagne.  Many of the albies that we are catching are pushing the ten pound mark.  I had two that pulled the Boga to 10 1/2 pounds and emptied a fair amount of backing from my reel.  Mixed in with the albacore are still some consistent numbers of bonito.  Both the bones and albies have been quite aggressive and willing to hit most any offerings tossed at them.  Their availability has ranged from small  pods that are here one minute, gone the next to quite sizeable schools that will stay on the surface for enough time to allow for reasonable shots.   

No official reports from the South Shore, but word of mouth is that mullet are up in the wash and some quality bass are being taken by surfcasters fishing the suds.  Big blues are in the mix as well.

Eastern Long Island

Captain Brendan McCarthy from Urban Fly Guys reports excellent albie fishing in Montauk…  Check it out:

Hey John- am thrilled to announce that the Albies have arrived in ridiculous numbers here in Montauk. Had a guy yesterday hook 5 and had never touched a flyrod before!!! one of which was 10 pounds on the Boga. They scared off the bluefish for a few days but they came back yesterday, and have had some serious bass blitzes already, which is the best thing of all. hope al is well. BTW had a cancelation on the 9th and 10th of OCT as well as have the 20 and 27th open. (Mondays) in case people need some slots. enclosed is Mike Chera. First day with a fly rod, first fish on a fly. not bad, quite a natural regards
Capt. Brendan McCarthy
http://home.nyc.rr.com/urbanflyguides
917-847-9576

Also reporting from Montauk this week is Captain Jim Hull from Light Tackle Challenge…  Short and sweet:

Hi John, It's pastures of plenty at the end with rainbait flowing real well. All three slam species are there making for lots of fun. Pump up and reel down.  Jim

Captain David Blinken from North Flats Guiding phoned in a report…  According to Blinken the fall bumped into full swing on Tuesday and has been Albie Mayhem ever since.  David reports that the “bass boils” are becoming frequent and that things are only going to get better…  David says that the bait on the inside and outside is predominately peanut bunker.  Rainbait is around as well, but not in the quantities David expects to see them in a week or two. 

Captain Barry Kanavy from Natural Anglers echoes the same:

The Montauk fall is beginning to take shape. Albies and Stripers made a good showing this week. It’s only going to get better.
Check your backing
Captain Barry Kanavy

Veteran Reel-Time fishwire coordinator Josh Reibel reports that the action is on as well and brings up some important points as well as some useful info for chasing albies:

Hey John…as you’ll be hearing from everyone out east I’m sure, those little tunoid buggers we love to chase this time of year finally arrived in numbers last week.  It was like bumper cars at the Point, but there were plenty of fish around, and they were eating well, so people mostly kept their cools. 
 
That said, now is a good time of year to remind people that wheeling around 180 degrees with engines revved hard right next to fish that another angler is working is not such a hot idea; that by and large these fish feed into the tide so setting up down-tide of them is not likely to produce and IS likely to put them down because they tend to be a lot more sensitive to noise approaching from behind than from in front in their field of vision; and one other thing that most experienced albie anglers seem to agree on that can and that may be a little counterintuitive at first: if you are idling or motoring slowly towards a group of feeding albies and they are up and happy near and around the boat, it is usually best to keep your engine idling in neutral and not kill it.  The abrupt change in ambient noise is more likely to freak them out than the steady hum they are feeding amid. Obviously if you are just drifting without fish in the immediate vicinity and waiting for a group to pop, your engines are off, but if you are in the middle of or idling into a feed and the fish don’t seem disturbed…don’t change things or things will change on you!

Good advice Josh…

Farther west, Captain Don Kaye from Shinnecock Guiding Service is scoring well also…  Check it out:

Albacore were 'busting' on a variety of baits all week, at Shinnecock. More fish than we've seen in a long time! a relatively short session on the Bay produced: more than 15 fish hooked with 8 brought to the net and released (of course)! A couple on small lures but most on flies! Hope they stay 'till Xmas! Lots of fun! Capt Don Kaye, Shinnecock Guiding 631-7288175

Salty Flyrodder Joel Filner checks in with a beach report of the area:

This is the post Isabel weekend, with few surprises but with great news. The water is clear and the albies are back as of Monday morning. I stayed around on Monday morning just to foil the weekend devils, and there they were, in for breakfast at the 7:10 to 9:15 seating of bait that lined the walls of the inlet and filled the back bays. Ten shots no fish but wow its nice to see them around. Big schools in the back far from casting range and no wind this morning made for a great morning on the water. Keeper bass off the shore, and albies at the mouth of the inlet in the middle waiting for the outgoing to bring breakfast. Friday the surf and wind were still howling with nothing done that I witnessed. Saturday I fished the back bay for blues and stripers, with success on both but my kingdom for a kayak as they again were out of reach for most of the morning.
On the front side the clam guys were still the winners. Sunday morning was beautiful, no wind ( no wind means less than 15 knots) nice sunrise with clouds and keeper bass in the surf. Not for me but for a few others on fly, lure, and clam. Most of the activity ended by 730 AM but I went into the back to the secret hole and found three small stripers and a blue all on Mikkelson epoxies. Water was 70 degrees, still cloudy in the bay and full of bait. The three week delay that has plagued our season is now about 4 weeks but hopeful.

Joel