New York Metro &
New Jersey

November 14th, 2003

More Wind!

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Wow…  I knew I wasn’t fishing today when I awoke at 4:30AM to the sound of my garbage cans getting violently pummeled against the side of my house…  It’s really howling out there!  Serious wind…  the kind that rips cleats off of mooring docks.  Instead of fishing this morning, I spent a large part of the day pulling the boat out, re-drilling and repairing my slip…  Not fun, especially when a 3-foot chop and a cold wind threaten to roll you right into the drink…  The bay was a sea of whitecaps this morning.  The ocean looked even angrier as I just had to stop for a look.   The beach greeted me with a face full of 40-knot sand.  While I was bummed that I wasn’t going to get out, it was still a sight to behold.  Impressive to say the least.  Not even the birds could hold their ground.  Let’s all hope it lets up by the weekend…  Right now it looks like Saturday might still harbor some post front wind.   But Sunday looks nice. 

Before the blow, we had some of the best fishing this year in the New York Metro Area and South down the Jersey Coast.  Loads of Rainbait, peanut bunker and bass and blues tearing them up the whole day.  Mother nature gave us a few relatively windless days and some warmer temperatures during the week.  With it came overcast skies, fog and a little rain, creating the perfect northeast flyfishing conditions.  During the few days of sun Jamaica Bay had some big fish in shallow clean water offering great sight fishing conditions.  Raritan Bay was pretty much loaded with bass on the surface.  Sandy Hook and Breezy Point were the same.  Down the Jersey coast the fishing was excellent and most expect it to only continue to get better from here on out…  On the North Shore of Long Island, big blues continue to dominant the scene and schoolie bass seem to be abundant.  On most of the western and central South Shores the bass have been under the birds across the beach pretty regularly.  The East End is reportedly loaded with big blues and there are bass around as well although smaller and far less frequent than the blues.

There is still plenty of fall left guys…  Certainly not time to put the gear up.  The number of boats out there is definitely thinning by the day while the number of surface feeding fish is increasing.  This is it…  What we wait for all year… Let’s just hope the weather stays conducive.  Go fish… 

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

Tight Lines!

John McMurray

New Jersey

From the central New Jersey Area, Captain Gene Quigley from Shore Catch Guide Service checks in with this report:

John,

It is truly AMAZING down here right now! We have had massive blitzes up and down the beaches of New Jersey every day for the past week with HUGE 10 to 15 LB slammers blues and teen to 20# sized bass. The bait is incredible, looking at the fishfinder it like an atomic bomb of red is under your boat every 50 feet! We have BIG Bunkers, Peanuts, Rainfish, Spearing, 7 inch round Herring, and Sand Eels all in the mix. The good news is that the bass run hasn't really even started yet! Both our beach guides and boat Capt's are doing equally as well and all of our trips are seeing basically all the fish you could want. This week the majority of the action has been south of Manasquan all the way to Little Egg. Hot flies have been, well....basically anything you want to throw as long at it is around 4 to 6 inches long. That all for now -- get down here and get em!

Capt. Gene Quigley
Shore Catch Guide Service

From Northern New Jersey, Captain Paul Eidman of Reel Therapy reports more of the same…  Check it out:

Sandy Hook JUMP fishing defined by Reel Therapy...
Totally blowing off work in the middle of the week during hottest striper season to date...Crazy fly guys/gals aboard high speed,  light tackle assault boat, One hand grabbing a rail, the other hanging on to a very expensive fly outfit. Splash to a halt. Cast at an acre of linesiders crashing on the surface!  Strip strike and set hook..put a serious bend in your rod, fight and land fish, hold fish, smile, guide takes photo, return fish to sea, high five, repeat.
Nuff said!
Catch em up!
Paul
Capt. Paul Eidman
www.reeltherapy.com
Discover Central NJ's Great Outdoors!
Saltwater Fly Fishing/Light Tackle Charters
Guided Kayak Ecotours
732 922 4077

Jamaica Bay is fishing very good these days.  The weekend was tough with the wind and cold weather, but the weekdays were fantastic!  Friday, we had cruising and blitzing fish in just a couple of feet of water while the sun was high and there wasn’t a cloud in sight.  Monday there were big fish on the surface almost all day.  Unfortunately they were right up against some of the airport no-fish zones.  There remains a ton of rain bait as well as peanut bunker in the bay that should stick around well into December, drawing hungry pre-migratory predators.  Poppers seem to be catching the bigger fish this year with the schoolies falling for the stuff fished deep. 

On the other side in Raritan Bay Captain Dino Torino from Fin Chaser reports plenty of action with surface feeding fish.  Outside the action seems to be even hotter as areas from Breezy Point east have been alive with blitzing bass and plenty of bluefish in the 10-pound range.  

Western Long Island

From the North Shore, Reel-Timer Angelo checks in with another great report:

Hi John,
I left the boat at home this week and decided to hoof it.  My season typically begins and ends in waders. I fished some favorite beach haunts further east on the north fork.  The fishing was spotty and hit or miss but we did manage a bunch of good-sized bluefish up to 30 inches and numerous schoolie bass.  Most of the action was up close and personal and tight to the beach.  There are still some decent masses of bait...spearing and peanuts...and obviously, finding them is the key to hook-ups.
I am hopeful that we still have just a little more fishing ahead of us, but it may be time to get those duck decoy down from the attic! Till next week...tight lines...Angelo

No official reports from the South Shore, but every time I’ve driven by any south shore beaches it’s been alive with birds… 

Eastern Long Island

Captain Jim Hull called in this week and reported plenty of big blues.  The bass are around but it has been very difficult to get a fly in front of them before a bluefish grabs it. 

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

Harsh weather conditions continued this week, making it difficult for light tackle anglers to fish the shallows in the stiff winds. However, the channels and drop-offs hold lots of Striped Bass, falling to all manner of jigs, top water lures and flies, worked slow and deep. As a bonus, the back Bays are loaded with Hickory Shad which, when hooked on the fly, perform like baby Tarpon, going airborne frequently during the fight. Lots of bait still in the Bay. Wish these winds would calm down! Capt. Don Kaye, Shinnecock Guiding, 631-7288175.

From the beach, Salty Flyrodder Joel Filner sent in this report:

The seas were alive with the sounds of smack, slurp, gobble, and
curses as the wave of bass and blues went down the beach on their
trek westward to warmer waters. The village of Southampton beaches at
the various access points all the way to the Shinnecock inlet on
Friday and Saturday were under blitz and semi blitz conditions.
Despite the wind on Saturday I managed 4 fish in total finally
succumbing to the cold and wind, casting my bunker pattern behind a
cooperative suftcaster and hooking up with his misses. Other  eastern
flyrodders, hardier than I, lasted longer and had record days.
Keepers, shorts, and blues all in the mix at times, and patience on
the incoming as they moved off slightly at the turn of the tide, then
forcing the bait into the shore. One of the regulars  on the beach
commented on Sunday that the two days were the best in many years in
sheer numbers and sizes of fish. Sunday morning the temperature went
below 30 degrees, my reluctance point for wading, but I went to the
beach for the gentler winds only to find a stream of trucks leaving
the beach heading west. The fish were only spotty at Shinnecock but
the jungle telegram pointed the way to Westhampton and Moriches,
which explained the exodus.  I watched from the beach and went home
to serve breakfast at 9:30. Reports from Westhampton confirmed the
fish were indeed all over the beach for Sunday brunch. Nice moon,
nice eclipse, and good fishing. I hope this does not signal the end
of the fall run. Bring on the herring.

Joel

That’s all for this week…  Pray for an Indian summer!!!