New York Metro &
New Jersey

July 23rd, 2004

Could It Be True?

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Recently the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued a press release patting themselves on the back and claiming that fish stocks in the US are rebounding.  The “Status of Fisheries of the United States” report done by NMFS for Congress claimed that progress was made in 2003 to address excessive fishing rates and rebuild fish stocks to healthy levels.  Of particular notice was this quote: “NOAA and the Bush Administration are committed to improving our environment, as reflected by the progress shown in this year’s report to Congress.”  If you believe that I’ve got some ocean front property in Arizona you might be interested in. 

Why the cynicism?  I guess I have a hard believing in an administration, which in a recent attempt to get around the Endangered Species Act, claimed it would count artificial hatchery-raised salmon in the stock assessment, enabling the powers that be to get rid of restrictions on commerce, development and legal protections for more than two dozen endangered species of salmon.  Not to mention the administration’s siding with farmers during the water allocation fights in Oregon.  The result of that debacle resulted in the biggest fish-kill in history.  Thirty-three thousand salmon suffocated in the summer of 2002 because of the lack of sufficient water that had been diverted for irrigation purposes as part of the administration’s policy.  The administrations rolling back of the Clinton administration’s roadless rule is also worth mentioning here.  While you might not think forest policy effects oceans, it most certainly does.  Most of our water and the beginning of ocean ecosystems comes from contiguous old growth forest that this administration is virtually giving away to special interests.  And how about the administration’s mining policy?  It has certainly taken away local communities power to stop industry from removing mountain tops and filling in feeder streams with the spoils.  These streams are the bottom of the food chain that our oceans build on.  And let’s not forget about the administration’s support of factory hog farms which end up dumping raw sewage into the Mid-Atlantic waterways.  North Carolina has seen quite a few fish kills as a result, while the Bush administration continues to protect them. The Clinton administration’s enforcement investigations were stopped over three years ago.  The Department of Agriculture studies on bacteria were further suppressed at the industry’s request.  Earlier proposals to make owners of factory farms responsible for wastewater discharges were put on the backburner.  And how about coal burning power plants, mercury admissions and the administration’s energy plan which totally caterers to polluters?  And selling out the Everglades to sugar farmers?  I could go on and on here, but let’s get back to the report. 

Of the 894 federally managed fish stocks, NMFS claims that 76 are classified as overfished, and 60 are experiencing overfishing. In 2003 four fish stocks were fully rebuilt, ten species were removed from the list of overfished stocks, and overfishing practices were stopped for five species.  I’m calling BS on this. 

 NMFS, which had been notorious over the years for letting stocks crumble under fishing pressure, did a self-audit so it's not surprising they found good news.  If you look deeper into the numbers, you find plenty of "Enron accounting" as one person recently called it.  There are underperforming stocks taken "off the books" (no longer counted in the analysis), underperforming stocks that disappeared (2 stocks combined into 1 accounting unit, called a success in taking a stock off the list), etc.  With these kinds of tricks used, it's easy to make the overall numbers look slightly positive.

According to Mark Powell of the Ocean Conservancy, some of the "successes" of the past few years include taking stocks off the overfished list because they are listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act.  These stocks didn't rise off the top of the list through rebuilding; they fell off the bottom of the list because their status is terrible. 

What’s even more disturbing is that because of NMFS “pat on the back” reports like this, recreational fishing organizations are claiming that the current management system is working in an effort to squash Marine Protected Area proposals. 

I don’t believe for one minute that the oceans are in better shape.  It’s all part of an election year campaign to take credit for something that never happened.  We have a long way to go with ocean fisheries management.  It should start with removing commercial fishing interests from regional fisheries councils and maybe even angling representatives that have an interest in killing more fish.   Let the science tell us what to do and the oceans may even have a chance. 

Now, let’s get on to the reports. 

In Southern New Jersey, there still seems to be a bass bight in the flats behind Ocean City and Atlantic City.  Bluefish and Weakfish have moved in in numbers as well…  In Central New Jersey the crew from Shore Catch are still focusing on the offshore scene and continue to have success.  Northern New Jersey has lots of small blues and a few schoolie bass in the early AM hours.  The same can be said for the New York Bight.  Jamaica Bay is very warm and on the slow side.  Some bass can be taken in the creeks and on poppers and along the sod banks at daybreak.  We’re hoping those bonito show up soon.  On the South Shore of Western Long Island there are still bass and blues on the flats eagerly taking flies, and the night and early morning fishing on the North Shore has been good for schoolies and blues.  Out East, there are tons of pre-peanut bunker and tons of bluefish on them, some of them in the teens.  The bass fishing has been tough, but the ones people have been able to find them, they have been eating well. 

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 DeLio from Iowa Fortune checks in with this report:

Ocean City Report/Atlantic City

This week offered up once again some great top water action for stripers. The water temperatures jumped substantially earlier in the week to a steady 78 degrees slowing things down for a day or so but once the Bass adjusted we were once again off to the races. With the warmer waters upon us in came the warm water species in to the back with the mass' including the reappearance of good size schools of bluefish in the 3-4 .lb range blowing up in some very skinny waters willing to jump on and good fly or artificial paced in front of them as they tear across the flats. Also with the bluefish were the first weakfish appearances we have seen in the backcountry this season also very aggressive feeding along with the Blues usually found working the perimeters of the schools. This warmer water and species additions to the backcountry offer the first real chances for backcountry grand slams for both light tackle and fly anglers a like. As far as the Bass action they too as always took center stage all week with all fish caught again this week on top-water exclusively offering up some real exciting action.  The new moon this week the had the water and the bass moving on the flats and when you would get on them they would be nicely concentrated and found in some very skinny water offering some very good sight fishing opportunities. Bass this week were a cut on the smaller side all between 20" - 28" and right on the heels of the schools of peanut bunker that are now filling the backcountry. These are exciting times and as we come up upon the new moon look for a good push of bass and weakfish to make their way in back and the action to be on the increase. 

I’ve been in Maine for a week so all I know is second hand stuff…  Small bass along the sod-banks in the AM and cocktail bluefish through out the day.  Some small bass are being taken around structure but it ain’t world-class for sure.  We needs the tuna!!!  I expect them to arrive soon. 

Western Long Island

Captain Barry Kanavy from the Natural Anglers checks in with this South Shore report:

Flats fishing continues to put smiles on the faces of anglers. In my
book nothing is more exciting or rewarding than taking a fish in skinny
water. This past week we've had clear skies and just enough wind to
enable us to surprise a few hungry Stripers. As you can see from the
smiles on these two buddies, Heath and McAndrew, two southern
gentlemen, that were a pleasure to fish with, flats fishing can be a
blast. Stripers on the flats can be choosey so be sure to bring an
assortment of flies. Once you've figured out the right combination
these Stripers will chase down and eat a well placed fly. However don't
forget nerves of steel, as these fish will follow your fly, sometimes
up to the boat before they eat it.
Hope to see you out there.
Captain Barry Kanavy

From the North Shore Reel-Timer Bob Giordano reports a few very good days.  Check it out:

Hey John,

Things up on the North Shore have picked up once again. Last Friday 7/9, had one of the best mornings in a while. It appears, some small bait has entered the bay that looks like either bay anchovies or small dime size bunker. With that, on the first of the ebb, took nine bass to 31" on Chartreuse half & half in very shallow water. Other than that fish the others were 23"- 27" which is big for this neck of the woods.

A short trip on windy Wednesday morning only brought in a handful but that has more to do with conditions and a less than favorable tide. Talk to you soon.

Friday night 7/16 was spent with the kids at a local pool party...lots of food, drink etc. Hit the hay around 11:30 but around 12:30 AM I awoke from a sound sleep with a bit of "agita" to say the least. First thought in my head was, "the tide's high at midnight, the worms should be moving out right about now." The agita couldn't come at a better time. Down to the boat and I made way over to where a spotlight lights up the water in Huntington Harbor to see fish breaking all around. Not to my surprise these were cocktail blues that only wanted a dark clouser. Not why I "woke up". Over to another light thinking bass do not want to compete with these pesky critters. With that, watched as stripers moved in and out of the beam slurping up the prevalent worms. Once the engine was shut down, I realized the bass were working all over the place in water from 5-11' deep, both in and outside the shinning light. Most fish were around 20" so I went down to a 6wt. floater with a variation of Dixon's Devil Worm. Ended up with around a dozen with the largest going just over 25". Funny thing was these fish were real lazy not putting up much of a scrap even with the lighter wand. It was almost like I was interrupting there buffet dinner as their bellies were distended and full of the worms. Great action till around 3:00 am when it simply shut down. Great to see this wonder of nature while drifting under a sky full of stars. Beautiful night.

Eastern Long Island

Spoke with David Blinken of North Flats guiding this morning who talked of massive amounts of pre-peanut bunker all over Gardiners. On them were hordes and hordes of blues. David said they ranged from 14-inches to 14-pounds. Quite a difference… There are bass around, but they’ve been tough to find. When you do spot them in the flats they have been eating well David says.

From the South Side Captain Jim Hull from Light Tackle Challenge checks in with this report:

This is my personal favorite time of the fishing year. It is the time that a fisherman needs to employ all his or her skills to be successful. Lots of micro fall bait has arrived with some tunoids and tons of small blues and very big bass on larger bait and forage. Spanish macs are in my home waters and schoolie bass at the Gulls. The bass of a lifetime is obtainable now but timing, positioning and careful strategy is vital. Some sports have acheived personal bests this week. So far this year has had great weather and by far the best quality bass fishing in recorded history, get out there and git you some.
Jim

From the shore Reel-Timer John Papciak check in with this report:

I fished Montauk Thursday night. I had every intention to fly fish, but when I got to the beach the sounds of the breaking waves told me I would need a plan B. The waves were 2-4, but there were enough 5+ waves to make me leave the fly rod in the truck.

Instead, I took a 10 foot spinning rod matched with a VS 300 and 50 lb braid.

In my bag I packed mostly darters. To make a long story short, overall, I did pretty good. I had 6 fish. Most were low to mid teens or 30-34 inches, but one fish made the night worthwhile - a fish that I estimate went 36+ pounds (easily 45 inches +/-).

I had some guests from Zurich coming out to fish with me the rest of the weekend - guys that never really fished in the salt before. I was thinking how excited these guys would be to see a fish like this on ice, but then I thought better of it. Did I really need to kill this fish? I already kept the 44.6 lb fish back in May. So I simply let her go. My word would have to do.

Over to Friday night - my guests came out. After dinner we ended up at the Liars Saloon over on West Lake. After a few they ask me "when are you going to show us some of these great fish?" Now its 1am and there aint no way I'm taking them on the rocks. So I said "ok, you want to SEE some fish?" Ya ya. So off I take them to the lighted docks. We walk halfway out and I look over the side. Sure snough, there's a "log" in the water right under the shadow line. I say, "ok guys, come here, get down on your stomach, lean over the side and look under the dock." They did as instructed. It turns out, there was not one fish, but two, both nose into the current under the dock.

"You want to try to catch one?" I asked. Oh ya ya.

So I went back to my truck. I had no fishing rods mind you, but in my box I had a spool of 40# pink ande, some leadheads, and some rubber tails. We are going to have to fish the real old fashioned way - I make up a hand line.

I show them how to jiggle the rubber tail along the shadow line under the dock. Sure enough, as my guest works the lure, a fish (maybe 32 inches) comes out and grabs the rubber tail. Now he's hanging on for dear life, the fish is crashing and throwing water all over. Before I had a chance to instruct him otherwise, he tries to pull the fish up the side of the dock. But the fish falls back into the water with big splash. Now he's cursing in German and he's holding his fingers, bloody from the line running through his hand. Oh, I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. Well worth the price of admission.

So we go to some of the other lights and had multiple hook-ups but no fish landed. Near the end of our "fishing trip" I take a look at the lead-head. The hook is straightened! No wonder we couldnt hook any other fish! We called it a night anyway.

Rough surf and dirty water prevailed most of the weekend.

But on Sunday I took one of the guys fluke fishing on the kayak off shagwong pt. Not fly fishing but great stuff. He had a keeper fluke right away (the rest were just shy, but fun anyway). To top this off, we later wound up in the middle of a bluefish blitz. I see the blues dont mind the yak. We had no lures, but I instructed my guest to lower the bare fluke rig (a hook with bucktail) and I "trolled" the kayak back and forth through the blitz. I can conclude the trip was a success as my guest "lost count" of the number of blues we caught this way. We kept a few for the grill.

All in all, a great weekend. Never did fly fish, but had a great time fishing just the same. You have to play the cards you are dealt, and if it that means no fly fishing, so what, you can still have fun.

Checking in a bit farther west in the Shinnecock area is Salty Flyrodder Joel Filner… Check it out:

Skunked for the weekend. I must say I did not try too hard as the
tide was not right for the back bay and work again interfered with
the fishing time, however the 3 hours on Saturday morning were not
fruitful. Not a follow nor a hit nor a run. Fished the incoming and
it came in with a roar, slighlty higher than usual and I got off the
flat early in order to avoid flooding. Moved down the bay as the sky
started to light up and again no action. Went to the inlet to close
the day with no fishermen on the surf nor a lot on the wall of the
inlet. Reports however of bonito just outside the inlet and off
Montauk on the south side were reliable. Some stripers on the ocean
at Mecox and on Saturday late afternoon into the evening fish were
taken. Not by me. Another local fly fisher did slightly better than
I, and I left the beach still smiling for the beautiful morning.
Sunday was foggy and I was late so I went back to my exercises to
warm up for Cape Cod next week.

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