New York Metro &
New Jersey

October 8th, 2004

Size Matters - Protect the Big Ones

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Hello folks…This week I will attempt to do my best John McMurray imitation while he is off on the “Big Island” doing his best Don Ho impersonation…For those of you old enough to remember Mr. Ho, just imagine for a moment John adorned in a Tommy Bahama floral shirt and grass skirt, belting out a hefty rendition of “Tiny Bubbles”! Actually, John’s Hawaii visit is for an admirable and worthwhile cause. I salute his contributions and dedication to the efforts of the marine conservation. It would do us all… and the fish we cherish… a world of good if each of us were to follow John’s lead and become personally involved in one or more of the contemporary marine conservation causes.

Which leads me to my outrage of the week. Just recently, I was perusing one of more popular fishing magazines, getting the scoop on “things piscatorial”, when I happened upon a most revealing and disturbing image. It was a photo of striped bass that made my jaw drop and had me gawking in awe at the image. My reaction was not so much one resulting from the enormous proportions of the fish but from the fact that they were all dead…huge fish being posed before the camera in classic “hero conquest” form. And when I say big, no hyperbole here, these fish were not your 20-pound variety stripers but rather five exceptional specimens all ranging in weight from about 40 plus pounds to 60 pounds and all taken on the same trip. You know the type of fish they were…big breeders, the ones wantonly wiped out in the 60s. The ones whose demise led in part to the precipitous decline in striped bass stocks throughout the entire northeast. Now I may be preaching to the choir since most, if not all, fly fisherman I know practice ardent catch and release, but the time has come to aggressively change some nasty habits. Photos like these and the magazines that pay tribute to them only succeed in perpetuating the unnecessary slaughter of an irreplaceable bass resource. Wouldn’t it be great to see a photo of a 60-pound cow bass being released? And before I am accused of sour grapes let me say that I am the last one to deny an angler a trophy or a meal on the table…I do it myself… but my willingness to do so comes with limits. And speaking of limits, the time may also have come for the imposition of slot limits for stripers to protect not only targeted mid-range fish but also the big, critical breeding stock. There is no need whatsoever to kill super large striped bass. They are THE future of our sport. If a trophy is caught and a mount desired, take a photo or two, take length and girth measurements and release the fish. The technology available to today’s taxidermists is so sophisticated and precise that an exact replica of your fish can be customized for you, and the final product will look as good, if not better than the real thing. And if a meal is your motivation, there is nothing wrong with keeping a smaller fish every now and again. That is where the slot limits come in. It worked wonders for redfish in Florida and the Gulf Coast states…it could do the same for our stripers. And even if the slot dimensions are targeted to fish of 24, 28 and 34 inches, a maximum allowable size need also be set to preserve those exceptionally sized fish. In my mind one thing …big breeding females… need to be saved to perpetuate the species.

What troubles me the most about the current state of affairs is that we just might all be lulled into a false sense of security regarding the health and well being of current striper stocks. Photos like the one referenced only work to have us all singing on the water that “happy days are here again”. But let us remember the time when we also sang the blues! And let us not forget the debate that rages between the recreation anglers and the commercials folks. Quite a number of the latter sail from my homeport and we talk. A few of them saw the photo of the big dead bass and you know what their general reaction was… Paraphrased, their beliefs are that “you recreational guys are doing more harm to the fishery than we ever could. The reality is that you are the greedy ones and want all the fish for yourselves…those photos are proof!” We are giving them fuel for their fire. And you know what, I had a tough time arguing against his point about the big, dead bass. As the old adage goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

Now on to the reports…
New York and New Jersey Fisheries
The October Fish Fest is now in full swing throughout the entire range of the northeast coast. From southern New Jersey out to Montauk and all points in between, the reports echo familiar and similar occurrences: tons of small, medium and large bluefish, growing numbers of striped bass of all sizes, and plenty of false albacore to keep even the most avid fans of the pelagic species quite content. Big weakfish are also making their presence felt in parts of southern New Jersey. Reports of excellent fishing are coming from boat and beach anglers and from the cadre of jetty jockeys. There is no doubt that the time of year we all covet is certainly right now upon us. Bait seems by all accounts to be quite prolific with spearing, anchovies, bunker and even mullet dominating the scene. Out in the Sound there is even one of the largest and most prolonged crab hatches to occur in a long while. Talk about finicky fish…when the bass are dining on these tiny crabs, they make brown trout sucking on Tricos seem like the minor league! Where all this bait goes, so go the fish that will eat our flies. Adult bunker are still hanging out in many of the harbors and bays and finding exceptionally large bluefish or bass under them has been a regular event for those anglers lucky enough to happen upon the menhaden. By all accounts Montauk is red hot with its share of good and great days…with weather and winds having a lot to do with the outcome. Nonetheless, bait and game fish are on the move just about everywhere and just about everyone I talked with this past week is cashing in on some form of action at some point during their outings. Add to all this terrific fishing that the Giants and Jets are winning and the Yankees are in the playoffs, and this is shaping up to be a fall for the ages! Here’s a sampling of some specific reports…

Editors note: Many thanks to Angelo Peluso for filling in this week! 

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

Tight Lines!

John McMurray

New Jersey

Captain Bryan DiLeo checks in with this terrific report:

OCEAN CITY/ATLANTIC CITY
This week really dished up much of the same as last week with fall like conditions bringing us cool overnight temperatures and in turn cooler water temperatures. Still the dominant factor in the SJ backcountry is the dominance of Bluefish in the 3 - 6. LB range that will pop up in mass feeding blitz’ in the skinniest of water and are willing to pounce on mostly any thing placed in front of them. The Bass have also begun to move more through out the back a bit more with most Bass still taking top water flies and plugs on a regular basis and are often found mixed in amongst the Blues for the easy meal. Most Bass this past week have all been in the 24"-29" range and a very common occurrence through out the week has been when the Bass where brought to the boat on the deeper flats they had good size friends lurking below which is a very good sign when entering the fall season. With the water temperatures still hanging in the mid to upper 60's this will keep us on the summer time pattern of low light action, i.e., first light, last light and night time for another week or so or until we slip consistently into the low to mid 60's at which time mid day action will begin. The daytime high sun action is still producing a good amount of gator size weakfish in the 5 - 9 .LB size class offering a great opportunity for consistently achieving NJ slams with only 1 out of my last 7 trips not completing the slam but the Bass action certainly made up for it. As far as action out front we are still waiting for the Albies to start their westward migration as the baits will start to poor out of the inlets offering angles a plethora of choices for their angling adventures. . The cool air temperatures that are predicted for the next week should get the bass increasingly on the move that in combination with prime tides coming off the full moon should have the Bass moving fairly predictably and willing to show themselves as they move across the shallows.
Capt. Bryan DiLeo/ Iowa Fortune Guide Service
Ocean City / Atlantic City
609-926-5415
http://www.iowafortune.com/

The venerable Captain Gene Quigley with another outstanding week of fishing:

Angelo,
It has been another tremendous week down here along the central Jersey coast and it is all about albies and school bluefin on the fly!! I had out Aaron Norakus for some knuckle busting action with all the schoolie Bluefin and albies you could handle for the day…over 30 fish landed and one broken ten weight later, Aaron cried uncle and we headed into the barn. All the albies are big -- averaging 10 to 12 lbs, and the bluefin are pretty much the same size. We can expect the ablie bite to continue down here all month and the bluefin fishing should only get better with bigger fish showing up usually by mid month.
Captain Jim also cashed in on the same great action as he had out the father and son team of Walter and Peter Ulicny and they started their day with big blues from 7lbs up to the largest at 14.5 lbs. After the blues left the albies crashed the boat and Walter and Peter were doubled over on just about every cast. They had the albies taking spearing in their slick and once again you could see them shooting on by every time the baits hit the water. For Walter and Peter it was quite a thrill as this was their first fly rod ALBIE experience and one I am sure they will remember for a long time. Captain Jim also teamed up with well-known fly fisher Gary Edwards of “Vacation on the Fly” TV Show and Gary also scored his first taste of Jersey albies.
Capt. Gene Quigley
Shore Catch Charters, LLC
(732) 831 - 1768
(732) 600 - 3297
flyfishcharters@aol.com

SANDY HOOK
A good report from Mike O’Brien

Hey John,
I hooked up my first fall striper today off of a Jetty just south of
Sandy Hook on the outgoing tide in high surf. I've enclosed a photo which also shows the fly. I hooked up with four stripers in about an hour. I fished the afternoon at Port Monmouth in the bay and had Albies jumping everywhere but no hook-ups. Very picky
and fast moving fish.
I think my buddy and I are going out on his boat tomorrow from South
Amboy. Oh yeah, Yesterday my buddies and I did tow-ins at a secret spot at the hook-it
was radical with all the wind but I got a couple good ones. I saw a spin guy killing the blues right on the beach at North beach.
Later,
Michael O'Brien

Here’s some terrific fishing by David Berman and friend:

BREEZY POINT

Hi John/Angelo,
Albies from east to west, Thursday the 23rd and Thursday the 30th. After a great day with east end friend Joel Filner on Amanda Switzer's boat last Thursday at Montauk, my west end friend Pete Grenfell and I ventured out to Breezy Point today, arriving after work at the end of the jetty to meet a good incoming tide at about 5:30 pm. The albies arrived at about the same time, and we were briefly the only anglers there, hooked up immediately, and had virtually non-stop action for at least 1.5 hrs. I think five fish landed by each of us and an equal amount lost. The adrenalin still flows! Back out to Breezy on Saturday, October 2nd. A quiet morning, slight southeast breeze, incoming tide 6am Had what felt like a decent sized bass come off the fly on the ocean side of the jetty at first light, and then nothing showing and nothing doing for the rest of the morning for me and Breezy regular flyrodder Jerry Heinzen. Wisely we decide to break for coffee and bagels and return for the change of tide to the outgoing around 11:30, nothing showing again, but he spinning rod guys are starting to pickup albies on the inlet side all along the jetty, a lot of fish caught and released by the spinning rods, at least twenty, and four hooked and two landed and released by Jerry and me. My and Jerry's and Pete's own deceivers and Glenn Mikkelson epoxies accounted for all our fish. Sunday nada by anyone while I was there, up until about 3pm. Lots of bait mostly bay anchovies but also mullet.
David Berman

Western Long Island

Here’s a good, comprehensive report from Richard Siberry:

Hi Angelo,
The story of the day from my stretch of the North Shore, Cold Spring Harbor to the mouth of the Nissequogue, is the hordes of voracious gator blues, reported up to 15 pounds, that are breaking lines and tackle in the harbors. Finding them is simply a matter of locating the schools of adult bunker that are their favorite snack this time of the year. A school of bunker, with it's attendant blues, has been circling Huntington harbor almost constantly for about two weeks now. Depending on wind and tide they can be anywhere from just off the ramp in the back of the harbor to out by the lighthouse or in Lloyd harbor, affording plenty of good shots for both boat and beach anglers. The most productive method of catching these choppers is with a fresh chunk of bunker, or even with a whole live lined bunker. Large poppers, such as the Tsunami Talking poppers, have also proven effective and similarly large swimming plugs in bunker colors will also account for their share. For fly rodders keep your flies big and bunker looking, deceivers will produce but big synthetics are a little more durable. On the subject of durability, there have not been many bass around, at least not mixed in with the blues, so don't be hesitant about getting wired. A wire leader of 20 to 30 pounds and about eight inches in length will help reduce your tackle bill.
Down on the south shore, in the back of Jones inlet, False Albacore have been spooling under gunned recreational anglers for a couple of weeks now. As is always the case with albies from the beach, catching one is a hit and miss affair. Their location in the inlet and accessibility from the beach is a matter of tides, wind and a big dollop of luck. If you want to give them a try, and I suggest that, if you've never caught one, you do; arm yourself with a light surf rod, a reel with at least 150 yards of 12 to 17 pound test line, a fluorocarbon leader and a handful of mid sized shiny lures such as Deadly Dicks, Swedish Pimples etc. A nine or ten weight saltwater fly outfit with a sturdy drag and 150 to 200 yards of backing behind an intermediate line, with a 7 foot fluorocarbon leader will do the trick even better than a spinning rod where these pelagic speedsters are concerned. Fill your fly box with small to mid sized Clousers and epoxies in predominantly light colors, white, tan pink etc. and hold on tight. If the albies are on the beach you'll know about it. If they aren't don't despair I have found plenty of small blues and bass lurking just off the sand, especially where there is some structure or a rip. For those inclined to bottom fish I have also noticed quite a few blackfish being landed in recent days.
Richard Siberry
www.anglerimages.com

North Shore Huntington,

Reel-Time regular Bob Giordano checks in with this report:

Hey John,
Bass have re-entered the picture up here on the North Shore. Monday
morning's incoming had fairly slow top water action for Bluefish in
Lloyd Harbor. My first two casts with a Boilermaker Popper yielded two
blues in the 7lb. class taken in 3' of water. Sometimes that's the kiss
of death banging them right away as I worked hard for another strike in
the area for a half hour without a sniff. Moved the boat deeper into
Lloyd and noticed some nervous Peanut Bunker up against the beach.
Taking off the wire and switching to a Chartreuse Crease fly the first
cast was greeted by a chunky 26" Schoolie. Took two more Stripers with
the largest going 34" and 14.25lbs on the boga. Boated her surprisingly
quick, (as opposed to the large blues), with an 8 wt. and placed her
back healthy to fight another day. These fish were also taken shallow
in 3' of water. Back into work all within two hours. Bunker still
hanging around Huntington Harbor. I hear Northport Harbor has them as
well with more blues underneath. Good source of info tells me Bonito
are running the Points so may get a chance for a first North Shore Slam
this weekend. Wish you well and tight lines.

Bob Giordano

CENTRAL LONG ISLAND SOUND/NORTH SHORE
Yours truly has had some decent fishing as well:

Out this way, solid numbers of fish have finally zeroed in on the prolific schools of spearing, bay anchovies, peanut bunker and the adult form of Atlantic Menhaden. Most days, if you set your mind to it, you could catch bluefish, bass and false albies. Unfortunately, not much in the way of late bonito this year…bye-bye, so long, farewell. After their first showing in late August the majority of them just up and left the neighborhood. Contrary to many current “rumors” most of the bonito that have been reported in this part of the Sound are in actuality, false albacore. That being said, a few are still being caught as are occasional Spanish Mackerel. I have found that many anglers refer to the albies as bonito…that is fine if you are in Florida but not up here in the north. Confusion about the differences between the two species is quite common and often comical. Last week. I put the Boga to an albie of about 10 pounds. The guy I the next boat over from me yells out, “Hey, nice catch but that’s the strangest bluefish I’ve ever seen.” And then he proceeded to troll right through the albies. While not in east-end proportions, and certainly not “thick”, the albies are showing up frequently enough to keep it interesting. A friend of mine hit a bunch of albies on flies up to about 12 pound in the early part of the week as well as some bluefish to 8 pounds and a mess of schoolie bass.
The harbors out this way are far from “harboring” the adult bunker that have made their way out to this area. First the big bluefish and now the big bass have found and assaulted under them. A neighbor and his buddy had quite a number of bass up to 40 inches under the bunker. Here’s a fun thing to do if you find big bluefish on the menhaden…snag a bunker and then short line on a rod so that it is flopping near the surface. Then grab your 9 wt and toss out a big fly. As the blues assault the bunker, the ones who missed out will be ticked off enough to eat your fly. But remember the wire leader or the 50-pound test (at least) mono! My arms are still hurting from those buggers. Good numbers of fish have also been reported off the area beaches. If you hit the day right, you will have scores of bass and bluefish swimming right on by, very close to shore and often in the wash. Best of luck to all…Angelo

Eastern Long Island

Montauk

Hi Angelo,
Montauk Yacht Club just finished hosting the annual Red bone tournament. Fishing was superb! Old timers say best fishing in forty years. Acres of fish feeding on the surface, and little wind. It doesn't get any better for a fly fisherperson.
Regards
Capt. Bob Aguayo

Angelo--- The fishing has been great --- the albies really haven't raged like they can but plenty of action for that specie has been available--- the bass have been up real well but again I anticipate it to build with colder conditions--- so all and all its Montauk in the fall--- my anglers in the Redbone took runner up honors---Mark Sedotti and Donald Trump Jr.--- largest striper 42in and we placed in other categories as well--- great event for a worthy cause--- Gary Ellis and Mike Hewlett and their staff along with Scott Holder and Frank Cresitelli did an outstanding job as usual…great time—stay well
Captain Tom Cornicelli

HI Angelo,
The bass in Montauk have been thick with good numbers coming in on fly, light tackle, and live bait. This cold snap is only going to improve the fishing for the next few weeks. If you've been holding out for a trip to Montauk, don't wait too much longer. I still have a few prime dates available
Capt. Adrian Mason
Alpha Adventures www.alphafishing.com

East End /North Fork

Hey Angelo,
The Redbone was this past week in Montauk. There were
plenty of fish on top but light on the bite. Albies
and blues through out the day eating better toward
daybreak. Albies have been in strong showing on the
entire east end. The calmer the weather the better.
Play the tides and you’re in… stick and move, bob and
weave. Pea crabs are as thick as they are going to
get. Don't run in on them with your boat… sit back and
watch for stripers rolling then slowly move in (idle).
If the albies are rolling and swirling they are
feeding casually and don't need your fly. Drop to 10-8
lb. fluoro, long leader. Try large flies 4" to small
traditional patterns… 1" and vary colors. The sun at different
angles seems to have them see color differently. As
soon as the fly stops working, change immediately to
something different. Green, blue, yellow, pearl
flash… all four will work at different times. I've slammed
everyday the past week. I haven't been to work since
last Tuesday.
Captain Rob Thompson
Fly Away Charters
(631) 379-9148

Reel-Timer Joel Filner check in with this report:

The weekend was abbreviated for me as I went back to the city for
visiting folk from afar. The activity however was aptly described by
my father's favorite cowboy, Slim Pickens. Thursday night just
before dark large stripers were taken by the spin casters with
bucktails and the flyrodders had their chance at some albies and
blues. Friday morning before work the incoming tide promised more
fish but by the time I left the beach at 830AM only one showing, but
again the bucktail before first light and flyrod with a popper in the
back bay worked. The sun came up and all quiet on the east jetty.
Saturday morning was absolutely magnificent, the full moon, the clear
skies, a soft breeze out of the south just before first light. The
incoming tide was just getting rolling but the fish were very very
uncooperative. One albie and one blue for me, small bait fish and
small blues for only a few of the surfcasters and the fly rodders
just walked from the sea to the bay looking for showings. Only two
pop ups occurred and we retired to Mecox, where the open cut proved
equally non productive for both surf and fly. The magic fly was a
Mikkelson white epoxy that managed both fish. Reports from Breezy
countered the east with bands of albies and bass showing off the
jetty. Another shoulda been There!

So long for now folks. Have fun out there and be safe.