2.2.12 7:39 am
by Larry Jock
BE THE FIRST TO HEAR ABOUT FISHING REPORTS AND BREAKING NEWS BY FOLLOWING US ON TWITTER. OUR NAME IS COASTALFISHMAN.
WEDNESDAY, February 1, 2012
It was a slower pick today for striper fishermen out of OC. The fish were scattered and the whales and birds disappeared around Little Gull where they have been hanging out recently. Fish continue to hit light, with many swings and misses along with ones that came unglued. On boat found them north of the Inlet, between 45th and 60th streets. The fish being caught are still a nice size... not really any shemps.
The King and his Court trolled all day and ended up with 7 keepers in the box, one shy of their limit. All were caught on the troll with mojos and Tomic lures.
I think "57 Chins" ended their day with 4 or 5 keeper stripers, also caught on trolled mojos.
Early in the morning, "The Natural" ran north, between 45th and 60th Streets, and found a mess of fish in 50 feet of water. They ended up with 20 in the box.
Ron Sanko and Wayne Holman caught their limit of 4 stripers, north of the Inlet. Found the whales. No birds. Largest were 44-inches. Left them biting at 4pm.
TUESDAY, January 31, 2012
Anglers finished off the month of January with another great day of striper fishing. Seas were a little snotty, but fishable for diehards.
The hot spot continued to be around Little Gull Shoal where whales and birds showed the way to big stripers underneath. Trolled mojos and umbrella rigs were the ticket once again.
Rich Sosnowski, Mike Johnston and John Rogowitz on the "?" had another great day that ended with their limit of 8 stripers in the box including the largest one ever caught on the boat... a 48-inch pig that weighed 41 lbs. Rich and his team continue to have good luck with trolled umbrella rigs.
The King and his Court (Jimmy, Adam and Josh) also caught their limit of stripers around Little Gull and capped the day with a double header of 40+ inch fish hooked on the "NP" rig.
Tim Romberger reported landing their limit of 4 stripers today and left them biting. Fish were caught on trolled chartreuse mojos rigs right at the Little Gull buoy. Largest fish measured 39-inches.
MONDAY, January 30, 2012
Another incredible day of striper fishing off the coast of OC. Today, the action seemed to center on the area 1-2 miles off the coast inside Little Gull Shoal. The best bite looked to be during the early morning. Whales and birds... same story. Fish were hitting light, with many anglers reporting numerous swings and misses. Those trolling heavy mojos, just off the bottom recorded good numbers of hook-ups.
There were a lot of boats out there today and so many fish were caught that boats had to go to both Sunset Marina and the Ocean City Fishing Center to clean their fish.
Reports came in from the following:
"57 Chins" tore them up again, boating their limit of 10 stripers in only 3 hours. All came inside Little Gull Shoal. Bo took home largest fish honors on the trip with a fat 42-incher. The "Whiff Master General" had a clean record today with no fish lost after hook-up.
"?" had good results trolling umbrella rigs in the same location.
With water temps between 44 and 46 degrees, combined with some warmer weather coming in the next few days, there's a good chance these fish could stick around for a while.
SUNDAY, January 29, 2012
Would someone please get me a new calendar, because mine says that today is January 29th and that can't be correct. STRIPER FISHING IS OFF THE HOOK!!!!
It was another great day for anglers fishing off the Delmarva coast, with limits of big, fat stripers being caught from off Fenwick Island down to Little Gull Shoal. Interestingly, the bite moved closer to shore today with the best bites coming barely more than a mile off the beach. Whales continue to be found balling up schools of bunker with hungry stripers lurking underneath. Best bites were while trolling down sea. A lot of anglers mentioned how frustrating it was the number of swings and misses today. Fish were biting soft.
Not many Shemps today with a lot of Cartrights hitting the deck. The fish were fat, feasting on bunker and even some bellies full of sand eels were reported. This class of fish are really beautiful and have really turned what was a horrible season inside the 3-mile line, into a good one. A lot of happy anglers are walking around the streets of OC right now!
"57 Chins" burned them up again today with another limit of big stripers. Collin "The Crusher" Hurley led the way with a big 44-incher that he successfully battled after hooking it on a trolled mojo. Collin said that he put Mr. Charlie to shame today with superior angling skills. The Little Rooster Rules!
Tim Romberger and his crew caught another limit today after "having one of the best fishing days of my life" yesterday. Tim found his fish south of the inlet, just off the shoreline.
The King and his Court caught their limit of stripers with a fat 42-incher leading the way. All fish were caught on trolled mojo's with the majority of bites coming down sea, south of the Inlet. Nick "The Net" Clemente landed his first fun trip fish.
The "Gotcha" also caught their limit of stripers for the second day in a row after getting a late start around 10:30 am. Busy day yesterday for these veteran anglers required extra sleeping time this morning.
"Happy Endings" made the Arabs (and Sunset Marina) very happy today, burning many gallons of fuel chasing the load of striped bass that ultimately met their demise. They even ventured over into the dark side, catching their fish on the TROLL (say it isn't so, Guy... say it isn't so!!!).
Rich Sosnowski and his team on the "?" really burned them up while trolling umbrella rigs. Hope Rich got some money from the guys for gas after all the trolling they did today.
Eric Quisgard emailed to report catching his first striper, a 40-incher, while fishing inshore of Little Gull Shoal. His pals Dan and Jim shared info to put Eric on the fish in 40 feet of water. Fish hit a trolled #19 white Tony spoon.
There were a ton of boats out there today, so I'm sure there were many more limits of stripers caught than those listed above. Let us know how you did by dropping us an email at coastalfisherman@comcast.net.
From the feedback I'm getting, the information lines for "One Way Charlies" are starting to be disconnected! The revolt has begun!!!!!
SATURDAY, January 28, 2012
An absolute epic day of striper fishing, especially when you consider it's January 28th. Fish were strung up and down the 2-3 mile line from the condos up north to way down the beach. The majority of anglers caught their fish while trolling Stretch's and Mojo's, but some were able to cast lure to fish on top. Whales and birds were found up and down the coast.
"57 Chins" tore them up again today, catching their limit of pigs on the troll. No shemps today! One nameless angler did whiff on 3 fish today and had to be put in "time out" for a while according to the Captain.
The King and his Court on the "Patty Wagon" also caught their limit with most of the fish weighing at or over 20 lbs. The King even broke out his secret "NP" rig which proved to be effective from the shotgun position.
The "Gotcha" also returned to Sunset Marina with their limit of big, fat stripers after Dave McKay rebounded from a busy early morning to contribute to the team.
Needless to say, it was a great day with a lot of boats returning with their limit of big, fat fish. Some were spitting up sand eels while others coughed up bunker.
On a final note... a lot of information was shared by anglers on the water and phone calls were made to buddy's, allowing more to get on today's fantastic catch! Just shows that when information is shared, everyone benefits and has a lot of fun. Hopefully, the number of "One Way Charlies" in our town is dwindling.
FRIDAY, January 27, 2012 (revised 8pm)
Absolutely beautiful day on the ocean. Flat as a lake this morning. Kicked up in the afternoon but still fishable
A few boats trolled the 2-3 mile line off Ocean City today.
The King went home with 2 stripers in the boat and released a bunch during his day long trip. One keeper and a some throwbacks were hooked south of the Inlet, but his final keeper and a load of releases were caught 7-8 miles north of the Inlet around whales and diving birds. One epic pass resulted in 9 fish hooked on 5 rods... and all 9 were boated (8 released)!!!!! All were spitting up whole bunkers.
Josh Farr and his friend Brian Keith, of "Mio Fratello" fame, came upon an incredible bite, mid-afternoon 7-8 miles north of the Inlet where they found diving gannetts around whales and went home with their 4 keepers PLUS a load of releases. They left them biting!!! Major kudos to Josh for calling others in on the bite!!!!!
This is what happens when information gets shared. Everyone benefits. You may be having a good day and call in a friend who is struggling, so you both have a good day. Other times it may be the opposite. You don't have to share it with the world if you don't want to, but there are too many "One Way Charlies" around that are very quick to call FOR information but never call WITH information. It's a big ocean and helping friends find fish tends to come back to you 10-fold. It's just good karma. That's my editorial of the day.
WEDNESDAY, January 25, 2012
Sorry, had the dates on my reports this week one day off.
It turned out to be a nice day in the ocean. Really settled down mid-afternoon. Water temp is still between 44 and 45 degrees within 3 miles of the beach. Whales and gannetts were seen cruising the coast 3 miles off.
Pat Hurley, Charlie and Bo on the "57 Chins" boated 3 nice sized stripers just south of Little Gull Shoal.
The King and his Court end their day with their limit of 4 stripers in the boat. All were in the mid-30 inch range. Two were caught just north of the Inlet and 2 were caught south of Little Gull Shoal. One big cow was lost right at the boat. All while trolling mojos.
Also heard stripers were seen on the 1st Lump.
TUESDAY, January 24, 2012
Rough day for striper fishermen. Boats traveled as far as 25 miles south and came up blank. A few fish were seen around Great Gull.
MONDAY, January 23, 2012
Hasn't been much striper fishing going on out of Ocean City. Heard there is a very good bite between Wachapreague and Quimby, right on the 3-mile line.
The "Morning Star" is scheduled to run tomorrow, continuing their search for big tautog. So far this year they have boated 2 over 20 lbs., including the new state record fish that weighed 23 lbs. Give them a call if you want to get one of the limited spots on the rail.
SUNDAY, January 22, 2012
Weather has been snotty, so not many folks are venturing off the beach in search of stripers.
Capt. Monty on the "Morning Star" is having a good season catching big tautog. Next trip is Wedesday.
THURSDAY, January 19, 2012
Well, the "Morning Star" did it again, bringing back another tautog over 20 lbs. Today, Mike Hernandez from Queens, NY landed a 20 lb. 11 oz. tautog while using a white crab at an ocean wreck. This fish would have tied the MD state record had Charlie Donohue not caught the 23 pounder while fishing on the "Morning Star" last week. This is the time we see the big tautog being caught, so if this is something you want to experience, give the "Morning Star" or the "Angler" a call.
On the striper scene, nothing inside 3 miles today. Fish were spotted a little east of Winter Quarter Shoal and up to 5 miles south of the red can. Find the whales and the birds and you have found the linesiders. Remember, they are illegal to keep outside 3 miles.
I trolled around Little Gull today with the King, and unfortunately, all that was caught was one throwback. My best marks of the day were found on my way back to the Ocean City Inlet. Good bait and marks between the Sea Buoy and the Inlet. Couldn't believe ALL my rods weren't dancing. Ugh!
MONDAY, January 16, 2012
Haven't been any reports lately because the seas have been pretty rough.
Fish are still being seen 20 miles down the beach, but 7-9 miles offshore, making them illegal to catch.
Capt. Monty on the "Morning Star" has been tearing up the tautog. This is the time of year when he catches the big mama-jama's, so if that interests you, give him a call to get one of the 12 spots on the rail.
If you haven't seen the video of the new state record tautog caught last week on the "Morning Star" you can check it out on our homepage. It's a pig!!
WEDNESDAY, January 11, 2012
A new, pending Maryland State record tautog was caught today by Charlie Donohue of Philadelphia, PA. Charlie was fishing on the "Morning Star" when he hooked the 33-inch, 23 lb. tautog while using green crab for bait. The fish broke the current tautog record of 20 lbs. 11 oz. caught in 2007 on the "Morning Star".
Stripers are still being caught 15-20 miles down the beach.
Dean Metcalfe landed his first striper during a trip with The King and Josh Twilley south of the OC Inlet on the 3-mile line. The group also boxed an additional striper on the troll. Both were 39-inches.
TUESDAY, January 10, 2012
Stripers continue to roam the 6-7 mile line south of the Ocean City Inlet. Water temperature hovers between 43 and 45 degrees. Some sporadic fish can still be found inside the 3-mile line south of the OC Inlet.
The King hooked 5 stripers, keeping a pair of 38-inchers while trolling south of the Inlet inside the 3-mile line.
The "?" returned with 5 stripers in the box after trolling south of the OC Inlet.
I ended my day after hooking 5 stripers, keeping 2, while trolling south of the OC Inlet. Two largest measured 38" and 42". Hot lure today was the Stretch Imitator in the Cabo Sunset design.
Striper fishing was so good, even Jack Kaeufer and Dave McKay ended their day with 2 in the box. Must have been because Jack retired his fishing net that was originally purchased in 1969!
MONDAY, January 9, 2012
Seas were rougher than expected today.
Pat Hurley and his crew caught some nice stripers south of the OC Inlet.
Capt. Monty Hawkins on the "Morning Star" caught the first cod of the year The fish was hooked on a green crab at an artificial reef .
SUNDAY, January 8, 2012
"Morning Star" returned with big tog today! Led by Alex Levantovsky's 16.25 pounder.
Good striper bite far south of the Inlet.
SATURDAY, January 7, 2012
Good striper bite 25 miles south of the OC Inlet.
FRIDAY, January 6, 2012
Tog fishing has been good for anglers fishing off the 4th Street Bulkhead.
Striper fishing was strong 15-20 miles south of the OC Inlet.
THURSDAY, January 5, 2012
After a couple of days where it was really too rough to fish, anglers were frustrated with the lack of fish that showed up today. As luck would have it, birds that were seen diving along the coast the last couple of days, were absent today and almost no fish were found inside of 3-miles from the Sliver up to the highrises.
Stripers were found 19-miles south of the OC Inlet, right on the 3-mile line. They were also spotted on Isle of Wight Shoal.
TUESDAY, January 3, 2012
Rough seas today
SUNDAY, January 1, 2012
Happy New Year! Beautiful in the ocean today.
Best striper catches were south of the OC Inlet today.
Angler surfcasting off Assateague caught a 51-inch striper that weighed 48 lbs. Caught on bunker.
The King and Josh Fallon caught stripers on Little Gull Shoal today. The fish were hooked on trolled mojos.
Jerry and Tina Siuta caught stripers up to 38" at the Sliver.
The Morning Star tog trip returned with a 27" tog that weighed 12.75 lbs. John Murter caught the fish at an artificial reef.
FRIDAY, December 30, 2011
Large schools of stripers were seen 7-15 miles off the coast. Nothing inside 3-miles.
THURSDAY, December 29, 2011
Pretty disappointing day on the water. Conditions looked right but the vast majority of anglers struck out when searching for stripers. No birds or bait inside the 3-mile line. Anglers reported fishing from off the Pyramid, north of the Inlet down past the Sliver... nothing.
A few fish were run over 15 miles off the beach and inside the 1st Lump.
Water temp ranged from 48 to 51 degrees... getting warmer as you headed off the beach.
WEDNESDAY, December 28, 2011
The Winter Issue has hit the streets. 128 pages. Ties for the largest Coastal Fisherman ever! Enjoy!
Another very windy day today. Only know of one boat that ventured into the ocean. No report.
They are still slamming stripers off NJ and the headline in the morning paper predicts a warm winter. May be a longer striper season than we are used to.
MONDAY, December 26, 2011
Looks like a good batch of stripers are still roaming the 3-mile line from 100th St. down to the Inlet. Tommy and Noah Fowler got into them again on the lumps off 40th St. Rich Sosnowski reported a good bite off 100th Street. Rich said he had no marks and no birds but the fish were there. 2 hours = 8 fish, with most at or over 40-inches. Like I did on Christmas day, Rich saw good marks only a mile off the beach, just north of the Inlet, but no bites.
"Reel Tool" also caught their limit off 100th St in the afternoon.
SUNDAY, December 25, 2011
Merry Christmas!
Seas were much rougher than expected. Current running hard to the north helped along with a south wind. 4-5 every 3 seconds... UGH!
There are definitely a good number of fish cruising off our coast right now, inside the 3 mile line. I went out this morning around 9am and had the intention of running to the lumps off Seacrets, where Tommy and Noah Fowler got into them yesterday. Didn't find anything there, but a good batch of birds showed up on my radar, 3 miles further to the north. Headed that way and found birds diving just inside the 3-mile line. Most birds I have seen in one place so far this season. Got hook-ups right away on trolled mojos. Ended my 2 hour trip with 17 fish hooked between 34 and 40-inches. Left them biting. Had to fish down sea because heading into the head sea was unbearable. First time I have seen fish lasagna on my screen. Long trip back to the barn at 9 knots.
On the way home, I headed towards the beach, hoping that the seas would be a little smoother (which they were not). Had good marks of fish 1.5-miles off the beach from a mile north of the Inlet right down to the North Jetty. Boomerang marks... definitely fish!
Mike Johnston and Rich Sosnowski headed north also and were rewarded with their limit of stripers just inside the 3-mile line. All nice size fish.
SATURDAY, December 24, 2011
Merry Christmas Eve!
Fishing is starting to look pretty good. Definitely not red hot, but picking up. Definitely more bait balls and active birds. Fish were caught inside 3-miles as far north as the Pyramid and south 10 miles from the Inlet. Fish were also seen between Isle of Wight Shoal and the 1st Lump. Water temp today inside 3-miles was 49.3 degrees.
John Jock landed a beautiful 42-inch striper on a Tomic lure 10 miles south of the Inlet, right on the 3 mile line.
"Wave Dancer" had 5 stripers off the Pyramid, about 2 miles off the beach.
Tommy and Noah Fowler landed 4 linesiders off Seacrets.
The King took a day off today!
THURSDAY, December 22, 2011
Things are getting interesting. Fish were found on the 3-mile line south of the inlet, starting at the Sliver. Find a few birds diving, and you probably found a bunker bait ball.
Fish being caught are a nice size... usually 36 to 44 inches. Fat. Eating bunker.
Some guys got into them and some struck out today. One angler had 6 on at one time (and got them all).. while others came up blank, even after going 20 miles south.
Spoke to Joe Morris today. He said that the last 3 days have seen tremendous striper fishing out of Lewes, DE where the mouth of the Delaware Bay is seeing another wave of fish.
On a very sad note, I found out that Rick Willman, owner of Rick's Bait & Tackle in Long Neck, DE passed away yesterday. Rick, who wrote our Delaware Fishing Report each week, was a great guy with a quick smile and an upbeat attitude. I'll miss him.
TUESDAY, December 20, 2011
Beautiful day on the ocean, contrary to what the weatherman reported. Water temp is down to between 49 and 52 degrees.
Bait is starting to show up in better numbers. Mainly scattered.
The King and his Court caught 5 nice fish on the 3-mile line near the Sliver. Four fish that were thrown in the cooler measured between 38 and 42-inches. Caught on mojo's and spoons.
Some fish were also seen on the 1st Lump.
MONDAY, December 19, 2011
It was a beautiful early morning in the ocean today, but around 11am it really started to get rough, as predicted.
Tim Romberger called to report that he hit the seas early today and trolled around Little Gull and the Sea Buoy. Tim said there were large bait balls, the best he has seen this year. Unfortunately, he didn't get a pull.
SUNDAY, December 18, 2011
Another slow day today for striper fishermen. Water temp has decreased to 49 degrees inshore and up to 52 degrees 10 miles off. Bait is scattered. Gill nets galore down at the Sliver, so something must be happening down there. A few boats took the trip down there today and came up blank. A few fish were seen on Isle of Wight Shoal.
The Jersey boys are still catching stripers like crazy only a mile off the beach as far north as Central Jersey, so there is still hope for us if the water temp doesn't drop too fast.
FRIDAY, December 16, 2011
Nothing to report. Mother Nature won't cut us a break. Wind blew pretty good today. Settled down as the day went on. Tomorrow doesn't look like a walk in the park.
Good news is that anglers are still catching stripers up in Jersey, which means that providing we don't have a drastic drop in water temp, we still may be able to salvage this season.
WEDNESDAY, December 14, 2011
Striper fishing improved today. Water temp is dropping closer to the magic 50-degree mark.
The King caught stripers around the North Jett and Rt. 50 Bridge on live spot. Fish ranged between 30-33 inches.
Samurai returned with 5 stripers from south of Little Gull Shoal. Largest measured 39.5-inches.
TUESDAY, December 13, 2011
Slow day for inshore striper fishing. Really no concentration of bait. Sounds like surfcasters in South Jersey are still having good days, so maybe we will see more fish pushing our way in the next couple of weeks.
MONDAY, December 12, 2011
Inside 3 miles, the striper bite was slow for most of the day. A few stripers were caught at sunrise, 2 miles off 44th Street.
Anglers did run across stripers at the 1st Lump.
SUNDAY, December 11, 2011
Scott Slater caught a 49-inch, 51 lb. striper off Assateague at sunrise.
Good bite in the Inlet today, especially at the beginning of the outgoing tide around mid-day. Boats drifting around the bend at the Oceanic Pier did well. Those who still have live spot did very well.
Stripers were seen on Fenwick Shoal.
SATURDAY, December 10, 2011
It was rough seas today, but some boats ventured out and got fish at Little Gull and south to the Sliver. Smaller trolled lures worked best.
FRIDAY, December 9, 2011
Fishing wasn't as good as hoped. A good early morning bite at Little Gull petered out. Schools of stripers were seen 9 miles out, south of the 1st Lump.
WEDNESDAY, December 7, 2011
A couple of brave souls ventured out into a very rough ocean today and were rewarded for their efforts. Birds were diving and bait was balled up.
The King boated a nice 39-inch striper near the Sea Buoy after hooking it on a trolled mojo. He also caught his fair share of choppers.
Kevin McCabe caught his limit of stripers and some bluefish at the same location.
TUESDAY, December 6, 2011
Conditions are starting to look right for striper fishermen. Good schools of bait are being seen only a couple of miles off the beach. Bird activity still isn't plentiful, but that might change very shortly.
Bruce McGuigan and Andy Smelter caught their limit of stripers down by the MD/VA line. The fish measured between 37 and 42-inches and were caught while jigging bucktails. The small bucktails did better according to Capt. Mac.
The commercial fishermen are starting to see more stripers showing up in their nets.
David Kasey caught a 51.5-inch, 52 lb. striper off the beach on Assateague Island.
MONDAY, December 5, 2011
Beautiful day in the ocean. Seas were flat and the wind was calm. Not a whole lot of bird activity but a few fish were caught.
Arthur Clubb landed a 45-inch striper on a trolled Rapala Stretch 25 about 2 miles off the Carousel Hotel (117th St.). Water temp was reported to be 55 degrees.
The King caught his limit of stripers just north of the Inlet on the troll.
SUNDAY, December 4, 2011
The good news is that we saw more bait and more bird activity than we have seen so far this year. Unfortunately, very few fish were caught. There was a good early morning bite with fish caught a mile off shore, straight out of the OC Inlet. There were also fish caught a mile off the beach, north off the high-rise condos. Water temperature hovered around 53-degrees.
The "Zipper" caught their limit in the early afternoon while trolling lines off planer boards 2.5 miles off the beach and a 1/2 mile north of the OC Inlet. Fish were up to 41-inches.
SATURDAY, December 3, 2011
Another ugly day in the ocean. This time weather-wise. Small craft warning in the AM and the rest of the day was no peach.
Mark Steimer and Matt McGuigan braved the rough seas and headed south until they almost reached the MD/VA line. There they soaked live spot and Mark ended up boating a 46.5-inch striper that weighed 41 lbs. 2 oz.
Did hear today that the 3 previous days for striper fisherman out of Lewes, DE were very good. Those fish are just moving down and I know we say it every weekend, but this next weekend should see some improved action out of Ocean City.
FRIDAY, December 2, 2011
Drove down to the Inlet this morning. For the first time in days, the ocean was flat as a lake. No wind. Anglers should get on the stripers today! Stay tuned.
9:00 AM - a lot of birds diving over bait on the southern end of Great Gull Shoal.
Well, this Grim Reaper crap is getting on my nerves! Another dismal day today. Water temp is still around 56-degrees. No fish caught today. Anglers covered a lot of territory. No stripers were even caught by commercial netters. Good news is that I heard the striper bite in NJ is slowing down, meaning that they could be heading our way.
THURSDAY, December 1, 2011
The wind has really been blowing so nobody has really been fishing. A few anglers did go down to the beach with their binoculars and saw a good number of gannets diving on bait balls all the way up the beach, a couple of miles out.
MONDAY, November 28, 2011
Could things be getting right? Birds were seen working along the 3-mile line today from the OC Inlet up to Delaware. Nice balls of bait underneath with some stripers in the mix.
Tommy Fowler slayed the flounder on Isle of Wight Shoal today on bucktails tipped with minnows.
SUNDAY, November 27, 2011
Very windy day today. No reports of catches.
Received a report from Jeff Weidman concerning the Indian River bite. According to Jeff's report, it looks like anglers are starting to pick at the stripers in the Indian River Inlet. Still a lot of shorts. Bucktails and jigs are working well, especially in tandem. The last hour of the incoming tide has been best. There has been a lot of bird action around the Coast Guard Station rip. However, since the wall was reconstructed, there are some bad snags in this area. Birds were working good during the incoming tide on Sunday. For those fishing from the shore, anglers seemed to be doing well catching short stripers on the west side of the Coast Guard station in front of the cottages.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011
Well, the wait continues. Hardly any stripers were caught inside the ridiculous 3-mile limit. A lot of anglers tried, but few succeeded. Boats went north, where reports of bluefish and the occasional striper were heard over the radio on Friday. Many figured that they would have worked their way down off the coast of OC, but no luck.
The Old Grounds are producing some nice catches of stripers.
Big schools of bluefish were found on the 1st and 2nd Lumps today. A few stripers were underneath.
Nothing on the Jackspot.
Tautog fishing off of the Rt. 50 Bridge continues to be good. Green crabs.. if you can get them.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2011
There is only one way to describe striper fishing today... TORTURE! It was horrible. There weren't even any bluefish. The only bite heard on the radio was a bluefish bite off Dewey Beach with an occasional striper thrown in. Other than that, anglers were spread out all over the ocean and everyone was complaining about coming up blank.
Little Gull was loaded with gill nets, and the commercial guys weren't having much luck either.
There were definitely more birds than last weekend, but 99.9% of them were just flying. No diving.. nothing working.
Big Bird Cropper told me that some small stripers were caught just outside the Inlet.
Tim Romberger reported catching a 30-inch striper off the tip of the South Jetty on a live eel this afternoon.
The lone ray of sunshine seen today was Dominic Ross' big mama-jama striper that he caught while trolling a Stretch lure 2 miles off the beach at 65th Street (water tower). Dominic's striper measured 44-inches and weighed 35 lbs. A personal best for Dominic!
There were reports that keeper stripers are just beginning to show up in better numbers in the Indian River Inlet... three weeks later than normal.
WEDNESDAY, November 23, 2011
"Get Sum" trolled the ocean today with no luck but picked up a keeper striper around the Rt. 50 Bridge in the afternoon.
Seas got progressively rougher today. Looks like Thanksgiving is a blowout. Should get nicer towards Friday afternoon. Saturday looking nice.
Here's what the weather report looks like at 3:22pm on Wednesday:
TONIGHT
N WINDS 30 KT WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 40 KT. SEAS 6 TO 8
FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF 8 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE
EVENING...THEN A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT.
THU
N WINDS 25 TO 30 KT...BECOMING NW 15 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.
SEAS 5 TO 7 FT...SUBSIDING TO 4 TO 5 FT IN THE AFTERNOON.
THU NIGHT
NW WINDS 10 KT. SEAS 4 TO 5 FT...SUBSIDING TO 3 TO 4 FT.
FRI
W WINDS 10 KT. SEAS 3 TO 4 FT.
FRI NIGHT
SW WINDS 10 KT. SEAS 2 FT.
SAT
SW WINDS 10 KT. SEAS 2 FT.
SUN
SW WINDS 10 KT...BECOMING SE. SEAS 3 TO 4 FT...BUILDING TO 5 TO
6 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
TUESDAY, November 22, 2011
Not much to report. Good news is that the commercial guys got into the bluefish big time today, which could bode well for striper fisherman off the coast. Typically, bluefish precede striped bass during their migration south each fall. We really haven't seen a big push of bluefish yet, so maybe now is the time. If the bluefish are here in mass, watch your rubber sassy shads. You can go through a bag in no time!
MONDAY, November 21, 2011
Joe Dragunas caught a pa
