Fred Voorhees
11-21-2006, 4:47 PM
Well, they always say that you can't fight Mother Nature and she gave us a bit of a time this weekend as we tried to rustle up some numbers of striped bass at the Jersey shore. Myself and a buddy headed to the Cape May, NY area to give some surf fishing for striped bass a go. We usually confine our fishing activities to fresh water, but we are always willing to experience any new fishing ideas. My youngest Brother Mark lives down there and does a bit of salt water fishing and the three of us decided to "fish the suds" - surf fish - this weekend.
Mother Nature has kept it a bit warmer than average in Jersey this Autumn and because of that, the ocean temps at the shoreline is not quite low enough for the bass to come ashore. Oh, the boats a few miles out were hammerin' them, but they have yet to come along the shore. We tried numerous places, in part trying to dodge a bit of "fishing unfreindly wind" and also on the advice of one or two bait and tackle shop owners. Friday my buddy managed to bring a throw-back striper to shore. The only thing I managed to hook that day was a fairly long eel in one of the back bays of the area. They say that God created all creatures -----not the eel, they are the work of the devil:D
We fished all day Saturday also and came up pretty empty. It was about fifteen minutes before darkness fell and I had a hit - set the hook and began to reel in. The fish turned toward me, rode in beneath a wave and got enough slack in the line that I couldn't catch up and he got away. RIGHT, that was my shot at landing my first striper and it got away. I guess the fishing gods were smilin' on me - 'cause within the next half hour to forty five minutes, I had another three or four bites, while my brother and my buddy, just eight feet to either side of me were getting none. Well, it was now pretty darned dark and I set the hook on another. I brought this one to shore and by the grace of the lighthouse behind us, my brother was able to snap a picture, but only when the lighthouse beam was pointing in our direction.
There is a good chance that in two weeks, we will be doing this again, hoping that the water has cooled down enough to bring the stripers along the shore.
That's the three of us relaxing by the surf with our poles. My buddy Larry shows off his first ever salt water striper and I am in the pitch black hoisting mine in the air.
Mother Nature has kept it a bit warmer than average in Jersey this Autumn and because of that, the ocean temps at the shoreline is not quite low enough for the bass to come ashore. Oh, the boats a few miles out were hammerin' them, but they have yet to come along the shore. We tried numerous places, in part trying to dodge a bit of "fishing unfreindly wind" and also on the advice of one or two bait and tackle shop owners. Friday my buddy managed to bring a throw-back striper to shore. The only thing I managed to hook that day was a fairly long eel in one of the back bays of the area. They say that God created all creatures -----not the eel, they are the work of the devil:D
We fished all day Saturday also and came up pretty empty. It was about fifteen minutes before darkness fell and I had a hit - set the hook and began to reel in. The fish turned toward me, rode in beneath a wave and got enough slack in the line that I couldn't catch up and he got away. RIGHT, that was my shot at landing my first striper and it got away. I guess the fishing gods were smilin' on me - 'cause within the next half hour to forty five minutes, I had another three or four bites, while my brother and my buddy, just eight feet to either side of me were getting none. Well, it was now pretty darned dark and I set the hook on another. I brought this one to shore and by the grace of the lighthouse behind us, my brother was able to snap a picture, but only when the lighthouse beam was pointing in our direction.
There is a good chance that in two weeks, we will be doing this again, hoping that the water has cooled down enough to bring the stripers along the shore.
That's the three of us relaxing by the surf with our poles. My buddy Larry shows off his first ever salt water striper and I am in the pitch black hoisting mine in the air.