Daily Fishing and Outdoor Report
Thur. Nov. 5, 09 -- Winds and slowness
It’s that humbling time of the year where I ask for donations to keep this blog up and running. It is a time consuming enterprise but I enjoy it. It’s kinda therapeutic. I hope you find it fun – and functional. I’d also like to take this time to sincerely thank those who email or phone me with tales, fishing reports and questions. It’s energizing. Donations can be mailed to: Jay Mann, 222 18th Street, Ship Bottom, NJ, 08008-4418. Being Type A I don’t always have the time to mail Thank-you note but, believe me (!), your donations are fully appreciated.
Update: I’m PayPal ready for donations. Just go to PayPal, click “Send Money,” type in my email, enter amount and click “Services” box. It’s a snap and I’m grateful beyond measure. J-mann.
Thursday, November 05, 2009:
Well, for all those who wanted the skies to back off and the winds to take an extended nap, you’ve got your way. And we’re paying for it. The catching has also taken a respite, mainly in the surf. Wind alert: The entire weekend will see truly honking west winds. This is the first showing of winter-ish high-pressure/low-pressure gradients.
Boat anglers are tapping the quieter conditions to work shoals and inlet zones where bass are still fairly plentiful. Per usual, the sharpies – and those with spot – are quietly shining. They’re willing to let me know how ell they’re doing but they’re as sharp at limiting details as they are at stalking stripers. I was shown a picture, obviously taken at night right after the catch, of a sharpie barely able to hold up a bass that had go 50-pounds-way-plus. I looked closely since the fish looked almost freaky big. I could clearly see the fish was flush against the angler’s body, meaning here was none of that hold-out fakery to make the fish look huger in the photo. The only thing is, I think it was taken last year. When I asked what, where, when and how, the angler just smiled at all incoming questions. Truth be told, it might have been the biggest bass I’ve ever seen taken locally. I begged to have the shot for The SandPaper but there was an odd hesitancy. I’m now half wondering if it might have been taken down Virginia way, where the angler often overwinters. (That’s a challenge, Mr. B.)
Anyway, there has been the lightest sprinkling of bass and bluefish weigh-ins at area tackle shop. A few were Classic entries and others were boat fish or non-entrants. Still, we might really need another blow or, more functionally, some south winds. Doesn’t look real likely with some wicked northwest winds arriving. This leaves us with the need for bluefish blitzes to build the bite. Obviously, big bass often mix in with those bluefish bashes. The arrival of the gannet near the beach indicates even these generally offshore birds are looking for the baitfish to show. The gannet have been hitting the bait off various Island locales.
It looks like we’ll be into clams pretty soon at the Holgate end. The hard offshore winds should finally create a protracted low-tide exposure of the rapidly disappearing mudflats. To this point, the clams have been very scant during the few times we could get back there. That is not a good sign. I was told that most of the summer loads of clammers were working the high-tide periods when the mudflats were shallows. The flats that were off-limits during the summer Holgate closure are all heavily vegetated now so we really don’t get that welcome-back showing of untouched clam grounds in the fall. Still, the Holgate mudflat clams are the best clams the entire planet has to offer, especially after given a night to purge in a bucket of fresh cold seawater.
Update: I’m PayPal ready for donations. Just go to PayPal, click “Send Money,” type in my email, enter amount and click “Services” box. It’s a snap and I’m grateful beyond measure. J-mann.
Thursday, November 05, 2009:
Well, for all those who wanted the skies to back off and the winds to take an extended nap, you’ve got your way. And we’re paying for it. The catching has also taken a respite, mainly in the surf. Wind alert: The entire weekend will see truly honking west winds. This is the first showing of winter-ish high-pressure/low-pressure gradients.
Boat anglers are tapping the quieter conditions to work shoals and inlet zones where bass are still fairly plentiful. Per usual, the sharpies – and those with spot – are quietly shining. They’re willing to let me know how ell they’re doing but they’re as sharp at limiting details as they are at stalking stripers. I was shown a picture, obviously taken at night right after the catch, of a sharpie barely able to hold up a bass that had go 50-pounds-way-plus. I looked closely since the fish looked almost freaky big. I could clearly see the fish was flush against the angler’s body, meaning here was none of that hold-out fakery to make the fish look huger in the photo. The only thing is, I think it was taken last year. When I asked what, where, when and how, the angler just smiled at all incoming questions. Truth be told, it might have been the biggest bass I’ve ever seen taken locally. I begged to have the shot for The SandPaper but there was an odd hesitancy. I’m now half wondering if it might have been taken down Virginia way, where the angler often overwinters. (That’s a challenge, Mr. B.)
Anyway, there has been the lightest sprinkling of bass and bluefish weigh-ins at area tackle shop. A few were Classic entries and others were boat fish or non-entrants. Still, we might really need another blow or, more functionally, some south winds. Doesn’t look real likely with some wicked northwest winds arriving. This leaves us with the need for bluefish blitzes to build the bite. Obviously, big bass often mix in with those bluefish bashes. The arrival of the gannet near the beach indicates even these generally offshore birds are looking for the baitfish to show. The gannet have been hitting the bait off various Island locales.
It looks like we’ll be into clams pretty soon at the Holgate end. The hard offshore winds should finally create a protracted low-tide exposure of the rapidly disappearing mudflats. To this point, the clams have been very scant during the few times we could get back there. That is not a good sign. I was told that most of the summer loads of clammers were working the high-tide periods when the mudflats were shallows. The flats that were off-limits during the summer Holgate closure are all heavily vegetated now so we really don’t get that welcome-back showing of untouched clam grounds in the fall. Still, the Holgate mudflat clams are the best clams the entire planet has to offer, especially after given a night to purge in a bucket of fresh cold seawater.
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