Jaymann's Blog – December 2011 Archive (17)

Saturday, December 31, 2011: It’s all brand new from here on out. That’s the underlying fervor behind New Year’s Eve, even though the same sentiment can surely be attached to every eve of any and every day. Of course, if we partied like every eve was the start of something entirely new, I’m thinkin’ the future would look a tad wobbly.

New Year’s resolutions come out of the same mold as the day itself. Ain’t a day that’s ever begun which couldn’t have a…

Thursday, December 29, 2011:

Bass on the blast. Here’s an email report I was sent:

On Tuesday Renegade Sportfishing hosted another open boat striper trip. Capt Mike again took the long ride north to the Rocks to only get the call it was going off on the beach south of Manasquan  on big fish. With little life up there and barely wetting a line Capt Mike didn't hesitate to do the right thing for his customers, turn right around and head 18 miles straight back to…

Wednesday, December 28, 2011:

Since we have had no need to offer the hackneyed expression “Cold enough for ya,” I’ll throw in a ridiculously redundant, “Windy enough for ya?”

My windo-mometer has toyed with 55 mph since late yesterday (SSW) through today (WNW). For me this signals blow-out conditions for Toms River. By tomorrow I’ll be able to get into the water there for some subaquatic metal detecting, something I’ve done since the mid-60s. Sure it’s chilly…

Monday, December 26, 2011:

Reminder: Only 364 shopping days lest until Christmas.

Hope all ya’ll had the best Christmas since sliced bread. I had one of the better ones in a long, long time – and it was a dud. That’s utterly fine for folks like me. No parties, no long drives, no heavy lifting, no paper cuts while wrapping (t’weren’t no wrapping to be done).

I spent hours of luxurious do-absolutely-nothing time finishing up custom knives I’ve…

Thursday, December 22, 2011: As I predicted many moons ago, this powerful la Nina is having her way, now certainly giving us a thin-jacket Christmas. I had a 66 degree reading on the mainland last night – a lead-in to the first day of winter. That would be roughly equivalent to a 66-degrre high temperature for the first day of summer if thinking on the other end of the spectrum.

Today looks to be a beaut. Fishing has bee fair along the front beach and I was surely…

Monday, December 19, 2011: Easily the coldest air of the season pushing its weigh around out there – but it’s already on its way out. I just saw the possibility of 60s for a quick spurt in coming days.

Fishing-wise, I chatted with some early a.m. pluggers who had been skunked for the first time in many moons. However, just today one of those guys bested a 31-incher. How about the girths on many of this…

Friday, December 16, 2011:  How many bass you want? How about a dozen, a couple dozen, ten dozen? Just boat out off the north end of LBI, cut the engine and cast Avas back toward the beach. Bass ad boredom. And is it that old adage: Too much of a good thing?

I’m not making light of fish so thick you have to keep bottled water nearby so you don’t dehydrate while power-fishing them. I simply don’t understand the perpetual efforts to nurture a species that may…

Wednesday  Dec. 15, 2011

Bass still in the surf. Plugging away in the a.m. is primarily the way to go. However, when i got in from off-Island after dark, I had a report of afternoon stripers on Rat'l'Traps and also a black Fin-S Fish. No word on locale but I think it was south. I'm betting the Jap Hole area is about to show stripers. That zone is traditionally good during late warm-water falls. 

I have a meeting tomorrow regarding the just completed LBI Surf Fishing Classic. If…

RUNDOWN: Mid-December and it’s actually smokin’ out there. It was quite the odd nearing-winter sight over the weekend to see hordes of surfcasters shouldering around prime beachfronts, a-pop with stripers. The plugging action was almost exclusively a.m.-oriented. The loaded locales were primarily just north of mid-Island but I found my own striper flurry more toward the south. 

Many of the bested stripers had plenty enough inch-age to place them in the fat-and-keepable category,…

The stripering is hot to scalding -- if you're an early riser. .Beach zones just north of mid-Island are of of the best locales to hit early a.m. using metals or needlefish. The success rate for the prime a.m. times is high for all casters.  There are also some beachfront zones in other areas ripe for the bass picking.

Fish are running to keeper size. Some hot hookers are tallying double figure takes.However, the cooling of the a.m. prime time seems to send the bass to the bottom.…

Saturday, December 10, 2011:  Just got in from some after-dark woodsing – non-hunting. Damn it got cold fast. All this ultra-mild weather makes it hard to take even modest cold, like the 38 degrees I hit right before I departed the outback.

I was in a wildlife area in an effort to confront yet some new “coyote everywhere’ claims. It also had to do with dubious claims of after dark “nonstop howling yipping.”

It is fairly well documented that eastern coyote do…

Wednesday, December 07, 2011:

There was talk of snow today. As of 8 p.m., it was all but short-sleeved weather, 60-something. There will be some chillier – even below freezing air moving in for a short stint but look for yet another bout of balminess by next week. Keep it up Nina.

I’m going to put in some plugging time tomorrow, hoping the schoolies keep their appointed late-day surfline rounds through December.

How about…

Gallbladders of Gold Muck;

Herring Days Draining Off

A bear hunt is accompanying the state’s Six-day Firearms Deer Season, now blasting off near you.

This entire week one can bag a buck, a doe and a black deer. If you can do it with one shot, we’re talkin’ “Fish Story” headline material.

I’m fully in favor of the deer hunt. Just make sure the venison feeds folks and isn’t left behind by the chunk-full -- to fatten coyotes and the scavenging…

Sunday, December 04, 2011:

Great day except for productive fishing along the beach. However, there was yet another invasion-looking flotilla off Brant Beach, Lumps area.  Rough count had 75 vessels related to that zone. Have to think they were onto something.

The 2011 Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Classic is over. It was simply super when considering how competitive the contest was on a daily basis. Admittedly, there was a semi-dramatic lack of jumbo fish but this…

Dec. 2, 2011: 

It sure was pretty out there. The beaches of LBI were lookin' good. All that replen sand still making driving a breeze. The water lost that muddiness and was truly perfect looking. There were even some fish just north of mid-Island. In fact, there were some beaches so hot this a.m. at sunrise that pluggers were counting fish by the dozens. Avas, Slipperies, needlefish, Wildeyes and even Rat'Ls were snatching up bass to 30 inches, though most were well below…

[The Martha's Vineyard Times] by Nelson Sigelman - December 1, 2011 



Although the overall abundance of striped bass has declined, striped bass stocks along the Atlantic coast are healthy and overfishing is not occurring, the federal agency responsible for monitoring Atlantic coast fish species said in an annual report.



The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), a 15-member body responsible for managing species and implementing management plans along the East…

Thursday, December 01, 2011: It’s still a bit rough a-sea out there. However, the NW winds have backed enough to allow for some relatively comfortable surf fishing. The one thing a bit missing is the bass and blues. This is not to say they’re not still in the house.

Fishing pressure has been reflecting the lost comfort level. I drove from SB south yesterday and passed scant few casters. I’ll cruise after work today and suspect a decent increase in anglers, though…