bulletbob
10-27-2016, 02:10 PM
Went out of Belmar with bouyant hopes for a good catch of sea bass... not to be however.. The catching was not bad, but the keeping was pretty poor.. Just not enough keeper size fish out there it seems.. Tons of life all day, but SO many small ones ! I caught a keeper in the first 2 seconds of the first drop, and was hopeful for a good day,, however, it was almost 6 hours until my second and last keeper..
I was at the stern, but it seemed the fishing was not as good as the sides today. Probably should have set up at the bow, as I often do.
A few guys got skunked, catching all shorts, but some caught 5 or 6 keepers, so some guys were more locked in than others . A few Porgies were caught as well, but it looks like they might be thinning out, starting to head offshore.. Also heard of a big Trigger caught, but didn't see it.
I started to figure it wasn't going to be a great day for me when I caught an eel, a skate and a dog in 3 consecutive drops! Also caught what I am pretty sure was a Pinfish, so the water must still be pretty warm. I used it as strip bait, but the sea bass weren't interested.
The dogs were there, but they weren't as fierce as they will be in a few more weeks..
The 13 in size limit is a killer. LOTS of 12 1/2 to 12 7/8 inch fish went back in.. I suppose I could be wrong but it seems the "powers that be" time the fall "re opening" of sea bass fishing for a time when most of the larger fish are heading offshore. Probably wait for blackfish to open before bottom fishing again.. Might trailer my own boat down to the Hook for bass/blues next week, if the wind ever stops blowing... bob
I was at the stern, but it seemed the fishing was not as good as the sides today. Probably should have set up at the bow, as I often do.
A few guys got skunked, catching all shorts, but some caught 5 or 6 keepers, so some guys were more locked in than others . A few Porgies were caught as well, but it looks like they might be thinning out, starting to head offshore.. Also heard of a big Trigger caught, but didn't see it.
I started to figure it wasn't going to be a great day for me when I caught an eel, a skate and a dog in 3 consecutive drops! Also caught what I am pretty sure was a Pinfish, so the water must still be pretty warm. I used it as strip bait, but the sea bass weren't interested.
The dogs were there, but they weren't as fierce as they will be in a few more weeks..
The 13 in size limit is a killer. LOTS of 12 1/2 to 12 7/8 inch fish went back in.. I suppose I could be wrong but it seems the "powers that be" time the fall "re opening" of sea bass fishing for a time when most of the larger fish are heading offshore. Probably wait for blackfish to open before bottom fishing again.. Might trailer my own boat down to the Hook for bass/blues next week, if the wind ever stops blowing... bob