South Jersey Surf

[vikesdad]

Going to be down the shore over the weekend. Anything happening from the surf from Barnegat down to Ventnor ? Was down Brigantine two weeks ago and had decent action with mullet rigs for snappers. After dark it was chaos as I lost a dozen rigs due to bite offs. Have to figure it was marauding blues. Just trying to maximize action for the minimal time I have available. If Brigantine is heated up a bit I can go back down. I know it's supposed to blow Friday but hoping things settle down Sat/Sun

[MudCat08]

Told ya it was going to be nuts after dark haha! I keep wondering what is slicing our lines. Bluefish schools reaching critical mass.

Will be down there again tonight. I'll post an update of what happens.

[vikesdad]

Its was nuts....My wife was like " you're going to give yourself a heart attack !!!". Huge runs, couldn't turn the fish and then nothing...bite offs at the hook, at the leader, 10 feet up from the hook...I was McGyvering rigs and couldn't keep one on for longer than 1 minute

[Skolmann]

Sounds like sharks biting you off, not bluefish.

[tjd24]

Originally Posted by Skolmann

Sounds like sharks biting you off, not bluefish.

X2

[vikesdad]

Thought crossed my mind but the fact that it happened a dozen times over a 3 hr period seemed to be a bit much for sharks. My experience down there was the sharks were more solitary. If I consistently broke off at the same spot I would blame the sharks. I thought that with the breakoffs occurring far away from the leader it was a "turned on" blue that was whipped into a frenzy after his friend was hooked up.

[Gumada]

Sharks, browns probably. A lot of fun to catch...
Happen to me at the hook once, were catching 3-4 lb blues on mullet rigs. Got a hit, set the hook, took 3 turns on the reel and it started peeling drag off a penn 704. Couldn’t stop it, then went slack. Bite off. Rerigged, it happen again, upped the leader and added wire at the end. Off it went, landed a 5’ brown with one of the mullet rigs in its mouth. Sucker must have kept coming back as soon as a blue was hooked.

[MudCat08]

I was fishing with 170lb wire leaders and 250lb shock leaders. Whatever it was cut right through the braided main line. Sometimes we had a shark on mid-fight something runs past and cuts it , and sometimes no bite, just instant cut line. Can be huge schools of sharks swimming together, running past the line and snagging it.

But it can be blues running into line while chomping schools of bunker?

[Capt Joe]

Feel the line....it will tell you what you had!( assuming you are using mono)

[vikesdad]

Chaffed up like crazy...100 lb test leader