Virginia Striped bass fishing - NJFishing.com Your Best Online Source for Fishing Information in New Jersey

hammer4reel · #1 12-28-2014, 10:56 AM

Anyone notice that the striped bass fishing that is the Norm for there this time of the year is just about non existant.

Usually from Thanksgiving on the fishing there is very good.
This winter so far they have had very few fish caught

fishingmortgageman · #2 12-28-2014, 12:51 PM

I think that we are in bigger trouble than people are willing to acknowledge Dan. All of big fish that we kill are going to come back to haunt us. I for one hope that the new regulations will not allow the harvest of the bigger fish. The smaller ones are better eating any way.

shrimpman steve · #3 12-28-2014, 01:27 PM

Is it us up here or the commercial harvest down there.

O'Connor · #4 12-28-2014, 01:32 PM

all of my friends back in nj said this was the worst fall in 15 years for striped bass. a week of some bunker fish for boat guys luck enough to find them, but that was it. our annual four day surf fishing tournament did not have one fish weighed in! some of the best surf fisherman in the state allowed to fish from the bayshore to holgate and not one fish! I will stop here as I have been saying for years the annual spring/summer bunker bonanza and wintertime va/nc fishery was killing too many breeders...before I go I have a question....where are all the 10-20 lb fish that used to be the mainstay of spring bunker chunk and clam fishing..summer eel and shedder fishing...fall jigging/plug surf fishing etc? these are the fish that would have been spawned in the last 3-5 years or so...huge bonanza days of 35-50 lb fish on bunker are not signs of a strong fishery. acres of teen sized fish are as that is the future.

Capt. Lou · #5 12-28-2014, 01:51 PM

If u fished down there in the nineties, bigStripers were common ! Literally 30#'s didn't even get notice.
Also if u witnessed the fleet hammering them daily , & killing many big fish for dock photos then there is little need to ask what happened to that fishery !
Many have different ideas on what occurred but taking that many big fish season after season put a big dent in the population for sure.
My buddy kept his boat down there & the fishing was on fire winter & spring !
They at least stopped the season in the Susquehanna region until after the spawn but may have been too little too late , since the winter fishery decimated the stock anyhow.
Keeping big fish can hurt any fishery as can lack of bait , however none of this can last forever if u kill the spawners , whether commercially or RNR , it's all just a matter of time .

1captainron · #6 12-28-2014, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishingmortgageman

I think that we are in bigger trouble than people are willing to acknowledge Dan. All of big fish that we kill are going to come back to haunt us. I for one hope that the new regulations will not allow the harvest of the bigger fish. The smaller ones are better eating any way.

Eric, the new Regs will absolutely Kill the bigger fish...

Joey Dah Fish · #7 12-28-2014, 07:42 PM

Well I for one notice some pretty poor fish past few falls. I think the anglers should practice catch and release as much as possible. Especially the larger fish. I don't keep and stripers but I love catching them

llobarro · #8 12-28-2014, 08:04 PM

I was wondering if the hurricane Sandy could had some responsibility for what is happening to the Striped bass fishing

emcjim · #9 12-28-2014, 10:46 PM

In 2012, after Sandy, there were no sand-eels. Late Nov., early Dec., I had two fairly good days jigging on the CR out of Pt. Pleasant. In 2013, the sand-eels returned, and surf fishing was not great, but I managed 1 or 2 per afternoon trip in the Fall. Partyboat jigging trips were mostly good. In 2014, again no sand-eels. Multiple surf trips resulted in only 1 bass, a short. Partyboat trips were hit and miss. There was one, in late Oct., where I got 1 fish, 34#, and it was probably not even in the top 5. Then, there were 2 trips with 1 bluefish & 1 short. Also 2 skunks. Finally there was some decent jigging action for almost all shorts with a few bluefish mixed in. Best trip was 11/28, 27 shorts, no keepers. Bottom line: there needs to be a significant amount of baitfish, either peanut bunker and/or sand-eels. If only rainfish and baby weakfish are present, it will be tough. That was apparently the case this Fall, and also in 2012 after Sandy. Some of the previous comments indicate that we may have over-fished the big spawners (bass). That may be, but it does not explain why I did not find a single bluefish on the beach this Fall. When bait was plentiful, bluefish were there, on the beach, in the early to mid Fall. No bait = no bluefish + no stripers.

O'Connor · #10 12-29-2014, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emcjim

In 2012, after Sandy, there were no sand-eels. Late Nov., early Dec., I had two fairly good days jigging on the CR out of Pt. Pleasant. In 2013, the sand-eels returned, and surf fishing was not great, but I managed 1 or 2 per afternoon trip in the Fall. Partyboat jigging trips were mostly good. In 2014, again no sand-eels. Multiple surf trips resulted in only 1 bass, a short. Partyboat trips were hit and miss. There was one, in late Oct., where I got 1 fish, 34#, and it was probably not even in the top 5. Then, there were 2 trips with 1 bluefish & 1 short. Also 2 skunks. Finally there was some decent jigging action for almost all shorts with a few bluefish mixed in. Best trip was 11/28, 27 shorts, no keepers. Bottom line: there needs to be a significant amount of baitfish, either peanut bunker and/or sand-eels. If only rainfish and baby weakfish are present, it will be tough. That was apparently the case this Fall, and also in 2012 after Sandy. Some of the previous comments indicate that we may have over-fished the big spawners (bass). That may be, but it does not explain why I did not find a single bluefish on the beach this Fall. When bait was plentiful, bluefish were there, on the beach, in the early to mid Fall. No bait = no bluefish + no stripers.

Everything you have said makes sense. No doubt that bait is the most important factor to hold bass. My fear is that there is less fish to go around as a result of the last decade or so.. There will be clean up days and weeks for a few more years, but in my opinion the bonanza is coming to an end. I used to fish @ night most of the time so I was fishing bass feeding on sand eels and Spearing so bombers worked real good. Later in the season some biggies would get on hickory shad. this was before the big bunker run around 2002 or 2003 and the next decade everything changed. I remember one day a guido towed in 6 bass behind a jet ski to fisherman's den not one of which was under 35 or 40 lbs with the tops being over 50. I could not help but laugh as he had no idea there were regulations and he was proud as a peacock. another day in long branch a kid saw a 20 something I was unhooking and stared with a puzzled look in his face and commented that he had never seen one that small! point is the ten years between 2003-2013 were unheralded in the history of bass fishing. there are more fisherman then ever and more large bass caught then probably anytime in history. I fail to believe we did not crush the stocks that many worked so hard to rebuild. I hope I am wrong....only time will tell.