Is Raritan Bay Next

[Skolmann]

Originally Posted by bigfishy

The overall fish population thanks you, but in reality you are the part of the minority....similar to recycling...

Starts with one person then grows.

I’ve said it for years, if the northeast angler attitude became more like the southeast angler we’d see an overall increase in fish stocks (IMHO),

Here it seems that unless you have a boat limit, at least one ‘trophy’ fish, or a filled cooler/dock shot picture you didn’t have a good day. While down south, it’s been my experience (after having lived in Florida & Georgia for numerous years) that they take what they need for a meal & are happy with just having the rod bend the rest of the day.

[Skolmann]

Originally Posted by Detour66

Am I missing something? I don't remember this early spring striper run 20+ years ago in Raritan Bay but I do remember people fishing for bass on Flynn's Knoll after these fish where done spawning in the upper Hudson River.

When I started striper fishing in the bay back in the mid 1990’s, the spring striper fishery consisted of me drifting sandworms through the Sandy Hook Rips (R.I.P.), along the edges of Sandy Hook Channel, under The Highlands Bridge as well as further up the Shrewsbury from the Rumson Bridge up to a sunken tug and at various spots in the Navesink. Caught bass from the mid 20 inch class to the mid 30 inch. Usually started around mid April. By mid May is when we’d first start chunking on Flynns Knoll & Romers Shoal.

There wasn’t much of a mid bay fishery that I can recall. Maybe the fish were there & we never knew it. I do recall that people fished off the back bay beaches though.

[Detour66]

Originally Posted by Skolmann

When I started striper fishing in the bay back in the mid 1990’s, the spring striper fishery consisted of me drifting sandworms through the Sandy Hook Rips (R.I.P.), along the edges of Sandy Hook Channel, under The Highlands Bridge as well as further up the Shrewsbury from the Rumson Bridge up to a sunken tug and at various spots in the Navesink. Caught bass from the mid 20 inch class to the mid 30 inch. Usually started around mid April. By mid May is when we’d first start chunking on Flynns Knoll & Romers Shoal.

There wasn’t much of a mid bay fishery that I can recall. Maybe the fish were there & we never knew it. I do recall that people fished off the back bay beaches though.

That's pretty much what I recall also. maybe the fish where there all along but I think that there a lot of bait in the bay which now keeps them around. It's amazing you keep the commercial guys out of the equation with stripers and bunker and in a few years the fishing really picks up!

[Duffman]

Man, you guys are old……

[bulletbob]

I lived right on the bay in the early 80's... In those years I can recall landing 3 Stripers.. One from the beach at union beach, one from a 16 foot boat at night between the channels off SH, while weakfishing, and one nice one from those salt ponds on rt 36 in Keansburg,, had once a real big one snap off a big treble hook there on a salt water Rapala and get away ... There were a few bass caught during those years, and a few specialists actually did well, but were very very secretive.. Big stripers those years were caught off the rocks dead of night by rock hounds that knew exactly when what and where.. Very few went out in the bay "looking " for bass,, A few schoolies were caught as well by guys flounder fishing, but even that was rare,, Never caught one myself, and never saw one, but I knew they were there in small numbers.. As I stated earlier, we didn;t miss them as the water was loaded with other species starting in March .. We fished for what was there, when they were there, and caught a lot of fish.. These bloody deck "limited by 9am" pictures did not exist then, and no one really cared... bob