Great Bay ..Brown Sharking last night

[firstlightbite]

Had a consistent bite, at the turn of the tide around 5:30 PM. Bunker Chum and half a mackerel. 15 Run offs 12 landed most around 25 LBS. had a few around 40 LBS.

Chuck....long time follower, first post.

[bunker dunker]

sounds like a good night,welcome

[bulletbob]

Nice report.. , those brown [actually they are Sandbars]sharks have been in Great Bay in good numbers for decades,, as long as I can remember.. Every year during fluke season, lots of fluke fishermen get spooled, and have no idea what spooled them.. Typically down there its those brown sharks, but I imagine there are some big ass rays there as well.. For whatever reason, few people target them, but there are a lot of them, they are there all summer, and they can go 7 feet and 100 pounds.. Best thing is, they can be caught in calm bay water from a little skiff or even a kayak. That fishery is relatively unknown, and always has been which I don't understand... I bet there are a lot of them in the shallower parts of raritan bay, but it would be a night fishery only... bob

[Duffman]

Nice report!

BB, always thought the RB/SHB would hold some browns. Gave it a shot 2 or 3 seasons ago at night. This was the year spot and craoker were thick as fleas in the bay.

Did absolutely nothing on a handful of trips. Right place, wrong time or wrong place altogether? Who knows. May give it another shot soon.

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by Duffman

Nice report!

BB, always thought the RB/SHB would hold some browns. Gave it a shot 2 or 3 seasons ago at night. This was the year spot and craoker were thick as fleas in the bay.

Did absolutely nothing on a handful of trips. Right place, wrong time or wrong place altogether? Who knows. May give it another shot soon.

Probably wrong place at wrong time.. The Sandbars have to be in there somewhere, along with a bunch of other shark species we don't even want to think about being in the bay.. There is simply too much life, too much habitat, and easy access to numerous deep channels. Who knows why we don't hear anything about sharking in SH/RB..Big sharks may not like the big, open, food filled waters or RB/SH for reasons we can never comprehend... Or they might be quite numerous, but are really tough to locate in that big expanse of water..

All I can say is for years I have heard stories about a small group of guys that fish sharks in the dark in the bay and catch all kinds of big sharks of several species... Don't know who they are or when and where they catch these fish, but I had heard it for years.. Might be sheer bullshit too!.. Gotta be some sharks in there, but its a huge system.. Great Bay seems like a way better bet.. Those Sandbar sharks are thick as fleas down there... bob

[SaltLife1980]

I was at the bait shop the other day In LBI and a guy had a picture of a brown he got off the surf that morning. It was a beast! Says he is getting them on the reg

[firstlightbite]

Originally Posted by bulletbob

Nice report.. , those brown [actually they are Sandbars]sharks have been in Great Bay in good numbers for decades,, as long as I can remember.. Every year during fluke season, lots of fluke fishermen get spooled, and have no idea what spooled them.. Typically down there its those brown sharks, but I imagine there are some big ass rays there as well.. For whatever reason, few people target them, but there are a lot of them, they are there all summer, and they can go 7 feet and 100 pounds.. Best thing is, they can be caught in calm bay water from a little skiff or even a kayak. That fishery is relatively unknown, and always has been which I don't understand... I bet there are a lot of them in the shallower parts of raritan bay, but it would be a night fishery only... bob

I tripped over this fishery 35 years ago, getting spooled while Weakfishing with a hunk of Shedder Crab. Back then, some of the old salts hanging around Chestnut Neck Marina said the Brown sharks turn on when the crabs shed. The story went, they would come in on an outgoing tide to scoop up the shedders. I trailer down and fish for them very five years or so, the damn greenheads drive me crazy. I have never saw another boat on the same holes that have produced for me.

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by firstlightbite

I tripped over this fishery 35 years ago, getting spooled while Weakfishing with a hunk of Shedder Crab. Back then, some of the old salts hanging around Chestnut Neck Marina said the Brown sharks turn on when the crabs shed. The story went, they would come in on an outgoing tide to scoop up the shedders. I trailer down and fish for them very five years or so, the damn greenheads drive me crazy. I have never saw another boat on the same holes that have produced for me.

Great Bay has horrific numbers of greenheads.. Swarms of them, and they bite savagely and hurt like hell... Kept me away from Great Bay in the summer, even though it was only 1/2 hour away... bob

[Oceanroamer]

Those sand tigers they catch there are pretty cool. Plus some browns. Do they ever catch in the light of the evening or dawn? Just not total darkness? How deep do you anchor?

Do you think they are to the north like Barnegat or to the south like AC? I guess they are since Del Bay gets this action.

[firstlightbite]

I look for an outgoing tide that starts around 5 PM, start chumming bunker about a half hour before the high tide thru slack, keep chumming. Cut a mackerel in half toss it out with enough weight to hold bottom with wire leader. Some guys fish the inlet, others fish back in Grassy. The peak bite is usually just after the tide change, the bite slows down noticeably after a couple hours. I pack it in after a few hours, the area can be a little hairy to navigate after the sun goes down.