Looking good, really good. Things are hopping along the oceanfront whether you fish from shore or a boat. We have loads and loads of stripers around with especially good numbers of slot fish in the 28 to 32 inch range. In my last few outings, the slots have been as numerous as the schoolies.
So, here's the way it see it this weekend:
Stripers- These are your best bet. The key is to move around and find the bait. For the most part, the bait of choice has been peanut bunker, and where they show up, the stripers go bonkers. Realize, though, the stripers can be mighty fussy when a million peanuts are right in front of their noses. On my last outing, the only thing that worked was the float and fly combo. You might also get them on a float and bucktail jig, a small Cocahoe or a Jumpin Minnow. Large plugs have not been effective. Note that those few sharpies who are venturing out at night have also been doing well scoring bigger fish (over slots) on swimmers, Slug-gos and eels. If you are in a boat, you have the ease of mobility to get around and cover a lot of water. Shore guys will have to do a lot of moving and looking. Note that parking could be a problem in places this weekend.
Bluefish- They are mixing in with the abundant stripers, but I've seen no big numbers. While the stripers are not taking bigger plugs, the blues have no problem going after the big stuff. In fact, many of the blues that I've seen caught in the last week or so have been taken on large, topwater plugs. Boaters seem to be having more success catching blues than the shore guys.
Albies- I have seen none and caught none, but I do know of a few that have been taken. There is no predicting what will happen here as these fish are highly unpredictable. Note that in past years, there might be none around one day and the next day there are millions. All I know is that a lot of fishermen will be looking for them this weekend from shore and boat. Catching might be a different story. Last year albie fishing was red hot on Labor Day weekend so there's hope!
Bonito- There have been a scant few taken from shore and boat, but no big numbers. Like the albies, they are unpredictable.
With good weather and calm seas forecasted, boaters should enjoy good conditions. Nasty and stormy weather favors the shore guys, but looks like we'll see none of that. Regardless of the weather you should have no problem finding stripers around. Good luck and enjoy!
 |
| Mayhem erupts in front of me as schools of stripers prey on massive schools of peanut bunker. It is loaded right now with stripers that are following the schools of bait. |
