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| I landed this gator blue from the kayak this morning. Fishing in the Bay from boat or kayak has been more consistent than the oceanfront for stripers and blues. |
A lot will depend on if the water along the oceanfront clears up or not. Those big hurricane waves that battered the coastline for the last several days have roiled up the water with sand and debris which has shut down the fishing. Will it clear up? Who knows?
Prior to the big waves, the fishing was entering a pre-fall stage along the oceanfront and improving. Striped bass fishing had improved with better fishing after dark for the shore guys than in the daylight. There were good numbers of slot fish around. The bait, though, was scarce from shore (contrary to fake news reports I was reading). It seemed like if you could find a pile of bait, the fish were there, and it could happen anywhere. Albies were also starting to trickle in with a few being caught from shore. Once again, contrary to the fake news reports that were blowing this up, there were a scant few from shore and your chances at scoring were slim. In one VERY popular spot, there were 50 frenzied albie chasers casting one morning a few days ago after hearing reports that they were in. There were half dozen fish caught. This morning 40 guys were there casting away- none caught. Now, does that seem like an albie run to you? It's still too early and there is not enough bait to lure in big numbers yet.
My most consistent fishing came from the Bay this week. Earlier in the week I found good numbers of stripers and bluefish in the daytime from my kayak. Many of the coves and bays are loaded with peanut bunker and that was setting off some big blitzes. The big waves and dirty water from the oceanfront has had no effect on the Bay fishing. If you are fishing from a boat, just ride around and look for birds diving on bait. Fish will be there. The blues are all sizes from those 4 and 5 lbers. to alligators in the teens. This has been the best early fall for bluefish I have seen in years in the Bay and I'm guessing it will continue. The bass are running up to and over slot size, and there can be big numbers in places. In a four day stretch in the last week, my son Jon had well over 100 stripers from the yak. Most were slots. Most fell for Rebel Jumpin' Minnows.
So, there you have the real fishing report. The oceanfront could be good for stripers and blues if the water clears this weekend. The Bay is a much better bet particularly if you fish from a boat or kayak. Good luck and enjoy.
