High Hopes for fall Run

[Ridleyffo 0]

I fish with alot of different people and get reports from friends from NJ to the Vineyard. All accounts point to a MONUMENTAL FALL RUN of Blues and ALbies so far and hopefully the stripers will start showingup enmasse as well. If you have the opportunity hit the Atlantic seaboard, the water is reeeeeeeeeeeeel Nervous.

 

The chainsaw blues are scaring the bunker right out of the water. This was monday

 

 

My friend Barry

 

Here is yesterday from two guys in my Kayak Club that fished off these well know Rocks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Peterjay 0]

Haven't seen much in the way of migrating fish in my part of RI yet. A few harbor blues and the occasional school of bass that obviously aren't resident fish. So far, no big blues whatsoever. Bunker have been scarce, but I've seen quite a few mullet and the silversides are thick. I hate to say it, but the reports I've gotten from points north aren't exactly encouraging. A friend of mine spent the last week casting his arm off on the Vineyard and got exactly one albie, about a half-hour before the ferry left. Albacore fishing has been a bit better than in recent years, but that's not saying much. Compared to ten years ago, it's hardly worth the effort. I got an albie and a bonito from shore this week, and that's been it. Except for one guy who has eight, I don't know anybody who's close to being in double figures yet. The boat guys have been doing somewhat better, but they always do. (they're also spending a fortune on gas) The internet "experts" and other assorted yahoos, however, are as thick as ever. I had one bozo tell me the other day that my 15# leader was too heavy for albacore. (most of the guys I fish with use 20#) Uh huh. Another guy told a friend of mine that he landed 25 albies from the rocks in one day. (25 albies from shore in a single season is considered great around here) He also told another friend of mine that he landed 11 on the same day. (both my friends were there that day, and the guy didn't hook a single fish.) Where the hell do these clowns come from? Keep up the optimism Ridley, but it sure ain't happening here yet. Long way to go though. Anchovies are moving in, so it's time to tie up some tan woolly buggers and hit the beach.

[smallieFanatic 0]

Man those fish have some color. Great report!

[Ridleyffo 0]

PeterJay

You're probably right, but everything is relative and perception. Surfcasters in NJ are quite used to the big skunk on many an occasion. Catching fish is less probable then not catching. Also living about 2 hours from the closest salt puts me at a disadvantage at ascertaining daily catches and limits my time on the beach. (Gotta be there)

 

Being a surfcaster makes you an optimist or otherwise you could never spend that many lonely hours on the beach in the dark. You are probably more accurate than me, but Ive been at the salt four times this month and have never done this well, this early. given my weekend warrior status it could also just be good timing. (Im sure the fish will soon regulate their scheduels to be resting on the weekends LIKE ALWAYS) Albies in NJ off a jetty are a rarity always and I have already fished two days of blue blitzes when I am usually happy to get one true, sustained blitz a season. (Isnt the truth that you get reports all week about the fish and blitzes and come the weekend when I show up, its a dessert.)

 

Hopefully I turn out to be right. What really suprised me was that in late August and early september, people in NJ were getting bluefin from the jetties. Now that certainly is an oddity. but who knows, Im supposed to go on a 24 hour Tuna trip on Friday and the captain cancelled a few trips last week due to lack of tuna.

 

These fish are enough to drive me Crazy. It certainly takes a sane mind to be a fisherman.

[Peterjay 0]

Ridley, I may have spoken a little too soon. I headed down to the beach right after I made that last post and found that the migration appears to be getting under way here. Huge schools of bait and hordes of frenzied birds were tearing it up about a quarter to a half-mile offshore. There were fish breaking under the birds, but it was impossible to tell what they were from that distance. First time I've seen that kind of action this year. (and I fish every day) Saw some mullet schools explode close to shore, but I foolishly left to check out some other spots, which were dead. I should have thrown a fly out there instead of trucking around like a greenhorn. Haven't heard of any shore blitzes yet from our extensive spy network, but it sure looked promising down there Saturday. I'd be willing to bet that the night crew picked up some nice fish. That's the good news. The bad news is that we got blown out here yesterday - all the spots worth bothering with were unfishable with a fly rod and the wind is still howling today. It's gonna take a few days for the water to settle down and the weeds to clear, but I'm pretty low on anchovy flies anyway, so it's a good time to catch up on tying. The bait's still here, so everything should be OK once conditions improve a bit. If we get some fish to go along with all this bait, you might prove to be a prophet yet. I certainly hope so, because the early season hasn't been anything to write home about. BTW, "you shoulda been here an hour ago/yesterday/last week" is as common here as it is in NJ. The only solution is to be out there all the time, which is no doubt why almost all the guys I fish with are either self-employed or have flexible schedules and schedule work around the tides. Of course you have to be a fishing fanatic to live like that, but fanaticism isn't exactly unheard of in these parts. :bugeyes:

[Ridleyffo 0]

Im with you on being there. I was looking at what should have been ideal fishing conditions for stripers from Saturday about 2 am until dusk Saturday. NE to E all weekend, real sweet messy striper surf but water temps in the low 70s. Real nice for wet wadding but not exactly condusive to striper fishing. The rain forecast for sunday and the honey do list sent me driving home bleary eyed, getting home about 9:30. I certainly envy you living in the beachfront state and fishing everyday.

 

Woke up at 5am on Friday, worked all day, got 2 hours sleep from 9:30 to midnight Sat and then left to hit the falling tide. slept maybe four "interuptted" hours in my truck on the beach (ssshhhh dont tell the park rangers or I will lose my beach pas) Sat night. After all that sleep deprivation I managed two snapper blues on a little sand eel pattern on Saturday just after dusk. I kind of like that twilight state you get in your head from lack of sleep. Reminds me of the good old party daze.

 

funny thing about bait is that we having been seeing the large bunker and only limited peanuts and less mullet.

[jared 0]

Heading down to RI/CT on Thursday for 3 days (perhaps only 2 if the Sat weather prediction holds...ugh). We might make the run across to Montauk, but not sure.

[Peterjay 0]

Jared, anchovies were moving onto the Watch Hill reefs just before the current blowout. If they're still there, there'll be no need to run over to Montauk. I haven't been down to check in a couple of days, but the way the wind's been howling, there's no need to. Looks like it's gonna start kicking up again late Friday. Forget about the weekend unless you have a surfboard. All this weather couldn't have come at a worse time, things were just getting interesting. I'm gonna go down later today to see if it's cleared up enough to sneak a fly in there. It's still blowing, but not quite as bad as the last two days.

[Ridleyffo 0]

About 1 am and Im off to the Beach. Hopefully the fish will be there. If you dont hear from me by monday afternoon,,,,, send my wife my regards. Ill be on the North Jetty IBSP.

[Peterjay 0]

Here we are: it's Wednesday, and no word from Ridley. If he's still on the jetty, he's probably pretty hungry by now. Unless of course, he's been subsisting on raw fish and seaweed. If I had to live on what we've been catching around here, I would have starved to death a month ago. Maybe two months ago. I'm not real big on eating false albacore.

[Futzer 0]

Anyone have Mrs. Ridleyffo's cell #? He must have hit the fish or died trying. Cheers, Jeff

[Peterjay 0]

I'm not sure she'd answer, Jeff. If I went missing for a couple of days, my wife would already have my tying stuff on eBay by the time I got back. Trouble is, she has no idea what it's worth. If she did, I'd be sleeping in a hollow log in the swamp down in back. She's already mentioned once or twice that I seem to have a sample of every color of every kind of fur, hair and feather that's been worn by every critter that's walked the Earth since the dinosaurs went extinct. And that's not even counting the synthetics.