Headed out of Shark River inlet at approx. 6:30 am. To be greeted with 1-2 ft. rollers well spaced. Quite a pleasant start. The water temp was 56 degrees on my thermometer. headed north with a crew of four. And the air temp was about 50. Got up to Long Beach were we started to see some marks on the FF so we decided to drop some rigs, covering the whole spectrum, Stretches, Spoons, umbrella's. After trolling for about 2 1/2 hrs. without a knockdown and a lot of anticipation with all the readings on the fish finder the mood was soon changing, knowing the fish weren't gonna bite. Being we trolled up to the Rocks, we shot up a little further to the SH reef were we tried to entice the sea bass to eat , the clams that were initially intended for the Stripers. With only one short sea bass and a spiny dogfish, this too became discouraging. With the season coming close to the end and knowing the fish are there a trip up to the hook was needed to try to improve things. Getting to the hook and seeing working birds, surf fisherman and alot of boats working the rip, we all thought finally. Well several drifts with fresh clams and no results, and seeing no one else producing was disheartening. A little further into the bay and up the Shrewsbury was also unproductive. A little bit of trolling on the way home, then a nice open run made for a very nice boat ride. like everyone else the final result nothing.
