So the air is getting crisp starting to think and hope for a good surf run. i can pass along some tips and tactics and observation that work for me for LURE fishing. I catch a couple hundred bass a year but i havent taken one a clam or tried in maybe 4 years so i dont know anything about that
.
The biggest thing is what kind of bait run we will have this fall, the last 2 falls there have been sand eels galore which isnt bad but does have some drawbacks which ill bring up.
Somehow on some fishing websites it got to be "Internet cool" to put down bunker as bait and bunker blitzes. The last few seasons too many NE storms sucked out all the peanuts before they could ever school up and run down the beaches. The problem with an old sand eel run and no peanuts will seriously diminish your chances to A) get into bigger bass and B) wipe out blue fish blitzes C) No top water or surface swimmer bite (no fun)
I fish both on the boat and the surf and the amount of sand eels we see on the electronics has been crazy last 2 falls and while the sizes of the bass arent great in general, but the amount of fish 25-34" is way greater then our taken then in the surf line and the blues have been mixed in just off the beach. So the point is if the baitline extends out two miles and is thick or thicker out there, why should a fish leave the deep water? peanuts however will generally stay more shallow.
As far as weather I see so many guys rooting for North easters and i dont think they realize how much of your season they can hack off, i much rather have clear conditions so the bait can stage. The only times i had true success with NE storms is right when it hits BUT, seemingly always on the north side of the longer jetties in the state probably because the water current is whirlpooling.
For me, North West wind is key, harder the better. I dont even want to try without a west wind. Most guys think bait fish get blown in with a NE wind but to quote a line from Jurassic park mother nature finds a way, bait generally swims into the wind, a NW gale puts the bait right where u want it.
alhtough you can catch fish now, "the run" of bass usually starts between oct 20-26, if i could pick one day its usally around 23rd. I cant emphasis that first NW blow in the third week of oct or maybe sooner, 20 mph NW equals 20 plus bass days.
teasers are very key and they dont have to be fancy as long as they are on there the bass some how find them. If the bait is sand eels nothing seems to be beating AVA 17 jigs with a teaser, i like green tails or white. needle fish and bombers also worked well last year. If we get bunker blitzes I love a 2 oz pencil but then you have to deal with misses and unhooking trebles so often wild eyes work great too.
A tactic that also worked great was wading out to the bar around low tide but consider safety only works in some areas mantalooking and bay head have nice accessible bars.
Im sure there is much more we can add, good luck to all.
