From The Surf
10.27.10
The Mainland Angler with that “Aloha Spirit”
By Paul Danielczyk
Well it’s fall, and the run is on than It is off than its on again. Well the heck with trying to figure if the run is on or off just go out and have fun everyone. The fish are around you just have to go out and hunt them down. I have been talking to people up and down the coast and it is the same thing. We are catching fish not in a blitz of anything like that but it is slow and steady.
This is true from Cape May to Long Beach Island, to Island Beach State Park to Seaside Heights, Lavallette and Normandy Beach. In Monmouth County it is the same in Monmouth Beach to Sandy Hook. No matter who you talk to the surf is alive but not on fire.
The trick for many is the use of a Hi / Lo rig with either clams or bunker with bunker coming out on top. Plugs have sort of died out a bit right now, which means that during the day fresh bait is the key but at night it has been all plugs. Don’t be afraid to deviate from the norm and use those yellows and orange poppers and darters. Black is okay but from what I have seen and heard the use of the unusual has been working well.
This angler will be out in the morning starting at Gillikins and working south. Just look for the cuts and holes for starters and with this fast moving storm today I don’t think that there has been any significant change in the structure of the bars or beach that will make any big difference. Remember to use your tides and if targeting striped bass get you’re offering down low fast and look for slow moving water. As I’m not a big fan of dead sticking, Thursday might be just the right time to target that technique.
Our hat goes off to Jason DeCarlo for a nice 15 pound striped bass caught today in Island Beach State Park and to Joe Gallen who landed a nice 35# 120z striped bass on a clam at the southern end of Long Beach Island. There were other caught on Normandy beach and in Lavallette so guys there out there for the taking.
At this time of year we are hard pressed to think about beach closings but I was on the Outer Banks Preservation Association and watched a pretty scary video about what the environmental organizations like the Audubon Association are doing to shut down that entire beach and put the people that have called it home for generations off the island. Here is a small video that tell the story of their plight and what is scary to people like me is that it could happen here very easily. Right now you can not gain access to the sections of Sandy Hook because of the Piping Plover. We have to make sure that it does not happen to this extreme here.
This video might start you thinking and that is all we want. Don’t think that what is happening down south can’t happen here. The lobbying groups for these societies are strong and they have tons of monies to throw at their cause. We have lost a lot already don’t let this “CHANGE” happen here.
To view the video click: Not a valid vimeo URL
Happy Catching
Paul Danielczyk
