I have noticed alot of reports on the pier and surf fishing from Barnegat Light and North, but there isn't very much reported about the fishing activity south of Barnegat. I am going to try my best to rectify that situation. I will be going fishing from various Piers, Jetty's and beaches over the course of this Spring and Summer. I will take my camera and try to show various pictures so that people may find these places a little easier. (I found the pictures to be helpful to me when going somewhere new) I hope that you all enjoy my reports, and please send suggestions for places South of Barnegat that I may want to try.
So, I went fishing yesterday morning and this time I decided to stay a little bit closer to home. I started my day at "J.Edward Klingener" Fishing Pier. It was pretty cold out at 7 am, and the wind was going strong on this pier. The pier itself is nicely built, with a shelter for shade, and a Porta-Potty. The pier was covered with broken shells and dead crabs that the birds had left behind. I was using top/bottom rigs on two poles. One baited with clam, one with squid. ( I decided to make it a "leftover" day when it came to bait. ) It took about an hour and a half for me to decide to pack it up and move on. In this short time, I lost 4 rigs to snags. I am not a big fan of fighting seaweed (which I have found to be a problem at a few Ocean City locals) ......or of losing lures.
I decided to go to to the rock jetty at the end of Longport, hoping to get some action from bigger, deeper waters. It was starting to warm up a little bit, but the wind was still kickin pretty hard. I was the only one on the jetty and took my poles and tackle straight to the end so that I could figure out where the tide would take my lines. I lost a rig or two on the rocks, until I figured out a couple of "snag-safe" places to bring the line in from. It was beautiful out there, and this Jetty is probably one of the best that I have ever fished from....other than the fact that I didn't catch any fish. the tide was out and on it's way back in. The rocks were not slippery at all, and they were large, flat, and easy to navigate. The jetty itself is't all that long, but the water was deep around it. I decided to leave the top/bottom rig on the light action pole, but I changed the medium action pole to a bass lure hoping to pick off a striper. ( wishful thinkin ! ) There was hardly any seaweed to contend with here, but the Skates were back to steal my bait, as well as a pesky little bird who was swimming under water and chasing my line whenever I would reel it in. I thought for sure I was gonna catch that bird on a hook ! I need to get some new line with a heavier test on my poles as well, since there are two skates swimming the Atlantic right now with two of my favorite rigs hanging out of there mouths!
All and all, I had another nice day NOT catching fish. I hope to break the streak on my next excursion, wherever that may be. Either that, or someone needs to send me intructions on cleaning and cooking "Skate"
If You Can't Beat Em'..... Eat Em'
PS- How do I make my pic's small enough to post?
