Striper Fishing at IBSP vs. Sea Side & North of.....

[Angela Rose Charters]

    Capt. A here.....
  It seems like we all have our favorite beaches to throw a plug or drown some bait. I personally have always been a fan of fishing Seaside up to Brick Beaches with Joey Harrison's as my most favorite spot. I have not been much of a fan of IBSP. Why? Well, I have had better catches and heard of better catches north of IBSP. I will be honest and say that I am not that knowledged in reading the beach as I more or less look for top water action (birds and bait) and the chase begins.

What is your opinion and why?

[ped579]

It depends on the way I feel mostly.  I have to say that I have had a l;ot of luck along the Ortley beaches in the past few years.  I'll start out on 3rd ave and move south hitting all the holes along the way.  Lately with the storm that blew threw the holes are pretty flat.  Today the birds were working out past the last bar and out of reach with even the surfrocket.

I will fish a few areas in Seaside Heights and Seaside Park, I like Harding Ave.  and the area from 10th Ave in Seaside Park South to Top O The Mast.

Gillikins in IBSP is a good spot as there is not much foot traffic there and pretty much accessible only by buggy. Then there is the areas of A10 south to A17 some nice holes. And of course there is the Pocket also a good spot especially right now with the mullet spewing out and the blues slamming them as soon as they make the turn.

Those would be my haunts, but the key this time of year would be to watch the birds working and hope for Easterly to North Easterlies winds. 

I have to mention that this time of year the bait of choice is non existent only because there is so much around.  If you want to target stripers use clams and get it to the bottom and hold it there.  In a couple of days switch to mullet and do the same thing.

Lures are coming into play this time of year it is your choice but listen to what is out there from the B&T's and try to match the hatch.

Next week or so I will be trying the all to good needle fish lures and see what happens.

So much to do in so little time...

I was over at Ortley this morning and slinging metals and spoons the only thing that happened was I drowned my cell phone, damn, oh well it was time for a new one anyway.

Happy Catching

Paul

[Pfishingruven]

 

I think it is a lot of personal preference.  I look for an area with decent holes or pockets where a lot of bait fish like to hold up.  I also like to look for area with more clams, evident by surf clam shells on the beach.  These clam beds are like free chum.  Finding birds working the bait is of course a dead ringer for some type of fish.  There are days, when I am really not in the mood to foot hoof the sand, I will take binoculars and look for birds working.  I check multiple spots along the beach from S Seaside Park through to the Manasquan Inlet.  Sometimes I get lucky and sometimes I never take the rod out of the car.  Other days, I will spend casting and walking and pass up jumping in the car to chase some birds a distance away.

Being that I have to walk on everywhere, I like South Seaside Park for a few reasons.  It has decent parking and free all year long, I can walk north to a few areas in SSP or south and be in IBSP, it tends to be a bit less crowded and I grew up fishing that area of the beach.  I like Ortley as well.  Ortley has some nice fishing grounds also.  There are definitely better areas to fish and areas that produce better fish.  Some resident fish tend to stay in some of these areas and for obvious reasons.  Other fish move through the area daily and it is all in timing and luck. 

When I was a kid I would always tell my father I wanted to fish over here or over there, right after he set us all up fishing.  We always thought the fish were where ever we weren't fishing.  So he would ask me, "Isn't that water there in front of you?" And the answer was always "yes!"  Then he would ask "where do fish live?"  And we would answer "in water."  So he would say "well what is wrong with the water in front of you" or "well isn't that water in front of you?"  He always had a smart comment to keep us quietly fishing.  He would also tell us, "If there is water, there are fish in it!"  This is all very true and I try to remember that every time I go fishing and spend more time analyzing where to fish instead of just fishing!

Good Luck Capt A!  If you like fishing those areas stick with them.  You will pick up reading the sand very quickly.  As you spend more time out there, you will see patterns and notice where the bait hold up and where you are hooking into more fish!  You will also be happier and have a better time if you like where you are fishing!

     

[Pfishingruven]

I was over at Ortley this morning and slinging metals and spoons the only thing that happened was I drowned my cell phone, damn, oh well it was time for a new one anyway.

Good try Paul!  Sorry you phone didn't survive!  Tides are looking good again this weekend for dawn and dusk fishing.  I don't know how much I will get out, but I will try!

 

[SharkHart]

I couldnt agree more.

Ruling out certain areas will increase your overall catches.  I always skip PTP, give Bayhead a glance at best and head to where you said.

The top reason is the drop off and not much of a bar with lavalette as the deepest, darn truck passes make it crowded though 

There is definatley something about that area NOT just surf because when on the boat you almost never see readings until brick and they seem to thin out around SSP.

[Luna Sea 5]

I have the convenience of fishing North Seaside Heights since I have a place there, but IBSP with the ability to get all your gear on the beach with you will help you keep a better arsenals.

[ped579]

You can also get buggy passes for Lavellette (I thing $35) and Ortley ($10) not a bad deal as the weather now will be getting colder it is nice to have a place to hide and block the wind.

[Pfishingruven]

After changing the scenery of my regular fishing area in S Seaside Park and fishing two days in Normandy Beach, I noticed that the beach structure is definitely different than farther south.  Seems like the water is a little deeper on the sandbar and the sandbar is closer to the beach.  The pockets seem to be deeper as well, obviously!  I can't say that the fishing is any better, although I did better, but it definitely has some more structure and nicer areas to fish.

However, I wouldn't say that fishing in SSP and IBSP is worse than anywhere else.  IBSP has some great structure as well.  I know I have a new area to explore and fish and a new honey hole that doesn't seem to see a lot of people!!