Made a late start out of AH armed with eels and clams (just in case). Drifted the channel at the 11/12 bouys for a while on a still (almost) high tide until the water slacked. Assuming the bass were still a couple hours away we decided to take the the short 8 mile run to the reef to see if we could pick away at some sea bass and tog. The swell was steep but, was not too frequent. We took a small jog out front and trialed the boat and all looked/felt good so we made the run (*the boat is new to me this season)
Well, once again in my haste I forgot to make new marker bouys so, anchoring-up on some good real estate came hard but, we tried anyway. We fished what looked like a good area for about an hour or so with only one skate on-board. We began marking a ton of fish which we even jigged for but, nothing. Back to SH to catch the outgoing tide......
Fished the 11/12 bouys again on the outgoing tide for a couple more hours without any signs of life. Again, we didn't even see a single fish come over the rail of any boats. Water temps was about 51-53 today. Not sure if that is playing a part in it or not.
I hope to get out one or two more times before winterizing needs to happen. Maybe next Friday out of Manasquan for some seabass and tog but, only time and the weather channel will tell.
Fred
