a few more questions for a begginer

[maldonw]

first off thank for all your help this far its been great . now i am wondering how can i tell how the tides are and is high tide better or low tide? also i have read the term magic hour on this forum and i was wondering what that meant? i have been fishing the wall over at point pleasant i havent had any luck yet i was thinking maybe im going at the wrong time of day.

on another note i was out there today didnt catch a thing as sson as i packed up another guy came to the same spot where i was and on his first cast reeled in a pretty decent sized fluke so im guessing im doing something wrong     again THANK YOU FOR THE HELP!!!!

[Luna Sea 5]

Tide depends what your fishing for.  Incoming is usually better then outgoing, but as long as the tide is moving and not slack, you have a chance for success. 

Magic hours are special evening hour trips.

[Pfishingruven]

Specifically for the Inlet, you want to check out the tide for the Inlet or the CG Station right there.  I am going to add info from the Canal Report Thread and paste in what Garry recommends.  He fishes that area on a daily basis and has gotten the the best time to fish down pretty well.  The Inlet and Canal can be a bit tricky as the currents get so bad, it makes fishing almost impossible.  The boat traffic and weeds can make it not fun either.

How much do you add/subtract at the canal from the inlet tide ?

I use the tide table for the Coast Guard Station on the Manasquan River and add 3 to 3 1/2 hours for slack tide in the canal. I generally start fishing the canal 2 hours after any tide at the Coast Guard station, and that will give you about 1 1/2 hours of that tide, to slack water to 1 1/2 hours of the opposite tide till the water becomes to fast it fish it effectively.

If you play your cards right, start fishing the inlet an hour before any tide at the coast guard station till 2 hours after, then take the 5 minute ride to the canal to fish for 3 to 3 1/2 hours as I described above, and you have 6 to 6 1/2 hours of good fishing in very fishable currents at both places, with the ability to catch a nice variety of fish at both places, as we did today. We just hit the inlet right at slack, according to the coast gurad station, wasn't going to be there at 4:30 am this morning, 5:30 was good enough.

Garry

You probably were not doing anything wrong.  The fish swim through the Inlet, so when you left maybe the person who started fishing where you were just got lucky.  Could have just been right place, right time?!  What type of bait or lures were you throwing??

Good Luck

 

[Bucktail]

In my experiences of fishing that wall (and I don't fish it that much anymore) the change of tide is usually the best (easiest) time fish there for bottom  species (fluke, tog etc.).  When the current is running hard its difficult to either (a.) keep your bait from moving too fast or (b.) avoid picking up a ton of grass on your line.

For more mid-depth species (blues, weaks, herring etc.) its still easier to fish the times around slack, but you can often never tell when the schools will be moving through.  And you can at least fish lures off the bottom at any stage of the tide.  I've never caught a striper at the wall itself.  I know that many are caught off the rocks there.  But since I'm kind of a klutz I prefer to fish for stripers further inside the river.

As far as "magic hour" I know some party boats use that term for their twilight trips.  For me, "magic hour" has often been at first light (the hour before sunrise) or last light. 

If you want to get some fluking tips for that area, stop into Gates B&T.  That's the place on the left just before you pull into the parking lot.  Ask for Chuck and tell him Bob from Bruce and Pat's sent you.  He'll help you with any questions you might have.

Good luck!

[ped579]

All the above information is great.  And Bucktail has it right about the Magic Hour.  It is usually the hour before and after sunrise and sunset. It usually refers to the fish that are primarily nocturnal and the best times to target those that come in close to the shore lune.

For the most part targeting stripers during that time can be very productive.

I hope this helps.

Happy Catching

Paul

[maldonw]

  thanks for the info  i will check out gates b&t this sunday i have been going into alex's b&t since its right across the street they have been pretty helpfull. Pfishingruven to answer your bait question i am using squid and killies (hope i spelled it right) and the lure i believe was a j&j rig the the guy at alex's b&t recommended in a yellow or pink color is that an ok setup?

[Pfishingruven]

Yes, your setup sounds right.  You can always try and add Gulp 4" swimming mullet in the same color as your bucktail jig(pink, chartreuse or white).  Also Gulp shrimp are working well also, but what you fished will work.  Sometimes you have to switch it up and try different combos, colors, presentations, etc...Most importantly, you just have to fish.  The more you put your time in...the more you will catch!

I would also, always keep a couple of metal lures in 3/4-1oz handy...your choice Hopkins, Kastmaster, Crocodile Spoons, Deadly Diks, etc, a few topwater poppers in same size and your color choice...black, white, gray/silver and blue work pretty well, and bombers or Rapala swimming/diving type lures in 3/4-1oz also in glass ghost and black...possibly some other colors also.  These work well to throw in baitfish pods that will work through the Inlet every now and then.  Great for bluefish and stripers...also weakfish!!

Good Luck, keep asking questions.  It is a great learning process on this site.  What I don't know, I ask and get great answers.  When I know I answer and give the knowledge back!

 

[maldonw]

thanks . i will give it another go on sunday .i will probably go out on the jetty closer to he ocean see if my luck gets better