NJ Kayak Fishing - Tips and Trips

[perch predator]

Any info on depth, time of day, time of year, or is it more of a chase the bunker game. I've also heard rumor of blacktips in may, any truth to this? I'm not finding much info on sharks. not sporty enough? Thanks for the info so far. It's got the wheels turning.

[Pfishingruven]

I have never heard of any guys on here go out shark fishing in their yaks, but the sharks are here.  So it is possible.

Usually August is the best month.  You can get them right off the beach in the surf.  Brown, Blue, Thresher, Sand Tiger, Bull, and Black Tips.  Usually a lot of juveniles.  Check out the Surf Forums or any of the posts related to Surf Rocket or Sharks in the Surf.

 

[SeaFlea]

uhm, mr. 'groven, sir??? i just may be one of those crazies... 2077/2008 a group of about 10 from KFS got together and launched off 36th St. on Brogantine. snatch hooking mullet and lettin' them drop produces results! pretty nice sleigh ride till the line breaks! August was indeed the month.

PP - for us that day it was a "chase the bunker" game.  only a couple hundred yards off the beach.

[kayak1]

I wish that I had a better report for everyone but the fishing on Thursday was slow at best..... We did have a bunch of short fluke all on the white Gulp....The out going tide was by far the best of the day..... The turn of the tide just shut things off for the day....

We did again return Thursday night around 9-9:30 to fish for some Bass and Weakfish....We had tons of small bait all around us....But no fish to be found.... 3 hours of fishing with not even a hit.....

The weather report is not looking all that great going into the weekend..... If anyone gets out, let me know what happen...

[kayak1]

sorry guys I have not been keeping up with the page.....

I lost all my last reports about fishing the back bay the last couple weeks.....

I have been doing some good fish...Bass that is just before dark.....The local docks in our area all have some nice fish....just before sun set and well into the night.

The bait is pulled into the lights on the docks....I try to keep the lure right on the shadow line.

I have found that just about all the fish I take are right on the line of dark and light....If the lure is off just a couple feet its like a wast of a cast.

The reports I have been told of small bass around the canal are in fact true.... But it seems to me the further you get away from the 2 inlets the better the fishing seems to be.

The route 37 bridge is like dead center of both Inlets and the fishing there can be red hot on some nights along with good weakfish at this time of year...

My best recommendation is to start to fish those areas away from the normal areas we always hear about.....There are so many areas to fish out in the bay......

I was going to head out tonight....but the weather just didn't seem to work out for me.

The fishing will only get better from this point on.... The North East storm we just had filled the back country with some good clean water....Its going to take a couple days to clean up....But when it does the fishing will be in full swing.

Take the next couple days to get your gear in shape....while the weather is nasty.

hope to see ya on the water.....Be safe

Dave

[ped579]

Good report Dave, thanks.  One of the reasons we went out the other night was that Rich had been landing some nice striper's straight out off the beach at the kayak launch at A21.  Go out till you hit the sedge islands and fish along the banks.  Real good fishing right about now.  Looking to get out as soon as I can and try in better weather.

Happy Catching

Paul

P.S. If you get a chance Bling the maps and look at that area there are some nice cuts and deep pockets out there, plus you can see how far we had to walk back...

[kayak1]

This weekend is looking good for some real nice fishing both in the back country of the Barnegate Bay and along the beach front.....

The big storm last week did a job on the beach and put some nice sand bars along the ocean front....This is a great chance to get out early in the morning and fish those sand bars.... with just a little white water on the edges of the bars could produce some good top water action.....with small poppers.
No need to be running way out the bait is along the beach and  so will the fish.....

The reports keep comming in about the schools of mullet that are around the mouth of the two Inlets the manasquan to our North and the Barnegate to the South....

I will for the most part stay in the back.... only because I know after a big storm like we just had can trigger some good feeding action at night....

Both ways bay or ocean I'm sure you will produce some fish....

Dave

[ped579]

Hi Dave,

I was out at IBSP out front yesterday did get some hits but nothing stayed on the hook.  But what I did notice that there were tons of mullet in the wash and the birds were crashing them.  Nothing was really following them but that's okay sooner or later the big guys will be here.

Happy Catching

Paul

[kayak1]

I never found a mullet inside a Bass....and from what I'm told Bass don't like them either...I do in fact know that Bass love to drive mullet nuts during the fall run along the beach.....

The early morning just before sun up using a small white popper is the best for top water action.....

Give me just a little white water on the front of a sand bar....and using the popper worked very very slow....will in fact produce great early fall action with bass.....

Now with the kayak....you can do some tube and worm trolling around the sand bars....and work the edges better.....even a small swimmer worked from the kayak will do the trick for you.

Reports of some nice bass in and around the canal in Point Pleasant on eels are starting to come in daily....The kayak is a great tool for eel fishing.....be sure not to enter the canal because the marine police will chase you out....stay around the two ends,the South being the best.

One great area also to fish using the yak is to drift around the clam boats in point pleasant at night....Just using a hook with  clam...throw the clam so it goes down under the boats and drift along the entire area.... just hold on tight.... I have caught some very big fish under those clam boats at night......

I hope this will help some on planning your next trip out.....Enjoy and be safe

Dave

[Bucktail]

Great tips Dave!

[kayak1]

OK....OK....I know its been a couple weeks.... But the fishing just seem to have come to an end around this way.... I have been keeping a very close eye on the waters and have talked with some of the locals who just have nothing at all to report.....

I was out just because the weather was nice....not fishing just a good paddle day....I did take the fish finder just to mark some water I wanted to fish...... I thought I would have come across some schools of bait along the way....But didn't see or read anything at all the entire day of being on the water.

If any one is doing better then me please let us know....

[ped579]

Hi Dave, I have not been out back for a while but the bait out front if out of sight.  It was all over the place today.  Mullet were everywhere as were the American Shad and the Hickory Shad as people were wanting them to be weighed in thinking they were blues.  I am glad that that I had the regs with pictures I laminated to show the difference.

The pelicans were here in larger numbers than I have ever seen and they were diving and/or just sitting on the surface of the water gorging themselves.  Pretty cool sight.

[captainbailey]

I've been hitting the suds in the usual bay head area with absolutely nothing. Over the past two weeks the water has dropped about 10 degrees. As soon as a steady wind develops and all of these storms stop appearing, I hope the fishing will pick up.

See you out there.

Z

[kayak1]

I had the chance to get out last night for a couple hours late.....So I didn't hit the water until around 10:30....I fished some local docks up in Bay Head where the lights stay on all night and the bait fish seem to hold the best.

I started off throwing my favorite plug the yellow Mambo minnow.....I fished for about 2 hours with not even a hit.....At this point I'm starting to feel beat so I did start back to the truck....

On the way back I did find some fish feeding hard on the surface...not big fish but keeper size bass..... First cast.... fish on....WOW now I feeling good with my second wind starting to kick in......plus the cool west wind was blowing good last night....So being I'm in the kayak in Bay Head with the West wind blowing...you can figure out what that was like....

So....Back to the fishing.... I had the chance to try some new soft plastic baits made by Vision Hooks and Tackle.....The 5" sand eel with just a number 2 hook.... no weight.

This is going to be my number 2 go to bait this fall in the bay.....I fished just this one bait the entire time....and caught fish after fish using the Vision lures.....Keep in mind fishing from the kayak....you don't need to cast all that far....and being the fish are feeding on the surface.....no need to use extra weight....below the feeding zone.....

So just before getting back to the truck....I needed to make just one more cast....with the Mambo minnow.....Yup....Fish on again....Small...But a bass....which is all that matters.... I get the fish next to the kayak and he hits his head hard on the side of the kayak.....so hard the snap opens up and good by fish and Mambo Minnow.....so much for one more cast...

Had a great night out....full of some good bass fishing......Lost some sleep and a 6 dollar plug .....But its all worth it.

Dave

[ped579]

Sounds like a great time once you found the zone...

[bugmannj]

Nice report 

[Bucktail]

Terrific report Dave!   Those Vision baits sure are purty!

[kayak1]

Well.....The back bay action is in full swing with some nice bass being seen in all the hot spots.....And the bait fish that the bass are feeding on are small peanut bunker and spearing.

On Wednesday I had a call from a good friend who was out before work and had a fish on that he could not stop......and yes this is in the bay.

The area around the Point Pleasant Canal at the Bay Head end seems to be the place to be.....We are not fishing in the canal with the kayaks.

The hot spots seem to be the docks around the yacht club and the small creek that runs through the little town......I would hang around the mouth of the creek on the out going tide.....The bait in this area is thick and the lights that are on the docks at night hold the bait.....

Fish the shadow of the docks..... Also the area around the condos at the end of Bay Ave. is another great area because every dead end street has a street light....and the bass are just hanging around just waiting to ambush what ever swims past.

With this heavy wind...fishing along the beach is out.....sleep all day and get out and fish tonight for a couple hours.

Stay with your soft plastic baits in white or black/white.....I try not to use a lead head because it takes away the action....and puts the bait down to deep....I happen to be a big fan of the Vision sand eel in the 5" size...with just a #2or#3 hook.... if any weight is used...then go with a nail weight sold at any tackle shop in our area.....(Be sure to put the hook in first and then slide the nail weight in below the hook)The reason for this is this bait is hollow is the center.....The nail will help keep the hook in place better.

Hope this will help put a fish on your line.....Now go to sleep.....your going fishing tonight.

Have A Great Day
Dave

[kayak1]

This may just be the best of the best with fishing the bay in years...... We had adult size bunker....large pods swimming around the bay with teen size blues and monster bass up to 25 pounds blowing through the pods of bunker...

I had to look around a couple times to make sure that I was in the bay....This was something you live for....

I'm sure the storm this past weekend had alot to do with this and that they all came into the bay together.....

If I was going out in the ocean with a boat....I would troll the bay on my way to the inlet....you may just catch bigger fish inside....keep your eyes open for the pods of bunker.

Dave

[ped579]

Very cool Dave, thanks for the info.  I'll be on the beach Thursday to see what happens.  We are all hoping for a super run and I think this year we might get it.

Happy Catching

Paul