Bass Fishing - Where Are We At?

[Savvy18]

So, the 2019 striped bass season is upon us and I was wondering (as I often do about all of our locally targeted species)...What is the current "status" of OUR bass fishery here on Long Island? Are we seeing more fish or less? Are we seeing bigger fish on average or are we seeing a decline in big fish?

I have my own opinions (that I'll share over the course of this thread) about my personal Jamaica Bay bass fishing experiences over the last 5 years. But I was curious to know from a broader range of people and a wider range of fishing locations.

Let's hear it boys (and girls if we have any). What's going on by you the last few seasons?

 

[Savvy18]

 

[Savvy18]

Been a few years since I was personally in on a "HOT BASS BITE" in Jamaica Bay.

 

[captmike28]

So, if you are looking for a history lesson and perhaps a prediction, here is my 2 cents regarding the North Fork Bass scene.

At one time, back in the early 90's, when the Bass populations started to recover following some severe restrictions, I believe the waters around Orient Point and out to the Race were as solid a place to fish as anywhere in the world for both quantity and quality. I still have my record sheet from a trip made with 3 anglers in ’91 where we caught 58 Bass, ORL, and another 45 huge Blues in less than a 4-hour period on the ebb tide in the fall. When you consider about half of that time was spent running back to the front of the rip to start the drifts again, those are some impressive numbers. Also, although spring fishing was pretty solid back then, the fall was always considered to be the superior season to target North Fork Bass. Sizes were quite mixed throughout this time but there were plenty of 20-40# + class fish around to keep everyone happy.

By the late 90's through around 2006 many days were so good it was almost stupid fishing, virtually anyone with a reasonable amount of experience could score really well. In fact, I can remember one special fall day when there was a fleet in Plum Gut that resembled the heydays of Flounder fishing off the Heckscher flats. At times, it seemed that almost every angler was tied into a fish on every drift. There was actually about a 40’ charter boat among the crowd with an ESPN camera crew filming the action! And the fish hung around until almost December. I could convince my family to allow me to actually go out fishing for just 2 hours on Thanksgiving morning and practically guarantee we would be having fresh Bass along with the Turkey at our holiday meal.

The shift started to begin, from my perspective, around the end of the decade. The last couple of years approaching 2010 saw the fall Bass Run begin to dwindle. Fewer fish, smaller sizes, and consistently less bait were all observed. The herring which used to be a strong catalyst for the late fall run all but disappeared. For a while there were large schools of gorilla Blues that filled the gap but not the feisty and tasty Bass I and my customers were looking for. Things had reached a point where almost none of the North Fork fleet spent any time Bass fishing in the fall anymore. The spring run was still pretty solid but as the years wore on the average size seemed to drop off as well.

Currently we have seen pretty good numbers of Bass in the spring to mid-summer for about the last 7-8 years. The pattern is very consistent with a good shot of fish from late May through early July both days and nights. Then when the water temps rise a bit too much it becomes almost an exclusive night time affair for most of the keepers until mdi to late August. Even the keepers are nowhere as large as they once were with a 30# fish now turning heads that used to be more commonplace.

So, I anticipate 2019 to see a good number of fish in the 25-30” range in the spring to early summer months, maybe a few 20-30# class fish throughout our much shorter effective season and time to concentrate on the Seas Bass and Tog come fall. It is kind of sad to think that in my lifetime I have watched this fish go from great abundance to near extinction, back to abundance and now on the obvious decline once again. I guess it say a lot for proper, well thought out and cleanly executed conservation measures.

 

[Leprechaun]

Hmm, bass fishing? Yeah, I remember that.

So, hunting bass in my area can be done in several ways, depending on the time of season. We generally start out with the clam bellies, fished deep, up against the mainland shore - like in Matzapizza and Seaford, for instance. This will progress to fishing the deep, fast water near the local bridges. From there it further segues to fishing the various bay island channels and cuts, along with the constantly-changing Inlet bars, again with the bellies - roughly around Memorial Day or so. The problem with all of these venues is that these days the local bass population in our bays is mostly shorts - very short to just short. And not a ton of even them either, over the past five seasons.

And here comes "Lep's rant of the week" - I really don't care to hurt 10 baby fish to get my one 28" keeper, just not my thing anymore. I CAN NOT stand to see a fish float away from the boat, upside down, gasping for its life. Wow, I HATE that, and always will. That image haunts me for a good long time after a trip. I know many have gone to circle hooks to cut back on this type of scene, and it does. But circles can still get swallowed by over-eager schoolies - so same dealeo is the result. O.K., rant over.

Plugging the marsh islands can still be fairly effective - however, I have the same issue with the "Shorty" bite that makes up 90% of this fishing, here behind JI. So for me that fishing is also too much of a zero-sum for real enthusiasm on my part. I have to admit, it IS a fun thing to see a crazed fish come up behind a popper and knock it right out of the water. That never really gets old.

Some Springs (and Falls) there is a very decent jig bite to the East and West of my inlet - but it can be very frustrating to invest that time and fuel and never find fish to jig - especially because this fishing pretty much coincides with the arrival of the better ocean fluke, off JI. It can be a long day of boat driving/sonar scanning, if we can't locate fish - all the while kicking one's self for not running for the nice fluke we can box, 'round these parts, 'round that time.

I feel the right way to attack this bass jigging conundrum is to put out the trolling rods while idling along, hunting for jig-able marks. But this has other issues on my boat, which I will get to in just a bit.

We have had some success with the “jigging thing” over the past 6 or so seasons, but its spotty, to say the least. This fishing is fairly heavily dependent on the appearance of the ocean sand eel clouds. If the bait shows, we can sail and catch, If not, not. I know I always have a box of appropriate bass jigs with me, maybe this season we can actually use them to good effect. A split day of bass jigging/fluke fishing is certainly attractive, to say the least.

Once the bunker run along the beach gets going, IF it gets going - which has been spotty over the past five seasons, we can take advantage of that fishing. First fish of the day gets a 3/0 3X-strong treble hook, after that, if I choose keep fishing, we can go to the big circles. Let's see if the better fish do show this Spring - as I said, its been spotty the past few seasons. They never seem to be around when I can get out, so maybe I should get out more, right? Doubt my boss will like that very much, but that's the price I'd have to pay. Hey, my boat can run on good intentions and pixy dust, right?

After that (like in late June to mid-July) there is probably still a good pick of fish available around the ocean clam dredges. Except those guys got sick and tired of being followed around by a small fleet of nimrods displaying their incompetent nincompoopery, who just can't seem to keep the heck out of those working men's way. So many of those clammers now work off hours - I hear that means after dark. I can't personally confirm this is actually true, because I'm never in the ocean at night. There HAS been a dearth of clam dredges out there every time I sail, so maybe this really is the case.

The other issue with this fishing is the recent uptick in the dogfish population. All that stirred-up bottom and broken clams will pull those annoying monsters like a magnet. And those things LOVE fresh skimmer on a high-hook rig - woof, they really make for a long day, if there's any size to them.

There's always trolling to be had, Late Spring and Fall - but you need a crew that has an interest in learning how to do that, without the built-in negativity toward pulling spoons/MOJOs/Umbrellas. I lack such persons, and so haven't sailed for that fishery in quite a few moons. A darn shame. There are few inshore thrills that match a trolling reel’s clicker scream as a big bass decides that it doesn’t really care for your spoon after all, and goes full speed in the opposite direction. I swear, some of those strikes can make your heart skip a beat.

So anyway, all this is why I'm in no longer in a great hurry to get the boat floating early, these days. No Spring flounder, no weakfish, personally not willing to fish for bay schoolies, no clam dredges and no trolling crew. Sounds like its down to fluke and tog for me, 'til I get tired of boat-prepping, basically for two species. Good thing I still enjoy those two. . .

 

[pequa1]

Wow. I knew we had a lot in common when we met.
"And here comes "Lep's rant of the week" - I really don't care to hurt 10 baby fish to get my one 28" keeper, just not my thing anymore. I CAN NOT stand to see a fish float away from the boat, upside down, gasping for its life. Wow, I HATE that, and always will. That image haunts me for a good long time after a trip. I know many have gone to circle hooks to cut back on this type of scene, and it does. But circles can still get swallowed by over-eager schoolies - so same deal is the result. O.K., rant over. "
The last two years surfcasting from the beach in the fall I never saw a keeper taken, certainly not by me or my usual buddy. Even though I only use lures and can count on two fingers when the hook got past a jaw or lip over the years, struggling with pliers to get a Kastmaster or Hopkins free (yes, I leave the barbs alone- my intention is to eat fish) I simply don't like the thought of pulling baby stripers (or baby fluke for that matter) out of their element. Its gotten to the point that I spend most nice days in the fall deer hunting and only on the weekend will I surfcast. Fortunately on a nuisance permit I can deer hunt to my heart's content, stopping when the ticks come back out. I would rather spend a quiet, deer-less day in the woods than catching nothing but schoolies. Although I still have my bay boat, I usually don't even use it until fluke season is well under way and by Halloween its back under a Harbor Freight tarp. I use my kayak(s) as much as ten times more than the boat during the usual fluke season. While I have it on good authority that there are some flounder to be had in my Matzahpizza area, I spend most Aprils and early May gardening, maybe going shooting, or at least uncovering my boat (which is still covered.) C'mon, two fish at twelve inches ? I haven't even bought bait in ten years except for a single tub of bellies last year as on the kayak or boat its either Gulp or livelined snappers, lures from the beach. Totally forget about fishing the bridges for sea bass or blackfish. In the 70s and 80s I did it but with the size limits today? All shorts and again, not for me. I caught three or four dozen sea bass under the Big M a few years ago with one keeper, and the size limit was smaller then. My two buddies on the same boat caught as many, without a single keeper. Yes, it was stupid easy fishing but on the way back I decided not again. However, nothing will stop me from taking ten healthy snappers a trip in August and September off the yak. I am not a total treehugger !

 

[george]

So, if you are looking for a history lesson and perhaps a prediction, here is my 2 cents regarding the North Fork Bass scene.

At one time, back in the early 90's, when the Bass populations started to recover following some severe restrictions, I believe the waters around Orient Point and out to the Race were as solid a place to fish as anywhere in the world for both quantity and quality. I still have my record sheet from a trip made with 3 anglers in ’91 where we caught 58 Bass, ORL, and another 45 huge Blues in less than a 4-hour period on the ebb tide in the fall. When you consider about half of that time was spent running back to the front of the rip to start the drifts again, those are some impressive numbers. Also, although spring fishing was pretty solid back then, the fall was always considered to be the superior season to target North Fork Bass. Sizes were quite mixed throughout this time but there were plenty of 20-40# + class fish around to keep everyone happy.

By the late 90's through around 2006 many days were so good it was almost stupid fishing, virtually anyone with a reasonable amount of experience could score really well. In fact, I can remember one special fall day when there was a fleet in Plum Gut that resembled the heydays of Flounder fishing off the Heckscher flats. At times, it seemed that almost every angler was tied into a fish on every drift. There was actually about a 40’ charter boat among the crowd with an ESPN camera crew filming the action! And the fish hung around until almost December. I could convince my family to allow me to actually go out fishing for just 2 hours on Thanksgiving morning and practically guarantee we would be having fresh Bass along with the Turkey at our holiday meal.

The shift started to begin, from my perspective, around the end of the decade. The last couple of years approaching 2010 saw the fall Bass Run begin to dwindle. Fewer fish, smaller sizes, and consistently less bait were all observed. The herring which used to be a strong catalyst for the late fall run all but disappeared. For a while there were large schools of gorilla Blues that filled the gap but not the feisty and tasty Bass I and my customers were looking for. Things had reached a point where almost none of the North Fork fleet spent any time Bass fishing in the fall anymore. The spring run was still pretty solid but as the years wore on the average size seemed to drop off as well.

Currently we have seen pretty good numbers of Bass in the spring to mid-summer for about the last 7-8 years. The pattern is very consistent with a good shot of fish from late May through early July both days and nights. Then when the water temps rise a bit too much it becomes almost an exclusive night time affair for most of the keepers until mdi to late August. Even the keepers are nowhere as large as they once were with a 30# fish now turning heads that used to be more commonplace.

So, I anticipate 2019 to see a good number of fish in the 25-30” range in the spring to early summer months, maybe a few 20-30# class fish throughout our much shorter effective season and time to concentrate on the Seas Bass and Tog come fall. It is kind of sad to think that in my lifetime I have watched this fish go from great abundance to near extinction, back to abundance and now on the obvious decline once again. I guess it say a lot for proper, well thought out and cleanly executed conservation measures.

I think this is spot on and I agree with your 2019 estimate. But as for " proper, well thought out and cleanly executed conservation measures" Sadly my guess is that's not going to happen.

 

[captmike28]

Yes, George it is very sad indeed especially since those of us who have experienced the Bass cycle over the last 50+ years know the fish can be preserved if we do the right things, conservation wise. Since it is almost impossible to count on the "fisheries managers" to do the right thing all we can do is be as reasonable as possible about caring for the Bass we each catch individually and release as many as possible, especially the breeders.

 

[Savvy18]

Over the course of the 30+ years I've been targeting bass here in Jamaica Bay, we have seen our ups & downs with the fishery. For quite a few years we had great success, but I'd say in that 30 years, we had more ho-hum years than anything else.

Back in the old days we targeted the majority of our bass with wire line trolling of spoons. It's a labor intensive way to fish and we grew weary of it. It's also not a very "sporting" method of catching fish. Then we progressed to catching them on eels at night around the bridges-until we got older and decided getting to the dock at 12am and going to work the next day wasn't working out. Next we found out we liked the EARLY morning live-lining bite in the back reaches of the bay. That was a ton of fun until it became a nuisance with too many goofballs plying for the same pods of bunker AND the bass seemed to take a vacation from those areas of the bay for a few seasons. Ultimately, for the better part of the last 5 years, we've been chunking the fish both early in the morning and some scattered night trips mixed in when the bite got decent.

Now, if you talk to the charter guys that ply the waters of Jamaica Bay (and just outside of the bay), you will hear stories of excellent trips day or night at any given time from May through July. I would imagine for boats fishing 3-5 times a day, 7 days a week, this could be believed. Eventually, the fish WILL chew and more than likely those guys are out fishing. However, for us "working fools" the "good" bass bites have been harder to come by on any consistent basis. This trend (in my opinion) has been the norm over the last 5 years. Fish are harder to find, they seem to bite during smaller portions of the tide and they are not found in the numbers we used to see them. A steady decline since 2012...That's my summation.

As for size? Oddly enough, most of the guys I bass fish with (myself included) have all caught their personal biggest bass (Jamaica Bay caught bass) in these last 5 years. Nothing huge, but quality fish from 40-50 lbs. It's a strange phenomenon considering the bass have not been as abundant. A large majority of those fish were released to fight another day (we hope). I have not kept a bass to eat in nearly 20 years. It's not because I'm trying to save the world with AOC, it's because they are not my favorite fish to eat AND releasing them is much more fun.

 

[Double Trouble]

I have been Bass fishing in Jamaica bay for more years then I care to remember and have noticed a decrease in both size and numbers in the last 15 years but most noticeable in the last 5.I am strictly a bait fisherman live and artificial, bunker chunking being my favorite anchored as close to structure as possible using a fish finder setup with circle hooks.

 

[Bassman909]

Lep and I have had multiple conversations over this topic, and he has clearly moved away from pursuing bass for the reasons he's listed above, but I am the opposite. I personally will chase Strippers over any other fish. I do so from both the boat and the beach.

Some observations of the fishery over the last few years.

First off, I am very concerned over the state of the fishery. I just spoke to a good buddy of mine YESTERDAY who is a big Chesapeake Bay fisherman. He is very concerned as the fishery has almost dried up the last couple of years. There is simply NO BAIT. The big factory ships have taken all the Bunker as they exit the bay. That very poor for the future.

I have done "all of the above" as far as methods used. Here's some thoughts on each:

Clam Belly the Bay: Been doing this type of fishing for 20+ years in my Jones Beach bays. Used to be like fishing in bathtub with plenty of action and a nice mix of small to decent (35") fish. About 10 years ago, the fishing really dried up and I actually stop fishing this way for a couple of years. The GOOD news is the last 3 years, that fishing has come back STRONGLY but with ONLY small fish. I think I'm going to give it a shot this spring but unless I see some bigger fish, I'm gonna curtail my efforts. I to HATE to kill small fish, even if it's only 1 out of 20 fish caught.

Pluggin' the bay: Not as good as it used to be, but still lots of fun on a warm, calm summer weekday evening after a long work day. ALL of my bay plugs are going to have a single hook on them from now on, to eliminate hurting the fish

Live bunker in the ocean: TOO much bait!! With all the bunker around, it's become hard as there is no competition. On those rare occasions where you can spot smaller pods of bunker, early am, still the BEST way to catch the big girls.

Trolling:
Mojo's have changed the game. They work, and you don't need wire.

Fall Jiggin':

GAME ON, by far the most fun way to catch bass, and here's where I'll disagree with Pete, the fish are there, almost every year. You can't find them everyday, but a nice ride east of my inlet, past Fire Island in late October almost always produces. That said, the Head Boats are taking WAYYYY too many bass. They need to be policed better.

Finally, give me a 20lb striper from the surf over a 40lb striper from the boat ANY DAY!!!

Love to get some feedback on my thoughts.

Thanks Guys.

Mark

 

[Savvy18]

Mark, some thoughts on your "thoughts"

1. Clam belly striper fishing is not something I've done with any regularity. Many years ago (mid 90's) when I used to frequent the Hampton scene (my younger - wilder days), I had an opportunity to fish with the father of a young lady I was dating. We did some clam belly fishing near an inlet (not positive which) and the bite was non-stop. Nothing over 12lbs., but certainly entertaining. Here in Jamaica Bay, clams are not the preferred method.

2. Also, many moons ago, my friend John and I used to ply the Pumpkin Patch in JB in his 16' King skiff around the marshes (which were abundant at that time) and plug bass for hours on end. One after another. Again, nothing bigger than 15 lb., but it is the purest way to catch a striper! Have not even attempted to plug bass in over a decade.

3. About 10-15 years ago the Grassy Bay area in Jamaica Bay was LOADED with nice bass and catching them on live bunker was like shooting fish in a barrel. Fishing was ridiculous. Bunker and bass were plentiful and it was NOT NEARLY as popular as it is now. Those days are long since gone in Grassy Bay. The bunker are not as thick and easy to find and the majority of the bass seem to be spending their time in the ocean where the bunker are more concentrated in recent years.

4. Trolling mojo's is something that I have never done. Frank (NYSharpie) however, has geared up the Theresa V II for targeting bass with mojo's this coming season and to say he is "anxious" about getting started is a huge understatement! We are hoping that we can put a dent in some bigger fish using that method before too long.

5. NEVER caught a bass from the surf because I have only been "surf fishing" a few times. It's simply not my cup of tea. Don't like sand in my gear or in my pants, or in my shoes, between my toes, or the crack of my hind-quarters. However, I have no doubt catching a 20 lb. bass from the beach is a thrilling event.

6. JIGGING bass is another method I have not done often enough over the years. Maybe because I fish 99.9% of the time on private boats and none of my friends is keen to chase bass & bunker all over the ocean with the price of gas being what it is. I can't say that I blame them but it would be nice to get a trip of that in one day. Truth be told, I'm not sure I'm much of a "caster" anymore. WAAAY out of practice and I feel like I'd make a fool of myself!

 

[Savvy18]

Okay, it's been over a month since I last posted here in this thread. I was hoping that in that month I would have a bunch of great bass trips to speak of here with you guys but that simply has not been the case. The weather has put a considerable crunch on my bass fishing opportunities with constant wind & rain being the predominant foes.

Many a day I have called my bass fishing buddies and we've tried to map out a plan to get out and do it either early am or at night. Between work schedules and shitty weather, we got out twice. Neither trip was what I'd call a success. One early morning trip we were able to easily find bunker and we caught a few bass before the winds picked up and kicked us off our chum lines. Soon as that happened the bass bite was over and the blue demons showed up. Game over.

Next trip we found NO bunker and were forced to start our fluke drifts before 6:30am. I don't know about you guys, but I can't remember EVER having a hot fluke bite that early in the morning.

However, I have ONE confirmed bass trip that was successful (in Jamaica Bay) made by a good buddy of mine. I've seen the pics & video to prove it. Over 20 bass caught for 4 guys in just a few hours. That was a very promising report and peaked my interest to get out there this weekend (night trip) but I unfortunately had other obligations I had to attend to.

How has the bass fishing gone for the rest of you?

 

[Savvy18]

 

[Savvy18]

Here is one of the few bass I've had this spring. Not a big fish by any stretch but it was caught on very light tackle, so it gave me a nice tussle.

 

[NYSharpie]

Hello everyone! Been a while since my last post. Had a couple of successful nights bass fishing this week, one being with Savvy18 (Eddie). Had beautiful weather Thursday and Friday.

On The other trip , I took my good friend and his kid out and we wound up landing some real quality fish.

Bunker chunking was the way to go. Same spot both nights, one night had more fish, the other had bigger.

Everything seems late this year. Bass are just starting to heat up in JBay so we will see what the next week brings.

Will try to put together another video, but here are a few pics from the 2 trips.

 

[Savvy18]

NYSharpie (Frank), I just realized, we took a ton of video last night...But no pictures

So, as stated above, Frank & I fished JBay for some bass last night. Finding bunker was easy, they were all over but hunkering down in deeper water, out of effective range of the cast net. Eventually we found some making a commotion on top and one throw put us in business for the night (we proceeded to return 25 to live another day).

Once anchored, we had fish on before our first pieces of chum hit bottom. Action was steady but the quality of fish was not as we'd hoped. 15-20 fish (we lost count) up to 15 lbs. on the night. Water was considerably warmer (68-69) than it was last time I fished, when it was 62. We caught 5 bass to every 1 blue demon (which is always a pleasure). I'm happy to say I didn't need to re-rig once because a bluefish bit me off. As far as I'm concerned, that is an automatic win!

Having the rods bent the majority of the night was certainly well received. It's been a while since the bass have chewed with any ferocity (on trips I've been on) and last night they were in a chewing mood. My opinion is bigger bass are in JBay and you need to get lucky with your timing to be there when they are.

I find myself less "anxious" to fish after work these days, so getting out after work and having some level of success is a bonus. Hope to get out at least 1 or 2 more times before the JBay bite is done.

 

[Roccus7]

Would hazard a guess that your JBay bite will continue strong UNTIL Mojoe returns and the stink of bacon from the Mojoe Skiff will chase the bass to more Kosher waters...

 

[NYSharpie]

LOL!! Can't wait for the return of the famous MoJoe!