SMDave
Well-known member
So I got out today for the first time since summer. From September - now, school/standardized testing has been dominating my life. Yesterday and today we had off because of the NJEA convention, so my dad and I decided to take the opportunity to get out.
He woke me up at around 5:00am and we left around 5:45am... arriving around 2 hours later at LBI (~7:30am). Stopped by Fisherman's Headquarters to pick up some bunker and clam, along with a Blurple Bomber after convincing myself to take up plugging (which was the first rig I lost ).
We arrived at our spot around 7:45am (the beach at 68th street, behind the police station). It was around 40 degrees outside, and we started casting. The first thing we saw was boiling water, and some guy from the next beach over came to fish it too. We both came up empty handed. The next 2 hours-ish was really slow, no hits or anything.
Then, a second blitz started on the next beach over. An armada of Jeeps and Pickup trucks came speeding over from all directions, like there was a wanted fugitive to be caught. A couple people landed some really nice blues (estimating 30" + range), but not as many fish were landed as I expected. A couple came and pretty much parked their jeep between where I was standing and where the guy next to me (at the edge of the blitz) was standing. They came out with weighted trebles to snag some bunker, and pretty much crossed over my line every cast . So I just thought to myself, "keep your cool." I tried fishing that spot more, but they just kept moving closer to me, forcing me further and further away from the action. Then, the lady asked me in an irritated voice, "hey, where are you going?!", like I was invading her space. "... Alright... That's cool I guess" I thought to myself and just went back to where my dad was on the next beach over. People these days, sheesh.
The weather warmed up to around 45 degrees, and when everyone was pretty much leaving (around an hour after blitz two), the action really started picking up on the outgoing. We got a strike, and hooked up into a HUGE fish. We pulled it into the wash, and realized it was a bluefish around ~ 32". I'm not sure if this is considered a large blue, but I'm used to catching snapper blues during the summer . I was really excited - this was the largest blue by far I had ever caught (and yes, I am one of those guys who actually enjoys catching blues), and of course it had to bite through the 25lb. fluoro leader right before we were about to land it.
A couple minutes later, we hooked up with another fish. It didn't fight that hard, so my dad and I assumed it was either a smaller blue or a fluke that was still hanging around. We landed, and it was a striper! My first keeper striper at 30"! I was elated to say the least. . I have tried for countless summers to catch a keeper-sized striper with nothing to show for it. And today, my first Fall trip ever, I finally catch one! Well worth the wait . Although I will admit - I was a bit disappointed in the fight. I thought the blue I caught earlier fought better than the striper - the blue actually pulled back and ran off with the line whereas the striper just felt like weight at the end of my line. Hopefully not all stripers fight like this! The fish was beautiful - silverish-blue sides with a dark olive-grey back. Quite the sight to see, especially after all these years of trying to catch one.
The next 2 hours we hooked up 2 more 32-35" blues, both of which we lost in the wash . Today, I learned 25lb. fluoro leader does not hold well against the razor-sharp teeth of bluefish. But the fights were fun, so no complaints.
We had another "mystery strike" - it was a quick but powerful strike and tugged pretty hard. It's a tossup between striper #2 or bluefish #4 - either way, it was a very large fish.
All in all - VERY good day!
Location: 68th street beach, LBI, NJ
Date: 11/6/09
Air Temp: 40-45 degrees
Setups: 10' Tsunami Airwave > Shimano Socorro 8000F, 10' St. Croix Triumph > Okuma Stratus ST-65
Fish caught: 1 Striper @ 30"
3 Blues @ ~32"-35"
BTW - I learned AFTER we got back that kissing/releasing your first striper is good luck. I didn't know, and I brought it home. It's in the oven as we speak
Pic:
He woke me up at around 5:00am and we left around 5:45am... arriving around 2 hours later at LBI (~7:30am). Stopped by Fisherman's Headquarters to pick up some bunker and clam, along with a Blurple Bomber after convincing myself to take up plugging (which was the first rig I lost ).
We arrived at our spot around 7:45am (the beach at 68th street, behind the police station). It was around 40 degrees outside, and we started casting. The first thing we saw was boiling water, and some guy from the next beach over came to fish it too. We both came up empty handed. The next 2 hours-ish was really slow, no hits or anything.
Then, a second blitz started on the next beach over. An armada of Jeeps and Pickup trucks came speeding over from all directions, like there was a wanted fugitive to be caught. A couple people landed some really nice blues (estimating 30" + range), but not as many fish were landed as I expected. A couple came and pretty much parked their jeep between where I was standing and where the guy next to me (at the edge of the blitz) was standing. They came out with weighted trebles to snag some bunker, and pretty much crossed over my line every cast . So I just thought to myself, "keep your cool." I tried fishing that spot more, but they just kept moving closer to me, forcing me further and further away from the action. Then, the lady asked me in an irritated voice, "hey, where are you going?!", like I was invading her space. "... Alright... That's cool I guess" I thought to myself and just went back to where my dad was on the next beach over. People these days, sheesh.
The weather warmed up to around 45 degrees, and when everyone was pretty much leaving (around an hour after blitz two), the action really started picking up on the outgoing. We got a strike, and hooked up into a HUGE fish. We pulled it into the wash, and realized it was a bluefish around ~ 32". I'm not sure if this is considered a large blue, but I'm used to catching snapper blues during the summer . I was really excited - this was the largest blue by far I had ever caught (and yes, I am one of those guys who actually enjoys catching blues), and of course it had to bite through the 25lb. fluoro leader right before we were about to land it.
A couple minutes later, we hooked up with another fish. It didn't fight that hard, so my dad and I assumed it was either a smaller blue or a fluke that was still hanging around. We landed, and it was a striper! My first keeper striper at 30"! I was elated to say the least. . I have tried for countless summers to catch a keeper-sized striper with nothing to show for it. And today, my first Fall trip ever, I finally catch one! Well worth the wait . Although I will admit - I was a bit disappointed in the fight. I thought the blue I caught earlier fought better than the striper - the blue actually pulled back and ran off with the line whereas the striper just felt like weight at the end of my line. Hopefully not all stripers fight like this! The fish was beautiful - silverish-blue sides with a dark olive-grey back. Quite the sight to see, especially after all these years of trying to catch one.
The next 2 hours we hooked up 2 more 32-35" blues, both of which we lost in the wash . Today, I learned 25lb. fluoro leader does not hold well against the razor-sharp teeth of bluefish. But the fights were fun, so no complaints.
We had another "mystery strike" - it was a quick but powerful strike and tugged pretty hard. It's a tossup between striper #2 or bluefish #4 - either way, it was a very large fish.
All in all - VERY good day!
Location: 68th street beach, LBI, NJ
Date: 11/6/09
Air Temp: 40-45 degrees
Setups: 10' Tsunami Airwave > Shimano Socorro 8000F, 10' St. Croix Triumph > Okuma Stratus ST-65
Fish caught: 1 Striper @ 30"
3 Blues @ ~32"-35"
BTW - I learned AFTER we got back that kissing/releasing your first striper is good luck. I didn't know, and I brought it home. It's in the oven as we speak
Pic:
