First striper of 2015

[bulletbob]

There...now that I got everyone's attention...
Usually the first small bass of the season is caught down in Great Bay near Tuckerton. or in Oyster Creek, or along the western Raritan Bay shoreline, usually first week of march or so.. Being that the board has just about stopped dead lately, I thought maybe we could get some discussion going about this years first striper opportunities. actually ANY fishing opportunities... the way things are, I think its going to be the latest season start we have seen in a lot of years.. The Hudson is locked solid in thick ice upstate.. Some winters is has mostly open water right up to Albany..

When I lived in Union Beach in the early 80's, I recall that the Hudson, Rartitan, Passiac and Hackensack Rivers had so much influence on bay water temps that even winter flounder fishing was late in years when there was a lot of ice running down the rivers into the bay... I don't know, this might be a dumb post, but I am bored out of my mind, freezing cold all the time, and am dying to get out fishing again..... I am just sick of this weather, sick of waking up to -10 every day, sick of snow that never melts... I have it worse than my NJ fishing friends,, but not by much this year.. Its bad everywhere.
Years past, we would be talking about early season trips for school stripers, flounder, ling, whatever by this time.... this winter, it seems like its never going to end.. All we can do is talk about it I guess... bob

[Joey Dah Fish]

What about the power planet in the Egg Harbor area? I never have fished it but the warm water discharge supposedly hold fish all the time

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by Joey Dah Fish

What about the power planet in the Egg Harbor area? I never have fished it but the warm water discharge supposedly hold fish all the time

You know Joey, you would think we might hear about winter fishing from an area like that, but it seems we never do.. You would think there would be something around to catch.. There are a few power plants near LI Sound as well, but there is almost no reporting of fishing activity on them in the big NY/ LI fishing site... bob

[Chrisper4694]

if you caught fish in such a small area in the winter, would you post about it or keep it to yourself...?

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by Chrisper4694

if you caught fish in such a small area in the winter, would you post about it or keep it to yourself...?

I dunno, word gets around usually.. guys just sort of meander around, and if they see a few fish caught, all of a sudden its common knowledge..

those places have been around for years, so if there were a lot of fish being caught it would be well known.. You would think so anyway.. After I moved out of Union Beach around 1982, we bought a house in Forked River and lived there until 1991.. I used to keep a close eye on the winter fishery in the outflow at Oyster Creek,, Went a few times, maybe 1 or 2 small flounder.. Never saw anyone catch a striper there in those days.. I heard that one or two very small ones would be caught or perhaps a white perch now and then.. The thing is, the fishing simply wasn't very good, and thats why you never saw many guys there.. one or two at the most..If guys were getting fair numbers of eating size flounder, or catching school bass regularly, it would be a known fact, and fishermen would go there.. I have a feeling power plants in salt water in NY/NJ are simply not all that productive in the teeth of a bitter winter, and thats why we don't hear about it.. I am no expert of course, and I could be dead wrong.. I am far removed from salt water these days, and you guys are much better informed than I am.. I am relying on what I witnessed in the 37 years I lived in NJ,, However that was a long time ago... bob

[Chrisper4694]

i don't have a saltwater boat and my friend that has one won't be putting it in until the end of march/beginning of april so i have no way to check it out, but i can tell you if i had a salt water boat in the water i'd go check out these warm water run offs for sure! you never know, it's cold, people may not want to go check out a place without some insurance that fish are there.

[backbay]

i am by no means an expert, but after thinking what spots are best early i think you need to find a big shallow flat not far from some deep (40+ feet) water, these are the conditions that exist at both graveling point and beeselys point, and both of these areas are usually the first to turn on. i think the fish stay in the warmer deep water when its cold and then once the shallow flats start to warm up they move there and start eating. I have no idea if theyd actually eat when theyre holding in the deep water since its so cold and have never fished for them there but would like to try it. I dont know either of these areas that great but hope to get out to do a little more exploring this year. and again, this is stuff i came up with just by observing and thinkin about it a little, i could be dead wrong.

[Del River Rat]

I got my 2 first keepers out of capemay
Jan 2
The 6pack charter got over 100 keepers
That day only keeping our first 12 fish
The fish were 28" up to 38"😜

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by Del River Rat

I got my 2 first keepers out of capemay
Jan 2
The 6pack charter got over 100 keepers
That day only keeping our first 12 fish
The fish were 28" up to 38"😜

Well, can't top that I guess... bob

[shrimpman steve]

Have to grease the bearings on the trailer, install new starting battery and I'm good to go (I hope).

Hope to be in the water by the first weekend in April. Of coarse the snow has to melt first so I can get to it