Fall Run 2023

Fished tonight with friend steady pic of stripers in the 20”s . Caught all my fish on a hallow flye.
 

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The peak of the run is here, so If you have a chance, now is the time to hit the surf in NNJ.

Here is the 11/16 report from Grumpys in the IBSP area:

The fishing has been so good we have lost words to describe it. Insane. Off the hook. Epic. All accurate. You have to be where the fish are, but with he reports we got in, the fish were in a lot of places. Also, the night bite from the last report has transitioned into a morning/daytime/evening bite. There is still a night bite, but the daylight shenanigans are the star of the show.

What is working? Just about everything: pencil poppers, metal lipped swimmers, SP Minnows, Bombers, Darters, Swim Shads, and bucktails.



Another NNJ report from shops in a wider area:

 
Ugh. No chance of getting down there for me for at least two more weeks. Bad planning.

I am hearing that it's absolutely choked with anglers - even worse than usual - so I'll take that as some consolation.
 
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Caught around 30 schoolies between 20 and 26” Friday night wading a shallow flat on clousers. Great option this time of year if you don’t want to battle the crowds on the surf chasing the blitzes from the beach. Also a good way to test out my 7wt moonlit fiberglass rod. I really liked how it cast with 8wt full sinking and 7wt floating line.
 
Today was my planned shore trip. I started getting sick with covidish cold symptoms Wednesday, and I spent all yesterday and today in bed. I'm more bummed on missing the fishing than missing Thanksgiving.

Guess I'll just continue to lay here and wait for hero shots to roll in from the homies 😭 😭
 
Today was my planned shore trip. I started getting sick with covidish cold symptoms Wednesday, and I spent all yesterday and today in bed. I'm more bummed on missing the fishing than missing Thanksgiving.

Guess I'll just continue to lay here and wait for hero shots to roll in from the homies 😭 😭
Get some rest I have a feeling it will go on for at least a couple more weeks!
 
Get some rest I have a feeling it will go on for at least a couple more weeks!
Yes ^

Some years, if the temps stay within a good range, there's good fishing into early January in NNJ.

I remember in 2011, if I recall the year correctly, they were on sand eels well into January.

In fact, that year my best day fishing of the year was on the day after New Years Day.

Get well soon and good luck fishing.
 
Bonkers the last few days in Ocean County with the westerly winds! Water is 50-51 degrees still as well. No rats yet, either. Most fish from 28 to 34 inches.
 
Nymph were you fishing the beach or the back?
 
Nymph were you fishing the beach or the back?
I was on the beach on Thurs and today (Fri) South wind made the bite far more challenging this morning. Still caught, but they were out over the 2nd bar not in the wash and much smaller than Thurs... Some chunks around on Thurs. My fishing partner's biggest on Thurs morning.

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Well done nymph wristed that sounds like a great time. I wish i had the time to go down there and poke around to figure out where to fish from the beach but i have not been able to find the time to do so. Were you fly fishing on the beach or throwing plugs with spinning gear? No judgement i'd likely be plugging with spinning gear at least at first until i got the fishing dialed in then i would get the fly rod out when the conditions allowed
 
Well done nymph wristed that sounds like a great time. I wish i had the time to go down there and poke around to figure out where to fish from the beach but i have not been able to find the time to do so. Were you fly fishing on the beach or throwing plugs with spinning gear? No judgement i'd likely be plugging with spinning gear at least at first until i got the fishing dialed in then i would get the fly rod out when the conditions allowed

I typically fish the beach with gear. They were in close on Wed and Thurs and I spoke to a couple fly guys who had success. Without the W wind, they tend to be way out there, at least the better slot sized fish.

This thread over the years seems to contain both methods, so I post at least once or twice. I did switch to a single siwash hook after 20 fish and I do pinch the trebles, but let's not kid ourselves, I guess....

A blast, however. One from Friday...

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Hopefully I get to fish this before the season is over
 

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Nice, Fred. Some green in there for the sandeels would not hurt!

We got a couple schoolies on Friday before the wind shifted to the dreaded S and the swells built 4-6 ft. A lot of fish and bait around, and temps are not terrible, so I may give it one more shot late next week.
 
Nice, Fred. Some green in there for the sandeels would not hurt!

We got a couple schoolies on Friday before the wind shifted to the dreaded S and the swells built 4-6 ft. A lot of fish and bait around, and temps are not terrible, so I may give it one more shot late next week.
I’ve been trying to get out for two weeks now and things keep coming up . It sucks lol
 
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