Winter stripers

[johnw]

There are still stripers being caught in the surf in Monmouth Beach and Sea Bright if anyone is interested and there some larger ones 30+ inches mixed in with the shorts. Action has been good in Sea Bright and Monmouth Beach. As long as the weather stays mild and we don't get a lot of snow they'll probably stay around. Sand eel imitations are best.

 

[ebroesicke]

ohh man your killin' me. i missed the "fall" run, so this is real tempting....

 

[Fredrick]

Thxs for the info John but how hit or miss is it ?

 

[wetflyguy]

will be off next weekend !
watching the weather.
will be in the suds!

 

[Fishidiot]

It's not unusual to see migrating stripers this late in the season when conditions are like this. Ocean temps along the NJ shore are still in the mid 40s. A few years ago there were still fish into mid Feb but - honestly - this isn't typical. Moreover, many of these late run fish after the beginning of the new year tend to be off the beach under blueback herring. Yes, they'll be catchable from the beach if you time it right but this late run fishing tends to be a boat game. The fish will leave eventually - sometimes this doesn't completely happen until March by which time the bass are gone (except for the remnant power plant fish in bays and rivers).

Unless you live close by, I wouldn't make a long drive to the shore.

If you're close and the weather is nice....what the heck? It's always nice to walk the beach. And catching a fly rod striper in mid winter would be pretty cool and definitely worth some bragging rights IMO.

 

[afishinado]

I talked to guys several out this past week that did well with stripers on both LBI & IBSP. Both guys were FFers and caught them from the surf using Sand eel flies. Go figure.

 

[johnw]

I haven't been down there myself but the info comes from very reliable sources. I think it's been pretty consistent. I spent 40 years living at the shore prior to moving to Pa 3 years ago and have found the fishing pretty consistent during warm winters like this one - the best times are during light northwest or west winds and don't even think about going when winds are from the south or southwest. I've had 20-30 fish days during both Jan and Feb but all fish have been shorts unlike this year when larger fish have been mixed in. I'll try to get an update.

 

[johnw]

Just checked my sources and it's pretty much been hit or miss the last few days. Most fish being caught at night off the jetties. Not good enough for me to make the 200 mile round trip.