I Don't Care What Anyone Says........ - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

BigFish · 10-25-2009, 07:11 AM

How did you find the striper fishing Ron??

Raider Ronnie · 10-25-2009, 07:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigFish

How did you find the striper fishing Ron??

Overall Boston harbor sucked this year.
But I did very little inshore fishing this year, my boat has been parked out on Stellwagen most of the year !
Ave Maria did his usual numbers in the harbor !

BigFish · 10-25-2009, 07:19 AM

Bait sure did not seem to be the problem??

afterhours · 10-25-2009, 07:28 AM

my worst season in memory.....reminds me of the 80's a bit...

Slingah · 10-25-2009, 07:54 AM

I did not fish enough to form a negative opinion. I did not work hard enough to be let down. There was plenty enough action to keep me interested. I did some recon, landed a few good ones, dropped some real large, saw some slobs taken by others and had many laughs.
Next year I am giving it a different approach. Putting in more time, trying new and different locations and applying different techniques.

SAUERKRAUT · 10-25-2009, 09:57 PM

[QUOTE=Slingah;719450]I did not fish enough to form a negative opinion. I did not work hard enough to be let down.

Well, I did fish hard enough (and I still am) to form a negative opinion of the striper year, 2009. And I did fish hard enough to be let down by the fishery which I believe is over harvested and ever more stressed.

Also Bluefish: I do not target them, but I do not believe I caught more than a dozen the entire season.

Brother Don on the New Jersey shore tells me the Spring run down there was quite awful compared to years before. I wouldn't hold my breath about the on site experience he will report after his month of November passes.

Krispy · 10-25-2009, 10:16 PM

I did OK this year, especially considering I didnt fish all that much

Back Beach · 10-25-2009, 07:36 AM

A couple canal high liners I spoke to yesterday mentioned it was sporadic (but good if you were lucky enough to be there) this fall. You basically had to be on patrol 24/7 otherwise you'd likely miss out. Same thing applied to a bunch of other locales...if you could be out 5, 6, 7 nights a week and keep up with things it was a little better.

Other than being out most nights, you were largely reliant on pure chance and %$%$%$%$ luck. I got the " you shoulda been here yesterday" report more times than I can ever remember.

Late fall was an exercise in futility...early fall was quite good for me though.

All in all it was an average year, IMO. I don't feel fish availability/numbers is the problem; it’s the distribution of fish meaning nobody knows what will show where and when.

Is the sky falling? I don't even remotely think so.

Slingah · 10-25-2009, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Back Beach

A couple canal high liners I spoke to yesterday mentioned it was sporadic (but good if you were lucky enough to be there) this fall. You basically had to be on patrol 24/7 otherwise you'd likely miss out. Same thing applied to a bunch of other locales...if you could be out 5, 6, 7 nights a week and keep up with things it was a little better.

Other than being out most nights, you were largely reliant on pure chance and %$%$%$%$ luck. I got the " you shoulda been here yesterday" report more times than I can ever remember.

Late fall was an exercise in futility...early fall was quite good for me though.

All in all it was an average year, IMO. I don't feel fish availability/numbers is the problem; it’s the distribution of fish meaning nobody knows what will show where and when.

Is the sky falling? I don't even remotely think so.

good post.
I think a lot of surfcasting is just that ...luck...
Going to a spot and blindly casting a plug over and over hoping a fish will bite can get you down or frustrated.
Too many variables to be able to call it a bad season from employing just that that method.

Back Beach · 10-25-2009, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slingah

Going to a spot and blindly casting a plug over and over hoping a fish will bite can get you down or frustrated.

You making fun of me?

BigFish · 10-25-2009, 08:26 AM

Most plug fishing is just that...."casting blindly"! Its the entire premise behind the technique! The fish are not always rolling on top and busting bait.......you mostly have to work for them, casting blindly, cycling through your plugs, altering your retrieve speed and finding what they want and how they want it!

JohnR · 10-25-2009, 08:24 AM

I think surfcasting is more fickle than boat fishing but less based on luck. In a boat, you move without thinking less about it. Your "spot" tends not to be a 20-150yd cone around some point or geographical fixture as in the surfangler but a drift of 500 yds along some particular location or rockpiles.

In the surf, if you are skilled, spend 4-5 of every 7 days of every week on the water at known productive big fish spots while using big fish methods you are going to do well regardless. Fish distribution will determine whether you do real good or just OK.

If you are fishing from the boat and apply that same high degree of skill and time, you are just going to have more quality numbers and more quality fish.

Me, I don't have that skill. But I get schooled by those people in those conditions often enough to tell you dats what it is