Mid Bay

Fishermen in the mid bay region started to shake off the weather on Sunday and ventured out. What they found was that if they were coming out of a major tidal creek or river they were hard pressed to drive through breaking fish on their way out. The small striped bass seem to be breaking everywhere and although most are sub-legal they are fun and there are enough larger ones to keep an angler trying for another. There are striped bass from 18" to about 24" mixed in with these groups and with the price of fuel what it is, many anglers are forgoing driving all over creation looking for better fishing. Small to medium-sized bluefish have been mixing it up with the striped bass raising havoc with the large schools of bay anchovies that seem to be just about everywhere.

Water clarity has been good in most areas since the rain, it seems that most of it soaked into the ground, which is where it should be. Many fishermen are trolling along the shipping channel edges and rock piles and finding a decent grade of striped bass along with a lot of hungry bluefish. Bucktails, spoons and swimming shads have all been working well at depths from just under the surface to just off the bottom. The anglers looking to chum for striped bass continue to find them at the Gooses along with bluefish. Spanish mackerel seem to have said goodbye till next year. We had a good run of them for a while there leaving some lasting memories. More than a few fishermen will recall how good it was and remember to stock up on small Drones and Clark spoons this winter while attending fishing shows.

Light tackle anglers who like to fish the shallow shoreline areas of the bay and tidal rivers will begin to enjoy their time as soon as the rain stops this week. Few fishermen enjoy fishing in the rain. The white perch fishing continues to be good in most tidal creeks and rivers as well as recreational crabbing. The crabs are fat and large; this is the best of times for crabbers.