Nov.
4: Morning
I fished with friend Joe
McQuillan Tuesday (11/4)
morning on
my boat on the backside of Jones Inlet. We hot the Big M Bridge at 6 a.m. for no action
and then got a report on radio from Ed "Mudman" of Point Lookout. Seems there
were bass breaking and rolling on surface all over the back of the inlet and all the fish
were keepers in the 8 to 15 pound class, or 28 to 35 inches. I caught two keepers and kept
one of them while Joe raised a few but could not hook up. The fish were not that
aggressive and more or less "rolling" on bait or plugs and all they wanted were
the Knucklehead lures. I did manage a 30 incher on an A Salt Bomber, but Ed caught five
fish all over 34 inches, I caught a couple more and another angler did catch one or
two...only on Knuckleheads. believe me, we tried everything form Creek Chub poppers, to
Super Strike, to metal lips, tins, bucktails..they would not eat anything except for
Knuckleheads!
Nov.
4: Afternoon
I fished Tuesday afternoon (11/4) with Bill Evans of WABC TV-7
weatherman and Capt. Henry Feeney. We took Capt. Henry’s new 35 footer to the Breezy
Point Jetty looking to jig some bass and blues for Bill Evans to show on his morning
weather reports Friday November 14. We were not disappointed as the whole area behind
Breezy Point was on fire with bluefish 2 to 4 pounds and a few small bass and al on the
diamond jigs. We then ventured to the tip of the Breezy Point jetty and mind you, it was
blowing east at 15 to 23 knots and it was nasty and the fish were everywhere an as far as
you could see. Henry’s new boat ate up the ocean like a beast and you would never
have know it was that rough. We caught plenty of action and it will be shown as I join
Bill Evans live on Friday morning form Sheepshead Bay for his morning broadcast. Come on
down and join us as we discuss the weather, show some great clips of the fishing on
Channel 7 WABC and you can meet Bill Evans and myself at the same time. We will be
at the Ocean Eagle/Sea Queen slips at Pier 5 in Sheepshead Bay from 5 to 7 a.m. on Friday
morning November 14 rain or shine.
Nov.
6:
I fished Thursday (11/6)
morning looking for the action was had on Tuesday. It was not there and by 6:45 a.m. I was
ready to bail and go out the inlet and head west because there were e a few birds and
schoolie bass or blues at Deb’s Inlet. Just as I was ready to go, a few birds popped
up on the Sunset Beach area of Jones Inlet, the east side between the Construction Dock
and the Radio Sack. I cast Knucklehead poppers and scored with bass immediately. I called
in friend Ed Haran of Point Lookout and he too was sin on the action. It was al stripers
ranging from 24 inches o 15 pounds and mostly all keepers. This lasted till 10 a.m. as
they moved their way in and around Jones Inlet from the Radio Shack, to the tip of the
jetty, over to the west bar and back again. Non-stop insane stupendous, dream about action.
It slowed at 10 a.m. and rebounded at
10:30 a.m. and then slowed again at 11:15 or so. I then called Joey on the Jean Marie who
was trolling in 50 foot of water half way to the Jones Needle and was actually closer to
Jones Inlet being east a mile or so. I went
to the deep water and still only staffed by my light plugging rod, proceeded to die battle
with giant blues into the teens and had trouble getting them off the bottom with the light
stick. This went on for hours as the rains came, the winds stayed calm at NE 10 and the
darker it got the better the fishing.
The fish moved into shallower water after I lost the
readings and I found them again in 25 foot of water and back at the inlet and all over the
place using poppers, diamond jigs and bucktails to score numerous bass and blues on very
cast! You could not have dreamed this any better unless they were all over 30 pounds! I
caught fish until 4:16 p.m. when the shut off. I am convinced through that with still 45
minutes of light left, if I went east to the readings I could have found action till dark.
It was fantastic to say the least! That is correct...hours and hours on nearly non
stop fishing action on poppers, jigs, bucktails, diamond jigs and small 1-ounce metal
lipped swimmers on bass from 20 inches to 36 inches and bluefish 2 to 12 pounds in 15 to
53 foot of water in the inlet and east of the inlet half way between Jones and the JB
Needle. I had easily 15 keeper size bass for the day and all on light tackle.
Nov.
7: Morning
I fished Friday (11/7) with Lance King of the British shark
team on the party boat Flamingo III of Gerritsen Beach Brooklyn. We both hammered and
slayed bass and bluefish as did the other dozen anglers at the rails on diamond jigs in
calm seas and NW 10 to 15 knot winds in a sunny beautiful fall day. Birds were everywhere
as the fall run turned on with a flick of a switch today. Birds from Rockaway to Long
Beach and we fished them all. I finished with too many blues to 12 pounds to count and
what would have been the pool winning fish, an 18-1/2 pound, 36 inch striper. I had
several bass also close to 28 inches. It was insane fishing at it’s best with
numerous larger bass jigged and lost. Lance had never been able to do this kind of fishing
and he was thrilled and overwhelmed by it as well. NY Times Reporter Denny Lee was also
with us and got his first taste of this fall frenzied pace of action!
Nov.
7: Night
I fished Friday (11/7) night with Lance King of the British shark
team on the party boat Island princess of Captree for night bass as we pulled a
doubleheader today. Winds were NW 15 and gusty with the hard winds predicted for tomorrow
(Saturday) and temps dropping fast. The action was very slow with shad the only willing
combatants as we tolled small plastics at the bridges abutments. We did see a flurry of
activity by bass around 10 p.m. as they started to chase shad to the surface while the
eels only caught one keeper. I did have a
shot twice at BIG bass as they took my live shad and raced around the boat. I was foiled
both times by fishermen (spectators)at the rail who was sleeping on their feet and did not
move their lines out of the way in time. Folks, when someone is fighting a fish and the
mate and captains are yelling lines up DO NOT drop your rod tip into the darkness. We
can’t see your line!!!! Lines up means take your lines out of the water or point your
lines…are you ready to get this…UP!!! Needless to say I was not a happy
camper and was pretty upset and had to sleep with that in my head! If you fish party boats
you HAVE to listen to what the captains and mates tell you to do! They know more than you
do, this is what they do for a living!
Nov. 15:
I got several calls this evening (11/15) at 7:30 saying the birds and bass to 44
inches were over a mile's worth of ocean shad being hammered by bass. All this was bass
and in tight to the beach in 14 to 20 foot of water and those in the surf on foot were
catching as well. This was all off Point Lookout!
Nov. 16:
I fished on Sunday
(11/16) from 7:30 to 4 p.m. with Mike Martino and his brother Chris. We found birds right
off the bat...no fish. Searched hi and low...no fish...we finally hit the mother lode at
Deb's Inlet, along with dozens of other boats, only to find breaking and rolling bass all
over the surface, birds everywhere diving and all signs to a "dream about" day
only to catch maybe a mix of small bass and big blues to the tune of about a dozen or 18
fish...combined...for the three of us. Not good! Not as good as it should have been for
the amount of bait in the area, not as good as it should have been for what it
looked like, not as good as it should have been for the way the conditions played out and
everything pointed to a banner day...it was not to be.
Nov.
17:
I fished Monday (11/17)
from 6 a.m. to noon and went from Jones Inlet, all the way to the Needle, no bait and no
birds and no fish. Worked the West Bar off Lido Beach, threw plugs and metal lips at the
tips of several jetties through Long Beach, and worked my way all the way to Deb's Inlet
as well. I found maybe a half dozen 3-pound bass for my efforts in a mini blitz which
looked like yesterday...with birds and bass rolling on the surface feeding on tiny, tiny
bait and the fish did not want to cooperate at all!
Nov. 22: Morning
I fished Saturday
(11/22) morning with Mike Martino. Jones Inlet was alive with fish and birds. We fished
till about 9:30 and it was actually over before then, around 8:30. We started at 6:15 a.m.
in calm and mild condition with the end of the incoming and the turn around. We bailed
fish and most were keepers. Mike finished with a pair of 8 to 10 pound chopper blues; I
finished with eight keeper bass, largest 15 to 20 pounds, a few gorilla blues and some
shorts. One-ounce white bucktails were the ticket with the yellow/white pork rind strip,
as the fish did not want the rubber shads nearly as much as they wanted bucktails as they
are feeding on peanut bunker. Although the bass stomach contents consisted of four eels,
some peanut bunker and two baby weakfish! Winds: NE5, inlet flat...calm.
Nov.
22: Night
I fished Saturday night
(11/22) with Bob Wilson on my boat as we drifted eels in Jones Inlet. We had reports of a
very good night on Friday in the inlet. We started around 6:45 p.m. and fished till 11
p.m. It was a very slow night with only two fish to our credit, Bob catching them both.
They were 32 inches and the other 20+ pounds. The stomach of the big fish had four eels,
two indistinguishable fish and whole baby blackfish about 8 inches. The two fish were
caught between 9:50 and 10:20 p.m. Other boats around us seemed to have one or two fish
and the radios were quiet. Did not seem like a very good night and nowhere near as good as
it was reported to have been on Friday (11/21). Most of the fish this night were caught on
the "red" side of the inlet. Winds: S5 going NE5, inlet flat...calm.
Nov.
23
I fished Sunday (11/23)
morning with Joe McQuillan. We started at 6:15 a.m. and were immediately into fish on the
east side of the Jones Inlet West End 2 jetty. Using bucktails Joe caught a schoolie or
two before it was getting too rough (5 tom 6 footers) to get inside the pocket. We
went to the west side of the jetty and found the birds. I caught a bass of 20 pounds and a
few other keepers while Joe caught a few bass close to keepers and one that probably was.
We had some good blues in there as well. The bite continued to die, and then pick up again
as the amount of boats in the inlet was insane. I will be commenting on this on the
message boards at www.thefishingline.org later today. We then went to 35 foot
of water and jigged a few bass and blues. Out here if we did not mark fish...we did not
catch. We had to see them to catch them in the late a.m. with the sun high and many, many
boats. It was a good day that could have been better or could have been much worse.
Totals...20 fish caught. Winds:
E 10 to 12...Seas sloppy, 2 to 3 or 4 foot swells with a slight chop. Mucho boat traffic
and boat chop as well
Nov.
24:
I fished Monday (11/24)
morning with Mike Martino. We started at 6:15 a.m. or so and were immediately into fish
using bucktails and diamond jigs or rubber shads. Winds of SE 10 to 15 and building made
the inlet and bars very sloppy, especially around the turn to the outgoing and once the
tide ran hard most came inside to fish. We caught bass, no blues at all today, from 18
inches to 20 pounds. It was very good because while the amount to birds was not as great
as the weekend, the amount of boats was way less and therefore we caught fish better. Once
the inlet was too sloppy, I hit the construction dock and found fish to 18 pounds right
away on the white bucktail and yellow/white trailers. Then the birds started on the
backside of the construction dock and towards the Coast Guard Station and to the
Meadowbrook Bridge. I caught another fish of close to 20 pounds using rubber shads with my
best color a dark side and purple back shad. A very good day over all and numbers of fish
too high to count. We were done by 11 a.m. An excellent day, but average size could have
been better.
Nov.
25: Winds NW 25 knots.
I fished Tuesday (11/25)
morning and got to the boat around 6:15 a.m. I was back at the dock at 7 a.m. soaked from
the NW winds at 25 knots blowing the spraying ocean all over the place. I knew the winds
would come on when the sun came up and they sure did! It was very nasty this morning...a
good day to get some work done at the office.
Nov.
26:
Today I Witnessed...Some of the most horrific.
embarrassing, disgusting, mind-boggling, rude, stupid, hideous and dangerous boatsmanship
I have ever seen on the water in all my life today (11/26). I was out trying to film a TV
show this morning in Jones Inlet under the birds and I could not belive the behavior of
vast majority...over 60% of the boats out there. Running full gun to get to the
birds....only 100 foot away, bumping off of other boats...and one guy almost ran on to the
jetty rocks in what was already a sloppy and bouncy inlet.
Many of them could see two camermen with 25 pound cameras on their shoulders...working
with me...on the other camera boat just 15 to 20 feet away from me...and still they ran
full bore by us, stopped on us, threw lures and jigs over us...I am truly embrarrsed to be
a recreational fishermen today. The highlight was the private boat...an old 25 or 27 foot
Proline with a 9 foot beam called Mr. ABC from Oceanside I believe. I received many
phone calls about this individual's very poor behavior on the water...for many years now!
one call I received named him as Robert Sacher of Oceanside. I was also informed he
allegedly takes people out for charter...illegally...and we have reported him to the Coast
Guard in Jones Beach and the DEC Law Enforcement as well.
My camera boat was ONLY 15 feet away from me, side by
side...starboard to port...when Mr. ABC wanted to cut in between us!!
I started yelling at them, and they stopped just off my
port stern...close enough to just about touch...when I then made my cast to my port bow
thinking they were going to back up...only to see him take off and actually cut between us
catching my line under his swim platform!! Obviously what I was yelling at this point
cannot be broadcast...but the event will. We captured the entire event on film!!
I am going to show the entire incident, the boat, it's name and the faces of the three men
all on the TV show next season and will embarrass them as boaters like this should
be...and they should NOT be allowed on the water. At one point this afternoon I saw them
trolling...and jigging...at the same time!... right through the birds others were trying
to fish under!
Now I do NOT expect the ocean to stop kicking or boaters and fishermen to stop doing what
they are doing just because we are filming...as I have filmed in and among many of our
area's fishermen over the last decade...with no problems in the past at all...but
today...but to not even slow down or show any common decency or basic courtesy or any
common sense at all was absolutely flabergasting!! I saw much of the same disappointnment this afternoon on my return trip
outside the inlet. What should have been a banner day for all....turned into a very, major
disappointing fishing day for al but a few. Again...I am ashamed of my fellow recreational
anglers that I saw today!
Nov. 27: Thanksgiving
I fished with my camera crew Thanksgiving morning looking to finish the show wee
started the day or two before. Engine had a problem starting, when it did it was running
rough and struggling. When the it was light enough to see....we found I had a severe fuel
leak. We hit Scotty's where we received help and when we removed the engine cowl, we found
a line tie had allowed the main fuel line to drop below the lip of the valve and gas
was gushing all over the engine. We removed the air intake box and I used a real life
steel hose clamp to resolve the situatiojn. Needles ot say it was a tough day as the fish
never showed anyway as we were done by 10 a.m.
Nov.
28:
I fished today (11/28)
outside Jones inlet on the boat and found the birds right away and used Gummy Shads and
diamond jigs to catch as many bass as I could muster, all 18 to 24 inches, for a half hour
before the fleet found me. At least today they were well behaved and we all caught fish
for another half hour before they broke up. I then went east and found another patch of
birds for a half hour or so with fish al the same size. It was over by 9 a.m. I spent the
next hour looking for birds and/or baits on the fish finder. Nothing doing as I ran east
of the Jones Beach Theater. I worked my way back to the inlet and just as I did. It
wasn’t more than 5 minutes later that the heavy fog descended upon the Island and we
were all racing it to the dock. Visibility dropped to just a few hundred yards in some
areas, a few hundred feet
Dec.
4:
I fished today (12/4) from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and
did not see any signs of life outside of Jones inlet. While the trollers were having a
very good day on shad rigs and white spoons, the bucktailers and light tackle jiggers had
action at first light and then nothing the rest of the day in winds that started at W at
17 and did nothing but increase all day to the 3 p.m. W/SW at 20 to 25.
Dec. 9
I fished today (12/9) for a few hours and found no signs of life, no birds, no
bait readings...dead from Jones to the Rockaways and back again! I heard of one 31 inch
bass caught at Jones on a belly and I witnessed three fish of 28 to 32 inches caught at
Deb.'s on live herring. That's it, very quiet on the water and the radio was very quiet as
well as very few anglers were out on a beautiful day. I took the boat out of the water at
day's end.
**********************************.
