Cape May Fishing Report - Page 3

brad regan 01 · 05-14-2008, 11:42 PM

good report!! glad to see someone is catching stripers

CapeMayRay · 05-15-2008, 09:41 AM

It has been the toughest spring I have seen and everyone has had to work super hard for what few fish they could find. It felt good to see hot action and fish spread out over a large area. The lack of a decent amount of bait fish has me concerned. Fish need food to hang around. The little guys can live on shrimp and small crabs but the bigger ones if they come in will not hang around long.

Got a fly club meeting tonight so will not be out again till Friday and Saturday. Will see if it is just a flash in the pan!

CapeMayRay · 05-16-2008, 10:40 PM

My charter never showed up today. He was watching the weather from up in Philly and just assumed the trip was going to be off. I tried calling him prior to the trip but could not get him.

5:00 pm it was sunny in Cape May with a southeast wind. With no charter I tried to get someone to go out, but with short notice it was me, myself and I.

Left the dock at 5:00 pm. As I passed the inlet to go into the back bay it was getting pretty foggy from the cold water meeting the warm air.

Found 54.4 water in the back flats and the sod banks getting covered up pretty good with us getting closer to the full moon. Caught a quick small bass on a small bunker fly on 8 wt intermediate line.

With the wind hitting that shore pretty good moved to the other side where I could get out of the wind. Here I used a 9wt sinking line as the water was deeper. When I got to the other side a squall line came through. It rained heavy for awhile but then stopped. Worked for about and hour getting two more stripers up to 23 inches.

One had a littoral fish tag in it, which I will send in and see where it was tagged.

Wind shifted from the west and kicked up pretty good so I shot back to the side where I started working sod banks and creeks but the tide had completely covered the sod banks and it looked like water all the way to the parkway. In the next hour I had only one hit and one more small bass.

Finally the tide changed and there was some outflow from the creek I was working. The wind had picked up pretty good but I was able to throw my anchor out and sit at the mouth of this creek and it was like shooting fish in a barrel.

First time this year that I saw fish swirling, some bait jumping along with the fish chasing the bait. Switched back to the 8 wt and a spearing fly and got 7 more stripers 19 to 21 inches. Water on the outflow was 56.2

With it dark, the wind honking pretty good and it drizzling I knocked off at 8:30 I think I could of gotten more bass, but I had enough fun.

CapeMayRay · 05-17-2008, 11:26 PM

This afternoons one person fly charter was a bit tough. Left the dock at 4:00 pm. and found the water very dirty from the wind that was blowing all day. Tried the inlet and the close to the full moon tides the water was very dirty and 54.6 degrees.

Worked the beach front to get in out of the wind and found the water just as cold but the quality was better, but still no hits.

Shot into the back bay where I fished last night and found the water dirty and cold. 55.4 and the wind kicked up still more. Getting no hits we moved to the leeward shore to get out of the wind.

Wind was now honking 20 to 25 mph and we ran through 2 foot white caps getting to the other side. Found the water much cleaner and 59 to 63.1 Charter decided to use a plug and ended up with 4 stripers to 23 inches in less than idea conditions.

Picture makes it look a lot nicer than it really was. The wind was really blowing the boat all over the place an we were hugging the sod bank as close as we could to stay out of the wind.

We didn't hang around and wait for the tide to change for the out-flow of the creeks as he had dinner reservations. We got a few fish but the wind took a lot of the fun out of the night and we took a bit of spray on the way back to the dock. Didn't see any other crazy people out fishing the back in that wind.

CapeMayRay · 05-20-2008, 03:47 PM

So much for the light rain and drizzle forecast with rain and wind in the afternoon. Left the dock with one person fly charter at 7:30 am. Light drizzle and hardly any wind.

Decided to work the back bay with the incoming tide. Water was 54.6 to 55.4 and nice an clean. Just as we started to fish the rain started coming down heavy and by an hour into the trip it was pouring and 20 mph plus winds.

We picked two bass and a blue while the tide was still coming in and with the waves smacking over the sod banks we were forced to find shelter in a creek to get away from the wind.

Picked up three more bass and another blue here Water here on the outgoing was only 56.2 and it was cold, raw and wet with the rain coming down side ways. You could see vapor and I had a hard time tying on flies as my hand were numb. Fish actually felt warm when you were unhooking them.

[
Intermediate line with a black bucktail deceiver type fly worked best. I think we did pretty good under the tough conditions. We came in like two drowned rats. We dried off and had a nice hot lunch, which made us feel a lot better.

After coming out of lunch there was no rain and half the wind.

Dave Sikorski · 05-20-2008, 08:56 PM

You're a better man than I.

My Dad was driving me nuts today to go fishing and I just couldn't muster the desire. We had an East wind all day and plenty of rain. Not exactly fishing weather for me!

Pretty work Ray.

-D

CapeMayRay · 05-20-2008, 10:04 PM

Dave, the weather is getting old. Can't remember the last time I had a nice calm day for fishing. It has been cold too. Been taking three sweat shirts and foul weather gear for every trip and having to work around the wind. No shorts or short sleeve shirts yet and it is almost Memorial Day. Even had the heat on at the house today. Were is this global warming when you need it.

CapeMayRay · 05-23-2008, 12:43 AM

They have been a good number of keeper stripers caught in the surf this week and was our typical windy weather. Decided to give it a last minute try. Tried Peter and another friend and ended up going by myself.

Left the dock at 7:30 pm with a still gusty north west wind blowing. The only place to hide from the wind was the inlet or the beach front.

Started on the beach front and found 56.6 water temp and as the sun set it looked more like a fall sunset and was pretty cold. Caught 2 sea herring and a 2 small stripers before dark on yellow/white jiggie on 300 sinking.

No one else was out fishing After dark I decided to work inside the inlet where I could control the boat with the incoming tide pushing me in and the west wind blowing me out. Water here was 51.1 and I had the whole place to myself. Changed to a chart/white deceiver and caught another small bass and a blue.

Decided to try a big fly. Switched to a 450 sinking line and put on a 7 inch big fly that Brad Buzzi gave me at the SJCFAme tying event. It was just like the ones he showed us how to make.

Don't think it was just the fly, but I must of hit the right spot at the right time cause I nailed 4 keeper stripers in a row. First was a fat 32 incher. It hit on the third strip away from the rocks and I knew I had a good fish. Had quite a time getting it into the net with the wind and tide. Actually ended up outside the inlet when I finally netted it.

The next one was a 31, the third a 29 and the last a skinny 33. Again, netting was the hard part with the current and wind. Released the others, even though I have a bonus tag. One is more than enough meat for me. Probably won't keep another for a while as I usually release them all. Quit around 10:15 when the tide was almost high and slowing up.

Was my best night of the year size wise. Just last night I was moaning that I should of had some keepers by now.

Here is the fly that was working.

brad regan 01 · 05-23-2008, 07:18 AM

awesome job ray. keep the reports coming!

Dave Sikorski · 05-23-2008, 07:26 AM

Pretty work Ray. Congrats on the bigguns.

Purple is my favorite striper fly color. Great looking fly IMO and I think the fish agreed!

-D

05-15-2008, 09:41 AM	#22
CapeMayRay Crab mustard is good Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Cape May, New Jersey Posts: 908 Credits: 1,464.7 Occupation: Charter Capt.	It has been the toughest spring I have seen and everyone has had to work super hard for what few fish they could find. It felt good to see hot action and fish spread out over a large area. The lack of a decent amount of bait fish has me concerned. Fish need food to hang around. The little guys can live on shrimp and small crabs but the bigger ones if they come in will not hang around long. Got a fly club meeting tonight so will not be out again till Friday and Saturday. Will see if it is just a flash in the pan! __________________ Tide Runner Fly and Light Tackle Charters Cape May, New Jersey 609 884 6440 Tiderun1@aol.com Past President 2005 & 2006 South Jersey Coastal Fly Anglers

05-16-2008, 10:40 PM	#23
CapeMayRay Crab mustard is good Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Cape May, New Jersey Posts: 908 Credits: 1,464.7 Occupation: Charter Capt.	My charter never showed up today. He was watching the weather from up in Philly and just assumed the trip was going to be off. I tried calling him prior to the trip but could not get him. 5:00 pm it was sunny in Cape May with a southeast wind. With no charter I tried to get someone to go out, but with short notice it was me, myself and I. Left the dock at 5:00 pm. As I passed the inlet to go into the back bay it was getting pretty foggy from the cold water meeting the warm air. Found 54.4 water in the back flats and the sod banks getting covered up pretty good with us getting closer to the full moon. Caught a quick small bass on a small bunker fly on 8 wt intermediate line. With the wind hitting that shore pretty good moved to the other side where I could get out of the wind. Here I used a 9wt sinking line as the water was deeper. When I got to the other side a squall line came through. It rained heavy for awhile but then stopped. Worked for about and hour getting two more stripers up to 23 inches. One had a littoral fish tag in it, which I will send in and see where it was tagged. Wind shifted from the west and kicked up pretty good so I shot back to the side where I started working sod banks and creeks but the tide had completely covered the sod banks and it looked like water all the way to the parkway. In the next hour I had only one hit and one more small bass. Finally the tide changed and there was some outflow from the creek I was working. The wind had picked up pretty good but I was able to throw my anchor out and sit at the mouth of this creek and it was like shooting fish in a barrel. First time this year that I saw fish swirling, some bait jumping along with the fish chasing the bait. Switched back to the 8 wt and a spearing fly and got 7 more stripers 19 to 21 inches. Water on the outflow was 56.2 With it dark, the wind honking pretty good and it drizzling I knocked off at 8:30 I think I could of gotten more bass, but I had enough fun. __________________ Tide Runner Fly and Light Tackle Charters Cape May, New Jersey 609 884 6440 Tiderun1@aol.com Past President 2005 & 2006 South Jersey Coastal Fly Anglers Last edited by CapeMayRay; 05-16-2008 at 10:41 PM.

05-17-2008, 11:26 PM	#24
CapeMayRay Crab mustard is good Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Cape May, New Jersey Posts: 908 Credits: 1,464.7 Occupation: Charter Capt.	This afternoons one person fly charter was a bit tough. Left the dock at 4:00 pm. and found the water very dirty from the wind that was blowing all day. Tried the inlet and the close to the full moon tides the water was very dirty and 54.6 degrees. Worked the beach front to get in out of the wind and found the water just as cold but the quality was better, but still no hits. Shot into the back bay where I fished last night and found the water dirty and cold. 55.4 and the wind kicked up still more. Getting no hits we moved to the leeward shore to get out of the wind. Wind was now honking 20 to 25 mph and we ran through 2 foot white caps getting to the other side. Found the water much cleaner and 59 to 63.1 Charter decided to use a plug and ended up with 4 stripers to 23 inches in less than idea conditions. Picture makes it look a lot nicer than it really was. The wind was really blowing the boat all over the place an we were hugging the sod bank as close as we could to stay out of the wind. We didn't hang around and wait for the tide to change for the out-flow of the creeks as he had dinner reservations. We got a few fish but the wind took a lot of the fun out of the night and we took a bit of spray on the way back to the dock. Didn't see any other crazy people out fishing the back in that wind. __________________ Tide Runner Fly and Light Tackle Charters Cape May, New Jersey 609 884 6440 Tiderun1@aol.com Past President 2005 & 2006 South Jersey Coastal Fly Anglers

05-20-2008, 03:47 PM	#25
CapeMayRay Crab mustard is good Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Cape May, New Jersey Posts: 908 Credits: 1,464.7 Occupation: Charter Capt.	So much for the light rain and drizzle forecast with rain and wind in the afternoon. Left the dock with one person fly charter at 7:30 am. Light drizzle and hardly any wind. Decided to work the back bay with the incoming tide. Water was 54.6 to 55.4 and nice an clean. Just as we started to fish the rain started coming down heavy and by an hour into the trip it was pouring and 20 mph plus winds. We picked two bass and a blue while the tide was still coming in and with the waves smacking over the sod banks we were forced to find shelter in a creek to get away from the wind. Picked up three more bass and another blue here Water here on the outgoing was only 56.2 and it was cold, raw and wet with the rain coming down side ways. You could see vapor and I had a hard time tying on flies as my hand were numb. Fish actually felt warm when you were unhooking them. [ Intermediate line with a black bucktail deceiver type fly worked best. I think we did pretty good under the tough conditions. We came in like two drowned rats. We dried off and had a nice hot lunch, which made us feel a lot better. After coming out of lunch there was no rain and half the wind. __________________ Tide Runner Fly and Light Tackle Charters Cape May, New Jersey 609 884 6440 Tiderun1@aol.com Past President 2005 & 2006 South Jersey Coastal Fly Anglers

05-20-2008, 08:56 PM	#26
Dave Sikorski Got Carpal Tunnel? Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: MD Posts: 3,589 Credits: 5,916.8 Boat: Bankes Goliath 21' Home Port: Any place, any time. Best Catch: The next one Occupation: Builder/Realtor	You're a better man than I. My Dad was driving me nuts today to go fishing and I just couldn't muster the desire. We had an East wind all day and plenty of rain. Not exactly fishing weather for me! Pretty work Ray. -D __________________ .....

05-20-2008, 10:04 PM	#27
CapeMayRay Crab mustard is good Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Cape May, New Jersey Posts: 908 Credits: 1,464.7 Occupation: Charter Capt.	Dave, the weather is getting old. Can't remember the last time I had a nice calm day for fishing. It has been cold too. Been taking three sweat shirts and foul weather gear for every trip and having to work around the wind. No shorts or short sleeve shirts yet and it is almost Memorial Day. Even had the heat on at the house today. Were is this global warming when you need it. __________________ Tide Runner Fly and Light Tackle Charters Cape May, New Jersey 609 884 6440 Tiderun1@aol.com Past President 2005 & 2006 South Jersey Coastal Fly Anglers

05-23-2008, 12:43 AM	#28
CapeMayRay Crab mustard is good Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Cape May, New Jersey Posts: 908 Credits: 1,464.7 Occupation: Charter Capt.	They have been a good number of keeper stripers caught in the surf this week and was our typical windy weather. Decided to give it a last minute try. Tried Peter and another friend and ended up going by myself. Left the dock at 7:30 pm with a still gusty north west wind blowing. The only place to hide from the wind was the inlet or the beach front. Started on the beach front and found 56.6 water temp and as the sun set it looked more like a fall sunset and was pretty cold. Caught 2 sea herring and a 2 small stripers before dark on yellow/white jiggie on 300 sinking. No one else was out fishing After dark I decided to work inside the inlet where I could control the boat with the incoming tide pushing me in and the west wind blowing me out. Water here was 51.1 and I had the whole place to myself. Changed to a chart/white deceiver and caught another small bass and a blue. Decided to try a big fly. Switched to a 450 sinking line and put on a 7 inch big fly that Brad Buzzi gave me at the SJCFAme tying event. It was just like the ones he showed us how to make. Don't think it was just the fly, but I must of hit the right spot at the right time cause I nailed 4 keeper stripers in a row. First was a fat 32 incher. It hit on the third strip away from the rocks and I knew I had a good fish. Had quite a time getting it into the net with the wind and tide. Actually ended up outside the inlet when I finally netted it. The next one was a 31, the third a 29 and the last a skinny 33. Again, netting was the hard part with the current and wind. Released the others, even though I have a bonus tag. One is more than enough meat for me. Probably won't keep another for a while as I usually release them all. Quit around 10:15 when the tide was almost high and slowing up. Was my best night of the year size wise. Just last night I was moaning that I should of had some keepers by now. Here is the fly that was working. __________________ Tide Runner Fly and Light Tackle Charters Cape May, New Jersey 609 884 6440 Tiderun1@aol.com Past President 2005 & 2006 South Jersey Coastal Fly Anglers

05-23-2008, 07:26 AM	#30
Dave Sikorski Got Carpal Tunnel? Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: MD Posts: 3,589 Credits: 5,916.8 Boat: Bankes Goliath 21' Home Port: Any place, any time. Best Catch: The next one Occupation: Builder/Realtor	Pretty work Ray. Congrats on the bigguns. Purple is my favorite striper fly color. Great looking fly IMO and I think the fish agreed! -D __________________ .....

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