February 5, 20121 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mike Grimes and George Moore stopped by the shop this afternoon after they plugged the beach mid-island. They mentioned that there were some birds picking but no Stripers were found under them. Mike said that it seems like they are beginning to set up for the Brant Beach Beach Replenishment so soon access may be restricted in those areas.

Enjoy Super Bowl Sunday!

~ Fish Head Greg

Received: Feb 5, 2012 8:54 AM Subject: Super Bowl Weekend Fishing Report

Lets start this report by wishing our New York Giants good luck today with hopes of them bringing home a 4th NFL championship!

February is typically a slow month in the state of New Jersey for fishing and I like to call it the "dead of winter!" Luckily there are still two decent fisheries currently going on for us. Yesterday morning (Saturday) I decided to give the jetties of Deal and Asbury Park I try since I still heard reports of striped bass being caught on plugs and soft plastics. I fished from 6:30 am to 9:30 am. The bad news is that myself along with 6 other surf fisherman I saw didn't get a bite. The good news is that I spoke with some of guys fishing and they told me that fish are STILL being caught. The last fish one of them caught was last Wednesday (Feb 1st) and it was an 18-lb bass with multiple shorts on plugs. Needless to say the fishing is TOTALLY hit or miss. There is no exact pattern but what I found is late afternoon/dusk is the best time, high tide is the best tide, and white is the best color for the artificial lures being used.

On the party boat scene right now we are having a very strong inshore winter fishery for mackerel and ling with small numbers of cod, hake, and blackfish mixed in. The last reports I read is that the mackerel are within 10-12 miles to shore and the party boats targeting them are doing great! The same holds true for the ling. Multiple party boats are fishing different areas of the Mud Hole (10-15 miles from North Jersey's shore generally) and fisherman are scoring catches of 20-60 per trip. If you decide to try any of these fisheries, checking the weather is the single most important factor. Pick a day when seas are calm, winds are predicted at 5-10 knots, and temps are mild... otherwise you may be miserable out there!

That's it for now, I hope I helped out of couple of you who may be experiencing any winter doldrums!


Fisherman's Headquarters -
280 West 9th Street
Ship Bottom, NJ 08008-4613
Phone: 609.494.5739
Fax: 609.494.9271
Toll Free: 877.984.5400
http://www.fishermansheadquarters.com/

~ Jason W.