Cape May Fishing Dec 1 till ?????

[CapeMayRay]

I haven't fished in over a week due to weather and poor water quality. (water just looks brown) Today there was a light wind with temps in the 40's and looked to be one of the nicer days of the week, so I decided to go out at the top of the tide.

Water temps were 48 to 49 degrees. Started out at the inlet and fished it for about a half an hour. Water there was nice and calm but you could only see fly down about 6 inches as it was very brown.

Shot to the back bay looking for clean water. Found a few areas where you could almost see fly down about 2 feet around a couple of creek mouths and point breaks. Conditions looked good and even saw one small amount of glass minnows but working them all hard for about 3 hours produced nothing.

Got the SKUNKAROO Never even got a hit the whole time. It isn't looking good. Most years I can get decent action on the fly with the water around 45 degrees, they would mostly be small but there would a good number of them and there would be some bait around. With colder weather, wind and possible showers later in the week. for me it might be like Dandy Don Meridith use to say on Monday Night Football (for you older football fans) "Turn Out The Lights The Party Is Over"

With the weather so nice, I might of run out to the forbidden zone, (past three miles) but was I by myself and it's not too smart to be running off shore by yourself this time of year in a small boat.

[fishsalmon]

CMR, Sorry your conditions have dropped so quickly. Fishing a little further south (Hampton VA area) is slow but still happening in the creeks. I was out last night - light action but not fly - and managed 4 at 16-18". Was wading and the wind was around 10mph into my right shoulder and I am just not that good. Keep hoping weather will improve enough to hit CBBT in the boat and try for bigger fish on the fly. The one to two inches of rain expected tonight may shut down the creeks here as well. Will let you know. Good luck and there is always next trip...

Blake

[CapeMayRay]

Good luck Fishsalmon. I think if you have some baitfish around you should be able to get some fish. The biggest problem we had here all fall was lack of baitfish in the back and along the beach front. There is a lot of bait offshore past three miles. (tons of sand eels) but nothing in close to attract the stripers. They are also getting them in the rips but that is tough to fish in a small open boat, especially with a fly rod.

Your tunnel area should be heating up this time of the year and I hope you can get in some fishing before the weather shuts you down for the season.

I hope I can get one or two more trips in, but last night we had heavy rains and wind, which will not do much to clean up the water clarity. Today it was nice and mild but the winds started picking up late today and they are expecting a good drop in temps. Fishing day are numbered as marina shuts down at the end of December.

[fishsalmon]

CMR,
Snuck out for 1 hour at 4pm this afternoon. Waders and light action. Wind was 10SW and gusty. Had white caps in the river sooo - long rod stayed in the truck again. Throwing 3/8 head with grub had four fish in the 60 minutes, not hot but I was happy. Fish went from 14-21in. Still here and still biting. Nice quick trip.

Missed the fly rod opportunity this morning though. Dense fog, very light winds until almost 10am. But of course I had to go to work. Bet they were rolling on the surface!

[CapeMayRay]

Glad to here some one was fishing.

Same old crap here.

Still waiting for the water to clean up. Thought I might be able to get a trip in this afternoon. No wind and beautiful weather. Was low tide and just starting and there was no place to fish in the back.

Took a walk along the beach to check out the surf and the water was still very brown and no signs of birds. It was so nice you could see all the way over to Delaware.

With all the wind and rain we had this weekend I was not expecting anything too good. Decided to cancel fishing due to the water clarity. Fishing in 6 inches of visibility is tough.

Got skunked without having to wet a line and waste the time.

[CapeMayRay]

Perfect day for fishing today. It was Calm and very cold. Only problem was that it was the calm before the storm. With another weekend forecast of high winds and snow with high accumulations I decided it was best to pull the boat today.

Boat ramp was busy as many others decided to do the same with the heavy weather coming our way.

Got the boat home an was ready to start pressure washing and found water in the hose was frozen. Had to take it in side and put it in a hot shower to melt the ice. Natures way of telling you it is time to call a end of the season.

Removed all the gear and got the boat pretty much cleaned up but around 4:30 the water I was using to clean with was freezing on the deck, making it slippery and impossible to clean, so I had to quit.

Will wait for a little warmer weather to finish up and maybe get some wax on before the winter cover goes on. I am sure we will get a few more nice days before it really gets cold.

It is the official end of the boat fishing season for me. (doesn't mean I won't try a land trip, if conditions warrant it.) Now I am all set to shovel snow and enjoy the Christmas season.