I decided since the outgoing tide the past few weeks has been rough with no fish i wanted to get the incoming tide last night.. the tide was set to turn around 845 and off i went around 630 to get a little bit of fishing in.
got on the beach in ortley and set up just north of my favorite hole.. 2 guys were fishing 3 rods and did not catch anything while i was there.
i loaded up the hooks with clam and lobbed it on out there. no more than 5 minutes last the clicker goes off and the rod start batting down towards the water...
i grab the rod, tighten the drag and the circle hook does its job!! fish on baby fish on!!
after a short quick fight i get my first of 6 stripers and this one being 27" got measures up for my data and records and went right back into the drink.
as i baited that rod up the other rod decided to start dnacing as i threw the clam on the groun and ran over the striper had already hooked himself and game on.. once again i got this guy to the beach in short order, dehooked, and released another 26" bass...
now it was time to reload all the baits and get ready to cast. loaded up the clam again and away the bait went on the first one, second rod in the water, set them into the rod holder and take out the plugging stick.. got a black/purple needle fish with a black/purple teaser.
walk into the water about ankle high and make a cast. whipped it out there to hear zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..... the clicker is going nuts and the bait rod is down again..
damn i go running and throw the plugging rod into the bed of my truck and grab my new rod and reel i just bought and lock and load.. once again the circle hook did its thang and fish on.
i fought the fight for about 5 minutes and finally got it into the wash after several nice runs.. this time i put a nice 30" bass into the box and cracked another clam to get back out there.
i set the baits again and had a small lull in the action and took a little breather, smoked a cig, drank some gatorade, and just enjoyed the nice breeze for about 25 minutes when the one rod goes over again!!
pick it up and off he goes.. feisty little bugger but when i get it in thinking i had my limit it was 27 1/2" long so back in the water in went to live another day..
the tide starting to go slack and i knew it was time to make a move but i gave it another cast and as soon as the one rod hit the water it began to dance.. hooked up and brought in a nice 2lb kingfish to the beach.. in the box he went and back out.. i gave it another 30 minutes in this spot catching some skates, some sea robins and some sand sharks..
decided to make a move to my north and fish and found a small hole but didnt catch anything once i stopped and fished for about 45 minutes.. i figured on the incoming the jetty rocks would beholding bait and fish with a se wind and the outgoing tide so i went on the north side of ajetty in lavallette and gave it a toss out there.. got both rods in the water and before i could sit in my seat one started to take off..set the hook and once again and smaller 26" bass is on the beach, dehooked and back into the water.
the last bass of the night came about 10 minutes later and was 27" and was throw back into the water. now i was all depressed as it was like 10pm and i am completely out of clams and none of my friends on the beach have any more left either and all the shops are closed around the area so i guess it was time to go home.. was going to stick it out until the turn again at 240am but didnt have the time and didnt want to get a divorce so home i went!!
the fish are here and seem to be pretty damn hungry but the incoming seems to be a little better than the outgoing and the top of the tide is not to bad also..
i am going to say clams are still the best bet and i am not a high/low rig guy.. i used 4ft of 30-50lb flourocarbon with 6/0-8/0 gamakatsu octopus circle hooks with a fish finder rig..
i also try to use nothing less than 6 oz of weight as i dont really want it to move.
happy to say this has worked for me in the past and continued to work while others dont catch as many fish as i do in the same area.. i may be lucky or it may be the tackle i use but it work for sure..
heading out again friday night or saturday morning depending on the tides if anyone in central/south jersey wants to join me.. plenty of room in the truck and plenty of rods, reels, and terminal tackle to last you a life time..


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Just opened the house for the fall. I rent from Oct thru Dec in Seaside. Fished Wed thru Sat am. All plugs/rubber baits. 26 bass, most 25-27" but a few 28-30. Missed a lot of fish due to short hits.