Busted Again

[hausfire]

My son and I are havin a tough go at it. We recently started a new hobby of surf fishing primarily pluggin. we are havin fun together but he is losin interest because we are striking out. Have been to SH and RB. I am trying to avoid using bait ,but all else is failing. should I just keep trying.or switch to bait.

[procastinator]

Take your son to the Sandy Hook side of the Highlands bridge at night, and, throw some bombers, shads, and poppers during outgoing and you will connect. Or, head out to the Hook and soak a few clams. :)

[wahooo]

he is right i caught bass there this weekend from a boat only 50 yards from the beach (i did use eels so there goes the bait thing) as a boater i have caught more fish with bait and chum ,i guess i dont like fishing only catching good luck the tip of the hook has been produceing for the last coulpel of weeks at dusk and dawn

[fishypete]

Take your son to the Sandy Hook side of the Highlands bridge at night, and, throw some bombers, shads, and poppers during outgoing and you will connect. Or, head out to the Hook and soak a few clams. :)

Key word is outgoing!!

[fishhard]

My son and I are havin a tough go at it. We recently started a new hobby of surf fishing primarily pluggin. we are havin fun together but he is losin interest because we are striking out. Have been to SH and RB. I am trying to avoid using bait ,but all else is failing. should I just keep trying.or switch to bait.

Hausfire,

first off welcome to the barn.


I’m not going to tell you to plug or toss bait that all depends on the situation,but the number one thing to always remember is you have to put in your time. It sounds like you just started this hobby and it may take a season or two to learn some of the tools of the trade. Some people go out their first time a score a keeper bass, some people have been at it for years and very little to show for it. in 2.5 years have beached blue fish up to 14 lbs however I have never had a keeper bass off the beach as 24'' is my personal best from the beach but I spend 85% of my time on my boat, But it was those 24'' fish that make me keep coming back to the sand. my advice is not to spend the farm on equipment until you know you and your son will continue fishing from the sand, keep trying and I promises the first time your son hooks up with a bass or a heavy BF he will be dreaming of the next time he can hit the beach. There are some experts on this site that are always willing to help you out so just ask your questions and put together your methods from all the different methods people will give you. That’s what makes this sport so much fun. Also don’t forget to watch others on the beach and also in most cases its ok to ask them questions. Good luck and I hope you can get hooked up this season.

[Simple]

My son and I are havin a tough go at it. We recently started a new hobby of surf fishing primarily pluggin. we are havin fun together but he is losin interest because we are striking out. Have been to SH and RB. I am trying to avoid using bait ,but all else is failing. should I just keep trying.or switch to bait.

Plugging is really tough. You need to hunt down the fish and take your lumps. How about soaking a clam or bunker and plugging near by the bait stick. To show you how tough it is look at the NJangler web page. There is a guy who reports from Sandy Hook nearly every day and strikes out most of them.
The truth is dedication and perseverance is what makes good fisherman. Weekend fisherman are left reading reports and trying to put together a catch when they can get out. Which is often difficult. Try taking the edge off by maybe just going down to the beach for a look and study the beach. Talk about bait, its movement and wind directions which will put them in reach. Figure that out and avoid going days when you don’t think they line up.
Try a party boat trip or hit a new section of beach.

[fishpro28]

My son and I are havin a tough go at it. We recently started a new hobby of surf fishing primarily pluggin. we are havin fun together but he is losin interest because we are striking out. Have been to SH and RB. I am trying to avoid using bait ,but all else is failing. should I just keep trying.or switch to bait.
First off welcome to the barn:wave: Whats wrong with using bait? I always set up a bait rod first and then start plugging with another rod. Multi-tasking is where its at if you want to catch some fish:thumbsup:

[Fishcaught]

I like the bridge thing , and a black bomber off the beach at night .

[striper420sniper]

i agree with fishpro i always set up my bait poles then throw plugs on either side of my bait its tuff sometimes cause im normally by myself and have to do the 50 yard dash in waders:eek::Dim sure its a funny site watchin me run like hell for my poles when i get a hit..... ive been surf fishin seriously now for 4 years and up until this past spring my biggest was 27.9 in...... this spring i finaly started to get some nice bass 2 20+lb fish and ive bagged 4 keepers up to 34in this fall......its all about putin your time in and a crap load of recon missions just readin the beach....thats the key learn how to read the beach right and youll get fish:thumbsup:

[Destino]

no dought fishing the beach is an art... when my brother and i started fishing as kids... about 25 years ago we went out for two weeks in a row every day for atleast 5 hours every day with no fish.. we had an old timer give us some pointers and bammmmm took a long time to get it right though... i deffinitly agree with the bait in and then plug another.. the key we found with plugging is to have a variety of different stuff so that you can change with conditions,, look for the rips and schools of bunker or fish working an area ... you might have to do some hunting but it will pay off.. good luck

[GoNavy]

If you are just starting – don’t expect a ton of success. Striper fishing is just plain hard. (If it were easy, everyone would do it.) But you shouldn’t be striking out.

Where to start?

Gear – Have a collection of bombers, poppers, and other plugs.

You want to have – White, Yellow, Green, and Silver colors for sunrise, daylight, and sunset. You want to have Black, Purple, and Black/Purple for night.

Get both the smaller 5” and larger 7+ plugs.

As you are new – spend no more than 7.99 on an individual plug. (Danny plugs are nice, but if you’re throwing a $20 plug – you’d be better served by diversifying and buying 3 plugs of different style for the 1 plug worth 20.

Soft bait – Get some Gulps. Use as much lead is needed to get them on the bottom and no more.

Techniques –

Poppers are made to splash, but don’t go crazy. A few cranks then a quick ‘pop’. Maybe a ‘pop,pop,pop’ --- But the fish isn’t having spasm from 40 yards out – all the way to your feet…

Bombers – Slow and steady. This depends on your reel – Gear ratios will determine the number of rotations per one revolution of the handle. How ever slow you are going – go slower. Remember – that fish is 5”. He simply can’t swim 40 yards in the 15 seconds it takes you to reel in your longest cast.

Metal – Get a castmaster, deadly dicks, and some Hopkins. Fish these away from structure – they are the most likely to be lost tools in your bag. (They weigh a lot, drag on the bottom if you’re not careful, and get snagged) You want to dance these through mid-water if you are near structure. If you are in open sand (think beach) drag them slowly on the bottom – with a twitch every now and then. If there are blues in the water – throw something cheap…



Soft Plastics/Bucktails – White, yellow, green (or any combo of that) – fish much like metal, but sweeten them up with a strip of fluke belly, squid, or a gulp. You can fish these near structure much better than metal. (Metal costs about $6 and a jig head will cost you <50 cents…. So you can be much more aggressive with a cheap jig head and soft plastic….


Time to fish – Sunrise and Sunset. Fish with yellow, white or green. Night time – Fish with dark colors. High noon – do something else.

[REELKNOT]

You have received some great info-i fish bait in nj on my boat but frequently fish 5-6 weeks in fl from land.i have learned alot over the last few years-i was skunking out a few years ago left and right and ready to throw in the towel until i tried different lures,spots,times and conditions-i now catch permit,snook,tarpon,reds,pompano,jacks,and spanish macks all the time.it takes time and paitence.good luck-in fact the pool boy told me what i was doing wrong when fishing for snook.i listened and now have no problems

[FisherMan120]

Well thing I will tell you is its the season for plugging. Unfornately striped bass are hard to catch and this year has been terribloe for the average fishermen.

[rob]

Well thing I will tell you is its the season for plugging. Unfornately striped bass are hard to catch and this year has been terribloe for the average fishermen.

beyond terrible for this average fisherman... I've not had a worse fall than this year. I started in 1999 (after a long lay off) and the skunk has caught a hold of me. :nuts:

[zar2754]

invest in some more rods. get some baitrunners

dead stick some clams, spots eels, or bunker chunks. while your pluggin

now you have best of both worlds.

[FisherMan120]

Also, when you cast the plug, wait about 5-10 seconds after it hits the water then reel in.

[hausfire]

Wow, Thanks guys you have all been a big help I forwarded this to my son and he cant wait to go again. I am greatful espescially NAVY thank you I cant wait Happy Trials....