Fishing Reports March1 to March 31

Never seem to be that many bay boats at shows in NJ. Most of our bays can be fished with regular center consoles with an electric motor. With out back bay fishing not like it use to be there are not all that many really serious back by guys that want a true back bay boat. I have been super happy with my 22 foot Triton bay boat. It has a 12 inch draft so I can sneak into pretty shallow water and yet it handles rough water pretty good. I have had it out 30 miles in the past on nice days as it is a fairly dry riding boat.

I have a older 2 stroke on it and it just keeps running great, but with it getting older I will probably repower at the end of this year and will have to go with a 4 stroke and probably go with Yamaha or Szuki as my marina deals with those two brands. Thought about getting a whole new rig, but I really love my boat and last year they stopped making saltwater boats. They just make bass boats now.

Hope you get your motor problems worked out before the season starts.

It was another unseasonably warm day in Cape May today. After another day of working in the yard, I had all I could take by 3:00 pm. With it warm and not much wind I decided to head off to a freshwater lake to see if I could find a few fish. Took two flyrods and two light spin rods as with the left arm restriction for another week or so I wasn't sure if I would be able to cast the flyrod and double haul with the left hand.

Got to lake at 3:30 pm. Tried the fly rod and casting was doable, still keeping left arm below shoulder. First 15 minutes using a baitfish pattern on sinking line I finally got my first fish. It was a decent size largemouth bass, that even made two jumps during the fight.

After not getting any hits for awhile I switched to a very small all black wooly bugger. I hooked up with a nice fish that I first thought was another bass or a good sized crappy, but it turned out to be a monster sunfish. It measured out at a little over 8 inches long and was very fat. I missed three other hits with the same fly and decided to switch back to the original baitfish pattern and had one last hook up and landed a nice slab size crappie that was a little over 12 inches long.

It was the first crappie and good size crappie that I have caught in a long time, where last year they were fairly plentiful. It was a good way to end the day with three nice size fish it total and I quit a little after 5:00 pm. The trip made my day.

Thanks, I prefer saltwater fishing as you never know what or how big a fish you will catch on any given day. Freshwater is fun as is easy and doesn't take up much of your day. During the winter months it is the only show in town for the most part, unless you are into ice fishing, which I am not. Plus it doesn't get cold enough for that around here.

You can catch freshwater fish all winter long as long as there is no ice. The key seems to be: You have to work your flies or lures deep and very slow. Presentations have to be on the smaller side as fish are not aggressive feeders. When I say work it slow, I mean painfully slow with small twitches. You just have to catch the fishes eye to get an instinctive hit. They are not going to chase anything down in the cold water. As it warms you can start using larger stuff and retrieving faster.

With striper season again open in back bays etc., it is a real hit and miss thing and mainly a bait fishery. I will wait for the beginning of April when the action starts up and they will actively chase flies and lures.

Been a series of non-user friendly days with the cold temps and honking winds. As much as you want to get out and give it a try, mother nature is saying stay inside. Took a ride over to the ferry jetties in North Cape May this morning and found the flags starched out straight and the inlet very nasty. Didn't even get out of the warmth of the car to take pictures and the sand was blowing like drifting snow.

Finally the wind stopped blasting. Late this afternoon, after finishing up work around the house and it being a beautiful day, I had the option to go freshwater fishing or pull the cover off the boat and start the spring get ready. I decided to go fishing and work on the boat tomorrow as it is to be another nice day. Got to lake around 3:30 pm. Water was still super cold. Even wading in neoprene wader my legs were frozen when I quit fishing.

Had a pretty decent afternoon. I had to work hard to catch, but had 4 hits and caught 4 decent fish in the 2 1/2 hours that I fished. I caught the first bass on a regular baitfish pattern and after awhile switched to a small all black wooly bugger fly catching another bass and really good size sunfish. Near the end of fishing I switched back to the larger baitfish pattern and got the best bass of the day. Never got a picture as in the process of wading back to the shore it came un-hooked. It was a little better than the first two bass. Two of the three fish took a couple of jumps. The one that got un-hooked never jumped and I kept good pressure on the line. (Go Figure) I had a fun afternoon and quit at 6:00 pm. Love this daylight savings.

After working on the boat most of the day, I was tired of waxing and it was such a nice day I had to take off and squeeze in a little fishing. Got to lake about 4:00 pm. Started out with a baitfish pattern and first fish was a huge crappie that measured out to 14 inches long. I then switched over to a very small trout magnet in grey and white. I got a nice size sunfish and a decent bass. I was really lucky to land that bass as the hook was way too small for targeting largemouth. It was like a little pin prick in its huge mouth.

I switched back to a larger fly and started just catching bass. Must of just been at the right place at the right time and the fish were turned on. They must of come out of their winter mode and were super hungry. I caught six more and lost another at my feet as it did one last jump. All the bass were 12 1/2 to 14 1/2 inches and nice and chunky. Turned out to be really super afternoon of fishing. I would of stayed longer but, had to leave at 6:00 pm. as we planned diner for 6:30 pm.

Took a day off from working on the boat and raced remote control sailboats in Mt Laurel. It was our first club sailing of the new season and we had a perfect weather day. Good to practice as next week we have our big Liberty Bell Regatta celebrating 50 years of model boat racing at Mt Laurel.

After a pizza lunch with sailing buddies I stopped at a cedar lake that I pass on the way home. Fished it for about an hour and caught a small yellow perch and a small pickerel. Overall I had a pretty fun day. Tomorrow it will be back to working on the boat if the weather is nice.