2020 was another good year in the surf, that’s about the only good for the year. Fishing was fun, 50 trips this year. Outside of the fishing, well, lets say I fish alone and really enjoy the time on the water. I caught 10 Stripers over 28 inches this year, the largest was around 34 inches and lost 4 Stripers that were considerably larger. Next year…. Albie Snax accounted for 46% of my Stripers this year, nothing else accounted for over 10%, and Striped Bass were caught on 46 different artificials this year. ~80% of my time this year on the water was in the dark (I loved it). I did run into 12 skunks this year including a run of 6 in a row. Lost fish played into that. A year that a lot was learned, will look to make changes for next year, 2021 goals will be centered on larger Stripers.
11/29/2020, West, 12:30 AM to 7:30 AM, last trip of the year. Picked up a Striper and Blue on an RG Glider, and Stripers on an Ava and Albi Snax. Did hit one real nice Bass that freight trained me, bent the hook oddly and was gone. Fun last trip of the year.
11/8, 15 and 22/2020, West, 12:30 AM to 7:30 AM. Fished 3 areas on the two trips and just not a lot of action. A schoolie and shad the first trip, two schoolies the second trip. Good looking water, bait was off the beach. The 22nd I hit up Island Beach, great water and a Jersey Skunk!!
11/1/2020, West, 12:30 AM to 7:30 AM. Liked the set-up but just did not work out. One bass on a Maverick, that was it. Nice night out there.
10/25/2020. West, 12:30 AM to 8:30 AM. Tough trip with the north wind, low tide, larger surf. Nothing out front, walked to the back and picked up two schoolies and a 22″ blue. All on the Albie Snax. All action in the dark. Found a live bunker on the beach around 1:00 AM and thought may be onto something…not. Next weeks trip…..should produce better.
10/18/2020. West 12:20 AM to 9:30 AM. I have developed a habit of missing hits and dropping fish at the beginning of trips. Missed a hit on Mega Shad, dropped a fish on a 4 ½” Hellcat, missed a few hits and then finally beat the skunk on a short bass on the 4 ½” Hellcat around 1:20. Rest of the trip in dark was some hits, a dropped fish and 9 more short bass. Caught first bass of 2020 on the Mega Shad and 4 ½” Hellcat. One more on the Flatglide needle and the rest on the pink Albie Snax. Added a short bass and shad when the sun rose. The area I walked to on sun up had shad flipping for a ¼ mile. Then spent a couple hours throwing epoxy jigs at bait pods, some peanuts out there. Fun trip again.
10/15/2020. West, 12:30 AM – 7:30 AM. Had action from the start to finish this trip. Started off loosing a Bass and missing two hits. Then broke the ice and picked away through the night into the light. The Pink Albie Snax was by far the preferred artificial by the bass as it was ht more and landed the most Bass. Also while trying to cast for False Albies I landed two Stripers. Very fun night, ended with 17 Bass.
10/14/2020. West, 12:30 AM to 6:30 AM, Picked up 2 short bass 7″ Pink Hogy and Albi Snax. Took to 4:30, lots of weeds and clowns with lights on the water….. Had more action as missed a few hits as usual lately.
10/12/2020. West, 12:15 AM to 6:30 AM, Picked up 4 short bass two on Albi Snax and two on 5 1/2″ Red Fin. Crazy amount of hits on the Red Fin, dropped three and just missed the other bumps and hits. Fished in the back, at times had a 2-3 foot surf.
10/11/2020. West, 12:15 AM to 8:15 AM, Picked up a short bass around 1:00 and then not much. A few bumps, a solid hit. Walked to the back, again nothing there. Back out front got out on a sand bar and picked up a Striper around 24 inches. Dropped two small fish on epoxy jigs, one went air born. Fun in the suds.
10/4/2020. West, 12:30 AM – 8:30 AM. . Not a whole lot of action, picked up 4 bass, 2 in dark and 2 in the light. All out front, gave back a shot and nothing doing. 3 on Albie Snax and one on the High Hook Mini Needle. Saw some Mullet out front along with the washed up live bunker. The two bass caught in the light were chasing Mullet. Missed a couple hits and dropped one fish. Nice weather, fun.
9/27/2020. West, 12:30 AM – 8:15 AM. Stupid fog until around 4:30, was like casting into a gray wall. Could not find anything, ocean side and into the back. When it got light found some bunker out front, broke skunk with one fatty on a Storm Sand Eel.
9/20/2020. West, 12:30 AM – 8:15 AM. Had a couple bass to start off the night ocean side. One on the Needle and 3 on 5 1/2” red fin (white water Bass). Walked to the spot where I always see bait fish backside and picked up a couple more bass. Got light, mullet moving through, another bass, two 20” blues and a 22” fluke. Albie Snax!! Fun trip.
9/17/2020. West, 12:20 AM – 6:15 AM. Picked up 3 Stripers on white Albie Snax. Bunch of hits, dropped 2 fish. Action was in the back. Fun trip, was off the beach before sun up.
9/16/2020. West, 12:30 AM – 5:45 AM. Picked up 5 Stripers, 2 on Black Bomber 16A and 3 on the Pink Tinman Teaser. Caught before 3:30, during flood water murked up, a lot. Fun trip, was off the beach before sun up.
9/15/2020. West, 12:30 AM – 6:45 AM. Bigger surf, muddy at the end of trip. Line broke on a fish, dropped two an missed a few hits. Picked up 2 bass around 3:30 and 4:30 o the Maxrap 13. Almost all the action was on small presentations in the rolling surf.
9/13/2020, West, 12:30 AM – 8:15 AM. Nice surf, missed a few bumps and ended up with 3 Stripers up to 26 inches and a small Blue. Great looking water, lot of people fishing when the horizon lit up. Saw a few bass caught.
9/6/2020, West, 12:20 AM – 8:45 AM. Nothing in the dark. Had some bumps, rubber bit in half…but could not get tight. In the light found small bait in close, 3 Fluke on EXO Jigs, then bunker way out, picked up one small blue. Fun night, stupid bright moon!!!
8/30/202, West, 12:20 AM- 7:45 AM, Fished the full flood. One short Bass on the High Hook Needle and then Albie Snax time (4 short bass and 2 Fluke). Did pick up a 20″ Blue on a Jumpin Minnow. Felt like a fall night. Fun trip (they all are).
8/23/2020, West, 12:20 AM – 7:45 AM, did not see any bait this trip, missed hits, dropped two fish, managed one short bass on a High Hook mini needle. Also a fluke. nice night and fun in the surf.
8/16/2020, West, 12:45 AM – 7:00 AM, rough surf, when sun up, could see that the water was pretty churned up. Picked up out front a short bass ~1:00 AM on a Maverick and another on a Torpedo ~2:00 AM. That was it. Fun in the suds.
8/13/2020, West, 12:30 AM – 6:45 AM, picked up 8 short Bass to 24″. All but one caught within 10 feet of the sand, the other 20 feet out. Was way to calm out, more difficult find fish this trip than the last two. 6 on the brown/gold sparkle Albi Snax, other two on 5 1/2″ loaded Red Fin. Color matters, that color Albi Snax the last 3 nights out performed other colors by a ridiculous amount. Fun night, finished off 5 straight nights of fishing, need to rest.
8/12/2020, West 12:45 AM – 6:45 AM, Picked up 8 short bass in the dark up to 24 inches. Did hook a nice fish on a Tsunami Eel, after 30 seconds line broke near the plug. Good fight, was gaining on it. 7 Bass on the Albi Snax and 1 on the small loaded Red Fin. Fun trip again.
8/11/2020, West 12:30 AM – 6:45 AM. Crazy what a difference a day makes. Bait all over. Managed 6 short bass and a ~18″ cocktail blue. Missed lots of hits and dropped a few fish. Loaded Red Fin, Tsunami Eel and Albie Snax had action. Most action was out along the sand beach.
8/10/2020, West 12:30 AM to 6:45 AM, El-Skunkaroo. Two spots, covered lots of water and could not get more than 2 hits. Nice night, love walking and fishing the beach on summer nights!
8/9/2020, West, Fished 12:15 AM to 7:00AM. First spot for an hour had weeds up the wazoo, moved and was a bit better. No bass, tussled with a ray, then caught a Fluke and ended the trip with a ~18″ cocktail blue. Nice weather, was a shame so much weeds were around spot one, water looked good.
8/2/2020, West, Fished 12:20 AM – 8:00 AM, Around 1:30 picked up a short bass on a Tin Man Teaser. Only fished the teaser for 15 minutes, ended the trip with 10 short bass from 18″ to 22″, one small 18″ blue and a ray that was easily 30 pounds and put up a hell of a fight in close. Lost 4 or 5 fish. Don’t think there was larger bait in the area this time, action was on small artificals and some fish caught on the dressed tail. Beautiful night on the water.
7/26/2020, West, Fished 12:20 AM – 8:00 AM, Ocean , first cast a short Striper on a Maverick. Then took to 2:30 to find more action. Picked up 6 Bass, all in the dark. Super Snax got 2, Super Strike Needle, Surf Asylum Flat Glide and Fish-on 8 Metal lip picked up the others. No bait seen and no action in the light. Nice fun trip, had the place to myself in the dark.
7/19/2020, West, Fished from 12:15 AM – 8:00 AM. Ocean side/back, ocean, back….lots of walking and riding. Took to 4:20 to find action. Picked up 4 Stripers in the dark, largest ~30 inches on a Fish On small metal lip. Picked up two blues around 20 inches in the light before the sun broke the horizon. Added another short bass on an Albi Snax around 7:30. Fun trip.
7/12/2020, West, Fished from 12:30 AM – 8:30 AM. Back to start, about 1:45 picked up a bass on RM Smith thin needle. Then another short bass on Tinman Teaser. Moved out front and a short Bass on Jigman Darter around 3:30. That was it for the Stripers, 3 shorts between 18 inches and 22 inches. Missed a bunch of hits, maybe 4-5 that kept the trip interesting. Between 7:30 and 8:00 while walking in the back saw a deeper rip with no boat traffic, no one near it and just thought that if fish were around that would be the spot. White Albie Snax was clobbered, not a big fight, the hit was hard and caught my first Spanish Mackerel of the year. So a fun trip, saw bait about an inch long in the back and what I think was a few jumping bunker in a rough surf.
7/5/2020, West, 12:30 AM to 8:00 AM. Weatherman said zero percent chance of rain. Lightening and monsoon. Skunk, lost another nice fish. Storm killed a good trip.
6/28/2020, West, 12:30 AM to 8:00 AM. Nice night, a few bumps and dropped a few small fish. Ended up with a couple short Stripers. Nice weather. Last trip with the Mitsubishi Outlander. The vehicle was GREAT for the 3 1/2 seasons, zero issues for reliability and traversed the sand without issue. Ended up with 81,000 miles on it, getting to the point where reliability is in question.
6/21/2020, West, 12:20 AM to 8:00 AM. Ocean side then the back. Just not getting any action out front lately. Around 3:45 a 26 inch Striper on a Super Snax and then false dawn a~22 inch Striper on a white Albie Snax. One Blue bit off a Super Snax and that was it. First trip without waders, water easily 65 degrees and a comfortable night.
6/14/2020, West, 12:30 AM to 8:15 AM. Ocean side then the back. After 6 skunks in a row I changed up hats. Picked up a couple Stripers (Super Snax and BM Atom Jr) and Blue on the Super Snax. Great to shake off the skunk. Plus had some dolphins in close.
6/1/ – 6/7 2020 (fished 6 days) West…..Skunkfest (5 or more days without catching a fish), I’m at 6 days. Fished back side, ocean side, dodged lightening bolts, lost a nice bass after a 5 second hook up on a rock pile, had 2 rubber shads and a Hogy bit in half by blues, missed a good dozen hits, bright moon, water clarity sucked…………but the bottom line… no fish for me. Enjoyed the time on the water, heck of a workout (average trip was fishing 12:30 AM – 7:30 AM). Longest skunk streak in 10+ years (last year was only 4 the whole year).
5/24/2020. West, back. 12:30 AM – 8:30 AM, lost a larger fish around 3:00 on the Mega Darter. Then picked up a short bass on the Albie Snax and the first blue of the year on a large Surf Asylum Flat Glide. Fun trip, missed a few hits, all action in the dark and that fish was on for 20 seconds and felt great…urgh!!
5/17/2020, West, back and front, crazy nice weather.Could only manage one short Striper on the RG Glider. First Striper from ocean side.
5/10/2020, Fished out west, 12:45 – 8:15, Cold, windy (west), bright moon. Skunk. Lost a fish on a bucktail. Nice to get out, fun trip (fished a couple new plugs).
5/3/2020, Fished out west, 12:30 AM – 9:00 AM, warmer…..rainy…surf pretty calm. Again it took to around 4:30 to hook up, ~26 inch bass on an Albie Snax. Picked up one more smaller bass, again on an Albie Snax and that was it. Walk was 3.6 miles. Great time OTW.
4/26/2020, Fished out west, 12:30 AM – 8:00 AM, fun trip, weather great!!! Caught 15 Striped Bass front 20″ to 26″. White Hogys, Washed Ashore Eely, a couple on spooks, first fish on the RG Glider and 8 on Albi Snax. First trip with the ODM Evolution, this rod has range! Albi Snax cast great (.6 oz) and threw up to 3.5 oz, no issue. Started tracking my walks, 3.4 miles
4/19/2020, Fished way out west, 12:30 AM – 7:30 AM, big time skunk. Coldest trip of the four this year with the temperature and wind. Still great being on the water. Did not see any bait on the trip. Looking forward to next Sunday AM trip, break in the new rod. Plus it can’t be any colder than this trip…..Also lost my first hat of the year in the cold wind…..
4/12/2020, Fished out west, 12:30 AM – 8:00 AM, fished out front for an hour then moved to the back. Couple Stripers ~20 inches. Missed a couple hits. All action was in the dark. Crazy calm conditions at times, water cold. great being out there.
4/5/2020, Fished out west, 12:30 AM – 8:00 AM, first Striper of the year at 1:30 on a Bomber 16A. Ended up with 5 Stripers from 20 inches to 25 inches, two in the dark. two on the bomber 16A, others on Albi Snax, Rebel Jumpin minnow and JW 5″ Shad. Fun trip, missed a bunch of hits, great to get away from the craziness for a few hours.
3/29/2020, Fished out west, first trip of the year. 2:30 AM to 8:00 AM, started with a blanking. Had a couple bumps, had a fish on a 10″Hogy for about 20 seconds around 5:00 before it became unbuttoned. Great to get out. It was just gray out.
