The fall run - the hardest fishing on the east coast of USA!

[NilsC]

The fall run is the migration of Striped bass down the east coast to Chesapeake bay, VA and the Hudson River, NY. Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) has many names like, Rock fish, Rock, Striper, roller, squidhound and greenhead.

The striper's habitat reaches from the St. Lawrence River in Canada to the St. John's River in Florida; and from Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana to the open waters of the Atlantic.

Stripers are known for their size (Mature fish have been known to reach 100 pounds and nearly five feet in length) and their fighting ability.

You fish from shore, boat or kayak and some are so obsessed with this that they follow the migration down fishing for weeks at a time sleeping in a Van, truck or your car.

The goal is to catch the elusive 50lb striper from shore on a plug or eel. Right now is the best Bass fishing og the year starting, we had a snow storm last weekend and the water temp dropped 10 degrees farenheit and the bite turned on. Blueback herring was pushed out of the rivers by the rain and the bite turned on. We got fish between 12 and +30lb (scale stopped at 30 :) ) in 2 nights of fishing with eels.

Rocky areas with current are some of the best fishing grounds but they also some of the most treacherous areas to fish in the fall. with rouge waves from the hurricanes arriving at odd times and they can be 7 to 15 meters tall on a flat calm (up to 1 meter waves) night.

I love this fishing and tomorrow night I'll be fishing eels from sunset to sunrise, then sleep the day away and see if I can't get out again Saturday.

In the fall you need cold weather gear, waders with dry top and life jacket, or a dry suit life jacket on to fish from the shore or a kayak.

Nils

 

[Ballast1]

NilsC

no, thank you..........

.......better to sit in a tiny little boat and have fun...

Great picture - good fish...

The BEST to you

Heiko

 

[NilsC]

I should continue this story so you all will know how I got to be this obseesed fishing for stripers.

When I got a summer location down at the beach and started fishing from shore, I had no clue what I was doing or catching but I took the time to learn. The learning curve was difficult in the beginning, nobody wanted to give up a "secret" spot. And if you didn't know anyone, you were a nobody or a nothing :)

My first full season I fished every night from April to December. Vacation time was when I scouted out new areas and could see them at different tides. I invested in flippers and a mask / snorkel and I swam the beaches I had fished the night before, I swam the rock piles, around jetty's and breachways. I learned a lot about the fish and where they hang out. I saw what they were eating and how they attacked the school of bait, I learned to stay away from bluefish (nasty teeth)

Then I started fishing those areas and I was catching fish, not many and not large, but I was catching them. I met an oldtimer who had fished the area for close to 70 years. He walked up to me and said: Wrong spot, wrong plug, wrong tide. And he walked away, I was stumped I yelled after him "when should I fish here?" he's answer was "Never, if you are looking for a keeper!". Very discouraging, I packed up and moved down the beach to another area I had seen fish that day and continued fishing. Not another bite the rest of the night.

Next day I took a ride to the tackle shop and I asked who the "Old man was" and the answer was "He's an Old Salt, fished here since he was born, how did you meet him?". I told them he walked up to me and said: "Wrong spot, wrong plug, wrong tide." The owner started laughing, he said... that was you invitation to follow him and learn... next time you see him, follow him and watch. He'll never tell you you are in the right spot, using the right plug or are fishing at the right tide. What he will do is show you how he's fishing and if you pay attention you may pick up something.

I followed him the rest of that season, the only thing he said or did in the form of conversation was to tell me next time he was fishing and "you're retriving to fast for that plug", "wrong color" and g'nite...

I learned from watching him play a plug across the rocks, make the plug dance or walk the dog with it. Did I learn it, not yet it took close to two seasons before I could fish a whole night with him without hearing "Wrong...".

I ony knew him for 3 years, he passed away one night in the fall while fishing. Some beachwalkers found him in the morning sitting on a rock with his rod in hand facing the ocean.

I have fished the same area for ten years now and every now and then I have to turn around because I feel the old man standing there saying "wrong ..."

That's it for now, I may add to this one later... I have to get ready for fishing tonite and I have a 1.5hr drive to get there.

Nils

 

[Alexander Perte]

hei nils,

that was a real great story! thank you for that!:baby:

I'd like to hear more of that.

thigt lines!

 

[redneck]

Nice story, Nils.
Keep 'em comin'

redneck

 

[ossipeter]

Many thanks Nils!

 

[Snook]

i hope you´d found the right spot last night...and take care in the dark at the ocean...we need some more storys like that...:baby:

Snook

 

[Kaeptn]

A very interesting story. It underlines the theory, to learn from an old pro it's the best way to improve yourself, independant what you'll learn. :baby:

 

[Nordtaucher]

hei nils,
really nice story......one day (hopefully in the remote future) i would like to pass away like your "mentor" !
great pic.....wish i could catch a bass like that in germany !
keep going with storys like that!

 

[NilsC]

Thank you all, fishing was hard last night with wind from the west at 20 to 25 mph and with the tide going around the point we gave up after a couple of hours and ended up paddling back in without a fish. The only one not skunked was my friend Greg “weeble” on my forum. I may go down again Sunday night if the weather calms down.

Added to story:
I continued to fish from shore and I still fish from shore but my real love now is fishing from the kayak. When I started kayak fishing it was almost an accident. I am in an area where you can see huge schools of fish chasing bait fish and the water is boiling when the blitz in on. A lot of times this happened just past the distance I could cast my plug and it was frustrating watching this. I spent thousands of dollars on 10, 11 and 12 foot long custom built one piece surf rods and I still ended up short.


Another issue was my friend at the tackle shop had moved and I didn’t know where his new location was. Don't sound like much but sometimes it takes years to find a person you can fish with on regular base and not get in each other’s way. Don, was that kind of person so when my phone rang and it was he on the other end I was happy to hear from him. He told me where his new tackle store was and it was less than 20 minutes from where I have my summer place. I took a ride down and we talked and I told him about my frustration with the blitzes seemingly moving away further away from shore.

Don said, “You should know it’s not just a tackle store here, my partner and I have a marina and a kayak center also and I have your solution next door”. We walked into the next building and here it’s kayaks from floor to ceiling and Don pulls out a sit on top kayak and say that this is the solution to all your problems. I’m looking at this blue bathtub toy with disbelief, thinking why is he pulling my leg. I voiced my doubt and Don said it’s perfect for the area you are fishing, we just need some rod holders on it.

We talked and figured it out and by closing I had a blue kayak with rod holders on the roof of my car. Now I was the proud owner of a kayak, paddle, lifejacket and I was a few dollars shorter than when I got there. I got back to the wife, parked the car and walked up on the deck sat down and relaxed. Wife looks up and say what’s that, I thought you where going for some bait for tonight’s fishing? I said, yeah… it’s my new fishing kayak, and it was lot cheaper than the custom rod I was going to order.

This was my first step on the road to kayak fishing, and I can tell you the learning curve was not any easier than the shore found one. I started fishing with my shortest surf rod, a 10’ one piece rod with so much backbone I could use it when slinging eels. That first season was full of trial and errors but a lot of fun and I was catching more fish than ever.

It’s getting late, after 1AM here… I’ll continue later (keep you on needles and pins and maybe create a kayak fishing monster or two in the process) :<-

Nils

 

[Norbert]

Well Nils, it sounds very interesting....could you please load up a photo of your kayak ? Hope you`ll continue your story very soon.

 

[NilsC]

This first picture is the largest fish caught in our spring tournament:

The second picture is from the kayak center, the one on the left is my old kayak:

Me fighting a 28lb striper:

Showing off: :D

Another one :)

 

[Snook]

NilsC,

what kind/brand of line, mono or braidet, do you use for fishing ?

Snook

 

[NilsC]

Snook,

I use PowerPro on all my reels. 30lb on the casting setup and 50lb and 80lb on the trolling / heavy casting rigs.

For backing I use mono at 1/2 the strength of the braid, if I ever get spooled I'll rather loose the line than the equipment. If I get to the backing on the kayak I know I lost so I'm just holding on waiting for the line to break and hopefully that happens before the kayak flips :D

For hardware I use Spro ball bearing swivels and leader material is "SEAGUAR CARBON PRO" 100-percent pure fluorocarbon.

Nils

 

[Snook]

oh yes indeet, it`s perfect gear for hardfighting fish.

do you catch fish by blindshots or do you cast to him if you spot him while he is feeding, rolling, tailing or something ?

Snook

 

[stekus]

Have you ever tried flyfishing for those fish?

 

[NilsC]

Snook, not to much blind casting. I have a depth finder (fish finder) that I use to locate structure, then we cast or troll that area. I have a gpsmap that I use to get to where we think fish may be and to get back home if the fog rolls in.

A lot of time fly fishing is done as sight fishing, you look for a fin or a tail breaking the surface then cast in front. For albacore you can get one or two casts in before the school is gone. A lot of times you look for birds feeding on baitfish because there will be predator fish pushing them to the surface.

Chasing tuna is the most frustrating and the most fun, hooking into a 30 to 50 pound bluefin tuna will give you your "Nantucket sleigh ride" of a lifetime.

Some of the areas we fish are estuaries and bays and here you just have to put in time on the water to know where fish would hold. Saltponds can hold large stripes and they are the safest areas to take new kayak fishing boys and girls.

At night you fish areas you have scouted out during daylight, this can be very rewarding but poses different risks and you need to be a good kayaker and a good swimmer.

I start by asking customers if they know how to paddle, that way the fishing experience comes easier. If they have to learn to paddle and fish at the same time it can be overwhelming keeping track of paddle rod and keep your balance.

This link is to a couple of pictures from this summer, I can't just upload them because they want to much money. The pictures was used in an article on kayak fishing that ran in the NY Times.
NY Times pictures You can read the story here A Tippy Test for Anglers: Landing Fish from a Kayak

Nils

 

[NilsC]

Have you ever tried flyfishing for those fish?

Yes, I love to fly fish for them. Albies you need a sparce fly with some flash 10wt rod and floating or sinking tip line.

For the bigger stripers I use a 10wt rod with 450 grain fast sinking tip to get the big flies down to where the bigger fish are.

Nils

 

[Snook]

is it true albacore comes so close to reach em with a canoe ???

Snook

 

[NilsC]

In the Niantic area where most of the pictures are from, the albies are passing the point close enough for you to flyfish from land.

Same fishing from the breakwalls in Rode Island... Small bluefin tuna (nicknamed footballs because the shape is like an american football with tales) school up right next to the beaches.

Nils