Tomorrow striped bass season officially opens. I'm not a bass hound, but catching a big fish from the surf is a rush, thrilling feeling, unlike catching anything else from the surf.
Last year, I lucked out. I nabbed a 15-pound bass at Field 6 on my second toss. My first toss resulted in a big schoolie. So I spent less than 20 minutes on the beach before I hooked and brought home lunch. For me that's how striped bass fishing is. I find the sweet spot, lucked out, and end up with a keeper fish. From my experience, bass usually stay at the sweet spot for awhile. One year, the bass stayed at the end of the New York Avenue Long Beach jetty for several days. Same is true with the triangle buoy sign at the third Wantagh Bridge, the bass stayed there for days.
The question is, of course, is how to find the sweet spots. Communication. A network of anglers willing to share with each other the sweet spots in the surf or the ocean. To communicate with each other is the best way of catching a fish. From my experience in working in Montauk as a statistics gatherer for sharks and tunas I had conversations with charter captains and many told me the best way to find out where the fish are is through communication. You tell me where the fish are next time I tell you where the fish are if I find them. This exchange could make any fisherman look good. To know where the fish are is the key to fishing success.
Yet when one doesn't have an open network of anglers one relies of pure dumb luck of being in the right place at the right time. Today, a network of anglers is easy given that almost everyone has a cell phone. "Hey Joe, I just nabbed a hefty bass here and the bluefish are boiling the surf, if I were you I could get my gear down here."
That's all it takes to have a successful outing. Good friends and good communication. The fish can't be everywhere at the same time. And on Long Island we have about 200 miles of open surf on the north and south shores. It's a huge territory to find fish. So if a club or pals get together and are willing to share where the hot spots are it makes fishing so much more rewarding.
Striped bass, however, I have found, tend to stay in the same place holed up. Bluefish roam more, chasing bait. So with bluefish to network is less productive so the fish doesn't stay in the same area for too long. Not true with striped bass, they could camp out on a piece of structure - jetties, sandbars, bridges - for days and days. Knowing this could improve anyone's catch.
On the day last year I nab the 15-pounder I wondered if the bass were feasting on clam beds exposed by the whirling ocean. I would assume so. Sometime was keeping them there in masses. It must have been food either clams or newly hatched baby crabs. Even sand fleas. Whatever the bass were there long enough for me to make two successful casts.
This year, I should be fishing the ocean surf more. Nonetheless every year changes. If I find the sweet spot this year I would consider myself extremely lucky. If someone tells me where the sweet spot is, I would consider myself fortunate to have a good friend tell me such wonderful and useful information.
