November 29, 2020 – That Old Cliché about Making Reports – Monmouth County Beaches

I figured I would go black and white on this opening collage since the only bass I landed were photographed in the dark, anyway.  There were only two of them, plus one other that I dropped after a short battle, and they may have been 20 inches, but there are signs of life to the north that were not to be seen to the south.  Jeff, Dolf, and I were texting back and forth last night, and we left it as Jeff was definitely going, Dolf was questionable, and I would have a location pin from Jeff if I didn’t go trout fishing or head to Ocean County instead.  I got a booty call text at 3 AM: “Anybody up?” and the pin as promised, so I told Jeff I would meet him in MoCo at 5:30 AM.  There were a handful of hopefuls besides us, but the only real action besides some shorts was the big schools of hickory shad.  I saw the disturbance in the dark and was hoping bunker, but these were over 12 inches most of them.  I did cast around them hoping that they attracted big momma, but based on the bird play and boats once the sun was up, big momma was at least a mile offshore.  Some dudes were throwing small to catch them since the bass did not show.  I caught one near the mouth.  At times, some larger ones broke away from the school and could be seen right on the lip cruising for a meal.  No bass visible in these same clear conditions though…

Landed a couple and dropped one, so 2.5?

Just for old time’s sake or maybe practice, I hauled off into the school and snagged one with a snag hook to let him swim.  Far too big, but if adult bunker and adult bass ever meet this fall, or next spring, I have not lost this skill at least.  Every year, I put a snag hook in my plug bag and wonder if I should bother since it’s been years since I used it on the beach.  Every ounce of extra weight counts when lugging around plugs, tins, and bucktails, but the hook got some scales on it today.  Jeff had a blow up on a spook in a pocket beside the rocks, but that was it for him this morning.  We quit by 8:30 or 8:40 AM, and that was 45 minutes later than we should have.  It was a nice morning, I guess, and the bait gave us a slim chance at least.  There was a swell, but clean water and full sun, so it did not really feel like a day when a bite would occur all of the sudden at 9 AM.  It was good to see life this far north, though.  The buoy temps are still warm, so it makes sense.  All the birds and boats were enough to make the drive worth it, a shot of hope for early December, even if I didn’t manage to drag a few shorties off the bar before dawn to avoid the skunk.