December 4, 2020 – The Batting Average Improves a Little and Against the Odds – Ocean County Beaches

Close enough to measure and an action shot.

I met Jeff at 5 AM this morning with hopes of finding some more bass from the surf.  In retrospect, we both should have known he would be in the weeds today.  He was a whopping five minutes late, which is not like him at all, and it turns out he couldn’t find his wallet in the morning.  He grabbed a credit card and some cash and still left for the beach, but when he stopped for gas on the way down, he forgot that credit card at the station, so he had to circle back.  He dropped my rod and phone while trying to photograph our best fish of the day, a fish I actually had to hand measure for keeper status.  Nope, just 27 inches.  The phone was in a waterproof case and the reel was sealed, so both remedied by a dunk.  Apparently, Jeff stumbled in a hole and got wet too.  The tide was coming in until close to 9 AM, and there was a swell, so I think he stepped wrong and then got the backwash beatdown.  I saw none of this, mind you, so when your loved ones tell you not to fish in the dark by yourself, remind them that if your partner is like me, he may not even notice you got sucked out to sea.  My dad used to hide a key in a magnetic case in a wheel well or under a bumper so that I could get home without him if I lost him in the rocks or something, so blame my upbringing?  Jeff may have even had a wind knot right before sunrise?  And the whiteout fish pic above?  Taken with his phone that took a swim with him.  Man, and he still caught fish!?  True grit or true mitch?  A little of both, I think, but mostly grit and a desire to get good at this.

Fish were caught against mounting odds.

Something was in the air.  I was not all there either.  I got all of two hours of sleep and, after catching one short bass in the predawn hours, dropped an additional two decent sized shorties.  A better one I hooked with my 9 footer on a bone SP minnow got off because I still had a loose drag setting following last week’s hose down and clean up at the house.  Rookie mistake.  It was in the air, I tell you.  Another nearby buggy got stuck in the sand to the frame too.  Jeff provided some boards, and I took a short shift with the shovel until we determined dude had buried himself too deep for us or any other fellow surf guy who stopped to help or coach to remedy—especially Jeff and I today in our comprised states!  And yet, it was not a bad morning.  We tangled with fish in some fishy looking surf.  The wind kind of sucked out of the SSW, and the water looked a little dirty when the sun got up.  Add a south to north sweep, and it was deceptively sporty, had been all week, I guess, and another blow is coming this weekend.  It’s too early to expect the bass to vacate after a storm, especially since plenty of fish plus those rats are still coming south, but I hate when we get a steady progression of snotty stuff in December.  I have more confidence in lighter surf and West wind while throwing small for slot fish on a sandeel bite, and I always fear the next storm will be the last of the fall run.  I am not yet feeling that scenario looming, though.

Looked fishy, yeah?

As I mentioned, I had one fish that fought like he was in the keeper range, even on my 10-footer, and he measured over 27 using the reliable hand measure, so that was fun.  In order to get eaten, Jeff and I both ended up dragging eel teasers above a 3 ounce THex.  I fished a black needle in the dark much the same way.  Drag and pop, drag and pop.  The 2.5 ounce needle really needed to settle in that swell and sweep, so the metal, while more work to toss and retrieve, got down quickly and was not as easily dominated by the sweep.  With the size of the fish we landed and saw, I would have preferred tossing an SP or small ava and teaser in close, but we took what we were handed.  I had to text Jeff when I started drafting this and ask him, “How the heck did you catch fish today with all that going on?”  He was not deterred, sick with it, and gritty as hell.  If not for Jeff and Dolf, I would be trout fishing instead of putting my body through this crap for short bass, but it has been fun and fun teaching a mitch what I remember from the days when I too had the sickness.  Because of these guys, I am sure I have a few more long, pre-dawn drives in me before I call it quits for the season.  Eric beat up on some local stockies on Thursday, so there is that too on the horizon.  I am actually thinking of meeting up with Sam before the holidays too, maybe even next Tuesday, as most fish are off the redds out in Central PA by now.  I am sleeping in on Saturday this weekend, however….

Until next week?  Although Sunday is technically next week...