November 23, 2022 – A Rather Auspicious First Fall Trip in the Surf – Monmouth County Beaches

Our first couple in that 26 to 27 inch range.  A few slot keepers followed.

I met up with Dolf and Tony the Squid to chase the bass down the beaches this morning.  It is a peanut bunker blitz bite thus far, so the potential for feast or famine.  I had a little intel from Pete, who got an earlier start on this fall’s run, and he had some skunks and some memorable days on quality fish, so I expected either/or this morning.  Thankfully, we ended in the win column.  Between the three of us we beached 5 fish from 26 to 29 inches on big 6-inch soft shads and messed with a couple more.  There was more bait than bass after the first push right at sunrise and shortly after, but we had a couple other shots at fish up until 10 AM.  We chased them down the beach for a while, and at least twice we had bass mixed in with the peanuts, but the water was crystal clear and the surf flat and calm with a light West wind, so the bass got spooky and finicky it seemed an hour after the sun was up.  We were eating breakfast in a diner by about 10 AM, happy with our first trip of the fall.

Tony in action.  Sunrise.  Dusted off the big shads.

There is always a chance for a blitz at any time of day with miles of bunker in the water, so that was why we kept at it after our first successful blitz intercept.  It was those first two hours that made our trip worth it, however.  I landed one in the 27-inch range that hit at the beach lip even before the blitzing started, and then Dolf had a twin in the same jetty pocket a few minutes later.  Tony, Dolf, and I also had slot keeper fish when another pod came through and harassed the schools of peanuts.  This is North Jersey, so we had crowds around us in no time, but we were the only googans to hook up during the first blitz.  Some dudes are married to the popper in blitzes, but we were just ripping shads about a foot under the surface.  We returned the favor later as we drove south following birds, boats, and bait, but it was a similar story for all the mooks on the beach after 9 AM.  Bait everywhere, even doubles on the shad and teaser if you threw too close to the main school, but picky fish.  That first two hours was well worth the ride: Some quality fish from the beach in that 12 to 15-pound range with the chance for even bigger!  Back at it Friday morning with Tony the Squid and the (in)famous Sandy Dunkin.