November 11 and 12, 2023 – Fishing Like a Googan or Fishing Like a Local? – Monmouth County

Not bad for a short jaunt at sunset.

I was in Asbury Park for a weekend with a group of old friends, only one of which is a fishing buddy.  We have done this getaway for close to 20 years, I estimate, and the last 10 have been in Monmouth County somewhere around this mid-November window.  Many years, I don’t even bring a rod, but there have been enough fish around to prompt me to pack a rod and some plugs for this year.  Saturday night, after walking around Asbury and drinking and eating all day, my buddy Tom gently shamed me into taking a ride up north before the sun set.  He had brought some gear and waders but was probably under gunned. I proposed just bringing my one 9’ rod with a pencil and seeing what we could scare up before dark.  Along with Tom, two other buddies came along for the ride, so it was at least a 3-camera shoot when I actually hooked into an Atlantic mackerel and then a bass that was probably just over the emergency slot limit, maybe 33 but definitely not eating adult bunker today.

A little excitement for the boys.  Harrassing peanuts.

The beach was eerily quiet compared to a week ago, so not a good sign in the cellphone age that the bunker and bass were still around.  The boats were basically trolling or running slowly searching for the bait.  There was a WNW wind when we arrived a bit before 5 PM, so the ocean was glass.  Luckily enough, I spotted a small pod of bait, which eventually got noticed by something.  That something must have been the macks.  One hit my teaser and gave the boys something to photograph!  After that, I handed the rod to Tom and he tried his luck, but the bait pod of peanuts were on the move again.  We followed them for a while, but no more hits until Tom handed me back the rod, and I put on a black SP minnow ahead of the impending darkness.  Sure enough, bang!  Right in the slough a long but skinny bass ate the teaser ahead of the plug.  I am never packing waders and my plug bag again!

The three camera shoot.

I am not sure if walking up on the beach for 30 minutes in my choring boots was a googan move or a local sharpie move?  It accounted for a bass after, by all accounts, a tough surf weekend for most out there.  It motivated me to take it easy on Saturday night and agree to meet Jeff in the morning.  He bagged it at 4:45 AM, the pheasant!  Tom did not get up either, but I was on the beach in my actual waders before sunrise, this time with a total of 4 lures instead of 2.  The wind had changed and was blowing steadily from the north.  The water was clean and looked sexy enough, but it was too choppy for a pencil, and less aerodynamic and lighter lures like the SP or a shad would not cut it once the sun was up and the wind started kicking harder.  I tossed around my fourth lure in the bag, my bunker tin, with a teaser ahead of it.  I covered a few blocks in each direction and saw a short caught off one of the longer jetties.  

Tom giving it a shot.

No other signs of life.  I had hovering birds with a couple prospecting boats at first light, but nothing seemed to be under the bait the birds were tracking.  By 7:30 AM, all the boats were headed north towards the Hook, with a few just slowly trolling.  I got back home around 8:30 AM and had coffee and breakfast with the boys.  As everyone departed, Tom pitched the idea of a beach walk.  We eventually even took a ride south and prospected for birds and bait for several miles in southern Monmouth County, but it seems like we have hit a lull in MoCo.  I was glad to catch a surf bass with minimal effort on Saturday, but Sunday was a reminder that surf fishing is not easy.  I hate to think if it were, as there are hundreds of blitz chasers these days!  So many dudes, in fact, that it is easy to assume no fish are around because there are no report chasers in sight.  That proved true for Sunday, I guess….  Still, we found one.

Looked sexy on Sunday morning, but no life around after sunrise.