Category: Fishing Reports

Here’s Part 3 of a three part blog series to help you Better Fish Circle Hooks! Read the first two parts for more information on many the fundamentals include defining and confirming inline circle hooks, hook terminology, characteristics and most importantly choosing the best inline circle hook for striped bass fishing.

Part 1 – Circle Hooks & Striped Bass

Part 2 – Fishing For Striped Bass With Circle Hooks

Baiting Up Matters!

There are a variety of great ways to hook live baits on circle hooks and there is a wrong way. Do not choke the hook gap! Let me repeat. Never block or obstruct the hook’s gap! 

Top Five Natural Baits & Matching Hook Sizes For Striped Bass:

When riggin up to bait fish striped bass the angler must ask. What bait is going to be used and how big is the bait?

• Bunker: 8/0 to 10/0 medium to med/hvy gauge wire hook
• Eel & Spot: 4/0 to 7/0 medium wire hook
• Clam & Worm: 2/0 to 6/0 Light wire hook (Eagle Claw Baitholder Inline Circle)

Tips For Fishing Circle Hooks

Have you tried a circle hook before? Have you had good or bad experiences? When approached and fished properly circle hooks offer anglers no downside. With these tips you will better your results and just might fall in love with them.

• Do Not Fill The Hook Gap! – The more exposed the hook the better. Too much bait on the hook obstructs the hooks ability to find the jaw. When using larger baits some anglers prefer to bridle baits with the entire hook outside of the bait. Keeping the hook free and exposed is a key part of effectively fishing circle hooks.

For best results anglers must fish circle hooks differently than a traditional j-hook.

• With A J-hook – An angler detects a bite and then uses the rod to make a fast and powerful hook set to drive the hook point past the barb. This might be in the fish’s face, lip/jaw, mouth, throat or worse esophagus. This traditional hook set when using circle hooks is a bad tendency.
• With A Circle Hook – An angler detects a bite but must be patiently aware. Commonly pointing the rod at the fish, anglers wait 3-5 seconds before slowly tightening the line and applying firm pressure. This is to allow the fish to first take/eat the bait/hook and then turn with it. As the fish moves, swims away, the hook finds the corner of the mouth (jaw) and then comes tight. Most of the time when swallowed a circle hook slips out of the esophagus safely and perfectly finds the jaw. This is the magic of circle hooks!
• Do Not Set The Hook! – Circle hooks set themselves. Attempting to set the hook (like a j-hook) will result in pulled hooks and lost fish.
  • Crank – Don’t Yank!
  • Once Tight – Begin The Fight! 

Lever drag conventional reels and spinning reels with a secondary free spool drag (Penn Live Liners, Shimano Baitrunners) are great for fishing circle hooks. They make it very easy for an angler to patiently drop back to a fish.

For anglers looking to broaden their horizons and have some tricks when situations call for it, here are some hooking options more specifically for live bait fishing with bunker, herring, mullet, spot, etc. 

Common Hooking Options:

• Across The Nostrils: The nose is one of the best locations for most situations so long as baits are good quality and conditions allow. It allows for live baits to swim and breath freely when drift fishing with a minimally invasive hooking. When bites occur the bait rips off easily so it does not impede the effectiveness of the hook. However if baits rip off too easily try other options.
• Hook Up Through Both Lips: Great hook holding power that’s effective for head hits but chokes and kills baits fast. Good with a cast and retrieve approach.
• Hook In & Through Roof of Mouth – Great hook holding power that is good for casting and slowly retrieving. Must hook with care so the bait is not killed prematurely. Can’t be used in heavy current as the flow opens the bait’s mouth and floods with water killing the bait and making it spin.This hooking is very similar to hook in and through the cheek.
• In The Back By Dorsal – A very popular choice which keeps the bait upright for live lining and kite fishing. Some anglers choose to hook at different locations of the back; ⅓ front, ½ middle or ⅓ rear depending on the baits, conditions and way fish are eating. This hooking option is the easiest to “overhook” and take up too much of the hook’s bend and gap. Be cognizant!
• Underside Breast (Under/Behind Gills) – A very underutilized location that offers good hook holding and also commonly helps get the stubborn bait to swim down. This hooking location allows for the hook to still be in the front portion of the bait but set back from the nose therefore helps when fish are short striking. Yes it kills a bait faster but usually a bite comes sooner. 
• Hook Near Anal Vent Or At the Tail – One of, if not the toughest spots with little risk at killing the bait. This hooking usually gets baits to swim away but commonly keeps the bait at or near the surface. Improves hook ups on short strike tail bites. When utilizing this hooking location/option be aware that the bait’s tail kicks will send pulses and this can mask light touches from skittish fish. Also be aware live bait will need to be given line consistently so it can swim and not be killed by being pulled backwards in the water.
• Edge of Collar (behind the gill and out through the side): Good for lively yet soft baits. I’ve found this option to be very good on calm days when I want my baits to get away from the boat and swim off to the side. This also keeps the baits swimming shallow.
• Bridal – Best hook freedom and for large baits but adds rigging time. Great for trolling.

My favorite all purpose circle hook for striped bass fishing is the Mustad 39944. This series of hooks is called the Mustad Demond Inline Perfect Circle and that is exactly what I like to call them, the perfect circle. They have a good shape with a slightly shorter shank and a nice curved bend that hooks well, holds well. Even though they aren’t forged, the round wire hooks are strong enough and their needle point is sharp enough too. Moreover it’s available in a full size range from #4 to 10/0 and available in 50 piece packs so it’s convenient for me. They are a much better price than a lot of the other hook options too.

Hello Everyone,

Our 4th Annual Philadelphia Fishing Show will be held Feb 17-19, 2023 at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA. 

There are over 230 booths of fishing tackle, guides, lodges, apparel and more. All fishing, no junk! There are also boats, outboards, and RV’s on display. Check out the Hawg Trough, a 5,000 gallon gamefish aquarium. Catch a fish at the show in our fully stocked Trout Pond. See the 3,000 lb Great White Shark replica, get harnessed up and and go toe-to-toe against the rod and reel that caught him. Our newest attraction this year is our Virtual Fishing simulator that lets you battle a variety of species from all over the world.

There are three seminar rooms going around the clock for all three days with some of fishing’s top captains and guides sharing what they know about the sport they are most passionate about. Speakers such as Capt Tom Daffin, Nick Honachefsky, Frank Mihalic, Capt Freddy Gamboa, and Capt Alan Lee, just to name a few. The seminars are FREE and included with your admission to the show.
Meet Dave Marciano, captain of the F/V Hard Merchandise from Wicked Tuna. He will be at the Fishing Nosara booth during the entire show. He will also be giving a seminar on Giant Bluefin Tuna on Sunday at Noon. Check out our website for the entire seminar schedule and list of exhibitors.

Admission is $12 for adults, Kids 6 to 12 $6, 5 and under are FREE. FREE parking for everyone. FREE Seminars. Food and beverages available inside the show. 
For all of the info, visit: phillyfishingshow.com

Hope to see you there!
Thank you,
DaveDave DeGennaro

Back Bay Adventures

732.330.5674 cell

phillyfishingshow.com

The annual Southern Regional Fishing Flea Market is coming up quick!

Save The Date: Saturday 2/11/23

The event is in the Southern Regional Middle School cafeteria.

Doors open at 8am for public.

All proceeds benefit the Southern Regional High School Fishing Club. The money raised goes to offset the cost of fishing trips for the club/students and also fund the scholarships for four year members of the club.

We are looking forward to seeing you at this year’s show.

Previous year’s post…

Southern Regional Fishing Flea Market

First and foremost Happy New Year! Thank you to everyone for a great 2022. It was a fishy fun filled year! We wish you tight lines in 2023. May your many trophy fish dreams come true. Let us at Fish Heads meet and beat your expectations this new year.

This week was much more mild compared to last week’s cold snap. Most anglers getting out are targeting blackfish. Some went deep for sea bass and a few are still catching striped bass too! For a look at the current Barnegat Inlet temperatures take a look at the end/bottom of the post.

On the black fishing front, the rock solid bite that went strong most of December hit the brakes with last week’s cold snap. The inshore wrecks and reefs were very good but the Artic weather took over and sunk to slow the action. Most anglers reported slow to sporadic fishing with better reports coming from the deeper water areas where the bottom temps held up better. It seemed that white crabs were doing best. As the temperatures creep back up we expect the bite to too. Dante from Magictails is fishing as hard as always getting out every weather. He has tagged and released a lot of big monster tog this year. On Wednesday he couldn’t get this one to swim away. It weighed on the shop scale at 18.35#, a true monster!!!

We get asked many times a day… “Are there still tog biting in Barnegat inlet?” We can’t say there is a bite but it’s possible you might find a fish or two. This seal was caught eating some tog in the inlet on Monday by Eric Tell.

Striped bass, Yup they are still around! Few to no reports off the surf but if the temperatures stay mild there will be schoolies in the suds all of January. As far as striped bass in the ocean we had two recent reports. Captain Mark aboard the Waterproof reported finding striped bass on top during their ride to go tog fishing (inside 3 miles). He said catching them was quick and easy. Another report came in on Friday (12/30) from Captain Mike Greene aboard the Luckey Stripes. He said tog fishing wasn’t good, alot of small fish, but striped bass fishing was. “28-34″ bass on bunker. They were all hanging on the surface slow motion rolling only a couple miles from Barnegat Inlet.”

Deep water sea bass fishing was on tap with anglers getting out and catching. A recent report came in from Zach P, a Fish Head’s team employee home from college for the holidays. He was out fishing aboard the Voyager out of Point Pleasant and caught a bunch of black sea bass and a couple weakfish. We received more positive deep water bottom fishing reports from other local anglers getting out there. Unfortunately this fishery is closed Jan 1, 2023.

Reminder, today 12/31/22 is the last day of the 2022 Striped Bass Bonus Program. 2022 Permits/tags are NOT valid in 2023. Be sure to submit logbooks before January 15, in order to be eligible for 2023. All harvests were to be reported at time of event but if not done, get it in now. 2023 Applications usually start up in the early springtime.

Another reminder 2022 Fishing Regulations and Limits remain in effect until official updates are published by the state. Stay tuned to the winter meetings to see how things play out.

Below are two screen shots from the Barnegat Inlet tide and temperature gauge. Before looking know that the location of the gauge is USCG Station Barnegat Light which means that it is in the bay, just inside the inlet. The gauge records bay waters on the outgoing tide/current and ocean waters on the incoming tide/current. The one month chart/graphs show a steep temperature drop on the evening of 12/23. December 24th LBI was frigid, icy flooding, hard west winds. There was a morning windchill of -12º and a wild sea smoke sunrise. The cold stuck around for a few days but since Christmas the temperatures has slowly trended warmer and just got back to the 40º mark.

The water temperatures are cold; skim ice in the lagoons, bay at 37º near the BI marker, ocean in the mid to upper 40’s depending on the area. The weather has been brutal with very short weather windows but “open” there’s fishing opportunities for those who still can’t shake the itch. Both striped bass and tog were caught Wednesday and Thursday. Also heard of a nice bluefin tuna caught too.

Here’s a late season Fishing LBI Report Update for the Long Beach Island area, most likely the last one of the year.

Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy New Year!

Striped Bass Fishing

The prime bass fishing from the beach and boat is well behind us but there are fishing opportunities for those looking. Recent weather windows proved to be successful for a couple boats working the troll. Mark Dear reported good fishing on Wednesday fishing off of Brigantine in 40-50′ of water. He said all of the fish were caught on whiote mojos, “Birds were around and we were marking a ton of fish.” Sounds like they also could have tried dropping some spoons or jigs.

Off the surf there is little participation but anglers are picking some schoolies. Joe Handley reported peanut bunker and a couple striped bass on the LBI surf, “They (peanut bunker) were stretched out patchy the length of the Island pretty much all day Wednesday. I was snagging and putting them, out on a Carolina rig. Some bait pods has bass. I caught 4 mega fat shorts.”

Store staffer Paul has been putting in time off the surf and has been finding a few small bass fishing a AVA Diamond Jig rigged up with teaser.

Blackfish – Tautog – Tog Fishing

Tautog fishing is good when weather allows boats to get out. Right now and into the new year it will be the main game for anglers looking to get tight and bend a rod. Right now we are fully stocked up on tog baits and tackle. We have live green crabs and white crabs however it’s uncertain how long we will have these prime baits stock.

Bluefin Tuna

Every year in the Thanksgiving to Christmas timeframe we get a shot at some nice bluefin moving through our area. Usually these fish are taken on popping gear. This time of year it is not for the faint of heart as conditions can be brutal. Here’s a recent catch by Alex Widney fishing aboard Rum Tales with Capt Fred Soper.

Tonight (12/20/22) was NJ’s Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) hearing on Draft Addendum I to Amendment 7 to the Atlantic Striped Bass Interstate Fisheries Management Plan (FMP). If not aware, there is consideration to allow commercial quote transfers of striped bass. As mind boggling as it might sound, it is true. There was a piss poor turn out, peaked at 40 attendees, but fortunately the majority was there to support striped bass conservation.

Current Bass Situation

Despite a really great fall run we all experienced in NJ the coast wide striped bass stock is NOT in great shape! The 2022 Stock Assessment tells us the striped bass female spawning stock biomass is overfished. Right now we are on track, at best slated for a 78.6% chance we will meet the goal to rebuild by 2029. Managers must take prudent action to rebuild the stock, NOT facilitate more removals. Transfers could elevate F (fishing mortality) and undermine the rebuilding goal.

The only option that should be considered is Option A Status Quo – Transfers NOT permitted.

Please comment now!

Give thanks to the striped bass and show them support by taking the time now to comment for conservation. Keep it short and simple… Provide your name, your home town state and “I support Option A, No commercial transfer permitted.”

Deadline for public comments is January 13, 2023 11:59PM
Email: comments@asmfc.org
Subject: “Striped BAss Draft Addendum I”

For a more details watch the ASMFC video on the topic…

Here’s a short late fall fishing report update from the beaches of Long Beach Island. With the many days of foul weather, lots of wind and swell there are few reports to share. Many of the surf anglers battling the conditions reported most beaches are weedy, especially mid-Island. Fortunately we did hear a couple catch reports from fishable beaches. There is without a doubt bass in the suds on LBI however it isn’t epic fishing. The striped bass are mostly smaller schoolies but a few keepers were caught recetnly. hitting small lures and teasers. Anglers are also picking a couple on bunker, but getting fresh will be difficult. Demand had dropped off so we are no longer able to supply.

Yesterday Dante from Magictails was on the north end surf and caught one striped bass plugging. His buddy also had one too. Another surf catch report came in from Greg Davis who got one plugging. Also Jimmy Betz got a 30.25″ on bunker.

With the LBI Surf Fishing Tournament ending Sunday and the recent trend of a smaller class of bass, weigh-in reports will be few and far between. With the mild temperatures we are confident fish will be caught on the surf for the rest of the year, maybe beyond.

Sorry no boat reports, few if any have been able to get out in recent days. When the weather settles down we expect late season stripers to offer some fun BUT tog will be the name of the game!

The striper bite is relentless. Every day brings blitz style fishing to the shoreline from Belmar to Seaside. Thousands of birds, pick your own flock, surfacing stripers. We haven’t had to troll yet. Everything has been on surface plugs and soft plastics on light spinning gear. This is a migration run for the ages. 

Running Open Boat or Charter Monday, Dec 5, 7AM to 3PM. $275 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared.

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com