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Scott's Daily Fishing Reports December 2002

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Monday, December 30, 2002 /\/\/\ 5:55pm  
Tomorrow is the last day of winter flounder and back bay striper season. We could have some warmer weather and bright sunshine and anglers can be wrongfully lured into fishing out of season.
We wrapped up the 2002 licensing today; now the monthy reports and end of year paperwork will consume a couple of days of our lives. I only mention this because some folks wonder just what we do at a tackle shop all winter. Changing over the file cabnets and key punching banking and such for the accountant, installing a new computer on the network since the other made frog noises, are just a few projects for next week.
We are closed tomorrow, but if you still need a license fot the start of the new year, we will be open on Wednesday, New Years Day from 6:00am to 1:00pm.
Warmest wishes to everyone and safe travels this New Years Eve.
SeaYa

Sunday, December 29, 2002 /\/\/\ 2:36pm  
A combination of hunters, fishermen and plain ole shoppers kept us hopping today. Hunters were gearing up with 2003 licenses, fishermen were buying bait in pursuit of winter flounder and white perch and the shoppers were spending the Christmas cash before the money was got used up on everyday purchases.
Sea Ya

Saturday, December 28, 2002 /\/\/\ 5:50pm  
Tick Tock Tick Tock the end is near! Yes the end of the year is near. Anglers are concerned with regulations..Blackfish season has reduced limits posted in the Summer months, so they stay the same. Striper season closes on back bays and rivers, but the stretch of the ocean front from beach to 3 miles remains open all year long. Click Here to jump to the regulations page if you not quite sure. Check first, saves trouble later.
Sea Ya

E-mail Reports:

" Hi Scott & family,
Happy holidays to all. I fished today 20 miles off A.C. N.J. in 100ft. + of water the bite was fair. I think the water temp dropped a few degrees and shocked them a little. Our catch was a few nice size tog for everybody to take home and eat. The big fish for the day was a 71/2 pounds. I am going to sit out the next 2 days and let it warm up a little and try again Monday. I will be fishing this winter when the weather permitts. Hope your family had a good holiday. Good fishing to all. " ~Capt. Joel Mick

Friday, December 27, 2002 /\/\/\ 5:28pm  
Green crabs and bloodworms sold today like we were in the middle of November. The holiday is past and anglers were able to free up some time for fishing. Some seek winter flounder, others stripers and Head Boat anglers are still bottom fishing for tautog. Some head boats have found mackerel too, but I don't have any specific info to pass along.
Sea Ya

Thursday, December 26, 2002 /\/\/\ 5:59pm  
The last few days of the year seem to zips by from Christmas to New Years. New calendars sporting the year 2003 are starting to pop up. Time to break out the fishing logbooks and fill in the striped bass data forms that have to be sent in to the trophy striper program.
Fishermen are winding down, boats are out of the water, but head boats become more a topic of conversation to anglers who refuse to start in with cabin fever. Blackfish are still active in deeper water and a nice showing of catches keeps the folks coming.
Some hunters were in today to get a head start on their licensing for 2003. It is required to have the new licenses to hunt in January to validate the 2002-2003 wrap around deer permits.
High tides were critical yesterday morning. Many folks had water in the back yard and some homes had water too. If it was still on your dock and it floats, it's most likely gone. If you live in a low lying area and got flooded in October of 1992, the water was about 8 inches below that tide level. Some folks might just get a neighbor to check the house if you do have a home in the lower lying areas like Tuckerton Beach.
Sea Ya

Monday, December 23, 2002 /\/\/\ 6:03pm  
Warmer weather and lots of warm rain may have helped spur the back bay and Graveling Point striper activity into gear one last time, but with the holiday bustle upon everyone, logging some fishing hours has been difficult. No anglers fishing Graveling Point means no fish caught and no fishing reports.
One angler playing from the banks at the old oyster house along the Bass River has caught a couple of white perch to pass the time. Anglers with boats in the water might be able to find good schools of perch and really get them working. Collins Cove, just to the South West of the Mullica River bridge has a history of holding white perch this time of the year. As the LIVE BAIT board at top left indicates, we still have live grass shrimp and bloodworms in stock for those anglers who just might get a few hours opportunity to go fishing.
Folks up North and West look like they just might get a White Christmas! Forecast for us folks along the coast is surely rain. Bah Humbug!
Just a friendly reminder, tomorrow, Christmas Eve is a Tuesday. We will be closed, since it is our normal day off. Just one extra day to spiffy the house, prep the food and clear some space for Santa to bring a tree.
All of us here at Scott's wish you safe travels and a cheer filled Christmas Day. Slow down a bit. Relax and enjoy the company of your friends and family. Be thankful for the little things we take for granted. If you didn't get what you wanted, think of those people who didn't get anything at all, the folks on the street and the families' with relatives in the hospital. Sometimes we forget just how lucky we are. Make sure everyone gets a hug good bye too, 'cause one just never knows.
Next report will be posted on Thursday, December 26, 2002.
Ok Walt? :) Thanks for keeping me in-line!
Seasons Greeting...Sea Ya

Sunday, December 22, 2002 /\/\/\ 2:13pm  
Lots of rain is an understatement, but local ponds where I saw bottom and grass growing where I have never seen it before in the last twenty years are filled right to the max and overflowing. Warm conditions and lots of runoff has spurred the fresh water fishing activity back in gear. Not only were the pickerel biting today, but fresh water anglers caught bass too. Swing by for a half pint of minnows and go enjoy a relaxing half hour at pond side after all the hustle and bustle of this week.
Sea Ya

Saturday, December 21, 2002 /\/\/\ 6:06pm  
No doubt about it, coastal duck season is open again! Remind me not to catch grass shrimp just after sunset. Hunters were sky blasting during the last magic half hour of daylight. It was a gorgeous evening to be out on the meadows. The air was crystal clear and the tide dropped out and the water was clear, ducks were flying..who could ask for more.
Perch anglers put a hurting on our grass shrimp inventory the past few days. I still haven't had a report on the catching though. Box is filled up again, so we are ready.
Sea Ya

Friday, December 20, 2002 /\/\/\ 5:48 pm  
Scott went out Christmas shopping and left us with the shop. Very little activity today, I think the diehards were the only ones out. Lack of report on catches, though a few folks picked up small quantities of bloodworms and grass shrimp then set out to catch some white perch.
Sea Ya ~ MizMo

Thursday, December 19, 2002 /\/\/\ 5:48pm  
I started out chilly this morning, but warmed up nice enough to pick away at some outside projects. No wind is a blessing after all the blustery weather we have had the past couple of months.
Striper anglers have faded away. We just never got the big body of fish to come down; the folks up North are still catching.
Last minute shoppers beware, Christmas Eve is on a Tuesday. The store is normally closed on Tuesdays. It was a tough decision to be closed that day since many shoppers wait until the last minute, like me, and when they run out of gift ideas they come in for a Scott's B&T gift certificates. We decided since the kids are home from school it would be a nice extra family day.
Sea Ya

Wednesday, December 18, 2002 /\/\/\ 6:20pm  
The day started off very cold, for us here in South Jersey anyway. No laughing at what we call cold, 18 degrees. Skim ice made up on the lagoons again and a few of the DIE HARDS were heard on the radio bringing the boats around to the marinas. We did dip into minnows, bloodworms and grass shrimp for a couple of white perch anglers, but didn't get any details about catching.
Hunting conditions must have been right today. We checked in quite a few deer. Not much with horns, but fairly good body weight does.
Sea Ya

Monday, December 16, 2002 /\/\/\ 6:13pm  
Not much in the line of anglers today...even though a few green crabs and bloodworms went out the door to anglers who are going to fish tomorrow, if the weather permits.
It was a very busy day around the store. Internet orders combined with holiday shoppers kept us hopping. Items shoppers seem to be picking out besides the always common rods and reels are Helly Hansen rain gear, cast nets, and anything to do with cold, hand warmers, hats and gloves and the ever popular Gift Certificates.
Sea Ya

Sunday, December 15, 2002 /\/\/\ 2:55pm  
A nice day after all, but residual seas of 6 to 9 feet had striper anglers staying at the dock. A couple of other anglers bought worms and shrimp and headed up the Mullica River in search of White Perch and other anglers attempted to chum up a Winter flounder at the Forked River Power Plant. Other anglers purchased minnows to try their luck for a fresh water pickerel. However, I have no information that anyone caught a bunch of fish.
Sea Ya

Saturday, December 14, 2002 /\/\/\ 5:12pm  
How little fishing has been going on when the weather turns sour in December? I don't think I even heard a token radio check today.
Deer hunters were few and far between too. I think folks are just tired of getting wet? or is it the deer that stayed "home"?
Sea Ya

Friday, December 13, 2002 /\/\/\ 6:11pm  
A surprising amount of anglers we out and about today, mostly in search of stripers. Many miles of ocean were covered by anglers trolling, jigging and fishing with clams and the high hook I heard of was a single skate. Another anglers high lite of the day was snagging the bottom; well at least the rod did bend.
Prime deer hunting time late this afternoon a steady drizzle started to fall. Either the deer bedded down due to the noise or the hunters bailed rather then get soaked and freeze. A few were brought through, but not as many as we expected to see on a Friday night.
Sea Ya

Thursday, December 12, 2002 /\/\/\ 5:15pm  
That was a quick Winter! It was a Spring like day and hunters made good use of the fair weather. The deer count wasn't really high, but some hunters came away happy.
First showing of Winter has allowed procrastinators a second chance at some winterizing. Now is the time for packing away hoses and pulling bait boxes and crab traps out of the lagoons and off the docks so that the wind doesn't put them back in the lagoons again.
Sea Ya

Wednesday, December 11, 2002 /\/\/\ 6:10pm  
What a truly nasty, rainy day! You know you folks that have logged in to read this page are really desperate to see how well I can sling the..What can be said for today? Hunters who got out early were able to log a little time, but came away with very few deer. Fishermen? Are mostly found on ESPN outdoors in this type of weather this time of the year. Best news is the E-mail report below about some really good tog fishing. I'll leave ya at that.
Think Hand warmers! Sea Ya

E-mail Reports:

12/8:" We set out (through the ice in our lagoon in atlantis). Got b rile anchors on a barge 8.0 miles off beach haven and cleaned up limit tog in 2,5 hours. We traded up small fish the last hour. Chilly but not windy. Green crabs and salted clams the ticket. The tog were banging the rods almost taking them out of our frosty fingers............. " ~Steve Filoramo

Monday, December 9, 2002 /\/\/\ 7:15pm  
Now that was a fine example of a opening day of six day firearm Buck hunting season weather in New Jersey. Snow on the ground, temperature in the 20's, hand warmers, hats and gloves were as important as the gun itself today. Several nice rackers were brought through with the top weight pushing 150 pounds and 8 points topping the rack list. MizMo will post pictures when we return on Wednesday. We will be closed tomorrow, Tuesday, so late hunters please feel free to stop in early Wednesday morning for your check-ins.
Sea Ya

Sunday, December 8, 2002 /\/\/\ 3:03pm  
Ice and snow still here and going to stay a couple more days too. Cold weather moving in for Monday and Tuesday. Marinas are the busiest folks in town with boaters lining up hoping for a space at the dock to have their boats taken out. Hard to be at sea catching stripers and in the tree stand looking for deer at the same time.
Bass anglers had a far less fish then there were boaters out on the ocean seeking them. Several confessed that this would be their last fishing day of the season. The ice is really putting everyone in hibernation mode.
Sea Ya

Saturday, December 7, 2002 /\/\/\ 5:53pm  
It was dangerous to be around docks and ramps this morning, since snow, ice and frost made everything as slick as a skating rink. With a little effort, anglers --in far more numbers then I would have expected to see this time of the year-- went in search of stripers. The early part of the day ocean conditions were pretty decent, but the wind did come up a bit and put a little chop in play and many anglers cut their trips short. Where's the fish? Under colder conditions, anglers have been pushing to deeper water figuring that's where the fish would be, but tight to the beach from six to eighteen feet of water is where some anglers found fish today. Schoolie size stripers just short of the 24" keeper limit were what most anglers caught. Some anglers had no luck at all. Others found schools of bass on their fish finders and couldn't get them to strike lures or bait.
It sounded like the anglers who caught the most fish today were ones who fished for tautog along the banks on the South East side of Little Sheepshead Creek. They had the area all to themselves and by timing of the report, they were doing their best catching on the last hour of the incoming tide. Quite a few ocean anglers took green crabs with them as well this morning as a back-up plan to striper fishing. However, I didn't hear any reports back from them this afternoon as to whether wreck fishing for tog was good or bad.
Sea Ya

Friday, December 6, 2002 /\/\/\ 6:02pm  
One angler reported to his buddies this afternoon about a good bass blitz up along the beach this afternoon, but not a keeper bass in the bunch. Weather looks as if it's going to give us a good day tomorrow. Throw everything you have at em. Dress warm and borrow a cell phone just in case.
Sea Ya

Thursday, December 5, 2002 /\/\/\ 5:02pm  
An hour or so before day break this morning the snow began to fall. It was pleasant quiet morning. After a bit, road traffic began and hunters were here for ammo, licenses, permits and pheasant stamps. Fishing was non-existent....for the sane folks anyway! Stay warm.
Sea Ya

Wednesday, December 4, 2002 /\/\/\ 4:28pm  


www.wunderground.com 08087 105 PM EST Wed Dec 4 2002

...Winter Storm Warning for predawn Thursday through Thursday evening...
The National Weather Service in Mount Holly New Jersey is issuing a Winter Storm Warning for southeastern Pennsylvania... central and southern New Jersey...all of Delaware and northeast Maryland.
Specifically...the warning includes the following counties:
In new jersey: Hunterdon, Somerset, Middlesex, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Salem, Cumberland, inland Atlantic and inland Cape May.

Anglers gave way to hunters as the year closes to an end. Monday is the beginning of the six day firearm season for bucks in New Jersey. Rather then tons of eels and dozens of green crabs being sold, hunters are stocking up on black powder shooting accessories and shot gun shells. Many folks are very impressed with our vast selection of items we hide here, so if your in a pinch and can't find just the right shot gun shell or your short a pack of your must have grain of PowerBelt Bullets, don't forget we can fill your needs. Most folks don't remember seeing the Fall inventory here at Scott's and that's because we pack it all away each season to make room for the fishing tackle. Now, it's the other way around. A lot of fishing tackle is hidden to make room for the hunting supplies.
Have a little time? Swing by and browse. That way you will know what's here when you need it.We have lots of gift ideas for the holiday too. If all else fails, A gift certificate from Scott's is always a hit.
Sea Ya

E-mail Reports:

12/4:" Hello Scott, Just wanted to give you some information on stripers. Yesterday at Island Beach State Park my housemate's boyfriend (he is the Park Superintendant) said there were huge schools of big blues and stripers being caught. Looks like there are still more fish pushing down the coast. Rand's marina was ice covered this AM and the temp in the Mullica up by Hog Island (above Pkw Bridge 2 KM) was 37 degrees. Cold out here at the marine station this AM. Few folks in the entrance fishing though. Looks nice but quite chilly. Cheers, " ~Dewayne Fox

Monday, December 2, 2002 /\/\/\ 5:55pm  
Clam boats saved the day...Ocean anglers who worked clams, jigs or eels behind the clam boats caught fish. There weren't many folks out today. I suppose last week was the time off and this Monday was one of those you better be at work days after a long holiday week. Not a lot to report otherwise....
Sea Ya

E-mail Reports:

12/1:" Hello, You have a great site, I have learned a trick or two off your site about fishing. I have been striper fishing,in Cape May rips, all the way to long beach island, Chartered a boat out of 18 street in LBI on nov 18. I have my own boat that I run out to 15 miles off shore, Were have the stripers gone? I guess they went with the bunker, It is time to tell the everybody how bad fishing is, AS the saying goes, Should have been hear yesterday... (5 weeks ago) Pulled my boat today . SAD DAY " ~John B.

11/30:" STEPHEN MCGREGOR STEVE_MCGREGOR@BALDOR.COM 11/30/2002 Mizmo, we left the dock at 10.30 am on the Elizabeth-Ann and headed out the inlet , we then started trolling umbrella rigs , with white shad , dark red tubes & yellow tubes in 40ft of water between the red & white towers, we caught 6 stripers from 30in to 35in . The shad & dark red tubes caught the fish ,none on the yellow, we also saw some guys catching fish drifting , we had our limit so we left them biting at 3:30 pm . The water temp was 47F & choppy.Regards, ~Steve

Sunday, December 1, 2002 /\/\/\ 2:17pm  
Westerly winds just will not let up. Extreme low tides are occuring as of this minute. Some folks are seeing land where they have never seen it before. One unlucky angler has been bouncing between sand bars over by Foxboro Point for the past two hours. Even though the tide is supposed to be coming in since noon, the water level in our back lagoon is still dropping.
Only fishing news today was from a Pebble Beach angler who had two bass on bloodworms around 1:00ish yesterday afternoon. It's nice to know that the stripers are still in the back bays.
Sea Ya