# Avalon/Stone Harbor Report 10/31-11/2



## StuckInland (Nov 4, 2003)

Spent the weekend in Stone Harbor and fished from dusk till dawn on Friday and Saturday. 4 Fishermen, $150.00 worth of bait, rigs, etc.... Total Fish Count-4!!!!!!
2 tiny little blues, 2 ling cod, and about ten frickin' worthless skates. Not being from the area it is hard to lose what should have been a good weekend to unseasonable temperatures. We fished Avalon Manor, 8th Street Jetty/Beach, The Back Bay around 104th, and also Townsend Inlet.  We used eels, clam, mullet, 
Yo-Zuri lures, RattleTraps, Mackerel Strips, Bloodworms, Glass Minnows, Mummachugs, and even Green Crabs. You name the rig and bait for bass and we threw it at least 10 times. Saw one guy on the 8th Street Jetty catch a 24" striper on a dark patterned Yo-Zuri to the right of the Jetty in the surf zone Saturday night and that was it. We fished the bay in Stone Harbor behind the house we stayed in and heard LARGE bass sucking bait off the surface in the early morning around 3 or 4AM both nights but they wouldn't come anywhere within 150yds. of the dock we were fishing. They were around but they were laying low in the heat, I guess we'll be down to give it another shot in a couple weeks! Good Luck to everyone and for God's Sake post some reports you guys fishing Avalon and Stone Harbor!!!!


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## Manayunk Jake (Oct 3, 2001)

Greetings StuckInland!

I hear ya... We went out for sea bass and blackfish and got sunburn!

When we got back to the dock, the water was full of bait. One of the crew that cleans the boat mentioned that he caught two nice fluke right beside the dock. He also said that the stripers suck down the old bait and fish entrails that they wash over the side, but that they won't touch a baited hook. Theres a charter boat out of South Jersey that's ben making a killing chumming with clams in the back bay for stripers... I guess that really saves on fuel!

South Jersey water temps are still hoding at 60 degrees -- Hopefully this weekend's predicted chilly blast will start them sliding downward again. Ed and I are still debating whether to try for stripers or sea bass on Veteran's Day (last week's trip only netted eight pounds of fillets.)

If you're not allergic to cold weather, you may want to try the N. Wildwood rockpile this weekend. There should still be keeper tog biting on green crab, and some stripers willing to take clam bellies...


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## StuckInland (Nov 4, 2003)

Thanks for the response and tips Jake, I'd love to make it down this weekend for some tog and striper but I may have to wait till the 17th 0r 18th. I'm hoping by then that those crafty stripers that keep giving me the slip will be thick enough that even I might catch one! Keep the reports flowing its getting to be that time of year and every piece of info helps the inlanders out. Again Jake thanks for the tip let us all know how ya do on the Sea Bass or Stripers whenever you pick your target and make the trip.


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## Oaks Bassman (Nov 8, 2003)

I too fish in Avalon, primarily in the back bays. Fishing has been excellent. Fished last Monday morning from 3:00 am to 8:00 am and caught 4 stripers. 2 on eels and 2 on topwater poppers (black). 

The most beautiful night, calm, in the low 60's, and moonlit. 

For anyone who has never caught a striper on the surface in the moonlight, it's a beautiful thing.

I think I'm starting to figure these fish out. Let's start some dialog. What are some other good local Jersey sites...anyone know??


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## davehunt (Mar 27, 2003)

Oaks,

Haven't been to Cape May County in about a month (much to my chagrin I'm only a seasonal resident).

However, per Manayunk Jake's post in this thread, the N. Wildwood Rockpile has been producing.

If you have'nt fished there, give it a shot. It has become my favorite spot to fish when I'm in Wildwood, specifically the little beach adjacent to the Rocks. You can work that whole bulkhead / rock pile as well, it's probaly a good 200 to 300 yards worth of fishing space.

It's got everything, convenient parking, tackle shop & food close by and most important - FISH.

I was thinking of this spot over the weekend. It's pretty tough to beat the Sunrise you get on this little beach! Can't wait for the spring when I can get down there on a regular basis again!

Tight lines, let us know how you do.

DH


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## joeg504 (Nov 7, 2003)

Not really sure where you're all talking about.

I have a place in North Wildwood and was down there this weekend.

Just now starting to understand the fishing in this area.

Anyone care to enlighten me.

I'm sure I've checked it out but just don't know it by the rockpile.


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## davehunt (Mar 27, 2003)

joeg,

Just go north on New Jersey Ave, make a right onto New York (McDonalds on your right) and go 2 short blocks till it ends. You'll pas Al's B&T on your right.

You'll know your there when the pavement ends.

PS, you can also get there by going to the end of OLD NEW JERSEY AVE. There's a big parcking lot for all the clubs and the North Wildwood Pier is located there (see Hot Spots link)


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## joeg504 (Nov 7, 2003)

davehunt

Thanks for the reply! 

I am aware of the area.

I usually fish plugs and lures in the surf but will try around this area.

I live in Manahawkin and usually fish LBI around Holgate.
Need to try more around the N. Wildwood area when the condo isn't rented

Thanks again 
joeg


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## Manayunk Jake (Oct 3, 2001)

Greetings joeg504!

Ol' davehunt gave you good advice on the North Wildwood Rockpile. You can catch a wide variety of fish there in season, although its not a "numbers" type of spot. But it is a good spot when you want to try and catch a couple of fish without lugging your gear a quarter mile, and its given up its share of trophy fish. Definitely worth checking out, especially if you have a place down that way....


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## Manayunk Jake (Oct 3, 2001)

Greetings Oaks Bassman!

I notice you didn't list a location -- could it be Oaks PA? I've done a lot of fishing where the Perkiomen meets the Schuylkill at Oaks (now private property) on up to the first dam on the Perk (also private property now.) My two boys caught their first legal keeper bass from that stretch. Its a shame that so much bank space is off limits now that the fishing has improved. I sure do miss wading in shorts-n-sneakers for smallmouth....


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## davehunt (Mar 27, 2003)

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that this stretch of beach can be intersting for other reasons.

Scroll down a couple of pages to the topic I posted in early September titled "Strange Morning at Hereford Inlet"

It was the first time I'd seen something like that, but per EricG it's apparently not that uncommon an occurance 

Knock'em dead

DH


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## Manayunk Jake (Oct 3, 2001)

Greetings davehunt!

Back in the early 70s, when NJ experimented with lowering the drinking age to 18, sex on the beach under a blanket was a common occurence at Childwood (Wildwood) by night, and even early in the morning at less crowded Diamond Beach. Back then four of us could chip in $7.00 apiece for a room for the night at a boarding house with a common bathroom on each floor. It got pretty crazy during Senior Week down there...

I'm still amazed now when I drive through Wildwood and see all the boarded up businesses. I heard its because the French Canadians stopped coming.

Anyway, Ed and I decided against going out today (Veteran's Day) on our annual pilgrimage to the Rips. Too damn cold and damp... We may do a sea bass trip Saturday out of Wildwood Crest on the Starlight. The weather is supposed to improve by then. Its tough getting old!


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## Manayunk Jake (Oct 3, 2001)

Greetings Oaks Bassman!

You asked about other south Jersey hotspots... Right now you can catch stripers off the sod banks at just about any causeway leading from the mainland onto the islands. You won't get any cows, but you can fill a two fish limit some nights/mormings because of a healthy mix of schoolies and adult fish.

For bigger stripers you'll have to try the open beaches. Most of the old pros stake out a hole around 2:00 AM and wait for a fish to grab a clam belly or chunk of fresh bunker. They're usually off the beaches by 6:00 AM.

You may see some guys casting plugs at the jetties and in the inlets, but they're opportunists. However, sometimes this kind of prospecting pays off. Then there's the beach patrol -- guys in ORVs riding the beaches and glassing for birds. Its more like hunting then fishing, but you don't freeze your ass off!

You can click on Hot Spots under On The Water on the left to get specific locations that traditionally give up fish, but these will be crowded on weekends. Still, there's always a couple of guys in the crowd who score big....


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## davehunt (Mar 27, 2003)

Jake,

I here ya'

The big 4-0 is about a month and a half away, I can't figure out how I got this old:jawdrop: 

I remeber turning 19 and a guy that I worked with had just turned 29, he warned me that the line from the Pink Floyd Song, "and then one day you find, 10 years have got behind you..." was too true. The part he didn't tell me was that 20 years would get behind me even faster 

The funny thing is, on the inside I still feel like the same imature knucklehead I've always been. (A fact I try my best to keep from my kids, no sense them knowing that I'm not really all that smart, I've just been around long enough to know some stuff)

Anyway, if the next 40 are half as much fun as the 1st 40, I'll be a happy camper.

Have a good day on the Starlight should be prime time for the Rips.

DH


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