“Even the best laid plans may fail.”   I am not sure who said that, but man is it the truth!

  We began this adventure by visiting Rusty at Capt. Tates Bait & Tackle on Route 47 in Dennisville. Capt. Tates is one of several local purveyors of the most expensive striper bait we know - live spot. With a price tag of more than $3.50 each, they are more expensive than silver per ounce! We loaded up a few dozen in buckets for our short ride to the boat, then deposited them in our huge in-deck recirculating live well, before setting out to the Cape may Rips. The four days prior to our trip were fraught with 25 to 35-knot Northwest winds, which invariably churn up the Delaware Bay waters on the Jersey side of the bay, suspending lots of sediment in the process. This suspended sediment turns the water the color of Yoo-Hoo. This turbid water ultimately flows out of the Bay and past the famed Cape May Rips. All this stained water makes for tough fishing, as we would see.

   When stripers take up residence in the rips they kick into their ambush feeding mode. This feeding mode is primarily based on sight, making this difficult in the stained, turbid water. Even live bait must be placed in front of their noses before they get eaten. And in the chocolate colored water, that becomes very difficult. Given the situation, our mission became to find the cleanest water we could, and our search led us to a bit south Overfalls Shoal.  

   We both missed a few suspected strikes, and it was Bill who sank steel first. A nice teen-sized fish was boated, and then the wait began. We spent hours looking for fish and waiting for the tide to change. Slack tide in the rips is a non-productive time. The ambush nature of striped bass dictates that they only feed during a running tide. They station on the down-tide side of a rise in the bottom, and wait for their prey to wash over. If there is no tide, the fish seem to mill about and usually cannot be caught using traditional methods.

   As the tide began to move, Bill and I went in search of fish hanging in the inside rips. Prissy Wicks Shoal is a favorite of ours, but on a running tide with an opposing wind the standing waves can get crazy! Of course I hooked my only fish of the day in the hairiest of rips! Bill expertly piloted the boat out of danger, but all that pressure of current and boat proved too much for the fish’s mouth tissue, and the hook pulled as the fish neared the boat. Few things in this world sting more that loosing your only fish of the day!

 Overall it was a tough day for us, but we have our share of tough days just like anyone else. However, we did avoid that black and white furry thing, and we had a great day on the water!

   We also decided to include in this episode a quick tour of our 26’ North Coast. So many of our viewers have been inquiring about this boat, we figured it was time. From back-bay fluke fishing to the canyon troll, we’ve found her to be a perfect boat for New Jersey fishing. You can check out that segment by clicking here, and you can see her in person at the Saltwater Fishing Expo in Somerset, NJ March 14th-16^th. We’ll be on-hand to answer any questions these episodes have generated for our viewers, or to simply chat about the great fishing opportunities New Jersey has to offer. Come see us!