2012 Big "D" spring fishing reports(post here)

[mu fish]

Bro u need to understand history and species management. Herring are in trouble right now because regs weren't in place sooner. It's alot easier to gut hook a spawning striper with j-hook opposite a circle hook. Flounder have become overly abundant and now regs come back down to 17" may 10th. Flounder fishing has made giant leap and it did us well. If regs weren't in place ud have nothing left for future generations. Regs r of utmost importance proper management is the only key to the survival and sustainability of certain species bottom line we needs these regs in place hands down there shouldn't even be an argument. Back to fishing reports:::::

[mu fish]

Originally Posted by SoleOfGold

I have yet to master the hookset with a circle. Im a traditional J hook cat fisherman

Here is the bottom line: inline circles u almost always have to let the fish run and put the breaks on him by reeling in not lifting the rod tip. Thts the designed intented use. Offset circles while still preform as above but they give a Lil leeway with hooks sets u can lay into a hookset and the hook will grab instead of being pulled out of fish mouth like a circle would had u tried to slam the hook into the fish. It may work once in a while but consistent hooks up only come from letting the fish take off and reeling down crossing the bass eyes. I think I would use circles regardless if they was part of regs or not.

[montauk]

yes i understand the purpose of the regulation, but it should be across the board commercial and rec. If you have to throw back a short so should the commercial fisherman. I guess my point is you start feeling paranoid with the regulations and the sport is becoming less enjoyable. I now have 2 boating license fresh water fish lic salt water fish lic. Which you have to give your ssn on line to obtain, i just wonder when it ends. Okay back to fishing. My method with the circle hook is to just not set the hook rod bends i strat reeling, and in the case of a gut hook i just cut the leader as close to hook as i can and than release fisn with fingers crossed. Since i started with the circle i find that i forget to set it with the j hook while pursuing other fish. Surprisingly this has not resulted in lost fish. It is important to keep the hook razor sharp, i like to drag it across my thumb nail if the hook slides across its to dull, if it digs in than bait it. Also if you do not plan on keeping what you catch you should consider bending your barb flat. Good luck

[montauk]

what do you do when yoi miss a hook set? Do you let it sit and hope it gets picked back up or do you reel in to check bait and recast? I let it sit a minute for stripes, than reel i and check bait.

[TSStriper]

Originally Posted by mu fish

Here is the bottom line: inline circles u almost always have to let the fish run and put the breaks on him by reeling in not lifting the rod tip. .

Sorry I have to disagree 100% with this statement. Inline circles hook (and offsets) the most fish by leaving the reel locked up and in a rod holder and especially if you are using baits such as clam, bloods or chunks. I used to do the let the fish run thing but then we started leaving the reels locked and in the rod holder with circles our hook up ratio increased by a lot.


Once we realized this we we even experimented with it with live herring. Some days when we were catching bigger fish (25lbs plus) they completely inhale the herring. On those days when we had big fish inhaling livies we locked up the rods and hooked up with many fish and many fish over 30 lbs.
I am so confident in this method that most times I don't even pick the rod up until it's doubled over and the fish is pulling drag.

So here my methods of fishing different hooks.

J hooks- with any bait other then live bait. Rod in hand always. Fish bites set hook hard.

circle hooks - offset or inline - with any bait other then live bait. Rod in holder and locked up. When rod is bent over pick it up and reel in the fish.

All methods work but this method with circles is the best IMO and the chances of gut hooking a fish are greatly decreased. I can even post pics of some really nice fish that have been caught in past years with the reel locked up with live herring. Next time your out try to leave one rod locked up and let us know how it works for you.

As far as this years run of fish goes. The last week of March and the first 2 week of April were the best by far in terms of big fish and numbers. It's been down since then and we have not had a 30 lb fish since the second week of April. Thought the new moon that just passed would have had more big fish up but it only brought us a bunch of 15-18 lbers with an occasional fish over 20 lbs.

[mu fish]

Clams r usually locked up and yes sometimes they will locked themselves on the hook but this is not the norm for me as I said in the past to each his own. If it works for u keep at it. Most times if it's locked up and the bass r mouthing baits I will not get hooked up til I get rod in hand. Now if they r jus feeding in a school yes the chances of them jus grabbing it and running and hooking themselves increases. But I have had fish doubled over when forgetting to flip the switch wen using liveliners. It really comes down to wht works best for any one individual. But here is the designed intention of circle hooks.
Circle Hooks
For years the tuna industry used a form of circle hooks on their catch boats. The tuna hooked themselves running away from the boat and were lifted aboard. Circle hooks are named for the unusual circle like bend in the gap of the hook. The point of the hook actually curves into the hook shank. If the bait is swallowed, the hook will come right back up the throat without hooking the fish. As the fish turns away and runs, the hook is pulled toward the mouth of the fish. When the line pulls the shank of the hook out of the mouth, the hook naturally turns back toward the angler, and the fish is hooked right in the corner of the mouth.
Today these hooks are becoming more popular and are used in catch and release situations. Where size limits mean releasing undersized fish, circle hooks offer a very high survival rate on released fish. A major change has to be made by the angler who uses circle hooks. The rule is – don’t set the hook. It is so hard for anglers to remember that rule. Setting the hook means pulling the hook and bait right out of the mouth of the fish. Let the fish turn and run and simply start reeling. The hook sets itself!


Now keeping in mind ur method and the above method for tuna. This method of the fish hooking itself doubling ur rod over. The fish has to be moving at a fast speed upon inhaling the bait I would think an as such is why te tuna hook themselves this way. But good stuff te more information we can collectively bring to the table the better geared we will be to stepping on any body of water and having it our way.

[mu fish]

And as far as gut hooked fish I have found gut hooked fish typically either get infected sores from the wound if hook is left in also it impedes their ability to feed. Not saying it's alwas but a bass would prob die of starvation before any hook jus desolves away. I always have a sharp pair of pointed cutters on board jus cut the hook tip while holding the line tight to expose the hook from the gut. Then jus slide the hook out. Takes under a minute.
Also another way I have experimented on this past year is grabbing the pointed end of hook with stenos then clip the leader ad pull the hook all the way through the hole in the gut exiting the fish with the eye hole of the hook. Basicly feeding tue hook all the way through the hole where the hook is and having the leader actually running through the wound(hole from hook) then clip the leader and u have saved the fish and ur hook. Also done in under a minute. I've only had one gut hooked fish this spring and this is how I released her. She seemed strong and lively not a lazy departure at all wet me good with her tail.

[montauk]

gut hook, mufish sounds good i will try feeding it through and cutting leader. As far as your circle hool debate i have the reel engaged and just wait for the rod to bend. O typically use a fish finder rig so i dont think mister fish notices the weight, and i feel that there is probably enough slack in the line for the fish to start swiming away. But as you said to each their own. I actually have never tried your method but will the next time i get out. You said you use an offset circle hook what size and brand?

[barrys]

Originally Posted by mu fish

. As long as u r using circles on big D u r in compliance wit regs so to each his own.

Not so you must use in line circles on the Delaware River. Not sure you know anything about the river. I will let the authorities know about this thread.

[SoleOfGold]

Originally Posted by barrys

Not so you must use in line circles on the Delaware River. Not sure you know anything about the river. I will let the authorities know about this thread.

Hes saying as long as you use circles, your not doing anything wrong.... So what are the authorities needed for?

[mu fish]

Lol don't argue with him let him do as he pleases. Not only do i have law degree, i have one of the top 5 power ranked attorney's in the city of philly on retainer. He prob has a crappy life , ugly wife, his own existence prob causes him grief don't let it cause u none. If he really felt tht strongly about it he would have put the regs up to help us out if we r quoting something wrong dudes jus a loser Basicly
Back to fishing related topics no reason to argue we r all here to accomplish one thing become better Striper fishermen/women. If I'm wrong I'll make the correction but I have checked again in the book and PDF and don't see the mention of offset circle hooks being illegal. I don't promote anything illegal when it comes to my Stripers they r my love my passion I'm not here to argue with anyone of u if u can contribute something positive chime in please. I'm am hardly the know all tell all final word on striper knowledge I'm just a rookie compare to some but I'm A quick study and I do pretty well as far as I'm concerned and Thts all tht really matters. Catch'em up.
Attn: my boat has kept all of 2 slots out of all fish I have caught so far this 2012 Season all other fish were returned Alive and well none with hooks still remaining in the fish or any other injuries and the majority of them haven't even left the water at all and those tht did never remained outa water more than
40 or so seconds.

[robmedina]

so.......any fishing reports fellas?

[montauk]

mufish, are you sure his wife is ugly? Because i thought you should make an ugly woman your wive if you want to be happy for the rest of your life. Agh the pitter patter of a 200 pound womans foot steps on the floor. I am feeling somewhat happier allready.

[TSStriper]

To protect spawning striped bass, from the Calhoun Street bridge near
Trenton downstream to the Commodore Barry Bridge at Bridgeport,
non-offset circle hooks must be used when using bait with a #2 sized
hook or larger, from April 1 to May 30.


That is what the circle hook rule in NJ. If you are fishing from PA shoreline or launching a boat from PA you can use any hook you want! Dumb ass rules imo

[barrys]

Originally Posted by barrys

I will let the authorities know about this thread.

Sorry I have to agree with you guys that is a dumb a$$ statement. I really don't care what hooks you use, But offset circles are not legal in New Jersey and I thought you might like to know.