“It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”
The frigid chill of November nights brings a raging fire to the next day in the surf. When the alarm goes off at 4 a.m., you’ve already been bone-cold fishing until midnight just hours before, slaying bass on the night shift, so it can be tough to get up. That alarm and a scant 3 hours of sleep in a warm bed makes you want to hit the snooze button. Don’t do it. You know they are there, finning, feeding, and ready to explode. Stripers – right where you left them.
Come November, it’s not only a pick of bass, but often an all-out assault of stripers crashing, splashing and smashing poppers, plugs, metals, and swim shads. Suffice to say, you absolutely cannot miss it.
The wild November striper surf in recent years has been like no other along the Striper Coast, and if we stay in the current pattern of the past few years, we’re ready for some insane action during this month of Thanksgiving.
The Run
There’s no better time to surf fish at the Jersey Shore than right now during the month of November. The fall run isn’t just about the bass migrating, but the run is more about you getting up and fishing hard every single day. It’s both a sprint and a marathon. Over the past few seasons, the stripers generally have ranged from 26 to 43 inches on any given day in November with some larger model pigs in the mix. Sessions can be an all-day affair to bend the rod with sometimes over 60 or more fish, as one session last year had me into 104 bass with some friends over the course of 12 hours.
It seems like the blitzes come in waves of intense action followed by a lull for an hour before they chew again in a spot. That doesn’t mean they aren’t biting a mile up or down the beach, so you have to be mobile and run to the fish. It’s a dynamic affair if you want to continually be on the bite, sprinting and running long to prepare to chase the fish via beach buggy or street hopping. Secure your beach buggy permits beforehand and have a network of friends in a 20-mile stretch to keep you informed.
The Bait
For the past 4 years going strong, acres and acres of peanut bunker, sand eels and rainfish have inundated the November suds and have been mercilessly blown-up morning, afternoon, early evening and into the dark of night by voracious bass schools. With all the various profiles of bait in the surf, have an arsenal of an array of shapes and sizes of lures in your quiver from slender, wide profile, shiny lures, dark lures, poppers and plugs to get bent. My go-to plug bag has all makes and models of lures to tempt fish to bite when they are overfed and gorged with bait.
I have picked up a couple of tactics during these melees. For example, when peanut bunker are omnipresent as bass are blowing up on them on the surface, I throw a paddletail shad and “Dead Shad” the lure, letting it sit on the bottom and not even moving it. Bass look at it as a dead peanut and pounce on it. Casting round the explosions on the outside of the school with slow-popped poppers or slow moving plugs may also garner a strike. Metal lures dragged below the schools along the sand floor get whacked by bass looking for an easy meal that appears to be injured. Even during an epic, all-out blitz, you may sometimes need to alter your presentation for improved success.
The Crowds
When the word gets out within an hour or two of a bass blitz, things can get squirrely real quick. Blitzing conditions and a bunch of hungry anglers make even the most reserved angler lose his or her mind, but there are some tips all anglers can abide to. First off, respect your fellow angler. When shoulder to shoulder, do not make a cast that isn’t between 11 and 1 o’clock in front of you to insure you do not cast over another angler. Bring equipment rod and reels heavy enough that can control a fish to prevent the fish to run left or right entangling others lines during a blitz.
| NICK’S SURF BAG |
| Everyone wants to know what the other guy’s got in his plug bag. Luckily, we were able to get a sneak peek inside the author’s six-tube Canyon surf bag to find out what’s actually inside!
Bomber plugs in black, blurple, chicken scratch, red head/white body SP Minnows in silver with green/purple backs Tsunami and Storm shads from 3 to 6 inches Ava jigs (007 to A27) with green, black and fluorescent green/orange tails 1-ounce Crippled Herring metals 1-ounce white bucktails tipped with 5- to 7-inch Magictail or RonZ soft baits. Yo-Zuri white or wonderbread Mag Darters Savage Gear Pencil Popper and Tsunami poppers Island X copper Sidewinders or green/white Albie Stingers Making the connection from the main line to the business end, Nick also carries a selection of 25- to 40-pound Seaguar or Yo-Zuri fluorocarbon leader, as well as 75- to 100-pound Duolock snaps or 75-pound Tactical Angler (TA) clips |
Do not be that guy to pull up and mug anyone within a good 10 to 15 yards; we all hate that, plus the fish will be moving continually, so try and predict where the blitz is moving and spot hop ahead of it to intercept the school blitz as it materializes. If fishing at night, use minimal light so as not to spook the fish anglers are dialing in and conversely if you are in a beach buggy, do not pull up on any anglers with your lights blaring on. When everybody works together, the run is a pleasant experience.
Dynamic scenes of bait being crushed right at your feet with stripers absolutely hammering them get etched in your memory forever. If you want to introduce someone to surf fishing, now is the perfect time whether they are kids or old souls who need some excitement. The first really solid wave of fish usually comes around Halloween into the first week of November, then by the third and fourth week and riding right into the second week of December it can be lights out fishing. Plan your days off now. Pack the bags and your lunch for an all-day affair.
Remember, if you miss the morning blitz, chances are there will be another in an hour. Move around and find the feeding fish. I cannot wait to see what happens this year. If you see me on the beach, say hello, and I may give you some inside intel!
