Up and down the coast of Jersey, anglers take to heart the three words on everyone's lips..."the Fall Run". Stripers are on the way, and the sharpies are already waiting.

Story and Photo by Bob Misak

Ah, yes, the Fall Run!

Up and down the coast of New Jersey from Sandy Hook to the tip of Cape May, anglers are readying themselves, waiting in the wings, if you will. The fall striped bass run is on its way, and it is one of the most lucrative and "bait shop profitable" events in the country. The northeast has been (and always will be) the place where anglers from all over the country and the world come to striper fish; for their shot at "Big Mama", the cow striped bass that will break the 40 or even the 50 pound mark... the "wall hanger". Jersey bait shop owners are stocking their shelves with everything from the shiny, attractive plug collection to deadly spoons like the Tony Maja Bunker Spoon...and they're flying off the shelves. Bait is being readied; chunks of mullet, fresh and frozen, fresh bunker, clams in the shell and other baits are in the ice. Eels are milling around in the bait wells, and spot, with their valiant resurgence to our waters, are being locked in their play pens as well, to await their last swim before a monster "linesider" makes short work of them. Yes, the bass season is here, but not just bass season, it's the "Fall Run"!.

Pick your poison?

The father and son team of Donny Judge Sr. and Jr. after a proud day of striper fishing.

In the beginning, around September's opening, it all starts. You look down the beach, and you see a guy walking along, slowly tossing his plastic or wooden offering into the sea, hoping that there, in that pocket or rip, will be his first bass of the fall. The pluggers are always out first, and it seems that once the plug guys land a bass or two, word spreads like a wind-fed forest fire. As the fish begin their migration south, some anglers aren't about to sit around and wait for them to arrive here in Jersey. Those fishermen "migrate" north to Block Island or Martha's Vineyard to catch those fish before they even get down here! Some of those anglers are the dedicated experts who know the exact movement of the striper, so they'll follow those monsters right down the coast. It's a free for all, but it's not without a bit of work for the reward. The upper Northeast's rocky coastline and our cool waters are the reason the bass are here. Anglers of the sharp variety spend money to get at these fish...and some even don wet suits to swim off into the ocean looking for that craggy lair where "Ol' Mama Liner" will be hiding. Then once the first fish or two is on the beach, the fun begins!

To work or not to work...

Each and every "basser" has his or her favorite way of catching bass, and the choices are many. The plug guys are a refined group of gentlemen who have the idea that a bass put back is a bass for tomorrow. I have immense respect for the plug thrower; they have a great respect for the striper, and I have seldom if ever seen a plugger "throw" a bass back into the ocean. They admire it, unhook it carefully release it as it if they were catching a trout somewhere in Idaho. This is the practice that in my opinion, we should all use. Their work is tireless, and they walk long distances, fish mostly under darkness, and get little sleep. A plug guy's "big cow" is often only seen in a picture, and that's only if there's someone there to take the picture! They more often than not fish alone. But along with those plug guys are the eel fishermen. They are also seldom seen, and are "vampires" of the fall run as well. They will show up on a jetty at dark, when most guys are packing it in; cleats and slickers are donned, and they head to the rocks to throw their slippery slammers. A lot of the eel guys are looking for the same thing the pluggers are; that "40 pound or over fish" that can be photographed and then released.

The Bucket Brigade

Although I do love to spend the early part of the fall throwing plastics or plugs off jetties for bass, I am a bonafide member of the bucket brigade. I love to pick my tide (which over years past has typically been two hours before the high tide) and two hours into outgoing. Bunker heads are my, along with thousands of others choice to nail big bass. I have fished bunker heads for years and seldom catch a fish under 20 pounds on a head; but the wait is longer, and with good reason. I am filtering out smaller fish, hence trying to keep other small things like skates, dogfish and cocktail blues from cleaning my bait off. Not only that, you can get a good half hour to 45 minutes of fresh oil leaking out of a head, and this improves your chances immensely. However, fishing bunker heads is not without knowledge either; you really should have a stout rod of some length, 10 or 12 foot and good, strong braided line and leader to put that head where it needs to be, and that's over the sand bar and into deep water. Sometimes for this reason I will fish low tides and walk the sand bars, essentially sending the head into good ripping water, but always keeping a wary eye on the rising water. In the event of a Northeast blow when I cannot get the distance I desire with my head, fresh clams in the shell are always in the arsenal. Northeast storms tend to break up clams, so using them during storms makes perfect sense as bass tend to revert back to feeding on clams naturally.

Guarantee the Future

Whether you like to go troll some bunker spoons, run the coast with a wet suit, get on a dark jetty and throw eels or sit on a bucket eating a sub and soaking some heads, we all have the same thing in common, for the most part. The love of catching striped bass. It is (after you've caught one or two monster fish) something that never leaves you, and my striper buddies are ringing my phone off the wall as we speak. I personally do not eat but one or two bass a year, and I release the rest. I'm not saying that everyone has to do it, after all the law states that you can have two 28 inch fish a day during the bass season. But as a "bass hunter" I can attest to this...the more bass we let go, the better we'll all feel about the future. Try it. There is something warm and fuzzy about watching that 35 pounder swim away into the darkness. Releasing that fish is a true guarantee of future 40 and 50 pounders being on your agenda in future years. Remember to eat only what you need and try to release the rest. Good luck and great fishing.