Surf fishing

I've been hearing of reports that people are catching striped bass in Monmouth county from the beach in Raritan Bay. I have also heard some blue fish are being as well, although I thought it to be a bit early. Anyway, I decided to go out and see. Beth, Baileigh and I went on Saturday from about 11:00 to 2:00. I fished clams from the beach in Port Monmouth next to the Spy House Pier. This is the spot were not only stripers were supposedly being caught, but keepers as well. I did not get a hit. I also did not see any fish caught for that matter. Someone walking on the beach told me a fish was caught on the pier but I did not see it. There were quite a few people fishing from the pier, yet no fish were pulled out. At least Baileigh had fun playing in the sand.

I went again last night. Same spot. Same results. Clams from the beach and not a single hit. One thing I did notice though was the abundance of seaweed. This made it difficult to fish. Especially when I tried to throw plugs. I fished for about 2 hours and gave up. On the way to my truck I was talking to 3 guys who were headed out on the pier. They told me they only heard of a few fish being caught. One was a 12 pound weakfish. There were only a few people fishing this time. I guess everybody else thinks like I do now....there are no fish being caught like you hear. It may be tackle shops giving out bogus reports to drum up business. I think I'll try Belmar ocean surf one night next week.