Last Trip of the Season Pays Off by Phil Simon

Posted on December 11, 2021 by VHFC

Fellow VHFC member Dan Ludwig and I ventured out Dec 9 from Waretown for the tail end of the striper run in Dan’s boat the day before its scheduled haul out for the season. With a late start at 10:30 due to the sea conditions, we turned right out of the BI and headed down to Harvey Cedars since there were some reports of fish hanging around in the vicinity.

We found just a couple of other boats trolling and saw no one on the beach, although we did see a few marks on the fish finder. After two hours of unproductive activity, a radio report of fish in the box just north of the inlet called for a change of plans. We headed up to the coast guard station and discovered quite a few more surf fishermen on the beach and four boats trolling with one reeling in a fish. We set up a chartreuse mojo on the starboard side and an umbrella on port and started the troll in 35 to 45′ where we immediately started seeing fish marks and baitfish on the finder.

The umbrella rig showed signs of activity and we hauled in a small 22″ striper which went back for next year’s run. As it was starting to get late, we decided to make one more troll through the active area, whereupon the mojo was struck, and we brought in a nice 29+” fish. With that encouragement, the mojo went back in the water where it soon picked up another 28+” striper, making our limit. Although we both had our bonus tags, we decided not to continue, and headed back to the dock. All in all, a good way to end the season.

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Fishing Facts

Of the fifty United States, thirty-eight have a striped-bass record. New Jersey has the largest striped-bass record—a 78-pound 8·ounce whopper that was caught in 1982. The state with the smallest striped-bass record is Iowa. That landlocked striper weighed only 9 pounds 4 ounces and was caught in 1983.

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