Great! But what the heck is that thing behind your son!?!?

Not me, I don’t like lising my expensive braid.

Small guy, 12 inches. They fight nice though. Most inshore its seems are small, biggest I have managed to get from out of the rocks this season (first time fishing for them) was 21” - fat like a puppy.

I don’t use crabs. Might try’m next April. Shrimp on a 1/4 oz jig so you can feel them. They are as good at stripping bait as any Bergal (sp?). I use two rods: one classic Black Fish rig and let alone. The other I entice with motion.

I tease (a bit) and take it away from them then they tend to take it. As if that works all the time - in my head 😂. 90% of the time they just surprise me BAM! And then its right into the rocks or pilings 🤦‍♂️. I’ve learned you can’t let them run.

April I’m gonna start tying my shrimp with that magic line I just read about here somewhere. I end up with, Sea Robins, Oyster fish, Black bass, Little Sharks and Tautog - when its warm. I’m just learning how to fish from the shore here and each fish takes a different skill set 🤦‍♂️.
I missed the Striper run due to my inexperienced ways - but come April I’ll be finally ready (sure 😂😂😂). How to get through this pandemic time without going fishing will be the real test.

Wow. That seems like an amazing amount of Schoolie Stripers to keep. I guess land-locked & stocked Baby Stripers aren’t really important to the ongoing sustainable fishery in NV.

Seems like you’re selling to a restaurant or stocking up like Jeremiah Johnson.

In NY it would be a major gross violation to take that amount of baby Stripers.

Final Day last Thursday, at my favorite spot on the NYHarbor - in the dark a very nice surprise - I was targeting Tautog (jigging with shrimp) - they were just about really off (bedtime) and BAM this nice Schoolie Stripper hit hard and ran. Sorry for the image, the fish refused to hold still for a good headshot. Last day: 2hrs towards dusk 1- Tautog 1- Striper. Good Day for me.

Bravo! I’m in your camp.

I turn my catches into chower at the pier. And sell it to the guys that forgot soup.

I’m mostly fishing now (pier and shore) (season here) for Tautog and if the bait stealers aren’t there neither are the Tautogs. But - Also they nibble & tug off Shrimp the same as all the thieves. You think its a thief, its not. And you can’t really “set the hook” until they make that fatal greedy mistake. Then you have’m.
- Seems same with nearly any fish to me.

I’m going to look into some of the suggestions - the net sounds best.

I never remove the shell in any place I fish.

And size issue: bigger the bait - bigger the catch. I think that way too, but it doesn’t prove true (mostly). Largest fattest puppy Tog I have caught this season - on a scrap of mangled drooping slimed up shrimp I was about to take it off & chuck.

PS - I bag half my shrimp with raw Salmon skin stinks good. The wife keeps it for me. The verdict is out - no test on one stink vs the other for catch sorry - I keep forgetting, but hey I hear some you use smoked oyster juice. I don’t use the skin to fish though. Only seen small sharks hit it. And boy is it hard to get off the hook.

Sorry for the long windedness.

Yours - “gee sorry for losing your gear. “

Sink the boat.

Use as bait, head to McDonalds. (Me)

Sweet!!! I haven’t caught a legal keeper in about ten years.

Beautiful

Gordan, Great day. Are those jetties at Capers? Where? (If you feel like sharing your spot).
I only come down once a year. I promise not to fish it out 😎😂.

Do you guys have Tautog this time of yr in the rocks?

Gordan! Hi.
Best time to hit Spots? Month? In the Intracoastal water there. When do the big boys come in to spawn? All our catches 17-23 inches were dissed by a guide (Friends nephew) in Florida - said “we must be fishing in a nursery.”