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Read about what writes about the Mustad Pacific Bass #3498A hook:

(PHOTO COURTESY JERSEY COAST BAIT 'N TACKLE, BRICK) Joyce Lyle of Brick caught this 17-pound, 6-ounce striped bass on Nov. 15 when she stayed on the beach long after the wind had chased away the other anglers.

Blackfish still being caught along jetties

IN THE SUDS SURF REPORT

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 11/25/05

It is fortunate for beach fishermen who like to fish for blackfish that the water temperature is still in the high 50s.

The expectation years ago would have been that the blackfish run in the surf would be winding down by Nov. 25. This is Thanksgiving week when, in the old days, we would be fishing for codfish.

The water stays warmer longer now than it did years ago, and the Nov. 15-Dec. 31 liberal blackfish season may result in a few blackfish being caught in the surf for a couple of more weeks.

This weekend there will be blackfish in the surf, in the Point Pleasant Canal and around the bridges in Barnegat Bay, the Manasquan River and the Shark River. Most of the rough stuff in the Bayshore area holds blackfish.

Dick Kuhn, former owner of Gates' Bait and Tackle, Point Pleasant Beach, always watched the blackfish situation like a fish hawk prior to the liberal season.

Real interest never builds in the fishery until the liberalization of the possession limit, but there are always a couple of diehards and scuba divers who would keep him informed of the progress.

Once the opportunities were there, he would lay in the green crabs and fiddlers for bait. Without the signs of cooperation he would take a measured approach to the bait supply.

In recent years, the Manasquan Inlet fall blackfish fishery has been marked by a fair number of nice-sized fish.

He used to counsel: "If you put in your time, you can catch three or four fish up to 4, 5 or 6 pounds.

"Green crabs really work well in the fall — better than in the spring," he pointed out. "Fiddlers, worms or clams are the best in the spring."

Fiddler crabs will produce blackfish in the fall as well, but they are not handled by many bait shops today. Kuhn's advice to anglers who fished with them in Manasquan Inlet or the Point Pleasant Canal was to use hooks no bigger than No. 6 or No. 7.

"If you use a No. 4 or No. 5 the crabs won't stay on as well; you split the crab," he said. "Guys fishing with green crabs can use a No. 5 or 6 or a No. 4."

Kuhn tied either two-hook or one-hook blackfish rigs with 3-inch dropper loops and a total rig length of about 15 to 18 inches. He recommended fishing an hour either side of high water, but noted that fish can be caught in the inlet at almost any stage of the tide.

Divers used to tell him that the biggest blackfish were out near the end of the jetty, but he reminded that they could be caught all along the inlet wall from the rocks on out.

The rock piles in Deal, Elberon and Long Branch are good spots to fish for blackfish now.

Fish them with green crabs, fiddlers or sand bugs. A No. 6 hook is frequently used by blackfish anglers in this area, but a favorite for years has been the No. 8 Mustad Pacific 3498A.

In fishing for blackfish, a sharp hook is a must. New hooks are sharp, but you can improve upon this by running a file along the two top edges and the bottom to form a razor-sharp triangle. Barnegat Inlet produced some nice-sized blackfish in the off-season, and the faithful will be putting in more time and effort now with the expansion of the limit from one fish to eight fish.

The end of the north jetty is a favorite spot, and bass fishermen using clams there often pick up some medium to large blackfish on the striper hooks.

The big blackfish or stripers can be caught on a 3/0 beak hook with an 18-inch drop to the sinker and the dropper loop for the hook tied in above the sinker. Anywhere from an ounce to four ounces of lead, dipsey or bank sinker, is adequate in the inlet. North jetty fishermen use rods anywhere from seven to 10 feet in length — conventional or spinning — and they should be on the stiff side to work the fish in and over the rocks.

Line should also be on the strong side. Many anglers today go for Power Pro or similar high tech stuff testing from 50 to 65 pounds.

Blackfish anglers should remember that location is vital with this fish. If you are on the jetty, fish near the rocks in front of you or cast out along the rock pile.

Divers say the fish move in and out with the tides and will invariably seek the deepest holes or troughs in an area.

Beach fishermen are also hoping that this weekend will be a good one for striped bass, and the odds are in favor of it.

Plugs, bunkers and metal will all account for bass in the surf this weekend, but for the last 10 days most of the bigger bass have been caught on clams.

Clams are a natural bait any time of the year. When the surf tumbles and growls they are especially effective, but they will bring some response under almost any conditions.

One approach that many anglers use is to cover at least first base and second base: bait one rod with clams, cast out, plant the pole in a sand spike and start plugging with artificials on a second rod.

Most beach fishermen fishing with clams still use a 4/0 or 5/0 Mustad baitholder No. 92641 hook in bronze or 92642 in gold, but some are choosing a 7/0 or 8/0 circle hook.

Clams usually come in a pack containing from four to six clams, and the clams can be cut in half.

The clams can be fished on a high-low rig. This can be fashioned with a No. 55 Duolock snap for the sinker and a four-inch dropper loop for the bottom hook tied in four inches above the snap.

The second hook is usually located 14 to 15 inches above the first, again on a four-inch loop. A 1/0 barrel swivel is tied in five to six inches above the second hook.

Bluefish are in and out of the surf from Sandy Hook to Holgate, and, if the bait fishermen is interested in them as well as bass, cut bunker is an alternative to clams or a mullet rig that draws more response from blues than bass.

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