5/18 Striped Bass/Tog Report w/ Lowrance Structure Scan HD Images & Back Bay Seminar

I'm back. Boat's in and I'm pretty excited because there's alot going on and we've got some new, seriously deadly, arrows in the quiver this year.

There is nothing like having something in the market come along that makes me realize how little I really know about the water where I fish.

It's the same feeling I had when I started using the under water camera years ago. Just watching how fish behaved in their enviroment was amazing enough let alone finding out what was actually down there. The only problem was I only had so many areas that I knew of. And most of those I found by pure accident.

The answer was Lowrance's new HDS7. It combines a touch screen with down and side imaging in high definition. I've been having my eye one this as soon as the technology hit the recreational market. The features are as endless as the imagination and I'm just scratching the surface of what this thing can do. It's absolutely amazing and I want to incorporate what I discover in my reports.

The first backwater goldmine I found was this>>>

Wood and twisted steel from who knows where and LOADED with tog...



Then another find just off the channel.


Zoomed in, the structure looked like a half buried 55 gallon drum down there just off the channel with tog hanging right behind it.



Dropped down and not two seconds later....



Below is a huge sunken boat that I always thought was just rocks. The lowrance records my entire trip and I can view wherever I went on my laptop when I get off the boat . It will overlay everything onto sattelite image maps via their Genesis Insight Program. I can mark everything on the chart and hit it the next time I'm on the water. While looking back over your day it's amazing what you miss. And this is nothing. There are probably hundreds of hidden gems out there that have fish all over them. I can't wait to share this thing full potential. I'll be posting anything of interest and answer anyones questions along the way.



Onto the report. This morning we left the dock @ first light and found the bass on topwater schooled in two, threes, and fours. The bass were spread out though. Every so often we'd run into a few making their way with the incoming tide.




After working the fish over we ran to a very shallow creek and ending up flushing a 30 inch bass out of 6 inches of water just a millisecond too late to get a shot at it but exciting see.

We hit up some brand new togging spots I found earlier in the week and gave them a work out over the next couple of hours.

We got to try the new Loomis NRX inshore rods that I'll be guiding with this year and they are absolutely amazing. We compared them with the greenwater rods on the boat, side by side, switching rods every other bass or tog we caught, giving each other feedback , seeing where each rod excelled over the other so I have an idea when to apply which rod for different situations.

The NRX has an amazing recovery rate when casting and it just rocketed lures through the air and the slightly faster action gave us a decided advantage when steering the tog off the structure. Not to mention, it's also incredibly light and the most sensitive rod I've ever used. That said it's probably the most advanced inshore spinning rod EVER made. It was a pleasure to be one of the first to use it on the east coast.



We wrapped up the morning finding fish holding on structure just off the banks in 16 foot of water or so.



I'll be giving a back bay fishing seminar @ Sterling Harbor Bait and Tackle on Friday May 31st @ 6:30pm as apart of the GLoomis NRX launch for any here who would like to attend. I'll be speaking on a range of topics from striped bass, tog, flounder, triggerfish, and sheepshead.

It's totally free so attend if you can. You do not want to miss this one. I've got a ton of new insights to share and it's going to be an exciting event that I've been really looking forward to.

                        

Insomniac Guide Service LLCCapt. Dan Schafer
Year Round Striped Bass
Shallow Water Back Bay
Fly & Light Tackle Fishing
in Stone Harbor NJ.
(609)-780-5124
insomniacguide@live.com
G.Loomis, Shimano, Yeti, Lowrance Pro Staff
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Insomn...27841563899334

Insomniac Guide Service 2012 Infield Video in HD

I'll be starting the this year around mid to late April, another month or so. I've stayed pretty busy all winter with shows , seminars , and a lot of travelling. I'll be adding a lot more camera work this year in an attempt to document pretty much everything along with Vblogs on the water , different cities, and around town, on a weekly and biweekly basis. It'll be some legit stuff that happens on a day to day basis so everyone can really get a feel for what I do guide. As a side project, I'll also be working with a professional camera crew this year to document what I can say has never been seen before on film in this region of the country. My schedule is getting slammed so I encourage you to give me a shout for the May/June dates if you want in. It's going to be a wild ride this year.

Enjoy...

Top Water plugs and Striped Bass:THE TRUTH! Push/Pull technique w/On The Water Video

First off thanks for everyone who attended the Saltwater Sportsman seminar in Atlantic City on Saturday! I had a blast speaking along side all the staff as well as meeting many of you at the event!




I did a talk on back bay striped bass techniques and how to catch them during the day time. For those of you that attended I spoke of walking plugs like Rapala's Skitterwalk and how to raise fish when popper's are no longer effective. Specifically push/pull technique of never letting the fish have the lure not matter what.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-maVFTLrwQ (Top water strike with slow motion video and second by second subtitles)

It's common theory that striped bass are not only lethargic during the day but will definitely NOT hit a top water plug. This couldn't be further from the TRUTH. You may hear many backward rationalizations of how the sunlight hurts their eyes, they are only low light feeders, among a long list of other misconceptions.


The inherent problem with poppers is that you must stop the lure in order to pop it again. If you stop ,even for a millisecond, you are forcing that fish to make a decision whether or not to strike it's prey.


You never want to force a fish to do anything that it's not YET ready to do.


Sometimes they'll strike and other times they won't. The better a look a fish has at a lure, the less likelihood it will eat what your presenting to it. This goes for fly fishing as well.


During lowlight conditions, especially dawn and dusk, a bass will willingly hit a popper because it can't see it that well due to low available light
conditions. Once the sun gets up that game is through.


But the fish are not.


A walking plug will never make the same move twice and the fish never gets that good of a look at it since it's constantly changing it's angle in relation to the fish. It's ALWAYS moving. The complete opposite of a popping plug.


The fish will track the lure and inspect it. This is when you take it away. The PULL in the push/pull so to speak. You speed up the retrieve and let the remorse factor kick in.


When the fish starts short striking the lure it will begin a series of tail whacks. This is not the time for PULL. NOT THE TIME TO SET THE HOOK EITHER, which many anglers do, thinking it's a real strike.

This is when you push the lure onto the fish. The fish will knock the lure out of the water with it's tail in an effort to stun it. Be nonreactive to the fish and keep walking the plug at the same pace as when the fish struck it. DO NOT STOP UNTIL THE ROD IS BENT IN HALF ON THE FISH!!!!!!! Even after multiple strikes the fish will eventually hit the plug and hit it HARD.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-maVFTLrwQ

More to come later...

__________________
Insomniac Guide Service LLCCapt. Dan Schafer
Year Round Striped Bass
Shallow Water Back Bay
Fly & Light Tackle Fishing
in Stone Harbor NJ.
(609)-780-5124
insomniacguide@live.com
G.Loomis, Shimano, Yeti Pro Staff
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Insomn...27841563899334

11/21 Striped Bass

Left the dock this ealry this morning finding bass @ the first stop then switched over and hit up another area and found them in really tight schools landing some,thowing the hook on others; keeping us busy for the remainder of the trip.

__________________
Insomniac Guide Service LLCCapt. Dan Schafer
Year Round Striped Bass
Shallow Water Back Bay
Fly & Light Tackle Fishing
in Stone Harbor NJ.
(609)-780-5124
insomniacguide@live.com
G.Loomis, Shimano, Yeti Pro Staff
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Insomn...27841563899334

11/12 Back Bay Striped Bass Feeding in Force

Hitting up the marsh in the flats skiff on an almost daily basis. Water on the flats was become crystal clear with all the grass pockets visible from a hundred feet away. Lots of autumn activity out there; small spearing in the grass, fiddlers all along the banks, winter geese, and the many eagles waiting for their next migrating meal to fly by.

I kicked off yesterday afternoon halfway into the incoming tide and found what I'd been looking.


In their classic fall haunts I got on a very predictable/consistent school of fish that kept me busy for the next 2 1/2 hours.


Fish were laying down in about a 30 yard area with just the right position needed to get them to respond.



10 fish in all from 26 to 34 inches missing a few here and there. Some pretty sick fights as all looked really healthy with that ocean color to them.



Stayed with them until daylight wanned and throttled the skiff toward the marine through the dark

__________________
Insomniac Guide Service LLCCapt. Dan Schafer
Year Round Striped Bass
Shallow Water Back Bay
Fly & Light Tackle Fishing
in Stone Harbor NJ.
(609)-780-5124
insomniacguide@live.com
G.Loomis, Shimano, Yeti Pro Staff
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Insomn...27841563899334

10/13 34 Degree Morning of Awesome Striped Bass Fishing

Got out with Sean and Gene yesterday morning @ first light. Day started off with a steady north wind and a COLD. After hitting the last of the incoming tide, getting tossed around in a two foot chop we headed for more sheltered water and with seconds we found the bass stacked up tight.



For the remainder of the trip the fish were hitting well with many double hook ups and absolutely phenomenal fights.



The cooler water definitely has them on the feed and they were all ocean fish fresh in with more and more coming every day.



Great morning on the water with consistent fishing and even a mystery fish or two that came unbuttoned after some searing runs; letting us know that there are some very large fish around.



Cant wait to get back out since it's pretty much full ON on all fronts. Togging has picked up with multiple species mixed in and the steady stream of new bass invading the marsh. This is fall at it's finest and it's only going to get better from here on.

__________________
Insomniac Guide Service LLCCapt. Dan Schafer
Year Round Striped Bass
Shallow Water Back Bay
Fly & Light Tackle Fishing
in Stone Harbor NJ.
(609)-780-5124
insomniacguide@live.com
G.Loomis, Shimano, Yeti Pro Staff
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Insomn...27841563899334

10/6 Striped Bass Weekend : Flats + Sightfishing + Topwater = Awesome..

Been getting out @ first light hitting the extreme shallows.



We've been finding the bass patrolling the flats and being sighted from up to 150 feet away pushing water and coming right @ the boat. Awesome explosive strikes right @ the boat with some great fights and insane visuals on the bass actually feed. The are all clean ocean fish fresh in riding the front of the fall migrations.


Awesome explosive strikes right @ the boat with some great fights and insane visuals on the bass actually feed. The are all clean ocean fish fresh in riding the front of the fall migrations.
Great things to come and with this cold front that just pushed through the bass should be feeding like crazy now..

__________________
Insomniac Guide Service LLCCapt. Dan Schafer
Year Round Striped Bass
Shallow Water Back Bay
Fly & Light Tackle Fishing
in Stone Harbor NJ.
(609)-780-5124
insomniacguide@live.com
G.Loomis, Shimano, Yeti Pro Staff
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Insomn...27841563899334