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Awesome day! I haven't had one like that in a couple years.

With this year's early snow, our water temps have dropped to around 40 deg already so it's mostly bottom fishing til Spring.(But I'm carrying a Mackerel and a Herring rig to catch and liveline one since I've heard there are some cow Stripers shadowing the migrations. Although the bass season is still open in Jersey, all this fishing would be well into Federal waters where you're technically should not even be fishing for them.)

What's a keeper out there and were the fish on any particular bait?

All on flies, I used a chartruse Clouser with a white belly and some flash a boo on the sides. The dumbbell eyes were red outer and black inner. My son tried the same fly with silver outer eye, and he couldn't buy a strike with that fly. It is amazing the vision these fish have.

The water temp was 49.5. As soon as it drops below 50, you have to do very a couple of normal strip retrieves and then a really slow one like an 18 inch retrieve over a minute. Every fish I caught with the exception of one was during that slow retrieve. When you feel a light tug, you slowly set the hook with your line hand while slowly moving the rod in the opposite direction. With an Owner hook, the fish doesn't know it is hooked until it tries to swim away. Then the fun begins.

When the water temp is over 50, they will chase the fly right up to the boat. We have had them strike the fly and run into the side of the boat.

If the Striped Bass are striking, we normally out fish those with bait or hardware about 3 to 4 to 1.