After a while of trolling and marking various swarms of fish, I eventually hooked into what I assumed was grass, but turns out I jigged a small yellow perch with a modified rubber eel. I guess even without stripers around, the eels are good for catch fish!
Eventually Mike hooked into a few shad, and eventually was able to land the third one. I hadn't brought any gear for shad, so I put one of Mike grubs on my line but no luck. Eventually Mike switch to a different rod/lure, and I borrowed his. Using that setup, I finally managed to hook one and got it into the boat.
It was a great evening on the Kennebacasis. My thanks to Mike for taking me out and I can't wait to get out again and find the elusive first striper of the season!