Past Reports

November 20, 2011

The outstanding jig fishing we've had for the past couple of weeks continued this week, with bass of mixed sizes and jumbo bluefish gorging themselves on sand eels as they make their move south for winter. We seem to be the center of action along the coast right now, as party and charter boats from as far north as Belmar and south to Ocean City have been making the run to our area to fish within a couple miles of old Barney. We've had ice on the boat as we've left the dock most mornings, but the fishing is so good that the cold is forgotten once the sun comes up and the fish start coming over the side.

The high winds on Monday kept us tied to the dock but Riverside's Tim Parker made it out with me on Tuesday along with buddies Rob and Dwayne and filled the box with bass to 34" and blues up to 16 pounds, mostly from the deeper water off Island Beach State Park. Bensalem's George Selph was up next, again finding a mix of smaller bass and blues fishing ultra lights close to the beach due to rough conditions offshore. Yesterday I decided to head south to try fishing off LBI for a change, and the Hal Gilham party (Hal, son Pat, Bill and Rick) had four solid hours of drop and reel fishing for bass to 35" and some of the largest blues we've seen yet just a couple of miles from the inlet.

The ice on the boat every morning and having to push through skim ice to get out yesterday are sure signs that the season is starting to draw to a close. We'll be wrapping up our charter schedule after next weekend, although if the fishing continues to be this hot I may try to get a couple of days in the following week weather permitting.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

November 13, 2011

Just as we had hoped, the cooler air temperatures this week combined with the arrival of immense schools of sand eels along the beach to trigger an absolute feeding frenzy of striped bass stuffing themselves for their long migration south. It wasn't uncommon to see stripers crashing bait on the surface while simultaneously hooking up with other fish feeding on the bottom. Small metals rigged with teasers and soft plastics on light jigs produced solid catches all week long whenever the weather permitted us to get out there.

On Monday's trip I had Mike & Steve Hoffman along with their buddy Bill out for our first jigging trip of the fall. Finding fish immediately outside the inlet, the guys proceeded to fill our limit by 9:30 and continue catch and release fishing the rest of the morning before heading in with sore arms and healthy smiles. Rick & Gavin Fisher and Rick's nephew Chris Stewart were up next, and while the action wasn't frantic they again filled the fishbox with bass to 20 pounds. Blues in the 10 to 13 pound class also joined the party to spice up the action a bit. A frustratingly dense fog on Thursday morning that refused to burn off kept us out of the action, but I did manage to jump aboard my friend Capt. Alex's boat for a late afternoon run after the fog cleared that proved the fish were still on the feed and put some tasty filets on our tables as well. After canceling Friday's trip due to the forecast gale force winds, we wrapped up the week yesterday with George Selph again joining me and boxing another limit catch before the rapidly declining ocean conditions sent us creeping back in early.

This is light tackle fishing at its finest. The fish are a little smaller than some of the monsters we had a couple weeks back but they're plentiful and hungry, and the occasional 20+ pounder mixed in keeps everyone on their game. Let's hope the weather allows us too continue enjoying it through the final couple weeks of the season.

November 6, 2011

A hard northeast blow on Tuesday and an overblown forecast by NOAA yesterday led us to cancel those two trips, but we did get out three times this week with mixed results back in the bay.

On an absolutely beautiful Monday, Jim "Smitty" Smith was back with girlfriend Janna looking to catch her first ever striper. And that she did, landing five bass to 34" on a mixture of live spot and jigs before we headed back to the dock with another limit catch in the fishbox. Wednesday found Greg McGuigan and John Becker fishing in some rather ugly inlet conditions after Tuesday's dry nor'easter, and while the fish were there and biting it was only shorts for us and our first (and hopefully last) empty box of the fall. On Friday's trip a hard northeast winds again kept the Hal Gilham party penned up in the bay, and when inlet action seemed slow a move into the back turned up a fat 28 pound bass for Joe Fabrizio that found our clam baits to their liking.

With some west winds showing up in the forecast for this coming week, we'll be looking to move outside for some serious jigging along the beach over the next few days.

October 30, 2011

Wow! That was some storm that came through here yesterday! For a while there it was gusting over 50 mph at my dock, and the bay had so much whitewater it looked like the head of a beer. Thankfully we didn't get any of the snow that came down elsewhere, since it's way too early to have to shovel out the boat before heading out.

Hopefully that's all behind us now and we can get back to fishing. We made it out three times this week between the storms, and things are starting to get interesting. Rich Smith and his son Sam came in from Yardley on Monday to box a mix of bass to 32" plus a fat 6 pound blackfish from the inlet. On Wednesday, former Jerseyan Ted Edmunds was up from Annapolis to do some striper fishing with buddies John Schultz and Dave Crafts. Moving into the back bay after a slow morning drifting live bait in the inlet, the team boxed a couple of nice bass topped by John's 38" fish that inhaled a fresh clam bait. Things started to really look up on Friday, when Lou and Michael Pochettino came out to fish in some "sporty" inlet conditions and quickly limited out on stripers to 34" before deciding to get out of the sloppy inlet and head in early. Even better was the sight of birds working over fish north of the inlet as far as I could see, a sure sign that our fall jig fishing may be about to take off.

It's always hard to predict what a storm like yesterday's nor'easter will do to the fishing, but my guess is that it will be just the trigger we've needed to get our fall fishing really underway. The cool weather has dropped the bay water temps down to near perfect levels, so we'll be mixing it up between the back bay, fishing the inlet and running the beach for the next couple of weeks. I'm down to just a couple of days available between now and our season wrap-up at Thanksgiving, so now's the time to book that final trip of the year.

October 23, 2011

Seems like the weather is going to give us another typical fall striper season this year. A combination of rain and almost constant strong gusty winds led to the rescheduling of one trip and cancelation of another, but we did manage to get out three times this week. Most of the action right now seems to be on live bait, either spot around the inlet or adult bunker along the beach. So far I haven't seen any significant masses of sand eels which are so important to our jig fishing, but it's still early so we'll keep looking.

Tuesday I had outdoor writer and ESPN radio host Tom Pagliaroli and his lovely fiance Denise Marie Theiler out looking for some light tackle striper action. When things started out slow in the inlet, a cruise down the beach produced a morning mix of small blues and weakfish. Returning to the inlet on the tide change, the bass and blues had come to life and they boated a handful of bass topped by Denise Marie's 16 pound fish to complete her Atlantic Inshore Slam. Friday I had Dave Kruge and Brian Murray down from north Jersey, fighting strong howling winds all morning but still boxing a nice mixture of striped bass, bluefish and blackfish from the back bay. Then yesterday the wind finally subsided and it was PA's Bill and Ann Staples aboard, landing three bass topped by Bill's largest of the week 38" lady that pulled the scales down past the 20 pound mark.

The water is still pretty dirty from the runoff from Wednesday's storm, but the fish are there and we should see continued improvement in the fishing as the water cleans up. The water is still pretty warm for this time of year so bluefish biteoffs are an issue while bait fishing, but it seems to be getting a little cooler each day so hopefully we'll be seeing fewer blues and more bass over the next week or two.

I still have a couple of dates open before we wrap things up for 2011 around Thanksgiving, so now's the time to book that last trip of the year.

October 16, 2011

Fall striper fishing is definitely underway, although the weather this week made it difficult to get out to take advantage of it. Early in the week I had Tim Rutecki in from Phoenixville, PA with 12 year olds Michael and Liam taking their first saltwater fishing expedition on Columbus Day. Beautiful conditions produced eight bass from the back bay, topped by Michael's 36" lady, before running out front turned up blues and weakfish to complete their inshore slams. Today I had George Selph back, fishing in some rather "sporty" inlet conditions but banging a couple of nice bass to around 35". Live spot has been the bait of choice thus far in the bay, but there are plenty of schools of large bunker cruising the beach right now so a variety of other approaches should work out front. Fall's here, the fishing has started, and it should only get better from here.

October 9, 2011

Didn't do much fishing this week due to other commitments (whatever gets into people scheduling weddings during fall fishing season??) but there is a lot going on. I did sneak out one afternoon for a couple of hours and it sure seemed like the cooler weather had no effect on this year's mad dog blowfish bite in the bay. I only fished for about ninety minutes on Thursday, but still managed to land 150+ with a bunch a nice ones in the 9-13" range. But that should do it for me... plenty in the freezer and much more interesting things to bend a rod.

The fall striped bass run appears to be getting started right on schedule, with bass being taken both along the beach and in the back bay. I got my first solid reports on albies close to the beach this week, and as reported last week there are plenty of bluefish and small weakfish in the area. So it looks like our fall season is getting off to a great start, and if this beautiful weather holds up we should see some outstanding fishing for the next few weeks.

Still a couple of open mid-week dates left this month for anyone that wants to combine some great fishing with this spectacular fall weather.

October 2, 2011

These cool mornings and evenings the past couple of days are a sure sign that my favorite time of year, our fall fishing season, is right around the corner. While the water is still relatively warm, the temperature has dropped four or five degrees over the past three days and looks to continue that movement through much of the coming week. Baitfish are flooding out of the bay, and the fall migration is underway.

Thursday looked to be a potential washout but with schools closed, Bridgewater's Dave and Pat Kruge came down with their son Kevin to take a chance and give back bay blowfishing a try for the first time. It sure didn't take long for them to get the hang of hooking those notorious bait stealers, as they proceeded to land 350-400 blowfish before a thunderstorm sent us heading back to the dock by 11:15. Add in assorted snappers, sea bass and a couple of fat jack crevalle that joined the party and it was four hours of non-stop action. Lots of fun, and a big bag of some of the tastiest critters on the planets to take home.

George Selph was back on Saturday when we headed out along the beach in search of bluefish and albies. When that only produced a couple of snappers, it was back to the inlet just in time to catch a mini-blitz of bluefish gorging themselves on mullet pouring out of the bay. At one point the water around the boat appeared to be glittering from all the scales coming off the hapless baitfish as they were ravaged by 3-5 pound blues. After landing a couple dozen of them on light rods and tiny jigs, we headed back down the beach and found the motherlode of small weakfish. Breaking out the ultralights and 007's, we landed well over 150 spikes in the 9-15" range with not another boat in sight until just before we came in.

So fall fishing has started. All we need now is for the stripers to join in, and with water temps dropping that should be pretty soon. I can't wait.

September 25, 2011

Not much to report this week, as we've been getting a little vacationing in while things are Septemberly slow. I did get out one day this week to put a couple of blowfish dinners in the box, and it's still drop and reel fishing for the tasty little critters. Landed what had to be close to 200 of them by myself in under three hours, mostly small but enough nice keepers to fill a bucket.

The water is still pretty ugly from all the rain (and runoff) we've had since late last month, but signs of life are starting to appear and our resident population of striped bass seems to be waking up for fall. Just a couple of more weeks and fall bass fishing should be in full swing. I'll probably do a little looking around for albies along the beach this week if the weather is decent as those little torpedos should be around by now, but I've got stripers on my mind and am itching for things to get going.

If this year's spring run was any indication, the fall striper run this year should be excellent as long as the weather cooperates. I've still got a couple of openings in late October, and a handful of dates available in November for anyone that hasn't booked their trips yet.

September 11, 2011

Not much to report this week, as we're still trying to recover from the storms and the immense amount of runoff that resulted. Back bay fluke fishing has pretty much come to a halt, and even the near shore lumps aren't producing real well since the storm. Hopefully the murky water will start to clear up this coming week and we can finally take advantage of the 2011 regulations allowing us the first September fluke fishing we've had in several years. With sea bass closing today and no sign of albies yet, we'll need that to carry us over for a couple of weeks until striper season gets going next month.

We'll be taking a couple of days off, but our preparation for the fall striper run gets underway in earnest this week with fresh line going on all the reels, drags checked, several hundred rigs tied, and the bait pens readied to welcome some striper candy. We should have live spot in the pens around the first week of October, and will start running striped bass trips around that time. I still have a number of weekdays open during the prime weeks, so now's the time to lock in some of the best fishing of the year.

September 4, 2011

Another short report this week as three scheduled trips were canceled due to the widespread power outages and flooding caused by the storm, keeping clients at home with their families tending to much more important matters. A lot of people were severely impacted by this storm, so let's all hope that their lives can return to normal as quickly as possible.

We did get a trip in yesterday, but it sure looks like it's going to take some time for fluke fishing in the bay to return to normal. The bay water is still extremely dirty from the continuing runoff from the storm, and with more rain in the forecast and another storm potentially coming in late next week it looks like it could be a slow recovery. The good news is that there are still some fluke around (live lining peanut bunker produced some success in the inlet yesterday), and there's no shortage of small bluefish, blowfish, kingfish and even some small weakfish roaming the back bay areas. Baitfish are starting to move out of the bay, so we should start seeing albies and larger blues making their appearance shortly.

The cool air the last couple of mornings is a reminder that fall striper fishing is right around the corner. I still have one weekend date available in November (11/19) and a number of mid-week dates open. As in the past, we'll be mixing it up between live lining spot in the bay and run-and-gun jigging along the beachfront when weather permits.

August 29, 2011

That was quite a week. Between the earthquake, a massive hurricane coming ashore just down the road, and going through a mandatory evacuation it seemed like there was always something to worry about. But it's over, we're back home, and we should have the boat back at the dock sometime later today. Time to get back to fishing again.

Not a lot to report on from last week. All of our late week trips were canceled due to the impending storm and our Wednesday trip was cut short by a minor medical emergency that required attention. But while we only fished for 40 minutes on Wednesday, it sure appeared that the back bay fluke bite was continuing to be on fire with 10 or 11 fish coming over the side before we had to head back in. Hard to believe that catching a fluke every three or four minutes would become the norm, but that's what we've been experiencing on our charters for the past three or four weeks. If only that could continue.

It's always difficult to tell what a late summer storm like this will do to our fluke fishery. It will certainly take a day or two for the effects of the run-off from all the rain to clear. The big question is whether the storm pushed the fish out of the bay and if so, how far offshore have they moved. It would be a shame to see the storm put an end to the fluke fishing when the feds have finally given us the okay to fish for them through September. We'll be resuming our charter schedule on Wednesday, so we should have a better idea of what's going on by our next report.

August 21, 2011

Just a short report this week as things haven't changed that much since last week's report. We've still been averaging 75-80 fluke per trip using a combo of Gulp baits and our custom teasers, with the ratio of throwbacks to keepers improving this week to around fifteen to one. Largest fish of the week was taken yesterday by George Selph, who bagged a 27" flattie while drifting a live snapper in the inlet. But by the end of the week, the best action was found concentrated in a couple of areas close to the inlet and I'm guessing that the large body of fluke we've had entertaining us in the bay for the past couple of months might finally be staging to move out into the ocean. We'll have to see what the next week to ten days brings, but the ultralight fluking has certainly been fun while it lasted.

I did sneak outside on Wednesday to check out the action around a couple of the inshore wrecks, and while the fluke and sea bass were there the fishing was nothing like what we've been experiencing in the bay. That may change if my speculation that the fish are finally starting to migrate out of the bays is correct, but it's still a big ocean and I wouldn't expect it to change that drastically. I did come across a couple pods of adult bunker about five miles out that were being harassed by some monster bluefish. The two fish that I managed to get to the boat (on my way too light tackle) were each in the 18-20 pound class, so hopefully that's a sign of some great light tackle action in the coming months.

Fall striper fishing is right around the corner, and if this spring was any indication it should be a great one. Time to call now to lock in a prime date.

August 14, 2011

The excellent back bay fluking we've had this year continued right through this week, although the best action seems to have moved off of the shallow flats and into the deeper, cooler water in the channels. Our custom fluke rigs mixing Gulp baits and our special teasers produced average catches of 70-75 fluke per trip this week, although the ratio of "shorts" to keepers has crept up to almost thirty to one. This works out to something like a fluke every four minutes making this type of fishing perfect for kids and anyone else that likes plenty of light tackle action, and we're catching enough fish that everyone's going home with a nice bag of filets for their dinner.

On Wednesday, Ken Andrews brought son-in-law Roy and fishing buddy Donnie in from Yardley, PA to see what my ultralight fluking trips were all about. These guys are ultralight fishing fanatics, but even I got a little nervous looking at the wispy 4 pound test outfits they brought along with them. A few hours (and over 70 fluke) later, all were convinced that this is the way fluke fishing should be. We lost a few rigs, but with a fish on every couple of minutes and rods doubled over all morning, it was a blast! Thursday I had vacationing Brian Field from White Plains NY aboard with sons Corey (11) and Tyler (8), and again the fluke cooperated with another 70-75 coming over the side topped by Brian's 26" fish that inhaled a 3" Gulp shrimp. Then on Friday, Greg McGuigan and John Becker were back for their second round of ultralight fluking this summer, and added another 65-70 to the count for the week.

All in all, another good week and it looks like we'll be able to continue with this right through Labor Day weekend. We still have a few open dates for anyone interested in giving this a try, or for heading around outside for larger fluke or other species. We've also started to book up our fall striper trips, so now's the time to lock in a prime date for this fall.

August 7, 2011

Bayside fluke fishing continued this week to be the best way to put bends in rods on a consistent basis. While the number of keepers is relatively small compared to the total number of fish being caught, we're putting fish in the box every day and the sheer enjoyment of landing dozens of hard fighting flatties on true ultralight tackle is tough to beat. Add in a mixture of blowfish, porgies, kingfish, snappers and other assorted bay critters and you've got a recipe for smiles that kids and adults alike can enjoy.

I took advantage of a last minute cancellation on Tuesday to run outside to check out the action on some of my regular inshore fluke spots. The good news was that our inshore fluke fishery seems to be better than the past couple of years, when cold water all summer made it difficult at times to put together a decent catch. But while I found action (and some nice dinners) at each of my stops, I had to stop on the way back in to break out an ultralight and have a little of the non-stop bay fun myself before heading back to the dock. Friday I had Lou Noftsier in from Browns Mills along with grandsons Kyle (12) and Josiah (8), with the boys teaming up for over three dozen fluke in a couple of hours, topped by Josiah's 21" flatfish. Regular guest George Selph joined me on Saturday in lifting 65-70 fish over the side, beating out the captain for big fish honors with a fat 25" lady.

I'm very hopeful that this bay action will continue right through Labor Day again this year, offering a fun and relaxing alternative to our traditional August fishing menu. But whether you'd like to give ultralight bay fluking a try, or you'd prefer heading outside work the reefs and offshore ridges, we've only got a couple more weeks of summer left so now's the time. I've still got a few openings left in August, so let's go fishing.

July 31, 2011

Bay fluke fishing bounced back quite nicely this week despite the heat. We mixed it up a bit on our three trips, working the shallow water flats early then shifting to the inlet channels as the water warmed up. There still seemed to be plenty of fish in both places, so it would appear our ultralight fluke fishing will continue for at least another couple of weeks.

On Mondays trip, Chip Harter and Paul Buchanan had a slow pick in the inlet area through most of the morning before we decided to give the skinny water a try and surprisingly found a good bite (and fish for dinner) in the 4-6' depths in back. Wednesday I went right back there with a vacationing Mike Hoffman and his brothers (Steve and Butch), and never left as the guys bailed well over 50 fluke including Steve's 26" beauty taken in less than 4' of water. Thursday, Mike DiPasquale brought out sons Daniel (12) and Patrick (10) to give fluke fishing a try, and again the fish cooperated with over three dozen coming over the side. This time the shallows produced mostly small fish, but the inlet provided plenty of prime dinner filets for the family.

We'll be continuing to target fluke in the bay and inshore for the next month, and still have dates available for anyone looking for a relaxing day on the water and some fine ultralight fishing action.

July 24, 2011

Not too much to report on the back bay fluke fishing. We were booked five days this week for our ultralight fluke fishing trips, and the action was definitely a lot slower than it has been up to now. Brian Stahre and sons Jake and Alex managed to land a few dozen flatties with keepers to 21" on Tuesday, but other than that the fishing was somewhat slow. Hard to tell if the slowdown was an effect of the brutal heat wave we're going through, but we've also been seeing water temperature swings from the low 80's on the outgoing to 59 degrees on the incoming. Rapid temperature changes like that can't make the fish very happy, so hopefully things will start getting a little more stable over the coming week.

The real highlights of the week were our daily tussles with cow nosed rays that are all over the inlet and back bay right now. We've had multiple hookups just about every day, and these great fighting fish provide quite the challenge on ultralight gear. We did manage to land a couple, with Lyle Smith on Monday successfully playing a 30 pound fish to the boat and Gene Karamen bringing a 20 pounder alongside on Friday. Quite the accomplishment on the 6 pound test fluke outfits they were using.

July 17, 2011

Just a brief report this week as not too much has changed since last week's report. Fluke fishing in the back bay continues to be solid with everyone landing dozens of fish in relatively short periods of time. The downside is that the ratio of "shorts" to keepers is increasing and we're having to wade through a lot more fish just to put a few in the box. I put "shorts" in quotes because I have a hard time calling a 16-17" fluke short regardless of what our inane regulations say.

Thursday I had Fisherman magazine's (and ESPN radio host) Tom Pagliaroli and Denise Marie out with me to check out our ultralight approach to this fishery. With the wind cranking from the northeast at 25+ all morning, conditions on the bay were a bit sporty with solid 3-4 footers closely stacked, not exactly ideal conditions for fishing with ultralights. But with a game crew like these two and a little help from a drift anchor, 50-60 flatties came over the side before we called it a day. Friday was just the reverse, when Bordentown's Tim Loretangeli and buddy Fred were out in absolutely dead calm conditions where we struggled to get a drift but still managed to lift 70-75 fluke over the side.

We're going to continue chasing these fish with ultralights for the next few weeks, and still have several dates open the last week in July and first week of August for anyone interested in giving it a shot.

July 10, 2011

The weather was awfully hot all week long, but fortunately the fluke fishing in the back bay was even hotter! We lost a couple of days early this week due to unexpected cancellations, but the two trips we did get in both had steady action all morning long. It's starting to look like we might see a repeat of last year's phenomenal back bay summer fluke fishing.

Thursday I was joined by Medford's Bill Ruskowski and sons Bill, Brian and Kyle looking to repeat last year's fluke frenzy, and so they did. With the first fish being hooked before all the lines were out, the guys then proceeded to land 75-80 fish before lack of drift sent us back to the dock to clean a handful of keepers up to 22". Saturday I had regular George Selph back doing a solo trip this week, and landing another 60+ fluke with five more in the box to 22".

We've been fishing away from the large fleet of boats working the main bay and inlet channels, preferring to stay on the flats where the fluke have been gorging on grass shrimp. So far it has been paying off with steady fishing as long as we have enough breeze to push us along. As we have for the past few years, we're using our custom tied teasers and Gulp! baits to tempt the flatties, and it's an absolute blast catching these guys in skinny water on true ultralight outfits. We don't generally think of fluke and screaming drags as going together, but that's what we've had and it puts grins on everyones faces when they actually experience it.

I've still got a number of weekdays open between now and Labor Day for anyone looking to give this a try.

July 3, 2011

Hope everyone's enjoying a safe holiday weekend. I took the holiday weekend off this year to avoid dealing with the crowds on the water, so this will just be a brief report this week.

Fluke fishing in the back bay continued to be good to excellent on all three of my trips this week, with typical catches of 35-45 fish coming from the skinny waters of the bay. As you might expect with an 18" minimum size limit, most of the fish are going back but we've still managed a few nice fish in the box on each trip with keepers up to 24" each day. Seems to be something like a 9-1 or 10-1 ratio right now, so we just have to wade through a lot of fish to make sure everyone takes home a nice bag of tasty filets. I even snuck out by myself for a couple of hours at first light yesterday, quickly putting four in the box and heading back to the dock before the jet ski set had finished their morning coffee.

Still have a couple more July dates available for anyone interested.

June 26, 2011

It's been a bit of a wild week, with torrential downpours, golf ball sized hail, fierce winds and even some fog mixed in. But fluke fishing in the bay is picking up right on schedule and there are some quality fish to be had right now back in the skinny water.

On Wednesday I had Audrey and John Wendolowski out with Audrey's dad Walt Tatko, with 86 year old Walt easily ending up as high hook and schooling us all in how to catch fluke up to 21". The captain finally salvaged a little bit of his reputation by topping off the box with a fat 6+ pound flattie that ate one of my custom teasers late in the day. Friday the Greg McGuigan party was in from PA to get in on the action, with John Becker taking the pool with a fat 22" fish before we had to run for cover from the violent storm that struck minutes after we got back to the dock. Don't think I ever fileted fish that fast in my life. Then yesterday I had George Selph aboard, landing three to four dozen fish with four fat ones in the box when we headed back in.

As we have the past couple of years, we've downsized our back bay fluke tackle to true ultralight levels to amp up the fun level in this fishery. With the crazy 18" minimum size limit we're stuck with, most of the fish we catch are destined to be released. But what a blast it is catching them on this kind of tackle, with rods bent in half and screaming drags the norm for even short fish. The past two years, this fishing has held up right through Labor Day so we've got fingers crossed that this year will be the same. I still have a number of good dates available in July for anyone looking to give it a shot. We'll also be doing the usual inshore fluke and sea bass trips, as well as heading out to the Ridge for bonito and mahi, as the summer gets rolling so now's the time to make plans to get out fishing this summer.

June 19, 2011

Happy Father's Day to all you Dads out there! Hope you're having a great day.

Just when you think you've got it all figured out, something comes along to put you back in a more humble state of mind. At this time last week, the rapidly rising ocean water temps had me thinking that the amazing striped bass run of 2011 was probably coming to an end. When my first couple of trips in the early part this week only turned up bluefish, I was sure I could hear the fat lady singing her final song. But late in the week the bass bite exploded again, and with this much bunker around there's no telling how long it could go on if we get a couple days of south wind to keep water temps in check. I've still got a couple of openings the last week in June for anyone interested in giving it a final(?) shot.

We got started with our summer back bay fluking the last couple of days, and so far the bite isn't quite what we've come to expect for mid-June. We've certainly been catching some fish, topped by Rachel Snyder's 21" flattie on Friday in a howling south wind after the storms raced through, but the numbers seem a bit off from past years. Hopefully that will start picking up over the next week or so as summer season kicks into high gear.

June 11, 2011

Back bay waters have really started to warm considerably in the heat this past week, but while striper fishing in the bay has slowed there seem to be plenty of fluke and bluefish available to bend rods. Bill Hoey and son John were out with me on Monday, finding cooperative blues and fluke on the east side flats despite dead calm conditions that limited drifts. Things seem to be shaping up to be a repeat of the last two years which saw incredible numbers of fluke in the back but a limited number of keepers. We'll be using true ultralight tackle on our fluke jaunts again this year, putting some serious fun into what's becoming primarily a catch-and-release fishery. They're not bonefish, but fluke make some incredible screaming runs when caught on 4 pound test line.

Out front, the amazing 2011 striped bass run along the beach continues. On Thursday the "pizza guys", Bill Morris with buddies Tom and Dave, were aboard working bunker pods from the inlet along the southern beachfront. While the bass seemed to be taking a break from the feeding frenzy they've been on, the morning still ended up with a full box of bass up to 32 pounds to send everyone (including the captain) home with big bags of fresh filets. Returning to the same area the next day with Dave Kruge, his son Kevin and buddy Brian Murray found the bunker and bass waiting for us with 12 year old Kevin bagging his first ever striper, a beautiful 36 pounder, before the rest of the team had even started fishing. How's that for a way to start your striper fishing career! All the fish caught were in the same 35-40 pound range, making for a fun day in some of the most beautiful weather we've had in a while. Hopefully this incredible run will continue for another week or two.

May 29, 2011

Hope everyone's enjoying this fine holiday weekend. We've been out fishing pretty much every day for the past three weeks, and this nice weather is a welcome break from the dismal fog we've had to deal with most mornings lately.

Back bay springtime fishing is still holding up, although it's clear the change from spring to summer is underway. Plenty of 3-7 pound blues are still around to put bends in rods and smiles on face, but striper fishing has become a pick as the bay warms up and timing the tide essential to boxing a couple. We did test the fluke waters for a bit on yesterday's trip, and while it wasn't hot we did put the first fluke of the year into the box. We'll probably be making the switch from bay fishing for stripers to fluke over the next week or two.

Ocean fishing for large striped bass has been hampered a bit by the dense morning fog and some sporty sea conditions during the week, but there's just an amazing amount of bunker moving up and down the beachfront right now so hopefully we'll get another couple of weeks from this fishery. Most mornings we've searched out bunker pods for some early livelining before switching over to the bunker spoons, taking bass to 42 pounds on the livies and 39 pounds on the spoons. Live bunker have also produced some smaller bass from the inlet, although fishing through the hordes of bluefish has made it a bit of a challenge.

Enjoy the holiday, and when you get the chance take a moment to remember what it's all about.

May 8, 2011

It didn't take long for our spring fishery to go from just getting started to full bore frenzy. On the bay side of things, bluefish came swarming into the bay this week just as the striped bass were starting to respond to clam baits. Anchoring up with clams in almost any of the normal areas will result in non-stop rod bending action as ravenous hordes of blues race up and down the channels eating anything in their paths. This can be super fishing for everyone, as there's constant action on blues in the 3-5 pound class with mid-teen striped bass periodically joining the party to keep everyone on their toes. For those preferring topwater action, the flats on both sides of the bay are seeing schools of blues popping up throughout the day and assailing almost anything thrown at them. Early morning striper activity on the flats continues to produce occasional 20-28" fish, but has slowed noticeably in the warmer water.

On the ocean side, schools of bunker have started regularly showing up in our area and that means it's time for some trophy striper fishing. We'll be breaking out both the livelining and trolling gear this week with plans to go on the hunt for 40+ pounders on a couple of our trips this week. The ocean water is still pretty cold, so I'd expect deepwater trolling with Maja spoons to be the choice until the water warms a bit.

So things are happening around here. I still have one open date in May (5/27), and a few June dates available for anyone looking to catch the spring striper run.

May 1, 2011

Well it's that time of year: Barnegat Bay is coming back to life after an oh-too-long winter and it's time to start fishing again. Hope that everyone has survived the cold and you're looking forward to this season as much as I am.

We've had the boat back in the water for the last two weeks, but the incessant winds and seemingly daily fog bank that's been descending on the bay have limited our scouting around to just a few trips. The good news is that there seem to be quite a few fish around for this early in the season. They've been mostly shorter fish that likely held over through the winter in the warm waters near the power plant, but I've had action on every outing and that's always a good sign for April. Bay striper fishing should continue to improve right through the month of May with every passing day. Once the bunker schools start moving along the beach later this month, we should also be seeing some true trophy bass fishing that lasts right through the month of June.

North Jersey's Cam Rispoli and John Ferrara were down on Friday to open up our 2011 charter season, and it wasn't too long before John laid claim to the boat's first keeper striped bass of the season with a 32 inch lady that fell for a clam bait in Double Creek Channel. There were also some signs that the first wave of bluefish have started to arrive, so we'll probably be mixing it up between plugging the flats with topwater lures and anchoring with clams for the next couple of weeks as the striper bite builds.

I've still got a couple days open the week before Memorial Day this year, as well as several prime June dates available. Time to put the winter behind and get out fishing.

January, 2011

We'll be resuming our weekly fishing reports once the season gets started, probably in April. In the meantime, if you'd like to read about how we did last year, check out our Fishing Reports from the 2010 season.

Fishing Reports from the 2010 season

Current Report

November 27, 2011