Fishing report from John Kleban for November 26, 2011.

Fishing report from Russel Denton for November 25, 2011.

Fishing report from John Kleban for November 20, 2011.

Report by Bill Logan - November 8, 2011.

Fishing report from John Kleban for November 9, 2011.

After two days of fantastic fish Vince and I decided to get together and have some fun catching Bass.  We left the dock on a beautiful morning at 6:30 AM.  There was no fog in the lagoon, but as we started down Mill creek the fog became thicker.  When we reached the end of Mill Creek the fog lifted.  After we passed the route 72 bridge in flat calm water we noticed a very black cloud on the horizon as the sun tried to poke its way threw it.  It was a very dense fog.  It was decided to go to the spot Vince had the fish the other day and if that did not work out we would go to where I had the fish the day before. We started trawling a little close to shore in about 30 feet water.  We were quickly rewarded with three shorts and one keeper bass with birds working all over the place.  We felt that the small fish were on this school of birds so it was time for a move.  About a half-mile east of us we saw birds working and elect it to go towards the birds. We were sure hoping that it would be a different school of fish with a lot more keepers.  We stopped and started trolling the area and were again rewarded with nonstop action as in the first place, but now the fish were a lot bigger. We had our limit of keepers in no time whatsoever and just thought we would stay around for a while just have a little fun. After a while we decided to try something a little different and started to jig fish.  We caught a Bluefish about 10 pounds.   After that we went back trolling.  What was interesting was that there was a boat very close to us. They were watching everything we're doing but could not catch a fish as we were reeling in one fish after another.  They pulled along side of us, slowdown to be at the same speed as us and watched.  They must have been very frustrated, but I think the real problem is they didn't have any bananas on board. After about 20 minutes they finally had a rod bending. We decided that about a quarter after nine we had enough.  It was a beautiful day out there and seemed to be a sham to leave but we had enough fish.  The total for the day was 23 Bass, and two Bluefish.  15 of the Bass were over 28 inches up to 32 inches. There were no waves and it was sunny, warm and was just picture perfect but we headed on our way back.  In the bay the water was so flat that it look like a mirror.  All or you could hear was the sound of the water the boat was pushing aside and the purring of the motor. One had the illusion that you weren't even moving that it be sold nice and calm.  When we got to Mill creek finally it was actually rougher in Mill creek then it was out on the Bay. At 10:30 the boat was back at the dock. We will clean the boat and fish and were ready for a lunch break. It ended up it was a perfect day. Perfect weather, nice warm 60°, no wind, sunny, home early at 10:30AM and we were back at the dock with plenty of time for lunch and time for the afternoon nap.  Thanks Vince for a great day.

Fishing report from John Kleban for November 8, 2011.

Fishing report from John Kleban for July 24, 2011.

I went out this AM hoping to get a good drift in the middle grounds but the SE wind and the outgoing tide worked against each other to cancel the drift down to  .02 knots. We still managed about 4 shorts, a set of drifts down the IC took us down to 112,and an on again off again rain... one small dogfish  [bait] was all we could show for our gas, speaking of gas maybe the members can figure out who has the cheapest fuel, a call to Great bay marina has them at $4.09 expected to go down with their next delivery... one site I saw said BH yacht [shell] club is usually the lowest. Hard to believe anything LBI to be the lowest... seems this might be something the membership would do well to keep an eye on!!    Russell Denton  [honey bun]

Fishing report from Ray Williams for June 13, 2011.

I finally got my boat in on Friday, June 10^th, & decided to go out fishing on Sunday morning, the 12^th.  Sunday morning the weather wasn’t too promising with fog & potential thundershowers.  However around 10am the fog lifted & there was no wind so I decided to give it a try.  I went down to the channel out of Tuckerton Creek & fished along the edges of the channel starting near where the old boat is washed up on the sedge.  I fished all along the channel & down to the sharp left turn into Marshelder Channel.  I caught 3 fluke up to 17” right along the banks, at the sharp turn where the water drops from 2 feet to about 24 feet in just a short distance.  I moved past the brick pile but only managed to catch 2 sand sharks & a skate.  I tried out the new Aqua-Clear combination bottom rig that Skip Deckman asked me to test.  This rig has 2 hooks on it & 2 plastic tees that are supposed to avoid tangles in the hooks.  I have to say that the rig did not get tangled but I did have problems with the entire rig spinning which I attribute to the small swivel on the rig.  I caught one of the 3 fluke on the test rig.  I still prefer my own rigs, which I make up with a 3/8, or ½ ounce bucktail & 2 3/0 hooks.  Bait was killies & gulp.  Well, maybe next time I’ll catch some keepers!

Fishing report from John Kleban for June 6, 2011.

    The Greater Atlantic Bluefishing Tournament (GABT).  This was the 24^th GABT.  They have been making significant contributions to needy local people for the last ten years.  Prior to that they were making contributions to the general fund but decided to help local people for the last ten years.  During that time they have raised over $250,000 to help local people.  The captain meeting has a nice spread of hors d’oeubres.   Paul has been fishing this tournament for 5 years and I have been with him the last three years. 
    Saturday morning we left the dock to be at the box check at 6:00AM (at little Egg Inlet).  The waves were about 2 foot from the Northwest and we decided to head north.  After a while we arrived at spot that we fished the week before and managed 12 to 13 pound Bluefish as quickly as the lures hit the water.  There was a commercial boat there.  He was throwing trash fish in the water creating a chum slick.  We crossed over his chum slick and were surprised with no hits.  Tried it again and again no hits.  The third time is a charm.  NO it was not.  Again we had no hits.  We stayed in the area for another ½ hour and saw no sign of life so we moved to  spot two, where we had fish the week before.  Again nothing after an hour.  We moved to spot three where we had fish the week before and again nothing.  Now the clock was running fast and we were trying to pull a rabbit out of the hat.  We went to spots that always produced in the past (clock kept moving to fast).  The trick that always worked is that I would go to sleep in the front and Paul would pray to Saint Gerard. HOLY MACKEREL it worked. At 12:00 Noon a reel started to sing (sweet music).  While clearing another line it was noticed that it seem to have some debris on the line.  After getting close to the boat the debris turned out to be a Bluefish.  Paul had sharpened the gaff to razor sharpness and skillfully gaff the fish (that’s after 4 misses – to sharp a gaff?).  We picked away at the fish and decided to pull the lines at 12:55 PM.  At 12:50 PM the biggest fish of the day was landed for a total of eight).
    The awards banquet was on Sunday evening.  They again had hors d’oeubres and then a sit down dinner.  They had enough door prizes so everyone would be a winner.  We won two rods and one spinner reel.  The big moment arrived and they had the countdown from ten to one.  We had a total weight of 36.44 pounds.  Third place was 36.42 ponds so at that point we knew we were blessed with second place.  We had the third largest fish in the tournament (12.99 pounds).  The person that had the largest fish was not in the Calcutta so we were again blessed with second place.  We did not win the fifty/fifty, which was $4600.
    As a side note:  talking to several anglers and they were fishing up to two days before the tournament and were scoring with total weights of over 42 pounds. Fish move as we found out and thank goodness for that.

Fishing report from Joe Filice for June 3, 2011. 

   Started fishing the surf Friday morning the 27^th and caught a 29” dinner fish an hour before high tide. Fished again Friday night and had a run off of a large fish on bunker head. It stripped about 100 yards of line and then my line just went limp. I pulled it in figuring I had been broke off, but found my rig still intact and the bait still on. Fish must have mouthed it and then let it go. Still don’t know how I missed a hook set on that run.  I fished morning and evening tides every day through the weekend and through to Wedneday night, the 1^st with nothing but sharks and skates for my trouble. On Thurs, 6/2, I hit the beach at 0600 hrs with the high being approx 9:00. At 7:50 my rod with a bunker head started to scream and I landed a 35” striper that weighed in at 13lb 4oz for the Club Striper Tournament.  Tomorrow I will be hosting two friends from church who are coming down to fish the high in the morning. Hoping for a productive morning.

Fishing Report by Ed Valitutto - May 31, 2011.

I had some decent fishing over Memorial Day Weekend. I had keeper stripers early Friday and Saturday mornings straight over the causeway in the Ship Bottom surf. Nothing-large just good eating size at 11.5 and 9 lbs each plus a few 3 lb blues. I hoped for a three in a row on Sunday but just managed a couple of shorts. After too much partying Sunday evening, I slept in on Monday. By late morning I was getting antsy and convinced my wife Pat to take a ride to the middle grounds to check out the fluking. We arrived at noon and there were 15 boats fishing. After 45 minutes without a bite and not seeing anyone else doing anything, I said let’s make another drift and give it 30 minutes more. As we drifted, I commented how it felt like I was snagging bottom but managed to pull free each time. I had a light Shimano rod with a Storm flash minnow tied on the leader with a teaser hook with a Gulp shrimp above it. Fortunately, my small reel was loaded with 30 lb braid. The next time I snagged bottom, I pulled hard and nothing gave but I felt the definite throb of a fish. I said to Pat this is a good one but definitely not a fluke – probably a ray or shark. Last summer in the same area with almost the identical set up, I fought a cow nosed ray for 10 minutes before I pulled the hook out.  

Anyway, after 10 minutes I had no idea what I had hooked and it was not coming in. The fish finally surfaced and I saw I had a black drum. Now of course, I was yelling for the net. After another 5 minutes, the fish was slowly approaching the boat but just refused to get near the net. Finally I managed to get it close and Pat landed it head first into the net on her first try. I lifted the net and my first drum registered just over 17 lbs on my Boga Grip. The scale at FHQ put it at 17.5 lbs – not even a good one by drum standards but more than a battle on my bay fluking rod.  It was a fine wrap up to a great Memorial Day Weekend at the shore.

Fishing report from Joe Filice for April 21, 2011. 

Fishing Report by Brett Taylor - May 9, 2011.

I headed out after school (3pm) and fished with my father off IBSP. We ended up with 3 bass - with my father getting his biggest bass to date at 34lb on the Boga Grip.  All bass were landed on White Maja spoons. As we brought each bass in - they had about 8-10 bass following them (25-35lb range). Great afternoon on the water - home by 5:30pm.

Fishing report from John Kleban for May 9, 2011.

Told that the bay Bass fishing is the best it ever has been.  Always having difficulty for years, catching Bass in the bay it was decided to give it a try.  The weather was great.  The wind was a little brisker than the weatherman predicted, but fishable (white caps in the bay).  Started fishing at the Double Creek channel near the Dike.  Lost one Bluefish at the boat with a broken leader but landed one (about 2 to 3 pounds) and quickly released it.  Water temperature was 59.1 degrees.  This is usually the warmest spot in the spring so it was decided to move over to the sod banks for cooler water and Bass.  The water was 60.3 degrees but decided to give it a shot.  After ten minutes had a Bass (fought like a Bass) on but lost it after 15 seconds.  Decided to stick it out and was rewarded with two Bass at 29 inches and one at 32 inches. Used clam for bait.  One of the Bass was loaded with crabs.  Some of them were quite large and they seemed to be very soft.  The other fish’s stomach was empty.

Fishing Report by John Henson - May 2, 2011.

Fishing report from Joe Filice for March 17, 2011. 

Report by Bill Logan - March 13, 2011.

While fishing the Seven Mile Bridge today I caught a 17.5 inch Hog Fish that are excellent to eat and fun to catch. I was using a light 7-foot rod with a spinning reel 20 lb braid to 15 lb mono leader and a very small yellow jig baited with a half of shrimp. I thought for sure when I saw how big it was I was going to loose it, but we did manage to net it.
    Other wise it was not a great day for us, we moved twice at the bridge and could not get into the Mangroves, the third move we went to what they call the rock pile, (it's a tri pod Hawks Channel marker 49A) which is about 4 miles out and finished up with a 15 inch Mangrove and some Porgies, well you know some days have to be bad. Ha Ha  

Report by Bill Logan - March 12, 2011.

Lesson 1.

    When wife calls you twice on your cell phone while you are 9 miles out in the Atlantic fishing, to tell you she just saw on the TV that a line of storms are coming across the Florida Keys with heavy rain and strong winds estimated at 60 mph and right over our location, you should listen, (I didn't.) Story goes like this. I had two buddies on board and we were about 6 miles from the Bahia Honda Overseas Highway bridge and that bridge is about 3 miles from homeport. We're in to Yellowtail snappers, limit size is 12 inches, 10 per angler, we had a good chum line going and having fun, a lot of shorts and some keepers thrown in. About 200 yards behind us are 3 other boats, and one other boat on each side Port & Starboard. Like I said before, Arleen calls to tell me about the storms and suggest I start in, I say to her OK Hon will do, I can see the sky is a little dark to the north Hon but we have time. Ten Minutes later I get the second call from Arleen, wants to know if I started in she was a little more to the point GET IN NOW. I look to the North, sky is BLACK, I look at the 3 boats behind me and all are pulling up anchors, OK guys where leaving, Bob you dump the chum and bring in the shrimp Phil get on the bow while I bring up the anchor, secure it and get back here right away. I swing the Grady around to 330 degrees, which puts me in direct line for the bridge. I have a following sea with 3 to 4 foot roles about 15 feet part, but no rain or wind YET. I put the Grady up on plane doing 4200 to 4500 RPM's that gives me about 25 to 30 MPH and I am flying across the top of the water, with the 3 other boats near by and hanging on.  About 3 miles from the bridge the rain starts, so heavy it's like being in a fog, no wind YET, I have my radar and chart plotter on. Two miles from the bridge the wind hit, their is a small island with shallow water around it about 500 yards in front of the old Flagger railroad bride that you have to be mindful of, and it is in direct line with the bridge opening, we use that part where the trestle has been cut away because going under any other part of the bridge you have to watch for falling debris, then after the Railroad bride about another 300 yards you have the RT. 1 Overseas Hwy bridge and those pilings are a lot closer, got thru them ok, had to watch for other smaller boats who are under the bridge trying to ride it out, now we are in the Gulf with 3 more miles to go, and it is ugly, the wind is hitting me on the bow portside, plus I had to watch for the lobster and crab pots, I got one, but lucky it did not wrap around the Props after going the 3 miles we have to start looking for the two channel markers that leads you into the channel that takes you to the inlet into the Marina, both sides of those markers it is very shallow, I am very thankful for my radar and chart plotter and the other two sets of eyes I had with me. We made it back to the dock with 3 very nervous and very very wet fishermen, so wet the stuff in my wallet was wet. Secured the Grady to the dock went back to our trailers to wait it out and with in an hour and half it was all over went back to the boat cleaned it and the fish for our next fish fry.

Tight Lines
Bill Logan 

PS. Captain Morgan Silver with some Coke sure did settle the nerves. 

PSS. there is one thing that I did not do and it is not mentioned here, do you know what it is, (Hint) it has to do with safety 

Report by Bill Logan - March 2, 2011.

    Well the full moon is gone and the warmer water has moved back in, and fishing has been good. Here's is an example as to why it pays to weight in any fish when your in a tournament. Our R. V. resort holds a two day tournament (Saturday & Sunday) in February, cost is $30.00 per angler, 4 anglers par boat, cost includes a Captains Meeting with Buffett, (free beer) Friday night and a very nice awards dinner Sunday Evening, Species are Kings, Maui Maui, Snappers including Mutton, Spanish & Cero Mackerel and some others that I can't remember. Phil and I entered the tournament and fished the Seven Mile Bridge on Saturday, catching Mangroves and Yellow Tail Snappers. I get hit with a Cero Mackerel and it takes off running, they are a lot of fun to catch, I didn't have a wire leader on so I was waiting for it to bite off, well this one didn't, I finally got done playing around with it and brought it aboard. I was going to release it, when Phil says lets weight it in, I said it's not that big, about 3 lbs, but Phil says lets try any way, he also had a good size Mangrove so when were done fishing we take my Mackerel and his Mangrove and have them weighed in. At the awards dinner Sunday night Phil and I are pleasantly surprised to find out we are in a tie with 2 other boats for a 3lb Mackerel and won $100.00, and I was going to put it back. Lessoned learned. 
    The photo is of the Boarder Patrol and our Tax Dollars at work, we have a very heavy presence of law enforcement here in the Keys, also coming into our Marina, and patrolling the Atlantic and Gulf waters are the U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission. Fish & Wildlife are sometimes in plain clothes and will walk up to the fish cleaning station ask a lot of questions and then make themselves known and will check your catch. We just had an incidence here at our Marina where some legal aliens were caught at our fish cleaning station at 2:am with 25 to 30 out of season grouper, at a cost of $250.00 each. No further information is available.
     The latest fishing trip was yesterday Tuesday March 1st, things weren't going to good in the beginning, had to move several times out at the patch reefs, but by the end of the day we had limited out (10) on some nice size Mangroves, good size Porgies, a Lane snapper and released several trigger fish and different size Groupers and Grunts had a lot of bite offs, the Mackerel will drive you crazy sometimes.
    The photo is of my oldest son Bill Jr. who spent a few days down here fishing with me, he is holding a parrot fish; fishing down here is like a box of Chocolates you never know what your gona get.

Fishing Report by John Henson - February 2, 2011.

Something a little different--ice fishing. ---Went with my cousin Tony, he is a very experienced ice fisherman, to help him as an ice fishing guide to the local boy scout troop, Troop #23 of Manahawkin, last weekend on their annual 3 day Winterfest. The scout camp, Camp Winnebago, is located in North Jersey, near West Milford. We arrived late on Friday with no time for fishing. Hit the ice at 7am on Sat. The scouts came out around 8am and we put on a demonstration, starting with proper safety for ice fishing, and then set them up with some tip-ups. They're attention didn't last long and soon we were the only ones still on the ice. We caught 4 largemouth with nothing much to brag about, then around 2pm one of my flags went up and this fish was on the other end. My personal best for the freshwater at 21.75 inches and 7.5 lbs. We ended the day with 8 bass total.

Report by Bill Logan - January 26, 2011.

Report by Bill Logan - January 21, 2011.

THEIR IS NOTHING LIKE FISHING IN THE FLORIDA KEYS, it has been fantastic, fist day out we limit out on Mangrove snappers, second day out the same, the third day the same, 10 inches and 5 per angler is the limit, we do not keep any thing under 12 inches although 10 inches is the limit, so we are getting 12 plus inch Mangroves. Here's how we setup for Mangroves, we have two bridges to choose from. One is Bahia Honda Overseas Highway Bridge and the other is Seven Mile Bridge, and yes it is seven mile long. We watch how the current is flowing around the bridge pilings and will anchor up about 10 to 5 yards in front of the bridge pilings and their is many to choose from, Bait can be any where from live or dead Shrimp, Pin Fish live or dead, Silversides, what every you like but the bait of chose is Live Pinfish great for good size Mangroves, yesterday we fished what is know as the Patch Reefs, I went out on another boat with two other anglers, we caught 12 Mangroves, 5 Hog Fish, 6 big Porgies & 1 keeper Yellow tail.  What you need to know is this not 6, 8 or 10 hours of fishing, we talking about 3 to 5 hours fishing tops, on our first trip out we left the dock at 8:45 am and returned at 10:30 am with our limit, total round trip in miles 6 to either bridge. This why I decided to bring the Grady White down here and leave it here It's cheaper for me and I can fish more, and catch "fishes" I CAN KEEP.

Striped Bass Report for Nov.18 by Vince Sibona

John Kleban, John Lyszczarz and I left my dock at 6:30 AM on the SEA BONA and headed for Barnegat Inlet. We went out of the inlet and headed north. About a mile North of the inlet, we saw some birds working and started trolling umbrella rigs. Soon we had a bass hooked up. John Lyszczarz caught a 34-inch bass, which was the biggest bass of the day. We continued trolling north catching more bass and too many Bluefish. We trolled up to just past the bathing beach, turned around and trolled south still catching some fish for a while. The bite ended about 10:30, half way back to the inlet so we picked up and headed home. Our catch for the day was 7 Bass, 4 that were keepers and well over 30 jumbo Bluefish. I think if it weren’t for all the Bluefish, we would have caught many more Bass. We had a lot of down time catching and releasing all the Bluefish. All in all we had a good day.
PS.  We also caught over a dozen Sand Eels.

Fishing report from John Kleban for November 24, 2010.

Got up a little early on Turkey day to spend a few hours catching saltwater Turkeys with my daughter.  Headed directly to where the fishing was good for the last few trips.  The fish finder indicated a total lack of anything.  It was noticed that a charter boat was just leaving the area and heading inshore and down the beach.  After running for a while it was noticed that there were several boats in a small area with the Doris Mae and Miss Barnegat Light there (to be joined with the Miss Beach Haven).  There were a lot of boats inshore working a school of birds, but since we were trolling we stayed away from the boats.  We were rewarded with good readings and a bent rod ever once in a while.  After a while (about 9:00 AM) the bite stopped and the boats moved.  At this time we had released 8 shorts and had 3 keepers (one was over 17 pounds on a hand scale).  We went south, returned to where we caught fish, moved back to our first stop and then finally just outside the inlet.  All we could muster up was a big Bluefish (about 14 pounds) so when the hail started we headed in.  Radio chatter indicated good fishing north and as we left the Doris Mae and the Miss Barnegat Light were heading north of the inlet.

Fishing report from John Kleban for November 22, 2010.

Fishing report from John Kleban for November 16, 2010.

Went out on Sunday after reading the glowing Bass reports.  Started east of the inlet and was able to catch a 26” and 30” Bass with a few Blues  mixed in.  With a slow pick it was decided to move a little north where there was a fleet of boats and a few charter boats mixed in.  A few more Blues were landed.  Tried moving a little further north with a few more Blues.  The radio charter did not indicate any action. The fishermen were either keeping their mouth shut or there was a lack of fish so it was decided to go home (had a total of 2 Bass and 16 Blues).  Tried Monday starting where the Bass were caught the day before with no luck.  Moved to where the charter boats were at the day before with a few Blues keeping the reels screaming.  Started to move to a spot where in the past some action was to be had.  After getting close, a 27 ½ “ Bass was landed.  After another half hour a 30” Bass was landed. Around noon it was decided to go home when the radio indicated Bass all over at the Bathing Beach.  Quickly moved there with Bass (and some Blues) swirling as far as the eye could see. Fished for about an hour with 16 More Bass (to 35”) landed and a half dozen Blues.  It was fun to play catch and release and ended the day with 17 Blues and 18 Bass (released everything except 2 Bass).
The Blues that were mixed in with the Bass were from 12 to 14 pounds and all the Bass were over 28”, not that I measured them all, but after fishing with Vince my estimates are much keener.

Report for 11/13/2010   from John Henson 

Fishing report from John Kleban for October 13, 2010.

Yesterday was trying to make a decision as to go fishing or not.  The weather forecast for the next few days made it sound that the weather would not allow me to do so, therefore it was today or forget it.  On the way to pick up the morning papers the sky was lit up with lighting and a sound of thunder could be heard from time to time.  The weather report and radar suggested it would be a good decision to go fishing.  Delayed to departure till 7:30AM and left with rain falling.  As I approached Barnegat inlet (8:30 AM) the sky turned blue.  Went into the ocean and the waves were 1 to 1-1/2 foot.  Headed to 5 miles north of the inlet to 40 feet of water.  Started trolling (9:00 AM) and quickly started to catch 1/2 pound Bluefish.  After catching about 10 of these very small fish it was decided to go to deeper water.  In about 45 feet of water the starboard reel screamed.  Over 100 feet of line was ripped from the reel in a mater of seconds.  Quickly put the boat in neutral and ignored the port line.  The fish put up a very spirited fight and after 10 minutes it was boat side.  It was a False Albacore of between 7 to 8 pounds.  It was a huge False Albacore.  Since the port line dropped to the bottom it was decided to reel in the line a clear it of any bottom junk.  Just as the lure broke water about 75 feet behind the boat a huge swirl was observed at the lure.  Quickly 75 feet of line was ripped from the reel.  Another spirited battle ensued. When the fish came close to the boat it was noticed that this was a record False Albacore, but it had stripes.   Having the gaff in a very excisable location it was put to work gaffing a 21.8-pound Bass.  One more 6 to 7 pound Bluefish was hooked, only to be lost at boat side (it would have been release just as the other Blues were).
            Radio chatter indicated that Bass or two were caught the day before, but a full day of fishing was needed to do so.  At 11:00 AM it was decided to go home.
 

Fishing report from Joe Filice for September 18, 2010. 

  Dragged Tyler out of bed at 5:45 AM and headed to the beach. Baited and cast his rod, telling him what a strike would feel like. I just baited and cast my rod and looked over to see him bringing in his first Kingfish ever. Watched the sunrise as he landed a second fish and we finished up as I landed one. He was cold at this point, being knee deep in the surf with a hard Northeast Wind, so we left them biting and headed back for coffee and pancakes. Hope to take the 8 yr. old granddaughter and Tyler back out at low tide when it’s warmer for another shot at them.

Fishing report from Jeff Barnhart for September 17, 2010. 

The No Limits Fishing Team Dynamic duo of Bob Percopo and Jeff Barnhart headed to the Lindy last week on Bob’s 33 Hydra sport. What a terrific trip. The water was flat calm all the way out, during the troll and most of the way home, only kicking up 20 miles from the inlet on the way back. The water was the clearest blue I have ever seen. We shot a video of porpoises swimming under the boat that looks like it was shot in an aquarium. We also experienced pilot whales swimming by to take a look at us. Not a bad day fishing either. We went three for three on mahi – two for two on white marlin (73 and 75 inches both boated and safely released) and lost a good size tuna at the boat.
Photo caption: Left to right – The No Limits Fishing Team Duo of Jeff Barnhart and Bob Percopo with the 73 and 75 inch white marlin they boated and released at the lindy fishing on Bob’s 33 hydra Sport – No Limits.

Fishing report from Joe Filice for September 18, 2010. 

    I had another incredible sunrise and non-stop action on the Kingfish. Put another dozen in the box. Yesterday’s will be done up for a fish fry tonight and today’s are filleted and frozen for a future dinner. They’re in the surf thick right now. Get out & give it a shot. Used the Manny Silva Rod I won in the club raffle today, matched up with a lightweight Daiwa. It is extremely sensitive and a blast for fighting these feisty fish. I’ll be hitting it again Friday & Saturday w/my 10 yr. old grandson.

Fishing report from Joe Filice for September 14, 2010. 

Fishing report from John Kleban for August 6, 2010.

Went fishing in the ocean yesterday for the first time in a month.  Went two miles north of Barnegat Light in 50 feet of water.  The water temperature was 57 degrees.  I have two temperature gauges and they both showed the same temperature.  Several boats in the area also reported 57 degrees.  One boat at Point Pleasant also reported 57 degrees.  The inlet was real nasty with 6-foot waves.  The party boats slowed to a crawl since it was so nasty.  Tried from 40 foot to 55 foot, but found the fish between 47 foot to 52 foot, so that is where I spent most of the time.  Squid and fresh Spearing were the hot ticket (have not used Killies in 15 years).  When the fish were landed they were ice cold.  They felt like they just came out of the Ice Box (dating myself).  They were just lying on the bait and not hitting hard.  A slow lift was the ticket.  A few times they dropped off 10 feet from the bottom and with a quick release and they quickly jumped back on.  Was using a KISS (will explain at the club meeting) rig with 5 ounces of lead.  Ended the day with 37 Fluke, one 12 inch Ling, one Skate and a few Sea Robins.  Caught 4 keepers of 2 +, 3 +, 4 +, and 5.24 pounds.
Used a 6-inch Gulp Grub on a dead stick.  Caught a few fish on this rig.  What was interesting was that some of the fish were small, but managed to swallow the whole Grub.  They were lip hooked, but when removing the Grub it had a strange feeling when coming out of their stomach.  One could actually feel the bumps on the Grub coming out of the fish.

Fishing report from Joe Filice for August 3, 2010. 

Fishing Report by John Henson - August 2, 2010.

Decided to take a ride down to Barn Inlet this afternoon and try the south jetty for some tog. Got there about 4:30 pm, caught some fresh crabs and made my way out. On my third drop I had my first keeper of the season. Nothing to brag about---only around 15 inches but still a keeper. Decided to do a little catch and release so I fished for about another hour and ended with 7 tog, 2 that would be keepers and the rest shorts. Headed to the truck about 7:00 pm.

Fishing report from Joe Filice for July 28, 2010. 

Went out with fellow VHFC member, Russ Denton. We hit the inter-coastal south of Beach Haven. Only had 10, but two were 17” and one keeper at 19”. Weighed in at 2lbs 5oz. Initial drifts were decent with south wind pushing with the tide. When the tide changed we couldn’t get a decent drift with the wind pushing against the tide. It was a very nice day to be on the water. Thanks Russ for the invite.

Fishing report from John Kleban for July 27, 2010.

Fishing report from Jeff Barnhart for July 14, 2010. 

Fishing report from John Kleban for June 28, 2010. 

            A few weeks ago Paul fell off a ladder on the second story and fractures 3 ribs and damaged his back in a few spots.  That had not stopped Paul and he and I have been doing some real frustrating Blue fishing. We had tried all the traditional spots without some much as a touch.  We tried Barnegat Ridge, AC Ridge and everywhere in-between with no luck.  We went down to the docks and found out that the boats were heading north with 2 1/2 to 3 hour trip each way.  Paul and a relative from England (Michael) tried heading north on June 18 and found the fish, but the ride was long and slowed down even more by nasty seas.  On June 21 first I went out and did some Skate fishing (UGH – was trying to catch Fluke) at the Barnegat reef (managed close to 30) and noticed the Miss Barnegat Light heading toward the Barnegat Ridge.  Radio chatter indicated that the Tuna fishermen were been killed by Blue Fish.  It looked like they finally arrived at the Barnegat Ridge.  On Friday (June 25) Paul and I headed to the Barnegat Ridge.  We started at the north ridge (there was a gill netter there) with no luck.  We then proceeded toward the south ridge (and so did the gill netter).  We tried all over the ridge with no luck and at 9:30 AM Paul said we would be heading home.  If anyone ever fished with Paul they know he never gives up before 2:00 PM.  The fish Gods must have been totally confused and felt sorry for Paul and within minutes of his declaration two reels were singing.  At about 11:30 we had boated 15 Blue Fish (10 to 12 pounds) and released 14.  Paul said we would leave them biting and we headed home (before 2:00 PM???).  Paul had a friend coming with us the next day with Michael.  The next morning the friend never showed so Michael, Paul and I headed to where we had the fish the previous day.  We stopped a little short so as to deploy the lines and quickly had two reels singing.  We quickly boated two 14-pound Blue Fish.  One observation I have made over years of fishing was normally a quick catch was the kiss of death.  Well that’s the way it went.  We did manage 5 more fish, but had to work real hard for those fish.  The previous day the ocean went from sloppy to nice, but today it went the other way.  The charter boats and the Miss Barnegat light were missing from the ridge both days so the fish are not there in force.  Both ridges are saturated with baitfish so it is a matter of time before the ridges explode with water temperature at 73 degrees.

Fishing report from Vince Sibona for June 11, 2010. 

Friday June 11, John Lyszczarz the " Duke of Fluke" and I went out fluke fishing with Jeff Barnhart on the REEL DEAL. We left Jeff's dock 6:30 AM and headed for the Barnegat Reef. We arrived at the reef at 7:15. We fished there for about 2 1/2 hours and the only keeper fish we had was a 13-inch sea bass that I caught. Then we went to the Barnegat Ridge and fished there for a while and caught nothing. We came back in to the 5-mile range buoy and caught some fish. The Duke caught 2 keeper Fluke; the largest weighing in at 4.26 lbs. Jeff caught a keeper that weighed in over 2 lbs. The water temperature was still on the cold side at 62 degrees. It was a beautiful sunny day with a light breeze and 2' to 3' seas. 

Fishing report from Joe Filice for June 5, 2010. 

    Hit the beach at 5:30 in Beach Haven. Put a bunker chunk out off the end of a jetty and at 6:00 the reel was singing. Landed a 37” striper. Weighed in at Fisherman’s Headquarters at 16lbs 12 oz. Also had a 24” short. Two guys right next to me must have caught a dozen sharks between them.
 

Fishing Report from Donna Harris - June 4, 2010
 

Went fishing the Ship Bottom beach on Saturday, Sunday and Memorial Day last weekend.   Saturday I pulled in a 30-inch bass at sunrise, and released it thinking I'd wait for something a bit bigger.  After fishing the rest of the morning and the next day with no luck I was regretting being so optimistic and missing out on a bass dinner by releasing that fish. I did see a small ray pulled in, but no bass or fluke.  Hit the beach at sunrise on Monday; it was hot, low tide, no breeze, and the only thing biting were the gnats (and lots of them).   After losing most of my bunker chunks and clams to crabs and other bait stealers, I was ready to call it a day, and was now really regretting releasing that first bass.  I knew there were some large ones pulled in during the week, so in a half hearted last ditch effort, I threw on the last of my bait, a bunker head, and minutes later caught this 40 inch, 25 pound bass. 

Fishing report from Jeff Barnhart – June 2, 2010

I fished the Barnegat Light reef on Memorial Day and nabbed this 5.35-pound fluke on squid and killie fishing on Bob Percopo’s No Limits. – Water temp was 62 degrees and it was a gorgeous day on the ocean – not bad for the first week of fluke season.

Fishing Report by John Henson - June 1, 2010.

    Went out on one of Capt. TJ's open boat drum trips this past Wed. (May 26,2010) out of Cape May. TJ runs "Legal Limits" charters out of Mystic Islands/Cape May. The boat he runs in Cape May is a 38' Henriques and it is NICE!! Capt Jim was along for the mating duties. We had six fisherman and everybody got along great. We left the dock around 2:15 pm and, according to Capt TJ's very well thought out strategy, headed for the Delaware side. About 20 minutes after setting anchor one of the guys had a hit and was hooked up. After a nice fight the first drum was in the boat!! We fished for the next hour or so without any action when Capt TJ decided to make a move back to the Jersey side. What a great decision. as we pulled up you could see other boats with fish on. I caught my first 2 Drum on this trip and we ended up putting 7 drum in the boat. 
    I have fished with TJ and Jim before and as always they made you feel like old time friends on this trip, with their hospitality and professionalism. They really care about their clients having a good trip and are two of the most "regular" guys you could ever want to meet!!! 

    This is a picture of this weekends fishing trip up to Mass were we caught cod- Pollack - Striped Bass- Black Fish - Sea Bass - Porgies- Mackerel.  Most of the fish we've caught in 2 days of fishing was actually 1.5 days, since the Saturday trip was a 10 hr trip and the Sunday trip was a 7-hour trip.
    I'd estimate we got about 1000 lbs of keeper fish and several more hundred pounds of throwbacks UNBELIEVABLE !!!!  My dad is visiting from Portugal so I wanted to get him out he still can't believe the amount of fish we caught.
    It all went too good use gave it a lot of it away to friends, neighbors and some to a food pantry for needy people

Fishing report from Joe Filice for May 24, 2010. 

Fishing report from John Kleban for May 21, 2010. 

Went Bass fishing Vince Sibona on May 20,2010.  We started at the Coast Guard Station with no luck.  There was a steady stream of boats heading north and since the ocean was flat we decided to follow them.  There were a few boats stopped at the Ferris wheel, but a few boats were picking up and heading north.  We kept going till we were in the Ortley Beach area.  We started trolling north and saw birds working north of us with Bunker busting all over.  We decided to follow the birds.  We finally ended up a few miles north of the Lavallette tower.  We had a few hits but after 15 seconds the fish fell off (must have been those new rubber hooks I put on).  With no luck we headed south and tried deeper water.  About a mile south of the Ferris wheel we had great reading on the bottom and fishing swirling on the top with no takers.  We tried all different color spoons and also resorted to different color umbrellas.
            Today we tried again, but headed a few miles north of the Lavallette tower.  A few more hit on the rubber hooks, so we changed spoons with steel hooks.  We were rewarded with a 20-pound Bass that was snagged in the head, but in the boats finally.  There were boats all over in shallow water and we decided to stay outside of them.  We had 150 feet of wire out when we went into shallow water, where we snagged a Skate.  The line was pulled in to 100 feet to stop hanging up on the bottom.  We then moved out to 40 feet of water, but had a senior moment and forgot to put the lines deeper.  After heading north for a while it was decided to go back to where we caught the fish.  On the way back we noticed a Bunker on the top being chased by something.  We quickly made a right turn and as soon as the boat straightened out we had a 26-pound Bass on.  When we put the fish in the boat the hook feel out, but it was in the boat.  The turn caused the outside rod to speed up and raise the spoon.  As soon as we straightened out the spoon slowed up and dropped, which turned the Bass on.   We headed north and then turned back south and as soon as we straightened out we had a 30-pound Bass.  Just as the gaff hit the fish the lure dropped out of the fishes mouth, but again the fish was in the boat.  The lesson was keep tension on the line.  Bass are normally deep so having the lines short and the outside rod on the turn catching the fish seem to defy Bass fishing wisdom.  We tried our new technique a few more times with another hit, but it died after that.

Fishing Report by Bob Kokai - May 20, 2010.
 

Went out on Monday afternoon 5/17. Cloudy but the ocean was like a lake. Started trolling spoons in 55 to 60 foot of water off IBSP close to the 3-mile line. Two of the fish were in the low 30 lbs and the other 2 in the 20's. Three of the fish were caught on silver spoons on braid with an 8-ounce drail and 20ft of mono leader, the other fish was caught on wire with a white spoon. All the fish were caught in the same area at different times. Just were the houses in seaside park end and IBSP begins.

Fishing report from Joe Filice for May 8, 2010. 

We fished the back bay mangroves in Turtle Bay near Boca Grande, FL today.  The water was shallow and very clear.  We caught Snook to 30 inches along with trout and redfish using live bait.  I ended up getting an inshore grand slam, a Snook, trout and redfish.

Fishing Report by Bob Kokai - May 5, 2010.

 Fished the ocean off IBSP again Saturday late afternoon in 35 feet of water and had a decent striper 30 lbs. Trolling silver bunker spoons, notta on the white spoon. No bluefish amazingly.

Fishing Report by Dave Sikorski - April 30, 2010.

    Well I am happy to report that I caught my first bass of the year on April 29.    He was only 29" but a good dinner size. I had to wait through 5 skates before this little guy grabbed my clam and took off.  Great fight for a little guy too; he made several runs before I finally pulled him out of the Ship Bottom waves.  My patience was rewarded.  BTW, the moonrise over the ocean was a great way to end this happy evening.  Nice start to the season!

Fishing Report by Bob Kokai - April 30, 2010.

Fishing report from Basil Dubrosky for April 28, 2010. 

Fishing Report by Bob Kokai - April 28, 2010.

4/15/10 Thursday - Took my son Matt out for an evening of perch fishing in the back of Village Harbor. We had nonstop action from 6:15pm until dark. Caught about 60 perch on a typical double hook perch rig with a bobber. Had a blast.

4/25/10- Sunday. - Headed out on my boat with buddy of mine in the snotty weather about 2pm. Nice ride across the bay until we hit the inlet. BL Inlet was like a washing machine ride with the easterly wind. People on the north jetty were all hooked up with blues. We made our turn north and immediately drop our bunker spoons and started trolling in 30 feet of water. The first 2 takedowns were misses as we worked out the winter cobwebs. After that we had constant bluefish all in the 8 to 10 pound range. We Trolled up to the mansion then out to a pod of birds working. The seas started picking upwards of 6 foot and trolled back towards the inlet. Then in 26 feet of water we had a double takedown. As I’m reeling mine in I feel as if it a blue again, get it to the boat and it had stripes. First Striper of the year was netted. We packed it in close to the north jetty to see a flock of birds working the inlet with 2 boats in the soup hooked up. On the way thru the new cut we noticed it to be a tad south then last year. Made the turn into double creek from oyster creek and had to stop the boat for a second as the fog had rolled in and the winter candlesticks were MIA. That’s rite they were totally submerged all the way past the sailboat wreck. The ripping outgoing tide pulled them rite under. Be careful. Final tally was 17 blues boated and 1 bass. My biggest blue and my striper were weighed in at Fishheads. Blue was over 10 pounds and the striper was 13.3. Hope you all get out soon.

Fishing Report by Bill Dabney - April 27, 2010.

The same Jersey Devil Fishing Spirit that haunts me in N.J. followed me to Mexico this winter.  This is the same Devil Spirit that guides me to the LE reef when the big fluke bite for the day is at the stakes in Great Bay or  whispers to me to jig for stripers off the red tower when the boys anchored in the inlet are getting the thirty-pound Bass on clams.
    My friend Tony Mercuro and I hit the beach in Mazatlan Mexico about 6 am.  He walks 30 ft the left and I move 30 ft to the right.  Five minutes later a pod of roosterfish moves down the beach from the left.  Tony's surface popper lands first and he hooks up with a 30 lb fish that almost spooled him and cracks his reel stem.  After 20 min he brings in a great fish which was later released....Damm Jersey Devil--30 ft to the right.
    However, I did do well bottom fishing off shore with Triggerfish and red snappers.  The devil couldn't find me that day.

Fishing Report by John Henson - April 25, 2010.

    Wasn't going to go today but then around 9 am figured I would take a ride to the beach. Had lines in, in Ship Bottom, around 10:30am figured I would fish for a couple hours. Not much happening and then a school of blues happened by and I had 3 in about 20 minutes. Decided to keep them for the smoker. Not bad, first trip of the year and had some action.
    Water was clean, outgoing tide, light wind, bunker chunks on fish finder rigs. Fish were around 5 1/2 lbs.

Fishing report from Joe Filice for April 23, 2010. 

Fishing report from Joe Filice for April 19, 2010. 

    Took two friends down to my old boss’s in Bonita Springs for three days of fishing. I picked the days and picked the 3 windiest days they’ve seen this spring. 20 knot winds from the northeast. The boat we were on is an 18’ center console. On Day 1 we were able to get out into the Gulf approx. 2 ½ miles on structure which has yielded numerous grouper over the last three weeks. By 9:30 the winds had kicked up and seas were 4-5 ft. We headed back into the bay and fought whitecaps there also. We found a sheltered area and picked up 1 small redfish. On day 2 were took a charter out of Naples and went out 12 miles into the Gulf, where we trolled for King Mackerel. We hooked and landed six large fish and lost two other to dolphin that took the entire fish and rigs that had to be cut loose. We then bottom fished in 4-5 foot seas and landed an assortment of yellow tail, snapper etc. All were cooked up for dinner that night. On day 3 the winds continued to howl and after fruitless fishing for 3 hrs. we made a long run to Hickory Pass in Bonita Springs where we were able to find some shelter from the wind and anchor up. This was the best day we had, boating three large spotted sea trout and an 8 lb Pompano. We caught and released dozens of Sheepshead and jacks. Now I’m back and ready  to hit the surf for upcoming striper run.

Fishfinder has made the first trip of the season. On board with me were my son and uncle. We headed out Thursday afternoon in the bay for a couple hour shot at winter Flounder. Our original plan was to head south and try in a not so secret hole off Parkertown Dock Rd. (Red Fiberglass House). As we turned south around thorough Fair Island we were met with a brisk south wind. Off to plan B. Headed over to Hochstrasshers hole and double anchored and threw the chum pot over. Worked three rods by hand for 2.5 hours. Only catch were stone crabs or calicos. A few bites but no hook ups. Thinking the fish might have made their move towards the inlets already. We fished the last hour of outgoing n the beginning of incoming. We hope to get out this weekend for another shot at winter Flatties or some Bass.

Monday, April 5. John Lyszczarz and I at 7:00 headed out again on the SEA BONA for winter Flounder. We went back to the same spot we were Friday. At 7:30 we anchored up and started chumming. About an hour later, I caught a flounder. Not long after, 2 more boats anchored up not far from us. About 9:30, John caught a flounder. They were the only 2 keepers we caught that day. John lost one half way to the boat and caught one short. My fish was 15 1/2" and weighed in at 1.76 lbs. John's fish was 13 3/4" and weighed in at 1.52 lbs. It felt good to be back out on the water again for the second time this year.

WINTER FLOUNDER FISHING BY VINCE SIBONA  - April 6, 2010

Good Friday, April 2, John Kleban, John Lyszczarz and I left the dock about 7:30 on the SEA BONA and headed a little north of the LBI bridge. We anchored up and chummed for an hour and a half without even a nibble. We pulled up anchor and headed north on the bay. A couple of miles short of double creek, we stopped, anchored up and started chumming. Within an hour, John Kleban caught the first flounder, a keeper. About an hour or so later, John K. caught another keeper. It was Good Friday for John K., he caught the only 2 fish. We were glad for him. John K's first flounder was 13 1/2" and weighed in at 1.12 lbs. His second fish was 12".  We all enjoyed being out on the water fishing for the first time this year. It was a beautiful warm sunny day with a light west wind.

Fishing report from Manny Silva for April 4, 2010. 

Fishing report from Basil Dubrosky for April 2, 2010. 
 

Departed the dock at 7 AM, stopped for bait on the water in Venice, FL and motored out Venice inlet in calm Gulf waters.  We motored off shore about 2 miles, well within sight of the inlet and started drifting between the crab pots.  Jerry and I had non-stop action on high-low rigs tipped with squid for about 2 hours.  We caught small grouper, jacks, lane snappers, Spanish mackerel, flounder, Sheepshead and a variety of junk fish.  We would often come up with double headers.  When we caught a Spanish mackerel on the high-low we would cast pearl white with orange tail jigs with a fast retrieve to land more.  Got cut off several times and had to use wire.

SRHS FISHING CLUB FLEA MARKET REPORT BY VINCE SIBONA - March 3, 2010

John Kleban and I had a successful day considering there was a lot less people that attended this year's flea market then in past years. We had about 90 raffle tickets filled out for the one-year free membership drawing for April and we signed up one new member. We handed out the extra old newsletters we had leftover that I saved from last year and about 100 VHFC cards. Hopefully we get a good turnout for the April meeting from all of this. They have to be present at the April meeting to win. We told everyone to look up the VHFC web site.

Report by Bill Logan - January 23, 2010.

The weather is finally back to what it should be here in the Keys. This week we got out severally times and did well, much better then I thought we would be doing. We have only fished the Atlantic side of the Keys due to the Gulf side is still a little cold, we have been going out to the Patch Reef and fishing in any were from 100 to 60 feet of water with the shallower deep being more productive.  There are lots of Porgies, Yellow Tail Snappers, some Grunts, a few Groupers and some nice size Lane & Mutton Snappers. My fishing partner Phil had a 28" Grouper that had to go back, but he had fun brining it in. Yesterday I had a 19" Mutton that had the rod bent in half; the nice part was I could keep it. We are getting ready to Venture further out for King Mackerel and Dolphin that we will try for by trolling. Speaking of trolling I have a being a club member story, what I mean is, it pays to be a member of this club and here's why. The story goes like this, one of my neighbors and club member Bill Hicky offered me his two Penn Rod & Reels loaded with wire line to take down to the Keys. Bill's a great guy and neighbor, well I decided to ask around about using wire line in the Florida Keys, and again another neighbor and club member and he also was a speaker last year at our club Barry Gabler about wire line. Barry's a good fisherman and very knowledgeable, he said leave the wire line home, you will be fishing in Coral waters and the first time the line gets away from you and goes deep you'll screw everything up, and he is right I ask around down here about wire line and most of the Pros if not all don't use wire line unless they are going real deep and that is out past the Main Reef in 500 to 1000 feet. So by belonging to the club I just saved myself the cost of probably of having to replace two very expensive Penn Rod and Reels with wire line.
The attached photo is about 4 hours of fishing.

Report by Bill Logan - January 16,2010.

We have been here for two and half weeks, due to the cold snap also wind conditions down here I have not been fishing. What you are not hearing about up North is the fish kill down here. There are hundreds of dead fish all over Bahia Honda State Park and Marine, and also up and down the Keys. The fish are not used to cold water and are dying. I have heard, but not read that it is going to take a few years for the fish stock to return to what it was. I did a shake down cruise with my Grady White Thursday off of the old Flagler railroad bride at Bahia Honda State Park (some of you will know where I mean) in about 30 feet of water for a couple of hours and did not get a bite. From that spot out to the Patch Reef is about 3 miles and from there out to the main reef is another 2 miles and they say that the fish are on the bottom in warmer water due to the Gulf Stream location. As soon as the wind lies down I will be trying to fish both, as of right now its blowing 25 to 30 and in the high 70’s. Even the die-hard and the no guts no glory guys are all hanging out at the Marina. 

Hope to have a better report in a few days.

Fishing Report by John Henson - December 31, 2009.

Went out on the "Legal Limits" with Capt TJ for an open boat tog trip today. We left Great Bay marina at 7 AM and didn't return until 4:30 PM. You can't beat that for a full day of fishing! Snow was falling when we left and the Capt had to break through some ice to get out to the bay. The snow quickly changed to rain but we had the proper gear with us so we were comfortable and dry. The Capt. ran about 10 miles out of LEI to the first wreck and it wasn't long until it was "FISH ON". I thought I had a big fish on as he was pumping hard and heading for the bottom only to find that it was foul hooked but still a keeper and into the box he went! We hit 5(?) different wrecks and had life on all of them. We ended up with 12 keepers and numerous shorts among 5 guys with the biggest being 5-6 pounds. Green crabs were the preferred bait although I did try some shrimp. It was a good day, and a great ending to the 2009 season, with everyone going home with tog for the table!

Paul Galasso and I entered the Forked River Tuna Club’s Fluke and Bluefish tournament.  This is a grueling 4 and ½ day tournament to be held on Saturday August 15^th, the following Sunday and to resume on Friday August 21^st, that Saturday and a half day on Sunday.  To prepare for the contest we went down to the Barnegat docks and observed and asked questions on what the fisherman were catching.  Last year we stumbled on a very unlikely source of information that was totally accurate as to what was going on.  Questioning this source and many others we had a good picture of what was going on.  We then went home and pulled the log of many years to determine where the best place to go.  We wrote down several different scenarios as to what action to take.  On August 15^th we departed in the dark to seek the winning fish.  We arrived at where we would fish and put the lines in the water.  For several hours we did not have any luck so we expanded our area with good results.  We landed 14 fish from about 11 to around 14 pounds.  It was decided that we need a bigger fish to insure victory so we moved to a different area that has produced bigger fish for us in the past.  We tried this area for over an hour and decided that the bigger fish was not there.  Two lines were in and being stored when mister big showed up.  We reeled in a 15-pound Bluefish and headed home.  The next day we were out again to the area where we had luck the day before.  We trolled for many hours with no luck and moved from area to area and then hit the mother load between areas.  Twice 4 reels (once 3 reels) were screaming with fish on.  The fish were between 11 to 13 pounds (Paul’s eye for the weight of the fish is uncanny).  We did a quick scale check on one to confirm the weight.  The fish were concentrated in a very small area and after landing 15 fish (the same as the day before) we decided to leave the fish biting and find mister big.  After about 1-½ hours it was decided that it was not there.  We tried to fish on August 21^st, but after venturing about one mile offshore it was decided that the ocean was not going to let us fish today or tomorrow.
We attended the awards ceremony on August 24 and were happy to learn we had first and second place locked up.  We met many nice people and enjoyed a very nice meal with them.  We will be back next year  for the enjoyment of this tournament.

Fishing report from Jim Story – August 18, 2009
 

Fishing report from John Kleban – August 12, 2009

Fished the LE Reef today and despite a slow drift the fish were biting.  We caught 33 fluke with 4 keepers to 4 pounds.  Fish were caught on squid and killie combination on a fluke rig.  Light West wind with a drift of .5 knots.

Fishing report from Russell Denton – July 19, 2009

I fished the southwest corner of the LER yesterday with Ralph and Dennis.  We ended the day with eight keepers, on mostly shark belly and gulp, with a throwback ratio only about two to one.

Fishing report from Jeff Barnhart – July 11, 2009

Left the dock at 2:00 am with good friend Bob in his new 33 Hydrosport Center Console heading for Little Egg Inlet on our way to the Spencer Canyon trolling for tuna. Spotted a weed line about seven miles short of the Spencer and decided to set up on the troll. First line in the water at 6:30 and - bam - did not even have a chance to get it in the rod holder and it was hit by a very hungry tuna - a nice good morning wake up - stayed in the same area most of the day going three for three on yellow fin tuna up to 70 pounds with two Mahi up to 20 pounds as a bonus as we heard those that were further out were having no luck and were heading our way toward the 40 fathom fingers. The wind was to kick up later in the afternoon so we headed to the barn at 1:30 enjoying a great day in cobalt blue 73-degree very clear water. Saw a few large sea turtles and some playful porpoises on the way in - always a joy to watch and it's always a shorter ride when you have meat in the box.

Fishing report from Brett Taylor – July 14, 2009 

Left Barnegat Inlet at 5am to troll some near shore locations for Bonito/Tuna.  About 3 miles out decided to resort to plan B (Fluking) due to sea conditions/high winds.  From a good source - heard reports of some keeper Fluke in close.  We headed close to beach to dodge the stiff NW wind, and traveled south of the inlet finding warm pockets of water (67-68F) among the 63F water.  Released 6 Fluke to 17 inches, and kept 2.  One at 18" and of course my wife lands the 4 pounder.  Tried to repeat drift, but current/angle of presentation changed (after tide change).  Fished a couple spots on our way to the inlet, but not much happening.  We were using white teaser rig with chartreuse Gulp scented with BioEdge. (5-oz to 6-oz to hold bottom in addition to letting a heck a lot of line out).

Fishing report from Jeff Barnhart – July 11, 2009

Fished the Barnegat Ridge on June 26th as we heard that bigger Fluke were being caught there. Caught a 5.69-pound Fluke as well as some throwbacks and while drifting also picked up an 11.15-pound bluefish on the Fluke rig.  Subsequently had a few hits later that bit right through the leader. Must have hooked the boated bluefish just right to not have the leader cut. All caught using circle hooks, squid and gulp. Good water clarity and 63-degree temps. All fish caught in a one-hour span and then it shut down.

Fishing report from John Kleban – July 22, 2009

After 4 fruitless Fluke trips today was the day to catch a few keepers.  The party boats went to the Garden State North Reef and the radio chatter indicated that a few keepers were caught at the bathing beach with no action anywhere else.  Those fishing the bay did not seem to be having any luck.   Again a decision was made to go to the Barnegat reef.  It turned out to be the right decision with 9 shorts and three keepers to 6.25 pounds.

Fishing report from John Kleban – July 21, 2009

On Saturday July 18, 2009 Paul Galasso entered the Absecon Saltwater Sportsmen's Roy Kerstetter Open Tournament for the second year.  Last year we were lucky to win the heaviest single Bluefish and the largest total of three Bluefish.  We left the dock early and arrived at Barnegat Ridge to see if the fish we found there last week were still present.  After about one half hour were found hundreds of Tuna Chicks and to our surprise a large concentration of big Bluefish.  We quickly boated our 3 big fish after loosing two at the boat that looked to be around eighteen pounds each after the two lines crossed.  These Bluefish we caught were so big that their mouths looked like Bass and not Bluefish.  Surprising their teeth looked very small although we were careful not to have anything enter these huge mouths.  At weigh-in there was a six year old who was out fishing that day in the bay.  Her father had just purchased a new rod and reel (came with a lure also).  She put the new rig to catch an 8 pound zero ounce Fluke (at a way to go girl).  The lure was the old time white spinner (just started using the same lure two weeks ago with no luck).  Everyone was making such a fuss over her fish that she looked confused.  After that hard to follow act we weight-in our fish for a total weight of 45.48 pounds with the largest at 15.7 pounds good enough to win it all again.  We just squeaked by from second place by two pounds and the largest fish by one half a pound.  Third place was a total weight of 1.9 pounds.
The tournament was lots of fun and the prizes were substantial for a small tournament.  They also had a Fluke  (no the young lady was not in the tournament) and Weakfish competition.  Third place in each category more than paid for their entry fee and some gas money with a cooler and several $25 gift certificates thrown in.  Some of our club members should consider entering this tournament since a portion of the proceeds go to a disabled children’s fishing trip and would enable club members to interact with other clubs.  It would also allow you to talk to other fishermen and learn some new techniques on catching fish just as Paul and I did about the Tuna chicks we saw.  One old timer (said he never saw so many Tuna chicks in one place) explained that the Tuna were there and what would be necessary to catch them. Anyone interested please leaves a note on the feedback page.

Fishing report from Basil Dubrosky - July 20, 2009

On July 19 Dave Sikorski, Billy Jann and I headed for the LE Reef in my Boat.  There were light West winds and no drift.  The fishing was very slow all morning with a couple skates and a couple small Fluke.  There must have been 70 boats out there but we saw no nets in the air all morning.
At about 2 PM an Easterly wind came up giving us a satisfactory drift.  We caught several Fluke, a couple over 4 pounds and 5 sea bass to 2 pounds.  We turned home at 2:45 PM with 12 Fluke caught of which 2 were keepers to 4 pounds 9 ounces.  We also got 5 sea bass to 2 pounds.  The final flurry saved a very slow day.

Fishing report from John Kleban – July 14, 2009

Out to do a little Fluke fishing in 50 feet of water off the bathing beach.  The Doris Mae and Carroll Ann were there also.  It was a little sloppy but fishable.  Caught 5 shorts and lots of Skates.  Move to the Barnegat reef and caught a few small Sea Bass, one short Fluke, some big Sea Robins and a few Skates.  The Carroll Anne finally came to the reef.  The Doris Mae headed south on the afternoon trip.  Radio chatter indicated that the BI and BB buoy area was dead.  Some shorts were caught on the reef and one guy said he was catching shorts on the Harvey Cedars Lump.  No one on the radio said they had a keeper.

Fishing report from Basil Dubrosky - July 13, 2009

I fished the LE Reef today on my boat with Jerry Papp.  We caught 33 Fluke with 5 keepers to 3.52 pounds.  Fish were caught on squid and killie or spearing.  Pink was the hot pattern.

Fishing report from John Kleban – July 12, 2009

Since the begging of the Bluefish season Paul Galasso and I have made quite a few Bluefishing trips.  On some trips we had 44 and 52 Bluefish, while on others we had zero (after 8 hours of trolling).  We have been concentrating on Barnegat Ridge since our records indicate that is where the fish should be this time of the year.  Like always the fish read a different book that we do.  We have made several trips to Barnegat and have noticed that the Miss Barnegat Light was not going in the direction of the Ridge, so it has duplicated our poor results on the Ridge.  Well yesterday we set our sights on Barnegat Ridge again hoping the fish would be there.  After trying all over at the Ridges we located a very small pocket of Bluefish.  For an hour an a half the reels were screaming (a few times three at a time).  Then just as quickly as it started it shut down.  We only noticed bait readings in this small area so there does not appear to be sufficient bait to hold a large population of Bluefish at this time.  We did manage 14 Bluefish (released 12 to fight another day).  None of the fish were less than 11 pounds but each one looked like a vacuum cleaner was used to suck it belly clean.

Fishing report from Basil Dubrosky - July 6, 2009

Fishing report from Bob Kokai - June 29, 2009

We decided to go sharking on Saturday 6/20/09. We left the dock at 5:00am, Headed out Little Egg Inlet and were met with 5 foot breakers. Once thru the inlet we headed for the 28-mile wreck. The first ten miles were horrible as it was 3 to 4 foot swells with chop on the top. After that it was bearable. It took us 2hrs and 45 min to get out there and then it flattened out like glass. Started drifting with a chum slick going out and nothing all day except for a blue fish that took a half a mackerel leaving the rest on the hook. Herd a couple boats hooked up with a few blue sharks and a boat within a quarter mile of us had a 244lb Mako on board. Oh well better luck next time. The ride in was easy and we were back at the dock by 2:15 pm.

On June 24 Bill Dabney and I fished the middle grounds in the bay in my boat and caught 4 Fluke over 20 inches.  Bill caught the largest fish at 25 1/2 inches at 5.53 pounds.  We fished the incoming tide with cloudy and rainy weather.  The fish were caught on Gulp shrimp, new penny pattern on a 3/8-ounce flat head hairless orange jig.  I also caught a Trigger Fish, which was quite a surprise.
The fish had Manta Shrimp in the stomachs.  You will notice in the picture that the new penny shrimp looks very much like these large Manta Shrimp.  This time of year the larger fish are in the bay so get out and get them before they go back out to the Ocean.
 

Bay Fishing for Fluke by Basil Dubrosky - June 17, 2009

Fishing report from John Kleban - June 8, 2009

On the evening of June 4^th Paul Galasso (Scorpio) and I attended the captains meeting for the Greater Atlantic Bluefish Tournament (GABT).  Several of the captains recognized Paul as the 2008 winner and congratulated him for his win.  A buffet preceded the reading of the rules and packages for the captains were distributed.  Among the contents of the package was a t-shirt with the picture of the wining boat of the 2008 tournament (Scorpio).
There were a total of 83 boats entered in this tournament that contained many of the local charter captains, indicating the competition would be even stiffer than 2008.  The contest was to be held on June 6^th.  At 4:00AM of the 6^th we prepared the boat and motored to the Little Egg Harbor inlet.  The contest was to start at 6:00AM.  At 6:00AM the committee postponed the contest to the 7^th since small craft warnings were posted.  On the 7^th the same routine was followed except there was a dense fog at the inlet.  We checked in with the committee boat and proceeded out the inlet to start fishing.  After traveling over 25 miles we were about 1 mile short of were we wished to fish.  It was decided to troll to the area were we hopped the fish would be.  About ½ mile short, the port rod had a fish on.  We reeled it in and continued for a while in the same direction and boated another fish.  We then circled back and quickly caught a third fish.  A quick weight of the fish indicated that two of the fish were in the 10.5 pound range and the third around 9.5 pounds.  It was decided to move away from this area in hopes of catching bigger fish.  The radio indicated other boats were catching fish in the 11-pound range.  At this point Paul said a 13-pound fish would win the heaviest fish category.  We moved away from his area with no luck and decided to skirt the area for a larger fish.  Every time we approached the area a fish was boated but was in the 7 to 9 pound range.  Those fish were quickly released. When it was time to leave we went to the weigh in station after catching 44 Bluefish (41 released to fight another day).  The first three fish were the heaviest we could muster (9.38 – 10.48 – 10.67 pounds).  At the weigh in station they let us know heavier fish and heavier totals were registered.
We went to the awards dinner knowing that we were not top dogs but hopes we were in the top 10.  When the awards were being presented they acknowledged all those that helped and the 2008 winner.  The announcer then looked down and said, well Scorpio was the 10-place winner.  He presented Paul with a plaque and a check.  We did finish in the money.  The largest fish in the contest was 12.94 pounds and 3 pounds (total weight) separated 10th to 2nd place.

Fishing report from John Kleban - June 2, 2009

Early to bed, early to rise makes a man health, wealth and wise.  So the saying goes and it seemed that the Bass bite was early in the morning for me.  As I was leaving I realized that I did not have a hat so I went back into the house and chose my Village Harbour Fishing Club hat with the hope it would bring me some luck.  After many early morning trips (not to wise at being in the right place) and lots of gas (less wealthy) the fish Gods smiled on me (making me feel healthy).  Started fishing at the bathing beach in 35 feet of water at 5:15AM watching an endless procession of boats steaming north and not one stopping were I was at.  Now it was necessary to decide if to stay or follow the fleet.  The radio chatter for the last few days was that the fish were at Lavallette, so do I stay or head north.  Nobody stopped were I was at so it was difficult to decide to stay put.  A decision was made to stay put and after trolling north for 45 minutes the port reel started to scream.  After a fighting the fish it was boated (no Mr. Jann – the fish had TWO GOOD EYES).  On my hand held scale it weighted 29 LB 6 OZ.  Kept trolling and counted over 30 boats in 25 feet of water near the Island Beach State Park entrance.  Trolled for a while in that area then headed south.  The radio chatter indicated that the Lavallette area was not giving up fish and some of those boats said they were heading back south.  The radio chatter also indicated Bunker but no fish feeding on them.  At 8:00AM it was decided that one fish was enough and I need to go home and catch my afternoon nap.

Fishing report from Basil Dubrosky - May 25, 2009

I went out to Surf City beach at 6:30 PM on May 24.  I fished fresh clams and at 7:30 PM I caught a 23-inch bass.  At 8 PM I changed one of my poles to bunker and shortly after that I had a monster run off and a long fight from a strong fish.  The fish weighed in at 17 pounds, 14 ounces.  He was 36 inches in length with a 20-inch girth.
When weighing in the fish at FHQ I noticed that Ed Valatutto weighed in a 28 pounder just before me.
If you fish the surf, get out there now.  The water temp is perfect and the water is full of fish.  

On May 22 at 6:45 PM I landed a 30 inch, 11 pound bass on the Surf City beach on fresh clam.
On May 23 at 6 PM I landed a 34 inch, 13 pound bass on the Surf City beach on fresh clam. 
If you surf fish then get your pole out.  The water temperature is perfect and the bass are on the beach.
 

Submitted by Bill Jann 5-22-2009

We left the dock just as the sun came over the horizon…etc, etc”…How many times have you read something like this, or have done it yourself, but today was different.  They say that “time and tide wait for no man” but, in this case, we men waited for the tide.  We didn’t leave the dock until shortly after noon.   John Kleban, Bill Dabney and I went out from Waretown with Capt. Bill H., to catch the incoming water inside Barnegat Inlet, and soak some clams for Bass.  We set up in about 10 feet of water with a basic rig…20# test line, just enough lead to hold bottom, and a 3 foot fluorocarbon leader with a 7/0 Gamakatsu circle hook.  The circle hooks did their job nicely…..all of the fish we caught were hooked in the corner of their mouths and, except for the keepers, released unharmed.  A few minutes after we set up the first rod went down…..hard!…..I grabbed it and felt line peeling off on the drag…..not a small fish!  I’m sure you know the feeling…..with three guys as witness you just pray you don’t do something stupid and lose the fish.  And so it went…..lift and reel, lift and reel, and then watch all the line you’d gained peel off in one run after another.  The fish made good use of the tide, turning broadside to us on side-to-side runs but, eventually, Capt. Bill slid the net under her and she was ours.  She turned out to be 17lbs, 12 oz, and 36” long.  Just a few minutes later another rod went down….hard again!…..another big fish.  John grabbed the rod and hung on but, after a couple of hard runs, the line went slack.  It was a big Bass, John had seen it swirl, but when he reeled in, the hook was gone…..no signs of Bluefish bite on the leader, so we knew it was a Bass!  A few minutes later…..DéjàVu!…..another rod went down and John had another hook bitten off.  We didn’t get a look at this one, so we’re not sure what it was, but it acted like a Bass and, again, there were no signs of Bluefish bite on the leader.  We got one more Bass bite…..Bill Dabney landed one at about 24”…..we also got a skate, and then the bite shut off completely.  No mystery to it, as the tide had come in the water temperature dropped abruptly…..by 5 degrees in a short time.  So Capt. Bill lifted anchor and we moved further into the bay, in Double Creek, to get ahead of the tide.  It worked!  As soon as we set up in the warmer water, one of the rods went down.  This time John had success and landed a nice keeper and we soon learned why.  The fish only had one eye so we think John was able to keep the blind side towards him and avoid scaring this one away!  Anyway, it’s a theory.  While we still were on the warm side of the tide, another rod went down and Bill Dabney was able to land another nice keeper.  The colder water hit us again and that was the end of the bite.  We then moved to the west side of the bay, near the Forked River, and worked some jig/plastic combos, hoping for Weakies, but didn’t get any bites.  Finally, Bill moved us up river towards the power plant and we drifted down to the bay with the jig/plastics.  Except for a blowfish (would you believe!), we didn’t get any more bites, so we packed it in for the day and headed home. 

Submitted by John Henson 5-13-2009

Fished with Chris Deckman from "The Chum Bucket" today. This is the first time I had fished with Chris so we went to spot he has been frequenting off of Iowa Ave in Mystic Island. Nice spot on the sod banks in close walking distance from parking. Started around 6am and fished till 9:30. Using clams, again on the DJ Muller clam rig. Chris had a couple of hits with no hook ups and I landed 2 stripers. The first one was 32 inches and 11.5 pounds. This was one of the most enjoyable fish I have caught in a long time. It was low tide and there is not much water at this particular spot, maybe 2 to 3 ft at dead low. It was like you see on some of the Fishing Shows where they are Bonefishing on the flats in shallow water. When I hooked this fish he ran hard left to right, and considering the shallow water could not dive, so you could see the wake and his tail movements as he was making his runs. He made about four runs in total and fought like a much bigger fish. Very exciting! The second fish also fought hard but only taped out at 25 inches. A good day at a new spot and I really enjoyed fishing with Chris. 

Submitted by John Henson 5-9-2009

Fished today with new member and owner of 'The Chum Bucket" Skip Deckman, on his 23ft center console. Left Tuckerton Creek at approx. 7:10am and headed to Graveling Point. Set the hook and started to clam and with clam bellies for chum. Results---Nothing. Made a move to little Beach and had high hopes as we saw someone boat a fish as we were setting anchor. Same drill--clam baits and chummed with clam bellies. Result---1 skate. Took a casual ride back and talked to some friends that were fishing off of Little Sheepshead and had a couple of shorts and some BIG dogfish. Not a productive day but an enjoyable one. Looking forward to fishing with Skip again, and hopefully we will have some better luck.

Submitted by John Henson 5-8-2009

Took a casual trip to the beach today in search of the first striper of the year. On the beach at 8 am decided to fish a spot that had always been good to me but I haven't fished in about two years in North Beach. Put out two poles, both with clam baits. At about 8:50 I had a hit and set up on it. First Striper of the year!! Nothing to brag about but at least I got the "stink" off and broke the ice for 2009. Interesting note: I was using the DJ Muller clam rig that he mentioned at the April meeting. This rig is also in his book--Striper Strategies---page 104 & 105.
Details:  Fished from 8am---10am
               Tide-- High at 8:15
                Wind---SSW
                Slightly Foggy
                Water clarity---Clear
                1 hit---1 Hook up
                Striper---32 inches   11 pounds
                Stomach Contents---Empty

Submitted by Joe Filice 05/12/09

I hit the surf in Beach Haven at 6:15 a.m. High tide was approx. 8:30. Light wind out of the southeast made for a very comfortable morning on the beach. I baited one rod with a bunker chunk and one with clam. At 6:30 the bunker rod hit and I landed a 31 1/2 “ Striper. Approx. 15 minutes later the bunker rod hit again and I was rewarded with a 34” striper, which weighed in at 14lbs 12oz and an 18” girth. Ended the morning with a 25” throwback on clam. This fish are finally here and can only get bigger as the season moves on.

   As a side note, a middle aged man and his wife stopped to talk to me and about a half hour later the woman came back down with her rod and a bunker. First issue was she asked me to cut her bunker, as she forgot a knife. I cut & baited her hook and she moved to my left to fish. 5 minutes later I was diving for my rod, thinking I had a huge hit, only to find she had cast over my line. Once I untangled the mess, she shyly asked if I could cast it out for her, which I did. I then wrapped up and headed home to weigh in and clean my catch. On Sunday morning I ran into her husband on the beach and learned that about 20 minutes after I left, she hooked and landed a 32” bass. It was kind of neat being able to help her out. Attached is the Simply Bass weigh in photo.

Fishing report from Manny Silva - April 29, 2009 

Six of us from NJ fished on Friday 4/28 out of Plymouth Mass on the Sashamy with Cap Doug Amarello.  We fished the Middle bank area had our limit of Cod, 10/man from 24-36"and another 20 nice size Haddock

Captain Doug runs a great boat if anyone is interested his phone # is 774-776-8781. He’s running special spring rates of $950 for full day trips and it’s a great trip. The Plymouth area is really nice for a family trip

We are going back next week May 8th for a second trip

Tight lines

Manny Silva     

Fishing report from Basil Dubrosky - April 27, 2009 

On April 25 we left the dock at 8:30 AM and after a stop at New Pass Grill and Bait Shop for bait and sandwiches and then we headed out New Pass in Sarasota, Florida.  The water was rough and the going was slow.  We spotted several flying fish that were traveling surprising distances.  These fish don’t just glide, they seem to flap their wing fins to get extra distance.

We traveled about 9 miles when we decided to troll ballyhoo to our final destination at one of the reefs off Sarasota.  After about a half hour we spotted a large loggerhead turtle.  It was brown with a big white head and about the size of a standard kitchen table.  One of the poles went off with a loud clicking of the drag and the fight was on, and after about 10 minutes I landed a king Mackerel about 6 pounds.

We continued on our troll until we reached the reef.  A pole went off and Bill started fighting a large fish.  Just as he was getting the fish close enough for us to see, the fish broke off.  As he picked up the ballyhoo rig we observed that one of the tandem hooks broke off on this fish, obviously a defective rig.  Despite our disappointment we continued our troll around the reef.

We spotted a yellow float near a trolling boat and we trolled past it.  There was a thick ball of bait all around this float.  We marked this ball of bait and stayed around this float for most of our trip.  We brought out the Sabiki rigs and began catching cigar minnows and blue runners that are both prime king Mackerel baits.  It is amazing that these multi-hook Sabiki rigs will catch bait so effectively with no bait attached.  We should probably try to catch small live bait more often in New Jersey in this manner.

We rigged up these cigar minnows on wire two-hook king mackerel rigs and began a slow roll around the bait ball.  We spotted many large king mackerel in the water but got only a couple short hits.  Every once in a while we stopped and cast plugs to these fish but no luck.  On one of these stops we had a pick up and Bill had his hands full with something big.  He could not get it off the bottom but it was pumping the line.  We tried to back down on the fish but Bill could only get it off the bottom briefly and then it would sound.  Finally the fish spit the rig.  We figured that it was probably a big grouper that hit the weighted ballyhoo that went to the bottom when we stopped to plug the mackerel.

We continued to troll around the reef spotting many schools of king Mackerel but they were difficult to coax to bite.  On one of our stops we had a run off which proved to be a Jack about 5 pounds that was returned to the water.  The wind died down and the day turned hot.  Several small chickadee type birds started to land on the boat to rest, a yellowish, a blue and black and one with rust highlights.   We could actually pick these birds up in our hands to move them out of our way.  These birds hung around for the rest of the trip.

Fishing report from Basil Dubrosky - April 23, 2009 

On April 23, 2009 I fished Big Pass in Sarasota, Florida.  I began my wading at a public access point and planned to wade along the shore and to fish under the boat docks.  I was using a 7-foot spinning rod, my bait was live shrimp and I was using a small circle hook with 15-pound power pro and a 30-pound shock leader.

After negotiating through a dormant dock I reached the dock where I had caught a 24-inch Snook the day before.  On the first cast I nailed a large mangrove snapper.  Two more large snappers were added to the stringer before the bite stopped.  I moved on to the next dock where I had caught many Snook in the past but a newly installed floating safety ladder was banging with the waves and affecting the bite.  After a short while I went back to the original dock.

I fished deep under the dock where I know the Snook like to sit.  I started getting small bites from very cautious fish.  My shrimp were getting low.  Finally, I got a huge hit.  I knew I had to horse this fish away from the dock or I would loose it.  I made some progress but the fish kept charging back to the dock.  I cupped the spool on my reel and was able to horse the fish out with my 15-pound power pro.  Then the fight began.  The fished ran several times.  As I got control I could see it was a very large redfish.  I kept thinking that it was probably too big to keep but I was hoping it was in the keeping slot.  There was a sandy beach along side the dock and I was able to beach the fish for a measurement.  To my surprise the fish was 27 inches and was the maximum keeper size with a keeper slot of 18 to 27 inches. 

Fishing report from Basil Dubrosky - April 22, 2009
 

I flipped a live shrimp under the dock and immediately hooked up with a mangrove snapper about 12 inches long.  I put this great tasting fish on my stringer for dinner.  After a few minutes I caught another snapper around the same size.  My next cast was a bit further under the dock and after a brief wait a fish picked up the shrimp and started moving through the dock.  I immediately tightened my drag and started dragging this fish out with my 15-pound test Power Pro.  After the fish cleared the dock he took off and the fight was on.  After a few minutes I could see it was a Snook.  The fish gradually tired and I beached him to make a measurement.  He was 24 inches long with a large girth but had to go back.  The keeper slot for Snook in Florida is larger than 28 inches and smaller than 33 inches.  I continued to fish this dock and another not far away but no luck. 

I waded back to the main beach and got a smaller spinning outfit from the car.  I put on a small white buck tail jig tipped with a shrimp and started wading and casting.  The fishermen with the live green backs said they had caught several small Crevalle Jacks and Bluefish.  I cast the jig for about 20 minutes when I got a good hit and a strong run.  I gradually worked the fish to shore and saw that it was a Spanish Mackerel about 20 inches long.  This fish was put in the cooler with the snappers for dinner.  After a few more casts I got another hit and run and I brought in a one-pound Crevalle Jack. 

It was time to head home for lunch.  Lynn said she got some nice pictures of the shoreline and the shore birds stealing green backs from the fishermen.  We packed the car for the 10-minute ride home.  I plan to go back tomorrow but much earlier.  Maybe there will be more Snook under the dock earlier in the morning.

Fishing report from Basil Dubrosky - April 22, 2009

We passed through Venice Inlet, on the Florida West Coast and motored 10 miles out to a reef where we started trolling with spoons, plugs and Ballyhoo for King Mackerel.  There was bait in the water and lots of signs but no Kings.  After about an hour or so we decided to motor south and hit a reef about 12 miles South of Venice.  After trolling for a while we spotted schools of large Crevalle Jacks.  We cast small jigs on light spinning tackle to these fish and they hit with a vengeance.  It took 15-20 minutes to land these 10 pound jacks. We also ran into schools of large barracuda but could not coax them to bite.  The water temp was in the high 70's and the weather sunny and clear. 

Submitted by Vince Sibona 3/31/2009

Tuesday, March 31, John Kleban and John Lyszczarz came fishing with me on the SEA BONA. It was pretty cold when we left my dock at 7:30 in the morning. I had to scrape ice off the windshield before we left. It turned out to be a nice sunny day with a fairly good breeze. We anchored up and started chumming and fishing about 8:00. We chummed pretty heavy with 2 chum pots. John Lyszczarz caught the only flounder of the day at 10:00. The fish was 14 inches long and weighed in at 1.11 lbs. Could this be the first winter flounder caught by a VHFC member? The season is just starting and the water is cold yet. The flounder are just beginning to come out of the muddy bottom.

Submitted by Joe Filice 03/26/09 

Our trip with the guide, using our boat, was a good day. We launched from Matalak Island Park. This put us in the waters between the Mainland and Sanibel Island. He had fishing shrimp and we fished channels between numerous islands. We took home two trout and a Pompano. We had caught well over two dozen trout, but all were too small. The Gulf & surrounding waters are awesome. I’m home now and getting ready for Fluke & Striper.

Submitted by Joe Filice 03/14/09 

We fished the Gulf on Wednesday over a large barge, but struck out. We then anchored up in the inlet & I caught 2 5+ lbs Jacks & a small Pompano. On Thursday we went out to the barge again. I caught 4 flounder 12 -13". 12’ is legal, but we put them back. Couldn't buy a flounder last year in Jersey, go figure. Also had one nice Sheepshead also put it back. The real story though was a boat that pulled in, operated by two captains out scouting. They had bait well full of baitfish they had netted and started throwing out handfuls while live lining the same baitfish with no wait. They caught a least a dozen Snook, including one that was grabbed by a goliath grouper as they tried to boat it. It was quite a show. There were three other boats along with us and couldn't get a bite because we did not have that particular baitfish. Threw everything we had with no luck.
Today we went out with a load of shrimp & pinfish and got the perfect anchor over this same barge. We were in 28' of water with the barge coming up to 10'. The water was so clear I could see the bow of the barge and where it dropped off. We could see Sheepshead & Snook all over the structure and again, got not one bite on the shrimp or pinfish. Five other boats also anchored around us and not one fish caught, kind of frustrating, but then it was 80 degrees and sunny, so why complain.
We are taking guide out in my buddy's boat on Monday up around Sanibel Island, so hopefully we will get some good tips & locations and put some fish in the box.

    Once again fished the barge in the Gulf, 5 miles out. Fishing shrimp on top & bottom rig and I landed 4 flounder and a Sheephead. My partner landed a flounder. Go figure, couldn't buy one in Jersey last year. While we were fishing the barrage, two young guys (turns out they were charter captains) and a babe in a bikini pulled up and anchored. They started throwing out dozens of small bait fish they had netted earlier and then live lined the same baitfish w/o weight. They caught over a dozen large Snook. When they left, they gave us a livewell full of the baitfish & told us how to fish. My partner hooked one and broke one off. The fish then shut off and we didn't get another bite. We had another fantastic day on the water, fish or no fish. This retirement stuff is great!!!
We are going out early tomorrow!

Submitted by Bill Dabney 03/9/09 

A friend offered us the use of his Oceanside condo in Mazatlan Mexico.  A week later off we went.
I hired on to a 20 ft. open Pango boat with a charter Capt. with three other people.  The spinning rods provided by the charter were right hand wind, which I found strange.  After taking them apart to use as a left hand wind the fishing was more comfortable,
We anchored up and fished a high-low rig with strips of squid and shrimp in forty feet of water.  At the first stop we picked up 10 Triggerfish.  At the second and third locations we boated another 30 fish.  We then made a move to the honey hole and the fish finder came alive.  It was drop and catch for the next 2 hours with Triggerfish up to 4 lbs.
After we ran out of bait it was a nice ride back to the marina on a warm beautiful day.  We had filled the box with about 60 Triggerfish and Sea Perch.
I took back a 5 gallon pail filled with fish and cleaned them.  The 4th floor of our condo ate very well for a few days.
My friend has now become my very best friend and hopefully we will get another offer next winter.

Submitted by Bill Logan 3/4/2009

I guess it's about time to let you all know we are still alive down here in the Florida Keys and fishing has been good, no wait make that great. If you don't know any thing about the Keys here is an idea of where we fish and if you Google maps to the Florida Keys you'll get a good idea of where we fish. But first let me explain the boat that I have down here so you don't expect some big TIME Sail Fish Story. I have a 14' Starcraft all aluminum boat with a Mercury 15 hp 4 stroke, so we don't get out to the reef at all. Some would say NO GUTS NO GLORY; well my life is worth more than their glory. We have several favorite places that we can go to. The Seven Mile Bridge is one. There are two bridges, one is the Overseas Highway Bridge (RT1) and along side of that is the old Flagler's Railroad Bridge. We anchor up either between the bridges or on the Gulf side of the Old Railroad Bridge about 10 to 20 yards from the bridge abutment. Bait is (generally) shrimp cut or hunched in half (helps with the juices) and cast to the Bridge looking for Mangrove Snappers, Mutton Snappers, Lane Snappers and Groupers. You will also get bottom fish such as Grunts, Porgies, Hog Fish, Pork Fish and Yellow Tail Jacks and if flat lining Yellow Tail Snappers. Some other days we will go to Bahia Honda Bridges, again one is the old Flagler's Railroad Bridge and the other Overseas Hwy (Route 1) Bridge, BUT these bridges are much further apart so we will fish the Overseas HWY Bridge supports looking for the same fish as we get at Seven Mile Bridge. No B.S. on a good day we can walk away with 15 to 30 fish, but there are days we get skunked, but they are few and far between. My fishing buddy has a fifth wheel trailer and this past summer he purchased a small freezer for chum and fish, and placed it outside under the fifth wheel pin and by now it is full. Their are several other couples we are friendly with here so every now and then we will have a fish fry and you never know what you’re eating. But it's fun. We are in Sunshine Key RV Resort on Ohio Key, the resort has it's own Marina and Bait store mainly Bait, Ice, Snacks some tackle but not well stocked, Every Saturday in Big Pine Key about ten miles west is a big Flea Market with several tackle places. Oh there is also a small trailer that sells mini donuts and coffee so all the guys gather under the pavilion and wait for the wives. The boat is stored on my buddy’s site. Life is good.
 

Submitted by John Kleban 2/25/2009

Vince Sibona and I had the pleasure of representing the Village Harbour Fishing Club at the annual Southern Regional High School Fishing Flea Market.  We meet and talked to many of the visitors at the flea market about our favorite topic – fishing.  Not only did we have the pleasure of talking to the visitors we were able to talk to some of the vendors close to our table.  The visitors we talked to came from as far north as Edison and as far south as Cape May.   It was a great experience and cannot wait till next year to do it again. We were able to have 112 people fill out tickets for a chance to win a one-year free membership to our club.  We had also the pleasure of seeing many of the club members and were able to look over their shoulder to find out what the hot lures they use to catch fish.  After they left Vince and I quickly hurried over to the vendor that was selling these hot lure and purchase a few.
 

Submitted by Basil Dubrosky 2/17/2009

We departed the dock at 8:30 AM on February 16 and headed for New Pass in Sarasota Florida stopping for bait and breakfast on the way.  The wind was kicking up from the North and we were concerned that we would not be able to get offshore in our 2360 CC Sailfish.  We anchored in the pass at a stationary buoy and began using Sabiki rigs to catch pinfish.  We noticed boats that had tried to get offshore coming back into the pass, which was not a good sign.  We were able to get about 20 pinfish in no time and it was actually a lot of fun.
We headed out New Pass in rough conditions and decided to motor south past Big Pass along the beach to Point of Rocks, a natural on shore rock reef extending from the beach out about 300 yards.  As we approached the rocks we encountered thick bird flocks feeding over fish.  We started to cast jigs and catch Spanish Mackerel to 20 inches.  It was like a NJ Bluefish blitz.  We had to add wire to our jigs because the Mackerel were cutting us off.  The wire decreased our hit success with these line shy critters but once hooked we were able to land them.  We caught fish for about an hour. 
We then anchored near the rocks and began catching Whiting.  We caught quite a few Whiting to one pound using small shrimp pieces on small hooks or small shad darts.  A Mackerel only 12 inches long hit a live lined pinfish half it's size (pretty aggressive).  The wind was blowing harder so we headed north into the waves and into Big Pass.
We anchored out of the wind off Lido Key in Big Pass.  There were birds feeding all around us and 5 dolphins feeding and circling the boat.  We started to cast small white jigs tipped with shrimp and began catching Ladyfish to 24 inches (a long silvery fish similar to the Tarpon that fights hard and jumps often).  We caught Ladyfish and enjoyed watching the dolphin feed for several hours and then it was off to home, a pretty good day that started as a blow out.

Submitted by Basil Dubrosky 2/13/2009

I know where the Fluke are located this time of year, Florida!  I fished on a man made reef about 12 miles off Big Pass, Sarasota, Florida in the Gulf on February 12.  We caught about a dozen summer flounder up to 18 inches.  The good part is we could keep most of them because the legal size is in Florida is 12 inches (reminds me of NJ about 25 years ago).  The largest Fluke hit a live blue runner that had been initially hooked on a live shrimp. 
The fish were caught while anchored over structure.  Our baits were live shrimp and live pin fish.
We also caught several short grouper along with Blow fish, Blue fish, snappers and Sheepshead.  We observed what we suspect were a pair of large cobia circling the boat in the calm waters but were unable to reach them in order to present the bait.

Submitted by Bill Logan 1/24/2009

Fish story

I was out fishing to day off of at what is called Bahia Honda State Park, North of Flagler's old railroad bridge and Route 1 Overseas Hwy, Atlantic Ocean side. (Keep in mind the Florida Keys run East & West not North & South)

Tally:
6 Hog Fish Very good eating (12" to the fork)
5 Pork or Pig Fish Good Eating
10 Porgies good sizes ones & good eating
1 Yellow Tail 14+ " Keepers are 12" Great eating.
15 Grunts 10" or better. (We have a self-imposed fish size on the boat of 10") Fair eating very small filets but are great for when we have a fish fry at the RV Resort. (Finger licking well)

Oh I almost forgot, just 2 of us, my fishing buddy Phil and I in my 14' Aluminum Starcraft with a 15 hp 4 Stroke Mercury, departed the dock around 10:30am it took 30 plus minutes to get to where we wanted to fish, left the fishing spot to start back at 2pm and it took the same amount of time to get back, so we caught all this with in 3 hours and at 1pm the bite turned off to a slow trickle and at 2pm we started back.
Hey Barry! So much for the want of a bigger boat. Hay

Hi Vince  

That kind of day is pretty much the exception down here, I had marked that spot last year on my Hand Held GPS, cause we had had a good day then also, we each take two rods one conventional and one spinner, bait is live shrimp cut it in half, also use squid and Bally Ho. Filet the Bally Ho and cut in to small pieces and flat line it for Yellow tail with a bag of chum over the side. The guys with the 17' boats and up can get out to the reef and fish for bigger fish like Mahi Mahi, King Mackerel and others. The farthest we have ventured out on the Atlantic side is 3 miles and 6 on the Gulf side to the flats looking for Mangroves snappers. Believe it or not the weather has been chilly it went down into the 50's for a couple of nights had to turn the heater on in the RV the other night and it has also been windy which kept us at the dock for a quite a few days. 

Bill L

Submitted by John Kleban 1/07/2009

On January 5, 2009 Bill Dabney called and asked if I would be interested in joining with him to fish on the Karen Ann II.  This was an open boat charter.  The weather report indicated a slight chance of sleet in the morning changing to rain in the afternoon.  The wind forecast was for NE winds of 10 to 15 (2’ to 4’ waves) with small craft warning to be put into effect at 2:00 PM.  I told him yes since a little rain would not stop me. After a restless night of sleep of anticipation, it was time to meet Bill.  We drove down to the marina that was located in Atlantic City.  The boat was a huge 35-foot boat that was laid out for fishing.  The only problem was the cabin was heated to 66 degrees.  With all the layers of clothing it was very uncomfortable.  After we left the dock we headed NE into the 2’ to 3’ waves.  The boat took the waves in perfect comfort.  At first there was occasional sleet, which changed to occasional rain and then to a steady light rain.  There were a total of seven of us including the captain.  The other four were Dave, Bill, Bob and Keith.  It was amazing how helpful the people on board were.  When the fishing was a little hot in one spot they would tell us to push our way into that spot.  When we moved around they told us to dispense with the formality of saying excuse me, but just put our elbow into there back and push.  The crew and captain made rigs for us, tied the rigs to our line and showed us how to tie the rigs.  Not only did we learn how to tie the rigs we were shown how to bleed the Blackfish we caught.
The fishing was very slow, but we did manage about 20 Blackfish with 5 keepers.  The captain stated that this was by far the worst trip he had all season.  The captain tried real hard and it was amazing how quickly he set up on a spot using two anchors.  He also showed us how his electronic would map a 3D rendition of the bottom.  The sophisticated electronic and his mastery of it was worth the trip alone.  The icing on the cake was the fantastic personal onboard. 
Going on a charter boat is always an adventure and this was no acceptation.  The knowledge of many of the charter boats makes it a worth wild adventure.  I am sure I will try and go on a future trip with the Karen Ann II.

Submitted on 12/26/2008 by John Henson

Went on the Miss Beach Haven Blackfishing today and don't have much of a report. Had a nice day weather wise but also had a lot of "current" which put the tog off the bite. 10 to 12 ounces held bottom but a very strong bottom current the entire day kept the catch minimal at best. I think high hook was 3 or 4 keepers with many guys going home empty. Capt Frank did his best to find the fish (as he always does) and Capt. Brant was cheerful as usual, but the tog just wouldn't cooperate. Oh well, still a day of fishin'.

Submitted by John Kleban 12/08/2008

12-3-2008 Out for some last season Bass fishing.  With The ocean pretty calm I was deciding if I should try south of Barnegat inlet, but because I have not fished that direction in over ten years and was a little reluctant that if I were to break down if there were any boats there.  Took the boat north to the area that had produced fish in the past.  It seemed like a good decision since the fish were cooperating.  The radio indicated that the boats on Harvey Cedars Lumps were into fish with lots of keepers.  The fish that I boated north of the inlet were all shorts and the radio chatter indicated that very few keepers were boated north of the inlet.  On returning to the dock a Seagull that has been staying around my dock was looking for its treats.  Unfortunately there were no fish to be cleaned but as luck would have it a Sand Eel was laying on the deck that was feed to the Seagull.  The final tally for the day was 38 Bass (no keepers), 1 Herring, 1 Dogfish and 1 Skate.

12-6-2008 This would be the last boat trip of the year.  On the way to the inlet it was hard to decide if going south would be a better decision than going north.  At the inlet a boat was spotted going south so a follow the leader mentally was adopted.  The boat went a few miles south and then slowed down near a boat that was jigging.  He did not stop but kept slowly motoring south.  At this point some boats were seen on the horizon so the throttle was pushed up to bring the boat to a faster speed.  On the horizon boats were seen with hundreds of birds working.  About ¾ mile short of the boats a few birds were diving so this would be the first place to try.  It turned out to be the right move since the fish were in the cooperative mode and only one other boat was working this spot.  Around 8:30 AM the fleet south of me started to move into the area I was at and the fishing slowed to a pick.  By 11:00 AM the fishing slowed down to a crawl, but the damage to the fish population was complete.   The radio indicated that the keepers were up north but with a total of 63 Bass including 2 keepers (limited out) of 31” and 33” the decision to go south proved to make my day.  At the dock the lagoon was frozen so the boat became an icebreaker.  My friendly Seagull was waiting for its food.  The remains of the fish cleaning process were thrown onto the ice and the Seagull quickly pounced onto them.  It was very surprised to find out the water was ice and skidded on the ice landing on its rump.  My daughter and I enjoyed watching this Seagull and all of the others navigating the ice to obtain food.

Till next year:
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!
John

Submitted by Joseph Filice 12/08/08

Submitted by Dave Sikorski 12/08/08

11/11/2008 – Tried Island Beach State Park with my son-in-law (Marc) and his friend (Jeff) for some Bass fishing.  It was a decision to go north instead of south although the reports were encouraging down south.  We did notice a party boat the Cock Robin nearby so going north did not seem to be a bad decision.  It was sloppy but the weatherman said it would lie down as the day went on.  It did lay down some but was still sloppy.  The final count was 50 Bluefish (it was decided to stop at 50) and 20 Bass (1 – 33” and 1 – 34”).  We went over the spot were we caught the two bigger fish on two different rods at the same time so we assumed we finally found the bigger Bass.  With high hopes we quickly turned around and went over the same spot to be disappointed by catch large Bluefish.  One of the Bluefish was at least 15 pounds.  It looked like it swallowed a cow but was released to play havoc with the abundance of baitfish in the water.

Submitted by Joseph Filice 11/3/2008

Fished the surf in Beach Haven on Sat 11/1/08 from 9:00 to 12:00 and again for an hour from 3:00 to 4:00. With the west wind and ocean was like a lake. Not one hit. Only thing moving were the crabs stealing the bait. Actually dragged one in still hanging on the bait & used it for bait. NOTHING. Fished again on 11/02 extremely strong winds from the northeast. Heavy surf and needed 8 oz. to hold bottom. Fished Beach Haven for 2 hrs without a hit. In checking the web sites, Holgate was hot from 3:00 PM through the early morning hours. Just have to be in the right place at the right time, which I wasn’t.

Submitted by Joseph Filice 10/27/2008

I weighed in a 34 1/2” - 12lb 3oz Bass on 10/18/08 caught on bunker chunks in Beach Haven.  This last Saturday in the big blow I weighed in two 32”   Bass @ 12lb 12oz & 12lb 3oz respectively. Again in Beach Haven on bunker chunks.  I’ll be out again Sat & Sun this weekend.  The 34” was weighed in for the Classic & for the Club.  The 32’s were weighed in for the club only.  Should be some cows soon as a 47lber was weighted in at Barnegat over the weekend.

Submitted by Basil Dubrosky 10/27/2008

On Monday, October 27 I went out on the beach at Ship Bottom.  I fished the incoming tide from 3 to 7 PM.  I caught 2 bass to 28 inches on cut bunker.  I got no action on various plugs.  There were lots of fishermen on the beach with trucks parked every 100 yards.  How have you all done since the beginning of the tournament?  I have not yet weighed in a fish.

Submitted by Basil Dubrosky 10/15/2008

I went out to the LE inlet this morning October 15.  There were lots of birds of every type and with schools of Herring all over.  Bass fishermen were catching Herring on small hook rigs or Sabiki rigs to use as bait in the inlet.   Some fishermen were trolling umbrella rigs. There were schools of one-pound blues all over.  I caught a few to 1.3 pounds Bluefish.  I did not see any big fish caught.  All the action was over by 10 AM.  The Ocean was flat. 

Submitted by Basil Dubrosky 10/13/2008

On October 13, Billy Jann and I went wreck fishing off AC in about 40 feet of water.  We released 70 blackfish including 10 keepers using green crabs.  We kept 2 fish to 3 pounds.  We also caught a huge porgy.  We saw very little in the way of bunker schools and could not find any Weaks from the LE to AC.

Submitted by John Kleban 10/13/2008

I fished for 1 ½ hour (had to be home by 10:00AM) north of Barnegat inlet and ended up with one 6 pound Bluefish, one 27” Bass and seven Bass from 29” to 34”(14.125 pounds).  Birds were working all over but the fish under the birds that were probably Bonita and False Albacore as they were last time so I kept away from the birds. It took a little while to find the fish but once found it seemed that I could have easily caught 20 to 30 keepers.  The fish finder showed fished stacked up from top to bottom in 30 feet of water.  Immediately going over the readings both rods had fish on.  After bring the fish to the boat a turn was made to go over the school again. As soon as the first line was put into the water a fish was on making it impossible to use two rods.  After catching a few fish it was necessary to go home and leave them biting. 

Submitted by Basil Dubrosky 10/5/2008

On October 4  I went wreck fishing with Dave Sikorski and Billy Jann.  Off AC in 30-40 feet of water we hit bunker schools.  After snagging about 40 bunker (to keep for bait), we were surprised when Bass started attacking our snagged bunker.  We started landing large Striped Bass by using the snag and drag routine.  We ended up catching 5 Bass to 26 pounds and never made it to the wreck but hope our next wreck trip ends the same way.

On October 5  I went wreck fishing with Vince Sibona.  On the way to the wreck we tried to duplicate the yesterdays feat of snagging and dragging bunker but the Bass decided today was not our day. We then proceeded to a wreck and had an enjoyable day catching about 50 Blackfish to 3 pounds along with some Fluke, Sea Bass and Croakers. 

Submitted by Basil Dubrosky 9/30/2008

Submitted on 8/22/2008 by John Henson

Had the day off today so I figured I would get out the light gear and head to the suds in search of flatties. Got to the beach about 6:30, Low tide was around 5:30(?). Nice and calm, hardly any breeze, and warm. Decided to try Beach Haven. Started with Spro Jig and teaser combo baited with Pro Cut White. Fished the bar to the trough, what there was of one, and to the beach. Not a hit! Switched over to a "Gotcha" lure and a white, undressed teaser. Decided to wade on the bar about waist to chest deep, and fish the "outside" of the bar, maybe get a Bluefish or hopefully a Weakie. 3rd cast coming up the slope I had a hit. Figured it was a small Blue, was very surprised to see it was an 18.25 in Fluke on the teaser. Plain white undressed teaser. Tried for a while longer but that was the only one!!! Starting to look like a good day off.

Submitted on 8/5/2008 by John Henson

Fished with a couple of friends in the 3rd Annual Bayshore Invitational Fluke tournament today. Left shark River at dawn, fished until 1:30 pm. Fished between the "Red Church" and Shark River Inlet. Water Depth between 25-55 ft. Water temp 75.5 degrees. West, Northwest wind @ 5-10. High tide at 2:11 am.  41 Fluke total with 5 keepers, largest one at 22 in, 3.9 lbs. Good enough for 4Th in the tournament. Not in the money, but a good day overall. We also went 4 for 5 on Sea Bass with the biggest at just over 2 lbs. All fish caught on Squid and Minnows.