fall 02

Friday November 28, 2002

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I went out with my brother Dave on our traditional turkey day striper trip. We were not disappointed after reaching the ammo pier located an enormous flock of seagulls and schoolie bass rolling in the 2-3' chop. We had a blast jigging rubber shads into the boils. Many of the fish were pre-schoolies but still fun as we switched over to light tackle. It was too windy for fly rods I believe. We were joined by only about 6 boats and one party boat. I heard of a few keepers but we only got one. We tried trolling for some bigger fish but only got more of the same. I took a few photos and when my digital finally defrosts I will post them up.

Hi Jay, thinking of a new concept; dinning and fishing. similar to a pre fix. the hottest spot is right in front of your restaurant. something like lunch and an eel; supply fishing poles and have BIG ED sing some Barry White down on the dock Shhhhh.. dont let out all the secret spots. just kidding. two fish,two drifts, twenty five minutes, outgoing tide, eels, highlands bridge. say hello to your dad from the Hensles'. the larger is 24lbs. 39in.. the smaller 19.5lbs. 33in. not to shabby!!!

Hope all is well ---- happy thanksgiving Jason Hensle Today weighed in and Bahrs Landing Brian Rice had a 21lb fish. He said that he stayed away from the birds as they were mostly small fish. He trolled spoons in between the channels. Jimmy Morenz ther mate on the Hyper Striper told me that I should hacve gone east towards Breezy Point N.Y.. He said that there have been some very big fish includeing huge blues. He said that they are moving west and maybe will be a bit closer this weekend.

Capt. Lou Grazioso ran Tackle Box Sportfishing into early bird action Tuesday morning, but it quickly dissipated. Tom Shaffern and the Passaic Engraving party from Passaic still jigged about 30 bass on Storm Shads though only two were slots. Grazioso's friend, Paul Licata of Mystic, Conn., and Al Ristori fished Striper Mania that morning and got into clouds of birds at Flynn's Knoll and down the beach though in each case they broke up quickly in a brisk north wind and didn't find anything else all the way over to Coney Island and Breezy Point, settling for a few more on Storm Shads over readings near Ambrose before returning at 10:30 after jigging a dozen bass up to 28 inches. Grazioso only found 10 bass jigging that afternoon as the wind shift to the south didn't help.

Capt. Pete Wagner has been into good sight fishing with his Hyper Striper since last Friday, when Ken Link's party caught 18 from 28 to 38 inches on poppers. Marty Metz and group from Hillsdale were back early Sunday after hot morning jigging.

Bass were rolling on peanut bunkers at the tip of the Hook Monday morning when John Todd's party from Paterson limited on jigs and by trolling. The same methods worked Tuesday for Rick Nunn and friends from Hillsborough.

November 20, 2002

Another nasty weekend. NOBODY fished in the bay or on the beach. The only action that I saw was under the Highlands Bridge. I had a few reports that were very good from there. Eels on the outgoing tide.

Stripers Last Friday before the storm, turned out to be a great day for me. Along with my friend Jeff Shaner of Alpine, we trolled the Chandelier Rigs in the Reach Channel. We had 3 keepers 3 shorts and two drops. Most everybody was not catching, the fish recorder showed nothing and I saw no bird life all day.But the new chandelier rigs seemed to bring fish. When we got back to the dock after sunset, I saw Brian Rice and Dave Brickle who had just come in too. They found the birds and were all alone near Old Orchard Light. He said that they had up to thirty fish released and twice had triple headers on his trolling rig.

Chris Wood was out today and reported in: Anglers: c wood _Bait: chandelier rig/balck shad _Date: 11/20/2002 _Depth: 25'-35' _Size: up to 36" _Water: 52 _bname: Hydrasport _email: cwood60@comcast .net _location: Between the channels _meth: trolled _species: Striped Bass comm: It was a perfect day finally ! No wind, sunny and warm. I went out solo and trolled one rod. I had fish on instantly again. I don't know if it was the tide or what. I was out between 1:00-3:00pm and had fish on almost the entire time the line was in the water. Two double headers and about 12 or so fish in total.

TUNA 2 boats made it to the Canyon this week from the Navesink. Chris and Jason Stavola George Conway on the "Stone Breaker" along with Bill Stavola "Squid Hound" with Tony Wagner and Steve Becker out to the canyon Tues Morning. They timed the weather perfectly and did very well chunking butterfish. Bill had a 144lb and a 98lb Bluefin. Chris had a 98 lb.bluefin.

Blackfish Captain Stan on the Elaine B told me that the fishing was great last week as most patrons had their limits.

November 13, 2002 Last 2 weekend's MBCA Striper tournament, held here at Bahrs Landing, was postponed until this weekend (hopefully). It starts on Friday Night and ends on Sunday. The weather will cooperate for this annual event. For more info call 732-291-9554

Chris Woods of Rumson caught 15 stripers on Monday morning . 20# the largest...all on chandelier rigs. What is a chandelier rig you ask? It is new and was developed in Martha Vineyard. The manufacture said that it is similar to a shad or umbrella rig except that it has a unique design and does away with mono which can be a real pain when dealing w/ bluefish. We will have some available this weekend at the Bahrs Marina shop. Jack Jacobusi of Old Bridge had a 10 lb blackfish on Tuesday. The big fish Togs are in! They have ugly teeth that almost look human, though needing braces.

Ron Motyka reports in "Jay, I have been fishing the outgoing off the "Knoll" . Drifting the eel on the west drop-offs is producing some nice bass/blues. I have to admit, those ravenous bluefish (up to 12Lb.) have been rather costly in the bait expense column. But the senior citizen home by my house can't get enough! Sat., I had two bass landed 29" and 34". I also lost a fish at the boat, due to my little net. "the one that got away" was over 40" inches. Well, I would have released her anyway!. Sun., I fished Sea Girt Reef on a 21' cuddy. Thank God for Advil, as we were pounded by the rollers for eight solid hours. Once we sifted threw hundreds of giant Porgies couldn't fit them in your hand! , we (3 guys) limited out on sea-bass. The bass were not very big, about 3-4 lbs. , 14 inch or so, but hardly any shorts. A shift to green crab brought in the Black-fish bite. Most were short, however we landed 12 keepers and one giant 23" fat-boy. Back at Belmar Boat Basin the talk of "the red church " action was everywhere, saw dozens of big Tog heads at the filet area."



Dave Lilly of Hazlet boated the largest Raritan Bay striper reported over the weekend and weighed the 35 3/4-pounder at The Tackle Box in Hazlet after tempting it with an eel. Capt. Lou Grazioso did well eeling with Tackle Box Sportfishing from Highlands until Sunday morning when the Andy Compton party from Millington only managed two. Al Peruzzi's group caught four to 20 pounds Friday evening. Grazioso ran his Striper Mania from Highlands for limits on both Saturday trips. Dave Kelly Sr. and Jr. from Lincroft caught bass up to about 20 pounds in the morning, and a 22-pounder was boated that afternoon. Grazioso was shocked last week when a 5-pound blackfish was caught on an eel in Sandy Hook Channel.

November 6, 2002

Last weekend's MBCA Striper tournament, held here at Bahrs Landing, was postponed until this weekend. It starts on Friday Night and ends on Sunday. Hopefully the weather will cooperate for this annual event. For more info call 732-291-9554 The fishing is prime! Big bass have been trolled inside the bay and down at the Shrewsbury Rocks. Large schools are moving through the area causing the now usual Fall frenzy to pop up any where at any time. Keep your spinning gear ready with pencil poppers or rubber shads. I saw surf fisherman sprinting down the beach in Sea Bright on Friday morning chasing a pod of feedingg stripers. My friend Pat Guba was one of them landing 2 fish over 24lbs. He paid for them in blood though as his rubber boots on his waders rubbed into his calf and cut a nice gash. A small price to pay for a November linesider. Look for bass in the Sandy Hook rip on live eels. The beginning and end of the outgoing tides work best. The trophy fish are usually taken on trolling gear this time of year. Popular of late are the rubber shad rigs. They are very productive. Wire line is a must to get them down on the bottom where the big fish lurk. Hi Jay, The last 8 consecutive trips have been VERY VERY good Blackfishing, limits have been common fish up to 9lbs, the area we have been fishing is producing 65 to 70% keepers. The easterly weather hasn't effected the bite so far.

Capt. Stan Elaine B II

October 29th 2002

This weekend saw some more big fish from the Rip. Dave Brickle of Rumson got out on Saturday p.m. and caught the tide. He landed a 28lb fish on live eels. He said that there were only a few boats out there as the weather was still a bit snotty.

Mike Stavola fished the canyon on Thursday/ Friday aboard his boat "Quarry Master", He had 6 yellowfins at night. At first daybreak, he had reorts of some big fish in the area so he switched over to the heavier tackle. Sure enough they hooked into some medium size bluefin tuna. They boated one at 184lbs. lost another (light leaders) and left them bighting as the weather prediction forced Mike in.

Rudolph & Richards win the Hi-Mar

Thomas Rudolph of Monroe Township and Dave Richards used bunker from T-Hawk to boat bass of 22.3 and 25.5 pounds for the winning total of 47.8 pounds. Veteran anglers David and Phil Fischer of Millburn on their Fischermen from Highlands boated the largest striper at 25.9 pounds and added a 21.4-pounder for the second place 46.13 pounds. Vinnie Calabro of New York took third on Karen Ann with linesiders of 21.7 and 20.4 pounds, while Rick Nunn of Hillsborough was fourth on Hapi Daze with 18.4- and 21.9-pound bass. Fifth went to Scott Heffernan from Highlands with stripers of 19.1 and 19.9 pounds on his Sea Devil.

The Jersey Coast Shark Anglers Fall Striped Bass Tournament will be held Saturday, with boaters allowed to sail out of Bahrs Landing, Highlands; A.P.'s, Belmar; Hoffman's Marina, Brielle; or Barnegat Light Tackle. The captains' meeting begins at 7 p.m. Friday in the JCSA Building on Herbertsville Rd., Brick. The $7,500 event has a $150 boat entry fee. Call Dan Embon at (877) 985-0151 for details.

The 7th annual Monmouth Beach Cartoppers Bass Tournament will be run out of Bahrs during Saturday and Sunday with the combined weight of the four largest stripers will determining winners. The captains' meeting is at 7 p.m. Friday in Bahrs Restaurant, Highlands. Call Big Ed at (732) 291-9554.

Sal Cannizzaro of Colts Neck reports: I've been black fishing the last couple of weeks and it has been pretty good. With fish up to 6 lbs. Scotland grounds produced good tog, seabass, and porgie fishing. When the water temp gets closer to 55 degrees, I think it will even get better. The striped bass were 100 yards north of your marina this morning feeding on bunker and boiling at the surface with birds diving down into the balls of bait. I landed 4 fish real quick up to 30 inches, and then went black fishing. Makes for a great day October 23, 2002

Brian Rice fished the full moon last night w/ Pete Cherasia. Brian had a 34lb Striper on a live eel. He said that they were back in the Raritan Reach Channel early on Wednesday. Captain Lou, fished the Striper Special at the reach channel. Both trips ended early as the charter had there limits early. He fished the rip and Roamer.

Tuna Chris and Jason Stavola, on the "Stonebreaker", had a good overnighter trip also on Tues/Wed. They had 6 Yellowfin and 2 nice size longfins. Chris said that it was rough going out, but very nice on the overnight chunk in the full moonlight. all but one longfin were caught chunking butterfish. Also in the canyon from the area were cousins Bill and Joey Stavola on the "Squid Hound" They also had 8 tuna.

John Matteucci is doing well on the blackfish area. Using green crabs he is finding some good ealy seaon fish on "various" wrecks. Mostly in the 3-4lb range.



October 17, 2002 Well so much for the October Tuna season. Three weeks of nasty weather put the kabash on weekend trips. Inshore, things are calming down nicley and will hopefully stay that way through the full moon. Stripers have been all over the river the past couple of days. Coach Fred Kempf of Oceanport has been plugging the Oceanic Bridge on a nightly (early eve.) basis for short bass. Bigger fish are being taken on the Highlands Bridge by the bridge gaffers. The Rip, Roamer Shoals, and Ambrose Channel are producing nicely drifting eels.

Capt. Phillip Sciortino came up a big winner with Tackle Box Sportfishing from Bahrs. After taking a couple of waves over the bow of his True World 24 while trying to fish the rip on Thursday, he moved out to a spot in the middle of the bay here eels and worms produced a good bite of bass smaller than the 34- to 36-inchers which were routinely closer to Sandy Hook last week. Bill Higgins of Monmouth Beach and Ralph Marra from Fair Haven had a ball catching over 20 bass which included a couple of keepers up to 33 inches as Sciortino overcame the very rough conditions by power drifting

Captain Kenny on the KKat took Al Ristori out for a fun trip on Thursday. They slammed the Tautog using green crabs. The tide and wind cooperated as did the water temop 63 dgrees. The sea was still heavy from the quick Nor'Easter but the fish didn't seem to mind. "Our green crabs were assaulted immediately and the bite never stopped until we left two hours later with about 20 keepers up to 4 or 5 pounds plus a few more released along with over twice as many shorts."



Atlantic Highlands, Capt. Rob Semkewyc said customers on his Sea Hunter caught only one striper Tuesday morning in rough seas off Sandy Hook before he was able to get out to Ambrose for a decent pick on eels when the east wind dropped off unexpectedly in the afternoon. Dan Gottleib of Hoboken caught two up to the pool-winning 16 pounds, and Jeff Echert from Clifton also had two bass. The Sea Fox will now be blackfishing Sundays through Thursdays. Friday's trips are for deepwater ling and sea bass, while canyon runs depart that night.