Highlands / Sandy Hook, N.J.
07732
 | The rest of '03>>=>>>:>
January 5,
2004
Sorry once again for the late reporting or lack of.
The end of the season was a bit tricky weather wise. Stripers did not show up as
in the past few years for the Thanksgiving-xmas run. Some of the surf
fisherman had a few good days and some of the charter boats found fish but in
general it was not great. The blackfish season however did continue for those
who waited out the weather.
Captain Stan reported a few weeks ago. (I was too busy to post shame on
me)
"Fishing for Blackfish has bounced back very well after all the bad
weather
we have had. Friday fishing was excellent everybody on the boat had their limit pool winner was Ken Smith from Jersey City with a 7lb Blackfish. Sat. we had a 4 degree drop in water temp. that slowed the fishing down somewhat but Johnny Tooch, Dennis and Mike still managed a nice catch with John winning the pool with a 6lb Blackfish. Sunday the fish turned on again with a good number of anglers catching their limit the pool winner was Frank Lavelle fron Jersey City winning the pool with a 8.5lb Blackfish. Capt.Stan Elaine B 11 and I got this nice email ovewr the Holidays. HI Jay...hope you enjoyed the ski holiday....and
Happy New Year. We were at the restaurant on Sunday...saw your dad, heard about
Dave's new baby.
This is Ed Gallo(Uncle
Ed)..................My nephew Bill Rhee, back from Hawaii
for the holidays, Mike Mazzacco of Red Bank, and I
decided to take advantage of the incredible late December weather and do some
fishing.
On Monday, Dec.29, we ditched work, and took our 18
ft.boat out to the inshore Shrewsbury Rocks. Overcoming a broken trailer
hitch....the need to tank up the boat at a local gas station....and a drive to
Brielle before ultimately finding green crabs...we finally anchored up on the
Shrewsbury rocks in 50 ft. of water, at the top of the tide.
We fished outgoing tide for the next 3 hours,
and nailed some very nice Tog.
We kept 10 for the freezer. Bill smacked the bigggest, an 8 pounder. We put a number of 5-6 lb. fish
in the boat as well. Threw back the shorts. Good thing, too.
The conservation officer was waiting for us at the
launch ramp when we returned.
Here's a couple of pics.
All my best,
Ed Gallo
new years resolution >> fish more write more>> Go to
Cabo! The opening of the Blackfish season has been a long wait as the popular reefs filled up over the weekend. The fishing was decent with some ice fish taken. Green crabs are the best bait. Our local party boat captain sent me this email "Opening day of the Blackfish season was outstanding with limit catches. Mike Naipawer Glen Rock NJ was the pool winner with a 8.5lb Blackfish and a limit catch, those that didn't catch their limit had 5 to 7 keepers apiece. Capt. Stan Elaine B II " Captain Stan is a specialist at Blackfish. His boat fills up early this time of year so get down by 6:30 a.m. to find a good spot on board. The Elaine B is Docked at Bahrs Landing. Stripers are abundant along the beaches with daily blitzes from the tip to Asbury Park. I heard of some more nice size keepers up river in Oceanport. Large size bunkers were spotted trapped close into shore near North Long Branch launch ramp. The charter boats have been having fun jigging stripers of varying sizes including decent keepers from inside the hook down towrds Sea Bright. The morning bite provides all you want. Look for the birds. The schools are getting thicker by the day. It should be crazy by Thankgiving weekend! I f you like to drift Eels, try on the New York Side of the range finders in between the Channels. Sam Boulmetis had 3 keepers up to 21lbs on Monday in one hour. If you like to clam tryt chumming the Chappel Hill Channel. If you like to troll try in front of the Ammo Pier and the Shrewsbury Rocks. Cartopper 2003 Fall Bass
Tournament Results
"Lucky Strike"
Frank Kibitlewski,
Island Heights
both caught on eels in the Shrewsbury River Sat.
Morning
Frank Cullenton, Rockaway,
N.Y.
Eels at the Sandy Hook Rip
October 30, 2003
This weekend should be a banner weekend for local
sportsfishing. The bass are in as well as big bluefish. Most of the stripers are
being taken at off the surf and the Sandy Hook Channel ffrom the rip on out.
Live eels on fish finder rigs seem to the bait of choice. Trolling with spoons
and rigs should provide some action with bigger bass and bluefish. Look for
birds off of the beach. John Byren, Fair Haven trolled 3 keeper bass on his 31
regulator "Rambunctious" on Wednesday. He had them up to 25 pounds trolling
chanadlier rigs down at Shrewsbury
Rocks.
George Feneise had a 22lb bass on Saturday
caught in between the channels. He was drifting live eel. John Matteucci
hammered a few bass up to 24lbs at the rip on Tuesday afternoon. Captain
Fletcher Chayes has been having success drifting the rivers especially near
spermacetti cove with worms.
This Weekend's Striper Tournament will hold the
official captain's meeting Thurday night at Bahrs Landing due to Halloween of
Friday. Fishing still starts Friday Night @ 8:00 .
October 23, 2003 Monmouth Beach Car Topper's Bass Tournament set for Saturday November 1, 2003Go East Young Man Most of the best reports are from Long Island. Start at Rockaway and head east for stripers. Clams and trolling are the best bet. There still are some reports of spotty bass blitzes in on the bayside of the Hook. Striped bass fishing was generally tough over the weekend in local waters, but that didn't bother Harry Svenson of Union Beach and John Elkovics of Keyport, who ran Cheap Shot from Keyport into Long Island Sound and bunker chunked bass of 47 and 37.8 pounds for a combined weight of 84.8 pounds to run away with the 40-hour Hi-Mar Striper Tournament. None of the local fishermen managed even half that weight. Frank Culleton and Frank Rios from Rockaway Beach, N.Y., were second on Bongo with a total of 39.3 pounds. Third went to Chuck Many of Clinton and John Thomas from Belvidere on Tyman 2 at 37.3 pounds. T-Hawk, with Tom Rudolph of Monroe and Rusty Richards from Helmetta, had 36.6 pounds for fourth. Fifth went to Al Dudas and Don Gavoury of Monroe Township with 35.4 pounds on Naughty Boy. Jesse Moat of Parlin was the junior winner with a 15.7-pound bass, and the ladies' prize went to Lynn Bister on Twisted Two at 12.6 pounds. The bait (peanut bunker) seems to be very thick in the bay and the rivers. I suspect that this cold snap may entice some bigger bass to our table. The Canyon is still producing. Captain Chad Hacker on the Sea Fox had 2 good trips this week finding medium bluefins plentiful.
October 15,
2003
I have gotten some good reports and some bad
reports on the striper scene. Tuesday early morning there was a blitz of big
bass and bluefish in the river off of Highlands. They were gone by 8:30 a.m. One
of the clammers got into the middle of them and said that he has never seen
anything like it. They had the peanut bunkers trapped and that "they were so
thick that you could have netted the bass busting all over the surface." Nobody
was there to catch them. The mid day fishing is slow unless you are willing to
go towards Long Island w/ clam chum. Trolling and day drifting the rip is a bit
slow but maybe this wind will stir things up? I spoke to some surf
fisherman who have been having success with plugs. John Andre picked up
some keeper bass on flies in the Navesink early Saturday.
"Kemosabe" of Rumson, came home from the canyon on
Tuesday with some tuna and mako. They released some bluefins.
The "Shark Byte" also from Rumson returned from
it's Nantucket trip. They had a good byte 355lb Bluefin
Tuna.
----- Original Message -----
October 10,
2003
The Stripers are starting to show up but the action
is still spotty. John Matteucci did well on Monday trolling the Sandy Hook Beach
but did not fair so well on Thursday. I have seen good surf activity in the
wash. It seems all of the birds are are directly in the surf. If you have a
small boat or are daring throughing plugs into the waves seems productive for
Bass and blues.
Captain Brian Orio on the Baby Anna came back form
the canyon on Thursday w/ 4 longfins and four nice big Yellowfins they
realeased a bunch as well.
October 1,
2003
The lack of reports are a direct indication of the
fishing conditons. Usually I am writing about the end of the weakfish season and
the begining of the bass and blackfish fishery.
Since there were few weakfish and the bass have not
yet begun to make it down our way, the reports have been a bit slow. I did get
this report and it exemplifies the current conditions. "We were out last Saturday (9/27) and seemed to
have struck out with the
other 200 boats that were eeling, clamming, trolling, etc....we did limit out on dogfish and sea-robins though! Same reports back at the marina, not a single bass to be found that day from 5am-2pm?" My answer to that is that there are still some nice
fluke in the bay. D.J. Nalepa from Red Bank caught a 6 lb flattie on
Saturday. Captain Fletcher Chayes caught some real nice ones at buoy 2
during the week. Remember the fluke season has been extended until the 15th
and it seems that they are on the feed before they head offshore.
The new blackfish rules will not be good for the
locals who have depended on the good run usually starting mid October. 1 fish
limit until November 15 will keep most at the dock. Hopefully the conservation
will work and the reef will be loaded with fatty taugs for Thanksgiving. The Sea
Bass is the next best thing going if you like reef fishing.
Big bluefish are very chumable (new word) at 17
fathoms. George Feneise had some big choppers on Sunday. He also had a handful
of albacore caught in his chum slick on frozen smelts. George said that they
went crazy for the bait. They took smelts on big hools and wire leader! Alby's
have been spotted in the back bay as the water is very clean after all of the
east winds and offshore storms. Big bluefish are being found chasing massive
schools of bunkers up the Navesink. The Stripers will be here soon until then
remember nothing around here fights like a chopper bluefish in
October!
Tuna has been very consistent. We
have been getting good weigh-ins just about every nice day. Nothing over 70lbs
and no big-eyes.
2ND ANNUAL 2003 Bahrs Landing BIG ED'S TUNA RODEO Results 1st (tie) "Shark Byte" 128lbs 1st (tie) "Hooked On A Feeling" 128lbs 3rd "T.F.B." (New Tar Heel) 118lbs 4th "Bed Rock" 114lbs 5th "Tar Heel" (old) 98.5lbs Heaviest Tuna "Hooked on a Feeling" 70lbs Heaviest Mahi "Shark Byte" This years Rodeo although delayed was competetive once again. After Isabel subsided the west winds calmed the ocean down making the conditions ideal on Sunday. There was a tie for first place w/ two boats weighing in the same combined two fish weight of 128lbs. More info at bahrs.com
FRIDAY SEPT.12th, SATURDAY SEPT.13th, SUNDAY SEPT. 14th ***dates moved due to weather. Shooting to start on Sat 13th - Mon 15th Went off Sunday the 21st - 22nd. SPONSORED BY BAHRS LANDING MARINA September 16,
2003
The Tuna rodeo is postponed until we see a bit
better/safer conditions. Pete Cherasia and crew did get out on
Monday night for a quick canyon trip aboard his "Shark Byte" They had 14 bigger
yellowfins plus some mahi. The largest caught by Pete was an 80 pounder. The
canyon was a bit rough and rainy but good enough
for Pete. More
September 11,
2003
The Tuna Rodeo is On! Big Ed's annual event will
have a Captain'######### tonight at Bahrs Dockside at 7:00. There will be
some t-shirts available. Due to offshore forcasts the fishing dates will begin
on Saturday-Monday instead of Friday-Sunday. The heaviest two tuna combined
weight wins 1st place. $600.00 entry per boat. Each boat gets 48 hours to
fish. We expect 30 boats from the area to fish the offshore event.
Jimmy Morenz worked the Hyper Stiper Tuna Trip
on Monday Night. Another good trip as they took advantage of a small window in
the weather. They fished "The Elbow" chunking for yellowfin. They had
non-stop action form 3:a.m. until.sunrise. In that short time they filled
the boat with 40-50lb yellows. The Tuna rodeo winner will need to
find some bigger fish maybe a bluyefin or troll a big eye. Jimmy told me
that on there trip he has been seeing giant tuna jumping off in the
distance and behind them some rather large splashes. "A huge implosion. Kind of
like an Academy bus falling off of a bridge". He was not sure what it
was as it was to big to be just bait or giants. On this trip he saw what was
making all of the racket. As I have seen on the Discovery Channel killer
whales chasing and gorging on Giant Bluefin Tuna in The Gulf of Maine. Jimmy saw
what he said was a 600lb giant jumping over the swells with a killer whale
hot on his tail! What a great sight that must have been!
click to see more of Joe's fish http://bahrs.com/goodcat202.html
Captain Fletcher chase found some smaller weakfish
up the Navesink River. I was wondering if they would ever show up. They are a
bit on the small size as they are just over keeper size. N.J. weakfish
limits 14 fish @ 14 inches.
The big story over the weekend was the record setting 17 lb fluke weighed in both at the Tackle box and for good measure at Bahrs Landing. This year has been a great late season run for fluke! The season has been extended one month to October 15. Also Tom cox has been catching loads of schoolie bass under the bridges at the change of tides. The peanut bunkers are starting to move up river and the stripers and blues are following. I saw a large blitz on the other side of the Shrewsbury from our dock on Monday. Looked to be some major fish chasing bait up on the beach by the Park Ranger's house. Anglers: Marc Denton _email: Dentonsba@aol.com _bname: Dos Locos _Date: 8/21/2003 _location: Sandy Hook area _meth: drifting _species: Fluke _Size: 6.25 lb fluke - 11 lb bluefish _Bait: Snapper Blue for fluke / strip for bluefish _Depth: 35 _Water: 75 comm: Jay: As promised at your dock Thursday evening, here's a shot of the 11lb. blue caught on a strip bait and a 6.25 lb. fluke caught on a snapper blue, both in the Sandy Hook area. That's Roger Pfeiffer of Middletown doing the heavy lifting. Best regards, Marc Denton "Dos Locos", Little Silver August 20,
2003
The Canyon started to show some promise on the full
mon but came to a halt the last couple of days. George Sincox had a nice day on
Thursday night catching 13 yellowfins at "The Letters". Gerry Brager of
Middletown had 5 yellowfins chunking on Friday Night. A few boats went out
Monday with poor results aka no tuna. This happened last year as there was a
lull before the bite was on heavy.
Captain Fletcher Chayes Reports " The weakfish tournament was a blast. Everyone who
fished caught all the
weakfish they wanted. And then "Nemo of the deep" reached up from the depths and started to pull on your leg like I am now. Weakfishing was tough.But the porgy fishing was outstandig. Love feeding a flat of worms to those fish! Only 5 weakfish fish caught by the entered boats. Capt Cursi caught an 8, 6, 5.5 and a 2 to win. My crew only managed an 8 with a couple of blown opportunities at the boat. Since I weighed first we won the calcutta." The fluke are hitting in the ocean drifting killies
on the Sandy Hook Reef off of Sea Bright. You can't mniss the party boats. They
are picking a few sea bass on squid in the same local.
August 13, 2003
The Monmouth Beach Cartopper's Weakfish Tournament is on for this weekend. Captain'######### Friday 7:00p.m. at Bahrs Landing Bar. Applications There was debate whether or not to postpone the event due to the later than usual arrival of big schools of weakies. There were some promising reports this week and the decision was made to make it a go. Let's hope the fish cooperate. Above photo Richard Petrowski, Hackensack 11.3lb Fluke caught at the candlesticks (aka range finders or in between the channels) He used killie squid combo just after slack tide August 9th. At Atlantic Highlands, Capt. Hal Hagaman saw his largest fluke of the season come aboard the Sea Tiger when Stu Melinek of Tinton Falls boated a 12 1/2-pound doormat during the morning's first drift that also produced an 8-pounder for John Leone of Bloomfield plus others of 5 3/16 and almost 7 pounds.
Capt. George Bachert also had his largest on the Teal that day, an 11-pound doormat on a mackerel strip and squid by Renee Foggia of Long Branch, who caught it while her boy friend was losing a 7- to 8-pounder at the surface. Bachert has been fishing Ambrose Channel and off the islands in N.Y. waters where the minimum is 17 inches, but still averaging about 40 keepers a day. Capt. Stan Zagleski said fluking from his Elaine B. slowed last week, but was good again the past two days with a couple of limit catches each trip. Jessica Lowden of Burlington had a limit up to the pool-winning 8 1/2-pounder Sunday, and Dennis O'Brian from South Bound Brook won yesterday with a 6 1/2-pounder in his limit. .Medium size Yellowfins are now on the feed in the Hudson. it seems to have opened up. The Hyper Striper had a nice trip Tuesday as they chunked the West Wall and had 18 40-60lb fish.
Bahrs Landing's Big Ed Tuna Rodeo is set for September. Don't miss this one!
July 30, 2003 Edward Santiago of Sea Bright ran away with Saturday's Leonardo Party and Pleasure Boatman's Association Fluke Tournament when he boated a 14.01-pound doormat to beat Phil Lidlow of Belmar. Lidlow not only took second with an 11.63-pounder, he also boated another 11-pounder. Fred Wistura from Sayreville had a 10.25-pound doormat for third. William Reilly of Morganville took fourth at 9.49 pounds, and a 9.08-pounder won fifth for Robert Genung from Lake Shawnee. LPPBA president Bob McBurnie said 149 boats were entered as anglers had a perfect day for drifting, which also produced quite a few entries between 7 and 9 pounds At Atlantic Highlands, Capt. George Bachert did very well with larger fluke in the bay at the end of the week with the Teal. Jeff Mohr of Allentown, Pa. won the pool two days in a row with 5 1/2- and 6 3/4-pounders, but there were even larger fluke caught Friday by Pennsylvania anglers as Hank Newman of Milford and Rich Zldonik from Warren County deadlocked at 8~ pounds while yet another 8-pounder was boated that trip. Capt. Chad Hacker has found only a few short weakfish while worming with the Sea Fox so far, though small blues are often jigged in the bay. There's loads of bait in Raritan Reach, and weaks could show up at any time. Fluking Thursday on Prowler 5 as 76 keepers were boated compared to an average of around 25 which has been prevailing. Bob Schaeffer had a limit to 4 pounds, Frank Zurey caught seven to 3 pounds, and Jimmy Vallo had five up to 5 pounds. The Prowler's largest bass in quite some time come aboard last Monday evening when Eric Orkenyi of Saddle Brook boated a 25-pounder, but that evening sport died out and Capt. Scotty Hilliard switched to bluefish chumming which was very good Friday night at 17 Fathoms for 8-to-12-pounders. Ivan Bogovich and Chas Dente fishing with their dads aboard the Captain Kenny Dubman's "Kkat". They were clamminig in the lower portion of the Reach Channel. They had 17 keepers up to 15lbs. They also had some bluefish.
Tuesday July 22,
2003
Last week the fluke fishing made the fishing easy.
Fishing the Shrewsbury River in Highlands the Elaine B 2 had keepers and
limits for everyone. Using killies and squid Captain Stan followed the spawned
out flatties from Rumson to the tip of the hook. They seemed to move out like
one big heard. Strglers are still being taken in the river but the majority are
in the ocean and deeper parts of the bay.
The Raritan Bay Anglers Charity Fluke Tournament produced a doormat, though it only beat the next three contenders by ounces. Anton Tribel of Newark was fishing from Luna Seas out of Sewaren with Joe Botti, Billy Skinner and Don Wetzal when he hooked a 10.06-pounder at the TC Buoy to win the $2,876 first prize. Weighing that fish alive may have provided the margin because Bill Skinner arrived six minutes later with Robert McCarter on Catchin Not Fishin, with a 9.96-pounder that took the second place $1,373. Anthony Bocchio had been in the lead since 2:15 p.m. with a 9.91-pound fluke caught from Looney Bin with Joe Bocchio at Buoy 17 in Sandy Hook Channel, but got bumped back to third and $853. Veteran angler Phil Lidlow of Belmar fished Sandy Hook Channel with his Dusky for the fourth place 9.67-pounder worth $576. Rich Valovick said there were three other fluke over 9 pounds weighed in at the 126-boat contest out of Perth Amboy, and late-arriving 8-pounders weren't even put on the scales. I fished the ATLANTIC STAR today 07/22/03. The weatherman made a mistake again. (Could you believe that? The weatherman was wrong.) It was a beautiful day. Overcast very little wind and NO RAIN. Capt. TOM sailed with 6 fares. Obviously did not pay expenses today but took care of his customers. For 6 people we had 20 keeper FLUKE. The pool winner was JOSEPH GILLON of Bayonne NJ with a FLUKE of about 3 LBS. Many Sea Robins & short FLUKE a couple Skates. I also saw 1 small Blue fish. We had a wonderful time. All the room you could want. I feel bad for the folks who missed this trip because of the weather report. As always the crew on this boat is TOP SHELF. We have had some reports of weakfish in the reach
but it looks like it might be a late season like everything else.
Nice catches of porgys are
providing good action in the bay.
The stripers have showed no signs of their
usual summer slump even as they are in competition with the bluefish
chasing a good supply of rainfish bait.
From: Capt. Ron Santee/Fishermen Atlantic Highlands July 14,
2003
The big news is that the inshore tuna fishing seems
about ready to explode. We have had numerous reports of large schools of medium
size bluefins 125-250 lbs. cruising the inner reaches of the Huson Canyon to the
Texas Tower areas.
They seem to be finicky as most are frustrated
trying to get them to bite. I did hear of one being landed yesterday on a live
rigged bluefish.
The bluefish are also set to invade the Shrewsbury
rocks and 17 fathoms after their annual spawning period. Large schools have been
spotted offshore.
Last Monday Norman Barksdale reported a massive
school of bottlenose dolphin in between the Ambrose and Sandy Hook channels. He
was in awe as he said over 100 mammals were frolicking in the tide.
He thought that they were feeding on striped bass and bunkers. We sure hope
not!!
Striper fishing is still very good both in the bay
and down the beach. Clams seem to be working in the bay near roamer shoals and
bunkers down by the Shrewbury Rocks and off of Deal Beach. Look for structure
before you start chunking.
Some nice keeper fluke were taken both in the
rivers and in the bay off of Earle Pier. Eric Weber of Colts Neck weighed in a
4.5lb fluke on Sunday. He was using squid and spearing combo.
Another monster bass was weighed in at Bahrs
Landing on Monday. Taken on a live bunker in crystal clear
water at the Shrewsbury Rocks. Scott Attaway from Oceanport landed a
47lb striper aboard his boat the
"Storm Front". He was with Darren Berry, Don Sneider and Paul Goins. It is
leading the Bahrs Landing Seasonal Largest Striper Contest. June 23,
2003
The weather the weather, record rain for June has
kept the waters in the low 60s. It should be upper 70's by now if not in the
80's in the river. The low temps have kept the fish fiesty. There are plenty of
bait including shedder crabs to keep the attention of stripers and weaks. This
morning under/ontop the Highlands Bridge I saw another 30+ striper. This one was
taken from the highest point on the bridge.
Yesterday, Kevin Meyerhoff with Rick and Ryan
Kalinowski ran down the beach off of Deal and joined a fleet that bailed big
bass all day. The moss bunkers were thick as everyone was live lining. They had
fish up to 31.lbs plus big bluefish. "It was a day you dream about".
June 18, 2003
This week was an interesting one for area fishing. The weather actually was
decent on the weekend. We are starting to see more and more big stripers on live
bait both from the surf and the rivers. Live bunker are what's hot now. Billy
Rhee has been still bagging a bunch of big bass at night by the Atlantic
Highlands Harbor jetty. He has been live lining bunkers at night. Big Ed has
live Bunkers at Bahrs Marina Bait & Tackle Shop. Hours 5:00
a.m. until 9:30 p.m., call him for availability.
732-291-9554
An interesting sight the last couple of night on the Middletown side of the
Oceanic Bridge. If I had a decent camera I would have snapped a photo. There
must have been over 100 !! people fishing in the moonlight on the outgoing tide.
I have never seen so many people on the bridge. They had blues and bass all over
the side walk. One guy even had his in a wicker basket w/ about 7 tail fins
sticking up. The Rumson side was empty as the word must be out that they are
cracking down and enforcing their laws of no fishing on the bridge.
Captain Stan on the Elaine B 2 Reports:
Hi Jay, Fluke fishing remains good we catch fish in the river, the
reach
channel and the point of the hook. The highlight of the week was the 15lb 8oz Blackfish caught by Dennis O'Brien of South Bound Brook Thurs.It was laden with roe after pictures were taken he released the fish. Elaine B II Capt. Stan Also some good reports of big hog stripers under the seabright bridge and
the Atlantic Highlands Harbor during the quiet hours. Most fish are being taken
on live or fresh dead bunker. Bahrs Landing Bait shop has them in stock today.
732-291-9554. Anglers:
Ray
K _Bait: clams _Date: 6/15/03 _Depth: _Size: _Water: _bname: Molly B _email: rayk@optonline.net _location: Flynns Knoll _meth: Ancored, bottom _species: Striped Bass comm: With two boats out of the Waackaack Creek. Andy had his nephew aboard his, I had my friend Chris with me. Andy only having a 9.9 motor we stayed around the pier, Union Beach and out to buoy 11. Here I picked a 17 inch fluke while Chris got a small blue. At slack I headed out to the Knoll. I parked close to the Eagle and just watched as they boated one after the other. Very frustrating. Although the Eagle was packed there were two guys, both had green t-shirts on, that caught most of them and surly must have limited the boat out. Around 12 the Eagle tooted, started his engines and at this point Chris and I both had one on. I managed to boat mine (30 inches). The other spit the hook about 6' from the boat. Shame, this was Chris's first saltwater trip ever. We left at 1:00. Andy wound up with 3 blues and a fluke. Back at the Creek, Larry was just coming in. He fished just East of the first tower, boated 16. If it weren't for seeing the Eagle and hearing Larry's report I would swear the spring run was at it's end. Ray Kaulfers June 9, 2003 Big bass are still hitting the docks. The breal big ones are being trolled on spoons and chandalier rigs. Clams are productive for 10-20lb stripers. The West Wall and the swash channel have been the lateset productive spots. Fluke are still in the river. Captain Fletcher Chayes had a few real fat ones this morning drifting killie squid combo. 2-4 lb blues are providing good action further up the rivers.
Capt. Ken Dubman of K-Kat at Bahrs Landing had a great evening striper bite last Saturday for Christian Gross of Vernon, but Monday morning was very slow for Andrew Schmidt of Jefferson with a northwester against the flood tide. That fishing turned around completely in the afternoon for Frank Nardi 's party from Little Falls who not only limited with bass but had a great slack tide blackfish bite on a bay wreck where they released lots of egg-laden females while keeping their one-tautog limit in males plus two large sea bass. #### Skinder of West Orange had a limit bass catch and released 14 more Tuesday morning, but five drops on the ebb that afternoon didn't produce a bite for the Greg Czaki party from Wyckoff before trolling on the slack resulted in one bass and three big blues. Four bass were added on bait during the flood. June 2,
2003
Tony Melo of Long Branch had a monster fat
57 pound striper early Friday morning. He reported it in the
paper and gave quite a bit of detail to Geiser
except for the exact location of the catch. I saw him that night on my way
home. I also saw a 30 plus fish being taken late Thursday in the same area on
the Sea Bright Bridge. Melo weighed the 57 pounder in on Friday
Morning in Bradley Beach. He was using fresh dead bunker.
There were reports of blues and bass blitzes in the
Surf at the Hook. They were chasing schools of bunkers through the waves. The
birds were thick.
Also some good reports from Ambrose Light. A local
went out there 3 days in a row w/ clams and had a ball beating up on the bass.
hHe reported few bluefish if any to get in his way. The bay and rivers are full
of the sharped toothed marauders.
The weekend weather was
another bummer but Saturday Morning was nice and calm
Anglers:
Capt. Joe
Pace
_Bait: fresh clams _Date: 5/31/03 _Depth: 24 feet _Size: up to 23lbs _Water: 0 _bname: Finesse _email: pacenj@comcast.net _location: old orchard light _meth: anchored _species: Striped Bass comm: We had a total of 10 bass on Saturday.Action was slow at first but picked up around the top of the tide. Stayed in the same spot all morning.South wind started to pick around 11:00 am so we headed in. Joe. Fluke
The Elaine B 2 from Highlands fished the Rivers on Friday.
Jay Slomovitz, Westfield, won the pool on Capt.
George Bachert's Teal Thursday with a 5 1/4-pound fluke. Bachert found improved
fishing along the beach.
Sea Bass
Capt. Scott Hilliard, Prowler 5, Atlantic
Highlands, is pleased with the sea bass action in 98 feet of water east of Sandy
Hook. Thursday and Friday he had an estimated 300 sea bass come over the rails
with a keeper total of about 150 on Thursday, and half that number on
Friday.
May 26th, 2003 ))The American Striper Association Tournament was
held this weekend at Bahrs Landing, Highlands/Sandy Hook,
toughing out the Noreaster conditions. The UGLY Mug fishing team boys
did it again! A fat 40.26 LBer to take 1st in the SH Tourney this
weekend! This following two weeks ago when they placed #1 in the South Jersey Marina Spring Tournament, in Cape May,
with a 41.16 pounder. This time Tim and Jay worked it
hard for 2 hours fishing where they had been all week payed off big time live
bunker = 1 fish and 1 win!!! The 4 hour trip to the Hook proved interesting as
the NE swell at 5 to 8 made it dicey for a while but the 31' Fountain took it
easily at 30knts once around AC and it was off to the races in the trough!
Having 3 250hp Mercs didn't hurt! ASA Tournament Chairmen Bobby
Flocken couldn't believe his eyes as the fish was unloaded for the
scales. It held up and they are now off and running for the overall
championship again! The mug also has a solid lead for the NJ division at 82.92
lbs for a 2 fish total! The fish was caught at the point on the outgoing tide
using live bait catching over 40 fish this past week with most over 30 lbs.
"with only 45 minutes left in the contest and
after having led since early on Saturday, Capt. Lou Grazioso aboard the
"Striper Mania" and his 39 pound fish were bumped into second place by the sport
fishing vessel Ugly Mug which weighed in with a 40 1/2 pounder. The rules state that you can leave from any port and that lines must be in no ealrier than 6:00 a.m. and that the fish must be brought to the scales by boat. The winning bass was caught in far southern Jersey and the boat ran all the way up on the outside in order to reach the official weigh-in station at Bahrs Restaurant and fuel dock in Highlands NJ. The locals were well represented, taking at least six of the top ten spots, including an 3rd place finish by current Cartopper member Tony Arcabascio. A 33 3/4 pound striper was the third place winner. The majority of the fish were caught on bait, fresh bunker being the predominant choice although rumor has it that the winner was nailed with a live herring. Here are a list of the boats 1st Place - Tim Tangahare and Bob Ransome, Cape May
"Ugly Mug" 40.46 lbs. Sunday
2nd - Captain Lou
Grazioso, Middletown "Striper Mania" 39.00 Saturday
3rd - Tony Arcabascio, Bayville "Maja" -
33.77 Saturday
4th - John Mazza, Staten Island "Family
Tides" 29.62
5th Chuck Many, Annadale "Tyman
II" - 29.47
6th Phil Lidlow, Belford "Dusky" -
29.02
7th Brian Peros, Somerville "Hangover" -
25.42
8th Lou Pisano Staten Island "Chellabel" -
24.34
9th " King Fisher III" 24.05 *Bob Kamenski ** Pat
Kamenski Belford, TOP LADY ANGLER AWARD
10th - Joe Fischbach, Brick " Full Blown" -
23.78
Other Reports came in off of the site http://bahrs.com/subyourfisre.html
Anglers:
Ray
K _Bait: clams _Date: 5/25/03 _Depth: 17-25 _Size: to 34 1/2 _Water: ? _bname: Molly B _email: rayk@optonline.net _location: Romer Shoal _meth: Ancored, bottom _species: Striped Bass comm: Rich, 5/25/03 With my partner Andy, out of Waackaack Creek, we found our way in the fog to Romer Shoal, on my new boat. A 155 Sportfish by Scout. Wow! Where was this boat all my life. Small enough to handle, yet roomy. The ride is smooth and DRY. Especially on the way back when it kicked up a bit. At the Shoal we got a slot and 4 others up too 32 inches. Andy having filled his tag. At slack we moved over to the Knoll. Andy hooked a big one but lost it after a few minutes. Soon thereafter I got my tag fish. A 34 1/2 incher. LOL!. Andy swears it's the one he lost. We headed in stoping at bouy 11A to try for Fluke. I had one hit in about 3 or 4 drifts and called it a day. RayK This headline was all over the news this weekend. I
pulled up an article from the Associated Press.
The ASA Tournament kicks off this Memorial Day
Weekend. Captains Meeting on Mobys Deck Friday night. This fishing is
still very strong. The river seems to have bluefish from one end to the other.
We had some nice reports of stripers near Romer Shoals and the Ambrose Channel
ne the 10s buoy. We now have live killies in stock and the fluke season seems to
still off to a great start.
Our friend fishing from accross the river was back
again this weekend. It seems that he has a knack with the weekfish. He was
useing squid strips and a fish finder rig. Again he released most of his
catch
Got this report from one of my readers: @
http://bahrs.com/weekfisrep.html
Anglers:
The
Skipper
_Bait: chunked bunker/herring _Date: 5-12-03 _Depth: 17/25 ft _Size: 34 lbs _bname: F-hooked Up _email: fhookewe@aol.com _location: Raritan Bay _meth: bottom fishing _species: Striped Bass May 13,
2003
Last Saturday's Car Topper Fishing Club
Striped Bass Tournament Results are as
follows:
1st Place - Brian Rice - Paul Eulner &
Steve Foster
23.5 + 25.5 = 49lbs caught trolling spoons near the "West
Bank"
2nd Place - Brian Pieros
28
+ 16.5 = 44.5lbs caught on clams in Arthur Kils
3rd Place - Vinnie Calabro
17.5 + 26.5 =
44lbs Clams in Arthur Kils
4th Place - Bob Kamienski
22 + 16 = 38lbs
Clams in Arthur Kils
As usual it was a fun tournament. We had some
new faces that are always welcomed. The club is a great group that is addicted
to fishing. They meet at Bahrs the 2nd Tuesday of every month and talk fishing.
Anybody can join for $30.00 dues. They have inter-club tournaments, fishing
excursions outside of the area, and an end of the season awards banquet
among other things. Guess where?
Some larger bass were caught during the week. 38lb
5-7-03 Tom Cunningham aboard the K-Kat they also had some 20 plus fish all
trolling spoons and plugs.
Matt Jones and Jon Montanus have been catching some
nice bass off of their condo dock in the Shrewsbury. They have been weighing in
bass, and weakfish up to 9 lbs. They have been using bucktails and plugs.
The night fishermen on the Oceanic Bridge are still
hammering the bass and now decent sized bluefish.
They are using clams and squid. On Saturday there
was a shore fisherman really doing well with a school of weakfish under the
Highlands drawbridge on the Sandy Hook side. I could see he was using bait and
pulling in one after the other on the end of the incoming tide. He release all
but one 12lbs .
The next Tournament here at Bahrs is coming to town
Memorial Day Weekend. The American Striper Association, based in Florida, runs
tournaments all season up and down the east coast. We are hosting it for the
second year and expect fisherman from as far away as Norfolk Virginia to make
the trip to enter. The ASA runs a professional event w/ loads of door prizes on
top of the big money event. Check them out. http://www.fishasa.com
May 5,
2003
The bunkers are now in the bay. This has brought in
the bigger fish. Although there are plenty of "runts" around. More guys
are using some bunker spoons successfully. The bunkers are thick enough to
snag or throw a cast net on. I think live lining is the ultimate bass
experience! This coming weekend's bass tourney here at Bahrs Landing might very
well be won by using the live bunker method. Look for them near the Atlantic
Highlands jetty and the Leonardo Beaches.
Fluke Season Opened with a bang. It sure shocked me
I did not even mention in last week's column that we get an early season this
year. With the cold waters I did not think that there would be anything to write
about. Boy was I wrong. The bug light at the tip of the Hook produced some real
nice fish up to 4lb that I saw. Since we were not prepared with live killies
they were using squid and spearing.
Capt.Stan
Elaine BII Started Fluke fishing Sat. and it was outstanding 90 keepers for 12 fishermen 6 limits. Sun. the fishing was as good with over 100 keepers, good fishing right through Mon. Pool fish in the 3to5lb. range. A very good start for an early opening. Flounders are still available too with some nice
catches at the dock on Sunday.
I got this report from one of my dedicated
reader/fisherman: Clyde filled in the report info from Submit your Fishing
Report
Anglers:
clyde
Date: 5-5-03 bname: seaera location: Nav Shrews _meth: bucktails and Bunker chunks _species: Fluke comm: Jay,Its like someone turned on the switch!!Blues 3to10 Lbs Bass and weeks mixed in.We fished in the bunkers in the shrewsbury and had non stop action.The Fluke seem to be a little late in the river and its just a pick, We had Fluke at the bug light Sunday lotsa shorts and I know they will be heading into the rivers after the bait! Tight lines Clyde April 28,
2003
>==>>>>:>
Schools of bass have invaded the bay. They have
moved in and are providing tremendous action for those that are clamming.
Reports of 120 fish caught by 6 pac charters are not unheard of. Most charters
are coming in early or switching to flounder. Some of the bigger fish are being
taken at Roamer Shoals. The rivers are still good at night.
Flounder have held up great in the bay also near
Roamer Shaols. You can have a decent day at the change of tides using worms and
mussels. The nice weather on Sunday and Monday created perfect conditions
for late April Flounder fishing in the bay. There are not many doing it but the
people that are a scoring big!!
Capt. Stan
Elaine B II Flounder fishing along the beach broke wide open. Fishing in the bay was slow Mon. so we ran along the beach to give it a try we caught them very well. Today was a 1 drop day with catches ranging from 16 to 35 per person up to 2.5 lbs. We will start Fluke fishing Sat. @ 7:30am. Looking at the long range forecast the calm bay will be the place to be. Prowler 5 and found a decent pick of blackfish on Mud Hole wrecks,
including a few large tog. Otto Radom of Irvington had his four-blackfish limit
up to an 11-pounder that beat out a 10-pounder by Ezra Nanton of Rahway.
Hilliard also tried Sandy Hook Reef and the Rattlesnake, but found no action on
those inshore spots
The NJfishandwildlife.com magazine is now available
in your local sports shops. It has all of the up to date NJ fishing Regs. Also
if you are interested, you can sign up for the Skillfull Angler Program
.
"Last week fishing for Flounder in the river slowed to almost nothing so
we
ran for the bay and fished around the pier that fishing was ok for a couple of days then conditions deteriorated. This week the river came back to life with the best fishing of the season. Slack water is the best but we do catch fish with the running tide." Capt Stan Elaine BII Stripers
The bass are here in numbers! The few guys from our
marina that have their boats in already are having a bonanza in the bay. They
are finding small readings in the shallows, setting up the clam chum (
fresh or frozen doesn't matter) and within minutes swarmed with hungry bass. Not
too many keepers but enough. Head around Earl pier and stay on the west side of
the channel.
The Monmouth Beach Cartoppers 7th annual $4,000 Spring Striped Bass Tournament will be run out of Bahrs Landing on Saturday, May 10, with the combined weight of the two largest bass determining the winners. The entry fee is $75 per boat and there will be a captains meeting at 7:30 p.m. May 9 in Bahrs Restaurant. Boaters can save $5 per tournament by signing up for all three MBCA events, including the Weakfish Tournament on Aug. 16 and the Striped Bass Tournament on Nov. 1. Last fall's striper contest was blown out all month and drawings for the prize monies were won by Tony Ciccone of Edison, Phillip Giaramita of Middletown and John Lowe of Atlantic Highlands. For information, call Capt. Fletcher Chayes at (732) 870-8182 or Big Ed at Bahrs -- (732) 291-9554. The Sea Fox is still in Cortez, Fla., where red snapper and grouper fishing on the Middle Grounds is very good on weekend overnighters. That boat will be back in Atlantic Highlands around May 12. I was talking to Al Ristori, and he wanted me to help promote Circle Hooks to help prvent mortality on released fish. With school striped bass flooding into local waters, it's important to again emphasize the importance of utilizing circle hooks in order to avoid mortality in fish being released.Especially when clams are being used, stripers often quickly suck down a bait and a high percentage are hooked in the stomach or gills with standard J-hooks. On the other hand, my experience with circle hooks is that over 90 percent of bass hooked on clams with circle hooks are hooked in the jaw. Even with those that manage to get hooked deeper, it's usually possible to remove the hook without harming the fish. Only occasionally do I have to leave the swallowed hook in the fish, and I can't remember ever having a circle hook catch in the gills. Research by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources demonstrated that mortality of striped bass caught on non-offset circle hooks was less than 10 percent of those taken on J-hooks. That being the case, anglers must consider whether they can justify needlessly killing released bass when there's a better method available for catching them. That's especially important now with larger bass that are heavy with eggs prior to spawning next month. Stripers with rounded bellies at this time are almost invariably females, and anglers should select skinnier bass if they wish to keep any.Ironically, circle hooks are also more efficient once the fisherman gets used to them. The trick is to simply reel tight on a hit or lift into a run-off. The circle hook will set itself, but that action can be offset by a striking motion. | ||||||||
