Took the yak out early on sunday.. morning new moon flood tides, to check out some normally super shallow spots. I was planning an all day affair, then saw the ISLES game was at noon (kinda pissed about that) Anyway, as I was cruisin in at 1st light, tossed a topwater (rapala skitter walk) and it got BLASTED but missed the hook. Still got the blood flowin at 7am. Kept movin deeper to some go-to spots. Switched lures to a copper paddletail on a jighead and got a keeper flounder on the 1st cast..... hung out for awhile then went deeper as the tide filled in.... A couple of casts at a former oyster spot...... FISH ON! Went on two runs and my drag was sticking. Backed down on it a bit then it ran up in the grass / reeds and got me wrapped up and broke loose. I saw his shoulders as he was diggin his head in the reeds... He KNEW what he was doing I lost a HOSS of a Redfish.... in a ft+ of water May have been my personal best I need therapy I was PISSED for awhile after that and went into Bill Dance clusterfuck mode. Regrouped, fished some other spots and got another flounder for the bag at least....... headed back to the truck with a PBR tall boy on ice. Got home in time for 2nd period to start and watched it in the garage with the stereo on as I cleaned my stuff. Stoked I made it home for that one. The neighbors already thought I was nuts, now .... Looks like I may be heading offshore on friday. I gotta get back to work to get stuff done so I can go.
For all my northern brothers, THE STRIPERS ARE HERE! All the reports coming out of Belmar are pretty good. Looks like we're still transitioning from winter to spring but at least the fish are here and hungry. I'm gonna try for this weekend coming up. Either Saturday or Sunday.
That's awesome....... I've never caught a Striper (they were all but wiped out when I last lived up there) Go Get 'em! ..... oh, and I want to see you pulling them over the rail of your 17' boat this summer too
about my 17 footer.... Those seas had better be pretty dang flat.. There's some decent sweetwater (Raystown lake & Bald Eagle State Park) not far from here that I could chase striper on with my boat. I already made reservations at the Belmar Motor Lodge for Saturday. Figure its right across the street from the marina and it's cheap enough. Figure I'd surprise wifey with a nice seafood dinner, get a good night sleep and be at the boat Sunday AM bright and early. That way, we don't have a 0200 wake up and a 3hr drive to deal with. Just makes for an easier day overall. Can't beat the price of the stay either. All in all, happy wife, happy fishing trip, win win for me!
Oh yeah, you gotta pick and choose your days, but there will be some. We've fished big KingFish tourneys in an old 16' Key Largo typing this because the weather canceled our offshore Bluewater Ledge trip..... blowin NE 15-20kts
I remember that day... It was like a mirror out there. My boat could handle inshore water that flat no problem. Just the lil issue of towing it 170 miles..
Great day yesterday on the ocean. It was chilly for sure as temps really didn't get much past 55F. Hard N wind in the morning died out by noon. For those of us smart enough to fish the sunny side of the boat, it was a decent fishing day. Those that stayed in the shaded side of the boat froze their asses off. Wifey didn't do bad. 3 Tautog just shy of 15" so they all had to go back. She brought one nice Cod over the rail. I had 2 big Cod, 1 shorty Tog and a shitload of bergalls. I really hate bergalls. Annoying lil bastards kept stripping the hooks. Started out using Chartreuse Berkley Gulp baits but by afternoon, just went with a single bead and 4/0 circle hooks in a hi/lo config. By early afternoon, we were rolling in the front of the boat. Then the word got out and suddenly, we weren't alone in the front anymore.. All in all, a great start to the 2015 season. The water down low between 75-100' is still very cold so I won't go saltwater again until mid-may. I'll get the boat out and do some sweetwater fishing between now and then. Here's a pic of my 2 Cods. Just lost out by perhaps a few ounces to a really big Tog for the pool money. Oh well, we'll get em next time!
Nice... Blues entered the NY Bight, and the bays, within the last couple of days. Saw some 8-10 lbers caught in the bay today. Gonna start myself now. Some larger Bass showed in the Bight. Bass mighta been on their way up river.
Stripers still have lockjaw down here near Belmar. Lots of readings, no bites. Heard the Miss Belmar only had 1 keeper. Full boat too so I know they had some really pissed off customers. I was gonna go Striper fishing but I saw nothing in the reports that said it would be worth the effort. I brought two sets of tackle with us and we went with Cod/Tog/Bottom fishing. Good decision from what I've read in the reports today.
Nice C....... that's some good eats right there! Sunday morn I headed out..... marine forecast underestimated the winds by quite a bit. Blowing 15-20, made tossin lures a PIA, not to mention tryin to stay near spots in my plastic yacht as I got blown around, and skunked. I was getting pissed and over it, but on my way back I got a 23" speckled seatrout right along a shallow oyster bar. My personal best. "Slot" size is 15-20" but you're allowed to keep one over if you choose. So that was a day saver.
We don't even see Seatrout (Weakfish as we call them locally) anymore up here. Fished out so badly that the bag limit is 1 per trip. Whiting is another fish on the brink. Rarely if ever that you see them come over the rail.
Yes, they're VERY similar. Our "yellowmouth trout" are actually "weakfish" and really only catch small ones in the winter here. http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/saltwater/drums/spotted-seatrout/ http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/saltwater/drums/weakfish/ They may come back, Stripers sure are more plentiful than when I was a kid. Trout and Reds have bounced back here to where theyve increased the bag limit on both. Trout are now 6 per in NEFL and Reds are now 2 per. Im sure that has alot to do with the fact that there's a SLOT size on each (bigger breeder fish can't really be kept (well 1 trout) and seasonal spawning closure for trout Are your whiting (gulf kingfish) the same we catch in the surf here? I dont think they are
Thinking about going this weekend BUT, everybody with a fishing rod is gonna be at the boats this weekend so I might just wait. I'm on vacation next week anyways so I could hit Belmar/Brielle during the week and skip the crowds. Good time to get my boat out on the sweetwater outside Reading PA. and go crappie fishing.
yeah, EFF that.... knucklehead central this weekend. The only way I fish this weekend will be first light or sunset in the skinny backwaters where most retards cant take their boats. but considering it's an early morning lowtide, that may not be possible
Wednesday is the official opening of Sea Bass season and I will be at Belmar to bring it in hopefully with a limit. Can't Wait!
Got the gear in the truck and the truck gassed up! I'll be at Belmar at 0630 tomorrow for the opening of Sea Bass 2015! Feelin Good...Feelin Reeeeeeel Gooooood...
