August 2017 - LBI NJ Fishing Report

Lighthouse Sportfishing LBI Report 8/29

With today’s trip canceled due to weather, I took the time to start setting up my classroom and tie some rigs for the fall striper season. With catching stripers on several trips over the summer did the season ever end? For me, striper season runs from spring through winter, inclusive. Pretty much 12 months of the year. It is just that some months have more bass than the other month. But they are always around. The few days I was out before this blow I found the fluke inside the bay being a little finicky. The hot bite cooled off but they are still here and will chew again. Hopefully before season’s end of September 5th. And if they are there and want to chew there is plenty of baitfish for them to chew on. Right now Barnegat Bay is full of peanut bunker, mullet, rainfish, spearing, and snappers. Speaking of snappers…….what do you call “it” when snappers are trying to blitz spearing but the snappers are being pursued by their older brothers, the blues brothers? I call it pure bedlam, and pretty cool to witness. Came across this condition a few days ago. Big bluefish, eating little bluefish, that wanted to eat spearing. Wonder if the snappers were thinking “Mom, dad is that you????, Please don’t……”

Hoping for that after this blow that we get some of the bonito and Spanish mac action that some have been enjoying in the waters just north and south of us. It would be a nice filler to have in between the closed fluke fishery and the fall run of bass. But then again, there are always bass to be had in Barnegat Bay. You just have to know how to locate them. The picture below is of my 50 gallons live well with about 20 gallons of peanut bunker. I have this Saturday and Sunday open, and with the amount of bait and fish around you can pretty much target a Barnegat Bay Grand Slam (fluke, weakfish, bluefish, and striper) if you want, or go looking for bonito and Spanish macs. And don’t forget about sharking. Still, plenty of good sized sharks around to put your angler skills to the test.

Screaming drags, Capt. Alex 609-548-2511

LBI Fishing Report | August 27, 2017

Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by Hurricane Harvey. The photos of the catastrophic flooding are unbelieveable. Even after living through the wrath of Sandy, I couldn’t imagine the situation the Texans were dealt.

Caption Contest – Like, Tag A Friend & Comment Your Caption… End of day Wednesday 8/30/17 one winner will be chosen at random and awarded a $25 store gift certificate. #fishing #surffishing #surfcasting #nightshiftcrew #bassfishing #fishingdaily #fishinglife #captioncontest
A post shared by Fisherman's Headquarters (@fishermansheadquarters) on Aug 27, 2017 at 3:45pm PDT

“Ridiculously warm water is adding to the elements of surprise in our area.” Brian Coen said, “I shot this solid black drum and added one more species to my list. It was the first black drum I’ve seen while diving. Now if we could just get some clear water who knows what we will have here in the next month.”

Spearfishing black drum caught by Brian Coen in the waters of Long Beach Island.

Redfish!!! As reported in a previous post some puppy drum are around. They’ve been in our waters for a couple weeks with numerous confirmed catches. A couple reports came in from friends of the shop but all demanded to remain anonymous and wouldn’t let their photos loose.

Finally an angler reported and didn’t mind sharing. Captain Mike Greene from Lucky Strips Charters, the man well known for his striped bass accomplishments and expertise (his tournament resume speaks for itself), got one. Greene reported, “They are around. Been after them every night with crab but we are catching sheepshead and drum. Fluke fishing Saturday we got the redfish on a live minnow. We took a photo and let her go, hoping for a new fishery!”

Final Stretch For NJ Fluke Fishing Season

The New Jersey Summer Flounder Fishing Season closes on Tuesday September 5th. Those looking to get in on some fun fishing should try for the next weather window. Hopefully that is this upcoming weekend. The next few days aren’t looking too hot with a small craft advisory in effect.

Recently the fishing has been very good. This past weekend positive reports flowed into the shop. Word from anglers on both Friday and Saturday was “the Garden State South is GOOD!” We got details from four separate anglers, all limited out. Similar theme… bucktailing!

Here’s Amanda Nutt with a nice fluke caught aboard The Striper with her father Captain Ken Nutt! Ken reported, “Saturday we got three nice keeper fluke including a new season record 7 pounder. We also caught some nice sea bass.”

Ryane Sweeney tagged us in a photo today with this caption, “Great day on the water. Got a 6.5 and a 4.5 pound fluke.”

Carolyn Ann III reported, “Sunday’s morning trip was a good one with some nice fish. Saturday was a good one too with a beautiful weather day and successful fishing.”

Action on the LBI Surf

Fluke and snappers are on the beach! Some anglers are trying for kingfish but can’t get through the ferocious snapper blues. The ocean is going to get churned up the next few day. Time will tell how things pan out.

Action in on the Bayside

Bay is full of bait. Spearing and baby bunker are staged up. The other day at my dock there were small schools of mullet v-wakin’ around. At times the bluefish and bass are teeing off slurping them down.

Lots of people asking about weakfish and blowfish. Sorry we haven’t received direct reports.

LBI Fishing – Reel Reaction Charters Fishing Report

In case you were wondering: Fluke still bite during eclipses!

Sorry for the delay in reports as I have been out on the water nearly everyday – in fact this past week had us on the water 7 trips in 5 days. This has been one EPIC year as we are very close to eclipsing 200 keepers for the season!! This week had some big fish hitting decks of the JENNY LYNN over 7 pounds which were all caught on the bucktail. I picked up my allotted 50 Striped Bass Bonus Tags from the state of NJ for the season and already have 4 bookings in November. With school starting, I will run weekdays afternoons through November, in addition to weekends. Reminder: Weekday afternoons and weekends through November and we are now starting to book up for our Fall Striped Bass fishery.

Our website or facebook page has all of the updated fishing reports from our charters, so please check them out. LIKE us on FACEBOOK.

Here are a few from this past week:

I had return clients Rob P and his father Bill of North Jersey out on a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. We started working the inlet for Bluefish as there was a little birdplay just outside. Once the Bluefish bite died, we worked some of the same areas as I did during last Thursday’s charter (Friday’s charter was cancelled due to weather). The father and son team worked the S&S BigEye bucktails to produce close to 30 Fluke with 4 keepers (19.5, 19. 18, 18). One of the throwbacks was previously tagged by Monmouth University.

I had Village Harbor Fishing Club member Ed Valitutto and member Alan Goracy along with their grandchildren Chaytan, Nicholas, Vincent, and Jacoby for a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. The boys were siked about fishing and they also had their eclipse glasses. We had much more challenging conditions with strong tide and stronger South winds than my morning charter. But the group caught over 30 Fluke on the S&S BigEye bucktail and boxed 4 keepers (20, 19, 19, 18). We fished a variety of areas and the boys and grandfathers did a great job! 11yr old Nick Rossi was the high hook catching the most fish along with 2 keepers himself.

Tough day with the winds for return clients Jason Black, his 4yr old son Tyler, and his friend Mike Weinstein and 6yr old daughter Belle who were on a 4hr Bay&Inlet charter. This trip was more about letting the kids have some fun catching. We did manage to put a solid 19 inch Fluke in the cooler among the 20 shorts. With about a 1/2 hour left in the trip, I picked up Tyler’s younger brother Seth and Belle’s younger sister Alice for a boat ride near Viking Village’s Commercial fleet. Great job for a rather tough morning!

I had new client Mike Herman of NYC out with his 10year old daughter Dani for a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. Dani never fished for Fluke, but she was a quick learner jigging the S&S BigEye bucktail for two keeper Fluke (18, 18.5 inches). The father-daughter team caught a good number of Fluke with a throwback Sea Bass. We worked a variety of spots in the backbay and some “earlier season” areas are producing with the cooler water temperatures. Great job by both anglers who were new to bucktailing.

I had new client Nicholas Theyer of Wisconsin, his wife Debra, and their 3 boys (Luke-age 9, Ben-age 7, Matthew-age 3) on a 4hr Bay & Inlet charter. We worked areas around the inlet in depths close to 20 feet to produce a decent amount of Fluke. This was the family’s first time fishing for Fluke and learning how to jig bucktails. 9-yr old Luke caught 2 Keepers (19.5, 21 inches) while jigging the S&S BigEye bucktail. 7-yr old Ben had another nice fish on, but in his excitement brought too quickly to the surface and unfortunately lost it before it could be netted. The family did a great job for their first time Fluke fishing.

I had return clients Dan Unger of Ship Bottom, his son Danny, and Art Diebel of Jackson with his son Bruce on a 5hr Ocean charter. As we approached the inlet, it was a little a more sporty than what the marine forecast indicated so we headed to a closer wreck. The crew caught a few shorts and 2 keepers (18, 22.5). With it finally laying down, we headed to one of my favorite snags and they added 3 more keepers to cooler including Art’s 7 pounder. The team ended with 5 solid keepers (27, 22.5, 20, 19, 18). All were caught on the S&S BigEye bucktail tipped with artificial and natural baits.

I had return clients Rob P and his buddy Matt out on a 5hr Ocean charter. We worked some of the same snags as my morning charter and got right on the fish. They did catch a lot more throwbacks, but landed 4 nice Fluke (27inch, 24, 19.5, 19). Rob landed his biggest Fluke to date at 27 inches weighing just over 7 pounds. All were caught on the S&S BigEye bucktail and they were pounding them. Thanks to Stanley Gola for producing such a quality product.

If interested in booking a charter, book through the website (www.reelreactioncharters.com) or call/text 609-290-7709. As always, we use the highest quality gear and everything is included: gear, tackle, fish-cleaning, and ICE! It’s “no worries” fishing. Just come aboard and FISH.

Capt. Brett Taylor ~ www.reelreactioncharters.com ~ Call or Text: 609-290-7709

LBI Fishing Report | August 25, 2017

This weekend’s looking great with sun and low humidity. The inshore marine forecast is calling a stretched out (on the longer period side of things) 2′ or less ocean. Now is the time to enjoy what’s left of the quickly diminishing summer fishing on LBI because we have some weather coming.

High pressure is in control this weekend with light onshore winds. Sunday starts light to moderate then increasing later in day and into the new week. Then we’ll have churned up seas for the new week when a nor’east blow locks in. Keep an eye out as things progress.

That’s a quick run down of the weather. Here’s an update on the fishing…

Fishing the Water Offshore Of LBI

Shore Catch Guide Service reports “To say this inshore yellowfin fishing is as good as it gets would be an understatement. Fishing 35 miles off the central Jersey Coast fishing is phenomenal. We are hand feeding these fish. It’s ridiculous!!!”

Thursday JC the 5′ white shark pup tagged by Ocearch pinged close to Banegat Inlet. As per Ocearch, JD recertly traveled 210 miles in the last week and a half.

Here’s a short report from Jim Hutchinson Jr at the Fisherman Magazine…. Offshore tournament crews from all along the Atlantic Coast are gathering this week in South Jersey and Maryland for the 2017 Mid Atlantic as 151 boats compete for a share of $3.24 million in prize money. While some of the region’s bigger sport fishing boats press offshore in the hunt for tuna, wahoo, and marlin, inshore variety is exploding with the recent spike in ocean water temps. Many anglers are turning to fish identification books (as well as social media) with banded rudderfish, chub mackerel, smooth puffers and an abundance of triggerfish turning up at the end of coastal lines. Cobia are still being taken along inshore waters, and yet another redfish confirmation comes in this week’s video report from North Jersey waters.

LBI Surf Fishing Report

“The surf fishing is on fire!” Joe Medica reported, “Thursday the kids were really into fish. They caught 20+ fluke and 10+ blues from the beach. The water is clean and warm making it lots of fun for the kids. We had them surfing and fishing together. It doesn’t get much better than this!”

Lots of small snappers still popping in the surf. Grab a light action plugging rod and cast out a small metal (1/2-1oz). You’ll have a blast with these little guys on small tackle.

Steve George reports, “Another tag return! Up to 5 already since the start of fluke season. They aren’t moving too far. I’m seeing a significant pattern already from June into July/August. I know where they want to be.” Steve mentions, now is the time to submit for your 2017 striped bass bonus program tags.

Austin Pounds and the Beach boys are still in on the beach sharking action. “We are catching!” Austin told. “Last night (Thursday night) we released a sand bar then something big peeled off about 100 yds of line then popped off. Recently we caught and released brown sharks, sand tigers and a dusky shark. A hammerhead was spotted locally. Some big rays around too. The water is warm and the fish are here. We have high hopes for the next couple of weeks.”

Fishing the Inshore Waters Off LBI

“The two ounce magictail bucktail jig does damage!” Luc Hackel said. “Tipped off with a white Gulp! nothing stands a chance.” Luc recently caught two nice size fluke (a six pound and a four pounder) amongst lots of other fluke.

This is one of many fluke Luc Hackel caught recently fishing the waters of Long Beach Island. — This is one of many fluke Luc Hackel caught recently.

Captain Ken Nutt aboard the Striper reports, “Always a great trip with the Tilton’s! We caught keeper blackfish, sea bass and fluke. The biggest flounder was 6 pounds.”

Ocean fluking off LBI is good right now. Anglers are producing working the local reefs and wrecks especially the three main reef sites; Barnegat Light Reef, Garden State North and Garden State South. Sea bass and tog are also present. We got word from a local captain that the sharks are on the reefs too. He was picking tog but the toothy ones were chewing them on the way up. He said, “We couldn’t stay away from them.”

Remember the Summer Flounder Season Closes September 5th so get out while it lasts.

I headed out early Thursday morning to do some catching up. [I was out of town for a couple weeks vacationing on the west coast.] We decided to target bluefish cause the crew wanted to cast lures and catch something that would pull some drag. Got out at sunrise and first cast fish on!

It was drag screaming fun all day. The inlet’s 68 degree flood tide was full of bait and predators. It offered absolute mayhem with blues from snappers to 12 pounds. Most were in the 4- 8 pound range and on the feed. All of them were spitting up 3-4″ squid tubes. Some had bay anchovies and spearing in their vomit. The gators (larger blues) were feasting on snappers. These cannibals were turned on! Stillwater Smack-It Poppers, SP Minnows as well as bucktails were working. After catching one after the other of plugs, Matt Rand switched over to the fly. He managed well over a dozen blues fishing poppers and clousers. Here’s a clip of the action… Blues & Bass Feeding On Bait

Here's one 8-10 pound yellow eye that Matt Rand fooled on the fly. Light tackle fishing for blues is awesome fun! — Here’s one 8-10 pound yellow eye that Matt Rand fooled on the fly.

Resident striped bass offer fun fishing year round on Long Beach Island. — There were resident bass in the mix too.

Fishing the Backwaters Waters of LBI

The crew here at Fishermans Headquarters has been into fish the past few nights. With lots of bait in the lights, bass are on the feed in the bay. Some docks are lit up! Nick and Max found fish on the south end one night and Dan got them on the north end. Dan reports, “Worm hatches have been producing mental fishing. Same date and time as last year. Broke the century mark on night three. Local summer hatches don’t get any better!”

Schoolie striped bass love swimming plugs that mimic a small wounded bait fish. — Schoolie bass love swimming plugs that mimic a small wounded bait fish.

Todd Avery got a beast brownie recently. Check out this nighttime toothy creature that was roaming the sod banks…

Monster sandbar shark aka brown shark caught and released by Todd Avery.

Traveling Anglers Report

There’s lots of bait present with resident fish on the feed. Word on the street is quality fish continues from Cape Code to Rhode Island to Block Island. The stage is set and Jersey coast anglers are looking forward to the fall season that is right around the corner. Some just can’t wait…

John Allen recently purchased a new surf rod outfit. He went with a beast 11′ rod matched with a Daiwa Dogfight Spinning Reel. John headed north and fished with David Burleigh up at the Cape Cod Canal. They reported, “We slammed the bass! At Least twenty five striped bass over twenty pounds. The Daiwa Dogfight is an absolute beast. Super smooth and super powerful!”

Store staffer Blake and Luke were out at Block Island this past week. They both reported an awesome trip. “Fishing was great. Nothing huge, but we had good number of fish. It was a lot of fun!”

South Philly Fred was recently fishing up in Rhode Island with Pete U. They were into quality bass fishing eels. Hopefully these fatties show up on our beaches this fall!

Lighthouse Sportfishing LBI Report

After the weekend’s upwelling, the ocean water temperature rebounded into the mid-70s. Then another hard south wind mid-week dropped the ocean water temperature coming over the North Jetty to 66. And once again the bluefish responded. Wednesday morning it was pure chaos for almost two hours with bluefish ranging from 2 to 8 pounds for the Doug Frey party. I was not able to get a confirmation ID on the bait the blues were hammering, but I think it might have been Threadfin Herring. Threadfin herring are also known as greenbacks down in Florida and are used as live bait for a wide variety of fish such as tarpon, snook, and sailfish. They do swim up to NJ some years, but most years they don’t. Oh, and if you think $3.50 for a live spot is expensive you don’t know what expensive live bait is. A dozen live threadfin herring in Florida will set you back a mere $50. Speaking of live bait, I love this time of year as I can usually have my live well packed before my clients step on board the Debbie M. My new motto is “don’t work for your fish, let your fish work for you”. And this morning I did exactly that when my live bait worked to put a 26” 7.03 lb. fluke in my cooler. Oops, almost forgot to mention the 40.36 lb. cownose ray that was landed during yesterday’s trips. Not sure how long it took to land the ray, other than more than 10 minutes on a 10 lb. spinning outfit. Get this, the ray fell for a white BKD.

Screaming drags, Capt. Alex 609-548-2511

Old Barney Charters Fluke

Ocean fluke fishing continues to be phenomenal. Working structure with large Gulp! and live bait are producing for us.

Sunday I had return client Mark Harvey of Perkasie, Pa out with his sons Ian and David. We put 5 keeps (22″, 22″, 19″, 18″, 18″) in the boat and had 20 fluke working wrecks for a few hours.

Yesterday, I had Andrew Benson of Glenside, PA, Kyle Scherrer of Chicago, IL, and Kyle Shea of Warminster, PA out for the last fluke trip before I head back to school. They made it count with 6 keepers to 8.5lbs!! The fish measured 26.5″, 26″, 25″, 22″, 20″, and 18″. The 3 biggest were 8.5lbs, 8lbs., and 6.25lbs.!!! With little wind, we were able to fish close to structure.

I head back for school tomorrow and will be back to fish Friday and Saturday (9/1 and 9/2) before the season closes. I’m also booking for fall stripers. I recently picked up our 25 bonus tags for slot stripers, have spot ordered, and looking to use them all. If you want to reserve a date for a striper trip, we will be fishing weekends beginning 10/28.

Old Barney Charters, Captain Kevin Schmidt, 267-918-1746

Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association Report

By Jim Hutchinson Sr.

The New Jersey summer flounder season will be ending on Tuesday, September 5. It appears that the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association will be catching their share right up to the final bell.

Captain Gary Dugan of the “Irish Jig” boasts “the fishing has been on fire aboard the “Irish Jig.” He has been fishing the local lumps and reefs to fill the coolers. He has had seasoned fishermen and families with children alike having great success while enjoying their trips.

Captain John Lewis of the “Insatiable” reports strong fluke fishing with double digit catches each day. The keeper ratio varies from day to day, but they find fish to take home every trip. The Prigge family caught their share of fluke in addition to sea bass, bluefish, dog fish, sea robins, and two surprises-a squid and a brown shark that was over three feet long.

Captain Dave Kreines of the “Byte Me” had a pair of fluke trips recently. He had the Pelenski family out to the Little Egg reef for a half day of non-stop action with fluke, two keepers, Fluke and Sea Robins. Two days later, the O’Briens – grandfather, father, and daughter- started out in the inlet where they found a couple of shorts, and then ran out to the Little Egg reef for a slow but steady pick of Fluke resulting in a pair of keepers along with the ever present Sea Robins.

Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.net.

Gert Passed & Fishing On LBI Is Getting Back To Normal

Now that Gert passed and the swell has faded out things are getting back to the normal summertime shuffle. But keep an eye out! There are tropical systems staging up. Earlier this week reports from anglers had the same main characters and scene. Fluke, blues and tuna as well as some others assisting the summertime fishing fun. Here’s an update on the Long Beach Island fishing.

Fluke fishing in the bay, inlet and the ocean is a good bet. Many anglers moved on and aren’t targeting the bay; however, there’s some nice fish that have yet to leave. Ryan Magee sent us this thank you message, “Thanks guys for fixing my fishing rod. I was able to get back out there and find some fish!” Ryan sent in this photo of a nice fluke and said, ” My elbow is fractured but atlas the wrist still works. I found some nice fish like this one as well as a five pounder. Shallow water fishing in the back bay is very productive. I’m doing better there than out front.”

A busted elbow can't keep Ryan Magee from fishing! — A busted elbow can’t keep Ryan Magee from fishing!

Recent reports from the reefs and wrecks aren’t what they were; however good fishing is available. Those keying in on the right spots and actively fishing bucktails and/or live bait are outproducing. Many locations have anglers battling through sea robins and sea bass. Work through it and reap the reward!

Grey Coleston caught a 28″ 7.5 pound fluke off the North End surf. He got three keepers offering strong evidence there’s fluke are hanging along the Island’s surf.

While on the topic of land based fluke fishing from the shores of LBI… Steve George starred this post recently, “I’ve been throwing a lot of undersized fluke back this summer. Best part! I enjoy tagging them and have already received return data submitted on recaptures. They are healthily moving around and fattening up! It’s going to be interesting to see them grow up and if they will return to the same locations.”

We got word about redfish in the bay. Yup! REDFISH!!! Some of the shop staff got direct reports from friends who caught and released more than one. It would be interesting what a morning flats session might turn up.

Brown sharks and sand tigers are consistently plentiful in the local waters. Shark fishing off the surf and in the bay continues to be very good.

Tog fishing the inlet rocks is steady but keepers are hard to find. Those targeting them are having a blast with these quick and hard hitting fish. Also present… triggerfish and sheepshead. Mike Greene sent in this photo of a nice 25″ sheepshead he caught the other night.

Summertime Sheepshead Are In The Local Waters!

On Tuesday before Gert’s ground swell arrived, store staffer Dan D. fished with Captain Jeff Warford on the mid shore tuna grounds. Captain Jeff said, “The weather was beautiful and the fishing was on fire!” The crew beat up on the tuna (both bluefin and yellowfin) trolling, chunking, jigging and they even had the fish on top! Dan reported, “Incredible feed with fish up to 65 pounds. The Ron-Z lures were again the MVP! Tuna absolutely love to eat them like candy. We’ve been on this body of fish for over a month now. It’s awesome they are now staged up and feedings on the 30 line close to come. Looking forward to the end of summer action.” Dan got out again today after the Gert well dropped out. He reported green water slid into the area where they previously caught, “There’s fish there just not on the chew like they were. We got into some mahi-mahi which made the trip.”

Dan D with a solid catch of tuna! MVP Award goes to Ron-Z!

Lighthouse Sportfishing LBI Report 8/20

Anyone that has seen me present / teach either at a seminar or during my Fishing Barnegat Bay classes have heard me talk about the 3 Ts to successful saltwater fishing. The 3 Ts are temperature; tide; and technique. Although you only truly have control of the last T it is with knowledge and experience that you work the other two to your advantage. After a truly epic July bluefish fishery around Barnegat Inlet seemed to come to an end it took a major rebound Saturday morning. The last two weeks my client or I have had to work hard to land a few blues. Even while seeing them surfing waves, swimming around or following lures they just were not in the mood to feed. Some thought it might be due to them spawning, however, any of the fish kept did not the signs of a fish ready to spawn. I thought it was the water was too warm as some studies show adult bluefish do not feed as actively when the temperature approaches 74. Well, Friday’s strong southerlies were the spark to start the flame. It caused an upwelling dropping the inshore water temperature by 6-7 deg F to around 69. Around sun up Saturday morning the bluefish bite returned with a vengeance. Baits spraying, birds diving and some swirls and breaks made it obvious the feed bags were on. My first cast of a Savage Gear Panic Popper was rewarded with a tail slap and an explosion of a 6-pound blue. I landed around 10 before calling it a session. I do not think I have ever seen so many blues jump as frequently as of late. My suspension is they are well fed and the temperature is in their preferred range.

After hopping off the Debbie M I hoped on board a 33’ Stamas with twin 250’s to guide the owner and some kids to the waters of Barnegat Bay and Inlet and do a little fishing. Although we did not have the best tide we had some good action with short fluke. Switching gears we searched for some weakies and found some spikes to keep the kids smiling. Zack managed a Barnegat Bay slam of fluke, weakfish, and bluefish. This is about the 10th Slam I have put a client on this year. Still have a few slots open for this week whether it is fluke, blues, weaks, sharks and maybe a bass give me a call.

Screaming drags, Capt. Alex 609-548-2511

Lighthouse Sportfishing LBI Report

Did a combo trip (off the beach sharking – bay/inlet) Thursday with long time client Bill Hirschberg, his 15-year-old son James and his friend Matt. It was a little bumpy going to where I want to start chumming, but being only a few miles from the inlet and off the beach we made it there in no time. With chum bucket over I started baiting the rods and setting them out. Before I got the third rod out we had a 3’ brown shark swim up the slick right the chum. Pitching a bait it was a swing and a miss but that was fine since a few minutes later there was another shark swimming up to the plate. Pitching the bait, it was a swing and a hit! The first of 6 sharks was hooked up. It was a cute little guy. Yes I know it was a male shark based on the presences of claspers. Most of the sharks were sand bar sharks (aka brown) with the biggest an estimated 40 pounds, but at least one was a Dusky shark (pictured below). A Dusky on a Dusky. Brown and Dusky sharks look very similar. If the first dorsal fin originates over or slightly before free tips of pectoral fins free edge, as seen in the picture, it is a Dusky. If the first dorsal fin originates over or slightly before the pectoral fin insertion it is a Brown. Friday afternoon Larry Hrebiniak and his son Justin were out for a bay fluke trip. With the south wind honking conditions were tough, even in the wind breaks. Fluking was slow with only a few shorts and a fat blue of 10 pounds or more. With summer winding down you have to ask yourself “have I fished enough this summer?’ If the answer is no, I still have a few dates open 😉

Screaming drags, Capt. Alex 609-548-2511