Almost made it out this morning. Had a full boat of people anxious to get to the tuna grounds. Met at the boat at an un-Godly hour of the morning. Loaded with bait, fuel, ice, rods, gear, and rations. Made our way through the bay and when we got near the inlet…….dense fog. Gave it an hour of idling near the Barnegat Lighthouse to see if it would lift, but it did not, so we turned around to go back to the marina. A bunch of disappointed people, myself included, but no regrets. I don’t knowingly head out in dense fog. We do have radar, but it’s not the same as actually seeing the freighters or barges in the shipping lanes. It’s all about your own particular guidelines for what you are comfortable sailing in. Me personally, I do not want to be in the fog, and with the forecast calling for overcast conditions with light and variable winds, there was no hope for it blowing or burning off. I tell you this long winded story in case you are considering sailing with us. Our rate of cancelled trips is higher than most. I am looking for near perfect conditions to head offshore in our 25 ft center console. It’s a very capable catamaran with twin outboards, and we have all the safety gear, including a 6 man survival raft, EPIRB (satellite search and rescue beacon), as well as a Garmin Sirius XM satellite weather station that allows us to see the storm cells as they are born. I tell people all the time, if you want a better chance of your trip getting off the dock, book a bigger boat or a more aggressive captain. We are not the right fit for everyone, but a great many of our customers sail with us because of how selective we are about conditions.
Things have really come to life in a few different spots for bluefin tuna and bonita. We are going to target both. The bite is on jigs and bait, so we will be prepared to do both. This is maybe the most fun way to catch these fish as you are holding the rod when the strike happens. Sunday’s marine weather and traditional weather forecasts both look really good.
Sailing Open Boat Tuna on Sunday August 30. 2AM to 2PM. $450 person. All fish are shared. Call to reserve a spot.
Thank you,
Dave
Dave DeGennaro
Hi Flier Sportfishing
732.330.5674 cell
hiflier.com