TUNA!! ……and other stuff

There are 30 to 50 lb bluefin in the 50 to 60 mile range of our inlet. Tomorrow (Wednesday) is the perfect day. No storm activity forecasted, light winds, nice sea condition. I know this is short notice, but I just got the intel. 

3AM to 4PM, $450 person, all fish are shared. We can keep 2 fish between 27” and 47”. It’s unlikely that we will fill all four spots with this short notice, but I had to try. Better shot if you have your own group that wants to charter the boat. The best way to get me is to call or text, not email.

Still catching stripers, blues, and fluke every day on our bay/inlet trips. Available every day for those trips.

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing 

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Hi Flier Open Boat Stripers, Blues, Fluke…..and Bluefin

We are catching a few stripers at the Barnegat Inlet jetty on bait and soft plastics. There has been a good amount of 2 to 4 lb blues in the mix, with a few bigger ones. Still fluking in the bay as the colder ocean water has not started to push them out yet. Between the three species, it’s a good day of fishing. Sailing Open Boat for Stripers, Blues, and Fluke: Sun June 22, and Mon June 23. 6AM to Noon. $200 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared.

Right now, Sat June 21 has perfection weather. No storm activity and single digit wind velocity. We are headed offshore for bluefin tuna. Casting, jigging, bait fishing, trolling, we are bringing it all. 4AM to 4PM $450 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared. Only going on a really good forecast. We are a long way from Saturday as far as weather updates. If any storm activity or heavier wind velocity, enters the forecast, I’m out. I have, in the past, gone out the inlet a few miles, or less, and turned around because the forecast was wrong. This is why I always tell people, if you want a better chance of sailing for tuna, pick a bigger boat to book, as our rate of cancel is higher than most. Not that the boat isn’t capable. She’s a seaworthy 25 ft. World Cat catamaran with twin Suzukis, a 6 man Viking life raft that is always kept current, an EPIRB satellite search and rescue beacon, and a Garmin/Sirius XM on board satellite weather system that allows us to see the storm cells as they are born. With all of that, I am still looking for near perfection weather to sail. I tell people about all of this instead of bragging on our rods and reels, which are also top of the line. 

Any of these dates, including Saturday, are available for your private charter to fish for anything you like.

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Hi Flier Open Boat Stripers, Blues, and Fluke

It’s Father’s Day tomorrow. You get to do what you want. Go fishing early and be back in time to join the festivities.

Looks like the rain is moving out and we have a good stretch of weather for Sun to Wed. Cooler air temps, 60 to 70 degrees every day with very little rain mentioned. We will be running Open Boat trips every day for stripers, blues, and fluke. We are fishing the inlet jetty and the bay.  The wind is dropping out for Tues and Wed, so we can also mix in some sea bass fishing, if you guys want, on those days. The clock is ticking on that season, as it closes on Friday June 20.

Open Boat: Sun June 15, Mon June 16, Tues June 17, and Wed June 18. 7AM to 1PM. $200 person 4 people max. All fish are shared. These dates are also available for your private charter.I look forward to seeing you on board.

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Hi Flier Open Boat Stripers, Blues, and Fluke…..and upcoming Bluefin

Nice stretch of weather coming up. We will be sailing daily for stripers, blues, and fluke. 

Casting lures and fishing bait at the inlet jetty for bass and blues. We are also catching some stripers anchored up with clam in the bay channels, mostly in Oyster Creek. 

On the west side of the bay we are throwing topwater lures for blues and drifting for fluke.

We can do all of it or whatever combination you guys like. If it’s a nice ocean, we also have the option to bounce out to the tires to try and jig some sea bass. 

Open Boat: 

Thurs June 5, Fri June 6, Sat June 7, Sun June 8, Mon June 9. 6AM to 1 PM. $200 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared. 

These dates are also available for your private charter.

FYI: Just planting the seed, as I have not heard anything solid on bluefin tuna, yet, but it’s coming. We will be targeting the 27 to 47 inch fish when they show up. Right now, the new regulations are allowing us to keep two fish within that size bracket. We are not allowed to keep any fish between 47 and 73 inches, so we will also be targeting fish over 73 inches. We can only catch one or the other. You can’t possess a 27 to 47 inch bluefin and then try to catch a Giant, and vice versa. We can make a decision based on reports, weather, and recent activity. 

If pursuing the over 73 inch fish, we are usually trolling ballyhoo or drifting with live bait, usually mackerel, bunker, or small bluefish. This fishing can be a lot of waiting for the rod to go off, so it is not for everyone. When the strike happens, it goes from the most boring to the most exciting thing you have ever experienced. We have three custom built stand up 80 class outfits to fight the fish with a belt and harness, rather than fight it out of the rod holder. I chose to do it this way to make it more interactive, but the rod holder is always there if you need it. 

We might have to spend a good amount of time trying to catch the live bait, as mackerel, bunker, and blues need to be caught the day of the trip, as they do not do well in containment, such as a bait pen. I could put a live spot in the pen in July and release him in November and he would look perfect. Try putting a full size bunker in a pen and the next day his face will be half ripped off from trying to escape. Likewise with the blues and mackerel. Of course, all these species of bait are readily available, until you need them as hookbaits, then they become elusive. On the other hand, if we are lucky, we will cast lures at the inlet and boat a handful of small blues in short order and/or stumble on some bunker pods along the beach or on our way to the fishing grounds. This is all part of the process of catching a Giant. It’s a commitment. It doesn’t happen by chance.

The good news is, we are usually targeting either size bluefin in the 20 to 40 mile range, and a lot of that mileage is north. As opposed to hunting yellowfin in the 50 to 70 mile range, which is mostly east (offshore).

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Hi Flier Stripers, Blues, and Fluke

Fishing is heating up. We are catching stripers at the inlet jetty and anchored up with clams in the bay. They are keepable size fish, as we have bonus tags for everyone on board that allow us to keep 24 to 31 inch fish. Bluefish are mixed in at the jetty and on the west side of the bay where we are throwing topwater lures for visual surface attacks. I still struggle as a fluke captain but I know some areas to try and I am willing to mix it in for an hour or two, depending on our success on the bass and blues and what you guys want to do.

Sailing every day Open Boat or Charter.

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Hi Flier Striper, Blues, and Fluke

Pretty good day today. Two keeper stripers, some bluefish, and short fluke, no keepers for us. Caught the blues on plugs and soft plastics. Got the first striper drifting a bobber with a sandworm into the inlet jetty and then a little later caught another one on clams in Oyster Creek Channel. Keeper fluke were elusive for us today but there are fish around.

Available for Open Boat or Charter tomorrow, Monday, Memorial Day, May 26 and Tues, May 27. 6AM to Noon. $200 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared. 

Pic: Dave Estey of Lake Hopatcong, NJ with his keeper striper he caught on a clam.

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Hi Flier Open Boat Stripers and Tog

Just put the boat in the water last week. Getting her all loaded with gear and ready to fish.

We usually start out hunting the west side of the bay for stripers. Casting soft plastics and trolling plugs on spinning rods are our go-to methods. All the while looking for bird play and bait. A few more degrees and there should be some blues in the mix.

Next, we head to the inlet, where we will be casting lures and using bait for stripers. Even though we are targeting bass, we usually hammer away at the blackfish on the bait.

Open Boat and Charter trips will be departing at 6AM and returning at 11AM Wed April 30, Thurs May 1, and Fri May 2. After Fri May 2, our next availability will be Mon May 12. By then we will be targeting blues on topwater lures in the back bay, as well. Open Boat: $175 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. Charter rates are available on our site: hiflier.com

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Hi Flier Open Boat Stripers

Striper fishing is breaking open up and down the coast, and now the weather is here to get us out. Lots of W and NW wind in the forecast translates to calm seas in tight to the beach. There is a mix of all size stripers along the beach from Island Beach to the Atlantic Highlands. Migration style fishing: jigging, casting, trolling. 

Sailing Open Boat Stripers:

Monday Nov 18 and Tues Nov 19, 6AM to 2PM, $300 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. 

Also possible to charter the boat these dates for Stripers, Bluefin, or a Striper/Bluefin combo.

I am on the water more than I am on the computer so it is best to call or text me rather than email.

Here’s a video and pic of Luke Warwick and his 9 year old son Dylan with one of their big stripers last weekend on a live bunker. Released right after pic.

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Hi Flier Open Boat Stripers and Bluefin Tuna

The marine forecast looks pretty good for Sat, Sun, and Mon, Nov 2, 3, and 4. We will be running Open Boat for Stripers or Bluefin Tuna/Striper combos.

I will do whatever the majority wants to do. The lion’s share of the stripers are still up north by Asbury Park, but some fish have finally started to slide closer to us, and every day will bring more and more. I intend on running to where the biggest concentration of fish are. The other good news on this front is that there are now some keeper size fish in the mix along with the big bruisers. It’s fun to catch both, but it’s nice to go home with a Ziplock. Most of the action has been jigging and livelining bunker. 

The bluefin tuna are anywhere from 7 to 20 miles offshore. 100 to 200 lb fish airing out of the water and aggressively feeding at the surface. It is something to see, but they are not easy to catch. Casting poppers and trolling ballyhoo are two techniques that produce hookups, we will be prepared to do both.

It is possible to fish for the tuna first and then switch to stripers. It has to be in that order, as we can not possess striped bass beyond the three mile line from shore. 

Open Boat Stripers or Stripers/Bluefin Tuna: 

Sat Nov 2, Sun Nov 3, and Mon Nov 4

5:30 AM to 2:30 PM each day. $300 per person for Striper Trip or $350 per person Striper/Bluefin Tuna combo. 4 people max. All fish are shared.

Of course these dates are also available for your private charter. Call right up until “go time’ to reserve a spot. Phone is the best way to contact me.

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Hi Flier Open Boat Tuna Tomorrow, Monday Oct 28

Looks like a really good weather window tomorrow, Monday, Oct 28, so we are headed offshore for tuna. Bluefin will be the target. We are bringing 30 to 80 class gear because the size range of these fish are all over the place. We will be drifting and bait fishing. Live bait whenever possible. You’re welcome to jig and throw poppers, we will have all of that onboard, as well. 

I have my sites on the Atlantic Princess to start for big bluefin and then working our way back through Little Italy for a shot at all size fish.

Open Boat Tuna: Monday Oct 28, 4AM to 4PM $450 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared.

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com