Author: Hi Flier

The bay fishing has been excellent. We are anchoring up and chumming with live grass shrimp. Catching anywhere from 7 to 10 different species, but the target is always weakfish. Lots of action on ultralite spinning gear. The water temperature dropped from 71.5 to 63 degrees in just a weeks time but the fish are still holding and aggressively hitting our bait and lures. Strike now while it’s hot. I am hoping we roll into mid October with this fishery but it’s always a wait and see. 

The bluefish are still in good numbers at the inlet and are attacking the lures we are throwing, usually soft plastics. Mostly 2 to 4 pound fish, big enough to scream line off of our 10 pound spinning outfits.
We are catching big blowfish on the west side of the bay. Chumming with clam chum and using both clams and squid as hookbaits. There are enough jumbos to catch to let the small ones go. Fun to catch and delicious to eat!

Sailing every day for this mixed bag in the bay and inlet: 
Tues thru Fri 10AM to 3PM 
Sat, Sun, and Mon’s 7AM to Noon

The long range marine forecast looks good for Sat Oct 1 and Sun Oct 2 right now. It’s a little early to be planning offshore trips for those days but if they are right and the forecast holds up, we will be running Open Boat or Charter for tuna, bonita, albies…..whatever looks good. Stand by! Departure times will be somewhere around 5AM to 6AM and duration of the trip between 8 to 12 hours. 
These dates are also available for the mixed bag bay charters.

Dave DeGennaro
Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Barnegat Bay is on fire. We are consistently catching weakfish on all our live grass shrimping trips. If you have never tried this, it is something to see. Before each trip we pick up a large quantity of live grass shrimp. We head over to Barnegat Light, anchor up, and continuously throw over small handfuls of shrimp. Then we bait up our hooks and small jigs, really small, like 1/16 and 1/32 oz jigs, with shrimp. The hook gets loaded up with six or seven shrimp, the jigs only need two poked through the head. We are usually fishing in 10 to 15 feet of water. We pin the bobber a few feet less than the depth of the water from the baited hook, so if we are in 12 feet of water, we put the bobber 10 feet up from the hook. The jigs we drop straight down to the bottom or flip them out and slow retrieve them back to the boat. The weakies have been 12 to 17 inches. The variety you catch in the shrimp slick is what makes it so much fun. That, and the arsenal we use is made up of six pound spinning outfits, more akin to gear you would use on a trout stream. The variety of species we have been catching includes weakfish, fluke, kingfish, spots, blues, blowfish, hickory shad, sea robins, sand sharks, silver perch, croakers, blue runners and more. All spots become property of the Hi Flier, we pen them up for live bait for tuna and stripers. 
We are also anchoring up on the west side of the bay and hammering away at jumbo blowfish. They are fun to catch and delicious to eat!I”ll clean the first 20, the rest you take whole. 

The inlet has been giving up 2 to 4 pound blues very consistently. We are casting soft plastics on 3/8 oz jigheads. We have not been getting any bass in the mix recently but they will start soon. We keep it light with this fishery, too, 10 pound spinning outfits. 

It is possible to combine any or all of these fisheries in a single trip. It’s all peaking right now, so strike while the iron is hot. It should roll into the first or second week of October if recent history is any indication. The messy weather coming is the perfect time to try this fishery. We fish in very protected water. 20 to 25 knots of wind is no problem. 

Available for charter Tues thru Fri 10AM to 3PM or Sat, Sun, and Mon’s 7AM to Noon. When the weather and sea condition relents we will start running offshore again. Until then, this exciting Plan B becomes Plan A!

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

I love tuna fishing! Just had to get that out of the way. When the fish are there and we can catch them on bait and jigs, I don’t know if there is any fishery more exciting. I especially love day chunking on the midrange grounds. That’s exactly what we did on Monday, Labor Day. Headed north to chase a report that my first mate (and son) received from his friend at 4AM as we were leaving the slip. Got to the spot early, had good bait and fish readings, but the first runoff did not come until 9:30AM. I set the circle hook up and he screamed line for 10 seconds and then came unbuttoned. We reeled in an empty hook. Sucks, but really the only acceptable loss in the fishing game. Everything else is human error. Ten minutes later, the same rod goes off, a flatlined sardine, and this time we stay stuck. Twenty minutes later a 60 pound bluefin hits the deck. Over the next few hours we went four for six on 40 to 60 pound fish, all on bait, except for one that hit Chris Mace’s jig, christening his new spinning outfit that was made for the task. Caught them all on our AVET LX arsenal instead of the big gold reels. So much more fun on the 30 class conventionals. We started with 30 lb flouro leader but bumped up to 40 as they were so aggressive. When we cut the fish at the dock, they had our chunks in them, so that justified that effort. Of course the weather is going to prevent us from returning anytime soon but we are all hoping that they stay put for a while. This northeast should push even nicer water in. Here is a clip of Igor Sapiga decking that first bluefin: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NQ7O1Pdyno

We are still hammering away at the weakfish and the ultralite buffet in Barnegat Bay. Wed, Thurs, and Fri’s 10AM to 3PM.

The bonita and albacore reports are also very strong so we will be running those trips, as well. Trolling to find them and then setting up a spearing slick to chum them up and catch them on spinning tackle.

My head is spinning right now from the choices. This is a great time of year coming up.

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Running Open Boat Tuna this Monday, Labor Day,  Sept 5, 3AM to 5PM. Good chance we will mix in Tilefish and Mahi where we are headed. $450 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. Call to reserve a spot, phone is better than text or email.

I cancelled our Saturday trip last night as that NE wind did not drop out early enough to make for a good sea condition. Monday looks like it will be really nice. The boats we network with caught big yellowfin there yesterday and we will have the benefit of information from all the boats sailing Sunday.

Tues Sept 6 and Wed Sept 7 we are available for charter only to fish for weakfish and a bunch of other species on ultralite tackle in the bay 10AM to 3PM. 

Dave DeGennaro
Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

So our bonita/albacore trip sucked last week. Ran 26 miles north to where the bite had been good for a few weeks just to hear the “What happened?” chatter on the radio. We eeked out one nice bonita on bait and that was that. The only good thing that happened was I broke in one of the six new Fish Head rods I just acquired from Fishermans Headquarters on that fish, and they are awesome! Flexible enough to enjoy the fight but has enough backbone to control the fish. Love them! Paired with 5000 spinning reels, these are going to be our “everything” outfits. Bonita, albies, mahi, stripers, blues and anything else that shows up.

We are crushing the weakfish and big blowfish in Barnegat Bay. All on six pound ultralite rods. The weakies are ranging from 11 to 18 inches, with most in the 13 to 15 inch range. We are available for your private charter for these trips Fri Sept 2, 5, 6, and 7.

We have been laying low on the tuna trips because, frankly, we were not scoring. It’s been a tricky season. SO, I do what most boats in my size class do (25 ft), we wait and watch the marine weather, and wait, and watch, sometimes we watch and wait, and then BAM! The weather window is there and I have some good intel from a friend who just got back from a good yellowfin trip. So we are headed east in search of the bite. Should be mostly bait and jigs. I will have the trolling gear on board but I am hoping not to use it unless we are scouting. Saturday Sept 3, 3AM to 5PM, $450 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. We need to fill all 4 spots to sail. The boat is also available for charter for this day, but only for tuna. I need a shot of blue water once and a while to stay sane. Saturday is that day. Call to reserve a spot, that is the best way to get me. 
Hope to see you on board,
Dave
Dave DeGennaro
Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Pic: Billy Fellows of Absecon NJ with a nice bonita

It looks like a really nice marine forecast coming up for the weekend, light winds, and calm seas, so we are headed offshore to target bonita, albacore, and whatever else we could coax into our slick. I am loaded with fresh spearing, and that is the key into getting them around the boat. We are going to anchor up and fish them with bait and jigs on light tackle. Sailing Open Boat or Charter: Sat Aug 27 and Sun Aug 28, 5AM to 1PM, $325 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. The boat is also available for charter on either of these days for inshore or offshore.

We have been doing really well catching weakfish in the bay on live grass shrimp. They are anywhere from 11 to 17 inchers. Also in the mix are blowfish, hickory shad, snapper blues, spots, sand sharks, kingfish, fluke, and more. Constant action on the six pound ultralite outfits. I am available Tues Aug 30, Wed Aug 31, Thurs Sept 1, and Fri Sept 2, 10AM to 3PM for these trips. Charter only, not Open Boat on these trips. 
There are also sharks to catch just a few miles outside the inlet. Two to three foot Atlantic Sharpnose and Spinner sharks along with 125 to 150 lb Brown Sharks. This could be combined with the bay fishing as well.

Pics:Baxter Thomas of Summit NJ in the red life vest putting the boots to a 130 lb class Brown Shark on 30 class conventional tackle.

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Had a good week of fishing. Returned to the inshore tuna spot on Monday. After waiting for the messy weather to blow thru which delayed our departure from 3AM to 7AM, we took it on the chin head on into the northeast wind and waves that were a little stiffer than forecasted. Lines in at 9:30 AM. No readings and no hits until 12 Noon when the deep rod goes screaming. It was a sardine bait with a sinker, four cranks off the bottom. We use light gear, 30 class conventionals, so this fish took a ride. 90 minutes later, an 80 lb yellowfin hits the deck. A little while later we released a five foot hammerhead shark. No more hits until 5PM when we are cleaning up and clearing the rods to go home and the last rod to be cleared starts singing. Fifteen minutes later, we deck a 50 lb yellowfin and head for the barn. That one hit a weightless flatine. 

Yesterday (Thursday) we did some inshore sharking and caught three Atlantic Sharpnose sharks before heading into the bay to pickup some live grass shrimp I ordered. It was our first effort of the season with the shrimp and I was not overly optimistic as I know a few people who tried recently, and the reports were not good. I conveyed this to my charter and they were willing to try anyway. After about 15 minutes of chumming shrimp we had the first of the weakfish, they were all about 11 to 12 inches. Then it changed to 13 to 15 inch fish, one after the other, all on 6 pound ultralite spinning rods. It looks like this fishery is underway.  

Available for charter Sunday Aug 7, Mon Aug 8, and Fri Aug 12 for Back Bay Weakfishing with live grass shrimp. 5 hour trip $700. 

We are fully booked until Thurs Aug 25 is our next availability.
Hope to see you on board.

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Not great. That sums up our own personal offshore fishing lately. On our last two trips, we covered 180 miles and 140 miles, respectively, with nothing to show for it except a 15 lb mahi. While I was covering all that water from the Texas Tower to the 28 Mile Wreck, some boats were catching 30 lb class bluefin less than 20 miles from my home port of Barnegat Inlet. I think I am going to keep it closer to home this weekend and Monday, unless I get some really good intel to change my mind. To be clear, they are not slaying the bluefin, they’re catching a few, one, or none. The grounds they are fishing on typically provide a variety of bonita, albacore, king mackerel, spanish, mackerel, mahi, and more. I’m not saying any of those species are there, I’m saying, historically, this time of year, any of those species could be in the mix. The water there is blueish and 74 to 77 degrees. A good amount of flying fish, which should attract some mahi. I will be running Open Boat or Charter to these grounds, armed with trolling gear and prepared to bait fish, as well. 

Our inshore sharking trips have been doing very well. I tell people to expect two to three foot Spinner, Blacktip, and Atlantic Sharpnose sharks. They are small in stature, but are high powered pelagic sharks that give a really good fight on light tackle. The bigger sharks don’t always get the memo that we are fishing for smaller sharks and on all three of our trips last week we had a 130 to 150 lb class brown shark. All catch and release, as these are not edible species. It is possible to combine some inshore fishing with this, as well, like casting lures at the inlet jetty for schoolie stripers and blues, or fluking inside the bay. We could also try some live grass shrimp for the ultra lite mix of species on six pound tackle. Weakfish are always the target, but they are not always there, so the goal is to catch as many different species as we can. 

Looks like a really good marine forecast for this stretch of dates:

Sailing Open Boat or Available for Charter: 
Thursday July 28 10AM to 5PM  Barnegat Ridge 15 to 20 Mile Range $275 person
Friday July 29 10AM to 5PM  Barnegat Ridge 15 to 20 Mile Range $275 person
Saturday July 30 6AM to 2PM Barnegat Ridge 15 to 20 Mile Range $300 person
Monday August 2AM to 4PM Mid Range Tuna 30 to 60 Mile Range $450 person
All trips are limited to 4 passengers. All fish are shared.
Any of these dates are also available for your private charter to fish inshore, offshore, or the bay.

Pic: Steve Ondrof of Rockaway NJ with his 15 lb Mahi caught at the 28 Mile Wreck this past Saturday.

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Right now the forecast for this Sunday, July 17 and Monday, July 18 looks pretty good. 
I am hoping to run to the 30 to 40 mile grounds for Yellowfin Tuna. If the weather and sea conditions are not perfect for that, Plan B will be the 15 to 20 mile grounds for Bluefin Tuna, King Mackerel, and whatever else might be there. 

We will be prepared to troll, jig, and bait fish in either spot.
$450 person for the 30-40 mile run.3AM to 3PM
$300 person for the 15-20 mile run.4AM to 2PM
Four people max, all fish are shared on either trip.

I just stopped in Fishermans Headquarters to stock up on flourocarbon, gourmet hooks, and jigs!

I am only accepting reservations from individuals who are willing to do either trip. The decision on which distance is appropriate will be made right up until our ride out the inlet and some riding into the sea condition. Keep mind, I always error on the side of caution.

Monday is also available as an inshore private charter if you prefer.

Call me on my cell to reserve a spot. You can call right up until our departure time.

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674

hiflier.com

They blew the forecast for Saturday (yesterday). It was supposed to be torrential rain all day so we cancelled all fishing for the day. I don’t mind a few hours of rain but I’m not scheduling a long day in an open center console with nothing but rain. I woke up at 7AM and checked the Weather Channel forecast, no more rain forecasted for the day. I started mad texting people, scrambling to put a few people together to run to the tuna grounds. Two people jumped at the chance and we were off the dock by 9AM, a very late start in the world of tuna fishing, but it beats staying on land.

I had the GPS set for the 35-40 mile run where the fishing has been good the last few days, but 20 miles in, the sea condition worsened and the two footers we started out in were now three to fours and capping. I opted for the closer grounds, only 5 miles behind us, and we went on the troll. It was not good. The ocean was very sloppy and the lures were not tracking right, and mid day is not the best time to be trolling as it is. 

I did have some good readings on the machine and some bait in the cooler so we reeled in all the trolling gear and got two bait rods ready. You will see trolling rigs in the tuna pic because I was going to properly stow them while we were drifting and waiting for a hookup. I put a sardine on the first rod to go out, a weightless flatline that I was going to go really long with except about 30 feet from the boat, the line was snatched out of my hand and what followed was a smoking run off against full drag on the AVET LX. Obviously a tuna.We decked a nice 35 lb bluefin and ran back to do another drift. Hooked up again on the flatline, only this fish never hit the RPM’s of a tuna run. After a 20 minute fight we got him all the way to the boat for a quick release, looked to be about 130 lb class dusky shark. 
A few more drifts with no more action and we headed for the barn.

Running an Open Boat Tuna trip tomorrow (Monday) July 11. Looks like a good marine forecast to hit these closer tuna grounds. We are going to use bait and jigs. I will have the trolling rods and gear on board but the emphasis is going to be on bait with light 30 class conventional outfits. It’s just more fun to catch them that way. If we are not hooking up and the boats trolling around us are, then we can always change things up to what’s working. 4AM to Noon. $300 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared. Everything is provided.

Herman Diaz of Waretown, NJ with a 130 class Dusky Shark release.
Ross Mansbach from Atlanta, GA with his first tuna, a 35 lb bluefin.

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com