Author: Hi Flier

Fishing is firing on all cylinders, inshore and offshore. Bluefin tuna, bonita, spanish mackerel, weakfish, and stripers are all on the feed. We also had a Spinner, Atlantic Sharpnose, and a big Dusky Shark just 4 miles offshore on Friday on spinning tackle. I struck out on tuna at the 30 mile spot Saturday, as did the small fleet that was there, but that’s just a day in the life of tuna fishing. On the way back we stopped at Barnegat Ridge and put out some light rods. It didn’t take long and we had bonita and spanish mackerel bending the rods. For those of you that are unsure about the edibility of these two species, they are both excellent. You can prepare bonita, technically bonito, any way you prepare tuna including as sashimi. The spanish mackerel fillets are white, sweet, and delicate. Cook them the same way you do flounder or weakfish. There’s a lot of confusion here with these two fish because south of Jersey, from the Carolinas to Florida, they call what we know as false albacore….bonito. Which are so bloody and full of red muscle inside, they are inedible. The mackerel part of Spanish mackerel has a lot of people put off because of our locally caught Boston mackerel, which are not that high on the edible scale, though people eat them. I returned to Barnegat Ridge Sunday with Chris Lang of Barnegat Light and his brother Phillip who was visiting from San Diego, as well as Chris Soukatis of Staten Island. We boated six nice bonita and a pair of two foot Spanish mackerel in some sporty conditions. We decided to head into the bay and try some light tackle action. Using shedder crab we connected with 15 to 16 inch weakfish and fluke. Monday I had Wayne Hopkins of Kutztown, PA and Jim Soch of West Milford, NJ for a bay/inlet combo. We only managed one weakfish for the cooler along with some action with fluke and sand sharks. When that slowed up we decided to try the inlet jetty and it was on fire with schoolie stripers. These two guys caught and released a dozen bass between 22 to 27 inches. A great finale. Here’s a clip of Wayne with one of his stripers: youtu.be/L_EyKqrrWdM Thursday August 1 and Friday August 2 has light winds forecasted, so we are running Open Boat Barnegat Ridge trips for Bonita and Spanish Mackeral. 10AM to 4PM. $150 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared. Sunday we are headed to the Mid Range Tuna grounds or the Canyons in search of mahi, tilefish, and billfish. Pics: 1. Cutting table with our mix of bonita, Spanish, and weakfish on Sunday 2. Wayne Hopkins of Kutztown, PA    Dave DeGennaro Back Bay Adventures 732.330.5674 cell www.hiflier.com

We had an interesting catch in the bay yesterday (Wednesday). I had a mix of Dads and kids and the inlet was a little sporty for our crew so we opted for some back bay fishing.

I had Jeff Frazier of Toms River along with his daughter Sienna and his son Rex. Also on board were Ed Cugno of Westfield and his son Nicholas. Fortunately, as I always do, I had some gourmet bait in the cooler…..live shedder crabs. We anchored up and fished a mix of 1/8 oz jigheads and baited hooks under bobbers on six pound ultralite spinning rods.

After about five minutes Jeff was tight to our first fish a throwback fluke. After that it was non stop action with small weakfish, a lot of fluke to 16 1/2 inches, one pound blues, a sea robin, a ton of sand sharks, and a short striper. In the end nothing went into the cooler, but they had a blast with the light tackle and constant action.

Saturday and Sunday, July 27 and 28, the marine forecast looks great for getting offshore to the tuna grounds. The best action has been on jigs and bait which is the most fun way to catch a tuna. These are 30 to 150 pound bluefins and you never know what size is going to eat your bait. We will have the trolling and casting gear on board, as well. We always have the mahi spinning rods armed, too.

Leaving at 2AM, returning 12 to 14 hours later (2PM to 4PM). $350 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. Monday we are probably looking at the bay or Barnegat Ridge, depending on the sea condition. We are also catching two to four foot spinner, blacktip, and Atlantic sharpnose sharks just 4 miles offshore. We can combo any of these Ridge/Bay/Inshore Sharking into the same trip. The Ridge has been holding a good amount of bonita and is due for some Spanish and king mackerel, as well as mahi.

~Dave DeGennaro, Back Bay Adventures
C: 17323305674 www.hiflier.com

That hard west wind is doing it’s job today. Leveling out all the sea condition that the hard easterly brought the last few days. More westerly tomorrow (Sunday), at a nice moderate velocity, means a flat ocean and stripers on the feed.

Open Boat or Charter tomorrow, Sunday, November 11. 6:00 AM to 2 PM. $200 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared.

This is our last available November date. Starting to book December, Sat, Sun, and Mon’s only.

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

www.hiflier.com

It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks. Did not have time to post any reports. Been booked every day and the weather cooperated to let us keep running. Fished Barnegat Ridge mostly for king  mackerel, bonita, spanish mackerel, and mahi.