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.
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).
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
We had insane Bonita fishing over the weekend. We made a few drifts each day and there was nonstop action on Bonita and Albacore. Chumming with spearing and peanut bunker, none of my customers ever put a bait out. It was all on jigs. The jig didn’t seem to matter, every size, color, and shape got eaten. Definitely some bluefin on the same grounds, as we hooked a fish that dumped line at an alarming rate before breaking off. We did have some heavier gear out with tuna bait but no hookups. The good news is this area we are fishing is loaded with 3 to 6 inch sandeels. They were stuffed in the fish’s mouths when they hit the deck and the bellies when we were at the cleaning table. This is candy for the tuna.
On these same grounds, some boats were connecting with 250 to 400 pound Bluefin Tuna, both on the troll and bait. However, they were all over 73 inches, so they had to be released. The current Bluefin regs allow charter boats to keep 3 fish between 27 and 47 inches, aka: Unders, and one fish between 47 and 73 inches, aka: Overs, per boat. There are a few ways to target these Giant Bluefins. You need to get on the grounds at, or before daybreak, and troll Joe Shutes with Ballyhoo, or go on the drift with live bait. The troll effort is usually over by 9AM, whereas you can have success with drifting live bait throughout the day. Getting the right live bait is the challenge. Small bluefish, ling, whiting, or bunker are the preferred hookbaits. It’s worth spending half the trip getting the right live bait if necessary, rather than put out sub par hookbaits that never get a bite.
Here’s what I know:
The marine and traditional weather look really good for this upcoming Fri Oct 11, Sat Oct 12, and Sun Oct 13.
We will be fishing all three of these days.
I can offer any of these days as a charter or run Open Boat each day.
I have all the right bait to start a chunk line: spearing, peanut bunker, sardines. Also live spots as hookbaits. Whichever
species we decide to target, we will be fishing with bait and jigs, no trolling. The exception would be trolling for the Giant Bluefins,
I would consider that but still prefer to use live bait for those, too.
We can target Bonita, Albacore, and school Bluefin Tuna all in the same area, about a 25 to 30 mile run.
If you guys want to target the Giant Tuna, it’s a commitment. We can’t fish for anything else. We will start by hitting a wreck and trying
to catch live bait. We will put out 80 class tackle and nothing else waiting for the right bite. The 80’s I have are standup
rods, so you will have a belt and harness rather than fight him out of the rod holder. Just know, this is the most boring
fishing in the world….until you hook up, then it’s the craziest thing you will ever experience.
I am good to fish for any of these fish. It’s prime time migration, 65 degree water, they are on the feed.
Open Boat or Charter on Fri Oct 11, Sat Oct 12, or Sun Oct 13:
Bonita/Albacore/Bluefin combo $400 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. 5AM to 3PM
Giant Bluefin $450 person, 4 people max, release only, unless we catch one under 73 inches. 4AM to 2PM
*It is possible to fish the early morning hours on the troll for a Giant Bluefin and then switch to Bonita/Albies/School Bluefin
AS I WAS TYPING THIS I GOT A REPORT ON BLUEFIN AND YELLOWFIN AT THE 50 TO 60 MILE RANGE.
IF THE OCEAN IS CALM, WE CAN CONSIDER THIS RUN AT $450 PERSON, 4AM TO 4PM
I know, a lot to consider here, but I hope that I conveyed how flexible I am on whatever we decide to target. Bonita to Giant Bluefin.
I am happy fishing for any of the bluewater fish this weekend as it is prime time.
The marine forecast is looking pretty good for Fri and Sat, Oct 4 and 5. We will be headed offshore looking for tuna, yellowfin or bluefin. The first wave of boats should get out Wed and Thurs, so we will base our destination on those reports. We will be bait fishing and jigging. Wherever we wind up, we are going to make a mess! Sardines, peanut bunker, spearing in the chunk slick and live bait on the hooks. There is nothing more exciting than day chunking!
Open Boat Tuna:
Fri Oct 4 5AM to 3PM and Sat Oct 5 5AM to 3PM
$450 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared.
We are also available any day for bay fishing or bonita/albacore depending on the forecast.
