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.
We are catching weakfish, kingfish, and blowfish on the west side of Barnegat Bay. Anchored up chumming with clam and also using live shedder crabs. Fishing between the BI and BB Buoys. Light tackle, six pound spinning outfits. Not catching the weakies and kings every trip. We didn’t have any today, but we had quite a few jumbo blowfish, I call them “whales” at that size. We also had sand sharks, grunts, spots, fluke, and striped burrfish in the mix.
The highlight today was a huge blowfish, technically a Northern Puffer, that I caught and weighed in . It weighed in at 1.21 lbs, making it a pending IGFA All Tackle World Record for that species. It was 11 inches long and 18 inches in circumference when inflated. I kept it in the livewell while we were on the boat, then transferred it to a bucket with an aerator for the weigh in. Once we left the scale, we took her to the bay for a live release and she swam away happy:
Available every day for bay charters. Great way to get fishing while waiting for these relentless ocean conditions to subside. Once things calm down, we will be back on the hunt for bonita, albies, and tuna.
Pics:
Vinny Laprete from Roselle Park, NJ in camo
Max DeGennaro from Barnegat, NJ in black shirt
Dave DeGennaro from Barnegat, NJ in burgundy sweatshirt
Just got off the water with Jim Hutchinson of the Fisherman Magazine. Jim is a long time fan of catching weakfish going back to when he was a kid
chasing them with his Dad, another well known fisherman in the angling community, Jim Sr. He absolutely schooled me today, first catching both of the bigger weakies we had, a pair of 3 plus pound fish on shedder crab. Those came on 1/8 oz jigheads tipped with shedder. You cast it out, let it sink, once it hits bottom you lift the rod very slowly, and then as you lower the rod, capture the slack with the reel. A technique I have deemed “lolly gagging”. We were in 8 feet of water between the BI and BB Buoys. A few sand sharks, blowfish, and a grunt in the mix and we went to pick up our live grass shrimp.
Anchored up on the Barnegat Light side, started chumming with the grass shrimp, and once again, it was all about watching Jim catch weakfish. He had about a dozen to my two. These were the more common 12 to 15 inch fish, but a great fight on the ultralite 6 lb spinning outfits we were using. Added three more species: skate, silver perch, and bluefish to raise the species count to seven. Had action from beginning to end in both spots.
Both of these baits are in short supply, so the end is near. If you are interested in getting out bay fishing while the ocean is not fishable, book a bay trip. We can target weakfish, kingfish, and blowfish, and then there are always surprises in the catch.
No takers on our Open Boat Tuna trip yesterday (Friday Sept 13) so being that the boat was fueled up, iced up, and loaded with bait, my deck hand Dave Flood, and I, decided to run ourselves. We broke the inlet at 4AM. It was a very mild NE wind so the sea condition was mellow. We ran 60 plus miles to the spot. When we arrived at 7AM, there were no birds, no slicks, no whales, no readings,….nothing. Started putt-putting around the area and stumbled on two chick birds and a single shearwater. Said “Oh well, that’s more than we’ve seen, so let’s go on the drift”. A few minutes in we had mackerel on the surface around the boat, Saw a good size splash and then the bow rod went off. Got to it, threw the lever, it was there, and then it wasn’t. Reeled in an empty hook. Finally marked a single fish at 110 feet. Put a bait down to that depth and ten minutes later we are hooked up. Decked a 50 lb yellowfin. Another runoff, bit off by a shark, leader was all scraped up. Go back for another drift, hook and lose another fish, appeared to be a tuna by the run. Hook pulled. At 9AM Dave sets up on a fish that won’t stop dumping line off of his 30 class. We run it down, but it takes two more big runs before we can stick a gaff in his 105 lb yellowfin. 55″ length, 39″ girth. His biggest tuna ever. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. All Dave does is help people on my boat catch fish. We were back in by 1:30 PM. Here’s some video, it’s not great, it doesn’t include the end game because I couldn’t film and assist with the gaff: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJZC2j2Bc68
Looks like the wave heights are up for a little while so we will be fishing in the bay for weakfish, kingfish, blowfish, and the mixed bag on ultralite tackle.
We will be announcing more tuna dates as soon as there is a good weather window.
There are yellowfin tuna in the 50 to 60 mile range. There are also bluefin tuna in the 20 to 25 mile range.
Friday looks like a good marine forecast to go tuna hunting. We are running an Open Boat Tuna trip on Friday Sept 13, 4AM to 3PM $475 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. This is the schedule and rate for the longer range yellowfin trip. If we don’t get good reports or intel from the yellowfin grounds we will pivot to bluefin fishing.
That schedule would be 5AM to 2PM and the cost $400 person. Either trip the emphasis will be on bait and jigs.
The bonita are still going strong. Good size fish and Ziplocks of some of the most delicious loins you will ever have.
Chumming and catching them on light spinning rods. We have also had albacore, spanish mackerel, chub mackerel and more eat our hookbaits. Bait and lures are working equally well.
Saturday Sept 14 and Sunday Sept 15, we will be sailing Open Boat Bonita 6AM to 2PM, $300 person,
4 people max, all fish are shared.
We are also catching weakfish, kingfish, blowfish, and more in the bay. Super ultralite 6 lb outfits. These trips are offered for charter only and we do not run Open Boat in the bay.
Any of the above Open Boat trips are also available for your private charter.
Pics from recent bay trip:
Geri DeGennaro of Barnegat NJ
(Mrs Hi Flier) with a kingfish
Kelly Kieckhefer of Lake Como NJ with a blowfish
Sue Belford of Lake Como NJ with her second striped burrfish of the trip.
Just had a last minute cancellation for tomorrow, Wed Aug 21. Two new people already signed on for an Open Boat Bonita/Albacore with a shot at Bluefin Tuna trip tomorrow. I can take two more, and will sail with just one more. Phone is the best way to get me.
6AM to 3PM, $350 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared.
609-494-5739 
