Author: Hi Flier

Hi Flier Stripers, Blues, Fluke, and Tuna

We ran to the Spencer Canyon on Sunday. Found the right water. Beautiful shade of blue. Tons of porpoise and whales. Skipjacks attacking our spread every 5 to 10 minutes. Caught one small bluefin tuna, not even big enough for the cooler and way too many skippies. That’s the report. We were one of the boats that didn’t catch that day.

Here’s what we’re doing in the next stretch going into the weekend. We will be running Open Boat or charter tomorrow (Thurs) and Fri, June 14 and 15 inshore fishing. Casting lures at the inlet jetty for stripers and blues with light tackle and drifting the bay channels for fluke. Leaving at Noon, returning at 5PM.
$150 person. 4 people max, all fish are shared.
Saturday, June 16, looks like the best day to run offshore, so as long as that forecast holds up, we are chasing tuna. Right now it shows no storm activity and a 1 to 2 ft sea condition. Probably headed for the canyons unless I get some good mid-range reports in the 50 to 60 mile range. The canyons we are fishing are about 85 miles. We would meet at the dock at 3AM and return around 5PM. $350 person. 4 people max, all fish are shared. If we stayed within the 60 mile range, it would be $300 person, but right now, the best reports are coming from the canyons. Yellowfin and bluefin.
Sunday, (Fathers Day!), June 17, we will be fishing inshore, same as above’s Thurs/Fri trips but we will start at 7AM and return at Noon.
Capt. Dave DeGennaro
Hi Flier Sportfishing
732.330.5674 cell

Hi Flier Stripers and Blues! Weakfish? Tuna!

My head is spinning right now. We struck out Thurs afternoon on the big striper hunt after my big rah rah speech about being there or reading about it. Turns out you didn’t need to be there and there’s nothing to read about. We trolled all afternoon without a hit, and worse, it didn’t even feel like we were going to hook up. No bait, no readings….Deadsville up and down the coast except for Raritan Bay/Sandy Hook, those guys are lighting it up and that’s a little too far of a run from Barnegat Inlet. On our way back we stopped at the Barnegat Inlet jetty to cast for some blues just to put these guys into some action and it turned out to be all stripers. Nothing legal, although we came close with a 27 1/2 incher, but a blast on the 10 pound spinning rods. That action was good enough to return yesterday (Friday), of course, we left out the trolling effort. We started out casting 2 to 4 pound blues in the inlet and then when the tide was right we switched to our striper spot and connected with three bass, 24”, 12 lbs and a 21 pounder! Here’s a clip of the 12 pounder: youtu.be/5PG3IfnDau0 All on light tackle and casting soft plastics. We also caught short stripers on both days behind the sod banks.
I’m going to focus on this fishing for a little while until I hear something better out front. I also picked up  some shedder crabs and a flat of sandworms as I hear the south end of LBI is giving up some nice weakfish. I thought we could try our own west side of the bay here or take the run down there.
As if that’s not enough to chew on, the canyons are on fire with bluefin and yellowfin tuna. Anything from 30 to 100 plus pound fish. Now, we’re not a canyon boat, but……we can go when the weather window is really good. The World Cat is a very capable hull, we just put brand new motors on her, I have a brand new six man Viking survival raft, an EPIRB search and rescue beacon, and a Garmin/Sirius/XM weather station onboard the boat. I bought all that stuff before I bought the first gold reel. I’m not going to give any dates or advertise canyon trips because my rate of cancel would be so high on any dates we pre-book. However, feel free to check in if the marine offshore weather forecast looks really good for any Sat, Sun, or Mon.
Like it does tomorrow (Sunday)!!
Running Open Boat or Charter tomorrow (Sun) and Monday, June 10 and 11 for ?????. you tell me.
I’m game for any of it.
Pic: Capt. Nick DeGennaro with his 21 pound striper
Capt. Dave DeGennaro
Hi Flier Sportfishing
732.330.5674 cell

Hi Flier Open Boat Trips

Haven’t been out since the blow came through on Sunday. We did sail Saturday with a full boat. I had some good intel from friends up north that Deal and Long Branch were giving up nice stripers so we got an early start and made the left out of Barnegat Inlet. Thirty miles later we put the lines out and we trolled for hours without a hit. The radio echoed the same sentiment of “what happened?”. There’s nothing worse than getting there to hear that. We went as far as the Shrewsbury Rocks and then we headed back to Barnegat. Stopped at the North Barnegat Inlet jetty and did really well casting light spinning rods with soft plastics for 2 to 4 pound bluefish. Fortunately the guys I had on board were having fun doing that.

What does that mean for this week? Absolutely nothing. Whether you are new or seasoned, you have to know that the bite doesn’t stay off for long. The only way to see those epic days is to chalk up a few slower ones. Sure there are trends you can exploit if you have the luxury of being able to leave the real world behind at a moments notice, but that isn’t always the case. The reality is the fish are still here, things got screwed up by the funky weather systems for a few days and now it’s time for the next round. You can either be there or read about it.
The long term weather and marine forecast looks great. We will be fishing for stripers on the oceanside and fluke and blues in the bay if everyone wants.
Sailing Open Boat or Charter: Wed (tomorrow), Thurs, and Fri, June 6, 7, and 8, Noon to 7PM.
Sat, Sun, and Mon, June 9, 10, and 11, 6AM to 1PM. $175 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared.
Everything is provided. You can call me on my cell right up until we leave to see if there is room.
Capt. Dave DeGennaro
Hi Flier Sportfishing
732.330.5674 cell

Hi Flier Hooking and Jabbing With Weather

This weather is the worst. We caught a 36 pound bass Friday afternoon on a Tony Maja #4 white bunker spoon and then took it on the chin for the 11 mile ride back to the inlet in 3 to 4’s and a cranking SSE wind. The marine forecast was for a heavy SSW wind Saturday morning so I cancelled, and it turned out to be not bad at all. I kept my Sunday people coming this morning (Sunday) in spite of the forecasted storms and this time they were right, so once again I am on land. You ever been zigging when you should be zagging? Then you know what I mean. That brings us to tomorrow, Monday, Memorial Day, the last day of the holiday weekend to make things right. Once again, the forecast is on the edge, right now Buoyweather has it as: NE 11 to 15 knots subsiding to 5 to 7 knots. I’m going to take a shot at it. Leaving at 6AM returning at 1PM. If the ocean or inlet looks bad, we will fish the bay. This is a call I will make. It has nothing to do with the big stripers that are waiting for us out there. It is only about whether we can come and go through the inlet safely and not look over our shoulder for the next cresting wave while we are fishing. The crew that jumps on this trip has to be OK with Plan B which would be casting topwaters or trolling plugs for the back bay blues, drift jigging for fluke, and at 10:30 AM, anchoring up in my favorite Oyster Creek Channel spot for stripers. I don’t have any first hand or even second hand reports from that fishing but it’s the right time, water temperature, and tide to be there. Usually 10 to 15 pound fish if we could get them going. I have a bucket of beautiful shucked and salted big surf clams to feed them. My highest priority is to get out and hunt those big bass but I just want anyone to know what our Plan B is if I don’t like the way the inlet/ocean looks. For those of you who haven’t fished with me before, I make very conservative decisions when it comes to weather and sea conditions.
Here’s our latest video clip of Bill Clark’s 36 pounder we trolled on Friday afternoon: youtu.be/WAfVQ0EwNXM 
Sailing Open Boat or Charter tomorrow, Monday, Memorial Day, May 28, 6AM to 1PM.
Wed, Thurs, and Fri, May 30, 31, and June 1, Noon to 7PM.
$175 person, 4 people max or $700 to charter the boat. Everything is provided. You can call right up until “go time” to see if there’s room.
Capt. Dave DeGennaro
Hi Flier Sportfishing
732.330.5674 cell

 

Hi Flier Running Open Boat or Charter For the Big Stripers

Finally! The big bass have finally come our way. We had a 42 pounder today that crushed a big white Mojo. We were trolling off of Island Beach State Park in 63 feet of water this afternoon. Here is the YouTube clip of the end game: youtu.be/1nJMnukli-8 Lots of bunker pods around. Something was giving them a push at the surface. I almost reeled in the trolling gear and switched to snagging but I wanted to see if I could put another one in the cooler first and sometimes you should stay with what just worked instead of switching gears but I’m still not sure if I made the right call. After a while the bunker went down and we never got another bite. We still read big balls of bunker on the machine and a nice steady stream of big single marks right in the “kill zone” but they eat when they are ready not when we are.

Sailing every day Open Boat or Charter. Thurs (tomorrow) and Friday, May 24 and 25, Noon to 7 PM and Sat, Sun, and Mon, May 26, 27, and 28, 6 AM to 1PM. $175 person, 4 people max.
Weather looks pretty good. There are also blues in the bay if we feeling like casting for an hour or two after the bass effort.
Capt. Dave DeGennaro
Hi Flier Sportfishing
732.330.5674 cell

Splash!! Newly Re-Powered Hi Flier is in the water and running trips this Sat, Sun, Mon

We will be starting to run trips this weekend. The Hi Flier was just repowered with a pair of brand new 150 Suzuki Four stroke outboards. It cost us a little later start than usual but it will be well worth it to run with new power.

Sailing Open Boat or Charter Sat, Sun, and Mon, May 5, 6, and 7
 for stripers and blues. We will be trying to get outside to troll bunker spoons for the big bass if the ocean is nice. If the ocean is too rough, we will anchor up with clams in the bay for the stripers and go on the hunt for the bluefish with spinning rods and surface lures. Leaving at 6AM each day. 6 hour bay trips are $600, or $150 person for Open Boat. If we get outside the inlet, the 7 hour Ocean Trip or Ocean/Bay Combo is $700, or $175 person for Open Boat. It is possible to combine the bay blues with the ocean troll if everyone wants.
The forecast is for very mild air temps and this stretch of warm weather is going to ignite all of these fisheries.
Can’t wait to start the new season and see everyone on board.
Capt. Dave DeGennaro
Hi Flier Sportfishing
732.330.5674 cell

 

Stripers Still Here and Warmer Temps and Open Boat for Weekend….Psyquatic Apparel Discount, too!

I know it’s hard to think about fishing when we are experiencing an Arctic Blast right now, but better days are coming….and soon. High temps in the 40’s and even a few days in the 50’s once we get past tomorrow (Fri) for the next week or more in the long range forecast. Along with that we have west and northwest winds dominating the marine forecast making this the longest stretch of that desirable direction all season. Calm seas and warmer temps. The stripers are still here and we are trolling them as well as casting swim shads under birds or on heavy readings. Everything from shorts to 15 pound fish in the mix. A lot of 28 to 30 inch fish now.

Sailing Open Boat or Charter Sat, Sun, and Mon, Dec 16, 17, and 18, 6:30 AM to 1:30 PM. $175 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared. We have tags to keep one slot fish per person, as well. You can call on my cell right up until the time of the trip to grab a spot. You never know.
Attached pic: Angelo Quinones of Warrington, PA with a nice pair of bass from this past Monday’s trip.
Below is a discount code for our line of apparel: Psyquatic. If you have never checked it out, you can see it at psyquatic.com
Enter code: PSYQ for 15 percent off and we ship same day to get it in time for Christmas!
Capt. Dave DeGennaro
Hi Flier Sportfishing
732.330.5674 cell
Happy Holidays from Psyquatic!

Enter PSYQ as a discount code to receive 15 percent off your order.
There is still time to recieve your order by Christmas!
We ship the same day you order.
Thank You for being Psyquatic!
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Striper Fishing Goes Next Level!! Casting and Jigging Now. Hi Flier Open Boat/Charter

We all knew it had to happen sooner or later. Yesterday (Thurs) afternoon we trolled our limit of 28 to 34 inch fish as well as the slot fish on umbrella rigs and Mojos. Two and a half miles due east of Barnegat Inlet. Later in the trip right after the tide started moving the gannets were hitting the water hard and concentrated. We dropped in some swim shads and retrieved them and the bass instantly responded. These were the biggest fish of the trip, as well, all 15 to 18 pound fish! That we couldn’t keep, but it was a blast to get them on the drift. I heard from a few other captains that today was another epic day. I cancelled tomorrow, (Sat) because the forecast changed to 20 knots of NE with this one day snow storm that’s passing through. Sunday and Monday look great for sea conditions so we are sailing Open Boat or Charter those days, 6AM to 1PM.

Next week we will be sailing Tues thru Thurs, Dec 12-14 9:30AM to 4:30PM and Fri thru Mon, Dec 15-18, 6AM to 1PM.

Get ’em now!

Striper Run Continues Strong! Hi Flier Sailing Open Boat and Charter Every Day

What an incredible Fall run of stripers we are having. 12 to 20 pound fish are common. That is not the norm for this time of year. We do have to troll to catch them. Jigging and casting has not been productive, though, that can change any minute. No real bird play lately but I always have the jigging and casting rods on board for when it’s time. For now, you just troll Mojos and bunker spoons over readings at about 3 to 3.5 knots and the rods go off. We are doing great with big 20 ounce single MagicTail Mojos and #4 Tony Maja bunker spoons. White is working the best on both lures, to the point where I am dragging four white lures in a four rod spread. Wireline on the bunker spoons and braid on the Mojos. We’re using our smaller wireline rods that only have 150 feet of wire on them instead of 300 feet. The rod and reel is a lot smaller, too, so you don’t get worn out by the gear and you enjoy the fight more. That 150 feet of wire is putting the lure right in the hot zone. These short rods with less wire were custom made for a technique we employ this time of year known as jigging or bucktailing. We tie on a 2 or 3 oz. bucktail with a strip of pork rind (yes, we have some) and you hold the rod and sweep it while we slow troll. Very effective on the size class fish we have right now and it is a train wreck of a hit.

The next 5 days look great for this fishery. The air temps are dropping but the predominant wind direction is all W/NW which makes for a really comfortable ocean to fish in.
Sailing Open Boat or available for Charter, tomorrow, Thursday Dec. 7 and Friday, Dec. 8
9:30 AM to 4:30 PM and Sat, Sun, and Mon, Dec 9, 10, and 11, 6 AM to 1 PM. $175 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. You can call right up until go time for a spot.
Pics:
Capt. Dave DeGennaro got to jump on the rod for one Monday that hit a white MagicTail Mojo.
Capt. Dave DeGennaro
Hi Flier Sportfishing
732.330.5674 cell

 

 

Epic Striper Fishing Right Now! Hi Flier Open Boat Trips and Charters

Go fishing! That’s the report. This is possibly the best Fall Striper troll I have ever seen. 15 to 35 pound fish are on the feed. This is predominantly a troll bite anywhere from the Bathing Beach to Lavalette. White Mojos and Maja bunker spoons are working the best for us. There are tons of bunker to snag, sometimes 30 to 40 feet thick readings of bunker on the fish finder but the snag and drop is not productive. There are a good amount of birds working and hitting the water yet casting and jigging are not resulting in hookups either. The good news is that the troll bite is insane with quality size fish. Most of our action is on the braid rods with Mojos which is a lot of fun without the wireline involved. When we do use wire, it’s our shorter rods with only 150 feet of wire instead of the bigger rods with 300 feet. We tie a big bucktail on tipped with pork rind and have a guy on each side of the boat jig these while we slow troll. It works really well and is a train wreck of a hit when you hook up! The last week right up until today has been a quantity of quality fish every trip.

 
Open Boat or Charter Wed thru Fri, Nov 29, 30, and Dec 1, departing at 10 AM, returning around 4:30 PM. 
Sat, Dec 2, departing at 6AM, returning around 1 PM.  $175 person, 4 people max on Open Boats, all fish are shared. 
 
Attached pics: 
 
JPEG 0983: Dave Glassberg of PA and Hi Flier first mate Capt Nick DeGennaro holding up Dave’s 35 pound Striper trolled on a Mojo.
 
JPEG 1005: Carlos Hopkins of PA with a 30 lb bass he caught on a big white Mojo.

 


Capt Dave DeGennaro
Hi Flier Sportfishing
732.330.5674 cell
hiflier.com