Author: Hi Flier

We have had some good fishing inshore and offshore lately. I have to give a lot of the credit to the live peanut bunker that’s been working on both fisheries. On Saturday, I headed out with Paul Perpiglia Sr and Jr from PA, and a livewell full of peanut bunker, for bonita and albacore. After catching a few on jigs we switched over to live peanut bunker and then things heated up. We caught a bunch of each, bleeding and slushing the bonita for some very cold tuna-ish loins for everyone to take home. We even sliced one on the cutting board for everyone to try some chilled sashimi with the Ponzu soy I packed for just such an occasion and it was delicious! Ponzu is a citrus infused soy by Kikkoman that is perfect for this. We used light spinning gear for these speedy powerful fish and it was a blast. 

Yesterday, Tuesday, I was not sure if we were going to be able to get offshore. I had Jim Hutchinson, editor of The Fisherman Magazine, Mike Viviano from Galloway Twp, NJ and John Korn from Washington, NJ. The wind was forecasted to drop down to a lower velocity, but it was NE with a few days of NE momentum, so I wasn’t hopeful. I castnetted a bunch of peanut bunker for whatever we would wind up targeting. On board I had a pail of spearing to chum the bonita and albies, squid for tuna bait, live shedder crabs to try the back bay for weakfish and the variety of species that eats that bait, and 18 rods ranging from 6 lb blowfish rods to 30 class conventional setups, and everything in between. I just didn’t know how far we would get and what we would be fishing for. We got to the inlet and the wind had not yet dropped, and the sea condition was a little more than I like to start out in for heading offshore. The tide was just right to cast lures at the inlet jetty. Halfway in to the incoming tide and the water was turbulent on the North Jetty. And the terns were picking and squawking. It was going to be a turkey shoot. I was partially right, the only other boat fishing there boated a bluefish on each drift while we watched and caught bupkus for a solid hour. Scratching my head, I opted for a new plan. Let’s go inside and try fluking. We dropped down our rigs baited with the live peanuts and for the next two hours we had the best fluke fishing I have had all season, boxing six keepers up to 6 pounds, and releasing countless respectable throwbacks between 15″ and 17 7/8″. 

Available every day for charter. Looking like bay and inlet fishing for a little bit, as the marine forecast has some wind for a stretch. As soon as it subsides we will add some offshore fishing dates. Fluke/Blowfish combo would be a good trip right now.

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

We have one spot available for tomorrow’s (Saturday, Sept 12) Open Boat Bonita-Albies-Bluefin trip. We are departing at 4AM and running right to where the hottest fishing grounds are. They caught again today. Lots of big bonita and albacore on light spinning rods. There is another spot that is producing bluefin in the 27 to 30 plus inch range which we are going to beat up as well. Maybe even hit that first, it’s on the way. We will call an audible in the morning. It’s going to be a great day of light tackle fishing. I spent all day icing up, acquiring the best chum, and cast netting live bait. 

You don’t want to miss this one!

4AM to 2PM $375 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared among the passengers. We provide everything for you. Just bring whatever you want to eat and drink. If you have a favorite rod, bring it, but just know that we have more than enough rods and gear for everyone.

We are also sailing Open Boat for this same fishery Monday Sept 14 and Tuesday Sept 15. 

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

The fishing is really hot right now and it’s only going to get better as the days go by. We are catching big bonita, albacore, and 27 to 30 inch Bluefin Tuna which are on the right side of the legal measure. Fishing light spinning rods armed with jigs and bait, all three of these species make the reel sing. The albies are catch and release, as they are great sport, but inedible. The bonita and the bluefin are delicious. 

We are running between 30 to 45 miles to the fishing grounds but that’s where the bite is, number one rule: Fish where the fish are. I could run 14

miles to the Barnegat Ridge but so far, that’s been all albacore, and this variety at the longer run is too good to pass up. 

The weather window coming up is the best I have seen all season. Friday to Wednesday are all light winds and calm seas in the marine forecast.

Sailing Open Boat or Charter:

Friday Sept 11, Saturday Sept 12, Sunday Sept 13, Monday Sept 14, Tuesday Sept 15, and Wednesday Sept 16

4AM to 2PM, $375 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared among the passengers. There will be a deckhand, so be prepared to take care of them at the end of the trip. Everything is supplied. The fish will be cleaned for you. Just bring whatever you like to eat and drink. If you have a favorite rod, bring it, but just know we always have more than enough gear for everyone.

Call to reserve a spot.

We are also available on these dates or any dates to fish the bay, inlet, or closer ocean grounds for your private charter.

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

It’s been an interesting week of fishing. Tuesday we had good blowfishing in the bay with shorts and a dozen jumbos making it into the cooler. Nine species in all, including bay anchovies, croakers, spots, fluke, weakfish, snapper blues, juvenille sea bass, and I can’t remember the last one, just that the count was nine. We also got spooled by I am assuming a cow nosed ray. A lot of action at the blowfish spot near the research buoy north of the BI Buoy.

Thursday, after an unproductive effort of fishing with live shedder crabs in the bay, we headed out to Barnegat Ridge, where we managed three albacore on the troll for Jeff Fail and his friend Jim, both from PA. 

On Friday, we took a long trek north……no, really long, but it paid off. We boated a dozen big bonita on the Fishermans Headquarters inshore spinning rods. These rods are so versatile, I use them from April to December for so many different fisheries. We were casting jigs and using bait. For a while we had them visually eating our chum right at the boat. These bonita were solid 3 to 5 lb fish, which are big for the species. If you take the time to bleed and slush them, they are like little tuna loins…..Delicious! We also had albies in the mix. Whenever you can catch bonita and albies on light tackle, it is a blast. They both scream line off your reel. Here’s Vinny LaPrete from Roselle Park, NJ boating one of the big bonita on Friday’s trip: https://youtube.com/shorts/y83IxM2e2bg?si=zjIV0uXyERVe66rx

Monday (Labor Day) Sept 7 and Tuesday Sept 8 look really good for offshore fishing. Clear skies and light winds. I do have some intel on tuna, as well. Give me a call to fish for blowfish, bonita, albacore, or tuna.

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Almost made it out this morning. Had a full boat of people anxious to get to the tuna grounds. Met at the boat at an un-Godly hour of the morning. Loaded with bait, fuel, ice, rods, gear, and rations. Made our way through the bay and when we got near the inlet…….dense fog. Gave it an hour of idling near the Barnegat Lighthouse to see if it would lift, but it did not, so we turned around to go back to the marina. A bunch of disappointed people, myself included, but no regrets. I don’t knowingly head out in dense fog. We do have radar, but it’s not the same as actually seeing the freighters or barges in the shipping lanes. It’s all about your own particular guidelines for what you are comfortable sailing in. Me personally, I do not want to be in the fog, and with the forecast calling for overcast conditions with light and variable winds, there was no hope for it blowing or burning off.  I tell you this long winded story in case you are considering sailing with us. Our rate of cancelled trips is higher than most. I am looking for near perfect conditions to head offshore in our 25 ft center console. It’s a very capable catamaran with twin outboards, and we have all the safety gear, including a 6 man survival raft, EPIRB (satellite search and rescue beacon), as well as a Garmin Sirius XM satellite weather station that allows us to see the storm cells as they are born. I tell people all the time, if you want a better chance of your trip getting off the dock, book a bigger boat or a more aggressive captain. We are not the right fit for everyone, but a great many of our customers sail with us because of how selective we are about conditions. 

Things have really come to life in a few different spots for bluefin tuna and bonita. We are going to target both. The bite is on jigs and bait, so we will be prepared to do both. This is maybe the most fun way to catch these fish as you are holding the rod when the strike happens. Sunday’s marine weather and traditional weather forecasts both look really good. 

Sailing Open Boat Tuna on Sunday August 30. 2AM to 2PM. $450 person. All fish are shared. Call to reserve a spot.

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

We are catching 25 to 40 lb bluefin tuna within 30 miles of Barnegat Inlet. Trolling and drifting with bait have both been working. Sometimes we are able to jig squid on the bottom and put them out as live bait. This has been our best hook bait. My son Nick just took the 

Hi Flier out yesterday, he went 4 for 8 on 30 to 40 lb bluefin within 20 miles of the inlet, all on live squid. I’ve been running a little further north and chumming up bonita and bluefin, as well as trolling the tuna. When drifting with bait we are using relatively light gear so you can enjoy the battle.

Open Boat Tuna: Thursday August 13, 5AM to 2PM, $450 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared.

Call to reserve a spot.

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cellhiflier.com

Looking ahead at the marine weather forecast, Wed Aug 5 and Thurs Aug 6 look really good as offshore days. Single digit wind velocity should make for a nice ocean. Right now, there is no thunderstorm activity forecasted, as well. Loving those two things when your ride is a 25 ft center console. 

We are going to set our sites on the bluefin first, then depending on our success, we can switch over to bonita. For those not familiar with bonita, they are high powered little torpedoes, ususally 3 to 5 lbs and a blast on light tackle. They are also delicious. Any way you prepare tuna, you can prepare bonita, including sashimi. They are often confused with their close kin: false albacore, because you often catch them together, and to make it even more confusing, from the Carolinas to Florida, they call false albacore, bonita. The albacore are also a blast to catch, but are inedible due to the meat being just red muscle. We are going to troll, jig, and bait fish for both tuna and bonita. Everyone has their favorite technique, I love catching them on bait. Maybe because I am a better bait fisherman than jig or even popper guy. I always said when I tuna fished on the party boats, “If one comes up spitting up jigs, than I’ll jig.” From here through October, we will be focusing a lot on bait fishing, but when you see some bait or fish readings on the machine…..Jig!!

We will be armed to the teeth with gourmet tuna bait, pails of spearing, squid, sandeels. The spearing is for the bonita, especially, though the tuna love all of that mix, as well. We will have rods rigged with jigs, poppers, bait rigs, and a trolling arsenal. Just bring whatever you want to eat and drink. We have everything else. If you have a favorite rod, bring it, just know we have more than enough for everyone.

The boat is also available for your private charter on these or any days. Bay or ocean trips every day.

Wed Aug 5 and Thurs Aug 6 Open Boat Bluefin Tuna and Bonita Combo Trip 5AM to 2PM $450 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. Call to reserve a spot.

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

We ran east on Monday looking for bluefin. Went on the troll with an eight rod spread and it took a while before the first reel was grinding, but in the end we were rewarded with three hookups, converting on two nice 30 to 35 lb bluefin. No real visual signs to speak of. Only a very occasional single tuna mark down 40 to 50 feet. The only bait readings I had were small clouds pinned to the surface, which we now know are sandeels, as per the stomach contents. Only a few chick birds, and they were not picking, just hovering. Not the kind of water you would stop on or hang out very long, but we had the benefit of intel from a friend who had just caught them there, and these were the exact conditions he described: no life, just tuna. Okie Doke, good enough for me.

Most of the inshore lumps are holding bait and bluefin right now. Bonus, the bonita have shown up and they are good size. We will be trolling a spread of mixed size lures that appeal to both. We are also prepared to jig and will have a cooler full of bait to use while we are on the drift. Gourmet bait! 

Open Boat Bluefin and Bonita: Friday July 31, Saturday August 1, and Sunday August 2. 5AM to 2PM. $450 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. Weather looks great, both traditional weather, and the marine forecast. Call to reserve a spot.

Hope to see you on board!

Mike Viviano of Galloway NJ with a 35 lb Bluefin

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

We fished the west side of the bay yesterday between the BI and BB Buoys. Tried live shedder crabs targeting weakfish and kingfish but the only fish that cooperated were croakers. Plenty of them, and decent size. We did catch a bunch of fluke behind High Bar, and just inside the inlet but nothing over 18 inches. Bounced out to the North inlet jetty and it was “game on” with 2 to 4 lb bluefish. We were casting soft plastics at the submerged jetty.

Marine forecast looks pretty good for running offshore Friday July 24 and Sunday July 26. Not flat calm, some NE wind throughout the weekend, but not high velocity. We could be running anywhere from 20 to 40 miles depending on the latest intel and weather/sea conditions. Going on the drift with jigs and bait is how we prefer to fish, but if there is a troll bite, we will be prepared to do that, as well. 

Open Boat Bluefin Tuna: Friday July 24 and Sunday July 26, 4AM to 2PM, $450 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. Call to make a reservation. Everything is provided. Just bring whatever you would like to eat and drink for our time out there. We have more than enough rods and gear for everyone, but if you have a rod or lure, you would like to bring, bring it, that’s why you bought it. If I think it’s too light or not appropriate, I’ll ask you to use ours instead. We don’t want three people watching one person fight a fish all morning on gear that was too light for the job. 

We are also available every day for charter. Fishing the bay to the tuna grounds. 

Hope to see you on board!

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

We are catching blues and fluke in the bay and inlet along with some stripers in the mix. We are available every day for these trips, even the days I have announced as Open Boat Tuna Trips below. 

The bluefin tuna have moved in to our area hot on the heels of the massive squid invasion that is happening off the Jersey coast right now. These fish are in striking distance. 20 to 30 mile runs to the grounds. Drifting with bait will be the primary tactic, though we always have the jigging arsenal on board, for those that want to try while we are bait fishing. Expect to be jigging squid for a good part of the trip as these are the live hookbaits we want out, and it’s a lot of fun while waiting for the violent strike on the tuna rod. We only troll if we are in search mode or it is productive.

The bluefin tuna regs came out last week and as a charter boat we can keep three fish between 27 and 47 inches, one of which can be 47 to 73 inches, or all three can be between 27 and 47 inches. 

Sailing Open Boat or Charter for Bluefin Tuna:

Sunday June 7, Monday June 8, Tuesday June 9 and Wednesday June 10

5AM to 3PM $450 person, 4 people max, all fished are shared.

Looking forward to seeing everyone on board!

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cellhiflier.com