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.
On Wednesday, before Ernesto rolled through, I had Ray Polikoski and his son Brayden, 14, from upstate NY, on board for their first bluefin tuna. We trolled three tuna between 25 and 40 pounds, and two bonita. Brayden handled two of them by himself. Less than 20 miles from the inlet.
Yesterday, (Sunday), I had Jim Maresca and family out for our first live grass shrimping effort. We caught a bunch of weakies, some shorts, three legal ones, and dropped another legal one. My son Capt Nick DeGennaro jumped on the boat as soon as I jumped off and returned for a bunch more weakies with friends. We also had fluke, snapper blues, perch, spot, and sand sharks. All on 6 lb spinning tackle. I returned there today and it was even better weakfishing.
FYI: This might be our last season of using this technique as our bait supplier might be retiring and there doesn’t appear to be anyone taking it over. It’s been a good run, though. I’ve been shrimping weakies in Barnegat Light since 1978. If you have never done it, you might want to give it a try. We will be running for them until at least Late Sept.
Also, there have been a lot of bonita on the tuna grounds, as well as in closer. They are solid size, too. We can troll for them or drift and catch them on bait.
I have Wed, Aug 21 available for Open Boat, or charter for Bluefin Tuna, Bonita, or Weakfish in the bay. Call for details. My next available day is Sunday, Aug 25.
Pics:
Ray Polikoski of upstate NY with 40 lb bluefin tuna (jeans, sleeveless shirt)
Ray with son Brayden holding a 30 lb class bluefin tuna
Ray holding a bonita
Jim Maresca of Levittown, PA with family and friends and weakies (group shot)
Bob Maresca of Levittown, PA with weakie
Cassie St Onge of Davie, FL (Nick’s fiance) and Tessa Jones of Barnegat, NJ with weakies
I have been doing some traveling with family and friends over the past three weeks, which is why I have not sent any emails or contributed any reports. My wife and I, along with some good friends, left on a cruise out of Seward Alaska along the Inside Passage to Cancouver, British Columbia. I returned from that trip, was home for one day, and drove to Maine with my son Max for our annual Smallmouth/Largemouth trip with the newest addition to the fleet, the Lo Flier. A 16 ft aluminum boat we decked out for bass fishing. The halibut trip was great and produced so many species. Also, caught my biggest largemouth in Maine, just over 6 lbs, on an imitation frog. Pics below.
Time to get back to NJ fishing. Awesome stretch of weather coming up this week. Under 10 knots of wind every day and calm seas. There are 20 to 30 lb bluefin in the 20 to 25 mile range. Mixed in are some bonita, as well. It is primarily a troll bite right now, so that is how we will be fishing. I am still going to bring bait, and we always have jigs and poppers on board, but we will be mostly trolling to try and put fish in the box. If we get lucky and get our fish early, we can spend more time drifting with bait and jigs. If I could get the right bait, we could also try bait fishing for bonita and albies with light tackle. I am careful to emphasize this, as I know we all like to catch them with a technique that offers the most sport. Right now, trolling is the most productive on these inshore fish. Offshore, in the canyons, it sounds like the jigs and poppers are killing it.
Open Boat Tuna: Thursday Aug 15 6AM to 3PM. $375 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared.
I will also be tuna fishing on Wed, so if you call or text to reserve a spot for Thursday’s trip, I won’t be able to call or text you back until I am back in cell range late afternoon on Wed. Catching me on land today (Tues) is your best shot. Calling is always better than emailing.
Sat July 20, Sun July 21, and Mon July 22 are the best days to go offshore. This is the “weather window” all of us have been waiting for. Light and variable winds and no storm activity. There are bluefin tuna in a few different places now. After that, my next availability for any kind of fishing is not until Tues, Aug 13. Open Boat Tuna: Sat July 20, Sun July 21, and Mon July 22, 4AM to 4PM. $450 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared. If you call on one of these fishing days to book another day, I will not be able to respond until I am back in cell range. I will get right back to you as soon as I get a signal. You can call right up until “go time” for a spot. Any of these dates are also available for your private charter.
Tues July 23, Wed July 24, and Thurs July 25 are also light winds, but the forecast has possible storm activity on those three days, so we will be fishing the bay and inlet. We just watch the weather radar closely and try to pick the best 5 hour slot to go fishing. If any storms come up while we are in the bay, we just head to the nearest dock for shelter, let it blow through, then go back to fishing. You can’t do that offshore. We are available for charter only on these inshore trips. We will be chumming for weakfish and more with ultralite spinning gear. $700 for the boat for the 5 hour bay trip
Weather windows have been few and far between for running offshore, but the end is finally near. By Friday, it looks good, and the weekend and beyond, even better. Looking at the long range forecast, from Friday on, all looks good. The wind drops out and the sea condition will be much nicer than what we have been experiencing. Now, fingers crossed with the relentless fog. Speaking of fog, we don’t leave in the fog. Yes, we have radar, but I like to see everything with my own eyes when I am on the ocean. We do occasionally get caught in the fog, that can’t be helped. We are very selective about weather and conditions. The boat is a 25 ft World Cat center console with twin motors, a very capable boat for it’s size. We have all of the safety equipment, 6 man survival raft that is maintained, an EPIRB (search and rescue satellite signal), and an onboard Garmin Sirius/XM satellite weather station that allows us to see any storm cells as they are born. With all of that, we are still very selective on what conditions we sail in. It is not beyond me to get up at 2AM, load the truck and then the boat with all the gear. Take everyone to the inlet, just to turn around and say, Nope, not today. I make these sail/no sail decisions based on prevailing conditions only, not the people’s level of disappointment. I say all this because if you only have this one date to fish and you really want to get offshore, you might want to consider booking a bigger boat. We have a great number of customers that are content with this approach, as they know it is in their best interest, as well.
I usually don’t plan offshore tuna trips this far in advance but all the models I have been looking at are in agreement that the upcoming weekend looks really good. There are school size bluefin in the 30 to 60 mile range with some bigger ones mixed in. We will be headed to wherever the latest intel directs us. Trolling, jigging, and bait fishing. Yellowfin are still further offshore, but 4 to 5 days from now is an eternity in tuna movement, so we will be looking for those fish, as well, if they move back into striking distance.
Open Boat Tuna: Saturday July 20 and Sunday July 21, 4AM to 4PM. $450 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared.
Open Boat Barnegat Ridge: Friday July 19. 6AM to 2PM. $300 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared. We have been catching bonita at the Ridge, you just have to fish through the small blues that are also there. Always a wild card, the Ridge could be holding bluefin, albacore, and more at this time of year. The bonita have been small, 2 to 3 lbs, but they are delicious!
Some good news on our bay fishing, our live grass shrimp supplier is now up and running, so we are available for charter for Live Grass Shrimp trips from here in. These are 5 hour trips in the bay, anchored, chumming with live grass shrimp. The target is always weakfish, but everything that swims in Barnegat Bay eats these shrimp. We use ultralite 6 lb spinning outfits so everything you hook is a good fight. You can see the videos of these trips and all of our fishing on our website below.
FYI: We have available dates up until, and including Thursday July 25. After that, we are fully booked until Tuesday Aug 13.
Things are about to get interesting. Hope to see you on board!
Pic: Retired USMC Andrey Elisha of Burlington NJ with a Barnegat Ridge bonita
We have announced two Open Boat Tuna trips over the last two weeks. The first one did not sail as we did not fill all the spots. This past Friday, we had a full boat and ran north to where I heard the life was, the west side of the Mud Hole. Upon arriving, we had two square miles of fresh slicks with chick birds picking at them, a good amount of finback whales, and nonstop bait ball readings on the machine. We beat that piece of water up for three hours, trolling Joe Shute/Ballyhoo’s and Chatter Side Tracker bars. Never had a sniff. I switched to the drift and we tried bait and jigs for another hour and a half but it only yielded one small shark. On the way back south we stumbled on some shearwaters, a nice size bluefin that aired out, and a pair of humpback whales that put on quite a show. We tried the poppers but no takers.
Not good, I know but we are looking to sail again Tues and Wed, July 2 and 3, 4AM to 4PM, as those days are the weather window to run offshore. We plan on running east this time in search of life and tuna. We will be ready to troll, bait fish, jig, and pop. It’s a beautiful forecast with light winds and calm seas. After that it blows up for a while. Hoping to get some intel on what happened today or we will be off to check out the usual haunts. I really would like to see what is happening at the Resor-Atlantic Princess area.
$450 person, 4 people max. All fish are shared. You don’t need anything except food and drinks, we have everything. If you have a favorite rod or two, bring it.
Fishing inshore for blues, fluke, and whatever swims in the bay and inlet whenever we are not headed offshore.
Just got some good intel on two different spots within our range to go tuna fishing. Whales, bait, chick birds, nice water and surfacing fish. It’s not my information to give, so please don’t ask. That’s how the information pipeline works. If I find them on my own, I can tell whoever I want, but when it is gifted to me, it’s sacred.
Hoping to find bluefin and maybe one other desirable species, some of you may have already heard.
Sailing Open Boat Tuna tomorrow, Friday June 28, 4AM to 2PM, $450 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared. We plan on trolling, bait fishing on the drift, and jigging.
There is a chance we will do the same trip on Saturday June 29, but the forecast is on the razors edge for my liking with that South wind coming up for the last part of the trip and the ride home. If the forecast shapes up for the better, we will go.
Still fishing the bay and inlet on the days we don’t run offshore.
609-494-5739 
