Fishing is really good right now. There’s a game plan for every weather scenario. Flat ocean? We’re headed to the tuna grounds where 60 to 80 lb yellowfins are the norm this season. Mahi mahi round out the catch when we are lucky enough to stumble on some debris or they find us. Chunking, jigging, and trolling are all producing. We put most of our effort into catching them on bait, it’s my favorite way to catch them, the hit is frightening.
Semi calm ocean? We are headed to Barnegat Ridge for bonita and false albacore. Trolling and drifting with bait offers great sport on light tackle. Any given day you can also encounter spanish mackeral, king mackerel, mahi, or bluefin tuna. It’s best to expect bonita and albacore and anything else is a bonus.
Windy or rough ocean? We anchor up with live grass shrimp in Barnegat Light where we are catching weakfish. 14 to 18 inch fish on 6 pound spinning tackle. In the mix are also fluke, blowfish, sand sharks, silver perch, snapper blues, and many other critters. Lots of fun on the ultralite gear.
We are available for live grass shrimp charters this Thursday and Friday, Sept 3 and 4, Noon to 5PM. Also Mon and Tues, Sept 7 and 8, 7AM to Noon. $550 for 5 hour trip.
We are running Open Boat or charter to the tuna grounds Saturday and Sunday, Sept 5 and 6, 2AM to 4PM. $1,800 plus tip for private charter up to 4 people. Open Boats are $450 per person, 4 people max, all fish are shared.
Any of these dates and trips are flexible if you are chartering the boat.
Pics: Geri DeGennaro of Barnegat, NJ with a weakfish
Adley J Torres of Rahway, NJ with 80 lb Yellowfin Tuna and Mahi
Fishing the Barnegat Ridge, the inshore offshore spot… For those who want to jump out from the inshore fishery, this is a primer to help introduce offshore fishing for pelagic species such as bonito, albacore, mahi, king mackerel and BLUEFIN TUNA! If you want to branch out from summer time fluke and sea bass near shore, this is the next step.
July through September brings some hot fishing to Barnegat Ridge and the surrounding waters. Bluewaters with structure, bait and pelagic predators make for fun fishing not too far from port. This year (2020) the mid-shore game (10-60 mile range) has been very good. Get out there and have some fun!
First question, of course, is your boat capable?
Barnegat Ridge is about 15 miles from Barnegat Inlet. A boat of at least 20 feet should be adequate on a nice calm summer day. Personally, I only like to run offshore when the conditions are flat calm. This way, if the weather services blow the forecast, you have time to run in before the seas build to an uncomfortable ride. Make sure your VHF radio is in good working order because you will be out of cell range. An EPIRB and a life raft are two things to give you more peace of mind. Having a buddy boat is an extra step in safety and can also be very helpful finding fish.
False Albacore caught by Nick DeGennaro
Next up… Rods & Reels
The good news is that you probably have an arsenal that will work. You need at least four outfits to get started but five is common. More than likly if you troll mojos for striped bass inshore these same outfits will do the job. Any of your inshore outfits that have at least 20-30 pound monofilament line (50-80# braid) on them will work here. I would suggest spooling up with fresh line and putting on maximum capacity. Conventional reels are preferred but spinning can work. It’s not that critical. As long as the line is fresh and the drags are smooth, you are good to go.
Rigging Up
Tie on a 75-100# ball bearing snap swivel to each rod. This snap swivel is used to attach any of your rigged lures. The only time you don’t use it is when you are using a feather. In this case, you pass your running line from the reel through the feather and tie on the feather hook, a Mustad 34007 stainless steel 4/0 hook.
You will need to get some 5 inch cedar plugs in natural, red/white or hot pink. You will be trolling two at a time of any lure, so buy at least three or four so you have backup. There are some toothy critters that inhabit Barnegat Ridge so be prepared for an occasional bite off.
Cedar plugs trolling lures are one of the best fish catching lures and they are one of the most affordable ones too!
Planer & Spoon
One of the most universal trolling rigs is a planner with a spoon. Both Clarkspoon and Huntington Drone Spoon are great in the 3-5″ size. These spoons are unweighed and should be trolled behind a lead trolling weight “drail” or better yet a diving planer. The #2 or #3 planers are best for this type of fishing. Be sure to use two arm lengths ~10′ of 40-60# leader from the planer to the spoon.
Fishing is all about having fun with family and friends while enjoying time on the water. Getting offshore and experiencing the deep sea is a whole new chapter in fishing for most but don’t be shy! There’s lots of great experiences waiting. Get out there! Here’s Greg and Max from Fisherman’s Headquarters with a bluefin tuna that was caught at the Barnegat Ridge trolling a #3 Clarkspoon Squid Spoon behind a #2 Planer.
A planer is more effective at getting down deeper and faster than a drail so the line isn’t stretched out into the spread. This allows for other rods to be fished in those positions. Planers and spoons fished deep are well know for getting the attention of game fish and raising them into a spread. Once a fish bites the planer trips and it’s much nicer fighting it than with a heavy drail.
Spreader Bars
Is you want to make your spread come alive and standout from the pack spreaderbars will help you BIG TIME! Designed to be trolled and look like a school of bait fish, spreader bars raise fish. They come in all sorts of sizes, colors and styles. The most popular are the Chatter Splash Bars and Chatter Side Trackers. The Splash Bars have birds that chatter and splash to cause a commotion which attract game fish. Side Tracker Bars have a rudder which makes the spreader bar track off and away from the boat. For this reason Chatter Side Trader Bars are a huge advantage to small boats who don’t have outriggers. They helps widen a spread and also allows for more rods to be fished.
Sloane Endick caught this pair of bluefin tuna trolling Chatter Side Tracker Spreader Bars at the North Barnegat Ridge in mid to late July 2020.
Hoochie Chain
My other “go to” lure has to be built because I don’t know where you could buy one.
Start with 4-5″ squid skirts. The same ones used to dress up fluke rigs. They usually come in a five pack. Snip off just the tip of each squid to allow line to pass through. Each one will get a ¼ ounce egg sinker inside the head.
First crimp on a good hook that matches up to the squids being used; 4/0-5/0 Mustad 34007 Stainless Steel O’Shaughnessy Hook or Mustad 3407SSD 2X Strong. Then slide down an egg weighed squid skirt. Note it might require a bead or two for spacing. You want the bend of the hook at or about the end of the squid skirt.
Next thread onto the leader a crimp and squeeze (swage) on to the line about 20″ above the first squid. This acts as a stopper that will hold the squid in position. Add a bead and then an egg weighed squid skirt. Repeat working up the leader until there are five squids in a chain, all of them about 15″ apart. Note: The one with the hook is slightly further apart at 20″.
To finish off, thread on a crimp and then do a loose double over hand knot. Pull down (but not tight) to form an “offshore loop”. Then put the tag end into the crimp and swage to complete the rig. This loop is where you’ll attach a snap swivel from one of your rods when it’s time to fish. Note: There will be extra leader line in front of the leading squid in the chain.
I know the Hoochie Chain is complicated and we would all prefer to buy off the rack BUT! The success I have had with it is unbelievable. In fact, I would tell you that in all of the Ridge fishing I do… I almost always have just four lines in the water, two small cedar plugs and two of those squid chains. If you don’t want to go through the hassle or are intimidated at the idea of rigging, pick out some small 4 to 5 inch little jet lures or feathers. Black/white or red/white are ideal feather colors. Blue/white or green/yellow are good jet lure colors.
If you don’t have the time to make your own Hoochie Chain… here is a great alternative… The Feather Chain. Feather Chains will catch anything from mahi, albies and bonita to bluefin tuna.
Time To Hit The Ridge!
There are actually two Barnegat Ridges, North and South. They both hold fish and are about 3.5 miles apart. The water in between them is productive, as well. On your ride out you will notice the depth dropping from 40, 50, 70, 80, sometimes flirting with 100 feet and then, as you arrive, it comes all the way up to 55 to 60 feet of water. I like to stop a mile and a half shy to allow time to get all the rods set and to fish that transition from deep to shallow.
Setting The Spread
Get the boat up to 6-7 knots and set up a simple spread. Start letting out the first cedar plug. Drop it way back, maybe 150 feet and put it in the forward starboard outrodder. On the port side, do the same thing with one of the squid chains or a jet lure. In your starboard stern most rodholder put out a squid chain or feather and keep it about 25 or 30 feet behind the boat right in the prop wash. If you have a release clip or a clothespin, tie it to the stern cleat and put the line in that. This will change it to a very low trajectory and improve the presentation. This is called a flatline. Repeat this with a cedar plug in the port stern most rod holder and… You are fishing!
On The Hunt
Offshore trolling is very much a visual game. You want to constantly be scanning for anything to steer towards, like a piece of wood or debris that might have mahi mahi on it. What you are always looking for are chick birds. Technically they are Storm Petrels, but we call them chicks, chick birds, tuna chicks. They are a great indicator of where the gamefish are feeding. You’re not looking for a big flock like we encounter inshore. Just one or a few is all you need. These birds are too small to feed on the same baitfish the predators are feeding on. They are diving at the surface picking up tiny particles from the maceration that is going on below the surface of the water. The best scenario is when you find these birds diving at a slick piece of water, it has a sheen like an oil slick. This is known as “chicks and slicks” and in the world of offshore trolling, it doesn’t get any better than that. That means you stumbled on a feed that is going on right now and your rods should be singing any minute.
Timmy Smith of Mountainside, NJ caught his mahi as well as bonito aboard The Hi Flier with Captain David DeGennaro (pictured here on the right) fishing the Barnegat Ridge.
You won’t always find this condition, but keep your eyes open for even a single or just a few of these birds. So many times we hook up just from turning the boat towards a single chick bird. Shearwaters, gulls and other birds might present too but none are as relevant as tuna chicks.
Common Catches
You are most likely to encounter bonita, false albacore, spanish mackerel, king mackerel, and occasionally mahi and school size bluefin tuna. The bonita are always our target and are delicious. They average two to four pounds but last year we had them up to six pounds. The false albacore are inedible, they average 5 to 10 pounds and will smoke the reel on their initial first run. Both the spanish and king mackerel have populated this area for 10 years or so but the last few years are the greatest numbers I have ever seen.
Captain Nick DeGennaro (author’s son) with a big bonita that hit a Chatter Side Tracker Spreader Bar.
As always care for your catch properly! Once caught, bleed ’em out (cut the throat, poke/slice the main artery and slice/cut the tail artery) and ice ’em up. Puttiung fish in a saltwater ice slurry is
The spanish are delicious and I get mixed reviews on the kings. They are both toothy and the kings especially will bite you off even on the 80 pound leader. Mahi and bluefin are always a pleasant surprise and can take up residence there any time there is baitfish and blue water to hold them. Sandeels, small mackerel, and flying fish are some of the bait found here.
That should get you started. Call me if you have any questions or need some guidance. See you out there!
Fishing is heating up. There have been 20 to 30 lb bluefin tuna within 20 miles of Barnegat Inlet. We are also catching king mackerel in the mix. All on the troll, so far. Side tracker bars are accounting for most of the hookups but cedar plugs are starting to get bit, too. Further offshore, 60 to 70 miles, there is a mix of bluefin and yellowfin. They are hitting on the troll as well as drifting with jigs and bait fishing, my personal favorite. There is nothing like when a tuna eats your bait and you are holding the rod to feel that acceleration. It is also possible to mix in some 2 to 3 ft pelagic sharks on spinning tackle when we fish the 20 mile grounds. Open Boat or Charter: Sunday, July 26 Mid Range Tuna, 60 to 70 miles, 3AM to 5PM $450 person
Monday, July 27 Barnegat Ridge, 15 to 20 miles, 7AM to 3PM $225 person
Saturday, August 1 Barnegat Ridge, 15 to 20 miles, 6AM to 1PM $200 person
4 people max on all Open Boat trips, all fish are shared.
Pic: Jon and Ray Vernon of Butler, NJ with two of their three bluefin tuna trolled at Barnegat Ridge on Saturday.
The marine forecast looks really good for offshore this Sunday. Light and variable winds, just the way we like it. We are available for charter or you can sign on as an individual on our Open Boat trips for this Sunday, July 19. Departing at 3AM, returning around 4PM. Could be yellowfin or bluefin. $450 person, 4 people max.
Call me on my cell, that’s the best way to reserve a spot or get more information.
During the week we will be running bay trips and Barnegat Ridge trips in search of bonita and albacore. We have also been doing really well with our inshore sharking trips. Atlantic sharpnose, spinners, and an occasional dusky shark make up most of the catch. Mostly 2 to 4 foot sharks. They are great sport on the spinning tackle we use, all within sight of land. Dave DeGennaro 732.330.5674 cell hiflier.com
It’s been a busy couple of weeks fishing on the Hi Flier. Inshore we connected with bluefish, weakfish (only one), fluke, and spinner sharks. The weakie hit a jig tipped with shedder crab, it was only a 20 minute try so I am optimistic about going on the hunt for them again. There are 3 to 5 pound blues all around the inlet. The spinner sharks are terrorizing the bunker pods just a few miles outside our inlet, we caught them on the snag and drop. They were 40 lb class, maybe 4 footers.
Offshore we ran to the mid range grounds (50-70 miles) for bluefin and connected on the troll, 5 for 9 on 20 to 50 pound fish. We ran two trips to the southern canyons, 4 for 4 on the first with 30 to 50 lb yellowfins and then yesterday we went 2 for 2, a 50 and 80 lb yellowfin, all trolling Chatter Side Tracker bars. We also jumped off a white marlin. We are also trolling albacore with a few bonita mixed in at Barnegat Ridge. Thurs, July 9 is available for charter to fish inshore or the bay for any number of species. Sat, Sun, and Monday, July 11, 12, 13 are also available for charter or we will run Open Boat for Barnegat Ridge or Mid Range Tuna. Things are really heating up with both of these fisheries.
Fishing is lit up right now. Saturday and Sunday we had 30 to 40 pound stripers on the snag and drop in tight to the beach….really tight. Most are bigger than the slot but we are also catching 8 to 20 lb bass close to home for the cooler. Some 2 to 5 lb blues in the mix on light spinning tackle, as well. On Monday we ran Mid Range Tuna and we went 9 for 9 on 20 to 35 pound bluefins plus a big false albacore. We had them all on the troll but we scaled down to 20 class outfits to enjoy the ride. On Tuesday Capt Nick DeGennaro ran the boat to the tuna grounds and after a hitless morning from 7AM to 11AM, they bagged a pair of 44 inch 50 pounders. His first time running the boat solo for tuna and he stayed in the same area we had them the day before, resisting the urge to jump around to greener pastures and it paid off. The tuna are just 20 to 30 miles from our inlet right now. It’s so awesome when that happens. They are feeding on sandeels and squid. The Chatter Side Tracker Bars are dominating the spread but we also caught on cedar plugs, small feathers, and traditional spreader bars. We will be sailing Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, June 13, 14, and 15 for Tuna and Stripers. Call for details.
We have been in the water for a few weeks now. Slow start for us but things are getting interesting now. We are catching stripers from 20 inches to 20 pounds on bait and lures. Some 2 to 4 lb bluefish mixed in and we are also catching some fluke with a few keepers making it into the cooler. There are some bigger bass being trolled on bunker spoons and mojos.
We are available this Sunday, June 7 and Monday, June 8.
We are always watching the forecast for the perfect weather window to head offshore but the early look at this weekend does not look favorable for us to run to the bluewater. As soon as we get that perfect forecast, we are throwing the ropes.
Pic: Griffin Chrostowski of Moorestown, NJ with his first striper, a 44 inch, 26 lber taken right outside the inlet with Capt Nick DeGennaro at the helm. That fish was released. They also had a 30 incher and a 25 incher that were legal to keep with our bonus tags.
We have an awesome stretch of W/NW winds coming from now through Monday if the forecast remains the same. This is the best wind. Flattens out the ocean and stimulates the fishing. Combine that with 40 to 50 degree air temps and this looks to be a classic bass fishing weekend. We might have to run north to catch ’em, but that’s what we’ve been doing every week. Number one rule: Fish where the fish are. We are ready to cast, jig, or troll. There is a big mix of fish from 20 inches to 20 pounds. Sailing Open Boat or Charter: Saturday Nov 23 and Mon Nov 25, 6AM to 2PM, $200 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. Also sailing Sun Dec 1 and Mon Dec 2. That will wrap it up for the Hi Flier this year. Thank you everyone for another great season. I hope you and your families have a wonderful holiday season! Dave
We fished for stripers last Sat, Sun, and Mon and it (we) sucked! I was networked with captains from Barnegat Inlet to Atlantic Highlands on Saturday and I did not hear of a single fish. I went back for more punishment on Sunday, each day running as far as Asbury Park. They did catch on Sunday, right outside Manasquan Inlet, about two miles off, but by the time I found them and put the lines out, the party was over. Thank God for the Barnegat Inlet jetty where we caught three schoolie size bass on light tackle before heading back to the marina. Monday was not much better until the ninth inning with two outs, 9 hours in to our 7 hour trip (I know, that’s some tricky math right there) my homemade umbrella rig gets smashed and we deck a 34 lber. Another schoolie bass at the jetty and we head for the barn.
I know guys caught some fish on Monday, but it wasn’t good. Tuesday, the fishery lit up with every size fish and it’s been “game on” ever since. Sailing Open Boat Saturday, Nov 9 and Monday, Nov 11, 6:30 AM to 2:30 PM $200 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. Call to reserve a spot. I can be reached on my cell below from 5AM to 8PM any day and you can call right up until go time.
The stripers are here and they are big. Averaging 20 to 40 pounds. That is huge for the Fall run, but it has become the pattern for the last five years or so. It’s probably no coincidence that we are getting a bunker run during that time, as well. There’s also sandeels in the mix.
On Friday, I made the left and ran 38 miles to the Highlands. We passed up closer fleets that had fish but a lot of boats. In those fleets, every time the fish popped up, four or five guys would run them down. Further north, where we wound up, there was very little pressure and the fish were swirling and crashing bait on the surface and down deep. We caught them on poppers, swim shads, and jigs. We had six fish between 25 and 40 pounds and released quite a few, all on spinning rods. Saturday, I returned to the scene of the crime but there were quite a few more boats and the fish were not surfacing. I got called in by a friend, Gene Linder on the Side Chick, who was working on his third big troll fish off of Long Branch. I doubled back, we put out the rods, and soon after we boated a 35 pounder on one of my homemade umbrella rigs. Another pass, and the same rig gets clobbered and we added a 30 pounder. I’m sailing Sat, and Sun, Nov 2 and 3, Open Boat, 6:30 AM to 1:30 PM $175 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. We are probably going to troll to put fish in the box but if there is any indication that we can catch them casting or jigging, we are rigged and ready to do that. If for any reason, we do not find them locally, like as far as Seaside/Lavallette, we will run as far north as we have to and the price will go to $200 person to cover the extra fuel. We will also be returning later. The best way to reserve a spot is to call me on my cell from 5AM to 8PM. You can call right up until”Go Time”! Dave DeGennaro
609-494-5739
