Author: Hi Flier

I am giving the big bluefin effort a break this week, as it is not working for me. I tried yesterday, Sunday. Our departure was delayed by a storm at sunup, so we delayed our departure until 7AM. Hit the inlet for a live bluefish in the livewell. Stopped at a wreck and caught half a dozen ling to add to the bait tank. Put out the live bluefish and he was inhaled by a good size hammerhead that provided the only battle we would have as it was pretty dead from Little Italy to Monster Ledge this day. 

So, we are headed east. Weather is perfect for Tues and Wed. There has been a pretty good yellowfin and school bluefin bite in the 50 to 70 mile range. We will be trolling, jigging, and bait fishing. This also puts us in range for mahi, so they will be on our radar, as well. 

Open Boat Tuna: Tuesday July 22 and Wednesday July 23, 50 to 70 mile Range, Yellowfin, Bluefin, Mahi. $450 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. Open Boat dates are also available for your private Charter.

Call or text is the best way to contact me.

Also available every day for charter for bay, inlet, and inshore fishing. 

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Pic: Spencer Drotman of California with his first hammerhead caught on a live bluefish at Little Italy on Sunday

I spent last weekend hosting my three good friends from high school, Vinny LaPrete, Steve Ondrof, and John Korn. While these names mean nothing to you, they mean everything to me. Good friends for 45 years, Vinny for 54, we travel, fish, have dinner, crash at one another’s homes, and laugh endlessly. 

I took us to the Little Italy grounds on Saturday. We tried the troll for a solid three hours before switching to the drift. No bites on the troll and it was non stop brown and dusky sharks on the drift with the bait rods. On Sunday we fished the inlet for blues and it did not disappoint. The guys threw soft plastics at the jetty for a few hours of 2 to 4 lb bluefish: https://youtube.com/shorts/xzLmlPivylI?feature=shared Next we anchored up on the west side of the bay with shedder crab and caught some spots, croakers, and fluke on the 6 lb spinning rods. 

Not a great report I know but I have to post the bad with the good sometimes. 

This Saturday is shaping up to be the weather day for going offshore for tuna. Right now, I have my sights on the 25 to 30 mile grounds for bluefin. Troll, jig, and bait fishing, whatever conditions dictate. Open Boat Tuna, Saturday, July 19, 4AM to 4PM, $400 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. If I get intel on the 40 to 60 mile grounds, we could run that way for bluefin and yellowfin together. That would be $450 person to cover some more fuel. That is always a game time decision based on the latest intel I get. 

The boat is also available every day for inshore, bay, and inlet fishing. We will be announcing more Open Boat Tuna dates as we see opportunities in the weather forecast. The long range looks good for next Tues, Wed, and Thurs, but that’s a long way off, so for now, we are just watching and waiting. 

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

On Saturday, we ran our first tuna trip of the season. It was not great. We caught 2 small yellowfin tuna and two nice mahi. 

This Wed, Thurs, and Fri are available, July 9, 10, and 11. Open Boat or Charter. For those that like to stay in the bay or inlet, we could target bluefish at the inlet and then anchor up in the bay for a mixed bag of species on ultralite tackle. We would be looking for weakfish, kingfish, blowfish, and the whole cast of characters that invade the bay once we hit the water temp we are currently at. I’ve been reading anywhere from 74 to 76 degree water temperature in the back bay. Out at the inlet jetty I am showing 72. 

The wind and sea condition looks good for each day. The traditional Weather Channel has a chance of thunderstorms each day, mostly late in the afternoon. This bold prediction is also known as “Summer time”. We usually start early in the morning and finish up before any storm activity. We have a Garmin/Sirius XM satellite weather station onboard that shows us the storm cells as they are born. 

Bay/Inlet trips are available for charter on any of the July 9, 10, and 11 dates. 

Also on these dates, I could offer an Open Boat to Barnegat Ridge and/or Tolten Lump for blue water fish. OK, greenish blue water. On our ride home from the tuna grounds Saturday, I couldn’t help but notice the good looking water on all of our inshore to mid range spots. We could target bonita, mahi, bluefin, and anything else we could find.  6AM to 2PM $350 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. If I get enough interest, and the weather is stable, I would consider running to the 50/60 mile grounds again, especially if I get good intel.

There you have it. Lots of choices.

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Pic:

Sam Cohen of Beach Haven NJ with his first Mahi Mahi

We have been picking a few stripers and clobbering the bluefish at the inlet jetty. Using live spots, sandworms, and casting lures. I picked up a bunch of live shedder crabs to try for weakfish, kingfish, blowfish, and the mixed bag on ultralite tackle this weekend. 

Available Fri, Sat, Sun, or Mon for Charter or Open Boat. Sat July 5 and Sun July 6 have potential to be offshore tuna trips or Barnegat Ridge to Tolten Lumps. Open Boat or Charter. Any of these days are available for bay/inlet charters as well.

Call for details or to reserve a spot.

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674

hiflier.com

I was all booked for three straight Mon-Tues-Wed and my Offshore Monday June 30 guy just pulled the plug for tomorrow. Throwing this Hail Mary email in case there’s a group that wants to go. 4AM to 4PM, $1,800 for the boat, up to 4 people, so $450 person, 50 to 60 mile range, trolling, jigging, I always try bait on the drift, as well. I do bring popper rods. We’re not good at it, but we’re hoping to improve with more effort. 

Tues July 1 and Wed July 2 are booked for inshore trips and then Thurs July 3 and Fri July 4 are potential Tuna days again. I”ll put it out as an Open Boat as long as the weather holds up. Right now it looks like the wind velocity drops out and a stable atmosphere. If that holds, it would be a good time to run offshore. Thurs July 3 and Fri July 4 Open Boat Tuna $450 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared.

We are available every day for bay/inlet/inshore trips, as well. Stripers, blues, fluke and some mixed bad light tackle fishing in the bay for a variety of species.

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

There are 30 to 50 lb bluefin in the 50 to 60 mile range of our inlet. Tomorrow (Wednesday) is the perfect day. No storm activity forecasted, light winds, nice sea condition. I know this is short notice, but I just got the intel. 

3AM to 4PM, $450 person, all fish are shared. We can keep 2 fish between 27” and 47”. It’s unlikely that we will fill all four spots with this short notice, but I had to try. Better shot if you have your own group that wants to charter the boat. The best way to get me is to call or text, not email.

Still catching stripers, blues, and fluke every day on our bay/inlet trips. Available every day for those trips.

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing 

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

We are catching a few stripers at the Barnegat Inlet jetty on bait and soft plastics. There has been a good amount of 2 to 4 lb blues in the mix, with a few bigger ones. Still fluking in the bay as the colder ocean water has not started to push them out yet. Between the three species, it’s a good day of fishing. Sailing Open Boat for Stripers, Blues, and Fluke: Sun June 22, and Mon June 23. 6AM to Noon. $200 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared.

Right now, Sat June 21 has perfection weather. No storm activity and single digit wind velocity. We are headed offshore for bluefin tuna. Casting, jigging, bait fishing, trolling, we are bringing it all. 4AM to 4PM $450 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared. Only going on a really good forecast. We are a long way from Saturday as far as weather updates. If any storm activity or heavier wind velocity, enters the forecast, I’m out. I have, in the past, gone out the inlet a few miles, or less, and turned around because the forecast was wrong. This is why I always tell people, if you want a better chance of sailing for tuna, pick a bigger boat to book, as our rate of cancel is higher than most. Not that the boat isn’t capable. She’s a seaworthy 25 ft. World Cat catamaran with twin Suzukis, a 6 man Viking life raft that is always kept current, an EPIRB satellite search and rescue beacon, and a Garmin/Sirius XM on board satellite weather system that allows us to see the storm cells as they are born. With all of that, I am still looking for near perfection weather to sail. I tell people about all of this instead of bragging on our rods and reels, which are also top of the line. 

Any of these dates, including Saturday, are available for your private charter to fish for anything you like.

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

It’s Father’s Day tomorrow. You get to do what you want. Go fishing early and be back in time to join the festivities.

Looks like the rain is moving out and we have a good stretch of weather for Sun to Wed. Cooler air temps, 60 to 70 degrees every day with very little rain mentioned. We will be running Open Boat trips every day for stripers, blues, and fluke. We are fishing the inlet jetty and the bay.  The wind is dropping out for Tues and Wed, so we can also mix in some sea bass fishing, if you guys want, on those days. The clock is ticking on that season, as it closes on Friday June 20.

Open Boat: Sun June 15, Mon June 16, Tues June 17, and Wed June 18. 7AM to 1PM. $200 person 4 people max. All fish are shared. These dates are also available for your private charter.I look forward to seeing you on board.

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Nice stretch of weather coming up. We will be sailing daily for stripers, blues, and fluke. 

Casting lures and fishing bait at the inlet jetty for bass and blues. We are also catching some stripers anchored up with clam in the bay channels, mostly in Oyster Creek. 

On the west side of the bay we are throwing topwater lures for blues and drifting for fluke.

We can do all of it or whatever combination you guys like. If it’s a nice ocean, we also have the option to bounce out to the tires to try and jig some sea bass. 

Open Boat: 

Thurs June 5, Fri June 6, Sat June 7, Sun June 8, Mon June 9. 6AM to 1 PM. $200 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared. 

These dates are also available for your private charter.

FYI: Just planting the seed, as I have not heard anything solid on bluefin tuna, yet, but it’s coming. We will be targeting the 27 to 47 inch fish when they show up. Right now, the new regulations are allowing us to keep two fish within that size bracket. We are not allowed to keep any fish between 47 and 73 inches, so we will also be targeting fish over 73 inches. We can only catch one or the other. You can’t possess a 27 to 47 inch bluefin and then try to catch a Giant, and vice versa. We can make a decision based on reports, weather, and recent activity. 

If pursuing the over 73 inch fish, we are usually trolling ballyhoo or drifting with live bait, usually mackerel, bunker, or small bluefish. This fishing can be a lot of waiting for the rod to go off, so it is not for everyone. When the strike happens, it goes from the most boring to the most exciting thing you have ever experienced. We have three custom built stand up 80 class outfits to fight the fish with a belt and harness, rather than fight it out of the rod holder. I chose to do it this way to make it more interactive, but the rod holder is always there if you need it. 

We might have to spend a good amount of time trying to catch the live bait, as mackerel, bunker, and blues need to be caught the day of the trip, as they do not do well in containment, such as a bait pen. I could put a live spot in the pen in July and release him in November and he would look perfect. Try putting a full size bunker in a pen and the next day his face will be half ripped off from trying to escape. Likewise with the blues and mackerel. Of course, all these species of bait are readily available, until you need them as hookbaits, then they become elusive. On the other hand, if we are lucky, we will cast lures at the inlet and boat a handful of small blues in short order and/or stumble on some bunker pods along the beach or on our way to the fishing grounds. This is all part of the process of catching a Giant. It’s a commitment. It doesn’t happen by chance.

The good news is, we are usually targeting either size bluefin in the 20 to 40 mile range, and a lot of that mileage is north. As opposed to hunting yellowfin in the 50 to 70 mile range, which is mostly east (offshore).

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Fishing is heating up. We are catching stripers at the inlet jetty and anchored up with clams in the bay. They are keepable size fish, as we have bonus tags for everyone on board that allow us to keep 24 to 31 inch fish. Bluefish are mixed in at the jetty and on the west side of the bay where we are throwing topwater lures for visual surface attacks. I still struggle as a fluke captain but I know some areas to try and I am willing to mix it in for an hour or two, depending on our success on the bass and blues and what you guys want to do.

Sailing every day Open Boat or Charter.

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com